Sonsio Grand Prix Fast Facts

By: NTT INDYCAR SERIES (Photo Courtesy INDYCAR)
Race weekend: Friday, May 8-Saturday, May 9
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise)
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 85 laps / 207.3 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 35 laps / 85.365 miles or 55 minutes (Race 1 – Friday); 30 laps / 73.17 miles or 50 minutes (Race 2 – Saturday)
Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum single duration of 20 seconds. Push to Pass will be available and allowed for use at all times once the car passes the alternate start-finish line following the start and once the green flag has been displayed. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 65 seconds of total time. Push to Pass will be available and allowed for use at all times once the car passes the alternate start-finish line following the start and once the green flag has been displayed.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 425 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary (hard) and five sets alternate (soft) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires in the first practice session. Teams must use one set of primary and one new (sticker) set of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend, with one new set used for qualifying and another new set used during one of the two races. Qualifying tires must be used during one of the two races. Two carryover sets from the Barber Motorsports Park event may be used during pre-qualifying practice.
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Event website: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/
NTT INDYCAR SERIES website: www.indycar.com | INDY NXT by Firestone website: www.indynxt.com
2025 race winners:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
INDY NXT by Firestone
Race 1: Lochie Hughes (No. 26 Andretti Global)
Race 2: Dennis Hauger (No. 28 Andretti Global)
2025 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES):
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda), 1 minute, 9.3417 seconds, 126.625 mph
2025 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:
Race 1: Lochie Hughes (No. 26 Andretti Global) 1:14.7849, 117.410 mph
Race 2: Lochie Hughes (No. 26 Andretti Global) 1:14.8433, 117.317 mph
Qualifying records:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Will Power, 1:07.7044, 129.687 mph, May 12, 2017 (Set in Round 3 of knockout qualifying)
INDY NXT by Firestone
Ed Jones 1:14.6743, 117.583 mph, May 13, 2016
FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 9 a.m. ET, Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 1 p.m. ET Friday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 5:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Warmup, 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. | INDY NXT By Firestone: Practice 1, 8 a.m. ET, Friday, FS2 (live); Qualifying, Noon ET Friday, FOX One App (live); Race 1, 4 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Race 2, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.
INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wolff, Rob Blackman and Rich Nye are the pit reporters. The Sonsio Grand Prix race (4 p.m. ET Saturday), the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix doubleheader (3:55 p.m. ET Friday and 2:55 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):
FRIDAY, MAY 8
8-8:45 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone practice, FS2 (Live)
9:05-10:25 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 (split group format), FS2 (Live)
Noon-12:30 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, (two groups/12 minutes each), FOX One (Live)
1:05-2:25 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (split group format), FS1 (Live)
4:01 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 “Drivers, start your engines”
4:06 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 (35 laps/55 minutes), FS2 (Live)
5:35 p.m. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockout qualifications), FS2 (Live)
SATURDAY, MAY 9
11:40 a.m.-12:10 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS1 (Live)
2:31 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 2 “Drivers, start your engines”
2:36 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 2 (30 laps/50 minutes), FS1 (Live)
4:30 p.m. FOX on air
4:40 p.m. Sonsio Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”
4:47 p.m. Sonsio Grand Prix (85 laps/207.3 miles), FOX (Live)
“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT IMS:
- Palou chasing more history: Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing has won three of 2026’s first five races and leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points standings by 17 points. He’ll look to add to his historic INDYCAR SERIES run this weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Palou has won the past three Sonsio Grands Prix and could become the fifth driver since 1946 to win four consecutive INDYCAR SERIES events at the same track.
| RACE WINNER | TRACK | SEASONS |
| Al Rogers | Pikes Peak (Hill Climb) | 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 |
| A.J. Foyt | DuQuoin | 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964** – No race held in 1962 |
| Bobby Rahal | Laguna Seca | 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 |
| Al Unser Jr. | Long Beach | 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 |
* Note: A.J. Foyt (Five straight wins at Trenton 1963-64), Mario Andretti (Mont Tremblant, 1967-68) and Rick Mears (Atlanta, 1979, 1981-82) won four consecutive races at the same track.
- Penske’s Power Play: It’s fitting that Roger Penske owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway, because IMS has long been a Team Penske playground. Team Penske’s Indy dominance, which includes 20 wins in the Indianapolis 500, also carries over to races on the 2.439-mile road course. Will Power scored five of Team Penske’s eight wins on the road course, with the other wins coming from Simon Pagenaud (2016, 2019) and Josef Newgarden (2020). Can a Team Penske driver start the Month of May off strong for “The Captain”?
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
- The Sonsio Grand Prix will be the 18th INDYCAR SERIES event conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Active race winners expected to compete are Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, Rinus VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power.
| ACTIVE RACE WINNER | WINS | SEASONS |
| Will Power | 5 | 2015, 2017, 2018 (Sonsio Grand Prix); 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-2); 2021 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Alex Palou | 3 | 2023 (Sonsio Grand Prix), 2024, 2025 |
| Scott Dixon | 2 | 2020 (Sonsio Grand Prix); 2023 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Josef Newgarden | 1 | 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-1) |
| Alexander Rossi | 1 | 2022 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Rinus VeeKay | 1 | 2021 (Sonsio Grand Prix) |
- Seven NTT P1 Award winners have won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course from the pole: Alex Palou won the last two Sonsio Grands Prix from the pole. Will Power won the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Sonsio Grands Prix and the second Harvest GP race in 2020 from the pole. Simon Pagenaud also won the Sonsio Grand Prix from the pole in 2016.
| ACTIVE POLE WINNER | POLES | SEASONS |
| Will Power | 5 | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 (Sonsio Grand Prix and Harvest Grand Prix-2) |
| Alex Palou | 2 | 2024, 2025 |
| Felix Rosenqvist | 2 | 2019, 2022 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Graham Rahal | 1 | 2023 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Christian Lundgaard | 1 | 2023 (Sonsio Grand Prix) |
| Pato O’Ward | 1 | 2021 (Gallagher Grand Prix) |
| Rinus VeeKay | 1 | 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-1) |
- Four drivers have competed in every INDYCAR SERIES race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Graham Rahal. All are entered this weekend.
- Team Penske has eight wins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-Race 2, 2020-Race 3, 2021-Race 2). Chip Ganassi has five wins – with Scott Dixon in 2020-Race 1 and 2023-Race 2 and Alex Palou in 2023-Race 1, 2024 and 2025. Andretti Global and ECR are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Global won the Sonsio Grand Prix with Colton Herta in May 2022 and Gallagher Grand Prix with Alexander Rossi in August 2022, while ECR won in 2021-Race 1 with Rinus VeeKay.
- Three NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders – Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher – are entered and will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car on the IMS road course for the first time. Hauger won one of the two INDY NXT by Firestone races at the track in 2025.
- Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 362nd consecutive start, the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
- INDY NXT by Firestone will conduct a doubleheader weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend with a 35-lap race on Friday and a 30-lap race on Saturday. Teenagers have dominated the first quarter of the season with 17-year-old Nikita Johnson leading the points on the strength of two wins. Two other youngsters – 18-year-old Max Taylor and 19-year-old Alessandro de Tullio have also won this season.
- A record 24-car field for the INDY NXT Grand Prix of Indianapolis doubleheader is expected at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There were 21 cars in 2024 and 2025. Two drivers who have won INDY NXT by Firestone races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are expected to compete. Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes won one of the doubleheader races in 2025 and Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR’s Matteo Nannini won a race at IMS in 2023.
- A busy day of activity will greet drivers this weekend as practice and group qualifying precede Race 1. Like all road and street circuits, the Indianapolis doubleheader grid will be decided by two 10-minute groups, but with a twist. Based on the best lap times from the practice session, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 10 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded Race 1 pole position. The drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, will occupy the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group will occupy the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). The second-best laps set by each driver in their group will apply to Race 2. One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group.
