2026 IndyCar Season Review

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Two words sum up the 2026 IndyCar season- Alex Palou. Palou cruised to his fourth straight series title and his fifth title in six years. Fans may get tired of his winning all the time, but they need to appreciate incredible talent we are witnessing. Sebastien Bourdais won four titles in a row from2004-2008. It may be another 20, years before we see such a feat again.

In 2025 Palou won four of the first five races; in 2026 the Spaniard too three of the first five events. Palou took the lead in the standings for good after winning at Long Beach. Josef Newgarden and Kyle Kirkwood each led the standings for brief periods.

Palou won the title by 86 points over Kirkwood. In 2025 he beat Pato O’Ward by 196 points. I don’t think he is getting nervous about how close the competition is getting.

While Palou piled up points, Kirkwood was in a three-way battle most of the season with David Malukas and Christiam Lundgaard for second place. The three swapped second place after every race, it seemed. None of the three could string together a series of good results, allowing the defending champion to pull further ahead each week.

The Racing Slips a Bit

Overall, the races in 2026 were not as good as they were in 2025. There were a few exceptions. like the Indianapolis 500, but the road and street courses seemed mainly uncompetitive.

I’m not sure if there were changes to downforce settings or if the hybrid unit is affecting the races, but I hope a solution can be found for 2027 so that we can enjoy the final year of the DW12 era.

Ovals and Rain

With the exception of Phoenix, rain impacted every oval race. The 500 went t5o caution then red for rain, Gateway was halted just past halfway, Nashville was postponed until the following day and the race distance change to an unsatisfying length, and the first Milwaukee race turned out to be the second Milwaukee race. The Saturday event stopped after 90 laps and finished Sunday late afternoon.

I have never seen a season with as many rain issues as we saw in 2026. I expect a completely dry oval season in 2027.

Steeping Up Their Game

The team and driver I was most impressed with in 2026 was Juncos Hollinger Racing and Rinus VeeKay. JHR had a lower tier team. In 2025 Conor Daly finished 18th in the standings in the number 76.

VeeKay, a driver who many thought had potential but had not displayed it consistently, had lingered in the middle of the pack with ECR and in 2025 with Dale Coyne.

VeeKay rose to 10th in the standings. He achieved the team’s second podium in history, with four results in the top five and four more in the top 10. VeeKay made three appearances in the Fast Six qualifying in the second half of the season.

Why a larger team didn’t sign him for 2027 defies logic. If VeeKay and the team have more consistency next season, I can see the driver from the Netherlands moving to one of the Big Four teams.

Things that Ended and Things that Somehow Didn’t Start

2026 saw two long term streaks end which involved two future Hall of Fame drivers. Scott Dixon did not win a race this year. he had won at least one race every season for 21 straight years. Will, Power also failed to add to his winning streak run of 12 consecutive seasons. I think Power will get to victory circle in 2027, but I am not so sure that Dixon will with his new team at McLaren.

Dixon also ended a 25-year run with Chip Ganassi racing. The New Zealander still sits second in career wins with 59. I would love to see him get number 60 before he retires.

Scott McLaughlin also ended a streak of 35 races without a win on Sunday at laguna Seca.

One thing that almost everyone was sure would happen in 2026 was David Malukas getting his first IndyCar victory. He moved from A. J. Foyt Racing to Team Penske. Malukas came close, losing the Indianapolis 500 in the closest finish in history. Malukas had three other second place results. He faded to fifth in the fin al standings.

Notes and Top Races

Palou won six times in 2026. He has won 14 of the 35 races over the last two years.

Eight different drivers won this season, which is about average for an IndyCar year. Seven drivers won races in 2025.

Best races: Indianapolis 500, Road America, Markham. This is the first time in the history of the coveted Pit Window Best Races Awards that a street course has made the list.

Thanks to you all for following along this season. Your support has been overwhelming. I am on track to have record readership for this humble little spot in Cyberspace.

There is more to come, soplease check back often during the offseason.

Laguna Seca Wrap Up

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The weekend belonged to Scott McLaughlin, who dominated from the pole position to win the Mission Foods Grand Prix, leading 87 of the 95 laps at Laguna Seca. It was another dull race at the California road course, which featured a few decent battles for position.

Mclaughlin won for the first time since August 2024 at Milwaukee, a span of 35 races. The Team Penske driver had a very strong second half of the season. He was arguably the fastest car at several August events, notably in Washington, D. C., where he edged ahead of winner Kyle Kirkwood only to hit the wall in the next corner.

Meanwhile, Kirkwood had his best career road course finish in second place. Staring sixth, it took Kirkwood just 20 laps to move into second place, where he stayed the rest of the day. His final stint on the alternate tire lasted too long to afford him the opportunity to challenge McLaughlin, but the Andretti driver secured second place in the standings by finishing second.

Five-time champion Alex Palou tried an alternative tire strategy, but it appeared he really wasn’t interested in challenging for the lead. With the title secured last week in Milwaukee, there was really no incentive to go after the win.

The best racing was a battle between David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist, who swapped positions for a couple of laps with a series of up and over moves. It was beautiful to watch them dice, but that was the highlight of the racing. Rosenqvist finished fourth and Malukas took fifth place.

A Great Day for ECR– Alexander Rossi started fourth and stayed at the front all day to grab his first podium for ECR since joining the team last year. The starting spot was the second time this season Rossi had made the Fast Six, buas the first time he maintained his spot. It was great to see the team finally put an entire race together.

Last IndyCar Race? Sunday may have been the final race in the series for Sting Ray Robb and Nolan Siegel, who finished 23rd and 24th respectively. Robb re3ceived a 10 second stop and hold penalty for punting Dennis Hauger on the first lap, and Siegel had a huge off-track adventure which put him at the tail end of the field.

Siegel has been let go by McLaren, and I have not heard of interest in picking him up by any other team. Juncos Hollinger Racing has been silent on their plans for Robb for 2027, and it is assumed he will not return.

Hauger Hangs On– Dennis Hauger won the Rookie of the Year title and held on to the final Leaders’ Circle spot despite being knocked out of the race on lap 1. Hauger’s future is uncertain at this time, but maybe getting into the Leaders’ Circle will help him keep his spot at Dale Coyne Racing.

Notes

Laguna Seca is gorgeous racetrack with many cool features in a beautiful setting, but the racing there is lackluster. It is not a good track for the season finale. IndyCar should end its season on oval. The racing will be better, and if we have ever again have a year with the title in doubt going into the final race, there is a better opportunity for some drama.

Make Laguna Seca an early August race, and have the final be a Saturday night race at Nashville in mid-September. Teams can still entertain sponsors in California, just a few weeks before the final.

FOX The broadcast was decent. Pit stop coverage with timers was the best all season. When McLauglin and Kirkwood pitted at the same time, we saw times for both leaders, and their exits off pit road were covered well. As usual, the booth did a great job explaining the different strategies.

I did not like the way the post race was handled. The winner got a laurel and hearty handshake, then it was “get out of the way- we have a champion to honor. We didn’t get to see the race podium.

I’m glad David Malukas didn’t get his first win yesterday. The significance and his celebration would have been severely muted.

Why FOX insists on putting Chris Myers on t6heir IndyCar broadcasts is defies my ability to comprehend. He is dismissive of the sport, he can’t get names correct, and acts like he would rather be anywhere else. What shame to honor a generational talent like Alex Palou with such a poor choice for emcee.

A Sad End to Winning Streaks– As expected, Scott Dion’s run of 21 straight seasons with at least one win, and Will Power’s 12-year streak both came to an end yesterday. Power had some opportunities for victory throughout the season, but Dixon never came close. The six-time champion earned just three top 10 results for the year.

Power had improved results the second half of his first year with Andretti, and I expect 2027 will bring better finishes. I hope Dixon’s move to McLaren will bring him back into contention.

Thanks for following along this season. I will have a season wrap up tomorrow, and on Wednesday I will cover the oval debut of the IR-28.

The Final Race Day- More than a Season Ends

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2 30 pm Eastern on FOX, Green flag at 3:06 pm Eastern

Welcome to the final race day of the 2026 IndyCar season. As usual the season ends much too early. In addition to the end of the season, two, possibly hree4 streaks may end today. Scott Dixon’s streak of 21 consecutive seasons with at least one victory will end, as Will Power’s 12 year win a season run. Scott McLaughlin starts on pole with a good chance to end his 35 race non winning stretch.

Today also marks the end of Scott6 Dixon’s 25 years at Chip Ganassi Racing. It was a generation of championships, wins, and excellent race craft. Alex Palou’s current run is amazing, and Palou is a generational talent, but I don’t see the finesse and craftsmanship that Dixdon has shown yet. He is getting there, though.

Race for First in Class– Who will take second place in the standings? If none of the drivers involved change starting positions, Kyle Kirkwood would take the runner-up spot. I’m sure Christian Lundgaard will move through the field, and Pato O’Ward wants to win three in a row. The spot will come dow3n to pit stops.

I’m always sad to see the season end, but I will enjoy today’s final race. The offseason should be quite busy with testing of the IR-28 which starts Wednesday. 2027 will seem like a long year.

I still look for Palou to win today’s race, putting an exclamation point on his fifth championship.

McLaughlin Edges Palou for Season’s Final Pole

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Scott McLaughlin had been hanging around near the front of the grid during the second half of the season, and today he finally broke through to capture the pole for the IndyCar season finale. He will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow hoping to break a 36 race winless streak.

“Since the thing left the hauler, this thing has been unreal,” McLaughlin said. “So stoked for Chevy to get the 250th pole, but I’ve got to try and transition this into a win. Really proud of everyone.

“We were a little bit lost there for a little bit, but to finally get back a little pace on road courses, which we’ve been a little bit lost, I’m really proud of Raul (Prados, race engineer) and the team.”

McLaughlin’s final lap was 0.0177 seconds better than the last circuit by five time series champion Alex Palou. who will start second.

Among the contenders for second place in the standings David Malukas- the longest shot for runner-up- starts fifth, Kyle Kirkwood line up sixth, Christian Lundgaard rolls off 11th after a penalty, and Pato O’Ward will try to advance from 12th.

Results

Signings: Schumacher to MSR; Daly to DRR

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Two teams announced additions to their 2027 lineups at the IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca the past two days.

Neither was a huge surprise.

On Friday Meyer Shank Raving confirmed that Mick Schumacher will drive the number 66 car, teaming with Marcus Armstrong. Schumacxher drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2026. He struggled on road and street courses, but seemed to adapt to ovals very quickly. He has a best finish of 9th place.

This afternoon at the conclusion of practice 2, new team Dreyer and Reinbold officially named Conor Daly to drive their entry in 2027 and beyond. The team also announced that they will use Honda power, a departure from the Chevy that powered the cars in their Indianapolis 500 entries the past few years. No number was announced for the car.

Daly drove for DRR in the 11th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. He was in contention for the win until the last segment of the race.

Ironically, both announcements have ties to RLL. Schumacher drove the car that RLL essentially sold the charter for to DRR.

Practice 2 Results- Laguna Seca

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Practice was shortened to a 25 minute all car session due to fence repair in the Corkscrew. A horrific crash in the Porsche race early in the morning caused the accident. Several feet of fencing had to be replaced.

Late word about the Porsche driver:

Results:

Practice is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm Eastern time.

I will have a post about driver signings up in a few minutes.