Ex-Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin outpaces Aussie IndyCar legend for remarkable pole position

Scott McLaughlin circled qualifying as the area he had to improve on in his second season of IndyCar and the former Supercars ace nailed it at the first event of 2022.

McLaughlin edged Team Penske teammate Will Power, one of the best qualifiers in series history, to grab pole on Saturday for the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Now that he’s got the qualifying part down, New Zealander McLaughlin will have to figure out how to lead an IndyCar field to green on Sunday for the first time in his career.

“I think it’s 12 years since I led a rolling start-away because of go-karting. It’s a standing start in Supercars. Hopefully I’m not an idiot,” McLaughlin said.

“I’ll be starting from the front leading a group to the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me, so I’ll have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot.”

The pole is the first for McLaughlin, who moved from racing supercars in Australia to IndyCar last season, but never got the results he hoped for.

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His issues were tied to his qualifying performance and McLaughlin only cracked the top-10 twice -- his best starting position was fifth on the road course at Indianapolis.

“It’s all about taking pressure off yourself and just focusing on what you need to do, and that’s what we did.” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin gave an exuberant fist pump from inside his cockpit when he advanced into the Fast Six round of qualifying and was ecstatic after bumping Power in the final seconds.

He went under a minute on the 14-turn temporary course along Tampa Bay, posting his lap at 59.4821