MONTEREY, Calif. – Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing didn’t have to look far to find his rookie-of-the-year competition today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. They were seated next to him in the media center following the first official practice of the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing (shown above), Rosenqvist and Santino Ferrucci of Dale Coyne Racing were 1-2-3 on the speed chart at the end of the 45-minute session.

Herta’s pace-setting lap was 1 minute, 10.7335 seconds. Rosenqvist ran 1:10.8054 and Ferrucci 1:10.8837. Herta ended the session with a spin at the top of the corkscrew – Turn 8.

CLICK IT: Today's First Practice Results

As for the title contenders, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden were sixth and ninth, respectively. Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing was 14th and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was 24th. Rossi got only four laps due to a modification the team needed to make.

Today’s second practice session 2:10 p.m. ET (11:10 a.m. PT local) on NBC Gold.

Saturday’s on-track action will feature a morning practice (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, NBC Gold) and NTT P1 Award qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT) live on NBCSN.

Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, a 90-lap race, will be televised live on NBC beginning with the pre-race show at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT) with the green flag scheduled for 3:25 p.m. (12:25 p.m. PT). The race also will be broadcast on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM 205, Sirius 98).