McLaughlin: “Just want to win” after Milwaukee Race 2 podium

Credit: Joe Skibinski

Scott McLaughlin fought through an unpredictable Milwaukee Race 2 to secure his first podium since the Grand Prix of Alabama, giving Team Penske another strong result during a weekend where the New Zealander showed plenty of speed.

McLaughlin entered the weekend with one of the fastest cars in the field. He earned his second pole position of the season and the 13th of his IndyCar career in qualifying for Milwaukee Race 1, although an unapproved engine change dropped him nine places on the starting grid.

Before returning to finish Milwaukee Race 1 later on Sunday after weather affected the schedule, McLaughlin faced Race 2 and recovered from a difficult opening stint to put himself back among the leaders.

The third-place finish gave McLaughlin something to build on after a challenging spell during the second half of the season. Still, his focus quickly moved towards the unfinished Milwaukee Race 1 later that afternoon. 

“Yeah, learnt enough to make a little few changes,” McLaughlin said after the race. “We made a lot of changes overnight. I was wrecking loose to start. Nearly spun at Turn 3. First Lap is going to be a hell of an on-board. Look forward to watching that. Outside of that, the car was a lot better as the race went on, which is good, which bodes well for race one tonight.”

McLaughlin's afternoon nearly changed within the opening lap as he struggled with a loose car. His moment at Turn 3 forced him to react quickly before the car settled underneath him, giving him an immediate indication of where improvements were needed. When asked afterwards about the save, his response showed how close the moment had been. “Did you see it?” McLaughlin said. “It was massive.”

The opening stages proved difficult, but McLaughlin gradually found more confidence as the race progressed. Team Penske had made significant changes overnight and while those adjustments left the car difficult to handle initially, its performance improved over the longer runs. “At the start of the race, though, I was battling pretty hard,” McLaughlin said. “Finally got it sorted, the yellow came out. We chose to stay out.”

That decision became one of the defining moments of McLaughlin's race. Rather than following several of his rivals into pit lane for fresh tyres, Team Penske prioritised track position and left the No.3 Chevrolet on circuit. The call placed greater responsibility on McLaughlin to preserve his tyres while holding off cars with fresher rubber, but clean air helped him manage the disadvantage during the opening portion of the stint.

“Yeah, for sure. Right on the edge in terms of tyre life,” McLaughlin said when discussing the strategy. “We chose track position and hoped I could hold those guys off as long as I could with the clear air. Once I got hold of some dirty air, that's when the guys with the fresh tyres were slightly better. I thought we held on well. Our car came into its own in that stint. Excited to see what we have at the next run.”

While the strategy helped McLaughlin move forward, traffic became one of his biggest frustrations. Running behind cars several laps down made maintaining momentum difficult, particularly as he attempted to close the gap to race winner Pato O’Ward.

Dirty air also made working through traffic difficult. McLaughlin grew frustrated with drivers several laps down who continued to defend heavily, slowing his pursuit of O’Ward as the race developed.

“They're air blocking. Mirror driving,” McLaughlin said. “I get when you're a lap down, trying to stay on the lead lap in front of the leader. Once you're four seconds back of the lead, no chance of you getting on the lap, you are a lap down, I don't know why you're fighting so hard. If I was leading, it's going to be worse out for the leader, but that's the rules. I just think a little bit of etiquette there, yep. Speak to whoever I need to.”

The frustration continued late in the race as McLaughlin encountered Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi while trying to maintain his position and remain within reach of O’Ward. From McLaughlin's perspective, there was a difference between fighting to remain on the lead lap and aggressively defending once any realistic chance of recovering had disappeared.

“I get the fighting, like, a lap down on the oval. That's part of it. That's IndyCar history,” McLaughlin said. “I get more frustrated when you're five or six seconds back of the leader, I'm trying to chase down Pato. Yeah, you just got to get out of the way. At that point you're done. Not going to get the lap back.”

Credit: James Black

McLaughlin accepted traffic as part of oval racing, particularly at a short oval where leaders regularly work their way through slower cars. His frustration centred more on how drivers handled those situations once they had fallen several laps behind. “It's tough being the leader, but that's part and parcel of racing in IndyCar with the lap traffic,” McLaughlin said.

“It's just more I feel like the more gentleman’s agreement is when you're toasted, you just get out of the way, especially when you're three laps down. That one was crazy.”

Despite those difficulties, McLaughlin and Team Penske kept themselves in contention through strategy. Staying out during the caution provided valuable track position and allowed the No.3 Chevrolet to run towards the front, even as tyre wear increased later in the stint.

The gamble placed McLaughlin close to the limit of his tyre life, but his ability to manage the car kept him ahead of several drivers on fresher tyres for longer than expected. Once traffic disrupted the clean airflow, his advantage began to disappear, yet the position gained earlier in the stint proved valuable enough to keep him in the podium fight.

McLaughlin felt the car improved as the race continued, which gave him confidence ahead of the resumption of Milwaukee Race 1 later in the day. “Our car came into its own in that stint,” McLaughlin said. “Excited to see what we have at the next run.”

The result also came during a weekend where Team Penske had shown strong qualifying speed. McLaughlin's pole for Milwaukee Race 1 demonstrated the outright pace available from the No.3 car, even though his engine penalty prevented him from starting at the front. Race 2 offered another opportunity to convert speed into a result, with his recovery eventually producing a podium.

With the championship reaching its closing stages, points remained important, but McLaughlin made his priorities clear. His previous victory had come at Milwaukee two years earlier and returning to the circuit gave him another opportunity to end the wait.

When asked about balancing championship considerations against pursuing another victory, McLaughlin offered one of his shortest answers of the press conference. “I don't care. Like I don't,” McLaughlin said. “I just want to win. Don't care. Just want to drive hard.”

That approach reflected the aggression seen throughout his Race 2 performance. McLaughlin had little interest in protecting a position for the sake of points when opportunities to move forward appeared, particularly with another race still waiting later in the afternoon.

The unusual schedule also presented a challenge few drivers had previously experienced. Milwaukee Race 1 had been suspended due to rain on Saturday before Race 2 took place on Sunday, leaving McLaughlin preparing to return to another race only hours after standing on the podium.

McLaughlin, though, had already experienced similar circumstances throughout his Supercars career, giving him some previous experience of adapting to an event where teams had time to work on their cars during a lengthy interruption.

“I think it's a new situation. I mean, like, what can you do?” McLaughlin said. “I like how they've impounded the tyres and the fuel. I think that was a strategy that we played before like that happened. Sort of neutralises that.”

Credit: Joe Skibinski

The suspension of the race gave every team an opportunity to study Saturday's running and make adjustments before Milwaukee Race 1 resumed. For McLaughlin, whose car had already shown enough speed to earn pole before his grid penalty, the focus centred on trusting Team Penske's decisions rather than worrying about what rivals had changed overnight.

“Now we have to make some hay on those tyres. Everyone has had a chance to change their cars,” McLaughlin said. “At the same time those people that have that strategy gain, whatever we think, have done that, too. You just got to trust that you made the decision that you made the car better. I think it's the same for everyone. Just get on with it.”

McLaughlin also recognised the limited options available to IndyCar once rain interrupted Saturday's action. Without lights at the Milwaukee Mile, continuing into the evening was not an option, forcing the series into an unusual Sunday schedule. “It's a tough situation when you have an oval that doesn't have lights,” McLaughlin said. “Part and parcel of a doubleheader. What can you do? I think they've done as good as they can.”

Before returning to the car, McLaughlin faced a rare few hours between two separate IndyCar races. The physical demands of Milwaukee Race 2 meant recovery became part of his preparation, although his plans remained relatively simple.

“Yeah, you could say that. Go have a sleep in the bus or something. But I doubt it. I can never sleep during the daytime,” McLaughlin said when asked whether the schedule felt similar to an endurance race. “I will go have a nice cold sort shower, semi sort of ice bath. Couldn't drink Champagne or I'll have Champagne later on.”

More importantly, McLaughlin had gained another race's worth of information before climbing back into the No.3 Chevrolet. His Race 2 car improved significantly after its difficult opening laps, giving Team Penske a clearer direction for the remaining portion of Milwaukee Race 1.

The podium did not completely satisfy McLaughlin. Traffic had frustrated him throughout the race, while victory ultimately remained out of reach. Yet third place represented a strong recovery from how uncomfortable the car felt at the start, while the strategy call to retain track position kept him involved at the front.

McLaughlin's objective remained unchanged heading into the second half of his unusual Sunday. “I mean, I've got an opportunity to do that today,” McLaughlin said when the conversation returned to winning at Milwaukee. Mclaughlin recovered from a difficult start to secure the Race 2 podium, before turning his attention towards another chance to fight at the front in Race 1.