The 17th and final round of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series takes place at Laguna Seca, the 2.238-mile road course located in California's Monterey region. For the 11th time, Laguna Seca hosts an IndyCar season finale, but for the fifth time, the championship is already decided, making this a dead rubber. We know whose name will be engraved on the Astor Cup, but there are plenty of other championship positions on the line, and this is the final chance for a victory until 2024. Entering the final race, there have been seven different winners from four different teams. Sixteen drivers have stood on the podium this season. Nine drivers have won a pole position.
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday September 10 with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBC
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will work pit lane.
Channel: NBC
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will work pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Friday:
First Practice: 5:30 p.m. ET (75 minutes)
Saturday:
Second Practice: 1:00 ET (60 minutes)
Qualifying: 5:00 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 5:00 p.m. ET
Sunday:
Warm-Up: 12:00 p.m. ET (30 minutes)
Warm-Up: 12:00 p.m. ET (30 minutes)
Race: 3:19 p.m. ET (95 laps)
* - All sessions will be available live on Peacock
The Year of Ganassi
Álex Palou has already clinched the IndyCar championship, the 15th title for Chip Ganassi Racing. Off the back of five victories, eight podium finishes, 12 top five finishes and not finishing worse than eighth, Palou's season is just the top of the iceberg for what has been the Year of Ganassi.
Chip Ganassi Racing clinched a 1-2 in the championship at Portland, as Scott Dixon is 57 points clear of Josef Newgarden in third. It is the third time Ganassi has taken the two spots in the championship after Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser in 1998 and Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon in 2009.
Ganassi has won eight races this season, the most in IndyCar, and it is the most victories for Ganassi in a season since it won ten races in 2009. A victory at Laguna Seca would make this the first time Ganassi has won at least half the races in a season since 2009. Franchitti and Dixon combined to win ten of 17 races that season. The only other time Ganassi has won half the races in a season was 1998. Zanardi and Vasser combined for ten victories in 19 races.
The success of Chip Ganassi Racing goes beyond Palou at the very top. Chip Ganassi Racing has a combined 17 podium finishes, 26 top five finishes and 51 top ten finishes. Ganassi has had at least one top five finisher in every race and at least three top ten finishers in every race this season. The team has had multiple top five finishers in ten of the first 16 races in 2023. All four cars have finished in the top ten in three races this season (Indianapolis 500, Detroit and the first Iowa race).
There have been only two races where a Ganassi car did not finish on the podium (Barber Motorsports Park and the first Iowa race). Dating back to last season, Ganassi has had a top five finisher in 18 consecutive races.
Ganassi has had a top ten finisher in 65 consecutive races. The last time a Ganassi car was not in the top ten was at Gateway in 2019 when Felix Rosenqvist finished 11th and Scott Dixon was 20th after a radiator puncture.
While Palou's season has been sensational, his teammates have been just as terrific.
Scott Dixon has finished in the top ten 15 times out of 16 races. The lone blemish is Long Beach. Dixon's average finish is 5.625, on pace to be Dixon's seventh time having an average finish better than sixth over an entire season. The New Zealander is second to only Palou in top five finishes and top ten finishes, and Dixon is one of four drivers with at least five podium finishes this season. Dixon has led in nine different races, tied for the second most, and Dixon has led the third most laps this season, behind only Josef Newgarden and Palou.
Marcus Ericsson's 14 top ten finishes are third most this season behind only his two Ganassi teammates. Ericsson enters the season finale with six consecutive top ten finishes. He has been running at the finish of all but one race this season.
Even Ganassi's fourth entry has picked up its fair share of results. Between Marcus Armstrong and Takuma Sato, the #11 Ganassi entry has six top ten finishes this season. The New Zealander-Japanese duo has the #11 Honda in 16th of the entrants' championship.
Championship Battles Elsewhere
First is wrapped up. Second is claimed. Yet, there is plenty to play for at Laguna Seca.
The battle is for third. Josef Newgarden holds it with 470 points. Patricio O'Ward is nine points behind. Scott McLaughlin is 22 points behind his Team Penske teammate. Marcus Ericsson has an outside shot for third, sitting 47 points back.
Newgarden has finished in the top two of the championship in the previous four seasons. He has seven consecutive top five championship finishes. O'Ward is looking to match his career best championship finish of third. The Mexican driver was third in 2021. McLaughlin was fourth in the championship. Ericsson has finished sixth in the last two seasons, and if the Swede finishes in the top five of the championship, it would be the first time three Ganassi drivers finished in the championship top five in the same season.
Will Power is on an island in seventh. Power is 30 points behind Ericsson but 31 points ahead of Christian Lundgaard. Seventh was the best Power was ranked all season in the championship. He was never lower than ninth either.
Lundgaard has a 13-point buffer to what is a fierce fight for tenth in the championship. Alexander Rossi is ninth on 349 points, one point ahead of Colton Herta and two points ahead of Kyle Kirkwood.
Rossi has seven consecutive championship top ten finishes. Herta was tenth in the championship last year. Kirkwood could become the first driver with multiple victories who started every race in a season to finish outside the top ten in the championship since André Ribeiro in 1996. Ribeiro was 11th in the CART championship that season.
Felix Rosenqvist has an outside shot at the championship top ten. Rosenqvist is 37 points outside the top ten. The Swede is 35 points clear of Romain Grosjean and 40 points ahead of Graham Rahal.
The one honorific on the line in Monterey is rookie of the year. It is a two-driver battle. Marcus Armstrong leads on 180 points, 26 points ahead of Agustín Canapino. Armstrong can clinch the rookie of the year honors with a finish of fifth or better. However, the most points Canapino has scored in a single race this season is 18 points. The Argentine has scored ten points or fewer in ten races this season. Armstrong has scored 15 points or more in seven of 12 starts, and the New Zealander's average points per start of 15.833 is on pace for 16th in the championship.
Honda holds a 16-point lead in the manufacturers' championship over Chevrolet with 1,362 points to Chevrolet's 1,346. Honda has won 11 of the first 16 races. Honda has won every road/street course race while Chevrolet won all five oval races.
At time of writing, the eligible entries for manufacturer points, those entries that have not exceeded the four engine limit, are all three McLarens, both A.J. Foyt Racing entries, the #12 Penske, the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing and the #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing for Chevrolet. Honda has seven eligible entries ahead of this weekend, three of the four Andretti cars (not the #27 entry), two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entries (not the #30 entry) the #8 Ganassi and the #51 Dale Coyne Racing entry.
Besides the drivers and manufacturers, the attention will be on the Leaders Circle battle. The top 22 in the entrants' championship qualify for the Leaders Circle program, which pays each entry just under $1 million for the next season. Each team is limited to three Leaders Circle spots, except for Andretti Autosport, which has a fourth entry grandfathered in prior to the three spot limit was introduced.
With the #11 Ganassi entry being ineligible for Leaders Circle funding next season, the battle for the final Leaders Circle spot will come down to a hand full of entries. Fifteen points cover the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry in 21st and the #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing entry in 25th.
The #20 ECR entry has 179 points, seven ahead of the #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry in 22nd. The #29 Andretti Autosport entry sits 23rd, three points behind the RLLR car. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing is three points behind the #29 Andretti and the #78 JHR car sits on 164 points.
Last Chance for Victory
Time has been ticking for victory for quite sometime. Now, we enter the finale and four of the championship top ten have not won a race. The most recent driver to score a first victory of the season in the season finale was Álex Palou at Laguna Seca last year. Prior to that it was Tony Kanaan at Fontana in 2014.
Patricio O'Ward brushes with victories have been well documented. O'Ward has four runner-up finishes and seven podium results, but he has yet to stand on the top step. O'Ward has led 174 laps this season, fifth most in IndyCar. It has been 21 races since O'Ward most recent victory. The longest winless drought of O'Ward's career was his first 23 starts. He has nine consecutive top ten finishes entering Laguna Seca, the longest top ten finish streak of his career.
Will Power was hoisting the Astor Cup at Laguna Seca last year. It is the last time he has hoisted a trophy in triumphant, as Power is entering the 2023 finale on the verge of his first winless season since 2006. Power has won a race in 16 consecutive seasons, the second longest streak in IndyCar history behind only Scott Dixon's active streak of 19 consecutive seasons. Power is looking to avoid becoming the first winless defending champion since Dixon in 2004.
It has been 20 races since Alexander Rossi's most recent victory, and Rossi has only won once in the 64 races since the start of the 2020 season. Rossi has only one podium finish all season, tied for his fewest in a season with 2016 and 2021. He has led only 12 laps this season. It would be the second time in the last three seasons he has led fewer than 70 laps. His eight lead lap finishes are tied for his fewest with 2020, which was only a 14-race season. On percentage, this will be Rossi's worst when it comes to lead lap finishes.
Since becoming a full-time driver, Colton Herta has never had a winless season in IndyCar. It has been 28 races since Herta's most recent victory. He has only two podium finishes since he won the 2022 Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Both of those results came in Toronto. Herta's 77 laps led are on track to be his fewest led in a season. His previous low was 110 laps led in 2020.
Felix Rosenqvist is entering his final race with Arrow McLaren. Rosenqvist has not won in his 47 starts with the McLaren organization. He has only three podium finishes and he has seven top five finishes during that timeframe. The Swede has led 45 laps this season, 33 of which came in the Indianapolis 500. This is the second most laps he has led in a season.
Graham Rahal has started on pole position in two of the last three races, but his runner-up finish on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is his only top five finish this season. Rahal has had multiple top ten finishes in 12 consecutive seasons. The last time he did not have multiple top five finishes was when he piecemealed together 12 starts with four teams in 2010.
The last time a first-time winner occurred in a season finale was Ed Carpenter at Kentucky in 2011, and there are 11 drivers entered this weekend who are looking to end 2023 with their maiden victory.
Romain Grosjean leads that group. Grosjean has not had a top five finish since he was runner-up in consecutive races between Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park. David Malukas has finished in the top ten of the last two races, the second time Malukas has had consecutive top ten finishes. He was tenth and fourth in the first two races this season.
Callum Ilott started on the front row last year at Laguna Seca but ended up 26th after a mechanical issue. Since finishing fifth and ninth in the first two races, Ilott's best finish is 12th. Santino Ferrucci was third in the Indianapolis 500, but his best finish outside of that one race was 11th at Long Beach.
Will Anyone Win a Third Pole Position?
This has been an interesting season when it comes to qualifying because we enter the final race of the season and there is a seven-way tie for most pole positions. No driver has more than two pole positions this season, and the last time there was a season where no driver won at least three pole positions, excluding the inaugural Indy Racing League season and the USAC Gold Crown championship seasons from 1980 through 1983, was 1961. There were only 12 races that season. Eddie Sachs and Al Keller were the only two drivers to win the pole position twice.
The first driver with multiple pole positions this season was Romain Grosjean. Grosjean won two of the first four pole positions at St. Petersburg and Barber. Since then, his only other top five starts were third in Detroit and fifth at Gateway.
Álex Palou was second to two pole positions when he was the fastest qualifier in consecutive races, the Indianapolis 500 and Detroit. Palou has not started on the front row since his pole position in Detroit. His best starting position since his Detroit pole position was third at Road America.
Colton Herta followed Palou's consecutive pole positions with two pole positions on the spin for himself at Road America and Mid-Ohio. Herta also qualified second at the St. Petersburg season opener. The American has qualified in the top six in five of the last six races.
Christian Lundgaard scored his first career pole position at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May, and Lundgaard followed that up with his first career victory from his second career pole position at Toronto in July. Lundgaard also started second on the IMS road course last month. He has six top ten starting positions this season, but he has started 13th or worse at five of the last six races.
Will Power's only two pole positions this season were when he swept the Gateway doubleheader. Power has only made the final round of road/street course qualifying once this season, and that was when he started sixth at Toronto. This could be the second time in three seasons Power does not have a pole position on a road/street course. In 2021, his only pole position was at Gateway.
Scott McLaughlin and Graham Rahal have traded pole position over the last four races. McLaughlin was top qualifier at Nashville and Gateway, though McLaughlin did have to sever a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change at Gateway. McLaughlin still receives credit for the pole position. Rahal was on top at the IMS road course and at Portland last week.
McLaughlin has qualified second in five races this season, include three consecutive between Toronto and the Iowa doubleheader. Outside of Rahal's two pole positions, his only other top five start was second at Mid-Ohio.
While seven drivers are going for their third pole positions of the season, there are two other drivers that could join them and make it an eight-way tie on two pole positions this weekend.
Felix Rosenqvist was on pole position for the first oval race of the season at Texas. Kyle Kirkwood picked up his first career pole position in IndyCar's most recent visit to California in April, and Kirkwood turned that first career pole position at Long Beach into his first career victory.
Eighteen drivers entered this weekend do not have a pole position in 2023. Scott Dixon has not won a pole position on a road/street course since Watkins Glen 2016. Patricio O'Ward's most recent pole position was at Mid-Ohio last year. Marcus Ericsson has never had a pole position in his first 79 IndyCar starts. Ericsson's only two front row starts were second at Gateway last year and second at Long Beach in April.
Alexander Rossi's most recent pole position was at Road America last year, and Rossi's best starting position this season was third at Texas and the August IMS road course race.
Hélio Castroneves is going for his 391st IndyCar start this weekend, and Castroneves has 50 career pole positions. He is one of four drivers with at least 50 career pole positions along with Will Power, Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt. However, the Brazilian's most recent time leading the grid to the green flag was at Road America in 2017.
Road to Indy
The Indy Lights championship will go to the wire, and it is a doubleheader weekend at Laguna Seca to close out the 2023 season. Five drivers are mathematically alive for the championship.
Christian Rasmussen survived Portland to enter Laguna Seca with 445 points, 65 points clear of Hunter McElrea. The only way Rasmussen can be guaranteed the championship after the first race of the weekend is with a victory. Ramussen won at Laguna Seca last season. McElrea was third and eighth in the Laguna Seca races last season.
Nolan Siegel was second at Portland, his first podium finish since his Road America victory, but Siegel trails by 70 points. Louis Foster's Portland victory kept him alive for the championship, but Foster is 82 points behind Rasmussen. Jacob Abel is 94 points behind Rasmussen with only 104 points left on the table. Abel is the top driver in the championship without a victory.
Three drivers are tied for sixth in the championship. Reece Gold, Danial Frost and James Roe, Jr. each have 298 points. Ernie Francis, Jr. is ninth on 250 points while Kyffin Simpson is tenth on 238 points, five ahead of Christian Bogle and nine points ahead of Jamie Chadwick.
Each Indy Lights race this weekend will be 35 laps. The first race will be at 3:25 p.m. ET on Saturday September 9. The final race of the Indy Lights season will take place at 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday September 10.
Fast Facts
This will the 12th IndyCar race held on September 10, and the first since Dan Wheldon won the 2006 Indy Racing League season finale at Chicagoland.
This will be the third time Laguna Seca has hosted a race on September 10. Gil de Ferran won at Laguna Seca on September 10, 1995. It was de Ferran's first career victory in the final race of his rookie season. Hélio Castroneves won on September 10, 2000.
Gil de Ferran is one of two drivers to have their first career victory come at Laguna Seca. Bryan Herta's first career victory was at Laguna Seca in 1998.
There have been consecutive Laguna Seca victories on six occasions: Bobby Rahal (1984-87), Michael Andretti (1991-92), Paul Tracy (1993-94), Bryan Herta (1998-99), Patrick Carpentier (2003-04), Colton Herta (2019, 2021).
There are four past Indy Lights winners at Laguna Seca entered in this year's IndyCar race: Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay, Kyle Kirkwood and Sting Ray Robb.
Only two drivers have won in IndyCar and Indy Lights at Laguna Seca: Bryan Herta and Cristiano da Matta.
Jimmy Vasser and Patrick Carpentier are the only drivers to win in the Atlantics Championship and IndyCar at Laguna Seca.
Patricio O'Ward and Kyle Kirkwood have won at Laguna Seca in Indy Pro 2000.
The average starting position for a Laguna Seca winner is 2.88 with a median of one.
Last year, Álex Palou won from 11th, the third time a Laguna Seca winner started outside the top three. The other two Laguna Seca races were won from sixth in 1997 with Jimmy Vasser and from 25th in 2001 with Max Papis.
The average starting position for a race winner this season is sixth with a median of fourth.
The front row has not produced a winner in the last six races. The last time the front row did not win in seven consecutive races was a 14-race stretch that started at the 2015 Indianapolis 500 and ran through the 2016 Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third round of that season.
The average number of lead changes in a Laguna Seca race is 3.24 with a median of three.
The average number of lead changes in a race this season is 11.9375 with a median of 8.5. The fewest lead changes was five in the first Iowa race. The most lead changes was 52 in the Indianapolis 500.
There have been six Laguna Seca races with no lead changes. The most recent was in 2003.
The average number of cautions in a Laguna Seca race is 1.72 with a median of one. The average number of caution laps is 7.08 with a median of seven.
The average number of cautions in a race this season is 2.9375 with a median of 2.5. The average number of caution laps per race this season is 17.0625 with a median of 12.
Six Laguna Seca races have had no cautions, but the last caution-free Laguna Seca race was in 1997, 11 Laguna Seca races ago.
Six Laguna Seca races have had three cautions or more.
The most cautions in a Laguna Seca race is eight in 2001 and the most caution laps is 29, which also came in 2001.
The most cautions in a Laguna Seca race is eight in 2001 and the most caution laps is 29, which also came in 2001.
Predictions
Josef Newgarden closes the season with a victory. Álex Palou completes every lap and finishes in the top five. Andretti Autosport has at least two cars finish at least six spots worse than their starting position. Marcus Armstrong has his best finish of the season. Arrow McLaren has a podium finisher. The best driver without a victory this season will finish in the top five of this race. There will be at least two caution periods, and one of those will occur in the first eight laps. More than 16 cars finish on the lead lap. Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist.
