If this was indeed the final IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway, it certainly will be a memorable one.
Josef Newgarden overtook his Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin on the final lap to take the win on the 1.5-mile oval. Newgarden finished runner-up in the second race at Texas last year, but did not want to do it again. The American was able to slingshot around McLaughlin coming off of Turn 4 and beat him to the finish line for his 21st career victory.
Newgarden beat McLaughlin to the line by 0.0669 of a second, collecting the 600th victory for Team Penske across all racing programs. “I was fuming in the car because we had all this traffic and it wasn’t helping me,” Newgarden said in victory lane. “And then right when I needed it to help me, literally last corner, last lap! I think Scott led 95% of the laps, I hate doing that to a teammate.”
McLaughlin led a race-high 186 laps of the race but did not lead the one that counted. His runner-up finish matches his career best at the track where he made his debut last Spring. The sophomore driver caught behind lapped traffic, allowing Newgarden to pounce. The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet was aiming to become the second driver since 2010 to win the first two races in a season.
“Second is a great day, unfortunately we led a lot of laps and at the end of the day we lost it,” McLaughlin said. “But if you’re going to lose it to anyone, your teammate’s the guy you want to lose it to, so credit to Josef and the PPG team. Gutted we couldn’t get it done for XPEL and Chevy, but at the end of the day we were there and I learned a lot in this race. That bodes pretty well going to the Speedway.”
Penske nearly swept the top three positions on Sunday, with Will Power finishing 4th. It was Marcus Ericsson that broke up the Penske party with the rival Chip Ganassi Racing team. His three teammates all finished directly behind Power in the order of Scott Dixon, Jimmie Johnson, and Alex Palou. The top seven…
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