Alexander Rossi completed the IR-28’s first oval laps at Indianapolis as IndyCar opened superspeedway testing for its 2028 chassis.
Alexander Rossi became the first driver to run IndyCar’s next-generation IR-28 chassis on an oval Wednesday, Sept. 9, turning laps in superspeedway configuration at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The outing took the IR-28 development program into one of its key phases. IndyCar set aside two days for running at Indianapolis, with the first oval work scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10 following the 2026 season finale at Laguna Seca.
Rossi starts the oval program
Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, completed the car’s first oval laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis circuit. No lap speeds or direct performance comparisons with the current chassis were published.
The confirmed milestone is clear: The IR-28 has now run on an oval in superspeedway trim.
The road to 2028
The chassis is due to enter IndyCar competition in 2028, leaving the series and its teams the 2027 season to keep testing and prepare for the switch.
Wednesday’s running opened the oval evaluation process at the home of the Indianapolis 500. It followed IndyCar’s announcement that Indianapolis would host the car’s first oval workout during the two-day test.
Teams wait for published data
Detailed findings from Rossi’s opening laps have not been released. That includes speed differences compared with the outgoing car and any measurements of aerodynamic behavior in superspeedway configuration.
With no public test data available, any claims about how the IR-28 compares with the current chassis are unconfirmed. The Indianapolis laps set a development baseline, rather than a public performance ranking.
Attention turns from Palou’s title
The test started days after Alex Palou secured his fifth IndyCar championship with 631 points. Kyle Kirkwood placed second on 545, with Christian Lundgaard third on 535.
Scott McLaughlin won the Laguna Seca finale by 1.3739 seconds over Kirkwood, then attention shifted quickly from the completed 18-race season to the next chassis cycle.
Indianapolis testing continues
The second scheduled day of IR-28 oval running is Thursday, Sept. 10, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where development work will continue without published comparative lap times from Wednesday’s opening session.
