McLaughlin Takes Laguna Seca Victory as IndyCar Season Comes to A Close
Scott McLaughlin started on Pole for the final race of the 2026 NTT IndyCar season and went on to win in Laguna Seca. The championship fight wrapped up at the previous week's race in Milwaukee, with Alex Palou clinching his 5th IndyCar championship and fourth in a row; the fight for second place continued.
Going into the final race of the IndyCar 2026 season at Laguna Seca there were 4 drivers in the fight for second place in the IndyCar championship. Christian Lundgaard who went into Laguna Seca in second place, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward. In addition, 3 drivers were in the fight for rookie of the year. The three way battle was led by Dennis Hauger, followed by Mick Schumacher, and Caio Collet. Thus, while the championship had already been won by Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi, this race had plenty riding on it.
On the green flag, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske driver, led from Alex Palou and Felix Rosenqvist. On Lap 1, Dennis Hauger hit the barrier going into Turn 6 after being hit from behind by Sting Ray Robb, resulting in a 3-lap full-course caution. Dennis Hauger’s crash meant that he was out of the race, which could have had large implications on the rookie of the year standings and that final spot in the leaders circle. Hauger being out on the first lap, meant that if Mick Schumacher were to finish in 8th place or higher during Sunday’s race he would overtake him for the Rookie of the Year.
On the restart at the end of Lap 4, Kirkwood had made up 3 spots bringing him to 3rd place. This was key for Kyle Kirkwood who was in contention for second place in the drivers championship. The track at Laguna Seca is not kind on the sticker red Firestone tires, meaning most teams and drivers were favouring the hard tires. This was especially noticeable with Alex Palou’s stint on the soft tires where on Lap 30 he lost the rears, which allowed Kyle Kirkwood to overtake him. Palou continued to lose spots and ultimately finished the race in 8th place, highlighting the difficulties others in the field were having with the soft tires.
One of the most impressive moments of the race occurred with just 27 laps to go of the race, when Nolan Siegel went off track at turn 6. Despite looking like he might hit the barriers, Siegel driving for Arrow McLaren was able to keep the number 6 car out of the barriers. Despite ultimately finishing in 24th place, this moment showcased really skilled driving from the young American driver.
With 14 laps to go it was looking like Alexander Rossi might take the fight to Kyle Kirkwood for second place, but ultimately finished the race in third. With only 7 laps to go Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas had a good fight for two laps, until Rosenqvist ultimately made it work around the outside of Malukas into turn 3.
The race ended with Scott McLaughlin getting his first win in 36 races, Kyle Kirkwood in second place, sealing his bid for second in the drivers championship, and finally Alexander Rossi for his first podium since joining ECR. Mick Schumacher finished in 22nd place, meaning Dennis Hauger secured the Rookie of the Year title and entered the 22nd place in the Leaders Circle winning his team, Dayle Coyne Racing, 1.7 Million dollars.
What a season this has been for the NTT IndyCar series.
Article Written by Israa Ihab
