When IndyCar initially published the championship standings following Sunday's 2026 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, they incorrectly awarded race winner Alex Palou the point for pole position, despite the fact that he started fourth.
Scott McLaughlin, who started on pole and finished second, was not awarded the bonus point, so he trailed Palou by 13 points following the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
IndyCar later corrected the error, making the margin between the driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet just 11 points heading into race number two of the season at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.
One day later, Indianapolis Motor Speedway got in on the "fun", and McLaughlin was done dirty yet again.
Scott McLaughlin catches another brutal stray
McLaughlin was unable to make it through the pace laps of the 109th running of the Indy 500 back in May 2025, as the No. 3 Chevrolet spun into the inside retaining wall on the front straightaway on cold tires. It was a Roberto Guerrero situation all over again, albeit not from pole position this time around.
The disaster even prompted a sarcastic response from an irritated Kyle Larson, who needed the rain-delayed race to finish as fast as possible to make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway on time (and ironically wrecked his car for the third time to ensure a prompt Coca-Cola 600 arrival).
In honor of March 3 (3/3), the Indy X account celebrated the Indy 500's iconic field of 33, with a post appropriately timed for 3:33 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon.
The problem? The picture used didn't even feature the No. 3 car, and it only featured 32 cars.
Celebrating the 3️⃣3️⃣ drivers on 3/3 🗓️#Indy500 | #IsItMayYet? pic.twitter.com/YvHL0yDshr
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) March 3, 2026
IndyCar fans noticed, too.
This picture with only 32 drivers because it’s after McLaughlin walled it is hilarious https://t.co/fzh3N2BVq1
— Jared Harter (@jman6598) March 3, 2026
No lie, they did him dirty here🤣 https://t.co/MNnD30pVv2
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) March 4, 2026
It would have been simpler, perhaps even more fitting, to include the photo of the field of 33 as they rode around three-wide underneath the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Unfortunately for McLaughlin, the helicopter's track time ended around the same time his did that afternoon.
The 110th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24, and McLaughlin, who started on pole in 2024, is one of the favorites. A win would undoubtedly be one of the more iconic comeback stories in Speedway history. Fox is set to provide live coverage from the Speedway, Indiana venue beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.