Bobby Travis · NASCAR/IndyCar Correspondent
At the season finale of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the already-crowned champion set the fastest lap in Free Practice 1, while his pursuers jockeyed for position in the fight for second in the standings.
Álex Palou posted the quickest lap in opening practice for the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Monterey on Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The Ganassi driver, who clinched his fourth consecutive title and fifth overall at the race in Milwaukee, circled the 2.238-mile course in 1:09.899, just 0.091 seconds ahead of Felix Rosenqvist in the Meyer-Shank entry. While the result carries no championship implications, it offered an early indication of who might be in contention when the final race of the season takes the green flag on Sunday.
Palou Dominates a Pressure-Free Session as Rosenqvist and O'Ward Fight Back
That Palou sets the pace despite an already-decided championship shows how little the champion loses from his performance when there's nothing left to prove except for a solid season finale. His lap of 1:09.899 was the only time beneath 1:10 minutes in this opening session, a margin that shouldn't be taken for granted on a technical road course like Laguna Seca with its eleven corners and the legendary Corkscrew.
Behind him, Felix Rosenqvist's second-place effort showed that the Swede isn't treating his final weekend in the Meyer-Shank cockpit as a victory lap. With a switch to Arrow McLaren coming in 2027, Rosenqvist stayed within 0.091 seconds of Palou with a 1:09.991. Pato O'Ward rounded out the top three for Arrow McLaren with a 1:10.176, underscoring that his team has the pace on the road course, a signal that carries weight given his role in the fight for second in the drivers' championship.
The Battle for Second Place Takes Shape in Practice
With the title long since settled for Palou, this weekend's sporting focus shifts to who will finish as the season's best pursuer. Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O'Ward, and David Malukas are separated by just a handful of points heading into the finale, and opening practice already painted a mixed picture for two of them.
Malukas posted a solid eighth-place result for Team Penske, while O'Ward's third-place run confirmed his ambitions. Kirkwood, however, managed only 17th for Andretti Global, more than a full second back from Palou, and will need to find more pace as the weekend progresses. Lundgaard himself landed 18th with a 1:11.023, a starting position made considerably tougher by the six-place grid penalty he'll face on Sunday for an unhomoligated fifth engine. Rookie Caio Collet, driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, faces the same penalty for an identical engine issue, though not from Lundgaard's teammate. Both drivers must find a way forward from significantly further back than their lap times alone would suggest on Sunday.
A Weekend of Farewells for Ganassi and Meyer-Shank
Beyond the championship picture, two personal storylines shape this finale. Scott Dixon contests his final race for Chip Ganassi Racing after more than two decades, before the six-time champion moves to Arrow McLaren in 2027. In opening practice, the New Zealander managed 12th place, more than eight tenths back from teammate Palou, though for a driver with Dixon's experience on this circuit, opening practice likely amounted to little more than a shakedown.
Rosenqvist, too, is saying goodbye to Meyer-Shank Racing this weekend before joining Arrow McLaren, and his second-place time in opening practice was a statement that he takes this final outing for his current team seriously. With qualifying and Sunday's race still to come, there's plenty of intrigue left, not because of the decided championship, but because of the unanswered questions beneath it: who secures second in the standings, how far up the field can Lundgaard and Collet fight from their penalized grid positions, and how will Dixon and Rosenqvist perform on their final miles for their current teams.
