McLaughlin edges out Indy 500 winners in Texas test

Scott McLaughlin has completed another pre-season IndyCar Series test, setting the 12th fastest time in a 17-car field at Texas Motor Speedway.

McLaughlin debuted his new Pennzoil livery that he’ll run in this year’s 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Kiwi clocked 233 laps, setting a best lap of 23.762s at 218.16 mph.

The test marked only the second outing for McLaughlin at the high-speed oval, having made his speedway debut at the circuit a little over a year ago.

McLaughlin joined Team Penske stable-mates Will Power, Josef Newgarden, and Simon Pagenaud at the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Patricio O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP set the pace with a 23.325s lap and a 222.25 mph average.

The 2018 Indy Lights winner edged out Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi on a 23.473s while Meyer-Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey was third with 23.505s.

Pagenaud (23.515s) was the leading Team Penske entry in fourth followed closely by team-mate Power (23.520s).

O’Ward’s team-mate Rosenqvist was sixth fastest followed by Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport), Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing), Newgarden, and Sebastian Bourdais (A.J. Foyt Racing).

Driver-owner Ed Carpenter fell 0.007s shy of the top 10.

McLaughlin in 12th was followed by 2017 and 2020 Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport.

Hunter-Reay’s team-mate James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), and Dalton Kellett (A.J. Foyt Racing) completed the 17-car field.

McLaughlin’s first competitive outing of this year’s IndyCar Series takes place at Barber Motorsports Park on April 18.

The series will host a double-header at Texas Motor Speedway on May 1-2 (local time).

Unofficial Results: IndyCar Series pre-season test, Texas Motor Speedway (Day 2)