Scott McLaughlin won the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey, the final round of the 2026 IndyCar season at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The New Zealander from Team Penske started from pole position and led 87 of the 95 laps, a statistic that confirms the level of control he had over the race from the start. The victory was his first since the second race of the doubleheader at Milwaukee in August 2024.
Photo By Penske Entertainment
Chevrolet reached 250 poles in IndyCar history with McLaughlin's qualifying run on Saturday, a number that gains relevance because of the circuit where it was achieved. Laguna Seca had been Honda and Alex Palou territory in recent seasons, with victories for the Spaniard in 2022, 2024, and 2025. Penske's performance at Monterey suggests the team resolved part of the problems it carried at permanent road courses during 2025 and much of 2026, when results at those types of circuits fell well short of the organization's expectations.
Kyle Kirkwood finished second in the Andretti Global car and consolidated the season runner-up spot. The American cut into the gap in the final stint on Firestone alternate compounds, but the primaries on the Penske car maintained the pace needed to keep the margin from dropping below a second and a half in the closing laps. Kirkwood admitted that his priority was protecting the second position in the standings rather than risking a move against McLaughlin, an approach that reflects the pragmatism with which Andretti managed the end of the calendar.
Photo By Penske Entertainment
Alexander Rossi finished third in the Ed Carpenter Racing car, returning the team to the top three at a permanent road course for the first time since the third-place finish Rossi himself achieved at Laguna Seca in June 2024, when he was driving for Arrow McLaren. The team needed a clear reference point at tracks with both left- and right-hand corners. Christian Rasmussen had delivered results at ovals and at World Wide Technology Raceway, but performance at permanent road courses was the weakest point of the project during the season.
The race had only one caution period, on the first lap, for contact between Sting Ray Robb and Dennis Hauger at turn 6. Hauger was knocked out of the race, though the retirement did not prevent him from securing the Rookie of the Year title with 228 points, 15 more than Mick Schumacher. The Dane's season with Dale Coyne Racing had its ups and downs, but consistency in the early rounds was enough to keep him at the top of the newcomer standings.
Photo By Penske Entertainment
Alex Palou finished eighth on a four-stop pit strategy, never fighting for the top positions. The Spaniard had already clinched the championship at Milwaukee the previous week, and Chip Ganassi Racing celebrated his fifth career title with donuts on the main straight and the presentation of the Astor Cup. Palou started second in this edition but never found the pace to close in on McLaughlin at a track that had historically favored him.
Photo By Penske Entertainment
The 2027 season begins on March 7 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, where McLaughlin will defend the victory he earned in the 2026 edition. The season finale at Laguna Seca leaves Penske with a clear sign of recovery at permanent road courses, Andretti with confirmation that Kirkwood is ready to fight for the championship, and ECR with a development direction it must sustain to avoid repeating the problems of 2026.
Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey
| Pos | # | driver | team | laps | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | 95 | 119:29.616 |
| 2 | 27 |  Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian | 95 | +1.374s |
| 3 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | ECR | 95 | +2.811s |
| 4 | 60 |  Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 95 | +5.289s |
| 5 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | 95 | +14.588s |
| 6 | 7 |  Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | 95 | +16.500s |
| 7 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 95 | +21.813s |
| 8 | 10 |  Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | 95 | +28.044s |
| 9 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | 95 | +40.226s |
| 10 | 8 |  Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 95 | +40.768s |
| 11 | 5 |  Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | 95 | +43.021s |
| 12 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 95 | +43.747s |
| 13 | 26 |  Will Power | Andretti Global | 95 | +49.353s |
| 14 | 45 |  Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 95 | +53.405s |
| 15 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 95 | +55.103s |
| 16 | 76 |  Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 95 | +55.730s |
| 17 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 95 | +57.624s |
| 18 | 18 |  Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing | 95 | +1:00.692 |
| 19 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 95 | +1:04.668 |
| 20 | 4 |  Caio Collet | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 95 | +1:08.174 |
| 21 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | ECR | 95 | +1:09.128 |
| 22 | 47 |  Mick Schumacher | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 95 | +1:10.771 |
| 23 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 94 | +20.264s |
| 24 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | 94 | +22.292s |
| 25 | 19 |  Dennis Hauger | Dale Coyne Racing | 0 | - |
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Carlos Castillo Sansabas
Drivers Standings 2026
| POS | PILOTO | PTS | ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Álex Palou | 631 | |
| 2 | Kyle Kirkwood | 545 | arrow_up1 |
| 3 | Christian Lundgaard | 535 | arrow_down1 |
| 4 | Pato O'Ward | 522 | |
| 5 | David Malukas | 514 | |
| 6 | Scott McLaughlin | 482 | |
| 7 | Marcus Ericsson | 429 | arrow_up1 |
| 8 | Josef Newgarden | 423 | arrow_down1 |
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