Samwise IndyCar Newsletter
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
IndyCar Stars Visit White House Ahead of Freedom 250 Grand Prix
IndyCar Series owner Roger Penske, Freedom 250 chairman Bud Denker, FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks, and drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, and David Malukas visited the White House on Monday, where President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet watched a pit stop demonstration performed by Malukas and Penske crew members. The visit was tied to America’s 250th anniversary and the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C., scheduled for August 21–23, 2026 — a race formalized through an executive order signed by Trump. Palou, the reigning Drivers’ champion, and Rosenqvist, winner of the 2026 Indianapolis 500, were among those present.
Armstrong Admits Regret Over Blaming Rosenqvist After Indianapolis 500 Loss
Two months after the Indianapolis 500, Marcus Armstrong has admitted regret at blaming teammate Felix Rosenqvist for his defeat in the race’s final moments. Appearing on an Indiana television broadcast immediately post-race, Armstrong pinned the loss on Rosenqvist — comments he now says were unfair. “I basically just blamed Felix for not winning the race, which is ridiculous,” said Armstrong, who was in a position to win before Penske’s David Malukas overtook him on the outside heading into Turn 1. “Felix drove the perfect last lap,” Armstrong added. “I wasn’t exactly happy with the way I behaved after that race.”
Nashville Race Start Could Float to Accommodate FIFA World Cup Final on FOX
The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway on July 19 could begin later than its scheduled 5:30 PM ET slot, with race organisers planning a flexible start time to accommodate the FIFA World Cup final, which shares FOX as its broadcast partner. If the football match extends into overtime and penalties, the IndyCar race will flex to follow. Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong noted the timing change could make “a big difference” to how the race plays out. IndyCar and FOX Sports are optimistic the World Cup crossover audience could deliver record viewership at Nashville Superspeedway.
Numbers Prove Newgarden and O’Ward Are Oval Benchmarks Heading to Nashville
Josef Newgarden arrives at Nashville Superspeedway this Sunday seeking his third win of 2026, having already claimed Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway. Since 2021, Newgarden has won 13 of the last 30 NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval races — a 43 percent strike rate — and won last year’s Nashville race at the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Pato O’Ward is his closest oval rival, with four wins, nine runner-up finishes and 24 top-five finishes in 34 starts. The pair have finished 1-2 nine times since O’Ward joined the series in 2020, with seven of those on oval tracks. O’Ward led a race-high 116 laps at Nashville last year before crashing.
Drivers’ Championship
1. Alex Palou — 404 pts
2. Kyle Kirkwood — 348 pts
3. Christian Lundgaard — 339 pts
4. David Malukas — 338 pts
5. Pato O’Ward — 310 pts
6. Josef Newgarden — 270 pts
7. Felix Rosenqvist — 265 pts
8. Scott McLaughlin — 262 pts
9. Scott Dixon — 224 pts
10. Marcus Ericsson — 222 pts
11. Rinus VeeKay — 219 pts
12. Marcus Armstrong — 219 pts
13. Graham Rahal — 218 pts
14. Will Power — 209 pts
15. Lochie Simpson — 194 pts
16. Alexander Rossi — 190 pts
17. Ben Foster — 159 pts
18. Dennis Hauger — 148 pts
19. Hunter Siegel — 145 pts
20. Christian Rasmussen — 143 pts
21. Romain Grosjean — 139 pts
22. Nolan Collet — 132 pts
23. Kyffin Simpson — 108 pts
24. Mick Schumacher — 108 pts
25. Conor Daly — 24 pts
26. Takuma Sato — 20 pts
27. Jack Harvey — 8 pts
28. Jacob Abel — 6 pts
29. Helio Castroneves — 5 pts
30. Ed Carpenter — 5 pts
31. Ryan Hunter-Reay — 5 pts
32. Katherine Legge — 5 pts
Teams’ Championship
1. Team Penske — 704 pts
2. Chip Ganassi Racing — 685 pts
3. Arrow McLaren — 671 pts
4. Andretti Global — 628 pts
5. Meyer Shank Racing — 484 pts
6. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — 410 pts
7. Ed Carpenter Racing — 333 pts
8. Juncos Hollinger Racing — 327 pts
9. A.J. Foyt Enterprises — 311 pts
10. Dale Coyne Racing — 287 pts
11. DRR — 32 pts
12. Abel Motorsports — 6 pts
13. HMD Motorsports — 5 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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