And just like that, the IndyCar season reaches the halfway mark. Sunday’s 10th edition of the Bommarito 500 is the ninth race of the 18-race calendar for 2026, It just seems wrong to be halfway done with the year before mid to late June.

The good news is the series takes a short but welcome break after this weekend. The next race is June 21 at Road America. Teams and drivers have been going for five consecutive weeks. After Road America, the July schedule lightens up before a packed August.

Your intrepid reporter, however, has a very busy June ahead, covering this race and Road America on site, then taking a short trip to Ireland for a real vacation..

The focus for World Wide Technology is on the drivers, mainly Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, and David Malukas. This track is one of Palou’s worst tracks statistically. The two drivers with any reasonable chance at catching the four-time champion, Malukas and Kyle Kirkwwood, hope his record here continues. Kirkwood won this race last year, while Malukas seeks his first series win. Many expect him to get that victory Sunday.

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is the only night race in 2026. Night racing on an oval is IndyCar’s best product. the series needs to add at least one more in the future. After sundown the track cools, and cars that were quick in the afternoon slow down while others come into their comfort zone. The green flag is schedule right at sundown. The first 30 minutes will be run during twilight.

Playing with Pain

Josef Newgarden has won this race five times, and he was well on his way to victory in 2025 before a wild crash ended his night. He comes into the 2026 race still nursing a foot injury suffered in the Indianapolis 500. Newgarden finished 10th at Detroit aft6er starting 21st. I still think he should be a contender at Gateway.

Kirkwood is the defending winner. he was in contention at Phoenix and should be strong this weekend. He needs to gain as many point as he can on Palou Sunday.

Malukas has performed well at This venue. He has two second place finishes, and he challenged Team Penske in a Dale Coyne car a couple of years ago. Is this race his breakthrough win?

Weather could throw a wrench into what looks to be another outstanding race in front of a packed grandstand. While Saturday’s forecast has improved to the point that only the final practices may be iffy, Sunday is still Monday morning, the dynamics will be drastically different. Fingers crossed.

If everything is on schedule, I think David Malukas gets his first IndyCar win, and it may not be his last in 2026.