Scott McLaughlin pens his latest Hired Gun column to look back on a solid run to sixth at Barber Motorsports Park, which has helped him maintain second in the IndyCar Series standings prior to the extended run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hey folks,

Well that was a long and draining and anxious and sweaty day at the office!

We drove the wheels off the thing for every single lap – and in the end, not much has changed.

We’re still second in the championship, despite dropping a few spots from our Barber starting position.

It didn’t always look that way – after starting fourth we ran inside the top three for a large chunk of the race.

But we dropped a few spots in our second cycle – Alex Palou got past, so too Scott Dixon.

And then unfortunately Will Power was on a heater so we steered clear – which left us running sixth.

But even that we had to fight tooth and nail – the bunfight up our backside for the last stint was epic.

Rahal and Grosjean were trying to punch on with me – but just decided to punch on with each other which made for some fun in the mirrors.

Sixth was a solid finish which I’m happy with. It could have been better – but it definitely could have been worse (I went very close to binning it at least twice!).

And even on our rough days we still want to be inside the top 10 and getting good points.

So box ticked for a decent points day.

I’ve said it to you guys a number of times – the racing in this series is SO intense, I hope you’re enjoying it back home.

And I love it when people get over here to see the racing first-hand – as I know a bunch of you are going to do for the 500 at the end of the month – the competitiveness is so brutal, you have to be on your game EVERY single session.

Even my team-mate, Will Power said this after the race.

Our team decided against testing at Barber last month – and we were all chasing our tails on day one as a result… that’s how competitive things are right now.

And the season ramps up with a few weeks at Indianapolis next – so it’s the biggest and best few weeks for all of us now to get right.

So we head to Indy for the Grand Prix first, and then qualifying for the 500.

Alex Palou has taken the lead in the title fight, we remain second and Josef Newgarden has slipped to third.

Again – it’s TIGHT.

Just three points is between Alex and I, with another three to Josef.

It’s the best and hardest racing I’ve ever been a part of and I’m loving every second!

Bring on Indy!

Thanks for everyone’s support. I appreciate it and love all of your comments.

Talk again in a couple of weeks before the GP.

Scott