Colton Herta continued his family’s success at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a dominant victory Sunday in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, while Alex Palou marched closer and closer to an even bigger win.
Herta earned his second victory this season and fifth career victory, beating Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Honda to the finish by 1.9747 seconds. NTT P1 Award winner Herta led 91 of the 95 laps in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
California native Herta also won this event from the pole the last time it took place, in 2019 in his only other start here. This race was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Herta’s father and race strategist, Bryan Herta, won this race as a driver from the pole in 1998 and 1999.
Spaniard Palou pulled 35 points ahead of Pato O’Ward in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings with just one race remaining, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this Sunday at Long Beach, California. Palou must finish 11th or better at Long Beach to earn his first title in his second season in the series.
“We didn’t have it today for the win, but we did the most we could,” Palou said. “I was trying, but it was tough. It was Herta’s day today. I’m happy with P2.”
Palou, O’Ward and two-time series champion Josef Newgarden are the only drivers eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup at the season finale. Newgarden is third in the standings, 48 points back. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson were eliminated from contention at this race after finishing 13th and sixth, respectively.
While the Drivers’ Championship will go to the wire at Long Beach, Honda today clinched the Manufacturers Award for the fourth consecutive season.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings: Palou 517, O’Ward 482, Newgarden 469, Dixon 445, Ericsson 430, Herta 402, Rahal 374, Pagenaud 353, Power 337, Rossi 304
Race results
1/ (1) Colton Herta, Honda, 95, Running
2/ (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 95, Running
3/ (13) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 95, Running
4/ (12) Graham Rahal, Honda, 95, Running
5/ (6) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 95, Running
6/ (7) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 95, Running
7/ (17) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 95, Running
8/ (9) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 95, Running
9/ (5) Oliver Askew, Honda, 95, Running
10/ (14) Ed Jones, Honda, 95, Running
11/ (19) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 95, Running
12/ (16) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 95, Running
13/ (8) Scott Dixon, Honda, 95, Running
14/ (21) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 94, Running
15/ (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 94, Running
16/ (18) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 94, Running
17/ (25) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 94, Running
18/ (24) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 94, Running
19/ (15) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 94, Running
20/ (11) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 94, Running
21/ (10) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 94, Running
22/ (26) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 94, Running
23/ (27) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 94, Running
24/ (22) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 94, Running
25/ (2) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 93, Running
26/ (3) Will Power, Chevrolet, 93, Running
27/ (23) Takuma Sato, Honda, 83, Mechanical
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