McLaughlin Edges Palou for Season’s Final Pole

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Scott McLaughlin had been hanging around near the front of the grid during the second half of the season, and today he finally broke through to capture the pole for the IndyCar season finale. He will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow hoping to break a 36 race winless streak.

“Since the thing left the hauler, this thing has been unreal,” McLaughlin said. “So stoked for Chevy to get the 250th pole, but I’ve got to try and transition this into a win. Really proud of everyone.

“We were a little bit lost there for a little bit, but to finally get back a little pace on road courses, which we’ve been a little bit lost, I’m really proud of Raul (Prados, race engineer) and the team.”

McLaughlin’s final lap was 0.0177 seconds better than the last circuit by five time series champion Alex Palou. who will start second.

Among the contenders for second place in the standings David Malukas- the longest shot for runner-up- starts fifth, Kyle Kirkwood line up sixth, Christian Lundgaard rolls off 11th after a penalty, and Pato O’Ward will try to advance from 12th.

Results

Signings: Schumacher to MSR; Daly to DRR

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Two teams announced additions to their 2027 lineups at the IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca the past two days.

Neither was a huge surprise.

On Friday Meyer Shank Raving confirmed that Mick Schumacher will drive the number 66 car, teaming with Marcus Armstrong. Schumacxher drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2026. He struggled on road and street courses, but seemed to adapt to ovals very quickly. He has a best finish of 9th place.

This afternoon at the conclusion of practice 2, new team Dreyer and Reinbold officially named Conor Daly to drive their entry in 2027 and beyond. The team also announced that they will use Honda power, a departure from the Chevy that powered the cars in their Indianapolis 500 entries the past few years. No number was announced for the car.

Daly drove for DRR in the 11th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. He was in contention for the win until the last segment of the race.

Ironically, both announcements have ties to RLL. Schumacher drove the car that RLL essentially sold the charter for to DRR.

Practice 2 Results- Laguna Seca

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Practice was shortened to a 25 minute all car session due to fence repair in the Corkscrew. A horrific crash in the Porsche race early in the morning caused the accident. Several feet of fencing had to be replaced.

Late word about the Porsche driver:

Results:

Practice is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm Eastern time.

I will have a post about driver signings up in a few minutes.

 INDYCAR Officiating AnnouncesWeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Grid Penalties 

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From IndyCar Officiating:

 INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Sept. 4, 2026) – INDYCAR Officiating has announced six-position starting grid penalties for the entries of No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises and No. 7 Arrow McLaren for unapproved engine changes following the two races at the Milwaukee Mile Sunday, Aug. 30.

The entries were in violation of:

Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Approved Engine Change-Out if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine Change-Out.

According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Sunday, Sept. 6.

Palou, Rossi To Test New NTT INDYCAR SERIESChassis Sept. 9-10 on IMS Oval

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From IndyCar:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi will participate in the first oval test of the new-for-2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES IR-28 chassis Sept. 9-10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval.

The test is the second on-track validation test of the IR-28. The new NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis and powertrain package includes a modernized look designed to provide for faster lap times and improved raceability, encouraging more wheel-to-wheel action, while also creating the safest car yet for “The Fastest Racing on Earth.”

The new car will make its competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Rossi is scheduled to test Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Palou is scheduled to test Thursday, Sept. 10.

The Turn 2 Viewing Mounds will be open to the public both days.

WHO: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing and Alexander Rossi, ECR

WHAT: INDYCAR IR-28 Validation Test on Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval

Laguna Seca Preview

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Friday’s schedule:

IndyCar Practice 5 pm Eastern FS2

The 2026 IndyCar season once again comes to an all too early end Sunday with the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at Weather Tech Raceway. Alex Palou has once again wrapped up the title, but there are still three things to settle. It has been an interesting season, which I will discuss next week.

The battle for second– Second place in the strandings has been a revolving door4 all season, with Kyle Kirkwood and David Malukas trading possession of the runner-up spot. Now, Christian Lundgaard has taken the position, and Malukas has fallen to fifth place.

Lundgaard leads Kirkwood by two points and his teammate Pato O’Ward is just four points behind. Malukas still has a chance, trailing by 23 points. Based on each drivers’ road course performances this season, I think Lundgaard has the edge. We’ ll see.

The fight for the last spot in the Leaders’ Circle is the same as the battle for Rookie of the Year. Dennis Hauger holds the lead in rookie points by 18 over Mick Schumacher. Hauger also holds the final Leaders'[ Circle spot. Caio Collet is 30 points behind Hauger

Look for Palou to win this race in a rout. He might as well. I always feel sorr4y for the winner of the season finale if it isn’t the series champion. The driver gets minimal recognition for winning the race, and I find it even sadder should coming home first happen to be that driver’s first career victory.

Rinus VeeKay is currently in 10th place, leading Will Power by 13 points. A top 10 finish by Jucos Hollinger would be quite an achievement for this team. VeeKay has far outperformed his equipment all year.

The track will be very busy as IndyNXT will settle its championship fight with a pair of races. Nikita Johnson leads Enzo Fittipaldi by just three points, and Tymek Kucharczyk is 29 points behind Hauger. It will be difficult for Collet to move up.

In addition to IndyCar action, today at 12:15 pm Eastern the corkscrew will be renamed in honor of Alex Zanardi, honoring the last exciting move made by a driver on the track. The clip of this pass is played constantly, and I look for FOX to run it at least 100 times this weekend, or so it will seem.

The one thing I do wish I were there to see is the historic car laps driven by legends of the sport. Bryan Herta and Tony Kanaan are two drivers whim I would love to see on track.

The cars on display:

1911 National Model 40

1933 Rigling & Henning Wonder Bread Special

1951 Schroeder Blakely Oil Special

1953 Kurtis 500B — D-A Lubricant Special

1956 Kurtis Kraft 500C

1961 Watson Denver-Chicago

1962 Watson Bill Forbes Special

1966 Eagle Eagle 66

1967 Gilbert Cheetah

1967 Watson Watson 67

1968 Gerhardt Gerhardt 68

1979 McLaren M24B

1983 March 83C

1985 March 85C

1986 March 86C

1988 Ferrari PPG Pace Car

1988 Lola T88/00

1990 Lola T90/00

1994 Lamborghini Pace Car

1994 Lola T94/00

1996 Lola T96/00

1996 Reynard 96I

1999 Riley & Scott Mk V

2001 Dallara IR-01

2001 Reynard 01I

2003 Dallara IR03

2004 Lola B02/00

2007 Panoz DP01

2019 Dallara DW12

2022 Dallara DW12

IndyCar Revises Driver License Standards

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IndyCar announced today new2 eligibility standards for participation in the NTT IndyCar Series. The new standards are an attempt to ensure rides go to drivers with qualifications and driving ability rather than anyone who can write a large enough check to get into a car.

I like that IndyNXT has a prioritize4d path to IndyCar. The top rung of the ladder series has needed more value, and these rules help provide it. The issue, as always, is seat availability.

The standards still allow for drivers from other major series to join the series [providing they have enough experience.

My concern is for teams like Dale Coyne Racing, who rely on large checks from a driver to fund their program for a season. Will Coyne need to sell a full charter or a part of one? How much time would that buy the team?

These standards will likely undergo some tweaking as they are put into practice.

Here are the new standards from iIdyCar:

I will have my Laguna Seca preview posted tomorrow morning.