Palou Dominates To Win Number Three at Barber

Make that three wins on the season for Alex Palou, who fended off Penske’s Scott Mclaughlin and McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard to claim victory at Barber Motorsport Park. The Spaniard rolled off first and never looked back, leading 81 of 90 laps, in yet another caution-free contest. 

Scott Mclaughlin seemed to be the main man to bring the fight to Palou, the Kiwi hoping to copy his Alabama win from 2024. The Penske Pilot was able to keep the No.3 Good Ranchers Machine in second all the way until lap 44, where Mclaren’s Lundgaard pulled an over-under to swap positions.

That flipped the script to Lundgaard. Following a mele at the start with his Mclaren teammates and dicing through the Penskes of Power and McLaughlin, the Dane tried to close the gap to Palou to resume the battle the duo had at Thermal Club. Palou’s pace remained untouchable, however, and smart moves from Ganassi Strategis Barry Wanser forced Palou into clean air on his final stop, with Lundgaard being thrown into a plethora of lap traffic. 

The result was a monstrous 15 second gap between Lundgaard and Palou, and yet another masterclass for the Spanish driver for Chip Ganassi racing, winning three of the opening four rounds. 

Rinus Veekay would follow, bringing his Dale Coyne Racing machine home in fourth. The Dutch driver leaves Barber without any hardware, but with a big smile after a massive performance for the little team from Chicago. A Firestone fast-6 appearance Saturday broke a nearly two-year long drought for the team, and would lead to the Coyne’s first top five since Gateway in 2023.

Colton Herta was also looking strong after rolling of in Third, Woes for Andretti would continue in the pit stall, however, as the No. 26 stalled during his second stop, A top-10 would be salvaged for Herta, but a seventh place will remain as a reminder of what could have been for the team. 

There would be major disappointment as well for Louis Foster. Following the rookie’s first top-12 in Qualifying, he would loose control of the No. 45 halfway into the race, nearly going into the wall leaving the final corner. The Brit would use his hybrid system to refire his Honda powerplant, but would end the day in a brutal p26. 

From Alabama, it’s all eyes on Indy, as the series returns to IMS, starting with the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Brickyard’s road course next weekend.