2026 Indianapolis 500
 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | IndyCar | ||||
| Season | 2026 IndyCar Series | ||||
| Date | May 24, 2026 | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | Fox[1] | ||||
| Announcers | Will Buxton, James Hinchcliffe, Townsend Bell | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 2026 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) is an upcoming IndyCar Series race that will be held on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.[2][3] The race will be round seven of the NTT IndyCar Series season. The month of May activities formally begin with the Sonsio Grand Prix on the combined road course on May 9. The race will be televised on Fox.[2]
Practice will begin on Tuesday, May 12, and Time Trials will be held on May 16â17. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, along with the Pit Stop Challenge, will take place on May 22.[2] An open test is planned for April. Ălex Palou is the defending winner, and three-time defending IndyCar Series champion.
Race background
[edit]
The Indianapolis 500, commonly called the Indy 500, is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile (4.02 km) paved oval. First held in 1911, it is currently a points-paying race of the NTT IndyCar Series. The event is contested by "Indy cars", a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, purpose-built race cars. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar, and one of the oldest and most important automobile races in the world.[4] The race traditionally has a field of 33 cars.
Track improvements
[edit]Since the 2019 race, according to track president J. Douglas Boles, the Speedway began investigating bumps in Turn 2. During the 2025 track evaluation before the race, the Turn 2 bump in question was considerably higher than in the past, so the pavement was pressed to attempt to reduce the severity back to 2024 levels. However, in July 2025, during the NASCAR In-Season Challenge Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, the severity of the bumps in Turn 2 were reported by drivers and crew chiefs during the track walk and all sessions.[5]
The Speedway on September 23, 2025, excavated the section of track in question. Bricks originally installed when the track was paved in 1909 that had been paved over in 1937 expanded and split because of moisture that raised the pavement. The bricks were removed, a new base applied, and that section of the track was repaved, followed by diamond grinding to blend the new section with the other sections of the track. The section of track was allowed to cure for four weeks before the late October Speedway tests for Firestone.[6]
Rule changes
[edit]A new Independent Officiating Board (IOB) has been created, tasked with presiding over the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT. The new entity, titled IndyCar Officiating, Inc. will be led by three members: Ray Evernham, Raj Nair (Ford), and Ronan Morgan (FIA).[7] The decisions separates race control and technical inspection from Penske Entertainment, which owns INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in an effort to eliminate perceived conflicts of interest. In 2025, Team Penske was penalized for technical infractions during qualifying, resulting in two cars being moved to the back of the grid, monetary fines, and points deductions.[8][9][10] The controversy led to the firing of team president Tim Cindric,[11] and widespread calls for officiating reform.
Sponsorship
[edit]Online financial services company Gainbridge signed an initial four-year deal for presenting sponsorship of the Indianapolis 500 from 2019 to 2022.[12] A multi-year extension was signed in 2022.[13][14] On November 6, 2025, Gainbridge signed another multi-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.[15]
Testing and Rookie Orientation
[edit]Rookie rules for the Indianapolis 500 include the mandate that a driver pass a supervised high-speed oval test before he/she is allowed to participate in the official Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[16] Approved venues for the initial high-speed oval track test include Texas Motor Speedway, HomesteadâMiami Speedway, and a few other select venues.[17]
The Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis consists of three phases. For phase 1, each driver is required to complete ten laps between 205â210 mph (330â338 km/h), while demonstrating satisfactory car control, proper racing line, and safe interaction with other cars on the circuit. The laps do not have to be consecutive. Phase 2 is fifteen laps between 210â215 mph (338â346 km/h), and phase 3 is fifteen laps over 215 mph (346 km/h). Veteran drivers that have not competed in an IndyCar oval race since the previous year's Indy 500 are required to take a refresher test. The refresher test consists of phase 2 and phase 3 of the aforementioned rookie test.[18]
Testing â October 2025
[edit]On October 20â21, 2025, the Speedway organized private testing. Ălex Palou (Ganassi) and Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren) participated in tire tests for Firestone, including evaluating the newly repaved section of track to remove Turn 2 bumps. A new tire compound was developed in order to address weight balance issues stemming from the hybrid system first used at the Speedway in 2025. Alexander Rossi (ECR) and Takuma Sato (RLLR) tested brake and damper components for speedway-specific braking systems (used at Indianapolis and Nashville, which in 2026 will be a 400-mile race).[19]
References
[edit]- ^ Weprin, Alex (June 13, 2024). "Fox Gets Indianapolis 500 Rights in Deal With IndyCar". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c "2026 Indianapolis 500 Schedule". Roadtrips. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
- ^ "INDYCAR Announces 17-Race 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule". IndyCar.com. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ^ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (August 3, 2018). "USA Today Readers Name Indianapolis 500 As World's Best Motorsports Race In Poll". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.
- ^ "Historic bricks unearthed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". WXIN. NewsNation. September 23, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Smith, Eric. "IMS testing Track News Test Patterns: Smooth Sailing at IMS with Track Patch, Tires, More". INDYCAR.COM. Penske Entertainment. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (December 11, 2025). "Penske Entertainment establishes formal Independent Officiating Board for IndyCar". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ "INDYCAR Update on Team Penske Technical Violations". indycar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, LLC. May 19, 2025. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ DeGroot, Nick (May 19, 2025). "IndyCar president says qualifying scandal is "devastating" to Roger Penske". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Brown, Nathan (2025-05-19). "Josef Newgarden's 2024 Indy 500-winning car has same modified attenuator Penske failed tech with". IndyStar. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
- ^ DeGroot, Nick (May 21, 2025). "Tim Cindric, two other executives ousted by Penske in rules breach fallout". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ "Gainbridge becomes new sponsor for Indy 500". ESPN.com. January 31, 2019. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Gainbridge extends presenting sponsorship of Indianapolis 500 in multiyear agreement". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
- ^ Freyer, Jenna (May 26, 2022). "Gainbridge extends deal as presenting sponsor of Indy 500". WFYI. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ "Gainbridge extends sponsorship of the Indianapolis 500 in multi-year deal". AP.com. November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
- ^ "2024 NTT IndyCar Series Official Rulebook" (PDF). Section 4.3.2.7. IndyCar.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NTT IndyCar Series Official Rulebook" (PDF). Section 6.8.1. IndyCar.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Larson to turn first IndyCar Series laps Thursday at IMS". IndyCar.com. October 9, 2023. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (October 21, 2025). "O'Ward, Palou encouraged after productive IndyCar tire test at IMS". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
External links
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