Scott McLaughlin is finally able “to call myself an IndyCar driver now” after winning his first oval race in last weekend’s first leg of IndyCar’s doubleheader at Iowa Speedway.
However, he’s also methodically marching into territory of potentially being something even more by season’s end: champion.
The 31-year-old New Zealander scored his second win of the season in stout fashion, leading 164 laps last Saturday night on the 0.894-mile bullring oval. He then added to it on Sunday with a third-place finish from pole and led another 94 laps.
The results from this past weekend have bolstered the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet to four podiums over the last five races and now sits fifth in the championship standings at 65 points behind leader Alex Palou (379-314).
Even more, his mark of six podiums - which matches Palou - would be extended if not for his third-place finish in St. Petersburg was disqualified after violations in the push-to-pass scandal, which also saw his points earned in that race completely erased.
McLaughlin’s aforementioned self-proclaiming quote shared in the Victory Lane interview to NBC was surprising, especially considering he came in with five career wins under his belt.
An important milestone
“I felt like an open-wheel driver, but an IndyCar driver is someone that can win on all three racetracks,” McLaughlin said. “Thankfully, very proud to say I've won on an oval now, along with a road and street course. Proud moment for me.
“It's taken a lot of hard work, work hard behind the scenes to be better. Whether it's here or with the old surface, Texas, any of the other ovals, I feel like I've been really strong, just haven't quite finished it off.
“Yeah, we were able to do that (Saturday night). Thankful to my team who really got me out in front with some rapid pit stops.”
However, McLaughlin won’t confess to being a complete driver.
“There's room for improvement all the time,” he said. “I'm nowhere near a complete driver.
“I just feel like I'm an IndyCar driver now, or I'm proud to say that I am. Ultimately everyone wants to win on an oval. It's exhilarating, most fun race tracks some days.
“Those two laps qualifying today, it's just up there with Indy, exhilaration terms, how fast it is, how quick it is. It's just a little bit shorter and a little bit less to start.
“It's a lot of fun. You get a lot of enjoyment from oval racing. I think it's the backbone of the sport.”
And McLaughliin shared that Simon Pagenaud, who won the 2016 IndyCar title and 2019 Indianapolis 500 with Team Penske, has been pivotal in his growth.
“He's been unreal for me,” said McLaughlin, who finished third in last year’s championship. “Such a good teacher.
“It's special to work with someone like that. For him to basically give me everything, it's crazy.
“You should see the notes I get. He sends me notes every morning before I go on track. I don't even have time to read it sometimes. It's crazy. It's like essays, longer than your reporting stories. It's crazy.
“Ultimately I treasure them. I save them. I'll never give them to anyone else 'cause they're just that good.”
In the end, McLaughlin feels an immense amount of pride to return the mentorship given to him by Pagenaud and race engineer Ben Bretzman and convert it with results, along with the support of his family.
“Yeah, I'm very proud to do it for him, do it for Benny as well,” McLaughlin said. “Benny has been a huge help for me in that regard, Benny Bretzman. Good team.
“I'm very thankful to have the people, blessed to have the people in my corner. That goes from the people I work with, but then I've got my wife, soon to be dad. All that stuff. It puts into perspective. It's called winning races, but it's always good having good people in your corner.”
