LEBANON, Tenn. — Scott McLaughlin walked into the deadline room at Nashville Superspeedway with a bottle of champagne in his hand. As he sipped from a plastic cup, he spoke about how bittersweet his podium finish was.
“Third is great,” he said. “I’m glad I sort of held on to that at the end.
“Very good end to our season. Great team win. But I’m pissed off at myself.”
Considering he hit the wall late in the race, it’s understandable how he feels about a third-place finish.
After cycling off pit road behind 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, Alex Palou, McLaughlin overtook him for the lead with 26 laps to go. With 22 to go in the Music City Grand Prix, McLaughlin led teammate, Josef Newgarden, and Palou.
Then McLaughlin hit the wall.
“I just turned a little late, got caught,” he said. “Nearly saved it. Once you’re sort of out there, it’s hard to get it back.”
Luckily for him, he straightened the wheel before hitting the wall and mitigated the damage he sustained. And he only lost a single spot in the process.
“The car was straight,” he said. “I was able to push on, yeah.”
The final restart came with 11 laps to go, and Palou ducked inside of McLaughlin heading into Turn 1 to take second. Coming down the backstretch, Kyffin Simpson followed his teammate’s lead and pulled to his inside. For five laps, the two drivers ran side-by-side the entire length of the 1.33 mile track.
With six to go, however, Simpson cleared him off Turn 2. Undeterred, McLaughlin kept the top lane open as much as possible.
“I didn’t care if I was the only one up there,” he said. “I used it until I couldn’t. Kept there, kept there.”
With one lap to go, McLaughlin got a good run in Turn 1 and ran high to psych Simpson into defense.
“I wasn’t going to pass him on the inside into three,” he said. “I wanted him to go so it cramped his entry.”
He got a strong run through Turns 3 and 4, lead foot through it all, and cleared him on his way to a podium finish.
“I have to give massive props to Kyffin Simpson,” he said. “Probably the best oval race I’ve had. Felt like 2006 or something. Pinned around the outside, gave me some room. If he came up, I was in the fence hard. Big props to Kyff. Really, really happy to race him.
“That kid raced me with a lot of respect. He’s getting better and better every week. I really did enjoy racing him. Like I said, probably my best battle ever on an oval.”
McLaughlin finished the 2025 NTT INDYCAR Series season 10th in points. Just one point behind teammate, Will Power.
