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Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey
Monterey, CA - September 6, 2026

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET

START: 20TH  
FINISH: 15TH  
POINTS: 8TH (-208)

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team ended the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a 15th-place finish in Sunday's Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. After showing promising speed throughout the practice sessions preceding Saturday's qualifying rounds, Newgarden was only able to slot into the 20th starting position. He and race strategist Jonathan Diuguid elected to start the 95-lap event on the red Firestone alternate tire while employing a four pit stop strategy, and Newgarden radioed early in the first stint that he was dealing with understeer. Despite the handling condition, Newgarden was able to move through the field using his pit strategy and eventually cracked the top 10 on Lap 32. Newgarden made his fourth and final pit stop of the day slightly outside his fuel window, hoping for a caution that would vault his Astemo Chevy further up the scoring pylon. Unfortunately, the race ran caution free to the end and Newgarden came home in the 15th position. The 2026 season saw the Nashville native lead Team Penske with two victories at Phoenix and World Wide Technology Raceway, respectively, and his 34 wins place him tied for ninth on the all-time series win list.

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "The Astemo Chevy had really good pace today. Starting in the back we decided to go with a four-stop strategy and just didn't get a yellow when we needed it. Just can't say enough about the effort of this team this year. Obviously, we had some things to deal with after Indy and they just continued to give me everything I needed. Happy to get some time to reset and start getting ready to come back stronger in 2027. Thank you to Astemo, Chevy, Shell, Snap-on, XPEL, PPG and everyone that allows us to do this."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX CHEVROLET
 

START: 1ST  
FINISH: 1ST  
POINTS: 6TH (-149)

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Chevrolet team dominated the field in Sunday's Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, leading 87 of the 95 laps to score his eighth NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory and head into the offseason with valuable momentum. In Saturday's time trials, McLaughlin nipped Alex Palou in the Firestone Fast Six to extend his team record of 73 career pole positions. From the drop of the green flag, McLaughlin was never challenged and only gave up the lead during pit cycles. With race strategist Tim Cindric executing a flawless, three pit stop strategy, McLaughlin was able to enjoy a stress-free final stint to cross the finish line two seconds ahead of Kyle Kirkwood. With the win, McLaughlin maintains his third position on the Team Penske all-time wins list with 56 victories, three wins behind Team Penske Hall of Fame driver Mark Donohue for second place. In an interesting footnote to the season, with his pole position at the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL and his Sunday victory, McLaughlin led the first and last laps of the 2026 season. 

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS:  "Well, firstly, my little girl hasn't seen me win yet, and she finally has. So, Dad's coming home with a trophy, baby. Let's go! Karly, I love you, babe. It's been hard, I know. The DEX Chevy was unbelievable. These guys and girls on my team, Team Penske, have stuck behind me the whole time. Congrats, Alex, on his fifth. We're working hard to be better but today was a big step in the right direction, so... and I've been waiting six years to do donuts. They sucked, but I was like, let's go! I was really happy. We had to be solid. That's what it's gonna take to win a championship. So, yeah, bring it on 2027."

DAVID MALUKAS No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 5TH  
FINISH: 5TH  
POINTS: 5TH (-117)

RACE RUNDOWN: David Malukas and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team ended their first NTT INDYCAR SERIES season together in typical, consistent fashion with a fifth-place finish in Sunday's Mission Foods Grand Prix, their ninth top five finish of 2026. Over the course of the season, Malukas was the most consistent qualifier amongst the Team Penske trio, and he was solid yet again in Saturday's qualifying session by advancing to his 12th Firestone Fast Six. Following the qualifying session, Malukas was honored by Fox Sports as the driver with the most points on ovals for year as he averaged a finish of 3.5 over the six oval races, scoring 225 points in those events. Like his teammate Scott McLaughlin, Malukas and race strategist Travis Law chose a three pit stop strategy for the 95-lap event to rely on the speed of the Verizon Chevy. Following the team's first pit stop on Lap 20, Malukas became a mainstay inside the top four in the running order. The team's tire strategy placed Malukas on the Firestone alternate tire for his final stint of the day in hopes of making quick time early to gain track position. Unfortunately, Malukas could not force his way around the No. 20 of Alexander Rossi late in the run to grab another podium finish before taking the checkered flag in the fourth position. 

MALUKAS' THOUGHTS: "I think today's race was very strong for the Verizon Chevy team. There were a few mistakes that we made throughout the weekend that I think we should have started off a little bit better, but so many good things to come out of this, especially for me. I think before coming into the season, for me, it was just ovals only. Now we've figured out the road courses on top of it. Street courses need a little more work, but road courses are good. I think we were one of the top cars on pace, but my wrist started giving out there toward the end."

The 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season will begin in familiar territory on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL on Sunday, March 5.