Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin says there “wasn’t much” he could do to avoid taking out Simon Pagenaud in the dying laps of the Indianapolis 500.
With seven laps to go, McLaren’s Pato O’Ward tried to put a pass on Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing for second but spun at turn three.
The ensuing melee saw the trailing field slow down to avoid the spinning car.
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In amongst that, McLaughlin rear-ended Pagenaud while Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Agustin Canapino spun in sympathy.
After the incident, the Meyer Shank Racing driver took a swipe at McLaughlin for not paying attention.
“We were in a nice position for a top 10 at the end so it was mission accomplished, almost accomplished, I would say, obviously we’re always wanting to go for a win, and who knows what would have happened with all these red flags?” said Pagenaud.
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“But, unfortunately, I got rear-ended under yellow. The cars ahead of us are crashing, it’s yellow, slowing down, but the car behind me did not slow down and took me out in a pretty big crash. So, very unfortunate.
“Obviously, on oval racing, you’ve got to be eyes up and I hope that driver understands the mistake he made. So, I feel terrible for the guys that wasted a good day for us to be crashed under yellow.”
McLaughlin put the crash down to miscommunication and offered Pagenaud an apology for the incident.
“Wasn’t much I could do here,” McLaughlin wrote on Twitter.
“#77 on my outside, didn’t see the wreck ahead due to being on Simon’s gearbox and my spotter was focused on Callum.
“The minute I looked up he was checking up and I had nowhere to go. I apologised post-race to Simon and I’m glad he is ok.”
McLaughlin and Pagenaud were fighting over 12th and 13th respectively prior to the incident.
McLaughlin went on to finish 13th after suffering damage to his front wing in the crash.
The New Zealander sits sixth in the drivers’ standings after five races behind his teammate Josef Newgarden, who won the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The IndyCar Series resumes with the Detroit Grand Prix on June 5.
The 100-lap race takes place on an all-new downtown street circuit in Detroit, replacing the Belle Isle circuit.
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