Scott McLaughlin scored his first IndyCar oval victory at Iowa Speedway, where the championship standings were shook up after a crash by points leader Alex Palou.
McLaughlin finished about a half-second ahead of Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden, who took third after starting 22nd.
It’s the second victory this season for McLaughlin and the sixth of his career. The three-time Supercars champion has been racing on ovals only since 2021 but on the verge of a breakthrough, having won the pole position for the 108th Indy 500 two months ago in his No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet.
“The Xpel Chevy was unreal,” the Team Penske driver told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “What got it done this night was the pit stops, the team. Got me out in front of (pole-sitter Colton) Herta there, and we sure showed our pace. That’s a big deal tonight, man. I’ve been working on that for a couple of years. It takes a lot of hard work. I’m really stoked for this whole team.
“I never was going to call myself an IndyCar driver until I won on an oval. So I’m an IndyCar driver now if you don’t mind. Hopefully the floodgates open. We bloody need them to for the championship.”
Scott Dixon and Rinus VeeKay rounded out the top five.
Santino Ferrucci was sixth after overcoming a stop-and-go penalty for jumping a restart, followed by Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson and Marcus Armstrong.
Palou finished 23rd after losing control of his No. 10 Dallara-Honda off Turn 4 on Lap 176. He was unhurt after making rear contact with the frontstretch SAFER barrier.
The crash also was a bad break for Herta, who had pitted a lap earlier and got trapped a lap down after leading the first 81 laps before being passed on a yellow-flag pit stop by McLaughlin.
Because of a tough night for Will Power (who finished several laps down in 18th after entering second in the standings, 48 points behind), Palou still has a decent lead in the title race with eight races remaining. He is 37 points in front of Pato O’Ward and 43 points ahead of Power and 46 ahead of Dixon.
McLaughlin is ranked fifth, 59 points behind Palou.
O’Ward, who won last week at Mid-Ohio, moved up a spot to second in the championship standings.
“My car had more,” O’Ward told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “I was super happy with it all race. You can’t fricking do anything with the no two lanes. It’s a one-lane racetrack, and if you try anything, you’re probably going to end up in the wall, so not worth it to risk it. We were just making our moves in the pits. The guys did a phenomenal job. Awesome pit stops. I kept it clean on the track, really. These guys gave me the opportunity to be on the podium today. Super stoked. Arrow McLaren, let’s go.”
O’Ward, who won at Iowa in 2022, can cut into Palou’s gap even further Sunday when he will be aiming for his third consecutive podium.
“I have the car and the team to do it, I just don’t know if I have the track position tomorrow. We need that little door to open to get in front of everybody or just have an opportunity on a restart or something. That’s where we can get it done. But the car’s more than capable and some of the best guys in the pits, so I’m pumped for tomorrow.”