MONTEREY, Calif. — Scott McLaughlin’s breakout season has earned him a contract extension at Team Penske. The team announced late Wednesday that the three-race winner in the NTT IndyCar Series this season has signed a multi-year contract extension.
The new deal will keep the Australian Supercars Champion and 2021 IndyCar rookie of the year with the team for years to come.
“Scott took a big gamble when he came to IndyCar, as he knew he would be leaving a series where he knew he could thrive for years to come,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “To see him have the success he has had so far has been really satisfying, as we were confident in his talent. We just didn’t know how long it would take for him to gain the confidence in himself.
“Scott has adjusted quickly and has already established himself as someone that can win at any track during one of the most competitive eras of IndyCar racing. He continues to be a great representative for our partners, and he has connected well with race fans all over the world. We are excited that he will continue to be part of the Team Penske legacy for years to come.”
The 29-year-old prepares for this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series season finale at Laguna Seca, where the second-year series racer remains in the hunt for the series championship.
McLaughlin enters the weekend coming off of his third win of the season, earning the checkers last Sunday at Portland International Raceway, and is currently ranked fifth in the series standings, just 41 points behind series leader and teammate Will Power.
“I have nothing to lose, but at the same time I want to do the best job for my team,” McLaughlin said. “I don’t need to be a Kamikaze or anything like that, but I just need to focus on what I’m doing and just dot my Is, cross my Ts, and have a good run. Ideal weekend is a pole and a race win. It’s no doubt that I can go to Laguna Seca and win, and I’m ready to do that.
“For me it’s just controlling what I can control. I can’t do much more than that, and I think I’ve done that the last half year. I just go out there and just drive what I’ve got. I think Detroit for me was a big turnaround. I made a mistake I shouldn’t have made, and that was because I was trying to overdo everything and control everything. It was a big mindset change.
“From then on, we’ve been really strong. I think we did some graph out there the last eight or nine races. We were leading the championship by 29 points.
“I think what we’re doing right now is building for a massive year next year. I haven’t finished out of the top five or top four for the last six events or something. I’m feeling really strong. There’s no reason why this can’t be great momentum for next year, and yeah, I feel like I’m driving the best I ever have in my whole career right now.
“I feel really comfortable and comfortable with the team. That’s what you need to tackle championships, especially in the series.”
McLaughlin first joined Team Penske in 2017, competing in the Australian Supercars Championship, where he finished second in the series standings while also scoring a series-high eight wins and a record 16 pole positions.
In 2018, McLaughlin captured the first of his three consecutive Supercars Championships for DJR Team Penske. From 2018-2020, McLaughlin collected 40 wins (including a series-record 18 victories in 2019), 64 podiums and 43 pole positions.
He also produced the first win for Team Penske in the prestigious Bathurst 1000, winning from the pole position in 2019.
After the 2020 season, McLaughlin moved to the United States to join Team Penske’s championship NTT IndyCar Series program. He became the first Team Penske driver to capture IndyCar Series rookie of the year honors last season and he earned his season-best finish of second at Texas Motor Speedway in his first-ever oval race.
This year, McLaughlin opened the IndyCar Series season by earning his first career IndyCar pole, leading qualifying on the Streets of St. Petersburg. He completed a dominant opening weekend by producing his first IndyCar Series win the following day, leading a race high of 49 laps in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
McLaughlin scored his second career victory in July at Mid-Ohio, and he won his second pole of the season in Nashville. Including his pole and victory last weekend at Portland, McLaughlin has produced eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes this season while leading 433 laps — ranked second in the series behind teammate Josef Newgarden.
“Team Penske has been such a huge part of my career, helping me get to where I’m at today, so I’m excited to continue racing with Roger (Penske), Tim and the entire team well into the future,” McLaughlin said. “Getting a chance to move to the United States and chase my racing dream, driving in the IndyCar Series, is something that would not have been possible without Team Penske, so I’m forever grateful.
“I’ve had so many great moments with this team, from winning three Supercars Championships to winning the Bathurst 1000 to making my first IndyCar start. Now, we are competing at a high level, winning races and poles and even competing for the series championship. I can’t wait to see what the future holds with Team Penske.”
In Cindric’s mind, McLaughlin’s future is extremely bright.
“In some ways, he has overachieved a little bit here in his second year,” Cindric told SPEED SPORT. “I think we always said in the second year he would contend for wins and might get one or two and would contend for poles and challenging for a top-five in the championship. That was our goals for him in his second year and I think he is meeting each one of those things.
“In the third year, I expect him to be a championship contender. Next year, he should be in the fight for the championship going into the last race of the season.”