IN what was shaping up as a big day for the Antipodean contingent in the IndyCar series came to naught on the streets of Detroit, when former teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power clashed on circuit.

The pair had been battling for the lead during the race, and ultimately had multiple run-ins.

Power was eliminated from the race with 21 circuits remaining, while McLaughlin dropped four laps off the pace as the Team Penske outfit made repairs, before being classified 19th.

It was shaping up to be a promising race for the duo, with Power qualifying in second, one position ahead of McLaughlin.

There were no penalties issued from the clashes between the pair.

“I had a broken toe link after the Will stuff,” McLaughlin said.

“I mean, the Clarience Technologies Chevy was super fast, I don’t know if we had the pace with Alex (Palou), but we were right there, probably good enough for third or fourth.

“I don’t know if I pissed Will off – we were side-by-side out of three, and I got a little sideways, which made me press into the wall, like a lot more aggressively than I wanted.

“I’m not sure if he is pissed off because of that, I’m not sure.

“Then after that, he got me, I was pretty happy with it, I was like ‘Still good, good result right now’.

“He’s faster than me on restarts. I let him have it, then going into three, he locked a right front. I got up the inside of him, and honestly, I was going to go the outside, and he just kept turning in and basically gave me no option.

“The whole way, no option… I didn’t want to do that to him, I didn’t want to do that to my day.

“We’ll talk about it. I have so much respect for Will Power; he’s been my teammate for so many years and helped me so much.”

Following eight races, McLaughlin is now seventh in the standings with Power mired in 19th.

The race was ultimately won by Alex Palou, his fourth victory for the season, extending his series lead.

The Spaniard is currently on track to win his fifth title in six years.

Kyle Kirkwood finished second from Graham Rahal and Pato O’Ward.

Next weekend, IndyCar returns to oval track mode, with a visit to World Wide Technology Raceway.

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