INDYCAR returned to Phoenix Raceway for the final preseason test ahead of the 2026 season.
Twenty-five car-and-driver combinations participated in the two-day Open Test, and Alexander Rossi came out on top.
Former NASCAR Cup Series and Daytona 500 champion (and NASCAR on FOX analyst) Kevin Harvick and FOX INDYCAR play-by-play voice Will Buxton reflected on Rossi’s win and shared what else to look forward to this season on the first episode of “SPEED With Harvick And Buxton.”
“I think, personally, ECR [Ed Carpenter Racing] are wanting actually, actually good for the season,” Buxton stated within the first episode.
[MOTORSPORTS: ‘SPEED With Harvick And Buxton’ Debuts February 23]
Rossi (No. 20 Java Home Chevrolet) is a part of the beginning lineup for racing crew ECR, alongside Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet). The Indy-based crew scored its ninth profession victory and its first since 2021 final 12 months when Rasmussen charged via the sphere late within the race on the 2025 Milwaukee Mile 250. The spotlight of Rossi’s season was a string of three top-10 finishes to finish the 12 months.
Expectations are on the rise after the crew received its first race in additional than 5 years. Rasmussen and Rossi completed thirteenth and fifteenth in final 12 months’s season standings, respectively.
The 2026 INDYCAR season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 1 (midday ET on FOX and the FOX Sports activities app), adopted by the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday, March 7 at Phoenix.
Considered one of this season’s most extremely anticipated races — if not the most anticipated — is the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23. It is considered one of three new tracks on the INDYCAR calendar.
[MOTORSPORTS: Freedom 250: INDYCAR Set to Race on Streets of Nation’s Capital]
“If you take a look at D.C., that needs to be one of many premier spots that you would probably put collectively,” Harvick stated. “I do know we will St. Pete first, however … any time you’ll be able to have the President of america backing your race and the issues that you just do, that is an enormous deal it doesn’t matter what facet of the political aisle you sit on.”
“Frankly, I can not anticipate that,” Buxton added.
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