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| First of the 2026 on-site open test press conference with Pato O'Ward and INDYCAR series Champion Alex Palou at Phoenix Raceway. Drivers share a laugh about events about the tire test held at Sebring a week earlier. Image Credit: NICS ZOOM Call Video (2026) |
Phoenix Raceway Pre-Unser Open Test Press Conference Unfolds With Palou And O'Ward
As the sun rose over Phoenix Raceway on a crisp February morning in 2026, and the paddock buzzed with the familiar hum of anticipation that only a season-opener test can generate. Here, in the desert air still carrying a hint of winter chill, two of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES' brightest stars - four-time reigning champion Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and the ever-competitive Pato O'Ward piloting the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet - stepped to the microphones.
The moderator set the scene plainly: Phoenix was back on the calendar, a
throwback oval welcoming most of the field to virgin territory, and the Unser
Open Test was the first real chance to shake out the cobwebs before the green
flags flew in earnest. Palou, fresh off a season of utter dominance with eight
victories in 2025, spoke with the quiet confidence of a man chasing history. A
four-peat would place him in rare company, only Sébastien Bourdais having
achieved the feat in the modern era. Yet for all the laurels, he admitted the
workload ahead felt endless - Sebring the week prior, Phoenix now, and no real
pause until May. The Chip Ganassi team had poured hours into preparations over
the winter, aiming to replicate or perhaps even eclipse the magic of the
previous year. This test, especially on an unfamiliar oval, represented
starting from scratch, but Palou welcomed the luxury of multi-day running
rarely afforded on ovals outside Indianapolis. Confidence in the car, the
ability to attack rather than merely survive the laps - that was the true
measure of success he sought.
O'Ward, entering his seventh full season and armed with nine career wins
including two last year, approached the 1-mile tri-oval with the curiosity of
a newcomer. Only a handful of veterans - Power, Newgarden, Rossi, Dixon - had
turned laps here in anger, and the last INDYCAR visit dated back to 2018. He
likened the layout to a blend of Gateway and Iowa, old-school and fast, and
hoped the test could coax a proper second lane into life for the race to come.
Sebring's times? Dismissed with a laugh; that was tire development and
experimentation, not outright speed. What mattered now was building comfort,
finding a setup that allowed aggressive running without the car dictating
terms. Ovals demand trust - if the machine isn't planted, the delta between
control and chaos widens dramatically.
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Pato O'Ward - The Unser INDYCAR Open Test at Phoenix Raceway -
Image Credit: Joe Skibinski via NICS (2026) |
Both drivers agreed the test's value lay not in headline lap times but in feel
and foundation. Palou emphasized subtle adjustments and the freedom to
experiment without the pressure of a race weekend's limited laps and identical
fuel loads. O'Ward echoed the sentiment: a solid base here could carry
forward, even if NASCAR rubber, weather shifts, or race-day dynamics later
scrambled the picture. Phoenix before the Indianapolis 500 offered another
oval outing early, but neither saw it as direct preparation for the Brickyard
- Indy, they noted, remains its own unpredictable beast, defying easy
translation from other tracks.
Conversation drifted to lighter matters: the new FOX commercials drawing praise (Palou singled out Will Power's spot as a standout), the grueling early-season stretch demanding no radical changes to conditioning regimens, and the visual spectacle INDYCARs might provide to crossover NASCAR fans during the shared weekend. Track limits drew a firm line - unlike NASCAR's apron exploits, INDYCAR would enforce boundaries strictly, and Palou, after a track walk, deemed the rough outer edges a recipe for disaster rather than daring passes.
Firestone's tweaked right-front tire, wider for better following and second-lane grip, came under discussion as a welcome evolution for short-oval racing. Palou referenced prior testing by veterans like Dixon and Rossi, crediting it as a step toward multi-groove action. The session underscored a mature approach from both stars: gone were the days of treating every test lap like qualifying. Now, plans guided the process - team strategy over raw bravado - though the inner drive to demonstrate speed never fully receded.
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The No. 10 Honda piloted by reining NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion
blisters by at around 170 miles per hour on the tight banked turns
of Phoenix Raceway. Image Credit: Matt Fravervia NICS (2026) |
Conversation drifted to lighter matters: the new FOX commercials drawing praise (Palou singled out Will Power's spot as a standout), the grueling early-season stretch demanding no radical changes to conditioning regimens, and the visual spectacle INDYCARs might provide to crossover NASCAR fans during the shared weekend. Track limits drew a firm line - unlike NASCAR's apron exploits, INDYCAR would enforce boundaries strictly, and Palou, after a track walk, deemed the rough outer edges a recipe for disaster rather than daring passes.
Firestone's tweaked right-front tire, wider for better following and second-lane grip, came under discussion as a welcome evolution for short-oval racing. Palou referenced prior testing by veterans like Dixon and Rossi, crediting it as a step toward multi-groove action. The session underscored a mature approach from both stars: gone were the days of treating every test lap like qualifying. Now, plans guided the process - team strategy over raw bravado - though the inner drive to demonstrate speed never fully receded.
As the press conference wrapped and the first day of the two-day Unser Open Test was engaged, the timing screens told their own story by dusk. David Malukas led a Team Penske 1-2, but Palou slotted solidly fifth overall with a best of 21.0088 seconds at 171.357 mph, clocked on his 48th of 55 laps - a clean, confident marker amid the Honda contingent's strong showing.
O'Ward, meanwhile, ended the day 16th of 25 drivers at 21.2509 seconds and 169.405 mph on his 19th of a busier 98 laps, a cautious tally that spoke to methodical exploration rather than early fireworks. The sense lingered that Phoenix 2026 would test more than setups. For Palou, it was another chapter in a quest for immortality; for O'Ward, a fresh proving ground to harness his talent on ovals that define the series' soul. The cars would roll out again tomorrow, and in the desert heat, the real answers would emerge ... not in words, but in the howl of engines and the lines carved into the blacktop.
... notes from The EDJE
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