IndyCar
Chip Ganassi to be Honoree at ‘The Amelia’ this weekend
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chip Ganassi is adding another honor to his considerable list of accomplishments, being selected as this year’s Honoree at ‘The Amelia’, the award-winning car show formerly known as the ‘Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance’.
Ganassi, 63, joins an exclusive list of previous Honoree’s that include Roger Penske, Bobby Rahal, Sam Posey, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Hurley Haywood, David Hobbs, Brian Redman, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jochen Mass, to name a few.
“To be selected as the Honoree at ‘The Amelia’ this year, it certainly ranks among the high points of my career,” said Ganassi. “I’m truly honored to be respected by my peers in this way and join the likes of so many legends I’ve long admired. I’ve been fortunate enough to make this a career and I still feel that I have as much passion for the sport as I did 40 years ago, qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie.”
A select fleet of Ganassi’s legendary race cars will be featured as part of the show:
- 1994 Reynard 94i that Michael Andretti scored Chip Ganassi Racing’s first win at Surfer’s Paradise.
- 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner that Juan Pablo Montoya drove to victory and Rookie of the Year honors.
- 2006 Lexus Riley Rolex 24 at Daytona Champion driven by Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Casey Mears.
- 2010 Chevrolet Impala that Jamie McMurray piloted to the Daytona 500 win.
- 2010 Honda INDYCAR that Dario Franchitti drove to win the 2010 Indianapolis 500.
- 2022 Cadillac DPi which recently competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
- Ford GT Chassis 007 which won the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona, 2017 Road America, 2018 Watkins Glen and Lime Rock.
Ganassi is among the most successful race team owners in the world with 14 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championships and eight IMSA Sports Car titles. Overall, his teams have 22 championships with more than 230 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, eight Rolex 24 at Daytona events, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was founded by car collector and businessman Bill Warner in 1996, who launched his career as a photographer and writer for Road & Track magazine in the early 1970s. Today, the event’s economic impact on Florida is estimated at nearly $30 million a year and has donated over $4 million to various charities since its inception.
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was recently acquired by Traverse City Michigan-based Hagerty, an American automotive lifestyle and membership company and the world’s largest provider of specialty insurance for classic vehicles. Hagerty rebranded the Florida collector car event as “The Amelia,” in 2021. Showcased throughout the event weekend are some of the rarest and most unusual collector automobiles from all over the world. For more information on ‘The Amelia’, visit: https://www.ameliaconcours.com/event.
WEST ALLIS, WI (August 28, 2026) – Josef Newgarden is atop the speed charts after the first NTT IndyCar Series practice in preparation for the Milwaukee doubleheader.
Newgarden’s fast lap of 159.430 mph (0:22.9191) in the No. 2 Snap-On Team Penske Chevrolet was 0.0075-seconds quicker than rookie Dennis Hauger in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is third fastest after blasting around the historic Milwaukee Mile at 158.890 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
Palou could clinch his fourth consecutive Championship this weekend and fifth overall if he leads by 108-points after Saturday’s Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 (2:30 p.m. ET on Fox and IndyCar Radio). Palou leads Kyle Kirkwood by 91-points going into Saturday.
Palou will have to overcome a 9-grid starting spot penalty for an unapproved engine change.
Palou is not the only victim of this rule as the Nos. 3 and 12 Team Penske Chevy’s, and the Nos. 76 and 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy’s will also lose 9-starting spots.
Palou’s CGR teammates Kyffin Simpson and Scott Dixon both were in the Top 15 on Friday. Simpson is continuing to improve posting the 11th quickest speed (157.431) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda and Dixon placed 15th (156.371) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Friday’s session was slowed by two on-track incidents.
Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel backed the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 about 16 minutes into the session. Siegel was not hurt but the car suffered significant damage.
Late in the session Kirkwood and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen were running side-by-side through Turn 2 and down the backstretch and got together in Turn 3, sending both cars into the outside wall.
Neither driver was hurt but both cars suffered extensive damage.
Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda and Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 Stevia Splenda Chevrolet crash at the end of the first NTT IndyCar Series Practice at The Milwaukee Mile (Photo: James Black/Penske Entertainment)
“It felt like he kind of never turned in,” said Rasmussen. “I was on the outside, and it didn’t feel like I turned in early. But I think his rear tire probably touched mine. I didn’t feel like I could have been much higher than I was. It’s really unfortunate because we have a really fast race car.”
“I was just giving him some space there,” explained Kirkwood. “I don’t know if his spotter didn’t tell him I was still there on the inside or he expected me to turn down early or what, but he just started his turn-in too early. That’s not the way you want to end practice.”
Unfortunately for both drivers there is no Saturday morning practice due to the doubleheader format. The next on-track activity is Qualifying at 11 a.m. ET.
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
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Palou quickest in first Markham practice
