IndyCar: Here’s how massive Scott McLaughlin’s lead would’ve been

Josef Newgarden passed teammate Scott McLaughlin in the final turn of the final lap to win Sunday’s IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin appeared to be well on his way to backing up his first career IndyCar victory on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida to open up the 2022 season with his second at Texas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the #3 Chevrolet started the 248-lap race around the four-turn, 1.44-mile (2.317-kilometer) oval in Fort Worth, Texas on the front row in second place, and he quickly took the lead from polesitter Felix Rosenqvist of Arrow McLaren SP on the opening lap.

McLaughlin dominated the race, leading 186 laps. But on the 248th and final lap, he ended up catching lap traffic going down the back straight and into turn three.

This opened the door for teammate Josef Newgarden to make a bold move around the outside of turn four, a move which very well could have ended up with the #2 Chevrolet in the wall.

But Newgarden went for it, and he passed McLaughlin to win by just 0.067 seconds.

McLaughlin is still the points leader after recording finishes of first and second place to open up the season, and by a healthy margin. Teammate Will Power sits in second place after recording finishes of third and fourth to start the year.

McLaughlin leads Power by 28 points, with reigning champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing in third place, two points behind Power, and Newgarden a further two points behind Palou.

But how massive would the lead be for the 28-year-old New Zealander had he held on?

He would be sitting pretty with 107 points instead of 97 and would hold a 38-point lead over Power.

That’s a gap that would be challenging to make up in just one race — and we’re only two races into the season.

To put this in perspective, Palou, who has 67 points, had 67 points after the 2021 season’s second race as well. But last year, he was the points leader.

Additionally, Newgarden would be 52 points behind McLaughlin instead of just 32. The two-time champion would instead be sitting in a fifth place tie in the standings with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson would be sitting in fourth as opposed to fifth.

Alas, it was not meant to be for McLaughlin, who only narrowly missed out on the chance to become the first driver since A.J. Allmendinger in the 2006 Champ Car season to win his first two races in consecutive fashion.

Will McLaughlin be able to extend his championship lead in the third race of the season? The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is set to be broadcast live from the streets of Long Beach, California on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 10.