INDYCAR: Laguna Seca Race Report

Palou Wins Season Finale, Dixon 3rd in Championship

Alex Palou drove the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda to victory lane in historic fashion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca today. Palou set a new INDYCAR SERIES track record with a margin of victory of 30.3812 seconds. This was also the greatest margin of victory in any race throughout the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. 
 
Palou joins Jimmy Vasser (1997) and Alex Zanardi (1996) as the third Chip Ganassi Racing driver to win a series race at Laguna Seca. 
 
Palou earned his 4th career victory in the series with Chip Ganassi Racing, all coming in road course races. Today’s win marks the 244th all-time victory for Chip Ganassi Racing, and the 123rd in the INDYCAR SERIES. 
 
Scott Dixon recorded a P12 finish in today’s race, placing 3rd in the points leaderboard on the year. Dixon has now finished in the top-3 in points in 14 of his 22 INDYCAR SERIES seasons (64%). 
 
Dixon made history today by becoming the first driver in series history to finish 100% of the possible laps in multiple seasons (2022, 2020). 
 
2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson wrapped up a stellar season with a top-10 finish and placed 6th in the final season standings.   
 
Jimmie Johnson piloted the No. 48 Carvana Honda to a P16 finish, matching a career-best on a road or street course race (2022: Mid-Ohio).



Alex Palou – 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Winner

Race Results
P1 -Alex Palou No. 10 NTT DATA Honda
P9 – Marcus Ericsson, No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
P12 – Scott Dixon, No. 9 PNC Bank Honda
P16 – Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Carvana Honda


2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Standings
P3 – Scott Dixon, No. 9 PNC Bank Honda (521)
P5 – Alex Palou, No. 10 NTT DATA Honda (510)
P6 – Marcus Ericsson, No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda (506)
P21 – Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Carvana Honda (214)

Alex Palou – No. 10 NTT Data Honda
“What a way to end the year with a win. We’ve had a lot of pace in certain races but today was just phenomenal. We did absolutely everything right. Since the warm-up, I felt very confident, though I had no idea we would be that much stronger than the competitors. We had amazing pit stops, the strategy was perfect and got a huge win for the No. 10 NTT DATA car.”  

Marcus Ericsson – No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a tough race. We fought hard out there and gave everything but just not good enough. A very disappointing end of the season. Proud of the 8 car crew and Chip Ganassi Racing, they’ve done a tremendous job all year. Big thanks to them and congrats to Alex on the win today.”

Scott Dixon – No. 9 PNC Bank Honda
“As a group effort, everybody did a hell of a job this season. We finished every lap this year which is definitely a huge milestone in itself. That’s kudos to the team but also to our partners too, with Honda and HPD and the effort that goes into to making it all possible. We’ll keep we’ll keep after it and we know exactly what we need to do in the offseason. Massive thanks to NTT and everyone involved, big thank to PNC Bank and everybody on this team who have worked so hard across all four teams. It’s been a pleasure and a very proud moment to be a part of this team. Congratulations to Alex on winning the last race. He did a hell of a job today and it was good to see that side of the team get a win.”

Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Carvana Honda
“It’s been an amazing year with so many awesome experiences. Leading in the Indianapolis 500, running a full season, another year with this great team, another year with my great partners to make this all happen. My heart is full. I wish I had a little more pace on some of these tracks but that’s part of this journey I’m on. I love this racetrack and I’m so happy to finish on a high note. That wass probably the most competitive I’ve been on a road course in passing cars and racing hard. We had some issues at the start of the race, and I had to drop back about 10 to 15 seconds after contact with the No. 4 car and to fight back from that and end up in 16th is really a great way to finish the race and to finish the season.”