2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY

Fast cars and coffee pods provide perky stimulation for INDYCAR fans at the

2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY. CGC’s Jim Palam was trackside!

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is about a four-hour drive North from my home in Solvang, CA, and a world away from mundane tasks that make up my average days. It’s no surprise that Car Guys are sometimes called Adrenaline Junkies; our hearts beat faster, and our focus is sharper when we’re participating in enthusiast automotive activities.

So it was with wide-eyed enthusiasm that I donned my safety vest and headed trackside for the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY as a freelance photojournalist for CarGuyChronicles.com – even though personal obligations limited me to just the first two days of this exciting three-day event. “Java House/Monterey” is part of the 17-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES. This non-stop race weekend also included the INDY NXT by Firestone races, the Porsche Sprint Challenge races, and the Radical Cup Race that featured open cockpit sports cars manufactured by Radical Motorsport.

While behind-the-K-rail trackside shooting is the adrenaline-pumper for most shooters at races, I also love the pre-practice/pre-qualifying/pre-race time spent exploring pit row, the paddock, and the promenade areas. In the media center, Java House had set up a nicely stocked coffee bar featuring the race sponsor’s smooth-tasting, cold-brewed, ready-to-drink coffee pods. Just pop a pod into cold or hot water and you’re ready to enjoy these 100% Arabica bean beverages.

Of course, better than the smell of fresh coffee in the morning are the sights, sounds, and aromas of open-wheel IndyCars flying down Laguna Seca’s famous “Corkscrew”.

I captured 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion Lochie Hughes from Queensland, Australia, hugging turn 8A, above, in Andretti Global Racing’s car #26 during Friday’s Indy NXT by Firestone Practice Race #1. Andretti Global Racing was founded by Michael Andretti

in the early 2000s.

It’s hard to miss Chip Ganassi Racing’s bright red and yellow DHL livery Car No.10 because its driver, Alex Palou, usually has this tuned-to-win IndyCar out front in the lead position. Here is Alex well ahead of the field during Saturday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #2. Palou and Team Ganassi dominated the Grand Prix, leading 84 of 95 laps to finish in P1 at the 2025 Java House Grand Prix of Monterey. His win in the Chip Ganassi Honda ratcheted him to 8 wins in 14 races this season, putting him in contention for one of the most dominant seasons in INDYCAR racing history.

My windshield wipers set the tempo for an early morning drive from my hotel to the South Boundary entry road at Laguna Seca. A daybreak mist is nothing unusual in Monterey, but soon it turned into a light rain, which not only dampened some spirits at the track but also delayed practice and qualifying sessions by more than two hours. To kill time, I headed back to pit row where I photographed Over-the-Wall crews of tire changers, fuelers, and jack operators – and Behind-the-Wall support teams of stop sign/front air hose/wing crews – as well as data acquisition and race engineers, race strategists, and spotters. Racing: It takes a village!

The rain delay gave me a little extra time to poke around the pit row garages. If you’re not a race team photographer, this is not encouraged and often banned, but it was early enough that a polite request at the Ed Carpenter Racing garage got me just beyond the rollup doors. And, I was able to quickly grab a few shots of their Java House-sponsored, Alexander Rossi-driven Car No. 20. ECR’s ownership group is comprised of four Indianapolis, IN, businessmen: Ed Carpenter, Ted Gelov, Tony George, and Stuart Reed. Gelov is the owner of Heartland Food Products Group, which owns consumer brands, Splenda and Java House Coffee.

Balance is Everything. In fact, it plays a critical role in the design and performance of all racecars. Once again, the rain delay provided an opportunity to document this shot of Team Penske’s No. 2 NTT INDYCAR’s front suspension. Meticulously designed and crafted upper and lower A-arms and inside-the-body suspension push rods would hopefully help No. 2’s driver, two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, steer his Penske car to a podium win.

Out of the twenty six cars finishing the race, Newgarden finished 11^th at the

2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY.

HM Road Racing Development is a Porsche Motorsports specialty shop in Las Vegas, NV. Under the ownership and guidance of Henry Marshall, HM specializes in sports car endurance racing, while also offering driver development and coaching programs. I spotted two of HM’s racecars being prepped for the Porsche Sprint Challenge Races in a state-of-the-art paddock prep area. Henry drives HM Car No. 78, and from the look of things, it’s ready to charge into action.

Racing Toward Zero. Back in 2023, INDYCAR set ambitious sustainability initiatives and targets. By 2030, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES wants to become the most sustainable motorsport in North America by reducing race operations emissions by 50%, sourcing renewable electricity for all INDYCAR events, and implementing recycling and composting at every INDYCAR event. Today, INDYCAR racing utilizes a 100% renewable race fuel, a blend of second-generation ethanol and other renewable components, supplied by Shell. This fuel is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. All very impressive, but does the paddock pump attendant clean your windshield?

I grabbed this shot of the Droplight-sponsored RLL No. 45 IndyCar early Saturday morning as it was being towed by an electric Tugger into the pit lane to prepare for the NTT INDYCAR Series Practice #2. This car is driven by Louis Foster for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL). A heavy mist soon turned into a light drizzle, which was enough to delay events at the track for over two hours. You may notice that the No. 45’s nose cone is sitting considerably higher than it would be for the race, to prevent it from being damaged as the cars are moved around the uneven and sometimes damp surfaces

of the paddock.

No Place for A Screw-up: 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series Rookie of the Year, Christian Lundgaard, holds a tight lead in his bright orange No. 7 Arrow McLaren down through the twisty Corkscrew at Laguna Seca Raceway, in Practice Race #1 on Friday, July 25^th. NTT INDYCAR racecars weigh approximately 1,700 pounds, have a roof height around 40 inches, and get their 650-700 horsepower from twin-turbocharged hybrid V6 engines. Actual horsepower is dependent on the turbo boost pressure used during the race. Up to 150 additional horsepower is available via the hybrid unit.

Andretti Global Racing’s Car No. 28 is slightly airborne as it charges into the Corkscrew. Behind the wheel is Oslo, Norway-born Dennis Hauger, who made his American racing debut after joining AGR in 2025 and grabbing two impressive wins in the Indy NXT Series. Hauger had a mixed weekend at the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX

OF MONTEREY. Dennis finished second in Race #1 on Saturday but unfortunately finished in 16th place in Race #2 on Sunday, after making contact with his AGR teammate, Lochie Hughes.

Louis Foster waves to the race fans assembled up by the infamous Corkscrew during

a practice lap on Friday, July 25^th. Foster, who won the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2024, made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut at the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY. Driving as a rookie for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, he finished a disappointing 17^th on Sunday, after struggling with balance and grip issues. Damp and repaved track surfaces were a challenge for all competitors throughout

the weekend.

IndyCar driver Bryce Aron is on it hard coming out of Turn 3 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY Indy NXT Race #1. Bryce is a native of Winnetka, IL. In 2025, he started driving Car No. 9 for Chip Ganassi Racing. His 2024 rookie INDY NXT season was with Andretti Global Racing and featured two podiums and three top-five finishes. He finished the 35-lap Race #1

in 10^th position.

I arrived at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca at 11 AM on Friday and headed straight to the Media Center, where I checked in, got my safety vest, and then hustled over to the start/finish line, where I grabbed my first photo of the day. Whipping by me in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Practice #1 was Matt Dusek in his Charlie Hughes Racing-prepared Porsche GT3 Cup car. Its bright copper-orange livery was impossible to miss. CHR had 5 cars successfully competing over the 3 days of racing, and Dusek’s Car No. 251 had a podium P2 finish on Sunday in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Pro-Am class.

Way to go, gang!

Variety is the Spice of Life: Well, if anyone thought the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY would be a mellow brew, they had a big surprise thanks to some bonus adrenaline-pumping competition showcased in the Radical Cup North America Series racing. This multiclass race series featured 30 Radical Car competitors, including high-horsepower SR10s in the Platinum class, and lower horsepower Pro 1500 and Pro 1350 cars. Radical Motorsports cars made their debut over 25 years ago as lightweight sportscars that utilized superbike and racecar technology. Based in Cambridgeshire, England, Radical Motorsport has produced over 3,000 cars, which are owned, driven, and raced all around the globe. I captured this shot of a radically jammed paddock lane before Radical Cup Qualifying on Friday.

A lot of senior motorsports fans have an unfounded fear that once their generation is gone, so will be fast cars and motorsports. Well, fear not, because programs like Path to the Pits are facilitating nationwide access to racing & career mentorship opportunities for young adults. PTTP works with local colleges, tech education programs, and industry partners like Firestone Racing to host young adults focused on STEM careers at exciting at-track and virtual events, plus career support and networking opportunities. Participants receive free admission, lunch, and exclusive access to the paddock, professional team members, and industry experts. We can all rest easy!

Story & Photos © Jim Palam, https://www.jimpalamphotos.com/

For more information on the 2025 JAVA HOUSE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY, please visit https://weathertechraceway.com/pages/java-house-grand-prix-of-monterey/