IndyCar
Jimmie Johnson chasing history at the Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Helio Castroneves joined an elite group of winners when he crossed the yard of bricks first in the 2021 Indianapolis 500 – the four time winners club. Jimmie Johnson can join an even more exclusive club with a victory in Sunday’s Greatest Spectacle In Racing – joining racing legends A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti as the only winners of both the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500.
Johnson joined Chip Ganassi’s INDYCAR squad last year but only ran the road and street courses as he got acclimated to the series. Johnson attended last year’s race and knew he wanted to drive in it after the cars roared into Turn 1 during the first few laps. Persuading his wife Chandra to let him run the race was the next challenge. The Aeroscreen and its safety benefits were key to accomplishing that task.
Now Johnson is here and has been fast all month, as have all five of Chip Ganassi’s Honda’s.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Johnson when asked about CGR. “Just so thankful to be a part of the group. Watching them prepare literally since they left here last year and continually thinking of this race and it being a motto to win here before the championship.”
Longtime readers of www.pittsburghracingnow.com and listeners of the Pittsburgh Racing Now Podcast should be familiar with how CGR approaches every NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
“It’s written in the race shop,” said Johnson. “The first goal is to win the Indianapolis 500 and then the championship. To be a part of it, to live it, to now be here experiencing it is really cool.”
Johnson has been taking time this month to soak up the experience and the energy the fans bring to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something he didn’t do much of in his Cup career.
“I think the first moment I had was before I fired up to leave to start my qualifying lap, I saw the NBC Peacock pit box that I was in last year commentating, and I sat there with so much FOMO watching these guys go,” said Johnson. “To just know what’s happened in the course of 12 months and actually be in the race car, that was a really neat moment. Instead of being so focused on just the work side, I’m enjoying the different moments. I’m letting my mind relax a little bit, look around and smell the roses type moments, which was not how I operated my Cup career.”
Not that Johnson hasn’t been focused this month on getting the No. 48 Carvana Honda performing at the highest level possible.
“I’m still very new to it all, but gaining experience and gaining confidence in what I’m feeling, gaining confidence in what I’m looking for, and gaining confidence in the adjustments we’re making on the car,” said Johnson. “I feel like the more seat time I get, the more I gain confidence in myself and understanding the car and then certainly understanding changes. I’ve had a few aha moments where I think adjustments have crossed over from what I would do with a Cup car here setup-wise to the INDYCAR.”
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, who won his first 500 driving for Ganassi, thinks Johnson will not only run well but says he is a threat for the win.
“I told him when he came to INDYCAR, ‘you’re doing the hard thing (road and street courses), that is the thing that you would struggle and the good thing where you would kick everybody’s ass (ovals) you didn’t,’ so I’m so happy he’s doing it….well to a point. I don’t want him to beat me,” laughed Montoya, who also drove in NASCAR for Ganassi. “I do really believe he has a genuine shot of winning because he’s got so much experience on ovals and so much experience in long races, and a lot of pit stops and he knows how to go through the good and bad of a race.”
Team Owner Chip Ganassi, who’s Twitter hashtag is #ILikeWinners, said having Johnson join the team has helped elevate the Championship-winning organization even more.
“Unquestionably it’s a good thing for our team,” said Ganassi. “Anytime you can bring a seven-time champion of anything into your team it’s going to lift your team up. I think when Jimmie came to our team in ’21 we were Champions in ’20, and he lifted our team even though we were the Champions.”
Late Sunday afternoon Johnson can add to his Championship legacy by drinking the milk and join some very elite company in the process.
The green flag drops on the 106th Indianapolis 500 at 12:45 p.m. ET with coverage beginning at 11 a.m. on NBC and on the IMS Radio Network.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
PORTLAND, OR (August 7, 2026) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is fastest on the speed charts after the first NTT IndyCar Series practice at the Grand Prix of Portland.
Palou’s fast lap of 58.5716-seconds (120.714 mph) in the No. 10 DHL Honda was 0.0886-seconds quicker than Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“Good day, great start,” said Palou, who leads the Championship standings. “I think there’s some work to do with the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires), but we were really good on primaries, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“We definitely came here with a much different car than we’ve ever ran here, and hopefully it’s paying off,” said Kirkwood. “Early days, but it’s promising. Compared to where we were last year, this is a big step in the right direction.”
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay continues his impressive season for one of the smaller teams in the paddock posting a 58.7996-seconds lap around the 12-turn, 1.964-mile circuit, which put him third on the speed chart.
Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s Marcus Armstrong and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward each spent time in the pits after clipping the Armco barrier at the apex of Turn 1 in separate incidents.
NTT P1 Award qualifying is Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (FS1) and the INDYCAR Radio Network powered by Only Bulls.
The 110-lap race starts at 4 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX and FOX Deportes. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio.
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