Lundgaard chooses the high road after pit stop frustration at Barber

Christian Lundgaard had a solid chance of earning his second career victory but lost the chance to overtake Alex Palou for victory at Barber Motorsports Park when his final pit stop went awry.

His No. 7 Arrow McLaren crew is among the best in the IndyCar Series, which made the issue tightening the right-rear tire an abnormality to absorb. Lundgaard could have blown up at his team after the miscue left him 13.2s behind Palou at the checkered flag, but the 24-year-old kept his composure and took a mature approach to the mishap.

“I'm not really sure what happened in the pit stop,” said Lundgaard, who chased down and passed Graham Rahal for second place in the final laps. “I'm not sure I can really comment too much on it. Again, it's unfortunate. Obviously, came out behind Graham there on the last stint and just wanted to really get that second place for the team, as well. It wasn't just for me. This is where we were. At least with a bobble on pit road, let's get the same result, not worse. We had the pace. Got by Graham. That was nice.”

Qualifying at the front of the field has been a challenge for Lundgaard this season, but he continues to rate as one of IndyCar’s best race-day performers. Through four races, he’s brought the No. 7 Chevy home in third, 13th, seventh, and now second to hold third in the Drivers’ championship.

Despite his graceful handling of the race-altering pit stop, Lundgaard’s competitive nature is another positive asset he brings to Arrow McLaren, and that side of the young IndyCar veteran is committed to honesty and rued what was lost when it took multiple attempts to tighten his rear wheel at a point where he was poised to challenge Palou for victory.

“I was very frustrated. It's fair to be frustrated,” he said. “It's a tough position to be in because it's like one of those unlucky yellows that hurt your entire race progress, right? We had done so good up until then.

“Again, we finished P2, we shouldn't be that frustrated. But when you are up against a car (Palou’s No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) that's been the most competitive and best car in IndyCar for the past many years, to have a chance to beat him fair and square, that hurts. It's the position that we've tried to be in the past three years. I think we got there today. Really just to miss out on it for something like that is unfortunate. I think there's a lot of learnings to take from it.”