Scotty mac on the attack in second Laguna Seca practice

Here's the thing about : when he gets on a roll, you just stand back and watch the machine work. During a Saturday pre-qualifying practice for the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey that was slashed down to just 25 minutes, McLaughlin put down a blistering best lap of 1 minute, 10.3014 seconds. That effort in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet puts him right at the sharp end of the grid as he chases his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win since August 2024 in Milwaukee.

Now, that 25-minute sprint wasn't by design. Track crews had to scramble for extensive catch fence repairs after a heavy crash involving a car in a support series up at the famous Zanardi Corkscrew turn complex. But once the green flag waved, the heavy hitters wasted zero time finding their rhythm.

kept his momentum rolling by claiming second spot for the second straight practice. Driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda, he stopped the clocks at 1:10.5433. Behind him, five-time series champion slipped to third after topping Friday's running, managing a 1:10.5575 in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Team Penske enjoyed a strong showing overall, with slotting into fourth. He wrestled the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to a 1:10.5754 lap. rounded out the top five with a 1:10.5789 in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global.

Attention now shifts immediately to the NTT P1 Award qualifying session scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET today, broadcast on FS2, FOX One, and the INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls. After that, the battle for the 95-lap race goes live at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday across FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, and the INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.