NO. 3 XPEL DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START – 2ND
FINISH – 2ND
POINTS – 5TH (-144)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet team tied their best oval finish of second in Saturday’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 at Iowa Speedway. It was a 1-2 finish for Team Penske with Josef Newgarden taking the win as McLaughlin closed late in the 250-lap race to make it an exciting finish. After a brief rain shower delayed qualifying for an hour and a half, McLaughlin placed his No. 3 Chevy on the front row for the second time this season. The former Australian Supercars Champion spent the opening stint focusing on tire wear while keeping race leader and teammate, Will Power, firmly in his sights. While battling his teammates for the lead, McLaughlin was caught behind a slower car while coming to pit lane for his second stop of the day, resulting in several lost seconds of lap time when returning to the track. He eventually worked his way back up to the second position and regularly applied pressure to Newgarden for the lead but was unable to make the pass for his first oval win of his career.
MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “When I saw him coming, I was like ‘ah its on mate’. Hey, Bus Bros was 1-2, so not bad. Really happy for everyone on the XPEL Chevy. The car was great today, and the team gave me a great car. I have to thank Josef, and congrats to him for winning the race, but during the week we sat down together and really went over everything. And it helped me today. I learned a ton today, I badly want to beat that guy and I am going to be trying everything I can to beat him, but he is the epitome of a great teammate and I appreciate the help he has given me.”