Scott McLaughlin looking forward to “good day” at Laguna Seca

Scott McLaughlin has expressed optimism ahead of his outing at the IndyCar Grand Prix of Monterey. The 32-year-old took to his social media to share his thoughts ahead of the California event.

The Team Penske driver, who has been on an underwhelming run of form—particularly over the last few race weekends—posted a video on his X account ahead of the Laguna Seca event. In the video, the New Zealand native, standing in front of the Penske team garage, stated:

“Hello everyone, we are going to have a good day today, that is all. P13 to the front, all the best.”

Scott McLaughlin will indeed relish an impressive drive at the Indy Monterey race, as it would help him move past the woes of his recent torrid run of races. McLaughlin suffered a crash in the last two races, including losing his rear right wheel at the last Indy Toronto Grand Prix, and also suffered an early crash following contact in the last event at the Iowa Speedway oval race.

However, a 13th-place start to the front row could prove a tough hurdle for the seven-time IndyCar race winner to achieve. But judging by the unpredictability that often defines IndyCar races, McLaughlin storming to the front of the grid during the race could still be a possibility.

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Scott McLaughlin blames IndyCar's ‘genius’ for qualifying woes

Scott McLaughlin earlier blamed his qualifying woes at Laguna Seca on the “genius act” of the IndyCar organising team. The 32-year-old failed to progress into the second part of qualifying for the Monterey race.

The Team Penske driver, who had entered the road course event eyeing a shot at redemption, could only muster a 13th-place qualifying spot for the Grand Prix. Quizzed about the reason for his underwhelming run in qualifying, McLaughlin — who spoke to IndyCar pit lane reporter Jack Harvey — stated (via NTT INDYCAR SERIES on X):

“I mean slightly. It's the same for everyone, Jack. But the XPEL Chevy yesterday, we sort of rolled off a little bit out of the window. Threw a lot of changes at it this morning, but a genius decided to schedule practice for 8:30. Unfortunately, we couldn't run, but it was the same for everyone. So we made some improvements, but just missed out. It's frustrating but I'm glad we made some improvements and we'll be better tomorrow.”

The final practice session for the Laguna Seca event had been cancelled due to safety concerns, as the track was covered with fog prior to the session. Drivers had entered the event with just a single session of practice — something Scott McLaughlin highlighted as detrimental to his run.

The Penske driver will now shift his focus to climbing up the grid for the event, as he hopes to end the final stretch of the 2025 IndyCar season on a high.

Edited by Luke Koshi