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Weekend Race Recap 7/15/24: Penske Racing Had a Fantastic Weekend

It was an amazing weekend full of action if you enjoy oval racing. IndyCar made its trip to the recently repaved Iowa Speedway for a weekend doubleheader, while the top three NASCAR series visited Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, a treacherous triangle. Penske Racing fans had another reason to celebrate this weekend: three of the team’s drivers won all three of the main races. First, let’s quickly review the IndyCar weekend.

Iowa Speedway isn’t particularly dangerous because of its recent resurfacing, but like many recently repaved ovals, it was mostly one groove during the race, which made passing difficult and forced many drivers to take chances in an effort to move up through the field. For some, like Josef Newgarden, this strategy paid off as a string of daring moves during the race propelled Newgarden to a third-place finish from a disappointing qualifying effort that saw the oval ace start from the outside of the pack.

For many of the other contestants, however, those Hail Mary moves proved to be disastrous. Eighteen automobiles made it to the finish line unharmed. The others experienced multiple mishaps, from mishaps to malfunctions in machinery. Alex Palou, the current series winner, is a prominent figure on that list. He carried over his unlucky run of poor luck from Mid-Ohio.

In the end, Scott McLaughlin, Newgarden’s Penske teammate, would win the race on Saturday. By holding off Mid-Ohio winner Pato O’Ward, McLaughlin achieved his sixth career victory. It’s McLaughlin’s first oval series victory.