McLaughlin wound up 10th in the standings in a campaign blighted by bad luck, mistakes, and controversy.
It looked like the New Zealander’s horror run would end at Nashville Superspeedway last weekend. He led, only to get loose and slide up into the wall.
There were mixed emotions for the #3 Chevy driver, who enjoyed the race but not the result.
“Obviously bittersweet for me. Third is great. I’m glad I sort of held on to that at the end,” said McLaughlin, who finished behind race winner Josef Newgarden and newly-crowned four-time champion Alex Palou.
“I felt like I could have held off Josef there. He was controlling his lane. I just turned a little late, got caught. Nearly saved it. Once you’re sort of out there, it’s hard to get it back.
“Thankful I was able to straighten the wheel just before I hit the fence. The car was straight. I was able to push on, yeah. Very good end to our season, great team win, but I’m pissed off at myself.
“I feel like it’s just been one of those years, haven’t quite put everything together. Had plenty of speed. Very lucky to get a podium today.”
McLaughlin was among the favourites at the beginning of this year’s title race.
Three of the first five races saw him finish inside the top five, but the tide turned at the Indianapolis 500.
McLaughlin was implicated in the attenuator saga with his strategist and Team Penske IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer among the trio sacked.
After crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 on the warm-up lap, his season spiralled and went 10 races without seeing the podium.
Back-to-back podiums at Milwaukee and Nashville gave the Kiwi a much-needed boost.
“I don’t think I lost a heap of confidence throughout the year,” said McLaughlin.
“It’s just nice to have a couple good results. Like I said, it’s bittersweet to end right now, knowing we were coming into our own a little bit, having strong results.
“It’s kind of nice to have this off-season now. I felt like we just got our feet on the ground with people. Now we can really work this off-season to be better, work together, smoothen things out.
“We know exactly where we need to be better. We have the people, the personnel, to improve. I’m very excited for that.
“But yeah, it’s a long off-season. Is it a needed off-season? I think so. It’s going to be really nice for us. Yeah, I’m sad as a race car driver I’m not racing my car next week.”
McLaughlin offered some solace, pointing towards a new feel inside Team Penske.
“Certainly a different team, different look, different look inside,” he said.
“It’s got a great future. I see light at the end of the tunnel. Very excited for what’s ahead.
“I think Roger is pumped and ready to go. Wants not only IndyCar to be amazing, but our team, too. He’s pushing us. Yeah, it’s exciting.
“I’m glad to finish out the way it is. It’s nice to have a beautiful, long off-season. At the same time I kind of wish we had six or seven races left. It’s not realistic.”
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