51 biohaven Honda stopped at the exit of Turn 9 with an apparent mechanical problem. The three-stop strategy used by Team Penske for McLaughlin, Power and Josef Newgarden got a boost on Lap 38 when Sting Ray Robb’s No. We had an incredible car, drove really well, gave it 100 percent, but we just got unlucky with that yellow. Look at the two-stop (cars) behind us – 20 seconds behind us. That gave McLaughlin and Power the edge on the three-stop. “The three-stop never wins at Barber, but today the pits stayed open. “It hurts,” said Grosjean, who led a race-high 57 laps. Grosjean second finished for the fifth time in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career as he seeks his first victory. But Power’s softer-but-faster Firestone alternate tires began to wear on the closing laps, and he had to settle for third, 1.4845 seconds behind Grosjean. No hard feelings between the two of us.”Īfter losing the lead, Grosjean then had to worry about the hard-charging Power, who sliced a four-second deficit to less than a second over the closing laps. Petersburg), and as far as I’m concerned and he’s concerned, we race hard and fair and press on. “We’re racers you just get on with it,” McLaughlin said. Petersburg when they both hit the tire barrier after contact with each other while racing for the lead. The compelling duel for the lead between the two was fierce but stayed clean throughout, unlike the season opener last month in St. So, when Grosjean went wide in Turn 5 on Lap 72, McLaughlin drove under him and pounded the push-to-pass button to complete the pass and build a gap, never trailing thereafter. Grosjean had used all his push-to-pass by that point, while McLaughlin had some in reserve. McLaughlin hounded Grosjean’s gearbox for the next six laps, staying within three- to four-tenths of a second of the Frenchman. Grosjean inherited the lead on Lap 66 when Power made his third and final pit stop. One lap later, Grosjean made a textbook inside-out move to pass McLaughlin for position in the final turn of the 17-turn, 2.3-mile roller coaster of a circuit. McLaughlin made his third and final stop three laps later, exiting the pits just in front of McLaughlin but on cold Firestone tires. Grosjean got service for the second and final time on Lap 61. The duel between McLaughlin and Grosjean was set up when they each made their final pit stops with less than 30 laps to go. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda in the 90-lap race. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with 2021 series champion Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet for his first podium position of the season. Reigning series champion Will Power finished third in the No. We went past Grosjean there on a little bit of strategy, and I feel really good about it.” “I call it a ‘happy driver strategy,’” McLaughlin said. The three-stop strategy allowed McLaughlin to go full tilt during stints and avoid worrying about having enough Shell fuel remaining to finish the race, unlike the drivers who made two stops. McLaughlin, from New Zealand, is the fourth different winner this season in as many races.Ģ021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year McLaughlin prevailed on a three-pit stop strategy after starting fourth, while Grosjean and Andretti Autosport used a two-stop tactic. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet by 1.7854 seconds over runner-up and NTT P1 Award winner Romain Grosjean in the No. McLaughlin drove to his fourth career victory in the No. With equal parts skill and strategy, Scott McLaughlin drove to his first victory of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.
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