Scott McLaughlin is starting the 108th Indianapolis 500 from the pole position, and he will need to call on all of his skills to stay up front in the most important event of the season.
McLaughlin has plenty of skills from his own career to look to, including three championships in Australian Supercars and five race wins in his three-year IndyCar career.
But the 30-year-old is still seeking out advice from as many past champions as he can, including a low key relationship with the 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud.
The identity of McLaughlin’s new advisor had been kept quiet, but Pagenaud himself confirmed the rumors when he was spotted on the Team Penske pit box.
“[Pagenaud] is a very keen observer of many things, a note taker, and we’ve been exchanging notes all week,” said McLaughlin after it was revealed he has been working with the Frenchman recently.
“I asked him to do this like February, January or February, and we’ve been analyzing a lot of things since.
“But at the same time, he’s always been a Team Penske member. He’s won the 500 for us, and at the end of the day, we all just want him to be okay.
“So this is for me an opportunity for me to work with him but also an opportunity for me to help maybe bring him back to the race and get his name back involved.”
Pagenaud has been sidelined since a spectacular crash in Mid-Ohio last July. He tumbled nearly a dozen times through the gravel after his brakes failed, and he has been working to recover from concussion symptoms ever since.
Earlier in the week, he came back to a race track for the first time since the accident to provide even more detailed advice to McLaughlin ahead of the race this weekend.
“He’s just a nice guy,” McLaughlin continued. “I’ve always got along with him from Penske, and he’s been a lot of help.
“Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of things I’ve used this week that have helped, but at the same time, we’ve had great car speed, which has made it a lot easier. But just leaning on him has been nice.”
McLaughlin also maintains an ongoing relationship with Rick Mears, who has been a mentor of sorts since the Kiwi joined IndyCar in 2021.
Mears, who is in the exclusive club of four-time Indy 500 winners, has been quick to note his appreciation of McLaughlin’s skills for years as he has been a consultant for Team Penske.
McLaughlin is carrying Mears’ iconic Pennzoil ‘Yellow Submarine’ livery again this year, but will pair that with a replica race suit that matches the design the three-time champion wore while earning his 1984 Indy 500 win.
Between Mears’ ongoing support, Pagenaud’s newfound perspective, and the raft of other resources that Team Penske makes available to all of their drivers, McLaughlin is hoping to come away from the weekend as an Indy 500 winner himself.
