McLaughlin praises impact of tutor Pagenaud after first oval win

The last time Team Penske had two drivers delivering oval wins in the same season, it was 2020 with Josef Newgarden and former teammate Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman’s oval victory -- the last of his IndyCar career so far -- came at Race 1 of the Iowa doubleheader.

Fast forward to 2024, and it was Pagenaud’s oval student, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who earned his first oval win at Race 1 of Iowa’s Hy-Vee doubleheader, who also gave the team its first pair of oval winners with McLaughlin joining Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden.

The victory was a full-circle moment for McLaughlin, who sought out Pagenaud during the preseason to help improve his oval form. The 2019 Indy 500 winner had an immediate impact as McLaughlin earned pole at Indy in May -- the first oval of the year -- and went on and won the second oval of the season on Saturday night in front of an adoring crowd in Iowa.

Pagenaud has been instrumental in helping McLaughlin improve his oval form. Geoffrey Miller/Motorsport Images

Shortly after the race, McLaughlin showered Pagenaud with praise, and also spoke fondly of Ben Bretzman, his race engineer on the No. 3 Chevy who won that last Iowa race with Pagenaud along with the rest of the Frenchman’s IndyCar victories and the 2016 championship.

“He's been unreal for me, as you know,” McLaughlin said. “Such a good teacher. It's special to work with someone like that. For him to basically give me everything, it's crazy. You should see the notes I get. He sends me notes every morning before I go on track. I don't even have time to read it sometimes. It's crazy. It's like essays, longer than your reporting stories. It's crazy.

“Ultimately, I treasure them. I save them. I'll never give them to anyone else ’cause they're just that good. Yeah, I'm very proud to do it for him, do it for Benny as well. Benny has been a huge help for me in that regard, Benny Bretzman.

“I'm very thankful to have the people, blessed to have the people in my corner. That goes from the people I work with, but then I've got my wife, (I’m) soon to be dad. All that stuff. It puts into perspective. It's called winning races, but it's always good having good people in your corner.”