Scott McLaughlin wins IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca

Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske secured a dominant victory at the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey, marking the conclusion of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Starting from pole position, McLaughlin led 87 of the 95 laps, ending a 36-race winless streak dating back to September 2024.

Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global finished second, securing his career-best runner-up position in the championship standings. Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing completed the podium in third. While the race finale was a personal triumph for McLaughlin, the season championship had already been clinched by Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, who secured his fifth title.

The event also featured a tribute to the late Alex Zanardi, including the renaming of the ‘Corkscrew’ turn to ‘The Zanardi Corkscrew’. Other notable season outcomes included Rinus VeeKay finishing tenth in the overall standings and Mick Schumacher signing with Meyer Shank Racing for the 2027 season.