After experiencing a very controversial midweek, Team Penske redeemed themselves in victory circle courtesy of Scott McLaughlin.

From pole position, Scott McLaughlin took the green flag and ran away with it in Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. McLaughlin led 58 laps en route to his fourth career NTT IndyCar Series win, and the Kiwi goes back-to-back at Barber Motorsports Park. McLaughlin jumps back into the top 10 in the championship standings as a result of his dominating victory.

Scott McLaughlin’s flawless weekend began on Saturday in qualifying, when he clocked a lap time of 1:05.949, good enough for McLaughlin to earn his sixth career NTT IndyCar Series pole position. During Sunday’s race, McLaughlin additionally clocked his Team Penske Chevrolet a lap time of 1:07.754, which earned him the fastest lap of the Alabama Grand Prix.

Completing a 1-2 finish for Team Penske, Will Power was the closest driver out there who gave what he had to keep Scott McLaughlin from running away with the Alabama Grand Prix win.

For Will Power, he was the Penske driver that had faced the fewest repercussions from the penalties that surfaced in Round 1’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he lost ten championship points. Power qualified second and led one lap in the race. All conversations aside, Sunday’s Alabama Grand Prix saw Will Power achieve his 99th career NTT IndyCar Series podium, marking the Aussie one top 3 finish away from reaching triple digits. Power moves up to second in championship points.

Rounding out the podium in Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, was rookie Linus Lundqvist. Lundqvist led four laps in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Coming all the way from 19th place off the starting grid, the young Swede turned many heads within the IndyCar community when he charged from the back of the pack to score his first career NTT IndyCar Series podium. Lundqvist moves up to P9 in the standings.

Just one spot shy of the podium, Felix Rosenqvist brought home his Sirius XM Honda for Meyer Shank Racing P4, his best finish of the year. Rosenqvist started 5th and led one lap, staying in the front of the pack all race long.

Álex Palou saw himself in the lead for 12 laps in Sunday’s Alabama Grand Prix. The defending NTT IndyCar Series Champion started tenth, and brought home his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in fifth place, moving him up to P3 in the championship standings.

Santino Ferrucci drove a very brilliant race at Barber Motorsports Park, where although he started P17, he rallied up to the front and led for 14 laps, and finished seventh after his A.J. Foyt Racing team’s successful pit strategy call. As a result, Ferrucci moves up to P10 in the championship standings, the highest he’s ever reached in his NTT IndyCar Series career.

Coming home in eighth place, Colton Herta officially leaves the Alabama Grand Prix in the NTT IndyCar Series championship lead. Herta struggled in qualifying, where his lap time of 1:06.148 was only good enough for a P15 result. Herta rebounded in his Gainbridge-sponsored Andretti Global Honda on race day, where he scored a P8 finish, which puts the 24-year-old driver first in the points standings.

Unfortunately, Josef Newgarden’s recent disqualification from his win in Round 1 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg didn’t do him any favors in Sunday’s event at Barber Motorsports Park. Newgarden’s disqualification dropped him deep from the championship lead. With a lap time of 1:06.291 in qualifying, the three-time Alabama Grand Prix winner had high hopes going into Sunday’s race. Once the green flag dropped, it was quickly learned that Newgarden’s previous success at this event would not repeat itself. Newgarden struggled to keep pace with the front runners, and came home 16th. With the Josef Newgarden 15th in points, the 2x champion will hope to repeat his month-of-May successes once again in 2024.

One of the notable stories coming out of the weekend’s events at Barber Motorsports Park was the welcoming of newcomer, seven-time Formula 2 race winner, Luca Ghiotto to the IndyCar grid. The 29-year-old Italian driver made his NTT IndyCar Series debut driving for Dale Coyne Racing. Ghiotto started 21st and completed all the laps taking the checkered flag P21. Luca Ghiotto plans to remain with the Dale Coyne team for the upcoming Sonsio Indianapolis Grand Prix on May 11th, before handing off the ride to Katherine Legge for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Championship Standings after Round 3 of 17: 1) Colton Herta (101 pts), 2) Will Power (100 pts), 3) Álex Palou (98 pts), 4) Scott Dixon (94 pts), 5) Felix Rosenqvist (87 pts).

Race fans were treated to a beautiful sunny weekend of white-knuckle open-wheel racing at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. The threat of rain stayed at zero all weekend long and the average temperature from Friday to Sunday was 73°F (23°C).

In addition to the NTT IndyCar Series, the drivers of the Firestone Indy NXT Series returned to action, where Jacob Abel scored the win. He is now tied with Nolan Siegel for the championship lead heading into the month of May, where the first doubleheader of the 2024 season will be held during the Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Fans were also treated to the USF Juniors presented by Continental Tire championship where two races were contested at Barber Motorsports Park. 17-year-old Ariel Elkin stole the show in both races as the young Israeli swept the weekend from pole position in each event. Sebastian Wheldon remains in the championship lead by eight points over Elkin as the series enters a two-month-long break before returning to action at Virginia International Raceway.

With Alabama in the books, the pre-May dress rehearsal portion of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season is over. All eyes are now on the “Yard of Bricks” and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the lead-up to the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500. But before drivers can solely focus on the big race, there is still one more round to go: The Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Live coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series Sonsio Indianapolis Grand Prix begins Saturday, May 11th at 3:00pm ET on NBC and Peacock.