The NTT INDYCAR SERIES staged a two-day Open Test on Feb. 17-18 at Phoenix Raceway, site of the season’s second race, the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday, March 7. Twenty-five car-and-driver combinations participated.

The lap times from the Unser INDYCAR Open Test do not guarantee success in next month’s event, but they do offer insight to the teams expected to contend for the first victory since 2018 at the historic 1-mile oval in the Arizona desert.

For example:

Team Penske appears to be back on its short oval game after Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and newcomer David Malukas posted some of the best speeds.

ECR backed up last year’s impressive performance at the Milwaukee Mile, a race won by Christian Rasmussen with Alexander Rossi finishing fourth, by having its two drivers turning laps among the four fastest.

Reigning series champion Alex Palou, who won two oval races last season, is off to a fast start, delivering the third-fastest lap.

Rossi Fastest; Rasmussen Strong

Rossi’s signature INDYCAR SERIES victory was scored in the 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and he added another oval victory in 2018 at Pocono Raceway. The Californian has been in the hunt for many other oval wins, including last year at Milwaukee and in the season-ending race at Nashville Superspeedway (he finished 10th).

Rossi (photo, top, left) is optimistic about his chances this season after posting the fastest lap of the Phoenix test (174.542 mph). It helped that Rasmussen (photo, top, right) was fourth at 173.924 mph.

The two ECR drivers each turned 195 laps over the two days.

ECR’s oval strength last season was most evident in Rasmussen’s results. He finished sixth at Indy, was third at World Wide Technology Raceway, grabbed the sixth- and eighth-place finishing positions in the Iowa Speedway doubleheader and won at Milwaukee.

Rossi has eight career series victories; Rasmussen one. As a team, ECR has nine. If this week is an indication, all those totals could increase in 2026.

David Malukas

Team Penske Back in the Fight

Last year, Roger Penske’s organization had its worst season since 1999, with only Will Power (Portland International Raceway) and Newgarden (Nashville) winning races. But Team Penske has been exceptionally strong on short ovals for several seasons, and this could be the part of the schedule where it clearly gets its mojo back.

Newgarden was second on Phoenix’s time chart with Malukas (photo, above) fifth and McLaughlin 12th. On Day 1, Newgarden and Malukas were first and second, respectively, with McLaughlin eighth.

Eighteen of Newgarden’s 32 career series wins have come on oval tracks, one of which was the 2018 race at Phoenix. Interestingly, his past nine series wins have come on ovals, including two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There are five ovals on this year’s schedule – there’s a doubleheader at Milwaukee – and Newgarden has won series races at four of them (he has not won at Milwaukee).

McLaughlin has two oval wins among his seven career series wins. In 2024, he won at Iowa and Milwaukee. Malukas is still in search of his first series victory, but short ovals have been his strong suit.

Don’t be surprised if the finish of the 2022 race at World Wide Technology is replicated this season. That day, Newgarden held off Malukas and McLaughlin for the victory. Since 1979, Team Penske has finished 1-2-3 in nine races, including in 2024 at Road America (Power, Newgarden and McLaughlin).

Alex Palou

Palou Still the One to Beat

Until proven otherwise, all eyes must be on Chip Ganassi Racing’s champion.

Palou (photo, above) won eight of the 17 races last season, including two of the six held on ovals. This will be his first race at Phoenix, but history suggests he will be in the mix for another win.

Palou enters the season with 19 career wins, a figure that’s tied for 24th in history with three drivers, including Sam Hornish Jr.

Another note about Palou’s strength on short ovals last year: There were four races, and he won the pole for two of them (Iowa-2, Milwaukee).

The 18-race season opens Sunday, March 1 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (noon ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), a street circuit event that Palou won last year.