One of the most famous corners in American motorsports will forever carry the name of an Italian racing legend. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California is officially renaming its iconic Corkscrew the “Zanardi Corkscrew,” honoring Alex Zanardi 30 years after the extraordinary maneuver that helped turn the Bologna-born driver into a motorsports hero on both sides of the Atlantic.
The dedication is scheduled for September 4, during the IndyCar season finale weekend at Laguna Seca. The ceremony will bring together figures connected with Zanardi’s American career, including Chip Ganassi and fellow Italian driver Max Papis.
The location could hardly be more appropriate. On September 8, 1996, during the final lap of the CART season finale, rookie Zanardi attacked leader Bryan Herta at the Corkscrew, the dramatic downhill sequence at turns 8 and 8A. Zanardi went partly off the conventional racing line and emerged ahead, winning the race. The audacious move became known simply as “The Pass.”
It was one of the defining moments of an extraordinary American chapter for an unmistakably Italian champion. After arriving at Chip Ganassi Racing, Zanardi won 3 races and 6 pole positions in his 1996 rookie season. He then captured consecutive CART championships in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, he won 5 of 17 races. A year later, he was even more dominant – 7 victories and 15 podium finishes in 19 starts. Across his CART career, Zanardi collected 15 victories.
His spectacular driving style and exuberant victory celebrations, particularly the tire-smoking donuts that became his trademark, made him one of the most popular European drivers ever to race in the United States.
Yet Zanardi’s appeal was even greater in his native Italy. Italians followed not only the racing champion but the man who rebuilt his sporting life after losing both legs in the devastating 2001 Lausitzring crash. He subsequently became one of Italy’s most celebrated Paralympic athletes, winning 4 Paralympic handcycling gold medals – 2 at London 2012 and 2 at Rio 2016 – as well as numerous world titles.
Zanardi died on May 1, 2026, at age 59. The tributes that followed in Italy and the United States demonstrated how unusual his transatlantic popularity had become.
Chip Ganassi Racing is extending the Laguna Seca tribute by giving Alex Palou’s car a special livery inspired by Zanardi’s 1996 machine for the 2026 IndyCar finale.
Naming the Corkscrew after Zanardi therefore celebrates more than one spectacular pass. It permanently connects an Italian sporting icon with an American racetrack where he created history – a fitting symbol of a career that belonged emotionally to both Italy and the United States.
