Alexander Rossi evaluated his test in the Dallara IR-28 on its first oval run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.
“It does everything that INDYCAR SERIES machinery should do around here,” Rossi said. “We got through some basic mechanical and aero changes to kind of understand the offsets that they’re going to present to us in a couple of years, and there was no surprise. It was really pretty standard.”
Alewxander Rossi talks about his test day.
The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner and Mike O’Gara, INDYCAR’s vice president of Competition and Race Engineering, both emphasized that Wednesday’s objective was to gather information, not to look for speed or performance.
Rossi ran sets of five laps or fewer as engineers collected data. I’m not sure Rossi turned a lap much above 210 mph.
Today’s test was cut about an hour short by a brief rain just after 4 pm.
Tomorrow IndyCar series champion Alex Palou will have turn in the new machine with the same goals in mind as today’s session.
tomorrow’s test is scheduled to run from 9 am until 5 pm Eastern time. Turn 2 viewing mounds are open.
Good afternoon from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the IR-28 is taking its first laps min speedway configuration. Since the lunch break Alexander Rossi has been on track twice. The first run lasted for about five laps, and he just completed two more circuits before returning to the pits.
The car has a leaner profile than the current racer used by IndyCar. Speed is not the objective today and tomorrow when Alex Palou takes the wheel. This is a est to make sure everything on te ca works.
Here are a few photos from earlier.
Rossi just returned to the track for the third run of the afternoon. I’ll be back after the end of the day with hopefully some quotes from Rossi.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi will participate in the first oval test of the new-for-2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES IR-28 chassis Sept. 9-10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval.
The test is the second on-track validation test of the IR-28. The new NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis and powertrain package includes a modernized look designed to provide for faster lap times and improved raceability, encouraging more wheel-to-wheel action, while also creating the safest car yet for “The Fastest Racing on Earth.”
The new car will make its competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Rossi is scheduled to test Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Palou is scheduled to test Thursday, Sept. 10.
The Turn 2 Viewing Mounds will be open to the public both days.
WHO: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing and Alexander Rossi, ECR
WHAT: INDYCAR IR-28 Validation Test on Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval
The future is here. On an historic day interrupted by weather, 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi drove the new Ir-28 Indy car on its first official test run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rossi had nothing but praise for everyone who helped prepare the car for the test and shared how meaningful the test was for him.
“I’ve been a part of some new car launches before, and I can’t say that any have gone as smooth as this one has,” Rossi said. “That’s down to everyone involved. We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time. Drivers, fans, teams, sponsors and all of you have been looking forward to it, and now it’s finally here.”
Rossi compared the day to Christmas morning.He continued his assessment of the car and the test.
“The car has a lot of incredible qualities that we haven’t even scratched the surface of yet. It was an incredible start and just a joy to drive.”
“Aesthetically, it ticks every box you could hope for,” he said. “I was blown away the first time I saw it. The pictures don’t do it justice. The presence it has in person is pretty amazing. It looks aggressive, and even with a completely new chassis, new aerodynamics, new electronics and a spec damper package, the baseline was very comfortable from the get-go. There’s obviously a lot more to unlock, but it was a great starting point.”
“To be able to be a part of this next evolution of INDYCAR and do it at IMS, a place that means so much to me and all of us here, is super cool,” Rossi said. “I get to play a small part in the history and the future of this championship, and that’s a big privilege. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Tomorrow 2026 Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palou gets an opportunity to test the car. Sunday’s run is scheduled to go from 8 am to 2 pm, weather permitting.
Notes
The car is much better looking in person than it appears in teh photos and renderings.
The aeroscreen is wider than the renderings show it to be, but it still is a major improvement over what we see on the current car. Integrating the screen into the framework is a big help.
The rear wing on the road course configuration is massive.
I loved the sound of the engine. I know the actual engines may not sound exactly like what we heard today, but it was loud and throaty like an IndyCar engine should be.
Even at today’s modest laps, I could tell, this car is fast. I liked the way it exited turn 14 and how it ran up the front stretch.
I’ll close with a few more photos I shot today. I can’t wait to see this car on tack again tomorrow.
Photo: Wilbur Shaw, Jr. beside the Boyle Maserati and the Boyle Racing headquarters truck on the frontstretch at IMS.FromGentlemen, Start Your EnginesThe Rest of the Story by Bob Gates and Wilbur Shaw, Jr.
Three months ago, Merle Bettenhausen died, bringing an end to one of the most storied racing families. I wrote at the time how much his passing hurt. That pain hit even harder as I learned that Bill Shaw, son of Wilbur Shaw, died this past Monday at the age of 80, closing another chapter of the Speedway’s glory days.
The son of the three-time winner chose his own path, His father strongly discouraged him from racing. He moved to Arizona, where he cultivated his love of horses and rodeo.
A chance meeting with Chan Kibbee, the CEO of Phillip Morris, who arrived in Arizona in an AC Bristol, turned Bill’s thoughts to racing. He chose to pursue road racing instead of a path that would lead to the Indianapolis 500.
Another chance meeting, this one with race driver Bob Bondurant, changed the course of bill’s life. In 1966, Bondurant was severely injured in a crash at Watkins Glen. Although he recovered, his racing career was over. Bondurant opened a high-performance driving school in 1968.
Bill met Bondurant at the Speedway while Bondurant was an adviser on the movie Winning. and he convinced the younger Shaw to attend his school. Bill did very well at the school, then returned home and worked at Stokely-Van Camp.
Bondurant called Bill later that year. he remembered how well Shaw di at the school, and he asked him to become an instructor.
Shaw went on to race at what is now the Rolex 24 at Daytona. His best finish was fifth overall in 1973, driving a Ferrari for Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team.
Bill worked in real estate,and became an evasive driving instructor for the Secret Service. The program was defunded in 1977.
In 2018 Bill collaborated with author Bob Gates to write an addendum to Wilbur’ Shaw’s autobiography, Gentlemen, Start Your Engines. The biography adds The Rest of the Story to the title. The first part is the original, which I read at least three times in seventh and eighth grade. Of course, I had to read it again so the addition would make sense.
In the second part, Bill recalls life as the son of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He is a passenger in the pace car for the 500 in the early 1950s.
There is a poignant passage about the night of October 30, 1954, when eight-year-old Bill answers the phone to learn that his father has been injured in a plane crash. he hands the phone to his mother, who is informed of the fatal result.
Wilbur had told his son to “Run your own race,” and Bill, Jr. certainly followed his dad’s advice.
Racing and Indianapolis Motor Speedway now is left with the legacies of drivers from the post Shaw era. The modern era has new stories to tell. Thankfully we still have some Unsers and Foyts around. I hope that they outlive me.
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, July 23, 2026) – Justin Grant joined an elite club of United States Auto Club legends Thursday night at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning his 100th career national feature victory in the opening race of the 39th USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by K&N Filters. Grant, from Ione, California, became the fifth driver to reach the century mark in USAC national series competition, joining A.J. Foyt, Rich Vogler, Mel Kenyon and Dave Darland.This was Grant’s second consecutive victory in this USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship race. It also was the fourth consecutive year Grant drove to a victory and his fifth win overall on the 1/5th-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the famed IMS oval. He won an opening night feature in the BC39 USAC Midget National Championship event in 2023 and 2025 and won the BC39 main feature in 2024. “It’s been an incredible career for me to live through and experience,” Grant said. “I’ve been so fortunate and so blessed. To win at IMS with this TOPP Motorsports team, I’m speechless. Couldn’t think of a better place to win No. 100.” Grant led 29 of the 35 laps in the No. 4 TOPP Motorsports car, pulling away in the closing laps from runner-up Jake Swanson in the No. 5T Daming Swanson Motorsports machine. Grant earned $10,000. Logan Seavey finished third in the No. 57 Abacus Racing entry, followed by 2026 BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors winner Briggs Danner in the No. 39 Hogue Racing Enterprises machine. Shane Cottle rounded out the top five in the No. 34 Jeff Olson car. Grant and Swanson were the class of the field throughout the entire feature after starting from pole and third, respectively. Their differing tactics became apparent from the drop of the green flag, as Grant rode the tackier cushion of dirt around the high line of the oval while Swanson stayed glued to the bottom of the track. Swanson’s strategy paid off on Lap 4 when he powered past Grant exiting Turn 2. But on Lap 10, Swanson lost momentum on the low line exiting Turn 2, and Grant pounced on the lead on the back straightaway while staying on the high line.Grant never trailed thereafter despite three cautions, rocketing away on the high line on every restart. He also learned an important lesson when he sampled the low line earlier in the race. “You had to run really hard and make a lot of your speed on entry here,” Grant said. “You’ve got to be really focused. I wasn’t really set up to run on the tires (low line) like that. I bailed out (of the low line) probably a little earlier than I needed to, but I just felt like I was a sitting duck down there. “So, I just got up, got the top cleaned off, got my momentum and my rhythm up there. Once I got the lead, I felt really good.” Swanson eventually moved to the high line after a restart with about five laps to go, but Grant was too strong to catch. “I knew the days were numbered there on the bottom,” Swanson said. “I rode down there as long as I could because I went up there and tested it, and I really didn’t feel all that great up there. So, I knew once I got to pacing with Justin, I was going to have a hard time staying with him.”
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, July 22, 2026) – Information about Brickyard Weekend and USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by K & N Filters activity Thursday, July 23 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
SCHEDULE (All times local and subject to change) :4-10 p.m.: USAC Public Gates Open, The Dirt Track at IMS 5-7 p.m.: Brickyard Weekend Hauler Parade, Main Street, Speedway 6 p.m.: Engine Heat, The Dirt Track at IMS 6:30 p.m.: USAC Sprint Car Hot Laps 7:30 p.m.: USAC Indiana Sprint Week Opening Ceremonies 7:45 p.m.: USAC Sprint Car Heat Races 8:30 p.m.: USAC Sprint Car C Main 9 p.m.: USAC Sprint Car Semi-Feature 9:30 p.m.: USAC Sprint Car Feature
TICKETS: Indiana Sprint Week reserved seating tickets start at $65. General admission is $55 and includes Section 7-12, Rows B-K and Sections 1-2 for ADA seating. Pit passes are $40 and are not valid for gate admission. Fans must have a grandstand ticket to add pit passes.
PUBLIC GATES OPEN: Fans may access the Sprint Car event through Gates 9, 10, 10A, or 11A. Cars will enter through Gate 10 off 30th Street. Gate 2 is a credential-only gate and should not be used for entry into the event. A sealed, 1-liter bottle of unfrozen water will be permitted. No glass, no alcohol.
PARKING: Pre-paid parking is available in the Northwest Gravel Lot for $30. Paid parking is available in Lot 7 (North 40) for $20. ADA parking is available in both lots
.CASHLESS OPERATIONS: Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions.
MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $25, seniors (55 and over) are $23, and military (former and active) are $18. Tickets can be purchased online at https://imsmuseum.org/tickets/.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 