Motorsport: Kiwi Scott McLaughlin has last laugh with victory in ...

Scott McLaughlin and Team Penske have had the last laugh as the Kiwi claimed victory at IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Alabama.

Less than a week after being stripped of his best result of the season, McLaughlin claimed his first victory of the year this morning and led 58 of the 90 available laps at Barber Motorsports Park.

After taking pole position on Sunday, the Kiwi maximised his advantageas he and Penske teammate Will Power took a one-two finish in the best result for the under-fire team.

A late safety car threatened to have McLaughlin overtaken by Power, as the race restarted with two laps to go.

But, having showed his pace all weekend, McLaughlin didn’t falter at the final hurdle and held off Power’s challenge to take the chequered flag.

“We just had to keep rolling,” McLaughlin said when asked if he had a point to prove. “We know our job, we know what we need to do. I’m just super-proud of the execution [from the team].

“I’m super-proud of everyone. We just keep rolling.

“It’s a good [win]. It’s definitely one of my best drives in terms of execution and knocking out the laps.

“I’m really happy we could advance to the chequered flag, and bring home the W for Team Penske and for Roger.”

The win is McLaughlin’s second in as many years in Alabama, after winning the same race last year, as well as being his fifth IndyCar career victory after moving from Australian Supercars in 2021.

Fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong finished ninth, while six-time champion and compatriot Scott Dixon was 15th.

After having his third-place finish from the season opener stripped, McLaughlin’s win moved him from the bottom of the standings up 20 spots to ninth on the IndyCar championship ladder, as teammate Power moved to second, only one point behind leader Colton Herta, of Andretti.

Chip Ganassi’s Linus Lundqvist completed the podium in third place, for his best finish in his maiden season racing in IndyCar.

Last Thursday (NZ time), McLaughlin had his podium finish at the season-opening St Petersburg Grand Prix stripped as Penske were found to have breached IndyCar’s push-to-pass regulations.

Push-to-pass enables drivers to temporarily boost their car’s power, but only during certain times in a race.

McLaughlin’s teammate, Josef Newgarden, was stripped of his victory while Power was handed a 10-point penalty.

While accepting responsibility for his part in the scandal, McLaughlin defended himself by pointing out he gained no advantage for the period in which he exploited the push-to-pass rules.

Alex Powell is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.