Some Thoughts on the 2027 Schedule

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In what seemed a strange move, IndyCar announced the first half of the 2027 schedule yesterday. I don’t really see the point of announcing a partial schedule. Perhaps there are some things in the works for next July and August that need a lot of work, but I would prefer to wait and announce the full schedule at one time.

Most of the dates were already known from NASCAR and IMSA schedules which have shared dates. The date for Barber was new information as were the test dates.

IndyCar starts 2027 with he same three races which began 2026- St. Pete March 7; Phoenix March 14; and Arlington March 21. Beginning the season with three straight races is a great early momentum builder, but I don’t like the March 21 conflict with the Sebring 12 hour weekend. As much as I love IndyCar, Sebring is my first choice that weekend, and it has that weekend longer. IndyCar should leave that weekend blank and go to Arlington the following week.

I am happy to see Barber return to April, although later in the month would be better when the landscaping begins to bloom.

After Long Beach comes am nearly four week gap between races. That might be a great spot for Gateway. It won’t be too hot at that time of year, and it’s close enough to IMS for teams to move into the track for May.

Ironically, my favorite part of the new schedule is not any of the races, but the May 4-5 open oval test days. Two more days of cars on track in Ma-, early May as well- extends the month which goes to its proper and rightful date of May 30. 2027 will be the best month of May in years.

Without a World Cup or Olympics to schedule around, the rest of the summer schedule should be more evenly distributed between July and August without huge gaps of idleness. It would be nice to have two races in September, too.

I realize scheduling is difficult, and I’m anxious to see what bthe rest ofn2027 will look like. Overall, the start of next season looks promising.

The schedule, including tewt dates:

Feb. 23-24: Phoenix Test
March 5-7: St. Pete
March 12-13: Phoenix
March 19-21: Arlington
Apr. 2-4: Barber
April 16-18: Long Beach
May 4-5: Indy 500 Test
May 14-15: Sonsio GP
May 30: Indy 500
June 4-6: Detroit

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham Fast Facts

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Race weekend: Friday, Aug. 14-Sunday, Aug. 16

Track: Streets of Markham, a 12-turn, 2.19-mile (3.52-kilometer) temporary street course

Race distance: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham: 90 laps/197.1 miles/317.2 kilometers

Push-to-pass parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.

Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 360 kilojoules (kJ) per lap.

Firestone tire allotment: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

X: @ontario_indy, @IndyCar, #indyON #IndyCar

Instagram: @ontarioindy, @INDYCAR, #indyON, #INDYCARThreads: @INDYCAR @ontarioindy

Facebook: @ontarioindy, @INDYCAR, #INDYCARTikTok: @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR

YouTube: @INDYCAR

Event website: http://www.HondaIndy.com

INDYCAR website: http://www.INDYCAR.com

2025 race winner (Streets of Toronto):Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

2025 NTT P1 Award winner:Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), 59.8392 seconds, 107.461 mph (172.942 kph)

Qualifying record: New circuit in 2026

FOX Sports telecasts:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES:

Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (USA)/TSN+ (Canada) (live);

Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (USA)/TSN+ (Canada) (live);

Qualifying, 2:25 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live) (USA)/TSN5/TSN+ (Canada);

Warmup, 8:30 a.m. ET, Sunday FS2 (USA) Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, noon ET, Sunday, FOX (USA)/TSN1/TSN4/TSN+ (Canada) (live).

Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.

INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Alex Wollf, Joel Sebastianelli and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham race (11:30 a.m. ET Sunday) can be heard live on network affiliates nationwide.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, NTT P1 Award Qualifying (2:25 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices also air live on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, Aug. 14 3:05-4:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (40 minutes for all cars, followed by two groups for 12 minutes each), FS2 (USA) /TSN+ (Canada), (Live)

Saturday, Aug. 15 10:05-11:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (40 minutes for all cars, followed by two groups for 12 minutes each), FS2 (USA) /TSN+ (Canada), (Live)

2:25-4 p.m. – Qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (USA) / TSN5/TSN+ (Canada), (Live)

Sunday, Aug. 16 8:40-9:10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS2 (USA), (Live)

Noon – FOX/TSN1 and TSN4 on air

12:15 p.m. – Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham “Drivers, start your engines”

12:22 p.m. – Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham (90 laps/197.1 miles/317.2 kilometers), FOX (USA) /TSN1/TSN4/TSN+ (Canada), (Live).

NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship factsAlex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with five races to go for the fifth time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. He also led the championship with five races to go in his championship-winning seasons in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Palou, who took the points lead at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, has led the point standings after 10 of the 13 races this season.

There are 12 drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Christian Lundgaard, Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson, Rinus VeeKay, Will Power and Scott Dixon. Any driver who trails the points leader by 216 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.

Since 2008 when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 14th race of the season six times. The most recent occurrence was 2025 when Alex Palou won at Laguna Seca. He also won the 14th race of 2021 at Portland. Other drivers to win the 14th race of their championship season were Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Dario Franchitti (2009 and 2010) and Scott Dixon (2008).

From 2009-2019, the eventual NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion won the Toronto race six times. Dario Franchitti won in 2009 and 2011. Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2012, Scott Dixon swept both races in 2013 and won the single race in 2018, and Josef Newgarden won in 2017. Seven other drivers have claimed the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season they won at Toronto: Bobby Rahal (1986), Al Unser Jr. (1990), Michael Andretti (1991), Alex Zanardi (1998), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Paul Tracy (2003) and Sebastien Bourdais (2004).Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the championship leader with five races to go has gone on to win the championship 11 times. Those drivers were: Scott Dixon (2008, 2018 and 2020), Dario Franchitti (2011), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Josef Newgarden (2019) and Alex Palou (2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025).Point differential: The 110 points that separate Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood are the second-largest point margin since INDYCAR SERIES racing was unified in 2008. Before this season, the average lead with five races to go since 2008 was 48.8 points.

INDYCAR Announces Phase One of 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule 

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From IndyCar. I have some thoughts which will be shared later today.

 Action-Packed Season Starts with Three Straight Races Barber Motorsports Park Returns to April Date All NTT INDYCAR SERIES Races Again To Air on FOX

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026) – INDYCAR has announced the return of a supercharged set of races to kick off the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season as part of “Phase One” of next year’s overall schedule. The spring event lineup includes another adrenaline-fueled launch with three straight weekends at: Streets of St. Petersburg, Sunday, March 7, Phoenix Raceway, Saturday, March 13,Streets of Arlington, Sunday, March 21.
INDYCAR announced the dates and locations for the first eight races of the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season as Phase One of the schedule unveiling.
For the third consecutive season, all NTT INDYCAR SERIES races will be broadcast on FOX, with three additional appearances scheduled during the two days of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and coverage of Miller Lite Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is once again the only premier motorsport series in North America with all races broadcast on network television.
During the current NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, viewership is up 16% from the previous season, creating the highest viewership of the championship since 2008.

“It has been another remarkable year of growth through our powerful partnership with FOX Sports, and we look forward to focusing on even greater opportunities through the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said.
“We are pleased to confirm Phase One of next year’s championship alongside another accelerated start with races in St. Petersburg, Phoenix and Arlington. 2026 has been proof of concept that our sport is fueled by an expanding presence across marquee events and destinations, and we look forward to carrying that momentum into 2027.”

2027 will mark the second consecutive year – and just the fifth time in the 118-year history of the INDYCAR SERIES – that a season begins on three consecutive weekends.
The Sunday, March 7 race on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, will be the 17th time the championship will open in the Sunshine City. Following the season debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns for another joint showcase weekend with NASCAR in partnership with FOX Sports at Phoenix Raceway.
The Saturday, March 13 race will be the 66th time the INDYCAR SERIES has raced on the historic 1-mile desert oval. The 2026 race featured 565 on-track passes – the most on record for the INDYCAR SERIES at Phoenix Raceway.
A week later, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to the 14-turn, 2.73-mile Streets of Arlington circuit for the second Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. The tentpole event unites three championship organizations: INDYCAR, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment, the official events partner of the Texas Rangers. The sold-out inaugural race featured the season’s fastest trap speed on a street circuit at 192.298 mph by Kyle Kirkwood before being won by the Andretti Global driver
.“The start to this year’s 2026 season was action-packed, and it’s gratifying to know the stage is set for a return to that frantic pace in 2027,” 
INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said.
“St. Pete has become an ideal host to begin our season, and the reaction to the series’ return to historic Phoenix Raceway made our partnership with NASCAR and FOX all the more special. To finish that stretch with a marquee event on the Streets of Arlington will be a fitting way to lead into another heated season-long battle for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.”
The spring portion of the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule continues Sunday, April 4 on the series’ first natural terrain road course of the season and a return to the “Augusta National” of racetracks at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It is the 17th INDYCAR weekend at the picturesque, dynamic and physically demanding track.
Two weeks later, the season returns to the palm tree-lined Streets of Long Beach for the iconic Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 18. The legendary event set a modern-day record with over 200,000 in attendance in 2026. The 2027 edition will extend the longest-running street circuit event on the calendar, as this will be the 43rd time the INDYCAR SERIES has raced on the sunny Southern California streets.
Another thrilling Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway follows the Streets of Long Beach and begins on the challenging road course for the Sonsio Grand Prix, Saturday, May 15. It is the 13th time the 2.439-mile circuit has set the stage for the month’s remaining events.
Attention then turns toward the famed 2.5-mile oval the following week leading to PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend on Saturday-Sunday, May 22-23.
A week later, the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is set for Sunday, May 30. The 2026 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” featured a race-record 70 lead changes and the closest finish in race history when Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian edged David Malukas of Team Penske by just .0233 of a second.
The 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule continues with the traditional post-May visit to the Streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, June 6. The 2026 race, won by Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, featured the most on-track passes on a street circuit this season.

2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open TestsFor the second year, the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season calendar will begin with the Unser INDYCAR Open Test on Tuesday-Wednesday, Feb. 23-24 at Phoenix Raceway. The two-day test will not only prepare all teams for the season ahead but also the series’ race at the desert oval the following month. Additional details of the test, named in honor of the Unser family and their accomplishments at their home track, will be announced at a later date
.In preparation for the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, the Indy 500 Open Test is set for Tuesday-Wednesday, May 4-5 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – between NTT INDYCAR SERIES races on the Streets of Long Beach and the IMS road course. The two-day test allows additional track time for all teams, including rookies looking to complete the Rookie Orientation Program. Testing hours will be shared later.
Phase Two of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, featuring the remaining 2027 race dates, will be released in the coming weeks. Tune-in times for next season’s events will be announced at a later date. The 2027 schedule for INDY NXT by Firestone, INDYCAR’s developmental series, also will be announced at a later date.

2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE – PHASE ONE 
Date Venue Television
Sunday, March 7 Streets of St. Petersburg FOX
Saturday, March 13 Phoenix Raceway FOX
Sunday, March 21 Streets of Arlington FOX
Sunday, April 4 Barber Motorsports Park FOX
Sunday, April 18 Streets of Long Beach FOX
Saturday, May 15 Indianapolis Motor Speedway RC FOX
Sunday, May 30 The 111th Indianapolis 500 FOX
Sunday, June 6 Streets of Detroit FOX

Portland Wrap Up

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Portland is a place of contrasts. The track is a natural road course which races like a street course. The downtown area has the feel of a St. Pete or Long Beach interesting shops and restaurants on streets that could become a challenging track though they streets are quite narrow,

While Sunday’s Only Bulls Grand Prix lacked much drama or excitement and some fans are clamoring for a different venue, I enjoy visiting the Pacific Northwest. I am not sure where another place in that region could be found in the United States. Perhaps a return to Edmonton or Vancouver in Canada would be great, and maybe those cities could offer better acing, but how many races does the series want outside of the United States?

Until a place in the area can be found which could potentially improve racing and attendance, I’m fine with staying in Portland. As I mentioned, I like the city a great deal. It is easy to walk around, and it suits my weirdness.

Before we move on to Markham, I will share a fcew more photos taken by my friend Brad Proctor over the wekend/

Quick Thoughts- Portland Grand Prix

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Another IndyCar race. another Alex Palou win. Palou has won 14 races over the last two years with his sixth win of 2026.

Palou won in typical fashion, using an overcut on the first pit stop to get ahead of felix Rosenqvist. Except for pit sequences, Palou never looked back, building a lead of more than seven seconds at times.

In the post race press conference, Palou said he was surprised at how good the alternate tires were, and he credited that stint for helping him stay far ahead.

It was a repeat of Long Beach for felix Rosenqvist. He and Palou started on the front row, but Palou won and Rosenqvist finished second.

A Great Day for Andretti

Will Power finished third, Kyle Kirkwood fifth, and Marcus Ericsson sixth for Andretti Global as the team continues to improve their road course program.

Will Power said that with the progress the team has made this year, next year should be very interesting.

Kirkwood retook second place in the standings, but he is now two full races behind Palou. With five races left in the season, overtaking the leader is close to impossible.

The Invisible Man

Rinus VeeKay finished fourth after a spirited battle with Kirkwood, probably the best battle of an otherwise lackluster day. The driver from the Netherlands continues to shine on a team operating without a technical alliance with a larger team.

It is time for a major team to pick him up., but I don’t see anywhere else he can be for 2027.

VeeKay is 10th in the standings, just nine points out of ninth. He has three top fives and five top 10s this year, and he has been a regular member in the Fast Six qualifying.

Notes

Why do all of Honda’s issues fall on Marcus Armstrong? Today is at least the third mechanical issue he has encountered since Road America.

Christian Lundgaard had a sensational drive from 25th to ninth. He was the entire show early ib=n the race as he steadily moved forward.

Attendance seemed to be down from the last two races here, and I’m not sure why. The racing has not been great since IndyCar returned in 2018, and today’s race was less than exciting.

I will have a more in depth wrap up on Tuesday. I will be spending the entire day tomorrow traveling.

Thanks for following along this weekend.

5th to 10th

Race Day- Will Portland Change the Title Picture?

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Today’s scheduleL All times Pacific

10 am- IndyCar warmup FS!

11 am Indy NXT race FS1

1 pm- IndyCar race-FOX

1:27 pm- Green flag

Good Race Day morning from Portland. Cooler temperatures are in store with a predicted green flag reading of 75 degrees. The Only Bulls Grand Prix will determine how the rest of the season plays out for the championship.

An Alex Palou win pretty much means game over as far as anyone else’s title hopes. One of Palou’s three closest pursuers must finish ahead of the four time champion. Of those drivers, Kyle Kirkwood is in the best position to do that. Kirkwood starts seventh, the highest among the three drivers in pursuit of Palou. David Malukas will roll off 15th after his penalty is assessed, and Christian Lundgaard starts 25th after a hybrid issue and penalty in qualifying.

Portland is a track position race, and pit strategy is crucial. Caution flags could be few and far between after whatever chaos occurs in turn 1 of the opening lap. I expect a three stop race today.

Felix Rosenqvist has a chance to finally convert a pole position into a race victory. He nearly accomplished the feat in long Beach in April, but a pit stop glitch on the last stop allowed Palou to get ahead of him.

I am looking at the winner coming from row 2 today. Will Power will continue his Portland dominance today.

I’ll be back before the race with warm up results and starting tire selections.

Portland Pole- Rosenqvist Keeps on Truckin’

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Photo by Brad Proctor

On the final lap in the final seconds Félix Rosenqvist snatched the pole from Alex Palou for tomorrow’s Only Bulls Grand Prix at Portland. The winning lap of 58.4828 seconds edgedthe championship leader by 0.0148 seconds.

“We weren’t super quick yesterday, so a great comeback today by the team,” Rosenqvist said.

Favorites like Kyle Kirkwood fell out of the top six in Round Two. The Fast Six had Rosenqvist, Palou, Will Power, Rinus VeeKay, Marcus Ericsson, and Kyffin Simpson’

VeeKay is becoming a Fast Six regular while Simpson and Ericsson have had occasional visits to the final round. Power got through the second round with a wild lap fighting for control of the car to squeeze in at the checkered flag.

Scott Dixon was not as fortunate. Dixon clipped the Armco in turn 1, looped the car, and tried to make up for lost time. His suspension had broken giving no chance to improve his time.

Honda ruled the day. Rinus VeeKay is the only Chevy to make the Fast Six, and with David Malukas moving to 16th place with his penalty, Honda starts the race with 11 of the top 12 cars.

While Rosenqvist went on to the pole, teammate Marcus Armstrong finished a disappointing 21st. Christian Lundgaard had a hybrid issue and will start 25th.

That will do it for today. Thanks for following along.

Morning warn up is at 10 am Pacific tomorrow on FS1.

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