McLaughlin becomes fifth to crash at Indy

Team Penske’s defending Indianapolis 500 pole winner Scott McLaughlin became the fifth driver to have a heavy crash since Friday. The New Zealand native was uninjured in the spin and collision with the Turn 2 wall that lifted the car into the air in a nearly identical manner as Colton Herta’s crash on Saturday.

For McLaughlin, who was running in the Fast 12 practice session and posted the fastest lap of 233.553mph before the incident, the timing of the crash at approximately 1:18 p.m. ET meant he was not expected to participate in the run for pole later in the day as the team would need to prepare a new No. 3 Chevy. Team Penske tells RACER the replacement No. 3 will be a brand-new chassis, joining the Nos. 2 and 12 Penske entries, which were brand-new to start the Indy 500. The crashed car is the one used to capture pole in 2024.

McLaughlin was dealing with an oversteering car and saw the rear snap with no warning entering Turn 2.

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“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just really, really, really, really sorry for everybody at Team Penske and the guys on the 3 car, and everybody on the 2, 12 and everyone who builds these cars,” McLaughlin said. “It was talking to me and I sort of felt it and I should have backed out. But, you know you are trying to complete a run to see what it feels like. Was it worth the risk? It probably wasn’t. I’m incredibly sad.”

Locked into the Fast 12, McLaughlin will start 12th unless he’s able to participate in the session.

“You just have to get on with it,” he said. “If they can build a car for me, fantastic. I have the best crew on pit lane. I’m really gutted for them. I just destroyed it. It’s hard to take, especially now. You kind of wish it was for something, but it was for nothing in practice. But ultimately, those are the decisions that you make at that speed, and I chose to keep the run going. That’s on me.”