500 Entry List Nearing the Magic Number

thepitwindowLeave a comment

With yesterday’s confirmations of Takuma Sato and Helio Castroneves to ride in the 110th Indianapolis 500, the field stands at 31. There has been no formal announcement that Colton Herta will be in the fourth Andretti car, but from what I’m hearing, that edal is complete. The entry list then stands at 32.

The organization that acquired Prema is likely to enter one car, and I’m hearing Abel Motorsports may enter a car. Katherine Legge is working to secure a drive, but which team she would be with is unclear.

I see another 34 car entry list. The former Prema group is scrambling to have a car on track for Long Beach, so I can’t see them fielding two entries for Indy.

Here is a break down of the entry list as it stands now:


Chevy (16)
McLaren (4): O’Ward, Siegel, Lundgaard, Hunter-Reay
Penske (3): Newgarden, McLaughlin, Malukas
ECR (3): Rossi, Rasmussen, Carpenter
Foyt (2): Collet (R), Ferrucci
JHR (2): VeeKay, Robb
DRR (2): Daly, Harvey

Honda (15) (16 with Herta)
RLL (4): Rahal, Foster, Schumacher (R), Sato
AG (3): Power, Kirkwood, Ericsson, (Herta?)
CGR (3): Simpson, Dixon Palou
MSR (3): Castroneves, Rosenqvist, Armstrong
DCR (2): Grosjean, Hauger (R)

Notes

Curt Cignetti will drive the pace car for the 500. Details here:

Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti To Drive Indy 500 Pace Car

For the first time since 2008 IndyCar has averaged more than 1 million television viewers for the first three races. Whatever the series and its tv partner are doing, it’s working.

Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti To Drive Indy 500 Pace Car

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Two-Time National Coach of the Year To Lead Field to Green Flag

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, March 17, 2026) – Curt Cignetti, in celebration of Indiana University Football’s epic undefeated National Championship season, has been named honorary Pace Car driver for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.Cignetti will drive the all-new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X – the most advanced Corvette ever, designed and built right here in the United States – to lead the field of 33 drivers to the start of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Exact Pace Car details, including the one-of-a-kind Indianapolis 500 livery, will be unveiled at a later date.The 2026 Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 24, with FOX’s live coverage kicking off at 10 a.m. ET.

Cignetti and the Hoosiers have been on a meteoric and inspirational run following his announcement as head coach in December 2023. This includes a nation’s-best 27 victories across two seasons, a pair of College Football Playoff appearances and IU’s first national title (2025-26).Cignetti is the first-ever Division I head coach to start 8-0 or better in consecutive seasons at different institutions and the third ever to begin consecutive seasons at 10-0. He is also just the third Big Ten head coach to start each of his first two seasons with at least an 8-0 record.

He won 14 of the 17 national Coach of the Year awards for which he was eligible in his first two seasons at Indiana. Cignetti is the first FBS coach to win consecutive national Coach of the Year awards from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press, ESPN Home Depot, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation.

Along with the national accolades, Cignetti is the first coach to win both the Hayes-Schembechler (coaches vote) and Dave McClain (media vote) Big Ten Coach of the Year awards in consecutive seasons in conference history

.“Coach Cignetti will have our field in a special victory lap formation as he leads the stars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to the green flag at this year’s Indy 500,” INDYCAR and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said.

“His Hoosiers have been nothing short of remarkable, and their National Championship run inspired our entire state. He’s the perfect choice to drive the Chevrolet Pace Car, and I know his introduction on Race Day will bring out a special roar of appreciation from our crowd.”

Previous Indy 500 Pace Car drivers include Michael Strahan, Morgan Freeman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Robin Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Griffey Jr., Tyrese Haliburton and more esteemed Race Day guests

.FOX Sports is the exclusive home of all INDYCAR action, with all 18 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races set to broadcast on network television via FOX in 2026. This includes the world-famous Indianapolis 500, annually the largest single-day spectator sporting event on the globe.

Coverage of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will be extensive for fans across the country, with a six-hour Race Day window on FOX for the second consecutive year.

Tickets for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24 and all other Month of May events are available at IMS.com/Tickets or via the IMS Ticket Office at 317-492-6700.

Arlington Recap- Kirkwood’s Pace Overcomes Pit Stop Issuews

thepitwindowLeave a comment

The king of the streets has returned. Kyle Kirkwood used the blistering he showed on Saturday to pass Alex Palou on lap 55 to win the inaugural java House Grand Prix of Arlington. The win was the sixth of Kirkwood’s fairly young career. Five of the victories coming on street courses.

It was not an easy victory as Kirkwood had issues on two pit stops. A loose wheel nut rolled in front of Kirkwood’s car as left on his second stop, turning the nut into a missile which ricocheted off of the pit wall. His final stop was 9.5 seconds, nearly two seconds slower than Palou’s simultaneous stop as the right rear tire was slow getting on.

Kirkwood quickly brought the deficit down and made a brilliant pass in turn 13 to overtake the reigning series champion. Kirkwood expanded the lead to more than thre seconds before a caution for Christian Rasmussen slowed the field on lap 68. Kirkwood pulled away on the restart to begin the final lap as the yellow flew again Roman Grosjean and Nolan Siegel collided.

Thoughts

Will Power bounced back from his troubles during the first two weekends with a strong third place finish. Sunday was the first session in which he did not make contact with the wall or another car. Power led 16 laps, the same number of laps that both Palou and Kirkwood led.

In addition to Kirkwood’s pit woes, Andretti teammates Power and Marcus Ericsson also had difficulties in the pits. Ericsson finished fourth. The pace of the Andretti cars allowed them to overcome their long stops. Pit work cost Colton Herta a couple of races over the last two years. If the team can improve their service work, Andretti can be a consistent contender.

Phoenix was a tough act to follow, but I thought Arlington produced a good race. Several tire strategies were in play, and there were fights for the lead and some battles further back in the field. A pass for the lead with less than 20 laps remaining is always a good look.

The long street course with a wide surface helped produce the good racing. It was nice to see a street course with room to maneuver. From what I saw, the event was a huge success.

Teams on the Rise

Meyer Shank Racing and ECR are showing signs of gaining strength and being in the mix all season. Had Felix Rosenqvist not jumped the restart at the end, Meyer Shank was looking at having both cars finish in the top 10. Marcus Armstrong ended the day 10th, and Rosenqvist was in fifth before his penalty.

ECR saw both Alexander Rossi and Christian E=Rasmussen qualify in the top 10. Rossi came home ninth Sunday. Rasmussen ended last after his crash on lap 68. Rasmussen led most of the way last weekend at Phoenix before his incident with Power. Rossi has two consecutive top 10 finishes.

FOX

Some questions about the broadcast:

Will we ever get a live pit stop timer?

Can the network show a little more flexibility with commercial breaks? Yesterday ads were so frequent and ill timed that I thought there would be a commercial break when the leader got to turn 10 on the last lap. Full screen commercials late in the race were especially annoying.

Fast Six Shootout

I talked about the shootout Saturday in my post

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

A Welcome Break, then on to Barber

The series takes a short break next weekend before heading to Barber Motorsports Park.

The first three races have produced three different winners from three different teams and three different pole winners from two different teams. In 2025 IndyCar did not see a third different winner until Mid Ohio in July. I hope this competitive diversity continues.

A different driver has led the championship each week. It’s nice to see the title in doubt.

Race Day at Arlington

thepitwindowLeave a comment

A reminder that the green flag and broadcast windows have been moved up. The revised schedule\:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup 9:30-10:30 a.m. Eastern FS1. The session is from 9:50-10:10 am ET.

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Arlington 10:30-11:30 am ET FS1. Green flag 10:45 a.m. ET (30-minutes).

FOX Pre-race show 11:30 a.m. ET

Java House Grand Prix of Arlington green flag 12 Noon ET, FOX

From yesterday:

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

Winds are predicted to be near or above 20 mph from the Northwest with gusts as high as 50 mph during the race. Had the race started at its original time, the winds would be stronger.

My pick for today is Alex Palou, who will also retake the points lead.

If you are at the track, stay safe.

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

thepitwindowLeave a comment

NOTE: Tomorrow’s Java House Grand Prix of Arlington has been moved up on hour. FOX will be on the air at 11:30 am Eastern time with the green flag at Noon Eastern. The change is due to predicted high winds later in the afternoon.

It has been 13 years since Marcus Ericsson won a pole position for a race. Today that streak ended as Ericsson won the pole in a new format for tomorrow’s IndyCar race at Arlington, Texas. Ericsson had the advantage of running his single Fast Six lap on warm tires, and his time stood up to a challenge by Alex Palou, the last driver on track.

“I’ve waited long enough; I can tell you that,” a jubilant Ericsson said. “I think 2013 was the last pole I had. I feel like this is a giant thing for me because of that. Two-hundredths of a second away at St. Pete.”

Ericsson’s winning margin was a bit less than half a second over the defending series champion.

Team Penske had won the pole in each of the first two races, with Scott McLaughlin in the top spot at St. Petersburg and David Malukas in first after qualifying at Phoenix. Today was not the team’s best day. While all three cars were very fast, Josef Newgarden hit the wall in morning practice, forcing him to go to a backup car. In qualifying Scott McLaughlin also made wall contact in Round 1. Malukas couldn’t quite find the speed he had earlier. No Penske car made the Fast Six.

Another pole favorite, Kyle Kirkwood, also missed the Fast Six. His teammates, Ericsson and Will Power, did get to the final round. Kirkwood starts seventh tomorrow.

For Power, today marks his first sign of success with the team after a difficult morning in which he made contact Scott Dixon.

Meyer Shank Racing put both of their cars in the Fast Six. Felix Rosenqvist will star fifth, and Marcus Armstrong rolls off sixth.

The New Fast Six

I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I was thrilled by it. I think the Fast Six format has potential with some tweaking. A better television presentation might have helped hold my interest more also.

Rule Changes: Ericsson seemed to have a big advantage going first since his tires were still warm from the end of Round 2. There are ways to remedy this. Here are some suggestions, not necessarily meant to be implemented as a group

  1. A 10 minute break allowing everyone’s tires to cool. OR
  2. The leader of Round 2 gets to choose when he makes his run. OR
  3. Tire warmers which must come off when the car on track is two corners from the alt. start line.
  4. Limit use of this format to tracks shorter than Arlington. I thought the length of the track contributed to some of the dullness of the shootout.

FOX could help viewer interest by providing sector times with comparison to where the leader was at a particular point on track. Showing times in green and red was a halfway job of marking progress. I want to know how much slower or faster t6he car is to the leader on the board. A map tracker would also help for the entire run.

Results

Qualifying Groups Set After Wild Practice 2

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Photo by Chris Jones, Penske entertainment

Kyle Kirkwood served notice that he is still the King of the Streets, leading today’s prequalifying practice period.

This morning’s Java House Grand Prix of Arlington practice 2 was not the smoothest of sessions. Red flags abounded, including one for a collision between Scott Dixon and Will Power.

Dixon spun, and he was backing his car up to turn around when Power rounded the blind corner and collided with he six time champion. The aftermath was much milder than their collision at road America in 2024. Still, it was Power’s fourth incident of the young season. Both cars were able to make repairs and return to the track.

Power finished with the fourth best lap while Dixon ended up 15th.

Josef Newgarden made contact with the right, sustaining damage which prevented his return to action. Newgarden, Friday’s leader, settled for 12th in practice.

As the green flag waved to start the first group portion of the session, the red flag came out as cars reached pit exit. Servers had somehow rolled a catering cart out onto the track at pit out. I’m sure this was a first year event issue, but how access even got to that point is puzzling.We have a new definition of fast food.

Qualifying begins at 2:30 pm Eastern on FS2.

Results