MOTORSPORT: McLaughlin Rookie of Year, but Spiderman rules at Indy 500

The Spiderman, Helio Castroneves, climbed into the record books as Scott McLaughlin became the Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves did his signature Spiderman climb up the safety fence on the front straight at Indy after scoring his landmark fourth victory in America’s biggest car race.

McLaughlin ran as high as fourth before a penalty for pit lane speeding, and looked solid in the top 10 for the first half of the race before his eventual 20th place made him the best first-timer at Indy in 2021.

Fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon was the pre-race favourite as he started from pole position, but a mishap during an early caution period saw him run out of fuel and then lose more than a lap to the leaders when his car refused to fire in the pit lane. He trailed home a disappointed 17th.

The only Aussie in the field, former winner Will Power, battled all day after starting from 32nd position in the 33-car field for the troubled Team Penske outfit that also fielded McLaughlin, and ended a miserable 31st after spinning in pit lane.

Castroneves’ fourth victory at the Indy 500 and ties him on the all-time winners’ list with the legendary AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears, who was McLaughlin’s driving coach through the build-up and running of this year’s race.

Castroneves achieved the feat at age 46 with a lowly-rated team, Meyer Shank Racing, against the might of both 18-times winners Team Penske and the Ganassi team that fielded Dixon.

He had to battle to the flag as he beat youngster Alex Palou by less than half a second, with former winner Simon Pagenaud as the best of the four Penske runners in third.

“The old guys still got it, kicking the young guys’ butts. We’re teaching them a lesson,” said Castroneves during his celebration. “It’s not the end; it’s the beginning.

“I don’t know if it’s a good comparison, but Tom Brady won a Super Bowl, Phil (Mickelson) won the PGA, and now here you go.”

McLaughlin was happy to complete his first Indy 500, and top the rookie rankings, but also knew that his pit lane error had cost him a much better result.

“Bittersweet day for me. One mistake just eats you,” he said.

“You can’t make mistakes here. It’s a place that really bites you. I just made a simple mistake. Didn’t quite pump my brake pedal up enough.

“Thankfully no-one was hurt because I came in there pretty hot.”

But he could still celebrate

“Obviously pretty stoked to get Rookie of the Year. That was the main goal,” he said.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform at a very high level. That’s probably why I’m so pissed off right now.”

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