CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
LEEDS, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
APRIL 28, 2024
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN PUTS CHEVROLET IN VICTORY LANE AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Chevrolet Finishes with Three in the Top-10, Including McLaughlin, Team Penske’s Will Power in Second, and AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci in Seventh
- Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Chevrolet, utilized a three-stop strategy at Barber Motorsports Park to win Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix.
- McLaughlin’s win at Barber is a back-to-back victory for him and his No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet crew.
- Leading 58 laps to win at Barber, McLaughlin raced to Chevrolet’s 113th 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected V6 era win since 2012, and Team Chevy’s ninth at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn “Augusta of Motorsports” course. Additionally, Chevrolet has now led 695 laps at Barber Motorsports Park.
- The victory is the second for Team Chevy in 2024 as the series heads next to Indianapolis for the month of May.
- Making it a Chevrolet 1-2 finish, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and McLaughlin’s teammate, drove to a strong second place finish and his 100th career podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Additionally, today’s second place finish is Power’s 30th career runner-up, tying him for seventh on the all-time list.
- Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, ran a strong race and led 14 laps Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park to finish seventh. Ferrucci was one of three Team Chevy drivers to represent the Bowtie-brand in the top-10 after the checkered flag.
- McLaughlin and Power led the field to the green flag after qualifying first and second, respectively, to give Team Chevy an all-front row start.
- Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 12 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, paced the morning warm-up session for Team Chevy, finishing the 30-minute practice third with his fastest lap of 01:06.8787 seconds.
LEEDS, Ala. (April 28, 2024) – Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, captured the back-to-back victory in today’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. His fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES career win and second at “The Augusta of Motorsports,” McLaughlin additionally captured Chevrolet’s ninth victory at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn track and 113th of the 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected V6 era since 2012.
With a strong weekend from start to finish, in addition to starting the 90-lap, 207-mile Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix from first after capturing Chevrolet’s 133rd earned NTT P1 Pole Award in the V6 era since 2012, McLaughlin led 58 laps, to take the top step of the podium Sunday.
“The Good Ranchers Chevy was so good. A couple of yellows didn’t fall our way, but we just showed our pace,” said McLaughlin. “Super proud of everyone. Let’s just keep rolling. Just execution, that’s our word. It’s a good one (in discussing the win). It’s definitely one of our best drives in terms of executions and knocking out the laps. Really happy we advanced to the checkered flag there and bring home a W for Team Penske and Roger (Penske). I knew our pace, I knew we could control it and obviously, you’ve got to make sure you don’t make a mistake with a guy like Will (Power) behind you. He’s always going to push hard. I knew we had some pace, and we could cover him when we needed to, and I was proud of that.”
The victory at Barber was the second for Team Chevy in 2024 as the series now heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month of May.
“Congratulations to Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet team on today’s victory at Barber Motorsports Park,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Engineering Program Manager for INDYCAR. “To capture a ninth victory here at Barber in the 12 events ran since 2012 is a testament to our Chevrolet engineers, teams and drivers hard work, collaboration, and dedication. We’re looking forward to carrying the momentum into the Month of May at Indianapolis.”
Additionally capping off Team Chevy’s strong weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, McLaughlin’s Team Penske teammate Will Power, driver of the No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet, started and finished second Sunday to capture his 100th career podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and 30th career runner-up finish.
Rounding out representation in the top-10 was Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, led 14 laps during Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix to finish a strong seventh place.
In an eventful race from green flag to checkers, Chevrolet now holds 695 laps at Barber Motorsports Park in the V6 era since 2012, 10 NTT P1 Pole Awards, and nine victories. Overall, Team Chevy has achieved 113 victories in the V6 era, or 202 races since 2012, and holds 133 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards.
Shifting sights to the prestigious month of May in Indianapolis, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES next heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the Sonsio Grand Prix. The green flag flies for the 85-lap, 207.32-mile event live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, May 11, 2024.
TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RACE RESULTS:
1st Scott McLaughlin
2nd Will Power
7th Santino Ferrucci
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes);
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“Solid day for us at AJ Foyt Racing. Man, we had a fast Sexton Properties Chevrolet. Got all the way up to the lead, strategy was phenomenal. It feels really good to come off of Long Beach where we had missed everything on the strat side, and then nail it today. If it weren’t for the late caution at the end, we would’ve had a nice top-five. That’s racing for us and looking forward to going into the (Sonsio) GP with momentum.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“I’m all good. I think the steering wheel just kind of came off in my hands in Turn 1 as I hit the wall. I hit the marshmallows, and it didn’t do a very good job of slowing me down a little bit, but it was a weird, weird thing. It just went sideways, and I was holding onto the wheel and the wheel didn’t do anything. After I was getting ready to jump out of the car, I could see it was just the wires holding the wheel on so the hub was still attached, but the steering wheel itself wasn’t attached to the hub. I don’t know if that was contact from earlier that caused that, but it’s been a rough weekend. I feel bad for the Pray.com Chevy team, and we’re going to regroup, come back, and hopefully the Indy road course is a lot better. I like the team around me, so I have good faith in them.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“At the start of the race, I got really tight with Lundgaard and tried to avoid hitting him. I didn’t really have much room and then hit the curb, spun and went all the way to the back. Then, apparently, I have some sort of magnet to my teammates the past couple of weeks. It absolutely sucks and at this point we need to re-focus and make sure it never happens again.”
Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“We tried a very aggressive strategy with the fuel saving. It was probably going to pay off, but unfortunately, there was an incident with about five laps to go. I thought I was pretty good while fuel saving to keep the same pace as Ericsson and Palou. Things were going well, but it was not the best day for the team. It’s part of the game. I know the team will bounce back and it’s just about putting a good weekend together and staying focused on the task at-hand.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“It was a struggle throughout the weekend to get some balance in the car. We switched to a three-stop strategy, and I think that was looking pretty good. It was a top-10 day based on where the cars finished but had an issue in pit lane and the tire came off. We can’t dwell on it because this team has been the best in pit lane all year. These things happen. They’re still the best in pit lane, and we just have to move forward going into the most important month of the year.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“It was a day of missed opportunities. We were running pretty good and fighting our way through, we had some good passes on track and were moving forward. Then I was shoved into the grass for the first time, which cost me a lot of positions. We had a good-timed yellow which helped us for sure and we again moved forward. Until I was shoved off track again. From there, it was just reset and try to fight our way back as much as we could. Then I made my own mistake at the end with just a few laps to go. Just an unfortunate day.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“That was a tough race. I did pass a lot of cars on track! But it was unfortunate in the end, I think we did not maximize our potential today. We will take a look at everything together as a team and make sure we stick what we learn in our back pocket. We will come back better from this and hopefully get a bit more luck in a few weeks.”
Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“A good weekend. Some very strong pace. Qualified a bit further than we wanted to. We tried to make the two-stop strategy work. Today seemed like the three-stop did a little bit better but I think we did a very good job as a team. The first on the two-stop for the Chevy camp, so we can be proud of that. We’ll keep working hard and get back stronger. We do have a strong road course package.”
Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“We had a good car this race. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the pit box and after that I receive a penalty. I want to say thank you to the team. They did a really god job in the pits and strategy. The car on red tires was really fast, so thank you to the whole team. It was a shame, but I’m still learning. Hopefully, we will get some points. We will see what happens in the next race.”
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“Just super proud of the Good Ranchers Chevy team. Just unbelievable. Our word now is execution, and we just executed to the highest we could. I’m super proud of them. Look, I just love Barber, I love Alabama. I love the vibe everyone brings, and I’m just super lucky to drive such an amazing race car these guys and girls prepare for me. I’ll just keep enjoying it, keep having fun, and see if we can get a few more wins along the way.”
Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“I got by (McLaughlin), and then he got a run on me and got back by. I didn’t want to have two Penske cars out of the race with everything that has been going on. I was kind of easy on him in Turn 1. It is a hard-fought one-two for Penske. We were certainly fast, but a lot of strategy plays into that. We were able to use our speed to come back out in front again. I made a little mistake. I was kicking myself. I just dropped a wheel off – I had been taking the outside line of turn five, but still we got back to where we needed to be. There was not one risky move I was willing to make. Stoked to have the Verizon Chevy on the podium again. Man, we are knocking on the door of a win. It’s going to come. Just have to keep pushing for it.”
Ben Bretzman, Race Engineer for the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“(McLaughlin) did an amazing job with his speed when he needed it. We got that first yellow, we were okay, and then the way it started to kind of transpire with the yellow, the (Alexander) Rossi yellow, that really put us behind. We were in a situation where he was going to pass a lot of cars. The Sting Ray Robb caution kind of brought us back into play. It was going to be “how fast can he go?” He got clear for six or seven laps there and put laps that were faster than anyone. About a second a lap for anybody. He pulled out and we were able to pit and get ahead of the No. 10 car before he came around. This is raw pace when we needed it.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Post-Race Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Will Power, the second podium of the season, second runner-up finish as well. 30th career runner-up finish, which ties him for seventh all time with the greats A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser. It’s also his 100th career podium, which ties him with Michael Andretti for fourth all time.
Will, tell us about the afternoon. How pleased are you with the podium here at Barber?
WILL POWER: Yeah, very pleased with the podium. Actually made a little mistake there in the race, went off. It’s very rare for me. I was very disappointed in myself.
We had such a gap that I came back on. I couldn’t believe it. I only lost one. I thought I can get back past Lundgaard. Lundgaard was quick, but I knew I had a bit more fuel than him. Just get close to him, go a lap longer.
But it was a tough race, man. Like, the car is so hot now, you don’t get any air. No air comes in these vents, no air comes in the helmets. They got to do something there.
Yeah, it was full wide open for us the whole race. Serious pace there.
Q. Will, the engine change, what was the reason for it?
WILL POWER: Yeah, we had an issue in warm-up. They tried a few different things back at the truck. Yeah, the decision was made to change it.
Have to take that back and see what the issue was. It was tight getting it done, so yeah, all credit to the whole team to get that put in and get out there with no issues, nothing. Ran fine.
Q. Do you feel, based on statistics, you’re in your championship form from a couple years ago?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. Yep, I know I’m going to be quick everywhere. Just like ’22, I feel like we got very good cars, good engines. I’m in very good form. So yeah, we’re there knocking on the door each week.
Just got to win a couple. That’s the thing. I just want to win a couple bloody races, you know?
Q. Will, a pretty redemptive day for you and Scott. How important is that?
WILL POWER: You say ‘redemptive’?
Q. Yes, redemption.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I would say after this week I think Roger would be pretty happy. I feel like if we’ll be like this every weekend, I think we’ll have a shot if we get it right. Obviously an unbelievably fierce field of very fast drivers.
It’s very difficult to win multiple races in a season. If you keep knocking on the door and getting podiums week in, week out, you’ll certainly be in the hunt for the championship.
Q. With the fuel strategy, you both wound up back in the field, back in the pack, had to make some moves. How combative was it?
WILL POWER: It was aggressive. It was combative, actually.
The thing is, when you’ve been running at the front in very clean air and hard, you get back there with all that dirty air, how much the car moves around, yeah, you kind of are not ready for it when it first restarts. You got to get used to the car being very much on top of the road again.
You’re also thinking in your head, like, Scott and I kind of racing potentially for the win, but we’re in the pack. The risk versus reward, you’re kind of trying to decide.
I think I wasn’t aggressive enough. I should have worked harder to keep Scott behind. I didn’t block him. With everything that’s happened this week, I just didn’t want to bloody have two Penske cars off in turn one. I just kind of let it go.
Yeah, I was happy for the team to get that, though. I was. I’ve been around long enough where you actually are happy for the team. You’re not so selfish. When you’re young like him, you just got to go. Understandably, because you want to have a long time in this series.
But I am excited to see him on the podium because I know how that feels for the first time. It’s been a long time since my first, but I think that’s cool. That’s a big deal in this field.
Q. Will, how much of a relief is it for you going into the month of May having had your good start to the season?
WILL POWER: Yeah, it kind of feels like business as normal. But the one thing that I’m missing is a win. That’s really starting to add weight to me. I want to get a bloody win.
I was a little disappointed not to win when I have the chance like that. On the other hand you look at the championship points, and it’s a smart day, another smart day.
Yeah, we’re in a good spot going into the month of May. It would be nice to sweep it. That would be big (smiling).
Q. Will, the racing was aggressive. Do you think that’s how the racing should be in INDYCAR?
WILL POWER: Yeah, absolutely. Everyone fights hard for every position in this series because it’s just so tough. I don’t expect anything else. Like, yeah, I mean, that’s the beauty of INDYCAR racing. I think it’s what fans like it. Anyone can win any week. Obviously can get so mixed up with yellows, which is exciting for the fans as well, as much as if you’re leading you don’t like that.
It’s great fun. Like no joke. I don’t think there’s a series in the world you get more satisfaction out of than this series.
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GOOD RANCHERS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Winner’s Post-Race Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: For the second straight year, joined by the champion of the Alabama Indy Grand Prix, Scott McLaughlin. Led 58 of the 90 laps today. First win of the season. Fifth of his career. Jumping 20 spots into ninth now in the points standings.
Your thoughts on a huge day for Team Penske, yourself getting the first win of the season.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We did what we thought we could do. It was execution. Like, probably one of the most I guess you could say so proud of the execution, the way that the team, particularly on the three cars, stuck together. We just kind of kept executing. That’s our word for the rest of the year. Keep knocking ’em out. Points are points. Points are imaginary things. You just, like, get them. It’s a reward at the end of the race.
It’s about executing. The higher you finish, the more points you get. Ultimately it’s a bonus at the end of the season. We’re here to just take it race by race and see what happens towards the end.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.
Q. The redemptive feeling that the team has to feel after the week they’ve had. How much do you feel it? How important is that to restore that to the team?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, there was never a lack of belief there. I’m more proud of just the people aspect of it, the way we just stuck together. We took the penalty, as we said at the start of the week. It was black and white. You move on.
We move forward together as a team race by race. We’ll just keep working hard to make sure that we win as much as we can to put ourselves in the fight come September. That’s what I’m super proud of, just the execution.
Yeah, we knew we had a fast car. We knew we were going to be there. There was a bit of confidence walking into the racetrack this weekend, even with myself. Just love this place. Probably my favorite road course in America. Just really loved it.
Q. How physically demanding is the track here?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s very hard. Can’t wait to see my WHOOP score. It was pretty crazy.
Just that was an intense mental battle. The start of the race was going pretty smoothly. I was like, This is good. We got back into the lead after our first pit stop. I had a seven-second lead. The caution comes out. I knew that was probably going to help the two-stoppers.
It’s a matter of keeping your nose clean. Will passed me in that sequence. I got him back next lap. I knew if there was a caution that fell our way later down the track, I had to stay in front of Will. He was the guy I was racing.
Physically, mentally that’s so hard. Got a couple blisters, whatever. They turn into callouses by now. You’re building through the year. Thankfully this is not the first race of the year. It’s nice to have a bit of match fitness. You could say I deserve a beer (smiling).
Q. Going through the race, different strategies. How much in your helmet are you wanting to know? How do you stay calm during that? How much of that information are you looking for what everybody else is doing on strategy?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Probably changed my approach a little bit this year, knowing INDYCAR is a wildcard, the way the yellows fall sometimes, the way the strategies fall. You can’t get yourself in a box to think are we good here, good there. You have to make the most of every opportunity you have.
I knew that we were probably on the back foot, then got a somewhat lucky yellow. Stingray I think put it in the fence. That was a way of us getting back to the point where these other guys had to take the fuel and hope they made the fuel.
I knew I had the pace. If I got out in front, nailed some laps, we might be able to come out in third and fourth. We come out in the lead. I was like, This is good.
You just know. By now I know the way the race falls. It’s just experience, man. I feel like in my fourth year I really understand it.
Q. What makes this track so grueling besides the 17 turns, the heat?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There’s not much room for error. It’s high speed, risk versus reward. You got to commit in areas that don’t have much runoff. You make a mistake, you’re in the fence.
Us race drivers, we’re pretty sick. We kind of like that sort of stuff (smiling). We like the more risky stuff. I certainly do. The undulation, too. I think there’s so many corners here that you can take different lines, come out in a similar speed to someone that takes it another way. That just lends to good racing. I really enjoy it. I think it’s a beautiful place, as well.
Q. In your experience in Australia, New Zealand in Supercars, is there a track that this reminds you of?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Probably like Bathurst. It’s like a mini Bathurst that you have to commit over blind crests, big G loads. Probably like Bathurst without the walls. Their walls are like right on the racetrack like a street circuit.
You could even say honestly Phillip Island. Scratch that quote, can you? Phillip Island is probably the one. Up and down, very high speed, flowing. Wind is a factor. A lot of fun. I always went pretty good there as well. That was probably why.
Q. Last year we watched Alex Palou win the championship. The situation happens with you guys in St. Pete. You talked to us on Thursday or Friday. You said that we can still win this championship. When you endured what you did last year, go through this process, how do you remain so confident through this?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s the third race of the year. So much time is left to go. We know how much of a wildcard INDYCAR racing is. I just know how good our team is, how fast my car can be. I feel like we just haven’t reached… We’re still building, as everyone is.
It’s just hard to get into the cadence of the season. I feel like we always hit our stride around Detroit or just after. Just trust my guys, trust my team, trust my speed. Hopefully be okay.
Q. How important is it that you didn’t slowly creep into rebounding; this was an instant rebound after the circumstances?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s important. It’s important that we knew we came here with a fast car. We knew we came here with a car that we could win the race. Like I said, I love this track. It’s important that we used all that to put it to good use, get a nice little springboard back.
Yeah, it’s like I said before, it’s execution. I always said it before, if you have a car that can win the race, you have to win the race. If you have a car that can finish fifth, you finish second, that’s a bonus.
That’s exactly what we did today. It’s a bonus. Glad for the team.
Q. When you’re coming through the bridge, all of a sudden you see what looked like a body laying on the side of the track, Georgina the mannequin, what did you think?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was a little mad. Then I realized that someone else had hit the fence. That wasn’t what the yellow was for.
I love the artistic stuff, but it probably doesn’t need to be above the track to cause a yellow like that. It’s probably what will change next year maybe. I don’t know.
I do love that part of this. It’s unique. It’s just a fun track. Yeah, if I lost to that, to a lady that fell off… I won’t say anymore. It was a mannequin. It wasn’t a real person.
Q. (No microphone.)
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve seen it before. I thought it was a matter of time.
Q. Last week you said even through last year, dealing with visas, taxes, your businesses, it took a toll on you mentally. You were starting to feel comfortable, especially after the finish at St. Pete. Everything that happened last week. Do you feel like this kind of resets things and puts things back on the path where it was as you head into the month of May?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, yeah, it’s just a nice little momentum shift, right? We did it last year. We probably didn’t use the momentum the way we wanted to heading into the month of May. We’ve got an opportunity to change that. I feel like we have a team and a car to do that.
We’ll just keep working. It sounds pretty boring, just me keep rolling back to execution. That’s all it is. We don’t have to try and be 3 or 4/10ths faster than everyone. We just have to be better in areas that they’re not, execute to the highest level. That’s all we can do, and the rest will play itself out. That’s how we’re looking at it right now.
Q. I know once you get behind the wheel, that’s all you’re focused on. When you’re celebrating, see how happy your team is, was there a little extra emotion because of the way the rest of the week went?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. Certainly it was a little emotional, for sure. It’s just nice, yeah. It was just a nice cap. Obviously it was a pretty tough week.
Q. When Will was in, he was lamenting when you were cycling through traffic he didn’t fight harder to stay in front of you. Can you give your perspective on that? You definitely had the faster car. Did you feel like Will gave you a little bit of slack?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think we raced each other as hard as we normally do. We were smart about it. I think we had big picture.
At the end of the day, like I said before, I knew the pass with Will, that battle with Will when we were 20th or something, that was important for being positioned right if it all came our way like it did in the end. It was effectively for the race win, could you say.
We always race fairly. It’s hard. He probably cut me a little bit of slack. He still tried pretty hard. Yeah, I always enjoy racing Will. A lot of transparency there between the two of us, even the start of the race, for us to get through 1-2. Ultimately him being in second was great for me. It’s just working together, which is really nice.
Q. On Friday Tim Cindric said he expected you to be behind the eight ball because everybody else had tested besides Penske. Were you surprised how good Penske was all the way through the weekend?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I certainly felt like we had a really fast race car. It was hopefully we dropped it off at the track and be okay.
You just have to roll in with the confidence that you know what you’ve got as a race package. I hardly touched it from the start of practice one to the end of the weekend.
Thankfully, hopefully we come back in year three with the same car. I doubt it because of the hybrid system and different weights. But it would be fun.
Q. Will said when you got caught back in traffic, how the balance of the car changes because of the dirty air. How off-putting is that psychologically when you’ve been running in the clean air for so long?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it certainly is a bit of a shock to the system just thinking about where we positioned the cars and whatnot. You just got to build up to it nicely, not overstep the mark too quickly, figure out what you got, then attack.
Sometimes you don’t have as much time as you want, but it’s a bit of the seat-of-the-pants stuff. That’s where Will is amazing. He’s an amazing driver with feel and instinct. He’s a good teacher with that, someone I can analyze to be better with.
It’s a lot of fun trying to figure out any (indiscernible) positions your car should be in. It’s really cool.
Q. Coming out of all the stuff that came out last week, seeing the fans react the way they did, sort of business as normal, is that the reaction you were expecting from the fan base?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, the fans are passionate. We love them. If you’re getting booed, that’s a good thing. They’re passionate. They love the sport. If you’re getting cheered, it’s the same thing. I’ve always looked at it sort of two ways.
You don’t want to be a guy they don’t like. It doesn’t affect the way I’m racing. I just hope that hopefully I race with a lot of integrity, honesty. What happened and transpired last week was just a mistake. It’s a human game, as well.
I’ve always had a tremendous amount of support here in America. I’ve always been grateful for that. Hopefully we can win a few people back. But certainly a lot of the people that say a lot of crap online, on social media, they’re probably the people that will come shake your hand and say, Good job. It’s tit for tat. It’s part of it. That’s part of being in the spotlight as well.
Q. Has there been a shift in the dynamic and camaraderie with the competitors on other teams?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had a number of people text me last night congratulations, great lap. I feel like it’s been pretty nice overall. We’re all competitors. Obviously, everyone had their emotions at the time. It was pretty raw initially.
I think it’s been pretty nice and everyone has been really, really cool. Just press on, business as usual. I can’t control their emotions. It’s up to them.
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