Plenty of Storylines To Add Spice To Second Half of Season

The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season reached its halfway point June 7 at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.

Nine races are complete, with nine remaining beginning Sunday, June 21 at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America (2 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

Road America opens a stretch of permanent road courses that includes Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 5, Portland International Raceway on Aug. 9 and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, which hosts the Sept. 6 season finale.

The final nine races are contested at eight venues, with a Milwaukee Mile doubleheader Aug. 29-30 accounting for two of the season's three remaining oval races alongside Nashville Superspeedway on July 19.

Here are the biggest storylines to watch during the second half of the season.

Palou Chasing History

Alex Palou leads Kyle Kirkwood by 49 points entering the second half.

Kirkwood is the only driver within one race of the lead, as a maximum of 54 points are available during a race weekend other than the Indianapolis 500, which offers more points for qualifying.

Palou (photo, top), who turned 29 on April 1, has won four races this season in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, earned five NTT P1 Awards and captured the last four poles.

The Spaniard pursues his fifth career championship and fourth consecutive title. A fourth straight championship would tie Sebastien Bourdais' record from 2004-07. Palou also would move into sole possession of third on the all-time championships list. He is tied with Mario Andretti, Bourdais and Dario Franchitti with four titles, trailing only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six).

Palou has won at four of the remaining eight tracks, collecting nine victories combined at Road America (three), WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (three), Portland (two) and Mid-Ohio (one).

Who Can Challenge?

Kirkwood remains Palou's closest pursuer, but questions remain about whether he can sustain a championship fight across every discipline and deliver Andretti Global its first series title since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.

Five of Kirkwood's six career victories have come on street circuits. He seeks his first INDYCAR SERIES win on a permanent road course and owns one oval victory, earned last season at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The challenge is that Palou has been almost unbeatable on the tracks where Kirkwood (photo, above) traditionally excels. Palou won at St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Detroit and finished second at Arlington on the season's four street circuits so far.

Palou’s worst finishes in 2026 are on ovals, where he has a 16th-place average finish.

David Malukas may be the most intriguing challenger. The Team Penske driver has finished third, second and seventh on ovals this season while emerging as a weekly contender regardless of track type. However, he remains winless in 70 career starts and likely needs multiple victories to erase his 68-point deficit to Palou.

Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard sits fourth in points, 96 behind Palou. Lundgaard earned his second career series victory in the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 9 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course but seeks his first oval win. His other victory came in 2023 on the Streets of Toronto competing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Every other driver trails Palou by at least 100 points entering the season's second half.

New Venues Could Shake Up Championship

The series already visited one new venue this season with the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on March 15. Two more inaugural events remain.

The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham takes place Aug. 14-16 on a new street circuit in downtown Markham, Ontario. The event continues the INDYCAR SERIES’ long history in the province dating to 1986, though previous races were held at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

One week later comes perhaps the most anticipated new event of the season, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on Aug. 22-23.

Created as part of the United States 250th birthday celebration, the event becomes the first major auto race held in the nation's capital. The 1.66-mile circuit winds through the National Mall area and past some of the country's most recognizable landmarks.

With no historical data and no previous winners, both events could become pivotal championship weekends. Together they make up two of the season's final five races with only the Milwaukee doubleheader and Laguna Seca following.

Rookie Race Remains Wide Open

Dennis Hauger leads the Rookie of the Year standings by 34 points over Caio Collet, with Mick Schumacher 44 points behind.

Hauger (photo, above) has adapted quickly in his first INDYCAR SERIES season with Dale Coyne Racing, highlighted by a 10th-place finish at St. Petersburg and eighth in the Sonsio Grand Prix.

Collet has displayed flashes of speed throughout his rookie campaign with AJ Foyt Racing, even if the results have not always reflected that pace.

The Brazilian sits 23rd in points with a best finish of 12th at Arlington. He was running 11th with nine laps remaining in the Indianapolis 500 before a crash relegated him to 26th. He also was running sixth Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway before a mechanical issue ended his race. Collet led nine laps at Indianapolis and seven at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Hauger and Collet battled for the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone championship, with Hauger emerging on top.

Schumacher, son of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, has faced the steepest learning curve of the rookie class. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver entered the season without prior experience at any INDYCAR SERIES venue yet earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors after finishing 18th.

Silly Season

Christian Rasmussen secured his future by signing a contract extension with ECR before the World Wide Technology Raceway weekend.

Several notable names remain without publicly announced deals beyond this season.

Among them are Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian teammates Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong. Both have strengthened their cases for new contracts. Rosenqvist sits eighth in points, while Armstrong is 10th after producing one of the most consistent seasons of his career with top-11 finishes in eight of nine races.

Rosenqvist's Indianapolis 500 victory undoubtedly elevated his value, while Armstrong led the race entering the final lap.

Rinus VeeKay also remains a driver to watch. Competing under what has been described as a one-year agreement with Juncos Hollinger Racing, VeeKay again has elevated a program's competitiveness. He sits 13th in points after helping Dale Coyne Racing finish 14th in the standings a year ago.

Dixon's future always attracts attention, though Chip Ganassi Racing traditionally keeps contract discussions private.

Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel (photo, above) also enters the season's second half without a publicly announced deal for 2027.

Then there is Hauger. The reigning INDY NXT by Firestone champion competes with Dale Coyne Racing while on loan from Andretti Global, creating questions about where the Norwegian fits into Andretti's long-term plans if his rookie campaign continues to trend upward.

Will Power and Kirkwood are locked into their Andretti Global seats, while 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson remains without a publicly announced extension. Ericsson's stock has risen in recent weeks, however, as he sits ninth in points after a runner-up finish Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway, where he led a race-high 114 laps.