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The Kiwi has significant experience in both categories, having racked up three Supercars titles and a Bathurst 1000 victory before making a full-time move to the States with Team Penske.
He’s been on the IndyCar grid since 2021, is a four-time winner in the series and now well entrenched in the US racing scene.
McLaughlin recently joined The Hard Card podcast, during which he was asked how the off-track demands of IndyCar compare to Supercars.
His response was that Supercars perhaps offers too much access to drivers to fans and could learn from a slight restriction from IndyCar.
“I think from a performance standpoint we actually do more with the team, like the simulator, with going to see the team, debriefing…” McLaughlin explained.
“One thing that’s really cool, I enjoy here, it’s actually a bit more exclusive to meet like someone like myself. It’s not like I’m doing autograph sessions every day at 10am.
“And that was good to a part, but I think there’s there’s a double-edged sword to that because I think you can get to a point where… in Supercars I feel they have too many autograph sessions, sometimes, and too many sponsor visits that take away from the nostalgic, ‘oh man, I’m going to get to meet the driver!’.
“That exclusivity that a sponsor might pay for that privilege, or a fan might buy a special ticket to the paddock because they want to see Helio Castroneves ride his scooter around pitlane, or something like that.
“I feel like [IndyCar does] a really good job of making us accessible but also having some exclusivity to it as well. And I’ve certainly enjoyed that.
“On the on-track side of an IndyCar race event, I get to the race track on a Thursday, sometimes Friday depending on the day, and and I’m out Sunday night, straight after the race.
“Whereas at a Supercars event I was there until probably Monday. Just because you have so many sponsors you have to get to. And that’s part and parcel. It’s just it’s how Australia works compared to how America works. It’s just very different.
“It’s hard to explain without sounding like a dickhead. But I really think that both sides can learn a bit from each other.”
Watch the full episode of The Hard Card with Scott McLaughlin.
