The opening half of June was busy for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The completion of five consecutive weeks of on-track activity was followed by a mid-week hybrid test at the Milwaukee Mile, a private test at Nashville Superspeedway and the announcement of the new television agreement along with the 2025 schedule. Last Saturday, the series received a small breather.
But there is no rest for the weary. This week, the action resumes with the first summer journey in 21 years to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and its iconic “Corkscrew” turn complex. The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey has been a September race in prior years, so this will be a new adventure.
The opponents will be recognizable, led by Scott Dixon, who won last year’s race. Chip Ganassi Racing’s six-time season champion beat Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin in the 2023 season finale by 7.3180 seconds, and both of their teams will be among this weekend’s favorites.
The other driver on the podium last year was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who capped his second title in three years with a third-place finish. He enters Sunday’s race (6 p.m. ET, USA Network, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network) five points behind Team Penske’s Will Power for the series lead.
Power also is a two-time series champion. He finished fourth in last year’s Monterey event.
A quick glance at a handful of this weekend’s storylines:
Championship Taking Shape
This is the eighth event of the season, which means the halfway point in a 17-race schedule is approaching.
As it stands, the top three drivers in the standings – Power, Palou and Dixon — have what amounts to a full-race advantage on the pack. Dixon is 11 points off of the lead. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward stands fourth, 52 points behind Power.
Recalling Last Year’s Race
Monterey hosted the season finale last year, and it was wild and woolly. There were eight caution periods, tying a track mark set in 2001, a race won by Max Papis.
The 35 laps of caution set a dubious event record. The opening lap saw at least a half-dozen vehicles clash in Turn 2. The mayhem started with Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Christian Lundgaard getting into the back of McLaughlin, who got knocked into Josef Newgarden’s path. Newgarden then accepted contact from RLL’s Graham Rahal. McLaughlin was one of several able to drive through the gravel trap and continue without damage, and he recovered to finish second.
Palou led a race-high 51 laps, with Dixon dominating 20. Dixon concluded the year with three wins in the final four races to finish second in the standings.
Former INDYCAR Winners at Monterey
This edition of the sport has raced at Laguna Seca since 2019, and there wasn’t a race during the COVID-interrupted season of 2020.
Therefore, only a handful of drivers in this weekend’s 27-car grid have won a series race here. Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian has won twice (2019 and 2021), with Palou and Dixon winning the prior two years, respectively.
Helio Castroneves won the CART race in 2000, but the Meyer Shank Racing seat he has held the past two races now belongs to David Malukas, who will make his season debut.
Sunday’s Late Start
This certainly isn’t a night race, but this is about as late in a weekend as the green flag has waved.
For East Coast watchers, settle in for the green at roughly 6:30 p.m. ET. The event will span 95 laps.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES action continues Friday with the first practice at 5 p.m. ET. The second practice is Saturday at 1 p.m. with qualifying later in the day at 5:15 p.m. All these sessions will air live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
INDY NXT by Firestone’s Doubleheader
It’s a double dip of action for the INDYCAR development series. Races are slated for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday and 4 p.m. ET Sunday. Both air on Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
The top three drivers in the standings are fielded by three separate teams: Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports), Louis Foster (Andretti Global) and Caio Collet (HMD Motorsports). Abel leads Foster by 19 points with Collet a distant third, 77 points off of the series lead.
