INDYCAR

Who could become IndyCar’s 300th race winner?

The milestone remains ahead, with David Malukas and Kyffin Simpson among the leading non-winners from the 2026 standings.

Olga Ivanova

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The NTT IndyCar Series had recorded 299 different race-winning drivers as of October 20, 2026, leaving the identity of its 300th winner undecided.

IndyCar’s October 20 report highlighted David Malukas, Kyffin Simpson, Marcus Armstrong and Louis Foster as drivers who could reach the milestone. It did not announce a 300th winner.

Malukas leads the non-winners

Malukas finished as the highest-placed non-winner in the 2026 standings, ahead of Simpson. In five seasons in the series, Malukas had recorded six runner-up finishes, including second place in each of the previous two Indianapolis 500s.

Driving for Team Penske, Malukas recorded four second-place finishes and two thirds in 2026. He ranked second in laps led, with 282, according to IndyCar.

Simpson, Armstrong and Foster in the mix

Simpson, a Chip Ganassi Racing driver, was the second-highest non-winner in the 2026 standings. IndyCar noted that he could draw on the experience of teammate Alex Palou, a five-time and reigning series champion, and Christian Lundgaard, a three-time race winner, in the following season.

Marcus Armstrong came close to winning the Indianapolis 500, leading as the race approached the white flag. He battled Meyer Shank Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist before the eventual winner passed in Turn 4. Armstrong then lost a three-way fight for third to Scott McLaughlin and Pato O’Ward.

Armstrong also led the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America before a mechanical failure cost him the lead five laps from the finish. For the following season, IndyCar reported he would have Mick Schumacher as a teammate.

Louis Foster earned his second career NTT P1 Award at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham and led the opening 32 laps. He fell back during the first pit stop and was running fourth when he hit the barrier and ended his race.

A milestone rooted in early open-wheel racing

IndyCar traces major U.S. open-wheel racing to 1909. Its report identifies Howard Covey as the winner of the first recorded event, a three-lap race in Portland, Oregon, on June 12 of that year. Covey averaged less than 56 mph and, according to the report, won no other race.

The series’ 299 previous winners span generations, from early names such as Ray Harroun and Ralph DePalma to modern-era drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon. IndyCar said 18 of the 33 drivers who competed in 2026 were among those first 299 winners.