Scott McLaughlin steered clear of trouble in a hectic Bommarito 500 to finish a standout fourth.
The result is McLaughlin’s second-best finish this season, with only his podium at Texas Motor Speedway bettering today’s race.
McLaughlin was there or thereabouts for most of the race, and as pit strategies played out, he found himself in the top-five.
A crash for Alexander Rossi after the final round of pitstops then elevated McLaughlin to fourth.
He would hold that position for the remaining 50 laps, finishing 0.7s behind Penske teammate Will Power in third.
“I think we had a decent car,” McLaughlin said.
“I think initially at the start I just didn’t pick the right holes and played it a bit safe.
“But I really got into it and got comfortable and got ourselves in a good position.”
Penske put in one of their most complete performances of the season, with three cars in the top four.
Josef Newgarden picked up his 20th IndyCar series victory, while Power and McLaughlin were third and fourth.
Newgarden thanked McLaughlin for his role in Penske’s strong performance after the Kiwi tested here earlier in the year.
“He (McLaughlin) brought us a brand new car here.”
New championship leader Pato O’Ward was the sole non-Penske car on the podium as the McLaren driver came home in P2.
Several cautions punctuated the race, the majority in the first half.
The race barely got started before Graham Rahal, and Ed Jones came to blows.
Then, Simon Pagenaud’s front wing was dislodged on the restart and found a new home along the back straight, which resulted in another caution.
False restarts for spins among backmarkers and a technical glitch with the marshal lights meant most of the race’s opening stint was spent under yellow.
The spree of cautions also meant the field essentially ran on the same strategy.
Perhaps the most noteworthy accident involved Scott Dixon and Alex Palou.
The two are locked in an intense title fight but were wiped out by Rinus Veekay on lap 65.
Palou’s race ended immediately, and he forfeited the lead of the driver’s standings.
Dixon ambled home with damage and returned to the track later on, albeit several laps down to eventually be classified in 19th.
“We ran until we could make up the spots we could and that was it,” Dixon said.
“I feel really bad for myself and Alex. I really don’t know what Veekay was doing.”
Dixon is now 43 points behind O’Ward in the championship.
“It is going to be tough, but we have to make the most of it,” he said about his chances of winning the series.
“If we can have three strong races to finish the season then we are not out.”
After some daring overtakes, Romain Grosjean ended his first oval race in 14th.
