News
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX CHEVROLET
START: 5TH
FINISH: 5TH
POINTS: 7TH (-120)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Chevrolet team used a timely pit stop for fresh tires late in Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway to come home with a fifth-place finish. It was a special weekend for the No. 3 team as they raced a paint scheme that Helio Castroneves made famous by winning the 2009 Indianapolis 500 as part of Team Penske’s year-long 60th anniversary celebration. McLaughlin qualified his DEX Chevy in the fifth position on Saturday afternoon, but from the drop of the green flag he was forced to deal with handling issues that resulted in the loss of several positions. McLaughlin continued to adjust the tools at his disposal inside the cockpit while the No. 3 Chevy team continued to make improvements to the handling on each pit stop, eventually working his way back to the seventh position when a caution flag flew on Lap 227. Race strategist Tim Cindric called McLaughlin down pit lane for fresh Firestone tires and his pit crew ensured he was the first car off pit lane following service. Restarting in the ninth position, McLaughlin quickly diced through the field on the opening laps back to green to grab his third top-five finish of the year.
MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “An up and down day for the No. 3 DEX Chevy. The car wasn’t that great to start with, but we tuned her up as the race went on. Pretty happy overall with how the day went. We were looking at P15 for a little bit and we managed to get a top five. Good tune up on the cars. Then we just managed to wheel ourselves forward when we had better tires. A good run.”
