A spectacular and memorable IndyCar season will come to an end this weekend at the challenging Laguna Seca. Alex Palou has secured his fifth consecutive championship, but with three drivers separated by just five points, the battle for second place promises to be an exciting one! Who can shine one more time before the long winter begins? We’ve put together all the information you need for the upcoming race weekend!

The Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey

First IndyCar race: 1983
Number of races held: 28
Number of different winners: 17
Last year’s winner: Alex Palou (2025)
Lap record: Alex Palou in 2023, 1:08.4168
Most successful driver: Bobby Rahal, 4 wins (1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987)

The 2026 Race

Race length: 95 laps / 212,61 miles (342,17 km)
Push-to-Pass: Can be used for a total of 150 seconds, with a maximum of 15 seconds per use
Tires: 5 sets of standard Firestone tires and 5 alternate sets per car (rookies get 1 extra set of standard tires in the first practice session)
Green flag: Sunday, September 6, 3:05 PM ET
Expected race duration: approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes
Number of participants: 25

Entry List for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey

#2 Josef Newgarden – Astemo Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#3 Scott McLaughlin – DEX Imaging Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#4 Caio Collet – Combitrans Amazona AJ 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 – Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#9 Scott Dixon – PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#10 Alex Palou – DHL Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#12 David Malukas – Verizon Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#14 Santino Ferrucci – Homes For Our Troops AJ Foyt Racing (Chevrolet)
#15 Graham Rahal – ShipStation Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#18 Romain Grosjean – BMAX Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#19 Dennis Hauger – Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#20 Alexander Rossi – ECR Java House (Chevrolet)
#21 Christian Rasmussen – ECR Splenda Stevia (Chevrolet)
#26 Will Power – TWG AI Andretti Global (Honda)
#27 Kyle Kirkwood – Sam's Club Andretti Global (Honda)
#28 Marcus Ericsson – DKY Foundation Andretti Global (Honda)
#45 Louis Foster – Desnuda Organic Tequila Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#47 Mick Schumacher – Vanda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#60 Felix Rosenqvist – SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#66 Marcus Armstrong – REMAX Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#76 Rinus VeeKay – AMPM Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#77 Sting Ray Robb – Oikos Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)

Schedule for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey

Friday, September 4
Practice 1: 5:00 PM – 6:20 PM ET

Saturday, September 5
Practice 2: 1:05 PM – 2:25 PM ET
Qualifying: 4:35 PM – 5:55 PM ET
Warm-up: 8:10 PM – 8:40 PM ET

Sunday, September 6
Race - ‘Drivers, start your engines’: 2:58 PM ET
Race - Green Flag: 3:05 PM ET

Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey on TV

USA
Practice 1: Friday, September 4 at 5:00 PM ET on FS2
Practice 2: Saturday, September 5 at 1:00 PM ET on FS2
Qualifying: Saturday, September 5 at 4:30 PM ET on FS2
Warm-Up: Saturday, September 5 at 8:00 PM ET on FS2
Race: Sunday, September 6 at 2:30 PM ET on FOX

Canada
Both practice sessions, qualifying and the warm-up will be available on TSN Premium (TSN+). The race will be shown on TSN 3 and TSN Premium, with coverage starting at 2:30 PM ET.

UK
Both practice sessions, qualifying and the warm-up will be shown on Sky Sports F1. Coverage of the race will be delayed until 1:00 AM BST, due to the Italian Grand Prix.

Australia
All sessions as well as the race will be shown on Stan Sport. Coverage of the race starts Monday morning at 4:30 AM (AEST).

New Zealand
Practice 1: Sky Sport 9
Practice 2: Sky Sport 2
Qualifying & warm-up: Sky Sport Select
Race: Sky Sport 1, coverage starting Sunday at 6:30 AM (NZST)

Weather Forecast

After an extremely hot summer, the IndyCar season will come to a close under much cooler conditions. Temperatures around 68°F (20°C) are forecast for the three days of the race weekend. Friday is expected to be mostly cloudy, before the sun makes frequent appearances on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, September 4: 66°F (19°C), mostly cloudy
Saturday, September 5: 70°F (21°C), mostly sunny
Sunday, September 6: 66°F (19°C), mostly sunny

Source: AccuWeather.com

Historical Results

Number of Pole Positions
1. Alex Palou – 2
2. Will Power – 1
= Felix Rosenqvist – 1

Number of Wins
1. Alex Palou – 3
2. Scott Dixon – 1

Number of Podium Finishes
1. Alex Palou – 5
2. Will Power – 2
= Scott Dixon – 2
4. Josef Newgarden – 1
= Scott McLaughlin – 1
= Alexander Rossi – 1
= Christian Lundgaard – 1

Average Finish Position
1. Alex Palou – 1.60 (5 races)
2. Scott Dixon – 6.25 (8 races)
3. Romain Grosjean – 6.25 (4 races)
4. Pato O'Ward – 6.80 (5 races)
5. Christian Lundgaard – 7.00 (4 races)
6. Will Power – 8.17 (6 races)
7. Scott McLaughlin – 10.20 (5 races)
8. Alexander Rossi – 11.00 (6 races)
9. Christian Rasmussen – 11.00 (2 races)
10. Josef Newgarden – 11.33 (6 races)
11. Marcus Armstrong – 12.67 (3 races)
12. Marcus Ericsson – 12.67 (6 races)
13. Felix Rosenqvist – 13.67 (6 races)
14. Nolan Siegel – 15.00 (2 races)
15. Kyle Kirkwood – 15.33 (3 races)
16. David Malukas – 15.50 (4 races)
17. Graham Rahal – 16.17 (6 races)
18. Louis Foster – 17.00 (1 race)
19. Sting Ray Robb – 17.00 (3 races)
20. Santino Ferrucci – 18.00 (4 races)
21. Rinus VeeKay – 19.80 (5 races)
22. Kyffin Simpson – 25.00 (2 races)