'I just destroyed it': Scott McLaughlin walks away from huge Indy 500 crash that ruined chance of repeat pole

Scott McLaughlin has walked away unscathed from a major crash in an Indianapolis 500 practice session as his car became airborne, flipped and smashed into the outside barriers at turn two.

The crash happened just sixteen minutes into the pre-qualifying practice that preceded the Fast 12 shootout that would decide the grid order of the top 12 racers for the Indy 500.

The three-time Supercars champion sat on pole last year for the 200-lap race but has not produced the same performance this year.

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The crash saw him miss out on the shootout, immediately placing him in 12th for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

"I'm really, really, really, really sorry to everyone at Team Penske, my guys on the [number] three car, everyone who builds these fantastic cars," McLaughlin said.

"It [the car] was talking to me, and I sort of felt it, and I probably should have backed out.

"But you're trying to complete a run to see what it feels like.

"Was it worth the risk? Probably wasn't.

"Very grateful to IndyCar, the safety and my team, the SAFER Barriers and all that.

"Kept me safe. We had a great car, and I just destroyed it."

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McLaughlin was not the only one to lose control at the same spot during the last two days on track.

Colton Herta flipped his car and landed upside down while McLaughlin's Kiwi countryman Marcus Armstrong crashed out of qualifying at turn two, although he was able to return to the track in a backup car.

Team Penske's rivals Chip Ganassi Racing accused the outfit of cheating moments before the shootout, spurring the stewards to call the cars of two-time defending race winner Josef Newgarden and Australian Will Power back to the garages.

They both failed inspections and were refused the ability to qualify, leaving all three Penske cars to start side-by-side on the fourth row in 10th, 11th and 12th.

"There was a body fit violation on the rear attenuator," explained IndyCar technical director Kevin Blanch.

"As quick as this process happens, we ran them through tech, we got everybody in line and then prior to qualifying, they decided that they would just pull out of line."

Penske used the drivers' previous times from Saturday's session to set their grid positions, this moved McLaughlin up to 10th, with Newgarden and Power behind.

McLaughlin posted the fastest lap of the session with a top speed of nearly 360km/h before his spectacular crash stopped practice as the New Zealander's crash ripped up pieces of the track's asphalt that had to be repaired.

Rookie driver Robert Schwartzman snatched an unexpected pole position for next Monday's race, posting a blistering 374km/h average speed over four laps during the Fast Six to hand Prema their first pole position at their debut oval race.

The Indianapolis 500 will begin on Monday morning (AEST) next week.