Yahoo Autos Scott McLaughlin Leads Team To All Penske Front Row with Indy 500 Pole
Indianapolis 500 qualifying is where history is made; for the second time in the history of the event, one team has swept the front row; back in 1988, Team Penske got it done, and now, led by Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske has done it again.
McLaughlin took his first Indy 500 pole with the fastest qualifying average in the race’s 108-year history with an average of 234.220, beating out Alex Palou’s 234.217 last year by just.003 of a second.
The three Penske drivers were set to be the last to qualify Sunday afternoon after putting down the best times in the morning Fast 12 practice. In turn, each of the three drivers skyrocketed to the top of the leaderboard, first defending champion Josef Newgarden, then Will Power, and finally McLaughlin.
Before the trio went out, Alexander Rossi beat out his temporary McLaren teammate Kyle Larson for the pole and was disappointed when the Penske boys did what they said they would. The garage area has been filled with big claims from the Penske team as they prepare for the 2024 Indy 500.
"I’m annoyed there’s been a lot of noise from them, but it’s a lot of motivation for next weekend," Rossi told NBC Sports.
The Penske front row is a nice reprieve for the team as they rebuild goodwill after the drama from the first race of the season when Newgarden's win was stripped, and every Penske racer was penalized for misuse of the 'push-to-pass' feature.
Roger Penske and the team made the decision not to let the drivers practice late yesterday and instead save it all for today since this morning's wind and temperature would be more in line with the qualifying time. This decision was a clear winner as the Penske drivers were the class of the field.
McLaughlin will start on the pole in his "Yellow Submarine" while wearing a replica Rick Mears firesuit. Mears has been both a mentor for McLaughlin in this Indy 500 run and also was the pole sitter of the 1988 all-Penske front row joined by teammates Danny Sullivan and Al Unser.
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