Takeaways From the IndyCar Race at Barber and How McLaughlin Won It

Despite falling short in Saturday's qualifying, the Team Penske driver had a cunning plan up his sleeve for Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, which helped him clinch his fourth career win at his fourth different track.

It was a fitting triumph for the avid golf enthusiast, who triumphed on the 2.3 miles (3.7 kilometers) road course that rivals the iconic Augusta National Golf Club. McLaughlin and his Penske teammates opted for a three-stop strategy, starting on the Firestone primary tires. Meanwhile, the top three drivers chose a two-stop plan and opted for the Firestone alternates from the outset. However, with the unpredictable nature of this race, caution was always on the horizon.

In the past 12 years, this event had never been caution-free, so it was only a matter of time before a wrench was thrown into someone's strategy. And that's precisely what happened on Sunday. McLaughlin made his first pit stop on Lap 15, while Romain Grosjean led the opening 30 laps before pitting on Lap 30. This handed the lead to McLaughlin's teammate, Josef Newgarden, who unfortunately had damage to his car and lacked the pace to win. Finally, on Lap 39, a caution was called for Sting Ray Robb stalling in Turn 9.

Last year, the caution appeared on Lap 32, but it didn't harm those on a two-stop strategy. This year, however, the timing was different. Newgarden had just pitted on Lap 37, while McLaughlin made his stop on Lap 38, with the three-stoppers pitting where the two-stoppers hadn't. As a result, the strategy flipped in favor of the three-stoppers, giving them the edge they needed to come out on top.

Grosjean and McLaughlin were locked in a battle for the win on the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park. Both drivers had one stop left, but Grosjean would have to pit earlier than McLaughlin. The question on everyone's mind was, who would come out on top?

Grosjean made his final pit stop on Lap 59, with McLaughlin following suit on Lap 62. As they emerged from the pits, McLaughlin managed to take the lead, but Grosjean was not one to give up so easily. Grosjean reclaimed the lead in the final corner of his out lap in a spectacular move. However, Romain's triumph was short-lived as he had exhausted his push-to-passes, while McLaughlin still had plenty left in his tank.

This gave McLaughlin an advantage, and he used it to force Grosjean into making a costly mistake in Turn 5 on Lap 71. McLaughlin seized the opportunity and took the lead, never looking back as he went on to win the race. McLaughlin's victory was a game-changer, propelling him from 10th to fourth place in the standings. Here are the top five takeaways from this thrilling race.

On Saturday, Romain Grosjean expressed his desire to win his first NTT IndyCar Series while keeping the big picture in mind. Leading for 57 out of 90 laps and losing the win, in the end, can be pretty demoralizing, despite having done everything right. Starting from the pole, Grosjean went for the two-stop strategy, which is typical in a race that has never been caution-free. He held the lead for the first 30 laps before making his first pit stop. When Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin pitted on laps 37-38, Grosjean regained the lead. Unfortunately, a caution was called for Sting Ray Robb stalling in Turn 9 on Lap 39, and despite being in first, McLaughlin ended up one spot behind Grosjean in second after pitting before the caution came out.

The strategy changed in favor of the three-stop approach from that point on. Grosjean held off McLaughlin on the restart and remained in the lead for 21 laps until his final pit stop on Lap 60. McLaughlin pitted three laps later and emerged ahead of Grosjean but was overtaken by him on the final turn of the out lap.

However, Grosjean had no more Push to Passes and lost the lead to McLaughlin on Lap 71 in Turn 5. His chances of winning were effectively dashed at this point, and he had to fend off a charging Will Power instead. Power closed the gap to Grosjean in the final laps, but Grosjean was able to hold him off for his fifth runner-up finish in 34 starts. Although he remains winless in those 34 starts, performances like this suggest that a win is imminent. In the season opener at St. Pete, he led for 31 of 71 laps and would have won if not for a late-race incident with McLaughlin.

Grosjean will have another chance to win at the IMS road course, where he finished as a runner-up in both races in 2021 with Dale Coyne Racing. He has been much happier in the car this season, with three top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes, and three laps led in 17 races. The previous year, with Dale Coyne Racing, he had four top-five finishes, six top-ten finishes, and 53 laps led in four fewer races.

Will Power acknowledged on Saturday that his No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet was lagging behind the frontrunners due to the engine nearing its mileage limit. However, they would receive a new Chevrolet engine for the upcoming Indy road course race. Despite this setback, Power managed to finish third in Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, earning his third consecutive top-four finish and his 95th career podium in 272 starts.

With three top-seven finishes in the first four races, Power is in contention for another championship. His team's strategy of pitting at the right times paid off, allowing him to move up to third place and nearly catch Grosjean for second. Christian Lundgaard also had a strong showing, finishing sixth in both practices, qualifying, and the race, giving him good momentum for the rest of the month.

Graham Rahal started 19th, while Jack Harvey started 24th. Lundgaard was the top-performing driver for the RLL camp and is looking forward to racing at the IMS road course next. Marcus Armstrong, a rookie driver penalized for blocking on his qualifying lap, had a difficult time starting from 26th place. Felix Rosenqvist also faced challenges, starting eighth but spinning off course after contact with Josef Newgarden in Turn 1. Despite these setbacks, both drivers managed to finish strongly, with Rosenqvist finishing ninth and Armstrong earning the hard charger award for gaining 15 spots to finish 11th.

If Marcus Ericsson had made it out of the first round of qualifying on Saturday, it could have changed the points standings in a big way. However, the Lap 39 caution and the three-stop strategy prevented Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward from gaining ground on Ericsson. As a result, the points race got even tighter. At the start of the day, the gap between the first and seventh was 39 points. After the race, it had narrowed to 26.

Scott McLaughlin's win propelled him from 10th place, 42 points behind the leader, to fourth place, just 11 points back. Will Power, who was tied with McLaughlin for matters before the race, moved up to seventh but is now 26 points behind the leader. Romain Grosjean's second-place finish moved him from 39 points back to just 15 points behind the leader in fifth place.

Although O'Ward and Palou finished fourth and fifth, respectively, they were still able to cut into the gap. O'Ward is still in second place but is now only three points behind the leader, while Palou moved from 19 points back to nine points behind.

Scott Dixon finished seventh and is now in eighth place, 32 points behind the leader. These standings show just how close the competition is, as Dixon gained six points with a top-ten finish but still dropped two spots in the standings.