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2026 NTT IndyCar Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey Set for Sunday Start
Confirmed
In Short: The 2026 NTT IndyCar champion, Alex Palou, secured his second position with a lap time of 1:09.1540 at 116.505 mph, as qualifying concluded on Saturday for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.
The NTT IndyCar Series held qualifying on Saturday to set the field for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The race, which marks Race 17 of 17 on the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, is set to begin on Sunday at 2:30 pm on Fox.
Herta and Papis have particularly remarkable histories at the Monterey circuit, with Herta leading the final lap of the 1996 race when Alex Zanardi made his unforgettable move through the Corkscrew, and Papis winning from 25th on the starting grid in 2001.
Alex Palou, who already clinched his fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship at the Milwaukee Mile, will start second in the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey. The race, which didn’t run in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, will once again serve as the season finale for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
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- 2, 2026) — In a highly anticipated event, world-famous Legends of American open-wheel racing will return to the cockpit this weekend as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca brings INDYCAR history roaring back to life during the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.
- Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey Event Logo Bobby Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Bryan Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Max Papis, Danny Sullivan, Dominic Dobson and Zak Brown are among the celebrated drivers scheduled to get behind the wheel of historic INDYCAR machines for a series of on-track exhibitions throughout Championship Weekend.
- Few circuits are as intertwined with the history of American open-wheel racing as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and several of the drivers participating in the exhibition have particularly remarkable histories at the Monterey circuit.
- Here is how to watch the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey, including the start time, TV channel, streaming information and complete weekend schedule.
- While the race didn’t run in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, it had found a temporary home as the season finale for two seasons after returning in 2021 as the penultimate round ahead of the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix.
- Although Alex Palou wrapped up his fifth NTT IndyCar championship last week at the Milwaukee Mile doubleheader weekend, IndyCar racing isn’t quite done just yet.
- In 2019, IndyCar made its glorious return to Laguna Seca where Herta’s son Colton Herta would take the win for Harding Steinbrenner Racing, launching his career further with Andretti Global.