IndyCar resumes its 2026 schedule in Nashville, as all drivers get ready for the first practice session of the weekend! Who will set the fastest time, race winner in Mid-Ohio Pato O’Ward, championship leader Alex Palou, or winner last time out here Josef Newgarden?
A nine-place grid penalty has been handed to Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Team Penske’s David Malukas for taking an additional engine.
Practice 1 is green in Nashville for IndyCar
Alex Palou is the first driver out on the short oval, followed shortly after by Schumacher, Rossi and Foster.
Marcus Ericsson almost came into contact with the wall between Turn 3 and Turn 4 after hitting a big bump. The Indy 500 winner was able to steer away from damage at the last minute.
Ten minutes into the session, the top five featured Palou with a fastest speed of 194.710, VeeKay, Collet, Simpson and Ericsson.
Kirkwood moves up to the top spot in 197.07. McLaughlin too has an issue with the Turn 3 bump, running up wide but managing to avoid the wall. It’ll definitely be a spot to watch for the later, faster paced sessions!
The first yellow flag of the day is caused twenty minutes into the session by the unfortunate David Malukas. He crashed at the same spot where he had crashed last year too, between Turn 1 and 2. The young talent lost the rear of his challenger, heavily impacting the wall and severely damaging his car no.12, which even lost the rear wheel.
Kirkwood, Malukas, McLaughlin, Palou, Newgarden, Ferrucci, VeeKay, Rosenqvist, Collet, Dixon, composed the top ten at the break in the session. The pause was needed to safely remove the car from the track and to restore the barriers.
Time for green flag racing again!
Session resumed with around 20 minutes left on the clock. All drivers immediately came on track to complete Qualifying simulations, trying to get acclimatated ahead of the upcoming session later today.
Ferrucci finds his way to the top 3, with Collet in the top 5. O’Ward appears to be more focused on race simulations, not opting for the soft tyres and remaining in P17.
IndyCar medical personnel confirmed the fact that Malukas is awake and alert following his strong impact with the wall.
Palou moves up to P6 on softs, then climbs up to P2 with a positive 196.966. Reigning Indy 500 winner Rosenqvist looks impressive in the top 5 as well. Siegel’s consistent session, with lenghty runs, gest rewarded with a top ten finish.
Kirkwood ends the session strongly in the lead. In fact, his early session best speed remaining the benchmark for the entire reminder of the session. The P2 driver in the IndyCar championship standings is followed by championship leader Palou, ahead of the unfortunate Malukas.
