One unique item of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the fact that out of the eighteen races on the schedule, three of them will take place at brand new venues. We’ve already seen one – the outstanding facility for the Grand Prix of Arlington. This coming weekend will see the new venue at Markham, Ontario; which is essentially a suburb, about thirty minutes to the north of downtown Toronto. Then of course, next week the series goes to our nation’s capital for the Freedom 250.
I am excited to see what kind of racing the new track has in store for us this weekend. I have seen some drone footage of the track and it looks very interesting. First of all, it features a two-sided pit lane similar to what we have seen in Detroit the last few years. I remember when I first heard about the Detroit pit lane, I figured it was an accident waiting to happen. Instead, it has worked out quite well. The one at Markham looks like it could be narrower, but that is just from watching the video. I don’t know if it really is or not. If it is, that could create a few interesting moments.
There is a long section that runs downhill before reaching a turnaround section that they are calling a loop, but I’m more tempted to call a hairpin. Either way, it goes just on the other side of the barricade and back up the hill. But it goes much longer all the way down to the right-handed Turn Six. This will be the best passing opportunity on the track.
The track is 2.19 miles in length, significantly longer than the 1.78-mile circuit at Exhibition Place where the series ran for about forty years, give or take. The old circuit had both concrete and asphalt surfaces, while Markham appears to be all asphalt. It also looks like Markham may possibly be quite a bit smoother than Exhibition Place, but I’m not sure that can be accurately shown by the video.
First time events normally experience growing pains. I remember the first year of the Music City Grand Prix, a grandstand that was nearly sold out was still not fully complete on Sunday morning. Patrons had to be moved elsewhere, some not so cheerfully. On Thursday afternoon, reports started to surface that the track was not ready. I saw on Twitter that large quarter-mile sections of track were without walls and/or fencing. By Thursday night it was sounding like the goal was to have the track ready for the 3:00 pm IndyCar practice, and re-schedule track time for the various support series. I’ve not seen any photos, but based on what many are saying on social media – I have to think there is a lot of truth to the reports. What a mess!
With the domination we have been seeing from Alex Palolu, it is exciting to see the series visit a venue that will be new to everyone. At Markham, Alex Palou has as much experience as Scott Dixon who has as much experience as Caio Collet. The playing field will be a little more level considering no teams or drivers have ever turned a wheel at this track. If you’ll recall, Palou did not win at the last first-time event the series went to at Arlington – although he did finish second. The winner was Kyle Kirkwood who actually made an excellent pass on Palou fairly late in the race.
The IndyCar portion of the weekend at Markham gets underway on Friday afternoon with Practice one at 3:00 pm EDT on FS2. Practice Two will take place at 10:00 am EDT on FS2, with Qualifying getting underway at 2:25 pm EDT on FS1. The Moring Warmup begins at 8:30 am EDT on Sunday, with race coverage beginning at Noon EDT on Big FOX. The actual green flag will be at 12:27 pm EDT.
Who will win? I’m going out on a limb to say that it won’t be Alex Palou. Some are claiming he is already on such a roll, that he may not lose another race this season. While that’s quite possible, I still have faith that the rest of the field still has some fight in them. It won’t be Kyle Kirkwood either, even though he won at Arlington. He and David Malukas are taking turns falling behind Palou further and further. Last week, it was Malukas having an off week. This week it will be Kirkwood’s turn to lay an egg while Malukas has a good week. Will Power has seen his fortunes at Andretti Global turn around in recent weeks. I think this is Power’s kind of course, so the former driver of the No. 12 Verizon car will pilot his No. 26 TWG Honda to victory lane for the very first time. We’ll see.
George Phillips
