For the second time in this era of IndyCar racing, the series went to Laguna Seca in September.
For the second time in a row, Colton Herta dominated.
The young gun led nearly every lap of the race on Sunday at Laguna Seca and captured the fifth win of his early IndyCar career.
“I have no clue, I enjoy racing here so much,” Herta said on NBC. “It’s an amazing track for both me and my family. To go 2-for-2 so far is great. There was pressure from Alex (Palou) there behind me. I’m just happy to (get the win) here. It’s my favorite track in North America.”
Despite the domination by Herta, there was a battle brewing late in the field when Romain Grosjean began driving through the field on fresher tires and passing Pato O’Ward for P4 at the time.
The drop in position helped Palou extend on his series points lead going into the final race of the year next Sunday, however, Grosjean was charging and coming for Palou.
P2 and P3 have a much more significant difference in points, so it was something that multiple teams on the track were paying attention to.
But Palou might have been saved by his teammate. Jimmie Johnson sat in between Grosjean – who had made it to P3 at that point in the race – and the second-running Palou.
He was instructed to play some defense on the former Formula 1 driver – and defense he played. We’ll let you see how it played out.
Romain Grosjean is trying to catch Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) for second place. #IndyCar
CGR Teammate Jimmie Johnson told to defend. Here's what happened:
🎥 @IndyCaronNBC pic.twitter.com/umMtADsCJv
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) September 19, 2021
Grosjean, who apologized to Johnson and reiterated there were no hard feelings with one another – was pulling moves out of a hat all day.
He showed the fans as well as other drivers that he has what it takes to be in the NTT IndyCar series.
Romain Grosjean showing he belongs in IndyCar today.
🎥 @IndyCaronNBCpic.twitter.com/No56FbGCaC
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) September 19, 2021
Grosjean’s run to the front was damaged by Johnson getting into him, however he secured yet another podium finish in his first year with the tour.
Palou finished second, and mathematically eliminated Scott Dixon from winning his seventh IndyCar championship.
Like usual, Palou was straight-forward in his postrace interview. He didn’t mention racing for points. He didn’t mention the pressure on him to win his first championship. He just spoke on today.
“I was surprised that we were really competitive in comparison to qualifying,” Palou said on NBC. “We didn’t compete for the win, but we did the most that we could.”
The most that we could, at least, landed him a 35-point cushion going into the championship next week at Long Beach.
“We didn’t have it all weekend and – uhm – I truly feel like we absolutely juiced every single ounce of energy and pace that this car had,” O’Ward said on NBC. “We pulled off a miracle in qualifying to (make the top six). As far as the race (being passed by Grosjean late) that was as much as I had. All we can do at Long Beach is just win and then let everything else fall.”
Josef Newgarden sits 48 points back, basically eliminated barring a major disaster.
Palou’s 35-point lead means that no matter where the other two finish, if he can net a top 11 run, he will win his first career IndyCar championship.
Next Sunday’s championship race (September 26 at Long Beach) is set for a 2:00 p.m. CT start on NBCSN.
IndyCar Results
Laguna Seca
1. Colton Herta
2. Alex Palou
3. Romain Grosjean
4. Graham Rahal
5. Pato O’Ward
6. Marcus Ericsson
7. Josef Newgarden
8. Simon Pagenaud
9. Oliver Askew
10. Ed Jones
11. Ryan Hunter-Reay
12. Scott McLaughlin
13. Scott Dixon
14. Sebastien Bourdais
15. Jack Harvey
16. Conor Daly
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Rinus VeeKay
19. Felix Rosenqvist
20. James Hinchcliffe
21. Max Chilton
22. Callum Illott
23. Dalton Kellett
24. Helio Castroneves
25. Alexander Rossi
26. Will Power
27. Takuma Sato
