Samwise IndyCar Newsletter
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Kirkwood’s Home Turf: Championship Leader Chases Long Beach Treble
Heading into the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 17–19), Kyle Kirkwood holds a razor-thin two-point advantage over four-time champion Alex Palou — a gap that could evaporate in a single incident on California’s unforgiving street circuit. The Andretti Global driver enters as defending Long Beach winner, having won two of the last three races here, with five of his six career victories on temporary circuits. Palou dominated Barber by 13 seconds and carries real momentum, but Kirkwood knows Long Beach’s corners intimately. Andretti’s three-car lineup adds Will Power to the mix, giving the team additional strategic options in what promises to be a pivotal Round 5.
Arrow McLaren Targets Long Beach Breakthrough as Kanaan Plays the Long Game
Arrow McLaren enters Long Beach targeting its first win of 2026, despite Christian Lundgaard’s runner-up at Barber lifting him to third in the championship and Pato O’Ward’s three career street course victories making California territory they know well. Team principal Tony Kanaan isn’t alarmed by the early-season gap to Andretti and Penske, saying conditions have returned to competitive racing and that capitalization comes when rivals stumble. The team reinforced its technical department by hiring Eric Cowdin as director of engineering and Olivier Boisson — an architect of Kanaan’s 2013 Indianapolis 500 win — as head of damper engineering to sharpen the team’s street circuit program specifically.
Inside Schumacher’s Learning Curve: The Pace Is There, but Execution Isn’t Yet
Four races into his IndyCar debut, Mick Schumacher sits last in the championship with 31 points — a brutal tally that masks more encouraging underlying data. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver never completed a lap at St. Petersburg after being caught in an opening-lap collision, then posted an 18th at Phoenix before qualifying 17th and finishing 24th at Barber. Yet telemetry analysis from Arlington suggests he is capable of running mid-pack on raw pace. What’s missing is execution: mistimed pit stops, a stalled engine, and strategy mismatches have amplified every error. Long Beach — his first IndyCar weekend on a street circuit — will be his truest test yet.
Rahal Ends Three-Year Drought at Barber — And RLL Has Designs on More
Graham Rahal’s third-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park ended a painful 32-month podium drought dating back to August 2023, vaulting him from 16th to 12th in the championship standings. The result signalled a genuine resurgence for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which enters Long Beach with Rahal targeting back-to-back street circuit results and Mick Schumacher completing his first IndyCar street course weekend. Rahal briefly led a portion of the race before Christian Lundgaard regained position, but RLL ultimately held on for a meaningful third-place result. After lean recent seasons, the team now carries the momentum of a podium finish and renewed purpose as the calendar shifts to Southern California.
Indy 500 Entry List: 34-Car Bump Day Scenario Slowly Takes Shape
With the 110th Indianapolis 500 now six weeks away, the entry list remains in careful arithmetic. As of early April, 31 cars have confirmed participation — the 25 full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES entries plus six one-off Indy-only starters. Abel Motorsports is readying a chassis for Jacob Abel, who was bumped from last year’s field. Should a PREMA Racing or other floating entry materialize alongside that addition, the field could reach 34 — triggering a genuine Bump Day scenario. Andretti Global confirmed it will field only its three full-time cars at IMS, but the math still hangs on a knife edge ahead of the May 16–17 qualifying weekends at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Long Beach GP Welcomes New Era as Michaelian’s 50-Year Tenure Draws to a Close
The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach marks the beginning of a generational handover for one of motorsport’s most iconic urban events. Jim Michaelian, 82, who has guided the Grand Prix Association since its founding in 1975 — serving as controller, COO, and president & CEO — is handing the reins to Jim Liaw, who formally assumed general manager duties on February 9. Liaw, 50, co-founded Formula Drift in 2003 before joining Penske Entertainment in 2021, bringing entrepreneurial energy to a race steeped in tradition. Michaelian will remain actively involved through the April 17–19 race weekend to ensure a smooth handover before a full CEO transition takes effect July 1.
Malukas Makes Penske Switch Pay as Three-Team Title Battle Intensifies
David Malukas has repaid Penske’s confidence in emphatic fashion since joining the No. 12 entry for 2026, sitting fourth in the championship with 116 points after four rounds. The 23-year-old has delivered three consecutive top-six finishes and currently outscores teammates Josef Newgarden (113 pts, 5th) and Scott McLaughlin (99 pts, 7th). Newgarden, who led the championship after Phoenix, has struggled to replicate that early form. Meanwhile, Will Power — who left Penske for Andretti Global — has flashed genuine speed but absorbed at least two costly practice incidents. The title fight has crystallised into a three-team contest between Andretti, Ganassi, and Penske, with Long Beach set to reshuffle the deck.
Drivers’ Championship
After Round 4 — Barber Motorsports Park
1. Kyle Kirkwood — 156 pts
2. Alex Palou — 154 pts
3. Christian Lundgaard — 121 pts
4. David Malukas — 116 pts
5. Josef Newgarden — 113 pts
6. Pato O’Ward — 106 pts
7. Scott McLaughlin — 99 pts
8. Marcus Ericsson — 98 pts
9. Marcus Armstrong — 98 pts
10. Scott Dixon — 85 pts
11. Alexander Rossi — 83 pts
12. Graham Rahal — 82 pts
13. Will Power — 77 pts
14–18. See indycar.com/Standings — — pts
19. Romain Grosjean — 51 pts
20–24. See indycar.com/Standings — — pts
25. Mick Schumacher — 31 pts
*Positions 14–18, 20–24 at indycar.com/Standings
Teams’ Championship
*Calculated from driver totals (estimated)
1. Andretti Global (Honda) — 331* pts
2. Team Penske (Chevrolet) — 328* pts
3. Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda) — 239* pts
4. Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet) — 227* pts
5. Meyer Shank Racing (Honda) — 98* pts
6. Ed Carpenter Racing (Chev.) — 83* pts
7. Rahal Letterman Lanigan (Honda) — 82* pts
Samwise IndyCar Newsletter • Published daily during the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season
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