McLaughlin 'can't be unhappy' despite St. Pete strategy call
Today at 07:58 PM
If Scott McLaughlin's bad days are going to look like what transpired on Sunday at St. Petersburg, the Team Penske driver will be a serious threat to win the championship.
Starting from pole, the New Zealander and his No. 3 Team Penske Chevy crew handled their closest pursuers with ease. Pushing his advantage out to multiple seconds, McLaughlin was untouchable—on pace, at least—but thanks to a first-lap crash and caution behind him that favored those who started on Firestone's alternate tires, the call to start on primaries would end up costing a shot at victory.
Having just satisfied IndyCar's rule that says each car must complete two laps on each compound, the caution cooked McLaughlin's race strategy plans as drivers on alternates dove into the pits to go to primaries for the remainder of the race. The No. 3 would pit and go to alternates on lap 33, pit again to get off the rapidly declining rubber on lap 46, fall to 11th, and fight his way up back to fourth at the finish line.
All three drivers on the podium, led by winner Alex Palou, second-place Scott Dixon, and teammate Josef Newgarden, used the first-lap crash to jettison their alternates once the pits opened, but McLaughlin did all he could to limit the points loss by rallying to fourth.
"The yellow on the first lap really hurt us, but we knew going in. That was the risk of running the tire," he said. "We wanted a solid race, and I thought the risky strategy was starting on the . Ultimately it was the other way around, but we had great pace today and I'm really proud of everyone. We were ultimately a pit stop behind, but we knew that was the risk of running the . I think if there was no yellow first lap, we're gone. It is what it is. Great day for the DEX Imaging Chevy. Good points; great start to the year. A pole and a fourth — I can't be unhappy with that."
