The NTT IndyCar Series completed the second and final day of testing at Phoenix Raceway on Wednesday, with all 25 confirmed 2026 entrants taking to the track.
In the morning session of the Unser Open Test, Alexander Rossi set the fastest time in his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.
He turned a lap at 174.444 MPH, which was considerably faster than the day before.
The 34-year-old set an even faster lap in the afternoon, clocking in at 20.6254 seconds and an average speed of 174.542 MPH.
Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou set the second and third fastest laps, both during the morning session.
Christian Rasmussen was fourth quick and Tuesday’s fast man David Malukas set the fifth fastest time on the second day.
The fastest rookie of the day was Mick Schumacher, who turned a lap of 171.096 MPH on Wednesday morning.
Overall, he was 18th fastest across the two days, and logged an impressive 222 laps as he continues to come to grips with oval racing.
Up and down the order, drivers praised the track and thoroughly enjoyed their test running.
Their only concern is if a second groove will materialize during the race weekend, but otherwise none had any complaints about how the cars handled on the one-mile oval.
Stop and Start
The three-hour morning session was only stopped once for debris, but the afternoon session ad a few interruptions.
Just as the final portion of the test was set to get underway, rain showers moved into the area and put a stop to the action.
Despite being located on the edges of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix averages four days of measurable rain each February.
The rain was not consistent, however, and two hours of green flag conditions allowed drivers to finish up any last items on their checklists.
Marcus Ericsson’s afternoon did not go to plan as he found the wall in his #28 Andretti Global Honda.
The damage was limited to the rear of the car and the veteran drivers indicated that he felt like something broke on his car, leading to the incident.
Drivers were still able to turn a total of 4,853 laps over the eight hours of open track time, and all were able to get a good feel for the unique track.
The paddock will return to Phoenix in just two weeks’ time for the Good Ranchers 250, which will be IndyCar’s first race on the one-mile oval since 2018.
Combined times
| # | Driver | Time (seconds) | Avg. Speed (MPH) | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rossi, Alexander | 20.6254 | 174.542 | 195 |
| 2 | Newgarden, Josef | 20.6467 | 174.362 | 181 |
| 3 | Palou, Alex | 20.6635 | 174.220 | 190 |
| 4 | Rasmussen, Christian | 20.6987 | 173.924 | 195 |
| 5 | Malukas, David | 20.7183 | 173.759 | 165 |
| 6 | O’Ward, Pato | 20.7247 | 173.706 | 188 |
| 7 | Kirkwood, Kyle | 20.7302 | 173.660 | 242 |
| 8 | Power, Will | 20.7867 | 173.188 | 259 |
| 9 | Ericsson, Marcus | 20.7956 | 173.114 | 193 |
| 10 | Armstrong, Marcus | 20.8165 | 172.940 | 155 |
| 11 | Dixon, Scott | 20.8340 | 172.794 | 206 |
| 12 | McLaughlin, Scott | 20.8786 | 172.425 | 214 |
| 13 | Rahal, Graham | 20.9322 | 171.984 | 185 |
| 14 | Rosenqvist, Felix | 20.9439 | 171.888 | 204 |
| 15 | VeeKay, Rinus | 20.9541 | 171.804 | 228 |
| 16 | Foster, Louis | 20.9662 | 171.705 | 204 |
| 17 | Siegel, Nolan | 20.9751 | 171.632 | 200 |
| 18 | Schumacher, Mick | 21.0408 | 171.096 | 222 |
| 19 | Grosjean, Romain | 21.0541 | 170.988 | 181 |
| 20 | Lundgaard, Christian | 21.0615 | 170.928 | 218 |
| 21 | Collet, Caio | 21.1381 | 170.309 | 104 |
| 22 | Hauger, Dennis | 21.1647 | 170.095 | 173 |
| 23 | Simpson, Kyffin | 21.1770 | 169.996 | 234 |
| 24 | Ferrucci, Santino | 21.2024 | 169.792 | 121 |
| 25 | Robb, Sting Ray | 21.3550 | 168.579 | 196 |
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