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Scott McLaughlin is in the best possible position for the upcoming Indy 500.\xa0

The Kiwi driver is sitting in pole position, first on the starting grid with a record-setting time.\xa0

With the race set for Monday morning New Zealand time, McLaughlin has been spending the week preparing for what\u2019s set to be an intense race.\xa0

The Indy 500 has a unique qualifying system, with the fastest 12 drivers contesting a session to define who goes through to the Fast Six, who then race to determine who\u2019s awarded pole.\xa0

\u201cIt\u2019s a pressure-packed situation,\u201d he told Newstalk ZB\u2019s Mike Hosking.\xa0

\u201cTo put the laps up that we did, and you know, win the pole by sort 0.3 of a mile an hour, which is pretty big in oval racing terms over here in America is super special.\u201d\xa0

McLaughlin is the second Kiwi to start the Indy 500 from pole position, Scott Dixon being the first.\xa0

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of that and yeah, trying to replicate my hero in some way.\u201d\xa0

Much like any sport, racing takes an immense amount of mental energy, with drivers having to think and react while travelling at incredibly high speeds.\xa0

\u201cYou\u2019re travelling at, you know, three or four rugby fields a second,\u201d McLaughlin explained.\xa0

\u201cThere\u2019s so many things happening that you\u2019ve gotta be ahead of, you\u2019ve gotta understand, you know, because if you make a mistake at one point, the mistake doesn\u2019t catch up with you until, you know, two or three hundred meters, four hundred meters down the track.\u201d\xa0

McLaughlin averaged just over 234mph (377kph) in his final qualifier, and although those are insane speeds for any normal person, he said that it begins to feel normal when out among the other cars.\xa0

\u201cIt\u2019s not until you\u2019re either trying to pit, come into pit lane or something goes wrong where you realise, oh wow, we actually... we\u2019re actually ticking along here.\u201d\xa0

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible feeling for sure,\u201d he laughed.\xa0

\u201cit\u2019s probably the closest I\u2019ll ever feel to being a superhero.\u201d\xa0

McLaughlin competed in the Supercars Championships up until 2020, making the switch to IndyCar for the 2021 season. \xa0

He told Hosking that the two types of racing are different worlds and encouraged any sports race fan in Australia and New Zealand who\u2019s never been to the Indy 500 to give it a try.\xa0

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible spectacle,\u201d McLaughlin said.\xa0

\u201cThey call it \u2018the greatest spectacle in racing\u2019 for a reason.\u201d\xa0

Thousands of people show up to the race, and the 108-year history of the Indy 500 has resulted in quite the experience.\xa0

\u201cIt's a typical American experience, big and loud and but it's very cool to be a part of and, and yeah, it, it's, it's definitely the big leagues for sure.\u201d\xa0

The sheer extent of the race would leave anyone nervous and excited in equal measure, but McLaughlin told Mike Hosking that you can\u2019t let the pressure get to you.\xa0

\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta act like it\u2019s another race, unfortunately,\u201d\xa0

\u201cBut it is, it is a lot more on offer.\u201d\xa0

\u201cI\u2019m just really excited for the opportunity and hopefully we can deliver when it comes to, you know, race day.\u201d\xa0

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