The influx of superstars from the land down under into NASCAR has gotten very serious in recent times. Since Shane van Gisbergen opened the door with his victory in the Chicago Street Course last year, many drivers from abroad have expressed their interest in being a part of American stock car racing. One key figure who is tempted to enter the ring is Scott McLaughlin.
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A native of New Zealand, same as SVG, McLaughlin is a three-time Supercars champion (2018, 2019, and 2020) who is now a star driver for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series. Since moving to race in America full-time, he has secured five wins, 14 podiums, and six poles. With ties that could land him a seat in NASCAR pretty easily, he could soon be making the move, according to SVG.
Talking to Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie on his podcast, SVG confirmed that he has been urging McLaughlin to make the call and scoot over to NASCAR. His words went, “I keep telling him to do it and he is semi-keen. Like, the more I talk to him the more he gets tempted. I tell them how fun these Xfinity races are and we’re almost there. It’d be cool to see him do it.”
McLaughlin is a proper Team Penske man having raced for the outfit for eight long years. Since joining it in 2017, he has grown to become the third most successful driver for the team only behind Brad Keselowski and Mark Donohue. He was most recently on the front papers for winning the pole in the 2024 Indy 500. He finished the race in sixth place.
Shane van Gisbergen’s success in the Xfinity Series could push McLaughlin to join NASCAR
After a largely average outing in the first 12 races of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, SVG was finally able to break through to the victory lane at the Portland Raceway earlier this month. He followed his maiden victory immediately with a second win at the Sonoma Raceway a week later. As he joins the history books with back-to-back wins, he is setting the bar high for new drivers who come to NASCAR.
McLaughlin, being a veteran 31-year-old driver with experience across continents, could be a great fit in NASCAR just like SVG. Hopefully, SVG’s success could serve as an inspiration for him.
