IndyCar Mid-Ohio
McLaughlin “sick of getting overcut”, returns favor to IndyCar field
Team Penske driver was determined to not get beaten by pit strategy, vowing to stay out later than everyone and vaulted from sixth to third at Mid-Ohio
Joey Barnes
Published: Jul 8, 2024, 7:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet
Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images
The IndyCar Series results have been feast or famine lately for Scott McLaughlin, and on Sunday a strategy to work the overcut worked in his favor for a third-place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Starting sixth in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, 31-year-old McLaughlin quickly moved up one spot shortly after the start of the race by passing Marcus Ericsson at the first turn.
He then opted to stay out two laps longer than anyone else on the two-stop strategy, taking advantage of the clear track to click off quick lap times before finally pitting on lap 30 and returning to the action in third – two spots higher than his placement before the pit cycle.
The New Zealander stayed out at least one lap later than anyone else in the field during the second cycle, pitting on lap 56 and coming back out far away from any battle ahead or behind.
In the end, he finished a distant third at 16.1558s behind race winner Pato O’Ward and nearly 7s ahead of fourth-placed Colton Herta, who he vaulted past in the first round of stops.
It is the second podium for McLaughlin over the last three races and fourth of the season, having also recently placed third at Road America before a painful 21st at Laguna Seca – which stands as his fourth finish of 20th or worse on the year.
“Yeah, it's been up and down for us, as everyone knows, the last few events,” said McLaughlin, currently eighth in the championship standings.
“Nice to get another solid result and hopefully we can go into Iowa where we know we'll probably be pretty quick. Just a matter of putting it together over this next little bit to the end of the championship.
“I've really enjoyed the hybrid integration. I've really enjoyed learning it throughout the weekend and through the race.
“But we made a lot of ground in that first stint, overcut these guys. I'm sick of getting overcut myself, so I was like, ‘stuff it, I'm going to be overcutting’. I think we were the last one to pit, and that's probably where we led our laps.”
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet
Photo by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
And being in no-man’s land allowed McLaughlin an opportunity to learn more with the hybrid unit, which made its race weekend debut at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio.
“I just lost so much time in that first stint, but ultimately I was just trying to maximize my day in that first stint by saving as much fuel as I could, and I just jumped the guys in the overcut, but then these guys were all the way down the road,” he said.
“It was actually honestly a bit of a testing issue for me. I was trying different things with the hybrid, push-to-pass, all that stuff. It was actually really cool.
“Learned a lot of things, we got points, and hopefully we can use it later down the track, whether it's next year or end of the year.”
Read Also:
IndyCarHow Herta beat Ericsson for top Andretti IndyCar spot at Mid-Ohio
IndyCarPalou explains first gear fumble that cost Mid-Ohio IndyCar win
IndyCarO’Ward says Mid-Ohio “feels like first win of the season”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article How Herta beat Ericsson for top Andretti IndyCar spot at Mid-Ohio
Next article Dixon’s IndyCar title hopes hurt by hybrid failure at Mid-Ohio
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Joey Barnes
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
IMSA
IMSA 32 min
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
More from
Scott McLaughlin
Palou pushes IndyCar’s IR-28 chassis to the limit in rugged Sebring test
IndyCar
IndyCar
Palou pushes IndyCar’s IR-28 chassis to the limit in rugged Sebring test
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
Scott McLaughlin delivers on ‘promise’ to daughter, with Laguna Seca win first as a father
IndyCar
IndyCar
Laguna Seca
Scott McLaughlin delivers on ‘promise’ to daughter, with Laguna Seca win first as a father
More from
Team Penske
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
28 min
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 32 min
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
43 min
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe