IndyCar’s month of back-to-back races came to an end at the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey this afternoon as the drivers took on the iconic road course at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Alex Palou Takes the top Step at Laguna Seca, Christian Lundgaard and Colton Herta Round out the Podium
Alex Palou has won at Laguna Seca for the third time within the past four races at the track. He extended his championship campaign to 590 points. Palou converted his start on pole to a race win for his eighth win of the season.
Palou joins a list of drivers, including Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt, with the most wins in a season.
Finishing up the podium was Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, who battled his way up to second and never backed down. Lundgaard had a couple of podium finishes earlier in the season, making this his fifth podium in papaya.
Colton Herta came in third. Herta’s coming off a successful weekend in Toronto, he started on pole and finished in fourth.
THE PUSH FOR HISTORY ROLLS ON! 🙌@AlexPalou takes his eighth victory of the year at @WeatherTechRcwy! pic.twitter.com/c2tU6c8Gx7
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 27, 2025
Read More: Alex Palou Becomes a Part of Racing History at the 109th Indianapolis 500
Chaos at the Corkscrew
One of the most notable features at Laguna Seca is the infamous corkscrew. As interesting as the short hill is on the track, it provided several problems during this afternoon’s race.
To start things off, Marcus Ericsson’s car stalled at the top of the corkscrew. It took a while for the caution to come out, but once it did, Ericsson was able to safely get back to his pit box. He rejoined the race at the back of the grid, similarly to Rosenqvist.
Later on, Scott Dixon spun out before regaining control of the car. Dixon finished the race in P5, just narrowly missing out on a podium finish.
And finally, Santino Ferrucci, who had some bad luck in Toronto, nearly DNF’d after not starting last weekend. During warm-up last Sunday, Ferrucci was in a crash, and the team wasn’t able to repair the car in time for the race. Today, he went off track and was stuck in the sand before returning to the race on his own the same way Dixon did.
Read More: Scott Dixon Secures His 59th IndyCar Career Win at Mid-Ohio
Other Notable Moments
A major crash on lap one brought out an early caution and sent one driver to an early exit. Kyffin Simpson made contact with Felix Rosenqvist, which sent both of them into the wall. Simpson suffered major damage to the front of his car and was forced to retire.
The team over at Meyer Shank Racing was able to get the no. 60 car back up and running, and Rosenqvist was able to rejoin the race. Despite rejoining, he spent the remainder of the race fighting from the back of the grid since he was 4 laps down.
Additionally, Robert Shwartzman and Conor Daly were in a bit of lap one chaos. The pair of drivers went off the track but were able to safely rejoin as the caution was brought out.
Later on, in the race, Jacob Abel went into the barrier after reportedly experiencing throttle issues. This brought out the second caution and also became the moment California native Nolan Siegel led the race.
A few laps after the restart, Palou overtook Siegel. This, however, marked the first time Siegel was the lap leader of an IndyCar race.
IndyCar goes on a two-week break before going on with the final three races of the season. The next race is the Grand Prix of Portland on August 10. Race start is 3:00 p.m. EST.
Main Photo: Paul Hurley, Penske Entertainment
Recording Date: 7/27/2025
