What do race car drivers do for fun when they come to Monterey County?
Dave Faries here, with a few answers. This afternoon, Sept. 3, IndyCar and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca hosted a welcome lunch at Estéban Restaurant in Monterey. With the NTT IndyCar series championship already in hand—thank you Alex Palou for taking some of the drama away—organizers changed things up a bit, inviting the six Indy Nxt series drivers still fighting for the title.
Alessandro de Tullio admits he didn’t fully understand what he had been invited to, but he quickly found reason to attend. “Paella? I’m going,” he says with a smile. “I’m just here for the food.” Meanwhile Enzo Fittipaldi, currently second in points, found time for a morning swim off Carmel Beach. The water? “Bone cold.” No one told him beforehand that most swimmers wear wet suits—or until after that great whites also lurk in the water.
“What are the odds of a shark?” he asks with sincerity.
IndyCar driver Nolan Siegel was at the event, in part to help Chef Steven Patlan put the finishing touches on the paella. Siegel grew up in Palo Alto and has spent considerable time in the county, on and off the track.
“I went to the Aquarium as a kid,” he points out. Thursday morning he made another visit to the facility with teammate Christian Lundgaard in tow. “He loved it.”
The two also found time to play a round of golf the day before at Pebble Beach Golf Links, along with former driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. “It wasn’t a great round,” he admits. “I stopped keeping score on the seventh hole.”
Despite a winless season and the need to find a seat for 2027, Siegel was beaming on Thursday. Arriving early to the area gave him a chance for some tourist activity.
For Max Taylor, the luncheon was his only escape for the weekend. He has events lined up in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation. His father spoke with relief of an incident earlier this season where Taylor’s car suffered superficial damage.
“That’s only $6,000—Whoo!” he says, shaking his head at the expense of the sport. “He can throw away $350,000 in a weekend.”
Practice sessions take place on Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. While the IndyCar race is on Sunday, Indy Nxt drivers compete on both Saturday and Sunday—with a championship and a possible IndyCar ride on the line.
De Tullio, who sits fifth in points but with a mathematical chance, is clear about his options. “We need to kidnap the others,” he says with a laugh. Then he pauses and looks around. “Maybe that’s why all of us are here. Maybe this is a setup.”