Palou Wins at Laguna Seca, Briscoe Takes Brickyard Pole

Alex Palou won the 2025 Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca, marking his eighth victory of the IndyCar season and bringing him within reach of single-season win records held by Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt. Palou started on pole and used strong fuel and tire strategy to control the race, finishing ahead of Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard, with O’Ward now trailing Palou by over 100 points and only three races remaining. In NASCAR, Chase Briscoe took pole position for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading a Toyota sweep of the top five qualifiers, while Denny Hamlin will start from the rear after a qualifying crash. Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones also qualified strongly behind Briscoe. Additionally, Connor Zilisch captured his third consecutive win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Pennzoil 250, giving JR Motorsports its 100th series victory. The weekend underscored major performances and pivotal moments in both the IndyCar and NASCAR championship battles.