The next two weeks will bring challenges like no other for INDYCAR drivers.
Two new street circuits. Back-to-back weeks of unknowns.
First up this weekend: A race on the streets of Markham, a suburb of Toronto. It’s a 2.19-mile, 12-turn course on streets that have mostly been repaved.
Then next weekend: A race on the streets of Washington, D.C., around the National Mall. The relatively simple 1.7-mile, seven-turn course will go by some of the most iconic institutions in the nation’s Capitol as part of a celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States of America.
Here’s everything to know about how drivers will handle the next couple of weeks.
How Do They Prepare?
When it comes to preparing for unfamiliar tracks, Pato O’Ward noted that he “hates” the simulator.
Drivers have worked in racing simulators just as they have for other events, although the scan of the Markham track was done before it was repaved. So many of the bumps are no longer there. Also, for new street courses, teams have no data on the surface and how it reacts to tires and the like. If they were going to an existing track, they could have had a tire test.
There’s another issue.
Obviously, the temporary barriers have been installed in just the last few weeks, and while the track designs are close to actuality, a wall in a different spot by a few feet can make all the difference.
Some drivers refuse to do the simulator or don’t put much stock in it.
“I hate the simulator,” Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward told me Thursday morning in Markham. “It’s so useless. It’s good for a video game. It’s not good for getting to know exactly what the car is going to feel like.
“And the problem is, whenever you go to these new places, that is your first sensation of a new circuit. Then you get there and you’re like, ‘Hey, that’s not the same.’ Well, no sh–, Sherlock, it’s not the same. It’s important to know where the track goes, which I do know.”
Lundgaard, a teammate of O’Ward, told me he decided not to do the simulator.
“I did it in Arlington and in all honesty, I thought it hurt me. So I didn’t really want to do Markham or D.C.”
But Some Have Done Simulator, Right?
Marcus Armstrong said, “we’re just going to … do our best.”
Rinus VeeKay, who is 10th in the series standings driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing, said he has done the simulator for both tracks and there are a lot of differences between Markham and Washington. He said he actually dislocated a rib doing the Markham simulator because of the bumps in the surface before it was repaved.
The Markham track has a very tight hairpin, much like Long Beach — except drivers will be carrying much more speed into that turn at Markham.
“I’d say D.C. is more of a straight-forward track, really wide with all the streets,” VeeKay told me Thursday morning. “They’re just really wide there. Markham is a lot tighter, a lot more unorthodox.
“Corners we haven’t really seen with that weird hairpin there. This is going to be an interesting race. It’s going to take a lot of skill to be quick around this track here at Markham.”
And there’s some feeling that this could be one of those places where preparation isn’t as important.
“We’re just going to rock up and do our best,” Meyer Shank Racing driver Marcus Armstrong told me.
So Who Will Be The Favorites?
Kyle Kirkwood is currently second on the oddsboard for both Markham and D.C.
You could go with Kyle Kirkwood, who won the inaugural race on the new Arlington (Texas) street course earlier this year and has been one of the top drivers on street courses the last few years.
And then, of course, there’s championship leader Alex Palou. He has won on the streets of St. Pete, Long Beach and Detroit this year.
“You never know until you practice one or two times,” Palou told me and other reporters last week as far as who will be good this weekend.
It was at Arlington where Kirkwood made a daring pass on Palou for the win.
Christian Lundgaard, who has won two races on road courses this year, isn’t sure fans should expect much difference when looking at the top of the board.
“I feel the strong teams will be at the strong end of the field as always,” Lundgaard told me and other reporters last week. “There may be drivers that figure it out sooner than others. I feel like it’ll be pretty similar to Arlington.”
Will This Be An Even Playing Field?
The uncertainty of how the next two tracks will race could help the smaller teams, according to Rinus Veekay.
That’s a good question. With no driver truly knowing exactly what he needs, that could open up the chances of a driver hitting on the right setup.
Or maybe even bigger, there’s more likelihood that a driver just makes mistakes and ends up in a barrier.
“For a smaller team, I think it’s a good thing,” VeeKay said. “We can guess right, while some big teams maybe don’t.”
As Christian Rasmussen of ECR told me: “I don’t think it hurts us guys.”
Shouldn’t It Be Tougher On Teams With Smaller Budgets?
The cross-country travel over the next few weeks will present challenges for smaller teams like that of Romain Grosjean.
It very well could. A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci will admit that much.
“It’s probably a bigger challenge for us than others, but I’m looking forward to it,” Ferrucci told me last week. “We’ve had four new tracks [including the Phoenix oval] this year, three of which have been brand new.
“It’s just great for the sport. Venues that we need to be going to and tracks that need to be changed. …. I’m excited about it.”
Romain Grosjean, a driver for Dale Coyne Racing, might run on the tightest budget of any team in the garage. Coming from Portland last week and then having Milwaukee and Laguna Seca (Monterey, Calif.) in the two weeks following Washington to end the INDYCAR season will be a challenge.
“It’s a tough one for everyone,” Grosjean told me Thursday. “It’s a lot of races in a row, it’s a lot of travel. West Coast to East Coast to West Coast. But we’ll do our best. It’s exciting to have many races.
“It’s exciting to be here in Markham and then D.C. is going to be a big one.”
Why Are They Not Racing Where They Normally Do In Toronto?
This race formerly ran near Exhibition Place (pictured) but now has a long-term deal to run at Markham.
Several reasons. Construction in the area around Exhibition Place had made things a little more difficult and the streets were not in the best shape. Plus, with the World Cup at the soccer stadium, that made the timeline for trying to get the course set up even more challenging.
Greene Savoree — which has the INDYCAR promotional rights for Toronto and is also the promoter for St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio and Portland — found a new home in the Toronto suburb of Markham.
The city has paved many of the streets. And having this race in Markham is a long-term deal. The new location is about a 22-mile drive from Exhibition Place.
How Did The D.C. Race Come Together?
The planning for the D.C. race came together quite quickly.
The D.C. race was not on the original 2026 calendar. However, an executive order by Donald Trump that was signed in January allowed for it to be operated primarily on federal property. This put the race into high gear.
It has been a scramble to get everything done for a race on the streets of Washington.
The race was added and increased the schedule to 18 competitions from 17.
Is It Tough To Put Up A Street Course?
Fencing is seen along Pennsylvania Avenue ahead of the INDYCAR Series Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Yes, and especially a new one. Hundreds of concrete barriers and miles of fencing are required. Manhole covers need to be welded shut (Washington had more than 200).
At Markham on Thursday, workers were scrambling to finish the track build, delaying the scheduled time for INDYCAR teams to set up in the pits so that vehicles working on fencing and barriers could get their work done. INDYCAR teams are scheduled to practice Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Why Do Street Courses?
The backdrop of NASCAR’s street course at Naval Base Coronado was picturesque.
Street course events bring racing to people who don’t necessarily get to see it and can also be considered an economic generator for the area.
They also create iconic images. NASCAR had its race earlier this year in San Diego with aircraft carriers in the background.
The race in Washington will feature both the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument in the background.
“Sports generally is a show,” said Grosjean, a former Formula 1 driver. “Racing in the capital of the country is the right thing to do. Going to big cities with St. Pete and Long Beach always works really well. … I’m excited for it and looking forward to be racing there.”
