Season Read
April 28, 2026 · Editorial
Six rounds in, the 2026 IndyCar Series is shaping into a Palou title defense with real teeth in the chase pack. Alex Palou banked his first-ever win on the Long Beach streets April 19, beating pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist by 4.198 seconds after a 6.9-second Ganassi pit stop flipped the lead during the Lap 58 caution. Honda swept the podium. The standings now read Palou 205, Kyle Kirkwood 188, David Malukas 142, Pato O'Ward 136, Christian Lundgaard 131, Josef Newgarden 130. The Indy 500 Open Test ran the week of April 27 at the Speedway as the official tune-up for the 110th running on May 24. This is the second full season of mandatory hybrid power, and the strategy book is still being rewritten in real time.
What's in this issue
- Top Teams of the 2026 Season
- Headline Drivers and the Title Fight
- The Car: Dallara IR-18, Hybrid Era
- Why North American Fans Care
- What Comes Next for Indy 500
Top Teams of the 2026 Season
Chip Ganassi Racing sits where it always does — at the front. Palou, Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson run Honda power, and the Long Beach pit work showed why this is still the benchmark crew on grid. Andretti Global rebuilt around Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson and a headline-grabbing Will Power signing. Power's exit from Penske after 15 years is the silly-season story of the year, and it sits next to Colton Herta's surprise jump to a European F2 program. Team Penske answered with Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and a multi-year deal for Malukas, who inherits the iconic No. 12. Arrow McLaren kept its Chevrolet-powered lineup of O'Ward, Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel intact, opened a new shop, and is leaning on continuity to chip into the Honda lockout. Meyer Shank Racing has quietly become the most interesting customer Honda team — Rosenqvist took pole at Long Beach and turned that into a podium, with Marcus Armstrong now in the No. 66 after his Ganassi move. Read across to the V8 Supercars guide if you want a parallel on Gen3 manufacturer politics.
Headline Drivers
Alex Palou is the championship leader and the reigning Indy 500 winner. Three wins from six rounds is a Palou-grade start. Kyle Kirkwood sits 17 points back and is the most credible American title threat — the Andretti Global No. 27 has been quick on every surface so far. Pato O'Ward is fourth in points and remains the marquee non-US star, leading the Chevy fightback for Arrow McLaren. Scott Dixon, 45 years old and still a podium finisher at Long Beach, sits in support of Palou but reminds everyone every weekend that the Iceman's tire stints don't decay like other people's. Christian Lundgaard is fifth in his first year with McLaren after the RLL move. Josef Newgarden, two-time Indy 500 winner, sits sixth and is plotting another May. David Malukas has been the breakout — third in points in the Penske No. 12. Will Power is settling in at Andretti after the Penske break-up. The talent depth is the deepest IndyCar has had in a decade. Back to the magazine for the rolling weekly coverage.
The Car: Dallara IR-18, Hybrid Era
The 2026 grid runs the Dallara IR-18 with mandatory hybrid power — the second full season since the system was made compulsory. Engines are the 2.2L twin-turbo V6 from Honda (HI22TT) and Chevrolet, both spinning to roughly 12,000 rpm and producing close to 700 hp before hybrid assist. The 48V ERS uses a supercapacitor (320 kJ per lap) and an MGU mounted between engine and gearbox, giving up to about 60 hp of self-deployed boost on a steering-wheel button — a push-to-pass-style overlay on top of the regular P2P allowance. The package adapts to road, street, oval and short-oval formats with different aero kits and downforce trims. A new 2.4L hybrid V6 formula is locked in for 2028, but the IR-18 still has two seasons of headlines left in it, and the strategy implications of self-deployed hybrid energy are reshaping pit windows.
North American Lens
Why North American Fans Care
IndyCar is the premier US and Canadian open-wheel championship and has been since the merger. The Indy 500 on May 24 is a national holiday for racing fans and the most watched single-day motorsport event on this side of the Atlantic. Long Beach is the second-biggest stop. The driver storylines are American-coded — Kirkwood's title push, Newgarden defending his Indy aura, Malukas at Penske, O'Ward as the cross-border star — and the manufacturer war between Honda and Chevy gives the series the kind of badge politics that NASCAR fans recognize. The hybrid era is also reshaping overtaking, which means more passing, more strategy and more reasons to watch the second stint. Compare it with the off-road racing hub for a different flavor of North American motorsport.
What Comes Next
Indy 500 qualifying weekend is the next inflection point, with Carb Day, Bump Day drama and the 33-car field locked for May 24. Palou is the betting favorite, Kirkwood the obvious chaser, O'Ward the Chevy hope. Have a tip on a driver move, a manufacturer rumor or a team-shop change? Send it to the desk. Want to know what we stand for editorially? Read the about page.