McLaughlin shaping as Penske’s trump card in IndyCar title battle

Scott McLaughlin could well be the key to Team Penske winning the IndyCar Series, which is set to go down to the wire over the final two events.

Will Power leads the series by a margin of just three points over team-mate Josef Newgarden while, in the other Penske entry, Scott McLaughlin is exactly 54 points off top spot, the equivalent of a perfect event at Portland this weekend or Laguna Seca, the next.

In between sit three of the four Chip Ganassi Racing drivers.

Six-time champion Scott Dixon is 14 points behind 2014 champion Power, this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson is 17 points in arrears, and 2021 champion Alex Palou is 43 points off top spot.

Mathematically, any of those six, or even McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward, could win the series, although it goes without saying that Penske is the team in the preferred position(s).

However, that is not just because Power and Newgarden occupy the top two spots, but because of what appears to be a different mindset among ‘The Captain’ Roger Penske’s steerers compared to their counterparts at Ganassi.

Newgarden, who already boasts two IndyCar crowns, has signalled that he is willing to put the team’s ambitions ahead of his own.

“As much as I want that to be – believe me I do; I will work to be that person – we also have to just make sure we remember that it’s about all of us and it’s about all the effort we put in,” said the Tennessean after his win last time out at Gateway Motorsports Park.

“We have to make sure one car secures the championship.”

Power has a similar perspective, telling Speedcafe.com, “You’ve got to keep in mind who you’re driving for if it’s coming down to it.

“Dixon and Ericsson are right there, and Newgarden and myself are battling.

“You can’t throw it away for the team for my own personal gain.

“That’s always something you’ve got to keep in mind – the overall picture – but all the drivers in the game, we all put a tremendous amount of work into it and you want to be the champion.”

On the other hand, Palou, who remains in the title fight despite Ganassi suing him over a contract dispute, is entering the penultimate event of the season in a different frame of mind.

“I won’t race them any differently – at least at Portland,” he told Indianapolis’s IndyStar newspaper.

“I didn’t feel last year, when I was the only one with chances, that I got help.

“They never did something wrong to me in strategy or overtaking me, but they also never let me by.

“We all three got here just by racing and not by helping each other.”

Palou is, of course, a better chance of winning the series than McLaughlin, who admitted earlier this week that he is “a longer [shot] than others,” even if he is still yet to give up on the title.

However, his hopes are snuffed out for good if he finishes worse than Power at Portland, unless, perhaps, he somehow does so while still picking up more bonus points for leading the race and/or qualifying on pole position.

Worth noting also is that points are paid for the classification at the finish, regardless of if the car is running or not.

With 26 cars set to be entered at Laguna Seca, 50 points for a race win, five points for being classified 25th or 26th, one point for leading at least one lap, and two for leading more laps than anyone else, realistically, McLaughlin must be less than 48 points off the series lead when he takes the green flag at the Californian circuit.

It is not inconceivable that Penske would be willing to sacrifice his extremely slim championship chance in order to boost the prospects of Power and/or Newgarden, and there is no reason to suggest that the New Zealander would not cooperate.

Asked about the possibility of McLaughlin playing rear gunner, for example, Power told Speedcafe.com, “That’s definitely a possibility; I’ve had to do that a few times in my career.

“You get to this point in the championship, you’ve got to be a bit of a team player, so yep, I can see him definitely being a factor in helping the team win a championship, putting a car between me and the Ganassi guys or Josef and the Ganassi guys.”

Palou, however, still has a little more personal incentive, and has quite explicitly stated that he is not willing to help his team-mates just yet.

It is a small, yet potentially crucial piece of the puzzle over the next two weekends.

Track action at Portland starts tomorrow at 07:30 AEST, while Practice 2, Qualifying, and the Race itself are live and ad-free on Stan Sport.

Series points Top 7