MONTEREY, Calif. — Without any pressure because he has already wrapped up the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Championship, Alex Palou is going for his third-straight win at Laguna Seca without regard to points.
And if Friday’s practice session is any indication, he might already have that covered.
Palou was the fastest in both the all-cars portion of Friday’s practice at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca and in Group 1 of the two, 10-minute split sessions.
When the all-cars session concluded, Palou was the fastest at 1:10.9060 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Chevrolet followed by Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Honda at 1:10.9271.
In the first group session that followed, Palou’s car was so good, he climbed out of his car before the 10-minute session was over. He was the fastest in that group at 1:09.899 followed by teammate Kyffin Simpson’s No. 8 Sunoco Honda at 1:10.376.
Palou’s first victory at Laguna Seca was in 2022 – the only year since 2021 that he has not won the NTT IndyCar Series Championship.
It’s also Scott Dixon’s final race with Chip Ganassi Racing, ending an historic 25-year-run that includes 59 wins and six championships.
Dixon has 21 consecutive IndyCar seasons with a win and has won a race every year since 2005. His last winless season was 2004. Dixon has one more chance to keep that streak going in Sunday’s race.
Second place is Will Power with 16 followed by Josef Newgarden with 12, Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio Castroneves with 11.
The 40 minutes practice began at 2 p.m. and ran uninterrupted until Josef Newgarden spun off course in Turn 6 15 minutes into the session. His car was able to return to the race course and continued to pit lane under its own power.
Dixon would also drive off course a few minutes later. His No. 9 crew began a brake change in the pits afterward to get the issue remedied in time for the split group session.
At 2:39 Pacific time, Santino Ferrucci went off course in Turn 9 after running wide and contacted the tire barrier. The car was assisted by the AMR IndyCar Safety Team and returned to the pit lane under its own power.
When the all-cars session concluded, Palou was the fastest at 1:10.9060 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Chevrolet followed by Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Honda at 1:10.9271. Last week’s doubleheader winner at The Milwaukee Mile, Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, was third at 1:11.0843 in the No. 5 Chevrolet followed by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda at 1:11.1276. Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing was fifth at 1:11.2993 in the No. 14 Chevrolet.
In the first group session that followed, Palou’s car was so good, he climbed out of his car before the 10-minute session was over. He was the fastest in that group at 1:09.899 followed by teammate Kyffin Simpson’s No. 8 Sunoco Honda at 1:10.376, Graham Rahal’s No. 15 Honda at 1:10.459, David Malukas’ No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet at 1:10.470 and Alexander Rossi’s No. 20 ECR Chevrolet at 1:10.501.
Group 2 was next to hit the track in the final IndyCar portion of Friday’s schedule.
With 1:50 left in that group, Felix Rosenqvist began his pole sim and ran a lap at 1:09.990 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Honda.
“It’s a great looking car, a great way to end this journey with Meyer Shank Racing,” Rosenqvist said. “It’s coming to an end, but I look forward to the future. I love Laguna Seca. It’s a great place to be in the world. I love Monterey and look forward to bringing this season to an end this weekend.”
Rosenqvist was followed by Pato O’Ward at 1:10.176 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet at 1:10.319, Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda Andretti Global Honda at 1:10.461 and Louie Foster’s No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:10.780.
Those times held up through the end of the session.
