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 looking really, really good for the season,” Buxton said in the first episode.
[MOTORSPORTS: ‘SPEED With Harvick And Buxton’ Debuts February 23]
Rossi (No. 20 Java House Chevrolet) is part of the starting lineup for racing team ECR, alongside Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet). The Indy-based team scored its ninth career victory and its first since 2021 last year when Rasmussen charged through the field late in the race at the 2025 Milwaukee Mile 250. The highlight of Rossi’s season was a string of three top-10 finishes to end the year.
Expectations are on the rise after the team won its first race in more than five years. Rasmussen and Rossi finished 13th and 15th in last year’s season standings, respectively.
The 2026 INDYCAR season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 1 (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), followed by the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday, March 7 at Phoenix.
One of this season’s most highly anticipated races — if not the most anticipated — is the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23. It’s one of three new tracks on the INDYCAR calendar.
[MOTORSPORTS: Freedom 250: INDYCAR Set to Race on Streets of Nation’s Capital]
“When you look at D.C., that has to be one of the premier spots that you could possibly put together,” Harvick said. “I know we’re going to St. Pete first, but … any time you can have the President of the United States backing your race and the things that you do, that’s a big deal no matter what side of the political aisle you sit on.”
“Frankly, I cannot wait for that,” Buxton added.
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