Armstrong & Kirkwood Lead as IndyCar Testing Wraps at Sebring

The second and final day of IndyCar’s pre-season testing at Sebring International Raceway delivered more blistering laps on the rough Florida airfield circuit, with Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong (pictured) and Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood emerging as the standout performers.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Tuesday morning began with Armstrong picking up right where he left off on Monday afternoon. The young Kiwi posted a stunning 52.372-second lap in the No. 66 Honda, the fastest time seen across both days of testing. Scott Dixon slotted into second for Chip Ganassi Racing, while Will Power showed strong form in the Andretti Global entry. Scott McLaughlin gave Chevrolet its best result of the morning in fourth for Penske.

A notable debut came from Ed Carpenter Racing, as Hunter McElrea took the No. 20 Chevrolet out for its first official laps of the year and immediately cracked the top seven.

The afternoon session— the last of the Sebring test—saw teams evaluating Firestone’s 2025 and 2026 primary tire compounds. Kyle Kirkwood responded with a session-best 52.479-second lap, putting himself second overall for the day and confirming Andretti Global’s pace. Felix Rosenqvist continued Meyer Shank’s strong showing in second for the afternoon, followed by Marcus Ericsson and Rinus VeeKay.

Kyle Kirkwood – INDYCAR Sebring Test – Day 2 – By_ Chris Owens

Reigning champion Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward, and Josef Newgarden all logged solid miles in the 52.8–53.0 range as teams focused more on long-run data and tire comparisons than pure qualifying simulations. Rookies and sophomore drivers like Louis Foster, Nolan Siegel, Dennis Hauger, Caio Collet, and Mick Schumacher gained valuable seat time on the demanding surface.

As the sun set on Sebring, the two-day test provided teams with a clear picture of early 2026 form: Honda appears to hold a slight edge on the road course, but the gap to Chevrolet is razor-thin. With testing now shifting focus to the short ovals (Phoenix comes next), the paddock heads into the final preparations for the season opener at St. Petersburg in early March.

Day Two at Sebring proved once again that the 2026 season will be fiercely competitive from the very first green flag.

IndyCar Sebring Test – Day 2 Combined Results

Pos	No.	Driver	Lap Time	Session	Team	Engine
1	66	Marcus Armstrong	52.372s	Morning	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
2	27	Kyle Kirkwood	52.479s	Afternoon	Andretti Global	Honda
3	9	Scott Dixon	52.514s	Morning	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
4	26	Will Power	52.611s	Morning	Andretti Global	Honda
5	3	Scott McLaughlin	52.636s	Morning	Team Penske	Chevy
6	60	Felix Rosenqvist	52.702s	Afternoon	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
7	20	Hunter McElrea	52.729s	Morning	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevy
8	28	Marcus Ericsson	52.823s	Afternoon	Andretti Global	Honda
9	76	Rinus VeeKay	52.845s	Afternoon	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevy
10	10	Alex Palou	52.874s	Afternoon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
11	4	Caio Collet	52.891s	Afternoon	AJ Foyt Racing	Chevy
12	2	Josef Newgarden	53.018s	Afternoon	Team Penske	Chevy
13	5	Pato O’Ward	53.036s	Afternoon	Arrow McLaren	Chevy
14	7	Christian Lundgaard	53.085s	Morning	Arrow McLaren	Chevy
15	12	David Malukas	53.167s	Afternoon	Team Penske	Chevy
16	45	Louis Foster	53.177s	Morning	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda
17	18	Romain Grosjean	53.220s	Afternoon	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
18	19	Dennis Hauger	53.226s	Morning	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
19	8	Kyffin Simpson	53.228s	Morning	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
20	6	Nolan Siegel	53.286s	Morning	Arrow McLaren	Chevy
21	47	Mick Schumacher	53.430s	Afternoon	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda
22	77	Sting Ray Robb	53.509s	Morning	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevy
23	15	Graham Rahal	53.519s	Afternoon	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	Honda
24	14	Santino Ferrucci	53.715s	Morning	AJ Foyt Racing	Chevy

Notes:
– Marcus Armstrong set the fastest lap of the entire day in the morning.
– Kyle Kirkwood topped the final afternoon session.
– Honda-powered cars dominated the top of the sheet, but strong Chevy performances came from McLaughlin, McElrea, VeeKay, and others.
– This concluded the two-day Sebring road course test.