Tight Points Race Marks INDYCAR's Midway Point

As the 2026 INDYCAR season reaches its halfway point, the championship battle is tighter than ever. Alex Palou leads by only 49 points over Kyle Kirkwood, with four drivers within 96 points of the leader. This stands in stark contrast to last year when Palou led by 93 points at this stage.

Key storylines to watch include Will Power's comeback with Andretti Global after 17 years with Team Penske, the Nashville Superspeedway race following the World Cup final, and the recovery of multiple injured drivers including Josef Newgarden who recently won despite a foot injury.

• Juddmonte International the target for easy winner

• Victorious backed for Guineas after Queen Mary stroll

There was no room for doubt after the Prince of Wales’s Stakes here on Wednesday, and no need either for any debate about team tactics or riding instructions. Ombudsman’s sweeping charge down the outside to beat Minnie Hauk and Daryz, the winners of the Oaks and Arc respectively last season, was as decisive a winning move as favourite backers could ever hope to see, and William Buick was using only hands-and-heels through the final furlong as the 11-10 chance opened up a four-length lead at the line.

For a brief moment at the top of the straight, it seemed that the pacemakers might be a source of post-race discussion for the second day running. Mississippi River and Devil’s Advocate, one front-runner apiece for Aidan O’Brien’s Minnie Hauk and the John & Thady Gosden-trained Ombudsman, tore into a long lead by halfway, and while Mississippi River was a spent force turning in, Devil’s Advocate still had a healthy lead at the two-furlong pole.

He is back in the groove as skipper, but callow nature of this team has forced a fresh approach as Stokes’s stand-in

There was a moment, late on the first day at Lord’s, of the sort that makes captaincy instantly worthwhile: Ben Stokes chose to bring Emilio Gay in at short leg, Kane Williamson immediately edged the ball into his pad and thence into the air, and without even looking to see what happened next Ollie Robinson sprinted into his captain’s embrace. It is a high-pressure role, perhaps at times unbearably so, but it is not without its rewards.

The first day of the second Test had little in common, not least because the England teamsheet had in the intervening period been put through a shredder. The sun shone, the pitch behaved, and as an occasion it felt – perhaps appropriately given the kind of mess England have made a habit of getting themselves into of late – a great deal more sober.

According to agent Ron Slavin, Sorsby was advised by Texas Tech that it was time for him to move on, despite Sorsby wanting to continue playing at the school. The decision came after Sorsby initially filed a lawsuit but later withdrew it to enter the draft.

Slavin described the situation as a 50-50 split between Sorsby and Texas Tech, suggesting the school became skittish amid the legal proceedings. Sorsby had just seven days left to file for the supplemental draft when the decision was made.