Team Penske\u2019s Scott McLaughlin persevered through an afternoon of mayhem en route to a runner-up result in Laguna Seca and finish third in the IndyCar Series standings.
“I think I hit everything but the pace car today,” McLaughlin said. “Certainly one of those crazy days, peak IndyCar days.
“Yeah, super pumped. Things that didn't go my way, things I probably shouldn't have done either, but we just kept our heads down and kept working. Yeah, took the fuel when we needed, pitted when we needed to. Just slightly came back through. “I think I had one really good restart where I picked off sort of six or seven cars. I was just hauling. So much fun. Thought I maybe might be able to have a crack at Scottie at the end. He was just too fast. I knew if I finished second, I was most likely going to be top three in the championship. That ultimately was my goal coming into this weekend.”The result was his third runner-up in the last seven races, with his victory at Barber in April his only other podium on the year.
As a byproduct of his finish in the final race of 2023, he finished a career-best third in the championship – best among Chevrolet-powered drivers, including team-mates