IndyCar
2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Preview
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off with this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. This is the 18th year of the event, whose 1.8-mile, 14-turn, temporary street course uses part of the Albert Whitted Airport and city streets. The three-day event generates $48-million dollars annually in economic impact for the St. Petersburg area a.
Colton Herta is the defending race winner. Previous winners entered in the event include Josef Newgarden (2019 & 2020), Will Power (2014 & 2010), Helio Castroneves (2006, 2007 & 2012) and Graham Rahal (2008).
Chip Ganassi Racing enters 2022 as the team to beat. CGR is going for their third straight season Championship after Alex Palou won his first in 2021 and teammate Scott Dixon won his sixth in 2020.
CGR is no stranger to winning multiple titles in a row. Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya reeled off four straight titles from 1996 thru 1999. Dixon and Dario Franchitti also took home four straight Championships from 2008 thru 2011. Zanardi and Franchitti are the only CGR drivers to capture back-to-back titles and Palou is looking to join that elite company.
Dixon finished fourth in last year’s title battle with teammate Marcus Ericsson finishing in sixth place. Dixon took home a race win and Ericsson picked up his first career win and added another victory in the inaugural Music City Grand Prix. Palou visited three victory lane three times, giving CGR 6-wins in 17-events and three drivers in the Top 6 in the Championship.
“It’s been a good progression for me in my three years in INDYCAR, just getting better and better,” said Ericsson. “Last year was really a breakthrough year for me with a couple of wins and another podium and a very solid season.”
The fourth member of the CGR squad, Jimmie Johnson, is running the full-season in 2022 after only running the road and street course races in 2021. Johnson’s steep learning curve was marked by gradual progress as he began to get more familiar with the race car and the racetracks. Johnson is looking forward to returning to race tracks with some familiarity.
“I feel like last year, Detroit there was Race 1 and 2 and a huge improvement from day-to-day so experiencing that first-hand I know that this year is going to be so much better,” said Johnson, who has a documentary film crew following him around this weekend.
Herta and Andretti Autosport could be primed to challenge CGR for the top spot. Herta tied Palou for the series-high in wins with three but finished 5th in the Championship standing.
Alexander Rossi returns to the No. 27 Honda for Andretti and looks to regain Championship contender form after going winless the past two seasons.
Andretti has added Romain Grosjean to the team. Grosjean replaces Ryan Hunter-Reay in the DHL Honda. Grosjean, like Johnson, will also benefit by going back to racetracks for the second time.
The Team Penske trio of Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin return for 2022. Newgarden finished 2nd in the 2021 Championship standings and will be looking to add a third title to his considerable resume. The only thing missing from JoNew’s resume is an Indy 500 win.
Power’s 2021 season could be characterized as blindingly fast at times coupled with bad luck (Detroit Race 1) and some not-so-stellar driving.
McLaughlin, like Grosjean and Johnson, visited many of the race tracks for the first time in 2021 and looks to take the next step in his development. McLaughlin showed flashes of what could be with a best showing of second in the first Texas race.
Another team with significant changes on and off track is Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. RLL is in the finishing stages of building a new team headquarters in Indiana. RLL has added Jack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard to the driver roster to be teammates with Graham Rahal.
Meyer Shank Racing is expanding to two full-time cars with 4-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves being joined by Simon Pagenaud in the two-car squad. Castroneves ran a limited schedule in 2021 and Pagenaud finished 8th in the Championship in his last season with Penske.
Arrow McLaren SP is seeking some consistency. Pato O’Ward is unquestionably one of the series rising stars who has been blinding fast…..at times. O’Ward’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist had a dismal 2021, finishing 21st in the title fight. Rosenqvist struggled finding a set-up that fit his driving style but with Craig Hampson atop his pit box in 2022, expect to see improvement.
“I think something that is pretty big on my radar is consistency,” O’Ward told Pittsburgh Racing Now. “I feel like our good races were great. Our bad races were horrendous. That’s what we need to bring up and that will help us overall in the Championship.”
“I’m really psyched,” said Rosenqvist. “I just want to get out there. I feel like we worked really hard in the off-season.”
Dale Coyne Racing returns with new drivers and a new partner. Takuma Sato moves over to DCR with Rick Ware Racing after spending the last few seasons with RLL Racing. Rookie David Malukas moves up from IndyLights and joins DCR in partnership with HVM.
Conor Daly is full-time in 2022 driving for Ed Carpenter Racing where he will team once again with Rinus VeeKay and Carpenter, who will run the Indianapolis 500.
“It’s crazy to think the last time I was full-time with one team was 2017, life changes a lot in five years,” reflected Daly, who brings new partners Bitnile and Earnity into the series in 2022. “I think there is a lot of exciting things going on with Earnity, a new app that you can download, it’s crypto-trading that you have access to and you can follow me on it.”
A.J. Foyt Racing also has a couple of new drivers who will join returning veteran Dalton Kellett, who will be back in the No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA Chevy. 2021 IndyLights Champion Kyle Kirkwood will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 ROKiT Chevy and Tatiana Calderon will be behind the wheel of the No. 11 ROKiT Chevy on the road and street courses.
Juncos Hollinger Racing is back for 2022 and will campaign Callum Ilott in the No. 77 Chevrolet.
Watching the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will be easier for some folks this year as a majority of races will be on NBC Network TV with a couple on USA Network as the NBC Sports Network (NBC-SN) has been shuttered.
All races will be broadcast by the INDYCAR Radio Network on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 160.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
DETROIT, MI (May 31, 2026) – Alex Palou is back in victory lane after winning Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, his fourth win of 2026 and 12th win in his past 25-races.
“It was a tough one,” said Palou. “The team did an incredible job one again with the strategy. Pit stops were incredible. The number 10 Honda Honda looked really good and I think every time it has been on track it’s had a win.”
Palou and the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda fought off Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood on two late-race restarts as Palou was on the harder Firestone Primary tire and Kirkwood was on the softer Firestone alternate tire.
“It was very tough with the temperature on the tires,” explained Palou. “On the restarts I couldn’t really be at the level of Kirkwood, Power and some of the guys who were able to get a little more tire temp than I Wass able to.”
“The Sam’s Club Honda was really fast,” said Kirkwood, who is second to Palou in the Championship. “We took a little bit of a gamble on tires there being the only guy on reds (alternate) at the end. It nearly paid off. It was so, so, close. They’re a great team and he’s a great driver.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda, tying Rahal’s best finish of the year.
“We had a lot of pace when we needed it,” explained Rahal. “We go lucky a little bit with the yellow.”
IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Detroit IndyCar Pole; Scott Dixon earns 4th starting spot; Honda sweeps front row
DETROIT, MI (May 30, 2026) – Alex Palou is starting on the pole position for the third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series Race, winning the number 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.9017-seconds (95.668 mph) in the No. 10 Honda Racing Corporation Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.005542-seconds ahead Will Power, who will start second in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global. This is Power’s best starting position since switching to Andretti in the offseason.
“I’m super happy that we got the pole position,” said Palou. “The Fast Six was very exciting, especially with only getting one lap. The tires were not up to temperature, but this #10 Honda Honda car was on rails.”
“It was really nice to get into the Fast Six,” said Power, IndyCar’s all-time pole winner. “It’s my second time in the one lap shootout this year. It’s very difficult to beat Alex, so heading into the race I think we just have to put our heads down and see what we can do. The Honda is very good and I’ve been really enjoying running with Honda power all year.”
The front row Honda sweep on Chevrolet’s doorstep may bode well for the manufacturer as Honda has won every race at Detroit since the series switched to the downtown street circuit beginning in 2023.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party, locking down the third starting spot with a lap of 1:02.4559 in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon qualified a season-best fourth at 1:02.6085 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to give Chip Ganassi Racing two of the top 4 starting spots.
“I was just a little too aggressive going for it,” said Dixon. “The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has speed and it’s good to be starting up front.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will line up fifth after a fast lap of 1:02.7870 in the No. 7 Chevrolet, despite losing an engine in the morning practice.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the Firestone Fast Six Honda party qualifying sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda despite locking his tires up at one point and two power slides during his quick lap.
David Malukas will start last in the field after bringing out a red flag during his qualifying run. Malukas smacked the wall in turn 7 causing heavy damage to the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Sunday starts with a 30-minute morning warmup at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
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