Two years, 35 races and one increasingly overdue promise to a small girl. Scott McLaughlin’s Laguna Seca victory in the 2026 IndyCar season finale settled all three at once, the New Zealander converting pole into the sort of controlled, unfussed drive that had eluded him since 2024.
Scott McLaughlin’s Laguna Seca win was never in doubt
McLaughlin led 87 of the 95 laps around the 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the #3 Team Penske Chevrolet, taking the flag 1.3739s clear of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. It was his eighth career IndyCar victory and Team Penske’s 312th in the series, and it ended a winless run dating back to the penultimate round of the 2024 season at Milwaukee.
The only real drama came before the field had completed a lap. Dale Coyne Racing rookie Dennis Hauger was punted from behind by Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb at Turn 6, bringing out the race’s solitary full-course caution and earning Robb a 10-second stop-and-hold penalty for avoidable contact. Hauger’s was the only retirement, and 22 of the 25 starters finished on the lead lap. From the lap-four restart, McLaughlin simply drove away.
Alexander Rossi completed the podium in the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, a first rostrum since 2024 and his first with the team, closing out what he called “a pretty terrible year”. Felix Rosenqvist took fourth in his final outing for Meyer Shank Racing, with Penske’s David Malukas fifth.
‘I’ve been promising Lucy a race win for a long time’
The eighth win of a career mattered rather less than the identity of the person watching it. This was McLaughlin’s first as a father.
“A bit of everything, to be honest. I’d say a little bit of relief because I’ve been promising Lucy for a long time a race win,” McLaughlin said of his daughter, speaking to Motorsport.com. “She has no idea. She gave me nothing on FaceTime before. That’s part of it.”
The 33-year-old traced the turnaround to midsummer, and specifically to a test session we flagged at the time as a potential lifeline for Penske. “A culmination of some hard work,” he said. “I think the whole team, all three cars, just been working on basically I think from the Mid-Ohio test for us, at least on my car, we found a bit of a direction.”
He also had time for the man who had already taken the trophy: “Congrats, Alex, on his fifth. We’re working hard to be better but today was a big step in the right direction.”
Kirkwood banks a career-best second
Kirkwood had a title position to protect rather than a race to win, and he raced accordingly. Starting sixth in the #27 Andretti Global Honda, he climbed to second and stayed there, sealing runner-up in the championship on 545 points.
“We played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship,” Kirkwood said. “Probably could have had a go at Scottie at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tyres last.”
It caps a year of two wins, six podiums and 15 top-10s. “I hope people consider us as the second best team,” he said. “We made a huge jump year over year.”
The final 2026 IndyCar standings
Alex Palou, who had already wrapped up a fifth title in six years at Milwaukee, finished eighth at Laguna Seca to close on 631 points, 86 clear of Kirkwood. Departing Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard took third on 535, from team-mate Pato O’Ward and Malukas. McLaughlin ended up sixth on 482 points from one victory, four podiums and three poles, according to Motorsport.com’s final classification. Indy 500 winner Rosenqvist signed off ninth.
Hauger held on for Rookie of the Year by 15 points over Mick Schumacher despite the crash, while Scott Dixon ended his last race as a Chip Ganassi Racing driver down in 17th. “Bring it on, 2027,” McLaughlin said. On this evidence, Penske might mean it.
