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Scott McLaughlin took the pole position for IndyCar's opening race for the 2025 season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. However, it was the Kiwi driver's daughter who stole the limelight.
IndyCar on FOX's official account on the social media platform X uploaded a video of the Team Penske driver celebrating the pole position with his daughter, Lucy Violet McLaughlin.
The 31-year-old got out of his car and celebrated the pole. A few seconds later, his wife Karly and daughter Lucy arrived to the scene. Scott then took Lucy into his arms, leaned over the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, and celebrated the occasion.
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In the video uploaded by IndyCar on FOX, Scott can be seen posing for photographers with Lucy and doing the No. 1 pose with her daughter. The four-month-old was dressed up in blue denim overalls as she posed for the cameras.
The caption for the video uploaded by IndyCar on FOX read:
“What it’s all about 🙏”
Team Penske’s account on X uploaded another video of the Kiwi driver's celebration where the whole family, including McLaughlin's wife and daughter Lucy, posed next to the No. 3 Chevrolet powered car as the caption read:
“A core memory.”
Motorsport reporter Nathan Brown responded to Team Penske's post and detailed how McLaughlin instructed his wife before the qualifying session to bring their daughter to the celebration if the Team Penske driver got the pole position. The tweet read:
“Scott McLaughlin just told us in the presser that he told his wife Karly before qualifying to run to their bus and get their new daughter if he got pole. And bonus, she wasn't napping (gotta love it when those sleep schedules line up, lemme tell ya).”
Scott McLaughlin will line up next to Andretti Global's Colton Herta, who starts P2. The Meyer Shank Racing team locked out the second row, with Felix Rosenqvist starting P3 and Marcus Armstrong in P4. Christian Lundgaard in the Arrow McLaren rounds up the Top 5.
Scott McLaughlin’s qualifying run at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Scott McLaughlin ended up in Group 1 based on his time from the second practice session. The Kiwi driver ended the first practice in P3 but crashed his car midway through the session as he hit the outside wall coming out of Turn 3, which led to a front left suspension failure.
Nonetheless, the car was all fixed up in time for the second practice, but McLaughlin ended the session outside the Top 10. However, in the qualifying round, Scott McLaughlin topped the first session in Group 1 with a lap time of 59.4678.
The Team Penske driver barely made it to the Fast 6 as he ended up P6 in the second session, just four-thousandths away from being knocked out. McLaughlin put the pedal to the metal in the Fast 6, clinching the pole position away from the Meyer Shank Racing duo, who provisionally locked out the front row.
Speaking about the pole position at St. Pete on the broadcast during the post-session interview, Scott McLaughlin said:
“Just a huge amount of respect and we have so much trust in each other. And they trusted that I could do the job today.”
“I just wanted to get Pole first race of the year. Good vibes, you know. Just great vibes, immaculate vibes. I'm very excited. Great spot to start and we'll do what we can in the race and see how we go,” he added.
Scott McLaughlin set a lap time of 59.4624 on his final run in the Fast 6 to take the pole position.
