Alex Palou took the victory at the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey after starting on pole, alongside Pato O’Ward, the driver with the best chance of challenging him for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR title. But instead of being conservative at the green flag, Palou charged ahead, leading into the first turn and staying ahead for 84 of the 95 laps.
“What an amazing job from everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda,” said Palou, who previously won the Monterey race in 2022 and 2024. “This was an awesome weekend and year. Another magical day for us and one of our best weekends. We started out well in practice but had to make big changes for qualifying. I was super comfortable and my car balance was amazing. Our pit stops were fast and I felt like we had a big pace advantage.
“I expected (Colton) Herta to challenge me,” continued Palou, earning his eighth win of the season and 145th victory for Chip Ganassi Racing. “The alternate (red, softer) tires made you feel super human for the first ten laps but then you would lose grip from the front or rear tires, losing a second to a second and a half of pace per lap. We had to push and try to be ready for those yellows. The late yellows helped us to survive on the used alternates (ran them the final 23 laps). The track changed a lot from before it was repaved, after repaving (2023 race), and now. The racing lines are different in different areas. This was my favourite track when I was a kid, which I raced on using a simulator. It was super fun to be here, one of my favourite tracks of the year.”
Palou is having a legendary run, matching Sebastien Bourdais’ 2007 record of eight wins in a season, and has the potential to match Mario Andretti’s (1969) season of nine wins, or AJ Foyt’s (1964) and Al Unser Sr.’s (1970) ten wins in a season.
Asked what he will do at the three remaining races (Portland, Milwaukee and Nashville), Palou answered, “I’m going to push even more at the final races of the season. I won the championship last year with two wins. Three wins is a good season in INDYCAR. Four wins, you are on fire. And this year I have a chance to earn ten wins.”
“This was a true team effort today,” stated Barry Wanser, Team Manager and Palou’s strategist. “Last week at Toronto, our strategy didn’t work so well (Palou finished 12th, after starting second, then leading 37 laps before pitting after the other drivers). This race, our performance was amazing by the team in the pits and the driver. The biggest turning point was the pace we had on the primary (harder, black) tires and we got through that. We weren’t sure what tires would be the best. There is so much to learn and you have to adapt.”
Christian Lundgaard finished second by holding off a challenge from Colton Herta, who won at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2019 and 2021.
“Today it felt like I was staring death down,“ revealed Lundgaard, who started seventh, driving for Arrow McLaren. “Everyone was super strong. I felt everyone on the podium really deserved it today. The amount of degradation we had on the alternate tires was similar to the race at Barber (Birmingham, AL). I passed Herta (Lap 51) by surprising him in Turn 11 rather than waiting for the main straightaway. I was really struggling on the last stint with used reds. That made it a lot tougher to keep Colton behind.”
INDYCAR moved the final 30-minute practice from Sunday morning to Saturday afternoon, avoiding the fog and mist delays that prevented the medical helicopter from landing at the track each morning. Having more time between the warm-up and race created an added challenge for teams.
“It’s tough to decide the strategy on Saturday evening,” said Lundgaard. “We knew what tires the other drivers would start on but didn’t know if it would be a preferred red (softer, alternate) or black (primary, harder) tire race. We were determined to try something different. I wasn’t expecting to be on the used reds at the end.
“Even when the ten car (Palou’s) has a bad weekend, if he or his team makes a mistake, they still come out competitive,” continued Lundgaard. “They’ve raised the bar. I have three podiums and he won all of those races. We have to do it every single weekend, which is what the ten car is doing.”
Herta finished third at Laguna Seca, his favourite track of the season.
“It was fun,” said Herta, driving for Andretti Global. “I kept Palou on his toes. When you have (tire) degradation like we did, it opens up lines and makes it fun. We had a great run a few times. We were really close but Palou didn’t break a sweat. We did not have quite enough to overtake him. I’m happy to be back on the podium. It’s been the longest season for me. The car was really good. I just love driving around Laguna Seca, whether the car is great or not. It is truly a drivers’ track and the greatest track in the country.”
O’Ward, who started second, did not succeed in taking the lead with an aggressive start, expecting Palou to be conservative to protect his fourth championship quest. Instead, O’Ward was passed by Herta on the opening lap. His faster Arrow McLaren teammate, Lundgaard, passed him on the Lap 28 restart. Earning 32 points for finishing fourth, O’Ward (469) is now 121 points behind Palou (590) and the only driver now mathematically able to challenge for the title. There are still 162 points possible.
The race had plenty of action behind the leaders, with a total of 162 passes that included 113 for position. Five cautions totaled 13 laps. Palou’s margin of victory was 3.78 seconds over Lundgaard at the checkered flag, after Palou controlled the race with a seven-second lead by lap 60.
The only other driver to lead was Nolan Siegel for a total of 11 laps. Because Siegel caused Palou to lose a second a lap while following, Palou risked passing him, even though he was told Siegel was going to pit.
Like most drivers running in the Friday practice session, Toronto’s Devlin DeFrancesco struggled for grip. Saturday’s morning practice was cancelled due to weather limiting track time. During qualifying, a brake issue caused him to spin.
“We just lost it out of Turn 4, where the grip is very low and the track conditions are tricky,” said DeFrancesco about his first practice session. “The good news is the 30 car is fast. There isn’t too much damage to the car and we are in the hunt.”
DeFrancesco finished the race in 20th, having started 27th.
“We gained some positions on the primary tires and were just surviving after that,” explained DeFrancesco about the start of his race. “We got undercut by a couple of cars in the first stint and, on that Lap 10 yellow, we should have taken it and pitted. But it was a late call and I was already past the pit entry. That didn’t help and we had an issue in the pits when we went to do fuel only. It was a tough race. We have three more races to try to close the season strong.”
In two weeks, the drivers and teams will compete on the permanent road course in Portland, OR before heading back to the Midwest for the Milwaukee and Nashville oval events.
