Things step up at the Indy 500 this weekend. One car will miss out on the iconic race in nine days’ time when qualifying ends on Sunday and the final spots on the grid are decided.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin is in his third full season in the IndyCar series and will start his third 500 a week from Sunday barring a shock over the weekend.
A win at Barber Motorsports Park last month leaves the three-time Supercars champion P5 in the standings ahead of the 500, 41 points behind championship leader Alex Palou. However, despite a mixed bag of results, McLaughlin is the lead Penske car in the championship.
He had a big year of learning and adapting in 2021 following eight seasons in the premier touring car series Down Under, and the 29-year-old made a massive step forward in performance last year to finish 4th in the championship. He won three races in 2022, including the season opener at St. Pete to lead the championship early on.
Speaking ahead of Fast Friday in a press conference at Indianapolis that included Pit Debrief, McLaughlin was asked where he thinks he can make the biggest gains now he’s got quite a decent amount of experience in the series.
Photo credit: Penske Entertainment | Joe Skibinski
“There’s always room to grow. It’s been an up-and-down few years, but obviously last year was fantastic in terms of my development, and then this year having a win already before coming to Indy is a nice feeling,” stated McLaughlin.
“But as the guys have said, I think as a team, I think we’ve really worked together well between the three drivers, between the engineers, between everybody that’s behind the scenes and put in the hard work to make sure we get speed.
“But also, it’s not just here. It’s all the other tracks, as well. I think we’ve really worked together and the camaraderie in the team has been great.”
No matter how long you’ve driven in a category, McLaughlin believes gains can be made. Nonetheless, he’s in a happy space right now in the car.
“From a personal perspective, there’s always times where I can find a bit more in myself, and I’ll continue chipping away at that. New stuff will pop up every year, doesn’t matter if it’s third, fourth or the tenth year.
“I feel like I’m in a good place right now, feel comfortable in the car, feel comfortable here at this place, and hopefully that bodes well for the rest of the month.”
