Christian Lundgaard is flourishing in his debut season with Arrow McLaren.
The Danish driver surged from seventh on the grid to finish second in Sunday’s Java House Grand Prix of Monterey, piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet to an impressive result.
“I obviously knew the pit sequences would be really key around here,” Lundgaard said. “It ended up being a red tire race, and I just can’t thank this team enough.”
Lundgaard started the race on the primary compound of the Firestone Firehawk Racing Tires, stretching his first stint to Lap 20. That strategy allowed him to complete the final two stints on the softer alternate tires, enabling a six-position gain and securing his fifth podium in 14 starts this season with Arrow McLaren.
For comparison, Lundgaard earned just three podiums in 52 starts with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, including one runner-up finish and a single series victory on the streets of Toronto in 2023.
This season alone, Lundgaard has already recorded two second-place finishes. Notably, the car he now drives had managed only four podiums in 81 starts before his offseason arrival.
“This is the most podiums they’ve had in a single year, so I’m very proud of the No. 7 team, and I’m sure they are, too,” Lundgaard said.
Herta Starting to Heat Up in Second Half of Season
Colton Herta opted for a different strategy at the start of Sunday’s 95-lap race, diverging from front-row starters Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward.
While Palou and O’Ward began on the softer Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, Herta chose the harder primary compound and followed Palou closely through the early laps.
Despite an early caution, Palou built a 4.8782-second lead by the second yellow on Lap 11. That gap continued to widen until both drivers pitted for the first time on Lap 25.
Herta maintained second position after the second pit cycle, but dropped to third when Christian Lundgaard, who had pitted six laps earlier, cycled ahead.
Over the second half of the race, Herta made several aggressive attempts to reclaim second place, but Lundgaard’s Chevrolet powered vehicle proved too strong to overtake. Herta crossed the finish line in third, just under a second behind Lundgaard.
“It was good,” Herta said. “I’m so happy whenever we get to come back here. This place has been great to me and great to my family. It’s a real treat.”
Sunday’s result marked Herta’s fourth podium in six career starts at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He previously earned dominant wins at the track in 2019 and 2021 and finished runner-up to Palou in 2023.
“It’s a real driver’s track to come out here, especially in an IndyCar,” Herta added. “To get everything out of it is difficult. Always happy to be on the podium here. The Gainbridge Honda was super fast and we’ll carry this momentum into Portland in two weeks.”
The third-place finish was Herta’s fifth top-five result of the season and his third in the last five races. He placed fourth at Mid-Ohio on July 6 and matched that finish last weekend on the streets of Toronto.
Kirkwood, Dixon Eliminated From Championship Contention
Only two drivers remain in contention for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship as the series heads to the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, Aug. 10.
Palou holds a commanding 121-point lead over O’Ward, the only other driver mathematically eligible to lift the Astor Cup this season.
Sunday’s race eliminated both Kyle Kirkwood and Scott Dixon from title contention. Each needed to be within 161 points of Palou at the checkered flag to stay alive. Starting from 18th (Kirkwood) and 19th (Dixon), both faced an uphill battle.
Kirkwood entered the race 173 points behind Palou, with Dixon trailing by 174. In a bid to gain track position, both drivers elected to pit under the second caution on Lap 12—an alternate strategy call.
The move paid off for Dixon, who charged through the field to finish fifth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. It marked his seventh straight top-10 finish and the 216th top-five result of his illustrious career, extending his all-time record. Still, the consistency wasn’t enough to keep his championship hopes alive in his pursuit of a record-tying seventh title. He now trails Palou by 198 points heading into Portland, a track where he has yet to record a win.
Kirkwood’s race took a turn on Lap 25 when he made contact with Rinus VeeKay’s No. 18 askROI Chevrolet, resulting in a spin and a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact. He finished 16th in the No. 27 JM Bullion Honda and now sits 213 points behind Palou—officially out of the title race.
Odds and Ends
· Five of Palou’s eight wins this season have occurred on natural road courses. He also won at The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Road America and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
· Seven of Palou’s 19 career victories have come from the pole. That is tied with Tony Bettenhausen for 14th all-time. By comparison, Dixon has 12 wins from the pole.
· The most wins in a single season belong to Foyt (1964) and Al Unser (1970), who each had 10. Mario Andretti had nine in 1969.
· Callum Ilott gave PREMA Racing its best NTT INDYCAR SERIES finish by coming home sixth on Sunday. That comes a week after he finished eighth in Toronto. Robert Shwartzman finished ninth in the second Iowa Speedway doubleheader to give the team three consecutive top-10 finishes.
· Marcus Armstrong continued his strong season with his ninth top-10 finish by bringing the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda home eighth. He has eight in the last 10 races.