Pato O’Ward – Java House Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Pato O’Ward’s relentless, late-season pursuit of Alex Palou for the NTT IndyCar Series championship continued Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.

Winner of two of the last three INDYCAR races, O’Ward turned the fastest lap of the opening day of practice for Sunday’s Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at 1-minute, 9.20269-seconds/116.416 mph around the 2.248-mile/11-turn natural-terrain layout.

“We rolled off really strong,” O’Ward said after logging 18 laps in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I’m definitely happy with where we’re at in terms of speed. Obviously, we still have more work to do to be more consistent, but it’s been a very good day for us.”

SEE: Practice Results

O’Ward began chopping into Palou’s massive point lead with his initial victory of the season at Iowa Speedway on July 12, the first half of a double-header weekend. Palou, the three-time/reigning series champion from Chip Ganassi Racing, countered by winning Race 2 in bucolic Newton on July 13.

A 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas, O’Ward launched his self-described “elbows out” campaign after winning on the Streets of Toronto last Sunday. O’Ward scored his third career win on a street-course in spite of his 10^th-place starting grid spot.

“We keep making our Sundays so much harder than what they have to be,” O’Ward said post-race. “Qualifying has been not our friend. But Sundays have been. I feel like the gist of this year for at least the No. 5 side, it feels like it’s always a recovery Sunday, always been a recovery Sunday. We keep fighting our way forward.”

That is the mindset first-year Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan –  INDYCAR champion in 2004 and winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500 – has been preaching to Pato and his crew.

“Yeah, I think my biggest challenge Pato and I have is to make everybody believe that no matter what, especially in INDYCAR, every time you take the green flag, that is an opportunity,” said Kanaan, a native of Brazil. “Days like (last Sunday), it makes a big difference in our people. I think you give them an extra boost of confidence that we can do it, we can take the next step.

“More important than the win and everything else, I think it’s what we’re trying to build here, to be able to not have a car winning seven races (Palou), having us challenging that.”

O’Ward enters the weekend schedule 99-points behind Palou, a 28-year-old native of Spain and winner of seven of the season’s first 13 races. While O’Ward realistically has a significant points hill to climb, he vowed to keep charging as long as he remains mathematically eligible for his first career series title.

“We need to keep winning races because that guy (Palou) wins races, and he has won a lot more races than we have this year,” said O’Ward, who will attempt to add a road-course victory to his hot streak in Sunday’s 95-lap/212.6-mile event. Broadcast coverage will begin at 3 p.m. (EDT) on FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

O’Ward is one of four drivers mathematically eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup, although Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood (minus-173 points) and six-time series champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand (minus-174) are barely hanging on. Fittingly, Palou, O’Ward, Kirkwood and “Dixie” are the only drivers to have won a race this season.

Four races remain on the 2025 schedule, with a victory worth as much as 54 points.

Palou placed fourth on the Day 1 chart, trailing two-time event winner Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian and Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. Herta, a native of California, and native New Zealander Armstrong posted nearly identical times – 1:09.3173-seconds/116.231 mph and 1:09.3174-seconds/116.231 mph, respectively, – with Palou at 1:09.3679-seconds/116.146 mph.

Statistically, Laguna Seca has been Palou’s best series racetrack with four consecutive top-three finishes, including wins in 2022 and 2024. Driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Palou is bidding for his third consecutive series championship and fourth title in five years.

Herta is the only two-time Laguna Seca race-winner competing in this weekend’s 27-car field. The second generation star won this event in 2019 and 2021. Dixon won the 2023 race, while teammate Palou won last year from pole position, as Herta did twice.

David Malukas paced the two-car entries from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in 11^th at 1:10.0998-seconds/114.933 mph in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.

Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci tested his pain threshold while placing 23^rd overall at 1:10.8867-seconds/113.657 mph in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. Recall that Dallas resident Ferrucci did not compete in Toronto following a grinding accident during the race day morning warm-up.

Ferrucci was parked by Team President Larry Foyt, son of team-owner/INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr., due to a severely damaged car and Santino’s bruised and swollen right hand. Ferrucci hit the Turn 7 wall at speed on the left side, sending the car sliding into the Turn 8 runoff area. All four corners of the No. 14 Chevy were damaged, with approximately three hours remaining to make repairs.

Prior to arriving in California, Ferrucci described his injured hand as “OK, not great. I’m just trying not to use it, really. Nothing I can do. It’s still swollen. I’m sure it’ll be fine for the race weekend; I don’t anticipate it being an issue. I have almost 100 percent grip-strength. It’s just certain angles and rotations and picking things up that I can’t do, which is, luckily nothing I have to do in the car.”

Ferrucci said he especially enjoys maneuvering through Laguna Seca’s signature feature, the Turn 8 Corkscrew with its twisting elevation drop. “I think the Corkscrew is really cool,” Ferrucci said. “The layout is awesome. It’s an old school, classic track. It’s got a really nice flow to it as well, and yeah, the Corkscrew is definitely the best part of that track. It’s pretty crazy, because it’s completely blind in a Formula car because of where you sit – you sit so low that you can’t look over anything. So, we depend on the corner workers a lot for that corner.”

The DNS at Toronto dropped Ferrucci from 10^th to 12th in the point standings. “Santucci’s” best career start at Laguna Seca is 12th in 2019; his best finish is ninth last summer.

Friday’s practice saw several drivers push the track limits too far. The off-course excursions began with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Devlin DeFrancesco bouncing through the gravel at the exit of Turn 4 and hitting the barrier. The No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda made impact with its left side, same side that Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi hit in Turn 6 in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet.

“We just lost it out of (Turn 4),” said DeFrancesco, a 25-year-old native of Canada. “The grip’s super-low, and I think the track is slipping away quite quickly. There are some patches that are quite grippy, so conditions change quite a bit. Conditions are tricky.”

Herta noted Northern California’s trademark wind-and-dust conditions lead to the asphalt getting “chewed up and beat up” – creating low grip for Firestone Firehawk’s racing rubber.

Dixon spun the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda exiting Turn 5 en route to placing 24^th overall, and rookie Jacob Abel did likewise in Turn 3 in the No. 51 Abel Construction Honda of Dale Coyne Racing. Later, Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands and his No. 18 askROI Honda of Dale Coyne Racing spun off Turn 11. Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen nearly did the same while trailing VeeKay in the No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet.

“We’re trying to find the limit out here,” said Rasmussen, a 25-year-old native of Denmark who wound up sixth at 1:09.6736-seconds/115.636 mph.

Last of the incidents saw two-time series champion Josef Newgarden lock his rear tires approaching the aforementioned Corkscrew, where the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet slid off-track and got stuck in the gravel. Newgarden ranked 26^th overall after P1, a continuation of his miserable season.

The weekend’s second practice is booked for Saturday morning, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. (EDT). Both sessions will air live on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Sunday’s activity will begin with a warmup practice at noon (EDT) on FS2, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

A pair of first-day INDY NXT by Firestone practices for the Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca left rookie series point-leader Dennis Hauger with a damaged car and Caio Collet with a very fast car.

Caio Collet – INDY NXT By Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski

SEE: Practice Results

Driver of the No. 76 HMD Motorsports entry, Collet posted the quickest overall lap time of 1-minute, 14.0546-seconds/108.795 mph. A native of Brazil, Collet bested Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes of Australia (1:14.3332-seconds/108.388 mph) in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car and Josh Pierson (1:14.6193-seconds/107.972 mph) in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports entry.

Hauger, a series rookie from Norway, logged the best lap in the first session – 1:14.7484-seconds/107.786 mph – but his opportunity to improve in P2 was lost when he hit the tire barrier in Turn 6 of the 2.248-mile/11-turn natural-terrain layout.

Caio Collet – INDY NXT By Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Paul Hurley

Hauger finished with the 16th-best lap overall in Andretti Global’s No. 28 Nammo car, a position he won’t want to be in when qualifying is held Saturday at 1 p.m. (EDT) on FS1. That session will set the starting lineups for each of the two races scheduled this weekend. For the record, the past 10 pole-winners of the Grand Prix of Monterey have gone on to win the race.

Hauger, who leads the series with five wins and six poles, holds a 76-point lead over fellow-rookie Hughes (two wins, two poles) with five races remaining. Collet, a one-time race-winner this season, stands 94 points out of the series lead.

Nineteen car-and-driver combinations participated after Andretti Cape INDY NXT and native Mexican Ricardo Escotto parted ways.

The weekend’s first race is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (EDT) on FS2. Race 2 will be at 1 p.m. Sunday on FS1.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings –  1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 536; 2, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 437; 3, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 363; 4, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 362; 5, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 317; 6, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 309; 7, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 283; 8, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 278; 9, Will Power, Team Penske, 263; 10, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 259;

11, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 252; 12, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 240; 13, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 239; 14, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 226; 15, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 217; 16, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 213; 17, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 199; 18, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 199; 19, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 195; 20, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 195;

21, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 168; 22, Robert Shwartzman, PREMA Racing, 159; 23, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 159; 24, Callum Ilott, PREMA Racing, 135; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 133; 26, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 123; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 95; 28, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 36; 29, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 20; 30, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 16;

31, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 12; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 10; 33, Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren with Henrick Motorsports, 6; 34, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)

NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.