IndyCar
IndyCar ‘silly season’ UPDATE: Malukas named as Power replacement at Penske
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is barely into the off-season and the dominos are starting to fall in regard to driver movement within the paddock. Check back between now and the 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to keep track of all the changes.
David Malukas to drive the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske beginning in 2026
(September 18, 2025 10:00 a.m.) – Team Penske announced today that it has signed David Malukas to a multiyear agreement to drive the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season and beyond. The 23-year-old becomes just the second driver to race the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet made famous by two-time Series Champion (2014, 2022) and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power.
“We are excited to add David Malukas as the next driver of the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet,” said team owner Roger Penske. “We feel that Team Penske will provide David everything needed to take the next step in his career, and we are confident that he will continue the great legacy of the Verizon Chevrolet.”
“Racing for Team Penske is the goal for every young racecar driver, and I am honored to be one that gets to live out that dream,” said Malukas. “Will Power is one of the legends of our sport and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet is one of the most-recognized cars on the grid. These are big shoes to fill, but I look at it as an opportunity because I know that it is one of the best teams in the paddock.”
Andretti Global signs Will Power to 2026 IndyCar Lineup
(September 3, 2025 12:30 p.m.) – Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power is joining Andretti Global for the 2026 INDYCAR Season. Power is moving into the No. 26 Honda seat that was vacated by Colton Herta (see below).
“We couldn’t think of a better driver than Will Power to fill Colton’s shoes here at Andretti and take the wheel of the No. 26 Honda,” said Jill Gregory, COO, TWG Motorsports and President, Andretti Global. “Will is a fierce competitor whose record speaks for itself. Additionally, he’s a great personality and we feel he’ll be a strong fit for the team culturally as well.”
“I just want to say how excited I am to be joining Andretti Global,” said Power in a statement. “I can’t thank Dan [Towriss], Jill [Gregory] and the team enough for this opportunity. Colton is someone that I’ve been massively impressed with for a while. He has a lot of natural ability, and I think he’s going to do a great job over in Europe. I’m excited to watch him and will work to step in and do everyone on the 26 team proud.”
Cadillac F1 Team names Colton Herta as Test Driver
(September 3, 2025 11:30 a.m.) – Colton Herta is joining the Cadillac F1 team as a test driver it was announced on Wednesday. Herta will serve as a test driver as the team prepares to join the F1 grid for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as a Test Driver,” Herta said in a statement. “This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up.”
“We are delighted to welcome Colton Herta as a Test Driver,” said Graeme London, Team Principal, Cadillac Formula 1 Team, in a statement. “Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role, and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future.
“Having an American driver join an American Formula 1 team is a hugely significant moment, not only for our Team, but for American motorsport as a whole. Colton represents the passion, ambition, and competitive spirit that define the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, and we are proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage.”
Penske Confirms Power Is Out
(September 2, 2025) – Will Power’s tenure at Team Penske is over after being speculated for most of the year and finally confirmed in a statement released by the team Tuesday morning.
“As we sat down to talk about our future together, Will felt that it was time for him to make a change beginning with next season,” Roger Penske said in the statement. “He has been an outstanding driver and teammate for our organization. His results speak for themselves, and we wish him the very best in the next phase of his career.”
Power, Team Penske’s winningest and most successful driver, scored 42 of his 45-IndyCar wins with Penske capturing two Championships and one Indianapolis 500 victory.
Power was not offered a contract extension entering this season despite three wins and fourth place in the 2024 Championship standings.
“It’s been the honor of my life to drive for Roger and the Penske organization,” said Power in a statement. “We have accomplished so much together, and I will always be grateful for my time with the team and my teammates who have supported me along the way. After much consideration, I felt like a change for me was the right move at this time.”
Power is reportedly joining Andretti Global to replace Colton Herta, who is reportedly going to race in F2 in an attempt to secure enough Super License points to qualify for an F1 seat in 2027.
VeeKay departs Dale Coyne Racing
(September 2, 2025) – One of the best pairings in 2025 is coming to an end as Rinus VeeKay announced that he is departing Dale Coyne Racing after one season.
VeeKay posted his thanks on his Social Media feeds on Tuesday.
“I want to thank Dale Coyne Racing and in particular Dale and Gail for the opportunity they gave me to re-establish myself in 2025. This year was genuinely the most enjoyable year in my career as an IndyCar driver. Especially big thanks to Renato, JC, Nico, Carlo, Brennan, John, Ryan, Matthew, Conner, Ed and Michael, Carrie and Michele for giving your best effort every single session as the 18 crew. This season and its lessons will stay with me forever.”
Coyne is expected to name VeeKay’s replacement and the rest of his lineup by the end of October.
SPEEDWAY, IN (May 9, 2026) – Christian Lundgaard finally finished a race ahead of Alex Palou, winning Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Lundgaard passed David Malukas on lap 68 as the pair staged a thrilling battle from turn 3 through the turns 5/6 chicane, where the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet driver completed the pass.
“It probably looks more spectacular from the outside than it really did inside the helmet,” explained Lundgaard, who led 20 of the 85-laps. “I knew I had one chance, maybe two on David at that time. I tried to set him up for 2 and actually make the slingshot to be on the inside for turn 4, but he was pretty slow kind of through the kink of 3. I thought, okay, F it, I’m going to stay on the outside and see how it goes.”
The victory was the second career win for Lundgaard and his third podium of the season, his first two were finishes behind Palou.
Malukas came home in second place, 4.6713 seconds behind Lundgaard.
“You know, I could be a little bit more aggressive and push him wide, whatever, but I think it was fair racing, and he made a proper move,” said Malukas. “I came in thinking this was going to be our hardest race of the whole season, and it ended up being our best result yet, which it was just fantastic.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda to tie his season-best result.
“I was good at starting stints,” explained Rahal. “I could really close the gap there, but later in the stints the rear would go off. We’ve just got a little work to do. I think missing practice, half of it at least, kind of put us on our back foot with the rear grip and never quite got there. But look, I thought we put a great race together, great strategy, great calls by Brian, Eve, and the entire group, and great stops.”
Penske’s Josef Newgarden finished fourth followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who rounded out the top 5 and maintained his Championship points lead over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood.
It didn’t take long for lots of on-track action as Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who started third, locked up his brakes going into turn 1 and made contact with Arrow McLaren Racing’s Pato O’Ward, who was running in second behind Palou, who started on the pole.
Rosenqvist spun O’Ward into the grass and in the ensuing mayhem behind him several cars made contact. Newgarden couldn’t get slowed down and nerfed Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, turning the No. 9 Honda to the right, directly into Caio Collet. The full-field caution slowed the rest of the field as the AMR Safety Team tended to the pileup. All three were able to continue as did Rosenqvist and O’Ward.
The reshuffled lineup found Palou leading Malukas in second place but that didn’t last long at Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood quickly out-braked the No. 12 Chevy going into turn one.
That wasn’t the only incident of the day, which had teams scrambling on strategy.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi suffered a hybrid failure on lap 20 and came to rest on the main straightway. Race control mysteriously called for a local caution in that area despite Rossi being stuck in the car. A frustrated Rossi could be seen waving his steering wheel from the cockpit but it took him climbing out of the car to bring out the full course caution.
Cautions breed cautions and on lap 28 Sting Ray Robb got into Marcus Armstrong and when Kyffin Simpson tried to avoid that contact, Rosenqvist made contact with the No. 8 Sunoco Honda, sending the No. 60 up into the air bringing out another caution.
LONG BEACH, CA (April 19, 2026) – A great pit stop helped Alex Palou pass Felix Rosenqvist in the pits and Palou did the rest, winning Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“Incredible,” said Palou, who picked up his third win of the season and 22nd of his IndyCar career. “Feel so, so lucky with the opportunity I had to win the 500 last year, the Long Beach GP this year, it just feels like I’m living on this amazing cloud of happiness.”
Rosenqvist was out front when the caution flag flew on Lap 57 for debris in turn four, which set up the showdown between the Meyer Shank Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing pit crews.
“This full-course yellow put everything on that pit stop,” said Palou. “The guys did an incredible job once again.”
“Having the pit location and the pit crew we have, it certainly was on the top of our minds coming down pit lane knowing we have a shot at getting the win here,” said Barry Wanser, No. 10 Team Manager. “Again, the guys came through.”
“That last pit cycle was kind of the defining moment,” said Rosenqvist, who led a race-high 51-laps. “I don’t even think we had that bad of a stop. We had to come around the 14. I don’t know if Alex had an open in. Details like that matter. It didn’t seem like a super slow stop, but he probably nailed it or his crew.”
Despite falling short of a win, Rosenqvist said there were plenty of positives to take away from the team’s trip to the West Coast.
“I think all in all we got to be happy as a weekend for us at Meyer Shank Racing. We had a win yesterday with Nick in IMSA. We had a pole there as well, then a pole here and a P2. We just fell short of a grand slam.”
Scott Dixon finished third in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, giving team owner Chip Ganassi two cars on the podium and the 6-time series Champion his best finish of the season
“Huge weekend for the Ganassi cars,” said Dixon. “I think probably one of the best for qualifying between all us, which was really good. It was nice just to have a clean weekend, no major issues, no damage, no mess-ups or anything like that. That was a lot of fun.”
Palou and Dixon’s teammate Kyffin Simpson brought the No. 8 Sunoco Honda home in tenth place, so all three CGR cars finished in the Top 10.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished fourth after starting third and gave up the Championship lead to Palou. Kirkwood now trails the four-time Series Champion by 17-points.
Pato O’Ward rounded out the Top 5 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Next up for the IndyCar Series is two days of testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 28-29 as teams get ready for the Indianapolis 500.
The next race is the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 9, on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at IMS, which kicks off the Month of May.
LONG BEACH, CA (April 18,, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach after turning a fast lap of of 1 minute, 7.4635 seconds in the No. 60 SiriusXM/Acura Honda.
The pole capped a great day for Meyer Shank Racing who on the IMSA race on Saturday.
“So great to put it on pole here and it’s been a long time, so it feels good,” said Rosenqvist. “But what a day for Meyer Shank Racing with the win in the IMSA race today and now the pole for the IndyCar race.”
Pato O’Ward, Rosenqvist’s good friend and former teammate, will start from the front row after qualifying a season-best second at 1:07.5076 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“That was nerve-wracking to watch my ole buddy Pato do his run, and I wasn’t sure if we’d get it,” said Rosenqvist. “But the SiriusXM Green Day Acura has been great and hope we can have a good day tomorrow.”
“This is by far the best qualifying day I’ve had,” said O’Ward. “I’ve been happy with the car I’ve been given from practice one. Hats off to Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy. I know we’re leading their pack.”
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou will start from the third position in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with 2026 Championship points leader Kyle Kirkwood right beside in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Andretti Global Honda.
David Malukas will start fifth in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, the best qualifying car for Team Penske.
Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon will start sixth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The qualifying effort was Dixon’s best of 2026.
Next up is a 30-minute warmup Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
The 90-lap race around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile iconic temporary street circuit starts at 5:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
Gravel Grabs the Morgan Cup
Christian Lundgaard wins the Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS
Connor Zilisch tracks down best friend for NASCAR O’Reilly win at The Glen
Watkins Glen not kind to Kris Wright and McAnally Hilgemann Racing
Kaden Honeycutt outduels Connor Zilisch for first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win
Alex Palou wins Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach; Scott Dixon finishes 3rd
Tyler Reddick keeps the magic alive with overtime NASCAR Cup win at Kansas
Felix Rosenqvist wins Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach pole position
Taylor Gray wins eventful NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas
