McLaughlin second in practice at Gateway, Dixon fifth

Scott McLaughlin finished fractionally slower than Penske teammate Josef Newgarden in the sole IndyCar practice session at Gateway this morning.

The Kiwi ended up second-fastest on the timesheets, with a best lap of 177.669mph, just over one mph slower than Newgarden.

Given this was the only practice before qualifying, most cars opted to run a two-lap qualifying simulation near the end of the session.

McLaughlin has seemingly got a strong liking to ovals – he collected his maiden series podium at Texas Motor Speedway and was the highest-placed Penske car in Indy 500 qualifying.

He racked up 67 laps across the 90-minute session, the fourth-highest tally in the field.

Championship contender Scott Dixon was fifth at the chequered flag, ending a solid session for the two Kiwis.

Dixon’s best lap had an average speed of 177.463mph, and he was 0.01mph slower than Graham Rahal in P4.

Series leader Alex Palou was a lowly 17th in practice. He will take a hefty grid penalty after qualifying following his engine failure in Indy last weekend.

Romain Grosjean is making his first oval appearance this weekend and was a credible 11th fastest.

He also turned the third-largest tally of laps.

Qualifying begins at 09.00 am NZT, with the race scheduled to start at 12.40 pm.