Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand capped off a dominant week for Team Penske by winning from the pole at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala.
It marked McLaughlin’s second straight win in Alabama. He beat teammate Will Power of Australia by 1.3194 seconds after leading 58 of 90 laps around Barber Motorsports Park.
Their 1-2 showing came after Team Penske received sanctions for illegal use of the push-to-pass system in the season opener at St. Petersburg. Josef Newgarden’s win there was vacated as he and McLaughlin were disqualified from the race, while Power was docked 10 points.
“It’s definitely one of my best drives in terms of just execution and just knocking out the laps,” McLaughlin said. “Really happy we could advance to the checkered flag there and bring home a ‘W’ for Team Penske and for Roger.”
But McLaughlin said he and his teammates did not necessarily come to Barber feeling they had something to prove.
“No, we just gotta keep rolling,” he said. “We know our job. We know what we need to do. I was just so proud of our execution.”
McLaughlin led Spaniard Alex Palou by nearly 30 seconds ahead of his third and final pit stop, enough cushion to keep a narrow lead when he came off pit road. But a late caution meant McLaughlin and Power had to duke it out in a two-lap sprint.
“It was a hard-fought 1-2 for Penske,” Power said. “We were certainly fast, but obviously a lot of strategy played into that. We were able to use our speed to come out in front again.”
The win pushed McLaughlin into ninth in the drivers’ standings, while Power is now one point behind series leader Colton Herta, who came home in eighth.
IndyCar rookie Linus Lundqvist of Sweden earned his first podium finish, taking third place for Chip Ganassi Racing.
–Field Level Media
