McLaughlin Wins Amid INDYCAR Championship Drama at Milwaukee Mile
Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
Scott McLaughlin held off fellow Kiwi and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda by .4448 of a second to win Race 2 of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s in a contest that involved more plot twists than even the best mystery novels.
It was a career high third win of the season for the driver of the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet that left him mathematically alive for the title.
“It was awesome,” said McLaughlin. “The car was a lot better today than it was yesterday. I was able to do what I wanted in traffic in some ways. Kind of what (Race 1 winner) Pato (O’Ward) was able to do yesterday. Just big props to Benny (crew chief Ben Bretzman) and the crew. The Gallagher Chevy was unreal.
“It was a fun race. I thought it was a really fun race. It was a lot funner for me than yesterday. Good Lord. Really proud of everyone. Proud of the turnaround. We were really bad yesterday from my side.”
McLaughlin was especially proud of getting a second oval track win after scoring his first one at Iowa Speedway in July.
“Not saying road and street courses aren't satisfying, because I'll never forget my first race win and whatnot, but it's incredible winning on an oval.
“A lot of things have to go right. You have to make the right moves at the right time. That's probably why I put (the) Indy (500) above a championship in some ways because it's just incredible how perfect it has to go on an oval.
“It's the backbone of our sport. I thought it was great. The crowd was awesome. It was an awesome weekend. Honestly, I thought the racing was a lot better than we all expected, as well. That's props to INDYCAR. That's props to Firestone. The drivers as well.”
Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment
Even before the green flag waved for Race 2, the season championship was turned on its head. Points leader Alex Palou’s No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda stopped on the parade lap with an apparent electrical issue. The Ganassi crew was able to make repairs and Palou returned to the race, albeit 28-laps down.
"We’re a bit sad and disappointed,” said Palou. “We had no power. Then we thought we had it fixed, but it stopped again. The problem we had was not in my control, or the team or HRC. It’s a sport. It is what it is. We changed the battery and then we could get back out. Once we got going, we were happier. We were getting points: one more point, one more point, and so on. So, not a great day, but could’ve been a lot worse.”
Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
Will Power, McLaughlin’s teammate, was in perfect position to take advantage of Palou’s misfortune, leading the race and potentially the championship until he spun while in fourth place coming to the green after a mid-race pit stop sequence. Power kept the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet off the wall but fell one lap down and ultimately finished tenth.
“A long shot now,” said Power of his championship chances. “God gave us a chance then, but kind of let it go. That’s the season, man. You just can’t have those mistakes.”
In the end, with a 19th-place finish, Palou will take a 33-point lead over Power to the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway in two weeks time.
Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
Sunday’s Race 2 was just as competitive at Race 1 on Saturday, if not more so. There were a season high 763 passes on track, the most at an INDYCAR race at Milwaukee, eclipsing the mark of 663 set on Saturday, including 56 in the top five, another Milwaukee record.
While there were questions ahead of the weekend as to how racy the Milwaukee Mile would be, third-place finisher Colton Herta, driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Andretti Global Honda thought the weekend turned out well.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was tough to get the balance right. I think that's why you saw so many passes. When you had the turbulent air, it really upset the cars. It was tough to choose the right line through the corners and not get hurt by that.
“It was a lot of fun to race in for both the races.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
One of four drivers in the field to have raced at Milwaukee previously, Dixon said the doubleheader weekend was a real challenge for him on many fronts, but a challenge that he enjoyed.
“Qualifying was a mess. Practice. It was full of highs and lows. That kind of sums up Milwaukee. That's what you have in the race. You kind of have these peaks, everything is going well, then you might right run on top of somebody or get high, they come by, you're kind of in the crap again.
“It's fun. I love it just because it is so difficult. Honestly, the crowds were a lot better than I thought they were going to be coming back, especially for a doubleheader. It's hard to do that. I think next year, obviously for a one-day event, will be fantastic. It's always hard when it's a new date, you're coming back for a time.
“Congratulations to INDYCAR and everybody that made what the two-day event was. Doubleheaders are hard to pull off.”
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
A crowd of 20,000 each day saw competitive racing and enjoyed a free fan zone experience outside of the grandstand that was open to ticket and non-ticket holders, as well. Dixon thought that was a great addition to the weekend.
“The only time I got to see (it) was during the autograph session. The activation was great in there. Previous years we've gone back, whether it's food stalls or bars, have been closed. To have that, the bands, local entertainment, I think is huge.
“I think the hard fill for most ovals is, unless INDY NXT is here, what race is on the track. That's the hard part. Whether it was Texas (Motor Speedway) in the past, you want people to come here and are entertained not just for our race, which is obviously the marquee point. You have to fill a lot of time, as well.
“I know that's always been a discussion that I've had in off-season chats just about how you do that. I know I think that changed a lot of things, especially on that side of the grandstands for this year.”
The Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s will return to Wisconsin State Fair Park again in 2025 and 2026, a week earlier than this year’s dates.