With nine races in the books, we have already reached the halfway point of the 2026 IndyCar Series season, making it a perfect time to look back. In the first part of this review, we take a closer look at which drivers have completed the most on-track passes, as well as which drivers have been passed the most. While Christian Rasmussen leads the series in total passes, Kyle Kirkwood owns the best net passing differential at +64.

Total Passes Made and Times Passed

When looking at the total number of passes made, Christian Rasmussen tops the passing charts after nine races, with 149 passes to his name. The Dane leads the category ahead of Rinus VeeKay and Scott McLaughlin.

McLaughlin’s presence near the top of the list is particularly noteworthy, as the highest pass totals are typically recorded by drivers who qualify further back or find themselves at the rear of the field due to an unfavorable strategy before fighting their way forward.

Sting Ray Robb has had to surrender positions more often than any other driver this season, having been passed 163 times so far. Louis Foster ranks second in this category, ahead of Kyffin Simpson.

Since lapping another driver counts as a pass in these statistics, it is no surprise that drivers who frequently run near the back of the field rank highly in the number of times they have been passed. In addition, these drivers are often easy targets for faster competitors who have dropped back due to poor qualifying results or strategy setbacks.

When total passes are compared against the number of times a driver has been passed, Kyle Kirkwood comes out well ahead of the competition. He recorded 64 more passes than times he was passed himself.

Overview of Passes Made / Times Passed

Passes Made by Track Type

This season, IndyCar has raced on four street courses, three ovals and two road courses, meaning any analysis by track type is based on a relatively small sample size. Nevertheless, it is interesting to examine which drivers have recorded the most passes on each type of circuit.

Rinus VeeKay, Christian Lundgaard and Christian Rasmussen were the most productive drivers in terms of passing across the three track categories. Unsurprisingly, the three oval races carry significantly more weight than the other six events when it comes to total passing numbers. For Rasmussen, ovals are the only track type on which he built his lead in the overall passing standings.

VeeKay and Lundgaard have been more consistently competitive across different circuit types. VeeKay leads all drivers in passes on the four street circuits and ranks third on the ovals, while Lundgaard has recorded the most passes on the road courses and ranks second on the street courses.

At the other end of the spectrum, it is interesting to note that Alex Palou completed only five passes across four street-course races.. This illustrates that when you start near the front, there are simply fewer cars to pass, especially with the limited number of drivers being lapped on street circuits this year. On the other hand, Palou recorded an impressive 61 passes during the Indianapolis 500, where the lead pack constantly exchanged positions and drivers routinely traded the lead.

Overview of Passes Made by Track Type

Times Passed by Track Type

When we take a closer look at how often drivers have been passed on each type of circuit, Josef Newgarden presents a particularly interesting case. He was passed more often than any other driver on street circuits, largely due to the 20 times it happened during the Detroit race. On ovals, however, the Team Penske driver has been the least-passed driver in the field.

Pato O'Ward has been passed more often than any other driver during the two races held on road courses. Much of that total can be attributed to the Sonsio Grand Prix, where O'Ward sustained damage on the opening lap and gradually dropped further down the order throughout the race.

The oval statistics are less surprising. Drivers who tend to struggle more on this type of circuit are also the ones most frequently passed. Louis Foster has been passed by far the most often, largely due to the 69 times it happened during the most recent race at WWT Raceway.

The most surprising name in the oval standings is Santino Ferrucci, who has yet to display the strong oval form this season that has become his trademark over the past several years.

Overview of Times Passed by Track Type

Source: IndyCar Timing & Scoring