IndyCar would have you think Scott McLaughlin isn’t a title contender going by its latest promotional piece.
However, the Kiwi is still mathematically in contention for the win just 53 points in arrears of championship points leader Will Power.
A win earns 50 points and additional points are rewarded for pole position and leading laps.
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McLaughlin was omitted from a promotional video ahead of the penultimate race, listing the top five drivers – Power, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou.
That drew the ire of McLaughlin, who retweeted the video on Friday ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland.
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“Not even gonna say it. Just gonna use it,” he wrote.
After claiming pole position at Portland International Raceway, and with it earning an extra point, McLaughlin scorned IndyCar for leaving him out of the video.
“Mathematically I’m still in it,” he said.
“When you say there’s only five contenders, it’s wrong. The best part about it right now that we’ve got for IndyCar, what we should be celebrating, is how close it is between Josef, Will.
“I don’t count myself out of it, no. I think anything can happen. If I win tomorrow, who knows what happens. We’ll find out. It’s going to be fun.”
Although McLaughlin is an outside chance, his Team Penske offsiders are in the box seat with two races remaining. Power leads Newgarden by just three points.
Aiding their hopes was a torrid qualifying for Chip Ganassi Racing rivals Dixon and Ericsson, who will start 16th and 18th.
Palou was the sole standout in the Ganassi squad, qualifying fifth.
While Power’s nearest rivals are buried in the pack, he said he cannot rest on his laurels.
“It’s a very tight championship,” Power said.
“If you watched IndyCar, which you have a lot, you can never feel just safe that you’ve qualified well because it can just switch.
“As you saw last year, Palou and Dixon were pretty much at the back, and they came to finish first-second or first-third.
“It all depends if there’s a yellow at the start. If there is no yellow at the start – which would be a miracle, if they start where they’re talking about – if there’s not a yellow, it doesn’t push it towards that two-stop strategy.
“You don’t get guys at the back topping off [fuel], making it a difficult race. If it goes green, it becomes more of a straightforward race, a track position race. Makes it harder for those guys back there.
“We’re hoping it stays green. That’s best for us.”
The Grand Prix of Portland gets underway on Monday at 5am.
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