The 18-race 2026 IndyCar season has officially come to an end. After Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou had already clinched his fifth championship before the Grand Prix of Monterey, Palou finished just eighth at Laguna Seca – the worst finish of his career at the track.
Instead, it was Scott McLaughlin claiming his first victory of the season to close things out. Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood finished second to clinch second in the championship, just 10 points ahead of Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard.
With the season coming to an end, here are five thoughts to wrap up another year in IndyCar.
It had been 35 races since McLaughlin was in victory lane. After going through the longest drought of his career at any level, the 33-year-old went out on top in 2026.
This season has been about baby steps for McLaughlin and the crew on his No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet. After the team shuffled the personnel around McLaughlin – mainly rehiring former Team Penske president Tim Cindric as strategist and making accomplished IMSA engineer Raul Prados the race engineer – the New Zealander had to adjust to new folks around him.

#palou #championship #Career

Kyle Kirkwood closed out his 2026 IndyCar Series campaign on a high note, driving from sixth on the grid to a runner-up finish behind Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The strong drive cemented a career-best second-place finish in the championship standings for the 27-year-old Florida native.
Kirkwood, driving the #27 Andretti Global Honda, concluded the 18-race season with 545 points, placing 86 points behind champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. Over the course of the year, Kirkwood led Andretti Global's **** le challenge, recording two wins, six podiums, 10 top-fives, 15 top-10s, and one pole position.
Reflecting on the finale, Kirkwood acknowledged that points strategy dictated his approach late in the race.
"Yeah, it was," Kirkwood said regarding securing second in the championship. "Yeah, we played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship. We made all the decisions based on that. Probably could have had a go at Scottie (Scott McLaughlin) at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tires last. That's what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of."

#second #race #yeah

With Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood winning the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, IndyCar's final street race in 2026, there was one common denominator in all six street races: They were won by a car with a Honda engine.
Honda went 6-of-6 on the street circuits (two Kirkwood wins, three Alex Palou wins and one from Marcus Ericsson) while Chevrolet, IndyCar's other engine manufacturer, didn't win any.
To sweep the streets, Honda never really had to scrape by in any race, as a Honda engine led 542 of the 597 (90.7%) of the laps on streets this year while claiming 15 of the 18 podium spots. The manufacturer has won 19 of the last 21 street races dating back to 2023, when it also swept the streets.
Honda has won 10 of the 15 races, including Felix Rosenqvist's win in the Indianapolis 500 for Meyer Shank Racing. After Chevrolet closed the gap with three straight wins in June and July, Honda has separated itself by winning four in a row.
"I think the fact that we won the 500 and we also turn around and we're doing it currently on street courses, it makes me proud for the team," Honda Racing Corporation USA vice president Kelvin Fu told IndyStar. "And a lot of it is, it's just not us, it's Andretti and it's (Chip Ganassi Racing), right? It's a combination of their ability to develop their car control and the drivers and surviving a 147-lap, ******* py street course."

#racing

IndyCar's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham was seen by 913,000 viewers on Fox. The inaugural street race, which saw Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson capture his first win in three years, outdid last year's Toronto race – which was viewed by 734,000.
The race peaked with 1.081 million viewers from 2:15 to 2:30 p.m. before Ericsson passed Romain Grosjean for the lead on Lap 86 of the 90-lap race. It was IndyCar's most-viewed Toronto-area race since 2012, when 1.129 million watched Dario Franchitti win in the Exhibition Place neighborhood.
IndyCar's first weekend at Markham faced a lot of scrutiny after the race's promoter, Green Savoree Racing Promotions, didn't have the new street course prepared for IndyCar and support series practice sessions Friday. The race moved to Markham after spending 37 of the last 40 seasons in Exhibition Place. With World Cup matches taking place at BMO Field this year and the downtown Toronto race being a rolling one-year contract, IndyCar moved to a suburb 20 miles out, where the series is set to race for another four years.
Fox is averaging 1.731 million viewers, which is up 16% from last year through 14 races (1.486 million). Aug. 9's Grand Prix of Portland received only 677,000 viewers – a 5% decrease from 2025.
IndyCar is in its second year of having all its races broadcast on Fox's network channel. Last summer, Fox acquired a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, IndyCar's parent company. Markham marked the third straight race below 1 million viewers after eight of the first 11 races of the season surpassed 1 million (and only one was below 900,000). The Music City Grand Prix on July 20 had 775,000 viewers, although rain delay coverage following the men's FIFA World Cup final reached 2.878 million viewers.

#viewers #indycar

IndyCar's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham was seen by 913,000 viewers on Fox. The inaugural street race, which saw Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson capture his first win in three years, outdid last year's Toronto race – which was viewed by 734,000.
The race peaked with 1.081 million viewers from 2:15 to 2:30 p.m. before Ericsson passed Romain Grosjean for the lead on Lap 86 of the 90-lap race. It was IndyCar's most-viewed Toronto-area race since 2012, when 1.129 million watched Dario Franchitti win in the Exhibition Place neighborhood.
IndyCar's first weekend at Markham faced a lot of scrutiny after the race's promoter, Green Savoree Racing Promotions, didn't have the new street course prepared for IndyCar and support series practice sessions Friday. The race moved to Markham after spending 37 of the last 40 seasons in Exhibition Place. With World Cup matches taking place at BMO Field this year and the downtown Toronto race being a rolling one-year contract, IndyCar moved to a suburb 20 miles out, where the series is set to race for another four years.
Fox is averaging 1.731 million viewers, which is up 16% from last year through 14 races (1.486 million). Aug. 9's Grand Prix of Portland received only 677,000 viewers – a 5% decrease from 2025.
IndyCar is in its second year of having all its races broadcast on Fox's network channel. Last summer, Fox acquired a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, IndyCar's parent company. Markham marked the third straight race below 1 million viewers after eight of the first 11 races of the season surpassed 1 million (and only one was below 900,000). The Music City Grand Prix on July 20 had 775,000 viewers, although rain delay coverage following the men's FIFA World Cup final reached 2.878 million viewers.

#last #first

The NTT IndyCar Series competed in the Streets of Markham, and it was a chaotic event. Louis Foster started on the pole and had the best car; however, he wrecked while passing Marcus Ericsson for the effective lead. It was a war of attrition with Romain Grosjean leading with 10 laps to go, but he wasn't able to hold the top spot.
Ericsson and the No. 28 team for Andretti Global won Sunday's race in Markham, earning their first victory of the 2026 season. The driver of the No. 28 car opened a lead of over 10 seconds over Grosjean, pitted, and then rallied for a major victory to pass him in the closing laps.
Ericsson claimed his first victory since March 2023 as he snapped a 63-race winless streak. The 2022 Indianapolis 500 has been strong throughout the season and earned another year with Andretti Global. Ericsson proved why he deserves the No. 28 car, and winning in Markham is exactly what he needed.
No. 28 Marcus Ericsson
No. 18 Romain Grosjean

#romain

Alessandro de Tullio went flag-to-flag from pole to claim a dominant Indy NXT victory at Portland International Raceway.
The Argentine led all 35 laps in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry to win by 2.169 seconds around the 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course. It marked de Tullio's second win of the season.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy," de Tullio said. "I had to take care of the tires; there was quite a bit of deg there towards the end. I went for the fastest lap at the end, but I didn't get it by almost nothing. But yeah, it was a good race, the start was a bit gnarly with Lochie (Hughes). He really charged into Turn 1, but we were able to hold that off. We were able to get a good restart after the safety car. The car was great. I can't thank the whole team enough."
The Andretti Global duo of Hughes and Max Taylor finished second and third, respectively. Tymek Kucharczyk, driving the #71 entry for HMD Motorsports, finished fourth. Jacob Abel, making his first series appearance since finishing runner-up in the 2024 championship, completed the top five.
The championship picture took another turn as Enzo Fittipaldi (HMD Motorsports) and Nikita Johnson (Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. As a result, Fittipaldi vaulted back into the championship lead, holding a one point lead over Johnson (476-475) with three rounds to go. Kucharczyk sits third in the ***** le race at 18 points back.

#motorsports

Marcus Ericsson. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
IndyCar's Andretti Global Racing will keep its current three-driver lineup intact for the 2027 season as Marcus Ericsson will return to the team. Ericsson, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2022 with Chip Ganassi Racing, was in the final year of his contract at Andretti Global.
The team announced Ericsson's return on Thursday, August 6.
"One of our priorities has been building consistency across our IndyCar program, and bringing Marcus back is an important part of that," Andretti Global President Jill Gregory said. "He's shown exactly what he's capable of this season through the speed and results he's delivered. Keeping our driver lineup together next season allows us to build on the chemistry and performance we've established as a team."
Since joining Andretti Global in 2024, Ericsson has played a key role in the team's continued success. Through the opening 12 races of the 2026 season, the Swede has earned his first career NTT P1 Award, a podium finish at World Wide Technology Raceway, six top 10 finishes and has led 132 laps, putting together one of the strongest seasons of his IndyCar career.

#andretti #marcus #racing #lineup

What would happen if you gathered some of the world's best racing drivers from a variety of disciplines, put them in identically prepared cars, and let them do battle on a variety of iconic North American racetracks? Well, you don't need to imagine what it'd be like because it happened.
It was called the International Race of Champions, better known as IROC. Enjoyed by both fans and competitors alike, the IROC series ran from the early 1970s until the mid-2000s, gathering some of motorsport's greatest drivers, including names such as Andretti, Earnhardt, Foyt, and Unser. Beyond its on-track excitement, the IROC series also helped spawn one of the most iconic American sports cars of the 1980s.
The original IROC series ran through 2006, when a lack of sponsorship interest led to its demise. But today it continues to be a fondly remembered part of American motorsport history, now with reunions — and perhaps an even larger series revival in the works. Let's take a quick Look at the legacy of this beloved racing series.
Read more: 12 Of The Most Powerful Hemi Engines Ever Built
IROC was founded by Roger Penske, Les Richter, and Mike Phelps in 1973 as a way to create an all-star championship for the motorsports world. It would draw top drivers from NASCAR, Indy, and Formula 1 and have them compete against each other in identical cars. Over the years, IROC would run on both oval tracks and road courses, including Daytona, Talladega, and Watkins Glen.

Pato O'Ward earned his first podium and his first victory of the 2026 season at Mid-Ohio, holding off teammate Christian Lundgaard. They started 1-2, and finished 1-2, with O'Ward pulling off a daring pass on pole-sitter Lundgaard partway through the race. Just under a second separated them at the checkered flaag.
This is O'Ward's tenth career win, tying him with Pete DePaolo and Jimmy Vasser for 40th on the all-time wins list.
Kyle Kirkwood finished third, leading the way for Andretti Global, followed Juncos Hollinger Racing's Rinus VeeKay in fourth, and championship leader Alex Palou in fifth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Will Power, Christian Rasmusen, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, and Nolan Siegel filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Caio Collet led the way for the 2026 rookie class, finishing 11th. The race went completely caution-free with no incidents.

Marcus Ericsson is on the hot seat at Andretti Global. Despite running well during the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season, Ericsson might be on the way out with Dennis Hauger or another big-name replacing him. If so, where could the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner compete in 2027?
Ericsson has been linked to Meyer Shank Racing, even with his recent employment at Chip Ganassi Racing, as reported by FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass. Meyer Shank Racing is looking to replace Felix Rosenqvist, who is leaving the No. 60 car for a big-time opportunity, such as Arrow McLaren or Chip Ganassi Racing.
Meyer Shank Racing would be an excellent fit for Ericsson, who has been tremendous in the Indianapolis 500. The organization has elite oval equipment, and Ericsson is an outstanding oval driver. If Ericsson is pushed out at Andretti, Meyer Shank Racing might be his best option.
More: IndyCar interested in returning to Washington D.C. for 2027 season
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Marcus Ericsson linked to Indy 500 winning organization for 2027

Felix Rosenqvist could be the biggest name on the move during the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series silly season. Rosenqvist will not return to Meyer Shank Racing after winning the 2026 Indianapolis 500. Since the driver of the No. 60 car is leaving, it means a bigger team is on the table, and it could be a reunion.
Rosenqvist returning to Arrow McLaren is very well possible, as reported by FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass. Rosenqvist drove for McLaren from 2021 to 2023 and remains close friends with Pato O'Ward. McLaren also has new leadership, so this would be a great upgrade for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner.
There are other organizations, such as Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Global, but McLaren appears to be the best landing spot. Rosenqvist would be paired with O'Ward, and Scott Dixon could be on the table as well. For now, Rosenqvist is IndyCar's biggest free agent, and a reunion with McLaren could be coming soon.
More: IndyCar interested in returning to Washington D.C. for 2027 season
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Felix Rosenqvist could make stunning return to McLaren in 2027

Marcus Ericsson delivered the most dominant drive of his IndyCar Series career, but was left with a front row seat as Josef Newgarden took the checkered flag in a wild race that finished into Monday morning at World Wide Technology Raceway.
It was a night that saw the Swedish native start 12th and quickly accelerate through the field and made his presence felt, leading a race-high 114 laps of 260 laps, which also stands as the most in a single race throughout his entire career. He was out front when the first red flag hit on Lap 137, which lasted for 38 minutes and saw drivers briefly exit their cars.
Despite the time creeping near 11pm ET on a Sunday night and the grandstands getting emptier with every passing minute, the race resumed and saw Ericsson thrown into a fight with Newgarden, the rival that beat him on a controversial one-lap shootout from pit lane in the 2023 Indianapolis 500. With 35 laps to go, it was a showdown that saw Ericsson’s #28 Andretti Global Honda trying to chase down the #2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Newgarden, but was never able to do so, falling 0.6613s behind at the finish.
While it marks Ericsson’s best result of the season, there’s no denying he wanted more out of the night.
“No, it's definitely bittersweet after leading that many laps, having a great car underneath me,” said Ericsson, 35. “We drove all the way to the front, was feeling really good up front.