The 2026 Mission Grand Prix of Monterey was the eighteenth and final round of the 2026 IndyCar season. The race was held on September 6, 2026 near Monterey, California at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The race was contested over 95 laps (212.61 miles / 342.16 km).
Race background
The Mission Grand Prix of Monterey is held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on its 11-turn road course layout. A track, it will be the final points-paying race of the NTT IndyCar Series.IndyCar is a formula for professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel race cars.
Championship standings before the race Álex Palou had clinched the 2026 IndyCar Series points championship at Milwaukee, with a 100-point lead over Christian Lundgaard. Palou led the drivers this season with six victories and eight pole positions before the race. Kyle Kirkwood, Josef Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard, and Pato O'Ward had two wins each going into the race. Marcus Ericsson, and Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist each had one win.
Entry list
KeyMeaningRookiePast winner
Driver Team Engine 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet 4 Caio Collet A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 6 Nolan Siegel Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 7 Christian Lundgaard Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 8 Kyffin Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 12 David Malukas Team Penske Chevrolet 14 Santino Ferrucci A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 18 Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing Honda 19 Dennis Hauger Dale Coyne Racing Honda 20 Alexander Rossi ECR Chevrolet 21 Christian Rasmussen ECR Chevrolet 26 Will Power Andretti Global Honda 27 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian Honda 28 Marcus Ericsson Andretti Global Honda 45 Louis Foster Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 47 Mick Schumacher Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Honda 66 Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Honda 76 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 77 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Practice Practice 1 The first practice session was held on Friday, September 4, at 2:00 PM PST. + Top Practice Speeds Driver Team Engine Lap Time 1 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1:09.8994 2 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda 1:09.9907 3 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 1:10.1764 Official Report
Practice 2 The second practice session was held on Saturday, September 5, at 10:00 AM PST. + Top Practice Speeds Driver Team Engine Lap Time 1 3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet 1:10.3014 2 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda 1:10.5433 3 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1:10.5575 Official Report
Qualifying Qualifying was held at 1:30 PM PST on September 5, 2026.
Qualifying classification Driver Team Engine Time 1 3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet 1:09.1363 1 2 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1:09.1540 2 3 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda 1:09.1931 3 4 20 Alexander Rossi ECR Chevrolet 1:09.3247 4 5 7 Christian Lundgaard Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 1:10.2227 11 6 12 David Malukas Team Penske Chevrolet 1:12.8461 5 7 27 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Global Honda 1:09.5726 6 8 28 Marcus Ericsson Andretti Global Honda 1:09.6961 14 9 8 Kyffin Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1:09.6993 7 10 66 Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Honda 1:09.9951 8 11 45 Louis Foster Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1:10.1123 9 12 4 Caio Collet A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 1:10.1446 18 13 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 1:09.5544 10 14 26 Will Power Andretti Global Honda 1:09.8617 12 15 47 Mick Schumacher Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1:09.5721 13 16 6 Nolan Siegel Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 1:09.8620 15 17 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1:09.6184 16 18 21 Christian Rasmussen ECR Chevrolet 1:09.8726 17 19 76 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 1:09.8411 19 20 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 1:09.9549 20 21 14 Santino Ferrucci A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 1:09.9460 21 22 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1:09.9593 22 23 18 Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing Honda 1:10.3840 23 24 19 Dennis Hauger Dale Coyne Racing Honda 1:09.9611 24 25 77 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 1:10.1619 25 Official Report
Post-qualifying practice The final practice session was held on Saturday, September 5, at 5:00 PM PST. + Top Practice Speeds Driver Team Engine Lap Time 1 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda 1:10.4275 2 47 Mick Schumacher Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 1:10.7058 3 3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet 1:10.8351 Official Report
Race The race was held at 11:30 AM PST on September 6, 2026.
Race classification Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired PitStops Grid LapsLed 1 3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet 95 1:59:29.6163 3 1 87 54 2 27 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Global Honda 95 +1.3739 3 6 40 3 20 Alexander Rossi ECR Chevrolet 95 +2.8108 3 4 4 36 4 60 Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda 95 +5.2886 3 3 2 33 5 12 David Malukas Team Penske Chevrolet 95 +14.5880 3 5 30 6 7 Christian Lundgaard Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 95 16.5000 3 11 28 7 66 Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Honda 95 +21.8125 3 8 2 27 8 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +28.0442 4 2 24 9 28 Marcus Ericsson Andretti Global Honda 95 +40.2262 3 14 22 10 8 Kyffin Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +40.7676 3 7 20 11 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 95 +43.0208 3 10 19 12 14 Santino Ferrucci A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 95 +43.7468 3 21 18 13 26 Will Power Andretti Global Honda 95 +49.3535 3 12 17 14 45 Louis Foster Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 95 +53.4054 3 9 16 15 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 95 +55.1028 5 20 15 16 76 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 95 +55.7301 4 19 14 17 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 95 +57.6243 4 16 13 18 18 Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing Honda 95 +1:00.6920 3 23 12 19 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 95 +1:04.6683 4 22 11 20 4 Caio Collet A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 95 +1:08.1740 3 18 10 21 21 Christian Rasmussen ECR Chevrolet 95 +1:09.1276 4 17 9 22 47 Mick Schumacher Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 95 +1:10.7713 4 13 8 23 77 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 5 25 7 24 6 Nolan Siegel Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 94 +1 Lap 4 15 6 25 19 Dennis Hauger Dale Coyne Racing Honda 0 Contact 0 24 5Fastest lap: Rinus VeeKay (Juncos Hollinger Racing) 1:11.6544(Lap 38) Official Results
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points 1 Álex Palou 6312 Kyle Kirkwood 545 (–86)3 Christian Lundgaard 535 (–96)4 Pato O'Ward 522 (–109)5 David Malukas 514 (–117)
Engine manufacturer standings Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 1571 2 Chevrolet 1216
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References