By INDYCAR
WEST ALLIS, Wis. – In a wild race that featured more twists than a pretzel factory, Scott McLaughlin held off six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon to win the second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader Sunday.
New Zealand native McLaughlin earned his series high-tying third victory of the season in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet, finishing .4558 of a second ahead of fellow Kiwi Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Colton Herta placed third in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.
SEE: Race Results
“That was the most fun race I’ve had in INDYCAR,” McLaughlin said. “It was a blast. We just stuck with it. The car wasn’t quite good at the start, and we just tuned her up, and it was awesome. A lot better in traffic today, which helped a lot.
“Yeah, burn the house down tonight. That was awesome. I’m pumped.”
Santino Ferrucci finished fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, mirroring his result in the first race Saturday. Marcus Ericsson ended up fifth in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global, his best result since placing fifth July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Defending series champion Alex Palou will carry a 33-point lead over Will Power into the next race, the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway on Sept. 15. Palou finished 19th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while Power placed 10th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet in a day of disappointment and lost chances for both.
McLaughlin, who started sixth, passed Colton Herta on Lap 218 to take the lead for good. That decisive dive under Herta in Turn 1 came after a feisty three-lap joust between the two young stars, as McLaughlin took advantage of fresher Firestone Firehawk tires and traffic in front of Herta to erase Herta’s seven-second lead in just 14 laps.
It appeared Alexander Rossi might have a chance to challenge McLaughlin after the Kiwi took the lead, as Rossi was gaining ground quickly in his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. But Sting Ray Robb crashed his No. 41 Goodheart Vet/Pray.com Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises in Turn 2 on Lap 228, triggering the last of six caution periods.
All five cars on the lead lap at the time had to decide whether to pit for fresh tires or stay out, and the entire quintet dove to pit road on Lap…
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