McLaughlin Looks For St. Louis Rebound
Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
It’s not a position that Scott McLaughlin expected to be in, yet, there he is - eighth in the NTT INDYCAR Series standings and 147 points behind championship leader Alex Palou heading into Sunday night’s Bommarito Auto Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis.
Given that the driver of the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet is a two-time NTT P1 pole winner and has finished in the top-five in all four of his previous races at the 1.25-mile oval, it’s understandable that McLaughlin is looking at this weekend as a reset to his season.
“Yeah, really excited to get back there. Obviously, it's a track that I love and I've always gone pretty well at. I go into a place there with a lot of confidence. The way that the season's going for me right now, I need a bit of a rebound here, just get going. The last two events have been pretty tough.
“We'll just go in there with a lot of confidence and see where it ends up.”
For McLaughlin, what looked like a promising month of May turned into heartbreak before even taking the green flag in the Indianapolis 500 when the New Zealander crashed on the pace lap.
Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment
“Yeah, I mean, that whole month was pretty tough. It started really well. It ended in a couple bad ways, my crash before that, then crash in another brand new car.
“It was one of, if not the lowest points of my career. But it's something that I'll learn from. I still am a little bit perplexed about what happened in that scenario and how it did. Never sort of done that before in my career.
“It was tough. Champions are made learning from their mistakes. I truly believe we had a really fast car. I feel really strong on ovals. There's nothing to be, I guess, upset about apart from the fact that I felt like I sort of wasted a really good opportunity just from a pace perspective.
“Look, you live and learn. Sun always rises. You just got to get on with it. The best thing for me the week after that was getting back in the race car and felt really good, even if it wasn't the most ideal result either.
“I think we've got really good pace, got good momentum. We just need to keep going.”
It’s not the first time in the 3-time Supercar champion’s career that he’s had to rebound from a setback. McLaughlin’s motivation comes from his desire to be the best.
“I just want to be better. I just want to be the best, if I can.”
“I just want to be better. I just want to be the best, if I can. I work really hard on my trade to be strong mentally, physically. I have been driving really, really well. Just luck and a couple of mistakes on my side that it hasn't worked out.
“Most important thing for me is to learn from all these things and hopefully be stronger on the back end.”
For McLaughlin, the process of putting what happened at Indy is a matter of not dwelling on the situation and turning a negative into a positive.
“Like I said, I think I'm still sort of figuring out, like, what happened. I have half an idea of what happened. For me, I've had plenty of low moments in my career and I've felt like I've come back pretty strong. As long as I try and turn this negative into a positive, that's the main thing. I can't just dwell on that moment.
“At the time, obviously, I was really sad, was just very emotional about the whole thing. But now you look back at it, there's something in there, like I said, that I'll learn from and make me better in the future or whatnot. That's how you look at it. You can't look at it any other way.
Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
“If you keep dwelling on it or worry that it, that ever happens again, you can't. You just got to eyes forward. Like I said, sun always rises. There's a lot of people with worse dramas than I have now. I feel like I am in a really good spot, very happy, I just have to keep going.”
Mired in eighth place in the standings, McLaughlin hasn’t given up hope on the season. But he also knows he can’t erase the deficit in just one weekend.
“For me, my biggest goal right now is just to capitalize on some of the pace that we've had. I felt like we were really quick in Detroit. We were in a good spot before the incident. Indy I felt quick all month. Had my best result in the Indy GP for God knows how long. We've had some positive momentum. It's just putting things together, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“I've been in this sport long enough, not just INDYCAR, but Supercars as well, sometimes you can have a fast car and you just don't put it together. It's not your year. I don't believe it is not my year yet. I certainly need to get on the train and start winning races, getting some consistency back, at least trying to slow down Alex a little bit.
"Like I said before, that guy is executing at a really high level. You've just got to try to raise yourself to that level - not only you but your team and everyone. You can't look at it like we're terrible. I personally think we've been really, really strong. Just the pieces haven't fallen right now. I've just got to keep going.”
Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
Team Penske hasn’t won a race since Portland of last year. Regardless of Palou’s dominance this season, McLaughlin sees Penske’s lack of recent success as a testament to how competitive the INDYCAR Series is.
“For sure. The series is elite right now from a competitive standpoint. Every year it just gets harder and harder and harder, especially with the more we run with this car. Everyone has got a keen idea on what they're doing setup-wise, so it really comes down to who executes the best from not only a driver's perspective but engineers and strategists, what not.
“I think we've had the pace to win races,” McLaughlin continued. “Like I said before, we haven't put it together. We got a pole. Been qualifying pretty well. I think we've been in most of the Fast Sixes this year but a couple. We're right there, it's just a matter of putting it together.
“You can't look at it... If you're worried about the pressure and the outside noise, you're not going to be executing right. The only thing I can execute is what I can control. Control what I can control, drive the car to the best of my ability. If that's a third, fourth, fifth, 10, if that's a win, great. That's all I can do.
“Like I said before, I don't think I've executed well the last couple of races. I'm looking to (St. Louis) this weekend to make sure I can get back on that horse and execute a really good race. What will be will be.”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.