The NTT IndyCar Series season comes to a close on Sunday at California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, one of North America’s premier road courses.
A champion was crowned last week at Portland (Ore.) Int’l Raceway after Alex Palou scored the victory and the title over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.
While the Astor Cup recipient is already decided, 95 laps of action around the 2.238-mile course still awaits a winner.
Here are some of the storylines to watch entering Sunday’s season finale at California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:
Quick Facts
Most Wins: Bobby Rahal (Four)
Distance: 95 Laps/212.61 Miles
Qualifying Record: Helio Castroneves, 1:07.722 seconds, 118.969 mph, Sept. 8, 2000
It will be the last time for the foreseeable future that the season finale will be run at Laguna Seca. Next season, the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville (Tenn.) will be the final event.
A Herta Homecoming
Since the series returned to Laguna Seca in 2019, Colton Herta’s been the driver to beat. In two of his three starts, the Andretti Autosport driver has scored the pole and the race win.
In addition, the 23-year-old driver will sport a special livery on his car throwing back to his father Bryan Herta’s race car that he won with at Laguna Seca in 1998-’99.
Party like it's 1998!
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 25, 2023
Gear up for @ColtonHerta's throwback weekend at @WeatherTechRcwy with his limited-edition driver jersey.
🛒: https://t.co/j9HaRVslu6
( Via @FollowAndretti )
pic.twitter.com/07dKpWIcl6
It’s been a struggle for Herta this season. He’s only collected one podium finish all season. The California native wantsnothing more than to put his No. 26 Honda in victory lane.
The Fight For Third
Since Palou has locked up the title, the focus shifts to the drivers ranked second through fifth in the standings.
While Dixon has notched two victories in the last three races and sits solidly second in the standings, a trio of drivers lurk behind the six-time champion.
Dixon’s gap to second-place Josef Newgarden is a hefty 57 points, making it impossible for Newgarden to catch Dixon with 54 points being the maximum amount of points a driver can score during a race weekend.
Newgarden holds a nine-point advantage over Pato O’Ward and a 22-point gap over Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin.
Entering Laguna Seca, Newgarden’s never finished outside the top eight, with a best result of second last season. O’Ward has experienced a similar result, as he’s finished fifth (2021) and eighth (2022).
McLaughlin finished sixth last season, though a 12th-place finish in 2022 is the only blemish on his Laguna Seca résumé.
CGR’s Marcus Ericsson has an outside chance of leapfrogging those three drivers from his sixth-place points position (47 points behind Newgarden), though, he would need a perfect day and for his rivals to falter.
Ending On a High Note
Last year at Laguna Seca was an entirely different story for Will Power. The 2018 Indy 500 winner collected his second IndyCar Series championship at the California race track last year.
Now the driver of the No. 12 Chevrolet enters the season finale seventh in points, the lowest of the three Team Penske drivers. Power is winless through the first 16 races of the season, with his last victory coming in Detroit last June.
While it’s been an off year for the 42-year-old Aussie, he’s still managed to snag two pole positions at the Iowa Speedway doubleheader to extend his record to 70 poles in the series.
Heading to the 11-turn road course, Power has two podium results, including a second-place effort in 2021 and a third-place run last season.
One Final Drive With Current Teams
The season finale presents one final race for some drivers with their current race teams. With the announcement of Felix Rosenqvist joining Meyer Shank Racing next season, it’ll be his final race with Arrow McLaren after three seasons with the team.
Ericsson wheels his No. 8 Honda for the final time as he’ll move to Andretti Autosport next year. At the drop of the checkered flag, it’ll mark Helio Castroneves’ final full-time season in the series, as he transitions into an ownership role at MSR while competing in the Indy 500.
Questions still loom on Ryan Hunter-Reay’s future at Ed Carpenter Racing along with Romain Grosjean and Devlin DeFrancesco at Andretti. For many drivers and teams, Laguna Seca will be bittersweet.