Month: February 2026

Of the 10 full-time organizations in the INDYCAR Series, six have a different driver lineup for 2026. As the new meets the old, here’s a look at each organization’s 2026 lineup and outlook as an exciting new season embarks Sunday at St. Petersburg (Noon ET on FOX). Chip Ganassi Racing Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 10 Alex Palou (first), No. 9 Scott Dixon (third), No. 8 Kyffin Simpson (17th) 2025 wins: Palou 8 (St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber, Indianapolis road course, Indianapolis, Road America, Iowa-2, Laguna Seca); Dixon 1 (Mid-Ohio) Keys To Success: For Palou and his team, it’s trying to find improvements without impacting its dominance — knowing that other teams are working to improve as well. One of those is Dixon, who views his third-place finish in the standings in the scope of Palou’s domination, making it a not so great year for him. Simpson showed significant progress last year and must continue to build. Biggest Hurdle: Not allowing the competition to catch up to Palou. And continuing to use the Meyer Shank alliance to its benefit. Fast Fact: Alex Palou led 778 laps last year, nearly twice as many as the next driver on the laps led list (Josef Newgarden, 393). Arrow McLaren Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 5 Pato O’Ward (second), No. 7 Christian Lundgaard (fifth), No. 6 Nolan Siegel (22nd) 2025 wins: O’Ward 2 (Iowa-1, Toronto) Keys To Success: Continuing the steady improvement from last year won’t be easy because the gains likely will be more subtle and not as big. For Lundgaard, improvement on the ovals is key, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will drive for the team at the Indianapolis 500 could play a pivotal role. Siegel needs to show the improvement as Tony Kanaan has put him on the hot seat. Some new hires in the last year behind the scenes, including Lundgaard’s pairing with strategist Kyle Moyer (formerly of Penske) need to prove to be good moves. Biggest Hurdle: The team has a new shop and consistency in its lineup. Those should translate into more success. If it doesn’t, any quick changes need to be the right ones and not just change for change sake if things aren’t working out. Fast Fact: Last year was the first season where McLaren had two drivers finish in the top-five in the standings since it got back into INDYCAR racing in 2020. Andretti Global Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 27 Kyle Kirkwood (fourth), No. 28 Marcus Ericsson (20th)New driver: No. 26 Will Power (ninth at Ganassi) 2025 wins: Kirkwood 3 (Long Beach, Detroit, Gateway) Keys To Success: Being more consistent is going to be key for this group. Integrating Power into the program and using what he can bring and putting it into action could determine where they improve. New team principal Ron Ruzewski will need to create an atmosphere where the transition will be smooth. Ericsson, in a contract year, needs to get off to a strong start if he doesn’t want his future questioned. Biggest Hurdle: There are enough new faces that immediate success and major growth might not come as quickly as they hope, and that can frustrate many who are used to winning. Fast Fact: Andretti had three wins in 2025. It seeks its first season with more than three wins since 2018. Meyer Shank Racing Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 60 Felix Rosenqvist (sixth), No. 66 Marcus Armstrong (eighth) Keys To Success: Building on the first year of the Chip Ganassi Racing relationship, these drivers are among those looking from the jump of being in the top-10 consistently to more top-5 (they had just six top-fives among them last year) and threatening to win. That should come with experience. Biggest Hurdle: Both Rosenqvist and Armstrong have set the bar high and staying there can be tough. They need to have fewer bad days. Rosenqvist ended 2025 with three finishes of 19th or worse among the last five starts. Fast Fact: One of the reasons for their strong 2025 season? Rosenqvist ranked fourth in laps completed last year; Armstrong was sixth. Team Penske Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 2 Josef Newgarden (12th), No. 3 Scott McLaughlin (10th)New driver: No. 12 David Malukas (11th with AJ Foyt Racing) 2025 wins: Power 1 (Portland); Newgarden 1 (Nashville) Keys To Success: Finding the Penske mojo back. That might seem weird to say, but Penske needs to find its swagger. That comes with fast race cars. But it also comes with cohesiveness and a direction, something it didn’t have amid the administrative upheaval last year. Biggest Hurdle: Not letting any early setbacks send them into a spiral. Frustration could easily set in with this group. If Malukas doesn’t perform well right away, the noise will grow that Penske made a mistake replacing Power. Fast Fact: The last time Team Penske didn’t win more than two races in a season was in 2015. ECR Returning drivers (2025 finish): No. 21 Christian Rasmussen (13th), No. 20 Alexander Rossi (15th) 2025 wins: Rasmussen 1 (Milwaukee) Keys To Success: Continuing progress can be difficult, but this team has shown speed in early testing. The investment from new team co-owner Ted Gelov has shown that money does buy speed. But it also increases expectations. Managing both is critical. Capitalizing on the veteran (Rossi) and up-and-comer (Rasmussen) dynamic is key for team chemistry. Biggest Hurdle: Not letting the good days divert their focus. And not letting the bad days divert their focus. Fast Fact: Rasmussen’s victory at Milwaukee was the first for the organization since Rinus VeeKay won in 2021 on the Indianapolis road course. A.J. Foyt Racing Returning driver (2025 finish): No. 14 Santino Ferrucci (16th)New driver: No. 4 Caio Collet (Indy NXT, second) Keys To Success: Losing Malukas and adding Collet is a big difference when it comes to personality and experience. More consistency is needed, and that could be hard to come by with a rookie, albeit a talented one, in Collet. Biggest Hurdle: Doing the most without the depth of the other organizations and making sure the Penske alliance provides some benefits now that Malukas has moved to Penske. Fast Fact: Ferrucci’s four top-five finishes in 2025 was the most for the team since Eliseo Salazar had four in 2001. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Returning driver (2025 finish): No. 15 Graham Rahal (19th), No. 45 Louis Foster (22nd)New driver: No. 47 Mick Schumacher (Alpine WEC Hypercar) Keys To Success: There were some bright spots in 2025 but not enough of them. Adding Mick Schumacher (replacing Devlin DeFrancesco) brings more excitement … and exposure. The team brought in several new faces behind the scenes and their new processes or approaches will need to work. The good thing is this group of drivers likely has open minds when it comes to new paths. Biggest Hurdle: There are going to continue to be speed bumps for this organization. Keeping everything on the road is critical. Fast Fact: Graham Rahal was one of two drivers to be running at the finish in every race last season. Scott Dixon was the other. Juncos Hollinger Racing Returning driver (2025 finish): No. 77 Sting Ray Robb (25th)New Driver: No. 76 Rinus VeeKay (14th with Dale Coyne Racing) Keys To Success: VeeKay had a strong season last year and is looking to build as the replacement of Conor Daly. If he doesn’t have as strong a start, everyone will wonder if this change was the right one. Biggest Hurdle: This is still a team that is growing and in a bit of transition. That typically means all the days won’t be good. Fast Fact: JHR drivers led laps in four races last year. Dale Coyne Racing Returning drivers (2025 finish): NoneNew drivers: No. 18 Romain Grosjean (Prema reserve); No. 19 Dennis Hauger (Indy NXT champion) Keys To Success: Defining success for this organization would be finishing in the top half of the field more consistently. They have two quite hungry drivers with Grosjean not having a full-time ride last year and Hauger, an Andretti driver, looking to make noise as a rookie (and potentially make an argument he should be in an Andretti car next year). The new drivers replace VeeKay and Jacob Abel. Biggest Hurdle: The team didn’t sign Grosjean until a few weeks ago, a sign that they were still trying to determine the best driver-sponsorship-funding combination. Some patience will be required within the organization and neither of these drivers probably want to be all that patient. Fast Fact: VeeKay’s seven top-10s were the most for a Dale Coyne driver since Sebastien Bourdais in 2019. [WATCH: INDYCAR Drivers Star in Ads Ahead of 2026 Season] Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Duke’s win against Michigan has propelled the Blue Devils to a familiar perch: No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Blue Devils climbed two spots to top Monday’s poll, marking the 148th appearance at No. 1 to add to what was already the record for any program. Duke (25-2) claimed 56 of 61 first-place votes to supplant Michigan (25-2) after Saturday’s 68-63 win against the Wolverines in Washington. That win came in a matchup of the top two teams in the NCAA men’s selection committee’s preliminary top 16 seeds for March Madness, released hours before the game. The Blue Devils enter this week with a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins, along with nine wins against AP Top 25 teams. And now the latest such win has pushed the Blue Devils back to a No. 1 ranking for the second straight season under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer. Last year’s Final Four team sat atop the last two polls entering the NCAA Tournament, the first time Duke had reached No. 1 since Scheyer took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski in 2022. Arizona rose two spots to No. 2 after beating BYU and winning at Houston, and secured the other five first-place votes. Michigan fell to No. 3 as its first appearance at No. 1 since January 2013 turned into a one-week stay, followed by a pair of Big 12 teams in Iowa State and Houston. Besides the 25 ranked teams, 13 others received votes this week. Wisconsin led the way with 47, followed by Saint Mary’s (30), Villanova (15), Miami (10), Utah State (8), NC State (7), SMU (4), Texas A&M (3), Iowa (3), UCF (3), High Point (2), Stephen F. Austin (2) and Navy (1). Here is the full list of 25: 25. Vanderbilt, 21-6, SEC24. Louisville, 20-7, ACC23. Saint Louis, 25-2, A-1022. Tennessee, 20-7, SEC21. Miami (OH), 27-0, MAC20. Arkansas, 20-7, SEC19. BYU, 20-7, Big 1218. North Carolina, 21-6, ACC17. Alabama, 20-7, SEC16. Texas Tech, 20-7, Big 1215. St. John’s, 22-5, Big East14. Kansas, 20-7, Big 1213. Michigan State, 22-5, Big Ten12. Nebraska, 23-4, Big Ten11. Virginia, 24-3, ACC10. Illinois, 22-6, Big Ten9. Gonzaga, 27-2, WCC8. Purdue, 22-5, Big Ten7. Florida, 21-6, SEC6. UConn, 25-3, Big East5. Houston, 23-4, Big 124. Iowa State, 23-4, Big 123. Michigan, 25-2, Big Ten2. Arizona, 25-2, Big 121. Duke, 25-2, ACC The top tier UConn fell one spot to No. 6 after a week that included a home loss to Creighton, while reigning national champion Florida leapt five spots to No. 7 to return to the top 10 for the first time since late November. The Gators were ranked No. 3 in the preseason and spent a week among the unranked in early January. They have won seven straight and 12 of 13. Purdue, Gonzaga and Illinois rounded out the top 10. NCAA selection committee vs. AP Top 25 The selection committee had Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the No. 1 seeds in Saturday’s reveal of the preliminary top 16 seeds. The Cyclones edged UConn and Houston for the fourth 1-seed, with the Huskies’ loss to Creighton and then Iowa State’s head-to-head win against Houston to start last week swinging the vote to T.J. Otzelberger’s squad. Monday’s poll largely aligns with the committee’s reveal, starting with the same four teams at the top in a shuffled order — with Iowa State moving up two spots even after Saturday’s loss at now-No. 19 BYU. In addition, the AP Top 25 and committee align on 15 teams being ranked among those top 16 seeds. The outlier is St. John’s at No. 15 in the AP poll, taking a slot that went to Vanderbilt — with the Commodores seeded 15th overall by the committee Saturday but sliding to No. 25 in Monday’s poll. Rising Alabama had the week’s biggest jump, rising eight spots to No. 17 after a thrilling double-overtime home win against Arkansas and a win at LSU pushed the Crimson Tide’s win streak to six games. Florida had the week’s second-biggest gain, while BYU rose four spots after the Arizona loss and Iowa State win. In all, 11 teams moved up from last week’s ranking. Sliding No. 14 Kansas joined Vanderbilt with the week’s biggest slide of six spots. The Jayhawks are coming off a 16-point home loss to a Cincinnati team that was reeling in early February but has won four straight. The Commodores lost at Missouri and at home to Tennessee last week, falling to 5-6 since a 16-0 start that carried them to a No. 10 ranking as of mid-January. Saint Louis tumbled five spots to No. 23 after last week’s loss at Rhode Island ended an 18-game winning streak, while 11 teams fell from last week but remained in the poll. Status quo Illinois and No. 20 Arkansas were the only two teams to hold their position from last week. Coming and going Tennessee was the lone new addition at No. 22, with the Volunteers beating Oklahoma and Vanderbilt last week to push its winning streak to four games. This starts a third stint in the poll for Rick Barnes’ Volunteers, who fell out for two weeks in mid-January, returned for a week at No. 25 to start February, then were unranked again for the past two weeks. The Vols replaced Wisconsin, which fell out from No. 24 after last week’s loss at Ohio State. Conference watch The Big 12 led all conferences with six ranked teams, while the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each had five. The Atlantic Coast Conference was next with four, followed by the Big East with two. The West Coast Conference, Mid-American Conference and Atlantic 10 each had one ranked team. The Associated Press contributed to this report.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Keelan Harvick, the 13-year-old son of former Cup champion Kevin Harvick, has signed a driver development deal with Toyota Racing Development. TRD has the deepest roster of prospects and integrates vendors (gas companies, windshield companies, speaker companies, and more) to sponsor their development. Harvick will have ExxonMobil as a sponsor. “Keelan has proven himself on-track, and despite his young age, has continued to be wise beyond his years with his professionalism and work ethic off of it,” TRD President Tyler Gibbs said in a news release. “TRD is thrilled to partner with Keelan and his family as Keelan continues to develop his racing craft. We see a bright future ahead for him, and everyone at Toyota is proud to be part of his journey.” Keelan Harvick has risen quickly up the ladder in racing stock cars and has etched his name as the youngest winner of some of the biggest national late model events. He is ranked 12th in my most recent Cup prospect rankings. “They win a lot, and I want to be with an organization that wins,” Keelan Harvick said in a statement. When it comes to driver development, manufacturers take different approaches. Both Toyota and Chevrolet have staff that helps drivers with both physical and mental development. Toyota also works closely with Tricon Garage in the truck series as its place for developmental drivers to prove themselves for opportunities at the Cup and O’Reilly (formerly Xfinity) level. Kevin Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion and current NASCAR On FOX analyst, never drove for Toyota. “We’ve concentrated a lot on development and have a theory on how it should go, and I felt like the Toyota process matched what we would do,” Kevin Harvick said in a statement. “I think that the effort that Toyota puts into, not only the driving piece of it but the human piece of it, is very important to us as a family. “That was really was one of the biggest reasons on why we went this direction.” Keelan Harvick will have to wait a couple of years before being able to compete in NASCAR on a national level. To race in trucks, a driver must be at least 16 years old to compete on road courses and ovals 1.25 miles or less in length. That rule is 17 years old for the O’Reilly Series. The minimum age for Cup is 18, which also is the minimum age for any oval bigger than 1.25 miles.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Kyle Pitts was set to become one of the top tight ends available in free agency this offseason, but the Atlanta Falcons might prevent that from happening. The Falcons plan on placing the franchise tag on Pitts with the hopes that they’ll be able to agree to a longterm deal, NFL Media reported Monday. If Pitts receives the franchise tag, he’d be able to sign a one-year deal worth roughly $16 million, which would be fully guaranteed. The Falcons could also trade Pitts if they’re unable to reach an agreement on a longterm deal. Pitts, 25, had a resurgent season in 2025 following a few down years. He posted career-highs in receptions (88) and receiving touchdowns (five) to go with 928 receiving yards. With Pitts having a strong year, FOX Sports’ Greg Auman placed him 19th in his top 100 NFL free agents ranking for this offseason. Pitts was also the highest-ranked tight end on the list, sitting ahead of Isaiah Likely (Baltimore Ravens), David Njoku (Cleveland Browns), Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs) and Dallas Goedert (Philadelphia Eagles). Now, it appears Pitts will be remaining in Atlanta for at least another season. Pitts, who the Falcons took with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, will likely play a key role in Atlanta’s offense alongside wide receiver Drake Lodnon and running back Bijan Robinson while catching passes from third-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Even though Atlanta already has some pretty talented playmakers, Pitts could be in line for another big season with the Falcons if he’s with the team in 2026 as well. New head coach Kevin Stefanski has relied on tight ends for success over the years, with Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. having big roles in the Cleveland Browns’ offense when he was their head coach. Teams have until March 3 to place the franchise tag on pending free agents. Once a player receives the franchise tag, they typically have until sometime in mid-July to sign a multi-year deal.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports