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SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 XPEL CHEVROLET
START: 8TH
FINISH: 3RD
POINTS: 5TH (-57)
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin nearly gave himself an early 31st birthday present by winning Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America before finishing third in the No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet to help Team Penske to their first podium sweep since 2017. Starting from the eighth position, McLaughlin masterfully drove through an opening-corner melee to power into the second position when the caution came out. Upon restarting from the second position on Lap 4, the New Zealander made quick work of Kyle Kirkwood to grab the lead and he would stay at the front of the field until Lap 30 when teammate Josef Newgarden was able to make his way around as McLaughlin was completing his stint on the Firestone alternate tire that was not the preferred tire in this particular race. As the race came down to the final pit stop, McLaughlin was eagerly awaiting new Firestone primary tires to battle to the end when eventual race winner and teammate, Will Power, jumped McLaughlin and Newgarden to take the lead as McLaughlin easily crossed the finish in the third position, 10 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher. Remarkably, after finding himself at the bottom of the table following Long Beach, McLaughlin is now in the fifth position in the standings.
MCLAUGHLIN’S THOUGHTS: “Huge team day. The XPEL Chevy was great. We led all the laps, obviously. It was a great team day. Will (Power) with a win, first win in a long time, and then Josef (Newgarden) second. I wish we could’ve ran a little bit longer and a couple of those stints. The overcut was really strong. But ultimately, this is a huge day for the team. Really proud of everyone. It’s been a hard slog over the last month-and-a-half. Big few days for the team, big month for the team. Really proud of everyone.”
