Scott McLaughlin celebrates his 70th Team Penske Pole with wife Karly and daughter Lucy Violet at … [+]
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin achieved an historic mathematic achievement for Team Penske with his 70th total pole for the winningest team in auto racing history.
McLaughlin won the Verizon P1 Award Saturday, March 1 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
It was McLaughlin’s 11th IndyCar Pole. It was also the 699th pole for Team Penske in all forms of racing.
Counting McLaughlin’s stunning Supercars career in Australia, it was McLaughlin’s 70th career pole for Team Penske. That is the most in the team’s storied history.
However, Will Power has the IndyCar record for most poles with 70, but six of those poles were with Team Australia in Champ Car, leaving him with 64 poles for Team Penske.
Break it all down and McLaughlin has won a staggering 10 percent of all poles in Team Penske history.
“It’s actually crazy to think about it for sure, but David Hovis, our media guy, told me about that,” McLaughlin told me after Saturday’s formal interview session concluded. “It’s a pretty proud stat obviously, but I’m trying to elevate the win stat a little bit more.”
Of McLaughlin’s 70 Team Penske poles, 59 came in Supercars in Australia.
“We had a good run,” McLaughlin said. “We did have a good run with Penske. I had amazing days down in Supercars and I’m just so thankful I’m able to show my ability over here and do what I’m doing here with Penske.”
Although Power remains the king of IndyCar poles with 70, McLaughlin quipped, “He’s been around a lot longer so if he’s going as well as he is I’ll try and get to his level.”
Of his 11 IndyCar Poles, McLaughlin won the pole for the 108th Indianapolis 500 in 2024.
On March 1, McLaughlin won the pole with the fastest lap in the Firestone Fast Six at 59.4624 seconds around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course in St. Petersburg for a speed of 108.976 miles per hour in the No. 3 Chevrolet.
Firestone brought a Firestone Red Tire that degrades quicker than in the past, created a big difference between the Firestone Black primary tire and the Reds.
That should create a three-stop race instead of teams gambling for fuel milage and attempt to complete the 100-lap race in only two stops.
That makes starting on the pole a strategic advantage, according to McLaughlin.
“Oh, it’s huge,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s going to be just go, go, go the whole race, I believe. So clear air is going to be king tomorrow and hopefully we can keep control from the front.”
The math added up for McLaughlin, who has won 10 percent of all poles for the team that began its racing history in 1966. He hopes it equals his eighth career IndyCar Series victory in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Scott McLaughlin after winning the pole position during qualifying for the NTT IndyCar Series … [+]
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