Scott McLaughlin brought raw emotion back into V8 Supercars after steering Volvo Polestar Racing into an epic second place in the second twilight sprint race in Adelaide.
McLaughlin prevailed in a battle against Jamie Whincup on the final lap, reclaiming the position on the run to the chequered flag.
The enormity of McLaughlin’s effort to supply Volvo with a podium at its first competitive V8 Supercars event caused the 20-year-old to swear on live national television and bubble over with emotion later in the press conference.
Even though McLaughlin dropped an f-bomb in his post-race interview, he was roundly applauded from the packed crowd for his herculean performance.
“I don’t know what happened there. I just plucked it in first, gave it some jandal and f___ yeah,” McLaughlin beamed when asked about the final corner after stepping from his car.
He later reflected: “I swore on live TV. I’ll never, ever do that again!
“Seriously, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and the battle with Jamie was sensational.
“I stuffed up there. I was an idiot. I didn’t check my left mirror and he was on my left side.
“We had good, hard racing.”
As race winner Craig Lowndes and his Red Bull team-mate Whincup took turns at explaining their races during the press conference, McLaughlin was overcome with emotion, tearing up as he realised the gravity of his effort.
McLaughlin has brought a much needed cool edge to the Volvo brand after a stunning afternoon during its first foray into V8 Supercars.
“I’m a Volvo driver. I’m seriously so stoked and appreciate the support from all of our fans and we sold out of all our merchandise,” he said.
“I’m happy to stand next to these two blokes (Lowndes and Whincup) who are legends of the sport.”
McLaughlin rated the effort on equal footing to his break-through main game win at Pukekohe last year.
“The fans and the reaction I got … I don’t think you’ve ever seen someone jump out of the car and fist pump the air in second before,” he said.
“It has just been a massive milestone for Volvo, Polestar, GRM. The amount of work those boys have done in the off season and they missed a lot of their Christmas.
“And in some cases I’ve done a little bit of work on the cars too with my fabrication (apprenticeship) so it’s very rewarding for myself and the whole team.”
The Volvo project with face another stern test on Sunday with a 250km race rounding out the weekend.
