Scott McLaughlin won the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday, April 30 at Barber Motorsports Park, as Team Penske executed a three-stop strategy to perfection to beat the two-stopping Romain Grosjean of Andretti Autosport.
McLaughlin earned his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES career victory and first this season in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet. But there were other interesting statistics surrounding this race besides Scotty Mac’s win totals and the number of pit stops.
A look inside the numbers:
0: The number of teams that have placed a driver on the podium in all four races this season. Chip Ganassi Racing’s streak of at least one podium finisher at each race this year ended at Barber, as Alex Palou was CGR’s top finisher, in fifth.
.3205: The time differential, in seconds, between the quickest and slowest laps in the Firestone Fast Six at this event. That’s the sixth-smallest gap in the Fast Six in INDYCAR SERIES history, and three of the top six have come in the last 12 months (.2941 of a second, 2022 GMR Grand Prix; .3161, 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach).
1: Caution periods in this race, tying the event record set in 2013 and tied in 2016 and 2019.
1-3: Team Penske claimed the win and third place with McLaughlin and Will Power, respectively. That’s the third time in four races this season a team has earned two of the three podium positions. St. Petersburg: Winner Marcus Ericsson and third-place Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing); Long Beach: Winner Kyle Kirkwood and runner-up Grosjean (Andretti Autosport); Barber: Winner McLaughlin and third-place Will Power (Team Penske).
2: Consecutive runner-up finishes this season for Grosjean, who also placed second in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The INDYCAR SERIES record for consecutive second-place finishes is three, shared by 13 drivers and most recently tied by Helio Castroneves in 2008.
2-2: The victory score between Honda and Chevrolet so far this season. Honda winners: Ericsson (St. Petersburg), Kirkwood (Long Beach); Chevrolet winners: Josef Newgarden (Texas), McLaughlin (Barber).
3: Grosjean’s pole at Barber was the third NTT P1 Award in four races this season for Honda, all on road or street courses. Felix Rosenqvist won Chevy’s sole pole, on the oval at Texas.
3: The gap in points between NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader Ericsson and second-place Pato O’Ward. Ericsson led O’Ward by 15 points entering the race at Barber.
5: Career runner-up finishes for Grosjean, who still is searching for his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory. Grosjean has a long way to go for the series record in this category, as Mario Andretti finished second 56 times in his illustrious career in addition to 52 victories.
15: Spots gained by rookie Marcus Armstrong, who started 26th and finished 11th. That was the biggest gain of any driver in the race, earning Armstrong the Jostens Biggest Mover Award.
26: Cars that finished on the lead lap, an INDYCAR SERIES record.
45: The number of points – less than a race’s worth – separating the top 10 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings after four races this season.
50: Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing made his 50th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at this event.
233: The record number of INDYCAR SERIES victories by Team Penske after McLaughlin’s victory, with 119 on an oval and 114 on a street or road course. That’s nearly double the runner-up total of Chip Ganassi Racing, which has 124 wins.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the fabled Month of May, with the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 13 on the road course and the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28 on the oval.