By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
For the first time since 2024, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin returned to victory lane, leading 87 laps-en route to a maiden win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.
It was a banner weekend for the driver of the No.3 Chevrolet after he claimed pole on Saturday afternoon. McLaughlin controlled the race from the drop of the green flag, keeping second place finisher Kyle Kirkwood at bay throughout.
Despite the lack of action during the 95-lap race, a weight is now lifted off of the shoulders of McLaughlin, who last won in the second race of the Milwaukee double-header in 2024.
“Today was fantastic,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve had poles. Haven’t quite completed the races. You could see that it was there. Really proud to get our first win together on a road course where the last couple years we probably struggled at the most. What a great way to end the season. We have a lot of hard work to do over the off-season to come back stronger, combat against the 10. I think J.D. [Team Penske President Jonathan Duiguid] would agree, it’s just a good finish to the season, gets everyone excited.”
McLaughlin’s daughter, Lucy, also sees her dad win for the first time, a moment that the driver from New Zealand will hold close.
“I said on TV, for me to win as a dad, I’ve been wanting to win for Lucy so much. That’s the main thing.”
Kyle Kirkwood finished second on Sunday afternoon and at the same time, wrapped up second place in the championship, 86-points behind Alex Palou. It was a conservative day for the Floridian as the No.27 team for Andretti Global had eyes on clinching the runner-up spot in the standings.
“We played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship,” Kirkwood said. “We made all the decisions based on that. Probably could have had a go at Scottie [McLaughlin] at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tires last. That’s what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of.”
Alexander Rossi wrapped up a strong weekend for the No.20 crew for Ed Carpenter Racing. Since a July 8 test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, Rossi and the team have unlocked their road course package in the second-half of 2026 and the gains give the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner his best finish of the campaign.
“The Mid-Ohio race we took a little bit of a step. Portland, a little bit of a step. Here [Laguna Seca] was another decent step,” Rossi said when asked about the team’s performance on road courses.
“There’s two issues, two challenges: you have to identify the problem, then you have to figure out how to fix it. We were able to do that to a certain extent. Like, there’s still more to come from what we know. It’s a huge step in the right direction. Now we have a lot of time to really understand. It’s been a huge stretch for everyone in the series these past five weeks. To really analyze and understand how it can be better will be useful coming into March.”
Felix Rosenqvist capped off his Meyer Shank Racing tenure with a fourth place finish. Rosenqvist was on the hunt for a podium, but with his No.60 Honda being slow to start the race, it was a race to make up for lost time. It was a 24-lap stint on the primary, black tire and a late pass on David Malukas, that would cap off an emotional weekend for the 2026 “500” champion.
“It’s been a really, really cool journey with MSR these three years,” Rosenqvist said regarding his time with the team. “To look back where we started and now, you know, we’re fighting at the front, winning Indy together. Just a lot of good memories. Great people to work with in general. I think that’s the main takeaway. I’ve had a lot of fun with this team and they’ve elevated me as a driver.”
David Malukas, who has seen an increase in road course performance after moving to Team Penske, brought the No.12 Chevrolet to a fifth place finish. The young American closes out 2026 with a 5.5 average finish on road courses.
The result gives the No.12 team a foundation to build on continuing into 2027 after showing promise in 2026.
“So many good things to come from this,” Malukas said. “I think before coming into the season, it was always ovals only and now we figured out the road courses on top of it. Street courses need a little bit more work, but I’m very happy that the road courses are very strong. We were one of the top guys on pace today, but my wrist started to give out towards the end.”
SEE: Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey Grand Prix Results
With Palou already clinching the championship in Milwaukee, one accolade left to fight for was the Rookie of Year title. Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger claimed the honors, despite only completing less than half-of-a-lap in the race. Hauger was able to beat Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Mick Schumacher by 15 points to claim the award.
The young Dane was wrecked by Sting Ray Robb going into Turn 6. Hauger’s day was done, but the 2025 Indy NXT champion was awarded $1.7 million for his efforts.
“It’s obviously been a bit of a roller coaster this year as a rookie,” Hauger said. “To become the Rookie of the Year and get that title is pretty special to me. It can only happen once. To be able to get it, it’s pretty special. Just want to say a big thanks to Team Honda, everyone supporting me this year. It’s been, as I said, a bit of a roller coaster. Even with a DNF, we still got the title. Super happy and grateful.”