The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season is about to begin, and with the races about to actually happen, we bring back the fictional competition within a competition. The head-to-head, league format is back for an eighth season.
In case you need a reminder...
Imagine the IndyCar season as any other sports league season. Teams are placed in conferences and each week of competition the teams go head-to-head against one another with one team coming out as the winner and the other being the loser. Each victory counts in the league standings with a playoff to determine the champion while the worst teams are relegated. Meanwhile, in the division below, teams are fighting to earn promotion into the top league.
This season is a little different because there have been some changes in IndyCar. Tentatively, the schedule is going to be 18 races, which poises a little problem. There is also a two-car team that will not be returning to the grid, at least not in a full-time capacity. There have been a few structural changes to keep in mind for this season. Let's face these one part at a time.
League One remains 16 teams, but with a potential 18th race, it does add an unnecessary week. Seventeen races works out nicely for this format. The regular season is 14 races. The final three races are the playoffs. Great! How do we handle an additional race?
We are keeping the double round robin within a conference. With an additional week, we add a 15th head-to-head matchup for each team in the regular season, and inter-conference play enters here. To make it easier, each team will face their respective equal in that 15th week. The top team in conference #1 ahead of this season will face the top team in conference #2 ahead of this season. That means the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry of Álex Palou will face the #5 Arrow McLaren entry of Patricio O'Ward.
As for when to schedule this additional week, we cannot be certain the Washington, D.C. race will happen. We still do not have a course map laid out. Keeping that in mind, the first 14 races will still be for the double round robin within each conference. The inter-conference matchups will all happen at Washington, D.C. If the Washington, D.C. race should not occur, it does not affect the standings and playoff qualification. Everyone will have completed the double round robin within each conference.
How does League One look this season?
Conference One
#10 Ganassi#27 Andretti
#7 McLaren
#26 Andretti
#12 Penske
#2 Penske
#21 ECR
#6 McLaren
Conference Two
#5 McLaren#9 Ganassi
#60 Meyer Shank
#66 Meyer Shank
#3 Penske
#4 Foyt
#18 Coyne
#14 Foyt
The #10 Ganassi won the league championship last year and it has the #7 McLaren in its conference after meeting in the semifinals. The #26 Andretti entry was the top in Conference #2 in the regular season last year before losing in the quarterfinals to the #12 Penske entry. Of course, both those cars have two new drivers with Will Power now in the #26 Andretti entry after running the #12 Penske, and David Malukas is in the #12 Penske. The #2 Penske is back after surviving the relegation playoff final last year. The #21 ECR is back and the #6 McLaren rounds out the conference.
The #9 Ganassi lost in the championship final last year but it beat the #5 McLaren in the quarterfinals to get there. The #60 MSR entry is in the same conference as the #66 MSR entry, which is one of three teams to make it up via promotion. The #4 Foyt entry went 10-0 last year in League Two to win that league. The #18 Coyne entire made via the promotion playoff despite going 5-5 in the regular season and finishing sixth in the standings. The #3 Penske and #14 Foyt entry round out the Conference #2
Schedule
The first quarterfinal will be the first Milwaukee race with the semifinals held during the second Milwaukee race. Laguna Seca will host the finale.
Though a 15th race has been added to the regular season, the relegation playoff remains. The top four teams from each conference will make the playoffs. Fifth from each conference will be safe for League One in 2027. Eighth place in each conference will be automatically relegated.
Sixth and seventh from each conference will go to the relegation playoff. In the first Milwaukee race, sixth-place from each conference will face seventh-place from the other conference. The winners will clinch safety for League One. The losers will face each other in the second Milwaukee race. The winner will secure a spot in League One. The loser will be relegated to League Two for 2027.
League Two
There is a bit of an issue in League Two, as the anticipated absence of Prema means there will be two fewer cars, and that will mean another format change, but the expansion to 18 races helps out. Instead of having 11 teams, we can do nine teams, and nine teams allow for a double round robin. Every League Two team can face each other twice. That is 16 matchups and each team can get two bye weeks to fill out an 18-race calendar.
That does mean a pause on the promotion playoff. We are going to return to the top three League Two teams being automatically promoted. I know you are wondering, "What if Washington, D.C. does not happen and what would that mean for League Two?" The fall back is Indianapolis 500 qualifying. If Washington, D.C. does not happen, the week 15 results will use Indianapolis 500 qualifying results. It is not ideal, but it is a good fallback in this situation.
Who is League Two?
#20 ECR
#8 Ganassi
#76 Juncos Hollinger
#15 RLLR
#28 Andretti
#45 RLLR
#77 Juncos Hollinger
#47 RLLR
#19 Coyne
The entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing organization and the entire Juncos Hollinger Racing organization are in League Two, and the remaining are a fun combination of teams. Ganassi and Andretti each have an entry in the second tier. Ed Carpenter Racing is there with Alexander Rossi. Then you have a Dale Coyne Racing entry because of course Dale Coyne Racing has a team in the lower league.
Schedule
As is a custom, we will look at the league a few times over the 2026 season. We will look in after a few races have taken place, and then we will come back as the playoffs approach and as they are about to begin before recapping when the season is over sometime in September.
