McLaughlin scores another online podium
Two-time defending Supercars Champion
The 26-year old kiwi came back from a pre-race crash to finish second behind his Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud, in McLaughlin’s first attempt at oval circuit racing.
The result could have been much different had McLaughlin avoided a multi-car pile up, like what happened on the first corner of the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries race at Monza on Wednesday night.
McLaughlin qualified fourth behind pole-sitter Marcus Ericsson, Will Power, and Felipe Nasr.
As the race began, there was carnage when several drivers tried to get an early jump, the incident set off a chain reaction that caught McLaughlin out.
They didn't make it to the start/finish line. 🤣
— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) April 11, 2020
The @iRacing @IndyCar Challenge is underway at @MISpeedway on #RacingWeekNBCSN: https://t.co/xUK5WxUlxO pic.twitter.com/A35dWmlEJt
The Safety Car was immediately deployed, and McLaughlin headed for the pit lane for repairs, dropping last week’s race winner back to 25th in the order.
Despite the carnage at the start, the race managed to run caution-free until the end.
The majority of the field sought to execute a one-stop strategy, with pit stops taking place around the halfway mark on Lap 40.
As the strategy played out, McLaughlin ended up in contention for a podium but well adrift of the leading pack.
From there it was all catch up for the Supercars Champion and while he made up as much ground as he could, he couldn’t catch Simon Pagenaud and had to settle for second place at the chequered flag.
Another podium this week. Finished P2 after being rolled over at the start, in a massive strategy call! Thanks to @Snapon_Tools for their support this week! @IndyCar @IndyCaronNBC @PenskeESports @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/09UYsAdpJ4
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin93) April 11, 2020
“I got unlucky at the start but we got the right pit play at the end there with my spotter TJ (Majors) and my engineer Jonathon (Diuguid),” McLaughlin said.
“I’ve actually really enjoyed learning how everyone races and listening to a spotter, it’s the first time I’ve really done that. It’s really cool.
“They were punching numbers and it really worked out good there. Just saving fuel and I managed to pass (Earnhardt )Jr. with a few laps to go.
“I never thought I’d say that, but it was very cool. It was a lot of fun racing him.”Round 4 of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge takes place on April 19 at a random draw circuit still to be announced.
McLaughlin holds a 43-point lead over Cam Waters heading into the second round of the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries which will begin at 7pm AEST on Wednesday 15th April and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 10 Play and Sky Sports (NZ) as well as online via Supercars’ Facebook Page and Supercars’ Teams Facebook Pages.
