Yesterday, Meyer Shank Racing got off to a flying start in Elkhart Lake. Despite being ill, Marcus Armstrong topped the leaderboard with ahead of his teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, and Álex Palou. With one practice down, it was time for the final practice to begin at Road America. Red flags disrupted the INDYCAR session, but Pato O’Ward utilised his new engine to top the leaderboard.
The Engine Issue
Back in Detroit, an issue arose with the Chevrolet engines, causing many teams to make engine swaps ahead of the race. This concern was due to a supplier issue regarding the coating of the valves. While this didn’t occur in St. Louis, the issue has resurfaced at Road America.
Following Practice 1, the valve coating issues returned and, as a precautionary measure, some Chevrolet-powered teams opted to change engines. In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, drivers only get four engines to use throughout the year. Santino Ferrucci and Alexander Rossi were two of the drivers to change, however this saw them take a fifth engine. As a result, the unapproved engine change sees them both have a six-place grid penalty.
This is just one of many concerns over the engines in 2026, with many reliability issues with the hybrid system arising causing a lack of spare units. This weekend also sees a reduction in the hybrid usage allowance. In response to the supply concerns, the remaining races will see a reduction in the hybrid power from 10 to 15 percent based on the circuit. This is a minor reduction but it should help restore the dependability of the units.
A Quiet Start at Road America
When the green flag fell, drivers were hesitant to be the first on track. While many stayed in the pits initially, one who opted to get maximum track time was Graham Rahal. After struggling yesterday, the No. 15 RLL Racing driver was one of the first on track, trying to continue get to grips with the track.
The Team Penske trio also headed out immediately, with all three trying to find pace since the first session. Within minutes, David Malukas had already found something and was lapping quicker than he was. After setting an early benchmark, Malukas also showed off the challenging nature of the final corner, going wide and over the grass.
Yesterday was a good day for the rookies, with both Caio Collet and Mick Schumacher finishing within the Top 10. And today, Collet was continuing to show form. Initially showing pace, he soon went to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:44.622. With a new engine in his car, Collet’s teammate, Ferrucci was also in the top three, just one tenth behind.
Red Flag Disrupts Running
Collet didn’t stay at the top for too long though, with Nolan Siegel edging him out by 0.065 seconds to go top. Just after, Will Power went wide and collided with a sign. The No. 26 Andretti Global looked to be fine and Power was able to return to pit lane. However, the collision caused debris to scatter across the track and Race Control opted to red flag the session.
Marshalls were able to quickly remove the debris and clean the track and five minutes later, the green flag was back out. Like the start of the session, drivers were slow to head back out. It was a brief green period though, as Louis Foster pulled onto the grass in Turn 8. The suspected mechanical issue caused a second red flag.
Power was given a five minute hold in the pits for causing the first red flag. Between the red flags, Scott Dixon was given a drive through penalty after speeding in the pit lane. Marshalls opted not to tow Foster’s No. 45 back to pit lane, so the Brit had an early end to his practice session. After finishing yesterday P20, it isn’t an ideal start to the weekend for Foster, who achieved his maiden pole here last year.
O’Ward Tops Practice
When the track went green again, Pato O’Ward was first to test the red-walled alternate tyres. After struggling to get the alternates into the best working window yesterday, he was trying to get more preparation ahead of qualifying. He seemed to be more comfortable with them, going fastest. O’Ward set a lap of 1:44:002, the fastest lap of the weekend so far.
Continuing his form from yesterday, Marcus Armstrong was running near the top. Remaining on the hard tyres, he went P2. Only a tenth of a second separated him from P1, either suggesting O’Ward could find more pace on the softs, or that the hards are the preferred tyres. Scott McLaughlin jumped up to P3, three tenths adrift. With Malukas and also in the Top 10, it seems that Team Penske have found something overnight.
Attention Turns To Qualifying
Despite his early adventures over the grass, Power was able to set a lap good enough for P8 in the closing moments of practice. The Top 10 for the second practice is as follows:
O’Ward led the way as the only driver to run the soft tyres. But with a lead of only 0.1 seconds, there’s still time to be found in qualifying. With the final corner proving to be challenging, and many unknowns surrounding the tyres, the fight for pole position could be a close one.