RACE REPORT: Java House Grand Prix of Monterey
Race Notes
- A busy month of five races in just four weekends for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES came to a close today as the green flag waved for the 95-lap race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
- Colton Herta delivered Andretti INDYCAR’s strongest result of the day with a third-place finish at Laguna Seca, while Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson struggled with penalties and a DNF to come away with a 16th and 25th, respectively.
- Herta’s podium finish marked Andretti INDYCAR’s third podium and fourth top-five finish across the team’s six starts since returning to Laguna Seca in 2019.
- The Java House Grand Prix of Monterey saw five caution periods, totaling 13 laps.
- After a grueling July, the INDYCAR field will take a much-needed week off before taking on the final road course of the season at Portland International Raceway.
Race Results
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
P3
| Started | P3 |
| Standings | 7th (313 points) |
- Starting today’s race in third, Colton Herta quickly moved his way into second place on the opening lap, where he stayed until making his first pit stop of the race on Lap 26 just ahead of the third yellow flag of the race.
- Though Herta lost a few positions during the first pit stop, he worked his way back into the top three by Lap 37.
- Back in for his second pit stop on Lap 51, an issue with a wheel nut on the right front lost Herta a few hundredths of a second but he was able to maintain his position in the top three by Lap 71.
- Herta’s final stop saw the Gainbridge Honda back in for sticker reds with hopes of catching the top two, but he was unable to get onto the second step of the podium, taking the checkered flag in third.
- Today’s result marks the California native’s fourth podium finish at Laguna Seca, 10th on a road course and the 20th of his INDYCAR career.
“I’m always happy when we get to come back to Laguna. This place has been really special to my family. It’s tough, and you have to earn everything out there. So to be back on the podium here means a lot. The No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was quick all weekend, and we’ll carry this momentum into Portland.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 JM Bullion Honda
P16
| Started | P18 |
| Standings | 4th (377 points) |
- Making his fourth INDYCAR start at Laguna Seca today from 18th, Kyle Kirkwood narrowly avoided a Lap 1 incident, losing a few positions in the JM Bullion Honda on the start.
- By Lap 23, Kirkwood had broken into the top 10 and was running in the top four by Lap 26 as the first pit cycle began. On that same lap, Kirkwood and the No. 18 made contact to bring out the third yellow of the race, and the JM Bullion Honda was issued a stop-and-go penalty for the incident.
- Following the penalty, Kirkwood worked to move up the field as the race continued, but he was unfortunately issued another penalty on Lap 80 for failure to pack up under yellow, forcing the JM Bullion Honda to yield two positions.
- With traffic limiting his ability to advance, the Florida native ultimately took the checkered in 16th.
- Despite a challenging race, the JM Bullion crew was quickest on pit lane, beating out the race winner’s pit crew by two-tenths of a second in today’s race.
“What could have gone wrong today did. It was extremely hard to pass, but we knew we had to go forward somehow. I was stuck in a situation where I had to make risky maneuvers, so I made a few of them, but one of them didn’t stick. So, that was unfortunate there. We just sat there fighting for our lives for the rest of the race. I was able to claw back from quite literally last, almost a lap down, to 16th, so good effort there and good strategy called by the No. 27 team. But we tried to get the most that we could today and just fell a little bit short.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Delaware Life Honda
P25
| Started | P15 |
| Standings | 20th (200 points) |
- Starting on the Firestone primary tires like his teammates in his sixth start at Laguna Seca, Marcus Ericsson took the green today in 15th and remained in the middle of the pack through the early stages of the race before pitting for tires and fuel on Lap 23. The Delaware Life Honda broke into the top 10 by Lap 46.
- Despite losing some positions as the race progressed, Ericsson found himself as high as fifth as the field cycled through pit stops before his final stop of the day.
- The Delaware Life Honda met trouble on Lap 78 after a spin at the top of the Corkscrew left Ericsson stranded and unable to continue. After restarting, the Swede was called into the pits to assess the damage, which was unfortunately enough to end Ericsson’s day with 15 laps to go.
“It was a decent day overall, but we just couldn’t make much progress. The Delaware Life Honda felt quick. We just got stuck in traffic for most of the race. I had a moment coming out of Turn 7 where I hit the curb, bottomed out and spun. For some reason, I couldn’t get it restarted right away, which was strange. Once we did get going again, there was some damage, and ultimately we had to retire the car.”
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“Happy to get back on the podium with the No. 26 today. I thought we had a good chance of second, but obviously, it didn’t quite play out. The No. 27 certainly had the same pace as the 26, but after getting penalized with a stop-and-go in pit lane, there was too much to do to move back up. The No. 28 spun and peeled the skin back, so the team decided that it was best to retire the car. So, there were some positives and some not-so-positive things today, but we’re happy to be back on the podium with the 26.”
