INDIANAPOLIS — Scott McLaughlin crashed his Crew Penske automobile in Sunday afternoon observe and ruined his likelihood to repeat final 12 months’s Indianapolis 500 pole-winning run.
McLaughlin certified Saturday inside the highest 12 and was eligible to run for the pole later Sunday. However he spun at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and instantly lifted each palms to his helmet as he braced for influence with the Flip 2 wall.
The New Zealand driver’s automobile went airborne and was destroyed, and Crew Penske mentioned it might slot him at twelfth and never even try a qualifying run Sunday.
The workforce started engaged on Penske’s backup speedway automobile that had been earmarked for teammate Josef Newgarden to make use of in subsequent week’s pit crew competitors.
Scott McLaughlin with a MASSIVE influence 😬
The No. 3 automobile hits the Flip 2 wall in #Indy500 observe. pic.twitter.com/eXBunUAhKp
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) Could 18, 2025
McLaughlin, who final 12 months led a Penske sweep of the entrance row in qualifying, was clearly deflated after he was launched from the medical heart.
“I am OK. I am simply actually, actually, actually, actually, actually sorry for everybody at Crew Penske,” McLaughlin mentioned. “It was speaking to me and I type of felt it, and I in all probability ought to have backed out, however you are attempting to finish a run to see what it looks like and was it definitely worth the threat? Most likely wasn’t. I am extremely unhappy.”
He mentioned he felt lucky that the automobile didn’t launch into the catchfence, however the crash did trigger injury to the observe floor that IMS staff needed to repair throughout a stoppage created by his wreck.
“They will construct a brand new automobile for me, however I am simply actually gutted greater than something,” McLaughlin mentioned. “It is onerous to take, such as you want it was for one thing, but it surely was for nothing, proper? In observe.”
McLaughlin was additionally rattled to see his spouse crying after his crash.
“They’re nervous about me,” he mentioned. “I wished to get out of the automobile right away simply so she knew I used to be OK.”
There have been three onerous crashes prior to now two days at Indianapolis. Marcus Armstrong and Colton Herta each crashed Saturday, and Armstrong has to qualify Sunday for the sector of 33 utilizing a highway and road course backup automobile. Herta certified inside the highest 30 to lock himself into the sector as soon as his automobile was prepared for qualifying.
