IndyCar: Scott McLaughlin joined a very strange club at Texas

Going for a second consecutive and career IndyCar victory, Scott McLaughlin was denied in the final corner. Surprisingly, it’s not the first time it’s happened.

If there was one person who was familiar with the move that Josef Newgarden pulled on Scott McLaughlin to rob him of what would have been his second consecutive — and career — IndyCar victory in Sunday’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, it was NBC Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe.

And not just because of the move that Graham Rahal pulled on him to beat him to the line in a photo finish at the very same track in 2016.

Back in April 2013, Takuma Sato earned his first career victory on the streets of Long Beach, California. The following race on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, he looked poised to become the first driver since A.J. Allmendinger in 2006 to earn his second win just one race after earning his first.

Hinchcliffe had other plans.

Sato had blocked Hinchcliffe down the back straight multiple times in the late battle for the lead. On the final lap, he did the same, but Hinchcliffe pulled the over-under move and came out ahead of the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda with the checkered flag in sight.

He led only the 75th and final lap around the 11-turn, 2.536-mile (4.081-kilometer) street course, holding off Sato by just 0.346 seconds.

The last-lap pass denied Sato what would have been his second consecutive — and career — IndyCar victory.

It was a finish for the ages.

From leading in the final corner on the final lap of that race, Sato didn’t end up winning again until May 2017. Fortunately for him, that win was an Indy 500 victory.

Now take a look at Sunday’s finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

McLaughlin, like Sato, was denied a second victory, which would have come immediately after his first, on a last-turn, last-lap pass.

Unlike Hinchcliffe, Newgarden had actually led earlier in the race, albeit for only two laps.

McLaughlin led 186 of the 248 laps run around the four-turn, 1.44-mile (2.317-kilometer) oval in Forth Worth, Texas after starting on the front row, and he has now led 235 laps of the 348 contested this season.

The current points leader led just five laps all of his rookie season en route to a 14th place finish in the standings.

Unfortunately, IndyCar never returned to Sao Paulo after that insane finish. And it’s very possible that it won’t return to Texas Motor Speedway next year after this one. We’ll just have to wait and see.