A Big Weekend at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix with Alex Palou, Will Power, Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden and much, much more

ROGER:

This is Roger Penske and you're listening to Pit Pass Indie, sponsored by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans and insiders view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN Sports Ticker, Sports Illustrated, Auto Week and Speed Sport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our fourth season of giving IndyCar fans a behind-the-scenes look at the NTT IndyCar Series and the drivers and teams that compete in the Indianapolis 500. The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season is over, and Alex Palou is the champion for the third time in four seasons, including the last two years. He becomes the first back-to-back IndyCar Series champion since Dario Franchitti won three straight from 2009 to 2011. We will have a special bonus edition with Alex Palou talking about his championship season later this week on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Today's regular episode of Pit Pass Indy wraps up the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Super Speedway. Thanks to Scott Borchetta, the founder and CEO of Big Machine Label Group, and the promoter of the IndyCar Race at Nashville, it was a weekend filled with entertainment and action. Because the race had to be moved from the streets of Nashville, where it had been held from 2021 to 2023, Borchetta had all of the Friday festivities in the Broadway Entertainment District of downtown Nashville. On Saturday and Sunday, it was off to Nashville Super Speedway, the 1.33-mile speedway about 35 miles away in Lebanon, Tennessee. The big news on Saturday was Alex Palou's disappointing qualifying performance combined with a nine grid spot penalty for an unapproved engine change. He qualified 15th but had to start 24th when the penalty was factored in. Palou entered the race weekend with a 33 point lead over his closest pursuer, Will Power of Team Penske. Power qualified fourth, and if he had won the race, Palou had to finish ninth or better to clinch the championship. That gave Power hope entering the race. But the championship fight was over before the race really started. On lap 13, the restraining belts inside the cockpit of Power's number 12 Chevrolet unbuckled, creating a seriously dangerous situation for the driver. Power pulled on the pit lane and his team Penske crew fixed the issue. By the time Power returned to the race, he was five laps down and the championship was all but officially over. Power finished 24th in the 27-card field. Ironically, that's the same position Palou started. Palou finished 11th, and Nashville resident Colton Hurtus scored his first IndyCar Oval victory, his second win in 2024, and the ninth victory of his career when he defeated Pato Award by 1.8106 seconds. By winning the race, Hurta finished second in the championship, 31 points behind Palou. Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin finished fifth in the race and third in the championship, 39 points back. Power dropped from second in the championship, entering the race to fourth in the final standings for 2024, 46 points behind the champion. We have various interviews with all of the main storylines, but let's start off with two exclusive interviews with below beginning with his thoughts, entering the race weekend. I'm sure there's going to be another interview coming up with you at the end of the race weekend, but while I've got you, Scott Dixon said yesterday that he claims the title is over because he doesn't think that Will Powers had his once-in-a-lifetime miracle, and he says it's not going to be two, meaning you're not going to make the same mistake. So what is your thoughts going into the race? All you got to do is finish ninth and you have a championship.

ÁLEX:

I think it's tougher than what it looks on paper. I know being here, we're heading to a weekend that might have less running than normal with rain, an engine penalty, which probably you don't know about. So, yeah, I mean, it's not easy. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna, obviously, we're on the best, we have the best scenario in front of us, and I wouldn't like to be in another position than what I have, but it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be tough, and yeah, I'm looking forward to having an opportunity next Sunday.

BRUCE:

It's also a concrete oval and that's not something you've ever raced on before. You've raced on concrete on street circuits, but on an oval, how big of a difference will that be in the way the car feels?

ÁLEX:

I have no idea. Obviously, I asked Scott especially that he's actually the man here for what I've seen on the past races. I actually loved it on the street courses, but I think it's going to be really different to feel it. I did the track walk as soon as I got to a track and just see, so I'm excited to just go out on track and see how the support, how the grip feels. But from what I heard, it's actually really fun. And it's actually really close to the normal asphalt that we're used to.

BRUCE:

This race was originally intended to be a street race that would go around Broadway in this entertainment district we have here. It's an oval race instead. But it really seems like standing here on Friday before the race, there's a lot of activity and vibe to downtown Nashville. And how cool is that? because we've had a couple of championship weekends where we were at Monterey where you didn't have this type of atmosphere.

ÁLEX:

No, yeah, I love it. I think the atmosphere is huge. Like I was just telling the guys that they are getting ready for the Pit Stop competition now and it feels like it's going to be a big one. So it's a shame that we cannot be here, but yeah, hopefully we can be here very, very soon. And I think it's going to be one of those events that we're going to really look forward to in the future.

BRUCE:

You joined IndyCar in 2020. Here it is 2024, you're on the verge of a third IndyCar Series Championship. And also you could be the first back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti back from 2009 through 2011. We all knew you were good when you came to IndyCar, but did you expect this kind of success this quickly?

ÁLEX:

Absolutely not. I mean, that's what you wish for, but that's not what I expected. I don't even think that that was all my best dreams. My goal was to try and learn as much as possible from Scott as my teammate and try and give some results to the team and hopefully fight for championships during my stay. But yeah, it's been the just the wildest dreams of like fighting for my first championship in 21, winning it, fighting for the championship last year in 23, winning it and fighting against for the championship this year. So hopefully we can bring the third one home.

BRUCE:

You've got a talented group of teammates, but you've also got Scott Dixon, who could be a pretty good wingman for you on Sunday. And how important is it to have that? Because he knows maybe how to stay in front of those guys without impeding their progress.

ÁLEX:

Yeah, I mean, I think it's like, I think the beauty of IndyCar as well is that we, everybody race for its own. But obviously when you get to the last race and I guess that Josef and Scott will be helping Will as much as possible without interfering and without doing anything dirty. And I expect the same from my teammates as well. But hopefully they don't need to do anything from Penske side or from CJR side and hopefully we can have our own race, but I think just the knowledge that Scott can bring to the car, getting it ready, getting it as fast as possible, and I know that he will be running up front, so I know that he can make it a little bit harder on the 12 car during the race, and maybe just be, as you said, our wingman at the end of the race.

BRUCE:

And finally, how happy are you that you stayed? Because this could have been a year you were driving for someone else.

ÁLEX:

I'm tremendously happy. So yeah, I don't know how to express it, but yes, I'm a lot happier than I would ever be.

BRUCE:

And also is AJ Foyt's record of seven in jeopardy with you? If you get three in 2024, there's no reason to think that over the next 15 years, you might not get four more.

ÁLEX:

We need to get the third one first and then we can talk about the future. But yeah, let's focus on the third one on Sunday.

BRUCE:

Well, Alex Palou, he's always the coolest driver in the cockpit. Good luck in Sunday's race, and congratulations on another great season, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Palou was the fastest driver in Saturday morning's practice session at Nashville's Super Speedway, but during his qualification run, he was surprised at how different the car responded. He explained the situation to me in this exclusive interview with Pit Pass Indy after qualifying the day before the race. Alex Blow is joining us now. Alex, I think you're adding a little more drama into the final race of the season than a lot of us expected. You're qualified 15th, then add a nine grid spot penalty. I believe that comes to like 24th position. So are you surprised by that?

ÁLEX:

Yes, obviously. I mean, especially after leading on practice. So not what we wanted, not what we expected. We had a really good car in practice, so we were actually thinking we were gonna battle for the pole, but it didn't work out that way. We have a long way to go to get to ninth, so first we'll try and get to P20, then 15th, 10th, and then move from there. But yeah, step by step, the good thing is that we have some margin and 206 laps in front of us, so we'll make it happen. No, I think we were very, very good this morning, leading on practice and feeling very comfortable. We just lost the balance of the car, so as soon as we get it back, we'll be right back at it. I don't know. Now, for sure, I'm looking forward to a championship. And that's all that matters, tomorrow and the third championship.

BRUCE:

Chip Ganassi called you a cool cucumber, so it's going to take a lot of coolness and calmness to make your way up through the field tomorrow. How important is that going to be to you to just keep it cool?

ÁLEX:

Yeah, I mean, we need to have patience because there's 206 laps, but we need to move forward at the same time no matter what. So, yeah, we'll make it.

BRUCE:

Will Powers starting fourth, pretty good starting position. He has to win the race. So how much will you be keeping an eye on what he's doing? Obviously, you're going to run your own race, but how important is it going to be to where Will finishes for how far you got to pedal your way back?

ÁLEX:

Yeah, I'm not thinking about it at the moment. I don't see myself being P17 and thinking about where he is. I just want to move myself forward, not only for the championship. That's what we would have to do anyway, starting P24 with an engine penalty. We know at least we can get to 15th. So we'll try and move every single lap and see where we end up.

BRUCE:

You were so fast in Saturday's practice. What happened in qualifying?

ÁLEX:

We just lost the balance, like the balance was really good and was on it this morning on both primaries, alternates and I don't know if it was just a couple degrees difference that we had from the practice session and suddenly we just didn't have the balance we needed to go flat out.

BRUCE:

And finally, your assessment of the grip level of this track, you were the fastest in practice. How's the track going to race?

ÁLEX:

I think it'll be tough, honestly. I want to be wrong, obviously, especially starting 24th. But I think it'll be tough. Hopefully the second, the high lane practice helps have some more grip up there. But I think it'll be very, very tough.

BRUCE:

Well, Alex Blo, good luck in the battle for the championship. You've certainly made it a little more dramatic in qualifying, but knowing you, you'll find a solution. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. It all worked out for Palou in the end, and you will hear from the 2024 IndyCar Series champion later this week. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

WILL:

This is Will Power of Team Penske, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Next up is Will Power's story. He began the weekend believing he could win the championship and was confident when I had this exclusive interview with the Team Penske driver on Friday, September 13th. Joining us now is Will Power of Team Penske. Will, Scott Dixon said on Thursday at Nashville that he pretty much thinks the championship's over because you got your one big thing, your miracle, and you weren't able to take advantage of it. Obviously, you're going to go down fighting. So, how do you feel entering the race?

WILL:

Yeah, I think, you know, if we do everything we can do, points-wise, yes, it depends on where Palou finishes. So, not really controlling our own destiny there. Yeah, big gift to Milwaukee, obviously, and didn't play out how we wanted.

BRUCE:

How long did you think about that after leaving Milwaukee?

WILL:

Yeah, it was frustrating. I think we had a really fast car and probably should have just stayed out and led the laps. But it's easy to say that in hindsight.

BRUCE:

But one advantage you might have, even though it was 16 years ago, is you've actually raced on this track. You've raced on this surface. Alex has yet to turn a lap on this track heading into tomorrow. So in some ways, does that give you any little bit of an idea? Because you remember what concrete oval racing felt like.

WILL:

Yeah. Yeah, I think the car is quite different. The downforce is actually more than it used to be, but the car is much heavier. I like to track, I really do. I like to track, but... Yeah, I don't think so. Man, I think... You know, I think there's going to be a bigger spread of performance between cars. It's not somewhere everyone got to test and it takes a bit to get used to. I think the people that initially would have the advantage in practice, if you test it here, you kind of know the track a little bit.

BRUCE:

So far, though, the style of racing at Gateway and at the Milwaukee Mile was a lot better than a lot of us thought it would be with the hybrid assist device. I'm sure you were probably even surprised yourself how much better the racing was, because a lot of people thought it might be a lot like Iowa, which was a little bit follow the leader. So what do you think we'll see here?

WILL:

I don't know because at Gateway when we did traffic running in testing it seemed like it wasn't going to race well but when we went back there to race it was amazing and so was Milwaukee so it's anyone's guess. I'm hoping that there's two lanes and it's really good racing.

BRUCE:

All in all though, at 43 years of age, you've been in the IndyCar Series running IndyCars since 2004, 2005, and here you are in 2024 contending for a championship. I know how badly you would like to get it, but even if you don't, you've got to be very proud of your performance at this age.

WILL:

I'm driving the best I ever have. It's not really... Man, it's not like I'm proud. It's where I should be with this level of performance that I have right now. I haven't slowed down. I've got a lot of experience. Love the ovals, love all the tracks. So, yeah, it's right where I want to be. Yeah, I don't think you fall off. I think if you stop or you stop working hard, you will lose performance, even at any age. So, yeah, no, I feel good.

BRUCE:

And how important was for you to rebound from 2023 like you did, because as you say, you never really got a fair chance to start that season off the way you would have liked to because of the situation health-wise that was going on with your wife, Liz. But in 2024, perfectly prepared, you came out and you've been showing all year how good you are.

WILL:

Yeah, tough year last year. Doesn't surprise me of the results. It just was one of those years where it's hard to have your mind on the job. I think we made some good gains car-wise and engine-wise anyway this year. Multiple things came into play and I was right on top of my game driving. I could tell Roger and Tim, I'm driving the best I ever have right now. You know, the results are showing that. I still intend to improve, I really do. I never stop at this stuff. I never stop working.

BRUCE:

And as a competitor, what are your thoughts on Alex Polo? The guy makes it look so easy.

WILL:

I mean, he's a very, very complete driver. Very tough to beat. Doesn't make mistakes. I feel lucky that we've closed that gap to him to actually have a shot. I feel like we've let some good stuff go. I feel like we have had the best performance this year as far as speed goes. He's a tough competitor, man. He's not a two-time champion for no reason and very early in his IndyCar career, mind you.

BRUCE:

And although you won a lot of races earlier in your career in IndyCar, 2010, 2011, those years you were winning a lot of races, but do you feel, like you had said earlier, you're at the top of your game and you're going to maintain that for several more years? Yes. Just how much better are you now than back in the day when you were willpower, it was either you won it or you came back on the hook?

WILL:

Yeah, oh, man, yeah. I wouldn't say necessarily come back on the hook, but, you know, abnormal things would happen through just circumstance. You know, and that's a product of your personality. And for me, on that side of it has changed significantly, the mental side of it. The way I prepare, the way I react to adverse situations is very different to how it was back then. If I had a bit of what I got now back then, the speed I had, yeah, certainly I would expect I would have won a couple more championships.

BRUCE:

Well, Will Power, we hope to see you racing in IndyCar for many more years to come. I think you certainly proved this year you've still got a lot of fire left in you. I have the fire in the belly, yes. Yes. Hopefully that'll turn into another contract extension at the end of next year. Yeah. You've been a great champion. You've been fun to watch all year. We'll catch up with you after the off-season begins. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you, Bruce. After qualifying fourth, Power's confidence began to grow, especially with Palou's unexpectedly disappointing qualifying performance. Here's my exclusive interview with Power after Saturday's qualifications. We're joined now by Will Power, who's going to start fourth in the big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Will, you got a big smile on your face. Oh, yeah. It's because I'm talking to you, Bruce. Oh, I'm sure. your fellow competitor, your championship rival qualified 15th, which means he's going to be starting 24th. So Scott Dixon said the other day you were out of miracles. I think he may have another miracle here available to you.

WILL:

I don't know. I don't think I've had that many miracles. Definitely not as many as Scott Dixon's had. But yeah, But it would be a miracle if something like what happened at Milwaukee happens again. And we, you know, have a phenomenal day. So a lot of racing to go. I think, you know, Palou can sigh a little bit of a relief because he's, you know, we didn't take that point. Makes his job a little easier, but we're still going to fight hard for all this.

BRUCE:

Yeah, but on an oval like this where it may be a little difficult to pass, getting up to ninth place may not be that easy for him.

WILL:

No, I agree. I agree. Like, yes, it's a tough, it's a tough place to pass and you just don't know when you're back there, you can get collected, all the stuff that could happen, so.

BRUCE:

Are you going out with the strategy, full speed ahead, win the race?

WILL:

We have to win the race, yes. Unless he's out in the first lap and then it's, you know, about where we have to finish and that's led, but ultimately put the pressure on him, we have to win the race.

BRUCE:

Has this really changed your mood and mindset that you may have arrived with at the track?

WILL:

Oh, no, no, no. I was hoping to get pole. So a little bit disappointed I didn't. But yeah, been around long enough to know how these things go.

BRUCE:

But Alex was going to have the nine grid spot penalty anyway. So even if he won the pole, he was going to start back in ninth. But I don't think anybody expected him to qualify 15th. How surprised are you by that?

WILL:

Well, yeah, I don't know what happened there. He must have had a massive issue during that run. Yeah, not sure. Not sure, yeah.

BRUCE:

Now a lot of people are kind of curious as to why all of a sudden you and Scott Dixon aren't best of pals. So really, what's the back story to that?

WILL:

Is it the fact that at Milwaukee he was... I don't think he was... I thought he deliberately slide job, did a slide job, but it's probably not true. I like Scott. I was just, that's what happens when you joke around with some journalists and they write something.

BRUCE:

What'd they say? Well, I wasn't part of it, so. Then came Sunday and the season unbuckled for power along with his restraining belts. Once that happened, he knew the championship was over. Worse yet, when he returned to the race, he had to complete 198 laps with his only hope of gaining positions coming from other drivers dropping out of the race. Three drivers did, including Felix Rosenquist, Catherine Legge, and Marcus Ericsson from single-car crashes. So Power, the last car running on the racetrack through the checkered flag, finished 24th in the 27-car field. Power could only laugh off his latest disappointment when he joined me for this exclusive interview for PitPass Indy after the race.

WILL:

Ah, I'm going to have to pit. Their belt came off. And then, you know, we learned after the first time that I need to loosen and completely do it. We wouldn't have lost all those laps, we would have been fine. But then it popped again, so it would have been gone anyway. Popped the under pit again, it just popped off. So the manufacturer of that, you're going to have to send it back, man. That's very dangerous. I don't know what happens if I hit the wall, if like it just breaks and... So it just... See, it literally just popped. Their lap belt. Just incredible that... That's the first time I've ever had that. Like a belt just popped. I'm glad you feel it, you know, because if you hit the wall and you don't, it's a big problem. It's just no way that you can stay out there, man. You know, if you hit the wall, you're gone.

BRUCE:

It happened so early in the race. What was it like to return to go back out there knowing that you couldn't win the title?

WILL:

Yeah, I mean, it was hard to take any risks or anything. Like, you just didn't want to... I just kind of drove around all day, hoping more DNFs, I guess, for absolute championship positions. But yeah, frustrating, frustrating, but it was a year of those sort of things. I mean, if you look at Palu, the last race had some sort of weird failure like that, and I got mine here. Yeah, it was the most ridiculous way. to potentially lose a championship. 11th, yeah, it was like, he wasn't magical. Obviously, he would have pushed a lot harder if he had to, but who knows? Of course, you always think about it, but it's the way it rolls. It's the way it is.

BRUCE:

Well, yeah, Herter wins the race, so he finishes second. Yeah. But, you know, Scott has that rebound. I believe you end up finishing fourth, so... Honestly, if you don't win, you don't care.

WILL:

But, yeah, always nice to finish higher. But if you don't win, it doesn't matter. Who cares? If you don't win, man, it doesn't matter. It's more about race wins at that point in the season. Yeah, frustrating to go out like that, but everyone had their fair share of failures. Mine was the seatbelt. It does give me a bit of drive to come back. Oh, man, you can't be disappointed. It's one of those things, right? I mean, I could have engine failures, anything. Yeah, it was a good year. It really was. It was the worst-case scenario for the last race, but Palou could have said that from the previous race. Yeah, it's just that sort of sport. But that is a strange one. I can't imagine why that was doing that. But that's quite dangerous. So yeah, we'll probably look into it big time.

BRUCE:

How was the racing out there from your viewpoint? You weren't able to really race anybody because you were so many laps down. But what did it look like, the guys out there that were racing for position?

WILL:

Yeah, it looked like there was some good passing and racing. It looked like the outside stayed open for a bit. Yeah, I just didn't get to, obviously I wasn't just taking it easy. I didn't want to risk anything because it wasn't necessary. Our only ability to move up positions was to have DNFs. So if we crashed ourself, we're going to get none. But I think literally seven points would have moved us to where? No, it doesn't matter anyway.

BRUCE:

Will, at what point in the race did you just brush it off and say,

WILL:

That's what happened. I was kind of like, well, I'll learn what I can for next year when we come back, man, to finish it off here. So I've actually, yeah. Let's say I've never finished all the laps at Nashville because in 08, remember I crashed out? What happened? No, I don't remember what happened. I remember I had like, oh, did I crash out? No, I might have finished and Hunter Ray was all mad after the race, but maybe I did finish, I don't know. Yeah.

BRUCE:

But all in all, considering everything from 2023 and, you know, your wife's on the rebound, you got to feel pretty good.

WILL:

Yeah. Yeah. No, it was, uh, it's a good season. Yeah.

BRUCE:

Ron Rzewski is the managing director IndyCar at Team Penske and calls powers race strategy. He explained what happened with the lap belt to me after the race. Ron, it was a tough way to lose a championship before the race ever really began. What really happened with the lap belt?

RON:

We're not actually exactly sure just yet. We'll have to look at it. But Will said they just popped off as he was going down. One of the sides popped off. We'll have to look into it to see what was going on. Obviously got it reconnected, lost a bunch of laps. And then late in the race, same thing happened again. So that's why we pitted at the end there. Same thing. You know, you're not going to take a risk with your driver, but just have to figure it out. And unfortunately, that's just the way it went this year.

BRUCE:

Crazy day. Scott McLaughlin ended up finishing second in the standings. So that's got to be a good accomplishment for Team Penske.

RON:

Yeah, for sure. I mean, obviously, you had a couple couple bullets in the fight, you know, but, you know, It's just, you're in this thing to win it. You wanna do the best you can, but yeah, for sure, great job to the three crew to finish second in the championship and get things done.

BRUCE:

And just a really difficult year overall. I mean, Team Penske won the title, but the way the season began with the DQs and all that, this had to really be a strange year for the team.

RON:

Yeah, for sure. It was a it was a strange year. Difficult year. A lot of a lot of strange things happened. Some of the things out of our control, you know, but we proved we were strong. We won a lot of races, won a lot of polls, won Indy up to 500. You know, so as a team, you still got to be proud of our efforts.

BRUCE:

Thank you. We'll be right back to pit pass Indy after this short break.

SCOTT:

Hi, I'm Scott McLaughlin, driver of the number three team Penske Chevy, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Because of the IndyCar Series Championship celebration, we don't have a post-race interview with race winner Colton Herta of Andretti Global on this episode of Pit Pass Indy, but we hope to talk to the winner of the last race of the season on a future episode. But we did catch up with Herta on Friday for all the activities on Broadway, and the resident of Nashville gave his thoughts to me in this exclusive interview. Joining us now is Nashville's own Colton Herta, driver of the number 26 Cambridge Honda at Andretti Global. Hey, we're in your new adopted home city. How does it feel? How excited are you? What do you think of the buzz on Broadway?

COLTON:

It feels like they forgot to pay the A.C. bill in this building that we're standing in. It's so hot in here.

BRUCE:

Well, having been a resident of Nashville, though, you've got to be used to heat and humidity.

COLTON:

I don't know. There's a lot of people in here. It's hot, but it is exciting. It's cool to be cool to have a hometown racer.

BRUCE:

Even though the race is going to be out at Nashville Super Speedway, all the Friday activities are in the Broadway district, the honky tonk district, the party area, the entertainment area of Nashville. Seems like on a Friday afternoon, there's a lot of energy and buzz for this pit stop contest that they're going to do later. And just the IndyCar fans are in town. Yeah.

COLTON:

You know, I don't know why you wouldn't want to come to this race. It's an awesome city. There's a lot to do. Obviously, a big one is Broadway, which we are at right now. But, you know, to have the race out in Nashville is amazing. I think it's a very important market in America for IndyCar to have, and so it's very necessary. You know, just outside of the Midwest, only a four-hour drive from Indy. It's a great place in the U.S. to have a race for us.

BRUCE:

How about ending the season on an oval? You can have some excitement on an oval, you'll have excitement on street and road courses too, but the chance of cars coming and going seems to be greater on an oval.

COLTON:

Yeah, I mean, well, we shall see. I really love the street circuit that we had here. So it was a little bit of a bummer to miss out on that and not have the chance of running up and down Broadway like was planned. But but this is a great alternative. You know, I have another oval on the schedule. I know everybody loves that. But yeah, we'll see our races. I hope it's a great race. And like we saw, there's a lot of uncertainty over passing at Milwaukee and at Gateway. And those turned out to be great races. So I'm hoping for the same.

BRUCE:

How do you think the hybrid assist, the extra weight will handle on a concrete oval? We saw that at Milwaukee, it put on a great race.

COLTON:

Yeah, I don't think it'll be too different to conventional asphalt, you know. There shouldn't be too much of a difference there, so I'm planning on doing the same thing that we've done last week at Milwaukee and hopefully being on the podium and having a great race.

BRUCE:

So from Nashville Super Speedway to Colton Herta's house, how long of a drive is that?

COLTON:

Depending on traffic, of course. It's about 40 minutes, 40 to 45 minutes.

BRUCE:

So if you win the final race of the year, you can just put the trophy in the back seat and drive it right on home and put it up in the living room.

COLTON:

I know, how convenient. I don't usually get to do that. Usually I have to ship them. So, no, this would be awesome. Be great to just take it right home.

BRUCE:

And how much of your teammates and other IndyCar drivers tried to have you put on a party Sunday night?

COLTON:

Not much. I think they have a lot of family here. So I think they were going to do their own thing. You know, so there wasn't a lot of pressure like last year.

BRUCE:

Well, that's probably good to put the pressure off, because you never really want to clean up after one of those parties. But anyway, Colton Hurnell, one of these years you're going to be standing next to that Astra Cup as an IndyCar Series champion. Congratulations on a 2024 season. Good luck in 2025. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Next up is an exclusive interview with Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood before the race weekend. He won his first pole on an oval on Saturday and led a race high 67 laps in the 206 lap race on Sunday before finishing fourth. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global is joining us now. You had high hopes entering the 2024 season. I know you wanted to be in the running for the championship. Season's going to end and you're not in the last race battling for the title, but how would you assess the way the season's gone?

KYLE:

I mean, it's gone all right. It's progression from last year. If you look at the championship wise, right? which is something that I was keen on doing. Last year, at the end of the season, I had two top five finishes, and two of those were wins. So consistency was clearly not there, which we turned that around. We've had great consistency this year, top tens, top fives. Didn't get that elusive win, or any wins, I should say. But if I assess it, I'm happy with the performance that we showed. We were competitors at every single event. competitors for the win. I mean, so overall solid year.

BRUCE:

It also seemed like you worked very well with your two teammates, Colton Herta and new this year, Marcus Ericcson. It was a really good three car dynamic, three driver dynamic that you guys had there. And that had to be a little bit of a breath of fresh air, especially the way things went in 2023.

KYLE:

I mean, I thought we worked pretty well together in 2023. I thought this year, yeah, even more so. I think everybody kind of knows their position. I understand I'm the guy that has the least amount of experience in IndyCar. And really, I just wanted to learn as much as I possibly could off the two other guys. One with Marcus coming in and his obvious success on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but also Colton with just his raw pace, right? I'm still learning compared to them. And yeah, I mean, it was a good season. I think within the team, the dynamics great. We worked together fantastically, like you mentioned, and I think we'll continue to.

BRUCE:

What about your optimism going into 2025? Andretti Global had a better year in 2024. How much optimism does that give you that they're going to return to the power team that they've always been?

KYLE:

We're progressing, right? Which is a good thing. Our slope of evolution is higher than I believe anybody else is at the moment. Of course, the two teams that we're fighting against or trying to beat is Penske and Ganassi, right? But if you look year over year, how much we progressed over the past two years, It's pretty drastic, right? We've turned into big competitors on the short ovals, which were one of our weak points. We got a lot quicker at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We were the fastest Honda there pretty much all month. So, yeah, things didn't pan out perfectly for us, but overall, when we show up at the track, Nobody kind of just pushed us aside thinking we weren't going to be competition to them. Everyone always thought that we were going to be ones to beat for sure. So that was a good feeling to have. And with that slope, I think we're going to have an even better year next year.

BRUCE:

As a competitor, do you look at a guy like Alex Pelos sometimes and just say, how did he get to be so darn good? It's like we turn around this year and he's got a pretty sizable lead. He's in control of the championship.

KYLE:

It's not such a surprise, right? With his pedigree, his obvious recent success, he's with a fantastic team that always gives him the right things. It seems like whenever bad things happen, still good things happen to him somehow. So, I mean, no, it's not that big of a surprise if I'm being honest. He's got everything going right right now and props to him. They've done a fantastic job across that entire crew and have proven success and it's paying off for them.

BRUCE:

How important would it be for Kyle Kirkwood if you're the driver that leads the charge that has a new IndyCar Series champion in 2025?

KYLE:

That's the plan, right? That's why we're in this. We're in this to win it, right? And that was our mindset this year. And we've come up a little bit short, but we've also progressed compared to last year. So we can't be too upset with it. But next year, that's the ultimate goal, right? Is to actually go towards a championship. because we saw it this year, at one point I could still fight for the championship, Colton was fighting for the championship all the way until the last few races, so we have a proven track record now that we can do it, so hopefully it comes down to us at the final stretch of next season.

BRUCE:

And in our final question with Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, when you look at the health of the series, new TV partners coming, all the races are going to be on Fox Sports, the big channel, not the cable channels, but the big Fox Sports. We've got charter systems coming. How excited are you to feel like you really got in at the right time in this series?

KYLE:

Yeah, I mean, it's taken off, right? I think Penske Entertainment should be proud of what they've done with the series. They've obviously revived it to a drastic extent. And there's still a lot more room for growth. And I'm proud to be a part of this era in IndyCar. And I'm really looking forward to what the future has in store. I'm very glad I've solidified myself in this series at this point because, yeah, I'm proud to be a part of it.

BRUCE:

Well, Kyle Kirkwood, be careful on those waves when you go surfing during the offseason. But congratulations on a good season in 2024. Good luck in 2025. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, Chris. Scott Dixon was one of just three drivers that had previously competed at Nashville Super Speedway and was the most recent winner in 2008. The three time Nashville super speedway winner gave his thoughts entering the weekend to me in this interview. There weren't quite as many Amazon warehouses here the last time you won here. How different does the joint look to you?

SCOTT:

Yeah, the outside looks... I got lost in all the driveways of the Amazon parking places, to be honest, when I came back for the test to try and just find where to go to get into the track. There's a lot of dead ends over there, but no, the track itself looks... As you'd expect, I think it's a fun place being different in a lot of ways that it's concrete, still kind of has that oscillation as you do maybe at airports and things like that. A little bit more character with some bigger bumps in some areas, but I think that will create some good raceability. Did you order anything while you were there? I didn't. No, no deliveries. I was good, man.

BRUCE:

Dixon was asked if his previous experience at Nashville Super Speedway was an advantage in an IndyCar's return in 2024.

SCOTT:

No, there's no advantage. It's been way too long. You know, the car is totally a bow from there. 400 pounds heavier, maybe a little more power. Obviously, the aero screen, especially with aero stuff, the aero configuration is totally different to where we run anywhere else. We're back down to 130 kPa on boost. There's a lot of different variables that I think make it totally different. For us, maybe for our team, I think there was only three or four teams that did the test. Some did it twice, we just did it the once. But honestly, I think, you know, getting the track time on the tire that they're gonna produce this weekend, plus the alternate, you know, will give everybody enough time. Yeah, I don't know really. I don't know what the tyre is. I know the few compounds and constructions that we tested at the test, but I don't know if those are even included. Because I think when we finished up debriefing, they were talking about bringing a higher degradation tyre again. And whether that's the alternate or if the Prime is even softer again, I'm not too sure. I think it's cool, you know, I think to add those factors, you know, creates uncertainty and, you know, strategy definitely puts it up in the air because until you get through that first stint of the alternate, you're not really sure where it's gonna go. You know, we'll just have to see how it races, hopefully they can get that second lane to come in, which, you know, we didn't have the option of the test just because there weren't enough cars there, but I think similar to Milwaukee where once you get cars running there and you do it early enough, then the marbles are an issue.

BRUCE:

I also asked Dixon the difference between racing on a concrete surface, such as Nashville, compared to all other tracks on the schedule paved with asphalt.

SCOTT:

I think the Firestone it is, yeah, durability wise. You know, just the way it wears and stuff can be, you know, maybe more of a fiber or a powder opposed to marbles itself, which is kind of a good thing. Still makes it slippery in some areas, but yeah, I think even in the past here, you know, you would finish a full stint and you'd be down with the cords on the rears, just because it was more abrasive, but whether that's changed because it's, you know, kind of worn away a little bit over the years.

BRUCE:

Dixon also revealed with me why he believed the championship was over before the race weekend ever began.

SCOTT:

Yeah, I don't know. I think it's kind of already over, man. I think Power got his miracle in Milwaukee, man. Two miracles in a row is going to be pretty tough to see. It was an open door with the problem that Alex had at Milwaukee and they didn't come up with it. If you're in a situation, you can help. It's too hard to plan that stuff out, man. If you plan it and go in with a set kind of mindset, you're just going to screw it up. Thank you.

BRUCE:

One of Dixon's teammates won the only award a driver can win just once. It's Linus Lundqvist who clinched the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year award. Here is my exclusive interview with this year's Rookie of the Year for PitPass Indy. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, it's Linus Lundqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing. Linus, your goal was to be Rookie of the Year and you achieved that, so how important is that?

LINUS:

Thank you, thank you. Yeah, I mean, it's a title you can only win once, so extremely happy and proud to have done that. And yeah, we've had some really good moments this year and hoping to finish off strongly here too.

BRUCE:

What is the biggest thing you learned in IndyCar this year that was different from IndyNext?

LINUS:

I think one of the biggest one is time and energy management in terms of yourself. I don't think I really truly appreciated or understood how busy and intense an IndyCar season is, especially when you come to the month of May and the weeks up after that. So just where to spend your energy both throughout the weekend, but also during all those months that you go racing.

BRUCE:

Your teammates with Alex Palou, who's closing in on his third IndyCar Series championship, and also Scott Dixit has won six of them. Is that a situation where every time you talk to them, you just learn something you never even thought about before?

LINUS:

I mean, I would say every time I talk to them, but spending a year by their side has taught me a lot. Both what you do on track in terms of driving, but also what you do off track. I mean, especially looking at Scott, the You know, how you behave off track, what you say and how you act is, you know, the best that's ever been and been doing it, I would say. So it's been great being his teammate for many reasons, but I'd say those are truly some things you appreciate.

BRUCE:

How about the car itself? It's a lot different than what you had in Indynex.

LINUS:

Yeah, I mean, the car itself is a lot more fun to drive because it's faster, got more power, more downforce, better braking. I think the thing that really interested me was there's so much to it in terms of tire management, fuel saving, now with the hybrid, energy usage, stuff like that. So there's so much more to it than just driving a fast race car.

BRUCE:

When you look at the entire season, what are the best races that you'll remember?

LINUS:

I think obviously the two podiums that we had stand out to me. I think race one in Milwaukee last time out as well kind of stands out to me. It was a good one for us. We had some more good ones. Obviously the pole in Road America was good, but even the comeback, the race that we had after that was pretty strong. We had a good one going at IndyGP. So we had a couple of strong races this year, but obviously the podiums stick out. How do things look for you next season? We'll see. Obviously, there's a lot of talk and obviously this whole charter system, I think, is going to make some changes. So we'll see. All I know is that if I continue to do well on track, I'll be on the grid next year. So that's what I'm trying to do.

BRUCE:

And with the podiums that you scored as a rookie, what are your expectations level next season?

LINUS:

I mean, to do more of them, more podiums. And obviously we all want that win. I still have one more race this year to try and achieve that. So that's what we're trying to do. Obviously, we got Rookie of the Year and trying to win the championship with Alex Below, too. So having that in mind, but going forward, we want more podiums, more wins.

BRUCE:

Well, Linus Lundqvist, congratulations on winning the Rookie of the Year title. Good luck in your offseason search. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Santino Ferrucci will be back for another season at AJ Foyt Racing as the team announced his return to the series on Thursday, September 12th. The next day, Ferrucci joined me for this exclusive interview and tells me about his outlook for the future. Joining us now, Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Racing. Earlier this week, the good news, you're going to be back in 2025. You're going to be with David Maloukas as a teammate. Exciting news. How excited are you?

SANTINO:

Very. You know, this is everything that the team and I have worked for. You know, it's been a it's been a big step forward these last two years. Everybody's worked incredibly hard. It's not just been one major thing. And, you know, to have the guys training harder than ever, the engineering staff behind me like they are, even Larry building the team out the way it now sits has been incredible and looking forward to another off season of working together and getting things in the right track.

BRUCE:

It's been a while since AJ Foyt Racing has had both drivers for the next season wrapped up before the last race of the current season ends. So that has to show a lot of faith that they have in you and also in David Maloukas. So to know going into next year this early in the game has to be a big help for their progression forward.

SANTINO:

Yeah, of course. With two top drivers, you get a good pick of engineers, a good pick of mechanics moving forward, a way to properly build out the team. We're kind of turning into the A-team roster, which is really neat. And like I said, I'm really excited. I'm very proud of Larry and everything that he's accomplished in the last two seasons and excited to see where it leads.

BRUCE:

When you look at your season this year, a lot of people were going to peg it off what you did at the Indianapolis 500 in 2023. But lately, in the return of the short ovals with the hybrid assist unit, you've really put on a show. What is it about that extra weight and that extra package that has really helped you?

SANTINO:

Yeah, you know, I think obviously the hybrid is part of the future for the series. The biggest thing is working with the engineers, working with Chevrolet. We've really built a package that I've I've been able to get comfortable with quickly, especially on these short ovals. There's so much that you can do to make it personalized and make it really affect or change the handling of your car. We've just worked really hard on getting that set up, and it's really showed. We've performed really well ever since we put the hybrid on.

BRUCE:

I've lost track of all the passes for position you made in the two races at Milwaukee. had the most of anybody in both races, so when you think about that, why were you so good at that? Do you even feel the extra weight anymore, the extra hundred pounds from the hybrid assist, or did it really help the handling of the car?

SANTINO:

Honestly, you know, I think having driven all these different disciplines in my career, from dirt cars to stock cars and everything else in between with go-carts, You know, I just got a real good feel for the track, and it being a flat track, the way that you pass and maneuver through the field. We had a great race car, and I just felt very comfortable driving it hard and racing people hard. And, you know, I think that really showed and definitely wasn't afraid to do a couple of sliders.

BRUCE:

That's a track where you have to slide, and do you think that ability of understanding how to slide the rear end really helped you?

SANTINO:

Yes, we were definitely loose like other people. I think I was just comfortable and we were fast loose, which is if you go back and watch the steering trace, it's definitely entertaining to see. But it was it was so much fun. I mean, we really built a car that was to my liking. And like I said, I wish we could get it on the podium and fight for the win towards the end of those two races. But we're just kind of missing that little bit.

BRUCE:

Your third year back with AJ Foyt Racing in twenty twenty five. has to really give you and the team a lot of confidence of continuing to move forward because you're very familiar with each other.

SANTINO:

Yeah, of course. Obviously working with Larry has been a blast. You know, I can't wait to work again with James and Adam, Michael Cannon, Mike Armbruster, CJ, Colin, you know, that whole group of guys is just incredibly talented. And also all the mechanics that we have that are just working as hard as they can to speed up those pit stops, build precision cars and You know, I think the whole organization is going on the up and up, and you're going to see that next year, next May especially. You know, we're going to have cars to compete to win, and I think we're going to be in it for a championship.

BRUCE:

For the third year in a row, you know what you're doing. You're going to have a full-time ride in IndyCar. Before that, you were bouncing around from here to there, and that has to take a toll on a driver's progression.

SANTINO:

Yeah, obviously it's never easy going from home to home or part-time to full-time, but I found a home here. Very happy with everybody. At the end of the day, none of this also is possible without Larry, Marlene Sexton, our title sponsor, Chevrolet. All those people that really keep me here and are pushing all of us to be better and to fight for wins.

BRUCE:

How confident were you that the deal was going to get taken care of quickly?

SANTINO:

Yeah, I mean, I don't see any reason as to why things have or wouldn't progress the way that they did with Larry. You know, we've had a standout year, obviously, with the news of Lucas. That was very good for the team. It's great to bring on someone like David. And then obviously it was just kind of getting my deal sorted as well.

BRUCE:

And then finally, off-season's upon us. What are you going to be doing? Is AJ going to put you to work on his ranch?

SANTINO:

I'm going on my honeymoon. I can't wait. Two weeks out. Two weeks off in Europe. Oh, you're going to Europe? Back to Europe. What countries? France and Switzerland. Super excited. Wife's planned it all. I can't wait to just drink wine and sit on a beach. And don't forget, if you're in Switzerland, chocolate. Yes, bringing home a lot of that. It's like my favorite.

BRUCE:

Well, Santino Ferrucci, congratulations on your return to AJ Foyt Racing in 2025. Good luck next season. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, Bruce. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

JOSEF:

Hey, everyone, this is two time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Let's talk to two more drivers from Team Penske, including Nashville's own Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Newgarden did not win his third IndyCar Series championship for a variety of reasons, including a disqualification from a race victory in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March. But he did win the Indianapolis 500, and in many ways that may be bigger than winning the IndyCar Series championship. The first interview with Newgarden was on September 12th when he was asked if he was prepared to be wingman for Will Power in his attempt to help Power win the championship.

JOSEF:

Yeah, basically. I mean, it's similar. It was the case in Milwaukee, too. You know, I think you've got to just run your race. You can't try and orchestrate anything, right? If the situation arises where Will's in a great position and then we're going to support him as best as we can to win this championship as a team. Of course, Ganassi would be doing the same thing with Alex. But in You know, before we get to that point, the eventuality of that in the race, you've just got to run your weekend, try and, you know, do everything normal. Just try and be as fast as possible, push each other, qualify well, run up front. And then, you know, if we're in position and things fall our way, then we'll try and close the deal. Well, of course. Yeah. I mean, if you know, we get to the end of the road here and it looks like Will can win the championship and You know, I'd have to get out of the way for him to do that. Then I would, you know, I'm going to do that for the team, of course. So, you know, I've I've had teammates support me in championship runs. And, you know, for for our team, absolutely. That's what you're going to do. You're going to try and as a team seal the championship. So we just got to wait and see if we're in that position. If we're in that position, we're going to work together as a group to seal the deal. Well, of course, you know, I mean, what are you going to do? I mean, you know, for we're a team at the end of the day, you know, and right now I'm not in a position to win the championship. I'm you know, I'm out of it. So, you know, the greatest way I can contribute is if if they're in position to win it and they need me to help them win it, then I'll help the team win.

BRUCE:

How much do you miss being the guy in the championship? It's been five years now since you've been able to win a title. How much do you miss that?

JOSEF:

I mean, it's a fluid situation. You know, this year, I think you could argue this year has been that way. It's kind of been a continuous pounding in a lot of respects. It wasn't like that, you know, the last four years. You know, it's disappointing to see what slipped. You know, certainly 2020, 21, 22, those were tough years. It was tough years to not, seal the deal, as I talked about with what we're going to try and do. You know, 23, we were really in the mix until a really late fade. And then this year was its own story. You know, it's it's been its own thing. But yeah, I'm just I continually get excited about the potential. I say that a lot, but it's it's the truth. You know, I mean, what what keeps you going? And for me, it's it's I know the potential of our team. I know what's possible. And we haven't realized their potential yet, so that keeps me excited.

BRUCE:

But you won an Indy 500, so the season can't be all bad.

JOSEF:

Yeah, when you look to the month of May, I don't think it could have gone any better. You know, certainly as a team, you know, we executed on the highest level that we've been looking to do for the last four or five years. And so that was a big turnaround for all of us. And personally, it was very gratifying to be able to win a second Indy 500. So from that standpoint, yeah, it's been a great year. Excellent, excellent year. But when it comes to the championship, it's been the complete opposite.

BRUCE:

Here is a more complete interview with Newgarden, a Pit Pass Indy exclusive from Friday, September 13th. Josef Newgarden of Team Penske joins us, the two-time back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winning driver. I'm sure that's a title you love to have. Hey, here it is Friday. We're in Nashville in the Broadway area, even though the race is going to be in Nashville Super Speedway. It seems like there's a wild crowd there, a great buzz and a lot of atmosphere. So you as a Nashville resident, how proud are you to see the fan reaction that you guys are getting here?

JOSEF:

Yeah, it's great. I think, you know, a lot of credit has to go to Scott Borchetta and his entire team, Big Machine. They've done a great job of championing this race, right? When we started downtown, they were, you know, they were the ones that helped initiate it and they've helped transition us. And from what I understand, we're going to have a great crowd. I think we've sold a lot of tickets, which is fantastic. We need the weather to cooperate. But certainly I take a lot of pride that we're coming to Nashville. I think this is a city we need to be racing in, at least, you know, Nashville or the vicinity of Nashville. And that's that's where we're at right now. So I love to see it. And we need to continue it.

BRUCE:

What can we expect to see different at Nashville Super Speedway? It hasn't had an IndyCar race since 2008, and it's a concrete surface, so do you think we'll see something similar to Gateway, which was a really good race, or do you think it might be a little bit more like Iowa?

JOSEF:

I don't know yet. I'm just not sure. Just because I haven't been on the surface myself. I'm hoping it races. Some of the other drivers told me it might race like Texas. If we get two lanes going, I think it could be like Texas Motor Speedway when you have it slightly closer together and the field has that ability to use the second lane. I think if we could get it like Texas was last year, that would be a phenomenal race. That's what they should aim for and we'll see if we got it right.

BRUCE:

The season started off with an apparent victory. Unfortunately, it was taken away from you later. So what would it mean after the year you've had to close the season by winning at Nashville Super Speedway?

JOSEF:

Well, it'd be great for us to go out on a good note. I'd love that. We sort of lost some ground there in Milwaukee with trying to wrap things up right. But we have another chance here. And either way, whether we're able to be successful in that or not, I'm going to be looking forward to coming into next year strong and ready for the challenge. But for sure, we're trying to finish on a good note. And as a team, we've got a shot to win the championship. And on the two car, we've got a shot to make the difference and maybe win a race.

BRUCE:

Well, Josef Newgarden, everybody always has to keep their eye on you during the race because you're always a contender for victory, and usually you're always a contender for a championship. But congratulations on a second Indianapolis 500 victory in 2024. We'll catch up with you in the offseason at a couple of BorgWarner events. And good luck in 2025, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

JOSEF:

Thanks, Bruce.

BRUCE:

And now let's hear from Scott McLaughlin, who overcame a disqualification from originally finishing third at St. Petersburg in March to rally back and finish third in the season championship. I caught up with McLaughlin before the race weekend began for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is the King of Queens, or at least he married a girl from Queens, New York, Scott McLaughlin, driver of the number three Dex Imaging Chevrolet at Team Penske. Mathematically, you're still alive for a championship. It's going to really take a lot of unusual circumstances, but as you end another season in IndyCar, how would you gauge your season, your progression and the way things have gone? I think

SCOTT:

I think it's been really good. I mean, I'm really proud of the year. I feel from our speed and the winning and whatever, I equalled the most win I've ever had. Indy 500 pole, obviously the ups and downs with the St. Pete stuff and then crashing into Detroit by myself, a few things. But it's probably been a season in some ways of what could have been. But ultimately, it's a season that probably confirmed to myself that I'm going to be probably competitive for many, many years. So that's a really cool thing.

BRUCE:

You seem to rebound from the DQ at the start of the season at St. Pete a lot better than your teammate Josef did. What do you see as the factors why you were able to stick him there and still be in championship contention all the way to the last race of the year?

SCOTT:

Ultimately he won the Indy 500 though, so it's give or take, but you know I think we As a team, we all took that pretty hard. It was just a matter of just trying to circumstantially just trying to sort it all out and get going. And I felt like the perfect thing for me to rebound was winning at Barber, as you know. So, I mean, that gave us a really good head start. But then, you know, like I said, a couple of mistakes that I've made throughout the year that had nothing to do with, you know, had nothing to do with what I did at Barber. SMP, it's just how it's worked out. So we'll just keep working and hopefully come back without too many mistakes next year.

BRUCE:

We're doing this interview on Friday on Broadway in Nashville, and even though this race was originally supposed to be on Broadway in Nashville, it was originally supposed to be a street race, because of construction issues with the Titan Stadium and lack of area to really have a street course, it's moved out to Nashville Super Speedway. But on Friday, all the activities are here on Broadway, and it really seems like there's a lot of atmosphere out there, a lot of fan participation and a crowd.

SCOTT:

Just how cool is that buzz? Oh, it's great. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, the National Super Speedway is 40 minutes out of Broadway, but we've still got a ton of people up and down here for the surprisingly. I didn't realize there was that many people here and there's people shouting my name, and that never happens on Broadway unless I'm in trouble, obviously. So no, but we we It's amazing, we're on a really good trajectory right now as a sport, and we can only blame ourselves for that, which is a great thing. So we'll just keep working and see how we go.

BRUCE:

Speaking of that, you are on a really good trajectory. The series has more entries than in 20, 25, maybe even 30 years. Businesses are signing up to be part of IndyCar, a new TV contract coming with all the races on foxsports.com. When you hear some of the other team owner comments and maybe some of the fan comments disparaging Roger Penske, How does that make you feel? Do you get upset when you read that and say, if only those people really knew what he's done for the sport?

SCOTT:

Yeah. It's a double-edged sword, you know. Obviously, you know, I've always been a big advocate of taking the sport to Australia or New Zealand, but when you see on the Inner Sanctum how hard that is, one, to get funding, you can't just pick up our sport and take it to wherever we want to go and just expect it's going to be fine. There's money, there's costs in that, street circuits, all that stuff. You know, ultimately, it's... Everyone has their opinion. And whenever you're at the top, they're always going to say something bad about you. You just got to cop it up. Personally, I think we've got a great leader. And you can only do so much at different points, you know? And there's only so much money going around and whatever within reason. So, you know, there's a lot of things people don't understand and see how much that Roger has helped with this sport. And it's very easy to pick the little things and make them bigger than they are, but ultimately I think we have a great leader and we'll just keep working with him.

BRUCE:

After a not so competitive Iowa race with the hybrid assist, where there may not have been that much passing, as we saw with the older car, the races at Gateway and the two races at Milwaukee have been phenomenal. They've been the best oval races of the season. What do you see as being the big turnaround?

SCOTT:

Well, I think even if you look at the 500, you look at those races in Milwaukee and you look at those races at Gateway, That's when IndyCar as a whole nailed the package. The grip package, the downforce package. So when you tie those in together and you get them nailed, you have a good race. The Iowa package was useless. You couldn't do anything. The track was really difficult. We didn't have enough downforce to make a move, and there was too many marbles. But I think you've got to give it to IndyCar, that they figured it out with Firestone to get it better. I hope we see a good one this weekend. We don't know what to expect but they have done testing here and learned from it and hopefully it shakes things up.

BRUCE:

Has it gotten to the point where you don't even notice the extra weight anymore?

SCOTT:

Yeah. I think I've adapted to it because it's getting closer and closer to a touring car. So it's a good thing for me.

BRUCE:

And does that extra weight even help? It looked like it helped at Milwaukee because it gave the car the ability to handle differently, which was perfect for that track.

SCOTT:

It's hard to tell because Milwaukee, that was where we had this hybrid for the very first time when we did that test. I can't comment on that, but certainly at other tracks, it's been a very interesting tool to use.

BRUCE:

Finally, how much is your respect level, not saying you never, didn't already hold willpower in high respect, but how much, when you see the season that he has had, contending for another championship at 43 years of age, how much do you look at him and say, That guy's still got it.

SCOTT:

Oh, man, he's still a world-class driver. He's so fast. He flips off the scale from time to time, but, you know, that's why he's just so passionate. And you've got to give it to the guy to have that passion at that age for how long he's been doing it. He's got a great team behind it, like all us three do as well. Like, I mean, we've had great cars this year. It's just a shame that we're probably not closer to Alex this weekend, all three of us, but, you know, that's a lot of it's on our own problems, but... Will's been super fast and he's a great teammate to have.

BRUCE:

And speaking of which, you look over at that Astro Cup and you got to think one day you're going to be the guy that gets to hoist that. I will. Maybe even 2025. Let's call it.

SCOTT:

How big of a motivator is that for you? It's a big motivator. I count the way my trajectory in the sport right now is very similar to how I came into the Supercar Series. You've got to learn to compete for championships, but I think Alex, he's a standout in that department. I mean, he's been incredible the last few years. It's great to be able to compete against him. He's a bit robotic. We need to get that out of him and we'll be okay.

BRUCE:

Scott McLaughlin, IndyCar champion in the making. Good luck in 2025. Congratulations on 2024. We'll catch up during the offseason, I'm sure, once I get your pal over here, David Hovis, to do some scheduling. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

SCOTT:

Can you sign your sign for me? Yeah, OK.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

SCOTT:

Hi, I'm Scott McLaughlin, driver of the number three team Penske Chevy, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. We wrap up today's episode with some positive business news for IndyCar. On September 12th, a new multi-year agreement was announced with tire supplier Firestone, which means IndyCar and the tire brand will continue well into the future. This year marks Firestone's 25th straight season with IndyCar as the exclusive tire supplier and continues a relationship between this form of racing and Firestone that goes back well over 100 years, all the way to the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Mark Bonnels is the CEO and president of Penske Entertainment, which owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis 500, and IndyCar, and explains to me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview the strong relationship between IndyCar and Firestone. Define how important it is to have the tire manufacturer is to the series because it is involved with speed, raceability, and safety.

MARK:

You just answered your own question. It's fundamentally important because it is determining how we race. The drivers I'm sure you're talking to will tell you it's, they'd start with safety. We think about the raceability. And listen, their innovation and their sustainability are also important core values to us. But they are always innovating and always adapting. It's hard, right, because they've got to They've got to keep up with the changes we make in the schedule and go to places we haven't been or places that have been paved and they've got to produce good tires. It's no mean feat and they do a fabulous job.

BRUCE:

And also a very important avenue in your job and also his job is marketing spend. Firestone has always been good at marketing IndyCar. How valuable is that?

MARK:

It's really important. We need more big suppliers like Firestone that do more to activate. But whether it's sponsoring a couple of our races as entitlement sponsors of them, or spending on our broadcaster, and doing spots that are often specific to our racing, it's great stuff. Yeah, we're working real hard on the car of the future. which will be a new car. I don't know what an announcement will look like exactly. We'll be talking about it more openly at this year. And then I'm sure as more specifics are available, we'll roll more out. Eventually, you know, it has to be on the track and at least in limited quantities being tested next year. So between now and 27, there's a lot to be done.

BRUCE:

And how about maintaining a two-engine formula, two-engine manufacturer formula?

MARK:

We're not in favor of that. We'd like three or four.

BRUCE:

Well, I know you would like more, but what I'm saying, though, is have you been able to get Honda to be a little more interested in renewing?

MARK:

There's a serious conversation that's iterative that we've all put a lot of time and resource into, and it's ongoing, and we're optimistic that they'll be extending.

BRUCE:

Cara Krystolic is the Executive Director, Race Tire Engineering and Production, and Chief Engineer, Motorsports, for Bridgestone Americas, owner of the Firestone brand. She explains how important tires can be to both an IndyCar and the IndyCar Series in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. How important is it to be able to get this locked down in terms of your position at Firestone to continue with IndyCar?

CARA:

Well, Bruce, we have been very fortunate to be able to invest into our tire production facility in Akron. We opened that in 2022. It's a huge commitment to both the Akron community and our workforce in Akron to be able to be able to produce those tires.

BRUCE:

The three facets that the tire company does for racing is speed, raceability, and safety, and I don't think those can be stressed enough. Now you have the ability to do this, to continue 25 years in running, going back over a century, total commitment with the Indianapolis 500. How important is it to stress all that innovation for the tire manufacturer?

CARA:

So safety and durability are always number one. We want our drivers to make sure that they are able to trust the performance of our tires. Our team back in Akron is always working really hard to ensure that. But working with Penske, this partnership we have with Penske to be able to promote sustainable racing innovation. is key. We saw the pine palm oil that we used at the Indianapolis 500 this year, and the Waiuli sidewalls and the alternates that we've used for the past two years. So that durability, the consistency, and then especially the innovation on sustainability.

BRUCE:

How about this weekend, the alternate tire being used for the championship race?

CARA:

So this one is an interesting one. Coming back to Nashville, our team was faced with a seven-month design cycle. This was huge. Coming back, testing two different times, so two different tire tests. We came to the first one, realized we needed a little bit of a tire that was a little bit more durable. The second one we came with, we came with a couple different compounds. And one of the keys for the drivers, they were all asking for a tire that had more drop-off and more degradation. So, it's a challenge to be able to promote drop-off and degradation and then not wear out a tire or create excessive marbles. So, our engineering team went back and thought, what can we do to have something that has significantly wear and drop-off, maybe even wearing out before the end of a race tent, but yet still is not going to create a situation with a lot of marbles and create good racing. is where we came up with the idea of retrying the alternate tires that we tried at Gateway last year. It's something we would have tried again at Gateway this year, but the racing weekend was a bit shortened from what we had expected. And with this, we're hoping for more of a difference. The problem with Gateway, we didn't have a really large gap between the primary and the alternate tire. We talked a lot about this with Jay Fry and talked about what we could do to make the race itself interesting and exciting. And Jay and the team came up with the idea of what if we had two times, two stints where they actually had to run the alternates because we know that they're going to wear. So what if we mandate that the teams actually run those two stints? That'll give us the best chance of having mixed strategies during the race, which will add passing.

BRUCE:

Would you like to have alternate tires at all oval races on the schedule?

CARA:

So it's something that we've talked about to IndyCar. We want to do whatever is in the best interest of the series that promotes good racing. So it's something that we'll definitely consider in the off season when we're working on our plans. Of course, you cannot mess with perfection at the Indianapolis 500. We'll never have an alternate tire there, but we'll have fun with some of the other racetracks.

BRUCE:

But you told me last year that you have a tire that could break the track record with the current formula.

CARA:

We have some pretty exciting innovations, and it's something that if the IndyCar Series wanted to look in that direction, we can certainly look into the idea of a qualifying tire, maybe a little lighter gauge, a little bit stickier, to get some really fast, ultimate lap times.

BRUCE:

Is that something that would excite you as an engineer?

CARA:

Our engineers are always looking for a challenge. Anytime you can stretch our engineering prowess of the things that we can do, it's very exciting. That's why this season has really kept us on our toes. We've got the new hybrid weight. We've got a lot of changes on the car. So it's something our engineering team, I think they're a little stressed and tired at the moment. After Nashville, I think we're all going to be able to get some much deserved rest, but it's been something that's been challenging for us and we love a challenge. Thank you.

BRUCE:

And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guests, 2024 IndyCar Series Champion Alex Plo of Chip Ganassi Racing, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, and Ron Raczewski of Team Penske, Scott Dixon, and 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Linus Lundqvist, both from Chip Ganassi Racing, Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing, race winner Colton Herta and poll winner Kyle Kirkwood, both from Andretti Global. Also Mark Miles, CEO and president of Penske Entertainment and Kara Krystolic, executive director, race tire engineering and production and chief engineer, motorsports for Bridgestone America's owner of the Firestone brand for joining us on today's podcast. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental your path to victory lane in IndyCar. On the highways, the raceways, and every pit stop in between, Penske Truck Rental keeps you moving forward. Gain ground with Penske. And be sure to look for a bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy later this week for an exclusive in-depth interview with three-time IndyCar Series champion, Alex Velo. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.

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