Scott McLaughlin has had a rollercoaster season so far in 2025. With three top five finishes, including a podium result at Alabama, the New Zealander somehow sits in only eighth place in the Championship. With 164 points to his name, only 45 points separate him from third place overall. But it’s an extra 12 points to second and a massive 102 points separating third from Championship leader Alex Palou.
But with the second half of the season about to get underway with a collection of circuits that McLaughlin has historically gone well at, could this be the moment that he turns his season around and makes a charge for the Championship?
Oval Season Returns!
With two pole positions to his name and a second place finish at last year’s race here, the return of this particular oval is perhaps a welcome one for McLaughlin.
He’s also never finished outside the top five at St. Louis with a lowest result of fifth. Could the win finally be on the way for him this weekend?
“Really excited to get back there. It’s a track that I love and I’ve always gone pretty well at. I go into a place like that with a lot of confidence and with the way that the season’s going for me right now, I need a bit of a rebound here.” – Scott McLaughlin
With the oval course at St. Louis the most like a road course, according to McLaughlin, it presents a neat challenge for the drivers this weekend. The technical, first two corners require a little time on the brakes whereas turns three and four counterbalance that approach. It’s a style of racing that Scott McLaughlin has come to enjoy more and more over his IndyCar career and has helped promote where oval tracks rank for him overall.
“Do I enjoy ovals more now? I do actually!” – Scott McLaughlin
The race will also be held at night under the lights which will add an extra level of spectacle to this particular IndyCar oval race.
Bounce back from Detroit?
Last time out at the Detroit Grand Prix, it was another messy affair for the New Zealander. But heading into this weekend, while acknowledging that the last race didn’t go as well as hoped, McLaughlin’s confident in the car.
“I understand what I want from the car, what I know, what I feel and that’s a big thing on any oval.” – Scott McLaughlin
As mentioned, McLaughlin has always fared well at this venue in the past. That fact combined with knowing what he wants and needs from the car across the weekend could enable him to mount a successful attack on the seven drivers currently ahead of him the Championship.
Indy 500 in the Rear View Mirror
Scott Mclaughlin crashed out at the Indy 500 back in May. It was a rare and curious mistake from the Team Penske driver. So much so, that even weeks later, McLaughlin himself still hasn’t fully solved all of the elements from it.
“I’m still a bit perplexed as to what happened in that scenario. It was tough but Champions are made from learning from their mistakes.” – Scott McLaughlin
Despite this, the New Zealander is already looking ahead to next year’s 110th running of the legendary race – which next year, will clash with the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
Championship Chances?
Even with the monumental gap of points that sit between Scott McLaughlin and current Championship leader Alex Palou, the former hasn’t given up on his title chances in 2025 just yet.
“Palou’s on a hot streak for sure…but you have to respect that and look at that and work out where you can be better.” – Scott McLaughlin
It’s rare for this level of domination to occur in IndyCar. While Palou has only been beaten by one other driver to the win so far this year, Kyle Kirkwood, it may not be such plain sailing for the Spanish driver for the rest of the season. Up until the Indy 500, Palou had never won on an oval before. With many more coming up in 2025, it will be fascinating to see if Palou has finally cracked the code for success on these tracks. If he hasn’t, there’s a chance for drivers like McLaughlin to take advantage of this and close the gap in the standings. Anything can happen in IndyCar – and it usually does.
“We’ve got really good pace and really good momentum. We just need to keep going.” – Scott McLaughlin
Will we see Scott McLaughlin on the podium this weekend – or even take his, and Team Penske’s first win of the season? We’ll have to tune in and find out.
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Feature Image: IndyCar Media Centre
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