McLaughlin aiming to “execute” Indy 500
As the Indianapolis 500 draws closer, Scott McLaughlin is “focusing on just executing” as he prepares to start the big race on pole.
McLaughlin pushed the #3 Team Penske “Yellow Submarine” to record-breaking speeds on his way to taking a sensational pole last week.
Between now and race day, there is one last chance to practice on Carb Day tonight.
With so much hype and expectation surrounding McLaughlin pre-race and the challenges of keeping a hungry pack at bay when the green flag will drop, the three-time Supercars champion is simply trying to focus on the job at hand.
“I am pretty focused on just executing right now,” McLaughlin said.
“I mean, the drafts and everything these days, it’s a whole lot different to how it used to be in some ways, from watching races back.
“I think you control what you can control. I will just race my race and hopefully the cards fall my way.”
Carb Day represents the last chance for teams and drivers to enjoy track time at Indianapolis.
But with the “Yellow Submarine” being so fast, McLaughlin said there will be no significant changes required.
“I think Carb Day, it’s more you’re trying to sort out your car, your engine,” he said.
“I feel like we’re definitely in a spot where we feel like we really have a good, comfortable race car underneath me.
It will be just finalising some downforce levels and a few things.
“Overall, in and out laps are going to be pretty critical in the race. We’ll finalise some of that, braking markers, whatnot.
“Ultimately it’s been a really cool week and I think everyone is just really proud and excited to get ahead to the race.
“It’s an awesome deal right now.”
McLaughlin also revealed he has assessed videos of Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden racing around Indianapolis.
“Ultimately you got to trust yourself in some ways like what you want from the car, the feedback you’re feeling from the car,” he said.
“Majority, 95% of the time, my feeling is different to what Josef feels or Will feels, to a certain degree.
“A little bit there you just have to separate yourself from and figure out what works best for you. I felt like we really nailed that down here in the last month.
“I did look at their videos, especially Will’s for the qualifying over a Saturday night. Figured there were a couple lines I was taking slightly differently. I tried them in practice and it worked. Thankfully it sort of paid off for the Fast 12 and that.
“When we’re all so very close, very good drivers, we’re all pushing each other really hard, you got to try to find that little bit.
“That was probably my process looking through that stuff, figuring it out, seeing what I wanted from the race car.”
Photo by Phillip Abbott / LAT Images
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