INDIANAPOLIS — Scott McLaughlin crashed his Staff Penske automotive in Sunday afternoon observe and ruined his likelihood to repeat final 12 months’s Indianapolis 500 pole-winning run.
McLaughlin qualified 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 fingers to his helmet as he braced for influence with the Flip 2 wall.
The New Zealand driver’s automotive went airborne and was destroyed, and Staff Penske stated it will slot him at twelfth and never even try a qualifying run Sunday.
The workforce started engaged on Penske’s backup speedway automotive 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 automotive hits the Flip 2 wall in #Indy500 observe. pic.twitter.com/eXBunUAhKp
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 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 middle.
“I am OK. I am simply actually, actually, actually, actually, actually sorry for everybody at Staff Penske,” McLaughlin stated. “It was speaking to me and I form of felt it, and I in all probability ought to have backed out, however you are making an attempt to finish a run to see what it seems like and was it well worth the threat? In all probability wasn’t. I am extremely unhappy.”
He stated he felt lucky that the automotive didn’t launch into the catchfence, however the crash did trigger harm to the observe floor that IMS employees needed to repair throughout a stoppage created by his wreck.
“They will construct a brand new automotive for me, however I am simply actually gutted greater than something,” McLaughlin stated. “It is exhausting to take, such as you want it was for one thing, however it was for nothing, proper? In observe.”
McLaughlin was additionally rattled to see his spouse crying after his crash.
“They’re nervous about me,” he stated. “I needed to get out of the automotive immediately simply so she knew I used to be OK.”
There have been three exhausting crashes previously 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 street and road course backup automotive. Herta certified inside the highest 30 to lock himself into the sector as soon as his automotive was prepared for qualifying.