Mick Schumacher will drive the No. 66 MSR Honda for Meyer Shank Racing next season on the NTT IndyCar Series circuit. Photo by Joe Skibinski

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Mick Schumacher has landed a second chance to showcase his INDYCAR potential.next season.

Meyer Shank Racing confirmed Friday that Schumacher will join the team’s NTT IndyCar Series program starting in 2027. Schumacher will make his final start in the No. 47 NEREUS Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on Sunday in the 2026 season-ending Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Schumacher will wheel the No. 66 MSR Honda next season alongside returning driver Marcus Armstrong, the native New Zealander who will enter his third season with the team based in Pataskala, Ohio, as driver of the No. 60 MSR Honda. MSR’s No. 60 is being vacated by Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion who is headed for Arrow McLaren.

Schumacher is 23^rd in points among the series’ 25 regulars in his first season of North American open-wheel racing. He is 18 points behind Rookie of the Year leader Dennis Hauger (223-205) of Norway and Dale Coyne Racing. Native Brazilian Caio Collet of A.J. Foyt Racing trails with 193 points.

A 27-year-old native of Germany, Schumacher took on the full INDYCAR calendar during his rookie campaign, including his first experiences on ovals.

“I’m super-excited to be working with everyone at Meyer Shank Racing and to be joining such an ambitious team,” said Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany. “It’s going to be a special journey to start working with MSR. I’m looking forward to what more I can learn from the team. They’ve had some really great success, and of course, going to an Indy 500-winning team is awesome.

“It will be great to start meeting everyone on the team and working with MSR’s partners. I’m really just excited to begin working toward 2027 together and really start thinking about how we can create a great partnership together.”

Schumacher became the odd-man-out when Dreyer & Reinbold Racing purchased an NTT charter from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in July, paving the way for Indianapolis-based DRR to return to full-time INDYCAR competition beginning in 2027. It’ll be the first time the team has competed full-time since the 2012 campaign.

RLLR founder/owner and 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal and his partners will compete in 2027 with Rahal’s son, series veteran Graham Rahal, and Louis Foster of Great Britain.

Mick’s best start on a road or street-course this season is 11th on Markham, Ontario, Canada’s new street-course. His best finishes are eighth on the Nashville Superspeedway oval and 11th on the Streets of Washington, D.C.

Schumacher has flashed promising pace on ovals. He qualified fourth at Phoenix Raceway and most recently qualified fourth for Race 2 at The Milwaukee Mile. Earlier, he scored that season-best eighth-place at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. Schumacher also made his Indianapolis 500 debut in May, completing all 200 laps and winning Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Before making the move to INDYCAR with RLLR, Schumacher built a resume across several of the highest levels of international motorsports. He captured the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship before winning the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2020. His success in Formula 2 earned him a promotion to F1, where he made 43 grand prix starts with American-owned Haas F1 Team across the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Schumacher later added sports car racing to his resume, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s premier Hypercar category. His endurance racing experience includes multiple starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as podium finishes in FIA WEC competition.

Joining Schumacher at MSR in 2027 will be advanced materials company ENVE Composites. Based in Ogden, Utah, ENVE designs and manufactures high-performance carbon fiber bicycles, wheels and components engineered to optimize aerodynamics, strength-to-weight ratios and race day performance.

In addition to their recently launched ENVE Motorsports, which competes in the USF2000 and Indy NXT series, ENVE has a well-established record of winning at the highest level of professional cycling, including the Tour de France, through its partnership with UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The team competes on ENVE wheels and components, with pro rider Tadej Pogačar using ENVE equipment on his way to five overall Tour de France victories and two UCI World Championships.

“We’re very excited to have Mick and ENVE join us next year,” MSR Co-Owner Mike Shank said. “He really impressed us in his first season of INDYCAR. It’s not an easy series to come into and the competition is incredibly tight, but when you look at what he’s accomplished and the progress he’s made throughout the year, we see a lot of potential in him.

“He’s also shown tremendous pace on the ovals, which is a huge hurdle for any driver coming into INDYCAR without that experience. He’s adapted quickly and we’re excited to see what he can do with another year of experience and with our group around him. And of course we’re excited to welcome ENVE on-board. The same values drive ENVE that drive MSR and we’re both aiming for victories in our own disciplines. I think that it is a perfect fit for us to join together.”

Schumacher and Armstrong will make their first race starts as MSR teammates when the 2027 season opens with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 5-7.

Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones

Alex Palou often refers to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as his favorite INDYCAR road-course.

What’s not to like? Fresh off of clinching his fifth NTT IndyCar Series championship last weekend, Palou appeared untouchable after Practice 1 Friday for the season-ending Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey. Palou paced the session around the picturesque 2.238-mile/11-turn Central California circuit with a best lap of 1-minute, 9.8994-seconds/115.263 mph in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing.

The No. 10’s livery this weekend is a tribute to the late Alex Zanardi, the popular Italian who won two INDYCAR titles for CGR in a car sporting a similar livery. Zanardi died on May 1 at age 59.

SEE: Practice Results

“Super-cool to be here at Laguna, my favorite road-course of the year and especially this weekend,” said Palou, a 29-year-old native of Spain. “We don’t need to think about points; we can focus on winning.

“First-ever session I’ve run ‘The Bolt, the Lightning Bolt, with the No. 10 car. It was good. It was fast. I cannot wait for the rest of the weekend.”

The Spaniard has dominated at Laguna Seca since his first start in 2021. He never has finished worse than third in five starts, and has three victories, including the last two years. He also has won pole position for this event the last two years.

Palou’s average finish at Laguna Seca is a stout 1.6. He has led 250 laps on a circuit that, as of Friday, includes the renamed Zanardi Corkscrew turn complex, including 84 of 95 last year.

That said, Palou remains the overwhelming favorite to win the NTT P1 Award during qualifying Saturday (4:30 p.m. EDT, FS2) and the 95-lap/212.61-mile race Sunday (2:30 p.m. EDT, FOX, FOX Deportes).

Palou clinched his fifth championship after finishing 10th in the Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 at The Milwaukee Mile. He finished fifth in the first race of the double-header. It was the mercurial Palou’s fourth straight title since open-wheel reunification in 2008, tying a series record set by Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais from 2004-07.

Palou is the youngest driver in series history to win five titles. Open-wheel icon and Houston native A.J. Foyt Jr. was 32 when he earned his fifth championship in 1967. Only “Super Tex,” with seven, and native New Zealander Scott Dixon, with six, have won more INDYCAR titles than Palou. Dixon was 38 when he won his fifth title.

Palou’s numbers this season have been beyond box-office _ six wins, eight poles, seven podiums, 12 top-fives, 14 top-10s, 12 races-led and 673 laps-led.

“It’s tough to put into words,” Palou said during his post-race presser last Sunday alongside team-founder/owner Chip Ganassi and strategist Barry Wanser. “Everything that I owe to this team, to these two men sitting next to me, that they give me the opportunity to be not only a race-winner, then a champion, now a five-time champion.

“It’s been incredible. I just feel like we just started yesterday. We’re just getting closer and closer. We’re having more fun and more fun each day. It’s been an absolute joy of a year. The last two years have been just magical for us.”

Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist kept Palou close, ending up second at 1:09.9907-seconds/115.112 mph in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Honda sporting a special livery featuring hard rock superstars Nickelback.

Pato O’Ward, who swept both races of the Milwaukee double-header last Sunday in West Allis, Wis., was third at 1:10.1764-seonds/114.804 mph after 18 laps in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward is one of three drivers in a tight fight for second place in the championship standings behind Palou entering the season-ender. O’Ward is fourth, two points behind third-place Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global and four points behind Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard of Denmark in second.

O’Ward was the quickest of six Chevrolet-powered drivers in the first 40 minutes, when all 25 drivers were eligible and spent the session on primary (black) Firestone Firehawk racing tires. 

“The car feels good; very enjoyable around these high-commitment corners at Laguna Seca,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We’ll try to pepper it in a bit better for (Saturday) and have a shot at the pole. The fresh livery looks great, and the new black suit is my favorite. You look good, you feel good.”

Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin ended up fourth at 1:10.3198-seconds/114.574 mph in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet.

There was one incident involving contact in the 64-minute session, divided into three groups. Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci ran wide in Turn 9 and made nose-first contact with the tire barrier in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet fielded by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing. The car incurred minor damage; Ferrucci was uninjured.

Up next Saturday is another practice session (1 p.m. EDT on FS2), leading into NTT P1 Award qualifying later that afternoon. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also are broadcasting all sessions live this weekend.

INDYCAR Officiating has announced six-position starting grid penalties for the No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet driven by rookie Caio Collet of Brazil and the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet driven by Christian Lundgaard of Denmark for unapproved engine changes following the two races at The Milwaukee Mile Sunday, Aug. 30.

The entries were in violation of Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Approved Engine Change-Out if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine Change-Out.

According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street-course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Sunday, Sept. 6.

Josh Pierson was quickest overall in two combined practice sessions Friday for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Monterey double-header, as all three INDY NXT by Firestone title contenders were nowhere near the top of the speed charts.

Pierson led with a hot lap of 1-minute, 14.2218-seconds/108.550 mph in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti car of Andretti Global after two 25-minute practices on the 2.238-mile/11-turn road-course. Pierson is seeking his first career victory in INDYCAR’s developmental series.

SEE: Combined Practice Results

All but one of the 24 drivers on track turned their quickest laps during the second practice, including Pierson.

“Massive fluctuation (between the two sessions),” said Pierson, a 20-year-old native of Portland, Ore. “First session was super-green track. We did a good job not throwing ourselves out the window and not changing too much, but we made a few changes to get the balance right for this session.

“All in all, I feel like we’re pretty strong. I feel like there’s some stuff I can still clean up driving-wise, and I think there’s a little bit we can find.”

Fellow-series veteran Jacob Abel was second by a slim margin at 1:14.2264-seconds/108.544 mph in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports machine. Max Taylor was third at 1:14.3416-seconds/108.375 mph in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen entry of Andretti Global.

Rookie Max Garcia _ the 17-year-old resident of Miami who earned his first career series victory last Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile _ placed fourth at 1:14.3979-seconds/108.293 mph in the No. 12 Abel Motorsports car. J.M. Correa completed the top-five at 1:14.4806-seconds/108.173 mph in the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports machine.

Only 29 points separate series leader Nikita Johnson, second-place Enzo Fittipaldi and third-place Tymek Kucharczyk of Poland in a fierce race among rookies for the championship and INDYCAR career enhancement package at this season-ending double-header. All three remained bunched in an uncomfortable spot.

Kucharczyk was the quickest of the title trio, eighth at 1:14.7576-seconds/107.772 mph in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car. Teammate Fittipaldi was ninth at 1:14.7689-seconds/107.756 mph in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry. Johnson, who leads Fittipaldi by three points, was 11th at 1:15.0527-seconds/107.349 mph in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR machine.

Up next is qualifying for both races at 3 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, followed by the 35-lap/78.33-mile first race at 6:30 p.m. FS2, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls will broadcast qualifying and the race live.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 607*; 2, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 507; 3, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 505; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 503; 5, David Malukas, Team Penske, 484; 6, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 428; 7, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 408; 8, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 407; 9, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing; 10, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 364;

11, Will Power, Andretti Global, 351; 12, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 318; 13, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 307; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 293; 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 291; 16, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 271; 17, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 262; 18, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 253; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 251; 20, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 247;

21, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 236; 22, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 223; 23, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 205; 24, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 193; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 175; 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.

Note _ *Clinched series championship

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, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, (Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global)

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

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, (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis., (Max Garcia, Abel Motorsports)

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

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