IndyCar Series drivers won’t get out and run before the end of the year, but there are a few tests on the calendar for 2026 worth noting.
Owing to the restrictive rules for private testing, teams will spend the last month of the year in their shops preparing for a return to on-track action that focuses heavily on February, when a pair of major outings will take place.The first scheduled test is actually set for early January with a Firestone tire test at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway oval, where IndyCar will make its return after its last visit in 2018. The Jan. 7 single-day tire test does not have a team or teams nominated, but the first return-to-Phoenix tire test held in November featured two cars, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon from the Honda camp and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi representing Chevrolet. A similarly small group of cars would be expected in January.
Teams have plenty of time to declare if and where they want to use private days before the February 27-March 1 season-opener at St. Petersburg, but two key dates are already locked in for the paddock as a whole with the Feb. 9-10 test on Sebring International Raceway’s short course, which has been used for decades as a preparatory site for street course setups.
At present, 20 cars are committed to the teams test – one organized independently from official series’ tests – with AJ Foyt Racing (2), Andretti Global (3), Arrow McLaren (3), Chip Ganassi Racing (3), Dale Coyne Racing (2), Meyer Shank Racing (2), Team Penske (3), and PREMA Racing (2). More are expected to join.
The next test is the last collective outing for the series before St. Petersburg on Feb. 18-19 with a two-day spring training trip to Phoenix, where 18 cars are on the latest list. All of the teams from Sebring, minus Coyne, but with PREMA once again, are currently booked.
