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. 

Musings From the Weekend: Hola, Phase Two!

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

MotoGP's final grand prix at Phillip Island was cancelled due to poor weather preventing the medical helicopter from leaving the circuit. Moto3 and Moto2 races were also cancelled. At least we got a sprint race where Marc Márquez took victory and Jorge Martín suffered a forearm injury while battling Márquez for the lead. Márquez takes a ten-point lead into Sepang next week. Elsewhere, NASCAR was in Talladega and the championship could be clinched next week at Martinsville, Formula One was in Austin and the championship could be clinched next week at Mexico City, and IndyCar answered the question, "Where is Phase Two?" The full 2027 IndyCar schedule is here. Where do you think we would begin this week?

Hola, Phase Two!

On Friday, IndyCar's latest best-kept secret became public in an announcement from Barcelona. With series champion Álex Palou present, the series confirmed it will race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2027 with a race announced for July 18. The deal reportedly is a ten-year agreement to bring IndyCar to Catalunya. It will be IndyCar's first fly-away race since 2013, and it is American open-wheel racing's first venue to Europe since 2007.

About three hours after the announcement from Barcelona, the remainder of the 2027 calendar was confirmed. 

There are a few changes, nothing was added into the opening half of the calendar, which was announced during the "Phase One" announcement back in August, and a smattering of people are upset about the lack of oval races, especially as another oval track has fallen off the schedule.

So... you know... same as it ever was in IndyCar.

We already knew the season would begin with three consecutive races at the start of March from St. Petersburg to Phoenix on the NASCAR weekend to the second Arlington race. Barber Motorsports Park will run the first Sunday in April with Long Beach occurring two weeks after that. There will be a month between races with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 15 before the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and Detroit the week after that. 

Between Phase One and Phase Two, Gateway and Road America announced, accidentally and intentionally respectively, their races on June 13 and June 27 respectively. 

What Phase Two has confirmed is a summer that is largely unchanged.

July 4th will be spent at Mid-Ohio. Two weeks later will be Barcelona. Two weeks after that will be Portland. Two weeks after that, IndyCar's second international trip to Markham. Two weeks after that, two races at Milwaukee. A week after Milwaukee will be the season finale from Laguna Seca on September 5. The good news is the races are spaced out.

The only change is Barcelona in and Nashville Superspeedway leaves the schedule as Music City Grand Prix promoters wanted to turn their focus to the event returning to a downtown street race. Washington, D.C. is also absent after being long suspected as a one-off event. 

Look... I am older, I have been around, everything hurts, this is an IndyCar schedule. It is no different from many IndyCar schedules before it. There is nothing to be overly upset about. It wasn't that long ago we had three ovals on the schedule with one being a doubleheader, and we all survived. The core of the schedule is still there, and now there is an international race. 

If you had been told on Carb Day this past May that IndyCar would have a European race in 2027, majority of the fanbase likely would have been thrilled. The problem is Nashville ran into its own issue with a promoter no longer fancying an oval race 45 minutes outside the city as an alternative event in the area, and another oval falls off the schedule with none to replace it. 

So... you know... same as it ever was in IndyCar. 

I have been in the mob, and now I am outside of it, perhaps because sanity and reason has washed over me. IndyCar could use a few more oval races, but for the better part of the last two decades ovals die because crowds dwindled and most were in front of empty grandstands. Texas Motor Speedway didn't go away because it was doing too well. There weren't 10,000 people there the last few years. 

It is an unfortunate cycle for IndyCar oval events. An IndyCar oval race is a promising first year but with room for growth, the second year is flat or slightly less and then a decline occurs that either leads to a exit after year three or a slower decline that sees an oval get a few more years. Milwaukee this year wasn't spectacular after two strong years before, and some of that might have been the weather this year, but it could have always been the lost of steam after a strong start.

I might be outside the mob, but I am realistic about the oval issues, and I am not a part of the other mob saying "Fans need to support ovals." The same 15,000 people cannot attend a half-dozen oval races spread across four time zones. If IndyCar is promoting better viewership and more interest in the series, it must be able to attract crowd from the local areas that can support these races. 

Nashville, Tennessee has about two million people living its the metropolitan area. IndyCar cannot draw out 35,000 locals for its one visit to town? That isn't a lot of people and Nashville Superspeedway only holds 40,000 people for the NASCAR Cup race. IndyCar might only need 30,000 to sell out the race. 

IndyCar cannot speak out both sides of its both and say viewership is up and more people who were previously not engaged with IndyCar are now watching, and yet cannot find anyone new to the audience to support its races, especially oval races. 

Formula One has added two races in the United States over the last five years, and those races don't have the same 100,000 people attending them who have been Formula One races in this country for the last 25 or 30 years. Those people are new. Those people started watching in 2019 or 2020 or 2021 and now they are spending $3,500 for three-day tickets. Those people were out there and there are still people out there like them who will engaging with something that feels worthy of their attention. 

Formula One could add a race anywhere in this country and 150,000 people would be there on race day. IndyCar adds a race and it cannot even break 15,000 people but it fingers will point the failure to the people who already watch IndyCar on a regular basis for not showing up when the race is two time zones over. 

And quick sidebar, why does every IndyCar race live-and-die by the walkup crowd? This isn't a Formula One or NASCAR issue. It shouldn't come down to weather, and whether or not 5,000 to 8,000 people decide they feel like they want to go to a race within 48 hours of it taking place. IndyCar must get to a place where the demand is there and people want to go and know they will be going six months or more before it happens. That is what makes a race an event. People are planning to do it months in advance, not waiting and seeing if they are free that weekend or if the weather is going to be hospitable. 

Any councilor would look at the relationship between IndyCar and its regular followers as a severely damaged relationship, and no one within the series wants to address it. If it was an intimate relationship, it would be advised to cease the cohabitation immediately. 

This is what an IndyCar schedule has been essentially since 2012. It isn't bad. There are holes. It is frustrating the series does not do more to fill the craters and set it up more for success. Fixes are always pushed 18 months down the line and we are always back where we started 18 months later. It would be nice if the series showed more proactiveness. IndyCar has taken on promoting more of its events, see buying Long Beach and setting up Milwaukee, but no one else is stepping up to help with the remaining issues. As much as the series might not want to acknowledge it, the remaining problems will only be solved when the series steps up and addressed them on its own.

There does feel like lost momentum after Washington, D.C. where an event attracted 100,000 some-odd people each day and now there is no race in that area in the country. I know a fair number of people were there because it was free, but there must be at least 40,000 people who attended that would travel and buy a ticket to Richmond and then another 15,000 people who weren't at Washington, D.C., but who live in the area and would also go to Richmond. 

Even if it was a place holder, Richmond makes sense for the first weekend in May, two weeks after Long Beach and two weeks prior to the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It might cost a pretty penny to rent out, but IndyCar already spent $35 million for Washington D.C. A Richmond race must cost a tenth of that, and it could have kept five oval circuits on the schedule while filling a month gap. Yet, the opportunity was missed. 

Of course, easier said than done, but it feels like something that should bother the series and IndyCar should step up and address it. Yet the track record told us it wouldn't do a thing and it didn't do a thing. We cannot be surprised, but we can continue to feel disappointed. 

For all the talk of growth, it is hard to see. Yes, we have an international race and a trip to Europe and a world-class city in Barcelona, but simultaneously an oval race has been lost. Growth is adding to what you already have. This is another case of net-zero change for IndyCar. One event enters and another leaves. An event fell off the schedule because the promoter grew tired of the challenge. If Nashville Superspeedway was successful and making money for the Music City Grand Prix promoters, it would be on the schedule in 2027. It wouldn't be spinning it as focusing on returning the race to downtown Nashville. They are in the money-making business, and the money wasn't in Lebanon, Tennessee. 

Maybe we need to properly frame whatever metrics IndyCar is using in terms of growth because entering 2027 the series feels like it is exactly where it has been for the last 15 years. It could be worse but let's not confuse it for being better than ever before even with a European trip planned next summer. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Marc Márquez, but did you know...

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the United States Grand Prix, his ninth victory of the season.

Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney split the Supercars races from Surfers Paradise.

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup race from Talladega, his third victory of the season. Sammy Smith won the Grand National Series race and Truck race from Talladega, and Smith became the first non-Cup driver to win the lower NASCAR national touring series races in the same weekend at the same track since Greg Biffle won at Phoenix in 2001.

Coming Up This Weekend

Formula One spends the holiday weekend in Mexico City, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli could clinch the championship.

MotoGP hopes the weather cooperates in Malaysia.

NASCAR's penultimate weekend will be in Martinsville, and Kyle Larson could clinch the championship.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Chip Ganassi Racing's 2026 Season

We have reached the end of our IndyCar Wrap-Up series, and for the fourth consecutive year, we are ending with Chip Ganassi Racing. Álex Palou made history and became only the second driver to win four consecutive IndyCar championships. With this title, Chip Ganassi Racing moved into the all-time lead in championships. For all the history that was made, it was a sliding-door season for the team, as much change is awaiting this group for 2027.

Álex Palou

What else must be said? It was not the same level of domination we saw in 2025, and Palou did not win the Indianapolis 500, but he was firmly in control of the championship almost from the drop of the green flag. Palou did have bad races. He had some unlucky breaks, but his form was too strong for those to be any cause for concern. 

What objectively was his best race?

Palou led in IndyCar victories for another season as Palou won six times, and he became the third driver in IndyCar history to win at least six races in consecutive seasons joining Mario Andretti and Sébastien Bourdais. Palou won at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Detroit, Nashville and Portland.

What subjectively was his best race?

Barber was Palou's most dominant race, leading 79 of 90 laps and winning by over 13 seconds. For a moment, it looked like Palou was in danger of losing the lead through pit cycle to Christian Lundgaard, but Palou's team nailed the stop and he drove off into the sunset. 

What objectively was his worst race?

Contact with Rinus VeeKay on a restart ended Palou's Phoenix race after 21 laps and he was classified in 24th position.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Washington, D.C. was a race where nothing went right for Palou and the #10 Ganassi team. Where do we begin? Palou started on pole position but lost the lead immediately when Kyle Kirkwood had the better start. Not the end of the world as Palou was still second. 

Then Palou clipped Mick Schumacher's tire in the pit lane and it led to a penalty, knocking Palou down the order. On the next pit stop, the crew had an issue with the left front tire, costing Palou more time. He attempted to go off strategy to somehow get back to the front before clipping a barrier and damaging his left rear suspension. Repairs were made, but Palou was 20th.

Gateway should be mentioned because Palou lost a potentially victory when he ran out of fuel under caution entering his pit box. This issue cost him a lap, and took him out of the running for a stellar finish.

Alex Palou's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 1st (631 points)
Wins: 6
Podiums: 7 
Top Fives: 12
Top Tens: 15
Laps Led: 673
Poles: 8
Fast Sixes: 11 
Fast Twelves: 13 
Average Start: 3.611
Average Finish: 6.555

Scott Dixon

We are accustomed to Dixon making history, and each season he seems to do something new or something few had accomplished before. This was not a special season for Dixon in a good way. He looked good to start, but he was not quite the top runner we are familiar with seeing. Dixon never got to the level we expected. He had his worst season in over 20 years. The winning streak ended. This ended up being Dixon's final season at Ganassi

What objectively was his best race?

Dixon had one top five finish the entire season. It was third at Long Beach.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is really Long Beach and that was his only respectable race all season. Dixon spent the entire race in the top five and leaped into a podium position through the final round of pit stops. 

What objectively was his worst race?

A hybrid issue took Dixon out at Detroit and he was classified in 24th after he was potentially going to finish in the top five.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is every race from the Indianapolis 500 onward. Dixon wasn't good this year, and it was something we were not accustomed to seeing. He struggled for speed. Anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Considering how he was running, the unfortunate breaks didn't cost him much. If all the races went without blemish, Dixon may have another two or three top ten finishes, and that is it. It likely would not have got him a position better in the championship, nor would it have gotten him a victory.

If we must pick out one race, Nashville did not look good. Dixon started fifth, but was shuffled backward quickly. Then he hit Alexander Rossi on the back straightway and it led to a penalty. What was hopefully going to be a positive day and possibly a victory was 18th, seven laps down in the final results.

Scott Dixon's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 12th (331 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 6
Laps Led: 79
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 6
Average Start: 11.667
Average Finish: 13.333

Kyffin Simpson

The forgotten Ganassi driver, Simpson was hoping to build on a 2025 season where he had more impressive results than anyone expected. It wasn't a case Simpson was a factor everywhere, but on certain weekends he stood above most. That was the case in 2025, and it remained the case in 2026. There were still races where he did as well as you expected, but there were others where he was competitive.

What objectively was his best race?

Simpson picked up two top five finishes this season. The first was his best result of the season. He was fourth at Road America. Simpson did benefit when Christian Rasmussen broke down and brought out a caution, elevating Simpson up the running order after starting 19th.

What subjectively was his best race?

A four-stop strategy allowed Simpson to finish fifth in Washington, D.C. The cautions fell in Simpson's favor that put him on the same cycle as the leaders, and he was able to turn a 23rd starting position into a top five result.

What objectively was his worst race?

Did you know Simpson was running at the finish of every race this season? A mechanical issue cost him at Gateway, but he was able to see the checkered flag, though in 21st.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Hitting a tire in pit lane at Arlington led to a penalty, and the best he could do was 20th. Simpson also had a nondescript weekend in Milwaukee, competing in two races, being mentioned zero times and having finishes of 16th and 19th.

Kyffin Simpson's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 13th (327 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 8
Laps Led: 4
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 15
Average Finish: 12.944

An Early Look Ahead

We are about to enter a new chapter in Chip Ganassi Racing history not because Scott Dixon is leaving but because of everyone behind the scenes. 

Performance director Chris Simmons and race engineer Ross Bunnell are both leaving the team to join Arrow McLaren. Palou's engineer Julien Robertson is reportedly considering retirement. Chip Ganassi Racing has not become the most successful team in IndyCar history on its drivers alone. The minds on the timing stand and at the shop are immeasurable to this team's success. Three of them could be gone in one offseason. 

It isn't going to sink Ganassi, but it could be a greater challenge to find speed. Palou could be facing a learning curve. Christian Lundgaard is entirely new to this team and he might not be stepping into as sure of a situation as he first thought he was getting. Simpson could become the red-headed stepchild. 

Conventional wisdom would tell us Ganassi will be ok. Bunnell was loaned out to Meyer Shank Racing for the previous two seasons anyway. It is really two people that are changing, two important people, but it is not a complete upheaval within the shop. Mike Hull is still in charge, there are plenty of great minds ready to step up and the team likely has succession plans in mind, but we cannot be surprised if Ganassi isn't as sharp as we are accustomed to seeing in recent years. 

It could still be a successful year, but it just might not be a year where the team wins seven or eight races, pulls out a few races through pit cycles and leapfrogging the leader and there could be days where the team is struggling for speed and none of the three cars can find it. Dare I say it might not even be a championship season in 2027 for this group?

Things will be fine. Palou is going to win a handful of races, and he is still the championship favorite. I don't think it is a guarantee he will repeat what we have seen over the last two years. This could be the opening the rest of the grid was hoping for. 

Timing could not have been less ideal for Lundgaard, joining this team as it is about to face its biggest shakeup possibly ever in team history. It should be an opportunity for him to flourish and challenge Palou. Instead, there will be questions over the makeup of this team behind the scenes. 

It does feel like Ganassi has the best 1-2 combination on the grid. Lundgaard is stepping up a level and if he reading from the same hymn sheet as Palou, Lundgaard should make up some ground. It doesn't mean Lundgaard will surpass Palou. Though he ended 2026 with a good Milwaukee weekend, everyone suspects Lundgaard still has improvements to make on ovals. It should bring Lundgaard closer to Palou and maybe it tips a victory or two into the Dane's favor. 

Next year will be different. Ever since June and the announcement Dixon was leaving, we have all been trying to process what that will look like and adjusting to the idea of Dixon racing elsewhere. It has been a quarter-century since Ganassi didn't have Dixon in its lineup. Ganassi still has an ace though. This isn't a team transitioning without a leader. Palou has been #1 for the last three seasons, lawsuit and all. 

Ganassi has its drivers for the present and future. This change could not have come at a better time. We will fine out if the team is setup to weather whatever changes come next, and they are coming. 

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Andretti Global's 2026 Season

The penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up takes us to Andretti Global. With a new addition to the driver lineup, expectations were high for Andretti to find its way back to championship form. Overall, it was a pleasant seasons for the group, though not perfect. It did not end in a championship. The team did see an unexpected turnaround from a driver many thought would be dismissed once the 2026 season was over. Instead, the lineup will remain unchanged for 2027.

Kyle Kirkwood

After having his best season in IndyCar in 2025, Kirkwood was hoping for more in 2026. The 2025 season started strongly and it looked like Kirkwood was one of the fewer drivers who could challenge for the championship. Then his second half was rather unimpressive. In 2026, he had a more balanced season, and it led to even better results... just not a championship.

What objectively was his best race?

Kirkwood won a pair of races, and both were inaugural races. At Arlington, Kirkwood drove from seventh to first and he passed Álex Palou in the process to take the victory in the final stint. At Washington, D.C, Kirkwood started second to Palou, but Kirkwood got the jump at the start and went on to lead 128 of 147 laps. After an offensive victory in Arlington, Kirkwood had a defensive victory in Washington, D.C., holding off all challengers.

What subjectively was his best race?

It will hard to be look pass Washington, D.C. because Kirkwood was near-flawless in the inaugural event, and one we may never see again. It was Kirkwood's finest day with heightened attention on IndyCar. Kirkwood passed Palou early, he drove away for a good portion of the race, and when cautions packed the field together, Kirkwood withstood the challenges from Scott McLaughlin and Christian Lundgaard. 

Arlington should be mentioned because Kirkwood was incredible and he had a stellar car. Running down Palou is fantastic no matter who it is. 

What objectively was his worst race?

At Markham, Kirkwood clipped the inside barrier in turn three, just like Louis Foster had earlier in the race, and it sent Kirkwood into the outside barrier. Kirkwood was on the verge of turning around a 22nd-place starting position into a top five result prior to the contact with the barrier.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Markham is probably the worst race, but the Indianapolis 500 should be mentioned because he was 16th at the finish, but Kirkwood was moving forward. The way the cautions fell and pit strategy working for the likes of the Meyer Shank Racing, Santino Ferrucci Romain Grosjean, Takuma Sato and Nolan Siegel among others up the order. Without those strategies working, Kirkwood probably finishes in the top ten.

Kyle Kirkwood's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 2nd (545 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6 
Top Fives: 10
Top Tens: 15
Laps Led: 220
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 9 
Average Start: 10.889
Average Finish: 6.777

Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson's first two seasons at Andretti Global were rather disappointing, and 2025 was a concerning step backward, even if it wasn't entirely on the driver. Some hope was lost that Ericsson could be a productive member of the Andretti Global organization. Everyone thought he was destined for dismissal. Ericsson saved his job with elevated results, and helping Andretti Global rise up the pecking order.

What objectively was his best race?

Ericsson ended a 63-race winless streak with victory in Markham after Ericsson erased nearly a six-second gap in the final 21 laps to take the lead with five laps remaining before winning by over seven seconds to Romain Grosjean.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is Markham. Andretti Global was thought to have bungled the strategy having Ericsson pit so late in the race under green flag conditions, but it allowed Ericsson to go harder with fresher tires and take advantage of drivers that had ten to 15-lap older tires. Ericsson still had to navigate a rather unknown circuit and pass a handful of competitors to take the victory. 

Arlington and Gateway should both be recognized. Arlington saw Ericsson score his first career pole position, and though he did not win, Ericsson spent the entire race in the top five and finished fourth. Gateway might have been Ericsson's best race in IndyCar, leading the most laps, but Josef Newgarden got the better of Ericsson though the Swede kept Newgarden honest to the checkered flag and Ericsson was second. 

What objectively was his worst race?

A hybrid issue at Long Beach ended Ericsson's race after 38 laps.

What subjectively was his worst race?

For how well Ericsson's season went, he had a few results escape him. 

At the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, a mechanical issue on his final pit stop ended his race while he was running ninth. At Road America, he was in the running for a top five finish before being shuffled back and going on a few off-track excursions. Ericsson was issued an avoidable contact penalty for contact with Scott Dixon at Mid-Ohio, relegating Ericsson to 21st in the final results. 

Ericsson was 54 points behind Scott McLaughlin for sixth in the championship. I am not sure flipping those three results equal greater than 54 points, but it could have padded his top five and top ten finish totals. 

Marcus Ericsson's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 7th (429 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 2
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 151
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 5
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 9.889
Average Finish: 10.1667

Will Power

After over 15 years at Team Penske, Power made the switch to Andretti Global for the 2026 season. Power was leaving Penske on a high, and there was hope a new circumstance could vault him upward. That was not the case, and Power had a rocky start to his Andretti tenure. Results did see an uptick in the final portion of the season, and a victory may have slipped through his grasp.

What objectively was his best race?

On five occasions did Power finish third in 2026: Arlington, Road America, Portland, Markham and Washington, D.C.

What subjectively was his best race?

Power looked his most competitive at Markham. Despite starting 25th, Power was moving forward immediately. He looked like a driver capable of winning, but the way the cautions fell took the advantage away from Power. He made his final pit stop with 31 laps remaining, and the difference turn out to be Ericsson being able to stop ten laps later.

What objectively was his worst race?

A gearbox failure ended his Indianapolis 500 after only 91 laps, placing him 29th.

What subjectively was his worst race?

There are two. At Detroit, Power was having his best race of the season before contact with Scott McLaughlin ended Power's day. Both drivers should have been in the top five. Neither were classified better than 19th. 

In the Milwaukee race that started on Sunday, Power was leading when the final pit cycle began. The pit stop was clean. If Power doesn't speed, he emerges from the pit lane in first and he likely wins this race. I would say Milwaukee was worse than Detroit. Milwaukee was set to be a victory. Detroit was a really good day, but at best it would have been a podium finish.

Will Power's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 11th (368 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 5
Top Fives: 5
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 98
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 6
Average Start: 12.611
Average Finish: 13

An Early Look Ahead

This is one of the few teams that is not changing its driver lineup for 2027, and it should help this group. Everyone should be better. Kirkwood was already better in 2026 when he really needed to make a step after how 2025 ended. Ericsson completely saved his career with this season. I am not sure anyone expected that. Power had plenty of growing pains, but he showed progress.

For many years, the Andretti organization has felt like a team that makes one step forward and then falls two steps back. It hasn't really built upon anything. Things feel different under new management. The investments the team made ahead of 2026 should set it up for a better 2027 and a real chance to achieve more. 

Kirkwood is the leader. For the better part of the last two seasons he has been the one driver to regularly hang with Álex Palou. The only problem is Palou is still able to best Kirkwood more times than not. It feels like Kirkwood had a slight advantage on street courses, but Palou has the clear upper hand on permanent road courses, and ovals may be even. Kirkwood's biggest issue is Palou's worst days are seventh or eighth and Kirkwood's worst days are still somewhere between 15th and 20th. How does he fix that? 

Based on the rest of the competition, Kirkwood is one of the top drivers. He just happens to be racing in the age of Palou where he is unfathomably clear of the rest of the field. 

Ericsson ended 2026 with seven consecutive top ten finishes. He seems to be back to where he was when he was at Ganassi. In 2023, Ericsson had one victory, four top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes. In 2026, Ericsson had one victory, four top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes. This is where Ericsson has been when he is at his best in IndyCar. It is a good place to be. Not many are better, but a few are and the very top is not quite within reach.

Power was his best and worst in 2026. At his best, he was competitive and maybe should have won a race. At his worst, he coughed up results through his own mistakes and the pace continues to fade as his qualifying form is not close to where it once stood. 

Can this team win the championship? 

It will take a lot to overtake Palou, but Kirkwood has the ability to do it if flawless. It would require Kirkwood being on the podium at every street course and finishing ahead of Palou in nearly all of those occasions, winning at least one or twice on road courses and averaging a sixth-place finish on ovals. That is asking a lot but it is not unthinkable that Kirkwood could be at that level.

Power is technically the last driver to beat Palou for a championship, but Power's 2022 season will not get it done in 2027. At his peak, Power could give Palou a run for his money. That time is not now.

As for Ericsson, he has never finished better than sixth in the championship. It is a stretch imaging Ericsson could be the one.

There is one clear contender for this team. Every year, Kirkwood has improved his championship position. He has one spot to go and a long way to reach the top.

Musings From the Weekend: Where is Phase Two?

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking…

Max Verstappen ran a GT3 car. It was a busy weekend on the Iberian peninsula. Álex Palou was fastest in Indy Lights testing. The NASCAR Cup Series championship got significantly tighter, though it may be too little too late for one driver who has won a lot this season. Colton Herta is using hindsight. Cadillac is finalizing its driver lineups for 2027. Team Penske could be running a Cadillac at Le Mans in the not-too-distant-future. Josh Pierson was approved an IndyCar license and people are mad, or at least upset. Mad could be too strong. However, we are not talking about licenses today. We are discussing something IndyCar has stretched out for far too long.

Where is Phase Two?

On the verge of the inaugural Markham race, while the final quarter of the 2026 season was fully in motion, IndyCar did something rather uncommon, if not unprecedented in series history. IndyCar released the first phase of the 2027 calendar. 

The first eight rounds were announced on August 13, where we learned the first half of next season was essentially unchanged from 2026, the stretch beginning with St. Petersburg in March to Detroit in June. Races moved a week here or there based on how certain dates fell, most notably Easter and Memorial Day. A spring gap remained but that has come to be expected in contemporary IndyCar. We had the first half of 2027 set and the expectation the second half would be ironed out shortly.

Over two months have passed since phase one was released. Where is phase two?

It felt like the 2027 calendar would be finalized around the final round. There was three weeks between phase one becoming public and the Laguna Seca finale. If the first half was locked down, the second half could not have been that far behind. Even if it was not released before the final race was concluded, IndyCar normally does not take long to release its next calendar once the offseason begins. The 2026 calendar was out a little over two weeks after the 2025 finale. We were spoiled when the 2025 calendar came out in June 2024.

The strange thing is all the rumors about the 2027 season involve events that are options to possible fill IndyCar’s spring gap, even though it sounded like the first half was set in stone. The rumors are not what are holding up the schedule release.

Barcelona keeps rumbling, as Circuit de Catalunya reportedly has interest in holding a round and a home race for Catalunya’s own Álex Palou. What started out as a slim hope has persisted long enough to think it has a realistic chance to appear on next year’s calendar. No date has been reported, but conventional wisdom points to late-April or early-May, the period when IndyCar current has three weekends without races. 

It is also a time of year when Barcelona has historically hosted a Formula One grand prix. In 2027, Barcelona is not on the Formula One calendar, as it begins a yearly rotation with Spa-Francorchamps. That part of spring is also a time when Formula One will be between racing in the Middle East and North America and before it starts its European portion of the season. Spring makes sense for IndyCar as its summer is usually packed,  Barcelona is usually rather warm during the summer, and IndyCar likely would not want to end the season in Spain and prefer to end in the United States. 

Other than Barcelona, it appears nothing possibly in the second half of next season is hanging up the remainder of the schedule being released. No rounds are being rumored for July and August. The only other toothless rumor is a chance IndyCar pairing with NASCAR to run at Texas, which is the weekend of May 2, and that could also fill the spring gap, but that hasn’t been seriously mentioned. It has mostly been floated as a theoretical to fill spring. Nothing points to Texas becoming a reality. 

A few pieces have trickled out. Gateway did release it would remain in mid-June, even if it wanted to keep that a secret a little longer, and Road America announced it would be the last Sunday in June. Essentially the first ten races are confirmed. What is taking so long to confirm the final six or seven weekends?

There really are not going to be any surprises. Mid-Ohio will be on the schedule. Nothing suggested Portland was hosting its final IndyCar round when IndyCar visited this past August. Markham just started a five-year contract. The series is committed to Milwaukee and there was no sign this year IndyCar was looking to move on. It sounded like Laguna Seca would be back and likely remain the finale for 2027 when IndyCar closed out this season. 

All that leaves from the 2026 season unaccounted for are Nashville and Washington, D.C. 

The Music City Grand Prix promoters sounded dissuaded after this year's oval show at Nashville Superspeedway and wants to return the race to downtown Nashville. The ongoing stadium construction on the banks of the Cumberland River make a street race return rather difficult at this time. It is hard to draw people to Lebanon, Tennessee, but Nashville Superspeedway is the only option other than scuttling the entire event. Is there a fight to keep the event alive with IndyCar taking on more of the operational costs with it on the oval? Could an alternate street course layout be in the works that avoids the construction area? 

Nothing is known. For all this waiting on the second half of the calendar, there has been no rumbles on what is causing the delays and what events are in what type of limbo. Losing Nashville would be a knock on IndyCar, and this calendar delay only makes any potential change more disastrous. 

Then there is Washington, D.C., which drew plenty of interest and was a remarkable achievement for the series considering the event came together in about eight month's time from announcement to green flag for the opening session. While it was IndyCar's second-most visible event of the season, it also cost $35 million to put on, and there does not seem to be a desire for federal funding to keep that event alive... but I am sure after pulling off the race this year and the buzz IndyCar received, it desperately wants what was planned to be a one-off to become a staple event. 

Some of these final details take time to work out, and IndyCar does have about four-and-a-half months left in its offseason, but delaying the release of the remainder of the calendar only barriers it under a great pile of clutter. IndyCar has already been out of the spotlight for over a month. IndyCar is also IndyCar. How many people are aware when next season's calendar is released before the current season is over? Nothing may matter, but it is surely not the plan to have the calendar drag out this far into the offseason.

We still have over a month to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Any track wishing to do holiday ticket deals still have time, but for a handful of events, it is getting close and they do not have their dates set yet. 

We do know over half the schedule at this point, and most of the unannounced rounds we know will be on the schedule, we just don't know the exact dates and what race number they will fall on the calendar. This should work out, but for a series that struggles for attention and being seen, dragging out confirming next year's calendar this deep into the offseason and autumn is a little ridiculous. 

Last year, IndyCar announced a calendar and then Washington, D.C. was added in January, not usually when events are announced for the upcoming season, but it came with the circumstances of the event. If we can wait until January to announce one event, we can announce what races are confirmed and wait for the final pieces to fall whether they need a few more weeks or a few more months. 

If four races are known and two are still being ironed out, give us the four and we will sit on the fence for the other two. The late announcement of Washington, D.C. surely did not hurt the interest in that event. Both days were packed with spectators and it still earned IndyCar its most viewership outside the Indianapolis 500 in over 30 years. If the series must wait until January again to confirm that race, I am sure the series and event will be fine. 

Everything will work out, but this long delay for phase two of the calendar places IndyCar in a spot where its 2027 calendar will be lost as the days grow colder and shorter. No one is looking for IndyCar at this moment, and most will not realize when the 2027 calendar will officially be confirmed, unless IndyCar makes a big bang with its schedule announcement, and I have my hesitations that IndyCar will do such a thing. 

That is not how it should be, especially if the calendar is going to be almost entirely unchanged from last season. It is one thing if there was something completely unexpected added and that was the hang up. Confirming what we already got should not take this long. Two months has been plenty of time to confirm the second half of the calendar, and yet the wait continues for the final piece of the puzzle.

Champions From the Weekend

Toyota clinched the FIA World Endurance Championship manufacturers' championship with a victory for the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa in the 6 Hours of Barcelona.

Toyota clinched the NASCAR Cup Series manufacturers' championship with Tyler Reddick's victory in the NASCAR Cup race from Phoenix, Reddick's sixth victory of the season. 

Maro Engel and Lucas Auer clinched the GT World Challenge Europe drivers' championship when their third-place finish from the second Misano race during the Sprint Cup weekend was reinstated. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Toyota, but did you know…

The #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG of Ralf Aron, Maximillian Götz and Fabian Schiller won the 3 Hours of Portimão.

Jesse Love won the NASCAR Grand National Series race from Phoenix, his second victory of the season. Kaden Honeycutt won the Truck race, his fourth victory of the season.

The #92 The Bend Manthey Racing Porsche of Ricard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin won in LMGT3 in the 6 Hours of Barcelona.

Nicolò Bulega swept the World Superbike races from Jerez. Albert Arenas and Jeremy Alcoba split the World Supersport races.

The #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino won the Super GT race from Autopolis. The #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus of Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi won in GT300.

Coming Up This Weekend

Formula One is back for the United States Grand Prix.

MotoGP has one more visit to Phillip Island.

Supercars will run at Surfers Paradise.

NASCAR has a late visit to Talladega.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Arrow McLaren's 2026 Season

We are nearing the end of our IndyCar Wrap-Ups, and we move onto Arrow McLaren. For the first time since McLaren's IndyCar return, the team had multiple drivers win a race. The team won a combined five races, again its best since returning to IndyCar. For the second consecutive year, two driver cracked the championship top five, but it was a different driver on top, and McLaren honored that success the only way it could. Changing two-thirds of its driver lineup, including  dismissing its top driver in the championship. 

Christian Lundgaard

After an outstanding first season with the McLaren organization, Lundgaard still had room to growth in year two. The Dane made those steps. After going winless, Lundgaard found his way to the top with some impressive performances. He wound up leading the team for most of the season, and ended 2026 top in the organization. However, it ended up not being enough.

What objectively was his best race?

Two victories for Lundgaard in his second season at McLaren. The first came in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis when Lundgaard spent much of the race in second, but leaped into the lead through the final pit cycle and overtaking David Malukas. At Road America, Lundgaard suffered front wing damage on the opening lap and it shuffled him to dead last. Nearly every caution fell into his favor, but Lundgaard still had to make passes. Being slightly off strategy allowed Lundgaard to run harder and place him into second when Marcus Armstrong was leading until Armstrong lost his engine with three laps remaining. Lundgaard had to hold on for one restart and took a rather improbable victory.

What subjectively was his best race?

Take your pick of either victory. On the IMS road course, Lundgaard looked threatening and was going to take his shot when within striking distance of Malukas, and Lundgaard pulled off a wonderful pass to take the lead. He drove away from there. At Road America, Lundgaard was on the offensive, and even before Armstrong's engine failure, Lundgaard was closing and may have had a shot to drive to victory even before catching the break.

What objectively was his worst race?

Lundgaard was 20th at Long Beach after attempting a three-stop strategy that did not work for anybody. Lundgaard had started 11th and was hoping to turn into something greater.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Two oval races where Lundgaard was nonexistent. At the Indianapolis 500, Lundgaard started 18th and finished 17th but never showed any brilliant pace or ability to move forward. At Nashville, Lundgaard never looked comfortable and was just hanging on. He was 16th at the finish.

Christian Lundgaard's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 3rd (535 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 7
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 14
Laps Led: 91
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 5
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 11.778
Average Finish: 7.1667

Patricio O'Ward

Every year, expectations are high for O'Ward to have that long-awaited breakthrough. It didn't quite happen in 2026, but O'Ward was still fantastic. The only problem is he was not winning. He had plenty of top five finishes, but they were not competitive drives where O'Ward was controlling the race. He was in the background. The breakthroughs came during summer, and they made his season look a little better though something was lacking. 

What objectively was his best race?

O'Ward won three times. At Mid-Ohio, O'Ward had a battle with his teammate Christian Lundgaard. Lundgaard led, but a brief instance of running wide opened the door for O'Ward, who swept into the lead. There was not much of a challenge from Lundgaard, and O'Ward got his first victory of the season. 

O'Ward swept the weekend at Milwaukee. In the race that started on Sunday, O'Ward was rather unnoticed for most of the race. His team actually had a botched pit stop, but it did not hurt them that much. During the final pit cycle, O'Ward leaped into the lead, especially after Will Power sped entering the pit lane. In the race that started on Saturday and finished on Sunday, O'Ward again found himself at the front and he took advantage of David Malukas stumbling on a late restart to take the lead and ultimately the victory.

What subjectively was his best race?

It must be Mid-Ohio because he beat his teammate and it was a key race as Lundgaard had won twice already at that point in season. This swung the intra-team battle from decisively being for Lundgaard to being rather split between the two drivers. Lundgaard ended up finishing better in the championship, but O'Ward finished with more victories, and it all started with this race.

What objectively was his worst race?

An opening lap spin in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis shuffled O'Ward to the back after he started on the front row. The team made an attempt to go off strategy, but all he could manage was 18th.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Considering his history at Barber Motorsports Park, it was stunning he was poor this past March, and he was 17th, dropping from 12th on the grid. He also cost himself a top ten finish in Washington, D.C. when he went long in turn six and had to spin around in the runoff area. This unforced error ended in a 16th-place finish.

Patricio O'Ward's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 4th (522 points)
Wins: 3
Podiums: 3
Top Fives: 10
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 238
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 6
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 7.833
Average Finish: 7.667

Nolan Siegel

Pressure was on Siegel before the calendar flipped to 2025 let alone before the season even started. McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan said Siegel had to finish in the championship top ten to keep his ride with the team. Siegel never came close to fulfilling that ultimatum. It was still Siegel's best season in IndyCar, but significantly behind his teammates.

What objectively was his best race?

On a four-stop strategy, Siegel was sixth in Washington, D.C. He spent almost the entire race in the top ten, and as other drivers had issues, Siegel remained pointing in the right direction.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is Washington, D.C., but Siegel also was tenth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Mid-Ohio. In both races did Siegel move forward. Mid-Ohio is probably his next best race because he at least made it a triple top ten day for McLaren as his teammates went 1-2.

What objectively was his worst race?

Three times did Siegel finish 24th. At Arlington, Siegel was hit from behind on the final restart and the contact from Kyffin Simpson sent Siegel into Romain Grosjean. At Gateway, slight contact with Álex Palou entering turn one ended Siegel's night as Palou was on fresh tires and quicker entering the corner. Siegel turned in and they collided. In the Laguna Seca finale, Siegel never had the pace and dropped to 24th, one of two drivers to finish off the lead lap.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Gateway is bad because Siegel tried to pin the accident on Palou, and it was a racing incident. At Road America, Siegel should have had a top ten finish, but contact on the final lap in turn five with Josef Newgarden spun Siegel and dropped him to 21st. Siegel had a really good Road America race and got nothing to show for it.

Nolan Siegel's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 20th (259 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 3
Laps Led: 8
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 17.333
Average Finish: 15.777

An Early Look Ahead

Can we acknowledge the insanity of a team firing the driver that finished third in the championship and who won multiple races because of the perception he cannot win the Indianapolis 500? Lundgaard was the best McLaren driver this season and he was dismissed because of his track record in one race. The Indianapolis 500 is the biggest race, but there are 16 or 17 other races on the calendar and an entire championship. 

McLaren hasn't produced an Indianapolis 500 winner but it has hired Indianapolis 500, and that should do it. 

The team is plenty capable of winning it and it is a few passes away from having two within the last five years. It is the one-track mind that is baffling, especially when it is hiring Scott Dixon after his worst season in over 20 years and while Dixon is 46 years old. There is a lot of hope in McLaren's strategy, and hope isn't a strategy.

Dixon could see an uptick in form from 2026, but we don't see many 46 years old bounce back from a winless season. 

It also wasn't that long ago McLaren couldn't get rid of Felix Rosenqvist fast enough. Regret was on their faces during the first practice session for the Swede. He was going to be exiled to Formula E at one point. Now he won the Indianapolis 500 and McLaren is back at his doorstep only a few years after it didn't entirely click within the organization. 

Changes go beyond the driver lineup as McLaren is shaking up its engineer department. Chip Ganassi Racing performance director Chris Simmons has been linked to a move to McLaren, though Simmons may have a non-compete that prevents him from starting immediately with the team. Ross Bunnell, Rosenqvist's engineer last season, will be joining McLaren, and will likely remain on Rosenqvist's timing stand. Simmons had a long-working relationship with Dixon. 

After years of chasing drivers, McLaren is snagging engineers as well. It could be what puts it over the top. It is also McLaren, which has been making big swings and whiffing for years. Ok, maybe it is making some contact, but after seven seasons in IndyCar, it still hasn't won a championship. It still hasn't won an Indianapolis 500. It has become a contender, an entity worth watching, but it hasn't surpassed Ganassi, it hasn't surpassed Penske, and it arguably hasn't surpassed Andretti. It is fourth, but this isn't a "Big Four." There isn't a "Big Three." There is competition, but McLaren hasn't ruled IndyCar, and it probably thought it would have conquered it by now. 

This team is Patricio O'Ward. Rosenqvist won the Indianapolis 500, but that is still his only victory in the last five years. Is McLaren really the difference between him not converting those pole positions and front row starts he earned with Meyer Shank Racing into victories? Probably not. Rosenqvist isn't any different than when McLaren fired him except he has an extra accolade to his name. It is hard to believe a change of scenery is all Dixon needed after one bad year. He might not be as bad as he was in 2025, but that doesn't mean he will be back to being a contender. He has only won once in the last 46 races and he had only one top five finish last season.

You can only feel comfortable with one driver producing for this team entering 2027. This seismic change isn't going to lead to seismic results. We have seen these shakeups not produce at McLaren. It feels unlikely this one will be much different.