(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

Scott McLaughlin ended his 2026 IndyCar season with a long-sought victory at the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey before Alex Palou lifted the trophy for the series championship Sunday in Monterey, Calif.

Last week, Palou clinched his fourth straight IndyCar championship and fifth in six years with one race to go. The Spaniard won six races and finished the season with 631 points, 86 more than runner-up Kyle Kirkwood.

In the trophy presentation, Palou thanked Chip Ganassi Racing and the team behind his No. 10 DHL Honda.

'I had the rocket ship,' Palou said of his racecar. '... Everybody that has been supporting this team and has been part of it. Honda giving us all that power that we needed every single time. Just been a magical year. Thank you all, guys, for being here. It makes it super special, and time to celebrate with all these guys.'

At 29, Palou is the youngest driver in IndyCar history to win five season titles. New Zealand's Scott Dixon holds the record with six, while A.J. Foyt won seven championships in the open-wheel racing series that preceded IndyCar.

As for the race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca -- in which Palou settled for eighth -- McLaughlin was the polesitter and led 87 of the 95 laps for a dominant victory.

The New Zealander had not won a race since Sept. 1, 2024, at the Milwaukee Mile. The 33-year-old dedicated it to his daughter Lucy, who was born in October 2024.

'My little girl hasn't seen me win yet, and now she has,' McLaughlin said. 'So, Dad's coming home with a trophy, baby. Let's go!

'These guys and girls at Team Penske have stood behind me the whole time. Congrats to Alex on his fifth (championship), but we're working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.'

Kirkwood came in second, 1.3739 seconds behind, securing enough points to push into second in the final points standings.

'We had an awesome race. We just played it super clean, super methodical,' Kirkwood said. 'We started on the alts (tires) and actually moved up to third early on and Palou went off-strategy there and we assumed second and just held second the whole time.

'Second place is best of the rest, and has been the real championship the past couple years,' he added, referring to Palou's reign of dominance. 'So we're happy with it.'

Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden and David Malukas rounded out the top five at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

--Field Level Media