Marcus Ericsson Wins Markham, Ends 63-Race IndyCar Drought
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing Monday IndyCar Race Recap - what happened, why it happened, and what it means for the championship. Fan to fan, no filler.
The Short Version
Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, passing Romain Grosjean with five laps to go and driving away to a 7.5305-second win. It was Ericsson's fifth career IndyCar victory, his first with Andretti Global, and his first since St. Petersburg in 2023, a drought that had stretched 63 races. The new 2.19-mile street course in Markham, Ontario bit hard on its first try, with six cautions, eight retirements and only 14 cars still on the lead lap at the checkered flag.
Louis Foster Set the Pace, Then the Wall Found Him
This one belonged to Louis Foster for most of the first half. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver took the second pole of his career, led the opening 32 laps and built a cushion of nearly three seconds while everyone behind him sorted out a track nobody had ever raced on.
Then it unraveled. On lap 43 Foster went after Ericsson for third through Turn 3, clipped the inside barrier and got fired into the outside wall. Pole to nothing in one corner. That is what a brand-new street circuit does to you when there is no reference lap in anybody's notebook.
Foster was not alone. Mick Schumacher brought out the first caution on lap 15 when he touched the inside wall at Turn 4 and slid straight across into the outside barrier. Marcus Armstrong spun at the hairpin and then picked up a penalty for driving off before the AMR safety crew released him. Scott Dixon was spun by Dennis Hauger and collected Christian Rasmussen at Turn 8. Kyle Kirkwood, the only driver with any realistic shot at Alex Palou in the standings, clipped both walls in his own crash and ended the day 21st.
Six cautions in all, and 25 of the 90 laps run behind the pace car. The hairpin and the tight walls did most of the damage.
The Pit Call That Won the Race
Ericsson did not lead this race until it mattered. The No. 28 crew ran a long second stint and pitted from the lead on lap 69, with 21 to go, taking on the softer alternate tires while the leaders around him stayed out on older rubber. He rejoined seventh. On a street course where passing is supposed to be hard, that looked like a mistake.
It was the opposite. Ericsson had the grip and everyone else did not. He worked forward through the group, made contact with his own teammate Will Power at Turn 5 while taking third, then closed a 2.6-second gap to Grosjean and went by on the inside with five laps left. From there he checked out. The 7.5-second margin at the flag was not close, and it had been a 2.6-second deficit ten laps earlier.
The drought is OVER 🍾
— INDYCAR (@IndyCar) August 16, 2026
Photo shown via the official INDYCAR post on X.
"It's been long enough," Ericsson said afterward. "We might not have got the results we deserved every weekend, but I really felt we deserved (this)." The win landed ten days after Andretti Global confirmed him for a fourth season with the team, which makes the timing about as good as it gets.
Grosjean Was One Pass Away, Again
Romain Grosjean led 28 laps for Dale Coyne Racing and looked like he was finally going to get it done. He did not. Second place is now the sixth runner-up finish of his IndyCar career and he still does not have a win. It was his first podium since 2023, so the day was a genuine result for a team that does not get many of them, but it stung.
2ND IN MARKHAM!!! 🇨🇦 BACK ON THE PODIUM!!! 🔥 THAT FEELING.
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) August 16, 2026
Photo shown via Romain Grosjean's official post on X.
The other drive of the day came from third place. Will Power started 25th and last after a rough qualifying session and finished on the podium, holding off Alex Palou by a tenth of a second at the line. Pato O'Ward went from 23rd to fifth. On a circuit everyone called impossible to pass on, two of the best drives came from the very back.
Markham by the Numbers
A few extras worth knowing. This event is the old Toronto race in a new home, moved from Exhibition Place to Markham Centre, so Sunday was the first time IndyCar had turned a lap here. The race ran 197.1 miles in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 22 seconds at an average speed of 83.156 mph. Nolan Siegel led eight laps in the middle of the pit cycle. Eight cars did not make the finish.
Who Is Hot and Who Is Not
Hot: Marcus Ericsson. Sixty-three races is a long time to hear that you used to be good. He is ninth in points, but he just beat everybody on strategy and on pace in the same afternoon.
Hot: Will Power. Last to third. That is the whole scouting report.
Hot: Dale Coyne Racing. Twenty-eight laps led and a podium for a team that usually spends Sunday fighting for 15th.
Not: Kyle Kirkwood. He needed a big day to keep the title fight alive and got 21st out of the walls instead.
Not: Louis Foster. Pole, 32 laps led, nothing to show for it. He was the fastest man on the property for half the race.
What It Means for the Championship
Alex Palou finished fourth, which was more than enough. He now sits on 542 points with a 133-point lead over Kirkwood and four races left. David Malukas is third on 405, with Christian Lundgaard two behind him on 403, so the real fight right now is for second.
Palou can wrap up a fourth straight title very soon. If his lead after next Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23 is at least 162 points, the championship is his. You can see every remaining round and the updated points on the IndyCar Series schedule and standings.
The Bottom Line
Markham was chaos, and chaos rewarded the driver who kept his car clean and the crew that read the tires better than anyone else. Ericsson did not have the fastest car all day. He had the fastest car for the last 20 laps, which is the only stint that pays.
So here is the question for the comments. Was Ericsson's late pit call the smartest strategy of the season, or did Grosjean's team leave a first career win sitting on the table by staying out too long?
Shop IndyCar Gear
Ericsson gave Andretti Global its win of the weekend. If you want something on the shelf from the same shop, or you just want to wear IndyCar this week, these are in stock right now:
- Colton Herta No. 26 Gainbridge Andretti 1:18 diecast
- Indy 500 Back Home Again tee
- 109th Indy 500 graphic logo tee
- IndyCar checkered flag sublimated tee
- Indy 500 Snake Pit tee
The rest of the rack is in the Happy Hour Racing IndyCar collection.
