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INDYCAR’s IR-28 completes key Indianapolis oval development test

Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou helped validate INDYCAR’s next car on the Indianapolis oval ahead of its planned 2028 debut.

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Alex Palou waves to spectators from a pickup truck during the 2025 Indy 500 Festival Parade.
Archive photo: Alex Palou at the 2025 Indy 500 Festival Parade; not the IR-28 test. Photo: Mobilus In Mobili / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized.

INDYCAR and Dallara have completed an important development step for the IR-28, using September 9–10 testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to evaluate the new car’s superspeedway configuration.

Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou shared the program after previously testing the car on the IMS road course. The IR-28 is scheduled to enter competition in 2028.

According to INDYCAR’s September 15 technical report, the oval sessions focused on aerodynamic balance, ride-height changes and comparisons between track measurements and wind-tunnel predictions. Different weather conditions across the two days provided another way to assess the car’s responses.

A central design objective is reduced sensitivity to ride height. INDYCAR officials say that could make the car more consistent as conditions change and improve its racing behavior.

The test was a validation exercise, so its results should not be read as a record-speed attempt. The immediate outcome was development data to guide the next stages of the chassis and powertrain program.

Source: INDYCAR’s IR-28 test follow-up, September 15, 2026.