With the season opener of the 2026 season just around the corner, drivers took to the track for the two-day Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway. The testing sessions gave drivers the opportunity to get on track and test out components on their cars. They also got a chance to get a handle on the 1-mile desert oval, one of three new tracks on the schedule.
David Malukas Fastest on Day One
On Tuesday, all 25 IndyCar drivers took the track for the first of two days of open testing. The one hour of dedicated rookie running followed by four hours of open track time ended with the newest Team Penske driver, David Malukas, at the top of the timesheets.
Malukas, in the No. 12 Team Penske entry this season, completed 68 laps. He logged a lap of 20.8569 seconds at an average speed of 172.605 MPH for the fastest of the day. His time beat out teammate Josef Newgarden, who held the number one spot for the majority of the session. He was the first driver to run a sub-21 lap at an average speed of 172.201. He ended up 0.0708s behind Malukas.
Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti Global secured the third and fourth positions, respectively. Power was the only other driver to clock a time under 21 seconds. He achieved a time of 20.9661 seconds with an average of 171.706 mph.
Rounding out the top five in testing was reigning IndyCar Series champion Álex Palou with a 171.357 mph lap.
Rookie Caio Collet was the fastest with a lap time of 22.1547 and a speed of 162.474 mph in the one-hour rookie-only session. In the open session, he was involved in the only incident of the day, making slight contact with the Turn 4 inside wall.
The 2025 INDY NXT champion, Dennis Hauger, was the fastest of the three rookies, ending up 17th overall. Mick Schumacher clocked the most laps out of all the rookies with 109. He ended the day in 23rd.
Schumacher’s lap total was the third-highest, behind Ed Carpenter Racing drivers Christian Rasmussen’s 128 and Alexander Rossi’s 118.
Rossi Tops Both Sessions on Day Two
It was an earlier start on day two of the Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway, with cars on track at 11 a.m. EST. The speed increased, and lap times were shorter than on Tuesday’s session. Drivers got six combined hours to get their final laps in before the start of the season.
The fastest driver of the day was Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing. He set the pace early, reaching the speed of 174.444mph and a time of 20.6370 seconds around the 1-mile tri-oval on just his fifth lap of the day. That lap ended up being the fastest in the morning session.
In the rain-delayed afternoon session, Rossi set the fastest lap of testing, clocking in at 20.6254 seconds and an average speed of 174.542 mph. ECR continued to show a strong pace with Christian Rasmussen‘s lap of 173.924. That earned him second place in the afternoon session and fourth overall.
“We got through everything we wanted, and when you can do that, it’s a good day,” Rossi said. “Christian’s (Rasmussen) car is also strong, so there’s nothing more I could ask for.”
Josef Newgarden, who finished second to his teammate on day one, ended up second overall at 174.362, with his best lap coming in the morning. Álex Palou‘s best lap came in the morning, securing third place overall with a speed of 174.220.
Over two days of testing, the 25 drivers turned 4,853 laps. Series veteran Will Power was the workhorse, turning a test-high 259 laps.
The next time the grid will take the track will be on the Streets of St. Petersburg for the season opener on March 1.
Then the series will return to Phoenix for the Good Ranchers 250, IndyCar’s first race on the one-mile oval since 2018.