Musings From the Weekend: The Future with Charters

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

Alex Zanardi left us, and Italians honored him with victories. Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix, his third consecutive victory, all from pole position. Gabriele Mini won the Formula Two feature race. Nikola Tsolov won the sprint race and leads Formula Two championship by a point over Mini. Formula One avoided the rain moving the start time up three hours. One point separates the top two in Supercross with one race remaining. A winning streak continues in IMSA with another stellar race. There was a historic drive in Berlin. This May has begun with rancor around IndyCar and its future.

The Future with Charters

During this extended break for IndyCar, news trickled out when few were paying attention that starting in 2027 IndyCar would bar non-charter teams from competing in races outside the Indianapolis 500. This rule change has not been confirmed, but it is in the works and it has been accepted that it will be codified before next season. 

It is a big change considering IndyCar has been an open shop, like many motorsports series, for its entire existence. Purchase a car that complies with the rulebook and you are eligible to race, but as IndyCar and its teams work to make participation in the series valuable and net a greater return on the investment, the charter system has closed the door.

This news has not been met with any enthusiasm. It has been seen as an abandonment of an essential aspect of motorsports, an accessibility unlike most other sports. It is seen as closing off competition and shutting out prospective teams from entering IndyCar. 

Any participation in IndyCar will now require essentially a full-time commitment. It will not be as easy to compete in IndyCar, but there should also be a recognition that it is not the early days of the 20th century. IndyCar is not what it is was in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s. It isn't what it was in the 1990s and maybe even the dawn of the 21st century. There is an urge to change, and that urge is for the series to provide some value competing. Teams have come and gone and owners have left with nothing to show for it. Equipment and assets have been sold off for pennies on the dollar because the demand was not there and the market dictated it. 

This new rule creates scarcity. Starting next year, only 25 cars will compete in every race besides the Indianapolis 500. That number will increase to 27 when Chevrolet and Honda each receive a charter entry. 

It is tough to see, but if we are honest with ourselves, IndyCar is not losing much with this limitation of entries. At worst, it is losing a hypothetical, something that doesn't exist. 

For all those upset that a team can no longer "dip their toe" into IndyCar, not many have been testing the waters lately. The last non-full-time team to run an IndyCar race outside of the Indianapolis 500 was Paretta Autosport in the 2022 Laguna Seca season finale. That is pushing four years ago! 

IndyCar has been in a place where it has been drawing at least two-dozen entries for over five seasons. The last race to feature fewer than 24 cars was the second race of the Mid-Ohio doubleheader in September 2020. Last season had at least 27 cars start every race. Full-time participation has never been better in IndyCar, and it changes how you look at participation. There is not a need for occasional one-off entries to add to the grid. 

For starters, the series has reached a natural limit. There is a reason why 33 cars don't try and attempt every race. The resources are at their limits. First, there is space. Pit space and paddock space is at its limit currently for a number of venues. There isn't room for another two or four or eight entires. Second, the natural flow of sponsors limits the grid. For IndyCar's size, the number of companies that see it as a worthy sponsorship avenue does not permit another five full-time entries. Companies are not dying to throw their money in IndyCar and make it easier for an organization on the outside to form a team and enter out of thin air.

If there is concern this restriction will hurt IndyCar in terms of team interest, the opposite could actually be true. As much as we think dipping the toe is the best introduction, this restriction basically forces anyone who wants to enter IndyCar to have all their ducks in a row. If you want to be in IndyCar, you must be ready for it. This isn't something you can half-heartedly jump into and bail out of after a few race weekends. 

That is actually better for the series. 

If a team wants to be in IndyCar, it will need to buy a charter and make a full-time commitment. That is a change, but it is a change that is better for the series. The proper financial arrangement must be set before getting started. People hate that there is a business side to motorsports, but that is what it takes to compete. It cost something to race. The charter is additional, but it is an investment that makes it more than a hobby. It makes it less likely to be a loss a wealthy individual can take on the chin and become a fun story ten years down the line at a party about how he lost $5 million trying to operate a race team. If you are involved, you are going to be looking for more out of it. 

Slowing acclimating to IndyCar has been how a few teams have entered the series. It is how Meyer Shank Racing got into the series, though that was an established race team, which had a strong relationship with Honda prior to joining. It dipped its toe, but it had a massive guiding force holding its hand and keeping it from drowning. 

For every Meyer Shank Racing, there is Harding Racing that bit off more than it could chew and thought it was easy because it finished in the top ten on debut in the Indianapolis 500. A few good races led to a dive into full-time competition, and within a year, Mike Harding was looking for someone to bail him out. Enter George Steinbrenner IV, but even then the team was absorbed into the existing Andretti Autosport program. 

Was Harding Racing ready for full-time competition? No. The team entered with a hope that results would lead to more funding. It was already a team that finished in the top ten of the Indianapolis 500, how hard could it be to attract a multi-mullion dollar sponsor? Obviously harder than Harding believed, and it required the established organizations to keep that entry on the grid. 

Even experienced organizations learned the hard way. 

DragonSpeed was intrigued with IndyCar and planned on running a few races in 2019. The successful sports car operation made the second round of qualifying on debut at St. Petersburg, but it was tougher to expand into the series, especially as the team tried to use a number of crew members based outside the United States and struggled with visa to enter the country. Other than the 2020 Indianapolis 500 and the 2022 Indianapolis 500 when a 33rd entry had to materialize, DragonSpeed never competed more in IndyCar than it did that first year when it ran three races.

There are more examples that slowly wading into the water does not produce more full-time and dedicated participants than diving in with a cannonball off the top platform.

Don't get me wrong, it is odd to consider we will not see any one-offs anymore outside of the Indianapolis 500, but they have not been that frequent to begin with. Do you remember the last non-Indianapolis 500 one-off entry from a full-time team? It was Jüri Vips running a fourth Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry at Portland in 2024. Prior to that it was Paretta Autosport entering Simona de Silvestro at Laguna Seca in 2022. 

It doesn't happen with any regularity to think IndyCar is losing something fundamental to its current identity. The fear is losing a hypothetical. It is losing the idea that a Jonny-Come-Lately could form a team off lottery winnings and turn into a contender. That never happens. 

There is room for melancholia with this decision. While we should not exaggerate the number of teams that slowly expanded their IndyCar participation, Christian Lundgaard did make his IndyCar debut as a one-off entry. There is some value in a younger driver getting to run a few races without having to take over a full-time entry. 

The current set up allowed Ed Carpenter to enter an extra car in every oval race for himself. It was cool that you could see Simona de Silvestro come back and run some races. It was cool when a team would enter the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500, and we got to see Juan Pablo Montoya for an additional race. The thought of Felipe Nasr or Ricky Taylor getting to run an IndyCar race as a one-off just because they can and a team could put together a seat is exciting, and now it will not be possible, and it does take away a fun element to motorsports. 

Some of the consternation is this will shrink IndyCar and it will keep teams from entering the Indianapolis 500 as one-offs. Maybe. The only Indianapolis 500 one-off team we have had for the last decade has been Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and until last year, IndyCar didn't have a charter system. What was keeping all of those teams away from 2013 through 2024? 

The cost issues are already there for the Indianapolis 500. Teams aren't interested in the Indianapolis 500 because it costs about $1 million to form a program where the lowest payout is around $200,000. Unless you win the race, a team is looking at losing over three quarters of a million for one race. What is the point of that? 

That is a different problem to solve and is independent of charters existing for full-time competition.

We don't know what this rule will lead to, but for the first time in a long-time IndyCar has done something as an attempt to increase the value in running full-time in the series. The Indianapolis 500 has been fine. It is every other race and the series as a whole that needs help. If you want to be in IndyCar, it forces a team to be in IndyCar. This decision will turn off those who aren't sure if they can do it, but for those who want to be in IndyCar, it becomes clear what must be done. It will require gathering the funds for the charter and that is a greater investment. That isn't running at Long Beach and seeing how it goes before doing more. 

This is year two of IndyCar's charter system, and we don't know how much these are really worth. The market will decide that. If there is a buyer willing to spend $10 million per charter, well then congratulations to the existing car owners. If no one is buying for more than $1.5 million, it is more than they would have gotten before, but it shows how much demand there is in IndyCar. 

The real barometer for series health is not whether new teams want to slowly enter in IndyCar running three races but how easy charters are sold. The value is in the eye of the beholder. If the teams think they have a golden goose but every prospective buyer thinks it is more like a used 2005 Honda Civic, then the series will have a problem. There is no need to worry about car count and the series size until teams are trying to sell charters and no one is buying. That could have happened regardless if the series decided to bar non-charter one-off or not. 

Let's be patience with this decision because we don't know what it will lead to in five years or ten years. Let's also remember that while the rule is changing ahead of 2027, it can always change again. This isn't a decree from God about how things will always be moving forward. Worst case, this becomes another footnote in the history book like the 25/8-rule or double-file restarts. It happened, but it did not last.

For all the negativity around this decision, consider that this could actually work and increase the value for the teams and the value of the IndyCar Series. Something must be done to increase the value. Changing nothing wasn't going to be the answer. Stop for one moment and think this just might work. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about what happened in Miami, but did you know...

Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup race from Texas, his second victory of the season. Kyle Larson won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. Carson Hocevar won the Truck race.

Nico Müller and Mitch Evans split the Berlin ePrix, and Evans won from 17th.

The #5 JDC-Miller MotorSport Porsche of Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm won the IMSA race from Laguna Seca. The #65 Ford Racing Ford of Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch won in GTD Pro. The #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini of Trent Hindman and Danny Formal won in GTD.

The #50 AF Corse Ferrari of Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer and the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche of Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller split the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup races from Brands Hatch.

The #22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson of Ben Hanley, Griffin Peebles and Grégoire Saucy won the 4 Hours of Le Castellet. The #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier-Toyota of Alexander Bukhantsov, Chun-Ting Chou and Henry Cubides Olarte won in LMP3. The #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Mathys Jaubert, Takeshi Kimura and Daniel Serra won in the LMGT3.

Nicolò Bulega swept the World Superbike races from Balaton Park, and Bulega has now won all 12 races this season. Valentin Debise and Albert Arenas split the World Supersport races.

Hunter Lawrence won the Supercross race from Denver with Ken Roczen finishing second, meaning Roczen will have a one-point championship lead over Lawrence entering the Salt Lake City finale. Haiden Deegan won the 250cc race.

The #36 TGR Team au TOM's Toyota of Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita won the Super GT race from Fuji, its second consecutive victory. The #56 Kondo Racing Nissan of João Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura won in GT300.

Coming Up This Weekend

The 13th Grand Prix of Indianapolis. 

Supercross concludes the season in Salt Lake City.

The FIA World Endurance Championship has its annual Saturday race at Spa-Francorchamps.

MotoGP ventures up to Le Mans.

NASCAR makes its earliest trip to Watkins Glen.

GT World Challenge America will be at Sebring.

The World Rally Championship is up to its sixth round of the season in Portugal.

Alex Zanardi: 1966-2026

Alex Zanardi passed away on Friday May 1, aged 59. 

A two-time IndyCar champion where his career will be remembered for his famous pass on Bryan Herta in the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca in 1996, Zanardi's career was altered after suffering an accident in 2001 at the Lausitzring in Germany. Losing both legs in an accident while leading with 13 laps to go, Zanardi proceeded to train and return to competition two years later in touring cars. While he returned to a race car, Zanardi also turned into a para-cyclist, where he became a four-time Paralympic gold medalists. In 2020, he sustained a severe cranial injury in a hand-cycling accident after a collision with a vehicle.

A remarkable man has left us. 

In more ways than most, Zanardi was an inspiring figure. 

In a race car, he was a menace, thrashing the competition with blinding speed and zero fear. His first foray in Formula One produced a single point, but coming to America blossomed a sensational career. He capped off his rookie yea with one of the most memorable passes ever seen, but Zanardi dazzled us for three seasons. He won the championship with ease in his second season. He caused another nightmare for Herta at Long Beach with a late pass for the win after Zanardi started outside the top ten. He was a part of a memorable 230mph ballet at Michigan with Greg Moore and Jimmy Vasser. Zanardi's second title might be more impressive than the first. He clinched it with four races remaining, one of only six times since 1946 an American open-wheel championship has been claimed with that many races remaining. No one has taken a title with that many races remaining since. 

The Lausitz accident nearly took his life. It is miraculous it didn't. For all he lost that day, Zanardi didn't stop him from greatness. 

Less than two years after his accident, Zanardi returned to the cockpit at the Lausitzring and completed the 13 laps he was unable to finish in that 2001 race. Later that year, he was back competing in touring car racing. On August 28, 2005, just under four years after his accident, he was a winner again, ironically enough, in Germany, taking a World Touring Car Championship race in Oschersleben. He also won the Italian touring car championship that year. The WTCC was a wonderful place for Zanardi to fill his competitive fire and show the talent remained.

Taking a pause from competing in a race car, Zanardi developed as a hand-cyclist, first competing in marathons before developing as a world-class talent and attempting the Paralympics. In 2012, he won two gold medals competing in the London Games. The hand-cycling events were fittingly held at Brands Hatch. Four years later, he won two more gold medals in Rio. 

While he was claiming gold, he could not stay out of a race car, and returned to competition in 2014. For the next five years Zanardi mainly competed in sports cars, taking a victory in the Italian GT Championship, but he notably made a start in the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona while also competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Anytime you heard about what Zanardi was accomplishing, it was difficult not to be motivated. A man who by all means could have hidden from the world continued to live on the brightest stage. He did the unthinkable while a glowing smile on his face, and he only made you think anything was possible.

His hand-cycling accident in 2020 was devastating to hear, and it stole a beacon of hope from this world. Zanardi had already lost one career. Then he lost a second. After being such a public figure, Zanardi's final years remained private. 

It has been difficult to think about the last few years and what Zanardi would have achieved had the 2020 accident had never happened. There was going to be another Paralympics in 2021. He was still thrilled driving a race car and embracing challenges. Where would he have gone? Le Mans? Indianapolis? He wasn't done. 

What we did not get to see does not take away the wonderful moments we had, and few in motorsports have lived as fulfilling of a life. For everything Zanardi faced, it never stopped him from chasing glory. He looked to be better after each day. 

Motorsports aside, not many people have been a better role model. For all the adversity one can face, Zanardi is the reminder it can be overcome. It does not matter how tough it can be. It does not have to stop you. It is not the end. It might not be easy, but it is possible to get up each day and still strive for whatever you wish to accomplish. With dedication, our dreams are obtainable.

Alex Zanardi's life gave you a reason to get out of bed every morning. May his memory continue to drive you.

110th Indianapolis 500 Testing Recap

We wrapped up two days of testing from Indianapolis Motor Speedway without much drama. Damp conditions delayed a day. There was a fox on the track. Christian Rasmussen stopped as a precaution. Jack Harvey lost an engine that set his car on fire. Other than those incidents, there was no accidents, no torn up race cars, and everyone can feel a little bit better entering the month of May, which is today!

However, while we saw cars on track, it does feel rather empty after these two days.

Is There Anything We Can Take Away From This Test?

More teams bring unrelated cars to the open test and it makes the results feel somewhat meaningless. 

What can we take away from Álex Palou when he is using his Long Beach car in this test? That was the case for the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team. 

So does anything we see matter? 

Obviously, Ganassi and all the teams not running their Indianapolis 500 car are getting something out of this test. They would not have bothered to show up if there was nothing to gain from these two days, but what they got we will not see in the time chart. We already knew Ganassi was better than most, so seeing Palou fourth-fastest overall in what is no better than his backup car for the Indianapolis 500 is not a surprise. Is the thought Palou's main car must be a smidge quicker? Is his best lap at 39.9517 seconds really about two or three-tenths slower than what the car sitting in the shop will do? 

We don't know... yet. 

We say we shouldn't draw much from these tests, but then we see each year someone who was in the top five or top ten be one of the best cars in the race, and it suggests we cannot entirely rule out these results. If there has been a driver that was 25th after the opening test and then went on to win the race or play a significant role, it has been a long time since that has happened.

Everyone is trying different things. Some teams probably didn't even bother to go 100% at any point during this test. These two days appeared to allow for more race simulations. Teams can worry about speed in practice week, but this test created scenarios, and it was a chance for teams to try something in the faintest chance it should come up during the race.

These two days weren't about what we can take away from it, but rather what the teams could gather and us never knowing if that information will be useful in a month's time.

Who is Probably Serious?

As mentioned above, Palou is probably serious in fourth, and that would also apply to Scott Dixon in eighth. Chip Ganassi Racing might not sweep the front row, but it will have two cars in the picture. 

Team Penske is probably good. Josef Newgarden was second-fastest over two day. He is likely comfortable, and Penske will look to pick up from where it left off prior to the attenuator penalties in qualifying last year. David Malukas was ninth. Scott McLaughlin is 15th. Penske is likely fine.

Can we take Caio Collet seriously? 

At 39.7560 seconds (226.381 mph), Collet ran the fastest lap over the two days, and nobody probably thought a rookie would leave as the fastest driver. It is a test. Is this Collet's true speed, or did A.J. Foyt Racing decide to give Collet a jolt on Wednesday morning and it paid off with the fastest lap, aided with a draft? 

Foyt has shown good speed in recent years at Indianapolis. It is not crazy to think Collet could make the Fast 12. Benjamin Pedersen made the Fast 12! But Robert Shwartzman was never considered a factor after the open test last year and Shwartzman and Prema ended up winning pole position. Jacob Abel was 13th in this test. Do we really think Jacob Abel is going to be pushing for the Fast 12? You cannot look at these results as hard and fast of what is to come in a few weeks.

Collet got to have a good day and gets this feather in his cap. It doesn't mean anything is guaranteed tomorrow. 

Conor Daly was third-overall and Jack Harvey ran the fastest no-tow time. That is a good test for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. The last two years, D&R has shown promise. In 2024, it was in qualifying. In 2025, it was in the race. It is also a team that has had its struggles at Indianapolis. Last year, D&R didn't look great in qualifying, and then Ryan Hunter-Reay stretched fuel and had cautions fall his way in the race. Harvey's record at Indianapolis is rather poor. Daly's record is good recently. 

D&R is probably better than it was last year. That doesn't mean it will be in the Fast 12.

We are also at the point where Takuma Sato's speed is always pure. Sato has made the Fast 12 in the last two years and started second last year for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. If Sato is doing that with RLLR, his seventh in this test is indicative of where his car is at. He is probably solid, going to be a contender for the Fast 12 and maybe push for the Fast Six again.

Hélio Castroneves is also probably fine. Castroneves was fifth overall and second on the no-tow report. I don't know if that means a fifth Indianapolis 500 victory is in the cards, but Castroneves is tied with A.J. Foyt for the most top ten finishes in an Indianapolis 500 career at 17. You have to think Castroneves can at least have a respectable result.

Who is Probably Sleeping?

None of the Andretti Global cars were particularly quick in overall speed. Will Power was quickest at 18th. Kyle Kirkwood was 27th and Marcus Ericsson was 31st. That doesn't speak to a confident outing. However, Kirkwood was third on the no-tow report and Power was 11th. Ericsson was still down in 28th. 

Perhaps more is there for Andretti, but Andretti hasn't had the greatest qualifying pace in recent years. A tide could be turning or everything we saw is actually wrong. 

While Patricio O'Ward was sixth, none of the other three McLaren cars were in the top twenty. I would think Christian Lundgaard and Ryan Hunter-Reay will be better come May. 

Alexander Rossi also cracked the top ten while his two Ed Carpenter Racing teammates were both outside the top 25. I am not saying all three ECR cars will be in the Fast 12, but I think Ed Carpenter and Christian Rasmussen will look better when practice week begins and on the qualifying days.

Does the No-Tow Chart Tell Us Anything?

Last year, the open test had a dedicated two hours to running with turbo boost levels at the qualifying level, as this was going to be the first Indianapolis 500 with the hybrid and IndyCar wanted to see how hybrid worked at that level. As much as we say testing doesn't matter, the top six from that session made the Fast 12 and eight of the top 12 made the Fast 12 in qualifying. 

Technically, that was on an open track for all teams testing, but teams looked to get clear laps to show a representative no-tow time. This year, the turbo boost levels remained at race levels for the duration of the test, and there was no additional reason to try and run a no-tow lap. Looking at the speeds, there is not much you can get to replicating qualifying running less boost.

Jack Harvey had the top time, but his fastest lap was at 221.112 mph, 40.7034 seconds. Jacob Abel wasn't close to making the field last year, and all four laps on his best qualifying run where better than 39.7 seconds. We are a second off from being a second off the fastest times.

I tend to think in this test none of the no-tow times mattered. Only three drivers registered no-tow lap average greater than 220 mph. Jack Harvey is probably happy he got to top that time sheet, but Harvey and his Dreyer & Reinbold crew also likely know that is not the zip code this team will be playing in come qualifying weekend. There are some teams that were at the top of the no-tow chart and will make it to the Fast 12 and maybe even the Fast Six, but this test wasn't foreshadowing. 

The best Penske car was Newgarden in 23rd. I don't think anything from the no-tow report can be seriously carried over. Any similarities we see in actual qualifying are completely coincidental. 

Do We Need to Watch Our Idolatry of Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

We need to watch idolatry at all times in our lives, but in the aftermath of this test, we should cool it when it comes to the mythology of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and be ok if a driver isn't blown away the first time he runs a lap on the circuit. 

It is ok that Mick Schumacher was more impressed at Phoenix. When Schumacher ran at Phoenix it was a race weekend and the qualifying session had some stakes. He qualified fourth and likely impressed himself. In this test, the mission was to check off boxes. For Schumacher, that meant rookie orientation, which is running laps at a controlled speed. After completing rookie orientation, he was likely running to a test plan to get a feel for the car. He wasn't told to go gun-a-blazing and to hold it flat with he rear wing trimmed to an insane angle. The team wasn't looking to blow his socks off nor was Schumacher expecting it.

We must also acknowledge the cultural differences in people, and as a German, Schumacher isn't going to get too high or too low. He isn't going to be impressed by anything. Everything is going to be met with a neutral tone. 

It is a racetrack. It is an inanimate object. Let it be that especially for the drivers competing. It is not an altar everyone must bow upon arrival in adoration. It sounds remarkably uneducated to essentially be rooting for a driver to be injured because he didn't honor the racetrack in the right way. Can't we listen and understand what a driver is saying without twisting his words? 

Best of the Month: April 2026

And now a third of the year is complete. Where does the time go? It wasn't long ago night was longer than the day, temperatures were rather frigid, and most motorsports seasons had yet to start. Now, our days continue to grow longer, most days do not require a jacket and pretty much every series has started. We have been keeping ourselves busy, and there are still more races ahead. There is plenty to look forward to. 

Some major races are to come, but a few major races have already taken place. One saw a notable winner who deserves recognition.

Renger van der Zande

The Dutchman has won in every season since IMSA reunification. At Long Beach, van der Zande extended his streak to 13 consecutive seasons. He is the only one to be victorious in every season since the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am came together.

Neither Taylor brother has done it. It isn't Bill Auberlen or Antonio García. Dane Cameron doesn't have this record. Felipe Nasr was still in Formula One when this streak began. Kevin Magnussen was a Formula One rookie. Filipe Albuquerque was an Audi driver and about to make his Le Mans debut. Tom Blomqvist was competing against Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen in Formula Three.

At no point was this expected. Van der Zande came to America in the Prototype Challenge class, recruited to drive with Mirco Schultis. Van der Zande had good Formula Three results. He spent a year in a year-old car in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. This journey started in ALMS with DragonSpeed. After reunification, Schultis and van der Zande went to Starworks in the same class.

The first victory was at Laguna Seca. It was a split class race. The pro-am classes raced together on a Sunday morning. Later that season, Schultis and van der Zande won at Road America before closing the season wit a victory at Petit Le Mans. Two more victories followed in 2015. Four victories and a championship with Alex Popow came after that in 2016.

In 2017, Spirit of Daytona Racing called van der Zande and he was promoted into the Prototype class. He left his mark at Laguna Seca with a daring pass on Dane Cameron in the Corkscrew to take the lead and ultimately the victory. Van der Zande was only at Spirit of Daytona for a year because Wayne Taylor Racing came calling. He nearly didn't win in his first year, but van der Zande pulled out a victory at Petit Le Mans to close the year. In the next two seasons, van der Zande won the 24 Hours of Daytona. 

Van der Zande moved with Cadillac to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. He and Kevin Magnussen won at Belle Isle. With Sébastien Bourdais as his teammate in 2022, they won three times. Bourdais and van der Zande won again at Laguna Seca in 2023 and then Long Beach and Petit Le Mans in 2024.

Last year, van der Zande moved to Meyer Shank Racing with Acura. He and Nick Yelloly won at Detroit. Now, the duo returns to Laguna Seca fresh off a victory at Long Beach, van der Zande's third in the famed event. 

That is 23 victories in 13 seasons on 11 different circuits. IMSA doesn't race at Lime Rock Park or Circuit of the Americas, but van der Zande has won there. He has had 13 different co-drivers be a part of those winning teams. Popow and Bourdais were his most frequent victorious stablemates. Schultis is close behind. During this streak, van der Zande has also won races with Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso.

We give van der Zande his flowers because we really don't know what the future will look like beyond 2026 for him. With Acura pausing its GTP program at the end of this season, it is unclear where he could go. Perhaps a privateer takes up the Acura program and keeps him in a job, but that is an unlikely outcome. The GTP class might be closer to a crossroads than it thought it would be. Acura is stopping. Porsche already pulled out of the FIA World Endurance Championship. There does not sound like there is great interest from Genesis and future LMDh manufacturers Ford and McLaren in racing in IMSA. 

There might not be any vacancy for van der Zander to fill come next season, at least not in the top class. LMP2 could be the fallback, but it would be a loss seeing such a talent not in the top category. 

Van der Zande turned 40 this February. Sneaky old if we are being honest. He feels like a kid but he is very much a veteran. The runway is getting shorter. The end is closer than we think. It could come before anyone wants it to happen. 

Before we get to that moment, it is only proper to honor a driver that is rather unsung. Van der Zande is not the face of IMSA. He isn't the social media darling. No one is pushing him to the forefront to be an ambassador for the series. He isn't known for rubbing elbows at NASCAR races or IndyCar races. Despite this, for over a decade, we can almost count on van der Zande winning a race. Let's hope we get many more years of his participation in IMSA, and let's not take for granted each race over the rest of 2026.

May Preview

Two races remain in the AMA Supercross season, and the championship will go to one of three gentlemen. In all likelihood, it will be one of two men going to the wire. 

With four victories in the last five races, Ken Roczen has taken the championship lead with 310 points, four ahead of Hunter Lawrence. Mathematically, Cooper Webb has a chance to defend his championship and claim his third Supercross title, as Webb is 34 points behind Roczen after finishing runner-up in the last three races. 

Roczen is 31 years old and he is in 12th season in the 450cc class. Nine years ago, it felt inevitable Roczen would be a champion. He opened the 2017 season with a pair of victories, but he suffered a fractured left arm in the third round, ending his season. He returned in 2018 and was finding his groove before suffering another serious arm injury only six races into his comeback. He went three years between Supercross victories, and while he has had some good runs, Roczen has still struggled with injuries. In three of the last four seasons, an injury has ended his run early. 

This year, he has remained unscathed, and what once appeared to be a fleeting hope is now within his grasp. 

Lawrence rode rather remarkable to start the season, leading the championship before he ever won a race, and then he won three of four in the middle of the season. A few slips have cost him. Detroit saw a fall open the door. An underwhelming Triple Crown round at Cleveland right as it appeared the championship was back in Lawrence's control allowed Roczen to close within touching distance. 

Roczen trudged through the sloppy conditions in Philadelphia to take a comfortable victory and the championship lead. Heading to Denver and Salt Lake City, momentum has swung in favor of the German, but four points is nothing. Neither rider can afford a mistake in the final two rounds. Neither you can guarantee will be clean through the end of the season. 

For each rider, this could be their greatest chance a 450cc Supercross championship. Roczen is not getting any younger. Lawrence and the rest of the competition will likely have to deal with Jett Lawrence, who has been sidelined for this entire 2026 season due to an ankle injury suffered in preseason training, for years to come. Both riders could be staring down their one shot at glory, only intensifying the already building pressure.

Other events of note in May:

IMSA begins the month in Laguna Seca and ends the month on the streets of Detroit. 

The 24 Hours Nürburgring will run on May 9-10 and Max Verstappen is supposed to be there. 

After Berlin, Formula E will race in Monaco. 

MotoGP gets busy with events in Le Mans, Barcelona and Mugello. 

NASCAR has its earliest ever trip to Watkins Glen and an unpopular All-Star Race scheduled at Dover before its 600-miler at Charlotte. Nashville will also take place.

Formula One has consecutive sprint weekends with a trip to Miami, two weeks off and then the Canadian Grand Prix on Memorial Day weekend.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts a pair of events. It is probably nothing that important though.

110th Indianapolis 500 Testing Primer

IndyCar might have another off weekend before its next race, but this weekend there will be action from Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the open test will be held over two days. We will possibly see 33 teams begin their preparations ahead of this year's race.

We will have a handful of rookies completing their orientation program and a few veterans receiving a refresher. Then there will be plenty of time for all drivers to take to the track as they each have a checklist whether that be to focus on qualifying simulations or begin preparing for the each race. 

Schedule

The two-day test begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday April 28. Every team will get a chance to run an instillation lap before the focus will turn to the veterans running until noon. Rookie Orientation Practice and the Refresher Programs will begin at noon, and that session will run for two hours. The track will be open to all teams from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday April 29, testing will resume at 10:00 a.m. with a two-hour session. There will be a one-hour break before a four-hour session to close out the test. The final hour of the test will allow hot pit stops.

Who must run Rookie Orientation and the refresher program?

There are four rookies entered for this year's Indianapolis 500: Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger, Mick Schumacher and Jacob Abel. While Abel did attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 last year, because he did not make the race, Abel will need to complete Rookie Orientation again this year. 

Rookie Orientation is a three-phase process. The first phase requires ten laps between 205-210 mph. Phase two is 15 laps between 210-215 mph. The final phase is 15 laps at 215 mph or faster. 

Five additional drivers will need to complete the Refresher Program, and all five of those drivers are one-off entries. For five of those drivers, they have not competed in IndyCar since last year's Indianapolis 500. Those drivers are Ed Carpenter, Hélio Castroneves, Jack Harvey, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has moved to Arrow McLaren after running with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2025. Hunter-Reay's entry will be run in partnership between McLaren and Legacy Motor Club, which competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with co-owner Jimmie Johnson. 

Katherine Legge will also need to complete a refresher, as she was announced to run the #11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports in partnership with A.J. Foyt Racing. She last appeared at Indianapolis in 2024.

Though he has not appeared in a race since last year's Indianapolis 500, Takuma Sato will not need to complete a refresher program as he ran at the Speedway in October testing brake and damper components as the Honda representative alongside Alexander Rossi representing Chevrolet.

For the refresher program, a driver must complete the final two phases of Rookie Orientation, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and 15 laps at 215 mph or faster. 

Does Any of this Matter?

Only 33 cars are going to be entered in this year's Indianapolis 500, which means the bottom of the time chart will not matter. No one is looking to beat at least one or two cars just to feel safe making the race. There might not be bumping or the threat of missing the race, but a lot can be gained from this year. 

Prior to last year, Josef Newgarden had been the fastest car in four consecutive years at the open test. Newgarden won two of those. He was second last year on the first test day behind Scott Dixon.

Last year saw teams get to run the qualifying boost levels in the morning session on day two of the test. While Scott McLaughlin was fastest in that session and Will Power was third, Takuma Sato was second, and Sato wound up qualifying second. 

The top six drivers from the qualifying boost session last year made the Fast 12, and eight of the top 12 from that morning session made the Fast 12. This includes all three Penske cars, two of which were relegated to the back of the grid for being found with an illegally modified attenuator on the pit lane of the Fast 12 session on Sunday afternoon. 

However, our eventual pole-sitter for the 109th Indianapolis 500, Robert Shwartzman, was only 25th during the qualifying boost session during the test. In fact, Shwartzman ranked 29th and 31st in the two race boost level sessions in last year's test.

In the afternoon session on day two last year, the boost levels returned to regular race levels. The fastest driver in that session was Álex Palou, who wound up winning the Indianapolis 500.

What Should We Keep an Eye On?

Last year, Palou was the fastest at the end of Saturday qualifying with McLaughlin and Newgarden behind him. Then it was Patricio O'Ward with Scott Dixon in fifth. In 2024, Team Penske swept the front row with an Arrow McLaren starting fourth (Alexander Rossi).

Are we going to see the same teams at the top? Sato was the surprise last year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and it was Sato's second consecutive year putting RLLR in the Fast 12. He started tenth in 2024. 

In each of the last two years, Andretti Global could only have one car progress to the Fast 12, and it has not had a car start in the top six at Indianapolis since 2021. 

Meyer Shank Racing was somewhat of a surprise last year as Felix Rosenqvist was the fastest in the Fast 12 session. Marcus Armstrong had also shown good qualifying pace before he had an accident in the morning practice session on the first qualifying day, relegating him to a backup car and the Last Chance Qualifying session. 

A.J. Foyt Racing has had at least one car start in the top 12 in each of the last three years. Santino Ferrucci has started in the top six twice during that spell. Foyt has also had the fastest rookie qualifier in two of the last eight years, and this year the team is fielding rookie Caio Collet. 

Ed Carpenter Racing has not been Ed Carpenter Racing the last few years. Last year, ECR did not have a car make the Fast 12. The year before that ECR did not have a car make the Fast Six. ECR had arguably the best driver at Phoenix with Christian Rasmussen leading 69 laps and being the fastest car into the final stint, but contact with Will Power derailed Rasmussen's chance for victory. Alexander Rossi was 14th in qualifying last year. Rasmussen has finished 12th and sixth in his two Indianapolis 500 starts.

How Does Musical Chairs Shake Things Up?

Of the 27 returning drivers from last year's race, only five are with different teams than last year. 

Last year, Conor Daly was 13th in qualifying and just missed the Fast 12 driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing. It was JHR's best qualifying run for the Indianapolis 500. Daly moves to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, which had its two cars end up 27th and 28th in qualifying last year before each car moved up two positions thanks to the Team Penske penalties. However, D&R made the Fast 12 in 2024 with Ryan Hunter-Reay. 

With Daly leaving JHR, it means Rinus VeeKay takes over the #76 Chevrolet for Indianapolis. VeeKay had never started worse than seventh in his five Indianapolis 500 starts with Ed Carpenter Racing. Last year, VeeKay could only do so much with Dale Coyne Racing, and he was the 33rd qualifier. 

Coincidentally, it was announced that VeeKay's entry will be a co-entry between JHR and D&R as the two teams will have a technical partnership.

Hunter-Reay moves from D&R to Arrow McLaren, which had two cars in the Fast 12 last year and three cars in the Fast 12 in 2024, with two of those cars making the Fast Six. In 2023, all four McLaren entries made the Fast 12, and those also made the Fast Six that year.

Then there is David Malukas. Last year, Malukas had his best Indianapolis 500 starting position in seventh and his best Indianapolis 500 finish in second after the penalties with A.J. Foyt Racing. Now, Malukas is with Team Penske and he has four consecutive top ten finishes, a run that started with a third from pole position at Phoenix. 

Malukas at Team Penske means Will Power moves to Andretti Global. From 2009 to 2019, Power had never started worse than ninth in the Indianapolis 500 for Team Penske. Since then, he has only started in the top nine once. Power has made the Fast 12 all four years since it was adopted in 2022. However, in two of those years he started on the fourth row, and last year he was barred from taking part in the session and was relegated to 33rd on the grid after the illegally modified attenuator was found on his car. 

Will Anyone Besides Takuma Sato Show Speed for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing?

Sato has made the Fast 12 each of the last two years. However, the rest of RLLR has been out to lunch. 

In 2024, the next best RLLR start was Christian Lundgaard in 28th. Pietro Fittipaldi started 30th, and Graham Rahal had to participate in the Last Chance Qualifying session for the second consecutive year. Rahal was able to hang on as the 33rd qualifier. 

Things did improve in 2025. Devlin DeFrancesco qualified solidly in 18th. Louis Foster was the second-fastest rookie in 22nd. Rahal again had to sweat the Last Chance Qualifying session until the end of Saturday, but Rahal ended the first qualifying day in 30th, and made the race. 

There should be some encouragement for RLLR entering this year's test. 

For starters, Graham Rahal has started in the top ten in three of five races this season, and each time he has started in the top ten, he has finished in the top ten. Best of all, Rahal started third at Phoenix while Mick Schumacher started fourth. That is Schumacher's one highlight this year as he has not started better than 17th in any other race. Foster's qualifying pace has not quite lived up to last year's form. He did start ninth at St. Petersburg, but he was 16th at Phoenix and he has not started better than 13th in any other race. Compared to the first five races last season, Foster's average starting position is down to 15.4 from 12.2.

It isn't so much if any other RLLR car can challenge for the Fast 12, but can all the RLLR cars get off the bottom and show more competitive speed. Last year's qualifying left room for improvement, but the team should be proud of last year's Indianapolis 500 race results. Three of the four RLLR cars finished all 500 miles, all three of those cars were classified in the top 12 finishers, and even Graham Rahal saw the checkered flag, finishing solidly in the middle of field, a lap down in 17th.

Does the Andretti Global Relationship Help Dale Coyne Racing At All?

We will not have a good answer on this until practice week in May, but we could see the fruits of this relationship at this test. For the last two years, Dale Coyne Racing has had two cars in the Last Chance Qualifying session, and it has had at least one participant in the last three years. The last two years saw Dale Coyne Racing responsible for the one car bumped from the race. Last year was particularly bad as neither Coyne car looked to be a threat for 32nd, and Jacob Abel wasn't even a threat for 33rd. 

Dennis Hauger's #19 Honda is run with a technical alliance with Andretti Global. While Andretti did have Marco Andretti in the Last Chance Qualifying session last year, it did have Marcus Ericsson in the Fast 12. Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta were 25th and 29th in qualifying, but Kirkwood did race into the top ten. 

So far this season, the partnership hasn't been stunning. Hauger did start third on debut at St. Petersburg and finished tenth, but that remains his only top ten finish of the season. He was 11th at Long Beach. 

Romain Grosjean's second stint at Coyne hasn't been that glowing either. Part of that is down to clutch issues preventing him from starting the Phoenix race, and Grosjean was hit on the final restart at Arlington after Kyffin Simpson ran into Nolan Siegel. However, Grosjean was 21st at Long Beach through no fault of anyone else. His eighth-place finish at St. Petersburg is a distant memory as Grosjean is 19th in the championship, 16 points behind his teammate Hauger in 16th. 

The only other oval race this season was Phoenix. Grosjean qualified 20th and Hauger qualified 22nd in a 25-car field.

While Grosjean's entry does not have a formal alliance with Andretti Global, he worked with the team in 2022 and 2023. He qualified ninth in 2022 but dropped to 19th in 2023. 

The last time there was no bumping for the Indianapolis 500 was in 2022. Dale Coyne Racing had Takuma Sato start tenth that year with David Malukas in 13th. From 2017 to 2022, Dale Coyne Racing had at least one car start in the top 12 for the Indianapolis 500.

Who is Particularly Happy There is No Bumping This Year?

Katherine Legge because her program is being thrown together last minute and if there had already been 33 or more cars entered, Legge's entry would never see the light of day. 

Truth be told, there has not been one particularly poor entry this season that we would think should be in trouble this May. Dale Coyne Racing would have to show us it was competitive after the last few years at Indianapolis, but 2026 has not been a red flag that this May could be another grueling one for the Illinois-based organization. 

Schumacher hasn't been stellar, but his Phoenix qualifying run would make us feel better about what RLLR could do on an oval. Sting Ray Robb has yet to finish in the top twenty this year, but Robb qualified 12th at Phoenix. Nolan Siegel has been a punching bag but even he qualified ninth at Phoenix. 

The answer is Jacob Abel. While Abel and his family's team Abel Motorsports has gotten this entry together before the test, it is still a one-off entry with a team that only runs in Indy Lights. Abel never showed any competitive speed last year. He had one qualifying run break a 227-mph average over four laps, and every other team had run at least one qualifying run over a 229-mph average between the two qualifying days. 

Abel Motorsports did make the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 on speed with R.C. Enerson qualifying 29th on the first qualifying day, meaning the team didn't even need to bother with the Last Chance Qualifying session. Maybe that would give Abel a little more hope, but that was three years ago and this team will be working with the hybrid for the first time. Plus, Abel would need to find some confidence after being nowhere near close to having the speed in 2025.

Thankfully for Abel, and the rest of the grid, no one will be living this testing having to worry about finding more come May. A stressful month will be a little easier this year. No need for night terrors and cold sweats.

Musings From the Weekend: Lack of Control

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

Rain cancelled the third round of the Super Formula season from Autopolis, and a replacement round could be scheduled later this season. Supercross suffered through the rain and mud in Philadelphia, one championship was secured while another championship lead changed. There was a home winner in Austria. Marc Márquez continues to dig a hole. Acura will be exiting IMSA with Honda taking the brand to IndyCar with Meyer Shank Racing, and it will put more attention toward that program. However, IndyCar left Long Beach with some egg on its face, and it has become a recurrent issue.

Lack of Control

Hours after Álex Palou had taken the checkered flag and secured his first Grand Prix of Long Beach victory, likely after all the team haulers had packed up and began their journeys back east, IndyCar released a statement of a failure with the push-to-pass system on the only restart during the race.

"The failure left the Push to Pass system available to all drivers on the restart, when it should've been disabled prior to the passing of the alternate start-finish line on Lap 62," read IndyCar's statement. "The burden of the rule rests with INDYCAR to assure that the software run properly," continued the statement.  

Twelve drivers were found to have used push-to-pass on the restart. The only pass to occur on the restart involved Marcus Armstrong overtaking Santino Ferrucci, however, both drivers used push-to-pass and both drivers had used a near-equal amount of push-to-pass on the restart. 

No penalties were issued in the aftermath, but this points to a greater issue within IndyCar officiating. For the second time in three years, IndyCar had a push-to-pass issue seemingly get by the officials. In 2024, Team Penske ran the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with software that allowed its cars to operate push-to-pass when it was disabled, and this problem was not found until after the morning warm-up for the next race, the Grand Prix of Long Beach, with penalties and amended results for the season opener not being issued until the middle of the following week.

Add last year's attenuator altercations from Team Penske, which were not picked up until post-inspection for the Fast 12 qualifying session on Sunday of Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend, when the cars had already qualified on Saturday and there were photos of these attenuators used in competition at previous races, and this is the third consecutive year IndyCar officiating is a storyline for failing to do its job properly.

Considering Long Beach's push-to-pass issues, should any of the 12 drivers have been penalized? No. It wasn't disabled when IndyCar said it would be. Rule 14.19.16 clearly states push-to-pass will be disabled. Only IndyCar, by the letter of the law, can disable and enable the system. Twelve drivers caught a break and got a little boost. It clearly didn't matter as only one pass happened, and it was inconsequential to the actual result. 

If you read the rulebook, there is nothing that says a driver cannot use push-to-pass on a restart. All the rules says is the system will be disabled for the race start and any restart that occurs the lap prior to the white flag or prior to three minutes remaining in a timed race. There is nothing that says the drivers cannot push the button. Technically, the rule cannot be broken if the system is not disabled. If the system is not disabled, that is a failure on IndyCar and not an infraction on the teams, unless they have circumvented the system. 

In no way could any of the drivers be penalized. 

Should the drivers be named? Other than Armstrong and Ferrucci, the remaining ten drivers are a mystery. Only if you hold a grudge for the aftermath of the Team Penske penalty from two years ago when Josef Newgarden was made the villain for pressing the button while also claiming he had no idea of Team Penske's software workaround should you believe these ten drivers should also be named. No one has stepped forward and voluntarily revealed to have benefitted from push-to-pass on that restart, but a fair number of drivers have stepped forward claiming innocence. 

None of the 12 broke the rules. Team Penske, whether purposefully or accidentally, had coded its software to allow for push-to-pass on the restarts two years ago at St. Petersburg, breaking a rule. No one in this instance should be penalized, but IndyCar does not look good, and a race control that has already been scrutinized for its effectiveness regulating a motorsports series just received another harsh mark against it. 

For the third consecutive year, it appears IndyCar is unable to sanction the IndyCar Series. The officials are not properly resourced or are not properly trained to notice when teams are violating rules or to make sure all the tools required to run a race weekend are properly operational. 

Errors happen. It is not crazy to think there could be a software issue that does not allow push-to-pass to be disabled before a restart. Things happen, but in IndyCar's case, it has fumbled too many time to get a pat on the back. Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. 

IndyCar has already made steps with an independent officiating panel, which has been put into place, but regardless of whether or not the officials are on the Penske payroll or independent and allegedly neutral, if the tools are not good enough then that is a bigger problem. If the officials on the ground running technical inspection are not skilled enough then that is a bigger problem. It is not mission accomplished because Ray Evernham, Raj Nair and Ronan Morgan were hired for the independent officiating board and Scot Elkins has just been hired as the managing director of officiating. The tools must work, and that is where the investment must go, along with proper training to those officiating on the ground, to ensure races can be properly executed. 

Until the systems are in place, perhaps adjustments are necessary. 

The rule could change. Push-to-pass could be left enabled the entire time, but the regulation could state it cannot be used at the start or on a restart unless it is the lap prior to the white flag or within the final three minutes of a timed race. It is available, but if a driver uses it, there will be a penalty. 

It forces the drivers to police themselves. It is clearly evident that drivers are hitting the button when it is disabled. Whether that is a reflex or a deliberate action hoping IndyCar officials will be sleeping at the wheel and a driver could get an unexpected boost is irrelevant. IndyCar can make it so push-to-pass is always available, and if a driver does use it when not allowed, which the officials will see... we think... then it is a penalty. 

IndyCar could also make it so it is apparent when a driver is using it. We don't have the LED panels anymore, which once told us when a driver was on the button, and we haven't had those in eight years, but there are plenty of other instruments that could be used to should when it is used. Super Formula has a flashing light around the air intake above the drivers head when its push-to-pass equivalent is being used. 

Are people going to like to see a driver or two or nine penalized on every restart with a drive-through penalty because they used push-to-pass? Probably not, but it will phase itself out. The reflexes will adjust as the penalty will be severe enough to change behavior and no one is going to believe they will get away with using it when forbidden. 

Maybe that is IndyCar's best option at the moment. Change the rule. It has already changed the qualifying format on street courses so the Fast Six session is a single-car run during the season, why couldn't IndyCar put push-to-pass in the drivers' hands and force them not to use it when they are not supposed to use it? 

After Long Beach, it might be the only thing the officials can do to save themselves from any more embarrassing mistakes. Let the drivers be the bad guys! It will make officiating much easier. 

Champion From the Weekend

Cole Davies clinched the AMA Supercross 250cc championship with a victory in Philadelphia.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Cole Davies, but did you know...

Álex Márquez won MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix. Marc Márquez won the sprint race. Senna Agius won in Moto2, his second consecutive victory. Máximo Quiles won in Moto3, his second victory of the season.

Carson Hocevar won the NASCAR Cup race from Talladega, his first career victory. Corey Day won the Grand National Series race, his first career victory.

Thomas Preining and Maro Engel split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Red Bull Ring.

The #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Dave Musial, Jr. and Ryan Yardley won the GT World Challenge America race from Austin. The #94 Random Vandals Racing BMW of Kenton Koch and Sam Craven won the GT4 America 3-hour endurance race. Memo Gidley swept the GT America races.

Sébastien Ogier won Rally Islas Canarias, his 68th career victory.

Ken Roczen won the Supercross race from Philadelphia, his fifth victory of the season. 

Coming Up This Weekend

Formula One is back with a sprint weekend in Miami, and Formula Two will be there as well.

Formula E visits Berlin's Tempelhof Airport for perhaps the final time. 

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup opens its campaign at Brands Hatch.

NASCAR will be in Texas.

IMSA hosts a throwback weekend at Laguna Seca.

The European Le Mans Series visits Circuit Paul Ricard.

World Superbike heads to Baloton Park.

Supercross' hosts it penultimate round in Denver.

Super GT has its Golden Week round from Fuji on Monday. 

IndyCar Championship Leader Facts

As you have may have noticed, over the last few weeks, we have been covering the IndyCar championship leader, and facts surrounding those who have topped the championship since 1946. We covered those who led the championship, from the all-time leader to those who led for only one race. 

With the basics covered, there are a few questions that arise from the first wave of research. Today, we look to answer a few of those questions.

Who has the most victories to never lead the championship?

Since 1946, 107 drivers have led the championship. That is a lot of drivers, but that isn't everybody. Naturally, you wonder who has the most victories to never lead the championship? 

Many drivers who won a lot led the championship. Even those drivers you don't think as winning a great abundance of races have led the championship. Scanning over the all-time leaders in victories and cross-referencing the championship leader list, I was getting surprised how far I was going down. Then I hit the answer, and it is a few drivers. 

Since 1946, the most victories for a driver to never lead the championship is seven, and four drivers won seven races in their career but never led the championship. 

Johnny Thomson won seven times in eight seasons. He won four times in the 1958 season but he never led the championship. The best Thomson was ever ranked in the championship was second for six races from the second Milwaukee race through the penultimate race at Sacramento. He missed the final four races due to an injury and dropped to third after the final race.

Dan Gurney was never full-time in IndyCar. The most starts he ever made in a season was nine in 1969, and that was out of 24 races. However, he won seven times in his career, his first victory coming in the 1967 season finale at Riverside and the last being at Sonoma in 1970. Despite never running full-time, Gurney ranked as high as second in the championship during the 1969 season. He was second at the Indianapolis 500, earning him 800 points, second at Continental Divide and he won the first race of a doubleheader on the road course at Indianapolis Raceway Park. This gave him 1,240 points and put him second in the championship for a pair of races. Gurney would finish fourth in the championship that year. He was ranked second again after his Sonoma victory in 1970, and then jumped back to second in the championship after he was third in the Indianapolis 500 a few races later. 

Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500 twice, but he never led the IndyCar championship! Didn't matter if it was CART or the Indy Racing League. Luyendyk wasn't beating down the world in CART, but he was respectable, and in the early day of IRL he was one of the greater talents. Yet, he never led the championship. He was ranked second in the championship after the 1991 Indianapolis 500. He opened that season with finishes of ninth, fifth, first and third, and he trailed Rick Mears for the championship lead by nine points. That was the only time Luyendyk was second in the championship! Other than that one race, he never was higher than third at any other point in his career. 

Justin Wilson never led the championship, which feels kind of odd. In all his years in Champ Car, there was never a brief moment where Wilson was a few points ahead of Sébastien Bourdais and on top of the world. Wilson was twice second in the championship in 2006 and 2007. He was second after 11 of 14 races in 2006. He was also second after the third race of the 2005 season at Milwaukee, a season where he opened with three consecutive fourth-place finishes. The final time Wilson was second in the championship was after St. Petersburg in 2010. He opened with an 11th at São Paulo, and he then finished second at St. Petersburg. It was technically a three-way tie for second with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Dario Franchitti. Franchitti had finished seventh and fifth in the first two races. Hunter-Reay was second in Brazil and then 11th in St. Petersburg. Effectively, Hunter-Reay and Wilson were tied because their results mirrored one another from the first two events.

Who has led the championship but never won a race?

If you read the first two parts of this series, you really just needed to read the second part, you would be able to pick out the answer, but in this case we are just going to drop it here for you. Four drivers led the championship at some point but never won a race. 

There is Geoff Brabham, who led the championship for three races during the 1981-82 USAC Gold Crown season. That season started with the 1981 Indianapolis 500, Pocono a month later, Springfield and DuQuoin in August, the Hoosier Hundred from the Indiana State Fairgrounds in September and then the 1982 Indianapolis 500 also counted. Brabham only ran the pavement races. He was fifth in the 1981 Indianapolis 500 and second at Pocono. That gave him 1,300 points. He led the championship after Pocono, Springfield and DuQuoin despite not running the latter two. George Snider took the championship lead at the Hoosier Hundred by 80 points. Neither ran well in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 and Snider took the title. 

Raul Boesel led the championship after the 1988 Grand Prix of Long Beach. He had finished fifth and fourth in the first two races. Mario Andretti won at Phoenix but failed to score at Long Beach. Al Unser, Jr. failed to score at Phoenix but won Long Beach. Boesel was a point ahead of both. 

We covered Mike Groff quite closely. Groff led four races during the 1996-97 IRL season. He suffered a broken leg in a practice accident for the first Texas race and that is what saw him drop from the championship lead. He returned for Charlotte, was injured in practice for the second Loudon race, missed the rest of the season, returned in 1998 and was replaced after three races. He made an attempt at the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and that was it for his career. 

After Groff was injured, Davey Hamilton took the championship lead with a third-place finish in the Texas race. Hamilton would finish third in the next race at Pikes Peak. However, he would lose the championship lead after an accident in the next race at Charlotte to Tony Stewart, who would go on to win the championship. 

That means for a six-race period, the IndyCar championship, in this case the IRL championship, was led by drivers that had never won a race and would never win a race in their careers. That is incredible, and none of use knew it at the time. Hamilton ran three full seasons after that and never won a race. He was injured at Texas in 2001, and he did not return until the 2007 Indianapolis 500.  

Who has led the championship before winning their first victory?

We have those four drivers who led the championship but never won a race, but there must be a few drivers who led the champi?nship before they won a race and then actually won a race. How many fit that category?

Technically, we have a driver who won the championship before he ever won a race. Ted Horn won the 1946 championship without winning a race. His first career victory would come the following year at Bainbridge, Ohio. 

Mike Nazaruk led the championship four races into his career. In 1951, he opened the season with a second in the Indianapolis 500 before finishing eighth at Milwaukee, ninth at Langhorne and eighth at Darlington. He was three points ahead of Tony Bettenhausen and Lee Wallard. Nazaruk would score his first career victory the following year when he won at Milwaukee. 

Mario Andretti led the championship before his first career victory. In 1965, Andretti had finishes of sixth, second, third and fourth to open the season. That gave him the championship lead on 1,100 points, 100 more than Jim Clark and Parnelli Jones. He then was second at Langhorne, skipped Pikes Peak and missed Trenton because of a practice accident but despite this, Andretti, Clark and Jones remained the top three in the championship though Andretti still had never won a race. Then he won the Hooiser Grand Prix on the IRP road course. Andretti led the championship for four races before he scored his first career victory. 

It took Billy Vukovich, Jr. 85 starts to lead the championship for the first time in his career. It took Vukovich, Jr. 92 starts to score his first career victory. He opened the 1973 season with finishes of 15th, third, second and second, and that gave him the championship lead after the Indianapolis 500. In the first race of the Twin 125s from Michigan, Vukovich, Jr. passed Gary Bettenhausen with three laps remaining to get the victory, the only one of Vukovich, Jr.'s career. 

Scott Pruett had finishes of fourth, third, ninth and second to open the 1995 CART season. This gave Pruett the championship lead but he had zero career victory. He held onto the championship lead for another race after finishing eighth at Nazareth. However, Pruett did not win until the 13th race of that season from Michigan.

Like Ted Horn, Scott Sharp won a championship before his first career victory. Unlike Ted Horn, Sharp won his championship because he and Buzz Calkins were tied after the three-race 1996 IRL season, and instead of giving Calkins the title based on Calkins winning a race while Sharp never won, the two drivers were declared co-champions. Less than three months after becoming a champion, Sharp won his first career race at Loudon to open the 1996-97 season. 

The 1999 IRL season is arguably the worst season in IndyCar history. It was truly a season no driver wanted to win. Case in point, Jeff Ward opened the season with finishes of third, second and second. He was leading the championship after the Indianapolis 500! What did he do for the remainder of the season? His best finish was ninth in the remaining seven races. The guy who opened the season with three consecutive podium finishes ended up 11th in the championship. The guy who opened the season with three consecutive finishes of 21st, Greg Ray, won the championship. Nuts. Anyway, Ward would won his only IndyCar race a little over three years after his only time leading the championship. This was at Texas driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. 

Roberto Moreno's made his IndyCar debut on June 30, 1985 at the Meadowlands. He was 28th. At one point, Moreno went nearly a decade between IndyCar starts, returning to the series in 1996. On June 25, 2000, Moreno took the championship lead at Portland. He was second and it was his third podium finish in eight races. Seven days later, Moreno won for the first time in his career at Cleveland. 

In 2002, Michel Jourdain, Jr. led CART after the fourth round at Milwaukee as he had finished fourth, fifth, fifth and fifth over the first four races. It would be another 363 days before his first career victory, also at Milwaukee. 

Along with the four drivers who led the championship but never won a race, nine other drivers led the championship before their first career victory, but it has been over two decades since it has happened. 

Who led the championship for the greatest percentage of their careers?

Here is an issue... since we are only looking at the championship standings since 1946, we can only count starts from 1946 onward. 

George Robson led the championship for five races. George Robson only started three races. Robson lost his life in the third race of the 1946 season. His Indianapolis 500 victory gave him enough points to lead for five races even though he was not present for two of those.

Technically, Robson led the championship for 166.667% of his career. There is your answer. However, it doesn't feel correct in spirit. It doesn't feel correct in reality either.

If you look at the all-time leaders, a great number of drivers at the top did not have long careers. Pat Flaherty only made 18 starts in a career shortened due to injury. Flaherty led the championship for nine races, half his career, but like Robson that is misleading because Flaherty led the championship for three races in 1956 after he was injured. That is a percentage point skewed in Flaherty's favor. It isn't his fault. It is just a quirk.  

Ted Horn made 26 starts from 1946 onward. He led the championship for 12 races (46.153%). Nigel Mansell was only in IndyCar for two seasons. He led the championship for 14 of 31 starts (45.161%). 

Mauri Rose only made nine start post-World War II. He led the championship after four of those races, but even for Rose, like Robson, it is misleading because Rose led the championship after races he didn't start. He won the 1948 Indianapolis 500 and that was his only start of the year. He held the championship lead for the two races after that as well. That victory was alone gave Rose third in the championship. It was a different time. 

Let's set a standard of a minimum of 50 starts. That knocks out Bill Holland, who led the championship for 37.5% of his career, Bill Vukovich (36.363%), Jacques Villeneuve (35.294%), Tony Stewart (30.769%) and Bob Sweikert (30.555%). These were all drivers who led the championship for at least a quarter of their careers but did not start at least 50 races since 1946.

Even with the 50-start minimum added, the answer is still Álex Palou, who has led the championship after 56 of 103 starts or 54.3689% of his career!

Let's just run down the drivers that led for at least 10% of their careers with a minimum of 50 starts.

1. Palou - 54.3689%

2. Juan Pablo Montoya - 30.927% (30/97)

3. Alex Zanardi - 30.303% (20/66)

4. Johnny Parsons - 27.868% (17/61)

5. Jimmy Bryan - 27.419% (17/62)

6. Sam Hornish, Jr. - 23.275% (27/116)

7. Rodger Ward - 22.667% (34/150)

8. Sébastien Bourdais - 22.321% (50/224)

9. A.J. Foyt - 21.951% (81/369)

10. Cristiano da Matta - 19.801% (20/101)

11. Will Power - 17.592% (57/324)

12. Mario Andretti - 17.444% (71/407)

13. Rick Mears - 17.241% (35/203)

14. Dan Wheldon - 16.541% (22/133)

15. Bobby Rahal - 16.226% (43/265)

16. Al Unser - 15.264% (49/321)

17. Bobby Unser - 15.116% (39/258)

18. Scott Dixon - 14.858% (63/424)

19. Tom Sneva - 13.658% (13.658%)

20. Kenny Bräck - 13.461% (14/104)

21. Tony Bettenhausen - 12.711% (15/118)

22. Dario Franchitti - 12.075% (32/265)

23. Paul Tracy - 11.032% (31/281)

24. Josef Newgarden - 10.970% (26/237)

25. Al Unser, Jr. - 10.638% (35/329)

26. Hélio Castroneves - 10.379% (41/395)

27. Joe Leonard - 10.204% (10/98)

A special mention to Simon Pagenaud (9.178%) and Johnny Rutherford (8.917%), the next two drivers who just missed out on the 10% threshold.

Who many races are we away from Palou dropping to second?

Palou is 23.4419% ahead of the next closest driver in Montoya. Let's say Palou loses the championship lead after the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, which feels highly unlikely...

Palou would need to not lead the championship for the next 79 RACES to fall behind Montoya in terms of percentage of career leading the championship. At 17 races a season, that is Palou not leading the championship for over 4.64 seasons. We would be talking about Palou not leading the championship at all through practically the end of the 2030 season! 

Think about that! 

Palou could lose the championship lead at the next race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and not lead again for the rest of the 2020s and he still would likely would have led the championship for the greatest percentage of an IndyCar career with a minimum of 50 starts. Sensational!

It is more likely someone else enters IndyCar between now and then, makes 50 starts and leads the championship for at least 28 races than Palou dropping below Montoya's percentage. If someone is going to top Palou, it is because they are better not because he falls off. 

Who has made the most starts to never lead the championship?

This is actually easy to look up. 

It is Graham Rahal, 314 starts and he has never led the championship.

Let's give you the top 13 in this category.

1. Graham Rahal - 314

2. Ed Carpenter - 206

3. Oriol Servià - 204

4. Dick Simon - 183

5. Bryan Herta - 179

6. Justin Wilson - 174

7. Arie Luyendyk - 170

8. Mike Mosley - 164

T-9. Patrick Carpentier - 157

T-9. Charlie Kimball - 157

11. Scott Brayton - 150

12. Maurício Gugelmin - 147

13. Roberto Guerrero - 145

Those are the drivers listed with at least 145 starts to never lead the championship. 

And in case you are wondering, "Which driver had the most starts before he led the championship for the first time?" That is a question for another day because it only came to me as I was answering this one and I have to stop somewhere. 

But it is good that we have questions. It gives us something to shoot for in the future.