The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be the 25th Indy car race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but just the third since 2004. Teo Fabi won the first Laguna Indy car race in his remarkable rookie season of 1983 in which he scored four wins, six poles and finished second in the championship.
Colton Herta took pole and won in the two most recent IndyCar races at the track in 2019 and 2021 (2020 was canned because of California’s COVID-19 restrictions). The only other Laguna Seca winner on the grid is Helio Castroneves – he won in 2000 – because the track wasn’t on the schedule from 2005-2018.
There are five drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship. Will Power leads for Team Penske-Chevrolet with teammate Josef Newgarden and Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda’s Scott Dixon 20 points down, Dixon’s teammate Marcus Ericsson 39 points adrift and the third Penske driver Scott McLaughlin (-41 in arrears.)
The 41 points separating the top five drivers in the championship is the tightest finale since 2003 when 30 points covered the top quintet.
Team Penske has won six times at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with Danny Sullivan in 1988 and ’90, Rick Mears in ’89, Paul Tracy in ’93 and ’94 and Castroneves in 2000. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has three wins here, thanks to Bryan Herta in ’98 and ’99 and Max Papis in 2001. Of note, RLL team co-owner Bobby Rahal four straight years here as a driver, 1984-’87. Chip Ganassi Racing has two Laguna wins, from Alex Zanardi in ’96 and Jimmy Vasser in ’97.
There have been eight different winners across the 16 races this season: McLaughlin (St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, Portland), Newgarden (Texas, Long Beach, Road America, Iowa 1, World Wide Technology Raceway), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa 2), Herta (Indianapolis Road Course 1), Ericsson (Indianapolis 500), Power (Detroit), Dixon (Toronto, Nashville), and Alexander Rossi (Indy Road Course 2).
When is the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca?
Date: Friday, September 9 – Sunday, September 11
Start time: Sunday, 12.30pm Pacific Time
How can I watch the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca?
NBC’s coverage of the 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will begin on Sunday, 12.00pm (PT).
Leigh Diffey will be the announcer for NBC’s coverage alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. All NTT IndyCar Series practice sessions and qualifying stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights races (Saturday 12.15pm PT, and Sunday 9.50am PT) will be streamed on Peacock Premium, with practice and qualifying being shown on IndyCar Live!
IndyCar broadcast schedule (Pacific Time)
Friday, September 9
2.30-3.45pm – NTT IndyCar Series practice 1 (Peacock Premium)
Saturday, September 10
10.15-11.15am – NTT IndyCar Series practice 2 (Peacock Premium)
2.05-3.20pm – NTT IndyCar Series qualifying (Peacock Premium)
Sunday, September 4
9.00-9.30am – NTT IndyCar Series warm-up (Peacock Premium)
12.00-3.00pm – NBC Broadcast
12.23 – “Drivers, start your engines”
12.30 – Green flag for Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, NTT IndyCar Series RACE (95 laps)
Will the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca be on the radio?
Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers, while pit reporters are Georgia Henneberry, Dan Rusanowski and Ryan Myrehn. Charlie Kimball will provide additional commentary. The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey race, Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader and all NTT IndyCar Series and Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app powered by NTT DATA.
Race Notes
How many laps is the IndyCar race at Laguna Seca? 95 laps (212.61 miles)
Track: 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course in Monterey, CA.
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets of primary tires (seven for rookies), four sets of alternate tires to be used through the three days.
Push-to-pass parameters: 150sec total time, with a maximum time of 15sec per activation.
2021 Firestone GP of Monterey winner: Colton Herta, Andretti Herta Autosport-Honda.
2021 Firestone GP of Monterey pole-winner: Herta, 70.7994sec, 113.798mph.
Qualifying lap record: Helio Castroneves (Team Penske Reynard-Honda), 67.722sec (118.969mph), Sept. 8, 2000.
Entry list
| No. | Driver | Hometown | Car name | Team-Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Josef Newgarden | Nashville, Tennessee | Hitachi Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Christchurch, New Zealand | XPEL Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 4 | Dalton Kellett | Stouffville, Canada | K-Line / AJ Foyt Racing | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 5 | Pato O'Ward | Monterrey, Mexico | Arrow McLaren SP | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet |
| 06 | Helio Castroneves | Sao Paulo, Brazil | AutoNation / SiriusXM | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda |
| 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | Varnamo, Sweden | Arrow McLaren SP | Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Kumla, Sweden | Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Auckland, New Zealand | PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 10 | Alex Palou | Barcelona, Spain | NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 12 | Will Power | Toowoomba, Australia | Verizon Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 14 | Kyle Kirkwood (R) | Jupiter, Florida | Sexton Properties | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal | New Albany, Ohio | United Rentals | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 16 | Simona De Silvestro | Thun, Switzerland | Paretta Autosport | Paretta Autosport-Chevrolet |
| 18 | David Malukas (R) | Chicago, Illinois | HMD | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports-Honda |
| 20 | Conor Daly | Noblesville, Indiana | BitNile | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Hoofddorp, Netherlands | Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 26 | Colton Herta | Valencia, California | Gainbridge | Andretti Herta Autosport w/Curb Agajanian-Honda |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Nevada City, California | NAPA Auto Parts / AutoNation | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 28 | Romain Grosjean | Geneva, Switzerland | DHL | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco (R) | Toronto, Canada | Jones Soda | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport-Honda |
| 30 | Christian Lundgaard (R) | Hedensted, Denmark | PeopleReady | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 45 | Jack Harvey | Bassingham, UK | Hy-Vee | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | El Cajon, California | Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 51 | Takuma Sato | Tokyo, Japan | Nurtec ODT | Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda |
| 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Montmorillon, France | AutoNation / SiriusXM | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda |
| 77 | Callum Ilott (R) | Cambridge, UK | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet |
