The IndyCar Series concludes the 2026 season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with the Mission Grand Prix Monterey, a 95-lap race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course.
Alex Palou has clinched his fourth consecutive points championship and fifth overall, but Pato O’Ward has surged into a tight race for second place by sweeping last weekend’s races on the Milwaukee Mile. Christian Lundgaard has moved into second in the standings, with Kyle Kirkwood and O’Ward fourth. Those three drivers are separated by 4 points.
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Palou and Lundgaard have each won two road course races in 2026, and O’Ward one. Palou has won this race three of the past four years.
Here’s what you should know about the race:
(All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218)
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4 p.m.: Indy NXT practice, FS2
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5 p.m.: IndyCar practice, FS2
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6:30 p.m.: Indy NXT practice, FS2
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1 p.m.: IndyCar practice, FS2
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3 p.m.: Indy NXT qualifying, FS2
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4:30 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying, FS2
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6:30 p.m.: Indy NXT race, FS2
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8 p.m.: IndyCar practice, FS2
Watch IndyCar with a Fubo trial
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12:30 p.m.: Indy NXT race, FS1
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2:30 p.m.: IndyCar race coverage, Fox (green flag at 3 p.m.)
Watch auto racing with a Fubo trial
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Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O’Ward: Who takes second place in the points? “Christian Lundgaard has been the most consistent of the three on road courses this year, and he came second at Laguna Seca in 2025, so I say Lundgaard.”
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Who is IndyCar’s most improved driver in 2026? “It has to be Marcus Ericsson. By improving from 20th in the 2025 championship to getting back into the top 10 and winning a race, Ericsson proved he still belongs on an upper-tier team like Andretti Global.”
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TV: Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 3 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.
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IndyCar tickets for Laguna Seca
Alex Palou capped the 2025 season with his eighth win, and Christian Lundgaard and Colton Herta completed the podium.
Alex Palou has won six races, Pato O’Ward three, Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood and Christian Lundgaard two each, and Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson one each. (Points are for full-season entrants)
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Alex Palou, 607 points
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Christian Lundgaard, 507
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Kyle Kirkwood, 505
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Pato O’Ward, 503
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David Malukas, 484
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Scott McLaughlin, 428
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Josef Newgarden, 408
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Marcus Ericsson, 407
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Felix Rosenqvist, 379
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Rinus VeeKay, 364
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Will Power, 351
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Scott Dixon, 318
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Kyffin Simpson, 307
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Marcus Armstrong, 293
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Graham Rahal, 291
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Alexander Rossi, 271
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Santino Ferrucci, 262
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Nolan Siegel, 253
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Louis Foster, 251
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Romain Grosjean, 247
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Christian Rasmussen, 236
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Dennis Hauger, 223
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Mick Schumacher, 205
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Caio Collet, 193
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Sting Ray Robb, 175
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IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race). Mark Jaynes is the anchor, with driver analyst Davey Hamilton.
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Friday: Partly sunny with highs in the upper 60s.
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Saturday: Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s.
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Sunday: Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s.
(*-street course; ^-road course; #-oval; all races on Fox, SiriusXM Channel 218; times are start of TV coverage, ET)
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March 1: St. Petersburg, Fla. * (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Saturday, March 7: Phoenix # (Winner: Josef Newgarden)
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Sunday, March 15: Arlington, Texas * (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood)
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Sunday, March 29: Birmingham, Alabama ^ (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Sunday, April 19: Long Beach, California * (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Saturday, May 9: Indianapolis road course ^ (Winner: Christian Lundgaard)
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Sunday, May 24: Indianapolis 500 # (Winner: Felix Rosenqvist)
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Sunday, May 31: Detroit * (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Sunday, June 7: Madison, Illinois # (Winner: Josef Newgarden)
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Sunday, June 21: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ^ (Winner: Christian Lundgaard)
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Sunday, July 5: Lexington, Ohio ^ (Winner: Pato O’Ward)
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Monday, July 20: Lebanon, Tennessee (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Sunday, Aug. 9: Portland ^ (Winner: Alex Palou)
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Sunday, Aug. 16: Markham, Ontario * (Winner: Marcus Ericsson)
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Sunday, Aug. 23: Washington, D.C. * (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood)
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Sunday, Aug. 30: Milwaukee # (Winner: Pato O’Ward)
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Sunday, Aug. 30: Milwaukee # (Winner: Pato O’Ward; race completed Sunday after being postponed by rain after 91 laps on Saturday, Aug. 29)
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Sunday, Sept. 6: Monterey, California ^, 2:30 p.m.
(with team, car number and driver)
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A.J. Foyt Racing: 4, Caio Collet; 14, Santino Ferrucci
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Andretti Global: 26, Will Power; 27, Kyle Kirkwood; 28, Marcus Ericsson
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Arrow McLaren: 5, Pato O’Ward; 6, Nolan Siegel; 7, Christian Lundgaard
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Chip Ganassi Racing: 8, Kyffin Simpson; 9, Scott Dixon; 10, Alex Palou
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Dale Coyne Racing: 18, Romain Grosjean; 19, Dennis Hauger
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Juncos Hollinger: 76, Rinus VeeKay; 77, Sting Ray Robb
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Rahal Letterman Lanigan: 15, Graham Rahal; 45, Louis Foster; 47, Mick Schumacher; reserve driver, Toby Sowery
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Team Penske: 2, Josef Newgarden; 3, Scott McLaughlin; 12, David Malukas
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar race at Laguna Seca: Start time, qualifying, race, how to watch Monterey Grand Prix
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