Scott McLaughlin and Tony Kanaan have 'cleared the air' after social media back-and-forth
MADISON, Ill. – During IndyCar's first weekend off since late-April, Scott McLaughlin says he used a chunk of that downtime to call Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan and 'clear the air,' following the pair's seemingly contentious back-and-forth on social media following the Detroit Grand Prix.
According to McLaughlin, the pair are 'completely fine' after sparring over the Team Penske driver's early-race spin of young Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel, for which McLaughlin was given a stop-and-go penalty, and Kanaan's choice to post about the incident while the race was still going on.
As McLaughlin characterized it on a media call this week ahead of IndyCar's race at World Wide Technology Raceway, he harbors no ill-will toward Kanaan, though the pair also famously went back-and-forth on X last summer in the wake of Arrow McLaren releasing Theo Pourchaire and Team Penske's push-to-pass scandal.
'Me and (Tony Kanaan) are completely fine,' McLaughlin said. 'We cleared the air. There was nothing to really clear. It's like, he clapped back and I clapped back. It's just how it is. I thought it was funny that he posted during the race, and I responded.
'I didn't think he was going to respond the next time but he did. Me and TK have always sort of talked on social media and have been completely fine. It's not like a year-long feud or things like that that I've seen around. It's just one of those deals where, like, if someone's going to call me out, I'll clap back as well. It's just who I am. I'm not going to change.'
'Hunt for beef': Scott McLaughlin, Tony Kanaan spar on social media after Detroit Grand Prix
After Kanaan's decision to note the incident initially during the race on social media, McLaughlin also quote-tweeted Fox's video and said that he 'misjudged' the move, but pointed a finger, too at Siegel for braking earlier than McLaughlin expected. And as he did in the pair's previous social media dust-up last summer, he creatively wove his occasional sponsor Good Ranchers into his clap-back, saying it looked as if Kanaan was still 'on the hunt for beef.'
Kanaan took his response a bit personal, first making light of McLaughlin's parade lap crash out of the Indy 500 and before noting he'd tried to come find Team Penske's team principal to discuss the incident 'but I couldn't find him. Oh wait…' – an obvious jab at Team Penske's trio of leadership personnel fired in the wake of the team's illegal attenuator modifications discovered in qualifying for the 500.
'I was surprised that he (said that),' McLaughlin said of Kanaan's pointed response on social media. 'It is what it is. That was his decision.
'It won't affect anything moving forward, at least from my end. We talked, and it was all good.'
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MADISON, Ill. – During IndyCar's first weekend off since late-April, Scott McLaughlin says he used a chunk of that downtime to call Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan and 'clear the air,' following the pair's seemingly contentious back-and-forth on social media following the Detroit Grand Prix. According to McLaughlin, the pair are 'completely fine' after sparring over the Team Penske driver's early-race spin of young Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel, for which McLaughlin was given a stop-and-go penalty, and Kanaan's choice to post about the incident while the race was still going on. As McLaughlin characterized it on a media call this week ahead of IndyCar's race at World Wide Technology Raceway, he harbors no ill-will toward Kanaan, though the pair also famously went back-and-forth on X last summer in the wake of Arrow McLaren releasing Theo Pourchaire and Team Penske's push-to-pass scandal. 'Me and (Tony Kanaan) are completely fine,' McLaughlin said. 'We cleared the air. There was nothing to really clear. It's like, he clapped back and I clapped back. It's just how it is. I thought it was funny that he posted during the race, and I responded. 'I didn't think he was going to respond the next time but he did. Me and TK have always sort of talked on social media and have been completely fine. It's not like a year-long feud or things like that that I've seen around. It's just one of those deals where, like, if someone's going to call me out, I'll clap back as well. It's just who I am. I'm not going to change.' 'Hunt for beef': Scott McLaughlin, Tony Kanaan spar on social media after Detroit Grand Prix After Kanaan's decision to note the incident initially during the race on social media, McLaughlin also quote-tweeted Fox's video and said that he 'misjudged' the move, but pointed a finger, too at Siegel for braking earlier than McLaughlin expected. And as he did in the pair's previous social media dust-up last summer, he creatively wove his occasional sponsor Good Ranchers into his clap-back, saying it looked as if Kanaan was still 'on the hunt for beef.' Kanaan took his response a bit personal, first making light of McLaughlin's parade lap crash out of the Indy 500 and before noting he'd tried to come find Team Penske's team principal to discuss the incident 'but I couldn't find him. Oh wait…' – an obvious jab at Team Penske's trio of leadership personnel fired in the wake of the team's illegal attenuator modifications discovered in qualifying for the 500. 'I was surprised that he (said that),' McLaughlin said of Kanaan's pointed response on social media. 'It is what it is. That was his decision. 'It won't affect anything moving forward, at least from my end. We talked, and it was all good.'
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