This weekend’s IndyCar race at Laguna Seca is the fifth race in four weeks of a hectic mid-season. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou has dominated the majority of the season so far, but Pato O’Ward has hit form of late and has cut into Palou’s points lead.
There are fourdrivers still mathematically in the running for the 2025 championship, including Kiwi Scott Dixon. Palou leads the championship on 536 points from O’Ward (437), Kyle Kirkwood (363) and Dixon (362). Any driver who trails the points leader by 162 or more after this race will be eliminated from championship contention as there will only be three races remaining in the season.
Dixon will make his 353rd consecutive race start and holds records for total starts, wins, and podium finishes. Photo / Icon Sportswire
Dixon continues to set records in IndyCar and will make his 353rd consecutive race start, extending his series record streak. He has passed Mario Andretti for the record number of total starts with his 408th start at Indianapolis and will extend his record to 416 this weekend.
If that’s not enough, the 45-year-old’s win at Mid-Ohio earlier this moth moved his total wins to 59 and extended two other records he holds – seasons with a win (23) and consecutive seasons with a win (21). Just to add a couple of cherries on top of the cake, Dixon also holds the record for podium finishes (145) and top-five finishes (215). Dixon may be hanging in contention for his seventh IndyCar title by his fingertips and will have to have a heck of a lot of luck to finish the season on top. Most eyes, however, will be on the battle up front between Palou going for his fourth title and O’Ward, who is on a hot streak with victory in two of the past three races.
While Dixon has maintained his long-time Indycar prominence, Scott McLaughlin has struggled this year, while Marcus Armstrong has climbed to seventh with recent top-10 finishes.
Fellow New Zealanders in the field Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Armstrong are having quite different seasons in 2025. McLaughlin was the darling of the championship in 2024, running up-front and winning races, and finished the season third to match his 2023 position.
This year has been a bit of a horror turn for the former Supercars champion, with a best placing of third at Alabama and a run of bad luck and crashes, including on the Indianapolis 500 warm-up lap. As a result he is sitting 13th on the points table (239).
Armstrong, on the other hand, has hit a purple patch and has scorched up the points table from 16th to seventh on the back six, with top-10 finishes in his last seven starts – including his first podium finish at Iowa.
This will be the first time the new hybrid engine has been used at Laguna Seca, so all the teams will be short on relevant engine mapping and fuel consumption data, which may just play into the hands of Dixon, the recognised maestro of fuel mileage.
There will also be an additional two Kiwis at Laguna Seca, with regular Indy NXT runner Callum Hedge looking to move up the points table and Liam Sceats, who’s contesting a truncated season.
Hedge sits seventh in the series on 217 points, a fair way off championship leader Dennis Hauger (414) but within easy striking distance of sixth-placed Josh Pierson (243) and fifth-placed Salvador de Alba (258).
Sceats, meanwhile, is looking to broaden his IndyCar experience rather than collect points, although he does sit 16th on the points table after contesting only six rounds and is ahead of three fulltime drivers.
It will be Sceats’ first visit to Laguna Seca and he’s buoyed by the idea he has two races over the weekend and a different engine package that could potentially put him at the front of the field.
