100 Days to Indy (2023) s01e04 Episode Script
Stay on Track
1
[Engine revving]
TTEOKBOKKIsubs
- Pato O'Ward and Dixon.
- What happened there?
I think both drivers have a
different view of what happened.
All right, Pato, if you can
make a move,
you can make a move.
Pato went for a late,
far-back lunge.
- Oh, no.
- You got a car in the barrier.
- Dixon didn't see him coming.
- They hit.
One guy ends up in the tires.
One guy carries on.
Racing incident?
Maybe. Not if you ask Scott.
That seemed extremely late.
But if that's how the series
wants us to race,
then I guess
it's all gloves off.
I was on the inside
and he decided to stay
on the outside and put himself
in the tires.
I'm not apologizing for that.
Kyle Kirkwood! He wins the
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
It's been a really exciting
start to the 2023 season.
Let's go!
Penske Racing
and Chip Ganassi Racing
are really the two titans
of the sport,
but already this year
Andretti Autosport has two poles
and a win and the McLaren team
has been really fast as well.
We love the Penskes and
the Ganassis and we need them.
But you also want new blood.
You want the series
to continue to grow.
Agustín Canapino has been
part of that big surprise,
that is Juncos Hollinger Racing
and the start of the season
that they've had.
This guy's 32 years old
when he makes
his IndyCar debut.
Never raced in open-wheel car
before in his life.
One of the most
incredible stories
I've ever seen in racing.
With that many more teams
and drivers
consistently competing
for wins,
it makes it hard for some
of the established guys
like last year's champion,
Will Power,
to really kick-start his
campaign
to defend his championship.
Power -- He is
going backwards in a fury.
What happened to Will Power?
It's not been an awesome start
for Will Power.
Personally, he's balancing
a lot.
He had a tough off-season,
but I think he's still focused.
But he's not so far back that
he's out of the championship.
We've had three different
races, three different tracks,
three different winners
from three different teams.
I'm looking forward
to hopefully seeing
a fourth different winner
in four races.
Yeah. What did you
guys do with the?
I'm going to get up
and say some words.
It's going to be very dramatic.
[Dull clink]
This doesn't ding very well.
[Dull clink, laughter]
Just got to hit it harder.
[Imitates glass shattering]
Getting paid to drive
racecars is just incredible.
To have been able to do this
for 18 years now, amazing.
No matter how bad of a day
you have in the racecar,
really anywhere, you can
never complain. Never.
Yeah, well, I just wanted
to thank you guys
for coming tonight, obviously.
But thank you for all the hard
work coming into this season.
No one really picked us
in the media
to win the championship
last year,
and they didn't this year.
So I think we showed last year
that you don't have to do
anything special
to win a championship.
Doing something special is just
doing what you know well.
I feel like I actually
stopped trying to win races
and I just went out
and extracted the most
out of myself each weekend,
each race, each lap.
It worked out well, so --
[Ringtone plays]
Guarantee that's my wife asking
"You at that dinner?"
Yeah, of course. Lizzie.
You just really have
perfect timing, you know?
You call -- You -- Because
I'm standing up
in front of all the guys,
trying to give them,
you know, some inspiration about
having a great season.
- Here, you're on loudspeaker, so.
- Hi, everybody.
[Laughter]
- Anyway.
- All right, babe,
I'm going to try
to finish up here.
- Bye.
- Yeah. Thank you.
Anyway.
[Laughter]
Getting back to it,
let's just go out and have fun
and try to win some races
and win another championship
and a 500. Let's do it.
[Applause]
Team Penske has three
drivers -- Scott McLaughlin,
Josef Newgarden and Will Power.
He's the veteran of that team.
He's a two-time champion.
He's won the Indy 500 once.
Will's season has gotten off
to a little bit
of a slow start, but
this is how he built his
championship campaign last year.
He only won one race, but he was
always there or thereabouts.
He can be so blindingly fast.
The 2022 season found
the driver that was
the most consistent.
Will Power won the championship.
Will Power, two-time
NTT IndyCar Series champion!
Power has done it!
Power is literally the
fastest driver ever in IndyCar.
Last year, he won his 68th pole.
That's one more
than Mario Andretti.
It's just been an okay start.
At St. Pete, he salvaged what
was there.
And at Texas, it wasn't good.
But bringing home a top 10
on a day like Long Beach
where he didn't have
the fastest car,
maybe not on the best strategy.
Those are the kind of damage
control days that can really,
really pay dividends later
in the season.
Okey dokey.
♪♪
I hate getting the air
out of these things.
There we go.
♪♪
It's a weird feeling.
Straight to the heart.
- Straight to the heart.
- Cold heart.
- That's right.
- Cold-hearted.
My wife. We met in 2006.
We both were starting at the
same race team at the same time.
She was starting
as a PR girl there.
My first impression was,
okay, he's kind of shy,
but then that goes away and he's
just kind of -- kind of quirky.
But I liked that.
♪♪
In January, I actually
got really sick.
I had been having
some back pain,
but I've always had back pain,
so I didn't really think
anything of it.
That happened on a Friday.
Fast-forward to Tuesday
and I could barely walk.
I was in so much pain and I was
running up to a 106 fever and so
Will had to call 911.
This is a lot of heroin.
[Laughter]
Shooting up. That's great.
That's a lot.
She just started hallucinating
and just talking
no sense at all.
And yeah, she had
an infection in the blood.
After a week of being
in the hospital,
they did an MRI
and they found that
I had this horrible infection
in my spinal column.
So they had to go in there
and they had to cut
the top of the spine off,
take the infection out.
Pretty intense there
for -- for a while.
Almost died,
like looking pretty bad.
It's definitely been a
struggle.
Something that I admire
about Will
is how he's been great here.
And then put that aside
and do what he needs to do.
- All righty.
- All done.
There we go.
Oh, man.
♪♪
[Laughter]
[Dog barks]
Agustín Canapino --
He's a hero back home.
He's a 15-time touring car
champion down in South America.
But that is such
a different discipline.
But he is an incredible talent
and he got up to speed
in these cars really quick.
How about Argentina's Agustín
Canapino going
from strength to strength.
It's been an awesome start
for Agustín Canapino.
He gets a pair
of 12th-place finishes,
including his first oval.
This guy's a lot better
than anybody thought.
Canapino.
He's something to watch.
♪♪
[Laughs]
Agustín is one of
the two drivers
that raced the most
in Argentina history.
♪♪
To have him with us
obviously is very special.
His father also has an idea
with me together
that we're going to
put him somehow in an IndyCar.
He's not here with us
to see this,
but it's very special for us.
Sharing all this together
is very amazing.
Ricardo Juncos has got
one of the coolest stories
I think, in racing right now.
Just coming over to the States,
getting involved in motorsports
at the lowest level
and slowly just building
his organization
up all the way
to the top level in the sport.
For a team with a very
inexperienced driver lineup,
they are doing
some great things
so Ricardo can be really proud
of what he's done.
♪♪
Basically what
brought me here
was I was running out
of options in my life
after losing everything
in Argentina.
And when I mean everything,
it was everything.
Argentina's economic crisis
has been building
for three years.
The effects all too prevalent.
During 2001 was the crisis
in Argentina.
At that point,
the whole country collapsed.
I have enough money
just to buy a flight ticket
for Miami where a friend of mine
was living.
♪♪
In September 2003, I opened
Juncos Racing as a go-kart team.
We put everything we have.
Absolutely everything we have.
In 2017, we decided
to start in IndyCar.
To be part of this,
it's already growing.
We enjoy the moment
that we're going to participate
as a victory in general,
but I believe
this is not the end.
The experience
the other team have,
money cannot buy experience.
The only way to get it
is by going.
One day we will win, for sure.
Everything is possible.
Delta, maintain 4,000.
[Radio chatter]
- Speed of 200 miles an hour.
- It's pretty fast.
I need speed in my life.
It's kind of an addictive thing.
When you're a competitor,
you want to challenge yourself.
Some days it goes well,
some days don't go well.
But I think if you,
in the evening,
you know you've done
everything you could do,
you've pushed yourself
to become better, stronger,
then it's a good day.
There's Grosjean.
There's McLaughlin
on the right.
[Indistinct shouting]
Man, what are you doing?
[Static]
How about that turn of events?
We just got really unlucky
and we move on.
♪♪
Since my last win,
I want to win every day.
♪♪
One of the storylines
with Romain Grosjean
is the fact
that he hasn't won a race
since he was in GP2
and it's a dozen years ago.
But in all three races
this season,
he's had a chance to win.
It's coming on
and it is coming for Grosjean.
Maybe the first one comes
at Barber Motorsports Park
for the first time
in a dozen years.
♪♪
If the IndyCar schedule was
measured like roller coasters,
this track here at Barber
is the gnarliest.
Everything you could want
for high drama.
What separates IndyCar
from a lot of other series
is the variety in racetracks.
So you go to St. Petersburg,
a temporary street circuit
through a city.
Then you go to Texas.
That's the oval.
And then the third category we
have is a permanent road course.
That's a racetrack,
permanent facility.
And that's what we have here
at Barber.
♪♪
Going into Barber, you're
almost a quarter of the way
into the season, and if you
don't have any kind of a result
in the top five so far,
you start to get a little bit
worried.
Momentum from this race
carries over to Indianapolis.
We want to go into May
with momentum.
♪♪
What you did, I would never
do that to you, man.
- I'm sorry, mate.
- I didn't think that
- it was that bad.
- You gave me no option.
The only option I had was
I couldn't -- I'd already
committed to the corner.
Then I see you last minute, man.
I got nowhere
- Scott didn't see me.
- That's the problem.
The door was wide open.
And, well, I was there.
But I wasn't going to go
apologize for that because I
don't think I was in the
wrong for making that move.
I know we disagree on it and --
I don't know how
you can disagree on it.
It wasblack and white.
But if that's how you
want to race,
then that's, I guess,
how we're going to race.
But I wouldn't do that to you.
It was just a clear dive bomb
into turn 8.
It was just disappointing that
there was no call on it as well.
If that's the way that we're
going to race, that's fine.
But it just seems
like a gutless move.
- Hiya.
- Hi, how are ya?
- How was practice?
- Um, I'm losing --
losing like a tenth and a half,
two tenths on the straights,
which is frustrating.
Well, remember,
you are the one,
so you can do it.
It doesn't
- You'll be good. Hey, Beau-sy.
- Um.
- Hey, baby.
- What are you doing?
We're gonna say,
"Go, number"
- 12.
- Ah, good boy.
Very grateful for my wife
for convincing me
to keep racing.
All right, all right. I'm gonna
rest and get my head in
- the game, and
- Yeah. I love you.
- Love you, babe. Bye.
- All right. Bye.
For a while there, I was
really suffering with anxiety,
and I almost quit.
Worst years of my life.
Absolutely.
Oh, here we go. Trouble,
contact and a huge crash.
Oh, multiple cars involved.
- Racing is dangerous.
- Couple of friends killed.
This is the horrible accident
that everybody has
always hoped would never occur.
In 2011, Dan Wheldon was killed
and then '15, Justin Wilson
was killed.
And there were some instances
where I was saying to my wife,
"I'm finished, I'm done."
There were actually races
where I was like,
"I cannot do this anymore."
When you have severe anxiety,
there is no escaping it.
You can't just switch off.
But she kept me going. She said,
"Look, just get in the car
and just -- just start the race.
If you can't do it,
you can't do it."
The thing that he thought
was killing him --
he thought it was racing --
was the one thing
that was actually saving him.
And I knew if he stopped,
it wouldn't be good for him.
♪♪
The thing that would happen
is you'd start the race
and you'd just,
you know, you'd have no anxiety
when you were so in the moment.
I guess in that way she knew me
better than I know me.
Ultimately, it made me much more
mentally strong.
Will Power leads
the Indianapolis 500.
At that point in my career,
probably
won more races than anyone,
more pole positions
and led more laps.
But I hadn't won the Indy 500.
It's the one thing
you just want to have.
You've got to have that
on your résumé.
From now on, it'll be
Will Power,
Indianapolis 500 winner
for 2018.
What had transpired,
what we had gone
through together, I was bawling.
I'm so glad that I toughed
it out through that.
I think I would have stopped
if she wasn't there.
We are in here.
What did you think
of the first episode?
That was good. That was good.
Yeah, I thought it was real.
[Indistinct conversation]
I actually think I might have
a bigger arm.
- I think I can get you.
- [Laughter]
- Pecs, pecs.
- You have very large pectorals.
Pecs are bigger than yours.
What did you think
of Josef's house?
It's a nice house.
It looks like a hotel.
Very posh.
Very, very posh hotel.
You want to know
the best thing
about these cameras hanging out?
- What's that?
- We're getting nothing done.
We're literally getting
nothing done in here.
I've done all my work.
I'm taking away from your work.
That's 100% going in.
It's qualifying
for the Children's of Alabama
Indy Grand Prix here
at beautiful Barber
Motorsports Park.
Hey, man, do you want to sit
here?
[Cheering]
Oh, hello.
I would have tidied up
if I knew.
This is very small.
It gets a bit smelly
by the end of the day.
- Oh, come on, boy.
- Oh, yeah.
I don't know how you do that.
- [Bone cracks]
- Oh, yeah!
♪♪
It's time to see
who has the speed.
It's just so much fun, Marty,
to wheel an Indy car
around this racetrack.
♪♪
Qualifying critical here
at Barber.
If you start on the front row
here, history tells us
you've got a very good
chance of victory.
Yeah ♪
Yeah ♪
Wait for me, girl ♪
Wait for me ♪
Wait for me ♪
♪♪
- Whoa!
- Kyle Kirkwood had some drama.
Whoops. Sorry about that.
♪♪
Juncos Hollinger really
starting to show
a lot of resource,
a lot of capability.
♪♪
Agustín Canapino,
the rookie for Juncos Hollinger.
He continues his
building process.
No, last lap.
Doesn't look like
it's going to be enough.
And he is going to be
working hard tomorrow.
Buried in the pack.
Let me be ♪
- Here's Power.
- Struggling for pace.
It's not been good
this weekend.
In fact, it's not
gone great all season.
♪♪
I don't know, man.
Uncharacteristic to see
Will Power down there in P9.
Will Power unfortunately is not
able to get it done.
Kinda didn't think
we'd make the top six.
So just going to do our best.
Just hanging in there.
Damn, man.
I'm just disappointed.
- What's Pato O'Ward got?
- Defending race winner.
- You'll have one more lap.
- Let's keep pushing.
It's aggressive but
controlled from Pato O'Ward.
Almost a tenth to the good.
This is going to be a shootout.
This could be the tightest fast
six in history.
Early P1. We'll just have to
see how it shakes out.
- Grosjean's on one as well.
- He's so close.
- Keep pushing.
- Here's the line.
Romain Grosjean to the top?
You betcha!
- We're P1.
- Nice job, brother. Nice job.
Second pole of the year
for Romain Grosjean.
Look out. This is going
to be quite the scrap tomorrow.
And who knows who swings big
from further back.
♪♪
We're off, man, which is
a little -- little troubling.
So it makes the job much harder.
Mostly me studying the data
and video to understand
where I can pick up some
half tenths in a few corners.
- Yeah.
- All right, man. Good luck.
You got it.
♪♪
I think I was solid.
Really good.
Grosjean, way to go.
Second pole of the year.
Do you get the sense that
the win
might be in the offing
for this team tomorrow?
We'll see. We're starting
in the best position.
But no, we've got 90 laps
to lead, so we'll see tomorrow.
But I'm really proud of my guys
and really happy
with everything we're doing.
[Cheering]
[Laughter]
♪♪
Every race,
this is what we get.
This is all from the 500.
This is 500 miles worth
of bottles that we saved.
And we keep it by the
milk bottle and everything else
because
that takes a lot of work.
I've got strong hands.
So when Will got into IndyCar,
I was working for another team.
I was working
for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Up until 2012 when I quit,
I was working, so I was busy.
My mind was distracted because
I was focused on our team.
And then I wasn't
doing that anymore. [Laughs]
I was in Will's pit box
and I just, like,
had to have something.
And so it just kind of started
with a water bottle
and every race I do it.
So yeah. So it's since 2012.
I always just pray. Be safe.
Just be safe
and come home in one piece.
And that's a good day.
Did not sleep that well.
Kind of just struggle to go to
sleep every night.
But just this year, I just have
not been able to get.
I don't know why.
Sometimes when I haven't slept,
I've had some of my best races.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
Which race is that from?
Liz is famous
for stressing in the pit
while he's out racing.
And that was the Evian bottle
at the Detroit Belle Isle win.
Another trophy case.
Welcome to the South.
Here we are in Birmingham,
Alabama.
We're starting to get
into the teeth of the season.
Here you go, man.
It's a very easy way
of getting going.
The difference between
your highs and the lows.
I learned to do that
in an airport lounge.
Three races,
three different winners
representing three different
racing organizations.
We couldn't ask
for a better start.
Well, I would say that
you're due for a win.
- That'd be nice.
- You're actually due for a win.
- I'm excited.
- Today could be a day.
Round number 4 of 17
is starting to take shape.
And we're looking, of course,
at racing in the month of May
at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
But first, we're here
at the first permanent road
course of the season.
♪♪
♪♪
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Just so stressful.
It's times like these
where I wish
I married an accountant.
Romain Grosjean, former F1
pilot
for Andretti Autosport,
on the pole
for the second time this year,
is in search for that elusive
first IndyCar victory.
It could come here today.
- Pace car's rolling away.
- You've got the field.
- Let's get ready for the start.
- Have a good one today.
And we're about ready
to go racing.
First permanent road course
of the season
- here at Barber Motorsports Park.
- Green, green, green.
The green flies and Grosjean
leads this star-studded field to
green.
Great start for Romain
Grosjean.
Side-by-side behind him
as Pato O'Ward
- tries to go on the outside.
- And Grosjean runs wide.
It opens the door not only for
O'Ward, but for Palou.
Look at this, wheel
to wheel on the opening lap.
Grosjean's got the better line
and keeps the lead.
- Nice job. Nice job.
- Where's Will? There he is.
Here's Will Power
fighting with Colton Herta.
- Ah, Herta got him.
- Damn it to hell.
- Think you can pass?
- Yes, I think I can.
It'll be okay to go.
Oh
No! No, be smart!
- Was there contact?
- That was close.
Rather Will start out easy
and then attack.
I forgot to ask Will
if it was going to be a 2-
or 3-stop race.
Glad I had wine in here.
Because of this strategy
question mark,
two stops or three,
if you're the cars out front,
you want to go to the two stop.
But to do it,
you got to save fuel.
Alex Palou one of the best
in the biz at doing it.
He is pressuring
Romain Grosjean right now.
- There's a move for the lead.
- Alex Palou inside turn 5.
And Grosjean's
going to prevail again.
And I promise you Grosjean's
inside the cockpit
going, "Dude, what are you
doing?
We've got to be able
to save some gas
if we're going to make this
on two stops."
Coming into Barber, there were
two distinct strategies.
The general consensus
was the leaders were going
to try to dictate
with a two-stop pace,
but there were going to be
some behind them
that would do three stops.
The two-stop strategy is
a little bit more conservative.
If you get in an outright race
with someone
that is not saving fuel,
it's going to be tough
to hold them off.
But you are dependent on
when the cautions
come more for a three-stopper.
If it comes at the wrong time,
then your race is over.
And you might have gone from a
chance to win to finishing 12th.
Josef Newgarden gained
one spot on the start,
but he has said something
is wrong with the car.
I think my right rear
might be going down.
That is not the kind of news
that you want to hear
if you're the driver
of the number 2
only 5 laps into this race.
Yeah, it should be okay. It's
not great, but it'll be okay.
Keep doing your thing here.
At this time, at this time.
Three-stoppers coming in now.
- We're pitting on this lap.
- We're pitting on this lap.
McLaughlin in the pits now.
All these Penskes
are doing this three-stopper.
Three, two, one.
Looking for that clean air
and fast lap times.
[Radio chatter]
Go, go, go, go. Clear out.
I wasn't prepared for that
stuff.
I thought --
So he's going three.
So they're doing three.
25 complete, 4 or 5 more.
Pato, you are the exact same
pace
as Grosjean, Palou, and Dixon.
You're doing a great job.
Careful of Dixon here.
He's closing in.
Dixon's been on him
the whole race.
- Malukas is not a threat.
- We're just worried about Dixon.
Still 60 laps for Dixon
to just prowl back there
and wait for his chance.
- Here is Grosjean.
- All the way down here.
Right on your mark.
Three, two, one.
Put on the brake.
29 laps in the books.
Roman Grosjean has led every one
of them so far.
Alex Palou at the front end of
pit road.
All clear. All clear.
Look at that. A long stop for
the 10, Grosjean,
with a good jump here
on pit road.
Teammates have
swapped positions.
McLaughlin gets ahead of
Josef Newgarden and Newgarden
looks like he's got his hands
full with that PPG Chevy.
Pit lap here, pit this lap.
- Oh!
- That's why.
We saw it on the previous lap
and it was going away from him.
Newgarden is in
for the second of three stops.
There is a stalled car,
the 51 of Sting Ray Robb.
Well, if the yellow comes out,
then it stacks them up
and they all just have
to make one more stop.
- There it is.
- There's the caution.
I think if you're McLaughlin
right now, you're stoked.
You're laughing because
you've got a ton of fuel.
We're both on a one-stopper,
but he's still going
to have to save fuel.
So obviously, this yellow
didn't really help us that much,
but it didn't kill us here.
Just keep working your fuel.
You've got McLaughlin
behind you.
He was --
He's on that three-stopper.
Everybody still has
to make one stop here.
It's going to be hard,
obviously,
with the -- with
the guy behind you.
- Okay.
- What do you want to do with him?
We're going to go as hard
as we can on this restart.
We're going to hold him off.
Ready to go back
to racing here at Barber.
Grosjean will lead this field to
green.
But how long will he stay
in the lead? Here we go.
And it's the two guys who
gave us that ultimate theater
on the streets of St. Petersburg
to start the year,
McLaughlin and Grosjean
going for the win again.
Let's just take a look
at who leads right now
on the different strategies.
Your top three on
the two-stop --
Grosjean, Pato O'Ward,
Lundgaard.
It's all Team Penske
on the three-stop.
When the two-stop drivers pit
in about six laps,
the other drivers on
the three-stop strategy
are going to go full press
with clean air,
and then we're going to see
how they blend together.
Argentina's Agustín Canapino.
We're at mid-race and it
is not looking good.
That is definitely a blow
for the rookie.
He's starting to get big
eyes -- Scotty Mac.
He knows he's got
a really good shot today.
Be smart here.
- Doing great.
- Just keep the pressure.
But remember, we got plenty of
time here. No panicking.
- A hell of a job.
- Get on the fuel until we stop.
Josef Newgarden sitting back
in the sixth position,
hanging on to the racecar.
We just need to stay
attached to the 10 car.
- I probably won't make it, man.
- Really bad.
Damage is really
causing problems in the 2 car.
Newgarden is really
hurting teammate Will Power
because these drivers
are all trapped behind him.
Now Will's going to
be behind Newgarden.
I hope he can get around him.
Dixon on the inside
of Newgarden.
- Whoa!
- Oh
Here comes Power.
[Shouts]
God. Did they touch?
Pit this lap. Pit this lap.
Looks like the 28 crew
is setting up.
- Around Pato here.
- Three, two, one.
So crucial now for Scott
McLaughlin to push, push, push.
Okay. Romain's going
to pit on this lap.
We just need to do about
five laps here the best we can.
We're still increasing our gap.
It has been
a dominant performance,
pitting with 31 laps to go.
Just keep pushing.
We're going to have to save here
in a minute,
but just keep pushing
on this out lap.
Okay, give me everything you got
here.
Everything we got,
we're going to pit on this lap.
- Here's McLaughlin.
- Race leader is in.
Three, two, one.
Now we put our eyes
on Romain Grosjean.
Here comes McLaughlin.
No fuel-save concerns.
So he can go harder
than Grosjean.
You're going to meet Grosjean.
That's our prayer.
And watch where these two
guys come out, where they join.
- Here comes Romain Grosjean.
- This is going to be good.
McLaughlin comes out ahead
but on cold tires
and Grosjean is going
to be pushing 100%.
That's the leader.
It's St. Pete
take two, guys, version 2.0.
♪♪
Romain Grosjean's got to do
a Josef Newgarden-style move.
Inside opportunity coming up.
Can he get his car tight
to the right?
Tight to the right? No.
McLaughlin blocks that.
Watch him try to cross it up
and make it happen right here.
Whoa! Inside, inside!
Romain Grosjean wheel to wheel
with Scott McLaughlin
for the lead!
Fantastic stuff.
Scott McLaughlin gave him
just enough room to pull it off.
Meanwhile, Will Power
just turned
the fastest lap of the race.
- Pitting this time.
- Pitting this time?
Guys, have a really good stop,
smooth, fast.
Gonna have a clear in
around the 6.
Will has done a tremendous
job behind the wheel.
Is he going to be able
to get on the podium
for the first time this year?
- Oh, dear.
- Oh, he's pitting.
- He's pitting. Oh!
- I can't watch.
He's pitted.
♪♪
Watch, Trev. Watch, Trev.
Watch, Trev. Watch, Trev.
Go, go, go, go.
Power is gonna charge.
Can he race his way up
into the podium?
- Final stop is done.
- Pushing her out.
Lap leader just went by.
Scott McLaughlin
kind of in the wheel tracks now.
I bet he's on the button.
It's going to be
a late move.
And not quite close enough
into turn 5 this time.
19 laps to go. He has
28 seconds to push the pass.
Just keep up with him
and run him.
If you get up to him and need
anything, use your overtake.
- Grosjean goes way wide!
- Way wide.
Oh! And almost comes back in.
That turn 5 spot is a real
handful for Grosjean.
There's going to be
a new race leader.
His name is Scott McLaughlin.
Got to think Grosjean's
heart just sunk there.
Yep.
Is it going to be second again?
I can't feel right now.
Understand big picture here,
we got the next car
for position
10 seconds back.
Let's just get it home.
There's McLaughlin.
There's Grosjean cresting
the hill down into turn 5
and the red machine,
the Verizon Chevy of Will Power
looming large in the mirrors.
- Come on, Will.
- You got open track. You can go.
Just go, go, go.
Now he's in the wake
of Romain Grosjean.
So now this is where the driver
really has to get up in the seat
and try to figure out
how to mix your lines up,
find some clean air and wait
for the right opportunity.
- Three laps left.
- He's not going to get him.
He's done a great job.
16 seconds to push
to pass left for Will Power.
16. That ain't much.
White flag. Plus 2.7.
Scott McLaughlin was going
for the win at St. Petersburg,
and it didn't happen
with that late race collision.
Today, the picture of speed
and consistency.
Checkered flag.
Scott McLaughlin wins
at Barber Motorsports Park!
[Indistinct shouting]
Right on, team, let's go!
Wow, Will got on the podium.
- That's good.
- That was a good day.
Go, Willie. You did good.
Great job. Great job,
everybody, today. P3.
That was a championship day,
guys. Another championship day.
Nothing special
but put it together.
- Nice job today, brother.
- One hell of a drive.
One of the best drives
out there for sure.
We just got really unlucky
with that yellow.
That was impressive.
And that is a monstrous
confidence booster
heading to Indianapolis
and the month of May.
Scott McLaughlin,
your race winner.
He gets his first win of 2023.
The Thirsty 3s are
in victory lane.
- Scotty, you can get out. Yeah.
- [Laughs]
Scott McLaughlin, a winner.
[Cheers and applause]
♪♪
So ultimately, the way it
worked out for Scott McLaughlin
is he had a quick car.
He got clean track
after he made the first stop.
And then by the end,
Romain Grosjean was saving fuel
on a two-stop strategy.
And McLaughlin
didn't have to save,
so he just had
the outright pace.
For a team like
Juncos Hollinger,
success is not really measured
in wins or podiums,
but they're measuring growth
on just getting quicker,
getting better each race.
We're on another championship
run, man.
We're still
just chipping away here.
We're going to get
a win here soon.
We've just got to keep at it,
improve in qualifying
and yeah, just having fun,
enjoying it a lot.
- Go, Daddy. Go.
- Say, "Go, Daddy."
As far as Liz
goes and her health,
you're seeing the light
at the end of the tunnel.
She feels better, I can tell.
And that gives me relief.
And, yeah, having
a podium here today, it's --
it's all positive stuff.
- Hi.
- Hey, babe.
Yay! That was, like, a win.
- That was a pretty good day.
- That was a really good day.
- Hang on. I'll FaceTime you.
- Okay. Gosh.
- [Laughter]
- [Speaking indistinctly]
- I know. I hate FaceTime.
- I know, babe.
You look real pretty, babe.
I don't know why you're
stressing.
You look really pretty.
Well, you know, it's good
that you didn't win because
- Why is that?
- Because you're not there?
I'll be there.
You'll be there
for the next one, so
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- So that works out real good.
- Yeah.
- All right. Love you.
Call me when you're at the
airport. All right. Bye.
Love you, babe. Bye.
And now we honor our
third-place driver
in today's race,
let's hear it for Will Power.
[Cheers and applause]
Will Power getting a podium
I'm going to guess
makes him feel
a little bit better
going into the month of May.
Now it's about the Indy 500,
and the Penske cars
have not been awesome
the last three years.
I think the feeling is
they're back in the game.
Coming in to the road
course race at Indianapolis,
the Grand Prix, maybe
the biggest storyline
is Romain Grosjean.
He's finished second
in the last two races.
This might be Grosjean's
best chance to win.
- Am I happy?
- Yeah, of course.
You know, you cannot say
you're not happy
with a podium.
Second is good.
First is better,
but second is good.
[Cheers and applause]
[Crowd chanting "Scotty"]
For Scott McLaughlin,
the win at Barber was huge.
I really think this jump-started
McLaughlin's season
and he was one of those that
said momentum from this race
carries over to Indianapolis,
so now it's all eyes
on the Indy 500.
Winner here, winner here.
The battle between you
and Romain there.
What was going through your mind
as you're trying to
hold him off?
Well, I knew if I hit him
this time, it would be bad.
But it was hard. I knew it was
going to be hard passing him.
[Cheers and applause]
That was the best IndyCar race
I've ever driven in my life.
So good. And I'm having
Australian beer now,
so I'm very happy.
- Thirsty 3s?
- Mm.
Thirsty 3s to the moon, baby.
[Cheers and applause]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Engine revving]
TTEOKBOKKIsubs
- Pato O'Ward and Dixon.
- What happened there?
I think both drivers have a
different view of what happened.
All right, Pato, if you can
make a move,
you can make a move.
Pato went for a late,
far-back lunge.
- Oh, no.
- You got a car in the barrier.
- Dixon didn't see him coming.
- They hit.
One guy ends up in the tires.
One guy carries on.
Racing incident?
Maybe. Not if you ask Scott.
That seemed extremely late.
But if that's how the series
wants us to race,
then I guess
it's all gloves off.
I was on the inside
and he decided to stay
on the outside and put himself
in the tires.
I'm not apologizing for that.
Kyle Kirkwood! He wins the
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
It's been a really exciting
start to the 2023 season.
Let's go!
Penske Racing
and Chip Ganassi Racing
are really the two titans
of the sport,
but already this year
Andretti Autosport has two poles
and a win and the McLaren team
has been really fast as well.
We love the Penskes and
the Ganassis and we need them.
But you also want new blood.
You want the series
to continue to grow.
Agustín Canapino has been
part of that big surprise,
that is Juncos Hollinger Racing
and the start of the season
that they've had.
This guy's 32 years old
when he makes
his IndyCar debut.
Never raced in open-wheel car
before in his life.
One of the most
incredible stories
I've ever seen in racing.
With that many more teams
and drivers
consistently competing
for wins,
it makes it hard for some
of the established guys
like last year's champion,
Will Power,
to really kick-start his
campaign
to defend his championship.
Power -- He is
going backwards in a fury.
What happened to Will Power?
It's not been an awesome start
for Will Power.
Personally, he's balancing
a lot.
He had a tough off-season,
but I think he's still focused.
But he's not so far back that
he's out of the championship.
We've had three different
races, three different tracks,
three different winners
from three different teams.
I'm looking forward
to hopefully seeing
a fourth different winner
in four races.
Yeah. What did you
guys do with the?
I'm going to get up
and say some words.
It's going to be very dramatic.
[Dull clink]
This doesn't ding very well.
[Dull clink, laughter]
Just got to hit it harder.
[Imitates glass shattering]
Getting paid to drive
racecars is just incredible.
To have been able to do this
for 18 years now, amazing.
No matter how bad of a day
you have in the racecar,
really anywhere, you can
never complain. Never.
Yeah, well, I just wanted
to thank you guys
for coming tonight, obviously.
But thank you for all the hard
work coming into this season.
No one really picked us
in the media
to win the championship
last year,
and they didn't this year.
So I think we showed last year
that you don't have to do
anything special
to win a championship.
Doing something special is just
doing what you know well.
I feel like I actually
stopped trying to win races
and I just went out
and extracted the most
out of myself each weekend,
each race, each lap.
It worked out well, so --
[Ringtone plays]
Guarantee that's my wife asking
"You at that dinner?"
Yeah, of course. Lizzie.
You just really have
perfect timing, you know?
You call -- You -- Because
I'm standing up
in front of all the guys,
trying to give them,
you know, some inspiration about
having a great season.
- Here, you're on loudspeaker, so.
- Hi, everybody.
[Laughter]
- Anyway.
- All right, babe,
I'm going to try
to finish up here.
- Bye.
- Yeah. Thank you.
Anyway.
[Laughter]
Getting back to it,
let's just go out and have fun
and try to win some races
and win another championship
and a 500. Let's do it.
[Applause]
Team Penske has three
drivers -- Scott McLaughlin,
Josef Newgarden and Will Power.
He's the veteran of that team.
He's a two-time champion.
He's won the Indy 500 once.
Will's season has gotten off
to a little bit
of a slow start, but
this is how he built his
championship campaign last year.
He only won one race, but he was
always there or thereabouts.
He can be so blindingly fast.
The 2022 season found
the driver that was
the most consistent.
Will Power won the championship.
Will Power, two-time
NTT IndyCar Series champion!
Power has done it!
Power is literally the
fastest driver ever in IndyCar.
Last year, he won his 68th pole.
That's one more
than Mario Andretti.
It's just been an okay start.
At St. Pete, he salvaged what
was there.
And at Texas, it wasn't good.
But bringing home a top 10
on a day like Long Beach
where he didn't have
the fastest car,
maybe not on the best strategy.
Those are the kind of damage
control days that can really,
really pay dividends later
in the season.
Okey dokey.
♪♪
I hate getting the air
out of these things.
There we go.
♪♪
It's a weird feeling.
Straight to the heart.
- Straight to the heart.
- Cold heart.
- That's right.
- Cold-hearted.
My wife. We met in 2006.
We both were starting at the
same race team at the same time.
She was starting
as a PR girl there.
My first impression was,
okay, he's kind of shy,
but then that goes away and he's
just kind of -- kind of quirky.
But I liked that.
♪♪
In January, I actually
got really sick.
I had been having
some back pain,
but I've always had back pain,
so I didn't really think
anything of it.
That happened on a Friday.
Fast-forward to Tuesday
and I could barely walk.
I was in so much pain and I was
running up to a 106 fever and so
Will had to call 911.
This is a lot of heroin.
[Laughter]
Shooting up. That's great.
That's a lot.
She just started hallucinating
and just talking
no sense at all.
And yeah, she had
an infection in the blood.
After a week of being
in the hospital,
they did an MRI
and they found that
I had this horrible infection
in my spinal column.
So they had to go in there
and they had to cut
the top of the spine off,
take the infection out.
Pretty intense there
for -- for a while.
Almost died,
like looking pretty bad.
It's definitely been a
struggle.
Something that I admire
about Will
is how he's been great here.
And then put that aside
and do what he needs to do.
- All righty.
- All done.
There we go.
Oh, man.
♪♪
[Laughter]
[Dog barks]
Agustín Canapino --
He's a hero back home.
He's a 15-time touring car
champion down in South America.
But that is such
a different discipline.
But he is an incredible talent
and he got up to speed
in these cars really quick.
How about Argentina's Agustín
Canapino going
from strength to strength.
It's been an awesome start
for Agustín Canapino.
He gets a pair
of 12th-place finishes,
including his first oval.
This guy's a lot better
than anybody thought.
Canapino.
He's something to watch.
♪♪
[Laughs]
Agustín is one of
the two drivers
that raced the most
in Argentina history.
♪♪
To have him with us
obviously is very special.
His father also has an idea
with me together
that we're going to
put him somehow in an IndyCar.
He's not here with us
to see this,
but it's very special for us.
Sharing all this together
is very amazing.
Ricardo Juncos has got
one of the coolest stories
I think, in racing right now.
Just coming over to the States,
getting involved in motorsports
at the lowest level
and slowly just building
his organization
up all the way
to the top level in the sport.
For a team with a very
inexperienced driver lineup,
they are doing
some great things
so Ricardo can be really proud
of what he's done.
♪♪
Basically what
brought me here
was I was running out
of options in my life
after losing everything
in Argentina.
And when I mean everything,
it was everything.
Argentina's economic crisis
has been building
for three years.
The effects all too prevalent.
During 2001 was the crisis
in Argentina.
At that point,
the whole country collapsed.
I have enough money
just to buy a flight ticket
for Miami where a friend of mine
was living.
♪♪
In September 2003, I opened
Juncos Racing as a go-kart team.
We put everything we have.
Absolutely everything we have.
In 2017, we decided
to start in IndyCar.
To be part of this,
it's already growing.
We enjoy the moment
that we're going to participate
as a victory in general,
but I believe
this is not the end.
The experience
the other team have,
money cannot buy experience.
The only way to get it
is by going.
One day we will win, for sure.
Everything is possible.
Delta, maintain 4,000.
[Radio chatter]
- Speed of 200 miles an hour.
- It's pretty fast.
I need speed in my life.
It's kind of an addictive thing.
When you're a competitor,
you want to challenge yourself.
Some days it goes well,
some days don't go well.
But I think if you,
in the evening,
you know you've done
everything you could do,
you've pushed yourself
to become better, stronger,
then it's a good day.
There's Grosjean.
There's McLaughlin
on the right.
[Indistinct shouting]
Man, what are you doing?
[Static]
How about that turn of events?
We just got really unlucky
and we move on.
♪♪
Since my last win,
I want to win every day.
♪♪
One of the storylines
with Romain Grosjean
is the fact
that he hasn't won a race
since he was in GP2
and it's a dozen years ago.
But in all three races
this season,
he's had a chance to win.
It's coming on
and it is coming for Grosjean.
Maybe the first one comes
at Barber Motorsports Park
for the first time
in a dozen years.
♪♪
If the IndyCar schedule was
measured like roller coasters,
this track here at Barber
is the gnarliest.
Everything you could want
for high drama.
What separates IndyCar
from a lot of other series
is the variety in racetracks.
So you go to St. Petersburg,
a temporary street circuit
through a city.
Then you go to Texas.
That's the oval.
And then the third category we
have is a permanent road course.
That's a racetrack,
permanent facility.
And that's what we have here
at Barber.
♪♪
Going into Barber, you're
almost a quarter of the way
into the season, and if you
don't have any kind of a result
in the top five so far,
you start to get a little bit
worried.
Momentum from this race
carries over to Indianapolis.
We want to go into May
with momentum.
♪♪
What you did, I would never
do that to you, man.
- I'm sorry, mate.
- I didn't think that
- it was that bad.
- You gave me no option.
The only option I had was
I couldn't -- I'd already
committed to the corner.
Then I see you last minute, man.
I got nowhere
- Scott didn't see me.
- That's the problem.
The door was wide open.
And, well, I was there.
But I wasn't going to go
apologize for that because I
don't think I was in the
wrong for making that move.
I know we disagree on it and --
I don't know how
you can disagree on it.
It wasblack and white.
But if that's how you
want to race,
then that's, I guess,
how we're going to race.
But I wouldn't do that to you.
It was just a clear dive bomb
into turn 8.
It was just disappointing that
there was no call on it as well.
If that's the way that we're
going to race, that's fine.
But it just seems
like a gutless move.
- Hiya.
- Hi, how are ya?
- How was practice?
- Um, I'm losing --
losing like a tenth and a half,
two tenths on the straights,
which is frustrating.
Well, remember,
you are the one,
so you can do it.
It doesn't
- You'll be good. Hey, Beau-sy.
- Um.
- Hey, baby.
- What are you doing?
We're gonna say,
"Go, number"
- 12.
- Ah, good boy.
Very grateful for my wife
for convincing me
to keep racing.
All right, all right. I'm gonna
rest and get my head in
- the game, and
- Yeah. I love you.
- Love you, babe. Bye.
- All right. Bye.
For a while there, I was
really suffering with anxiety,
and I almost quit.
Worst years of my life.
Absolutely.
Oh, here we go. Trouble,
contact and a huge crash.
Oh, multiple cars involved.
- Racing is dangerous.
- Couple of friends killed.
This is the horrible accident
that everybody has
always hoped would never occur.
In 2011, Dan Wheldon was killed
and then '15, Justin Wilson
was killed.
And there were some instances
where I was saying to my wife,
"I'm finished, I'm done."
There were actually races
where I was like,
"I cannot do this anymore."
When you have severe anxiety,
there is no escaping it.
You can't just switch off.
But she kept me going. She said,
"Look, just get in the car
and just -- just start the race.
If you can't do it,
you can't do it."
The thing that he thought
was killing him --
he thought it was racing --
was the one thing
that was actually saving him.
And I knew if he stopped,
it wouldn't be good for him.
♪♪
The thing that would happen
is you'd start the race
and you'd just,
you know, you'd have no anxiety
when you were so in the moment.
I guess in that way she knew me
better than I know me.
Ultimately, it made me much more
mentally strong.
Will Power leads
the Indianapolis 500.
At that point in my career,
probably
won more races than anyone,
more pole positions
and led more laps.
But I hadn't won the Indy 500.
It's the one thing
you just want to have.
You've got to have that
on your résumé.
From now on, it'll be
Will Power,
Indianapolis 500 winner
for 2018.
What had transpired,
what we had gone
through together, I was bawling.
I'm so glad that I toughed
it out through that.
I think I would have stopped
if she wasn't there.
We are in here.
What did you think
of the first episode?
That was good. That was good.
Yeah, I thought it was real.
[Indistinct conversation]
I actually think I might have
a bigger arm.
- I think I can get you.
- [Laughter]
- Pecs, pecs.
- You have very large pectorals.
Pecs are bigger than yours.
What did you think
of Josef's house?
It's a nice house.
It looks like a hotel.
Very posh.
Very, very posh hotel.
You want to know
the best thing
about these cameras hanging out?
- What's that?
- We're getting nothing done.
We're literally getting
nothing done in here.
I've done all my work.
I'm taking away from your work.
That's 100% going in.
It's qualifying
for the Children's of Alabama
Indy Grand Prix here
at beautiful Barber
Motorsports Park.
Hey, man, do you want to sit
here?
[Cheering]
Oh, hello.
I would have tidied up
if I knew.
This is very small.
It gets a bit smelly
by the end of the day.
- Oh, come on, boy.
- Oh, yeah.
I don't know how you do that.
- [Bone cracks]
- Oh, yeah!
♪♪
It's time to see
who has the speed.
It's just so much fun, Marty,
to wheel an Indy car
around this racetrack.
♪♪
Qualifying critical here
at Barber.
If you start on the front row
here, history tells us
you've got a very good
chance of victory.
Yeah ♪
Yeah ♪
Wait for me, girl ♪
Wait for me ♪
Wait for me ♪
♪♪
- Whoa!
- Kyle Kirkwood had some drama.
Whoops. Sorry about that.
♪♪
Juncos Hollinger really
starting to show
a lot of resource,
a lot of capability.
♪♪
Agustín Canapino,
the rookie for Juncos Hollinger.
He continues his
building process.
No, last lap.
Doesn't look like
it's going to be enough.
And he is going to be
working hard tomorrow.
Buried in the pack.
Let me be ♪
- Here's Power.
- Struggling for pace.
It's not been good
this weekend.
In fact, it's not
gone great all season.
♪♪
I don't know, man.
Uncharacteristic to see
Will Power down there in P9.
Will Power unfortunately is not
able to get it done.
Kinda didn't think
we'd make the top six.
So just going to do our best.
Just hanging in there.
Damn, man.
I'm just disappointed.
- What's Pato O'Ward got?
- Defending race winner.
- You'll have one more lap.
- Let's keep pushing.
It's aggressive but
controlled from Pato O'Ward.
Almost a tenth to the good.
This is going to be a shootout.
This could be the tightest fast
six in history.
Early P1. We'll just have to
see how it shakes out.
- Grosjean's on one as well.
- He's so close.
- Keep pushing.
- Here's the line.
Romain Grosjean to the top?
You betcha!
- We're P1.
- Nice job, brother. Nice job.
Second pole of the year
for Romain Grosjean.
Look out. This is going
to be quite the scrap tomorrow.
And who knows who swings big
from further back.
♪♪
We're off, man, which is
a little -- little troubling.
So it makes the job much harder.
Mostly me studying the data
and video to understand
where I can pick up some
half tenths in a few corners.
- Yeah.
- All right, man. Good luck.
You got it.
♪♪
I think I was solid.
Really good.
Grosjean, way to go.
Second pole of the year.
Do you get the sense that
the win
might be in the offing
for this team tomorrow?
We'll see. We're starting
in the best position.
But no, we've got 90 laps
to lead, so we'll see tomorrow.
But I'm really proud of my guys
and really happy
with everything we're doing.
[Cheering]
[Laughter]
♪♪
Every race,
this is what we get.
This is all from the 500.
This is 500 miles worth
of bottles that we saved.
And we keep it by the
milk bottle and everything else
because
that takes a lot of work.
I've got strong hands.
So when Will got into IndyCar,
I was working for another team.
I was working
for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Up until 2012 when I quit,
I was working, so I was busy.
My mind was distracted because
I was focused on our team.
And then I wasn't
doing that anymore. [Laughs]
I was in Will's pit box
and I just, like,
had to have something.
And so it just kind of started
with a water bottle
and every race I do it.
So yeah. So it's since 2012.
I always just pray. Be safe.
Just be safe
and come home in one piece.
And that's a good day.
Did not sleep that well.
Kind of just struggle to go to
sleep every night.
But just this year, I just have
not been able to get.
I don't know why.
Sometimes when I haven't slept,
I've had some of my best races.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
Which race is that from?
Liz is famous
for stressing in the pit
while he's out racing.
And that was the Evian bottle
at the Detroit Belle Isle win.
Another trophy case.
Welcome to the South.
Here we are in Birmingham,
Alabama.
We're starting to get
into the teeth of the season.
Here you go, man.
It's a very easy way
of getting going.
The difference between
your highs and the lows.
I learned to do that
in an airport lounge.
Three races,
three different winners
representing three different
racing organizations.
We couldn't ask
for a better start.
Well, I would say that
you're due for a win.
- That'd be nice.
- You're actually due for a win.
- I'm excited.
- Today could be a day.
Round number 4 of 17
is starting to take shape.
And we're looking, of course,
at racing in the month of May
at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
But first, we're here
at the first permanent road
course of the season.
♪♪
♪♪
Gentlemen, start your engines.
Just so stressful.
It's times like these
where I wish
I married an accountant.
Romain Grosjean, former F1
pilot
for Andretti Autosport,
on the pole
for the second time this year,
is in search for that elusive
first IndyCar victory.
It could come here today.
- Pace car's rolling away.
- You've got the field.
- Let's get ready for the start.
- Have a good one today.
And we're about ready
to go racing.
First permanent road course
of the season
- here at Barber Motorsports Park.
- Green, green, green.
The green flies and Grosjean
leads this star-studded field to
green.
Great start for Romain
Grosjean.
Side-by-side behind him
as Pato O'Ward
- tries to go on the outside.
- And Grosjean runs wide.
It opens the door not only for
O'Ward, but for Palou.
Look at this, wheel
to wheel on the opening lap.
Grosjean's got the better line
and keeps the lead.
- Nice job. Nice job.
- Where's Will? There he is.
Here's Will Power
fighting with Colton Herta.
- Ah, Herta got him.
- Damn it to hell.
- Think you can pass?
- Yes, I think I can.
It'll be okay to go.
Oh
No! No, be smart!
- Was there contact?
- That was close.
Rather Will start out easy
and then attack.
I forgot to ask Will
if it was going to be a 2-
or 3-stop race.
Glad I had wine in here.
Because of this strategy
question mark,
two stops or three,
if you're the cars out front,
you want to go to the two stop.
But to do it,
you got to save fuel.
Alex Palou one of the best
in the biz at doing it.
He is pressuring
Romain Grosjean right now.
- There's a move for the lead.
- Alex Palou inside turn 5.
And Grosjean's
going to prevail again.
And I promise you Grosjean's
inside the cockpit
going, "Dude, what are you
doing?
We've got to be able
to save some gas
if we're going to make this
on two stops."
Coming into Barber, there were
two distinct strategies.
The general consensus
was the leaders were going
to try to dictate
with a two-stop pace,
but there were going to be
some behind them
that would do three stops.
The two-stop strategy is
a little bit more conservative.
If you get in an outright race
with someone
that is not saving fuel,
it's going to be tough
to hold them off.
But you are dependent on
when the cautions
come more for a three-stopper.
If it comes at the wrong time,
then your race is over.
And you might have gone from a
chance to win to finishing 12th.
Josef Newgarden gained
one spot on the start,
but he has said something
is wrong with the car.
I think my right rear
might be going down.
That is not the kind of news
that you want to hear
if you're the driver
of the number 2
only 5 laps into this race.
Yeah, it should be okay. It's
not great, but it'll be okay.
Keep doing your thing here.
At this time, at this time.
Three-stoppers coming in now.
- We're pitting on this lap.
- We're pitting on this lap.
McLaughlin in the pits now.
All these Penskes
are doing this three-stopper.
Three, two, one.
Looking for that clean air
and fast lap times.
[Radio chatter]
Go, go, go, go. Clear out.
I wasn't prepared for that
stuff.
I thought --
So he's going three.
So they're doing three.
25 complete, 4 or 5 more.
Pato, you are the exact same
pace
as Grosjean, Palou, and Dixon.
You're doing a great job.
Careful of Dixon here.
He's closing in.
Dixon's been on him
the whole race.
- Malukas is not a threat.
- We're just worried about Dixon.
Still 60 laps for Dixon
to just prowl back there
and wait for his chance.
- Here is Grosjean.
- All the way down here.
Right on your mark.
Three, two, one.
Put on the brake.
29 laps in the books.
Roman Grosjean has led every one
of them so far.
Alex Palou at the front end of
pit road.
All clear. All clear.
Look at that. A long stop for
the 10, Grosjean,
with a good jump here
on pit road.
Teammates have
swapped positions.
McLaughlin gets ahead of
Josef Newgarden and Newgarden
looks like he's got his hands
full with that PPG Chevy.
Pit lap here, pit this lap.
- Oh!
- That's why.
We saw it on the previous lap
and it was going away from him.
Newgarden is in
for the second of three stops.
There is a stalled car,
the 51 of Sting Ray Robb.
Well, if the yellow comes out,
then it stacks them up
and they all just have
to make one more stop.
- There it is.
- There's the caution.
I think if you're McLaughlin
right now, you're stoked.
You're laughing because
you've got a ton of fuel.
We're both on a one-stopper,
but he's still going
to have to save fuel.
So obviously, this yellow
didn't really help us that much,
but it didn't kill us here.
Just keep working your fuel.
You've got McLaughlin
behind you.
He was --
He's on that three-stopper.
Everybody still has
to make one stop here.
It's going to be hard,
obviously,
with the -- with
the guy behind you.
- Okay.
- What do you want to do with him?
We're going to go as hard
as we can on this restart.
We're going to hold him off.
Ready to go back
to racing here at Barber.
Grosjean will lead this field to
green.
But how long will he stay
in the lead? Here we go.
And it's the two guys who
gave us that ultimate theater
on the streets of St. Petersburg
to start the year,
McLaughlin and Grosjean
going for the win again.
Let's just take a look
at who leads right now
on the different strategies.
Your top three on
the two-stop --
Grosjean, Pato O'Ward,
Lundgaard.
It's all Team Penske
on the three-stop.
When the two-stop drivers pit
in about six laps,
the other drivers on
the three-stop strategy
are going to go full press
with clean air,
and then we're going to see
how they blend together.
Argentina's Agustín Canapino.
We're at mid-race and it
is not looking good.
That is definitely a blow
for the rookie.
He's starting to get big
eyes -- Scotty Mac.
He knows he's got
a really good shot today.
Be smart here.
- Doing great.
- Just keep the pressure.
But remember, we got plenty of
time here. No panicking.
- A hell of a job.
- Get on the fuel until we stop.
Josef Newgarden sitting back
in the sixth position,
hanging on to the racecar.
We just need to stay
attached to the 10 car.
- I probably won't make it, man.
- Really bad.
Damage is really
causing problems in the 2 car.
Newgarden is really
hurting teammate Will Power
because these drivers
are all trapped behind him.
Now Will's going to
be behind Newgarden.
I hope he can get around him.
Dixon on the inside
of Newgarden.
- Whoa!
- Oh
Here comes Power.
[Shouts]
God. Did they touch?
Pit this lap. Pit this lap.
Looks like the 28 crew
is setting up.
- Around Pato here.
- Three, two, one.
So crucial now for Scott
McLaughlin to push, push, push.
Okay. Romain's going
to pit on this lap.
We just need to do about
five laps here the best we can.
We're still increasing our gap.
It has been
a dominant performance,
pitting with 31 laps to go.
Just keep pushing.
We're going to have to save here
in a minute,
but just keep pushing
on this out lap.
Okay, give me everything you got
here.
Everything we got,
we're going to pit on this lap.
- Here's McLaughlin.
- Race leader is in.
Three, two, one.
Now we put our eyes
on Romain Grosjean.
Here comes McLaughlin.
No fuel-save concerns.
So he can go harder
than Grosjean.
You're going to meet Grosjean.
That's our prayer.
And watch where these two
guys come out, where they join.
- Here comes Romain Grosjean.
- This is going to be good.
McLaughlin comes out ahead
but on cold tires
and Grosjean is going
to be pushing 100%.
That's the leader.
It's St. Pete
take two, guys, version 2.0.
♪♪
Romain Grosjean's got to do
a Josef Newgarden-style move.
Inside opportunity coming up.
Can he get his car tight
to the right?
Tight to the right? No.
McLaughlin blocks that.
Watch him try to cross it up
and make it happen right here.
Whoa! Inside, inside!
Romain Grosjean wheel to wheel
with Scott McLaughlin
for the lead!
Fantastic stuff.
Scott McLaughlin gave him
just enough room to pull it off.
Meanwhile, Will Power
just turned
the fastest lap of the race.
- Pitting this time.
- Pitting this time?
Guys, have a really good stop,
smooth, fast.
Gonna have a clear in
around the 6.
Will has done a tremendous
job behind the wheel.
Is he going to be able
to get on the podium
for the first time this year?
- Oh, dear.
- Oh, he's pitting.
- He's pitting. Oh!
- I can't watch.
He's pitted.
♪♪
Watch, Trev. Watch, Trev.
Watch, Trev. Watch, Trev.
Go, go, go, go.
Power is gonna charge.
Can he race his way up
into the podium?
- Final stop is done.
- Pushing her out.
Lap leader just went by.
Scott McLaughlin
kind of in the wheel tracks now.
I bet he's on the button.
It's going to be
a late move.
And not quite close enough
into turn 5 this time.
19 laps to go. He has
28 seconds to push the pass.
Just keep up with him
and run him.
If you get up to him and need
anything, use your overtake.
- Grosjean goes way wide!
- Way wide.
Oh! And almost comes back in.
That turn 5 spot is a real
handful for Grosjean.
There's going to be
a new race leader.
His name is Scott McLaughlin.
Got to think Grosjean's
heart just sunk there.
Yep.
Is it going to be second again?
I can't feel right now.
Understand big picture here,
we got the next car
for position
10 seconds back.
Let's just get it home.
There's McLaughlin.
There's Grosjean cresting
the hill down into turn 5
and the red machine,
the Verizon Chevy of Will Power
looming large in the mirrors.
- Come on, Will.
- You got open track. You can go.
Just go, go, go.
Now he's in the wake
of Romain Grosjean.
So now this is where the driver
really has to get up in the seat
and try to figure out
how to mix your lines up,
find some clean air and wait
for the right opportunity.
- Three laps left.
- He's not going to get him.
He's done a great job.
16 seconds to push
to pass left for Will Power.
16. That ain't much.
White flag. Plus 2.7.
Scott McLaughlin was going
for the win at St. Petersburg,
and it didn't happen
with that late race collision.
Today, the picture of speed
and consistency.
Checkered flag.
Scott McLaughlin wins
at Barber Motorsports Park!
[Indistinct shouting]
Right on, team, let's go!
Wow, Will got on the podium.
- That's good.
- That was a good day.
Go, Willie. You did good.
Great job. Great job,
everybody, today. P3.
That was a championship day,
guys. Another championship day.
Nothing special
but put it together.
- Nice job today, brother.
- One hell of a drive.
One of the best drives
out there for sure.
We just got really unlucky
with that yellow.
That was impressive.
And that is a monstrous
confidence booster
heading to Indianapolis
and the month of May.
Scott McLaughlin,
your race winner.
He gets his first win of 2023.
The Thirsty 3s are
in victory lane.
- Scotty, you can get out. Yeah.
- [Laughs]
Scott McLaughlin, a winner.
[Cheers and applause]
♪♪
So ultimately, the way it
worked out for Scott McLaughlin
is he had a quick car.
He got clean track
after he made the first stop.
And then by the end,
Romain Grosjean was saving fuel
on a two-stop strategy.
And McLaughlin
didn't have to save,
so he just had
the outright pace.
For a team like
Juncos Hollinger,
success is not really measured
in wins or podiums,
but they're measuring growth
on just getting quicker,
getting better each race.
We're on another championship
run, man.
We're still
just chipping away here.
We're going to get
a win here soon.
We've just got to keep at it,
improve in qualifying
and yeah, just having fun,
enjoying it a lot.
- Go, Daddy. Go.
- Say, "Go, Daddy."
As far as Liz
goes and her health,
you're seeing the light
at the end of the tunnel.
She feels better, I can tell.
And that gives me relief.
And, yeah, having
a podium here today, it's --
it's all positive stuff.
- Hi.
- Hey, babe.
Yay! That was, like, a win.
- That was a pretty good day.
- That was a really good day.
- Hang on. I'll FaceTime you.
- Okay. Gosh.
- [Laughter]
- [Speaking indistinctly]
- I know. I hate FaceTime.
- I know, babe.
You look real pretty, babe.
I don't know why you're
stressing.
You look really pretty.
Well, you know, it's good
that you didn't win because
- Why is that?
- Because you're not there?
I'll be there.
You'll be there
for the next one, so
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- So that works out real good.
- Yeah.
- All right. Love you.
Call me when you're at the
airport. All right. Bye.
Love you, babe. Bye.
And now we honor our
third-place driver
in today's race,
let's hear it for Will Power.
[Cheers and applause]
Will Power getting a podium
I'm going to guess
makes him feel
a little bit better
going into the month of May.
Now it's about the Indy 500,
and the Penske cars
have not been awesome
the last three years.
I think the feeling is
they're back in the game.
Coming in to the road
course race at Indianapolis,
the Grand Prix, maybe
the biggest storyline
is Romain Grosjean.
He's finished second
in the last two races.
This might be Grosjean's
best chance to win.
- Am I happy?
- Yeah, of course.
You know, you cannot say
you're not happy
with a podium.
Second is good.
First is better,
but second is good.
[Cheers and applause]
[Crowd chanting "Scotty"]
For Scott McLaughlin,
the win at Barber was huge.
I really think this jump-started
McLaughlin's season
and he was one of those that
said momentum from this race
carries over to Indianapolis,
so now it's all eyes
on the Indy 500.
Winner here, winner here.
The battle between you
and Romain there.
What was going through your mind
as you're trying to
hold him off?
Well, I knew if I hit him
this time, it would be bad.
But it was hard. I knew it was
going to be hard passing him.
[Cheers and applause]
That was the best IndyCar race
I've ever driven in my life.
So good. And I'm having
Australian beer now,
so I'm very happy.
- Thirsty 3s?
- Mm.
Thirsty 3s to the moon, baby.
[Cheers and applause]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪