Scott McLaughlin Bio
Scott McLaughlin continued his evolution from a championship-winning touring car driver to an NTT INDYCAR SERIES superstar in 2024, finishing as the highest-ranked Team Penske driver in the final series standings for the second consecutive season. After producing three wins - including his first on an oval track at Iowa Speedway in July - and a record-setting pole position run for the 108th Indianapolis 500, McLaughlin enters the 2025 season as one of the favorites to claim his first series championship. With an outstanding partner lineup on the No. 3 Chevrolet that includes XPEL, DEX Imaging, Gallagher, Pennzoil, Sonsio, Good Ranchers, Odyssey Battery and Freightliner, McLaughlin is poised to build on his success in 2025.
The start of the 2024 season was challenging for McLaughlin and all of Team Penske as all three of the team's entries were penalized as a result of a mistake in the onboard computer coding in the "push to pass" system during the opening round on the streets of St. Petersburg. McLaughlin's initial third-place finish in the race was relegated to a 27th-place result with the penalty and after finishing 27th in the second race of the year at Long Beach, McLaughlin found himself last in the series standings. From that point forward, however, no one scored more points over the balance of the season than the New Zealander. His first win came in the third round at Barber Motorsports Park, as McLaughlin posted his second consecutive victory at the Alabama road course. McLaughlin's win at Iowa preceded his second oval victory in the series' return to the Milwaukee Mile. The strong run to close the year gave McLaughlin a third-place finish in the final series standings for the second consecutive year. Emerging as a qualifying ace in the series, McLaughlin also took home the season-long NTT P1 Award at the championship banquet after he captured five pole positions in 2024 to lead all competitors.
One of the most successful racers in the history of Australian Supercars, McLaughlin jumped at the chance to move to the United States and compete full-time for Team Penske in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2021. Racing the No. 3 Chevrolet, McLaughlin captured the INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year Award, as he became the first Team Penske driver to win the honor since its inception in 1979. In his four INDYCAR seasons competing for Team Penske, McLaughlin has scored seven wins, and his nine NTT P1 Pole Awards has extended his reign as the best qualifier in team history with 69 career pole positions, including his Supercars career totals.
McLaughlin joined Team Penske in 2017, signing on with the DJR Team Penske (DJRTP) squad as a rising star racing in the ultra-competitive Australian Supercars Championship. He proceeded to take the Supercars world by storm as McLaughlin produced 48 wins, 59 pole positions and three series championships over the next four seasons with the team. In 2019, he also delivered a victory for Team Penske in one of the biggest races in the world - the Bathurst 1000. Over the course of his nine-year career competing in the Supercars series, McLaughlin recorded 56 race wins, 106 podium finishes and 76 poles.
McLaughlin resides in Charlotte, N.C. with his wife Karly and their new daughter Lucy. A proud sports fan, McLaughlin has adopted the Carolina Panthers as his favorite NFL team, and he also follows the University of Wisconsin Badgers college football team. McLaughlin continues to root for New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team, and he is an avid golfer.
McLaughlin Key Accomplishments
• Produced Team Penske's best NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship result in both 2023 and 2024, finishing third in the final series standings each year
• Won the NTT P1 Award for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May of 2024 with a record-setting four-lap average speed of 234.220 mph
• Became first Team Penske driver to win the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie-of-the-Year Award after strong debut season in 2021
• Ranked second on Team Penske's all-time wins (55) list and produced the most pole positions (69) in team history entering 2025
• Crowned Australian Supercars Champion in 2018, 2019 and 2020
• Won 56 races and 76 poles while producing 106 podium finishes during Supercars career
• Established Supercars former single-season record 18 wins en route to the 2019 series title
• Earned Team Penske's first win in the legendary Bathurst 1000 race in 2019, winning from the pole
• Captured the 2013 Mike Kable Young Gun Award presented to the top rookie racer after finishing 10th in his first Supercars Championship season
• Awarded the coveted Barry Sheene Medal in 2014, 2016 and 2020 recognizing leadership, character and fan appeal in the Supercars Championship
• Made NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in the 2020 season finale in St. Petersburg