The race is on for second place in the final NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, and it figures to be quite the tussle in the season-ending Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

The point totals of Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward are sandwiched around Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood in what amounts to a four-point separation with 95 laps to decide who finishes closest to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou. Team Penske’s David Malukas, who ranks fifth, is more of a longshot to grab second place.

The competition is made even more interesting given where the drivers qualified Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Lundgaard was fifth, Malukas sixth, Kirkwood seventh and O’Ward 13th. Their starting positions will be adjusted when penalties are handed out for unapproved engine changes, but Lundgaard’s car is one of those which will be moving six positions deeper in the field.

For Lundgaard (photo, top), finishing second in the standings is a matter of pride on several fronts. The obvious benefit is that he will finish as Arrow McLaren’s top driver in a season when the team didn’t re-sign him. But he would also like to become the sixth driver in series history and seventh overall to complete every lap in a season. If he does, he will join Tony Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon (twice), Josef Newgarden and Will Power.

Lundgaard is the only driver this season to have completed all 2,462 laps.

“I think we've been extremely good this year at dodging all the accidents and the situations you don't want to put yourself in,” he said. “Sometimes in hindsight, it probably hurt more than it than it helped. But yeah, it would be pretty cool if we could finish all of it.”

With this 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit a permanent road course, it’s worth noting that Lundgaard leads all drivers this season in points scored on such tracks. He won the races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America while finishing second at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. His lowest finish was ninth at Portland International Raceway.

“I don’t know if I’m much better, but I definitely know that the (team’s) road course package is better,” Lundgaard said of a year-over-year improvement. “(The season has been) better than any other year, clearly.

“I don't really think we expected to be as strong on the road courses as we were. We knew last year (Palou) was by far the guy to beat (on road courses) -- I think his average position was like 1.6 or something, and obviously, we're kind of leading that chart (currently). We still have another to go.

“Obviously, if we can beat the guy consistently in the last half of the season, that's been the unbeatable driver and won four championships in a row. I think we've done pretty well.”

It’s fitting that the three top contenders for the runner-up position are among the multiple race winners this season. O’Ward has three wins, including both ends of last weekend’s doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile, while Lundgaard and Kirkwood have two each.

Kyle Kirkwood

Kirkwood (photo, above) said winning this race would be the best way to secure second in the standings.

“We’re not fighting for first place in the championship anymore, so you really want to come out of here winning and having that momentum heading into the offseason,” he said.

Pato O'Ward

O’Ward (photo, above) said driving in a black suit as he is this weekend is advantageous.

“You look good, you feel good,” he said.

Malukas has four second-place finishes this season, including the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and is still seeking his first series victory. Earning that first win Sunday figures to be a challenge given the sore wrist he has been dealing with since the July 5 race at Mid-Ohio.

“It’s more just surviving,” he said Saturday. “For me, I’ve got two days left here where we’re testing a lot of good stuff with the car (for next year). Qualifying is easy on the wrist – you only push for two laps and then you get to recover. But these races always take a toll.”