McLaughlin marches into INDYCAR’s offseason with methodical win at Laguna Seca
Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Scott McLaughlin placed an exclamation point on the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule _ and Team Penske’s landmark 60th season _ with a workmanlike victory in Sunday’s Misson Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.
Pole-sitter McLaughlin ended a winless streak dating to the 2024 campaign by wheeling the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by 1.3739-seconds over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The win was the eighth of McLaughlin’s INDYCAR career and first since Sept. 1, 2024, in the second race of a double-header weekend at The Milwaukee Mile. For the record, that was a drought of 36 races.
“Today was fantastic,” said McLaughlin, a 33-year-old native of New Zealand who honed his road-racing skills as a three-time Australian Supercars champion (2018-20) before moving to INDYCAR. “We’ve had poles. Haven’t quite completed the races. You could see that it was there. Really proud to get our first win on a road-course (with engineer Raul Prado), where the last couple years we probably struggled at the most.
“Yeah, what a great way to end the season.”
Indeed, McLaughlin’s win checked several series boxes. “Scotty Mac” delivered Team Chevy its 250th INDYCAR pole on Saturday with a hot lap of 1-minute, 9.1363-seconds/116.535 mph on the picturesque 2.238-mile/11-turn natural terrain layout in Central California. Sunday’s victory was the first by a Chevrolet-powered driver at Laguna Seca since Canadian Paul Tracy’s in 1993.
And in what rates as the stat of the day _ McLaughlin led the first lap of the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and the last lap of the season in Monterey, Calif.
“Sweet!” said McLaughlin, who added another reason to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the juggernaut founded and overseen daily by 89-year-old Roger S. Penske. McLaughlin posted the 312th INDYCAR win in the organization’s remarkable history.
“I think it’s just proud to put this uniform on,” said McLaughlin, current caretaker of the No. 3 previously associated with Penske cars driven by Indianapolis 500 champions Al Unser Jr. and Helio Castroneves of Brazil. “The people that raced before you, the people that work before you, to celebrate 60 years has been amazing for Roger. To have success is fantastic. Is it as much success as we want? No. We continue as we always are talking about ‘effort equals results.’
“We will keep working; 60 years has to be celebrated. He’s (Penske) the first one to go, ‘OK, let’s see about the next 10.’ It’s keep working hard, keep getting better and better. It’s a testament to this team and his leadership, as well.”
SEE: Race Results
Kirkwood’s runnerup result in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda secured second-place in the final point standings topped by five-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Palou clinched his fifth championship after finishing 10th in the Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 at The Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 30. He placed fifth in the first race of the double-header in West Allis, Wis. It was the mercurial, 29-year-old Spaniard’s fourth straight title since open-wheel reunification in 2008, tying a series record set by Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais from 2004-07.
Palou is the youngest driver in series history to win five titles. Open-wheel icon and Houston native A.J. Foyt Jr. was 32 when he earned his fifth championship in 1967. Only “Super Tex,” with seven, and native New Zealander Scott Dixon, with six, have won more INDYCAR titles than Palou. Dixon, who was 38 when he won his fifth title with Chip Ganassi Racing, will drive for Arrow McLaren beginning in 2027.
“Congrats to Alex on his fifth,” McLaughlin said. “But we’re working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.”
Alexander Rossi finished third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet for his first podium since placing third at this event for Arrow McLaren in June 2024. A fixture in the top-three for most of Sunday’s race, Rossi produced the best day for ECR since teammate Christian Rasmussen of Denmark won in August 2025 at The Milwaukee Mile.
Rossi did so by opting for an alternate strategy _ going long on the first stint and making three quick pit stops en route to winning an on-track battle with David Malukas of Team Penske for the final podium position.
“I don’t know that I could state the significance of just with how challenging this year has been for the whole (Ed Carpenter Racing) organization, and how much road-courses have been a huge struggle of ours,” said Rossi, a 34-year-old native of Nevada City, Calif. “There was a lot of doubt, I think, coming into this event as to whether or not we could find a direction. So, I think this is just a huge reward for all of the effort for the entire Java House/Splenda ECR team.”
Rossi recorded his 31st INDYCAR podium and first with Indianapolis-based ECR. “It’s been a grind this year, but everyone stayed true to the course and focusing on just continuing to push forward,” Rossi said. “And I think that speaks volumes this weekend and gives us a great kind of step of motivation, belief, self-belief in ourselves going into next year.”
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Felix Rosenqvist placed fourth in his final race in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Honda. Rosenqvist will drive for Arrow McLaren for a second time in his domestic open-wheel career beginning in 2027.
“It was a decent race,” said Rosenqvist, a 34-year-old native of Sweden. “We got better as the race went on and we were really good on the last stint on the blacks (Firestone Firehawk primary tires). I just kind of gave it everything I had.
“It was an emotional race, the last ride with the team. I tried to take it all in on the in-lap and it brought back all of the memories; specifically our Indy 500 win. Super-proud of what we have done together. These guys are awesome to work with, I wish everyone the best of luck.”
David Malukas put two Team Penske cars in the top-five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. “So many good things to come out of this, especially for me,” said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago who completed his first season with the organization. “I think before coming into the season, for me, it was just ovals only. Now we’ve figured out the road-courses on top of it. Street courses need a little more work, but road-courses are good. From outside pace I think we were one of the top cars on pace, but my wrist started giving out there toward the end.”
Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Palou hoisted the Astor Challenge Cup for the fifth time in six years after finishing eighth in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing. The winner of this race in 2024 and 2025, Palou and his CGR crew celebrated its record-tying fourth consecutive season title with donuts on the front straightaway and during a boisterous post-race presentation.
Team founder/owner Chip Ganassi saluted Palou and CGR’s partners with a champagne toast to the organization’s record 18th INDYCAR championship. “Like we say in Pittsburgh, this is one for the thumb,” said Ganassi, 68, and a former INDYCAR driver.
Palou’s latest championship completed another stellar season with CGR, which paid tribute to two-time INDYCAR champion Alex Zanardi via a Lightning Bolt livery all weekend on the No. 10 Honda. Zanardi died on May 1 in his native Italy at the age of 59.
“Everybody behind me, everybody around me, man, this team has been incredible every single year, every single race,” said Palou, a 29-year-old native of Barcelona, Spain. “I had a rocket ship but this team, all our partners DHL, OpenAI, everybody who has been supporting this team. Honda giving us all the car we needed every single time we needed it. It’s just been a magical year. Time to celebrate with all these guys.”
Palou’s fifth championship cemented his place among the series’ elite, as he sits alone in third in the all-time standings.
Pato O’Ward completed a three-win season by finishing 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “P4 in the championship this year,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “Obviously, we always look for more considering we were second last year. We faced a lot of challenges this year but it was nice to get three wins on-track. That was definitely the highlight.
“Other than that, our bad days are too bad, and we need to make that better and give it another go next year. Appreciate all the fans for their support, and seeing so many of you at the track this year.”
Santino Ferrucci paced the two-car effort by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing with a 12th-place finish after starting 21st in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet.
“It looked like it was gonna start to be a good weekend but It’s been pretty rough,” said Ferrucci, a 28-year-old resident of Dallas. “Ended up being a really solid one. Really happy with the crew strategy. Our pit stops have been phenomenal. I mean, you can’t do what we just did without having great pit stops. And yeah, car was nice to drive. Obviously, really physical there at the end, but we just kind of nailed everything.”
Meanwhile, Caio Collet completed his rookie campaign with a 20th-place result in Foyt Racing’s No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet.
“It was a decent race until the last stint,” said Collet, a 24-year-old native of Brazil. “I think we did a pretty good job the first three stints. Then, with 15 laps to go, I just started to struggle a lot with the (Firestone) reds, especially with the rear. And then I was just losing two, three seconds a lap. Need to understand a little bit better what I did wrong or what we could have done a bit better to just protect the tire or shorten that stint.
“A big thanks to everyone for the season, for all the year, A.J. Foyt Racing, Chevy, Combitrans, all the engineers and the mechanics. It was a tough year but definitely also had some really enjoyable moments.”
McLaughlin left absolutely no doubt about his dominance on the layout famous for its downhill Corkscrew turn complex. He only trailed during pit stop sequences and ended up leading 87 of 95 laps, erasing all memories of the six podium finishes without a win since his last victory.
The race produced only one caution period during the 212.61-mile distance _ a Lap 1 incident in which Sting Ray Robb’s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing/Goodheart Chevrolet hit the rear of rookie Dennis Hauger’s No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing in Turn 6. The contact sent Norwegian Hauger spinning into the tire barrier.
McLaughlin had no problem pulling away from the field on the restart on Lap 4, and his precise driving and Team Penske’s clean, quick work during three pit stops took care of the rest.
“We had to be solid,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win a championship. What a great warmup we had. Bring on 2027.”
That sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Diuguid, president of Team Penske’s INDYCAR and sports car programs. “It’s definitely nice to win the last race of the year,” Diuguid said. “We just have to figure out how to win some more in the middle. We’re strong on road-courses, street courses and ovals now, which is what it takes to be competitive in the championship. Real excited for 2027 already. We’ll definitely celebrate this win; it’s an important one for the team.”
Kirkwood, who started sixth, had climbed to second by Lap 20 after Palou pitted to switch to a different tire strategy and shadowed McLaughlin the rest of the way, pitting at the same time as McLaughlin on all three stops. McLaughlin’s lead was nearly four-seconds at the halfway point, but Kirkwood pulled as close as 1.2-seconds on Lap 72 due to running his final stint on the faster but less-durable Firestone Firehawk alternate (red) rubber.
McLaughlin eased away in the closing laps on the more durable Firestone primary tire, as Kirkwood admitted he and the Andretti Global team took a safety-first approach to ensure the driver would finish a career-best second in the standings. Kirkwood ended up 86 points behind champion Palou.
“Second in the championship, and that’s my best road-course finish,” said Kirkwood, a 27-year-old native of Jupiter, Fla. “We just played it super-clean, super-methodical. I wish I could have had a go at Scotty there at the end on the better tires, but we knew who we were fighting and that was for the championship, mostly. So we played it safe there. Second place is best of the rest.”
Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger earned series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race. Schumacher, the 27-year-old son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany, will move to Meyer Shank Racing in place of Rosenqvist in 2027.
The 2027 INDYCAR season will begin on Sunday, March 7, on the Streets of St. Pete.
Tymek Kucharczyk – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by Chris Jones
Tymek Kucharczyk got his revenge, and Nikita Johnson the crown Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone season-finale. Kucharczyk ran away to victory in Race 2 of the Grand Prix of Monterey double-header in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car one day after his title hopes in INDYCAR’s developmental series were dashed when he was hit and spun by a rival on the first lap.
SEE: Race Results
“Really proud of the work,” said Kucharczyk, a 20-year-old native of Lodygowice, Poland. “Everyone on the team did amazing. Big congrats to Nikita. What can I say? ‘What if’ if yesterday didn’t happen? But nevertheless, really proud of today. We maximized what we had.”
Johnson dodged a first-lap incident in Sunday’s 30-lap/67.14-mile race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and cruised to a distant second place in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR machine to clinch the season championship and an INDYCAR career enhancement package. A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Johnson is the youngest champion in series history at 18 years, 3 months and 12 days old.
Johnson finished 29 points ahead of season runner-up Enzo Fittipaldi of Miami in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry to clinch the first INDY NXT championship for longtime junior open-wheel team Cape Motorsports, owned by brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape.
“It’s amazing,” Johnson said. “It’s good to finally show my emotions. I think a lot of people thought I was passionless, but I’m just emotionless when I drive, right? I just go out there and do the work. I’m happy that the work is done now, and I can finally go celebrate.”
Australian Lochie Hughes completed the podium on a sun-splashed Central California morning in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry. Jacob Abel finished fourth in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, while Fittipaldi completed the top-five.
For the second straight day, a first-lap incident was the major flashpoint. On Saturday, contact from Myles Rowe in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine sent Kucharczyk into a spin and to the bottom of the field on Lap 1. Kucharczyk recovered to finish 10th, but his title hopes were over after entering the weekend third, 29 points behind leader Johnson.
In Sunday’s race, Saturday winner Josh Pierson said he had an apparent mechanical malfunction while starting second that caused his No. 29 Starchive Andretti car to sputter on an upshift just past the flag stand. That hesitation led to contact from behind from the No. 12 Abel Motorsports machine of Milwaukee winner Max Garcia. Pierson’s car spun and collected the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry of Niels Koolen of the Netherlands, and both cars careened into the gravel and out of the race.
Johnson, who started fifth, avoided the melee that triggered the day’s only caution period and powered to second place on the subsequent restart. Pole-sitter Kucharczyk left no doubt about his intent on the restart on Lap 5, immediately pulling away.
Tymek inexorably drove away from the field, building a lead of nearly four-seconds by Lap 11, five-seconds by Lap 15 and 7.3-seconds by Lap 24.
Kucharczyk cruised to his second victory of his first season of racing in North America, as he also won in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course. He placed third in points, 34 behind champion Johnson, after leading all 30 laps.
“I was pushing every lap,” Kucharczyk said. “I left nothing on the table. I’m really proud. It was an amazing year.”
After the restart, Johnson faced some pressure from Hughes. But Johnson managed the gap and showed the composed driving style that helped him earn nine podium finishes and top-10 results in all 17 races this season. He also was the only driver to complete all 656 laps this season.
“I’m happy that we got it done, and I can’t thank the Cape boys enough,” Johnson said. “They’ve always been in my corner the whole time. My whole family, everybody that supports us back home.”
Final 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 631; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 545; 3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 535; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 522; 5, David Malukas, Team Penske, 514; 6, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 482; 7, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 429; 8, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 423; 9, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing; 412; 10, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 378;
11, Will Power, Andretti Global, 368; 12, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 331; 13, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 327; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 320; 15, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 307; 16, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 302; 17, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 368; 18, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 267; 19, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 259; 20, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 259;
21, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 245; 22, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 228; 23, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 213; 24, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 203; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 182; 26, Derek Daly, Dryer & Reinbold Racing, 24; 27, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 20; 28, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 8; 29, Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports, 6; 30, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian, 5;
31, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 5; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Arrow McLaren, 5; 33, Katherine Legge, HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing, 5.
FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)
Sunday, May 24 _ 110th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, (Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian)
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m., (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)
Monday, July 20 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, (Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global)
Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren)
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, (Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske)
2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)
Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)
Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2, (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Myles Rowe, Abel Motorsports)
Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1, (Lochie Hughes, Andretti Global)
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2, (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports powered by ECR)
Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis., (Max Garcia, Abel Motorsports)
Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1 (Josh Pierson, Andretti Global)
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2 (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)
