IndyCar
Colton Herta wins Toronto INDYCAR pole; Scott Dixon leads Ganassi qualifying
TORONTO, ON (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Colton Herta is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of Toronto. Herta’s fast lap of 59.2698 seconds (108.480 mph) in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was just 0.0894-seconds of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (108.317).
“I’m really happy with the team’s performance today,” said Herta. “I think overall on the new reds we lacked a little bit of pace. We were fourth, fifth, sixth. On the used reds, the car came alive which is intriguing and interesting for tomorrow. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Dixon’s second-place starting spot in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda is his best road and street course qualifying effort, eclipsing Mid-Ohio’s fifth place start.
“It’s been a good weekend for us,” said Dixon, the six-time Series Champion. “Probably over-attacked on the last lap there, lost quite a bit of time in six. Looking forward to starting close up to the front and hopefully have a clean day.”
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden will start third with Herta’s teammate Alexander Rossi beside in fourth.
David Malukas continues his impressive rookie campaign with a fifth place starting spot on Sunday.
“I think the team did such an incredible job to get the car to where it needed to be after my feedback,” said Malukas. “It was everything we really wanted.”
Series points leader Marcus Ericsson will start ninth in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
“P9 is pretty disappointing with the speed we’ve had this weekend,” said Ericsson. “The car has been good all weekend. We definitely have more speed in it than that.”
Ericsson and Dixon’s CGR teammate Jimmie Johnson will start 21st in the No. 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
“I’m really happy with my qualifying effort,” said Johnson. “This is a new track for me. Honestly probably the most competitive session I’ve had, only 1-point-2 seconds off the fastest time, which still a long way to go but at a new track, new environment, street circuit, this is the closest I’ve been.”
Defending series Champion Alex Palou will start 22nd in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after his car slowed on track and came to a stop in the first qualifying session.
“Obviously not ideal,” said Palou. “We had an issue. We lost power so we really couldn’t finish the lap. It’s a shame because we had a good car and we were looking good.”
Coverage of the 85-lap event starts at 3 p.m. on Peacock Premium, NBC’s Streaming Platform, SportsNet 360 and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
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
