The NTT IndyCar Series goes primetime tonight. The 10th annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 runs Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway, and championship leader Alex Palou starts from the pole after a two-lap qualifying average of 174.353 mph.
There is a catch, however. Palou has never won at the 1.25-mile oval outside St. Louis. That tension shapes our entire race-day card. Below you will find the pre-race report, the latest odds, our top pick to win, and a value play with serious track history behind him.
Last Updated: Sunday, June 7, 2026
2026 BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 DATE, TIME & HOW TO WATCH | |
|---|---|
| Where | World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, IL |
| When | Sunday, June 7 – 9:00 PM ET |
| TV | FOX |
Pre-Race Report
Palou put the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry on pole Saturday with a two-lap average of 174.353 mph. It was his fifth pole of the season and his fourth in a row. David Malukas qualified second at 173.244 mph, earning his fourth front-row start of the year in his first season with Team Penske. Defending race winner Kyle Kirkwood lines up third for Andretti Global. Felix Rosenqvist, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, starts fourth and leads a strong Meyer Shank Racing effort that also put Marcus Armstrong sixth. Scott McLaughlin rounds out the top five.
Scott Dixon starts seventh, followed by Josef Newgarden in eighth, Pato O'Ward in ninth, and Alexander Rossi tenth. The full 25-car grid gives Team Penske three cars inside the top eight. The board has moved sharply since our Bommarito 500 odds preview, which had Newgarden and Malukas at the top before qualifying. The green flag flies at 9 p.m. ET on FOX, the network's only primetime IndyCar race of the season.
2026 BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 – TOP ODDS TO WIN | |
|---|---|
| Name | Odds |
| Alex Palou | +200 |
| David Malukas | +300 |
| Josef Newgarden | +450 |
| Kyle Kirkwood | +900 |
| Pato O'Ward | +900 |
| Scott McLaughlin | +1000 |
| Christian Rasmussen | +1200 |
| Felix Rosenqvist | +1600 |
| Scott Dixon | +1800 |
| Marcus Armstrong | +2500 |
Odds accurate as of Sunday, June 7, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest IndyCar Odds - Props
Top Pick to Win — Alex Palou
The Pick: Alex Palou to win (+200)
The case for the favorite starts with the season he is having. Palou has won four of the first eight races, including last Sunday on the streets of Detroit, a result we backed in our Detroit Grand Prix predictions. He arrives with a 62-point championship lead over Kirkwood. Saturday's pole run was no squeaker either. He beat Malukas by more than a full mile per hour on a track where small margins are the norm. Clean air matters on this short oval, and Palou controls it from the start.
The case against is real, though. World Wide Technology Raceway has been Palou's weakest venue. He has never won here, and his best finish is fourth, set in 2024. At +200, the implied probability sits near 33 percent. That is a thin cushion for 260 laps of pit cycles, lapped traffic, and restarts that can shuffle the order late. Still, the fastest car in the field starting first is a hard combination to fade. We will take the form over the history.
Value Play — Josef Newgarden
The Pick: Josef Newgarden to win (+450)
Nobody has more success at this track than Newgarden. He owns five wins in nine starts at World Wide Technology Raceway, the most of any driver in the field. Team Penske also brings depth tonight, with Malukas second, McLaughlin fifth, and Newgarden eighth on the grid. If the race turns into a strategy battle, few combinations close better than Newgarden and this team on this oval.
The concern is pace. Newgarden qualified nearly two mph off Palou's average, and eighth place leaves him work to do in traffic. He needs cautions and pit sequences to break his way. At +450, however, the price pays you fairly for that risk, and his track record here makes him the clear value side of the board.
Race Day Outlook — Picks and Final Thoughts
Two secondary markets stand out. The manufacturer prop lists Chevrolet at -175 and Honda at +135. If you like our top pick, Honda at plus money is a correlated angle, since Palou's pole-winning No. 10 is a Honda entry and Kirkwood, Rosenqvist, and Dixon give the brand more bullets near the front. The case against is obvious: Chevrolet is favored for a reason, with the Penske trio and both fast McLarens carrying its colors. In the head-to-head market, we like Scott Dixon (-110) over Christian Rasmussen. Dixon starts seventh while Rasmussen rolls off 19th, a sizable track-position edge. The caveat: oval head-to-heads can flip on a single caution cycle, so nothing about a 12-spot gap is safe money.
Strategy will decide the late stages. The race runs 260 laps and 325 miles, and fuel windows tend to split the field into off-sequence groups before everything cycles back together. Watch how aggressively the leaders protect track position on restarts. Drivers buried in traffic, including Newgarden, need those moments to move forward.
Our consolidated card for the 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500:
- Top pick: Alex Palou to win (+200)
- Value play: Josef Newgarden to win (+450)
- Manufacturer prop: Honda (+135)
- Head-to-head: Scott Dixon (-110) over Christian Rasmussen
2026 Bommarito 500 Predictions FAQ
Who is the favorite to win the 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500?
Alex Palou is the favorite at +200. He starts from the pole and leads the IndyCar Series championship standings by 62 points over Kyle Kirkwood.
When is the 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500?
The race runs tonight, Sunday, June 7, 2026, with the green flag set for 9:00 PM ET at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
What channel is the 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on?
The race airs on FOX. It is the network's only primetime IndyCar Series broadcast of the 2026 season.
Who is on pole for the 2026 Bommarito Automotive Group 500?
Alex Palou won the pole with a two-lap qualifying average of 174.353 mph. It was his fifth pole of the 2026 season and his fourth in a row.
Who won the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 last year?
Kyle Kirkwood won the 2025 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 for Andretti Global. He starts third in his title defense tonight.
How many laps is the Bommarito Automotive Group 500?
The race is 260 laps around the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway oval, covering 325 miles.