Career Retrospective: Sam Hornish, Jr.

This is our sixth year taking a moment during the IndyCar offseason to revisit some careers from notable names to compete in the history of American open-wheel racing. This year provided a theme that spanned multiple decades and consideration for these great drivers in IndyCar history.

For part two, we move to a driver whose record is quite historic. Success came quick and fast for this driver as he ascended from promise to champion in a blink and he remains the youngest champion in IndyCar history. While his career took place entirely during The Split, nobody was better on his side of the fence, and he accomplished everything you could ask for. Yet, the politics muddied his place among the best all-time.

It is Sam Hornish, Jr.

Where was Hornish, Jr. coming from?

Born and rasied in Ohio, Hornish, Jr. started in karting and his family's trucking company helped support his career. When he became a national champion in karting, he moved to the U.S. F2000 championship at 16 years old. He spent a few seasons developing and trying to gain speed, finishing behind the likes of Buddy Rice, Robby McGehee and Andy Lally while also competing against Tour de France winner Greg LeMond. In 1998, Hornish, Jr. had his best U.S. F2000 season, finishing seventh in the championship but not winning a race. 

In 1999, Hornish, Jr. made a move to the Atlantic Championship with a rather new team, also hailing from the state of Ohio. Michael Shank's Shank Racing gave Hornish, Jr. his next opportunity. While racing against Anthony Lazzaro, Alex Tagliani, Buddy Rice, Alex Gurney and Rocky Moran, Jr., Hornish, Jr. had a few brought spots but he had a few blemishes on his record. His most outstanding race occurred at Chicago Motor Speedway. Starting second, Hornish, Jr. went on to take victory ahead of Lazzaro, the highlight of his season as he went on to finish seventh in the championship. 

At 20 years old, Hornish, Jr. considered moving to Indy Lights but saw the Indy Racing League as a better opportunity for his future, especially as his best success in the junior series came on ovals. His crew chief from U.S. F2000, Paul Murphy, was working for PDM Racing in the IRL and Hornish, Jr. contacted Murphy about an opportunity. Hornish, Jr. was hired ahead of the 2000 season.

What did IndyCar look like when Hornish, Jr. started in the series?

Broken. 

Right as Hornish, Jr. was getting into car racing from karting, The Split had taken place. There were two series, more races, more teams, but quality was not at its highest in the Indy Racing League, as the IRL sought to attract American drivers believed to be overlooked talent. Nineteen American drivers competed in at least 70% of the IRL races held in 2000, and American drivers took 12 of the top 15 spots in the championship.

It was more accessible, and the IRL was more affordable compared to CART, but the equipment was inferior to what had recently been used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and what was being used on the other side of the fence at a number of historic races. 

Drivers who otherwise would not have been given a shot at the top level of American open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500 were now full-timers. Teams that were not on the grid a few years prior were competing full-time in the IRL. 

Though it had the Indianapolis 500, the IRL was struggling for a lengthy schedule. The series was struggling to break a dozen races as it was only running ovals. The 2000 IRL season had ten scheduled races, of which nine took place. Meanwhile, CART's schedule was still growing, and reached 20 races in 2000. CART was still running on ovals while also adding more street courses and venturing to new international venues. While all nine IRL races occurred in the United States, CART ran on four continents in five countries. 

How does IndyCar look now?

There is one series, and there has been since 2008. 

Reunification has been a rather good period for IndyCar, though it has not been without its troubles. The series has restructured and teams received a greater of equity in the series than previously with the charter system. Each chartered entry is guaranteed a spot on the grid for every IndyCar race, and soon the IndyCar grid will be limited to only chartered entries at every event but the Indianapolis 500. 

Twenty-five cars received charters, and in 2026, those 25 spots were spread over ten teams. Many teams have been holding firm since prior to The Split. Team Penske has been around for over 60 years. A.J. Foyt Racing is still around. Chip Ganassi Racing has turned into the best team in IndyCar history. Somehow, Dale Coyne Racing has lasted four decades. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has been around for just over 30 years. 

A few teams are relatively new. Andretti Global grew out of the opportunities created from The Split. Ed Carpenter Racing grew out of the opportunities post-reunification. Meyer Shank Racing expanded into IndyCar after over a decade in sports car racing, and it is now a two-time Indianapolis 500 winning team after its triumph this past May. Juncos Hollinger Racing came from the ladder system. McLaren returned after buying an existing team. 

Eight American drivers competed full-time in 2026 with three cracking the championship top ten and four finishing outside the top fifteen in the championship. While 17 races comprised the 2026 season, only two countries were visited, both on the North American continent. 

What did Hornish, Jr. do in-between?

Hornish, Jr. shot to the top at a blistering pace. Though his rookie season in 2000 was not brilliant, it was good enough to turn heads. Driving for the underfunded PDM Racing, his only top five finish was a third at Las Vegas. His only other top ten finish was in the penultimate race, a ninth at Kentucky. Doing less with more attracted interest from Panther Racing, one of the best teams in the IRL, and Hornish, Jr. took over the team’s #4 Pennzoil entry.

It didn't take long for Hornish, Jr. and Panther Racing to find success. They won the 2001 season opener at Phoenix. Then they won the second race of the season at Homestead. In 13 races, Hornish, Jr. had 11 top five finishes, and he had 12 finishes in the top six. Hornish, Jr. took the championship in his sophomore season in convincing fashion with a race to spare, making him the youngest champion in IndyCar history at 22 years old.

With Team Penske joining the IRL full-time in 2002, there was increased competition, but Hornish, Jr. did not crumble. He went first-third-first to open the season. With five total victories, including in the final two races of the season, Hornish, Jr. held off Hélio Castroneves and Penske to successfully defend his IRL title. 

Though 2003 had a tougher start, Hornish, Jr. remained a contender, and he won three of the final five races, but still finished fifth in the championship. His form was great enough to attract the attention of Team Penske. Hornish, Jr was hired to replace the retiring Gil de Ferran. 

Repeating his performance at Panther Racing, Hornish, Jr. won on debut with Team Penske at Homestead. However, the Toyota engine was not a match for Honda in the 2004 season, and Hornish, Jr. was seventh in the championship. Hornish, Jr. improved in 2005, winning twice and scoring nine top five finishes to take third in the championship. 

With Honda taking over as the sole engine manufacturer in 2006, Hornish, Jr. and Team Penske was now on equal footing. He had a strong start to the season, and he won pole position for the Indianapolis 500. Hornish, Jr. did not spend that much of the race in the lead as Dan Wheldon controlled the race before a tire puncture forced Wheldon to make an extra pit stop. A late caution brought Hornish, Jr. into the picture for the race victory as Michael Andretti led ahead of Marco Andretti with Scott Dixon in third ahead of Hornish, Jr. 

Hornish, Jr. quickly took third as Marco Andretti took the lead. Hornish, Jr. navigated the lapped car of Bryan Herta and quickly overtook Michael Andretti for second. Hornish, Jr. was gaining on Marco Andretti until backing out entering turn three on the penultimate lap. It appeared Andretti had a large enough gap to hold on for victory. On the final lap, Hornish, Jr. clawed back ground and was within touching distance exiting turn four. Using the slipstream, Hornish, Jr. was able to pull ahead and beat Andretti to the checkered flag by 0.0635 seconds for the Indianapolis 500 victory. 

The Indianapolis 500 triumph lifted up Hornish, Jr.'s title hopes. He won twice early in summer but his results ebbed and flowed over the second half of the season. He went into the Chicagoland finale one point behind teammate Hélio Castroneves with four cars alive for the championship in the final race, as both Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Wheldon and Dixon had a shot.

The finale was a four-car battle between Penske and Ganassi. They were the only four cars on the lead lap in the the closing stages. Wheldon won the race with the most laps led ahead of Dixon with Hornish, Jr. in third and Castroneves in fourth. This result left Wheldon and Hornish, Jr. tied on points with Castroneves two points back. Hornish, Jr.'s four victories to Wheldon's two gave the American a third title in six seasons.

Another good year followed in 2007 with one victory, eight top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes from 17 races to put Hornish, Jr. fifth in the championship. The 2007 season was one where Hornish, Jr. split his focus as he ran nine races in NASCAR's second division, and he would earn a NASCAR Cup Series seat with Team Penske for the 2008 season.

What impression did Hornish, Jr. leave on IndyCar?

The further we get from The Split, the harder it becomes to explain Hornish, Jr.'s career and his success. He was the best the IRL produced. He was the only multi-time champion in the series before reunification. Plenty of talented drivers were around, and only Hornish, Jr. won multiple championships. Scott Dixon didn't do it. Tony Kanaan didn't do it. Hélio Castroneves didn't come in and win a title immediately, neither did Gil de Ferran. 

Even Hornish, Jr.'s predecessors never grabbed a hold on the series and never let go. Neither Arie Luyendyk nor Eddie Cheever became an unstoppable force in the IRL despite their CART experience. Neither Scott Sharp nor Buddy Lazier built upon their first championships to become the star of the series, though Lazier may have been the closest to what Hornish, Jr. achieved. 

When the CART teams started switching to the IRL, Hornish, Jr. was the only IRL driver that was consistently successful and a challenger. When Team Penske needed a driver, it hired Hornish, Jr. Chip Ganassi Racing didn't hire Buddy Lazier, Scott Sharp or Greg Ray when the team fully switched over. Billy Boat and Mark Dismore were not getting a call from Andretti Green Racing. All those teams trusted their talent, and history tells us rightfully so, but Hornish, Jr. was the one IRL driver that could hang with the best from CART and the only one who got a greater opportunity when the tides of the IRL began to change. 

Hornish, Jr.'s career exists in a vacuum that likely will never be duplicated. Hornish, Jr. didn't run on a road or street course until the 71st start of his career. He only made 11 road/street course starts in 116 races. Hornish, Jr. never raced at Long Beach, Toronto, Road America and Laguna Seca. No one is ever going to have another career like that in IndyCar. 

It is a shame Hornish, Jr. never competed post-reunification the same way it was a shame A.J. Allmendinger left for NASCAR right before reunification when Allmendinger would have been a star in IndyCar. Hornish, Jr. probably made the right business decision for himself, taking a NASCAR ride when the salaries were significantly greater than in the IRL and when his abilities may have been diminished in a changing IndyCar as oval events began to decrease while road and street races began to increase. 

Hornish, Jr. spent a decade in NASCAR and found respectable speed, especially in NASCAR's second division. The immediately leap to the Cup Series brought nothing good for him, but he became a race winner and capable driver in the second division, nearly winning a championship. He hasn't raced anything in nearly nine years. His most recent NASCAR start was at Homestead on November 18, 2017 in NASCAR's second division. Today, Hornish, Jr. is only 47 years old, a little more than a year older than Scott Dixon.

It sucks we never saw Hornish, Jr. come back to IndyCar the same way we saw Juan Pablo Montoya return and A.J. Allmendinger dabble, and the same way Jacques Villeneuve came back out of nowhere to run one Indianapolis 500. Hornish, Jr. was a driver with nothing left to prove and yet so much he still could have accomplished to further his legacy. He would have received such a warm welcome if he came back just once for the Indianapolis 500, but he probably could have come back for a half-dozen years or a full decade and been a significant challenger.

It is hard to comprehend how a driver of Hornish, Jr.'s capabilities never went back to where he was spectacular. He did state after the death of Dan Wheldon he did not have the desire to run in IndyCar again, but considering the safety advancement made with the DW12 chassis over nearly the last two decades, IndyCar has been safer than ever, including over the entire period of Hornish, Jr.'s career. 

If Hornish, Jr. had returned, it wasn't a question of if he could be competitive but how competitive would he have been? Even if he were to have returned in 2014 and 2015, the same time Montoya returned, I think he could have gone to Indianapolis and been a top five runner, if not a contender for the race victory. 

The full-time makeup of IndyCar would have been more difficult for Hornish, Jr. to conquer again. He lacked road and street course experience, and I think he would have been mid-pack more times than not, better than the likes of Ed Carpenter and even Jimmie Johnson from his brief IndyCar career, but not on the level of Charlie Kimball or James Hinchcliffe. Hornish, Jr.'s championship position would come down to his oval form, and with only five or six oval races a season, it would be difficult for that to be a significant decider in his championship position. One bad oval race would be the difference between cracking the championship top ten and being 13th. Two bad oval races would torpedo any promising championship finish and put cracking the top fifteen in doubt. 

Hornish, Jr. is going to live on his own in IndyCar history. He doesn't quite fit when compared to Dixon, Will Power, Álex Palou, Dario Franchitti or Josef Newgarden. I don't know if anyone holds Hornish, Jr. up as an equal when compared to Alex Zanardi or Gil de Ferran or Juan Pablo Montoya. How do you rate his career to Tony Kanaan or even Hélio Castroneves? Hornish, Jr. fits somewhere, but where he is placed feels like an awkward squeeze.

It is a career that could only exist in this narrow period of time, one that cannot be fully celebrated in IndyCar history because of how destructive it was. That isn't Hornish, Jr.'s fault, but it makes him harder to place him among the all-time greats. Part of Hornish, Jr.'s career is missing because of the politics of the 1990s and early 2000s, and this career does not have an equivalent to any contemporary. 

The only comparable driver is Sébastien Bourdais, as Bourdais torched Champ Car while Hornish, Jr ruled the IRL, but Bourdais returned and spent a decade in IndyCar post-reunification, winning races and out-performing his equipment with multiple teams. We saw what Bourdais could do in a united IndyCar. For Hornish, Jr. it will always remain a mystery. 

He was breathtaking when ovals were the only thing he could race on, but even with 19 victories in 116 starts and three championships, Hornish, Jr. does not fit easily with the other greats from recent history.

2026 NASCAR Predictions: Revisited

I am sure there is still confetti blowing around the swamps near Homestead-Miami Speedway, as it was only a few days ago the NASCAR season concluded with three championship celebrations. The 2026 season saw a return to the "Chase" format with a multiple race aggregate deciding the champions at the end of the season rather than a multi-round, elimination-format with a "winner-take-all" finale. This change brought a different tone to the season, as to be champion a driver at least had to be on top form for a nine or ten-race stretch instead of strategically winning races.

It felt like there was less luck involved this year and the focus was more on skill. With increased points for winning races, winning races still mattered. "Points racing" was not going to be enough if the same rivals kept winning. This felt different from what the past decade had been, but it was a refreshing change to something a little more natural. 

With the brief summary behind us, we did make predictions ahead of this season, ahead of knowing what the official championship format would be. How did those turn out?

1. Kyle Larson's average finish in each third of the season will be 15.5 or better

Wrong!

This might be hard to believe, but Larson's average finish was worse than 15.5 over in two-thirds of the season. Larson's average finish over the first 12 races was 17.25. He had four finishes outside the top 30 in the first third of the season. However, his second third of the season saw him have an average finish of 17.0883. His final third saved his season and Larson had an average finish of 9.0833.

Larson was on his way to a rather disappointing season before the final third of the season, and he was still ranked eighth in the championship through the first 24 races. He had no victories, he had eight finishes outside the top 30 through the first 24 races and he didn't look close to being champion, and then he ended on a blitz to successfully defend his championship.

2. A Team Penske driver will not have a race victory following a finish outside the top twenty

Wrong!

This one was looking good into the final day of the season. Entering Homestead, Team Penske had won six races in 2026, a respectable haul. Ryan Blaney put Team Penske on the scoreboard with a victory in the fourth race of the season at Phoenix. The race prior to that, Blaney had finished eighth at Austin. Blaney would not win again until Atlanta in July, but that was after a seventh at Chicagoland. Blaney's third victory came at Loudon, a week after finishing 13th at Richmond. 

Joey Logano had a rough first-half of his season. Logano was 20th in the championship after 18 races, but his form improved over summer. Logano won at North Wilkesboro, a week after Blaney won at Atlanta, and Logano was ninth in that race. Logano made it two quick victories as he won four races later at Richmond, and that was after a 14th at Iowa. This lifted Logano to ninth in the championship from 20th in six races. Logano's third victory was at Bristol in September after finishing third at Gateway. 

This is all great. So what happened on the final day of the season?

Ryan Blaney passed Tyler Reddick for the victory while taking the white flag, and Blaney won the finale one week after finishing 35th at Martinsville after being caught in an accident. 

DAMN! This was a little more than a lap away from being correct. If Noah Gragson didn't spin out Daniel Suárez, this prediction is correct. William Byron would have held onto win. If the final sprint to the finish was a lap shorter and only seven laps instead of eight laps, maybe Reddick holds on. This one hurts and we are early in the process of revisiting these predictions. It shouldn't hurt this soon. 

3. Chase Briscoe will have the third-most top five finishes at Joe Gibbs Racing

Correct!

Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin finished with the same number of top five finishes. Both drivers had 16 top five finishes. Briscoe had a respectable season and technically was tied for third-most top five finishes at Joe Gibbs Racing, as Briscoe had 13 top five finishes as did Ty Gibbs. Tied for third is still third, and if we were to use a tiebreaker, Briscoe had three victories while Gibbs had two, so advantage Briscoe. 

By the way, credit to Joe Gibbs Racing for having all four of its drivers scoring at least 13 top five finishes. Hendrick Motorsports didn't have that. Alex Bowman had a tough season as he battled health issues, but William Byron was non-existent for the first 34 races this season. Chase Elliott didn't even crack ten top five finishes. Joey Logano may have won three times, but he had seven top five finishes all season and Austin Cindric only had four. 

Looking at all the numbers, it is hard to believe Gibbs didn't pull off a championship this season. 

4. Chase Elliott will have at least five finishes outside the top twenty in the first 24 races

Correct!

Unlike 2025 where it took 24 races for Elliott's first finish outside the top twenty, it only took four races for Elliott to finish so low, as he was 23rd at Phoenix. The next result outside the top twenty was four races later, a 22nd at Bristol. Four races later, Elliott was 24th at Watkins Glen. Notice a pattern?

Well, the pattern didn't hold, and Elliott was 37th in the next race, the Coca-Cola 600 after being caught in an accident. This prediction was achieved in 15 races, as Elliott had another accident at Michigan leaving him 32nd. Elliott had one more finish outside the top twenty in the first two-thirds of the season, a 37th at Indianapolis. 

Overall, Elliott had 12 finishes outside the top twenty in 2026, a threefold increase from 2025.

5. Denny Hamlin will have five fastest laps or fewer

Correct!

Hamlin had four fastest laps this season, at Las Vegas in March, Martinsville in March, at Nashville in May and at Las Vegas in October.

Even though Hamlin had half the number of fastest laps as last season, he still finished tied for the most fastest laps this season in Cup. Ryan Blaney also had four fastest laps (Bristol in April, Richmond in August, Phoenix in October, Homestead in November).

6. Tyler Reddick will be one of the first six drivers to win a Cup race this season

Correct!

Reddick was the first winner of the NASCAR Cup Series season as he took the Daytona 500 leading only the final lap of the race. But to prove it wasn't a fluke, Reddick then won the next two races and became the first driver in Cup Series history to open the season with three consecutive victories. He had a fabulous opening third of the season, as in the first 12 races Reddick won five times with eight top five finishes and his worst result was 15th. 

Unfortunately, that form did not hold, and he won only once more over the final 24 races, a victory at Phoenix in October. Reddick dropped to fifth in the final championship standings. 

7. Trackhouse will win fewer road course races by ten seconds or greater

Correct!

This one was correct on an account Trackhouse won fewer road course races period, mostly because there were fewer road course races total. This season saw only four road course events, a decrease from five, and Trackhouse didn't win two of those road courses, so naturally, after winning three road course races by ten seconds or greater in 2025, Trackhouse could not match such a total in 2026.

Either way, neither of its victories were by ten seconds. 

Shane van Gisbergen did win in impressive fashion at Watkins Glen, taking fresh tires with 18 laps to go and overcoming a 29-plus second gap to leader Ty Gibbs to win by over seven seconds at the finish. At Sonoma, van Gisbergen had to fight Chase Briscoe to the finish with the margin of victory being less than half a second. 

8. Connor Zilisch will win more races than Jesse Love

Wrong!

This prediction was based on all NASCAR national series, and both drivers won twice. Zilisch was actually the first to two victories this season. He won the spring Bristol race in NASCAR's second division, and he then won in that series at Watkins Glen. 

Love did not win until the 26th race of the season at Gateway. He added a second victory four races later at Phoenix. 

For most of this season, this prediction was trending in the right direction. I do believe I made this prediction expecting Zilisch to be more competitive in Cup and likely winning one road course race in Cup while jumping down to the lower series and still having some success. Heck, Zilisch was second after leading the most laps in the Watkins Glen Truck race. I don't feel too bad about this one. Zilisch had a tougher Cup season than expected. Love ran as expected. Now they will be competing against each other on Sundays in the Cup Series as Love moves to the Wood Brothers for 2027. 

9. A driver running in multiple entries will win a race in NASCAR's second division

Correct!

This prediction always felt like it was going to be correct because Carson Kvapil was scheduled to run in two JR Motorsports entries while filling outhit season at DGM Racing. Kvapil was bound to win at least once at JR Motorsports, and he ended up winning three times in the final 12 races. All those victories came in the #1 Chevrolet, but he finished 11th or better in all of his five starts in the #9 JRM Chevrolet, and he had a pair of top ten finishes at DGM Racing. 

Technically, Kvapil isn't the driver who fulfilled this prediction. It was actually Ross Chastain. Chastain ran for Jordan Anderson Racing at Atlanta and Austin, where he had two top ten finishes, he also had an eighth-place finish for DGM Racing at Martinsville, but Chastain won the Charlotte race in May driving the #9 JRM Chevrolet. 

And Ryan Sieg even won a race this season despite driving multiple entries because Sieg won at Daytona in the #38 RSS Racing Chevrolet because he stepped out of his #39 Ford to allow Andy Jankowiak to make his debut in the series.

It was always going to be a JRM driver and then we had Sieg do it as well. 

10. The Burton family will lead more combined laps in the first 20 races than they led in the entire 2025 season

Wrong!

Last season, the Burton family led a combined 60 laps. This season, they led a combined 44 laps. They didn't even come close to this one. 

Jeb Burton led three laps in the first 20 races. He led a lap at Phoenix in March and two laps at Talladega in April. Jeb Burton went on to lead three laps at Iowa and then two at Las Vegas. 

Harrison Burton led 25 laps in the first 20 races, 17 of those came at Martinsville in March. he led a lap at Talladega in April, five laps at Pocono in June and two laps at Sonoma in June. Over the rest of the season, Harrison Burton led two laps in the 21st race of the season at Atlanta, one lap at Daytona in August and eight laps at Talladega in October.

I thought both drivers would have done a little better. Jeb Burton was driving for Jordan Anderson Racing and Harrison Burton was at Sam Hunt Racing. I didn't expect either to win four or five races and compete for the championship. I really thought one or both of them would lead 25 to 30 laps at Daytona, Talladega or Atlanta to really help the total, and then Harrison would have a good race at a short track and led 40 laps. 

That never came close to happening. 

 

11. Kaden Honeycutt will finish in the top three of victories in the Truck Series

Correct!

Honeycutt had the second-most victories in the Truck Series, winning five times and taking the championship while Layne Riggs was second in the championship with seven victories. 

Honeycutt was bound to win driving for TRICON and taking over the #11 Toyota from Corey Heim. It always felt like Riggs was going to be Honeycutt's main competition for the championship. I wrote last December while making this prediction, "It feels like 2026 will be between Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski and Honeycutt while Chandler Smith has an outside shot as does [Christian] Eckes." 

We had the pulse of this season before the calendar even changed to 2026. Those drivers ended up comprising the championship top five in the Truck Series. 

12. Parker Kligerman will get credited with a top five finish

Correct!

I will admit, when I was going over these predictions, I thought I had gotten this one wrong, but upon further review, Kligerman was fourth in the Lime Rock Park Truck race! The Connecticut-native was fourth in his home race, at a track he technically owns a share of, and it was one he had to earn as Kligerman started 16th in a race without live pit stops. He was up to seventh at the end of stage two, and he made up a few more spots as others were knocked out of the way. 

Seven of the top ten from the end of stage one finished behind Kligerman, and five of those driver finished 18th or worse. Fortunate played a little bit of a role in this one. 

After twice finishing first on the road but being credited for no victories in 2025, I feels only right Kligerman get at least a top five finish for himself this year. 

It is a little sad Kligerman didn't get more opportunities in 2026. The guy took the checkered flag first in two Daytona races last year and he ended up making zero Daytona starts this year. How does that work out? This is without bringing up that Ryan Truex did not make a start this year despite being one of the best drivers at Dover and only being two years removed from winning at Daytona as well in NASCAR's second division. 

There is plenty of talent out there that do not have rides but are capable of running at the front in these series.

That is 8/12 for this year. Not bad. It very nearly could have been nine or ten. There isn't much to be displeased with after this one.

Musings From the Weekend: Don't Bother, Colton

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

The cupboard is a little more bare. The inevitable happened in Miami. It was a messy end in Monza. Proceedings went off without a hitch in Qatar, though a championship battle remains alive into another race weekend. Mixed conditions mixed up the Brazilian Grand Prix. A few performances started well and then fell off. A few rallied. With the World Drivers' Championship already decided, there has been one story carrying over the final races of the Formula One seasons, and it covers a driver working on his eligibility to take a ride in 2027. 

Don't Bother, Colton

While Andrea Kimi Antonelli gets to soak in his historic accomplishment and experiences a global guard of honor, the 2026 season is not over for many, and the work continues for the future. It isn't all happening in the races, but the opening free practice sessions have been carrying consequences to a familiar name in these parts. It has been Colton Herta's only way to earn a Super License for next season. 

Prior to 2026, it was decided Herta would continue his chase of a Super License in the Formula One ladder system, moving to Formula Two as a Cadillac development driver after spending seven seasons in IndyCar. In IndyCar, Herta fell short of reaching the 40 points necessary to earn a Super License and enter Formula One this season. At the end of 2025, Herta had 35 Super License points, with one being dropped for his 2026 season result, effectively leaving him on 34 points when this year began. 

Those final points could be earned in Formula Two. Any finish of eighth or better in the Formula Two championship would reach the threshold for Herta. There is also the provision where one point would be awarded every time a driver completes at least 100 kilometers in a free practice session, barring there are no reprimands to the driver during the session. A driver can earn up to ten Super License points through free practices in a given season.

Free practice has been the only way Herta has earned any points this season. 

With two rounds still on the schedule for the Formula Two season, Herta sits 19th in the championship out of 23 drivers with 26 points. He has yet to finish better than fifth in a race. His best feature race finish is sixth. Herta is 64 points away from where he needed to finish to earn the Super License points necessary from his championship finish. There are only 78 points remaining on the table. It is still possible, but it is high unlikely. 

However, this past weekend at Interlagos saw Herta participate in his sixth free practice of the season. It was the third consecutive round in which Herta ran a free practice. Based on the regulations, Herta has achieved enough points for a Super License and could be on the grid in 2027. Rumors circle that Cadillac could drop Valtteri Bottas in favor of Herta next season. 

Let's be honest though, Herta shouldn't even bother with Formula One. 

Herta isn't wasting petrol as Ralf Schumacher put it, but he hasn't earned an opportunity to run in Formula One even with the worst team on the grid. Running for Cadillac isn't even worth it. What is Herta getting out of battling not to retire the car and maybe finish only two laps down to the winner? Is any other team on the grid going to be so impressed with Herta at Cadillac it could lead to an opportunity elsewhere? Is Racing Bulls going to call if Herta ends up pulling out a 13th or will McLaren consider him should it have a falling out with Oscar Piastri if Herta gets one results in 14th and only a lap down?

He has been on this nonsensical chase for the last few seasons, allegedly chasing a dream but having left Europe at the prime time of development, whilst teammate with Lando Norris, who would become world champion, to return to the IndyCar ladder system. Herta unquestionably was competitive in IndyCar, but for most of his time at that level he could not become a dominant force despite early success. His highest moments were flashes and not the norm. Even when it felt like Herta had finally found a breakthrough after the 2024 season, he regressed to his old form in 2025 and had his second winless season in three years.

It would be one thing if Herta had a fraction of Álex Palou's success, maybe only two championships and an Indianapolis 500 victory, and decided he wanted to challenge himself against the best in Formula One. Herta might not have been the best compared to the other three drivers Andretti Global had in its IndyCar lineup this season. It would be another thing if Herta had been competitive this year in Formula Two and maybe cracked the top eight with a handful of podium finishes and a victory. Then maybe you could make an argument he is ready for Formula One. Herta isn't ready, even if it is to run 19th every race. 

Moving into a Cadillac seat in 2027 will only hurt Herta's perception even more. It will undoubtedly lead to a greater restriction on Super License points awarded through free practice. There is no result he can achieve in Formula One that will change the writing on the wall. Even if Herta were to beat Sergio Pérez every week and never retire the car nor have an incident on track, he would still be seen on the level on Max Chilton, minus the father running an insurance company. 

What should Herta do then in 2027? 

IndyCar is already closed off. There are four open seats among the chartered entries, one of them is believed to be Rinus VeeKay's though Juncos Hollinger Racing remains silent about its future, and none of the remaining three are hiring seats. Herta isn't going to fall to Dale Coyne Racing, nor is Cadillac and General Motors going to shuffle Herta to be in the other JHR seat. Running entirely as a test driver with a few sports car outings in IMSA is an inadequate amount of work.

The best option is to run another Formula Two season and possibly improve. If come the end of June it is clear it will not be better or not good enough, arrangements can start to be made to shuffle Herta back to IndyCar within the Andretti Global operation for 2028, and these two years will be viewed as an unremarkable detour in a career. Herta wouldn't be the first driver to have a few odd years on a résumé. 

Formula One should not be an option, but if Cadillac has put him in six free practice sessions to get Herta his Super License, it feels likely he will end up in a race seat in 2027. It might not be at the start of the season, but if the car remains the slowest on the grid it wouldn't hurt to rotate drivers at some point and let Herta be dead last at the British Grand Prix rather than Bottas. 

Herta is probably good enough to run a Formula One car. Truth be told, there are dozens of drivers outside of Formula One good enough to be on the grid each week. Think about all the skilled drivers out there. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa all won the World Endurance Drivers' Championship in the #8 Toyota this weekend at the FIA World Endurance Championship finale at Monza. All three have Formula One starts, Buemi and Hartley could still be in Formula One today. There were probably another 12-15 drivers in the Hypercar class that could be in Formula One, and the same number of drivers in IndyCar could probably hold there own in a Formula One car. 

It isn't a matter of Herta not being capable enough to drive a Formula One car, it is a matter that Herta hasn't done enough to feel he should move into Formula One after this season. Joining the grid in 2027 will not be a springboard to his career. It will be a dead end. It isn't worth it.

Champions From the Weekend

You know about Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa, but did you know...

Jonny Edgar won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers with a third-place finish at Monza in the #33 TF Sport Corvette with Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating.

Kyle Larson clinched the NASCAR Cup Series championship with a fourth-place finish in the first stage of the Homestead race.

Justin Allgaier clinched the NASCAR Grand National Series championship with a seventh-place finish in Homestead.

Kaden Honeycutt clinched the NASCAR Truck Series championship with a victory at Homestead, his fifth victory of the season.

The #100 Stanley Team Kunimitsu Honda of Naoki Yamaoto and Tadasuke Makino clinched the Super GT GT500 championship with a victory in the second race from Motegi.

The #56 Kondo Racing Nissan of João Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura clinched the Super GT GT300 championship with finishes of 14th and fourth at Motegi.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about a few winners and a handful of champions, but did you know...

Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix, his third victory of the season.

Marco Bezzecchi won MotoGP's Qatar Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the sesaon. Marc Márquez won the sprint race. Daniel Holgado won the Moto2 race, his second victory of the season. David Almansa won in Moto3, his fourth victory of the season.

The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Sébastien Bourdais won the 6 Hours of Monza. The #92 Manthey Racing Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin won in LMGT3.

Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series race from Homestead, his fourth victory of the season. Brandon Jones won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season.

The #12 Team Impul Nissan of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette won the first Super GT race from Motegi. The #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus of Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi won in GT300. The #88 JLOC Lamborghini of Takashi Kogure and Daniil Kvyat won the second Motegi race in GT300.

Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne split the Supercars races from Sandown.

Coming Up This Weekend

The "Asian" Le Mans Series opens with a doubleheader at Circuit Paul Ricard.

Career Retrospective: Jimmy Vasser

As another offseason is thoroughly in session for IndyCar, we take this time to look over a few careers that have stood out in the history of American open-wheel racing. This year provided a theme that spreads over multiple decades.

We begin with a driver who has been retired for quite some time, but a name that remains recognizable to all. Some drivers hold honors that we do not recognize, and with a shift at the top of IndyCar's record book, this is the man whose achievements many years ago was the first domino to where we ended in 2026. We might not consider his achievements enough as much of his career was spent in the shadows of teammates and politics.

We start with Jimmy Vasser.

Where was Vasser coming from?

Hailing from California, Vasser began in club acing, running in SCCA, where he was the 1986 Formula Ford national champion, winning at the Runoffs held at Road Atlanta. Despite the club racing success, Vasser was not on the fast track to IndyCar. He ran three races in the 1987 Formula Atlantic West championship where he won two pole positions and had finishes of third at Portland and first at Laguna Seca.

Vasser dabbled with a few one off starts in Indy Lights, but his next big step was into Canadian F2000 in 1989, and he was fifth in that championship the following year. In 1990, Vasser returned to the Atlantic Championship for a few rounds with Genoa Racing. While he showed speed, winning two more pole positions and starting third or better in four of five races, he failed to finish four races, two of which ended on the opening lap. However, the one race he did finish was a victory at Road America.

Come 1991, Vasser was full-time in Atlantics, and he opened the season with a victory at Laguna Seca. While he won four of the first six races, mechanical issues plagued his season. Vasser won six times in 13 races, but he finished outside the top twenty in five events. Though he won the finale, Vasser lost the title by four points to Jovy Marcelo.

What did IndyCar look like when Vasser started in the series?

When Vasser made his debut in 1992 it was quite the place, full of drivers at their peak while some other legends were at the end of their career, and it was on the verge of a generational shift. 

CART was a little over a decade-old, but riding high. The series had taken on a variety of new circuits over the previous decade, as street courses became more prevalent. Following Long Beach's addition to the schedule, Detroit followed, which moved its event to Belle Isle in Vasser's first year. CART had become more international. Toronto had been added a handful fo years prior, Vancouver was in its third year, and Surfers Paradise, Australia was hosting the series for the second time.

Out of the 16 races, six were held on ovals, and most of them were shorter. Phoenix and Milwaukee were historical mainstays. Nazareth was relatively new, and New Hampshire International Speedway was hosting its first event in 1992. The other two oval events were 500-mile races at Indianapolis and Michigan. 

The top teams were Rahal-Hogan Racing, a team with an owner-driver in Bobby Rahal; Newman-Haas Racing, which had long supported the Andretti family and was fielding Michael and Mario; and Galles-Kraco Racing was a force with Al Unser, Jr. as its lead driver with Danny Sullivan also a part of the team. 

Team Penske remained a threat with Emerson Fittipaldi, but the team was experiencing a shift as Rick Mears battled injuries and Paul Tracy was a development driver for the team. Chip Ganassi Racing was entering its third season and had yet to win a race. This was Ganassi's first year as a two-car organization with Arie Luyendyk was added as an Indianapolis 500 entry along side Eddie Cheever, which expanded into a bigger role for Luyendyk.

Lola was the preferred chassis manufacturer, but Penske and Galmer-Kraco were building their own cars. Some teams got along with older cars. Year-old chassis were regularly used when it came to smaller teams. The main battle in the engine battle was Ford-Cosworth vs. Chevrolet, but Buick had a place, though mostly used at Indianapolis. Even an unbadged Judd engine was used.

How does IndyCar look now?

Settled but potentially on the verge of a generational shift. 

Álex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, Patricio O'Ward and David Malukas represented the championship top five in 2026, an average age of 26.8. Despite this youth, there are a number of veterans on the grid, but a few are getting closer to the end of their careers. Scott Dixon turned 46 years old and had his worst season in two decades. Will Power turned 45 years old and had his first season at Andretti Global after 17 years at Team Penske. Even Josef Newgarden is 35 years old at this point with plenty of career ahead of him, but far from being a part of the next generation. 

There were 18 races this past season, and all 18 were held on the North America continent. There was a new race in Canada, as Markham replaced Toronto, which had spent the better part of four decades on the calendar. It was quite the season for new events with three total new street courses. Along with Markham, Arlington, Texas hosted a race, and Washington, D.C. pulled off an event on eight-month notice.

Long Beach remains, Detroit had its fourth consecutive year on a downtown street course after leaving Belle Isle, and St. Petersburg has spent closer to 25 years on the schedule. 

Five oval races were on the schedule. Indianapolis and Phoenix remained, but Phoenix was a part of combination weekend with NASCAR. It was IndyCar's first visit to the Arizona capital in eight years, and it was only the fourth IndyCar race in the last 21 years at the one-mile oval. Gateway has been on the schedule for almost a decade after over a decade away, and Nashville Superspeedway hosted a race for a third consecutive year. Milwaukee had a doubleheader weekend, its third consecutive year on the schedule after nearly a decade away. 

Chip Ganassi Racing has now won the most championships in IndyCar history, surpassing Team Penske this season. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is a mid-pack team capable of strong days but more known for its struggles for consistent pace. Andretti Global is not owned by an Andretti. McLaren is on the grid but, despite its history of building IndyCar chassis and building cars in Formula One, it is not fielding a McLaren as all IndyCar teams use the Dallara DW12 chassis, which just completed its 15th season of competition. 

Chevrolet and Honda have been the only two engine manufacturers since 2013.

What did Vasser do in-between?

Starting out in a year-old Lola, Vasser's first IndyCar experience was with Hayhoe-Cole Racing. The team ran most of the races, and it did not take long for Vasser to score his first career top ten finish, a seventh in his third career start at Long Beach.

After overcoming Bump Day drama, Vasser was the fastest rookie qualifier for his Indianapolis 500 debut, but started 28th. He was nearing the halfway point of the race when he had an accident in turn one, which left him with a broken leg.

Vasser spent two more seasons with Hayhoe-Cole. In 1993, he was third in the second race of the season at Phoenix, finishing behind Mario Andretti and Raul Boesel. It was Andretti's final victory. Vasser was three laps down. The 1994 season began with three top five finishes in the first four races, including a fourth in the Indianapolis 500. His results dipped over the final three-quarters of the season, but Vasser drew the eye of Chip Ganassi and was hired for the 1995 season.

Though Vasser did not win during his first season at Ganassi, he had four podium finishes and was eighth in the championship. In 1996, Ganassi took on Honda as an engine partner and the team hired Alex Zanardi. Vasser started the season with his first career victory. He won four of the first six races, including the U.S. 500 from Michigan held counter of the Indianapolis 500, which concluded the inaugural Indy Racing League season. 

Consistency was key over the second half of the 1996 season as Vasser took the championship ahead of Michael Andretti.

Vasser remained a top driver over the next few seasons, but he could not get the best of his teammate Zanardi. In 1997, Vasser was third in the championship with only one victory. Zanardi took the title with a race to spare and five victories. Zanardi was even better in 1998 with seven victories. Vasser was second in the championship, but Zanardi clinched a successful title defense with four races remaining.

Zanardi left after 1998, and Juan Pablo Montoya joined Ganassi alongside Vasser. Montoya picked up where Zanardi left off with seven victories going to the Colombian. Montoya took the championship on tiebreaker over Dario Franchitti. Vasser was not close to his teammate, ending up ninth in the championship with zero victories. Vasser had one more season at Ganassi, and results improved, he won at Houston, but he was dismissed from the team at the end of the season. 

Vasser went to Patrick Racing for 2001, and he started the season well with four consecutive top five finishes, but the results never came close to victory. Vasser moved to Team Rahal in 2002, where he won at Fontana, but he did not stay with the team as it moved to the Indy Racing League in 2003. Vasser stayed in CART and joined the team American Spirit Team Johnasson as the veteran driver alongside rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay. The team lasted a season before folding.

To continue his career, Vasser bought into PKV Racing along side Dan Pettit and Champ Car owner Kevin Kalkhoven. In two seasons, Vasser had three podium finishes and nine top five finishes and finished in the top ten of the championship. He ran the 2006 season opener from Long Beach before stepping away from driving. 

While never moving to the IRL as a driver, Vasser did start four Indianapolis 500s after The Split, two with Chip Ganassi where he finished seventh and fourth in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 and 2003, he ran with the Rahal team, but gearbox issues ended each race. Vasser's final start was the "final Champ Car race," as the 2008 Long Beach race was held post-reunification with the pre-existing Champ Car teams as the IRL teams ran at Motegi on the same weekend. Vasser was tenth.

What impression did Vasser leave on IndyCar?

Vasser's legacy could be greater as a team owner as a driver. Winning in 1996 was probably the worst thing that could happen to him because all anyone can remember about 1996 when it comes to American open-wheel racing is The Split. Even if Vasser was succeeding against high-quality competition, the politics of the sport overshadowed his accomplishments.

On top of all of it, Vasser contributed to the war in his post-U.S. 500 victory lane interview when he said, "Who needs milk?" 

Without The Split, 1996 could largely be remembered as the year of Vasser as he probably would have won the Indianapolis 500 had all the CART teams been there instead. 

Vasser is the first Ganassi champion, which is significant when you consider Ganassi now sits alone with the most championships. Vasser started it. However, he was outmatched by each of his teammates. Vasser won the title his first year against Zanardi, but Zanardi was entirely new while Vasser had spent four years in CART and was in his second year at Ganassi. Zanardi's next two seasons throttled all Vasser accomplished. Then Montoya came and the intra-team beating continued. 

Though not the best driver from his own team, Vasser was still one of the better drivers in the second-half of the 1990s. He had great speed and may have been unfortunate to be pair with two extraordinary talents that toppled American open-wheel racing with ease. 

When the driving career was over, Vasser became a team owner and developed a competitive organization that lasted through the final days of Champ Car and into the unified IndyCar. KV Racing gave Tony Kanaan a home, and it turned into an Indianapolis 500 victory. Sébastien Bourdais showed he could still go toe-to-toe with IndyCar's best with KV Racing. For over a half-decade, it was the team just outside the elite level of IndyCar. Unfortunately, the team did not have the funding to continue beyond the 2016 season despite winning that year. 

In 2018, Vasser and partner James Sullivan partnered with Dale Coyne Racing, where the team reunited with Bourdais and won the group's first race back together. However, the partnership with Coyne only lasted until 2021. 

The Split hurt Vasser becoming a household name, but within IndyCar circles he is a respected figure and one that is generally celebrated. Just as with Michael Andretti, who did not win the Indianapolis 500 as a driver but was venerated with multiple victories as an owner, Vasser got his "500" victory after losing a prime part of his career to The Split. The 2013 race will be remembered for Kanaan getting his moment, but it is just as fitting Vasser also received his glory that day after such an incredible but obstructed career. 

Vasser has spent the last few years running Lexus' sports car program in IMSA with Sullivan. The team has won a championship and a number of races. Part of Vasser probably itches to get back to IndyCar, but he knows how difficult it is to run an IndyCar program, let alone a competitive one. In a few weeks, Vasser will turn 61 years old. He is only seven years younger than Chip Ganassi. Does Vasser wish to spend the final chapter of his life running an IndyCar team? 

It would be a lot of work just to get back. Vasser would be a dedicated owner and make the series better, but there is a chance that part of his life is behind him, and assuming the role of dignitary in the paddock carries less responsibilities than that of competitor. Whether it is as a guest or on a timing stand, Vasser will have a place.

Musings From the Weekend: A Sprint Concept for IndyCar

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

With Jorge Martín withdrawing from Malaysia due to his arm injury suffered last week in Australia, Marc Márquez grasped the opportunity and won the Malaysian Grand Prix after finishing second in the sprint race to Pedro Acosta. Márquez could clinch the MotoGP world championship at the next round, but this MotoGP has shown us not to be certain over anything. Records were broken in Mexico City. Esteban Ocon was benched at Haas, and Ryō Hirakawa made an unexpected Formula One debut. All three NASCAR national series championships will be decided at Homestead. It may be November, but something around May was on my mind.

A Sprint Concept for IndyCar

I was thinking about how hard it is to get an Indianapolis 500 one-off entry. We have 25 full-time cars and at least eight one-off entries. The problem for young drivers is not just raising the funding but convincing a team you are worth the shot, especially if there are nine extra entries or more. Even if you get a ride, that could be it. 

With the charter rules, only 25 cars are going to be allowed in all other races shortly (unless IndyCar changes its rulebook for Barcelona, but we can discuss that a later day). Midseason driver replacements are not unheard, but they are not a yearly thing. A driver may get a ride for Indianapolis and then not get another shot until the following May, or perhaps never again. 

It does feel like the pool of one-off drivers is shrinking. We make the joke that Conor Daly is everyone's reserve driver, but it is partially true. Daly will have a full-time ride in 2027 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Teams will have to look somewhere else. 

How can any drivers get a shot in IndyCar with how few opportunities there are to drive? 

Every year, it feels like most of the Indy Lights grid does not have a sniff at IndyCar. Only two drivers from the support series in 2025 moved up to IndyCar in 2026. From 2024 to 2025, two drivers moved up and Nolan Siegel was a midseason promotion in 2024. When it comes to the 2023 championship, only Christian Rasmussen moved up while Siegel, Louis Foster and Jacob Abel all eventually got a shot, but Abel was out of IndyCar after a season, and Siegel may not have a ride in 2026. 

A lot of talent is left on the sideline. Hunter McElrea was runner-up to Rasmussen in 2023, and he has one IndyCar start to his name. Toby Sowery was third in the 2019 Indy Lights championship, and it took him five years to get a handful of starts with Dale Coyne Racing. We can never say whether or not Kyle Kaiser was any good because Kaiser had six starts over two seasons. He will always have bumping Fernando Alonso and McLaren from the Indianapolis 500, but to rate Kaiser in any way as an IndyCar driver is complete unfair. His career, like many, was rather incomplete. 

I was thinking about Myles Rowe and how Rowe excelled notably on ovals in Indy Lights. Rowe had a few good road and street course performances, and he was fourth in the 2025 Indy Lights championship. Rowe has done enough to get at least an Indianapolis 500 entry, but outside of an Indianapolis 500 attempt, I am not sure he will get a chance to race elsewhere.

What could be done to get more drivers a shot at IndyCar and gauge what is the best talent currently without a ride? 

Whether we like it or not, sprint races have become a regular thing in a few forms of motorsports. Formula One introduced a few in 2021, and coming in 2027 there will be ten sprint rounds. MotoGP adopted sprint races at every round starting in 2023. Starting next year, MotoGP sprint races will receive their own qualifying session, just like Formula One. 

There is no good reason for IndyCar to adopt sprint races in the same vain as Formula One and MotoGP, but for a championship that is not going to increase its number of race weekends, this is a way for more racing to take place. However, it could also present an opportunity to allow the sprint races to stand apart from the actual championship. 

I don't think we need more races for the driver's championship, but sprint races could be used as a separate series meant for non-full-time drivers. It couldn't be at every race weekend, but my idea would be eight race weekends would be delineated as sprint weekends, three road courses, three street courses and two ovals, and participation would be limited to drivers with 35 IndyCar starts or fewer at the start of that season. 

On those weekends, each car is split between the full-time driver and the sprint driver. On the first day for road/street courses, each driver gets a practice session. The full-time driver gets 45 minutes and the sprint driver gets 30 minutes. On Saturday, the sprint drivers get a modified qualifying session. The field is split into two groups. Each group gets ten minutes. The top three from each group advances before a six-minute final round. IndyCar practice and qualifying takes place as usual for the full-time drivers, and then the sprint race is held, 50% of the full race distance. 

For ovals, it would be a little tougher, but those sprint weekends could have a test day for sprint drivers the day before the two-day weekend begins. It could be a two- or three-hour test for these drivers. Then on Saturday, the full-time drivers could get an hour practice session before the sprint drivers have a one-hour session that doubles as qualifying. The full-time drivers could get another practice and their qualifying session in before the sprint race closes the day with a race at 50% full race distance. 

Early sprint rounds could be held at Arlington and Barber Motorsports Park. It could return after the Indianapolis 500 at Detroit and Gateway. The summer could rotate, but initially races could be held at Mid-Ohio, Portland and Markham before the sprint finale at Milwaukee.

For the sprint portion to carry some weight, while the drivers would score their own points and not contribute to the full drivers championship, the sprint points could go toward the entrant's championship. Have you ever wondered what is the point of the entrant's championship if it is identical to the drivers? Here is a chance to differentiate it. All points scored by those cars, regardless of the driver, go toward the entrant's championship, and now teams have incentive to find the best drivers available and not just settle for another driver with money to fill the championship. It would hopefully incentivize the teams to hire drivers, especially if the full-time seats are already funded. 

There would still be variety in the driver lineups. We would see Hunter McElrea get more than just testing opportunities and Toby Sowery would likely get a chance to race. The proposed rule would allow Team Penske to run Felipe Nasr, as well as giving Myles Rowe an opportunity. It would leave the door open for current Indy Lights drivers to get a shot in an IndyCar while still developing. It would be a great for Enzo Fittipaldi and Tymek Kucharczyk, and it would keep both drivers in the IndyCar bubble, not sending both to the curb. This could be the place for the likes of Josh Pierson to show what they are capable of before receiving full approve to drive in IndyCar. 

This proposal would also allow teams to bring in talent from different parts of the motorsports world. Alex Dunne could be a driver for Dale Coyne Racing if he doesn't get a full-time ride. Kakunoshin Ohta could use it as a chance to get familiar with an IndyCar driving for Meyer Shank Racing. We could see Andretti Global bring in Jake Dennis from Formula E. Perhaps General Motors wants to keep Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti busy and farms them to Ed Carpenter Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing respectively. We could maybe see Linus Lundqvist actually race after running three races as a substitute in 2023 and the entire 2024 season before being kicked to as a "simulator development driver." What a depressing title! 

I just listed 12 names above, essentially half a grid, and tell me you would not be interested in seeing an IndyCar race with McElrea, Sowery, Nasr, Rowe, Fittipaldi, Kucharczyk, Dunne, Ohta, Dennis, Aitken, Vesti and Lundqvist competing? And we would still need 13 more drivers! Think about who else could be added!

Bringing more drivers into IndyCar isn't a bad thing, and it could be done in a way to let talent shine with results that can be used to improve a career that are not just controlled test sessions. These would be actual race results against a full field. 

When you consider IndyCar's driver ecosystem, IndyCar doesn't keep drivers around. Drivers are here-and-gone in a flash. Such a sprint concept would have over two-dozen more drivers competing, of which some would likely be from sports cars and the sprint would be a secondary job, but others would be racing versus not racing, and that is something IndyCar fails to do at the moment. We see drivers race in the month of May and then do nothing until the following May. 

This isn't NASCAR where drivers may fall out of the Cup Series but they can continue their careers in the lower two levels and extend their career a decade or more. There are no Justin Allgaiers, Harrison Burtons or Daniel Hemrics within the IndyCar spectrum. This concept would create a few, and that would be a good thing to have a handful more drivers more skilled with an IndyCar and increases the options for full-time drivers that teams otherwise are not considering.

IndyCar isn't one to try new things. It doesn't do anything revolutionary to a point it hurts. This would be a departure from a usual race weekend format, but it could be done to help the series develop drivers while also increasing meaningful events on track. This would be more than just another practice session, and a race where all drivers have something to prove could be utterly exciting to watch. 

Such a weekend format is far from reality. No one within IndyCar's office is thinking about a sprint series, but it could be beneficial to the series and the drivers around it. It could give Indy Lights drivers a place to go instead of just hitting a dead-end and going to sports cars or entirely ending a career altogether. There are plenty of kinks and hurdles keeping it from reality, but it surely would be something different that could see IndyCar's prospective talent pool grow. More names could be brought to the table, and if results are strong enough, it could force teams to consider drivers previously never on their clipboard.

There are plenty of things IndyCar must iron out, but this would be a different way to solve a problem, and it would keep drivers within the IndyCar circle. IndyCar should not be afraid of that, and it should seek to develop its talent pool, realizing great drivers are all over the place, some just need a chance.

Champions From the Weekend

Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched the World Drivers' Championship with a third-place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix. Antonelli became the youngest world champion at 20 years and 68 days old, over three years younger than the previously youngest world champion Sebastan Vettel.

Máximo Quiles won the Moto3 race from Malaysia, his 11th victory of the season, and Quiles technically clinched the Moto3 championship after his victory in Indonesia a few weeks ago, but it was lost in the shuffle that weekend, and we properly recognize Quiles at this moment.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about, Marc Márquez, Pedro Acosta and Máximo Quiles, but did you know...

Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix, his third victory of the season.

David Alonso won the Moto2 race in Malaysia, his second victory of the season.

William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville. Carson Kvapil won the Grand National Series race, his third victory of the season. Chandler Smith won the Truck race, his third victory of the season.

Coming Up This Weekend

The NASCAR season concludes at Homestead for the first time since 2019.

The FIA World Endurance Championship wraps up in Monza.

Super GT ends at Motegi.

MotoGP may race in Qatar. Yamaha is already boycotting the race based on the current conflict in the region.

Formula One continues onward to Brazil.

Best of the Month: October 2026

How is October already over? It was just June. 

Some of you have already participated in returning to Standard Time. Most of the United States returns to it this weekend as the calendar flips to November. An hour returns, but the races are dwindling and the cupboard is running out silverware. A few more pieces could be gone before this weekend is over. These are the days we must cherish the most, because soon races will be seldom as daylight lessen and the temperatures continue to drop.

What NASCAR's Playoff Change Has Gotten Correct

We are about to enter the penultimate weekend of the NASCAR season, and a week ago, a blanket covered the top seven in the Cup Series championship. Now, there is a chance the title will be secured with a race to spare for the first time since 2003, the most recent season decided based on a full season points aggregate. 

Championship format aside, the one thing that has stood out this season and should be appreciated is the increase in points for a victory. 

With an elimination of playoff rounds and the playoffs returning to a ten-race aggregate without eliminations, NASCAR increased the points for winning a race while keeping the rest of the points distribution the same. 

Prior to any stage points being awarded, a race victory earns a driver 55 points while second earns 35 points, decreasing by a point for equal subsequent position. For a long time I have argued the issue with NASCAR's point system was not how much the winner received but how much second on down received. Second received too large of a proportion of a race victory, and if NASCAR wanted winning races to matter more, second place should receive a smaller proportion of the winner’s point total. This change fixed it. 

On the base level, second place equalled 63.636% of a race victory. That is a smaller share than second-to-first in Formula One (72%) and IndyCar (80%). Throw in stage points, and it is possible that a race winner could earn more than double the rest of the field. A race victory could pay as much as 76 points. That could be as much as 41 points more than the rest of the field. Second place could leave with 46.05% of a race victory.

That is phenomenal!

If you want winning to matter and carry weight, it should be significantly more than second and the rest of the finishing positions. 

This is what allowed the championship swings we saw during the season. Tyler Reddick was running away through the first quarter of the season, but when Reddick stumbled, Denny Hamlin shot to the top because he was winning and scoring piles of points on the competition.

In the playoffs, Kyle Larson has positioned himself to win the championship because he has won three of the eight races run so far, and he has seven finishes inside the top six. 

If there is anything that should be tweaked further it is the points reset after the regular season. The reset totals were set based on the past points system when winning was not worth as much. I don't know if 25 points between the top championship driver after 26 races and second with five-point increments down to 16th is enough. 

It remains the flaw of a playoff system. This is still a ten-race aggregate to determine the championship, but Denny Hamlin had a 89-point lead over Ryan Blaney in second decreased to 25 points. Blaney made up nearly 75% of his deficit. Hamlin was 303 points ahead of Larson after the regular season. Simply by making the playoffs, Larson's deficit was decreased to 55 points. Making the playoffs was a 248-point bonus to Larson, 81.848% of his deficit was erased. 

What is fair alternative? 

Could the deficits just be halved at the end of the regular season and rounded up if it falls on an odd-number? Everyone would be closer, but it would still be proportional. Everyone is gaining back half, but not all of it. The regular season champion would still have a decent cushion in this case with Hamlin. In that case, we would have seen the following...

1. Denny Hamlin: 2,100

2. Ryan Blaney: 2,055 (-45)

3. Tyler Reddick: 2,033 (-67)

4. Ty Gibbs: 2,032 (-68)

5. Chase Briscoe: 1,976 (-133)

6. Christopher Bell: 1,965 (-135)

7. Kyle Larson: 1,948 (-152)

8. Chase Elliott: 1,948 (-152)

9. Joey Logano: 1,941 (-159)

10. Chris Buescher: 1,925 (-175)

11. Daniel Suárez: 1,924 (-176)

12. Carson Hocevar: 1,923 (-177)

13. William Byron: 1,919 (-181)

14. Bubba Wallace: 1,912 (-188)

15. Austin Cindric: 1,902 (-198)

16. Ryan Preece: 1,897 (-203)

How would the standings look after the last eight races if this was the initial reset?

1. Hamlin: 2,368

2. Larson: -24

3. Blaney: -54

4. Reddick: -85

5. Briscoe: -85

6. Bell: -86

7. Logano: -121

8. Gibbs: -138

9. Cindric: -213

10. Hocevar: -222

11. Elliott: -237

12. Byron: -237

13. Wallace: -243

14: Suárez: -268

15. Preece -279

16. Buescher: -287

Hamlin would still have control but Larson would be keeping Hamlin honest. That regular season would still be carrying Hamlin as he has only two top five finishes in the lat eight races and he has to won since that three-race winning streak concluded at Pocono. 

We would actually have more drivers still mathematically alive for the championship with eight to the current total of seven. There would be a legitimate chance of the championship lead changing hands after Martinsville. 

It is something to be considered, but NASCAR's championship format issues stem from constant tinkering. It is done one way, a loose thread is pulled and then it is changed. Then after two or three years of trying something slightly different, another thread is pulled and another change occurs. 

NASCAR could make the change above and have the deficits halved after the regular season, and then we will have a season where the top driver from the regular season wins four of the first five postseason races, scores on average 72 points per victory, and gains on average 32 points on the rest of the field, and we could be seeing a title clinched with three races remaining. Then how will people feel? 

This year has been good. Every playoff race had tense battles and drivers going for the victory. As much as some feared drivers would be points racing, winning is worth too much to settle for such a practice. Even if there still feels like a flaw and a 26-race portion of the calendar not carrying enough weight, this season feels like a massive step forward from recent seasons. The champion is going to be someone who finished at the front regularly, not someone who had an average finish worse than 17th but had timely victories. 

November Preview

Many championships are coming down to the wire, but MotoGP deserves attention because there are possibly four races left, if not only three races left. The championship lead just changed hands and there wasn't even a grand prix run. 

Marc Márquez took the championship lead with his sprint victory at Phillip Island while Jorge Martín's accident dropped him to second, ten points off the top spot, and Martín was declared unfit for the grand prix due to an arm injury. 

The grand prix didn't happen and that saved Martín up to 25 points in the championship. A Márquez victory on Sunday would have put Martín behind the eight-ball. Instead, Martín remains firmly in the fight. 

One hundred and 48 points remain on the table. Mathematically, seven riders are alive for the championship. 

Marco Bezzecchi is 50 points back. Pedro Acosta is 102 points back with Ai Ogura 106 points behind, Fabio Di Giannantonio is 113 points off the top spot, and Raúl Fernández remaining alive at 129 points off the championship lead. 

It feels even and with only ten points separating the top two, it could not be much more balanced with four races remaining. Bezzecchi feels like a threat even though he is 50 points back. 

Sepang is this weekend, and the Qatar round scheduled for November 8 appears to be going ahead despite the Middle East conflict and riders expressing security concerns. Portimão and Valencia close out the season on November 22 and November 29 respectively. 

Removing Qatar is a 37-point swing in the championship battle. Remove that round entirely and Di Giannantonio and Fernández are eliminated from the championship regardless of what they do at Sepang this weekend. I don't think any rider can count on those points until the Qatar round has happened. Whether it does or it doesn't, this championship is likely going to the wire and it is just a matter of how tight will the battle be and how many riders will be in the fight?

Other events of note in November

FIA World Endurance Championship concludes from Monza. 

Super GT finishes up at Fuji. 

Super Formula season rounds up at Suzuka.

The "Asian" Le Mans Series is about to begin at Circuit Paul Ricard!

Formula One has a few races, Mexico, Brazil and Las Vegas. 

More Causal Calendar Conversation: IndyCar 2027

We have had a few days since the 2027 IndyCar calendar was released, and we have already discussed it. That was mostly bigger picture surrounding the circumstances of an evolving schedule but one that largely remains no different from IndyCar schedules over the last decade or so. We know what IndyCar has done, what it says it wants to do but has not done, and how it feels to see the same thing over and over again.

However, we can address what the 2027 calendar will be in a more causal form and set aside philosophical issues... mostly. Think of it as a first impressions except a few days late and with more consideration. 

1. There is no way IndyCar races in Barcelona for the next ten years, the reported length of the contract. 

When has IndyCar had any commitment last that long? 

Let's just think about since reunification. 

Of the entirely new venues to join the IndyCar schedule since 2008, only Barber Motorsports Park has lasted more than a decade. São Palou hung around for four years. Baltimore made it three years. NOLA Motorsports Park and Circuit of the Americas were each only around for a year. Nashville's street course lasted three years before downtown construction moved the event to Nashville Superspeedway for the last three years. Thermal Club hosted two races, an exhibition and a points race. 

That's it. The 2026 season saw three inaugural events held, and one is already gone. Time will tell on the staying power of the other two. Besides those three events from this past season, seven entirely new venues joined the IndyCar calendar in the last 18 years, and only Barber lasted at least five years, and it is the only one still around today.

History tells us Barcelona will not last that long. 

It is easy to be skeptical of a IndyCar schedule because many races don't get off the ground let alone last, especially fly-away events. Barcelona sounds good now, but after a year or two, if attendance is not fantastic and sponsors lose interest, it could be a deal where both sides are looking for an out. 

2. There is a greater than 0% chance Barcelona does not happen in 2027. 

This is IndyCar. Something can go wrong. We are a long way from July 18, 2027. Don’t celebrate until July 19.

Prepare for the riot when it does.

3. July is a tough time for this race. It is warm in Barcelona in the summer. Even if it was an evening race, it would be warm. What kind of crowd will like to sit in the heat for a series they really are not aware of and a bunch of drivers who are complete unknowns including the local hero? 

This race made more sense in April or early May, which is a busy period for IndyCar, but we know the dates are there. 

I wonder how long this race will last period, but especially during summer. It works for 2027, but many potential IndyCar venues in North America are probably better suited for a July date, especially if they could be paired with existing venues in scheduling. 

In 2027, Formula One is off the weekend IndyCar will be in Barcelona. There will likely always be a Formula One off-week in July every year moving forward, but who is to say that off weekend will not move around. How much can IndyCar chase that off date and have the Barcelona race move from mid-July to the first weekend of July to the last weekend of July? 

Put on your tinfoil hats because Formula One could sabotage this race simply by moving its races around so the one off-weekend in July is different every year. 

Don’t forget that Barcelona will return to the Formula One schedule in 2028, and then alternate with the Belgian Grand Prix running 2030 and 2032 as well. The Belgian Grand Prix will be July 25, 2027. Is Barcelona really going to run IndyCar and Formula One on consecutive weekends?

With Formula One's current schedule structure and clustering races from specific parts of the world, April and May are more accommodating to an IndyCar European vacation. Formula One is still in the Asia-Pacific and races in North America at that time. IndyCar likely would not have to worry about having a Formula One race on the European continent challenging it for attention.

I would venture to think the timing of this Barcelona race will change at some point before it leaves the IndyCar calendar, whether that exit be in a year or two or in eight or nine years towards the end of this contract. 

4. We must acknowledge how close IndyCar was to receiving glorious praise for its 2027 calendar. 

If IndyCar had found a way to keep Nashville Superspeedway and move it to the weekend of May 2 while adding a fly-away race in Barcelona, or if IndyCar had found a way to tack itself on the NASCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway that same weekend in May, or IndyCar could have found any oval to run the weekend of May 2, I think this calendar would have been widely celebrated.

Essentially every race would be retained except Washington, D.C., which was long believed to be a one-off event, and IndyCar would have found a way to add an international race in a noteworthy and legitimate location. I don't know what else you could ask for. 

There are always going to be those numbskulls who will not allow themselves to find happiness unless Michigan, Pocono, Chicagoland, Kentucky, Richmond, Loudon, Texas and Homestead are added to the IndyCar schedule at once. IndyCar is not adding eight oval races to its schedule when it has only five at present, nor is the schedule going from 17 races to 25 races in a year. However, those grounded in reality could see complete calendar retention plus an international race as a big success. 

5. It makes you wonder why IndyCar didn't try and find one oval race to run on the first weekend in May to at least cover its backside and at least look good. IndyCar must have known losing an oval race, even if it was Nashville, was going to draw considerable scorn. Nobody was going to view it as a success. If IndyCar kept the same number of oval venues and added Barcelona, I don't think people would be this dissatisfied. 

IndyCar could not have found the money to organize one more Nashville race? This is where everyone gets frustrated because IndyCar can spend $35 million on a one-off race that was essentially a vanity project, but it cannot spend a few million to keep a race on the calendar, keep all the tracks on the schedule from one year to the next, and at least prevent people from getting upset over the feeling of a lost event? 

It was right there for IndyCar, but it was too much to overcome? It would have been last minute, but we saw a street race go from hypothetical to reality in about eight months and we long believed such an exercise required over a year to get off the ground. Organizing one oval race could have easily been done in comparison.

6. Since 2012, IndyCar has been somewhere between four and six oval races in a season. In 2021, there were four oval races at three circuits. This is where IndyCar has been for a decade-and-a-half. I don’t understand how anyone can be concerned and act like this is new. This has been the norm. One going away with another not replacing is a net-loss, but another one could come around in 2028, and we will be back to five oval circuits and possibly six oval races if one of them remains a doubleheader. 

Losing Nashville and losing one oval fall cannot cause the-sky-is-falling panic. This has been the norm for a long time. Don’t act like it hasn’t been. 

7. I don't see how Nashville returns to the calendar. I don't see how going on hiatus for an indefinite period of time will lead to a successful event returning. The new stadium is due to open next year. It was built entirely on the parking lot IndyCar used for its paddock. The current stadium is bound to be demolished, which likely means another year, and redevelopment plans could see the site of the current stadium become a park and housing, neither of which would be ideal for a street race.

It is hard to see how any race in downtown Nashville could be reorganized before 2029 or 2030.

If the Music City Grand Prix wanted to be downtown, it probably could have developed a plan and returned either this past season or for this upcoming season. There is some course that could have been developed that avoided the stadium construction and allowed a race to take place. 

If we are being honest, the only way a downtown street race is taking place in Nashville is if the promoter finds a way to use the convention center, which is right downtown and a stone's throw from where part of the original street course was, to be the paddock area. Even then, I am not sure a suitable course can be developed entirely on the west side of the Cumberland River. There aren't many suitable roads on that side of a river for a street race in downtown Nashville. There is Broadway, but you cannot use much of that considering how big of a thoroughfare it is for tourists. IndyCar was only going to use part of it on the 2024 redesign. The rest of the roads on that side are pretty narrow.

The best option is something akin to the current Detroit course, and we know how much Detroit is celebrated. I think this is one event that is just going to be gone, and it is disappointing because it would have been fantastic to see IndyCar race on such a location and have it as a season finale. It is truly the event IndyCar was hoping for in its finale and it just fell short of becoming a reality.

8. I still cannot get over the blindness from IndyCar that all it needed was one race to avoid a month gap in spring, and the rest of the schedule is pretty evenly balanced. Yeah, I keep going to it. It is such an obvious thing to clean up and there is no way it cost too much to rectify. 

The 2027 season will have three consecutive race weekends, a week off, and then alternating race weekends before the month break. Come May, it will be five consecutive weekends at the racetrack between the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Indianapolis 500 practice and qualifying, the Indianapolis 500, Detroit and Gateway. Once IndyCar hits summer, it will have a week off after the five-week slog, but then it will be back-to-back races, alternating race weekends and off-weekends over the next seven weeks before a back-to-back to end the season with one of those weekends being a doubleheader. 

That is a pretty good schedule. There are only four instances of consecutive race weekends. When you think about how 2026 worked out, next summer will be a breeze even with the travel. There is a week off before and after Barcelona and then and off-week between Portland and Markham, and and off-week between Markham and Milwaukee. 

It is a sensible schedule... and all IndyCar needed was one race in spring so there wasn't a glaring hole. Come on!

9. One thing I heard this summer on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s podcast this summer when discussing races and some being night races and others not being and how that affects attendance was as simple as people just want to be comfortable at an event. No one wants to go to a race in the scorching sun. 

I would like to see IndyCar adopt that ethos when it comes to scheduling. Nashville should have been in a time better than July. That race wasn’t even going to be a night race if it ran as scheduled this past July. It was going to be a twilight race and still be rather warm. 

Late-April or early-May would have been a better spot for Nashville, and considering IndyCar’s current dilemma, it appeared to be a no-brainer. That should still be the case if the Music City Grand Prix is able to return as a street race, and that should be the case for every possible race moving forward. 

If Homestead is on the radar, it should not be considered as an August date, the same way running Loudon in April should not be in considered. A race shouldn’t just be added and act like mission accomplished. Put a race on the schedule best suited for the event and will attract people. If you give them good weather that is nine-tenths of the battle of drawing a crowd. 

10. Beyond Barcelona, the lack of Nashville and a lost oval event, it is the same IndyCar calendar we have been staring at for almost two decades. There were no other changes. Portland didn't move to March. Road America didn't become the finale. We were so close to nothing happening with the calendar, which would have still annoyed many, but it is hard to get too angry over losing nothing. 

We are all going to be fine. We are going to see the same races we have always seen. We are going to have an oval race and then wonder why it is months until the next one. Detroit is going to be a mess. Álex Palou is going to win five times. Maybe the Markham circuit will be done on time this year. It is going to be a season just like many before it. You will not be surprised at all.