David Malukas topped the timing sheets on his first official outing as a Team Penske driver, leading 25 cars through a clean and productive Day 1 of the IndyCar Phoenix Open Test 2026 at Phoenix Raceway. Malukas clocked 172.605 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet on the 1-mile desert oval, with teammate Josef Newgarden second at 172.201. Will Power, starting life at Andretti Global after 16 full-time seasons at Penske, slotted straight into third. Three rookies turned laps. One incident. A lot of answers found before St. Pete.
Key Points – IndyCar Phoenix Open Test 2026 Day 1
- Malukas fastest at 172.605 mph in No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, first official Penske test
- Newgarden second at 172.201, 1-2 for a team looking to rebound from a difficult 2025
- Power third at 171.706 in first run for Andretti Global after 16 seasons at Penske
- Kirkwood fourth at 171.423, Palou fifth at 171.357
- Meyer Shank put both cars in the top seven, Armstrong sixth, Rosenqvist seventh
- Hauger quickest rookie in 17th at 169.259
- Schumacher 23rd at 164.006 but completed 109 laps, third highest total of the day
- Collet involved in the only incident, Turn 4 contact, walked away unhurt
- Day 2 runs Wednesday, final pre-season running before St. Pete on March 1
Penske Open With A Statement
First official session of pre-season and Team Penske have a 1-2. After a difficult 2025, that’s exactly the kind of opening they needed.
Malukas joined after four seasons across three teams, Dale Coyne Racing (2022-23), Meyer Shank Racing (2024) and AJ Foyt Racing (2025). Short ovals are his territory. Two of his three career podiums came on the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway oval. On a track where hybrid deployment and late-braking precision define lap time, that experience matters. Penske knew what they were signing.
“It feels good to be P1, but at the end of the day, we just ran through our test items,” Malukas said. “Everything felt very clear. We got a lot of answers.”
That’s the right answer. Pace is a bonus at this stage. Programme completion is what matters. Penske got both.
Power’s First Day In Blue
Third overall. 171.706 mph. New colours, same pace.
Will Power was replaced by Malukas at Penske after 16 full-time seasons. Now he’s at Andretti Global, driving the No. 26 TWG AI Honda alongside Kyle Kirkwood. No adjustment period. No settling-in lap. Straight into third on day one.
Kirkwood was fourth at 171.423 in the No. 27 Siemens Honda. Andretti put both cars in the top four overall. That’s a strong opening signal from a team with something to prove this season.
Champion, Composed, On Pace
Reigning four-time series champion Alex Palou was fifth at 171.357 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Honda. Quiet. Clean. Where you’d expect him.
Meyer Shank Racing, who finished with two drivers in the top ten of the 2025 standings for the first time, carried that momentum straight into Phoenix. Marcus Armstrong sixth at 170.919 in the No. 66 Honda. Felix Rosenqvist seventh at 170.489 in the No. 60. Both cars in the top seven on day one of the new year. Meyer Shank are not going away.
The Rookie Watch
Three rookies ran Tuesday. All three gave something to talk about.
Mick Schumacher ended the day 23rd at 164.006 mph in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda. The headline number undersells what actually happened. Schumacher completed 109 laps, third highest total of the day, behind only ECR teammates Christian Rasmussen on 128 and Alexander Rossi on 118. This was just his second ever oval outing, his first at Phoenix Raceway, and he spent the day building, not chasing the clock.
2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger was the quickest of the three rookies, 17th overall at 169.259 in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. No surprise. Hauger arrives with serious pedigree and has been fast everywhere he’s sat.
Caio Collet, 2025 Indy NXT runner-up, was involved in the only incident of the day. Light contact in Turn 4 in the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. He climbed out unaided and was unhurt.
What’s Next
Day 2 runs Wednesday. Track time runs 11am to 2pm ET and 3:30pm to 6:30pm ET. Final pre-season running before the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season opens at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday March 1, live on FOX at noon ET.
Phoenix then gets its first IndyCar race since 2018 a week later, the Good Ranchers 250 on March 7.
Pre-season ends Wednesday. Then it gets real.
Coffee Corner Take
Malukas at the top of the timing sheet on his first Penske test is more than just a headline. Two of his three career podiums came on ovals. Penske signed him knowing exactly what they were getting on short tracks. The 1-2 with Newgarden is the kind of opening statement a team rebuilding confidence needs.
But the more interesting storyline from Tuesday is Power. Third overall, immediately quick, fresh motivation. Sixteen years at one team builds habits and loyalty but also sometimes stagnation. Andretti gives him a new environment, a strong teammate in Kirkwood, and something to prove. Don’t sleep on that combination.
Schumacher’s lap time will get pulled apart. Ignore it. Watch the lap count. 109 laps on just his second oval outing. That is a driver doing the work, not worrying about where his name sits on the sheet at the end of the day. The oval learning curve is steep. He’s attacking it properly.
Day 2 on Wednesday tells us more. But Day 1 gave us plenty to think about.
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