IndyCar
Chip Ganassi Racing Chasing 5-in-a-row This Weekend At Iowa
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chip Ganassi Racing is looking to keep their winning streak going as the team heads into this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader at Iowa Speedway.
CGR has won the first four races of the season. Scott Dixon parked the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda in Victory Lane at Texas, the Indianapolis GP and race one at Road America. Felix Rosenqvist parked the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda in Victory Lane in race two at Road America.
“Winning the first four races (as a team) was nice, but now our focus turns to winning this weekend at Iowa,” said Dixon, a 5-time series Champion.
“It’s obviously nice to have the win, as well, in the bank from Elkhart (Lake),” said Rosenqvist. “It definitely gives some confidence for me and the NTT DATA crew coming forward in the season here, after having done a couple of good races now.”
The winning streak is not unprecedented. Sebastian Bourdais won the first four races of the season in 2006 for Newman Haas Racing.
Al Unser Sr won five in-a-row for Retzloff in 1968 and he did it again two years later in the Johnny Lightning car for Vel Meletich.
AJ Foyt won the first seven races of the 1964 season driving for Anstead-Thompson Racing. Team Penske won 7 in-a-row in 1994 between Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr and Paul Tracy.
CGR won 7-in-a-row back in the 1998 season with Jimmy Vasser and Alex Zanardi.
It won’t be easy to keep the streak going at Iowa. The 7/8-mile oval is a fast track and because of its length teams cannot afford to make mistakes.
“You need to be prepared, unload fast and work quick because everything is happening so quickly with two races in two days,” said Dixon, who leads the series Championship standing by 54-points over Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta. “There is no room for mistakes. I know the PNC Bank No. 9 team will be up for it.”
“I had a really good weekend there last year with a strong qualifying and was running well in the race,” said Marcus Ericsson, driver of the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda for CGR. “I was going for a podium even until I had a late pit entry violation that caused me a penalty. So, I feel like I have some unfinished business.”
“It’s cool to be back in Iowa,” said Rosenqvist “It’s definitely one of my favorite ovals from last year. It’s a really good track for racing, and there’s always fun side-by-side racing there.”
At-track schedule (all times Eastern):
FRIDAY, JULY 17
2-3:30 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, NBC Sports Gold (Live)
5:30 p.m.: Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Single car, Two laps (Lap 1/Race; Lap 2/Race 2), NBC Sports Gold (Live)
8:30 p.m.: NBCSN on air
9:10 p.m.: “Drivers, start your engines”
9:15 p.m.: Iowa INDYCAR 250s Race 1 (250 laps/218.75 miles), NBCSN (Live)
SATURDAY, JULY 18
3:30-4:30 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, NBC Sports Gold
8:30 p.m.: NBCSN on air
8:40 p.m.: “Drivers, start your engines”
8:45 p.m.: Iowa INDYCAR 250s Race 1 (250 laps/218.75 miles), NBCSN (Live)
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
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.
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Palou quickest in first Markham practice
