MONTEREY, Calif. -- The 2019 NTT IndyCar series champion will be crowned today at Laguna Seca Raceway, which will play host to the series for the first time since holding a Champ Car race in 2004.
Josef Newgarden will take a 41-point lead into the race over Alexander Rossi; Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon also are in championship contention. The race will be worth double points.
This is the 23rd Indy car race at Laguna Seca Raceway, and the ninth time that that title will be decided at the track. CART held its season finale here from 1989-96.
Here’s the pertinent information for the season finale of the 17-race schedule:
(All times are Eastern)
TV/START: Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on NBC; green flag at around 3:25 p.m.
PRERACE: Driver introductions begin at 2:30 p.m. The command to start engines will be given at 3:18 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 90 laps (203.22 miles) around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course
FORECAST: Wunderground.com forecasts sunny skies with a high of 68 degrees and a 1 percent chance of rain at the start of the race.
CHAMPIONSHIP STATS: This is the 14th consecutive season that the champion will be determined in the season finale. ... The winning driver at Laguna Seca also has won the championship six times: Bobby Rahal (1986, ’87), Danny Sullivan ('88), Michael Andretti ('91), Alex Zanardi ('98) and Cristiano da Matta (2002).
PUSH TO PASS: Drivers will have 150 seconds of total time with a maximum of 15 seconds per activation.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of alternate tires during the race.
LAST TIME: Patrick Carpentier won the Sept. 12, 2004 race, leading 40 of 79 laps and beating Bruno Junqueira by 5.395 seconds. Oriol Servia finished third.
WATCH ONLINE: Click here for the NBC broadcast
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the starting lineup and tire designations.