Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey
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| Venue | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca |
|---|---|
| First race | 1960 |
| First IL race | 1983 |
| Most wins (driver) | Bobby Rahal (5) |
| Most wins (team) | Penske Racing (8) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Lola (11) |
The Monterey Grand Prix was an auto race held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The race was first held as a USAC Road Racing Championship event, following the success of the SCCA's Pebble Beach Road Races. After USAC's road racing series disbanded in 1962, the race became a non-championship race for three years, before joining the Can-Am schedule. After Can-Am's demise in 1974, the event shifted to Formula 5000 for two years, then to the IMSA GT Championship for two more years, then to the revamped, Formula 5000-based Can-Am. The first Indy Car / CART / Champ Car World Series race was held in 1983, and the final race was held in 2004. The race was to be brought back to Champ Car in 2008, but after the series was absorbed by the Indy Racing League, the Atlantic Championship took over the headline event. For 2015, the race returned as part of Mazda Road to Indy Championship Weekend. All three lower tiers of INDYCAR's Road to Indy participate, as a standalone race.
One of the most legendary moments in the history of the CART Grand Prix of Monterey, and the CART series itself, occurred in 1996. The event was the final race of the 1996 CART season. Bryan Herta led most of the race during the second half, and in the closing laps, was leading Alex Zanardi. Zanardi was in close pursuit, but Herta had been successful thus far holding him off, and appeared to be en route to his first-career Indy car victory. With Zanardi's Ganassi teammate Jimmy Vasser essentially wrapping up the series title already, the attention in the closing laps focused in on the battle for the race lead.
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