Samwise IndyCar Newsletter
Monday, July 13, 2026
2027 Silly Season: At Least 10 of 25 Full-Time Seats Still Open
The 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES silly season has already exploded into action with at least 10 of 25 full-time seats still unresolved. Team Penske has confirmed that Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and David Malukas will all return. Arrow McLaren announced its full 2027 lineup of Pato O’Ward, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist. Meyer Shank Racing re-signed Marcus Armstrong. Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 9 car remains unannounced. AJ Foyt Enterprises, Juncos Hollinger Racing and Dale Coyne Racing all have open seats as the second half of the 2026 season gets underway.
Sources: IndyCar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Scott Dixon Breaking New Ground With Seismic Late-Career Move to Arrow McLaren
Scott Dixon is winding down the most successful driver-team pairing in INDYCAR history. The six-time champion, who spent most of 25 seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing winning 58 of his 59 career victories, was confirmed this week to join Arrow McLaren for 2027. Dixon, who turns 46 on July 23, sits second all-time in wins behind only A.J. Foyt’s 67. He has led laps in 17 of his 24 Indianapolis 500 starts, with a combined 709 laps led — both records. The move draws comparisons to Will Power’s departure from Team Penske for Andretti Global, but Dixon’s singular 25-year team association makes it historically unprecedented.
Sources: IndyCar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
FOX Mid-Ohio Viewership Up 73 Percent; Season Average Approaching 2 Million
An audience of 1,344,000 viewers watched Pato O’Ward win the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on FOX on July 5, a 73 percent increase over the 775,000 who watched the same race in 2025. The broadcast peaked at 1,541,000 viewers near the end of the race. Through 11 races, INDYCAR on FOX is averaging 1,979,000 viewers this season, an 18 percent increase over the same point in 2025, when the network averaged 1,678,000 in its first year as the series’ television partner. FOX’s next INDYCAR broadcast is July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Sources: IndyCar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
McLaughlin Tops Milwaukee Mile Test at 161 mph; Andretti and Meyer Shank Run Strong
Scott McLaughlin paced a near-full-field test at the Milwaukee Mile on July 8, posting a best lap of 161.189 mph in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, nearly 1 mph faster than Rinus VeeKay’s 160.271 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet. The test prepared teams for the Aug. 29–30 Snap-on doubleheader. Andretti Global placed all three cars in the top seven: Marcus Ericsson third (160.067), Will Power fifth (159.942) and Kyle Kirkwood seventh (159.563). Meyer Shank Racing put Felix Rosenqvist fourth (160.032) and Marcus Armstrong sixth (159.706). Championship leader Alex Palou ran 246 laps and was 10th.
Sources: IndyCar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
IndyCar and iRacing Studios Announce First Standalone Video Game in More Than Two Decades
INDYCAR and iRacing Studios have announced INDYCAR Racing The Game, a standalone video game launching in early 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox and PC via Steam. The title will be the first standalone INDYCAR game in more than two decades. IndyCar Chief Marketing Officer Alex Damron and iRacing president Tony Gardner are quoted in the official announcement. iRacing Studios, the game-development arm of the iRacing online simulation platform, is the title’s developer.
Sources: IndyCar.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
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. Kyffin Simpson — 194 pts
16. Alexander Rossi — 190 pts
17. Santino Ferrucci — 179 pts
18. Louis Foster — 159 pts
19. Dennis Hauger — 148 pts
20. Nolan Siegel — 145 pts
21. Christian Rasmussen — 143 pts
22. Romain Grosjean — 139 pts
23. Caio Collet — 132 pts
24. Sting Ray Robb — 108 pts
25. Mick Schumacher — 108 pts
26. Conor Daly — 24 pts
27. Takuma Sato — 20 pts
28. Jack Harvey — 8 pts
29. Jacob Abel — 6 pts
30. Helio Castroneves — 5 pts
31. Ed Carpenter — 5 pts
32. Ryan Hunter-Reay — 5 pts
33. Katherine Legge — 5 pts
Engine Manufacturer
IndyCar does not publish an official Teams’ Championship. Engine Manufacturer standings shown.
1. Honda — 892 pts (6W / 10P)
2. Chevrolet — 868 pts (5W / 3P)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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