Alexander Rossi – INDYCAR, IR-28 Testing – Photo by  Joe Skibinski

Courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series

INDIANAPOLIS _ Alexander Rossi hot-lapped into the future of the NTT IndyCar Series on Saturday, completing the first on-track test of the new Dallara IR-28 chassis on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course.

Alexander Rossi – INDYCAR, IR-28 Testing – Photo by James Black

The 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion, Rossi put the all-new car through its initial paces during a productive development session on the Speedway’s 2.439-mile/14-turn road-course, launching the testing process for the chassis that will debut in the 2028 season.

Rossi praised the preparation that led to a successful debut.

“I’ve been a part of some new car launches before, and I can’t say that any have gone as smooth as this one has,” said Rossi, driver of the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing. “That’s down to everyone involved. We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time. Drivers, fans, teams, sponsors and all of you have been looking forward to it, and now it’s finally here.

“It’s like Christmas morning.”

Rossi said the session accomplished everything the development team planned, despite intermittent damp conditions that limited track time.

“It’s hard to do a full comparison because of the conditions we were dealing with, but everything you could hope for from a day like today was accomplished,” said Rossi, a 34-year-old native of Nevada City, Calif. “The fact that the car is completely new and the only real issue we had was replacing one sensor is phenomenal. That’s a huge testament to Dallara, INDYCAR and everyone involved.

Alexander Rossi – INDYCAR, IR-28 Testing – Photo by James Black

“The car has a lot of incredible qualities that we haven’t even scratched the surface of yet. It was an incredible start and just a joy to drive.”

Rossi also offered kudos for the IR-28’s appearance and initial handling characteristics.

“Aesthetically, it ticks every box you could hope for,” Rossi said. “I was blown away the first time I saw it. The pictures don’t do it justice. The presence it has in person is pretty amazing. It looks aggressive and even with a completely new chassis, new aerodynamics, new electronics and a spec damper package, the baseline was very comfortable from the get-go. There’s obviously a lot more to unlock, but it was a great starting point.

“To be able to be a part of this next evolution of INDYCAR and do it at IMS, a place that means so much to me and all of us here, is super-cool. I get to play a small part in the history and the future of this championship, and that’s a big privilege. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Four-time/reigning series champion and 2025 Indy 500 winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing is scheduled to test the car Sunday.

Next series race is the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland, Round 13 of the 2026 championship from Portland (Ore.) International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 9. Coverage will begin at 4 p.m. (EDT) on FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One. Audio coverage will be available via INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls on SiriusXM Channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 457; 2, David Malukas, Team Penske, 374; 3, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 370; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 353; 5, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 336; 6, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 310; 7, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 296; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 295; 9, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 250; 10, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 237;

11, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 236; 12, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 229; 13, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 225; 14, Will Power, Andretti Global, 220; 15, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 216; 16, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 197; 17, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 196; 18, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 173; 19, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 164; 20, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 157;

21, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 155; 22, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 151; 23, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 137; 24, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 132; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 123; 26, Derek Daly, Dryer & Reinbold Racing, 24; 27, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 20; 28, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 8; 29, Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports, 6; 30, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian, 5;

31, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 5; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Arrow McLaren, 5; 33, Katherine Legge, HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, (Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m., (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Monday, July 20 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2, (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Myles Rowe, Abel Motorsports)

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1, (Lochie Hughes, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2, (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports powered by ECR)   

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1 (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2 (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2