Lap record certain to be broken as drivers prepare for Sunday's IndyCar finale at Laguna Seca.

Two words and one name dominated conversation as practice opened for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Friday.

“The track is fast, we’re fast,” says Christian Lundgaard, driver of the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda prepared by Rahal Letterman Lanigan, echoing the words of every team in the NTT IndyCar field. Aiding in the quick lap times during Thursday’s test session was the control offered by the newly resurfaced track.

“A lot of grip—yeah, it’s incredibly fast,” adds Will Power of Team Penske No. 12 Veryzon Honda, mentioning the second word repeated throughout the paddock at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Nine drivers recorded lap times quicker than the official record set back in 2000. The top ten drivers on Thursday finished within half a second, which promises a bunched field when the green flag waves on Sunday, the season finale for IndyCar.

With the championship decided—Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing secured the points title last weekend at Portland—a race win is the only prize left.

“We’ll have six months to think about it after this,” observes Graham Rahal, who pilots the Rahal Letterman Lanigan No. 15 United Rentals iPacket Honda. “There’s no reason to sit back and watch.”

Before Friday’s first practice session, there was pretty much consensus among the drivers that the race will be close—and that the lap record set by Helio Castroneves 23 years ago is certain to fall during Saturday’s qualifying rounds.

Castroneves is the name on a lot of minds going into race weekend. In 2000, he flashed around the 11-turn, 2.2-mile circuit in 1:07.7. On Thursday Power led the field with a time of 1:07.2—an unofficial mark due to test conditions. A year ago Power took the pole with a time of 1.11.6 on his way to winning the season title.

Ironically, Castroneves was the slowest driver on track Thursday, running 1.6 seconds off the pace in his No. 06 Sirius XM Honda from the Meyer Shank Racing stable.

Despite the speeds, the test session IndyCar granted the teams to allow them to acclimate to the new asphalt was not without its moments. A number of drivers—“too many to count,” in the words of one IndyCar official—lost control during their runs.

With under an hour remaining in the test, Palou’s No. 10 American Legion Honda skidded off track in Turn 4 and smacked into the tire barrier.

“We pushed too much and ended up in the wall, which was not ideal,” he explains. Palou won last year’s edition of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey by a whopping 30-second margin, something he doesn’t see happening this time around.

“With so much time practicing, everyone will be at their max,” he points out. But, he adds, despite locking up the title, his goal remains the same. “We can just go for it. We still want to win.”

Thursday was the first time on the new asphalt for most teams, and there were some quick adjustments to be made. The grip levels caught many off guard.

“I couldn’t turn the wheel in 9 and 10,” Power says. “We had to change the set up.”

Once the Penske crew worked on the car, however, Power was able to rocket around the course. “You’re almost flat out in 9, almost flat out in 4,” he notes. Moments later, when joined by Alexander Rossi, Power expresses surprise that he was able to run full bore through Turn 4.

“Bull crap,” the No. 7 Velo Chevrolet Arrow McLaren driver responds with a laugh.

Rossi was impressed by the new asphalt: “It feels like you’ve unlocked a lot of stuff, performance wise.”

“There’s so much lateral grip in the high speed corners,” Lundgaard observes. “I was flat out in a couple.”

Most drivers have hedged on the question of going flat out with an “almost.” Lundgaard did not want to reveal which turns were throttle-to-the-floor, claiming he didn’t want to give away his secret.

Lundgaard was second on Thursday with a best lap of 1:07.3. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin posted the third quickest lap at 1:07.5 in his No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet. Rookie Juri Vips, in only his second IndyCar appearance, wrapped up the session in fourth, lapping the Rahal Letterman Lanigan No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda in 1:07.6.

“It raises my expectations for Sunday,” Vips says. “We’re going to go even quicker.”

Some of the early difficulties will ease as the track rubbers in over the course of the weekend. Palou explains that in early runs the groove was narrow. Inch out of it and the newfound grip levels suddenly released.

By Sunday the groove will be wider and drivers will be able to approach corners differently. Because tires are not wearing as quickly as in the past, the pace will remain quick through each fuel stint.

“I don’t think we’ll see as much degradation,” Rahal says. “But you will see more mistakes. It’s going to be a tough race—really tight.”