2026 Road to Indy Review

We will take a breather from the IndyCar reviews for a moment, and we will turn our attention to the Road to Indy system. The remaining junior series wrapped up their championships a few weeks ago, as the USF Pro 2000 and U.S. F2000 championships closed their seasons with a standalone weekend at Road America. Indy Lights concluded with IndyCar at Laguna Seca. 

There were two tight championships and one that was settled almost immediate in the junior system. We will look back on these three championships and see how the drivers performed against expectations in Indy Lights while recapping the lower two series.

Indy Lights

Nikita Johnson: #21 Java House Dallara (1st, 585 points)

What did I write before the season: Johnson was a rising start a few years ago. A brief spell in Europe has slowed his development in the American junior system. However, he is back and focused. He could be a sleeper this season. Do not be surprised if he winds up on a few podiums and could challenge for a victory or two. A championship run is slim but not impossible.

How wrong was it: Johnson wound up with nine podium finishes and he won twice, but it was enough for him to take the championship by 29 points over Enzo Fittipaldi. Johnson started the year with two victories in the first three races and four podium finishes in the first five races. He had two podium finishes in the next seven races, but he ended with three runner-up finishes in the final five races.

What should he do in next year: All signs point to Johnson moving up to IndyCar and Dale Coyne Racing being the leading destination for his promotion. Not many open seats remain on the grid, but Johnson has not been linked to any of those other teams. 

Enzo Fittipaldi: #67 HMD Motorsports Dallara (2nd, 556 points)

What did I write before the season: Prior to last season, Fittipaldi had spent the better part of four seasons in Formula Two. Results were good as he was eighth in the championship in 2022 and seventh in 2023. His struggle was with consistency, and with Fittipaldi adjusting to ovals it could cost him. He should be in the championship top ten, but it is hard to envision him higher than about seventh.

How wrong was it: Fittipaldi was higher than seventh, he was second, and he won four times, the most in the series. However, he ended the season finishing fifth or worse in the final five races. He had four total results outside the top ten.

What should he do in next year: At 25 years old with four seasons in Formula Two, there is no sign where Fittipaldi will end up. There were rumblings over the summer of IndyCar interest, but those have gone quiet. A second season at this level would fill time but it might not be fulfilling. He could be one-and-done. 

Tymek Kucharczyk: #71 Mubi Dallara (3rd, 551 points)

What did I write before the season: Euroformula Open is not a deep championship. This is a big jump to Indy Lights. He and [Jack] Beeton are in a similar boat.

How wrong was it: For Beeton, I wrote he would be fighting to finish in the top fifteen and he will not be competitive. Kucharczyk ended up third in the championship, 34 points off Johnson, and Kucharczyk won twice with eight podium finishes. Sounds pretty competitive to me. 

What should he do next year: Kucharczyk has made it sound like he is not going to be back in single-seaters, which means he would be gone from Indy Lights. He had a remarkable debut season and showed great promise, significantly exceeding expectations.

Max Taylor: #28 Susan G. Komen/Simplify Dallara (4th, 470 points)

What did I write before the season: Taylor did well in USF Pro 2000 but not great. With his focus only on Indy Lights, he should be competitive and possibly could win a race, but fighting for the championship top five will be a good year. 

How wrong was it: Taylor wound up fourth in the championship. He opened the season with finishes of second and first. He had four podium finishes and five top five finishes in the first six races. He had one podium finish over the rest of the season, taking him out of the championship discussion.

What should he do in next year: Fresh off his 19th birthday, Taylor should spend another year in Indy Lights. It was a good year, but there were clearly room for growth. It is certainly possible, and it would set him up better for the future.

Lochie Hughes: #26 The McGinley Clinic Dallara (5th, 453 points)

What did I write before the season: Hughes will have higher expectations as he is the top returning driver from last year's championship, and there will be an expectation that he will take the title now that Dennis Hauger is gone. Hughes should be more of a threat. He should win a few more races.

How wrong was it: Hughes won fewer races in 2026, one fewer than 2025with only one victory. He had four podium finishes after scoring eight in 2025. He was never the championship leader. Nobody was ever challenging him.

What should he do in next year: A third year would not be bad for Hughes, but many do not spend three years in Indy Lights. He certainly must be better in year three should it come. Hughes' presence would only help the series.

Alessandro de Tullio: #14 AstroPay Dallara (6th, 442 points)

What did I write before the season: After starting strong last year, de Tullio was a surprise but the results could not remain that high for the entire season. He looked good in testing, and a few good results could follow this season. It does feel like he will fall short of the championship top five. 

How wrong was it: De Tullio was sixth in the championship, 11 points outside the top five in the championship. De Tullio won eight pole positions. He won two races, and finished first in another before being disqualified for having the wrong tires on the car. Trouble seemed magnetically attracted to de Tullio.

What should he do in next year: Spend a season in Indy Lights where he is not caught in accidents and reaches the full potential of his speed. He could have been a championship challenger if there were not so many tribulations.

Juan Manuel Correa: #68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports Dallara (7th, 389 points)

What did I write before the season: There were brief sparks of promise last season for Correa. This is a new operation. That could be a hinderance considering some of the drivers he is racing against. He should have enough to crack the championship top ten.  

How wrong was it: Correa was a fixture in the top ten with ten top ten finishes. Only one was a podium finish, and he had four top five finishes. These were good results. Nothing too special but better than most.

What should he do in next year: Next year, he will turn 28 years old. Not many 28-year-olds run in Indy Lights. Not many make it to IndyCar at 29 years old. Correa has a good track record in LMP2. His career could continue in sports cars.

Myles Rowe: #99 Force Indy Dallara (8th, 388 points)

What did I write before the season: Rowe made a big leap in 2025. He should be a championship contender alongside the likes of Lochie Hughes. Finishing in the top five of the championship is the bare minimum for this season, and it would be good if he could win a road or street course race. It isn't out of the question, but it will be tougher.

How wrong was it: Rowe dropped four spots in the championship. He did not win on a road or street course. He only won once, a tremendous victory at Gateway from last on the grid. He had another good run at Nashville. 

What should he do in next year: Rowe feels like he is at the end of the line. A fourth year in Indy Lights could not hurt. Rowe has been astonishingly good on ovals. His full form might not be ready for IndyCar full-time. No one is looking for oval-only drivers. An Indianapolis 500 one-off should be considered.

Jack Beeton: #45 Tailored Investment Solutions Dallara (9th, 382 points)

What did I write before the season: Not much. Barely competitive in the Formula Regional divisions. Indy Lights is much tougher. This is a much larger grid than past seasons. Top fifteen finishes could be good days.  

How wrong was it: In the first eight races, Beeton's best finish was ninth and his average finish was 12.75. In the final nine races, his average finish was 7.555 and he had three podium finishes. It was an unexpected turnaround.

What should he do in next year: Seeing as how he is just over a month from 19 years old and the stunning second half of the season, Beeton should return to Indy Lights and see how high he can climb.

Max Garcia: #12 USF Pro Championships Dallara (10th, 381 points)

What did I write before the season: Abel can produce quality cars, and Garcia was rather stellar in 2025. The grid is packed, but I think results will start to turn in Garcia's favor as the season goes along. A few podium results would be a good year. 

How wrong was it: Garcia only had two podium finishes, and they came late in the season. He had a strong drive to victory at Milwaukee and he was third in the first Laguna Seca race. He had a tough opening portion of the season, but he still scored ten top ten finishes.

What should he do in next year: Garcia doesn't turn 18 until March 17, 2027. He has no choice to stay, which would be a good thing. He showed growth and should continue to improve.

Josh Pierson: #29 The Crypto Companies Dallara (11th, 364 points)

What did I write before the season: Pierson has been developing and this is about to be his fourth year in Indy Lights, but he is still only 20 years old. The time has come to at least win a race. If he is the second-best Andretti driver behind Hughes it will be a good season.

How wrong was it: Pierson did win a race, the first Laguna Seca race, but he was third best Andretti Global driver and his season was not sensational. He threw away a podium at Milwaukee. He had five finishes outside the top twenty.

What should he do in next year: All rumors were saying he was bound for IndyCar. Then IndyCar announced new licensing policies. Pierson could still be approved. He did win a race this year, he was sixth in the championship in 2025. He wouldn't be the worst driver approved to run in IndyCar. A.J. Foyt Racing could use the money. He turns 21 years old on Valentine's Day. A fifth season at this level would be the limit. If the Foyt deal is not approved, I imagine he will be off elsewhere.

Matteo Nannini: #20 ENVE Motorsports Dallara (12th, 362 points)

What did I write before the season: Your guess is as good as mine. It has been nearly three years since Nannini last competed. Results will be better than some, but it is unlikely he will be a regular challenger and turn some heads.

How wrong was it: Nannini inherited a victory after de Tullio was disqualified in the second Road America race, and then Nannini won from pole position at Nashville. He had one other top five finish al season. He finished outside the top ten in 11 races, five of those were finishes of 19th or worse.

What should he do in next year: Nobody saw Nannini returning in 2026. If he has the funding, I can imagine a two-time race winner remaining in the series. He is technically considered qualified for IndyCar, no questions asked. Keep that in mind. 

The Rest of the Field

Nobody outside the top 12 in the championship finished out the podium in 2026. 

Seb Murray was 13th. None of the four Chip Ganassi Racing cars were better than 14th in the championship. Salvador de Alba went from fifth in the championship to 16th and he didn't run three of the final four races. Jacob Abel returned for the final four races when Jordan Missig round out of funding. Abel had a pair of top five finishes and a ninth. Extrapolate Abel's 25.25 points per start, and he was on pace for seventh in the championship.

What Comes Next?

It feels like Johnson is only driver bound for IndyCar. There is a chance none of the championship top three return next year. It has been a quiet Indy Lights offseason. No one has been announced for next year, which is strange. You would think someone would announce a return with the plan for a two-year program.

The entire grid cannot change. There were nine rookies last year. I would say Johnson, Fittipaldi, Hughes, Correa and Rowe are the drivers from the championship top ten that will not return. I think Pierson ends up getting the IndyCar license. Does de Alba want to return for a fourth season? Does Bryce Aron want to return for a fourth season? Haven't we seen enough of Niels Koolen and James Roe? 

There is no clear favorite for next year, which means there is no clear next-great-IndyCar prospect on the horizon, at least not yet.

USF Pro 2000

How did the season transpire?

Jack Jeffers won two of the first four races, but did not win in the next eight races, and opened the door for Leonardo Escorpioni, who won five of the first 12 races. However, Escorpioni was unable to compete at Markham due to visa issues and he had to remain in the United States. Jeffers went first and second in Canada to retake the championship lead.

Though Escorpioni took second at Milwaukee while Jeffers was sixth, Jeffers maintained the championship lead heading into the Road America triple-header finale. Jeffers went onto to sweep the weekend and take the title while Escorpioni went third, second and fourth.

What was the turning point for the championship?

It was Markham and the absence of Escorpioni. Out of his control, he sacrificed serve and could no longer control the championship. It played into Jeffers control and he saw out the championship. Jeffers swept the final round, making it hard to argue he only won the championship because Escorpioni missed two races. 

This is the second time in as many years Jeffers has won a title because a rival had visa issues. Last year, Liam McNeilly was unable to return to the United States after he went home to the United Kingdom after he had won the first five races of the U.S. F2000 season. 

Who has a promising future?

Quirky visa issues aside, Jeffers has two titles in the junior series. He ended 2026 on a high note when he needed to.

Escorpioni skipped U.S. F2000 at 16 years old and nearly won the USF Pro 2000 championship. He turns 17 years old in January. 

Who was an unsung driver of the season?

Despite a poor start to the season, G3 Argyros ended the season with 11 top five finishes in the final 13 races, three of which were victories. This lifted Argyros to third in the championship. 

Thomas Schrage also started slowly and had a much better end to the season. Schrage won at Milwaukee and it highlighted a stretch of five consecutive top five finishes. 

Frankie Mossman started well with five podium finishes in the first eight races, but he did not score a podium finish for the rest of the season. Mossman did not win but he did crack the top five in the championship. 

Andrés Cárdenas came into USF Pro 2000, was quick in preseason testing, and did remarkably well for someone entirely new to the ladder system. Cárdenas won the second Markham race and he had six podium finishes in 18 races.

Who else should receive recognition?

Michael Costello won at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and he started the first ten races before running out of funding. 

Jacob Douglas and Mac Clark went 1-2 in the first race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Both only made it through the IRP round.

A few talented drivers didn’t see out the season. It is a shame at any level. 

U.S. F2000

How did the season transpire?

Sebastián Garzón swept the opening round of the season at St. Petersburg and never looked back. Garzón led the championship wire-to-wire. He opened the season with six consecutive podium finishes and nine consecutive top five finishes. Garzón’s final box score ends with four victories, 11 podium finishes and 14 top five finishes from 18 races. No came close to him all season.

What was the turning point for the championship?

The opening lap at St. Petersburg. No one else matched Garzón's consistency this season. Some drivers had pockets of success, but no one had the full season run that could challenge for the championship.

Who has a promising future?

Brad Majman took second in the championship won three races. Majman had five podium finishes in the first ten races. His second half was a little more rocky. He only had two podium finishes in the final seven races while having four results outside the top five, three of which were 13th or worse during that span.

Eddie Beswick was spotty. Beswick won four times, but he had four finishes outside the top ten. He never had more than two consecutive podium finishes.

Evan Cooley won at IRP and he had 11 top five finishes, but he also finished outside the top fifteen in four races, three of which were outside the top twenty. A rough patch in the summer hurt his championship hopes as he had for consecutive races where he did not finish better than tenth.

Oliver Wheldon was not old enough to run the season opener at St. Petersburg, but he ran the final 16 races and he swept the three pole positions for his debut weekend. Wheldon threw away some results, but he did win twice and he had seven podium finishes, good enough for fifth in the championship.

Who was an unsung driver of the season?

Anthony Martella had the third most victories this season with three (IMS road course, Road America, Mid-Ohio). The problem is Martella had six finishes outside the top fifteen in 15 starts. He only had six top five finishes. He did not run the finale at Road America because he contested the final four USF Pro 2000 races instead. He was fifth at Milwaukee but 16th, 15th and ninth at Road America. Martella was tenth in U.S. F2000, but he probably could have pushed for sixth in he ran the finale. 

Who else should receive recognition?

Karol Pasiewicz only ran the Portland round and he was 17th and sixth in those races, but Pasiewicz won the USF Juniors championship with six victories in the final ten races. He had 12 podium finishes form 16 races and won the championship by over 100 points. This could be a name to remember for the future.

The Chris Griffis Memorial Test will be held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course over October 17-18 for the lower two series of the Road to Indy.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Meyer Shank Racing's 2026 Season

We begin the second half of the 2026 IndyCar Wrap-Ups with the Indianapolis 500 winning team. It was highly probable Meyer Shank Racing would win a race in 2026, but I doubt many thought it would be the Indianapolis 500, let alone in one of the most dramatic finishes in the race's 110-year history. There probably should have been more. Meyer Shank Racing showed great pace with both cars, but races didn't line up for them. Engine woes did plague half this team at the start of summer. Results might not have been MSR's best on paper, but this season was far from a failure and one of its best since joining the series.

Felix Rosenqvist

In his first two seasons at MSR, Rosenqvist showed the capability to challenge for victories, but it had not quite worked out in his favor. He was putting himself in the right positions. That pace carried into another season, and Rosenqvist again showed how high MSR could compete at. For two years, a victory was just out of his grasp. It felt inevitable in 2026. Things were bound to line up for the Swede. They could not have aligned at a better time.

What objectively was his best race?

Rosenqvist won the Indianapolis 500 by 0.0233 seconds over David Malukas after a lap caution set up a one-lap dash for the race. Rosenqvist spent nearly the entire final lap side-by-side with teammate Marcus Armstrong before pulling ahead in turn four. It set up Rosenqvist to carry momentum off the final corner and was able to slipstream off Malukas and get to the checkered flag first.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is Indianapolis, and the final lap is something rather inconceivable. Malukas took the lead from Armstrong at the start of the final lap, and with the MSR cars side-by-side, it felt like the race was gifted to Malukas. All preconceived notions told us two cars side-by-side would lose too much time and allow the leader to get away. Somehow, despite running side-by-side for almost an entire lap, Rosenqvist still had a prayer off the final turn, and he was able to claw back all the ground and then some to take the lead.

What set-up Rosenqvist for victory was a pit strategy that had Rosenqvist stop just as each of the final two pit windows opened and it took a good day and allowed it to be greater because they went off-strategy. It gave Rosenqvist track position and it put him in the lead in the closing stages, allowing him to be in the picture for the photo finish.

What objectively was his worst race?

At Markham, Rosenqvist suffered fuel pressure issues and his race was over after 18 laps, too early for any pit stops to take place and see how strategy could have played out for this group.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Rosenqvist had a number of less-than-impressive results this season. He lost a top ten finish at Arlington fo making a pass before a restart zone and was classified in 19th. Opening lap contact ruined his Grand Prix of Indianapolis and it put him in a spot where Kyffin Simpson cutting off Rosenqvist ended Rosenqvist's day. Rosenqvist threw away at least a top five finish if not a podium finish when he spun in Washington, D.C. after Scott McLaughlin hit the barrier in front of him, and Rosenqvist grazed the barrier enough to damage his car. Milwaukee was a bad weekend when it started so well in the first race that started on Saturday. 

These aren't terrible results, but his two runner-up finishes should be mentioned. Both came from pole position at Long Beach and Portland. Both races saw Rosenqvist lead early and look like one of the best cars only for Álex Palou to jump Rosenqvist in the pit cycle. Rosenqvist was good, just not good enough in those races. They are still great days, but it highlighted this group was still not good enough to beat Palou.

Felix Rosenqvist's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 9th (412 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Top Fives: 5
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 168
Poles: 2
Fast Sixes: 7
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 9
Average Finish: 11.888

Marcus Armstrong

Expectations were up for everyone at MSR, Armstrong included as the team had both cars crack the championship top ten in 2026. Though Rosenqvist was the veteran and team leader, Armstrong was clearly comfortable and quick enough to be a factor for the team. Mechanical issues derailed Armstrong's season. His worst results came after a spat of engine failures, knocking down what was otherwise strong form.

What objectively was his best race?

Armstrong's best finish all season was fifth, first at Phoenix and then at the Indianapolis 500. He was leading coming to the final restart for the Indianapolis 500 after quickly taking the lead on the restart before that. He was 0.0155 seconds from finishing third at Indianapolis after Scott McLaughlin and Patricio O’Ward split him coming to the finish line.

What subjectively was his best race?

Indianapolis should be mentioned because Armstrong benefitted from the MSR strategy of stopping once the pit window opened to make it on two stops and it put him in a spot to be in the top five and potentially win the race. 

His best race was Road America where Armstrong led 14 laps, and the cautions fell into his favor. He had a clear shot at victory though Christian Lundgaard was closing. It felt like Armstrong had enough of a gap to hold on for victory. Then his engine failed three laps from the finish on the main straightaway. What should have been a victory turned into a 24th-place finish, perhaps the best 24th-place finish we have seen in quite some time. 

What objectively was his worst race?

At Portland, Armstrong lost his engine after 33 laps and he was the lone retirement from the race. Everyone else completed at least 106 laps. Armstrong was last in 25th. It was his third engine failure in four races. He was 24th at Nashville the race prior due to an engine expiring.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is Road America because it should have been victory and it vanished from Armstrong through no fault of his own. It derailed Armstrong's season, and it was the start of a four-race stretch where he suffered three engine failures. He was classified 24th or worse in all three events. After having five top ten finishes and eight finishes in the top 11 through the first nine races, Armstrong had only two top ten finishes in the final nine races and an average finish 16.888, over six spots worse than his average in the first half of the season.

Marcus Armstrong's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 14th (320 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 29
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 7
Average Start: 11.888
Average Finish: 13.555

An Early Look Ahead

Meyer Shank Racing will go into 2027 without its Indianapolis 500 winning driver but with a driver line-up with ramped up expectations that has yet to show either driver can be a contender in IndyCar.

Marcus Armstrong has run well in IndyCar, and his consistency has been quite respectable. He probably should have won a race, but for how well as he has run, we have not seen him be a constant figure competing for race victories. He has been competing for top ten finishes and top five finishes, and sometimes being a spot or two better than where he has mainly run, but he has not been regularly in the fight for victories. The Indianapolis 500 and Road America this year were really his first two races where he was a true contender for victories.

Mick Schumacher will join Armstrong, and Mike Shank has already set the bar. He expects Schumacher to compete for top ten in the championship. This is asking a lot of a driver who was 23rd as a rookie, albeit driving for one of the weaker sides in IndyCar and spending most of the season dealing with a broken wrist, which was suffered in the season opener in an incident that was not Schumacher's fault. 

It does not feel like MSR has a leader in its lineup. It is a ripe opportunity for either driver to establish some control. 

I don't see how either can replicate what Felix Rosenqvist accomplished, and I am not talking about an Indianapolis 500 victory. I am talking about a driver who can win multiple pole positions, be a regular in the Fast Six and factor semi-regularly in road/street course races and be close to a level of Palou. Rosenqvist may have not won those road and street course races, but he at least put himself in the mix even if Palou or someone else came out on top. 

I am not sure Armstrong can do that. He has done well but not quite been at that level, and the few times we have seen him qualify in the top five, he has stumbled in the race. Some of those were unforced errors. 

Schumacher looked better at the end of the season and he looked more comfortable. I am not sure we have seen enough to think it is realistic for him to turn into a top ten championship driver. His oval form was better than we expected. Jumping up to 15th with be a significant improvement for Schumacher, but MSR wants more than that. 

I don't think both MSR cars will finish in the top ten of the championship in 2027. One car might be one too many for MSR. It is very difficult to finish in the top ten in IndyCar. Will Power and Scott Dixon were outside the championship top ten this year. It would not be unthinkable that Alexander Rossi could rediscover form and get back in the championship top ten. If Christian Rasmussen can covert his oval pace into more consistent finishes and if he can modestly improve on road and street courses, Rasmussen could contender for the championship top ten. MSR could have a respectable year and have both cars finish outside the championship top ten.

There will be some growing pains as this team has changed. I don't think the bottom will fall out and send MSR back to where it was in 2022 and 2023, but I don't think MSR is a lock for a top ten championship finisher every year just because it is MSR and the last two years have been the best this team has been in IndyCar. The IMSA program is gone and it will put all focus on the IndyCar effort, but that doesn’t mean the results will come. MSR could remain in the top ten, but it will be a mighty challenge to retain that spot.

Musings From the Weekend: Growing Fonder

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

A handful of championships were handed out this weekend. Some were decided simply with a start of an engine. Some had two of three championship challengers fall out almost immediately in a ten-hour race. Others were a little more fierce. The World Rally Championship had an astonishing conclusion. The Asia-Pacific region starts a busy period for it in the motorsports world, and one stop was unexpected at the start of the year. Formula One returned to Malaysia as Sepang hosted the Bahrain Grand Prix, and nine years after it last hosted a race, Max Verstappen won again. Sepang was a popular inclusion to this year's calendar though it was not originally planned.

Growing Fonder

Sometimes, things just work out. 

Watching the Formula One live from Malaysia was not going to work out based on time schedules. When the last race held in Sepang was held, it would be without question I would watch it live and not think twice about what Sunday would be like despite the early wake-up. Things change in nine years. 

Nine years ago, it was cable television, it was wonky commercials you would not see at any other hour but 4:00 a.m. In 2026, the body was shaken awake at 4:40 a.m. It was a little earlier than planned, but I was up and the plan was always to start the race once the debris was cleared from the corners of my eyes. Popping open AppleTV and starting the stream from the start, I found a startlingly note. The race had been delayed. 

Sliding along the timeline and watching the hours grew closer to the present, an excitement grew that I had not missed much of the race at all. The race began about five minutes before waking up. I was caught up and watching live with the world after the opening pit stops for the Valtteri Bottas safety car. 

Sometimes, things just work out.

Even while watching delayed, a warmth settled inside of me as the damp conditions threw the race into a tizzy. The Mercedes jumped out to first and second. Max Verstappen was third after holding off Liam Lawson. Ferrari botched the strategy with both cars remaining on the slick tires. McLaren at least split their cars. The order was flipped with a few teams gaining a half-dozen spots or more based on tire choice. The track surface didn't dry as fast as some expected, but it was getting there. The first wet race of the 2026 Formula One season washed away any dull moments. I loved every second of it.

The love might have been in a slumber. Ever since this race was announced, a chunk of Formula One fans were ecstatic for Sepang's return, a track that had not featured on a Formula One calendar since 2017. When Malaysia fell off the schedule, Formula One was looking for something else. The French Grand Prix was returning. It did not feel like much were lost. Netflix cameras were about to start following in the paddock. There was some plan for a docuseries.

I enjoyed Sepang. I never felt it was a staple on the Formula One calendar. It had always been there. I didn't know a Formula One without Malaysia, growing up during the global expansion of the world championship that seemingly has never ended during the 21st century. I didn't feel like Sepang was Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone or Monaco or Monza. It didn't feel like Formula One had to be there. It was a fine circuit, but it wasn't a case that every race was a banger and we could not imagine Formula One without it. There were plenty of circuits like it. Plus, there was still MotoGP and I could see it every year.

Separation makes the heart grow fonder. 

For the modernity of the Sepang International Circuit, it has a flowing characteristic many modern circuits miss. In my youth, I remember a broadcast where Steve Matchett, or it could have been David Hobbs, once said the best tracks were the ones where drivers felt like they were going somewhere. Sepang has that quality. Even though it isn't the longest circuit and it wasn't based on roads from over 60 years ago, Sepang's dips and rises make it feel like proper roads. The sweeping bends make each lap feel like a journey through the South Pacific archipelago. 

Millennials are going to be obnoxious with nostalgia. The things from their youths will be held too high as flawless. Don't we all do the same when remembering the past? It was always better, greater than the world has ever been. 

An exhausting number held Sepang's absence from the Formula One calendar as some travesty and this was a long-awaited return. No one was that broken when it fell off after 2017. Nostalgia was kicking in. For a generation, Sepang was familiar. I feel its place in the calendar helped. Long being one of the first rounds of the season, it was associated with a return of Formula One, taking place during cool mornings at the end of winter or start of spring, a time when it was best to remain in. Tropical conditions provided warmth through the television screen. Being early in the season, it could also provide a mix in results. Everyone was still getting a handle on their new cars. 

Even if some need to readjust or at least have a more realistic grip on the past, this race was wonderful to see, but it speaks to the power of Formula One in 2026. 

I am not sure more people have shown up to see a Sepang race. That was a far different visual than the last time Formula One held a race there. Formula One has never been bigger. Malaysia knows it. With the lack of a race over the past nine years, this was their moment to see a grand prix. They don't know if there will ever be another one. This isn't the only part of the world that would have the same thing. There are probably a dozen or two-dozen places where if a Formula One race popped up tomorrow, over 100,000 locals would show up because when is this circus going to be around again?

There aren't many circuits in the world that can host Formula One. Not many circuits have hosted Formula One, period. Only 77 circuits have held a grand prix. A given Formula One calendar nearly has a third of the circuits to ever host a grand prix. That puts into perspective how scarce Formula One is in this world. Many places do not hold a grand prix in a given year. Most places never have a grand prix come to town. Formula One has grown to a level that in almost any corner of a globe, it would pack any racetrack it set up camp. Seeing Sepang's success, I wish there was a way Formula One could be more available.

The strange thing about motorsports, compared to other individual sports, it doesn't bounce around as much as others. For golf, tournaments rotate, especially the biggest events. Three of the four major events are at a different golf course every year. The Ryder Cup and President's Cup are always at a different venue. Some tournaments are always at the same place, but even some smaller tournaments rotate. Different communities get to host and attract the atmosphere of the competition. Motorsports doesn't do that. 

In motorsports, a calendar is set, and if they ran at the same two-dozen tracks every year for the rest of eternity, no one would bat an eye. Look at how much the NASCAR calendar hasn't changed, and it has changed significantly since the 2020s began. 

There is no drive from motorsports to constantly be searching for somewhere new or spreading itself further. It is not a yearly effort. Series are not looking to see new places. The calendar is not changing with 20% of the round being held at different circuits than the year before with some returning and others being entirely new. Most of that is down to money. Some places pay to have a race every year. Other places cannot afford to hold a race. Saving all the pennies to pay for one race is not worth to track and series. We are left going to the same places over and over again. 

Formula One is positioned to be different. With the expansion of its calendar and 25 races being the goal, it should make an effort to have a few rotating events to see all corners of the globe. There are plenty of locations that should be locks on the calendar, and in a way Formula One is starting to rotate. We are going to see Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona alternate starting in 2027, though I am not sure Spa-Francorchamps should not be one of those rotating places. Perhaps that will cause me to love it even more. 

Maybe this should be a norm, or at least something we become more comfortable with. Maybe there are 18 or 20 races that are locks, and the final four to seven races are a rotation. I have already expressed my interest of the European Grand Prix returning as a way to visit some circuits that cannot fit on the schedule every year. Maybe the South Pacific could have another race, allowing for Malaysia to be a semi-frequent stop while also bringing Formula One to Thailand and we could finally see Vietnam host after it was supposed to six years ago, and maybe Formula One could go to Indonesia as well. 

It could be the way South Africa and Kyalami returns to the schedule. A southern hemisphere round could flip across the Atlantic between there and Argentina. Throw in New Zealand and three-quarters of the Rugby Championship sides could share a grand prix. 

I am not sure the Persian Gulf requires having four rounds in one season, but maybe those nations can get three races and that extra spot can go somewhere else and a grand prix can be held in a place that has long been absent of Formula One.

When it comes to money, Formula One is fine. It can race anywhere in the world and it is going to rake in the dough. I hate that current sanctioning bodies in all sports are strictly driven on business. I wish there was more love in decisions. Formula One is so comfortable, it should decide it is going to race in South Africa or New Zealand or Finland or Colombia or Ireland because it can and it wants to be everywhere in the world and bring Formula One to people who do not have a grand prix, even if the race is only once every three or five or ten years. 

It is a dream that may never become reality, but it makes sense especially after seeing Sepang host this past weekend. The people are there who will support the race, and maybe they shouldn't have to wait nine years and for global conflict to see Formula One return. There should be more regular stops on the Formula One calendar even if they are not annual stops. Sepang showed the world is hungry for a grand prix, and the world is hungry for variety in grand prix. 

It may not be a classic track where the likes of Fangio, Clark and Brabham competed, but Sepang has a place in the Formula One world, and it should not be shut out indefinitely. That is probably true for a number of other venues and locations. If we learned anything from this weekend, the world championship has more of the world to include.

Champions From the Weekend

Jack Aitken clinched the IMSA GTP championship once he started Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta.

The #7 Penske Porsche Motorsport Porsche of Laurin Heinrich, Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr clinched the GTP Endurance Cup championship with an eight-place finish at Petit Le Mans. 

The #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca-Gibson of George Kurtz and Alex Quinn clinched the IMSA LMP2 championship with a class victory at Petit Le Mans with third driver Toby Sowery, as all three drivers won the LMP2 Endurance Cup championship as well.

The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen clinched the IMSA GTD Pro championship with a third-place finish at Petit Le Mans, which also clinched the GTD Pro Endurance Cup championship.

The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward clinched the IMSA GTD championship with a class victory at Petit Le Mans with third driver Indy Dontje, as all three drivers won the GTD Endurance Cup championship as well..

Elfyn Evans clinched the World Rally Championship with a fifth place finish in Rally Italia Sardegna and a third on the power stage after Oliver Solberg crashed coming to the finish.

The #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche of Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller clinched the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with a second-place finish in the first race of the weekend from Barcelona.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Max Verstappen and some of the Petit Le Mans winners, but did you know...

The 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche of Matt Campbell, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor won Petit Le Mans. The #68 Car Blanche Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Marco Sørensen won in GTD Pro.

Marc Márquez won MotoGP's Japanese Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the season, and Márquez also won the sprint race. Izan Guevara won in Moto2, his second consecutive victory and third of the season. David Almansa won in Moto3, his third victory of the season.

Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR Cup race from Las Vegas, his second victory of the season. Corey Day won the Grand National Series race, his third victory of the season.

Oliver Solberg won Rally Italia Sardegna, his third victory of the season. 

The #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Dylan Pereira and Alex Aka and the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen split the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup races from Barcelona.

Coming Up This Weekend

The 69th Bathurst 1000.

Formula One has a short jaunt to Singapore. 

MotoGP has a bit of a longer leap to Indonesia. 

Charlotte hosts an autumnal oval weekend for NASCAR. 

The Indianapolis 8 Hour caps off the Intercontinental GT Challenge season while GT World Challenge America puts a bow on its 2026 season at Indianapolis.

One of six drivers could leave Hockenheim as the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship.

For the first time in two months, Super Formula competes with a doubleheader at Fuji.

World Superbike has its penultimate round in Portugal, Estoril to be specific. 

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Juncos Hollinger Racing's 2026 Season

The halfway point of IndyCar Wrap-Up reaches a team that had its best season in IndyCar. Prior to the 2026 season, Juncos Hollinger Racing had never had a car or driver finish in the championship top ten. It entered this year with an upgrade in lead driver with Rinus VeeKay. Onto his third midfield team, VeeKay wowed many with his 2025 season at Dale Coyne Racing. However, there is a limit to how much skill can overcome technical deficiencies. This pairing drew the best out of each other.  

Rinus VeeKay

In 2025, VeeKay made the most of his lifeline at Dale Coyne Racing and maintained finishing between 12th and 14th in the IndyCar every season of his IndyCar career. For him to extend that form for a seventh consecutive season, VeeKay would need to lift Juncos Hollinger Racing to a level it had never been. The combination went beyond that and was a feel-good story of 2026.

What objectively was his best race?

VeeKay took third in the Milwaukee race that began on Saturday but finished on Sunday evening. VeeKay went from 24th to third and had marvelous pace at the end. Using the lapped car of Scott Dixon as a pick, VeeKay was able to pass Scott McLaughlin for the final podium position. 

What subjectively was his best race?

It should be VeeKay’s entire summer because he found a way to be more present in the top five than the likes of Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott Dixon. Milwaukee was probably VeeKay’s best weekend, but he had strong drives at Gateway, Mid-Ohio and Portland. He spent the entire Portland race in the top five, something we had not seen a Juncos Hollinger Racing driver do ever. This level of consistency was partially unthinkable for this team and VeeKay drew it out of this group. 

What objectively was his worst race?

VeeKay was collateral damage after Marcus Armstrong got the braking wrong at Washington, D.C. and Armstrong clattered Christian Rasmussen into VeeKay. It left the Dutchman classified in 23rd.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Early contact with Álex Palou ruined VeeKay’s Phoenix race. VeeKay started eighth and essentially spent the entire race four or five laps down. Knowing what his pace was for the rest of the season, it feels like his Phoenix race was going to be promising had he made it through the first 21 laps without contact. It could have been a top ten day, maybe a top five day, but in the record book it will forever be a 22nd-place finish. 

Rinus VeeKay's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 10th (378 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 8
Laps Led: 33
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 3
Fast Twelves: 5
Average Start: 14.333
Average Finish: 11.277

Sting Ray Robb

For the first time in his IndyCar career, Robb remained with the same team after switching shirts for his first three seasons. He showed better consistency and increased pace toward the end of his 2025 season. Remaining at the same team was hopefully going to extend his growth a little further in 2026. Ground was not made. 

What objectively was his best race?

In a messy Markham race, Robb was 11th at the checkered flag as seven of 25 starters retired and Dennis Hauger ran out of fuel on the final lap. Robb did start 15th, so it wasn’t a case that pace was entirely absent. 

What subjectively was his best race?

I don’t think any race was brilliant for Robb. I don’t think he did anything positively noteworthy. Nashville will get mentioned because he ran all 225 laps, the only oval he finished on the lead lap, and he finished five spots better than where he started, though largely because others made mistakes and Robb ran long on ever stint, never having a caution catch him out.  

What objectively was his worst race?

Robb ran into David Malukas after Malukas hit the barrier on exit of the final corner at Washington, D.C. Robb had nowhere to go and it left him 25th. It was Robb’s only retirement of the season. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

The last race at Laguna Seca because what stands out the most is Robb ran over the back of Dennis Hauger on the opening lap, Hauger’s season ended before he could complete a lap in the finale, Robb received a penalty, Robb finished a lap down in 23rd. He had 11 results outside the top twenty in 18 races, and he had 15 finishes outside the top fifteen. 

Sting Ray Robb's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 25th (182 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 22.388
Average Finish: 19.888

An Early Look Ahead

I want to deconstruct this team’s future depending on a rumored ownership change. 

Brad Hollinger has been suggested as wanting to fully takeover the team from Ricardo Juncos and becoming the sole owner. Hollinger has essentially been a non-public owner. His name is on the door and the shirts, but he is not openly at the racetracks and giving interviews or making himself known. There are really no silent team owners in IndyCar.

Roger Penske owns the series. Chip Ganassi figuratively owns the series. Dan Towriss is not Michael Andretti, but he is around. Bobby Rahal is Bobby Rahal. David Letterman doesn’t hide in the shadows when he is attending races. Dale Coyne, Larry Foyt, Ed Carpenter, and Mike Shank are all on timing stands and actively involved in teams. Zak Brown is always talking when he is at a racetrack. Brad Hollinger is none of that, and it is interesting he would want to own a team outright.

Ricardo Juncos is open and engaged with the team and series. Juncos has been on the timing stand, an integral part of the team’s operations. Cutting out Juncos either means Hollinger wants to take on a greater role or he will hire his own figurehead to run it, which he arguably already has with the Juncos partnership. It sounds like there has been disharmony within JHR ownership for quite some time and one thing we know is a recipe for success in sports is infighting within an ownership group.

Does the off-track squabbling cause performance issues on the racetrack? It is certainly a concern. However, VeeKay is believed to be locked down for 2027, which means he is either going down with the ship or he can continue to carry this team forward. Robb is largely expected to be out of the team. VeeKay showed the team’s potential. He cracked the championship top ten and has the pace to compete for victories. Adding another driver of that caliber can only help the team. Where does that other driver come from?

Between an ownership takeover and a possible renewed partnership with Arrow McLaren after the 2024 partnership ended midseason following hostilities then-McLaren driver Théo Pourchaire received from fans after an incident with then-JHR driver Agustín Canapino, there isn’t a team in IndyCar with a more unpredictable offseason ahead of it, and Dale Coyne Racing has two potential openings that could remain unfilled until the start of March. Let’s not forget JHR dismissed Callum Ilott almost two months after the 2023 season and when Ilott was largely expected to continue with the team into 2024. Even what we think JHR has locked in for 2027 should not be held as gospel.

We really cannot write anything off for JHR, and this is all off the racetrack. It obscures what its future holds for on-track results. IndyCar is a series where the midfield changes rapidly and teams shoot up and down regularly. Just because JHR was in the top ten in 2026 doesn’t mean it will stay there for long,

Dale Coyne Racing was winning races and leading the championship with Sébastien Bourdais, and it hasn’t cracked the championship top ten since 2018. Ed Carpenter Racing hasn’t had a top ten championship finisher since Josef Newgarden. Two seasons ago, Santino Ferrucci was ninth with A.J. Foyt Racing, and now that partnership ended after neither Foyt car finished better than 17th. It wasn’t long ago Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has both cars in the championship top ten and now none of its three can crack the top fifteen. It wasn’t long ago Meyer Shank Racing could not crack the top fifteen and now it has two entries that compete for race victories and it just won the Indianapolis 500.

History suggests JHR is bound for a dip. Maybe VeeKay holds on for another season, but sustained success is not usual for a team of this size in IndyCar. If the form holds in 2027, it could be best to get out after that season because a third year of this level of competitiveness feels unlikely. However, this could be the point to get off the ride and it is too late. A rough ride could lay ahead.

Best of the Month: September 2026

Autumn is here in the Northern Hemisphere. The days are shorter. The temperatures are cooler. For one part of the world, we had enough wind and rain to satisfy us, and yet this is only the beginning. With these shorter and colder days come the dwindling number of races in every championship under the sun, and some have fewer than originally schedule. We are at a point where silverware is becoming quite common to hand out. This will be the norm for the next few months until the cupboard lay bare and we hit an offseason to restock the shelves for another year of competition to come. 

IndyCar Tidbits

Speaking of silverware, we awarded another IndyCar championship at the start of the month, though it was really clinched in August. The trophy ceremony took place at the start of the month at Laguna Seca, and it was the usual suspect lifting the Astor Cup. We will get to him in a moment.

With the end of the season and some time to think, we put a bow on the 2026 season looking over the details to close the season, the good and the bad. There is always something we special in the results, and we saw a few things this season that were different.

The Champion

This is the fourth consecutive year we are recognizing an Álex Palou championship, and we have covered the lot. He has clinched the title early, and multiple races early. He has won championships with a smattering of victories. He has won a championship with a historic number of victories. There have been years he has been untouchable. There have been years he was within touching distance, only nobody could snatch him back from the top spot. 

With 631 points, Palou scored 64.19125% of the maximum total (983). It is still better than two of his previous championship, but it was a little more than 12% less than his percentage last year. 

This was Palou's second season where he won at least a third of the races. Last year, he won 47.0588% of the races. This was still only the third season since renunciation where the champion won at least a third of the races. The other time was 2008 when Scott Dixon won 35.294% of the races.

However, Palou's podium percentage was notably low. At 38.889%, it was tied for the fourth-lowest of champions since reunification. 

Dixon had four podium finishes in 16 races in 2015, 25% of the schedule. Palou had five podium finishes from 17 races, 29.411%. In 2013, Dixon was on the podium in six of 19 races, 31.157%. Palou's seven podium finishes in 18 races is level with Will Power's 2014 championship season when Power also had seven podium finishes in 18 races.

Power's 2014 season and Palou's 2026 season are near-identical.

While Palou won six times and Power only won three times, both had seven podium finishes, Palou had 12 top five finishes while Power had eight, but both had 15 top ten finishes. However, Palou had eight pole positions, double Power's total, and Power is the all-time leader in pole position. How about that?

Americans

There were fewer full-time American drivers this season. The grid was down to eight after having 11 last season. 

However, this was the third consecutive season American drivers have combined to win four races. This was the tenth consecutive season to see American drivers combine to win at least four races. This was the 16th consecutive season where multiple Americans won a race. 

Kyle Kirkwood took second in the championship, a career-best for him, and it was the second consecutive season Kirkwood was the top American driver. David Malukas was fifth in the championship, a career-best for him. Josef Newgarden was eighth.

In the 19 seasons since reunification, 16 have had at least three Americans in the championship top ten.

There was a seven-spot gap between the top three American drivers and the next three American drivers. They were consecutive, but they were 15th, 16th and 17th in the championship with Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal and Santino Ferrucci respectively. Nolan Siegel rounded out the top twenty. Sting Ray Robb was 25th.

Is this a bad thing? Is it a good thing? 

Since reunification, the average number of full-time American drivers is 7.368 and the average number of American drivers in the championship top ten is 3.473. Out of eight full-time American drivers, we had three this year. In nine of 19 seasons since reunification has at least 50% of the full-time American drivers finished in the championship top ten. It is a 50-50 shot of it happening, but it has only happened once in the last five seasons. Make of that what you will.

Spread Them Points Around

This is just a general observation. 

Last season, Palou stood on his own with 711 points. Only one other driver cleared 500 points (Patricio O'Ward - 515) and only five drivers broke 400 points.

This season, Palou stood on his own with 631 points, but four other drivers broke 500 points. Everyone in the top nine of the championship scored at least 400 points.

This was the most drivers to score at least 500 points since 2022 when the top six each had 500 points, but that was also the final season with double points for the Indianapolis 500. This was the most drivers to score at least 400 points since 2019 when the top nine each had 400 points, but that was also the final season with double points for the Indianapolis 500 and the season finale.

If you go back to 2013, the last season prior to the nine-year period with at least one double points race, only three drives scored at least 500 points, but everyone in the top ten scored 400 points, and 2013 had only one more race than 2026.

Again, just a general observation. Nothing more than that.

Bests and Worsts

Who had a career-best finish in the championship? We are going to exclude rookies.

Kyle Kirkwood (2nd)

Christian Lundgaard (3rd)

David Malukas (5th)

Rinus VeeKay (10th)

Kyffin Simpson (13th)

Louis Foster (18th) - The only sophomore driver on the grid in 2026.

Nolan Siegel (20th)

And who had a career-worst finish in the championship? Again, no rookies.

Alexander Rossi (15th) - Technically, Rossi matched his career-worst.

Romain Grosjean (19th)

Sting Ray Robb (25th) - Technically, Robb matched his career-worst. 

To go deeper, Rossi scored ten more points than he scored with one more race in 2026 and finished in the same championship position. 

Robb scored one more point than he scored with one more race in 2026 and finished in the same championship position.

Seeing Blue (Ensigns)

Something caught my eye in the middle of the championship standings. 

From 11th to 14th you see four drivers all with the Blue Ensign, a commonly used design for national flags of the British Commonwealth with the Union Jack in the upper left with a defaced emblem or symbol adoring the open space.

In 11th was Australia's Will Power. In 12th was New Zealand's Scott Dixon. Thirteenth went to the Cayman Island's Kyffin Simpson. Fourth was New Zealand's Marcus Armstrong. 

And guess what? Last season, we had three consecutive drivers in the championship with the Blue Ensign. Armstrong was eighth with Power in ninth and New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin was tenth! The year before that, McLaughlin was third and Power was fourth and the year before that Dixon and McLaughlin were second and third and the year before that Dixon and McLaughlin were third and fourth!

That is five consecutive seasons where drivers with the Blue Ensign have finished next to each other in the championship and this was the third consecutive season that total number of drivers increased. Based on the pattern, we are going to see five consecutive drivers in the championship with the Blue Ensign in their national flag, and we know there will be five drivers with the Blue Ensign on the grid next year. 

Surely, it cannot happen, can it? 

What was up with third?

We touched upon this during the season, but sure enough, we had a unusual circumstance this season. Of the 18 possible third-place finishers this season, 11 of them went to drivers that finished outside the top ten in the championship. 

Will Power led the way with five finishes of third this season. Power was 11th in the championship, ten points from tenth. Graham Rahal had three finishes of third, and Rahal was 16th in the championship. Scott Dixon (12th), Alexander Rossi (15th) and Christian Rasmussen (21st) each had one finish of third. Throw in Romain Grosjean, who was 19th in the championship but finished second at Markham, and a grand total of 12 podium finishes went to drivers outside the championship top ten.

That is 22.222% of all possible podium finishes (54).

That feels a little high. 

In 2025, ten total podium finishes went to drivers outside the championship top ten, but this year was the most since 17 podium finishes went to drivers outside the championship top ten in 2013. The 2013 season was 19 races long, the longest season since reunification. It was a year that saw three doubleheaders on the schedule. Mike Conway had two podium finishes filling in for Dale Coyne Racing on a whim at Belle Isle, one of which was a victory. Takuma Sato led the championship with two podium finishes in the first four races, and Sato dropped to 17th when the season was over. Sébastien Bourdais had three podium finishes but was 12th. Tony Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500, had three more podium finishes, and he was 11th in the championship! What a fun season that was.

In terms of percentage, this season was the highest proportion of podium finishes outside the championship top ten since 2015 where 11 of 48 possible podium finishes went to drivers outside the championship that ten, a percentage of 22.91667%. 

This season's 12 podium finishes to drivers outside the championship top ten wasn't the highest proportion, and it wasn't the highest total either as you know now. It was the 16th time at least 12 podium finishes went to drivers outside the championship top ten. 

What is the most podium finishes to such a collection of drivers? 

Since 1946, the most would be 20 in 1968! It was 20 out of a possible 84 as there were 28 races that season, the longest season in IndyCar history. Many drivers were not full-time. Gordon Johncock won twice, but was 11th in the championship after skipping eight rounds and failing to qualify for two others. You had a mixture of dirt track aces (Roger McCluskey, George Snider, Larry Dickson) and budding young talents (Wally Dallenbach, Mike Mosley and Ronnie Bucknum) scoring podium finishes, and this was a year the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb counted to the championship. Ted Foltz and Wes Vandervoort are each credited with a podium finish for the 1968 season.

Along with 1968, the following seasons (since 1946) had at least 12 podium finishes to drivers outside the championship top ten.

1968 - 20

1970 - 18

2013 - 17

1969 & 2001 CART - 16

1949 & 1966 - 15

1953 & 1996-97 IRL - 14

1952, 1965 & 2000 CART - 13

1950, 1951, 1956 & 2026 - 12

What about percentages?

This season didn't even crack the top 20! It ended up in a six-way tie for 22nd. 

Since 1946, nine seasons had over 30% of the podium finishes go to drivers outside the championship top ten.

1996-97 IRL: 46.667% (14/30)

1953: 38.889% (14/36)

1970: 37.5% (18/48)

1952: 36.111% (13/36)

1949: 35.714% (15/42)

1956: 33.333% (12/36)

1966: 31.25% (15/48)

1950: 30.769% (12/39)

1948: 30.555% (11/36)

This year was on the higher level, but it wasn't all that close to history. 

Most Podium Finishes Outside the Championship Top Fifteen?

As you may have noticed, Graham Rahal was responsible for a quarter of those podium finishes for drivers outside the championship top ten... but Rahal was outside the championship top fifteen. Three podium finishes is a lot for a driver that low in the championship. 

Two of those results were legitimately on speed. Rahal was quick and deserved to be on the podium. Detroit was a little more fortunate as Rahal was spun in the hairpin 39% of the way through the race, and at 100% distance complete, he was third thanks to a series of events. It happens, and Rahal had three podium finishes in eight races. His season could not finish much worse. Ten races, his best finish was ninth and he had seven results outside the top fifteen, five of which were 22nd or worse.

Where does Rahal rank? Well... he technically isn't the worst, but it sure feels like he was. 

Three podium finishes is tied for the most for a driver outside the top fifteen in the championship. It was actually the fifth time a driver has had this many podium finishes and not been in the top fifteen, but there is something you should know about the others.

1968: George Snider (17th)

1968: Ronnie Bucknum (22nd)

2001 CART: Memo Gidley (17th)

2009: Will Power (19th)

2026: Graham Rahal (16th)

Rahal isn't alone, but he is alone because none of those other four drivers were full-time. 

Snider had three podium finishes, all thirds, at Springfield, the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Phoenix. He only started 12 of 28 races that season.

Bucknum also only started 12 of 28 races in 1968. He was third at Mosport, third at Mont-Tremblant and then won the inaugural Michigan race, somewhat out of nowhere, and it would be Bucknum's only victory. 

Gidley was a mid-season replacement at Chip Ganassi Racing after the Nicolas Minassian experiment lasted only six CART races and one Indianapolis 500. He did start 14 of 20 races, 70%. That is enough to qualify as a series regular, but six races is a significant total to miss. Plus, Gidley was second in his second start with the team at Cleveland before finishing third and second at Houston and Laguna Seca respectively. Based on points per start, Gidley was good enough to finish tenth in the championship. 

Then you have Power, who was famously part-time in 2009, drafted into Team Penske to substitute for Hélio Castroneves as Castroneves was in court over tax evasion charges. Castroneves would be acquitted, but Power got a part-time schedule out of it and he had three podium finishes in six starts and his worst finish was ninth. Based on points per start from those six races, he was on pace for 592 points over a full, 17-race season. That would have put Power fourth in the championship. 

Rahal stands alone as the only full-time driver to finish outside the championship top fifteen with at least three podium finishes. Gidley is a close comparison, but missing 30% of the season is sizable, especially when he was only five points outside the top fifteen. It feels like if Gidley had those races he would have easily cracked the top fifteen. 

It is a bit of history for Rahal whether he wanted it or not.

It's Hard Being a Rookie

So... you want to be an IndyCar rookie? 

The three newest drivers to IndyCar in 2026 were three of the bottom four in the championship, and the only driver they were ahead was Sting Ray Robb, which doesn't really count. 

Dennis Hauger was rookie of the year in 22nd, 15 points ahead of vice-rookie of the year Mick Schumacher, and Caio Collet was 25 points back, 24th in the championship.

Prior to last year, a rookie of the year had not finished outside the championship top twenty since 1986. It has now happened twice in two seasons!

The best finish for a rookie this season was eighth. Hauger was eighth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and Schumacher was eighth at Nashville.

It has been 39 races since a rookie had a top five finish in an IndyCar race. That would be when Linus Lundqvist was third at Gateway in 2024. Throw in Lundqvist's third at Barber earlier that season and those are the only two top five finishes for IndyCar rookies in the last four seasons!

No rookie has finished better than 14th in the championship since the introduction in the aeroscreen in 2020. In 2019, there were two rookies in the top seven of the championship and three rookies in top 13 of the championship.

Is it as simple as the aeroscreen holding rookies back? 

It feels more flukey than that. Scott McLaughlin was 14th in 2021 as was Christian Lundgaard in 2022. Rinus VeeKay was 14th as a rookie in 2020. They all ran well those seasons and had good days, but it is hard to get great results in IndyCar. 

Rookies haven't been in outstanding equipment. Chip Ganassi Racing had two rookies in 2024 with Lundqvist and Kyffin Simpson, but this year's rookie class drove for Dale Coyne Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and A.J. Foyt Racing. The year before that, the rookies drove for DCR, RLLR and Prema.  In 2023, the rookies drove for DCR, Foyt, Juncos Hollinger Racing, and a part-time driver for Ganassi (Marcus Armstrong).

It is just an odd spot for rookies, a combination of the teams they are competing for, the lack of track time and the learning curve of the series. It will eventually reverse. We will eventually have a year where a rookie is 12th in the championship or one will be ninth. It feels odd that it has been this long since we have seen such a rookie performance.

No Repeat Finishes

Speaking of Dennis Hauger, when we last picked through IndyCar tidbits, we discovered that through the first ten races he was the only driver without a repeat finish.

Ten races and he had finished tenth, 15th, 16th, 23rd, 11th, eighth, 19th, 13th, 25th and 20th.

How much further did he go?

No further. In the 11th race, he was 25th at Mid-Ohio.

This was the second consecutive year the last driver without a repeat finish went ten races before scoring his first repeat finish of the season. Hauger is the first rookie to go the longest without a repeat finish since Ed Jones in 2017, who went 15 consecutive races with a different finishing position to start his IndyCar career.

Hauger ended up finishing 25th in three races. He was 25th at Laguna Seca. He actually had a pair of consecutive races with the same finish. He was 15th at Markham and Washington, D.C. and he was then 21st in both Milwaukee races.

Nine in Nine

Something happened at Markham that was extraordinary, and we really didn't notice it in the moment. It took me a few days after looking at the box score to pick it out when looking over the finishing order. Why don't you look at the top nine finisher?

1. Marcus Ericsson

2. Romain Grosjean

3. Will Power

4. Álex Palou

5. Patricio O'Ward

6. Christian Lundgaard

7. Rinus VeeKay

8. Scott McLaughlin

9. Graham Rahal

Do you see it? What do none of these drivers have in common? 

If it hasn't hit you yet, I will give you another moment. You will get there with enough time, but I don't have that much time to give, so the answer will be below.

The top nine finishers at Markham represented nine different nationalities. 

Sweden, France, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States. 

The tenth-place finisher was Santino Ferrucci of the United States.

It is beautiful to see, bringing a tingle up my spin, because how often could that have happened? There have been many nationalities to race in IndyCar, and for the last 20 to 30 years the grid has only become more international. For a North American series that is predominantly racing in the United States, it has its abundance of local drivers, but drivers from around the globe find a home in IndyCar. 

It has surely been possible to have nine different nationalities in the top nine positions, but there are always a handful of Americans on the grid. In recent years, we have been blessed with multiple top Australian drivers or French drivers or British drivers all competing at once. For nearly the last decade, Sweden has had multiple competitors as has New Zealand. That makes it a little tough to have such a grand variety, but Markham show it was possible.

But was it historic? 

Seeing nine different nationalities in the top nine feels nearly unprecedented. But IndyCar has a vast history. It could have happened before and it would not be surprising if it happened before, whether it was a year ago or over a century ago. But has there ever been a race where the top ten represented ten different nationalities? Again, difficult to achieve but not impossible in modern IndyCar. There was only one way to find out.

Using Racing-Reference and ChampCarStats and even Wikipedia, I went through the box score for all 1,793 races recognized in the IndyCar record book to find out if Markham was a first or if we have seen this before.

It took a few days, but the first 80 years of IndyCar history was rather quick to go through as the series was largely domestic based at that time with only Americans or far fewer than nine nationalities on the grid. I noted every race I could find where the podium had at least three different nationalities and went from there noting every race with four different nationalities and five and so on. Of course, as we approached the turn of the millennium and the Split, it got a little more time consuming scrolling over flags and carefully counting. 

A few notes before we get to an answer. This is considering the United Kingdom in its entirety. We are not counting drivers from England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland as different. That is really the only note. Some drivers have mixed nationalities. Memo Gidley is Mexican-American and has been attributed as either nationalities in his career. Jeff Ward was born in Scotland but moved to the United States at a young age. Both drivers raced with the American flag on their car or firesuit. We are going with that and classifying those two as American drivers. Other drivers, if not clearly established in the record books what their representative nationalities was will go by which one they are mostly associated with. This did not pertain to many drivers but it pertain to enough. 

Where do we stand? 

In IndyCar history, out of 1,793 recognized races, Markham was the SECOND EVER to have nine different nationalities represented in the top nine finisher. Never in IndyCar history has a race had ten nationalities represented in the top ten. Markham tied the record. What was the other race?

2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix at Zolder

1. Sébastien Bourdais (France)

2. Bruno Junqueira (Brazil)

3. Graham Rahal (United States)

4. Will Power (Australia)

5. Justin Wilson (United Kingdom)

6. Oriol Servià (Spain)

7. Robert Doornbos (Netherlands)

8. Neel Jani (Switzerland)

9. Alex Tagliani (Canada)

Paul Tracy was tenth, making it two Canadians to round out the top ten. It is coincidental that in both cases did the ninth place finisher and tenth place finisher represent the same nationality. Zolder was the 1,466th race to occur in IndyCar history. It only took another 323 races and nearly 19 years for it to be matched. 

How close were we from either race being ten different nationalities? In Zolder, the next different nationality was fittingly enough Belgium's Jan Heylen in 13th. For Markham, the next different nationality was Cayman Islands' Kyffin Simpson in 14th. 

In IndyCar history, I was able to find 12 total races that featured nine different nationalities in the top ten. 

2005 San Jose

2006 Cleveland

2007 Las Vegas

2007 Edmonton

2007 Mexico City

2008 Long Beach

2013 St. Petersburg

2021 Road America

2022 Iowa Race 1

2026 St. Petersburg

2026 Markham

The first six of those races were Champ Car races. Looking back at those grid, I may have forgotten how diverse those grids were. They weren't the largest grids but out of 18 drivers, there could be 11 or 12 nationalities represented. 

There were some other observations from going through this information I would love to pick apart, but we do not have the time for it. We have an entire offseason to get to it. We are through one month and still have five to go. We will circle back to this, but know that in 2026 you saw something in IndyCar that is still rather historic and who knows if we will ever see it again.

October Preview

There are plenty of championships wrapping up that I cannot decide one to highlight. 

The IMSA season and the World Rally Championship end this Sunday.

Intercontinental GT World Challenges ends with the Indianapolis 8 Hour, the final Indianapolis 8 Hour on October 11. Indianapolis also closes out the GT World Challenge America season. Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters also ends that weekend at Hockenheim.

Portimão hosts a pair of season finales, European Le Mans Series on October 10 and GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup on October 18.

Again, we are clearing the cupboard of silverware. 

Other events of note in October

Formula One has plenty of races to keep us busy with two trips to Asia, with Malaysia cosplaying as Bahrain and then Singapore. It will end the month in the United States.

MotoGP will also be in the Asia-Pacific region, but no cosplaying rounds as of yet. 

I didn't mention World Superbike above, but its final two rounds are Estoril (October 10-11) and Jerez (October 17-18).

NASCAR winds down its season.

Supercars runs endurance rounds at Bathurst and Surfers Paradise. 

Musings From the Weekend: And at the Wire

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

Dale Coyne dropped the ball. The bottom two series of the Road to Indy concluded their seasons. It was a long Saturday in Kansas, but a normal Sunday. Colton Herta had a good Thursday, but there were two more days to the weekend. George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by 0.196 seconds over Max Verstappen, and it received attention, though most were not giving it attention for the right reason or with the right tone. 

And at the Wire

I had nothing this week. Nothing stood out. I was going to cobble something up, and then know-it-alls opened their mouths, or maybe they live with their heads in the sand. When silence would have been the best choice, the void was filled with foolishness. 

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix wasn't the greatest for the first two-thirds of the race. We were watching a Mercedes runaway with George Russell out in front. It was a single-handed Russell romp, and then a few safety cars bunched the field, bringing Max Verstappen within reach. After overtaking Oscar Piastri for second, Verstappen kept the pressure on Russell. What appeared to be Russell's race was thrown into flux. 

Even with a late local yellow for Valtteri Bottas parked in the barrier, Verstappen was able to make a late run at Russell to the finish line. Russell was able to win the race in what was the closest finish since the 2002 United States Grand Prix. Of course, such a note could not go without comment. 

While Formula One acknowledged the finish and how rare such a close finish is for the series, plenty couldn't let it be. 

Whether it was NASCAR, IndyCar or even MotoGP, many circles compared the Azerbaijan finish to some of the closest finishes in those respective series. For Formula One, it was close. For others, they have had plenty of other closer finishes in the last 24 years. What's the point of measuring contest? 

It is hard to believe Formula One needs defending, but what is the point of this? Formula One had a close finish, a more thrilling finish than anyone was expecting for most of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Russell had to defend from a charging Verstappen, one of the best to ever race in the series, and a driver you would not doubt pulling off an unlikely move on the final lap. 

With the lengthy main straightaway at Baku, few tracks set up for a photo finish and someone slingshotting to the lead to win by inches. It wasn't that close and the naked eye could tell the winner, but it was a tense finish. 

No one is gaining from dunking on Formula One. 

So what if this wouldn't be one of the 100 closest NASCAR Cup Series finishes or if it wouldn't be one of the 100 closest IndyCar finishes? Who care where it ranks against MotoGP? Throwing out all those close results will not change anyone's mind or cause them to watch less Formula One and start watching another series. 

Motorsports can be a pretty dumb place especially when attempting to attract viewers. Time and time again, series think people want close finishes or top speed and that is it. They only want 250 mph or photo finishes and margin of victories that require four decimal places. Those are nice but it must be more than that. It must be more than raw numbers. There must be a connection or interest in those competing. 

The top speeds can be thrilling and the close finishes can be astonishing, but if that is all it took, NASCAR wouldn't have a fraction of its audience from 20 years ago and IndyCar would not have backslid for most of the 2000s. Pushing the victories that have come down to thousandths of a second are nice, but they aren't changing any minds. 

At times, the motorsports world feels like middle school. One kid had a good test score or showcased a specific talent, maybe it was playing the guitar or poetry excellence, and another kid had to jump in and show his ability at something else entirely unrelated that was loud and obnoxious, like jumping his bicycle over trash cans or doing a flip off a swing set. Nice, but it isn't about you. 

Take shots at Formula One and see where it gets you. How many series have seen growth because it dunked on Formula One? That doesn't happen. There are not millions of people looking for a motorsports series to watch but can only decide based on which one pushes Formula One in the mud. 

IndyCar's rating is not increasing because it showed a still photo from a Chicagoland race over 20 years ago nor even a still photo from this year's Indianapolis 500. Nor will more people tune into a NASCAR race because it showed a chart of all the finishes it has had that were closer than Saturday's race in Baku. 

Formula One can be its own thing, and for all its flaws in terms of accessibility and racing regulations, it isn't going to be like IndyCar or NASCAR or MotoGP. For all the data being thrown out there, how many of those IndyCar and NASCAR races were on road or street courses? If Formula One had 75 years of oval races, maybe it would have a few extra dozen races decided by less than a tenth of a second or even less than a hundredth of a second. How many IndyCar and NASCAR road course races have been decided by less than two-tenths of a second? As Racer's Chris Medland pointed out as he expressed his same frustration in the aftermath of Baku, no NASCAR Cup road course race has been as close as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It is ok to compare apples and oranges, we should compare apples and oranges, but let's recognize when we are comparing apples and oranges and we are looking for ingredients to bake an apple pie. 

Formula One had a close finish and others could not go a weekend without letting it be on its own. It had to be turned into something else. Did anyone outside of Formula One gain anything from this? IndyCar still has about five months left in its offseason and there is a good chance the NASCAR rating will be a few points lower than the year before when it is released in the next 36 hours. 

All that noise for nothing. It is ok to say nothing after an event. Not everything requires a comment. We could have just gone about our Saturdays and saved our energy for something more productive than trying to embarrass another motorsports series for being different. 

Champions From the Weekend

Jack Jeffers clinched the USF Pro 2000 Championship after sweeping the Road America triple-header.

Sebastián Garzón clinched the U.S. F2000 Championship with finishes of 17th, third and fourth at Road America.

Memo Gidley clinched the GT America championship despite not starting the first race from Barber Motorsports Park due to a driveshaft issue, and Gidley won the second race of the weekend.

Nicolò Bulega clinched the World Superbike championship with three runner-up finishes at Cremona.

Jorge Prado clinched the SuperMotocross championship after finishing second in the Thunder Ridge round.

Levi Kitcten clinched the SuperMotocross 250cc championship after finishing second in the Thunder Ridge round.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about George Russell and a few champions, but did you know...

Dino Beganovic (sprint), Alex Dunne (feature #1) and Rafael Cámara (feature #2) split the Formula Two races from Baku.

Eddie Beswick (race one and three) and Ryan Giannetta (race two) split the U.S. F2000 races from Road America.

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup race from Kansas, his second victory of the season. Kaden Honeycutt won the Truck race, his third victory of the season.

The #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brandon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won the 6 Hours of Fuji. The #32 Team WRT BMW of Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung won in LMGT3.

The #12 AF Corse Ferrari of Matías Pérez Companc and Frederik Schandorff won the GT World Challenge America race from Barber Motorsports Park. The #68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota of Westin Workman and Tyler Gonzalez and the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche of Trenton Estep and Yves Baltas split the GT4 America. Joel Cortes won the first GT America.

Iker Lecuona swept the World Superbike races from Cremona. Jeremy Alcoba swept the World Supersport races.

Haiden Deegan won the SuperMotocross round from Thunder Ridge after going 1-2. Jorge Prado won the second Moto. Cole Davies won the 250cc round after sweeping the Motos.

Coming Up This Weekend

Petit Le Mans closes out the IMSA season.

The World Rally Championship concludes at Rally Italia Sardegna.

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup wraps up in Barcelona.

Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit will host the Bahrain Grand Prix.

MotoGP starts its Asia-Pacific swing in Japan.

NASCAR will be in Las Vegas.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Ed Carpenter Racing's 2026 Season

Our fourth IndyCar Wrap-Up looks at a team that went into the 2026 season with high expectations to improve. Having won a race in 2025, Ed Carpenter Racing was looking for more, and to become a greater threat beyond ovals. The team had a good few races to start the season, but it fell flat during the month of May and never found consistent success. It found mechanical issues on a consistent basis, and what was a hopeful season bordered on a nightmare. There were a few outstanding results, but the disappointing races obscured any view of the silver lining.

Alexander Rossi

Ed Carpenter Racing sought a big jump up the order in 2026 based on how the 2025 season ended, and Rossi was hoping year two would see him carry ECR up the running order to be a greater challenger. That was never the case. A few good results were sprinkled over the opening third of the season, but the rest of the season was terrible. Good days were seldom. Speed would exist in practice and disappear as the weekend wore on. It ended on a high note but that was not how the entire tune went this season.

What objectively was his best race?

Rossi ended on a high note, qualifying fourth at Laguna Seca, his best starting position of the season on a road or street course, and he spent essentially the entire race running in the top five, leading to a podium finish, ending a 41-race podium-less slump. 

What subjectively was his best race?

Laguna Seca is the only race where Rossi looked competitive and was running at the front. He was clearly in form for a podium finish from the start. There wasn't another race all season where he showed that pace and ability on track.

The only other race that could be mentioned is Phoenix, where a late stop for tires allowed him to drive up to sixth, but he lost ground in Phoenix and without the late caution and decision to make a pit stop he would not have finished that well. Cautions also assisted Rossi's sixth-place finish at Road America as well.

What objectively was his worst race?

Rossi lost his engine 91 laps into the Indianapolis 50 and this placed him 30th, racing with a broken tibia and broken metatarsal in his hand after a practice accident the Monday before the race. Rossi did start second for the Indianapolis 500, but another poor pit stop to start the race cost him positions early.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Indianapolis is pretty close to the top of the list if it is not. The mechanical issues were devastating, and this was across the board for ECR. Rossi had three retirements this season due to mechanical issues alone. His hybrid issue at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis drew significant attention as he was parked on the main straightway but it took a lengthy time for the caution to come out.

Nashville could have been another good result for Rossi if he did not have the contact with Scott Dixon as Rossi attempted to enter pit lane. It appeared Rossi slowed earlier than expected for pit lane. Dixon read the situation incorrectly and could have done more to avoid it.

Alexander Rossi's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 15th (307 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 5
Laps Led: 10
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 7
Average Start: 12.833
Average Finish: 15

Christian Rasmussen

A surprise winner at the end of 2025, Rasmussen sought greater success this season, especially on ovals. There were a number of opportunities for the Dane to shine. It looked good almost immediately to start the season, but one got away from him. He never got closer than that. Lightning does not strike often, and Rasmussen could not recreate his 2025 Milwaukee performance. Worse than that, his form did not improve on road and street courses, which make up two-thirds of the schedule.

What objectively was his best race?

At Gateway, Rasmussen took third position at the checkered flag, but he started 19th and was making up positions early. He continued his charge toward the top five, and he was poised to challenge for the victory. Rasmussen did not quite have what it took to defeat Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson, but he was one of the best cars in the race, and rightfully finished third.

What subjectively was his best race?

I think it is Gateway, but Phoenix was a race it felt like Rasmussen controlled. David Malukas led the first 73 laps, but Rasmussen led 69 laps through the entire race, and it felt like the way the race cycled out, it was his for the taking. Then he made contact with Will Power, who was on an alternate strategy, while battling for the lead. Rasmussen remained in first after the contact, but his car was not perfect, and other drivers took tires. Rasmussen held the lead for much of the final stint, but tires won out, and Rasmussen had another brush with the barrier, causing him to slip further down the order. What could have been a victory unravelled to a 14th-place finish.

What objectively was his worst race?

Ed Carpenter Racing did not have a great Indianapolis 500. Ed Carpenter himself was done after 26 laps due to an accident. Rossi made it 91 laps. A mechanical issue ended Rasmussen's race after 144 laps and the Dane was classified in 27th.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is hard not to say Indianapolis, but it is really Phoenix because that race was in his hand. Rasmussen was likely going to find a way pass Power in the final 43 laps. The contact not only damaged Rasmussen's car, but it allowed the field to go off strategy and Josef Newgarden could drive to the front on fresh tires. Without that caution, Rasmussen wins the race going away. 

Beyond Phoenix and Indianapolis, Rasmussen had nine finishes outside the top twenty this season. He had four mechanical-related retirements, but that doesn't explain the other five results. Three were due to accidents. Two were poor pace. 

Christian Rasmussen's 2026 Statistics

Championship Position: 27th (123 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 83
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 14.388
Average Finish: 17.777

An Early Look Ahead

Is it going to get better next year?

Ed Carpenter Racing feels like the IndyCar of race teams. It is always 18 months away from being great. 

For over a decade we have spoken about how great ECR is at Indianapolis, and outside of 2018, it hasn't been that close to winning the race. Its victory last year at Milwaukee feels kind of flukey, and it will continue to feel that way until it does it again, but especially on a day where one of its cars is firmly at the front and the car to beat, not a race where a car benefitted from a caution for a brief rain shower out-of-the-blue and the leaders decide not to stop to get tires.

We see the limits of Alexander Rossi. This was his 11th season in IndyCar. Prior to finishing 15th in consecutive seasons at ECR, he was ninth, tenth, ninth and ninth in the championship. His two championship-contending seasons of 2018 and 2019 are becoming greater exceptions to his ability than a true showing of his capabilities. In two seasons at ECR, he has started in the top five twice. He was one race away from going an entire season without a top five finish. We know how good he is at Indianapolis, but the team hasn't brought a car that can go the distance in either of Rossi's two years at ECR. 

The problems are greater than the drivers. The team had seven combined mechanical retirements this season, two of which were in the most important race of the season. ECR isn't always getting the bad hybrid. At some point, the issues aren't IndyCar faults or Chevrolet's fault or Dallara's fault, but fault falls on the team putting together and servicing the car. If it cannot solve that problem, the results will never be much better than where they currently stand.

Christian Rasmussen's greatest problem is what he is best at only exists for a third of the schedule, and he is dreadful on the other two-thirds of the schedule. In 49 starts, he has started a race in the top ten only five times. He has started outside the top fifteen in 35 of his 49 starts. His average street course starting position is worse than 22nd and his best street course finish is 14th. Unless you are winning two-to-four oval races a season, this kind of form will not hold up in IndyCar.

As much as Ed Carpenter Racing, like a handful of other teams in IndyCar, says the only race the team cares about is the Indianapolis 500, there comes a point where it must at least look competitive at the rest of the calendar. A top ten finish at Mid-Ohio or a string of top five finishes at Portland, Barber and Road America go a lot further than finishing 27th at the Indianapolis 500. We are seeing A.J. Foyt Racing recognize this with its hire of Dennis Hauger over Santino Ferrucci.

The Indianapolis 500 matters, but a team cannot afford to be irrelevant in the other 16 or 17 races even if it those races are dwarfed in comparison. Someone must sponsor those races. They matter to someone and the team should maximize scoring its best results to justify the sponsor's time and investment. 

Rasmussen has been with ECR for three years. This is who he is. He cannot afford another year like this. Rossi is in a similar boat. ECR canned Rinus VeeKay because VeeKay kept finishing between 12th and 14th in the championship. Rossi cannot do better than 15th. The potential doesn't matter if never yields results. Another year like we just saw and ECR should be considering a wholesale change, which likely will not happen with a new car coming in 2028, but the status quo is not good enough for it to continue for another year longer. A fresh start with an entirely new car could be the right choice when 2027 is done.