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SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX CHEVROLET
START: 1ST
FINISH: 2ND
POINTS: 2ND (-11)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin nearly placed his DEX Chevrolet in Victory Lane at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for the second time in his career, ultimately finishing second on Sunday afternoon. The New Zealand-American driver led the field to the green flag by taking his second consecutive pole position at St. Petersburg, adding another to his Team Penske record of 71 top qualifying spots. McLaughlin would hold the lead of the race for the first 35 laps before making his first trip to pit lane on Lap 36. He would cycle back to the third position following all stops. McLaughlin would briefly retake the lead prior to his second and final pit stop of the day, and would move into the second position with just seven laps remaining. Unfortunately, the gap was too large to the leader as McLaughlin crossed the line with a solid, second-place finish.
MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “Obviously you want to be top step. I think that was a solid day for the DEX Chevy. I think we maximized our strategy. I think it was going to go one way or the other with tires. I maybe thought the black tire could have probably performed a little bit better in that first stint, but yeah, my car just didn’t probably turn that tire on well enough. Wanted to pull a gap, but I was also trying to save fuel and make it a two-stop in some ways. It was a difficult first stint, and then I sort of got stuck behind the Andretti guys when they were losing their tires. I thought our car was really good. Just probably was a little bit hidden today just where it was position on track, but that’s okay. Like I said, I think we maximized our day. No mistakes. Pit road was great. Yeah, just good start.”
