What happens next in Scott McLaughlin-Tony Kanaan spat?

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

The Scott McLaughlin-Tony Kanaan social media beef added a little bit of humor postrace.

The best beefs are the ones where there might be a little animosity but it also hard to tell amid the chuckling.

Both McLaughlin and Kanaan have engaging personalities and are fun to talk to as they are quick with a quip. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether the quip is just for fun or has a little bit of intended zing to try and prove a point.

Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin is in a war of words with a rival team principal.

After McLaughlin turned Nolan Siegel early in the race at Detroit, McLaughlin received a stop-and-go penalty.

For the most part, McLaughlin took the blame after the race.

“I went for the move,” McLaughlin said. “I feel like he moved on the brakes and then basically stopped. I was sort of really committed to the move, but ultimately I can see why [they penalized me].

“Normally, when the car makes contact from behind, you’re in trouble. But I feel like the kid was trying to move a little bit. It’s probably ambition on my part.”

At that time, McLaughlin had not seen what Kanaan, the team principal at McLaren (which fields the car for Siegel), had posted.

The McLaughlin-Kanaan zingfest has its roots from a year ago when McLaughlin posted a lighthearted but critical post after McLaren had rotated drivers in the car that was supposed to be driven by David Malukas, who was fired after not being able to compete because of a broken wrist suffered in a mountain biking accident. The team had signed Theo Pourchaire as his replacement and then replaced Pourchaire with Siegel during the year.

Kanaan clapped back with a dig at Penske’s push-to-pass scandal where McLaughlin had been disqualified, as well as the race winner Josef Newgarden, from St. Pete.

So with that as the baseline, McLaughlin posted this about the wreck with Siegel on Sunday, presumably after seeing Kanaan’s post on the accident.

That resulted in another Kanaan response where it hurt — referencing that the Penske teams were without executive leadership after they all were dismissed following a technical issue in qualifying at Indianapolis.

So what to think of it all?

Well, first off, rivalries are good. If this makes one wonder how McLaughlin will race — and be raced — by the McLaren drivers going forward, that’s not a bad thing and will make the racing intriguing to watch.

But McLaughlin has a lot more to lose than Kanaan. After all, Kanaan is a retired race-car driver and isn’t hurting himself with the beef.

For McLaughlin, if he starts thinking about the zingers or gets caught up in the moment with the McLaren drivers, it could hurt his own race. Not saying that will happen to McLaughlin, who while fiery, seems to keep those emotions in-check while racing. Kanaan might hurt his own reputation if people view the spat as a little childish or beneath a team principal, but it won’t hurt any personal results. Whether jacking up his drivers’ competition is a good thing likely would depend on how his drivers respond.

So in other words, if this spat continues on social media, it’s all good. If it bleeds to the racetrack, it might not be best for McLaughlin.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.