{"id":1109,"date":"2026-08-22T17:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:00:53","slug":"alex-palou-edges-kyle-kirkwood-to-top-practice-2-at-washington-gp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/alex-palou-edges-kyle-kirkwood-to-top-practice-2-at-washington-gp\/","title":{"rendered":"Palou edges Kirkwood to top Practice 2 at Washington GP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Palou sets the pace:<\/strong> \u00c1lex Palou led Practice 2 at the inaugural IndyCar Washington GP, setting a 56.614s benchmark around the street circuit surrounding the White House and Capitol Hill.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Andretti &amp; Ganassi strong:<\/strong> Practice 1 leader Kyle Kirkwood finished 2nd (+0.076s) for Andretti, while Scott Dixon placed his Ganassi entry 3rd overall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00c1lex Palou delivered the fastest lap in second practice for the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Washington. Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, the Spaniard posted a 56.614s lap around the 2.74 km street circuit laid out near the White House and Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kyle Kirkwood, who led Saturday morning&#8217;s first practice session, finished 2nd fastest for Andretti Autosport with a 56.691s effort. Scott Dixon completed the top three for Ganassi, posting a 56.818s lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arrow McLaren placed three cars inside the top six, led by Nolan Siegel in 4th (56.839s), Pato O&#8217;Ward in 5th (56.873s), and Christian Lundgaard in 6th (56.875s). Scott McLaughlin was Team Penske&#8217;s sole representative inside the top ten in 7th position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red flags briefly interrupted the session due to separate incidents involving Graham Rahal and Louis Foster, who both lost control over the high-speed bump leading into Turn 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AJ Foyt Racing spent the early part of the session completing a full engine swap on Caio Collet&#8217;s car following issues in Practice 1. Once on track, the rookie posted a 57.281s lap to finish 14th overall, edging teammate Santino Ferrucci (20th) and leading all 2026 rookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IndyCar action continues on Saturday with qualifying set for 18:00 local time. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> provides complete coverage of the Washington GP. Follow all paddock updates on our <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IndyCar Practice 2 results: Washington GP 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Pos<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Driver<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Engine<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Time<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Gap<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td><td>\u00c1lex Palou<\/td><td>Chip Ganassi Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>56.614<\/strong><\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2<\/strong><\/td><td>Kyle Kirkwood<\/td><td>Andretti Autosport<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>56.691<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.076<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>3<\/strong><\/td><td>Scott Dixon<\/td><td>Chip Ganassi Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>56.818<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.203<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>4<\/strong><\/td><td>Nolan Siegel<\/td><td>Arrow McLaren<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>56.839<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.225<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td><td>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/td><td>Arrow McLaren<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>56.873<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.259<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>6<\/strong><\/td><td>Christian Lundgaard<\/td><td>Arrow McLaren<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>56.875<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.261<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>7<\/strong><\/td><td>Scott McLaughlin<\/td><td>Team Penske<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>56.894<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.280<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>8<\/strong><\/td><td>Alexander Rossi<\/td><td>Ed Carpenter Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>56.936<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.322<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>9<\/strong><\/td><td>Marcus Ericsson<\/td><td>Andretti Autosport<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.095<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.481<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>10<\/strong><\/td><td>Christian Rasmussen<\/td><td>Ed Carpenter Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.132<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.517<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>11<\/strong><\/td><td>David Malukas<\/td><td>Team Penske<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.202<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.587<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>12<\/strong><\/td><td>Marcus Armstrong<\/td><td>Meyer Shank Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.207<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.593<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>13<\/strong><\/td><td>Will Power<\/td><td>Andretti Autosport<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.231<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.616<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>14<\/strong><\/td><td>Caio Collet<\/td><td>AJ Foyt Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.281<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.666<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>15<\/strong><\/td><td>Mick Schumacher<\/td><td>Rahal Letterman Lanigan<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.397<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.783<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>16<\/strong><\/td><td>Felix Rosenqvist<\/td><td>Meyer Shank Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.470<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.855<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>17<\/strong><\/td><td>Rinus VeeKay<\/td><td>Juncos Hollinger Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.518<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.904<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>18<\/strong><\/td><td>Dennis Hauger<\/td><td>Dale Coyne Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.549<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.935<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>19<\/strong><\/td><td>Josef Newgarden<\/td><td>Team Penske<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.580<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.965<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>20<\/strong><\/td><td>Santino Ferrucci<\/td><td>AJ Foyt Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>57.580<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.965<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>21<\/strong><\/td><td>Kyffin Simpson<\/td><td>Chip Ganassi Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.585<\/strong><\/td><td>+0.971<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>22<\/strong><\/td><td>Romain Grosjean<\/td><td>Dale Coyne Racing<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>57.883<\/strong><\/td><td>+1.269<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>23<\/strong><\/td><td>Sting Ray Robb<\/td><td>Juncos Hollinger Racing<\/td><td>Chevrolet<\/td><td><strong>58.472<\/strong><\/td><td>+1.857<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>24<\/strong><\/td><td>Louis Foster<\/td><td>Rahal Letterman Lanigan<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>58.991<\/strong><\/td><td>+2.377<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>25<\/strong><\/td><td>Graham Rahal<\/td><td>Rahal Letterman Lanigan<\/td><td>Honda<\/td><td><strong>59.763<\/strong><\/td><td>+3.149<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Session schedule: Washington Grand Prix 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Session<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Local time (EDT)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>UTC<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Qualifying<\/strong><\/td><td>Saturday, August 22 \u2013 18:00<\/td><td>22:00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Race<\/strong><\/td><td>Sunday, August 23 \u2013 14:00<\/td><td>18:00<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions (FAQ)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Who set the fastest lap in IndyCar Practice 2 at Washington?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00c1lex Palou set the fastest time with a 56.614s lap for Chip Ganassi Racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Where is the IndyCar Grand Prix of Washington being held?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race takes place on a temporary 2.74 km street circuit winding around the White House and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. How did Caio Collet perform despite his engine troubles?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After undergoing an engine change during the session, Caio Collet posted the 14th fastest time overall (57.281s), making him the highest-placed rookie in FP2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00c1lex Palou set the fastest time in Practice 2 for the inaugural IndyCar Grand Prix of Washington, topping Kyle Kirkwood and Scott Dixon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020312594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"\u00c1lex Palou","42wp_featured_image_credits":"IndyCar","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":14,"location":""}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,198],"42wp_author":[14],"class_list":["post-1109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy","tag-alex-palou","tag-washington-gp","42wp_author-daniel-balsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1110,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions\/1110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020312594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1109"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}