Graham Rahal scores second podium finish of 2026 in chaotic Sonsio Grand Prix
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
・Graham Rahal leads the Honda contingent home in the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with P3 finish
・Alex Palou, Scott Dixon recover through the field from last to score fifth and sixth place finishes
・Louis Foster, Dennis Hauger score career-best finishes
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal led the Honda-powered NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers today in a chaotic Sonsio Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a third-place finish.
The chaos started early in the race when Felix Rosenqvist made contact with Pato O’Ward, catching Scott Dixon and several other drivers up in the melee. Polesitter and championship leader, Alex Palou, as well as P2 in the points, Kyle Kirkwood, were able to make it through and were running P2 before a common-source part failure on Alexander Rossi’s car caused it to stop on the front straight.
Race control opted not to throw the full-course caution for the incident—instead allowing the cars that had not made their first pit stop to pit—however Palou and Kirkwood’s crews assumed the full course caution had come out given the position of the stopped car and so remained on track. Ultimately the two drivers would pit under yellow and cycle to the very back of the field.
This promoted Graham Rahal, who started seventh, into the top five. Rahal would utilize fast pit stops from his Rahal Letterman Lanigan team as well as clean racing on a messy day to bring home his second third-place finish of the season.
Palou would drive through the field after the pit stop issue to come home fifth for Chip Ganassi Racing, just ahead of teammate Scott Dixon who was nearly taken out of the race in the lap one, turn 1 incident. Dixon suffered suspension damage on both the front and the rear of his car, but would persevere to a P6 result.
RLL’s Louis Foster came home a career-best seventh, his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES top 10. Dennis Hauger also gave Dale Coyne a top 10 finish in his #19 Honda, advancing from 24th on the grid to eighth at the line and picking up the biggest mover award with it. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood would finish ninth giving Honda six of the top nine finishers in today’s Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS.
The fifth-place result extends Palou’s championship lead to 27 points over Kirkwood going into practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500—where Palou will look to defend his 2025 victory. Meanwhile, Honda leads rival Chevrolet 506-450 in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
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The NTT INDYCAR SERIES prepares for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Practice begins on Tuesday May 12th before qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The 110th running of the Indy 500 is Sunday May 24th 2026.
Yeah, it was a good day for the team! Louis finished seventh which is his career best career best. I mean, obviously we'd like to have won, I feel like I've been close here so much. But it still feels good to get a podium, another top five here on this track. For whatever reason, the team just excels here. I guess I do too—but I really give tip of the cap to them. We’ve got to get a little better. The rear was a struggle today, but it's all right. We keep fighting.
Yeah, it was a good day for the team! Louis finished seventh which is his career best career best. I mean, obviously we'd like to have won, I feel like I've been close here so much. But it still feels good to get a podium, another top five here on this track. For whatever reason, the team just excels here. I guess I do too—but I really give tip of the cap to them. We’ve got to get a little better. The rear was a struggle today, but it's all right. We keep fighting.
It was overall a good day. We just made a bad call; it was such a small mistake that really changed our day. We went from being up front to completely at the back, but still, we had so much speed that we were able to drive to the front. Getting that car in P5 today is it feels like a win. So…half a win, let's say! Overall, it's been a very positive weekend and I think that’s going to help us for the rest of May.
It was overall a good day. We just made a bad call; it was such a small mistake that really changed our day. We went from being up front to completely at the back, but still, we had so much speed that we were able to drive to the front. Getting that car in P5 today is it feels like a win. So…half a win, let's say! Overall, it's been a very positive weekend and I think that’s going to help us for the rest of May.
It was a bit of a rough day, to be honest. And it was such a big hit on the first lap that we had to come back from. I think the front and the rear suspensions were both bent, so that made for a tough day in the car. From there, we just had to get super aggressive on strategy. The last stop we did the big undercut which meant we had to get massive fuel mileage. Thankfully our Honda engine was always getting the fuel mileage we need, but also the power. So, it was a lot of fun, but I think we deserved a lot more today.
It was a bit of a rough day, to be honest. And it was such a big hit on the first lap that we had to come back from. I think the front and the rear suspensions were both bent, so that made for a tough day in the car. From there, we just had to get super aggressive on strategy. The last stop we did the big undercut which meant we had to get massive fuel mileage. Thankfully our Honda engine was always getting the fuel mileage we need, but also the power. So, it was a lot of fun, but I think we deserved a lot more today.
Biggest mover tonight, I’m happy with that—though it's been a bit of a tough weekend overall. The team did a great job to have a good recovery on race day, so I am happy about that. We made the most of everyone's chaos. It’s my career best finish and great momentum going into the 500.
Biggest mover tonight, I’m happy with that—though it's been a bit of a tough weekend overall. The team did a great job to have a good recovery on race day, so I am happy about that. We made the most of everyone's chaos. It’s my career best finish and great momentum going into the 500.
Any day with a pole position and podium is a decent day at the track! Big congrats to Graham who podiumed again with a fast car and great RLL team execution. We had fast cars but didn’t quite get the breaks today and get the W. That’s racing! A big thank you to the women and men of HRC who keep pushing—true racers! Onto the mythical and magical Indy 500, which is always an incredible privilege to race at and represent Honda.
Any day with a pole position and podium is a decent day at the track! Big congrats to Graham who podiumed again with a fast car and great RLL team execution. We had fast cars but didn’t quite get the breaks today and get the W. That’s racing! A big thank you to the women and men of HRC who keep pushing—true racers! Onto the mythical and magical Indy 500, which is always an incredible privilege to race at and represent Honda.
