Tag: Alex Palou

Palou had ‘Fun;’ Found Some Speed

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Alex Palou had his turn in the IR-28 on the IMS oval Thursday. despite a stoppage for rain, the entire run plan for today got completed.

Today was cooler than Wednesday, and the new Indy race car responded. Some media members clocked speeds in the 217 mph range and a best lap pf 218.1 mph.

“Very fun,” the five-time series champion said. “At the beginning, it was super fun because it’s a new car and you’re back at the Speedway. Then you’re like, ‘Can we go faster?’ “

Palou said he had not talked with Alexander Rossi, who tested the car Wednesday, in detail.

 “I think he did a lot of basic stuff. Even us, we did a lot of basic stuff and trying to get a lot of data for Dallara itself to try and see what the car is doing when we get like crazy ride heights up, down, like just trying to get like basic numbers.”

“We got a lot more laps than I expected with the weather, and the car felt good,” Palou said. “We actually got quite a lot of speed. We improved over 2 miles an hour throughout the day, and we didn’t really work too much to get it.”

Palou noted that the test machine does not have the hybrid component installed. He expects the car to be faster when the final package is complete next year. Palou corroborated Rossi’s assessment of the similarity between the new car and the current one.

The schedule for future testing has not been announced, but there will be a test at Sebring this fall. Palou believes he will be one of the drivers at the Florida track.

Notes

Some observations from this non gear head:

The IR-28 has a leaner and seemingly lower profile than the current racer.

The trash basket look of the current aeroscreen in a head on view is gone, giving the car a sleeker look.

That rear wing will take some getting used to. It looks like an F1 car deploying DRS. I have no idea how it is supposed to work.

I love the livery IndyCar is using for the test. I remarked to a fellow media member today that IndyCar should mandate the use of this design each race weekend in 2028.

Thanks for following along these two days. It was fun watching this machine run on the oval..

Below are a few photos from today.

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.

O’Ward Doubles Up in Milwaukee

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Just as David Malukas lit the torch to burn the broom, Pato O’Ward snuffed out the flame and drove past Malukas on the final restart to win both races at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday.

I just watched the replay of Race 1 (second race of the day). here are some quick thoughts.

The history books had a huge rewrite after the race.

The sense of urgency to complete the race, enhanced by sprinkles of rain at the beginning, made for some great moves and some exciting passing.

The completion oof Race 1 from Saturday quickly became an event dominated by Malukas, who clearly had the fastest car. But on the restart with 24 laps to go, an engine hiccup in the Verizon car allowed O’Ward to get past him and win by more than a second.

Malukas now has six second place finishes in his career without a victory. The consensus going into 2026 was that Malukas would surely win a race in his first year with Team Penske. I hope he takes solace in the fact that Simon Pagenaud did not win a race in his first year with Penske either. Pagenaud turned out to be oretty good.

O’Ward is the seventh driver to win two races in one day, and the first since Rick Mears, who won twice at Atlanta in 1981. Other drivers who have achieved this rare feat are Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, and Dan Gurney. That is not a bad club to be as member of.

More history came at the end of the final race of the day as Alex Palou won his fifth IndyCar title in six years and his fourth in a row. Palou joins Serbastien Bourdais as the only driver to win four consecutive championships. Only A. J. Foyt (7) and Scott Dixon (6) have more titles than Palou, But the Spaniard is just 29 years old, three years younger than Foyt was when he won his fifth title.

A third bit of history which FOX gave just a scant whiff of notice to was Rinus VeeKay finishing third for Juncos Hollinger Racing. I believe this is the first podium for the team, and deserved more than showing the team celebrating as they went off the air.

VeeKay was one of Sunday’s best drivers. He fell out of contention in the afternoon race after a slow pit stop. VeeKay had been in the top five most of that race. In the nightcap the driver from the Netherlands took third place from Scott McLaughlin with a brilliant move just three laps from the checkered flag.

FOX- A Tired Crew?

I don’t know, but I can assume that the FOX crew was just as tired as everyone else was by the end of the day Sunday. I though the telecast of the suspended race was one of their worst of the season.

The pit stop timer was an on again, off again thing, missing at the crucial stops of the le4aders. Many teams did a remarkable job of completing stops with no time elapsed.

I didn’t understand their obsession with Josef Newgarden, lingering in the bottom half of the top 10. We didn’t need to see his onboard camera for several laps. There was also an inset of 15th place Kyle Kirkwood which was unnecessary.

I look for an improved show from a refreshed broadcast team next Sunday.

I will have a full weekend wrap up tomorrow.

Mclaughlin, Palou Earn Poles

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Scott McLaughlin won the pole for Race 1 at Milwaukee and Alex Palou willstart on the point in tomorrow’s race. For race 1 McLaughlin, second place Palou, and third place David Malukas will serve nine place grid penalties.

Qualifying started under overcast skies, but as the session went on skies got a bit brighter although never sunny.

Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden will star on the front row in today’s 250 mile race.

Dennis Hauger held the pole for a long time. He finished seventh and he will start fourth.

In Sunday’s race. Palou will start on pole alongside O’Ward. Newgarden will start third and Mick Schumacher fourth. Like Hauger for race 1, Schumacher hung onto the pole for race 2 for quite a bit of time.

The speed differentials for both contests is huge. The leaders should encounter slower traffic very quickly.

Kyle Kirkwood, second in the standings, qualified 22nd and 24th, the slowest of the Andretti cars. It might be difficult for him to prevent Palou from clinching t5he title today.

I will post the official starting lineup when it is available..

IndyCar’s Big Day

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The venue looked immaculate. The area around the institutions of national government and culture had a new , well-built race track, and the fan zone and food court were laid out nicely. Entry was well organized and just a few steps from the Metro station.

Fans came in droves, and every are seemed area seemed packed wigth people.I talked to a group of race fans from Baltimore who were very excited to have race return to their part of the country. They had attended the Baltimore races and truly loved them. thei group is one segment of fan IndyCar is trying to recapture.

I talked to some other fans who have seen other forms of racing, and are attending their first IndyCar event. They liked what they had seen so far. All in all, today was a huge PR boost for the series.

Vor the serious fans, and I think this might be an issue tomorrow for the newer croad,, elements were lacking. There is dearth of video boards along the track itself. As in n one. No PA system was in place to keep fans informed. I am pretty sure not many new spectators have the IndyCar app, and for those of who did, it proved very unreliable.

I had no idea how qualifying was going. Several video boards are in the food area, and I get that. But if I wanted to watch the race without seeing the track, I would have stayed hoere is a paucity of bleachers, and if you leave your seat, you need to stand in line until enough people leave me.

Sightlines around the track are not great. Grandstands are few, and they were constantly full. People lined up waiting for a seat to open, and the person who left had to get back in line and wait to reenter.

While the day was a fantastic shot in the arm for IndyCar, I hope some improvements in fan information can be worrked out for tomorrow.

Qualifying

Alex Palou grabbed another pole as the series reverted to the single car street course Fast Six. Palou edged Kyle Kirkwood to set up afront row we have seen before this season.

Incredible,” Palou said. “Such a privilege to be racing here. Spectacular place, spectacular fans, as well. My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”

Rdesults

I will be leaving very early for the track tomorrow and I will have a brief race review tomorrow evening and a more complete report Monday night after I return home.

Markham Practice 1- New Track, Same Old Story

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Alex Palou turned the fastest lap in opening practice for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at the new Markham track. The next practice is at 2:30 pm Eastern.

I think the track is very cool. I love that turn 5 hairpin. What chaos awaits there.

Kyffin Simpson had a hard wall contact and sustained left rear suspension damage and may have a gearbox to repair as well.

Television update- FOX has deterthat the first 30 minutes is not important enough for over the air Television and will be exclusively on the FIX ONE app.FS2 will show qualifyingbeginninh at7 pm Eastern.

Results

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

Palou Edges Kirkwood in Portland Practice 1

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The champ is gonna champ. Alex Palou led Practice 1 today for the Portland Grand Prix, just narrowly quicker than Kyle Kirkwood by eight hundredths of a second.

“Good day, great start,” Palou said. “I think there’s some work to do with the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires), but we were really good on primaries, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“It’s good that we tested here because it allowed us to start with good speed already in the No. 10 DHL Honda. But, yeah, some work to do still. We just need more speed.”

Kirkwood was very happy with his run.

“We definitely came here with a much different car than we’ve ever ran here, and hopefully it’s paying off,” Kirkwood said. “Early days here, but it’s promising. Compared to where we were last year, this is a big step in the right direction.”

The skies and air improved greatly as the day progressed, and the Portland area is now clear of the wildfire pollution.

Rinus VeeKay was quick in both the all-car session and his group, finishing third overall. He might be one to watch on Sunday, Will Power finished fourth today. Teaqm Penske had a decent day with Scott McLaughlin seventh, David Maluks eighth, and Josef Newgarden ninth.

Pato O’Ward struggled, spinning out in turn 1 and later having a tire lock up on the approach to the turn. He finished 15th.

Notes

Earlier in the day, David Malukas told me he feels quite confident in the car which has won the last two races at Portland. He will lose six places after qualifying with an engine penalty, which will hurt his chances.

Kyle Kirkwood said he feels he has the advantage over Malukas and Christian Lundgaard over the rest of the schedule. He believes his team is stronger on two of the types of tracks left, where Malukas and Lundgaard just each may only be stronger on one type of circuit. Lundgaard was 22nd fastest today.

Kirkwood ultimately wants to catch Palou, which he believes is possible. A lot would have to go right for the Andretti driver for that to happen.

Results

Testing Day 2- Let’s Change Drivers and Do it Again

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Photo: Alex Palou climbs into the IR-28 for an initial run this morning. IndyCar photo.

Good morning from a damp Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It seems as ion we sawn this same movie yesterday. Alex Palou made an early run at 9 am before rain hit again. When the track dries, the rest of the time allowed for testing today should be dry.

Testing is suposed to end at 2 pm, followed by a brief media availability with Palou. I’ll be back at the end of the day with a wrap up.