Watch: Scott Dixon claims surprise IndyCar podium, McLaughlin gets taken out

Both IndyCar Kiwis, Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin, have starred in this morning's Firestone 175 113-lap IndyCar iRacing Challenge race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, with the pairing spending almost the entire race battling with each other for first. 

Sadly neither would win, with victory going to Frenchman Simon Pagenaud. While Dixon was able to take a surprise second (surprising given his lack of iRacing experience and his struggles at earlier events), McLaughlin was forced to limp to 24th after getting taken out by a lapped car while trying to take the race lead with 10 laps to go. 

After being very competitive in the build-up, Dixon sat third in the early laps with McLaughlin settling into seventh as Will Power and Jack Harvey ran the order. McLaughlin made handy progress, working his way up to fourth by lap 30. Both soon made their way by Harvey to take over second and third. 

10 to go and things started to get wild with this as example A: #INDYCAR // #INDYCARChallenge pic.twitter.com/V5UWecagJ7

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 18, 2020

By lap 52 all the leaders had made their first pit-stop; McLaughlin cycling out in in second behind Power and ahead of Dixon, with Simon Pagenaud and Marcus Ericsson in pursuit. As the race wore on, it became apparent that the leading trio were a cut above the rest of the pack.

With 48 laps to to, Dixon got by McLaughlin for second before beginning to pressure Power for first place. On lap 72 the five-time IndyCar champion took the race lead, only for Power to immediately fight back and take first place back. The pairing swapped the lead between each other over the following laps numerous times, until Dixon finally built a buffer by lap 79. 

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All three leaders stopped together with 28 laps to go, a sluggish stop seeing Dixon fall to third in the queue behind Power and McLaughlin. Fellow Penske racer Josef Newgarden hoped to spoil the party for first with a one-stop strategy, but with 14 laps to go he gave up on the strategy; leaving Power, McLaughlin, Pagenaud, and Dixon to take over.

With 10 laps to go though, the race turned on its head. With McLaughlin having a go on the outside of Power at turn four, both cars were dived upon by lapped driver Oliver Askew. Askew and Power made contact, sending Power into McLaughlin. The Supercars champ piled into the wall at speed, effectively ending his race in one fell swoop. 

It wasn't over, though. Power was then immediately attacked by Pagenaud and, even with a missing left-front wing, Power tried to fend him off. They made side-by-side contact on the back straight, before Power finally let him go. 

The battle for the lead is heating up between @12WillPower and @scottdixon9 #INDYCAR // #INDYCARChallenge pic.twitter.com/Pdwe6sNZVS

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 18, 2020

All the battling meant Dixon was able to reel in the two-second gap to the lead, and it ensured a grandstand finish for first on the final lap. Dixon had a run into turn one, and tried to dive on the leader at turn one. But, he wasn't quite close enough. Time lost after the lunge handed a bigger gap and eventually the win to Pagenaud; this being his second win in a row. 

Dixon and Power finished second and third, with Ericsson, Robert Wickens, Harvey, Sage Karam, Zach Veach, Santino Ferrucci, and Graham Rahal rounding out the top 10. On his return to the Japanese circuit, local driver Takuma Sato finished 12th, one spot ahead of former NASCAR championship winner Kyle Busch. McLaughlin, after pitting to repair his damage, limped home to 24th place. 

IndyCar iRacing Challenge, Firestone 175

1. Simon Pagenaud
2. Scott Dixon
3. Will Power
4. Marcus Ericsson
5. Robert Wickens
6. Jack Harvey
7. Sage Karam
8. Zach Veach
9. Santino Ferrucci
10. Graham Rahal
11. Connor Daly
12. Takuma Sato
13. Kyle Busch
14. Felix Rosenqvist
15. Josef Newgarden
16. Ryan Hunter-Reay
17. Ed Carpenter
18. Colton Herta
19. Dalton Kellett
20. Sebastien Bourdais
21. Oliver Askew
22. Alex Palou
23. Rinus Veekay
24. Scott McLaughlin
25. Marco Andretti
26. Pato O'Ward
27. Kyle Kaiser
28. Alexander Rossi
29. Helio Castroneves
30. Tony Kanaan