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Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) The right strategy at the right time. After running outside the podium places for the first half of the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, Alex Palou caught a caution to assume the lead and led 97 laps en route to his first career victory at Nashville Superspeedway. “I'm so happy. I knew we had a great car. It's one of those tracks that we've been struggling in the past. I know last year we w

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2026) Consistently in the conversation. Like clockwork, Rinus Veekay finds himself up front when INDYCAR takes to the oval. He continued his recent hot streak with a ninth-place qualifying effort ahead of the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix. "Felt good. I think we got the car balanced very well from this morning, where it was a reasonable temperature to an absolute desert,” Veekay said. “I think we ba

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2026) Christian Lundgaard delivered a strategic masterclass to earn his second straight road-course win with Arrow McLaren. He rallied back from a broken front wing to take the lead from a dominant Marcus Armstrong and hold off the field on a one-lap shootout. “We've both [Car Chief Chris Lawerence and Lundgaard] been so confused this weekend. This is not where we expected to be,” Lundgaard said. ”The key tha

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2026) It’s never safe to bet against Josef Newgarden at WWT Raceway. He added a sixth victory to his all-time wins total at the racetrack, taking the lead from Christian Rasmussen with 24 laps to go and holding off a late charge from a dominant Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson and Rasmussen round out the podium positions. "Everything felt pretty good tonight. The car was fast, felt normal. It was great. I'm just hap

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2026) Myles Rowe rewrote history at World Wide Technology Raceway, going from last to first to win his third career INDY NXT victory. He became the first driver to win an INDY NXT race after starting in the rear. Alessandro de Tullio and Josh Pierson rounded out the podium places in second and third, respectively. “I knew just the pace of the car, I knew with the right technique and just execution and patienc

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2026) Alex Palou continued to dominate on the timing sheets, earning his fourth straight NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position. He outpaced championship adversaries David Maulkas and Kyle Kirkwood, who line up second and third for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Even with the pole, Palou remained hesitant on his pace for the Bommarito 500. Yet, it was his increased preparation and focus around the track that m

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Street courses are always a wildcard on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, as heavy braking zones and tight-knit racing are a recipe for trouble. This could not be truer in Sunday afternoon’s edition of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, as Palou stayed ahead of the chaos between cautions for his fourth victory of the season. "It was not an easy day at all. It was not like a straight -- there's races w

EDDIE KALEGI: STAFF WRITER Pictured left to right, the front row starters for Sunday's Indianapolis 500. David Malukas (left) 3rd, Alexander Rossi (center) 2nd, and Alex Palou (right) 1st. [Photo Credit: INDYCAR on X, May 18, 2026] On Sunday afternoon in Indiana, 33 cars will hit the track for the most storied race in motorsports, the Indianapolis 500. Below is everything YOU need to know ahead of the 110th installment of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Man on Top Fou

EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER Alex Palou celebrates his third win of 2026, and his first career victory at Long Beach. (Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment, April 19, 2026) Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach had no shortage of drama, particularly on pit road and hours after the race. An underrated driver from an underrated team dominated qualifying and much of the proceedings, but INDYCAR’s star remained inevitable. Here are four takeaways from what we saw in round 5 of the

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Alex Palou put on a dominant performance around Barber Motorsports Park for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, leading 79 laps en route to his second win of the season on Sunday. His perfect day was cemented by a significant gain in the point standings, as his 21st victory vaulted Palou two points behind championship leader Kyle Kirkwood. "I'm glad the 13th pole didn't affect the result. Th

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Redemption. After getting spun from the lead by Max Taylor in the first race of INDY NXT’s doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park, Alessandro de Tullio gets his redemption, leading 30 laps for his first INDY NXT victory on Sunday. Max Taylor and Nikita Johnson rounded out the podium. “It's a great feeling to finally get it done here. We had some racing stuff happen in Arlington, starting on pole. S

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Alex Palou sweeps Saturday sessions with his second consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position at Barber Motorsports Park on March 28. He cemented a dominant day for Honda, with all five of its teams represented in the Fast Six. " Very happy, obviously. I was very happy with the car this morning in practice two compared to yesterday," Palou said. "Feel like yesterday we were missing a little bit o

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Nikita Johnson was three seconds back from the lead with nine laps to go. All it took was lap traffic to change the complexion of the race, as Max Taylor utilized the traffic to catch and pass leader Alessandro de Tullio, but an advantageous move by both drivers in turn 16 gave Johnson the victory. "It's great to win again. I can't thank the team enough for everything they've done,” Johnson said. “

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) A session filled with spins and destroyed racecars overshadowed a resurgence to the top of the timing sheets for Alex Palou in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES second practice session at Barber Motorsports Park. Palou leads championship foe Kyle Kirkwood, who remained in the runner-up position after both practice sessions. With temperatures about 40 degrees colder than Friday’s practice session, lap times on

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026) Championship favorites couldn’t top the board. After Team Penske’s difficult weekend in Arlington, the trio of Scott McLaughlin, David Malukas and Josef Newgarden dominated NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ first practice session at Barber Motorsports Park. The Chevrolet-powered team showed the most consistency between the two tire compounds, but were scattered through the top-10 once the field put on the altern

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributo r Marvin Hernandez Jr. (Motorsports Today 2025) Once Kyle Kirkwood passed Alex Palou with 16 laps to go, he didn’t look back, holding the four-time champion for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Grand Prix victory. Kirkwood capped off a dominant weekend by Andretti Global, as the team led 47 laps with all cars finishing inside the top four. "I passed Palou, which is a very rare thing to say, in a race” Kirkwood said. “It was

EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER Josef Newgarden celebrating his win at Nashville Superspeedway last season. (Photo Credit: Casey Shepherd, Motorsports Today, August 2025) Just like INDYCAR’s most recent trip to the desert in 2018, Saturday afternoon’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway ended in a Josef Newgarden win, a much-needed victory to set the tone for a resurgent season for Team Penske. Newgarden’s teammate David Malukas started from the pole for the first time in his NT

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Marvin Hernandez Jr. (Motorsports Today, 2026) Alex Palou remained untouchable on the Streets of St. Petersburg, leading 59 laps en route to his 20th career victory. After taking the lead by overcutting the field during the first set of green-flag pit stops, the Spaniard pulled out a 12.4-second lead on the rest of the field, the largest winning margin in Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg history. "I was sad last year that the season

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Marvin Hernendez Jr (Motorsports Today, 2026) Nikita Johnson ends Max Taylor’s perfect weekend, passing him on the opening restart of the INDY NXT by Firestone GP of St. Petersburg, leading 42 laps for his maiden INDY NXT SERIES victory on Sunday, March 1. "I knew I just wanted to get to the front," Johnson said. "That's the biggest thing. Just wanted to control the race. I know that I'm pretty good at that, so I knew that I was going to d

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor Marvin Hernandez Jr. (Motorsports Today, 2026) Scott McLaughlin took pole in Fast Six qualifying on the Streets of St. Petersburg ahead of Marcus Ericsson and rookie Dennis Hauger. Not only was it the 12th pole of the New Zealander’s career, but it was also his back-to-back poles for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. “Just really proud of the execution, because I felt like we nearly actually missed the [advancing past the first q