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"Penske Material" provides an inside look at some of the personalities, stories and moments that make Team Penske so unique. 

The 2020 racing season has brought challenges and changes for each of Team Penske’s drivers with all racing series on-track action suspended over the last few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While each series has shifted gears into the virtual world to satisfy the need for speed and competition during the time away from the track, one driver in particular has embraced the transition and continued his winning form across multiple platforms.

Two-time and defending Virgin Australia Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske has shined in virtual racing opportunities, including the Supercars All-Stars Eseries, the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge and Wednesday Night iRacing on FOX Sports 1. McLaughlin, a 10-year veteran of iRacing, not only competes on the racing simulator for fun but he also feels it is a valuable tool to keep his skills sharp for the real world.

With many of the events he has been racing in focused on the American viewing audience, the 26-year old New Zealand native has been burning the midnight oil to compete from his at-home simulator on the other side of the globe. “I’m not going to lie, getting up at 3:00 a.m. never gets easy,” said McLaughlin. “I get up, do my races and then have a nap. We’re a long way from America so the time difference is just part of the fun.”

Clearly the sleepless nights have not affected McLaughlin as he has earned five of Team Penske’s eight victories this spring in esports competition. That includes three wins in the Supercars All-Stars Eseries in the familiar No. 17 Shell V-Power Ford Mustang he’s driven to the last two consecutive driver’s titles for DJR Team Penske. The bigger surprise from McLaughlin this spring has been his consistent success in the INDYCAR Challenge that was contested on three ovals and three road courses. McLaughlin, who was scheduled to make his debut in actual NTT IndyCar Series competition at the Indy Grand Prix this month before the coronavirus put the brakes on racing, produced two impressive victories against the experienced INDYCAR drivers in the field. McLaughlin won the second race of the series at Barber Motorsports Park and he scored a dramatic victory in the wild finale at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Overall, McLaughlin earned top-five finishes in five of the six INDYCAR events to showcase his iRacing prowess and his ability to adapt to the style and handling of open-wheel cars.

While McLaughlin made the most of his opportunity to race Team Penske Indy cars in the virtual world, he also thinks the experience has helped accelerate the learning process for his eventual INDYCAR debut in the real world. Team Penske race engineer Jonathan Diuguid and McLaughlin worked together during the INDYCAR iRacing events to get a jump start on building their chemistry and communication.

“Scott is an experienced and successful racing driver, and that also extended over into the virtual world,” said Diuguid. “We focused on communication that would directly transfer over to the real world and discussed race strategy, tire management, fuel saving techniques, in-and-out lap performance and driving details on ovals. One positive about Scott working from Australia and myself in the U.S., is that each of us were able to put in work while the other was sleeping.”

McLaughlin echoed a similar sentiment about Diuguid’s abilities. “Jonathan is a guru, and the strategy calls he’s made throughout the INDYCAR Challenge were masterful. His calm demeanour and guidance have made a world of difference to me and how I have gone about my racing. Working with him in the real world during pre-season testing at Sebring, Circuit of the Americas and Texas Motor Speedway was awesome and I can’t wait to do more real-world racing with him.”

McLaughlin has relished the opportunity to race with drivers all over the world through the virtual competition. From fellow Team Penske teammates like Fabian Coulthard, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, Helio Castroneves and Joey Logano, to NASCAR stars including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, McLaughlin appreciated the chance to compete against drivers of varying disciplines on the same track, despite being on different continents.

“I grew up watching those guys race and I’m a massive fan of motorsports worldwide. To be a part of the series and racing against these guys is a bit of a pinch myself moment,” said McLaughlin. “I had an awesome chat with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the INDYCAR race he took part in. He’s such a cool guy and just a real racer.”

While McLaughlin is proud of his accomplishments in the virtual world, the winner of 36 races for DJR Team Penske hopes to build on his success in Australia’s top motorsports series when the green flag waves to resume racing later this year.