Note: This new series gathers the Inside Line panel to discuss the major storyline surrounding each NTT INDYCAR SERIES team entering the 2026 season. An installment on each team will appear at INDYCAR.com on Fridays.

Brian Barnhart

Curt Cavin: It’s remarkable how much different Rahal Letterman Lanigan looks since Jay Frye took over in April, and this week’s signing of Mick Schumacher is only a small part of it. New hires Gavin Ward and Brian Barnhart (photo, above), among others, will make a difference behind the scenes very quickly, so much so that I look for one of the team’s three drivers to seriously challenge for a race win next season, and quite frankly, I might be surprised if they don’t win one – the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is the most likely place for that to happen. To answer this week’s question specifically, I’m most interested in seeing an improvement on the ovals, where the team did not have a top-10 finish this year.

Graham Rahal

Eric Smith: I’m watching closely to see how Graham Rahal (photo, above) develops in his 19th season. He surpassed 300 career starts last year and at 37 in January, he understands his time behind the wheel is limited. Rahal hasn’t won in 143 starts, dating back to his Belle Isle Park doubleheader sweep in June 2017 and his last four seasons have produced point finishes of 11th, 15th, 18th and 19th. But, RLL strengthened its leadership structure by hiring Gavin Ward in an advisory role, Brian Barnhart as Senior VP of Operations and Kyle Sagan as Pit Stop Manager. Barnhart will also call strategy for Rahal, bringing decades of experience atop the pit stand. Sagan, a veteran mechanic and one of the paddock’s most respected pit stop specialists, could help cure one of RLL’s biggest weaknesses. During his two seasons in the same role at Arrow McLaren, two of the team’s three entries finished in the top six of the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award standings in 2024. Last season, Pato O’Ward’s crew ranked third and Christian Lundgaard’s sixth. Rahal’s crew finished ninth. In a series defined by milliseconds, the combination of Barnhart’s race management and Sagan’s expertise with the crew could spark a long-awaited resurgence for Rahal in 2026.

Paul Kelly: Well, the obvious answer is how Mick Schumacher fares in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. But while being a master of the obvious, I want to take another approach and look at Louis Foster (photo, top). The Englishman should feel proud to win series Rookie of the Year honors in 2025 with RLL after winning the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2024. But let’s be honest: It wasn’t a bumper crop of first-year drivers this season, and Foster finished 23rd overall in the standings. Foster’s rookie year was marked with flashes – especially his brilliant first career NTT P1 Award at Road America – and inconsistent results, as his best finish was 11th. Foster has the speed to compete for top-10 finishes on any natural road course and probably most street courses, but RLL and Foster must improve their form on ovals for this team to challenge the “Big Four” of Ganassi, McLaren, Andretti and Penske. It will be very interesting to see his progress in 2026.