The Team Penske pair have both fallen foul of DNFs this year. Power crashed on the first lap of the season at St Petersburg while McLaughlin suffered a hybrid failure at The Thermal Club.
It’s been an otherwise solid start to the year. McLaughlin finished fourth at St Petersburg while Power was sixth at The Thermal Club.
They both backed that up at Long Beach – Power finishing fifth and McLaughlin sixth.
Power was a standout from 13th on the grid while McLaughlin finished where he began the 90-lapper.
The Kiwi was bogged down by traffic in a race that ran uninterrupted from lights to flag.
“We were just locked out a little bit there early, and then getting caught up with some guys that came out of pit sequences and stuff like that,” said McLaughlin.
Take the short survey.
“So, lost some track position where we were in a really good spot at the start, but it is what it is.
“I mean, that was the most solid race I’ve had at Long Beach for a long time. So, it’s a P6 for me.
“I’ve got a little bit of work before we come back here next year to be better.
“I feel like I’ve always had a couple of bad results to start the year.
“If we go to Barber with a formula we’ve had in the past, and have a win, we’ll get ourselves right back in it and see where we’re at.
“I can’t wait for it. Yeah, we’re ready for that place.”
Power, meanwhile, was ecstatic with his efforts.
Despite battling illness, he carved his way through the field with strategy and well-timed pit stops.
“Very good day,” he said.
“Just methodically getting to it, but it was methodical. I was driving very hard, biding my time, used up the perfect amount of push-to-pass in the race to finish it off on the last pass. Love those sorts of days.
“I didn’t feel very good, to be honest. Felt sick. I could feel myself getting achy in the car but drove the crap out of it.
“Man, we have a good Verizon Chevy, we just have to start at the front. On days like this, get the points. Pretty cool we got a top five.”
McLaughlin’s Kiwi compatriot Scott Dixon finished eighth for Chip Ganassi Racing while Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong wound up a lowly 14th after equipment issues during his pit stops cost him valuable time.
That was in stark contrast to his teammate Felix Rosenqvist who wound up fourth.
“I think we did everything right apart from the easy stuff I think,” said Armstrong.
We were fast. I’m not sure, but I think we fell back to 22nd on the pit stop and then we made our way back to 14th.
“The car actually felt really strong. Part way through the stint I was wondering how my teammate was doing because I felt like the car was really good.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou holds a commanding lead in the standings after back-to-back wins to start the year and second place in Long Beach.
McLaughlin sits eighth in the standings, one place ahead of Power.
The IndyCar Series resumes at Barber Motorsports Park on May 5.
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