Chip Ganassi Racing’s points leader Alex Palou followed Alexander Rossi (Ed Carpenter Racing) in testing the hot-off-the-jig Dallara IR-28, and he said afterwards that he wishes the NTT IndyCar Series would debut it in 2027 rather than 2028.“I’m very happy to announce that we’ll race it next year,” Palou teased. “I wish. That’s the level of excitement everybody has. When we saw it in person for theƒ first time, I was shocked by how good it looked. The renders didn’t really do it justice. It looks like a big animal.“Everybody is excited—the drivers, the teams, and especially the fans. But it’s good that we have so much time to work on the car before we actually race it. It’s important that we get it right and have a car that’s good on speedways, street courses, and road courses. We want to be able to race in the rain, too. It’s important that we get everything right.”He got his share of testing it on a wet track last weekend at Indianapolis. “I can’t wait to hopefully try it in the dry and see how it really feels when I push it,” he said.Palou hardly could contain his elation and predicted big things with the new chassis that’s 100 pounds lighter than the current version: “Maybe I’m talking too early, but I think we’re going break a lot of IndyCar records on all kinds of tracks. It just feels like it’s a faster car. It feels like it’s a car that is more capable.”Alex Palou likes what he sees with the IR-28.As for its handling, he said, “It’s just like being on a higher-end car. It feels like one of those interiors that are like good leather and it’s quiet inside. It’s good, it’s comfy.”Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing), the most recent Indianapolis 500 winner, also has been impressed with the new car.“I think it’s just a lot of things that have been asked for over the years. It’s a huge update in terms of quality of live features for the people working on the car every day, for the drivers that are going to drive them in terms of safety, cooling, seating position, if power steering becomes the thing or not,” Rosenqvist said as he prepared for this weekend’s race at Portland International Raceway in Oregon. “I think a lot of things that over the years have just kind of become limiting for us has improved a lot. IndyCar has listened. Then you have the whole fact behind the designs. Designs are always controversial. I think it really looks great. I’ve seen it in real life and I think it looks cool.“I think the impressive thing with the design is it actually has a purpose, it has a meaning. Every shape of that bodywork has a meaning behind it. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, we think this looks cool, someone drawing on a sheet what it should look like.’ There’s actually a thought behind it to be able to follow closer and to make the wake behind the car narrower. A lot of smart people have come up with that design. I think that’s exciting,” he said.“The racing product in the end is the most important thing for everyone in this series. I think that’s been the focus. Also making a quicker car,” he said.
