MOTEGI, Japan – Simon Pagenaud was in the right place at the right time to become a back-to-back IndyCar iRacing Challenge winner on Saturday afternoon at the virtual Twin Ring Motegi.

Pagenaud, who was the last man in a Team Penske 1-2-3 inside of 10 to go, was able to keep his nose clean and strike after a three-wide battle eliminated his teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin in front of him.

Power, who led a race-high 61 laps and assumed the lead with 14 to go after the final round of green flag pit stops concluded, had successfully fended off McLaughlin down the home stretch and appeared to be on his way to victory at the 1.52-mile Motegi oval.

However, when the duo had to contend with the lapped car of Oliver Askew – who was trying to work his way back onto the lead lap before the finish – disaster struck the top-two runners.

Askew made it three-wide to the inside entering turn three as Power started to come down toward the white line, with the Arrow McLaren SP and Penske cars making contact that sent Power up the track.

In a flash, Power was colliding with McLaughlin’s car in the far outside lane, sending McLaughlin careening out of control and into the outside wall and leaving Power with front-wing damage as well.

Though Power tried to limp his car to the finish, it wasn’t to be as Pagenaud swept past with eight laps left to take the top spot away for good.

“Wow. That was a crazy race,” Pagenaud said. “It was really, really hectic at one point with Will (Power) and then with Dixon at the end, but man … we worked hard all week to be competitive, and I think I’m catching up! I think I’m getting there. I’ve had a lot of help from my engineer, Ben Bretzman, on strategies, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

Dixon took second place from Power with six to go and appeared to have the pace to run down Pagenaud, but the savvy Frenchman broke the draft down the backstretch each lap to keep Dixon at bay.

Though Dixon had one look inside of Pagenaud entering turn one on the final lap, Pagenaud pinched Dixon down against the apron and broke his momentum – opening up the eventual path to victory.

After the race, Dixon took umbrage at Pagenaud’s move and expressed his displeasure by running into the back of Pagenaud’s entry on the cool-down lap, but Pagenaud was unapologetic for his part.

“I’ve never had that happen before, but I’m sure that’s what goes on a lot of time in the drivers’ heads,” Pagenaud noted of Dixon’s frustration. “Dixon can be upset, but it’s the last lap of the race and I’m racing for the win, so I’m going to go for it. He went for it, too, and sometimes it’s just a reverse role to other types of situations in real life.

“He’s a great racer, though, and it’s always a pleasure to race him. I really enjoy it.”

Dixon’s runner-up result came by just .341 seconds, with Power hanging on to third and giving Team Penske two of the three podium positions.

Marcus Ericsson, in a second Chip Ganassi Racing entry, crossed the line in fourth and polesitter Robert Wickens – utilizing specially-prepared hand controls on his sim-rig setup – completed the top five.

Jack Harvey was sixth, followed by Sage Karam, who charged from 31st on the grid to seventh. Zach Veach, Santino Ferrucci and Graham Rahal trailed Karam in the final rundown.

Making his Indy car debut – albeit virtually – two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch parlayed a quiet and solid effort into a 13th-place finish.

Josef Newgarden, the fourth member of the Team Penske contingent, led 11 laps late in the race on an alternate fuel strategy, but couldn’t stretch his mileage to the finish and had to pit on lap 100 of 113. He was scored 15th at the checkered flag.

McLaughlin ended up one lap down in 24th after his contact with the outside wall, while James Hinchcliffe was unable to start the Firestone 175 after connection issues prior to the green flag.

Only one caution slowed the pace all afternoon long, with the yellow flag waving on lap four after a spin by Carlin driver Max Chilton’s No. 59 Dallara-Chevrolet.

The IndyCar iRacing Challenge season continues April 25 with an event at the virtual Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Colton Herta is the most recent Indy car winner at the track in real life.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.