MONTEREY, Calif. — Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske opened the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season with a pole and will close out the campaign with another NTT P1 Award.
His latest was Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca when he gave Chevrolet its 250th IndyCar Pole with a fast time of 1:09.136 around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course off the Central California Coast.
“Oh, it was pretty solid,” McLaughlin said. “It wasn’t my best lap, but it was good enough a pole. I said all week, the car-the last couple of days-the car has had really good speed, just almost effortless speed. I’m really proud of the guys. I lost my voice, because I’m yelling so much, so I’m really proud of everyone. Long race tomorrow for the Dex Chevy. That’s 250 poles for Team Chevy. So, I’m really proud for them. Hopefully we can transition this to a win.
“So stoked for Chevy to get the 250th Pole, but have to turn this into a win,” McLaughlin continued. “The secret sauce is coming. We poled for the first race of the year and poled for the last race of the year.
“I’m so proud of the ‘Thirsty 3’s.’ I’m proud of my team. Got a long way to go tomorrow, but hopefully we can do it.”
Alex Palou, who clinched his fifth NTT IndyCar Series last Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile, was second fastest at 1:09.154. He had the pole until McLaughlin knocked him off at the end of the session.
“Honestly happy, we went for it, tried to get the pole and have a front row start,” Palou said. “I thought it would be enough, but he deserved it. I love every single lap here. The atmosphere is incredible and the weather is perfect.”
Palou described his Firestone “Red” tires, the softer compound used for speed instead of the more durable Firestone “Blacks” and how that played out over his qualification run in the Fast Six.
“We were on Reds, the Reds were a lot faster in qualifying,” Palou explained. “We will see if it’s the same for Sunday or not, but, yeah, man, it was so close. Too close. It hurts a little bit more when it’s that close. It’s like ‘Man, I just could have done, I could have braked a little bit different.’
“But Scott did an awesome lap, he deserved it. It’s going to be a great and fun day. Every lap I feel the same, ‘I could have braked a little bit deeper, I could have thrown in a bit more speed’ but I didn’t and hopefully we can have a great day Sunday with no mistakes.”
Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing was third at 1:09.193 in the No 60 Honda followed by Alexander Rossi’s No. 20 ECR Chevrolet at 1:09.324.
“Road courses have been a big struggle for us, really all season,” Rossi said. “At a test we had a couple of months ago, we really understood something we hadn’t prior to that and have just been building off of it. This sport is so challenging, there’s no magic pill or overnight fix, it’s just a process. Sometimes we have to really go through it before we find our way out.
“The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet has been through a lot this season so it’s nice to get a decent qualifying on the books before the year comes to a close. The group behind me is an amazing group who just keeps pushing forward each weekend. Huge thanks to the whole ECR organization, and congrats to Team Chevy on their 250th pole. Tomorrow is a great opportunity for ECR to end this season in a really special way.”
Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren was fifth in the No. 7 Chevrolet at 1:10.222 and David Malukas of Team Penske rounded out the Fast Six at 1:12.846 in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Palou is attempting to win his third-straight race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, fourth overall on this course, on Sunday.
“When it’s that close, you are disappointed and the car is that good,” Palou said. “When it’s this close, I think Scott and his team did a better job. It hurts a little bit, but it’s so cool to start on the front row.
“Tomorrow will be an overtaking-fest. The tire deg is high and there are huge differences between compounds.”
But McLaughlin is going for his first win of the season in the last race of the year.
“It’s great for this team, it’s a shame the season is coming to an end because this team is starting to get some momentum and Scott is getting more confidence,” race strategist Tim Cindric said. “You have to execute. This pit crew is leading the pit stop contest, but we are looking to win the race. It’s great to see Scott get a shot at it any way.”
