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| Conor Daly & Jessie Punch interview Cail Collet, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet - Image Credit: NICS Video (2026) |
Rookies Find Their Feet At Phoenix: Day One Unser Open Test Wrap
Day one of testing at Phoenix Raceway wrapped with the full 2026 IndyCar grid
laid bare, rookies included, under the Arizona sun that shifts and plays
tricks just like the wind does on these short ovals.
Conor Daly, riding shotgun in the broadcast booth with Jessie Punch, framed
it plainly: a classic rookie day. Laps piled high, experience chased hard,
no one rewriting the record books ... and that's exactly the point. This
Unser Open Test isn't about fireworks; it's about stacking knowledge brick
by brick before the real battles ignite.
The three newcomers - Mick Schumacher, Dennis Hauger, Cail Collet - each
carved their own path through the session.
Dennis Hauger, fresh off a dominant Indy NXT campaign, looked every bit the
expected pace-setter among the rookies, marveling at the grip monster these
high-downforce cars become on sticker tires. "Oh, there's some grip here,"
he said, the kind of understated awe that comes when a driver realizes the
machine can take more than intuition first allows. He kept building, noted a
few gremlins to sort, and eyed tomorrow for more baseline work in a field so
tight that 17th was only a tenth or so off top-eight territory.
Cail Collet, settling into the AJ Foyt fold alongside the oval-savvy Santino
Ferrucci, admitted to the inevitable greenhorn moment: a push too far on
fresh rubber, misjudging the extra bite, clipping the apron in turn three or
four and spinning into the wall. Lesson delivered the hard way, but he took
it in stride - praising Ferrucci's openness with tips (even if ignoring the
one about tire pressures and sun glare in turns three-four cost him dearly).
Focus tomorrow: traffic runs, dirty air, placing the car right behind
others. The steps from quali trim to race long-runs loom large, and he's
hungry to log the data, watch the videos, shadow the veterans.
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Mick Schumacher, ever analytical and quick to push back on the "rookie" label - he's raced too long, claimed too many starts elsewhere to wear it comfortably - treated the day as championship business from the jump. He stacked laps, more than most, dialing in the peculiarities of Phoenix: the flat-ish banking that tilts the car outward unexpectedly, the hooked feel in turn three, the wind gusts that shove or suck the aero balance corner to corner. The biggest adjustment? Learning to relax in the seat with a pad for consistency over long stints ... counter to years of tensing up to feel the car precisely. Firestone tires feel worlds apart from Pirelli or Michelin; mastering their window is the immediate homework. Teammate Graham Rahal's counsel rang true: every oval tells its own story, and Phoenix whispered its secrets in differences from Homestead or Sebring.
Beyond the new blood, the timesheet told familiar tales with fresh twists.
Team Penske's machines hummed fast as anticipated, but Josef Newgarden,
short-oval royalty, found himself shaded by new teammate David Malukas at
day's end, while old wingman Will Power lurked close in the Andretti entry.
McLaren's squad stayed quiet, potential still holstered; Graham Rahal Hall's
push to 11th hinted at progress on a program that has historically wrestled
these bullrings.
The field? Razor-close. Top 20 within half a second. Margins microscopic.
Rust shaken off, new Firestones waiting for day two.
... notes from
The EDJE
TAGS: #IndyCar, #PhoenixRaceway, #UnserOpenTest, #RookieDay, #DennisHauger,
#Kyle, #MickSchumacher, #TeamPenske, #ShortOvalGrip, #IndyCarTesting,
@IndyCarOnFOX
