Inside Line: Biggest Takeaway Three Races In?

Today’s question: Three races in three weeks opened the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. What's your biggest takeaway?

Curt Cavin: In baseball, a batter seeing a fastball thrown down the middle of the plate needs to make strong contact and deliver a big hit. In our terms, that was the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with two new events early in the season. Golden opportunities were presented with trips to Phoenix Raceway and the new street circuit in Arlington, Texas, and it was imperative that the series (and the partners) deliver, and by all accounts they did. The Phoenix race sharing a weekend with NASCAR drew the largest crowd INDYCAR has seen at the track in a very long time, and the racing also was terrific. Seems like a major win, and what more good could be said about the Arlington debut (photo, above)? The partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers added to the spectacle, and again, the circuit and the race delivered, as well. So, back to the baseball analogy: INDYCAR had two fastballs to hit this month, and home runs were the result.

Eric Smith: My biggest takeaway is what feels like a quiet start to the season for Arrow McLaren. The team placed two drivers in the top five in points last year, with Pato O’Ward finishing second and Christian Lundgaard fifth (photo, above). O’Ward enters the off weekend fourth in points, Lundgaard is seventh and third driver Nolan Siegel is 24th. O’Ward is one of two drivers with three top-10 finishes in the first three races, joining points leader Kyle Kirkwood. O’Ward finished fifth on both street circuits in St. Petersburg and Arlington and fourth in Phoenix. Lundgaard finished third and seventh on the streets and 13th in Phoenix. The team knows Honda has an advantage on street circuits, with 15 wins in the last 17 races on that discipline. The natural road courses should favor Lundgaard and O’Ward. Lundgaard produced five podiums in seven natural road course starts last season, including three runner-up finishes. O’Ward scored five top-six finishes on those tracks, including two runner-ups. O’Ward also remains one of the strongest oval racers in the series. The team may seem quiet now, but the schedule ahead offers opportunity. Six natural road courses and five oval races remain among the 15 races left this season, giving Arrow McLaren plenty of chances to make noise.

Arni Sribhen: There’s a lot of racing left in 2026, but after the first sixth of the season, one thing is clear -- the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship is anyone’s title to win. You couldn’t say that last year, as Alex Palou’s torrid start to the season was the dominant storyline through May. This season we’ve see three race winners from three different teams in the first three races; Ten drivers already have a top-five finish. Yes, Kyle Kirkwood has been the most consistent driver so far and Team Penske looks to have rebounded from its roller-coaster 2025. But variety has been the spice to the season so far, and I’m curious to see who will be the next driver to visit the top step of the podium at Barber. It really is anyone’s guess.

Paul Kelly: It’s only three races, but I’m starting to wonder if we’re beginning to see a changing of the guard when considering the top team in the sport. That mantle has belonged to either Chip Ganassi Racing, with 38 wins since the start of the 2020 season, or Team Penske, with 34 trips to Victory Lane during the same span. But so far in 2026, Andretti Global looks to be the strongest and deepest team. All three of its drivers have appeared at least once in the top five finishers of the first three races in 2026. No other team can say that. Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood is ahead of Alex Palou and leads the standings. Nobody could say that at any point last year or during the second half of the 2024 season. Granted, street circuits are Andretti’s and Honda’s strength, but it was pretty impressive to see the team score a 1-3-4 finish last weekend at Arlington with Kirkwood, team newcomer Will Power and a revitalized Marcus Ericsson, respectively (photo, top). If this team can fix its puzzling and repeated problems on pit lane, it could be the year of Andretti in 2026.