Scott McLaughlin had a good day with Team Penske in Iowa.
Scott McLaughlin won a thrilling duel with Scott Dixon as the Kiwis vied for a podium finish in the second race of the IndyCars doubleheader at Iowa.
McLaughlin held on for third, pipping his fellow Kiwi Dixon in a dramatic race on Monday (NZT) that was won by Mexico’s Pato O’Ward with Australian Will Power second.
American Josef Newgarden, who won on Sunday, looked set to complete a remarkable double until a rear suspension failure saw him crash heavily while in the lead on lap 238 of 300. He was later taken to hospital after collapsing post-race.
Dixon positioned himself well when the track was cleared, having got past McLaughlin in a pit row battle under the yellow flag.
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But McLaughlin got the jump on his Kiwi rival at the restart and leapt into third, a position he managed to maintain through to the finish.
Dixon will be well satisfied with his day’s work though. He started a lowly 18th on the grid compared to McLaughlin’s fifth.
Dixon, in his 300th consecutive start, used all of his experience and improved speed to march through the field and continue his recent resurgence.
With Newgarden set to take the championship lead had he won, Dixon took advantage to improve his own season standing from fifth to third, only 34 points behind series leader Marcus Ericsson. McLaughlin maintained his seventh place on the points table.
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Scott Dixon gathered some good points in Iowa as he tries to win another IndyCars title.
But McLaughlin was thrilled to get one over Dixon.
“The car felt good today. That last restart … I had a go and threw it around the side of Scott Dixon. He’s not an easy guy to do that to,” McLaughlin said after claiming his third podium of the season.
Dixon was happy to haul in some more championship points.
“It was a little frustrating on the restarts,” Dixon said.
“I tried to attack on the last one but couldn’t quite pull it off. I had a lot of racing with my fellow Kiwi and well done to him.
“I think that long haul in the middle of the race helped me overall, we got some good points.”
Newgarden collapsed in the motorhome lot following his late crash and was taken to a Des Moines hospital by helicopter for evaluation.
IndyCar medical director Dr. Geoffrey Billows said Newgarden was transported by helicopter to Mercy One Des Moines Medical Center because the infield care centre lacked the equipment to properly evaluate the Team Penske driver, who cut open the back of his head when he collapsed.
Billows said Newgarden was awake and alert, but the hospital was a 45-minute drive from the track and heavy traffic for the post-race Blake Shelton concert would have delayed the journey.
Newgarden, a two-time IndyCar champion, was visibly rattled after his mandatory check in the infield care center after the crash.
“Definitely was a bit of a shot. I want to cry, so sad for my team. I don’t know what happened,” Newgarden said. “Everything felt fine to me. Totally unexpected and it caught me by my surprise. Team Penske is the best. I never have this stuff, so maybe we were due.
“We can’t afford it for this year. But we’ll fight back. We have a great team here.”
Billows said Newgarden cleared all tests in the care centre after the crash, and the medical staff spoke to him a second time before he returned to the motorhome lot. IndyCar also had planned to re-evaluate him Thursday in Indianapolis before he collapsed upon returning to the motorhome lot.
The series continues next weekend on the Indianapolis road course.
– with AP
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