Note: This new series gathers the Inside Line panel to discuss the major storyline surrounding each NTT INDYCAR SERIES team entering the 2026 season. An installment on each team will appear at INDYCAR.com on Fridays.

Kyffin Simpson

Curt Cavin: The spotlight in 2026 will be on Alex Palou and his bid to win a fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, but I’ll have one eye on the continued growth of Kyffin Simpson (photo, above). Start with the fact Kyffin is now only a month past his 22nd birthday, and he now has two full seasons in this series under his belt. I contend that the only driver to make more year-over-year progress was Christian Rasmussen, and that wasn’t a surprise given how dominant he’d been in the junior categories. Simpson had no such pedigree and was largely thought to be on Chip Ganassi’s team only because of the funding he brought. As a rookie in 2024, Simpson had only one race start better than 17th and only one race finish better than 12th. But did you see what he did this season? Eight starts better than 17th and six finishes better than 12th. All six of those finishes were in the top 10, and they included a street race (third in Toronto, fifth in Detroit, 10th in Long Beach), a road course (sixth at Road America, 10th at Mid-Ohio) and an oval (fourth at Nashville). I’m not sure what his ceiling is, but I expect him to lead laps and fight for more podium finishes in 2026. And I’ll say this: I won’t be surprised if at least once during the season we notice that late in the race he has a legitimate chance to win.

Alex Palou

Eric Smith: There are plenty of storylines to watch surrounding Chip Ganassi Racing in 2026. The biggest one, in my opinion, is whether the team can maintain its Victory Lane dominance (photo, above) across all three drivers. Ganassi has captured championships in a variety of ways in recent years -- from complete season dominance, like in 2023 and 2025 when the team won nine of 17 races each year, to more modest but steady campaigns such as 2018 (three wins) and 2024 (four wins). There hasn’t been a clear “sweet spot.” So, will 2026 bring another run of big numbers, or will the every-other-year pattern continue? Ganassi won four races in 2022 and nine in 2023, followed by four in 2024 and nine in 2025… so, four again in 2026?

Paul Kelly: It’s pretty simple for me: Does Scott Dixon (photo, top) have a seventh INDYCAR SERIES championship left in him at age 45 – he turns 46 next July -- in the twilight of his career? Dixon was topped by a teammate in the final standings just three times in 18 seasons between 2003-20, during Dario Franchitti’s three-year reign from 2009-11. But Alex Palou has been the leading Ganassi driver in the standings four of the last five seasons, winning championships in all. Dixon still may be the de facto leader of CGR after 22 seasons with the team due to 59 career victories and six championships – second all time in both categories. But Palou has been the fastest and most successful driver on the team this decade, without question. If Dixon is to tie A.J. Foyt with a seventh title, there’s a good chance his main rival will be in an adjoining garage stall, a guy that seemingly no one in the series can catch right now. It’s not an impossible task – Al Unser became the oldest season champion with his third and final title in 1985 at age 46. But it won’t be easy, and Dixon and the rest of the field know it.