INDYCAR: ERICSSON WINS, MCLAUGHLIN SPINS – TWICE
Marcus Ericsson has won a chaotic Nashville IndyCar race, while Supercars champ Scott McLaughlin was spun twice, the second time by Penske teammate Will Power.
The first IndyCar race on the Nashville street circuit somehow completed its scheduled 80 laps despite nine full-course yellows and two red flags as the field proved incapable of keeping it clean on the new bumpy, concrete-lined track.
There were two yellows even before racing got underway and that set a trend that continued throughout the race.
Ericsson, who qualified only 18th, was responsible for one of them, launching over the back of Sebastien Bourdais, incurring both damage and a drive-through penalty.
But the constant full-course yellows allowed him to work his way from the back to the front, leading home Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon And Andretti Autosports’ James Hinchcliffe, RLLR’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal and DCR’s Ed Jones.
Pole qualifier Colton Herta was consistently the fastest driver in the race, but the way the constant cautions worked out, the Andretti Autosport driver could not consistently exploit that advantage.
He piled into the turn nine wall with just six laps to go as he tried to run Ericsson down, prompting the second red and a final two-lap dash to the flag.
“It just shows in IndyCar anything can happen,” Ericsson smiled in victory lane. “I just can’t believe it.”
McLaughlin was the innocent party in both his incidents. He qualified only 23rd after tagging the wall in qualifying, but was pushing forward from that position in his Dex Dallara-Chev on lap 16 when he was turned around by Jones.
Power then nailed him on lap 40 when he was 15th, before backmarker Dalton Kellett clipped his nose. He went on to finish 22nd, 13 laps down on the winner.
The results mean Dixon has closed to within just 42 points of team-mate Alex Palou in the battle for the IndyCar championship, with Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward 48 points off the pace. Palou finished seventh and O’Ward just 13th.
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