NTT INDYCAR SERIES IR-28 Chassis Testing – IndyCar Photo
SEBRING, Fla. (Monday, Oct. 12, 2026) – The initial tests of the new
NTT INDYCAR SERIES IR-28 chassis took place in August and September on
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and oval, two circuits known
for their billiard-table smooth asphalt.
Now, for the rough stuff.
Five-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou of
Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing turned 43 laps Monday on the outer
loop at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, the first
test for the car outside of IMS. 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander
Rossi of Chevrolet-powered ECR will take over testing duties Tuesday at
the historic Florida circuit.
Sebring is a popular testing site for NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams due to
its bumpy nature and mix of asphalt and concrete surfaces, which
simulate well the temporary street circuits that formed a third of the
series schedule in 2026. It’s a punishing, unforgiving track that
stresses the durability and strength of components perhaps better than
any other testing ground for the series.
“We’re trying to test it as tough as we can,” Palou said.
“It’s a bumpy course. Before we produce all the new cars, we want to
make sure it passes this stress test and that it’s good to go for
racing.
“We’re trying to get miles and miles, see what breaks so we can fix
it.”
Palou and Rossi are the only series drivers so far to test the car,
which will be introduced at the start of the 2028 season. As in the road
course and oval tests at IMS, the two drivers and Dallara and INDYCAR
officials will continue to perform a long checklist of basic system and
performance checks on the car.
But Palou noticed Monday his feedback on driver comfort and car braking
from the initial tests at IMS was adopted and made significant
improvements, especially in driver cooling. The revolutionary aeroscreen
was added to the current car in 2020, with ducts fit into the existing
carbon fiber body to aid cooling. The new car has more ducts that are
more strategically placed from initial design instead of an add-on like
the ducting on the current car.
“Yeah, it’s been so much better, the cooling, since we started a
couple months ago,” Palou said. “Huge step, and that’s something
we’ve been asking for a long time on our current car.
“We have a very big one (duct) right in front of us (on the IR-28)
that makes the air go from down to up and makes the airflow so much
better. It’s been huge.”
Palou completed a historic moment for the IR-28 during testing today
when he passed a current car driven by Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global,
who was testing Firestone Firehawk tires at the circuit along with Scott
McLaughlin of Team Penske. It was the first on-track pass for the new
car.
“It wasn’t planned,” Palou said. “We went out, and I saw
Kirkwood was doing the tire test. We spoke during lunch that at some
point this afternoon we would go together. We wanted to see how this car
does in traffic. It was cool. We were playing a little bit.”
Another advantage to Sebring being a regular test spot for NTT INDYCAR
SERIES teams is there’s a plethora of data with the current car that
can be compared with the IR-28. All systems continue to be go with the
new car.
“I’m very excited,” Palou said. “I like the looks of it. It
seems safer. It looks like it’s going to be much better racing because
we’re going to be able to follow much closer on road, street and
ovals.
“I’m just excited to go racing. I wish it was already ’27. Having
said that, it gives us so much time to work on the car, to make sure
it’s good. If there’s something that doesn’t really work on ovals
or whatever, we can go test it before we actually race it.”