re: 2026 Indycar Season Thread

Some morning notes:

The wind is expected to shift directions throughout the day, according to a driver I talked to last night. They think there could be a tailwind on the 0.9-mile stretch during the race, where they already will be going 180mph+ (before push to pass if they use it).

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Christian Rasmussen backs it into the tire barrier right at the end of the session.

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Carl Edwards' son was competing in the Toyota GR Cup races this weekend.

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Two years ago, David Malukas was sidelined with a broken wrist and on the way out as a McLaren driver because he couldn't race. Now he has a pole and a podium already at Team Penske

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For the initial start of the race, drivers will take the green before Turn 10 and can pass once they take the green. Just like Detroit. Or as NASCAR does on many of its road courses in hopes of spreading cars out before first turn. But here in Arlington, only for initial start.

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Come over to Indycars Max

More scathing criticism from Max Verstappen of F1's 2026 cars and the quality of racing: "If someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing."

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INDYCAR did some minor grinding to bumps Friday night here in Arlington. They did not do any grinding last night. An orange stripe was added to the bottom of the barrier to drivers left between turns 7 and 8 to enhance visibility.

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The changes in INDYCAR schedule today are safety related and not competition related. The bigger gusts toward 50mph are supposed to come mid/late afternoon. Virtually everything here is a temporary structure.