- The 2026 IndyCar season has seen a major shift compared to last year.
- Unlike last year, Palou is not at the top despite winning two of the first four races.
- Lundgaard climbed four spots in the standings on the back of a single race result.
Four races into the season, the IndyCar field has put the opening stretch behind it and now turns its attention to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, set for April 19 on the streets of downtown Long Beach, California. The road to this point has not followed a script, as the 2026 season has broken from past patterns.
Parity has taken center stage, with multiple winners and the points table shifting hands from one round to the next, a far cry from 2025. The shift has come through a mix of tire-use mandates and a change in how the series is run, while the cars remain close to last year’s spec. The new rules have forced teams to think on their feet.
What is new in 2026 compared to the 2025 season?
IndyCar now requires two full stints on alternate tires for all street races. In 2025, teams such as Chip Ganassi Racing would burn through softer tires in two laps and switch to primaries for the long haul. That play has been taken off the table. Drivers must now nurse high-wear rubber twice in a race, a move that has shaken up the order and led to more lead changes through the middle stages.
Track time has also been spread out. A 40/12/12 practice format on road and street courses has split the field into smaller groups, cutting down on congestion that once held back smaller teams.
Off the track, control has changed hands. INDYCAR Officiating Inc., an independent, not-for-profit body, now oversees competition, ending Penske Entertainment’s direct role in race control. The move was put in place to address concerns about conflicts of interest arising from the previous structure.
Everything about the IndyCar series points standings so far
On track, the first four rounds have seen three different winners. The season opened at St. Petersburg, where Scott McLaughlin won the pole position, but by the end of 100 laps, Alex Palou, who started from the second row, took the win, grabbing the early points lead.
The second race brought the debut of the Grand Prix of Arlington on a street circuit, along with a return to Phoenix Raceway. Josef Newgarden came out on top, while Palou crashed in his 100th start, handing the points lead to the Team Penske driver.
At Arlington, Kyle Kirkwood claimed the win in the first street race held in Texas, moving to the top of the standings as Newgarden slipped down the order.
The fourth race at Barber saw Palou return to form, taking his second win of the season. Even so, Kirkwood held on to the lead in the standings by a margin of two points, backed by a run of top-five finishes.
Still, compared to Palou’s dominance last year, his performance this season has been a tad slower. Palou won eight races in 2025 and led the standings for most of the season. But in 2026, the first three races alone produced three winners from three teams, with the lead changing hands after each round.
The standings at this stage read as follows:
| Rank | No. | Driver | Team | Points | Gap |
| 1 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | 156 | — |
| 2 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | 154 | -2 |
| 3 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | 121 | -35 |
| 4 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | 116 | -40 |
| 5 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 113 | -43 |
| 6 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | 106 | -50 |
| 7 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | 99 | -57 |
| 8 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | 99 | -57 |
| 9 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing | 98 | -58 |
| 10 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | -71 |
Kirkwood has set the pace with a top-five finish at St. Petersburg, a podium run at Phoenix, a win at the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington in Texas, and another top 5 finish at Barber.
Meanwhile, Palou, a four-time IndyCar champion and winner of the last three titles, has clawed back ground after his retirement in the second round at Phoenix. The driver from Catalonia heads into April two points behind Kirkwood.
Christian Lundgaard, after finishing P2 at Barber, has climbed from seventh to third in the standings, moving ahead of David Malukas. Malukas, in his first season with Team Penske, stands as the team’s lead driver in the standings.
Further down the order, Romain Grosjean finished 15th at Barber and sits 19th in the championship heading into the Long Beach weekend.
