Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin took victory at Barber Motorsports Park at the end of a chaotic week for his team and IndyCar.
The week leading up to the event in Alabama was clouded by McLaughlin and his Penske teammate Josef Newgarden being disqualified from the season opener at St. Pete after using push to pass at a restart, which is not permitted.
Penske responded superbly in qualifying, scoring a 1-2 with McLaughlin ahead of Will Power in a battle that went down to the wire in the Firestone Fast Six.
The pole sitter said his integrity and reputation were pushed after suffering the disqualification at St. Pete.
“Even though you’re hurting a lot inside, obviously your integrity, your reputation is tested,” McLaughlin said, via autoweek.com. “All you can do is get back on the horse and get going and apologize for what happened. It’s a people sport. Mistakes can happen and that’s certainly what it was.”
The race-winner in Alabama spoke of the importance of keeping up the momentum and taking the checkered flag first at Barber.
“We’re just going to keep rolling,” McLaughlin told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “We know our job. We know what we need to do. I’m so proud of the execution. Super proud of everyone. Execution is our word and just keep it going. Really happy to bring home a checkered flag for Team Penske and Roger.”
The New Zealander survived immense pressure from his teammate Power in the closing stages after a late-race caution flag due to Christian Rasmussen spinning and stalling his Ed Carpenter Racing car.
The victory in Alabama was McLaughlin’s second in a row on the 2.3-mile circuit and just his fifth during his IndyCar career.
The Team Penske driver improved by 20 places in the championship standings, from 29th to ninth after three rounds, as he looks to respond after losing second place at St. Pete.
Heading into the month of May, Team Penske will aim to deliver their second consecutive Indy 500 victory after Newgarden’s triumph last year, when he passed Marcus Ericsson on the last lap.
The build-up to the race is notoriously busy. The Sonsio Grand Prix is run on the Road Course at Indianapolis before practice and qualifying for the Indy 500.
The GMR Grand Prix of Indy on the Road Course proved to be tricky for McLaughlin, who drove to 16th place on a difficult day for the 30-year-old.
The month of May could be critical for McLaughlin, who will be looking to keep up the momentum from Barber and respond after failing to finish inside the top 10 on either the Road Course or at the Indy 500 in 2023.