McLaughlin 'finally an IndyCar driver' after oval victory

Coming from supertouring, with three consecutive titles in Australian Supercars, Scott McLaughlin quickly took to the ovals in IndyCar, as he finished in second position in Texas in 2021 behind his fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon. All this despite it being his first race on this very special type of track! We therefore expected that the Kiwi could quickly establish itself on ovals, what's more with a car from Team Penske.

History seemed to be made on the same circuit in 2022, McLaughlin taking the lead on the last lap of the event. But that was without counting on his teammate Josef Newgarden, who returned from the devil vauvert and took advantage of the latecomers to make the outside of the car n°3 and force it to finish once again in second position on the oval of 2,4, XNUMX kilometers.

Finally an IndyCar driver!

Poleman of the Indianapolis 500 this season, Scott McLaughlin can count on the former champion simon pagenaud in his camp in order to continue to gain experience on ovals, and to put his advice to good use. The work finally paid off for the Christchurch native, who came out on top by dominating the first of two weekend races at Iowa Speedway. Being on pole for this Sunday's event, he could well do a double take but first savored his success on Victory Lane, finally considering himself legitimate as an IndyCar driver in his eyes!

Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske-Chevrolet), winner at Iowa Speedway : “The car was great, but what gave me the win was the first pit stop. It was my mechanics who put me at the forefront. I've done everything to win on these circuits for two years, I almost won at Texas in 2022 and really, losing like that sucks! I hope to do it again this Sunday, I will finally be able to call myself an “IndyCar driver”, because I refused to do so until I had won on an oval! It's a necessary victory for the season too, because we are still far away in the championship, even if we are chipping away as we go. »

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