Practice Shots: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Alexander Rossi considers WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca his home track.
The 33-year-old grew up in Nevada City, California, just under four hours from the scenic road course. His first visit came at the age three, when his father, Pieter, brought him to the famed Monterey circuit. While Rossi doesn't remember much from that early experience, the trips continued as he grew older, ultimately inspiring his path into motorsports.
"That's just something we did every year -- go to the CART race at Laguna," Rossi said. "I fell in love with the sport.'
One of those visits proved pivotal.
"When I was 10 years old, we were walking around the exhibitors, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway had a booth,' Rossi said. 'They were offering a sign-up sheet for a three-day go-kart clinic. It was actually my 10th birthday, and we signed up right there at the track. The rest is kind of history."
Rossi is back for this weekend's Java House Grand Prix of Monterey (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, FOX Deportes and INDYCAR Radio Network), expecting family in attendance, a dynamic that brings added responsibilities off the track.
This weekend is also unique in that Java House, the primary sponsor of his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, is also the title sponsor of the event.
'It's busier,' Rossi said. 'It's kind of reminiscent of a week of May schedule in some respects. But it's also a good problem to have.
'It's not something that any of us should complain about. You just manage it. The team does a really good job of making sure there's adequate time to focus on the engineering and performance side, meeting the obligations that Java House and that whole group will set out.'
Rossi, an eight-time winner in the series, is 13 races into his first season with Ed Carpenter Racing following 147 combined races with Andretti Global (2016-2022) and Arrow McLaren (2023-2024). He's 18th in points with four top-10 finishes.
Despite a rough start to the weekend, hitting the Turn 6 barrier during Friday's practice, Rossi remains optimistic. His track record at Laguna Seca is solid with a third-place finish in 2024, his third straight at the track.
'To be able to have a home race and the car that I drive is also the title sponsor of the event is sort of like a perfect dream scenario,' Rossi said.
Drivers Get First Look at Laguna Seca
Here are three observations about the first practice in preparation for Sunday's 95-lap race.
· The Laguna Seca racing surface was notoriously abrasive -- a cheese grater of a track that delivered thrilling races as drivers tiptoed around the 2.238-mile road course. A 2023 repave changed the dynamic, changing how drivers approached the circuit in recent years. But Friday's session showed that the track is once again proving tricky, with several drivers overstepping the limit and noticing increased tire wear. Devlin DeFrancesco, Rossi, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden each had off-track excursions during the session.
· Pato O'Ward carried his momentum into Monterey by leading the opening practice session. Championship points leader Alex Palou was fourth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The two have gone head-to-head on natural road courses this season, finishing 1-2 with Palou beating O'Ward on two separate occasions. continued this momentum by leading the opening practice session.
· Palou and Colton Herta have combined to win four of the last five Laguna Seca races. Herta was second fastest in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Global. He finished runner-up to Palou last year.
RLL Poised for Laguna Seca Breakout
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing believes it's poised for a breakout. Maybe that comes in this weekend's 95-lap race.
Team owner Bobby Rahal knows the 2.238-mile circuit well – he is the all-time winningest driver at Laguna Seca with four victories(1984, 1985, 1986, 1987) and also earned his first major race win at the track in the 1979 Can-Am Series.
His son, Graham Rahal (No. 15 WWEX Group Honda) is one of only six drivers -- Palou, Colton Herta, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, andKyle Kirkwood -- to reach the Firestone Fast Six at least four times this season, with all of Rahal's appearances coming in the last five races. He finished fourth at the Monterey track in 2021 and enters off a seventh-place finish last week in Toronto.
Rahal's teammate Louis Foster (No. 45 Droplight Honda) has made it to the final round three times, while DeFrancesco (No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda) has done so once.
DeFranceso crashed early in the session but remains confident about his prospects for the rest of the weekend. He noted the car felt strong before the incident and expects to be competitive on Saturday.
Foster, who was ninth fastest on Friday, is also the only rookie to advance to the Firestone Fast Six this season, highlighted by his maiden NTT P1 Award at Road America, a session where Rahal also made the final round and qualified fifth. The British driver has raced at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca four times in INDY NXT by Firestone, winning both races in 2024 from pole position.
McLaren Moves Into Andretti Global's Former Shop
Arrow McLaren took ownership this week of its future NTT INDYCAR SERIES headquarters and has begun renovations on the facility located on the west side of Indianapolis. The project will nearly triple the size of the team's current Indianapolis based race shop.
The organization purchased Andretti Global's former facility and is expanding it from 74,000 square feet to 86,000 square feet. In comparison, Arrow McLaren's current shop operates out of a 33,000-square-foot space.
The team plans to move into the new facility in January, ahead of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
JM Bullion Expands Kirkwood, Andretti Global Partnership
JM Bullion joined Andretti Global as a sponsor on Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 Honda for last weekend's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, where Kirkwood started and finished in sixth place.
This week, Andretti Global announced that JM Bullion will continue as a sponsor for this weekend's race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as well as the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland on August 10.
Kirkwood was seventh-fastest on Friday.
Odds and Ends
· The series returns to the track Saturday for practice at 11:30 a.m. ET and NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. Both air on FS1, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network.
· Saturday holds significant importance, as 23 of the 27 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Laguna Seca have been won from a top-three starting position. Since the series returned in 2019 after a 15-year hiatus (2005–2018), the winning drivers have started from first, first, 11th, 11th, and first on the grid, respectively.
· Palou was third quickest in both pre-qualifying practice sessions last year. He'd go on to claim pole position and convert that into the race win. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda) was third on Friday. He has four top-seven finishes on natural road courses in 2025 and seven top-10 finishes in his last nine races overall.
· Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard and Andretti INDY NXT Team Principal, Rob Edwards, join FOX Sports INDY NXT by Firestone coverage this weekend. Lundgaard is the analyst for Saturday's 35-lap race and Edwards for Sunday.
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