McLaughlin on Indy 500 crash: 'I still am a little bit perplexed'

Scott McLaughlin doesn't mince words about the moment that derailed his Indianapolis 500 dream.

The Kiwi IndyCar driver crashed out before the race had even started, spinning on the warm-up lap and slamming into the wall in a rare, rattling mistake.

"I still am a little bit perplexed about what happened in that scenario and how it did," he told 1News. "Never sort of done that before in my career."

It capped off a nightmare month that began with promise and ended with wrecked cars, lost opportunity, and questions he was still attempting to answer.

"That whole month was pretty tough. It started really well and then obviously ended in a couple of bad ways with my crash before that, and then crashing another brand new car.

"Yeah, look, it was definitely one of, if not the lowest point of my career, but there's something that I'll learn from.

McLaughlin's response was immediate: get back behind the wheel.

"The best thing for me, after a week after that, was getting back in the race car. And, you know, felt really good even if it wasn’t the most ideal result either.”

While Indy was the most public blow, it had been a turbulent season all round. His team, Penske, was hit with a cheating scandal for illegal use of engine software. He’s also been at the centre of social media run-ins, including one with former IndyCar champ Tony Kanaan.

Still, McLaughlin's belief hasn't wavered.

"We've had the pace to win races we just haven't put it together. A little bit of luck, little bit of making mistakes, bits and pieces."

He opened the year with a pole position in St. Petersburg, grabbed a podium at Barber, and now turns his focus to this weekend's Bommarito 500 in St. Louis a track where he won pole and finished second last year.

"I truly believe we have a fast car. I feel really strong on ovals. Do I enjoy ovals more? And I have to say, I do now. It's such a refreshing change for me in my career. Every time I go on an oval, I feel really confident and definitely feel like that’s my kettle of fish."

He would enter the race sitting eighth in the standings, with championship leader Alex Palou well ahead but not out of reach.

"I've been in this sport long enough not just IndyCar but Supercars as well. Sometimes you can have a fast car and you just don’t put it together. It’s not your year. I don't believe it’s not my year yet."

"I certainly need to get on the train and start winning races or, you know, getting some consistency back."

There's added pride behind the wheel, too. McLaughlin's long-time sponsor, Gallagher Insurance, has partnered with the All Blacks — a team he had supported since childhood.

"It’s full circle. They've sponsored me here in America and now they’re an associate of the All Blacks. I’d love to try get some of the boys out to a race vice versa."

After a month of setbacks, McLaughlin was focused on the one thing that matters now — turning pace into results.