IndyCar: Could this be Team Penske’s next new champion?

By Asher Fair | Apr 8, 2020

(Editors note: This image was computer generated in-game) Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, iRacing, IndyCar (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Scott McLaughlin is new to the IndyCar scene, but he has already beaten the sport’s best. With a debut anticipated for 2020 and possibly more to come, could he be Team Penske’s next new champion?

In his first race for Team Penske’s IndyCar team, albeit in a virtual setting, two-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin officially put himself in American open-wheel racing’s spotlight.

The 26-year-old New Zealander’s past IndyCar experience is limited to literally a few hours. He participated in a test at Sebring International Raceway over the offseason and then drove in preseason testing at Circuit of the Americas, where he placed an impressive third on the speed charts. He then drove at Texas Motor Speedway, where he passed the oval rookie licensing tests.

Following his maiden test but prior to preseason testing, McLaughlin had been confirmed by Team Penske for his IndyCar debut in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday, May 9.

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There were talks of him even running as many as eight races on the schedule this year. Unfortunately, not only will that eight-race deal not happen, but he is no longer even set to compete in the GMR Grand Prix.

This race was one of several races to be postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was rescheduled to Saturday, July 4. It is not yet known whether or not he will end up making his debut this year, and it is still not yet known how the 2020 season will end up playing out in general. The season is scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway, but there is naturally still quite a bit of uncertainty as to whether or not the current schedule will remain the same.

With the season effectively suspended indefinitely, IndyCar introduced the IndyCar iRacing Challenge so that the drivers could still compete against one another in a virtual world that has been touted by many drivers as being as close to the real thing as possible.

This gave McLaughlin the opportunity to join full-time Team Penske drivers Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden in IndyCar competition. This series debuted at Watkins Glen International two Saturdays ago before moving to Barber Motorsports Park this past Saturday.

McLaughlin placed fourth in his debut, and he utilized a two-stop, no fuel-saving pit strategy to perfection to win at Barber Motorsports Park, notably holding off a hard-charging Power by 0.4241 seconds to secure a Team Penske 1-2 finish.

Let’s not forget that entering 2020, he had never sat in an IndyCar cockpit. To this day, he hasn’t competed in an IndyCar race.

But as far as his actual participation in IndyCar is concerned, don’t at all expect that it will be limited to running a simulator in his living room. IndyCar has always been on his radar, and he has been very clear about that, so don’t think the fact that his scheduled debut is now off the calendar is going to hinder his desire to compete in America. His win highlights that hunger.

“I’m beyond excited. I think just to have the opportunity to race in America against some of the best open-wheel drivers in the world is something that I’m really excited about,” McLaughlin told reporters after his victory at virtual Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’ve always been an IndyCar fan. Before I joined Team Penske I followed Scott Dixon, because he was a Kiwi. I’ve always been really a big fan of his, watched IndyCar in New Zealand. Now to get the opportunity to have a race is really cool.”

Given his success competing for DJR Team Penske in Supercars and the fact that he beat 28 other drivers in just his second race at a (virtual) venue where IndyCar has been competing for a decade, it is no longer enough to ask if McLaughlin will be Team Penske’s next new driver. It already looks like there are plans for that to happen as early as 2021.

The question is this: could McLaughlin be Team Penske’s next new champion, perhaps even the next new IndyCar champion should one of his new teammates win the title this year?

Obviously, none of Team Penske’s three current full-time drivers can be the team’s next new champion. Power won the 2014 title, Pagenaud won the 2016 title, and Newgarden is now a two-time champion after winning the titles in 2017 and 2019.

But Team Penske, the top team in the sport for the last several years, haven’t signed a new driver since bringing Newgarden to the team from Ed Carpenter Racing after the 2016 season. All of the other teams have added at least one new driver since then, so naturally there have been talks about who the Captain’s next driver could be.

Would they pry Colton Herta from Andretti Autosport? Could they snatch Santino Ferrucci from Dale Coyne Racing? Would they be the team to give Patricio O’Ward a path to get back to IndyCar?

All three of these drivers are drivers who have spent many years in open-wheel racing, with Herta and O’Ward working their way to the sport’s highest level through the ladder series. All three have championship potential.

But at this rate, it looks like McLaughlin is going to be the guy, and that could be a scary proposition for the rest of the field given the speed he showed in testing and the clinic he put on in his second ever IndyCar iRacing start.

Oh, and that iRacing start came in equal equipment compared to the rest of the field. He hasn’t actually driven a true Team Penske car yet.

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When you drive for Roger Penske, you are justifiably expected to win championships. Scott McLaughlin knows this. He has done it in Supercars. Now he looks poised to compete for Penske in IndyCar, and he has already showcased championship potential in a limited amount of time.