IndyCar
Penske, Ganassi top Practice 1 for the 109th Indianapolis 500
SPEEDWAY, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – The two powerhouse teams in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, flexed their muscles on a rain-shortened Day 1 of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Tuesday.
2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power posted the fastest speed of the day, 227.026 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good baseline,” said Power. “My teammates are pretty good. I learned a thing or two of them. You’ve got to look for your weaknesses and improve.”
Power’s teammate Josef Newgarden was second fastest at 226.971 in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden is trying to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years.
Championship leader Alex Palou was third fastest at 226.673 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, a three-time series Champion, has won four of the first five races this season and finished second in the other. Palou holds a 90-point lead going into the ‘500’.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon was right behind his teammate at at 225.059 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon is looking for his second Indianapolis 500 win to go along with his 2008 victory.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rounded out the Top 5 at 225.005 in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet.
Four-time ‘500’ winner Helio Castroneves was sixth fastest at 224.523 in the No. 06 Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. Castroneves is going for a record-setting fifth Borg Warner Trophy, hoping to break a tie with A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and the late Al Unser Sr.
Wednesday’s track activity starts with a refresher test for Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan, who will be Kyle Larson’s standby driver should weather affect Larson’s schedule as he attempts to complete ‘The Double’ by running Indy and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
Larson finished Tuesday in the 24th spot on the speed chart at 221.207 in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.
“Our day was good,” said Larson, who wrecked during the open test last month. “Kind of took it easy to start in clean air, made sure our balance was comfortable, which it was, so was happy about that. Then yeah, just there at the end kind of finally got in some traffic and as normal kind of had some understeer. But just happy with the first day. It was a nice smooth day. Good place to start from.”
The track will be open for practice for all cars from noon-6 p.m. (noon-4 p.m., FS2; 4-6 p.m., FS1; FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 25 (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
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.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
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