Scott McLaughlin claimed a resounding victory at the Portland Grand Prix
Palou’s twelfth place leaves him with no mathematical options to repeat the title
The New Zealand pilot Scott McLaughlin dominated the Portland Grand Prix with authority this Sundaypenultimate race of the 2022 IndyCar season and that left the Spanish Álex Palou, current champion, with no options to retain the title.
It is difficult to win with greater force than that shown by McLaughlin, who was the fastest in qualifying and who was the fastest in the race again, leading the race for more than a hundred laps.
It is the third victory this season for a McLaughlin who was very happy to get out of the car.
“The whole weekend was very fast. We are happy to win and to add as many points as possible. My next challenge is that: hopefully one day I can win a championship. You have to have dreams, dream big, “she assured in the American broadcast.
For the seventeenth time, the IndyCar title will be decided in the last race, this time at Laguna Seca.
Next weekend, this famous Monterey circuit (California, USA) will crown one of the five drivers who are still eligible to take over from a Palou already ruled out after his twelfth-place finish at Portlandafter coming out in fourth place, will leave him mathematically without options (he is 66 points behind the head).
Mexican Pato O’Ward, 67 points behind the leader, cannot be champion either.
At the head of the general standings is Australian Will Power (Team Penske), who finished second in Portland and who will just have to finish in the top three in Monterey.
In that case, he would be able to repeat the success he already achieved in the 2014 edition, when he already reached the last episode of the season as champion.
Power considers the championship as a prize for all his teammates.
“I want to win the championship for the guys who have been with me on my team for over a decade. I want to win it for them. It’s still very hard, We are in the best position and we will do what we can.”he claimed.
The overall leader will have four threats for the title at Laguna Seca: two Team Penske teammates in Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin and two Chip Ganassi Racing drivers in Australia’s Scott Dixon and Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson.
Newgarden and Dixon are within 20 points of Power and they arrive with very different feelings after Portland.
The first, after the penalty this Saturday, had to start the race six positions further back, his team failed both in the strategy and in the choice of tires and finished eighth.
Frustrated after the race, Newgarden said it had been “a tough day”.
“We are in the fight, We will go to Laguna Seca to try to be faster. At this point everything is as it is, it’s been a weird year. We’re going to play to win and see what happens,” she said.
For his part, Dixon starred in one of the great comebacks in Portland as he started sixteenth and finished third.
After the only resumption of the race by yellow flag (Rinus VeeKay pushed Jimmie Johnson against the wall and forced him to leave), the Chip Ganassi Racing driver took advantage of a hitch between Power and O’Ward to move up to fourth, and later took advantage of a penalty against the Mexican to reach the podium.
O’Ward, fourth in the race, showed his discomfort with the organization for what happened: “I hope that IndyCar makes the same decision when someone hits me too.”
The Mexican lamented not having been able to offer a podium to the hundreds of fans from his country who came to cheer him on.
“These people have come from far away, they are Mexicans who live in this part of the United States, we have several groups. I’m glad to have you here,” he said.
In another sense, Ericsson doesn’t seem like a serious threat to Power at Laguna Seca even though he has a mathematical chance (he’s 39 points behind).
He himself, who became the leader of the general in several sections of the season, made it clear when he finished in Portland.
“To be honest, the championship is far away right now, i would like to win the race and see where I stay, that’s all I’m thinking about right now,” he said.
With his victory in Portland, McLaughlin earned the right to compete until the last day for the title although he has very few options since he is at 41 points of Power.
One of the images of the day in Portland featured Conor Daly in his pit stops as, on all his returns to the track, his car caught fire for a few seconds, eventually being forced to retire on lap number 72.
“I went into fire several times, I felt the flames on my shoulders,” he explained.
The Monterey Grand Prix, the last of the seventeen that make up this 2022 season and that will define who is the champion, will be held next Sunday, September 11.