In anticipation for the start of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR season in St. Petersburg on March 1, twenty-six drivers came for video shoots, photos, and media interviews over two days in Indianapolis, IN. Here are some series news and notes, including an 18th race added to the schedule.
This is part one of three – check back next week for the first round of driver/team previews.
Drivers Take on New Markham Street Course
“I’ve seen the drawing of the layout and am excited for the new track,” said Scott Dixon, who won on the Toronto Exhibition Place circuit four times. “It’s a shame losing the one there by the convention center. I don’t know if it’s in the cards to be back. The proximity to downtown was really fantastic, to all the restaurants and hotels. But I’m excited there’s a new place. They really did their homework on the demographics and understanding where people are coming from.
“The last Toronto circuit was the worst of the three or four that I’ve driven on, but it was still a lot of fun,” continued Dixon. “The biggest thing about the Toronto race is the fans and everybody that comes out for that one, making that event very strong.”
Josef Newgarden, winner of two Toronto events, also talked about the new location.
“I’m excited to go back to Canada,” said Newgarden. “I heard that neighborhood (Markham) is vibrant. People speak highly of it. I don’t know a lot about the track yet as we haven’t been on a simulator or have a model yet. We have such a great presence there for the INDYCAR community, the INDYCAR fan base. It will be a highlight for us, similar to Toronto.”
Independent Officiating Board (IOB) to Start
Marshall Pruett, journalist at Racer.com, who previously held many team positions in motorsports, pushed for a change following the non-compliance of two Penske cars on qualifying weekend for the 109th running of the Indy 500. The Penske team added a sealing material to reduce drag on the bottom lip of the attenuator box, a crushable and impact-absorbing structure to which the rear wing attaches. The Rule Book specifies which parts can be modified and all others, including the attenuator, must be used as provided by the vendor.
Officials passed the two Penske cars going through Tech Inspection prior to their Saturday qualifying runs that resulted in both cars making the fastest top-12. But a car owner complained that these Penske cars were illegal, which resulted in the Penske team being told they would not pass Tech on Sunday. For that reason, the team chose not to make another run on Pole-deciding day. The next day, Doug Boles, President of both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR, moved Josef Newgarden’s and Will Power’s entries to the 32nd and 33rd grid positions as a penalty.
The journalist also visited the newly-revamped Speedway Museum to examine Newgarden’s winning 2024 Indy 500 car that was on display. Pruett discovered that the chassis had the same illegal modification. In a press conference with Boles, Pruett called for an independent Technical Committee to replace the current officials who are on Roger Penske’s payroll as the owner of INDYCAR and IMS.
As a result, INDYCAR now has a new independent, non-profit officiating body called IndyCar Officiating Inc. (IOI), designed to govern races, technical inspections and rulebook enforcement. The board is led by veterans Ray Evernham (former NASCAR crew chief and team owner), Raj Nair (automotive industry executive experienced in Ford’s racing programs) – both voted upon by the team owners, and Ronan Morgan, appointed by the FIA.
Drivers were asked about the new officiating team, though they won’t have any experience with them until the season starts.
“It really needs to be independent,” voiced Graham Rahal. “I don’t care who owns or is running the series. When (Brian) Barnhart was in charge, people hated him. I never did. I got penalties. Most of the time I had to look at myself and say, yeah, I probably deserved that. Maybe I didn’t and I disagreed, but I’m a grown man and I just moved on. Kyle (Novak – Race Director) and I haven’t seen eye-to-eye all the time. It’s a hard spot to be in. It’s a tough and pretty thankless job. Hopefully the new group can be truly independent, give an honest take on every situation, and hear us out so, at the end of the day, we all feel like we’ve been respected and our views have been shared, whether we agree or not.”
“Obviously, the owner of the series also has a race team,” said Pato O’Ward. “We don’t want conflicts of interest. It’s good to have people that have nothing to do with and are not paid by him. They are? Separate, not separate. We just want things to be fair.”
“It’s good to put some distance between Penske and the series,” said Felix Rosenquist, returning for his third season at Meyer Shank Racing. “With the situation, you need to create a barrier between the two. They’re doing the right thing. You can defend that fact more that Penske is running the series. I’d rather go on Twitter reading about great racing than reading about Penske this or that.”
Freedom 250 Added in Washington DC
INDYCAR announced the addition of the Washington DC temporary street course, around the Capitol, that will take place August 23, increasing the season to 18 events.
“It’s a massive opportunity for INDYCAR,” said Graham Rahal. “If you really are an INDYCAR fan, this is a huge opportunity that’s been given to us. Hasn’t been given to NASCAR, not to Formula 1, it’s been given to INDYCAR.
“Obviously I’m a patriotic guy,” continued Rahal. “No matter who’s in the White House, I don’t care who it is, racing in Washington is awesome, particularly in the National Mall, where one of my favourite things to do is go to walk around at night, see and understand the history.
“We have a lot of potential sponsors that are looking at the sport right now,” added Rahal. “They’re really all rallying around this 250th anniversary, and what that can do for them. Particularly, our sponsor is very patriotic. This is a great opportunity for our team in particular to lure in some more partners. We’ve all been talking for years about getting opportunities to go to street courses and new venues. It’s all laid out there on a grand stage and would be great for the sport of INDYCAR.”
New FOX Commercials
For the second season, all 18 races – six ovals and five road and seven street courses – will be televised live on FOX Network in the US. Now that FOX has purchased a one-third interest in the series, drivers Newgarden, O’Ward, Palou, and Power will be featured in their clever and humorous ads to entice new viewers. Pato O’Ward’s commercial shows him driving a garbage truck as he haphazardly races through the neighbourhood.
Asked which driver’s garbage can he’d like to obliterate, O’Ward answered, “Palou’s. We keep saying he can’t raise the bar from the previous year. I have no idea how he’s going to raise the bar from last year (eight wins). If he does, then everyone is toast. We have got to keep chasing, keep on going, and see how we can make him slow a little bit. It’s been too easy for him.
“Obviously, I don’t want to trash his car,” admitted O’Ward. “I want to be able to beat him. There’s a lot of drive and hunger, not just from me but from the team. Everybody else in the paddock wants to do exactly that. It’s such a competitive championship. I do think Palou and Ganassi have made it look very easy.
“It’s just important to make sure we execute,” continued O’Ward. “We can’t have the little slip-ups that you might see. We’re still striving for that perfection. That’s what you see from the 10 car. It’s what you see a championship-winning car have. If they do have a slipup, it’s usually quite small. It’s important for us to focus on what we can control, which should put us in a pretty healthy spot getting into Laguna at the end.”