Take it to the bank: McLaughlin just getting started with his first IndyCar win

Now that he has his first win in-hand, the New Zealand driver has many more triumphs still to come.

Perfect as driver Scott McLaughlin made it look Sunday in winning the NTT IndyCar Series season opener, the second-year driver from New Zealand wasn’t flawless at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

McLaughlin leaped out of the car to celebrate in victory lane with his Team Penske crew, but lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. Then he sat on the sidepod to catch his breath after a tense battle to beat Alex Palou, but quickly jumped to his feet when he realized he had planted his backside onto the hot exhaust pipe.

Scott McLaughlin took an accidental spill upon exiting his race car after winning Sunday's race. Photo: IndyCar

It happens when it’s your first IndyCar victory. He’ll clean those up the next time he wins.

Yes, there will be a next time. For both McLaughlin and Team Penske.

There’s too much winning history for both the driver and the team for Sunday’s triumph to be a one-time occurrence. McLaughlin is a three-time champion of the Australian V8 Supercars series before moving to IndyCar last year, and when he won the pole Saturday and led 49 laps Sunday, he looked like a guy back in his comfort zone running in the lead.

And Team Penske is, well, Team Penske.

They’ve won 16 IndyCar championships, although none since Joseph Newgarden in 2019. Last year was far from the comeback effort they wanted, with three victories (Newgarden twice, Will Power once) and 12 podiums. By contrast, Chip Ganassi Racing also had 12 podiums last year but won six times with three different drivers, three by Palou, who ultimately won the championship, as well.

If you wondered if Penske would be the chaser again this year, the past weekend probably answered that. Championship organizations don’t stay down without making the right moves to get back on top, and the newest ingredient for McLaughlin this year is Ben Bretzman, his lead engineer. Bretzman helped guide Simon Pagenaud to the 2016 IndyCar title and the 2019 Indy 500 victory.

Scott McLaughlin and Ben Bretzman were a winning team within the winning team Sunday! Photo: IndyCar. 

McLaughlin led at the green flag Sunday and Bretzman had him there by the finish with a fast car and two-pit-stop strategy. Oh yeah, and by the way, it was the 223rd win in Team Penske IndyCar history.

By the final round of stops, the race had shaped into a battle between McLaughlin and Palou. McLaughlin stopped on lap 65 and Palou one lap later, but the Penske team and McLaughlin’s strong out lap kept him in front. Palou trimmed a 2½-second lead down to a half-second in the closing laps, but McLaughlin never put a wheel wrong despite the pressure.

Behind him, teammate Will Power finished third and Newgarden 16th.

It’s been a spectacular start to 2022 for the Penske organization, with NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric winning the Daytona 500 last week and backing it up with the pole position for Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway.

McLaughlin is drawing a new group of fans to him, even those who may cheer for some of his rivals! Photo: IndyCar

If you’re into omens or parallels or history-repeats-itself scenarios, consider this from 2015:

Joey Logano put Team Penske into victory lane at Daytona and Juan Pablo Montoya followed by winning the IndyCar opener for Penske at St. Pete. Montoya then won the Indy 500 and finished the season tied in points with Scott Dixon, who won the title via tiebreaker.

Also, the driver who won the IndyCar season opener the past three years – Palou in 2021, Dixon in 2020 and Newgarden in 2019 – won the championship.

It’s too early to say if Sunday’s victory is the beginning of a monster IndyCar season for Team Penske. The series is way too competitive with Ganassi, Arrow McLaren SP and Andretti Autosport to contend with.

There’s no reason to believe McLaughlin won’t be fast when IndyCar gathers for its next race March 20 at Texas. He finished second there to Dixon last year in his first oval race, so 220 mph isn’t outside his comfort zone.

And neither is the top of the standings for Team Penske.