Scott McLaughlin Tag

By INDYCAR LONG BEACH, Calif. – On a scorching April afternoon in Southern California, Simon Pagenaud turned up the heat even higher before the big chill arrives. Frenchman Pagenaud turned a top lap of 1 minute, 7.1991 seconds in the No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda to lead the opening practice Friday for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third NTT INDYCAR SERIES race of the season. 2016 series champion Pagenaud’s top lap was more than four-tenths of a second quicker than his closest pursuer, two-time Long Beach winner AlexanderRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – As they say, it’s never over until it’s over. Scott McLaughlin dominated at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 186 laps and looked to be in the catbird seat on the last lap of Sunday’s XPEL 375. However, his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden had other plans, passing him on the last lap to steal the win. Biding his time behind McLaughlin over the course of the closing laps, Newgarden saw his chance when the New Zealander caught lapped traffic, powering around McLaughlin throughRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Felix Rosenqvist will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway after putting up the fastest lap in qualifying to score the pole position. The two-lap average of 221.110 mph (46.891 seconds) was enough to boost the Arrow McLaren SP driver to the top of the board just 11 cars into qualifying, where he would outlast the remaining drivers to score his first pole since 2019 and first career pole on an oval. “It was aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – Simon Pagenaud is off to a flying start on the first day of NTT IndyCar Series action at Texas Motor Speedway. Aided by new downforce options for the 2022 running of the XPEL 375 and a clear, cool morning, Pagenaud piloted his Meyer Shank Racing Honda to the top of the board early on in the first practice session of the day with a lap of 23.2376 seconds (223.087 mph) and remained there throughout the hour of on-track activity. “It was aRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Scott McLaughlin delivered on the promise he showed to Team Penske when it signed him straight from touring cars to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, earning his first career victory Sunday in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. NTT P1 Award winner McLaughlin drove his No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet from the pole to victory by .5095 of a second over reigning series champion Alex Palou, who applied heavy pressure to McLaughlin over the closing laps inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou came up short of starting the championship trail with a win. Instead of celebrating a win in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Palou crossed the line in second. After a heavy shunt during Saturday’s practice, Palou had his work cut out for. Through perseverance and all-around teamwork, it became an overall positive weekend for the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing crew. “It was a great weekend. We started struggling a lot. Obviously my little contact with theRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Scott McLaughlin targeted a main goal after his rookie season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2021 – improve his qualifying performances. Consider that job done after just one race in 2022. McLaughlin earned his first career NTT P1 Award by leading the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 59.4821 seconds Saturday afternoon in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, taking the top starting spot for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. The pole also cameRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The general state of motorsports thrive on progress, especially in the NTT IndyCar Series. With more entries competing on a regular basis, driver progression is critical. Some competitors are entering their second full year in the series while others are hoping to build their reputation with either the team or competition. All across the grid, six competitors look to build upon their momentum or even build the team up for greatness. In this preview installment, we’ll be looking at Dalton Kellett, Conor Daly, Helio Castroneves, ScottRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – For Colton Herta, it’s déjà vu all over again. In a repeat of Friday’s first practice, Herta was fast again during the second practice of the weekend for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, topping the board with a scorching lap of one minute, 7.978 seconds. “We tried to find that happy medium between drivability and comfort and it looks like we’re pretty close,” Herta said. “We feel really good. I think there’s still some work to do to make theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Coming off his win one week ago, Colton Herta found himself in familiar territory on Friday’s opening practice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with his Andretti Autosport Honda at the top of the board. Reminiscent of his run on the Streets of Nashville back in August, Herta’s car looked to be out of control around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course, but the clock doesn’t lie as the 21-year-old put up a lap of one minute, 9.268 seconds toRead More