Shocking pre-race crash takes Scott McLaughlin out of Indy 500

A surprising incident unfolded before the Indy 500 even began, with Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin crashing into the wall during the pace laps.

Rain delayed the start of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 by almost an hour, with Roger Penske finally giving the command to start engines at 1:21pm EST. On a cold track with overcast skies, the field of 33 finally filed out onto the race track.

McLaughlin was set to start tenth as the only one of the three Penske drivers who escaped a penalty in the attenuator scandal from last weekend's qualifying session. However, as the field paced around the 2.5-mile track, McLaughlin was warming up his tires when he lost control. The No. 3 Chevrolet came out from under him, crashing into the inside wall on the frontstretch, destroying the car.

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

McLaughlin's race was over before it had even begun. He sat in the car, completely devastated as the team tried to console him over the radio. Once he climbed from the wreckage, he could only put his head in his hands.

"I really have no idea what happened," said McLaughlin. "I'm just really upset for my team. They built me a fantastic car again. I'm really sorry to my sponsors, my fans, my family ... I don't know why. I can't believe we're out of the race. By far the worst moment of my life. I know that's probably dramatic but I put so much into this race and didn't get to see the green flag."

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

But the chaos had only just begun, as Scott Dixon's car began to smoke with a small fire emerging from the left-rear. Thankfully, it sorted itself out. The Chip Ganassi team later had to change the brakes, which did put Dixon three laps down.

And then on the first flying lap, the field didn't even make it through Turn 1 as Marco Andretti crashed into the wall, ending his 20th Indy 500 start without a single lap of green-flag racing.

"Yeah, just (should have) been patient," said Andretti when asked if there was anything else he could have done. "But once I was committed, I couldn't have moved. I kind of at the wall. I haven't seen it yet but whoever was next to me, crowded me and I ran out of room."

Andretti will finish 32nd and McLaughlin 33rd in the final running order. Both drivers leave Indianapolis with the worst Indy 500 finish of their career. The event only made it 20 laps before rain began to sprinkle down once more, forcing a brief caution flag.