Photo by Kyle McInnes

The racing was good- what there was of it. Six caution periods slowed the pace. No matter how slow the pace car leads the field around, cautions eat laps quickly on a 7/8 mile track.

Early on we saw a great duel between Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin. When McLaughlin beat Herta out of the pits, the race was pretty much over.

In the post race press conference, Pato O’Ward talked about how the repave hurt the racing. “You couldn’t get by anybody,” he said. The track seemed to get racier when the sun went behind the grandstands.

We don’t normally see this much attrition in an Indycar race. The half dozen cautions and the number of cars dropping out made the race a bit old school.

McLaughlin starts on pole tomorrow, and he has a great chance of sweeping the weekend. The driver may change, but the team remains the same.

McLaughlin says he can now call himself an Indycar driver since he’s won on an oval. “I’m proud to say I’ve won on all three types of courses, ” McLaughlin said.

O’Ward is now second in points, just 37 behind Alex Palou. Will Power and Scott Dixon are also within 50 points of Palou. The standings are refreshing to see after last year’s runaway by Palou.

Kyle Kirkwood notched another Top 10, as did Santino Ferrucci. Both have been consistent all season,. The logjam of drivers who usually get Top 5s is keeping them from moving up a bit.

I will have a pre race post early tomorrow morning. remember, the race begins at 12:30 pm Eastern