INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Scott McLaughlin crashed his Team Penske car in Sunday afternoon practice and ruined his chance to repeat last years Indianapolis 500 pole-winning run.
McLaughlin qualified Saturday inside the top 12 and was eligible to run for the pole later Sunday. But he spun at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and immediately lifted both hands to his helmet as he braced for impact with the Turn 2 wall.
The New Zealanders car was destroyed and Team Penske said theyd slot him at 12th and not even attempt a qualifying run Sunday. The car the team was working on for McLaughlin is Penskes backup speedway car and had been earmarked for teammate Josef Newgarden to use in next weeks pit crew competition.
McLaughlin, who last year led a Penske sweep of the front row in qualifying, was clearly deflated after he was released from the medical center.
Im OK, Im just really, really, really, really, really sorry for everyone at Team Penske, McLaughlin said. It was talking to me and I sort of felt it, and I probably should have backed out, but youre trying to complete a run to see what it feels like and was it worth the risk? Probably wasnt. Im incredibly sad.
He said he felt fortunate the car did not go airborne into the catchfence, but the crash did cause damage to the track surface that IMS workers were fixing during a stoppage created by his wreck.
They can build a new car for me, but Im just really gutted more than anything, McLaughlin said. Its hard to take, like you wish it was for something, but it was for nothing, right? In practice.
McLaughlin was also rattled to see his wife crying after his crash out of concern for him.
Theyre nervous about me, he said. I wanted to get out of the car straight away just so she knew I was OK.
There have been three hard crashes in the last two days at Indianapolis. Marcus Armstrong and Colton Herta both crashed Saturday and Armstrong has to qualify Sunday for the field of 33 using a road and street course backup car. Herta qualified inside the top 30 to lock himself into the field once his car was ready for qualifying.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
印第安纳波利斯（美联社）——斯科特·麦克劳克林（Scott McLaughlin）在周日下午的练习赛中驾驶潘斯克车队（Team Penske）的赛车发生事故，这导致他未能重演去年印第安纳波利斯500大赛的杆位夺冠。
麦克劳林（McLaughlin）在周六的比赛中进入前12名，有资格在周日下午争夺杆位。然而，他在印第安纳波利斯赛车场（Indianapolis Motor Speedway）上打转，并立即将双手举向头盔，准备迎接与第2弯道墙的碰撞。
新西兰车手的赛车被毁，潘氏车队（Team Penske）表示他们将会让该车手在第12位出场，并且周日甚至不会尝试进行资格赛。车队为McLaughlin准备的赛车是潘氏的备用速度赛车，原本是为队友约瑟夫·纽加德（Josef Newgarden）下周的维修区竞赛准备的。
McLaughlin，去年曾带领Penske车队在资格赛中席卷了前排，在被从医疗中心释放后，他显然情绪低落。
我没事，我真的，真的，真的，真的，真的为潘斯克车队（Penske Racing Team）的每一个人感到抱歉，麦克劳克林（McLaughlin）说。它是在跟我说话，我感受到它了，我本应该退赛的，但你正在尝试完成比赛，想知道这感觉如何以及这值得冒这个风险吗？可能不值得。我感到非常难过。
他表示，他感到很幸运，因为这辆车没有飞入捕捉栏，但这次撞击确实对IMS工作人员在由他的事故造成的暂停期间正在修复的赛道表面造成了损害。
他们可以为我造一辆新车，但我现在的心情真的比任何事情都糟糕。
在赛后，麦克劳林看到妻子为他而哭泣，他感到很不安。
他们对我感到很紧张，
在过去的两天里，印第安纳波利斯发生了三起严重的撞车事故。马库斯·阿姆斯特朗和科尔顿·赫塔都在周六遭遇了事故，阿姆斯特朗必须在周日使用公路和街道备用车，以33名参赛者的身份获得参赛资格。赫塔在赛车准备就绪后，成功进入了前30名，锁定了自己的参赛资格。
美国新闻协会（AP）自驾车比赛：请访问[https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing](https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing)以获取更多信息。
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