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Ontario Honda Dealers INDY at Markham
Markham, ON - August 16, 2026

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 PPG CHEVROLET

START: 20TH 
FINISH: 13TH 
POINTS: 6TH (-190)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team finished 13th in Sunday's Ontario Dealers INDY at Markham after battling handling issues throughout most of the 90-lap NTT INDYCAR SERIES event. Due to several grid penalties before the start of the race, Newgarden moved up to the 20th starting position after slotting in with the 25th fastest lap in qualifying due to bringing out a red flag during the session. He and the PPG Chevy team chose to begin the race on the black, primary Firestone tire, and from the drop of the green flag he radioed that he was struggling to get them up to optimal racing temperatures. A pit stop on Lap 12 opened the door for a three pit stop strategy for the No. 2 team in an effort to gain valuable track position, but the handling issues on the car did not allow them to take advantage of the strategy. A Lap 38 pit stop saw the crew change the front wing to attempt to give Newgarden the balance he was looking for in his PPG machine. While the change did improve the handling, Newgarden was spun in the hairpin by the No. 6 of Nolan Siegel on Lap 59 to bring out a full course caution. As the race played out in a dramatic, fuel strategy ending, Newgarden was able to grab several positions as others were forced down pit lane for fuel, ultimately crossing the finish line in the 13th position.

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "Just not the weekend we were hoping for with the PPG Chevy. It was extremely hard to get any heat in the tires, especially early in a run. It was a handful even under caution. Jonathan (Diuguid) worked the strategy to maximize the best finish possible. Leaving with a 13th place finish doesn't feel great but it doesn't feel too bad at the same time. Looking forward to D.C."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 GALLAGHER CHEVROLET

START: 3RD 
FINISH: 8TH  
POINTS: 7TH (-197)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Gallagher Chevrolet team rolled the dice on strategy to try and grab their first win of the season, but they did not catch a timely caution period needed and scored an eighth-place finish in Sunday's Ontario Honda Dealers INDY at Markham. A strong qualifying effort saw McLaughlin start the 90-lap race from the third position, his sixth, top five start of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Early in the race, McLaughlin and three others formed a four-car breakaway at the front of the field that grew to over six seconds. He and his Gallagher crew elected to stick to a two pit stop strategy, making their way down pit lane on Lap 28 to switch to the Firestone alternate tire. As different fuel strategies played out, McLaughlin would cycle in and out of the top five as he made his final pit stop of the day on Lap 56 from the fifth position. Knowing this was slightly outside of their fuel window, McLaughlin and race strategist Tim Cindric felt that there would be more caution laps on a day when the racing action was interrupted on several occasions. Unfortunately, only one short caution period followed their final pit stop and McLaughlin was forced into heavy fuel save mode over the final 10 laps of the race, losing several positions to take the checkered flag in the eighth position.  

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS:  "Tough old race. We made a call to save fuel to the end, but the deficit was too much. If we had one more yellow. Going off the trends of the race, we thought there might have been one more yellow. Unfortunately, there wasn't. Frustrated. An eighth is OK in the Gallagher Chevy, but we could have been on the podium."

DAVID MALUKAS No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 7TH  
FINISH: 17TH  
POINTS: 3RD (-137)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: David Malukas and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team endured a rollercoaster of a race in Sunday's Ontario Honda Dealers INDY at Markham, coming home in the 17th position after holding a spot in the top five late in the race. The 24-year-old narrowly missed out on advancing to the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday afternoon and started the race from the seventh position. In a similar scenario to his teammate, Josef Newgarden, Malukas also struggled to get the Firestone tire up to the optimal performance level early in the event. To compound matters, the brakes on the Verizon Chevy were soft late in a stint on the new, Markham street circuit. Following the team's first pit stop on Lap 22 for a switch to the Firestone primary tire and a front wing adjustment, the handling gradually began to improve. By the team's third and final scheduled pit stop of the day on Lap 56, Malukas was running inside the top 10 in the eighth position. Knowing they would need caution laps to help them get to the finish without going into fuel conservation, set his sights on the top five and eventually moved into the fourth position with 30 laps to go. With no caution flag in sight, Malukas was forced to begin saving fuel with 15 laps to go before making medium contact with the retaining wall and having to pit for slight repairs. This unscheduled pit stop dropped him down in the running order but with others needing to make late pit stops for fuel, he was able to grab a few more positions before the race's conclusion. 
 

MALUKAS' THOUGHTS: "We almost came through with some good points from all that chaos. P6 would have been really nice to finish that off in the Verizon Chevy. That mistake was on me in the end. I ended up hitting the wall. I was having all of these snaps. Going to look back and rest this wrist for future races. Thankfully in D.C. it's going to be a lot of left-handers, which will be better for me and then we have Milwaukee and Laguna as we look ahead. This one was chaotic and it will be interesting to see what we learn for the coming years".

The 15th round of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season will be one of the most anticipated motorsports events in recent memory with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. taking place along the National Mall in the nation's capital as part of the country's 250th birthday celebration. The new venue features a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit that will see 147 laps contested for a 250-mile race distance. Coverage of the race can be seen live on FOX beginning at 11:30 am ET.