AutoAction
FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE SIGN UP

SCOTTY WEDS, GETS INDYCAR TEST

Scotty weds, Gets Indycar test - Photo: InSyde Media

By Bruce Williams

Scotty weds, Gets Indycar test - Photo: InSyde Media

Scotty weds, Gets Indycar test – Photo: InSyde Media

Newlywed Supercars star Scott McLaughlin has been rewarded for his crushing title defence with an IndyCar test in the USA next month.

By MARK FOGARTY

McLaughlin, 26, married his American fiancée Karly Paone in California on Saturday Australian time in a ceremony attended by leading DJR Team Penske and Team Penske figures as well as family and friends.

Several hours before they walked down the aisle, Team Penske announced that McLaughlin would take part in the IndyCar Series pre-season rookie evaluation test with the squad at Sebring International Raceway in Florida on January 13.

The physical drive follows his secret simulator session in the States in late September, as revealed exclusively by AUTO ACTION late last month.

He will trial a Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet, as driven in the IndyCar Series by Australian Will Power, 2019 champion Josef Newgarden and this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud.

It is a significant development for McLaughlin’s long-term career, confirming that Team Penske sees a big future for him in the USA.

As well as a reward for his back-to-back V8 crowns, the IndyCar rookie test puts him in the frame for a major open-wheel drive.

McLaughlin is committed to re-defending his Supercars title in 2020, but it is generally regarded that he will be transferred to the States in ’21.

His long-term future was, logically, thought to be a long-term NASCAR program, but the IndyCar test suggests his road racing skills will be deployed in the open-wheel series or Team Penske’s front-running Acura IMSA sports car program.

The Sebring trial will be his first run in what Team Penske describes as “a full-size open-wheel car”.

McLaughlin’s only previous single-seater experience was a brief run in a Formula Ford in 2010.

“I am always open to new challenges and I’m thankful to Team Penske for providing this opportunity to test an IndyCar,” he said before his wedding. “We had an amazing year in 2019 and I’m looking forward to defending our Supercars championship next season.

“I’m also excited to grow as a driver and being with Team Penske creates cool opportunities to try something new. Although I have spent a few hours in a simulator earlier this year, it’s going to be a blast to see what one really feels like at a place like Sebring.”

Although tainted by controversy, the popular Brisbane-based Kiwi’s second successive Supercars title was underpinned by a record of 18 race wins in his Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang, including his first Bathurst 1000 victory.

DJR Team Penske also won the teams’ championship, adding to the squad’s 2017 success with McLaughlin, who narrowly lost the drivers’ title before securing it in 2018.

He is held in high regard by Roger Penske, who has made no bones about his future with the team in America.

“Scott has been incredibly successful for DJR Team Penske over the last three seasons and he has become a true champion of our sport,” Penske said. “He certainly embraces new challenges and we think this is a great opportunity to utilise the IndyCar Series rookie testing program so Scott can experience what it is like to get behind the wheel of one of our Indycars.”

McLaughlin’s wedding in California was a gala ceremony attended by Roger Penske and his wife Kathy, and Ryan Story among many other team figures from both sides of the Pacific.

He met his new wife Karly, a native New Yorker, during a visit to the Big Apple in late 2016.

His and DJR Team Penske’s sweep of the major prizes added to Penske’s IndyCar Series and Indy 500 successes, plus the IMSA championship.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media FacebookTwitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.