Scott McLaughlin: Arlington “instantly my most…

Scott McLaughlin was buzzing after getting his first taste around the temporary street circuit that makes up this weekend’s inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington.

The New Zealand native led opening practice around the 14-turn, 2.73-mile course with a flying lap of 1m34.8926s in his #3 Team Penske Chevrolet. Although that would be reason to smile enough, the different characteristics of the circuit put him on another level of happiness.

“That is instantly my most favorite street circuit ever,” said McLaughlin, 32, on the FOX Sports broadcast.

“That is such a blast. Yeah, the DEX Imaging Chevy feels great, like it's just an absolute ball to drive. I'm like a little kid again. You know, this is great and just having a blast and so lucky that we were able to do it.”

During the post-practice press conference, McLaughlin furthered those thoughts.

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

“I'm not just saying this because you probably think I'm getting paid to say it, but it's hands down the best street circuit personally that I've driven on,” he said. “So far it's got a huge straight, bumpy straight, very hard to test your brake point into Turn 10 there. Then there are so many corners that are technical, but then also daring.

“It's an absolute blast, and it was honestly a pleasure to learn it and get better and better.

“Obviously I'm a bit happier because my car is handling really good right now, but a really good start to our weekend. Just wanted a solid session and build on it from here and have a lot of confidence to the point I feel like just polishing the car and just put it in the truck. It feels really good.

With one practice session down and another Saturday morning ahead of qualifying, there’s plenty to continue to learn on the new circuit in hopes of going even quicker. As for how much that could be is unknown.

“I thought my lap was pretty good, but the track is just going to keep getting better, and you'll find time by the track just getting better, and you'll carry speed differently, and it might change corner profiles a little bit for you and stuff,” he said. “So, you've just got to go with the track, because it's just going to take a lot of rubber.”

And while some tracks have a tendency to reward finesse and smoothness, while others require wrangling an Indy car, Arlington is a blend of it all.

“Yeah, a new track, regardless, I think you've just got to be flexible,” McLaughlin said.

“You've got to be able to -- I think this track, long back straight, big braking zones, and then you have some real tight, twisty, technical stuff like Nashville (street circuit, 2021-23). You've just got to be very open to a unique car setup, I imagine.”