The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series was the 115th official championship season of American open-wheel racing and the 31st season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event was the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The series also raced in Washington, D.C. for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
Álex Palou, who entered the season as defending Indianapolis 500 winner and champion, earned his fourth consecutive title, and fifth IndyCar title overall with Chip Ganassi Racing, with one race to spare. This put Palou third on the all-time list behind A. J. Foyt (7) and teammate Scott Dixon (6). Felix Rosenqvist won his first Indianapolis 500 for Meyer Shank Racing, beating David Malukas in the closest photo finish in the event's history, while Honda won its twelfth Manufacturers' Cup, the second in a row.
Background and series news On September 12, 2024, IndyCar announced that the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier until at least the 2030 season. On July 31, 2025, Fox Sports parent company Fox 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. On December 11, 2025, IndyCar announced a new three-person independent officiating board, named IndyCar Officiating Inc. Two members – Ray Evernham and Raj Nair – were voted on to the panel by IndyCar team owners, while the third member – Ronan Morgan – was appointed by the FIA. Scot Elkins was later announced as the managing director of officiating. On February 12, 2026, it was announced Chevrolet and Honda had signed a multi-year contract extension which would keep them in the series when it switches to 2.4-liter twin-turbo hybrid V6 engines in 2028. Each manufacturer was announced to receive a single charter entry as part of the agreement. On April 28, 2026, IndyCar announced a new rule that non-chartered entries would not be permitted to race outside the Indianapolis 500 beginning with the 2027 season.
Confirmed entries The following teams, entries, and drivers competed in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams used a Dallara DW12 chassis with 2018 universal aero kit and Firestone tires.
TeamEngineNo.Driver(s)Round(s)Ref(s) Abel Motorsports Chevrolet51 Jacob Abel 7 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 4 Caio Collet All 14 Santino Ferrucci All HMD Motorsports with A. J. Foyt Racing 11 Katherine Legge 7 Andretti Global Honda 26 Will Power All 27 Kyle Kirkwood All 28 Marcus Ericsson All Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 5 Pato O'Ward All 6 Nolan Siegel All 7 Christian Lundgaard All 31 Ryan Hunter-Reay 7 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 8 Kyffin Simpson All 9 Scott Dixon All 10 Álex Palou All Dale Coyne Racing Honda 18 Romain Grosjean All 19 Dennis Hauger All Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 23 Conor Daly 7 24 Jack Harvey 7 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 20 Alexander Rossi All 21 Christian Rasmussen All 33 Ed Carpenter 7 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 76 Rinus VeeKay All 77 Sting Ray Robb All Meyer Shank Racingwith Curb-Agajanian Honda 06 Hélio Castroneves 7 60 Felix Rosenqvist All 66 Marcus Armstrong All Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 15 Graham Rahal All 45 Louis Foster All 47 Mick Schumacher All 75 Takuma Sato 7 Team Penske Chevrolet 2 Josef Newgarden All 3 Scott McLaughlin All 12 David Malukas All IconStatus Eligible for Rookie of the Year Rookie of the Year
Driver changes Preseason On September 2, 2025, Team Penske confirmed reports that Will Power would depart the team, having driven for the team since the 2009 season. On September 2, Rinus VeeKay confirmed that he would not return to Dale Coyne Racing in 2026. On September 3, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced that Colton Herta had been signed as the team's test driver for 2026, taking him out of IndyCar after seven seasons driving for Andretti Global. On September 3, Andretti Global confirmed reports that Will Power would join the team, driving the No. 26 entry vacated by Herta. On September 18, Team Penske announced that David Malukas would join the team on a multi-year deal beginning in 2026, driving the No. 12 entry vacated by Power. On September 23, Dale Coyne Racing confirmed reports that 2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger would join the team for the 2026 season. On October 14, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Rinus VeeKay would join the team for 2026, serving as the team's lead driver. On October 29, Marco Andretti announced his retirement from motor racing and the Indianapolis 500. On November 6, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced it had signed 2025 Indy NXT runner-up Caio Collet for the 2026 season, replacing Malukas in the No. 4 car. On November 13, Arrow McLaren announced that Ryan Hunter-Reay would join the team for the 2026 Indianapolis 500. On April 26, Arrow McLaren announced that Hunter-Reay's entry would be fielded in partnership with Legacy Motor Club. On November 24, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that World Endurance Championship and ex-Formula One driver Mick Schumacher would pilot the No. 47 car, replacing the No. 30 car driven by Devlin DeFrancesco. On February 13, 2026, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Romain Grosjean would be returning to the IndyCar Series after competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship the previous year.
Midseason On April 27, 2026, A. J. Foyt Racing confirmed that Katherine Legge would race in the 2026 Indianapolis 500, driving the No. 11 car in partnership with HMD Motorsports.
Team changes On September 23, 2025, with the confirmation of Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing announced that it had formed a technical alliance with Andretti Global for the 2026 season. On January 29, 2026, Team Penske revealed that Tim Cindric would return to the team as the strategist for Scott McLaughlin, having been released from his role as the team's IndyCar president in May 2025 following penalties during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. During the off-season, Ed Carpenter Racing shifted away from its former denomination and started to be publicly known by the acronym ECR, in light of further changes in its ownership structure involving Ted Gelov, who had become a co-owner in 2025. On February 25, 2026, it was confirmed via IndyCar's entry list and grid space allocations that PREMA Racing would miss at least the opening round at St. Petersburg, amidst reports of the founding Rosin family departing the organization and other financial challenges. The team would not enter any of the 2026 events. On April 20, 2026, Abel Motorsports confirmed that they would return to the series with an entry in the Indianapolis 500. The team had last competed in the IndyCar Series in 2023. Jacob Abel was the driver for the team.
Schedule The schedule was released on September 16, 2025. Start times were released on December 18, with all races being broadcast on Fox. The Freedom 250 was then added on January 30, 2026.
Icon Legend Oval/Speedway Road course Street circuit
Rd.DateRace nameTrackLocationTime (ET)1March 1Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida12:00 p.m.2March 7Good Ranchers 250 Phoenix RacewayAvondale, Arizona3:00 p.m.3March 15Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Streets of Arlington Arlington, Texas12:30 p.m.4March 29Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Barber Motorsports ParkBirmingham, Alabama1:00 p.m.5April 19Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Streets of Long BeachLong Beach, California5:30 p.m.6May 9Sonsio Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Speedway, Indiana4:30 p.m.7May 24110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway10:00 a.m.8May 31Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Streets of DetroitDetroit, Michigan12:30 p.m.9June 7Bommarito Automotive Group 500 World Wide Technology RacewayMadison, Illinois9:00 p.m.10June 21XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin2:00 p.m.11July 5Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio12:30 p.m.12July 20Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, Tennessee3:00 p.m.13August 9OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon4:00 p.m.14August 16Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham Streets of MarkhamMarkham, Ontario12:00 p.m.15August 23Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Streets of WashingtonWashington, D.C.11:30 a.m.16August 29–30Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin2:30 p.m.17August 30Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 2501:00 p.m.18September 6Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey WeatherTech Raceway Laguna SecaMonterey, California2:30 p.m.
Schedule changes IndyCar returned to Phoenix Raceway after an eight-year absence, marking the championship's first race in Arizona since 2018. The Grand Prix of Arlington debuted in March, held at a new street circuit around the streets of Arlington, Texas. This marked the championship's return to Texas for the first time since 2023. The Grand Prix of Alabama moved from early May to late March. After having hosted the season finale since 2024, the Music City Grand Prix originally moved to July 19 but was rescheduled to July 20 due to excessive rainfall. It became round twelve of the season. The event was also scheduled to become a night race, also having its race length extended from 225 laps to 300 laps but due to extreme heat conditions, it was brought back down to 225 laps. The race at World Wide Technology Raceway also became a night race. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy race moved from Exhibition Place, where it has been held ever since 1986, except for 2008, 2020, and 2021, to a temporary street circuit in Markham, Ontario under a five-year deal. The Milwaukee Mile race weekend became a double-header event, as it had been when it returned to the schedule in 2024. The Grand Prix of Monterey returned as the season finale, as it had been in 2019, 2022, and 2023. The race moved from late July to September 6. The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix did not return in 2026 after two years on the calendar. Iowa Speedway was also dropped from the calendar after four years on the IndyCar schedule. The Freedom 250, a race held on the streets of Washington, D.C., debuted in August following its addition to the IndyCar schedule in January.
Sponsorship changes On November 20, Java House was announced as the title sponsor for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington. On December 3, Good Ranchers was unveiled as the title sponsor for IndyCar's return to Phoenix Raceway. OnlyBulls was announced as the title sponsor for the Grand Prix of Portland. Mission Foods was announced the sponsor for the IndyCar Monterey Grand Prix.
Results