Race Weekend Central

Scott McLaughlin to Debut for Team Penske at the GMR Grand Prix

Defending Virgin Australia Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin will make his NTT IndyCar Series debut in the No. 2 car for Team Penske at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May, the team announced Wednesday (Feb. 5).

McLaughlin won the past two Supercars titles and will compete again for DJR Team Penske in 2020. He will participate in the open test at Circuit of the Americas next week.

“This is an amazing opportunity – to race against some of the best open wheel drivers in the world on one of the most historic tracks in motorsports,” McLaughlin said in a team release.

He has 43 career Supercars victories — a record-setting 18 of which came last year — as well 85 podiums.

“I’m excited about the challenge of trying to win a third-consecutive Supercars championship while helping to keep the Shell V-Power Racing Team at the front of the field this season. I’m also really looking forward to this new opportunity,” McLaughlin added. “It’s a driver’s dream to get a chance to race an Indy car for Team Penske.

“With the experience I gained at the test in Sebring, I know a little bit more about what to expect when I get back into the car at COTA. I just want to learn as much as I can every time I’m in the car so I can make the most of the opportunity to race with the team at the Grand Prix in Indianapolis.”

“Scott has experienced tremendous success in Supercars over the last three seasons with DJR Team Penske and we believe his talent and his drive will continue to shine behind the wheel of an Indy car,” team owner Roger Penske said. “It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop as we work up to his first race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. We know Scott will work hard to improve with every lap and he will represent Team Penske well as he gets acclimated to the IndyCar Series.”

Since the IndyCar Series began racing on IMS’ road course in 2014, Team Penske has won five of the six events. Will Power won in 2015, 2017 and 2018, while Simon Pagenaud was victorious in 2016 and 2019.

The GMR Grand Prix at IMS is set to run on Saturday, May 9 at 3:50 p.m. ET. Television coverage will be provided by NBC.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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