In the last race of IndyCar’s internal combustion engine era, Alex Palou moved into the points lead with his second victory at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca Raceway.
Winning by 1.9780 seconds over Colton Herta, Palou took a 23-point lead over Will Power (who was seventh) in the championship through eight of 17 races this season.
Palou, who started from the pole position for the second time in 2024, is trying to win his third championship in four seasons. In four starts at Laguna Seca, the Spaniard has four podiums — two wins, a second and a third.
Herta ranks fourth in the championship after tying a season best with a second. Alexander Rossi also finished a season-best third, and Romain Grosjean’s fourth was the best finish yet for Juncos Hollinger Racing.
The IndyCar Series now will head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the July 7 race will mark the long-awaited debut of hybrid engines.
Here are the IndyCar results and points standings after the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:
RESULTS
Click here for the official box score from the 95-lap race on the 11-turn 2.238-mile road course in Monterey, California.
Event summary
Lap leader summary
Lap chart
Section results
Top section times
Pit stop summary
Here is the finishing order in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Alex Palou, Honda, 95, Running
2. (4) Colton Herta, Honda, 95, Running
3. (5) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 95, Running
4. (8) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 95, Running
5. (2) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 95, Running
6. (10) Scott Dixon, Honda, 95, Running
7. (15) Will Power, Chevrolet, 95, Running
8. (9) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 95, Running
9. (17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 95, Running
10. (18) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 95, Running
11. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 95, Running
12. (23) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 95, Running
13. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 95, Running
14. (24) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 95, Running
15. (6) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 95, Running
16. (12) David Malukas, Honda, 95, Running
17. (16) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 95, Running
18. (13) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 95, Running
19. (14) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 95, Running
20. (25) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 94, Running
21. (7) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 93, Running
22. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 93, Running
23. (22) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 86, Contact
24. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 86, Contact
25. (26) Jack Harvey, Honda, 82, Mechanical
26. (20) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 71, Mechanical
27. (27) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 34, Contact
Winner’s average speed: 102.740 mph; Time of race: 2 hours, 4 minutes, 9.8545 seconds; Margin of victory: 1.9780 seconds; Cautions: Five for 14 laps; Lead changes: Seven among five drivers. Lap leaders: Kirkwood 1-24; Palou 25-26; Rossi 27-36; Palou 37-55; Herta 56-63; Palou 64-69; Newgarden 70-74; Palou 75-95.
POINTS
Click here for the points tally in the race.
Here are the points standings after the season’s eighth race for:
Drivers
Engine manufacturers
Entrants
Pit stop performance
Top 10 in points: Palou 285, Power 262, Dixon 253, Herta 217, Kirkwood 210, O’Ward 208, Rossi 198, McLaughlin 188, Newgarden 181, Rosenqvist 176.
Rest of the standings: Lundgaard 156, Ferrucci 154, Ericsson 150, Grosjean 144, Armstrong 129, Rahal 127, VeeKay 114, Lundqvist 113, Fittipaldi 97, Simpson 88, Canapino 86, Rasmussen 82, Robb 78, Pourchaire 75, Harvey 70, Blomqvist 46, Ilott 39, Siegel 35, Ghiotto 27, Castroneves 26, Daly 21, Larson 21, Sato 19, Malukas 14, Carpenter 14, Vautier 12, Braun 10, Hunter-Reay 6, Andretti 5, Legge 5.
Next race: The IndyCar Series will head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a July 7 race with coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.