ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Scott McLaughlin at last showed his long move from Australia to the United States was worth the gamble, getting his first IndyCar Series win on Sunday in the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.
Now the New Zealander will have to see how far his first victory will take him: IndyCar’s season-opening winner has gone on to claim the championship the last three years.
McLaughlin, the three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion, made his IndyCar debut at St. Pete in the 2020 season finale and declared the experience “far out!” and “the best day of my life apart from my wedding,” even after a crash caused his early exit. In his third trip back, he made qualifying his priority and was rewarded with his first career pole.
He led 49 of the 100 laps but had to hold off reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou over the closing laps to secure the victory. McLaughlin was held up by rookie Devlin DeFrancesco, the last car on the lap, on the final…
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