Shell Starship Returns to NTT INDYCAR SERIES for 2026 Season 

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From IndyCar:

 Energy-Efficient Class 8 Natural Gas Truck To Transport INDYCAR Administrative Trailer

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Feb. 27, 2026) – Shell and INDYCAR announced Feb. 27 that Shell Starship will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES transportation fleet for the 2026 season, continuing its role as a visible demonstration of advanced, lower-emissions freight technology operating in a motorsports series.Shell Starship, powered by a Cummins X15NTM natural gas engine and lubricated with Shell Rotella® natural gas engine oil, will be the transport vehicle for the INDYCAR Administrative Trailer, traveling to nearly every race on the 2026 calendar.

“Shell Starship is more than a concept; it’s a working demonstration of what’s possible when advanced vehicle design, efficient powertrains and renewable fuels come together,” said Thomas Mueller, general manager of Commercial Road Transport at Shell.
“Returning to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2026 allows us to continue learning in real-world conditions while supporting a partner that shares our ambition to advance more sustainable mobility solutions.”

The return builds on a successful debut season in 2025, when Shell Starship joined the series following the Indianapolis 500 and became the first natural gas-powered Class 8 truck to operate within a national racing series fleet in North America. For the 2026 season, the anticipated plans for Starship are to increase the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) compared to the 2025 season.

“INDYCAR is continuously evaluating ways to grow on and off the track – including how we move people and equipment,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “The Shell Starship program helps us assess advanced vehicle technologies and renewable fuel solutions in a meaningful way and support our sustainability goals, demonstrating solutions that can scale beyond racing. Judging by how many times Shell Starship is photographed in the paddock, it is clear our fans enjoy the program, as well.”

In addition to its logistics role, Shell Starship will have multiple marquee moments throughout the 2026 season, including:Leading the truck parade at the Java House Grand Prix of ArlingtonParticipating in the 500 Festival Parade ahead of the Indianapolis 500.
A feature in INDYCAR video game titles for console and PC, produced by iRacing Studios
Shell Starship’s return builds on the broader collaboration between Shell and INDYCAR, including Shell’s role as Official Fuel of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the introduction of 100% renewable race fuel in 2023. By returning to INDYCAR in 2026, Shell Starship continues to demonstrate how advanced vehicle design, efficient powertrains and renewable fuels can support lower-carbon, real-world logistics, on race weekends and beyond.

For more information about Shell Starship and Shell’s work in transport decarbonization, visit shell.com/starship. 

Good Morning from St. Pete

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Greetings from cool, cloudy, foggy St. Petersburg as activity is already underway for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. USF 200 just completed qualifying, and Mazda MX-5 Cup cars will qualify in about 15 minutes.

As you can see from the photo, the fog has not completely left,m but the sky is getting brighter, but still cloudy. IndyCar is still scheduled for a 1:35 practice session.

The morning began with some major news. Chip Ganassi and McLaren have reached an unspecified settlement in thel awsuit in which McLaren was awarded $12 million dollars. Ganassi said he and Zak Brown had “a good conversation.”

Chip Ganassi Racing and A;ex Palou each issued statements about the settlement>

I am glad that this matter is closed. It has been a lingering cloud over the series, and I’m sure it was on Palou’s mind as well.

10 Titles

It was a treat this morning when four time series champion Dario Franchitti and six time series champ Scott Dixon mad an appearance. Dixon is looking for his first win at St. pete and his 60th career victory this season. Franchitti, retired from IndyCar since 2013, will be driving in the NASCAR Truck series race tomorrow.

Dario said he wasn’t nervous yet, but might be once he gets in the truck. Dixon was relieved that Franchitti isn’t coming back to IndyCar.

Both drivers expressed a desire to try out the Mazda MX-5 cup series some day.

Sorting

These photos are to help me mostly, but I hope it helps you keep these two cars straight starting Sunday.

Will Power is in this car:

David Malukas is in this car:

I hope this helps.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced a sponsor for rookie Mick Schumacher this morning.

Looking Around

As I walked around the track this morning, I noticed what seemed to be a significant increase in concessions, especially behind the first turn grandstands. It wasn’t too long ago that you mostly saw the grandstand structures and some port a potties. The area has become quite dense.

New and more numerous video boards are in place. There is one closer to turn 1, so the fans there don’t have to fight the glare of the sun to see the board just past the start/finish line across from the pits.

I will be back after IndyCar practice with a wrap up of the day.

St. Pete Preview-The New Season Begins

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In many ways the 2026 season starts just like most years do. Veterans are in new places, rookies are eager to prove they belong, some new sponsors are on board, and some new rules and procedures are in place.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s 22nd edition has all of the above. The focus as we begin a new season is mainly on three drivers- Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Alex Palou. Josef Newgarden also deserves some attention as well.

Power’s move to Andretti is arguably the biggest move in several years. Will he be able to push Andretti into the conversation a bit more? Andretti is the strongest team on street courses right now, and the early schedule has three street races among the first five races. The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner could get off to a good start with his new team.

Scott Dixon has won 59 times in his IndyCar career, and he will likely reach the magic 60 mark this season. Of all his victories, not one has come at St. Pete. Could 2026 be the year?

Alex Palou enters the season on the brink of matching Sebastien Bourdais with four titles in a row. I don’t think he will lead wire to wire in 2026, but he is still the odds-on favorite for the title. Palou is the defending winner at St. Pete, and there has been a trend of this race producing back-to-back winners.

Procedural Changes

IndyCar has made several changes in procedures and regulations effective immediately. At street course races teams must use two sets of alternate tires during the race and one set of primary tires. Each tire must run a minimum of two laps after the green flag waveThere has been a change to the alternate tires themselves. The green bands are gone for the street course tire. Alternate tires will have a red band at all times. The guayule compound is no longer used. Instead, the alternates are constructed with recycled parts of older tires.

I want to see how this plays out. St. Pete is a track which eats alternate tires, but I hear that Firestone has added some durability to the reds.

Road and street course practices have changed format, and as a result, so have the method for setting qualifying groups. Both oractice sessions for the weekend will begin with a 40 minute period for all cars, followed by two 12 minute sessions for half the field, determined by pit box position.

Qualifying groups are now set by the qualifying order of the previous event. For St. pete, last season’s entrant points will determine the qualifying groups. Pato O’Ward will lead Group 1, and Palou leads Group 2.

Like I am with ovals, I prefer to have qualifying set by the results of the current weekend. While I am fine with the practice modification itself, I would prefer qualifying groups set by times during the current weekend.

Race morning warmup will return to 30 minutes, and will be part of a one hour broadcast by FOX on FS1.

IndyCar has expanded the windows for sending lapped cars to the rear of the field on late race restarts. For St. Pete, the window begins with 20 laps to go.

Officiating

The Independent Officiating Board has yet to name a managing Director of Officiating for IndyCar, and has rehired the entire race directing and technical staffs that has worked the last few years.

The pace at which the board came together, and the retaining of personnel makes the whole process look cosmetic in nature. I hope there is a method to this madness, but right now it appears nothing has changed.

Today’s Schedule

All times Eastern

TimeSeriesSession
7:30 AMGates Open 
8:00 AM – 8:35 AMUSF2000Practice
8:55 AM – 9:40 AMMazda MX-5 CupPractice
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMUSF2000Qualifying
10:50 AM – 11:10 AMMazda MX-5 CupQualifying
11:30 AM – 12:10 PMUSF2000Race 1
11:30 AM – 12:30 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESAutograph Session – American Legion
in Firestone Fan Experience
12:30 PM – 1:15 PMINDY NXT by FirestonePractice 1
1:00 PM – 1:45 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesAutograph Session – Mahaffey Theater * Limited Wristbands Available
1:35 PM – 3:00 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 1
4:00 PM – 4:50 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesPractice
5:05 PM – 6:00 PMNASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck SeriesQualifying

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Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Begins

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While cars don’t get on track until tomorrow morning, the 22nd Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg officially began with the Chamber of Commerce Green Flag VIP and Media luncheon late Thursday morning.

Drivers from IndyCar, Indy NXT, NASCAR Trucks, and Mazda MX5 attended. USF2000 will also compete.

Seven IndyCar drivers – Will Power, Felix Rosenqvisrt, Marcus Armstrong, Dennis Hauger, Alex Palou, Ro Grosjean, and Scott McLaughlin attended the event.

I spoke to Felix Rosenqvist before the lunch. He told me that he had a good off season, and he is excited to welcome his first child in May. Rosenqvist likes the 2026 schedule’s fierce start with four races in five weeks.

“We all have all this energy at the start of the season, so mit’s good to get tomusee it every week, “he said.

Felix thought Phoenix was a fun track to drive, but he isn’t sure how it will race until all carsare on track racing.

The lunch event reflects the growth of the grand prix. Each year it seems better attended than the previous year. Today’ lunch was easily the most celebratory I have seen.

It’s great to be back in St. Pete to open the season, although it seems weird to come here as a visitor rather than as someone who lives just an hour away,

Look for my race preview tomorrow morning.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts  

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From IndyCar



Note: A digital copy of the 2026 INDYCAR Media Guide is available for download by clicking here. It is also available in the media guide section of the INDYCAR Content Site at http://content.indycar.com. A limited number of printed copies will be available beginning this weekend at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Race weekend: Friday, Feb. 27 – Sunday, March 1
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 50 seconds of total time
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 310 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 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 two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend, with one new set used for qualifying. Another new set may be used during the race. Two carryover sets from the preseason test at Miami International Autodrome may be used during the prequalifying practices.

X: @GPSTPETE, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @gpstpete, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR, @greensavoreeracingpromotions
Event website: www.gpstpete.com/INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2025 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIESAlex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)INDY NXT by FirestoneDennis Hauger (No. 28 Andretti Global)

2025 NTT P1 Award winner: Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet), 59.4624 seconds, 108.976 mph2025
INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Dennis Hauger (No. 28 Andretti Global), 1 minute, 3.8801 seconds, 101.440 mph
Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIESFelix Rosenqvist, 59.2706 seconds, 109.329 mph, March 9, 2024 (set in Round 2 of qualifying)INDY NXT by Firestone Dennis Hauger, 1 minute, 3.8801 seconds, 101.440 mph, March 1, 2025

FOX Sports telecast: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 1:35 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 4:35 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Warmup Show/Final Practice, 9 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1; Firestone Grand Prix of St, Petersburg, Noon ET, Sunday, FOX (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. |
 INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice 1, 12:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 8:30 a,m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 3:45 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Race, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Michael Young, Jake Query and Alex Hayden are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf and Ryan Myrehn are the pit reporters. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA

.At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, Feb. 27
12:30-1:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS2
1:35-3 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (two groups), FS2
Saturday, Feb. 28
8:35-9:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS1
9:35-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (two groups), FS1
3:45-4:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 10-minute session), FS2
4:35-6 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS2
Sunday, March 1
9:05-9:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS1
10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (45 laps / 81 miles / 55 minutes), FS1, FOX One and FOX Sports App (Live)
Noon – FOX Sports on air
12:22 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines.”
12:29 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (100 laps / 181 miles), FOX, FOX Sports Deportes, FOX One and FOX Sports App (Live)

“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT ST. PETERSBURG:
Palou begins historic title chase: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the fourth time in five seasons. The four-time series champion from Spain (2021, 2023-25) will look to make history by becoming the first driver since Sebastien Bourdais won four titles in a row for Newman/Haas Racing from 2004-07.
Dixon eyeing first St. Pete win: Scott Dixon has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 59 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list, behind Foyt’s 67. However, the streets of St. Petersburg might be his kryptonite. It is one of five tracks on the schedule where Dixon is winless and the one where he has the most starts (21). Dixon has been successful on the streets of St. Petersburg. Dixon has five runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.33 in his 21 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last 10 starts, including second in 2025.
Power plays poles at will: Will Power is the greatest qualifier in modern INDYCAR SERIES history, as his 71 career poles are the INDYCAR SERIES record. The tale of Power’s qualifying success is best told through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he has won nine of the last 16 poles. The only drivers to score a pole in the last 10 years in St. Petersburg not named Will Power are Robert Wickens in 2018, Colton Herta in 2021, Romain Grosjean in 2023, Josef Newgarden in 2024 and Scott McLaughlin in 2022 and 2025.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be the 23rd INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg. Alex Palou won the 2025 race, while Scott McLaughlin won the NTT P1 Award. Paul Tracy won the inaugural INDYCAR SERIES race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Sebastien Bourdais started from the pole that year.The St. Petersburg INDYCAR SERIES race has been held every year since 2003, except in 2004. No driver has competed in every St. Petersburg race, but Scott Dixon has started 21 consecutive races.Will Power (2010, 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019, 2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Seven past winners are entered: Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008), Scott McLaughlin (2022), Marcus Ericsson (2023), Pato O’Ward (2024) and Alex Palou (2025).Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg 11 times, including seven of the last 14 races with Helio Castroneves (2012), Will Power (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015-16), Josef Newgarden (2019-2020) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).Four drivers have won the race from the pole – Helio Castroneves (2007), Will Power (2010), Colton Herta (2021) and Scott McLaughlin (2022). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in five of the last 21 races.

Milestones: Scott Dixon is expected to make his 420th INDYCAR SERIES start, extending his INDYCAR SERIES record. Dixon has made 356 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Rookies Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debuts at St. Petersburg. Both Collet and Hauger have raced at St. Pete in INDY NXT by Firestone.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:Season starter: INDY NXT by Firestone drops the green flag on a new season on the streets of St. Petersburg for the 14th time in series history. The 17-race 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone calendar brings the series to many of North America’s most revered tracks joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the streets of St. Petersburg, Streets of Arlington, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, streets of Detroit, World Wide Technology Raceway, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Nashville Superspeedway, Portland International Raceway, Milwaukee Mile and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.Local favorite: Nikita Johnson of Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR is one of five native Floridians competing this weekend in INDY NXT by Firestone. The 17-year-old from St. Petersburg made his series debut in his hometown event in 2025 and won races at St. Petersburg in the series that feed INDY NXT. Other Florida drivers in the field include second-year driver JM Correa and rookie drivers Alessandro de Tullio, Enzo Fittipaldi and Max Garcia. All four hail from Miami.International flair: This weekend’s race will feature drivers representing nine countries. A total of 13 drivers represent the United States. There are three drivers from Australia, two from Mexico and one each from Brazil, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Scotland.
Welcome back: For the third consecutive season, INDY NXT by Firestone welcomes a new team to the paddock. Former series champions AJ Foyt Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing return to the series in 2026, running a pair of full-time cars beginning at St. Petersburg. The Foyt team won the first INDYCAR-sanctioned development series title in 2002. Indianapolis 500 competitor Cusick Morgan Motorsports also debuts in the series with a two-car effort.St. Pete precursor? Since 2005, a driver who won at least one race at St. Petersburg has gone on to win the INDY NXT by Firestone title seven times, the most recent being Dennis Hauger, who won the race in 2025. 

Palou Unveils 110th Indianapolis 500 Ticket 

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From IMS:

 INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026) – Four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou unveiled the ticket for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Tuesday, Feb. 24 in Indianapolis.
Palou earned his first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and one of the many honors bestowed upon the winner is unveiling the ticket for the next year’s race. Featuring the winning driver on the next year’s “500” ticket dates to Mauri Rose’s appearance in 1948
.Spain native Palou received a special DHL delivery at K1 Speed in Fishers. He opened the DHL packaging to reveal an enlarged version of the colorful ticket, featuring a photo of his jubilant celebration standing on his winning car following the victory.
“I always had to sign the ticket as a driver, and I always wanted be on the ticket,” Palou said.
“It’s amazing. I love it. It was probably the coolest day of my life, and I cannot wait to see it on a small scale all around IMS. It’s going to look good.”
Designed in house by Senior Art Director Mandy Walsh, the ticket celebrates the excitement of Palou’s first “500” victory with his full-color image superimposed over an overhead shot of his car crossing the famed Yard of Bricks. The ticket also features a patriotic flair to celebrate the nation’s military, which is honored throughout the storied event held annually during Memorial Day weekend, and the 250th birthday of the United States this year.
Palou will defend his victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday, May 24 in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with live coverage starting at 10 a.m. ET on FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Tickets for the Indy 500 and all Month of May activities are on sale at IMS.com, by calling the IMS Ticket Office at 317-492-6700 or by visiting the ticket office.

2026 IndyCar – A Look to the Future with the Past in New Wrappers

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Changes both real and cosmetic marked the off season as the NTT IndyCar series prepares for the 2026 season opener at St. Petersburg this weekend. Old drivers are in new places, new drivers created new alliances, and a new officiating board kept the old staff intact. Some new regulations just dropped as I began this post. Let’s break it down.

Keep That Scorecard Handy

Of the drivers who switched teams, Will Power in car 26 for Andretti Global is the biggest shock of all. After 18 years with Team Penske, remembering that Power is not in the 12 will take a couple races to sort out.

Meanwhile, David Malukas moves into Power’s old ride. While people will be watching Power, a critical eye will be on Malukas. The new Team Penske driver has yet to win a race, and I’m not sure how long a leash he will have at Team Penske. I think Malukas enters the season in a very warm seat.

Two moves I found puzzling. Rinus VeeKay had a very good season at Dale Coyne in 2025, and I thought something nice was in the making there. But VeeKay informed Coyne late in the season that he was joining Junco Hollinger Racing for 2026. If a driver changes teams, it is ususally to go to a better situation. This move Sees VeeKay staying at the same level.

Dale Coyne finally announced his second driver, and Romain Grosjean returns yto where he began his IndyCar career. Nothing against Romain, but I thought this was a strange hire given some of the other candidates for that car. I hope Romain can serve as a mentor for rookie Dennis Hauge.

A Strong Rookie Class

The Three rookies, Dennis Hauger at Dale Coyne Racing Caio Collet at A. J. Foyt Racing, and Mick Schumacher at Rahal Letterman Racing, bring great credentials to the series. Hauger won the IndyNXT championship last year, and Collet finished second in the junior series. Schumacher is a former F1 driver who shined in F2.

Give Schumacher half a season to

learn how things work, and I think he just might win Rookie of the Year.

A Smaller Grid to Start

The grid for at least the first four races will have just 25 cars, as the team known as Prema is undergoing an ownership change. The new team has tentative plans to debut at Long Beach. It is possible that they enter just one car for the Indianapolis 500 as well.

The Schedule

The 2026 schedule is the best in a long time. I am happy to see the calendar grow to 18 races. I think a 20 race schedule is ideal. St. Pete begins a stretch of four races in five weeks to start the season and six races in five weeks to end the season. There are just two three week breaks, one after Long Beach and one after Nashville.

The new schedule creates a different dynamic to the season, and may make a Palou four in a row championship more challenging.

Four new venues- Phoenix, Arlington, Markham, and Washington, D. C., will add to the challenges for the drivers. While isn’t a new venue, this is the first time IndyCar will race on the new track configuration, added after the series last ran there in 2018.

Predictions

Don’t bet the house on these, but here are my predictions for 2026:

Championship- Alex Palou

Indianapolis 500- Pato O’Ward

Rookie of the Year- Mick Schumacher

First time winners- David Malukas and Marcus Armstrong

Will Power will win at least two races for his new team.

Nine different drivers will win at least one race in 2026.

I will post another article tomorrow discussing the officiating situation and the new tire rules and other procedures tomorrw. Then Iwill head to St. pete on Wednesday.

INDYCAR Officiating Ready for 2026 Season Opener in St. Petersburg 

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From IndyCar:

 INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, Feb. 23, 2026) – The Independent Officiating Board (IOB) remains focused on establishing and launching INDYCAR Officiating to clearly define operational and governance separation and transparency as preparations continue for the upcoming 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone seasons
.In the last few months, the IOB, with chairman Raj Nair, secretary and treasurer Ray Evernham and FIA appointee Ronan Morgan, has been diligent in the work needed to arrive to this point of the year, which has included the following:
Establishment of the not-for-profit INDYCAR Officiating Inc. corporation

Finalizing the 2026 INDYCAR Officiating budget

Reviewed INDYCAR’s established processes and personnel

Determined a need for additional experienced personnel for the tech team

Determined the need for a separate INDY NXT race director

Reviewed the steward positions and determined to make no changes

“The board has been meticulous and thorough in our review of INDYCAR’s officiating process and procedures,” board chairman Nair said. “While we are pleased with the early achievements, there is plenty of work still to do. Among our major goals is to implement a more detailed transparency reporting structure to teams – related to technical and race infractions – as well as establishing consistency of rule implementation and enforcement. As a collective, we are confident in the results our team will achieve over the season.”

The IOB also continues to interview candidates to find the perfect fit for the roles and responsibilities of the managing director of officiating (MDO). As the process of identifying the ideal person continues and until that hire is announced, the board plans to oversee general independent officiating operations.
“One of the clear takeaways as we analyzed INDYCAR officiating and operations has been that INDYCAR already greatly benefits from the knowledgeable and professional personnel in race control and technical inspection,” said board member Evernham.
“With that, combined with the expertise that the board brings, we are going to work with the current team members of each but will add additional resources and support.”

The three members of the IOB will attend and provide oversight for INDYCAR Officiating at the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg and will then share responsibilities over the initial races until the MDO can be secured.

Kyle Novak will continue as the race director and vice president of INDYCAR Officiating. Novak has served as the sport’s race director since the 2018 season and leads race control and circuit safety development. He is responsible for developing and enforcing NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone competition regulations.Also an attorney, Novak serves as one of 36 judges on the FIA Courts and hears cases as a member of the FIA International Tribunal and International Court of Appeal.

On the technical side, the IOB has determined that Kevin “Rocket” Blanch will continue as the INDYCAR Officiating’s technical director. Blanch will oversee the technical inspection process and will provide technical oversight and ensure compliance of aerodynamic and chassis regulations.Blanch joined INDYCAR in 2003 after serving six-plus seasons with Panther Racing, where he served as the team’s crew chief. During his tenure there, the team won two INDYCAR SERIES championships and earned 11 victories and five pole positions.

Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis will continue to lend their expertise as chief stewards for INDYCAR Officiating. Luyendyk, who has seven INDYCAR SERIES race wins – including two Indianapolis 500 victories, and Papis, a three-time INDYCAR SERIES race winner, have served as series stewards since their original appointment in 2016. Both officials are stationed in race control and monitor on-track sessions, review incidents for rule violations and enforce penalties.

Working with Blanch, the IOB has added Nick Allen as a technical inspection manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Allen brings over 20 years of experience as an INDYCAR race team mechanic and chief mechanic.
In the coming weeks, INDYCAR Officiating will add a tech inspection manager for INDY NXT and, working with Novak, a dedicated INDY NXT race director

.“The officiating in INDYCAR is not broken; in fact, racing series around the world could learn from its procedures and operation,” said board member Morgan.
“At this point, our opinion is that independent INDYCAR Officiating should be framed as a sensible evolution when it comes to general process. By providing and overseeing additional support, transparency and added separation between officials and series management, we firmly believe that INDYCAR Officiating is primed to be successfully implemented for the 2026 season.”

Coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, round one of the 18-race 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, begins at noon ET Sunday, March 1 on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One and the FOX Sports app. Coverage will also be provided by the INDYCAR Radio Network via SiriusXM Channel 2018 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.