Scott McLaughlin will have a new strategist and engineer for the Indianapolis 500 because of a rules infraction that concerned a part on Team Penske cars other than his own, and that has left him both angrily defensive and utterly motivated.
Perhaps doubly so, given the part in question that led to such serious repercussions for one of the most powerful teams in auto racing appears to have done nothing for performance, but was rather an alteration to a spec part primarily for aesthetics.
"Smart people in the paddock know there was no gain, you know? It's frustrating that this is blown up like it has," McLaughlin said during the Indy 500's annual media day Thursday, "and it's cost three people that I'm very close with their jobs. But overall, my view on it right now is just to focus forward."
He has no choice. The race is Sunday.
That's one week after Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon had their cars pulled from the qualifying line over modifications to the attenuator, a safety part that cannot be changed for any reason. IndyCar has since said there has been no evidence that the seams filled on the piece provided a competitive advantage, yet the series nevertheless responded with serious penalties: the cars were sent to the rear of the 33-car field, they were stripped of points and handed heavy financial penalties.