ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Scott McLaughlin circled qualifying as the area he had to improve upon in his second season of IndyCar. He nailed it in his first session of the year.
McLaughlin beat Team Penske teammate Will Power, one of the best qualifiers in series history, to win the pole Saturday for the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.
The pole is the first for McLaughlin, who moved from racing supercars in Australia to IndyCar last season but never got the results he expected. His issues were tied to his qualifying performance, as McLaughlin cracked the top 10 only twice.