Cheers, mate: Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin dominates en route to IndyCar win at Mid-Ohio
Editor's note: Full results are at the bottom of this story.
It was a special Fourth of July weekend for Scott McLaughlin.
The New Zealand native and driver of the No. 3 Penske entry may not hail from the United States, but he’s undoubtedly embraced his new home (as evidenced by his popular "Scott Learns America" social media campaign from last year).
But the weekend was undoubtedly more special for him as he won Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in front of his parents, visiting for the first time and seeing him race in the U.S. due to COVID-19 restrictions in both New Zealand and the U.S.
When McLaughlin won his first career IndyCar race in the season opener on the streets of St.Petersburg, his parents could not attend the race in-person due to COVID restrictions in New Zealand at the time.
But on Sunday, they got to watch their son put on a masterful performance. McLaughlin led a race-high 45-laps -- in an 80-lap event -- to score Team Penske’s sixth race victory in nine races so far this season.
"It's amazing,” McLaughlin said of his win. “I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad here. That mom and dad is very special on America's weekend.
"Last night I was dressed up (in costume) as a bald eagle, so maybe I need to do that every year, July 4 weekend.”
Scott McLaughlin celebrates with his parents, who saw him race in America for the first time ever, following his win Sunday at Mid-Ohio. Photo courtesy IndyCar.
2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou finished second, while McLaughlin’s teammate Will Power had an amazing performance of his own, racing from the 21st position to finish third.
Rinus VeeKay finished fourth, followed by Scott Dixon. Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson finished sixth, followed by Josef Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, rookie David Malukas and Simon Pagenaud.
The 80-lap race had six cautions as several cars went off-course or experience mechanical issues. Arrow McLaren driver Felix Rosenqvist was the first to bring out the yellow, on Lap 10 when his No. 7 Honda experienced a mechanical issue.
Race pole-sitter Pato O’Ward, who led the first 28 laps, also had to retire when his car completely lost power on Lap 54 and stalled on pit road.
“Apparently it was something fuel delivery-wise,” O’Ward told NBC Sports. “It managed to just keep getting worse and worse and worse and then it failed. Yeah, it’s a bummer, man. It’s frustrating because we threw away an easy podium for us there."
The day was also a nightmare for Andretti Autosport as Romain Grosjean became heated when teammate Alexander Rossi made contact with him twice on Lap 61 and 62. The second contact forced both cars off-course, angering Grosjean.
“What the heck’s wrong with him?” Grosjean shouted over his radio.
Grosjean was then told later in the race to protect his teammates in front of him, including Rossi, to which he angrily responded “Because Rossi put me in the wall, I’m not going to protect him.”
As for Rossi, here’s what he had to say following the race: “It was just a racing incident. He was on a softer tire, probably was going to get around me and he likes to do it fast and early. We had some issues there, obviously it’s unfortunate to happen to a teammate, but that’s the way it goes.”
Ericsson still leads the overall point standings with a 20-point lead over Power. The NTT IndyCar Series now heads north of the border for the Honda Indy Toronto on July 17. It's the first time the series has returned to Canada since 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
