Amid IndyCar slump, Scott McLaughlin identifies factor that makes a driver "indestructible”

IndyCar's Kiwi sensation Scott McLaughlin, along with his Team Penske teammates, has had a season to forget in the American open-wheel racing series. Amid the poor form in the 2025 season so far, McLaughlin shared how training his instincts made him indestructible and a playmaker for Team Penske.

McLaughlin made the move from V8 Supercars to IndyCar in the 2021 season. The Kiwi driver finished third in the IndyCar championship for the last couple of years, making him the highest finishing Team Penske driver. The Thirsty 3s was one of the favorites coming into the 2025 season to win the IndyCar championship.

However, that hasn't been the case, as all three Team Penske drivers have been struggling this season. Bad luck, unforced errors by the drivers, mechanical troubles, and the attenuator scandal at the Indy 500 have plagued the season for Scott McLaughlin and his teammates.

Amid this, the #3 Chevrolet driver and his teammates, Josef Newgarden and Will Power, featured on Gallagher's YouTube channel. The host asked the three drivers what a playmaker looks like in IndyCar, to which Scott McLaughlin replied:

“It’s training your instincts to make those right critical decisions at the right time. And if you can gain enough experience, get to a point where more often than not, you trust that and you accept that, whatever happens, happens, you trust you instincts to make that decision. If you get that confidence, you almost feel a little bit like indestructible.” “I don’t care who makes the winning play. You know if someone makes the winning play, we win the game, and a log of times, more often than not, it takes a couple different winning plays. Maybe one stood out a little bit more, but there’s sometimes 5-6 plays that were made that helped win that race,” added Josef Newgarden.

Gallagher is a global insurance brokerage, risk management, and consulting firm that signed a multi-year partnership with Team Penske in 2022 as a title sponsor on McLaughlin's #3 Chevrolet.

Scott McLaughlin reflects on Top 10 result at Laguna Seca

Scott McLaughlin was the only Team Penske driver who failed to make it out of the first qualifying round at Laguna Seca, while both Josef Newgarden and Will Power made the Fast 6. The Kiwi driver started the race in P13, was able to progress, and finished inside the Top 10.

Reflecting on the race, McLaughlin took to X and wrote:

“It was a good day. Top 10. We finished all the laps. Ready for a little break, golf, fam time, video games… see yall in Portland 👊”

McLaughlin sits 12th in the IndyCar championship with just 259 points to his name. Will Power sits highest of the three Penske drivers in 8th, while Josef Newgarden sits the lowest among the three, i.e., 15th in the championship.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam