Scott McLaughlin Overcomes Will Power for Penske 1-2 at Barber

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.”

The Meat Wagon is SIZZLIN' 🔥#INDYCAR // #INDYBHM pic.twitter.com/nJbveAjI42

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 27, 2024

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

Position	Driver	Number	Team	Time
1.	Scott McLaughlin	3	Team Penske	1:05:9490
2.	Will Power	12	Team Penske	+0.0970s
3.	Christian Lundgaard	45	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	+0.1328s
4.	Pato O’Ward	5	Arrow McLaren	+0.3450s
5.	Felix Rosenqvist	60	Meyer Shank Racing	+0.5034s
6.	Marcus Armstrong	11	Chip Ganassi Racing	+0.9532s

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.

Frustration for @GrahamRahal after the No. 15 misses out on the Firestone Fast 6.

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/9atzBYe4aV

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 27, 2024

Position	Driver	Number	Team	Time from Advancing
7.	Graham Rahal	15	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	+0.0524s
8.	Josef Newgarden	2	Team Penske	+0.2490s
9.	Kyle Kirkwood	27	Andretti Global	+0.2541s
10.	Alex Palou	10	Chip Ganassi Racing	+0.2595s
11.	Roman Grosjean	77	Juncos Hollinger Racing	+0.3108s
12.	Tom Blomqvist	66	Meyer Shank Racing	+0.3453s

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.

Position	Driver	Number	Team	Time from Advancing
13.	Scott Dixon	9	Chip Ganassi Racing	+0.1075s
15.	Colton Herta	26	Andretti Global	+0.1131s
17.	Santino Ferrucci	14	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	+0.2401s
19.	Linus Lundqvist	8	Chip Ganassi Racing	+0.2475s
21.	Luca Ghiotto	51	Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing	+0.4438s
23.	Kyffin Simpson	4	Chip Ganassi Racing	+0.4917s
25.	Sting Ray Robb	41	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	+0.8054s

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.

Position	Driver	Number	Team	Time from Advancing
14.	Christian Rasmussen	20	Ed Carpenter Racing	+0.0284s
16.	Alexander Rossi	7	Arrow McLaren	+0.0535
18.	Marcus Ericsson	28	Andretti Global	+0.1327s
20.	Augustin Canapino	78	Juncos Hollinger Racing	+0.2187s
22.	Jack Harvey	18	Dale Coyne Racing	+0.345s
24.	Theo Pourchaire	6	Arrow McLaren	+0.4533s
26.	Pietro Fittipaldi	30	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	+1.0401s
27.	Rinus VeeKay	21	Ed Carpenter Racing	+1.2873s

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.