{"id":1217,"date":"2026-05-23T16:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2026-05-23T16:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:34:22","slug":"scott-mclaughlin-and-team-penske-head-into-indianapolis-500-looking-to-rewrite-the-2025-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1217","title":{"rendered":"Scott McLaughlin and Team Penske head into Indianapolis 500 looking to rewrite the 2025 script"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Scott McLaughlin waited 12 months to erase the worst memory of his life.<\/p>\n

Read more Sprinter Fred Kerley says he\u2019s running clean at Enhanced Games, and that he\u2019ll be at the LA Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n

He spent the time contemplating the haunting images of a spinning car hitting the wall last May before the race had even started, his hands flapping in anger and the frustration sinking in as he climbed out. All the inconsolable McLaughlin could do was cover his face.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not going to blow it Sunday at another sold-out Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n

Instead, McLaughlin intends to take full advantage of a second chance on Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s 2.5-mile oval, and he hopes to show everyone what he\u2019s learned and how resilient he\u2019s become as he tries to write a worst-to-first script.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo doubt I\u2019ve come back stronger from it,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m driving differently this year because of it. I\u2019m just looking forward to getting back into the race, creating a new storyline, getting on with it. I\u2019d love to go zero to hero, of course, but driving with emotion like that is probably a detriment. I\u2019ve just got to go out there, execute and see what I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old New Zealander has returned to Indy with a steadier, more determined mindset to prove he won\u2019t make the same mistake twice. He didn\u2019t duck any questions about what happened, even if it still seems inexplicable.<\/p>\n

But at Team Penske, it\u2019s not just McLaughlin seeking redemption this weekend.<\/p>\n

Last May might have been the worst for team founder Roger Penske since 1995, when neither of his two-time 500 winners \u2014 Al Unser Jr. or Emerson Fittipaldi \u2014 made the 33-car starting field, with the open-wheel split keeping Penske away from Indy for the next five years.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the trouble started long before McLaughlin crashed while warming up his tires as he was driving past pit lane. Two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power were both penalized following a post-qualifying inspection that showed each car had illegally modified rear attenuators.<\/p>\n

It marked the second time in 14 months The Captain\u2019s team had been tarnished by a cheating scandal. In April 2024, Newgarden was stripped of his win and McLaughlin lost his third-place finish at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg because they improperly used the push-to-pass button on restarts \u2014 a rule that was changed earlier this month after a dozen drivers did the same thing at Long Beach. The new rule will allow all 33 drivers to use it on restarts Sunday, the first time on an oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened there was a nothing burger,\u201d Newgarden said when asked about Long Beach. \u201cI mean look, I don\u2019t have much to say about it, it doesn\u2019t matter to me. I\u2019m here in Indianapolis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, his family says<\/a><\/p>\n

But the second infraction sent both cars to the back of the starting grid, essentially ending Newgarden\u2019s opportunity to become the first driver in race history with three straight 500 wins and Power\u2019s chance to add a second Indy crown in his contract year. Three key team executives \u2014president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer \u2014 were fired.<\/p>\n

The three drivers\u2019 race-day results were subpar, too, for a team with a record 20 Indy wins. Power was the team\u2019s best finisher, in 16th and one lap behind the leaders. Newgarden dropped out with 66 laps to go and came in 22nd. And McLaughlin, Penske\u2019s top qualifier, didn\u2019t complete a single lap.<\/p>\n

This year, McLaughlin and Newgarden came back to Indy with a new teammate, David Malukas, who drives the No. 12 car Power occupied for more than a decade. McLaughlin also has a new race strategist, Cindric.<\/p>\n

And while Malukas and McLaughlin already have put Team Penske in more favorable position this May, starting third and ninth, Newgarden struggled in qualifying. He\u2019ll start 23rd, in the middle of Row 8, though it\u2019s still a nine-spot improvement over last year\u2019s starting spot. The combination at least gives Penske\u2019s team a fighting chance on the track he owns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going into it like I do any race,\u201d Malukas said when asked about starting on the outside of Row 1. \u201cI\u2019ll just watch previous race starts from that position, just getting a collection of data to see where people funnel out, funnel in. I\u2019ll just go with the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newgarden, however, will have to manage traffic all around him after earning his worst starting spot since 2013 with the exception of last year\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s McLaughlin, who has a second chance to prove to his fans and the team that last year was an aberration and this year could have a storybook ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like last year sucked and stunk, but it\u2019s part of my journey,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve gotten years of experience in one. It was a tough thing. I never wish that upon my worst enemy, as I\u2019ve said. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve grown from, for sure. But it put a lot of perspective in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendants<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP auto racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/auto-racing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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