Scott McLaughlin has achieved loads in a comparatively short space of time in motorsport, with quite a few wins around the globe to his credit, in addition to three Supercars titles in Australia.
It all began for the New Zealander at a really young age – he became the youngest winner in Supercars history, winning the race at Pukekohe in 2013 on the age of 19 years, 10 months and three days.
He went on to attain 55 more victories within the series, including the 2019 Bathurst 1000.
After McLaughlin made a one-time IndyCar Series start on the Streets of St. Petersburg in 2020, he moved to Team Penske full-time the next season.
In 2022, he took a surprising victory on the identical track where he made his debut, defeating then (and now two-time) series champion Alex Palou.
Now in his fourth season in North America’s premier open-wheel championship, McLaughlin has amassed six wins. His latest victory in the primary race of a doubleheader weekend in Iowa was his first on an oval track and allowed him to say that he “can now call myself an IndyCar driver,” which is in step with his success on the road and street circuits.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, start
Photo: Phillip Abbott / Motorsports images
The query then becomes: Which series win is more satisfying for McLaughlin?
“It’s a tough question to answer without pissing people off on both sides of the world,” joked McLaughlin, who also won the LMP2 class on the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring last yr.
“I feel from an IndyCar perspective, winning a race in IndyCar, there are such a lot of variables that go into an IndyCar race. For example, winning an IndyCar race is incredibly satisfying.
“The V8 (Supercars) race is different. I mean, if you could have a V8 sprint race where you only have to start out and drive home, it's loads easier than a three-stop race in Toronto or something like that.
“But then you could have Bathurst and it’s a six or seven hour race and there’s one other driver and there are lots of variables which you can’t control; to win a race like that’s incredibly satisfying.
“So I feel it’s different. And it’s the identical here, I mean, I’m sure the Thermal race that Alex (Palou) won was possibly not as satisfying as him winning the race, wherever it was, I don’t remember, because he won in lots of places.
“I think it all depends on how difficult the victory is, and that determines the satisfaction.”
Scott McLaughlin, Team DJR Penske Ford
Photo: Dirk Klynsmith / Motorsports images
With that said, McLaughlin make clear what he considers to be probably the most satisfying victory of his profession to date.
“It’s tough to get past Bathurst,” said McLaughlin, the 2021 IndyCar Rookie of the Year.
“For me, that actually set my profession up here. You know, I got out of the automobile and the very first thing Roger (Penske) said to me was, 'Okay, time for America.'
“Yes, that prepared me, right. Then, probably, a really close second place is my first victory in St. Petersburg.
“It was good. I had a little movement and Alex, the reigning champion, was breathing down my neck, it was kind of my moment of arrival, especially after the year I had before.”
