IndyCar News

Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS

Five-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou is stepping out of his usual championship-winning machinery this weekend to take part in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday, October 16.

· 2 min read
Originally reported by Motorsport.com
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
Photo: Motorsport.com

Alex Palou: What Happened

Motorsport.com reported on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 in a story involving Alex Palou, Chris Griffis Memorial Test, Indy NXT. Here is how the report opens:

Five-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou is stepping out of his usual championship-winning machinery this weekend to take part in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday, October 16. Palou will hop behind the wheel of Chip Ganassi Racing’s #11 Indy NXT entry, lending his wealth of experience to help the team evaluate and develop the car's…

— Motorsport.com

It is one of many IndyCar stories we are following today. Below are the key takeaways, how the story is being reported across the sport, background on Indy NXT and what to watch next.

Key Takeaways

  • The story: Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
  • Who’s involved: Alex Palou, Chris Griffis Memorial Test, Indy NXT and IMS. Five-time IndyCar Series
  • League: IndyCar
  • First reported: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 by Motorsport.com

Background: Indy NXT

Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program of racing series leading up to the IndyCar Series.

Text from Wikipedia’s Indy NXT article, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What’s Next for Alex Palou

For fans following Alex Palou, the next things to watch are the race results, qualifying, championship standings and schedule. Stories like this one tend to move quickly, so check back for follow-up reports and reaction as more outlets pick it up.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened with Alex Palou?

Five-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou is stepping out of his usual championship-winning machinery this weekend to take part in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday, October 16. Palou will hop behind the wheel of Chip Ganassi Racing’s #11 Indy NXT entry, lending his wealth of experience to help the team evaluate and develop the car's… Motorsport.com reported the story on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

Who reported this INDY story?

Motorsport.com first reported it on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. ForTheFans summarizes it here with background and related IndyCar news.

Where can I get the latest IndyCar news today?

The ForTheFans IndyCar page collects every INDY headline as it breaks, including race results, qualifying and championship standings, with live scores on our scores page.

Summarized by ForTheFans from reporting by Motorsport.com. Headlines, quoted text and photos belong to their publishers. How we report

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