American open-wheel racing championship season
2026 IndyCar season NTT IndyCar SeriesSeason Races 17 Start date March 1 End date September 6 Awards
Álex Palou is the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion
The2026 NTT IndyCar Series is the upcoming 115th official championship season ofAmerican open-wheel racing and the 31st season underIndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event is the110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 .Álex Palou enters the season as the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and a four-time series champion, including defending three-peat champion.
Background and series news [ edit ] On September 12, 2024, IndyCar announced that theFirestone Tire and Rubber Company had signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier until at least the 2030 season.[ 1] On July 31, 2025, Fox Sports parent companyFox Corporation announced that it had acquired a one-third stake in IndyCar parent company Penske Entertainment. As part of the acquisition, Fox Sports' TV contract was extended to 2030.[ 2] [ 3] The following teams, entries, and drivers are contracted to compete in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams will use a specDallara DW12 chassis with2018 universal aero kit andFirestone tires.
Icon Status R Eligible for Rookie of the Year RY Rookie of the Year
On September 2, 2025,Team Penske confirmed reports thatWill Power would depart the team, having driven for the team since the2009 season .[ 31] On September 2,Rinus VeeKay confirmed that he would not return toDale Coyne Racing in 2026.[ 32] On September 3,Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced thatColton Herta had been signed as the team's test driver for 2026, taking him out of IndyCar after seven seasons driving forAndretti Global .[ 33] [ 34] On September 3, Andretti Global confirmed reports that Will Power would join the team, driving the No. 26 entry vacated by Herta.[ 6] On September 18, Team Penske announced thatDavid Malukas would join the team on a multi-year deal beginning in 2026, driving the No. 12 entry vacated by Power.[ 30] On September 23, Dale Coyne Racing confirmed reports that2025 Indy NXT championDennis Hauger would join the team for the 2026 season.[ 16] On October 14,Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Rinus VeeKay would join the team for 2026, serving as the team's lead driver.[ 19] On October 29,Marco Andretti announced his retirement from motor racing and the Indianapolis 500.[ 35] On November 6,A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced it had signed 2025 Indy NXT runner-upCaio Collet for the 2026 season, replacing Malukas in the No. 4 car.[ 4] On November 13,Arrow McLaren announced thatRyan Hunter-Reay would join the team for the2026 Indianapolis 500 .[ 12] On November 24,Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced thatWorld Endurance Championship and ex-Formula One driverMick Schumacher would pilot the No. 47 car, replacing the No. 30 car driven byDevlin DeFrancesco .[ 27] On September 23, with the confirmation of Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing announced that it had formed a technical alliance with Andretti Global for the 2026 season.[ 16] The schedule was released on September 16, 2025.[ 36]
Icon Legend O Oval/Speedway R Road course S Street circuit
Rd. Date Race name Track Location 1 March 1 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg S Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida 2 March 7 Grand Prix of Phoenix O Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona 3 March 15 Java House Grand Prix of Arlington S Streets of ArlingtonArlington, Texas 4 March 29 Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix R Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama 5 April 19 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach S Streets of Long BeachLong Beach, California 6 May 9 Sonsio Grand Prix R Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Speedway, Indiana 7 May 24 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 O Indianapolis Motor Speedway 8 May 31 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix S Streets of Detroit Detroit, Michigan 9 June 7 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 O World Wide Technology Raceway Madison, Illinois 10 June 21 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America R Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 11 July 5 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 12 July 19 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix O Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee 13 August 9 BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland R Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon 14 August 16 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham S Markham Centre Markham, Ontario 15 August 29 Snap-On Milwaukee 250 Race #1 O Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin 16 August 30 Snap-On Milwaukee 250 Race #2 17 September 6 IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey R WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California
IndyCar will return toPhoenix Raceway after an eight-year absence, marking the championship's first race in Arizona since 2018.[ 37] [ 38] 2026 will see the debut of theGrand Prix of Arlington , held at a newstreet circuit around the Streets of Arlington. This marks the championship's return to Texas for the first time since 2023.[ 39] TheGrand Prix of Alabama will move from early May to late March.[ 40] After having hosted the season finale since 2024, theMusic City Grand Prix will move to July 19 and become round twelve of the season. The event will also become a night race and have its race length extended from 225 laps to 300 laps.[ 36] The race atWorld Wide Technology Raceway will also be a night race.[ 36] TheOntario Honda Dealers Indy race will move fromExhibition Place , where it has been held ever since 1986, except for 2008, 2020, and 2021, to a temporary street circuit inMarkham, Ontario under a five year deal.[ 41] TheMilwaukee Mile race weekend will become a double-header event, as it had been when it returned to the schedule in 2024.[ 36] TheGrand Prix of Monterey will return to be the season finale, as it had been from 2019 and 2022–2023. The race will therefore move from late July to September 6.[ 36] The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix will not return in 2026 after two years on the calendar.[ 42] Iowa Speedway was also dropped from the calendar after four years on the IndyCar schedule.[ 36] Sponsorship changes [ edit ] ^ "Firestone extends long Term as exclusive tire supplier" .IndyCar . September 12, 2024. RetrievedSeptember 12, 2024 .^ Goldsmith, Jill (July 31, 2025)."Fox Acquires One-Third Stake In Penske Entertainment, Owner Of Indycar Series" .Deadline . RetrievedAugust 11, 2025 . ^ Brittle, Cian (August 5, 2025)."Why did Fox invest in IndyCar and what happens next?" .BlackBook Motorsport . RetrievedAugust 11, 2025 . ^a b Horner, Scott (November 6, 2025)."Rookie joins A.J. Foyt Racing's 2026 IndyCar Series lineup to replace David Malukas" .Indianapolis Star . RetrievedNovember 6, 2025 . ^ "Ferrucci To Stay with AJ Foyt Racing in 2025" .IndyCar . September 12, 2024. RetrievedSeptember 12, 2024 .^a b Richey, Lynzy (September 3, 2025)."Andretti Global Signs INDYCAR Veteran Will Power to 2026 Driver Lineup" .Andretti Global . RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 . ^ Pruett, Marshall (September 26, 2023)."Kirkwood extends deal with Andretti" .Racer . RetrievedSeptember 26, 2023 . ^ Benyon, Jack (August 23, 2023)."Ericsson to leave Ganassi for IndyCar rival Andretti" .The Race . RetrievedAugust 23, 2023 . ^ Pruett, Marshall (May 27, 2022)."O'Ward signs contract extension with AMSP" .Racer . RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^ "Arrow McLaren signs Nolan Siegel to multiyear contract, set to race Laguna Seca onward" .McLaren . June 18, 2024. RetrievedJune 18, 2024 .^ Fryer, Jenna (July 2, 2024)."Arrow McLaren to replace Rossi with Lundgaard in yet another driver lineup change for IndyCar team" .AP News . RetrievedJuly 2, 2024 . ^a b Pruett, Marshall (November 13, 2025)."Hunter-Reay joins Arrow McLaren for 2026 Indy 500" .Racer . RetrievedNovember 13, 2025 . ^ Barnes, Joey (October 30, 2024)."Chip Ganassi Racing finalizes its 2025 lineups for IndyCar and Indy NXT programs" .Motorsport . RetrievedOctober 30, 2024 . ^ Barnes, Joey (September 18, 2024)."Ganassi's take on the charters: IndyCar "benefitting" from Penske's NASCAR experience" .Motorsport . RetrievedSeptember 19, 2024 . ^ Benyon, Jack (February 28, 2024)."Seven things we learned as McLaren escalates Palou claim to $30m" .The Race . RetrievedJune 14, 2024 . ^a b c Pockrass, Bob (September 24, 2025)."One & Done: Indy NXT Champ Dennis Hauger Ready for Jump to INDYCAR" .Fox Sports . RetrievedSeptember 24, 2025 . ^ "Jack Harvey Back at Indy in 2026 with Dreyer & Reinbold, INVST" .IndyCar . September 24, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2025 .^a b Brown, Nathan; Newell, Nat (September 25, 2024)."Alexander Rossi joins Ed Carpenter Racing; Carpenter only doing Indy 500" .Indianapolis Star . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2024 . ^a b "Rinus VeeKay Signs With Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2026 Season" .IndyCar . October 14, 2025. RetrievedOctober 14, 2025 .^ Rutherford, Kevin (May 25, 2025)."Helio Castroneves Plans To Return for Another Indy 500: 'I Will. I'll Make It Happen' .Frontstretch . RetrievedAugust 14, 2025 . ^ Pruett, Marshall (September 5, 2023)."Rosenqvist signs multiyear IndyCar deal with Meyer Shank Racing" .Racer . RetrievedSeptember 5, 2025 . ^ Dejewski, Kevin (August 18, 2025)."MSR extends Marcus Armstrong contract for 2026 IndyCar season" .Motorsport Week . RetrievedAugust 18, 2025 . ^ "PREMA Racing" .IndyCar . RetrievedOctober 16, 2025 .^a b Pruett, Marshall (August 8, 2025)."IndyCar's silly season roadmap hinges on one critical domino" .Racer . RetrievedAugust 14, 2025 . ^ Barnes, Joey (November 13, 2023)."Rahal signs multi-year deal to remain with Rahal Letterman Lanigan" .Autosport . RetrievedNovember 13, 2023 . ^ Barnes, Joey (October 9, 2024)."Indy NXT champion Foster signs multi-year deal with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing" .Motorsport . RetrievedOctober 9, 2024 . ^a b alison, markus (November 24, 2025)."Formula One Veteran Mick Schumacher Joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing For 2026 Indycar Season" .Rahal Letterman Lanigan . RetrievedNovember 24, 2025 . ^ Brown, Nathan (June 1, 2024)."Days after 2nd Indy 500 win, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske announce multi-year contract extension" .Indianapolis Star . RetrievedJune 14, 2024 . ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 2, 2024)."IndyCar silly season update, August 2" .Racer . RetrievedAugust 15, 2024 . ^a b "David Malukas To Drive for Team Penske Beginning in 2026" .IndyCar . RetrievedSeptember 18, 2025 .^ Pruett, Marshall (September 2, 2025)."Penske announces Power departure" .Racer . RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025 . ^ Pruett, Marshall (September 2, 2025)."VeeKay departs Dale Coyne Racing" .Racer . RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025 . ^ "IndyCar star Colton Herta signed to Cadillac as test driver" .Formula One . September 3, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 .^ "Colton Herta Moving to F1 as Cadillac Test Driver in 2026" .IndyCar . September 3, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 .^ Horner, Scott."Marco Andretti, grandson of Mario Andretti, announces retirement from Indianapolis 500, IndyCar racing" .The Indianapolis Star . RetrievedOctober 29, 2025 . ^a b c d e f "INDYCAR Announces 17-Race 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule" .IndyCar . RetrievedSeptember 16, 2025 .^ Pruett, Marshall."Phoenix, Mexico and a relocated Toronto all poised to feature on IndyCar's 2026 schedule" .Racer . RetrievedAugust 28, 2025 . ^ Brown, Nathan (August 27, 2025)."IndyCar to pair with NASCAR, Barber date set, sources say. What we know on next year's schedule" .Indianapolis Star . RetrievedSeptember 2, 2025 . ^ "Unique Partnership Presents INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington" .IndyCar . October 10, 2024. RetrievedAugust 14, 2025 .^ Cornelison, Justin (August 26, 2025)."Porsche announces 2026 one-make racing and track day calendars" .Porsche Sprint Challenge . RetrievedAugust 26, 2025 . ^ "Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Moves to City of Markham under a Multi-Year Agreement" .Green Savoree Toronto . September 3, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 3, 2025 .^ Pockrass, Bob (July 23, 2025)."Questions Linger For 2026 INDYCAR Schedule: Which Tracks Should Be Added?" .Fox Sports . RetrievedAugust 21, 2025 . ^ "Java House Becomes Title Sponsor of Grand Prix of Arlington" .IndyCar . November 20, 2025. RetrievedNovember 20, 2025 .
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