{"id":60606,"date":"2026-09-07T14:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T19:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=60606"},"modified":"2026-09-08T20:31:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T01:31:38","slug":"mclaughlin-marches-into-indycars-offseason-with-methodical-win-at-laguna-seca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/07\/mclaughlin-marches-into-indycars-offseason-with-methodical-win-at-laguna-seca\/","title":{"rendered":"McLaughlin marches into INDYCAR\u2019s offseason with methodical win at Laguna Seca"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

Scott McLaughlin placed an exclamation point on the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule _ and Team Penske\u2019s landmark 60th<\/sup> season _ with a workmanlike victory in Sunday\u2019s Misson Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.<\/p>\n

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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The win was the eighth of McLaughlin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday was fantastic,\u201d 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. \u201cWe’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.<\/p>\n

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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYeah, what a great way to end the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, McLaughlin\u2019s win checked several series boxes. \u201cScotty Mac\u201d 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\u2019s victory was the first by a Chevrolet-powered driver at Laguna Seca since Canadian Paul Tracy\u2019s in 1993.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by James Black<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet!\u201d said McLaughlin, who added another reason to celebrate the 60th<\/sup> anniversary of the juggernaut founded and overseen daily by 89-year-old Roger S. Penske. McLaughlin posted the 312th<\/sup> INDYCAR win in the organization\u2019s remarkable history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s just proud to put this uniform on,\u201d 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. \u201cThe 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 \u2018effort equals results.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Alexander Rossi, Scott McLaughlin and Kyle Kirkwood – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe will keep working; 60 years has to be celebrated. He’s (Penske) the first one to go, \u2018OK, let’s see about the next 10.\u2019 It’s keep working hard, keep getting better and better. It’s a testament to this team and his leadership, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

SEE:<\/strong> Race Results<\/a><\/p>\n

Kirkwood\u2019s runnerup result in the No. 27 Sam\u2019s Club Honda secured second-place in the final point standings topped by five-time\/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s fourth straight title since open-wheel reunification in 2008, tying a series record set by Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais from 2004-07.<\/p>\n

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Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

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 \u201cSuper Tex,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongrats to Alex on his fifth,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cBut we\u2019re working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2019s race, Rossi produced the best day for ECR since teammate Christian Rasmussen of Denmark won in August 2025 at The Milwaukee Mile.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Alexander Rossi – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by James Black<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d said Rossi, a 34-year-old native of Nevada City, Calif. \u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rossi recorded his 31st<\/sup> INDYCAR podium and first with Indianapolis-based ECR. \u201cIt’s been a grind this year, but everyone stayed true to the course and focusing on just continuing to push forward,\u201d Rossi said. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Felix Rosenqvist – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Owens<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a decent race,\u201d said Rosenqvist, a 34-year-old native of Sweden. \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

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,\u201d said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago who completed his first season with the organization. \u201cI 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.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Owens<\/p><\/div>\n

Team founder\/owner Chip Ganassi saluted Palou and CGR\u2019s partners with a champagne toast to the organization\u2019s record 18th INDYCAR championship. \u201cLike we say in Pittsburgh, this is one for the thumb,\u201d said Ganassi, 68, and a former INDYCAR driver.<\/p>\n

Palou\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Alex Palou – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEverybody behind me, everybody around me, man, this team has been incredible every single year, every single race,\u201d said Palou, a 29-year-old native of Barcelona, Spain. \u201cI 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\u2019s just been a magical year. Time to celebrate with all these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palou\u2019s fifth championship cemented his place among the series\u2019 elite, as he sits alone in third in the all-time standings.<\/p>\n

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Pato O’Ward – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

Pato O\u2019Ward completed a three-win season by finishing 11th<\/sup> in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. \u201cP4 in the championship this year,\u201d said O\u2019Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. \u201cObviously, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther 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.”<\/p>\n

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Santino Ferrucci – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

Santino Ferrucci paced the two-car effort by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing with a 12th<\/sup>-place finish after starting 21st<\/sup> in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked like it was gonna start to be a good weekend but It’s been pretty rough,\u201d said Ferrucci, a 28-year-old resident of Dallas. \u201cEnded 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.”<\/p>\n

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Caio Collet – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, Caio Collet completed his rookie campaign with a 20th<\/sup>-place result in Foyt Racing\u2019s No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a decent race until the last stint,\u201d said Collet, a 24-year-old native of Brazil. \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The race produced only one caution period during the 212.61-mile distance _ a Lap 1 incident in which Sting Ray Robb\u2019s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing\/Goodheart Chevrolet hit the rear of rookie Dennis Hauger\u2019s No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing in Turn 6. The contact sent Norwegian Hauger spinning into the tire barrier.<\/p>\n

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Scott McLaughlin – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by James Black<\/p><\/div>\n

McLaughlin had no problem pulling away from the field on the restart on Lap 4, and his precise driving and Team Penske\u2019s clean, quick work during three pit stops took care of the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to be solid,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s going to take to win a championship. What a great warmup we had. Bring on 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Diuguid, president of Team Penske\u2019s INDYCAR and sports car programs. \u201cIt’s definitely nice to win the last race of the year,\u201d Diuguid said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kyle Kirkwood – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Kirkwood – Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSecond in the championship, and that\u2019s my best road-course finish,\u201d said Kirkwood, a 27-year-old native of Jupiter, Fla. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The 2027 INDYCAR season will begin on Sunday, March 7, on the Streets of St. Pete.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Tymek Kucharczyk – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tymek Kucharczyk got his revenge, and Nikita Johnson the crown <\/strong>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\u2019s developmental series were dashed when he was hit and spun by a rival on the first lap.<\/p>\n

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Tymek Kucharczyk – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by James Black<\/p><\/div>\n

SEE:<\/strong> Race Results<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cReally proud of the work,\u201d said Kucharczyk, a 20-year-old native of Lodygowice, Poland. \u201cEveryone on the team did amazing. Big congrats to Nikita. What can I say? \u2018What if\u2019 if yesterday didn\u2019t happen? But nevertheless, really proud of today. We maximized what we had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson dodged a first-lap incident in Sunday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Nikita Johnson – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by Chris Owens<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to finally show my emotions. I think a lot of people thought I was passionless, but I\u2019m just emotionless when I drive, right? I just go out there and do the work. I\u2019m happy that the work is done now, and I can finally go celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lochie Hughes – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by James Black<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Josh Pierson – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

In Sunday\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Johnson, who started fifth, avoided the melee that triggered the day\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Lochie Hughes, Tymek Kucharczyk, Firehawk and Nikita Johnson – Grand Prix of Monterey – INDY NXT By Firestone – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pushing every lap,\u201d Kucharczyk said. \u201cI left nothing on the table. I\u2019m really proud. It was an amazing year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that we got it done, and I can\u2019t thank the Cape boys enough,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey\u2019ve always been in my corner the whole time. My whole family, everybody that supports us back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _<\/strong> 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 631; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 545; 3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 535; 4, Pato O\u2019Ward, 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;<\/p>\n

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;<\/p>\n

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;<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

FOX SPORTS\u2019 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE\/(RACE WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 24 _ 110th<\/sup> Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, (Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m., (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, (Pato O\u2019Ward, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Monday, July 20 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, (Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O\u2019Ward, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., (Pato O\u2019Ward, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, (Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske)<\/p>\n

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE\/(RACE-WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)<\/p>\n

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2, (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Myles Rowe, Abel Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1, (Lochie Hughes, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2, (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports powered by ECR)   <\/p>\n

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., (Matteo Nannini, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis., (Max Garcia, Abel Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1 (Josh Pierson, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2 (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott McLaughlin placed an exclamation point on the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule _ and Team Penske\u2019s landmark 60th season _ with a workmanlike victory in Sunday\u2019s Misson Foods Grand Prix of Monterey. Pole-sitter McLaughlin ended a winless streak dating to the 2024 campaign by wheeling the No. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":60609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[22,1186,672,862,846],"class_list":["post-60606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","tag-indycar","tag-laguna-seca-raceway","tag-ntt-indycar-series","tag-scott-mclaughlin","tag-weathertech-raceway-laguna-seca"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fLw","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Scott-McLaughlin-Mission-Foods-Grand-Prix-of-Monterey-By_-Chris-Jones_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m165528.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60606"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60683,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60606\/revisions\/60683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}