INDYCAR

Review by eFreeware

The INDYCAR app is the official mobile companion to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, published by the series itself. It gathers race-weekend coverage into one place: news, schedules, championship standings, video highlights and live timing, along with the lower-tier INDY NXT by Firestone championship. For anyone who follows the series and wants a single free app for it, this is the obvious starting point.

What makes it worth a look rather than just a news feed is the live layer. The developer describes a real-time leaderboard with an interactive track map showing the whole field, live car telemetry, onboard camera streams for selected drivers, and driver and pit crew radio audio. NTT DATA is credited as the power behind the app, and INDYCAR Radio audio arrives through OnlyBulls during each race weekend.

The install numbers back up its reach: more than 500,000 installs and a 4.2 average across 9,364 ratings. I'd treat it as the baseline app for following the series rather than one of several options.

Following a race weekend in real time

The core job here is race day. The leaderboard updates as the race unfolds, and the interactive track map places the full field on the circuit so you can see who is where without waiting for a broadcast graphic. Live telemetry adds a layer of detail that a television feed rarely shows, and the radio transmissions let you hear driver and pit crew exchanges as they happen.

Onboard camera streaming for selected drivers is the other draw. It won't cover the entire field, since the developer describes it as available for certain drivers, but it gives a direct view from inside a car rather than a produced broadcast angle. Between the cameras, the radio and the timing, the app is built for people who want to watch a race with more context than a single screen provides.

For 2026 the app adds Up to Speed, which the developer says keeps you current with live track action as a race unfolds. That sounds aimed at anyone who can't sit through a full event, or who dips in and out and needs a quick way to reconstruct what happened. It sits alongside the existing live features rather than replacing them.

Audio, standings and the season around the race

INDYCAR Radio audio streams during each race weekend, which makes the app usable as a listening companion when you can't watch. Pair that with the live leaderboard and you have a reasonable way to follow a race by ear while checking positions on screen. Coverage runs from the green flag to the checkered flag, rather than only the moments that make highlights.

Away from the track, the app handles the quieter parts of a season. News, the schedule and championship standings are all there, and push notifications can be set for breaking news and key series updates. That combination covers the gap between races, when what most followers want is the standings picture and a sense of what is coming next.

INDY NXT by Firestone gets full driver and team coverage of its own, which matters if you follow the development series as closely as the top one. Rather than treating the junior championship as a footnote, the app carries it as a parallel section. For someone tracking a young driver's progress toward the main series, that is a meaningful inclusion.

Fantasy racing and merchandise in the same app

Firestone sponsors the series' official fantasy contest, which is part of the app. That means lineup decisions and race-weekend scoring live in the same place as the timing and news, which is convenient if you already play. It also gives the app a reason to be opened before a race, not only during one.

There is also a shop section for browsing official INDYCAR gear. It is a browsing feature rather than a core part of the race experience, but it fits the pattern of the app: a single hub for the series rather than a narrow timing tool. I'd expect most people to spend their time in the live sections and visit the shop rarely, if at all.

The fantasy game and the shop are the two parts of the app that don't depend on a race being underway. Together with the news and standings, they give it something to do on a Tuesday, which is more than many sports companion apps manage.

What you need before the green flag

Setup is light. Favorites can be picked with a tap, and push alerts can be turned on for breaking news and key updates. Those two choices shape what the app surfaces for you, so it is worth doing them early rather than after the first race you follow.

The live features depend on the series being on track. Telemetry, the leaderboard, onboard cameras, radio audio and the Up to Speed updates all relate to sessions as they happen, so the app is at its most useful during a race weekend and considerably quieter between events. INDYCAR Radio audio, in particular, is tied to race weekends rather than running continuously.

It has been on Google Play since August 2010 and was last updated on September 30, 2026, with the recent changes described as performance and stability improvements. Features and content inside the app may change.

Who gets the most from it

This is for people who already follow the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and want the timing, audio and camera angles in one place on a phone or tablet. If you watch races on television and keep a second screen open, the live leaderboard, track map and telemetry are exactly the kind of companion data that makes a broadcast easier to read. If you listen rather than watch, the radio audio carries the event on its own.

It also suits followers of INDY NXT by Firestone, since that championship gets its own driver and team coverage inside the same app. And anyone playing the official fantasy game will find it here rather than in a separate download, which keeps race-weekend decisions and race coverage together.

The app assumes you care about the series. It is a companion to INDYCAR racing, not a general motorsport hub, and its value rises and falls with the calendar. Someone who checks in a few times a season will still get the standings and news, but the features that stand out are the ones tied to a live session.

A free companion worth keeping for race weekends

The INDYCAR app does one thing well: it puts the live race in your hands. The 2026 Up to Speed updates address the obvious gap for anyone who can't watch every lap.

The trade-offs are structural rather than annoying. The live features are tied to race weekends, so the app goes quiet between events, and onboard cameras cover selected drivers rather than the whole field. Neither is a flaw so much as the nature of a series companion.

I'd suggest it to anyone who follows INDYCAR and wants timing and audio alongside whatever they watch on. Install it before the next race weekend and set your favorite drivers first.

What's new in version 18.0.17

App performance enhancements and stability improvements.