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Scott McLaughlin wants to “bring respect back”.

Scott McLaughlin wants to “bring respect back”.

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  • Scott McLaughlin discussed his reaction to Team Penske's recent fraud scandal at the Indy 500 qualifications
  • McLaughlin crashed during an Indy 500 training round, but escaped serious injuries.
  • McLaughlin will drive both in the Indy 500 and the Detroit Grand Prix.

The days before the Indianapolis 500 are always eventful for Indycar drivers, but the team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin had a particularly busy week.

First came an accident round before the qualifications on Sunday, May 18; McLaughlin did not seriously injure it, but left his car in a wreck.

“I probably think more about the car than in these situations of myself,” said McLaughlin in an interview with the Free Press.

Then came the qualifications themselves, where McLaughlin took the 10th place a year after the start of the 2024 Indy 500 in the pole position. But that was not the greatest story in which Team Penske was involved.

During the qualifications, the cars for Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and wants to perceive power in technical inspections in violations, which led to fraud relapses for a pension team that was already in controversy.

Team Penske published three of his strategists shortly after the scandal was terminated. Owner Roger Penske apologized for what he described as a “organizational failure”.

Neither McLaughlin nor his car violate the rules, but he expressed disappointment about the changes that Penske made in the Fallout:

“These three boys who have left the team now, they made a large amount for my career and they are friends of mine. So I can understand that this was certainly a difficult decision for Roger [Penske] To make it, it was a business decision, ”he said.

And McLaughlins Week may only be crazy, with the 109th Indy 500 on May 25th, followed by the Grand Prix from Detroit on the streets of downtown Detroit a week later.

The scandal: Roger Penske Parts Ways with Team Penske Indycar Leadership to Indy 500 qualification scandal

Scott McLaughlin during his crash during an Indy 500 training round

McLaughlin said his first thoughts, after he came across his car during a training round on Sunday, had to do the car, but then he found that he had to get out of the car as soon as possible to show that he was fine.

“I now have a woman and a daughter,” he said. “When I knew they would watch, or at least my wife, I had to go out of the car. That was my greatest focus.”

McLaughlin escaped a serious injury to the wreck and finally took 10th place in qualifying. However, the crash adds an additional challenge for the race week for McLaughlin and his team:

“It plunges our preparations into the racing week a little more because we have a lot more to do with a brand new car at the moment.”

McLaughlin about the Penske fraud scandal

McLaughlin himself has no violations of the fraudulent scandal around Team Penske, but is still motivated to represent his team during a turbulent time:

“First of all, I drive for Roger Penske, so I respect his decision,” he said of the team in which he took part in three of his strategists. “I am determined to regain Roger's name and ensure that he receives the respect he deserves.”

McLaughlin in the busy week between Indy 500 and the Detroit Grand Prix

McLaughlin, which was appointed to the 2021 -indycar -rookie of the year, returned in both editions of the Detroit Grand Prix in 2023. While the whirlwind between Indy 500 and Detroit Grand Prix with Rookie -Drivers has a hard time, “he” had nothing else. “

“I think it's great to maintain the swing. Everyone knows that Indycar comes to town, and that is a cool feeling of being an Indycar driver at that time.”

McLaughlin also praised Detroit for the ceremonies around the Grand Prix and emphasized the free car show on Friday, which has become a race tradition:

“There are so many different things that you add every year that, as you know, you are great for enthusiasts for cars, but also only for the general public to see some cool things in the city center. So it is cool to be part of it and to see a city that is really behind the sport that you love.”

McLaughlin about the race, which is moved by Belle Isle to the city center

McLaughlin drove on the Indycar racetrack on Belle Isle for the first two years. And while he says that the Belle Isle Races felt historically, he sees how the move in the city center has brought more people to sport:

“I have the feeling that they see a completely different kind of demography from fan and see a sport that would not necessarily have thought that they had gone before,” he said. “So if you have a race in the city center with all these cool cars and cool events, it is a really cool thing and a great thing for families to get out. And hopefully you will be addicted to Indycar, just like me.”

McLaughlin about the challenges of Detroit's road course

McLaughlin said the greatest challenge of the Detroit Grand Prix course was the tie of the route.

“They try to feel the car and have an idea where everything is going, but the bumps really make it very difficult to do that,” he said. “There are definitely more bumps in Detroit than we see in most places. And that is not a disadvantage of the Detroit Road. It's exactly as it is.”

When asked how the rain potential for his approach could affect the race, said McLaughlin, a New Zealand, he enjoys driving in the rain.

“Yes, sure, the risks increase and it makes it a bit nerve -wracking in the team. But for me I take it in step and really enjoy it.”

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com

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