McLaughlin on fresher tyres and no fuel worries was able to pounce on the two-stopping polesitter Romain Grosjean when the Frenchman ran wide at Turn 5 on Lap 72, shortly after running out of push-to-pass boost.
McLaughlin drew alongside him on corner exit, and the Chevrolet easily out-accelerated the Honda-powered Andretti Autosport machine along the long drag to Turn 8.
Thereafter, McLaughlin was able to edge away and keep Grosjean at arm’s length.
McLaughlin, for whom this was a fourth IndyCar triumph, but his first of the season, told NBC: “I call it a happy driver strategy. I was a lot happier doing [the three stops]. My team advanced me to Victory Lane, we had great fuel and went past Grosjean on a little bit of strategy.
“I feel really pumped about it. Super pumped… May is going to be an awesome time for us, I can’t wait. To end April like this before the best race in the world, just super proud of my team and with Chevy we had great fuel mileage and a hell of a strategy.”
Regarding his pass of Grosjean – and Grosjean’s brilliant move down the inside of McLaughlin at the final turn earlier in the race – McLaughlin said he had no flashbacks or reticence following the pair’s clash at St. Petersburg.
“Nah, we’re racers, we get on with it,” he said. “We talked man to man, so there’s no hard feelings and we just pressed on.
“I’m glad to get a win here. It’s been coming, it’s been close.”
Source: Autosport