Scott McLaughlin made most of his 45-minute practice session at Portland. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
PORTLAND, Ore. – Scott McLaughlin began Saturday like he did in last year’s BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland – leading the way.
McLaughlin’s time of 58.1516 seconds during Saturday morning’s practice was 0.1179 seconds quicker than his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden to pace the second session of the weekend.
A year ago, McLaughlin’s road to victory at Portland truly began the day before the race as he was able to qualify on pole. From there, it was lights out as McLaughlin led all but six of the 110 laps contested en route to his third win of 2022.
Even a year after winning, McLaughlin recalls the memories of not just winning but sharing the podium with Scott Dixon and Will Power. It was the first time the Southwest Pacific swept the podium with McLaughlin and Dixon being from New Zealand and Will Power from Australia. It’s something he’ll hope to see more in the future, especially with more drivers from that region coming along the series.
“It was a big day for the ‘Down Under,’” said McLaughlin. “I feel like we’re punching our own weight. I’m super pumped in that regard and we’re going to have more Kiwis on the grid.
“Technically, Tom Blomqvist is not a Kiwi, but we claim him in New Zealand. Marcus Armstrong as well and he’s probably going to be full-time next year. It shows there’s a lot of talent ‘Down Under’ and Dixon is still in his prime which is amazing.”
McLaughlin is out of contention for the Astor Cup — that honor will go to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou or Scott Dixon, who are separated by 74 points. His mindset, however, is being the best of the rest, which would be third place in the final standings.
McLaughlin hopes to be the one to finish third and looks to start that quest in Oregon.
“I know how hard it is in INDYCAR because of the steps people take and how much better Ganassi were this year,” said McLaughlin. “I feel like we have a good shot at it.”
McLaughlin hopes to make Portland his world once again. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Dixon showed much improvement during the second session at Portland, clocking in third quickest, which was the best out of the Honda bunch. However, he did have a moment in the tricky Turn 7 where he lost control of his No. 9 PNC Bank machine. Dixon was able to continue and prevented the session from going red, which only occurred once.
Sting Ray Robb ended up stalled in the same corner Dixon spun. The Idaho racer, who is one of two Pacific Northwest racers on the grid, was the second slowest out of the 27 cars entered.
Romain Grosjean also endured a chaotic session. The Andretti Autosport driver wound up 16th quickest but also spun in Turn 5. Later in the session, he and Callum Ilott ran aggressively in Turn 5 after Grosjean tried saving his No. 28 DHL Honda. But during all that, it led to contact with Ilott, which sent him to the grass.
The madness is already evident and it’ll continue later Saturday with qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.
