News
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN
NO. 3 XPEL DALLARA/CHEVROLET
START – 2ND
FINISH – 5TH
POINTS – 5TH (-148)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin kept his No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet at the front of the field for the entirety of Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 at Iowa Speedway, ultimately finishing in the fifth position to score a pair of top-five finishes over the doubleheader weekend. As he did in Saturday’s race, McLaughlin started Sunday’s 250-lap event from the second position, and he made life difficult for teammate Will Power over the initial laps before settling into the second position. Working all of the tools at his disposal inside the cockpit while receiving air pressure and/or front-wing adjustments on each pit stop, McLaughlin stayed in the second position until late in the event. When a late-race caution brought the high-speed action to a halt, INDYCAR rules state that all lead-lap cars are moved to the front of the field when a yellow flag flies with less than 20 laps to go on a short oval. This rule was coupled with a discretionary “abandonment procedure” where pit lane is closed to ensure a quick lineup set to get back to racing in a timely manner. With extremely worn Firestone tires and three laps remaining when racing resumed, McLaughlin was dealt a tough blow in his run to the checkered. Despite his lack of grip on the worn-out Iowa circuit, McLaughlin was able to hang on for a fifth-place finish.
MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “It’s more mental than anything. I have no idea how I finished that last stint. I had burned the right rear off and I was just hanging on. It was a sprint car there. So, out on the cush and having a lot of fun, but I am happy to bring the XPEL Chevrolet back with two top fives. A podium is not a bad deal. I would have loved to have joined my teammates at the podium today, but we just tried something different, and it didn’t quite work.”
