The weekend belonged to Scott McLaughlin, who dominated from the pole position to win the Mission Foods Grand Prix, leading 87 of the 95 laps at Laguna Seca. It was another dull race at the California road course, which featured a few decent battles for position.
Mclaughlin won for the first time since August 2024 at Milwaukee, a span of 35 races. The Team Penske driver had a very strong second half of the season. He was arguably the fastest car at several August events, notably in Washington, D. C., where he edged ahead of winner Kyle Kirkwood only to hit the wall in the next corner.
Meanwhile, Kirkwood had his best career road course finish in second place. Staring sixth, it took Kirkwood just 20 laps to move into second place, where he stayed the rest of the day. His final stint on the alternate tire lasted too long to afford him the opportunity to challenge McLaughlin, but the Andretti driver secured second place in the standings by finishing second.
Five-time champion Alex Palou tried an alternative tire strategy, but it appeared he really wasn’t interested in challenging for the lead. With the title secured last week in Milwaukee, there was really no incentive to go after the win.
The best racing was a battle between David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist, who swapped positions for a couple of laps with a series of up and over moves. It was beautiful to watch them dice, but that was the highlight of the racing. Rosenqvist finished fourth and Malukas took fifth place.
A Great Day for ECR– Alexander Rossi started fourth and stayed at the front all day to grab his first podium for ECR since joining the team last year. The starting spot was the second time this season Rossi had made the Fast Six, buas the first time he maintained his spot. It was great to see the team finally put an entire race together.
Last IndyCar Race? Sunday may have been the final race in the series for Sting Ray Robb and Nolan Siegel, who finished 23rd and 24th respectively. Robb re3ceived a 10 second stop and hold penalty for punting Dennis Hauger on the first lap, and Siegel had a huge off-track adventure which put him at the tail end of the field.
Siegel has been let go by McLaren, and I have not heard of interest in picking him up by any other team. Juncos Hollinger Racing has been silent on their plans for Robb for 2027, and it is assumed he will not return.
Hauger Hangs On– Dennis Hauger won the Rookie of the Year title and held on to the final Leaders’ Circle spot despite being knocked out of the race on lap 1. Hauger’s future is uncertain at this time, but maybe getting into the Leaders’ Circle will help him keep his spot at Dale Coyne Racing.
Notes
Laguna Seca is gorgeous racetrack with many cool features in a beautiful setting, but the racing there is lackluster. It is not a good track for the season finale. IndyCar should end its season on oval. The racing will be better, and if we have ever again have a year with the title in doubt going into the final race, there is a better opportunity for some drama.
Make Laguna Seca an early August race, and have the final be a Saturday night race at Nashville in mid-September. Teams can still entertain sponsors in California, just a few weeks before the final.
FOX The broadcast was decent. Pit stop coverage with timers was the best all season. When McLauglin and Kirkwood pitted at the same time, we saw times for both leaders, and their exits off pit road were covered well. As usual, the booth did a great job explaining the different strategies.
I did not like the way the post race was handled. The winner got a laurel and hearty handshake, then it was “get out of the way- we have a champion to honor. We didn’t get to see the race podium.
I’m glad David Malukas didn’t get his first win yesterday. The significance and his celebration would have been severely muted.
Why FOX insists on putting Chris Myers on t6heir IndyCar broadcasts is defies my ability to comprehend. He is dismissive of the sport, he can’t get names correct, and acts like he would rather be anywhere else. What shame to honor a generational talent like Alex Palou with such a poor choice for emcee.
A Sad End to Winning Streaks– As expected, Scott Dion’s run of 21 straight seasons with at least one win, and Will Power’s 12-year streak both came to an end yesterday. Power had some opportunities for victory throughout the season, but Dixon never came close. The six-time champion earned just three top 10 results for the year.
Power had improved results the second half of his first year with Andretti, and I expect 2027 will bring better finishes. I hope Dixon’s move to McLaren will bring him back into contention.
Thanks for following along this season. I will have a season wrap up tomorrow, and on Wednesday I will cover the oval debut of the IR-28.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 