Alex Palou will lead the field to green after winning his fourth consecutive pole, but fans tuning in for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 first need to know when the race starts, where to watch it and how the starting grid stacks up.
Palou qualified on the pole for the fourth time in a row this IndyCar season Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway, putting the reigning championship leader squarely in position to extend his dominant 2026 run at tonightâs Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in Madison, Illinois. His four-race pole streak is the backdrop for a 10th-anniversary edition of the race that already has one of the strongest fields of the IndyCar season. Defending winner Kyle Kirkwood qualified third, Indianapolis 500 runner-up David Malukas lines up second, and a foot-injured Josef Newgarden starts eighth on a track where he has won five times.
Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Race Time, TV Channel and Streaming
The green flag falls at 9 p.m. ET tonight on FOX. Streaming is available on FOX One, the FOX Sports website and the FOX Sports app, according to FOX Sports. Cord-cutters with YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV or fuboTV can also access the live broadcast. The INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160) will carry full audio coverage.
Palouâs No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda posted a two-lap qualifying average of 174.353 mph Saturday afternoon, edging Malukasâ 173.244 mph in the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet to claim the top starting spot. Malukas held the provisional pole heading into the final run before Palou, who drew the last slot, bumped him off the top position, according to Honda Newsroom.
âThe balance was amazing. I love the way the car felt,â Palou said. âIt makes me feel really good for tomorrow. Itâs going to be a great night race and a great show.â
Malukas was candid about the conditions that turned setup into a guessing game all afternoon.
âIt was such a guessing game trying to figure out where this car needed to be,â he said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports. âI had a strong feeling we werenât going to get it there because Palou was going last.â
For Malukas, the front row at Gateway is familiar territory. His 2022 Dale Coyne Racing debut there produced a second-place finish, and he has led laps in every World Wide Technology Raceway start since, per Frontstretchâs Tom Blackburn. Last year with AJ Foyt Enterprises, he led a career-high 67 laps before contact with the wall during green-flag stops ended his run. Now in his first Penske season â with three 2026 podiums already â Gateway is where analysts keep pointing when discussing his first career win.
Below is the complete starting grid for the 10th annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway:
| Starting Position | Car | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 2 | 12 | David Malukas | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 3 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 4 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 5 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 6 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 9 | 5 | Pato OâWard | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 10 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 12 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 13 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 14 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 15 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 16 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 17 | 45 | Louis Foster | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher (R) | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 19 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen (R) | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 20 | 4 | Caio Collet (R) | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 21 | 26 | Will Power | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 22 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
| 23 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 24 | 19 | Dennis Hauger (R) | Dallara | Honda | Firestone |
| 25 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Dallara | Chevrolet | Firestone |
(R) Rookie. Race: 10th annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500, World Wide Technology Raceway, Round 9, June 7, 2026.
Where Is the Bommarito 500 Held?
The race runs 260 laps around the 1.25-mile oval for 325 miles total. World Wide Technology Raceway is an egg-shaped track with split banking: Turns 1 and 2 behave like New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while Turns 3 and 4 mirror Phoenix Raceway. That layout puts uneven wear on left-side tires, making pit strategy as consequential as raw pace, according to STLRacing.com.
This is the 10th running of the Bommarito-sponsored event and the 18th IndyCar race at the facility. Team Penske leads the all-time wins list there with nine. Only three drivers have converted a World Wide Technology Raceway pole into a victory: Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000, Gil de Ferran in 2002 and Helio Castroneves in 2003.
Palou enters as the heavy betting favorite. Malukas and Newgarden lead the challengers, with Kirkwood and Pato OâWard â who has four Gateway runner-up finishes â further down the board. Newgarden has won this race five times overall and three times in the current 260-lap format, per FOX Sports, though a foot injury carried over from Indianapolis has complicated his ramp-up to tonightâs green flag.
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