Scott McLaughlin deciphers Alex Palou's oval failures with clear-cut comparison to 3 IndyCar champs

To excel in IndyCar, drivers often have to master the art of racing at ovals, and Scott McLaughlin has won two of his seven races at an oval racetrack. On the other hand, three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou has yet to win a single race around an oval. McLaughlin revealed why the Spaniard has been unable to emerge victorious.

Palou has won 12 races in his five-year-long IndyCar career. While he has won races at street circuits and road courses in dominant fashion, the 27-year-old has eluded a victory around an oval.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver came close to winning the Indy 500 in 2021 but finished second to Helio Castroneves with a margin of less than half a second. Alex Palou then continued his journey to win a race around an oval but has never been able to clinch a victory around IndyCar's most prestigious tracks.

On the other hand, in an interview with IndyCar's new president, Doug Boles, Scott McLaughlin discussed how oval racing was different from normal racing. The New Zealander named two-time champions Will Power and Josef Newgarden, alongside six-time champion Scott Dixon, as the epitome of oval racing.

McLaughlin then elaborated on how these drivers know the intricacies of racing around the left-hander circuits in comparison to Palou and said, via Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

"I know there's a lot of rookies in this field that are coming in and you think you're on top of things, but then something will get thrown at you during the race and it's just hard to combat that without experience. And that's why guys like Will Power, Josef Newgarden, and Scott Dixon, all these guys are super good on ovals; and you see someone like Alex Palou that's like he's very good on an oval but hasn't won because you're just trying to find that last little bit and you need everything going 245mph."

Scott McLaughlin got his oval breakthrough last year at Iowa Speedway.

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Scott McLaughlin opens up on how having an oval win under his belt helps him

Scott McLaughlin at the IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

Scott McLaughlin made his debut in 2020 but had to wait over 14 months to score his first victory in the series. He won his maiden Grand Prix at the season opener in 2022 at St. Petersburg.

Until last year, the Team Penske driver had claimed four more victories but had not stepped on the top step of the podium around an oval. This changed in the 11th round during the 2024 campaign when he won his first race around an oval.

The New Zealander then won another race around an oval at Milwaukee in the penultimate round of the season. This has helped him get weight off his shoulders, as McLaughlin said, via the aforementioned source:

"I think yeah, just a lot more confident like I know I can do it, and that's a really special thing. And you knew you could do it beforehand but I think just having the solidification, that all right we've won, and we've won on an oval. That monkey's off my back, you know I forever thought maybe, if maybe Indy [500] might be my first overall win you know and then I win on an oval alright that's out of the way, it's time to win Indy... I'm super super motivated and that's the one I want to win out of everything."

The 2025 IndyCar season will officially begin on February 28 as drivers head out onto the streets of St. Petersburg for free practice at 3 PM Eastern Time.