Withstanding the pressure of the reigning IndyCar Series champion Álex Palou over the closing laps, Scott McLaughlin held on to take his first victory in the series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
The second-year driver from New Zealand, previously a Bathurst 1000 winner and three-time Australian Supercars champion, led the field to the green flag, and held a commanding advantage over a 26 lap opening stint. He kept that lead until the only full-course caution, when rookie driver David Malukas crashed out at turn four.
That long safety car period brought a number of drivers on three-stop strategies to the front of the field, including Rinus VeeKay and Scott Dixon. Behind them, McLaughlin held the net lead of the race, ahead of Palou, once both drivers made their second stops on laps 64 and 65, respectively. Once Dixon made his third and final pit stop on lap 79, McLaughlin regained the lead with a two second advantage.
Negotiating lapped traffic would be a minor pain point…