The winners and losers from IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca

There was a time, not long ago, when California played host to the NTT IndyCar Series season finale. That’s no longer the case, but WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca still holds a late-season slot that essentially serves as the beginning of the end.

Going into Sunday, only four races remained in the 2025 IndyCar season, which meant Pato O’Ward desperately needed to gain ground on Alex Palou for a chance at his first title. The rest of the field, meanwhile, was left scrambling to make gains with only one road course and two oval races left to contest in August.

Some succeeded and improved their standing. Others were less fortunate – including one driver who was out of the race a few seconds after the green flag.

Here are the winners and losers from the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey.

Winner: Alex Palou does it again

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

For the eighth time this year, Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing were the big winners in Laguna Seca. With the win, Palou bumped his championship advantage up to 121 points with three races left. Go ahead and start calling the engravers for that end-of-season trophy…

Loser: Pato O’Ward comes up short

Patricio O’ward, Arrow McLaren

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Well, he tried. In need of major gains to have a chance at catching Palou in the championship standings, O’Ward did all he could to pressure the Spaniard at Laguna Seca. He qualified alongside him on the front row and pushed hard to contend in the race, salvaging fourth from a difficult afternoon.

With Palou dominant as ever, it wasn’t enough. O’Ward’s been the consistent star for Arrow McLaren, but it looks like any hopes for a breakthrough first IndyCar title will have to wait another year.

Winner: Christian Lundgaard, Colton Herta make the most of the day

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Best in class isn’t bad, right? No one was beating Palou without some help on Sunday, but Christian Lundgaard and the No. 7 Arrow McLaren team did everything they could to give themselves a chance. Rolling off seventh, the Dane pitted earlier than his rivals at the end of lap 20 and made the most of two undercut stints to rise up to second at race’s end.

Just behind him, after falling victim to a bold Lundgaard overtake, was Colton Herta. The Andretti Global star didn’t have the pace to rival Palou, but snatched second from O’Ward on the initial race start and held onto a podium spot from there. The No. 26 team has thrown many results away in recent years, so a consistent drive is something to celebrate.

Loser: Simpson, Rosenqvist crash out of contention early

Kyffin Simpson rolled into Laguna Seca fresh off his first IndyCar podium, and Felix Rosenqvist arrived in style with a colourful Grateful Dead livery and within reach of a top-five points position for Meyer Shank Racing. They both saw their chances to contend disappear just six corners into the opening lap. Simpson made contact with the rear of Rosenqvist’s car going into Turn 6 and they both ended up in the tire barrier at the end of the runoff area.

Simpson’s day was done from there in 27th. Rosenqvist continued on, but lost laps waiting for assistance and dealing with the damage. He ended up 24th at race’s end, leaving him two points ahead of Herta for sixth in the standings, with Marcus Armstrong only eight points back in eighth.

Winner: But seriously, that livery

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

It didn’t get to be showcased with a strong run. But how fun was this livery (and accompanying team gear)?

Loser: IndyCar takes a gamble

Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

With the new hybrid units, IndyCar’s race control can afford to give drivers time to get their cars re-fired and return to the racing surface before electing to throw a caution. But those in charge waited entirely too long in the closing stages of Sunday’s race.

Marcus Ericsson suffered a solo spin on lap 77 of 95 after getting off-course as the exit of Turn 6. His No. 28 Honda was left stalled on the right side of a blind uphill crest.

That’s where he stayed for at least 90 seconds before the caution flag finally came to his aid. It was enough time for the FOX broadcast to find the 2022 Indy 500 winner’s stalled car, hone in on it, air the replay of his crash and sit for a lengthy spell while commentators pleaded with race control to throw the yellow.

Giving Ericsson a couple seconds to see if he can get rolling is one thing. But leaving him seated for well over a minute on a hot track is dangerous – and IndyCar had already caught flack for leaving Rinus VeeKay in the gravel trap to let a green-flag pit sequence roll through earlier in the race. Those are the sort of risks that can come with tragic consequences.

Winner: Scott Dixon and Callum Ilott work a little fuel magic

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

When you roll off 19th and 24th at a track as difficult to pass at as Laguna Seca, your odds of stealing a good finish are slim. But Scott Dixon and Callum Ilott found a way on Sunday, pitting after just 12 laps to go off-sequence and stretching fuel through the race’s middle stints.

The end result? A fifth-place run for Dixon and a solid sixth for Ilott and series newcomer Prema Racing. That’s about as much as either could ask for after their qualifying misfortune.

Loser: Jacob Abel’s rough rookie year takes another hit

There’s no other way to spin it: Jacob Abel’s had a difficult rookie campaign.

The Dale Coyne Racing driver suffered his fourth DNF of the year and third in the past four races at Laguna Seca, sliding off-course by himself with brake issues and crashing in Turn 2 on lap 11. It was the latest in a string of tough results for Abel, who’s finished no better than 20th this season and was the Indianapolis 500’s lone DNQ in May.

IndyCar’s difficult. The cars are hard to drive and it takes a lot going right to put together a competitive weekend. Abel and the No. 51 team don’t appear up to the task this year.

Winner: A quiet day for Team Penske

Will Power, Team Penske

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

It was a forgettable weekend for Team Penske at Laguna Seca. Will Power came home seventh, with Scott McLaughlin 10th and Josef Newgarden 11th at race’s end.

But considering it’s been a year of results that were memorable for the wrong reasons, it was nice to see the Penske trio bring home decent results without any major controversies – though it seemed the poor luck transferred to the company’s NASCAR program with its tire troubles in Indianapolis. Something to build on.

Loser: Kyle Kirkwood struggles in Cali return

The last time out in California, Kyle Kirkwood was the big winner and secured a street course win in Long Beach.

Sunday was much less fortunate. Kirkwood qualified a distant 18th after a disastrous group session where his team mistimed its plan to complete a good lap and got stuck in traffic. He then proceeded to mistakenly spin Rinus VeeKay during the race, suffer a stop-and-go penalty for causing the accident and struggle to a 16th-place finish at race’s end.

There was a time not long ago where Kirkwood hoped to challenge Palou for the IndyCar title. But after Laguna Seca, he’s dropped behind Dixon to fourth in the championship standings, with only 20 points back to Christian Lundgaard in fifth.