Battle on the Bricks Spotters’ Guide
Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Friday at IMS: IMSA Weekend Begins
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026) – Information about TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks Weekend track activity Friday, Sept. 18 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
SCHEDULE (All times local):
7 a.m.: Outside Parking Lots Open
8 a.m.: Public Gates Open
8-8:40 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Practice #1
8:55-9:25 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup North America Practice #1
9:40-10:25 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Practice #1
10:40-11:40 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Practice #1
12:40-1:10 p.m.: Whelen Mazda MX-5 Practice #2
1:25-2:05 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup North America Practice #2
2:20-3:05 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Practice #2
3:25-4:55 p.m.: WeatherTech Championship Practice #1
5:15-5:35 p.m.: Whelen Mazda MX-5 Qualifying
5:50-6:50 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Practice #2
7:05-7:35 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup North America Qualifying
7:30 p.m.: Public Gates Close
TICKETS: General admission is $20 for the grandstands and infield viewing mounds. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Tickets for reserved seating in the Hulman Terrace Club, which includes private club access, are $100
.PUBLIC GATES: Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S and Gate 7S.
PARKING: Free parking (auto, bus and motorcycle) and ADA parking is available in Hulman Terrace Lot and in Gate 1 Lot for motorcycles only. Paid parking is available in Lot 2 and Main Gate for $10 and Gate 1 (Parcel B) for $25. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 2 and Lot 3P for $10 and Gate 1 for $25.
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.-5 p.m. General Admission tickets are available $25 for adults, $23 for seniors 55 and over, and $18 for military (former and active)
INDY NXT by Firestone Driver Evaluation Test Set for Sept. 21 on IMS Road Course
From IMS:
| Five INDY NXT by Firestone teams will evaluate upcoming drivers for future consideration for INDY NXT participation in a test Monday, Sept. 21 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Turn 2 Viewing Mounds will be open to the public. A full list of participating drivers and teams is listed below, subject to change.Testing hours run from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ET. INDY NXT by Firestone Driver Evaluation Test on IMS Road Course AJ Foyt Racing: Teddy Musella Andretti Global: G3 Argyros, Abbi Pulling, Alex Powell Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR: Nikita Bedrin, Jose Garfias Chip Ganassi Racing: Souta Arao HMD Motorsports: Bruno Del Pino, Leonardo Escorpioni, Patricio Gonzalez, Rodrigo Gonzalez zWHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
Titles Up for Grabs at Battle on the Bricks
From IMS:
| INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026) – Sports car racing takes center stage as autumn approaches at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the evocative automobile brands and top drivers and teams of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship competing Sept. 18-20 in the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. Forty-four cars among four classes will compete simultaneously on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course during the feature race, which starts at 3:10 p.m. ET Sunday. The race is considered a sprint event and lasts two hours, 40 minutes, a change from the six-hour endurance format of 2024 and 2025.The premier Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class will be joined by the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), GT Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes on track for the race. GTP and LMP2 cars are exotic prototype race cars, while GTD PRO and GTD are based on production models and feature brands and models such as Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren and Porsche. All teams field just two drivers, who rotate stints in the car, for this event. That’s a change from the three-driver lineups many teams employed for the endurance races of the past two years. A victory at Indianapolis will carry more than just prestige, as championship races in all four classes are raging with this event being the penultimate race of the WeatherTech Championship this season. The last race of 2026 is Petit Le Mans on Sept. 30-Oct. 3 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Jack Aitken, who drove the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac team to victory last year at IMS, leads the GTP standings with the team by 118 points over Laurin Heinrich. Porsche is strategically moving Heinrich back to the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport alongside Kevin Estre from JDC-Miller Motorsports to try and gain ground on Aitken.The GTP title race took an unexpected turn at the last race, Aug. 2 at Road America, when Aitken and Estre collided late while dueling for second place. That incident eliminated Aitken from the race, and he lost crucial points. Heinrich was part of the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche team that finished second in the race behind winners Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac.LMP2 has an even closer title race entering The Racing Capital of the World. The No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR shared by George Kurtz and Alex Quinn leads the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition car of Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke by 36 points in what appears to be a two-car battle for the crown. Dillman and Clarke have won the class in the last two races this season to pull within title contention. There will be a bit of NTT INDYCAR SERIES flavor in the LMP2 class, as ECR driver Christian Rasmussen was a late addition to the race roster. The Dane will share the No. 18 Era Motorsport car with Nick Boulle .GTD PRO has a raging title race, as just 67 points separate the top five teams, each of which represent a different manufacturer (BMW, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ford).Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen, sharing the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, lead the class by 23 points over the No. 4 Corvette Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R shared by Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner.The rising threat in GTD PRO is the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 shared by Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell. That team has won the class honors at the last two events this season to climb into third in the standings, 56 points behind leaders De Phillippi and Verhagen.Newly crowned INDY NXT by Firestone champion Nikita Johnson isn’t laying low in the offseason, as he will share the No. 59 RLL Team McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 EVO in GTD PRO. Former INDYCAR SERIES driver Jack Hawksworth also is racing in the class in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 fielded by former INDYCAR SERIES team Vasser Sullivan Racing.In GTD, Philip Ellis and Russell Ward have won the class in three straight races entering Indy in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, elevating it to the class lead. They lead Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 by 36 points.The last time a WeatherTech Championship team won four consecutive races in any class was in 2023, when Riley took four straight in the former LMP3 class. INDYCAR SERIES fans will note three former series drivers in the GTD field: Robert Wickens, Benjamin Pedersen and Callum Ilott. WeatherTech Championship practice takes place at 3:25 p.m. ET Friday, with pre-qualifying practice at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Qualifying is set for 5:05 p.m. Saturday.Saturday’s feature race will be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 for the Michelin Pilot Challenge, a two-hour race that starts at 2:30 p.m. That series also features a “race within a race,” but with just two classes of production-based sports cars and touring cars from brands such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Cupra, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Porsche, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota.2002 Indianapolis 500 pole winner Bruno Junqueira will return to IMS to share the No. 56 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LS in the Touring Car (TCR) class. Support series racing also will take place in Porsche Carrera Cup, Lamborghini Trofeo and Mazda MX-5 this weekend. Tickets and information for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks are available at IMS.com. |
Swedish Hometown To Honor Indy 500 Winner Rosenqvist with Public Celebration
FromIMS:
| INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026) – 2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist will be honored Saturday, Dec. 5 by his hometown, Värnamo, during a public celebration in the Swedish city. Local residents, motorsports fans and visitors from near and far are invited to join the city in celebrating his historic victory May 24 in the Indianapolis 500. The free, family-friendly event will take place in central Värnamo with Rosenqvist as the guest of honor. “Celebrating an Indy 500 victory in my hometown will be an unforgettable way to conclude the best year of my life,” Rosenqvist said. “Sharing an occasion like this with everyone in Värnamo, where the dream began, will feel completely surreal. It will truly be one of those pinch-me moments. “It is truly amazing to think that we will all be able to experience and share this together. I am really looking forward to seeing friends, family and everyone else in Värnamo in December.”T he program will include tributes from the stage, interviews, live music and motorsports-themed activities. Representatives from INDYCAR will take part in the celebration. Additional news and highlights will be announced closer to the event .Rosenqvist earned his first victory in ”The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. He beat David Malukas of Team Penske by .0233 of a second in the closest finish in the century-plus history of the race. “Felix Rosenqvist’s success is an outstanding achievement that has inspired tremendous pride and joy throughout Värnamo,” said Staffan Svensson, project manager and destination development officer at Värnamo Municipality. ”We want to give the people of Värnamo and the motorsports community an opportunity to celebrate him together, while also showcasing the strong sense of community and local pride that exists here.” The event is being jointly organized by Värnamo Näringsliv, Värnamo City and Värnamo Municipality. “This partnership reflects the strong sense of community that makes Värnamo what it is,” said Anki Hansson of Värnamo Näringsliv. ”Together, we want to create a public celebration that honors Felix while also welcoming visitors to Värnamo.” |
IMSA Battle on the Bricks Entry List has Some IndyCar Flavor
IMSA gets its turn on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this weekend. 44 entries across four classes will compete in a 2-hour, 40-minute sprint race Sunday afternoon. The race is the penultimate event on IMSA’s calendar.
The season ends at Road Atlanta next month.
The3 entry list can be found here:
2026_IWSC_Indianapolis_PreEvent_EntryList.pdf
Two drivers with IndyCar connections should have the most followers from the IndyCar fans. 2026 IndyNXT champion Nikita Johnson in the number 59 McLaren in the GTD Pr4o class, and Robert Wickens will co-drive the number 36 Corvette in the GT Daytona class.
Other drivers with IndyCar connections”
LMP2
Tristan Vautier car 8
GTD Pro
Jack Hawksworth Lexus car 14
GT Daytona
Aaron Telitz and Ben Pedersen Lexus car 12
Callum Ilott Porsche car 120
The race begins at 3:10 pm Eastern on Sunday with broadcast on ABC and Peacock.
I will have more about the event later this week, plus an IndyCar post on Thursday.
Palou had ‘Fun;’ Found Some Speed
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.
Rossi: IR-28 “Pretty Standard”
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.”
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.
Some more photos of the new car:
IR-28 Takes to the Oval
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.
