Lightning struck twice for Scott McLaughlin on the streets of Nashville last Sunday, when the three-time Supercars champion failed to convert a race win here for Team Penske from pole position by a tiny margin once again. This time, it was Andretti Autosport’s young star Kyle Kirkwood who got the better of him, by 0.7633 seconds, meaning McLaughlin’s cumulative losing deficit across two years here is 0.87s!
And, while there was an intriguing battle for the win between those two, intensified by a late red flag and sprint to the finish, standout championship performers Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden battled to the chequered flag behind them too.
McLaughlin repeated his pole position of 2022 in qualifying, which was delayed due to heavy rain by over three and a half hours, beating Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward by 0.3s and Andretti’s Colton Herta by a further 0.3s. Kirkwood didn’t even make the Fast Six shootout and would start eighth.
The top five began on Firestone’s softer alternate tyre, with degradation a step into the unknown after only one dry practice session around the 2.1-mile street circuit, which is situated in the shadow of the Tennessee Titans NFL stadium.
The drivers label this track ‘Crashville’ for a reason, but this wasn’t a race that truly lived up to that well-earned reputation. The majority of passes were
