Marcus Ericsson drove from 12th on the grid to lead 114 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday and finished second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, falling just 0.6613 of a second short at the checkered flag. The margin hands Ericsson his first podium of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season and caps a clean result for Andretti Global, which put all three of its cars in the top 10.
The Swede carved through the field to take the lead and held the point for more laps than any other driver in a race interrupted twice by red flags for weather in the St. Louis area. One stoppage came with Ericsson leading. The other came with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon at the fore. When the full race distance concluded, Ericsson came up half a car length short of the win.
Andretti’s other two entries followed Ericsson home in solid order. Kyle Kirkwood, who won at Gateway last year, finished sixth and closed the gap to championship leader Alex Palou in the process. Will Power brought the #26 Andretti Global Honda home eighth. The clean sweep gives Andretti three cars in the top eight on a night when executing fuel strategy and managing the start-stop rhythm became the defining variable.
Palou started from pole in the HRC-liveried Honda and led 49 laps before a fuel gamble collapsed in the pit lane. The Spaniard ran out of fuel before reaching his pit box and dropped to the rear of the field. He finished 17th. The championship math still favors Palou, who leads Kirkwood by 49 points despite the setback, but the margin tightened considerably on a night when Kirkwood gained ground with a straightforward top-six finish.
Meyer Shank Racing put Marcus Armstrong ninth, a strong result for the New Zealander. His countryman Dixon, also driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, crossed the line 12th after leading laps during one of the red-flag periods. Felix Rosenqvist finished 14th for Meyer Shank, Romain Grosjean 15th for Dale Coyne Racing, and rookie Mick Schumacher 16th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan.
Graham Rahal finished 23rd for his own team. Rookie Dennis Hauger, also driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, did not finish after contact. Louis Foster and Kyffin Simpson, both with Dale Coyne Racing, finished 20th and 21st respectively. Simpson’s car retired with a mechanical issue.
Ericsson’s tone after the race mixed satisfaction with the missed opportunity. He credited the Delaware Life Honda’s power for allowing him to move forward from 12th and praised the Andretti Global crew. Kelvin Fu, vice president of Honda Racing Corporation U.S., acknowledged the disappointment of coming up short after leading the most laps but framed the result as progress on short ovals, a track type where Honda has struggled in recent seasons. He singled out Ericsson’s drive from 12th to first and congratulated Chip Ganassi Racing for securing pole.
The 2026 IndyCar Series resumes June 21 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the XPEL Grand Prix. The St. Louis result leaves Palou still in control of the championship fight, but Kirkwood’s sixth-place finish keeps the gap manageable heading into the second half of the season.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
