McLaughlin Dominates at Portland for third win, Power Extends Points Lead

In fall 2020, Scott McLaughlin made his first career IndyCar start at St. Petersburg in the 2020 season finale. He crashed on lap 46. Less than 2 years later, the 29-year-old Australian SuperCars legend is poised to become the next big star in the NTT IndyCar series. McLaughlin dominated Sunday’s race at Portland International Raceway for his third win of the season.

The driver for Team Penske never gave up the lead under normal race circumstances, only ceding the lead during green flag pit stops. McLaughlin led 104 out of 110 laps after starting on the pole, and finished 1.18 seconds ahead of teammate Will Power in second. It was a total beatdown of the field by McLaughlin, and he also pulled closer in the championship fight with the final race of the season coming up. He added to his wins at St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio earlier this year for his third career win.

Will Power, the championship leader, finished second, with 6-time champion Scott Dixon finishing third. Pato O’Ward placed fourth, and Graham Rahal continued his late summer surge with a fifth place finish, his fifth top 10 of the last seven races. Colton Herta, in the midst of F1 rumors, finished in sixth, with teammate Alexander Rossi grabbing the seventh place finishing spot. Josef Newgarden, Callum Illot, and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top 10 in eight, ninth, and tenth. 

With one race to go in the 2022 IndyCar season, Will Power leads Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden by 20 points. Marcus Ericsson, 39 points behind, and Scott McLaughlin, 41 points behind, are both still mathematically eligible but are longshots. It’s Will Power’s title to lose, and as long as he has a solid run at Laguna Seca, he’ll clinch the title. 

IndyCar closes out its 2022 season next weekend at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The race is on Sunday, September 11th at 3 PM EST on NBC, where a champion will be crowned.

Ethan Miller
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