Three NTT IndyCar Series races have been contested so far in the 2026 season, and unlike a year ago, when Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou led the championship standings after all 17 races on the schedule, the series has already seen three different points leaders.
Palou opened up the season with a commanding victory on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, but a crash early in the race at Phoenix Raceway opened up the door for Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who took the points lead for the first time since 2022 with a victory.
But Newgarden finished 15th in the inaugural race on the streets of Arlington, Texas on Sunday afternoon, and it was Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who had been second in the standings with finishes of fourth and second to start the year, who stood atop the podium and ascended to the top of the championship.
IndyCar gets first new points leader since 2024
When Newgarden took the points lead, it ended Palou's 89-week streak (28 races) atop the standings. Palou took the lead on Sunday, June 23, 2024 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and did not relinquish it the rest of the year, and he led the championship from wire-to-wire in 2025 after opening the season with a victory. It was the longest such streak in IndyCar history.
While Newgarden's stint atop the standings lasted only eight days, as the two-time series champion fell to fourth place and is now 33 points behind Kirkwood for the top spot, Kirkwood's move to the top marked the first time in 98 weeks (34 races) that a driver has found himself atop the championship for the first time in his career.
Kirkwood crucially scored two extra points for leading the most laps in Sunday's 70-lap Java House Grand Prix of Arlington around the 14-turn, 2.73-mile (4.394-kilometer) temporary street circuit, which winds around both AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, the home of MLB's Texas Rangers.
Kirkwood, teammate Will Power, and Palou all led 16 laps, with fellow Andretti Global driver and polesitter Marcus Ericsson leading 15. Kirkwood was awarded the tiebreaker due to his victory.
Who was IndyCar's previous most recent first-time points leader?
On Sunday, April 28, 2024, it was Andretti Global's Colton Herta who moved from second place to first in the standings for the first time in his career, doing so with his eighth place finish at Barber Motorsports Park.
It was ironically his worst finish of the season up to that point, as he benefited from the fact that then-points leader Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing only finished that race in 15th. Herta started the 2024 season with a third place finish on the streets of St. Petersburg and a second place finish on the streets of Long Beach, California.
Those early-season standings were drastically affected by the penalties issued to Team Penske after they were found to have cheated in the season opener with their illegal use of the push-to-pass button; Herta was initially scored fifth in St. Petersburg and would not have been the points leader at any point in 2024, had those penalties not been levied.
Herta finished the 2024 season second in the standings, 31 points behind Palou. During Palou's four championship-winning seasons, no driver has ever been closer to the Spaniard in the season-ending points than Herta was two years ago.
Here's a look at the 2026 IndyCar standings after the 18-race season's first three races.
IndyCar championship standings
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyle Kirkwood, No. 27 Andretti Global Honda | 126 | 0 |
2 | Alex Palou, No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda | 100 | -26 |
3 | Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet | 93 | -33 |
4 | Pato O'Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet | 93 | -33 |
5 | Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet | 85 | -41 |
6 | David Malukas, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet | 84 | -42 |
7 | Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet | 80 | -46 |
8 | Marcus Ericsson, No. 28 Andretti Global Honda | 77 | -49 |
9 | Marcus Armstrong, No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda | 70 | -56 |
10 | Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet | 64 | -62 |
11 | Will Power, No. 26 Andretti Global Honda | 59 | -67 |
12 | Scott Dixon, No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda | 59 | -67 |
13 | Dennis Hauger, No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda | 50 | -76 |
14 | Felix Rosenqvist, No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda | 47 | -79 |
15 | Graham Rahal, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda | 46 | -80 |
16 | Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet | 46 | -80 |
17 | Kyffin Simpson, No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda | 46 | -80 |
18 | Caio Collet, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet | 42 | -84 |
19 | Louis Foster, No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda | 41 | -85 |
20 | Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet | 38 | -88 |
21 | Romain Grosjean, No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda | 36 | -90 |
22 | Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet | 33 | -93 |
23 | Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet | 27 | -99 |
24 | Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet | 26 | -100 |
25 | Mick Schumacher, No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda | 25 | -101 |
The NTT IndyCar Series is set to have off next weekend, and action is scheduled to resume on Sunday, March 29 with the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. Fox is set to provide live coverage starting at 1:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!