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IndyCar: Scott McLaughlin to make debut for Team Penske at Indy road course

By Asher Fair

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 24: Scott McLaughlin driver of the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang celebrates during race 2 of the Newcastle 500 as part of the 2019 Supercars Championship on November 24, 2019 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 24: Scott McLaughlin driver of the #17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang celebrates during race 2 of the Newcastle 500 as part of the 2019 Supercars Championship on November 24, 2019 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images) /
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Scott McLaughlin is set to make his IndyCar debut driving for Team Penske in the 2020 IndyCar season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Last month, two-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin tested an IndyCar for Team Penske at Sebring International Raceway for the first time.

While there was nothing lined up for the 26-year-old New Zealander as far as a potential series debut was concerned at the time, he was rather impressive in his test, finishing just one second off the pace set by Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Rinus VeeKay, the 2019 Indy Lights runner-up.

McLaughlin, who competes for DJR Team Penske in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, completed 140 laps around the 11-turn, 1.703-mile (2.741-kilometer) road course in Sebring, Florida. VeeKay’s top lap time was 52.3 seconds and McLaughlin’s was 53.3.

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But while nothing was lined up at the time, Team Penske president Tim Cindric did state that IndyCar wouldn’t have let such a test happen if for no other purpose than a novelty.

Now we know for a fact that it was not a novelty.

McLaughlin is set to make his IndyCar debut in this upcoming season in a fourth Team Penske Chevrolet in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday, May 9.

McLaughlin is set to join full-time drivers Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud for this 85-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.439-mile (3.925-kilometer) natural terrain road course in Speedway, Indiana, a race that Team Penske have won in five consecutive seasons. He is set to pilot the #2 Chevrolet in this event.

Newgarden had been the full-time driver of the #2 Chevrolet, but he switched to #1 as the reigning champion for the second time in three years.

McLaughlin is set to become the first driver to make his Team Penske IndyCar debut since the team hired Newgarden ahead of the 2017 season. Team Penske had been the only team in IndyCar that had not hired any new drivers to their organization since the 2017 season ended, but now that has changed.

Before he gets that experience of competing in a race at the highest level of American open-wheel racing, McLaughlin is also set to complete more testing for the team, as he is set to participate in next week’s preseason test session at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Here is what McLaughlin had to say about this opportunity, according to a Team Penske press release.

"“This is an amazing opportunity – to race against some of the best open wheel drivers in the world on one of the most historic tracks in motorsports.“I’m excited about the challenge of trying to win a third-consecutive Supercars championship while helping to keep the Shell V-Power Racing Team at the front of the field this season. I’m also really looking forward to this new opportunity. It’s a driver’s dream to get a chance to race an Indy car for Team Penske. With the experience I gained at the test in Sebring, I know a little bit more about what to expect when I get back into the car at COTA. I just want to learn as much as I can every time I’m in the car so I can make the most of the opportunity to race with the team at the Grand Prix in Indianapolis.”"

Team owner Roger Penske added the following.

"“Scott has experienced tremendous success in Supercars over the last three seasons with DJR Team Penske and we believe his talent and his drive will continue to shine behind the wheel of an Indy car. It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop as we work up to his first race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. We know Scott will work hard to improve with every lap and he will represent Team Penske well as he gets acclimated to the IndyCar Series.”"

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The GMR Grand Prix is the fifth of 17 races on the 2020 IndyCar schedule and is set to be broadcast live on NBC from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course beginning at 3:50 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 9.