2026 IndyCar Series

The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series is the upcoming 115th official championship season of American open-wheel racing and the 31st season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event is the 110th 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

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.

Confirmed entries

The following teams, entries, and drivers are contracted to compete in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams will use a Dallara DW12 chassis with 2018 universal aero kit and Firestone tires.

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, 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 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.

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 is returning to the team as the strategist for Scott McLaughlin. Cindric had been released from the team last May as IndyCar president following penalties during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Schedule

The schedule was released on September 16, 2025. Start times were released on December 18, 2025, 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.	Date	Race name	Track	Location	Time
1	March 1	Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida	12:00 p.m.
2	March 7	Good Ranchers 250	Phoenix Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	3:00 p.m.
3	March 15	Java House Grand Prix of Arlington	Streets of Arlington	Arlington, Texas	12:30 p.m.
4	March 29	Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama	1:00 p.m.
5	April 19	Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	5:30 p.m.
6	May 9	Sonsio Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course	Speedway, Indiana	4:30 p.m.
7	May 24	110th Running of the Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	10:00 a.m.
8	May 31	Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix	Streets of Detroit	Detroit, Michigan	12:30 p.m.
9	June 7	Bommarito Automotive Group 500	World Wide Technology Raceway	Madison, Illinois	9:00 p.m.
10	June 21	XPEL Grand Prix at Road America	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	2:00 p.m.
11	July 5	Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	12:30 p.m.
12	July 19	Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee	TBD
13	August 9	BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland	Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon	4:00 p.m.
14	August 16	Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham	Streets of Markham	Markham, Ontario	12:00 p.m.
15	August 23	Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.	Streets of Washington	Washington, D.C.	TBD
16	August 29	Snap-on Milwaukee 250 Race #1	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	2:30 p.m.
17	August 30	Snap-on Milwaukee 250 Race #2	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	1:00 p.m.
18	September 6	IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey	WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca	Monterey, California	2:30 p.m.

Schedule changes

IndyCar will return to Phoenix Raceway after an eight-year absence, marking the championship's first race in Arizona since 2018.
The Grand Prix of Arlington will debut in March, held at a new street circuit around the Streets of Arlington. This marks the championship's return to Texas for the first time since 2023.
The Grand Prix of Alabama will move from early May to late March.
After having hosted the season finale since 2024, the Music 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.
The race at World Wide Technology Raceway will also be a night race.
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy race will move 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 will become a double-header event, as it had been when it returned to the schedule in 2024.
The Grand Prix of Monterey will return as the season finale, as it had been in 2019, 2022, and 2023. The race will move from late July to September 6.
The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix will 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 will debut in August, a race held on the streets of Washington, D.C. It was added 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.