Scott McLaughlin gives unfiltered take on Penske teammates Newgarden and Power's Indy 500 crisis

Scott McLaughlin has expressed his feelings about his Team Penske teammates having to start the 109th Indy 500 from the back row. Josef Newgarden and Will Power's cars had a modified rear attenuator, a spec part that should've been left untouched.

IndyCar officials caught the technical infringement just before the Fast 12 qualifying session last weekend. The two Penske drivers pulled out of qualifying and, a day later, were relegated to the last row, with Newgarden in P32 and Power in P33.

Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 car had no such modifications. But because he couldn't run in Fast 12 after damaging his car in practice, he would start in P12, which was improved to P10 after his teammates were penalized.

On Thursday, the 2024 Indy 500 pole winner was asked about his expectations for the 109th running on May 25 and his teammates' plight in a press conference at the IMS. He wasn't too concerned about Newgarden and Power's race, as he replied (via ASAP Sports):

"I'm not taking for granted. It's going to be a tough race, regardless. I know we have fast cars. Everyone feels that way, as well. I don't know. For me, I'm not worried about their race. I'm focused on my own. But we know what we need to do to sort of keep ourselves in the game."

"I've said it all month. It's been so nice to be able to come into a month where I was up the front a little further than I had been in my career. I understand the cadence a little bit more, you could say. But yeah, not really focused on what they're doing. I'm just focused on myself."

McLaughlin was expected to be in the fight for Pole last Sunday, until he pushed too hard in practice, crashing, flipping, and damaging his No. 3 Chevy.

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Scott McLaughlin gives an update on his brand-new Indy 500 car

Scott McLaughlin's No.3 Penske Chevy at the 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 - Carb Day - Source: Getty

Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 Chevy was damaged beyond repair after his crash on opening practice on day 2 of Indy 500 qualifying. Though he escaped unscathed, he profusely apologized to Team Penske for the wreck right before qualifying.

Fortunately, Team Penske had a full backup car ready to build and go. Before the final practice on Carb Day, McLaughlin was asked if the new car had the same performance or if it was off by a few-tenths.

"No, it's right there," he replied (via ASAP Sports). "It's a brand-new car, brand-new chassis, brand-new speedway car. It's a purpose-built speedway car."

The 31-year-old also spoke about the feel of the car in the post-qualifying practice on Monday (May 19), where he finished 31st out of 33 drivers.

"Honestly, Monday felt very close. We just had a couple things not quite at upright that affected some setup and stuff. Ironed that out, had a good week to prepare, and things should be just as fast."

On the final practice session on Carb Day, Scott McLaughlin's pace wasn't considerably better, as he finished 27th. He will start the race on the inside of Row 4, alongside Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi.