CHARLES BRADLEY
INDYCAR
LAGUNA SECA (USA)
23 JUNE
ROUND 8/15
We’ve seen this movie before: Alex Palou’s previous IndyCar masterpiece is Laguna Seca 2022, when he won by more than 30 seconds from 11th on the grid. Last weekend was a bit like watching Jaws 2 in that (spoiler alert) he kills the shark, but with an even more elaborate storyline.
This time Palou set pole position in his Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing car, but the first plot twist occurred when Andretti Global talent Kyle Kirkwood lunged deep into, appropriately enough, the Andretti Hairpin, where he drove around the outside of the reigning champion with a bold move to lead. “Played it too nice,” rued Palou.
Behind Felix Rosenqvist’s Meyer Shank Racing car in third, Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren touched wheels with Colton Herta (Andretti) at Turn 3 and got ahead of his fellow Californian. The top three then ran nose to tail over the opening 20 laps, with Rossi and Herta duelling 2s in arrears.
Rossi pitted from fourth on lap 24, undercutting to the lead on fresh softer alternate tyres ahead of Palou, as Kirkwood fell to third from Herta and the Kiwi Scotts, Dixon (Ganassi) and McLaughlin (Penske). Palou, who opted for used primary tyres for his second stint, then got jumped by the Andretti train of Kirkwood and Herta at the Andretti Hairpin and fell to fourth. This didn’t appear to be going to script!
The race was neutralised when Luca Ghiotto comprehensively shunted his Dale Coyne Racing car at Turn 4. It triggered a second round of pitstops for half the field, during which Rossi was slow exiting his pitbox and Herta jumped ahead of him. Dixon bizarrely hit the barrier on entry to the pits and was collected by McLaughlin, but both continued.
Palou boldly stayed out to lead an already off-strategy Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) and Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger) as two different approaches emerged. Herta led the pitters in 14th, from Rossi and Kirkwood.
Grosjean grabbed second from O’Ward at the restart, but the race went yellow again when Arrow McLaren new boy Nolan Siegel spun off. Palou sprinted away at the next restart, with Herta mired in the midfield.
Palou charged before his second stop, knowing a caution before it would kill his “risky” strategy, but he made it to lap 55 with a 22s advantage over Herta. He rejoined in third, behind Herta and Rossi but ahead of Kirkwood. And this is where the race swung.
To the
