Scott McLaughlin is a multi-time Supercars Series champion and Bathurst winner. He’s part of the three-driver lineup in the powerful Team Penske organization in the NTT IndyCar Series and got his first win in St. Pete at the first race of the 2022 season. He narrowly missed backing that up in the second race of the season when his teammate just pipped him to the line at the high-speed Texas Motor Speedway oval. It’s rare for a driver to leave tin tops and go to top level Indy cars and McLaughlin has surely set a high standard for doing that. He spent some time with us at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and explains his success and his motivation moving forward. Enjoy!
NOTE: McLaughlin’s weekend was interrupted by an engine change right after the Sunday morning warmup and then a slight kiss of the wall at the Turn 11 hairpin during the race which dropped him back to 21st position. He fought back to finish 11th.
Scott McLaughlin waves to the fans just prior to the start of the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Scott McLaughlin pushed hard on the Firestone “Reds” during qualifying but hit traffic and just missed making the Firestone Fast Six. He ended up qualifying ninth.
With his striking Snap-on livery, McLaughlin puts his head down and gets on with it pushing hard everywhere on track including here entering the fountain (Turn 3).
In this photo from behind in Turn 4 you can see the damaged floor bodywork on the right side of McLaughlin’s race car. This came from just clipping the inside wall of the Turn 11 hairpin inducing a spin. Not the weekend he was hoping for, but he still managed to leave Long Beach second in points.
Interview and photos Copyright © by Larry Mason