IndyCar Gradebook: Indy Markham
- Dan Jones
- 9 minutes ago
- 11 min read
IndyCar's first visit to Markham was certainly an unforgettable one. With circuit delays, surprise performers, never-ending chaos and stories everywhere you look, it proved one of IndyCar's most memorable weekends in recent memory. Above it all stood Marcus Ericsson who returned to Victory Lane for the first time in three years . DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent Dan Jones graded how all 25 drivers fared north of the border.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C
'Quiet' may not be a term that is used too often in this edition of IndyCar Gradebook, but relative to a lot of his competitors, Kyffin Simpson has a relatively quiet weekend. That said, it wasn't the quiet that he was necessarily looking for. Simpson qualified competitively in 13th and despite making some early gains, the Cayman Islander lost out significantly on restarts and could not break into a competitive position. That said, a top 10 was still on the cards before a late spin caused him to finish 14th, the last of the cars running on the lead lap.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - C+
It has been a miserable run of races for Scott Dixon, who has not claimed a top 10 finish in eight races. Markham however, looked more positive as Dixon qualified in ninth and made encouraging progress early on. However, the timing of a yellow cost him dear as he was thrust into the mid-pack scrap which proved to be his downfall, with a small collision with Dennis Hauger sending him into a spin. Dixon was slightly unfortunate on this occasion, but could have given Hauger more space. That said, another frustrating result in a frustrating stretch of races.
No.10 - Álex Palou - B
There are not many occasions where Álex Palou does not find himself amongst the best on any given weekend, but Markham proved to be an off-weekend for the Spaniard (albeit that's only by Palou's lofty standards). A rare mistake in qualifying cost Palou dear but he made methodical progress early on to stay in touch with the lead group. However, strategy caused Palou to go back-and-forth all day, and be very much in the thick of the chaos. Palou still found a way though to compete for victory through strategy and although he struggled in the last 20 laps when a shot at victory looked possible, he limited the damage effectively with a fourth-place finish.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - C-
Markham proved a disaster from start-to-finish for Josef Newgarden, but he nevertheless battled through constant issues to complete all 90 laps. The disaster started in qualifying, where Newgarden crashed on his final run, seeing him qualify at the very back. The race didn't prove any better, with a handling and tyre issue saw Newgarden struggle to compete at all, with his car undriveable even under yellow before his day was worsened when spun by Nolan Siegel. Newgarden's miserable weekend saw him finish 13th at the finish.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - A-
Although that frustrating winless drought still continues, Scott McLaughlin's form has continued to improve in the second half of the year, with the New Zealander leading the Penske charge through the Markham weekend. McLaughlin qualified an impressive third and stayed in a competitive position for most of the race and even had a realistic show at a podium. However, a gamble on strategy caused McLaughlin into heavy fuel saving in the final 10 laps, which saw him collapse down the order and into an eighth-place finish. An unrepresentative result on what was a strong weekend.
No.12 - David Malukas - B-
It is hard to pick many holes in David Malukas' 2026, but street courses have certainly been his weakest track type and Markham did not see an improvement in that general form, with a late race error costing Malukas dear. Malukas did well to qualify in seventh and shuffled up-and-down the order throughout. However, a similar strategy to McLaughlin left Malukas on a similarly difficult fuel save. He was already dropping down the order quickly before he hit the wall with just a few laps to go, giving the American damage and a frustrating 17th place finish.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Will Power - A-
It was certainly a weekend of two halves for Will Power. Up until the race, it had been a disaster. He had a heavy crash in practice and then had a clumsy spin in qualifying which cost both him and his teammate. But starting from the pack, Power was at his very best. He made methodical progress throughout the race, avoiding the majority of the chaos and found himself with a shot of victory late on. Although an unfavourable tyre situation left him helpless, a fourth podium of 2026 was well-deserved after such an impressive showing, but he may rue his qualifying error which gave him more work then he needed.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - C+
It is a difficult weekend to grade for everybody, but maybe Kyle Kirkwood is the most difficult. Qualifying was an immense let down for the American, even with the fact that he was hampered by Power on a crucial lap. That said, you still expected Kirkwood to make his way through the order, which he did, even to the point of running in the top three. That was before he clumsily crashed by hitting the inside Turn 3 barrier (which he accused of not having enough radius) piling him into the outside wall. It is an error not often seen by Kirkwood, which is testament to the standards he has set himself but considering his street course prowess, this was a disappointing weekend.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - A+
It has been some three-and-a-half years since Marcus Ericsson was in Victory Lane, but there's no denying that he certainly earned this one, and this was Ericsson at his very best. Whilst his teammates faltered in qualifying, Ericsson impressed as he earned a slot on the second row and from there he was brilliant. Mistake-free, Ericsson looked the driver to beat for the majority of the race and despite being pegged back on strategy, he made overtakes nobody else could make and was a class apart on several occasions. It was Ericsson at a standard he's not shown in several seasons and a justified reward given the uptick in form he's had this year. He stated it may have been his best victory outside the 2022 Indianapolis 500, and it is difficult to argue otherwise.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - B+
Despite all of McLaren's fluctuations in form this year, Pato O'Ward continued his bizarre 2026 run of earning a top five finish on every street course, yet without having stood on the podium. That was well-earned for O'Ward too. A scrappy qualifying session, where he went off on a hot lap and impeded following that saw him start 23rd after they took an engine penalty but in the race, O'Ward was superb. He made the most overtakes of anybody, took advantage of the chaos around him to make some fantastic manouveres and executed an alternate strategy effectively. On a weekend where McLaren generally struggled, it proved to be a good result, albeit the team need to fight from the front on a more regular basis.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - C
Out of everybody, Nolan Siegel seemed to be the driver who's position fluctuated the most, with the young American leading at points, but also finding himself near the very back. Siegel qualified in a lowly 19th but made his way to the front on strategy. By the time he was pegged back, Siegel was very much part of the midfield mayhem and was responsible for wiping out Newgarden when attempting a clumsy overtake at Turn 5. He was rightly penalised and made no impact from there, finding himself 12th at the chequered flag.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - B+
It seemed quite the miracle when Christian Lundgaard dragged his Arrow McLaren onto the front row at Markham after the team had struggled for pace all weekend, and that proved the difference in Lundgaard earning himself another impressive result. Despite strategy not going his way, Lundgaard was in tandem with O'Ward for a lot of the race, as the pair navigated through their competitors' struggles to have a relatively clean race, by Markham's standards. Lundgaard finished just behind his teammate, sixth at the flag.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - B
It was a strong weekend for the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) camp, with Graham Rahal earning himself another top 10 finish. Rahal qualified well in 10th, and competed in a similar position for a lot of the race's running, despite making significant losses on restarts. He consistently topped up with fuel during the endless mid-race cautions which gave him a clean run to the finish as he picked off others with issues to earn a ninth-place finish. It may have been slightly disappointing he turned out to be the top RLL car but the type of performance where Rahal's level of experience can be so valuable.
No.45 - Louis Foster - A-
The A* grade that was introduced prior to this season is yet to be handed out but Louis Foster had his name written all over it until his mid-race crash. From the get-go in Markham, Foster was on it. The Briton was quick in practice and that was backed up by a majestic qualifying run on used tyres, where he looked in a different league to his opposition. The start to his race was fantastic and when strategy cycled him back down the order, the moves that Foster were making were simply sublime. That's before it all went wrong when he clipped the wall overtaking Ericsson for the net race lead, with Foster's first shot at an IndyCar win ending in the barriers. A bitterly disappointing ending to an otherwise near-perfect weekend but Foster can take a whole heap of confidence following the best showing of his career.
No.47 - Mick Schumacher - C
A tricky weekend to grade for Mick Schumacher, who looked the most comfortable he ever had on a road/street course in IndyCar before he made a similar error to his teammate, ending his day after just 14 laps. That was a shame, considering Schumacher qualified relatively well in 11th after transferring in qualifying for the first time, on a weekend that clearly suited RLL. It is signs of small progress and maybe Schumacher's best showing on a road/street course until rookie errors cost him.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - C-
After such an impressive run of form, Markham proved difficult for Felix Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing, with a mechanical issue bringing Rosenqvist's day to an early end. The Sweden qualified just 18th and was unfortunate to be rammed into by Caio Collet at the start. Rosenqvist then suffered from a slow puncture and had not had an opportunity to make any progress before he lost drive. A disappointing ending but it had not been a superb weekend up to that point anyway.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - D+
It has been a very rough stretch of races for Marcus Armstrong and Markham was not any different in one of Armstrong's weakest weekends of the year. Armstrong qualified a measly 22nd (before starting 24th due to an engine penalty), where he struggled to make meaningful progress. He clumsily spun on Lap 32 and then earned himself a penalty for not following the instructions of the AMR Safety Team as the field was coming towards him. Being a lap down, there was little impact Armstrong could make from there as he finished an underwhelming 16th.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - B+
Road/street form has consistently been an issue for Ed Carpenter Racing throughout this season, but Alexander Rossi had a strong showing in Markham before several factors caused an abrupt end to his day. Rossi qualified well in eighth and had ran well within the top 10 for the majority of the race. However, his tyre was punctured when battling with Palou as he had to limp round to get it repaired before he had to retire with yet another mechanical failure. A frustrating ending to what had been a more positive weekend.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - C
It was yet another frustrating road/street event for Christian Rasmussen, who is still struggling to find any consistency in what has been a difficult 2026 season. Rasmussen qualified slightly better in 15th before he started 21st due to a penalty. Going on the alternate strategy early, Rasmussen had made some decent progress before he was unfortunate to be involved in the Dixon/Hauger incident. He was not to blame but he was neither running in a particularly competitive position. Although it was not a disastrous weekend, the gulf to his teammate is still too high on this particular track type.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - Caio Collet - D+
A weekend of 'what could have been' for Collet. The Brazilian had looked superb throughout practice and was on pace with the likes of Foster early on but from there, it was all downhill. A practice crashed proved costly as the team had to rush to get him out for qualifying before he suffered a mechanical failure late on in his group. He started 19th, but ploughed into the side of Rosenqvist at the start which left him with significant damage and out of the running. A weekend with plenty of pace which can certainly be attributed as 'rookie errors'.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - C+
Santino Ferrucci earned himself a timely top 10 finish on the Streets of Markham, as he avoided the chaos for the most part to claim a fourth such result of the year. Ferrucci started in 18th, after picking up three spots due to penalties and although he did not make significant progress early on, he took advantage of other's issues as he picked his way through the order. A fuel save late on cost him time, as the Chevrolet entries struggled with mileage as he ran out of gas just metres after crossing the finish line. A good result, albeit it was not a great performance, rather one of staying out of trouble.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Rinus VeeKay - B+
Rinus VeeKay's rich form of form continued into Markham, as both him and Juncos Hollinger Racing continue to prove their strength on each track type. VeeKay qualified superbly yet again in sixth but had lost a lot of that great effort through a strangely-timed pitstop. Although he lost out on several restarts and sustained damage, VeeKay fought his way through well and even though a top five just fell out his grasp, VeeKay held on to a well-earned seventh place finish. Maybe this grade is slightly harsh, but VeeKay's recent performances have only raised his benchmark to these standards.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - C+
Markham was one of those races where if you stayed out of trouble, you had the potential to earn yourself a good finish and that was certainly the case for Sting Ray Robb. Even before then, Robb had a respectable qualifying as he lined up in 17th in one of his better efforts this season and stayed out of trouble for the 90 laps to earn himself an 11th-place finish as others had issues around him. Maybe not representative of his pace, but one of those races where you had to be in it for it to count.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Romain Grosjean - A
It may have been a bittersweet weekend for Romain Grosjean, as he earned his first podium in three-and-a-half years whilst seeing a first victory fall out of his grasp, but the veteran can be immensely proud with his showing on the Markham streets. A 14th-place qualifying effort for Grosjean was respectable and a combination of good strategy execution and well-timed cautions put the Frenchman out on front. From there, Grosjean was superb as he pulled away from the likes of Palou and McLaughlin on older tyres with a bigger fuel save despite the supposed inferior machinery. He was helpless to hold off the rampant Ericsson but did what he needed to do to come home with an impressive second-place finish. There was little more Grosjean could have done in his best weekend since his IndyCar return.
No.19 - Dennis Hauger - B-
After a rough mid-season stretch of form, things are starting to look up for Dennis Hauger, even if he does not have the results to show for it. Hauger qualified fantastically in fifth, his best effort since St. Pete and started the race very well. That was until the Lap 19 restart where he fell from the front to effectively the rear as he struggled to harness any momentum. That said, Hauger rebounded well and was competing for a top 10 until a fuel miscalculation meant he ran dry and had to pull over. A disappointing outcome to what had been a much better weekend for the Norwegian.
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