New ir-28 car to get first oval workout this week at indianapolis
Here is the thing about motorsport: the engines barely cool down from a championship finale before the future is already roaring onto the track. Just as the dust settled on the season-ending Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at —where took the 2026 series crown, Honda claimed the manufacturers' title, secured Rookie of the Year honors, and won the race itself—the focus shifts immediately. On Wednesday, September 9 and Thursday, September 10, the brand-new IR-28 chassis faces its first oval test at the .
This is only the second on-track validation test for the IR-28, following its initial run last month on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The machine is scheduled to make its official competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. To put the new beast through its paces on the 2.5-mile oval, we have none other than 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner handling Wednesday's duties, while five-time series champion and 2025 Indy 500 winner Alex Palou takes over the cockpit on Thursday, September 10. These two also handled the road course testing last month, with Rossi driving as a Chevrolet driver and Palou as a Honda driver during the season.
“I know each manufacturer chose a driver. That’s kind of the extent of it,” Rossi explained regarding the program. “Obviously, both Alex and I did the road course test in very intermittent conditions. The oval test is a hugely different program and a different set of goals they want to accomplish because obviously that’s the most important place that that car is ever going to race. So, it’s a different run plan than what we saw at the road course. Some more kind of performance metrics will be analyzed there than just at the road course. So, it’s an exciting test to be a part of. Excited to get to do it.” For fans wanting a firsthand look, the Turn 2 Viewing Mounds at IMS will be open to the public on both days.
Meanwhile, Silly Season is absolute chaos across the paddock. was announced during the Laguna Seca weekend to complete the Meyer Shank Racing lineup for 2027, where he links up with after Armstrong signed a contract extension in July. Schumacher steps in to replace , who heads back to Arrow McLaren following a three-year stint with them from 2021 to 2023. Over at Arrow McLaren, Rosenqvist teams up with Pato O’Ward and —yes, that Scott Dixon, who made the seismic move away from Chip Ganassi Racing after twenty-five years. Dixon's departure leaves behind one of the most coveted open seats in the entire pit lane, given that he captured six championships and fifty-eight of his fifty-nine series victories with CGR.
