Scott McLaughlin (racing driver)
Scott Thomas McLaughlin (born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand professional racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series. He currently drives the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske.[1] He is the Supercars Championship 2018, 2019 and 2020 series champion.
| Scott McLaughlin | |
|---|---|
 McLaughlin in 2020 | |
| Nationality |  New Zealander |
| Born | Scott Thomas McLaughlin 10 June 1993 Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Supercars Record | |
| Car number | 17 |
| Current team | Dick Johnson Racing (Endurance Race Co-Driver) |
| Series championships | 3 (2018, 2019, 2020) |
| Races | 251 |
| Race wins | 56 |
| Podium finishes | 105 |
| Pole positions | 76 |
| 2020 Championship position | 1st (2576 pts) |
McLaughlin won his first race in the NZ Touring Car series in early 2011, becoming the youngest ever driver to win a race in the Championship at just 17 years old.[2] Then in 2012 he competed in the New Zealand V8SuperTourers Championship and became the inaugural series champion.
McLaughlin achieved his first Supercars race win during his first full time season with Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2013, at Pukekohe Park Raceway. He is the youngest person to ever win in a Supercar.[3]
Early life
McLaughlin was born in Hamilton,[4] New Zealand but moved to Australia's Gold Coast at 9 years of age and attended Saint Stephen's College throughout his upbringing.[5]
Career
Karting
McLaughlin began driving karts when he was six and racing when he was seven, and represented New Zealand in the Rotax Max Challenge held in Italy,[6][7] but had long aspired to race V8s, and was given a trial in one at Stone Brothers Racing while doing work experience there.[3]
Dunlop Super2 Series
In 2010, McLaughlin confirmed that he would be racing for Stone Brothers Racing in the 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at just 16 years of age, becoming the youngest ever V8 Supercar driver.[3] He didn't make his debut until the second round of the series, due to him not having the appropriate competition licence.[8]
McLaughlin won his first race in the series at Queensland Raceway in 2011[9] before going on to win the title in 2012.[10]
V8 SuperTourer Series
McLaughlin drove a Holden VE Commodore in the 2012 season of the V8 SuperTourer Series. He won six races for MPC Motorsport on his way to becoming the inaugural series champion.[11]
Supercars Championship
McLaughlin made his debut in the Supercars Championship at the Sandown 500 in 2012, as a co-driver to Jonathon Webb at Tekno Autosports. The pair performed well at both Sandown and Bathurst, finishing in tenth place at Sandown and in sixth place at Bathurst. McLaughlin also drove at the Sydney 500 for Garry Rogers Motorsport after Alexandre Prémat was forced out of the Sunday race due to extreme heat exhaustion the day before.[12] McLaughlin was later signed by Garry Rogers Motorsport as a full-time driver for the 2013 season.[10]
McLaughlin continued with Garry Rogers Motorsport into 2014, under its new identity as Volvo Polestar Racing (later Volvo Cyan Racing). At 1 March 2014, McLaughlin scored a podium finish in Volvo's return to the series at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Four race wins at Barbagallo, Sydney Motorsport Park, and 2 wins at Phillip Island. He finished 5th in the standings.
For 2017, McLaughlin moved from Garry Rogers Motorsport to DJR Team Penske to partner Fabian Coulthard. Throughout the year, McLaughlin was dominant in qualifying; acquiring 16 pole positions. Along with a string of strong results, McLaughlin would find himself in the box seat for a maiden championship title. After starting strongly in the final round at Newcastle, a chaotic second race saw McLaughlin pick up three penalties which would eventually contribute toward him narrowly missing out on the title to Jamie Whincup.
In 2018, McLaughlin continued to race with DJR Team Penske. He won seven out of the 34 races, winning in Melbourne, Phillip Island, Barbagallo, Hidden Valley and Ipswich. McLaughlin finished third at Bathurst alongside Alexandre Prémat in which was the Ford Falcon's final appearance at Mount Panorama. On 4 November, at Pukekohe Park Raceway, McLaughlin won race twenty-nine to join compatriot Shane van Gisbergen in winning the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy. In Newcastle, McLaughlin won race thirty (after van Gisbergen was stripped of his victory following a pit lane violation, demoting him to fifth) and finished second in race thirty-one to become the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars champion.
In 2019, DJR Team Penske debuted the Ford Mustang, which replaced the Falcon. McLaughlin was able to continue his dominance with the team, with 18 wins, which broke the record for most wins in a single year, 15 pole positions, 18 fastest laps, and 22 podiums to his name. He became the first ever driver to claim the Darwin Triple Crown, after winning the first race, claiming pole for the second race and winning the second race. On 13 October 2019. McLaughlin finally won Bathurst for the first time, with Alexandre Prémat as Scott's co-driver. Two weeks after this he had the biggest crash of his career, a 43g impact at the Gold Coast. He then had to drive a new car, due to chassis damage from the crash, for the last two rounds and was still able to successfully defend his championship title, with a round to go at Sandown.
IndyCar
Speculation around McLaughlin moving to one of Penske's other motorsports programs began in 2019, when Penske team president Tim Cindric and McLaughlin met in Australia to discuss McLaughlin's future in the Penske organization. Cindric originally envisioned moving McLaughlin to Penske's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program to race alongside Helio Castroneves in Penske's Acura Daytona Prototype International entry and even potentially competing in the World Endurance Championship. McLaughlin however expressed interest in moving to Penske's team in the Indycar Series. He stated his primary motivators were the challenge of racing open wheel race cars, his long time goal of racing in the Indianapolis 500, and competing against his childhood hero and fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon.[13] Cindric was skeptical about moving McLaughlin to Indycar as McLaughlin had not driven an open wheel racecar since he raced in Formula Ford during his early teens. McLaughlin changed Cindric's mind by altering his strength and conditioning regimen along with undertaking private simulator time that to show he had the talent and physical fitness to move from the mechanical grip reliant Supercars to the downforce reliant Dallara DW12, all during the middle of the 2019 Supercars Championship. [14]
In January 2020, he tested a Team Penske IndyCar at Sebring International Raceway.[15] Team Penske driver Will Power hailed McLaughlin as a phenomenal driver after the test.[16] In February 2020 McLaughlin completed his first laps on an oval during Team Penske's test at Texas Motor Speedway, with reigning Indycar Series champion and future teammate Josef Newgarden hailing McLaughlin's ability to quickly adapt to the demands of racing the DW12 on ovals. [17] On 5 February, Penske announced that McLaughlin will race a 4th Team Penske entry at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McLaughlin was unable to travel to the United States for that race. On 17 September, Team Penske announced that McLaughlin will instead make his IndyCar debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on 25 October.[18] The day before the race he posted on his personal Instagram feed that he signed a multi year contract with Penske to compete full time in the series.[19] On January 25, 2021 McLaughlin and Penske announced that PPG Paints would be the primary sponsor for most of his entries in the Indycar series.[20]
McLaughlin placed 4th in the 2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driving a Ford BF Falcon (pictured above at Queensland Raceway) & a Ford FG Falcon).
McLaughlin placed 10th in the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship driving a Holden VF Commodore (pictured above at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit).
McLaughlin placed fifth in the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship driving a Volvo S60 (pictured at the 2014 Coates Hire Ipswich 400).
McLaughlin preparing for the third race of the 2015 Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint.
McLaughlin placed 2nd in the 2017 Supercars Championship driving a Ford FG X Falcon (Pictured above at the Newcastle Street Circuit)
McLaughlin at the 2018 Newcastle 500, the event at which he secured his maiden championship.
McLaughlin at the 2019 Newcastle 500, the event which he secured his second championship
Career results
Supercars Championship results
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Bathurst 1000 results
| Year | Team | Car | Co-Driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore VE | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Jonathon Webb |
6th | 161 |
| 2013 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore VF | Jack Perkins |
8th | 161 |
| 2014 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Volvo S60 Mk.2 |  Alexandre Prémat |
17th | 150 |
| 2015 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Volvo S60 Mk.2 | Alexandre Prémat |
5th | 161 |
| 2016 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Volvo S60 Mk.2 | David Wall |
15th | 159 |
| 2017 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | Alexandre Prémat |
DNF | 74 |
| 2018 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | Alexandre Prémat |
3rd | 161 |
| 2019 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | Alexandre Prémat |
1st | 161 |
| 2020 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | Tim Slade |
5th | 161 |
V8 SuperTourer results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Final Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | MPC Motorsport | Holden VE Commodore | HAM R1 10 |
HAM R2 15 |
HAM R3 3 |
RUA R4 Ret |
RUA R5 7 |
RUA R6 15 |
MAN R7 |
MAN R8 |
MAN R9 |
HAM R10 1 |
HAM R11 1 |
HAM R12 1 |
TAU R13 2 |
TAU R14 1 |
PUK R15 1 |
PUK R16 2 |
PUK R17 2 |
RUA R18 1 |
RUA R19 15 |
1st | 3474 | ||
| 2013 | Scott McLaughlin Racing | Holden VE Commodore | HAM R1 Ret |
HAM R2 Ret |
HAM R3 Ret |
RUA R4 17 |
RUA R5 7 |
RUA R6 Ret |
PUK R7 3 |
PUK R8 4 |
PUK R9 3 |
TAU R10 2 |
TAU R11 9 |
TAU R12 Ret |
HAM R13 4 |
HAM R14 2 |
HAM R15 Ret |
HAM R16 Ret |
HAM R17 3 |
HAM R18 6 |
PUK R19 5 |
PUK R20 2 |
PUK R21 1 |
5th | 2744 |
Scandinavian Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 | SKÖ 1 2 |
SKÖ 2 Ret |
MAN 1 |
MAN 2 |
AND 1 |
AND 2 |
FAL 1 |
FAL 2 |
KAR 1 |
KAR 2 |
SOL 1 |
SOL 2 |
KNU 1 |
KNU 2 |
13th | 36 |
American open–wheel racing results
(key)
References
- "Scott McLaighlin to race for DJR Team Penske beginning in 2017". djrteampenske.com.au. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- Thompson, Eric (14 March 2011). "Teenager grabs first V8 win". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- Phelps, James (1 May 2010). "McLaughlin racing on L-plates". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- https://www.supercars.com/drivers/scott-mclaughlin/
- "Homework pays offs as former Saint Stephen's student hits home straight towards series victory". 19 October 2018.
- "McLAUGHLIN WINS PLACE AT MAJOR KARTING WORLD FINAL", AKA, racefan.com.au
- "KIWI DRIVERS ON THE WAY HOME AFTER UP AND DOWN ROTAX MAX GRAND FINALS MEETING IN ITALY", Ross MacKay, nzmotorsport.co.nz
- "Young Kiwi to make MINI Challenge debut". SpeedCafe. 5 March 2010. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- "McLaughlin secures Fujitsu support for 2012". 27 October 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- "McLaughlin Confirmed at Fujitsu Racing GRM". Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- "Teen champ Scott McLaughlin will have a target on his back as the V8 SuperTourers season begins". news.com.au. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- Dale, William (2 December 2012). "New Dunlop Series champion Scott McLaughlin will replace an ill Alex Premat at the Sydney Telstra 500". news.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- Penske, Team. "Get to Know Scott McLaughlin Pt. 1". Instagram. Team Penske. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- "Scott McLaughlin on his COTA Indycar Test". Youtube. Speed Cafe. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- Coch, Matt (14 January 2020). "McLaughlin IndyCar test 'a dream come true'". Speedcafe. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- Coch, Matt (17 January 2020). "Power hails McLaughlin a 'phenomenal driver'". Speedcafe. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- "Scott McLaughlin Indycar Test at Texas Motor Speedway". Youtube. DMG United. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- "McLaughlin to make Team Penske IndyCar debut at St. Pete". Teampenske.com. 17 September 2020.
- Mcglaughlin, Scott. "New Beginnings". Instagram. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- Mcglaughlin, Scott. "Primary Sponsor". Instagram. Team Penske. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
External links
- Scott McLaughlin Official Website updated by in 2018
- Scott McLaughlin career summary at DriverDB.com
- Profile on Racing Reference
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andrew Thompson |
Winner of the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series 2012 |
Succeeded by Dale Wood |
| Preceded by none |
Winner of the V8 SuperTourers Championship 2012 |
Succeeded by Greg Murphy |
| Preceded by Jamie Whincup |
Winner of the Supercars Championship 2018, 2019 & 2020 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Shane van Gisbergen |
Winner of the Adelaide 500 2019 & 2020 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Craig Lowndes Steven Richards |
Winner of the Bathurst 1000 2019 (with Alexandre Prémat) |
Succeeded by Shane van Gisbergen Garth Tander |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Scott Pye |
Mike Kable Young Gun Award 2013 |
Succeeded by Todd Hazelwood |
| Preceded by Craig Lowndes |
Barry Sheene Medal 2014 |
Succeeded by Craig Lowndes |
| Preceded by Craig Lowndes |
Barry Sheene Medal 2016 |
Succeeded by David Reynolds |
| Preceded by Shane van Gisbergen |
Barry Sheene Medal 2020 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
