The freshly repaved surface of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca delivered on its high-grip promise today during qualifying for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season Finale. Christian Lundgaard raced into Laguna Seca lore by eclipsing the 23-year-old track record with a blistering 1:06.461 lap with an average speed of 121.226 miles per hour around the 2.238-mile 11-turn Monterey circuit.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Lundgaard broke the longstanding record of 1:07.722 that was set by Helio Castroneves during his qualifying run at the 2000 CART Honda Grand Prix of Monterey.
“It is pretty cool, I must say,” says Lundgaard, upon hearing the news he set the track record. “Coming to such a historical track, we expected it to be a lot quicker, but I don’t think we expected to do this. It’s pretty cool to have the track record here. The track is just awesome.”
Fast laps were set by three drivers during Friday’s practice session, led by Colton Herta with a time of 1:07.538, but official track records can only be achieved during qualifying or race conditions.
The surface and new grip have been the talk of the drivers all weekend long already. “Yea, it’s FAST,” said Kyle Kirkwood with wide eyes and a big smile in a press conference after practice on Friday. “It’s incredible how heavy it is as well; the steering effort is astronomical.”
Alexander Rossi echoed the sentiment earlier that day, “Laguna Seca has always been a driver’s favorite…but now it’s just like you want to try and be as brave as you want to be.”
The surface underwent a complete repaving this year, as well as the addition of a new Mission Foods Start Finish Bridge that connects the parking and hospitality areas with the race paddock. The improvements that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved in late 2022 signaled the long-term viability of the historic race circuit that was built in 1957 on U.S. Army Fort Ord land.
Green flag for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is at 12:26 p.m. PT and will air live on the NBC Network.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
