VIRTUAL INDIANAPOLIS — Scott McLaughlin won the IndyCar iRacing Challenge finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, taking advantage of a wild last lap in the First Responders 175.
Over the final 2.5 miles at the Brickyard, contenders Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci and Oliver Askew all wrecked while racing around the lead.
McLaughlin, who started on the pole position, scooted through to capture his second victory in the series. He later said he just “drove through the smoke” to give Team Penske a clean sweep on ovals in the series (Simon Pagenaud won at Michigan and Twin Ring Motegi).
“I was hoping there was going to be one wreck, and there was two,” McLaughlin, who has yet to make his real-world IndyCar debut, told the IndyCar on NBC booth after taking the traditional swig of milk for a Brickyard winner. “I thought we were going to get third. We were in the right place at the right time.”
Conor Daly finished second despite being involved in three wrecks and called it “an electric factory of a race.”
"It was quite a day on the Internet, today."@ConorDaly22 breaks down his race at @IMS in the @IndyCar Challenge finale. pic.twitter.com/LCtQPN9A5t
— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 2, 2020
Ferrucci finished third, followed by Askew and O’Ward.
After Ericsson and O’Ward made heavy contact while racing for the lead earlier on the last lap, the victory seemed to be between Askew and Ferrucci off the last corner.
As they approached the finish line, Ferrucci shot down the track and into Askew, taking out both of their cars. The Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan driver took the blame.
The leaders get wrecked twice on the final lap, and @Smclaughlin93 WINS at @IMS in the @iRacing @IndyCar Challenge! #OneHomeTeam pic.twitter.com/4Nmkx8pBhU
— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 2, 2020
Ferrucci later said he’d been doing a lot of series on iRacing lately and got too close because he was tied to get on Askew’s door as he might in a NASCAR race.
“Just coming to the finish line, and I was trying to get closer to him, and I went through him,” Ferrucci told the IndyCar on NBC booth. “I don’t know why. I mean, trying to steer a little closer to him because I knew the drag race would be tight. I just didn’t expect the cars to go sideways. I wanted to get a little closer there but did not expect to do that.
“That’s my bad. I apologize for doing that to Oliver. That was definitely his race to win. But at the end of the day, it’s a video game, and we had fun. It’s not anything you’d ever do in real life, but it’s a tight race.”
"I did not expect to do that." @SantinoFerrucci talks about his contact with @Oliver_Askew that ultimately cost both of them a shot at the win coming to the yard of bricks at @IMS. pic.twitter.com/3VYpPdg2kC
— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 2, 2020
@SantinoFerrucci you owe me a glass of milk, bud.
— Oliver Askew (@Oliver_Askew) May 2, 2020
The chaotic ending was triggered by a restart with nine laps remaining after the yellow flew for a multicar crash that started with a spin by Josef Newgarden.
Before two late yellows, it seemed as if the race might boil down to a battle between Formula One McLaren driver Lando Norris and Will Power. But Power got shuffled back, and Norris crashed with two laps remaining while running near the front.
Before that, it seemed as if McLaren was headed toward a 1-2-3 finish with some combination of O’Ward, Norris and Askew.
1-2-3 for Arrow McLaren SP cars on Lap 63 at @IMS!@LandoNorris leads @Oliver_Askew and @PatricioOWard!#iRaceForAMSP // @ArrowGlobal // @McLarenF1 // #INDYCARChallenge pic.twitter.com/xVk9Y7aq3D
— Arrow McLaren SP (@ArrowMcLarenSP) May 2, 2020
