MONTEREY, Calif. (Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026) – One goal down for Scott McLaughlin this weekend, one to go.
McLaughlin delivered Chevrolet its 250th INDYCAR SERIES pole position, taking the top spot for the season-ending Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey with a lap of 1 minute, 9.1363 seconds in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet.
Now, McLaughlin hopes that speed will help him win the race Sunday, ending a 36-race dry spell since his last NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in August 2024 at the Milwaukee Mile. A good omen: The pole winner has driven to victory in this race in 18 of the 28 INDYCAR SERIES races held at this iconic Central California Coast road course.
“Since the thing left the hauler, this thing has been unreal,” McLaughlin said. “So stoked for Chevy to get the 250th pole, but I’ve got to try and transition this into a win. Really proud of everyone.
“We were a little bit lost there for a little bit, but to finally get back a little pace on road courses, which we’ve been a little bit lost, I’m really proud of Raul (Prados, race engineer) and the team.”
Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.
McLaughlin used his final lap in the Firestone Fast Six to earn his third NTT P1 Award of the season, as he won the pole for the season-opening race on the street circuit at St. Petersburg and last weekend on the Milwaukee Mile oval. This was his first pole on a road course since April 2024 at Barber Motorsports Park.
The impressive speed by McLaughlin, who also led practice this morning, was enough to dislodge five-time series champion and Laguna Seca dominator Alex Palou from the top spot.
Reigning series champion Palou ended up second at 1:09.1540 in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou has won this race three of the last four years, including in 2024 and 2025 from the pole.
Despite just missing his series-leading ninth pole of the season, Palou’s metronomic speed should serve him well in the race Sunday and send a shiver down the spines of his rivals. Palou led the first round of qualifying at 1:09.1398 and the Fast 12 round at 1:09.1496.
Just .0142 of a second separated Palou’s three best laps from each round of qualifying. He earned his 12th front-row qualifying position in 18 races this season.
“It’s not the race, so consistency doesn’t matter much,” Palou said. “But honestly, happy. We went for it. We tried to get the pole. Really happy with another front-row start. Scott did a great lap.”
Felix Rosenqvist also continued his consistent weekend by qualifying third at 1:09.1931 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda. Rosenqvist was second in both practice sessions at this event preceding qualifying on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit.
Alexander Rossi produced his best non-oval qualifying position of the season with ease, as he will join Rosenqvist in Row 2 Sunday after earning the fourth spot at 1:09.3247 in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet. Rossi’s previous best this year on a road or street circuit was eighth at Markham.
Christian Lundgaard qualified fifth at 1:10.2227 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, but he will line up 11th Sunday due to a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after the doubleheader last weekend at Milwaukee.
David Malukas rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:12.8461 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Lundgaard and Malukas are locked in a four-driver fight for second place. Lundgaard is second with Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global two points behind in third, Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren four points back in fourth and Malukas 23 points behind Lundgaard.
Kirkwood qualified seventh in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda, while O’Ward was narrowly eliminated in the first round of qualifying and earned the 13th spot in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
