In a week with a lot of controversy surrounding Team Penske, Scott McLaughlin was able to shine through.
The Kiwi was able to skirt to the fastest lap of the day in the closing lap of the day on Saturday (April 27), knocking teammate Will Power off the pole at Barber Motorsports Park.
“It’s been tough,” McLaughlin told NBC. “It’s been tough the last couple of races. We haven’t been able to hit it in qualifying. I’m proud of that, proud of the execution on that. We’ll keep focusing on the rest of the season.”
It could be the start of McLaughlin’s comeback drive. After being disqualified from St. Petersburg and scoring only the minimum five points at Long Beach, McLaughlin is the lowest ranked driver in NTT IndyCar Series points and is even below all part-time drivers who have started a race this year.
Firestone Fast Six
Round 2
Lundgaard was fastest in the second round. There was a major miscommunication between Graham Rahal and the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, as the driver pitted after being told he was out of time.
Round 1 Group 1
Palou was fastest in this session, which featured a surprise elimination for Scott Dixon. Dixon, the IndyCar points leader, will start 13th at the track he’s never been able to win at.
Round 1 Group 2
McLaughlin paced the field in this session. Pietro Fittipaldi and Jack Harvey had an interaction through turns 8 and 10 in their hot laps, with Fittipaldi given an interference penalty and his fastest lap struck. Rinus Veekay had engine issues, and the driver fastest in morning practice qualified at the end of the field.
The 13th running of the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix will get underway on Sunday, April 28, at 1 p.m. ET, with coverage on NBC.
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