Two-Time Laguna Seca Race Winners 1-2 in Weekend's Final Practice
Colton Herta reminded the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field Saturday that he, like points leader Alex Palou, has won two series races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Herta did that setting the fastest lap of the rescheduled final pre-race practice, a session known as the warmup. The 30-minute affair was moved out of its Sunday time slot amid expectations that the coastal fog would linger on the Monterey Peninsula as it did on this day.
SEE: Warmup Results
Herta's best lap in the practice was 1 minute, 9.6028 seconds. Palou was second at 1:10.0273 while Palou's top championship contender, Pato O'Ward, was down in the order in 11th place (1:10.5414).
Herta won what is known this year as the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey in 2019 and 2021. Palou won in 2022 and 2024. The only other driver in this 27-car field who has won the event is Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, the winner in 2023. Dixon was third in this session.
Sunday's 95-lap race is set for 3 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. It's worth noting that warmup performance isn't always an indicator of which car will fare the best in the race.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Palou will start on the pole for the second consecutive year. The driver of the No. 9 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda won last year's race by 1.9780 seconds over Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian's Herta. Alexander Rossi, who was driving for Arrow McLaren, finished third.
Palou has two of the past three Laguna Seca races, including the 2022 race when he won by more than 30 seconds, and holds a 99-point over O'Ward, an Arrow McLaren driver. Four races remain. Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood (minus-173) and Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (minus-174) are the other drivers mathematically eligible for the championship, but they will need a lot go right.
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who is having the most challenging season of his career, had the lone significant incident in this session. He lost control of his machine in Turn 3, the car sliding into the gravel on the left side of the corner. Newgarden was closing on Dale Coyne Racing rookie Jacob Abel when he lost the back end of the car.
On Saturday, Newgarden at the top of the track's famous Corkscrew corner, also having his car end up stuck in the gravel.
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