Johnson resigned to losing his star
DJR Team Penske co-owner Dick Johnson says this year will be Scott McLaughlin’s last in Supercars before the Ford star embarks on a racing career in the United States.
McLaughlin has been called up to make his racing debut for Team Penske in an IndyCar at the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May.
The defending Supercars champion made an instant impression when he tested for the team last week in the US, finishing third fastest at the preseason hitout in Texas.
McLaughlin is contracted with DJR Team Penske until the end of the year and Johnson said he was resigned to farewelling the New Zealand ace to the US after that.
“It’s pretty obvious that he will be gone next year,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to make the most of him in this year’s championship because he’s obviously US-bound. It definitely will be [his last year in Supercars] unless something unforeseen happens.”
McLaughlin said he would not be treating this season as if it was his last in the series, but has made no secret of his desire to mount a racing career in the US. Ford legend Johnson said he had no doubt McLaughlin would be a success in IndyCar.
“He has got a pretty good chance of it the way he has acquitted himself and bear in mind that he had never even put his backside in one of those cars before, it’s pretty special,” Johnson said.
“It is totally different, but when you can drive a motor car of any sort that’s what a real driver is.
“He seems to be able to extract … different things out of a car that others can’t.”
McLaughlin will kick off his big for a third straight Supercars championship at the season-opening Adelaide 500 this week. Only three other drivers in the sport’s history — Ian Geoghegan, Mark Skaife and Jamie Whincup — have won three or more titles in a row.
The Bathurst 1000 champion said he was focused on again defending his Supercars crown in 2020.
“I’m really excited for the challenge of trying to go backto-back-to-back,” McLaughlin said. “I feel pretty solid for the season, it’s going to be pretty tight. I’ve come back [from the US] excited. Jumping back in the car yesterday I was pretty much on it straight away.”