Alex Palou scored his second win of the IndyCar season in fine style, emerging on top of a lively race at Laguna Seca.
The Ganassi driver opted against joining many of his rivals in making an early second pit stop when the Safety Car was deployed. That allowed him to lean harder on his fuel and pick off his rivals for the lead – first Alexander Rossi at the Andretti hairpin, then Colton Herta into the Corkscrew.
However it wasn’t a straightforward run to the chequered flag from there as a series of incidents prompted further interruptions in the final third of the race.
Marcus Armstrong caused another caution period with 20 laps remaining after he was tipped into a spin by Christian Lundgaard at turn four. The Ganassi driver returned to the track at speed and was almost hit by oncoming cars as Armstrong spun to a halt.
Race control delayed the deployment of the Safety Car until all drivers had the chance to pit, which promoted Josef Newgarden to second place. This was a huge break for the Penske driver, who lost time earlier in the race with a drive-through penalty for a pit exit violation.
When Palou expressed concern about the appearance of the Indianapolis 500 winner in his mirrors, he was told: “They handled it like they usually do by waiting for everyone to pit.” But he didn’t have to worry for long, as Newgarden ran wide at turn six soon after the race resumed, dropping to fifth.
This restart was painful viewing for Penske, as their two other cars collided, Scott McLaughlin’s car getting away from him at turn six, leading to contact with Will Power. McLaughlin retired soon afterwards with damage.
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Jack Harvey’s retirement with an apparent engine problem caused another interruption. Palou’s car almost got away from him at the final corner at this restart, and Herta took a look at the outside line for turn one before backing down.
Chaos broke out at turn six again, however, as Agustin Canapino made light contact with Kyffin Simpson’s left rear, sending him into a spin which Graham Rahal could not avoid. The RLL driver made heavy contact first with the spinning Ganassi, then the unprotected barrier on the right, and though both emerged uninjured a lengthy clean-up operation was needed.
The race finally resumed for good with five laps to go and Palou led the field to the flag. Herta took second ahead of Rossi and Romain…
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