Arrow McLaren takes over Toronto with winning driver Pato O’Ward and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, plus much more

Bruce Martin:
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 an insider's 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 SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek, and SpeedSport. 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 fifth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. And a big thanks to Penske Truck Rental for helping bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock to the racetrack to the highways and streets of America. IndyCar had a great weekend in Toronto as huge crowds attended the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. By far the most popular team in Toronto was Arrow McLaren, as its fans largely outnumbered fans for other MTT IndyCar Series teams on the streets of Toronto. Fans wearing Arrow McLaren shirts could be seen in and around downtown Toronto, and the largest crowds in the IndyCar paddock gathered around the Arrow McLaren work area. Pat O'Ward delivered as his team devised a strategy to pit on lap three to get off the softer Firestone Green tires and switch to the more competitive, harder Firestone Blacks. With a ward in a position to race hard, the talented driver from Monterrey, Mexico gassed it and executed perfectly on the track. He drove to his second win in as many weeks, his second IndyCar win in the last three races, and the ninth IndyCar Series win of his career. He also whacked 30 points off Alex Pillow's lead in the battle for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship, and now trails below by 99 points with four races remaining. PitPass Indy has two exclusive interviews with the award. Let's start off with the driver's thoughts entering the race weekend. Pedal Award race winner at Iowa. We're here in Toronto, we've got a lot of great courses coming up the rest of the year, including Monterey, but how much did that win at Iowa? Did it serve as a relief or did it serve as a little bit of like, we finally did it, we put it all together, we got to victory lane?

Pato O’Ward: It served as, it's good to get the first one out of the way. And we can just keep on going with our business. It was great to have that first win, but obviously it's not… It felt like we had the best weekend out of everybody, but we still came out with more of a points deficit to the champion that we're trying to chase down.

Bruce Martin: Does that just go to show how valuable a win is? Because you finished fifth in the second race, and because Alex won, now all of a sudden you're even further back. It seemed like it was double the penalty.

Pato O’Ward: Yeah, I mean, it's, um… Well, yeah, when the guy you're chasing keeps winning, there's really no other way to cut down points. Or, well, no, mathematically, there's literally no way you can cut down points. But we're chipping away at it. We're on our own program, and we'll see what it's got in store for us.

Bruce Martin: There's a lot of tracks coming up here at the end of the year that you do very well at. The next race up is Monterey. How do you like that course, and how do you like your chances?

Pato O’Ward: Monterey. I've yet to have a super strong weekend. I think my best result has been a fifth. But I love Monterey. It's a beautiful city. It's a beautiful town. I mean, a circuit with so much history. I've gotten to drive so many different cars around that place. Definitely, I think it's time to make it a good one.

Bruce Martin: And in Portland, that's a unique little road course itself.

Pato O’Ward: How do you like that one? I got crowned Indy Life champion there seven years ago. And I feel like it's a similar story to Laguna, maybe, where we haven't had that kind of breakout weekend in Portland. But I really do like going to Portland. And that racetrack is very old school, very cool.

Bruce Martin: And you're one of IndyCar's best short oval drivers. Well, you're one of IndyCar's best drivers. I'll say it at that, but short ovals in particular, you're very good at. So you have to feel pretty confident that Milwaukee and Nashville could really be two great opportunities for you to put on the sombrero and celebrate once again.

Pato O’Ward: Yeah, I think there's plenty of opportunities coming up and we're just, we're going to be taking them one by one.

Bruce Martin: All right, well, Pat O'Ward, good luck the rest of the way. We'll catch up later this season, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you very much. Here is O'Ward after his brilliant drive to win the July 20th race on the streets of Toronto. He led 30 laps of the 90-lap contest and defeated Rhenus VeeKay of Dale Coyne Racing in a race that finished under caution. For the second time in as many weeks, we get the interview. Pato Award is a race winner in IndyCar, won the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, second victory out of the last three IndyCar Series races. As you said in the post-race, you not only won this race, you earned it. So how important is that?

Pato O’Ward: Those are the ones that feel amazing, especially coming into a place like Toronto where it's been a headache for us here every single year we come. We obviously knew it was going to be a tough one, but we've made strides forward, the car felt good, I could place it where I needed to and I fought my way forward.

Bruce Martin: The key to the victory, though, was the strategy of being able to get off the soft green tires on lap three. As you said, it was a perfect pit stop by the crew. Your in and out laps were fast and flawless. And from then on, you stuck with that strategy. So to be able to come up with that strategy, how important was that? But most importantly, you as a driver had to execute.

Pato O’Ward: That's what it takes to win these IndyCar races. You know, you got to be on it. And we chose a certain strategy, and we stick to it. we made sure that we made it work.

Bruce Martin: When did you think that strategy would be the right one? Because the green tires were a little too soft over the weekend.

Pato O’Ward: I'm not quite sure this, you know, the second car in our strategy where they ended up, but we, you know, there was a few strategies going on out there, but today I had a car to attack with and that was the main point.

Bruce Martin: You were able to take a big chunk off Alex Pillow's lead in the championship. It's gone from 129 down to 99 with four races to go. Hey, anything's possible. You got to feel like if you keep doing that, it's going to be a fight at the last race of the season. Yeah.

Pato O’Ward: We, we, where did things have happened in racing? So, uh, we're going to keep on pushing. Uh, we've had a great year so far and we're just going to try and, and keep on doing what we have.

Bruce Martin: The entire race weekend. It was obvious that Errol McLaren was the most popular team in the paddock with the fans, the spectators. It was like, you guys were like rock stars. What was it like to be in a major city such as Toronto? and be hailed by so many fans. Zac Brown couldn't move through the attic. It looked like he was one of the Fab Five going through there. What was it like for you to have this type of support in Canada?

Pato O’Ward: They brought the energy, man, and that's what makes it so much more special than just a win. So we love Canada, and I'm glad that we've made it a place where we can come back and, you know, at least have some good memories now.

Bruce Martin: and also to give Zach Brown his first IndyCar Series victory in person. That has to be very special for anybody at Errol McLaren.

Pato O’Ward: No, absolutely. I've been keen to doing that for so many years. And finally, year six has been the one where Zach can be in the flesh to see us win.

Bruce Martin: And finally, what was the bird story? You mentioned the bird story when you got out of the car. If you could share that with us.

Pato O’Ward: Yeah, the bird dropped a load on the car and one of my guys. And well, the living myth lives on. We had a great day.

Bruce Martin: You certainly did have a great day. Another IndyCarSeries victory. And once again, you did it in front of a lot of fans that love Padua Ward. It only gets better from here, but Padua Ward, congratulations on winning the Hyundai Dealers Indy Toronto. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you very much. McLaren Racing CEO Zach Brown attended the IndyCar race at Toronto, taking time away from his highly successful Formula One team. Brown was a major attraction at the race, followed by a large group of fans that wanted autographs and selfies. Awards victory was the first IndyCar series win that Brown got to experience in person as owner of Aero McLaren. I caught up with Brown after the big win for this exclusive Pit Pass Indie interview. And of course, there's the winning CEO of Arrow McLaren, Zach Brown. Zach, this was your first IndyCar Series victory that you got to experience in person. So how big a thrill is that for you?

Zak Brown: It's awesome. Great to do it here in Toronto. Everyone at Arrow McLaren did a fantastic job. Pit stop strategy with the tires was spot on. And then second half of the race, Pato was dominant in total control. So that was a great win. I've seen a lot of them on TV. Nice to be here for Won live, I've had a few podiums at Indy, but there's nothing like winning.

Bruce Martin: And as Pat O'Ward said, it wasn't the strategy. He didn't luck into this race. He had to go out and earn it. No, he didn't. He did it like this.

Zak Brown: How important was that? No, it's great. You're exactly right. This was a great strategy and a great drive. A fast racing driver and a fast race car and a great racing team. So I got it done. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Bruce Martin: And last question, Arrow McLaren is easily the most popular team here in Toronto. A lot of McLaren Formula One fans here. How great does it feel to be able to have, you couldn't go anywhere without being hailed and stopped and asked for autographs and photos. So just how close is it to come here and have Arrow McLaren be so adored?

Zak Brown: It's awesome. You know, the team papaya is worldwide and so You know, racing's all about our fans. McLaren's all about our fans. So I love every single one of them. And they give us a little bit more lap time.

Bruce Martin: Well, Zach Brown, I know you're a busy man. You've got Formula One to conquer again. And IndyCar, you might be able to conquer that again. We're going to give it a go. But thanks for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Another Arrow McLaren driver, Nolan Siegel, returned to action at Toronto after he was forced to sit out the second race of the Iowa doubleheader while he was under observation for a possible concussion by IndyCar Medical. Siegel crashed in the previous day's Sink 275 at Iowa and did not race in the following day's Farm to Finish 275. Siegel was cleared to drive by IndyCar Medical after he was re-evaluated on July 17th and was ready to go when he arrived in Toronto.

Nolan Siegel: I'm good. Yeah, I'm good. Yeah, I feel good. Did everything possible this past week to get back to 100%. So it was nice working with IndyCar Medical, they put a whole program together, we followed their program, checked in along the way. So I'm feeling good and ready to go. Coming here, I If anything, just have a greater appreciation for what I'm doing. It was hard to sit out on Sunday and watch. That was not a fun time for me. And I've just been itching to get back in the car these past few days. So I will never take that for granted again. And I'm really, really excited to get back in. No, believe me, I wanted to be in the car on Sunday. It was difficult to sit out for sure. Um, but the reason we have the people we have in medical and, um, you know, Dr. Visor and Vargas and like as much as I hated sitting out and wanted to get back in the car and wanted to argue with them. They know more about this than I do. That's the end of it. They know more about this than all of us do. And when they say, you can't do it, you can't do it. So once they said that, they put their plan together. They helped me get back in. They did everything they possibly could to help me get back this weekend. And I'm grateful for their help.

Bruce Martin: Was there any lingering or slightly unusual things that you experienced, either maybe fluttering of the eyes, bright lights in one eyeball or anything like that, that you thought, well, that's that's odd? Or was it just you felt just as good as you did before you got in the car?

Nolan Siegel: After Saturday night, there was there were no concerns for me, like no concerns about being back this weekend. So, again, that made it even harder on Sunday. But it is what it is, you know? They made their decision, I get it, and again, they know more than I do about that.

Bruce Martin: And when you think of drivers like Simon Pagino, after he had his crash at Mid-Ohio, he thought he was fine, was gonna get back in the car the next day. He hasn't been in an IndyCar since. So is that really something that you see there's so much more emphasis being put now on neurological issues than ever before?

Nolan Siegel: Yeah, I think it's great from a safety standpoint to have, you know, so much more information. And I think we're progressing really fast, like the whole sport in that department. And, um, I think we know a lot more about this type of injury than we did before at the same time. I'm fine. I'm ready to go. I've been checked out. I'm fully confident that I'm a hundred percent ready to go this weekend. So, um, no concerns for my end. Yeah. Immediately starting Monday. Um, We had a program put together that was, you know, getting back into harder workouts, like starting at 25%, seeing if there were any symptoms, 50%, 75, a hundred. And then, um, yesterday was kind of the final one. So got here a little late yesterday after getting checked out. And then they wanted me to do one more kind of like flat out, full push workout, um, to see if there were any symptoms and, uh, had no issues through the whole thing. Um, got on the SIM to see if that would, you know, trigger anything didn't. So, um, We went through the process, and it's nice for me actually having had that process to go through, because now I know I had nothing wrong during all of those steps, and that means that there won't be anything wrong in the car.

Bruce Martin: The most important thing is you're healthy, but yet that starting position, that had to be tough to pass up. Yes.

Nolan Siegel: Yeah, really difficult. Again, it makes it hurt even more being that it was such a strong weekend. And even Saturday, obviously, up until that point, I think was a really strong event for us, a strong race. Starting fifth on Sunday, qualified in the top five two weeks in a row. We had good momentum going, and I think it's important to kind of keep that momentum going. Yes, there was a small setback, but at the same time, we've been competitive multiple weeks in a row. We've been fast, and there's no reason that we can't continue to do that. as a group where we're not letting this change our flow and we're approaching this like we would, you know, had we finished fifth in Iowa instead of sitting out on. No, no, I think everything worked as it was, you know, intended to. I think honestly, I don't know why it was different than other hits. I think it was just somehow the angle and the rotation and I'm sure that someone can explain that better that's actually looked into the whole thing. I've been more focused on just being ready for this weekend than analyzing what exactly happened there. I think all the equipment worked as it was supposed to and it was just the wrong angle and I don't know, you know, things happen. So yeah, I think everyone understands, right? And it's happened to, like you said, you know, Felix, TK's had it happen. At some point, you know, unfortunately, it's just kind of the nature of the sport, you know, like they're big hits. They're all big hits. And if you hit it just the wrong angle or whatever, sometimes it's an issue. And while, yes, it sucked to sit out on Sunday, I think. looking back on it, if everyone at medical thinks that that was the right decision and thinks that there was, you know, a big risk on Sunday, if I was to hit something again or whatever it is like, I would definitely regret it a lot more if I'd, you know, hit something else on Sunday and then was out for the rest of the season. Right. So. Not where I want it to be, but I trust their opinions and trust that that was ultimately the best thing in the long run.

Bruce Martin: Did the impact feel any different than any other impacts you've had?

Nolan Siegel: No, it didn't feel different. Obviously, you know, it didn't feel stellar on Saturday afterwards. But again, like, I don't think it was really that much bigger than any of the other ones. And we saw kind of similar impacts in the same place, right, on Sunday. But no, I think it was just a weird angle. And I don't know. TK told me that the same thing happened to him. Well, you know, he told me to do everything I could to get back here. And that's what I did. We worked hard to make sure everything's right here. And this is a big race for us. Being in the Smart Stop car for the first time this year, it's a big race for them. And I'm just excited that it's me in the car and that I have the opportunity to do a good job in Toronto.

Bruce Martin: Errol McLaren had lined up young Linus Lundquist to take over the car in case Siegel was not cleared to compete. Lundquist was in Toronto on a standby basis and gave Pit Pass Indy this exclusive interview as the former IndyNext by Firestone champion hopes to return to IndyCar on a full-time basis. A familiar face has returned to IndyCar, although we haven't really seen much of him this year. It's Linus Lundqvist. Linus, you're in Toronto, but you're not going to get a chance to run in Toronto. So if you could explain to our listeners what you're doing here, obviously it's with Errol McLaren. and you were originally going to be a substitute in case Nolan Siegel did not clear medical, but he has, so he'll drive. So I guess in a lot of ways, you have a free weekend in Toronto.

Linus Lundqvist: Yeah, I mean, I'm very happy to be here with Aaron McLaren as a reserve driver and staying ready in case something were to happen. And like you mentioned, it was brought in, you know, I got the call after Nolan had his crash in Iowa and they weren't sure that he was going to get clear for Toronto. And that sparked a lot of, you know, craziness over the past couple of days because they tried to prepare me as well as they could, you know, getting seated in the car and whatever. I'm obviously glad to see that Nolan is good, and that's never how you want to be on the grid, but I would be ready if that were the case. And like I said, I'm at every other race, basically, just in civilian clothing. So to do it now with a team feels good. I didn't really realize how much I miss being with a team until this weekend. It's been a minute. Obviously, I want to drive, but just being with them, listening in on the engineering meetings, hearing what people say, it felt good to be back. And obviously a team like Arrow McLaren, I feel like I can learn quite a bit.

Bruce Martin: Did you get the call Sunday night or Monday morning that you were going to be asked to have this role with Arrow McLaren?

Linus Lundqvist: I don't remember exactly, but it was around that timeline because I was in the shop Monday afternoon to start preparing. Obviously then we started looking at the schedule, seeing what it was like, what we could do.

Bruce Martin: How do you not feel like, in some ways, you're an overlooked driver in IndyCar? Because every time you've gotten in a car, you've done very well, but here you are without a ride. So how do you keep that from having some resentment about why don't I have a ride with some of these other guys too.

Linus Lundqvist: I've learned a very long time ago that life is not fair and if you expect it to be fair you're going to be disappointed and you know I have a saying that as long as I can go to bed saying I did everything I could then win, lose, or draw I'll be happy. because that's kind of what I'm doing right now. I've, unfortunately, I've been in this position before, where in 2023 we were out of ride, but, you know, I was at every single track, staying ready, staying sharp, and obviously the opportunity to fill in for Pagino with Chang came in, and that will lead me to the ride with Ganassi last year. So, kind of went through my playbook of 2023 and trying to do a repeat of that.

Bruce Martin: I put a new spin on when you say life isn't fair, because I always tell everybody the fair comes around the first week of August. Yeah, life really isn't fair.

Linus Lundqvist: Okay, so you're telling me I have two more weeks?

Bruce Martin: Well, maybe. I mean, who knows? But it really does seem like you're always on the list of possible drivers with new teams, but… They always seem to kind of go with a different guy who may have a bigger checkbook. So in a lot of ways, is that still one of the drawbacks to IndyCars? There's still a lot of rides that get determined by what a driver can help bring the team.

Linus Lundqvist: I mean, I don't think it's just an IndyCar thing. I think it's a motorsport thing. You look at every racing series across the world, it's the same deal. And I mean, I know how this business works. We both do. I think most people do. And the thing is that I don't blame him. Race teams, they got bills to pay somehow. And if they don't have a sponsor or if I don't have it, then they got to find somebody that does. And it's not resentment towards the team or any driver that's been able to find a sponsorship. It's just the way that the business works. But again, I want to be back racing any shape, way, or form.

Bruce Martin: Does the charter system in IndyCar hurt your ability or drivers such as you to be able to get back in?

Linus Lundqvist: I mean, I'm sure you could play this from both sides, but if you look at it from a car count perspective, because the more cars on the grid, the more opportunities for drivers to be on the grid, and this limited the cars on the grid. Obviously, you're hurting that way, but I'm sure that, you know, the up the positives of the charter system and hopefully bringing a little bit more stability economy for the team helps drivers maybe especially in my position where you know you you don't have funding to come with you it actually helps but you know from just looking at the opportunities perspective and it wasn't great.

Bruce Martin: So what has Linus Lundqvist been doing now that you haven't been a full-time IndyCar driver?

Linus Lundqvist: I'm in training neck, trying to stay ready. Like I said, I'm just trying to stay in shape and be ready and stay sharp for as much as I can. And like I said, showing up at the races, calling bosses, harassing them like I once did. I'm back on that train.

Bruce Martin: But what are you doing for a living in terms of you got to put food on the table and pay the rent?

Linus Lundqvist: Yeah, I mean, I do that. I did a little bit of coaching, some back and forth in some of the other junior series. But apart from that, you know, I'm living on some of my savings getting to and from races. And, you know, that's kind of the way that I choose to go about this.

Bruce Martin: And finally, what can you learn just from the whole week experience with Arrow McLaren that can help you and maybe plant a seed in their mind that they might be a guy that they're interested in the future?

Linus Lundqvist: I mean, I'm extremely happy to be here with Aaron McLaren this weekend. It's going to be awesome to see and learn from them. Obviously, I've been with a couple of teams over the past couple of years, but to see how these guys work is going to be amazing. And like I said, just the pleasure of being in the meetings and hearing how the drivers give their feedback and how the engineers think is going to be a learning experience for me.

Bruce Martin: Well, Linus Lundqvist, great seeing you again. Hopefully, next time we see you, you're in an Indy car. I would love that. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Junco's Hollinger Racing had one of its transporters catch fire on the trip back from Iowa Speedway on July 16th. The IndyCar community rallied around the team and helped it get back to the track without missing a beat. Connor Daly and Stingray Rob are the two drivers for Junco's Hollinger Racing. Here is a quick interview with Daly as he describes the situation involving the transporter fire. Conor Daly, there's never a good time to have a transporter fire, but especially not during a five race and four weekend stretch. How much does that set Junko's Hollinger back and how have they recovered? I mean, honestly, it certainly is not helpful for us.

Conor Daly: I think, you know, mainly for just the crews that have been already working. nonstop every weekend and showing up no matter what and showing up when the hours are added to the schedule to clean out a fire. I mean, that's crazy. So we appreciate them. And there's no easy way to go about it. I mean, we're in a tough spot. And we're just going to try our best to bounce back and get through it. Where did it happen and what was the cause? Oh, I have no idea, honestly, where it happened. I was flying. So yeah, I'm sure it's I'm sure there's something really random and it's like just sadly bad luck. And we had a little bit of that in Iowa race, too.

Bruce Martin: But when it comes to the race itself, you have to feel good about your preparation for Toronto.

Conor Daly: I certainly hope so. I mean, we definitely spent some time at the sim this week, which is really important for us. So we'll we'll give it our best shot and hopefully use some of that information.

Bruce Martin: Okay, Connor Daly, good luck and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Conor Daly: Thank you.

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

Scott McLaughlin: 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 Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Devlin DeFrancesco of Rayhall Letterman Lanigan Racing is from Toronto, so the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is one of the highlights of DeFrancesco's season. He joins me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Toronto's own Devlin DeFrancesco has joined us. Railheader in Atlantic and Racing. Devlin, how does it feel to be back home again in Toronto?

Devlin DeFrancesco: It's nice to be here. I'm super excited. You know, our street course package has been getting better through the year. You know, we found something, I think, quite big in Detroit, you know, with Graham that, you know, we're going to now run here and further, you know, the rest of the last three course of the year. But yeah, I think we should be OK here.

Bruce Martin: Every driver's gonna say they wanna win every track they go to, but it's gotta be a little more special for you when you're at Toronto.

Devlin DeFrancesco: 100%, you know, someone asked me yesterday, you know, this comes, you know, a very, very close second to the 500. You know, if I had to circle two on the calendar to win, you know, the 500 would be obviously one and here.

Bruce Martin: Even though you've lived in Miami and Indianapolis, when was the last time that you basically called Toronto home?

Devlin DeFrancesco: Toronto's always been kind of home, to be honest. Even though I left when I was quite young to the States and lived in Italy for a long time, I came here every summer since I was a kid. So I've always spent a lot of time here. Did you come to this race as a fan when you were a kid? My very first IndyCar race was 2013 with Tony Kanaan when he drove for KV back then and I was in the suites outside of turn 11.

Bruce Martin: And what did you just think of the whole scene? Is that when you really got hooked on it?

Devlin DeFrancesco: You know, I always loved IndyCar as a kid growing up. I always watched it, especially the ovals. You know, I just love IndyCar racing.

Bruce Martin: Now after Toronto, it's off to Monterey, one of the most historic and picturesque road courses that IndyCar competes at. How do you like that track? And as far as Rahal Leonard and Lannigan Racing goes, that really seems to be a challenging track. Bobby Rahal, the team owner, has had a great history there.

Devlin DeFrancesco: You know, a hundred percent. You know, I think when you, you know, look at us as a team and as a group, you know, these smooth road courses, we seem to be really fast and we seem to have them quite nailed, especially on the alternate tire. So, you know, going there, I have no doubts that we should be very, very competitive.

Bruce Martin: So back to Toronto, you're an Italian. You got to name me one great Italian restaurant to go to while I'm here.

Devlin DeFrancesco: Soto Soto. I was there on Tuesday night. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Bruce Martin: I will have to look that up. Yes. Soto Soto. Soto Soto. OK. Well, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman, Lanigan Racing, good luck the rest of the year. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass, Indy.

Devlin DeFrancesco: Thank you very much.

Bruce Martin: Felix Rosenquist admires Shank Racing as sixth in the standings, ahead of such drivers as Colton Herta of Andretti Global, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden of Team Penske. Rosenquist explains the reason for the team's improved performance in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Delis Rosenquist has joined us, our old pal from Meijer Shank Racing. Got a quick story to tell you. Sunday night, like an idiot, I decided to drive from Iowa to Indianapolis, spend the night there, and then make it the rest of the way back to North Carolina. As I get around Crawfordsville, I see this transporter go blowing by me. And then for the next 35 miles, I'm looking at your face on the back. That's great. Now, the one thing that I thought about was the poor guy driving that transporter still had a three and a half hour drive ahead of him once I got to Indianapolis. In a lot of ways, that says a lot about what the demands are on your crew during this five race and four week stretch that they've got to hit the highway immediately afterwards and get home, get everything reloaded, and then go all the way up to Toronto. And then next week, go all the way out to Monterey, California.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yeah, it's a logistical challenge, especially for the truck drivers. People rarely talk about that, but we talk about engineers, mechanics, obviously they have a lot of physical strain, drivers as well, but the truck drivers literally like… they don't see a home for this whole stretch. So that's a very… It would be fun to follow their life, like a documentary kind of thing of what their life is going through this month. But yeah, it's a tough stretch. I feel like everyone kind of goes into a mode. So you're prepared for it in a way. You're tired some days. Some days you have to sleep like 10, 11 hours. Yeah, we all get through it, you know, we've all done it before, but it's a tough time for sure.

Bruce Martin: In your time in IndyCar racing, can you ever remember a portion of the schedule that went all the way from Iowa to Toronto, pretty far east, just north of Buffalo, New York, and then the week later go all the way out to the Monterey Peninsula in California?

Felix Rosenqvist: No, I think in terms of IndyCar it's the most busy we've been. I had times in my career when I did Formula E and I raced in Japan. I went to South America and Japan back to back six weeks in a row. So I've definitely done that kind of a thing, and I know what it's like with the time change and everything. But in terms of IndyCar, I feel like IndyCar is also a bit more demanding. The races are tougher physically, so it would be harder to do something like that if you're an IndyCar driver, because you're just completely drained on Monday morning.

Bruce Martin: I was thinking more from the crew standpoint, to have to go crisscross the country like that.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yeah, luckily we can do it. We're still on the same continent. We don't have to cross borders and stuff. But they get it done, and in the end of the day, that's what it is. I think we all prefer maybe a little break here and there. At least one week would be nice, but schedule is what it is, and I'm pretty sure IndyCar knows that it's not ideal. We'll probably work on a better solution in the future.

Bruce Martin: IndyCar will get a break after Monterey for one weekend, but then they're in Portland. So is your team or other teams going to leave some of the equipment out on the West Coast and then just go up to Portland?

Felix Rosenqvist: Probably, yes. I mean, normally they can go into the track early and work on the cars, or maybe stop somewhere. They normally figure something out. But yeah, it wouldn't really make sense to go back to Ohio between that, I think.

Bruce Martin: Also, you're having a solid season this year. What do you attribute that to being, and do you believe that there's even better yet to come?

Felix Rosenqvist: I think so. I look at my season. I still see things that can be improved. Our qualifyings haven't been super great this year. I feel like we've been in a lot of recovery drives on Sunday, which have worked out well, but it would be better to kind of qualify where we should qualify. I think the pace in the race is the big differentiator from last year. We managed to go forward. We've been good on strategy. We haven't really made any bad strategy calls this year, which has been good. But it's still more qualifying. Yeah, short overs have been a little weakness maybe and just a couple of pit stop blunders. So, you know, you look at the year and it's, I think everyone can probably say the same, that the years have been kind of choppy. Except Alex, you know, he's had Detroit only, that's it. So, I think the whole field is probably feeling like I do, there's more potential.

Bruce Martin: Well, Felix Rosenquist, good luck the rest of the season. We'll catch up later this year and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you very much. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guests, Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto Race Winner Pat O'Ward of Arrow McLaren, McLaren Racing CEO Zach Brown, Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel, Linus Lundquist, Connor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing, Devlin DeFrancesco of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Felix Rosenquist of Meyers Schenck Racing for joining us on today's Pit Pass Indy. 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. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me on X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. There is a special bonus episode of Pit Pass Indie later this week with a special preview of the Jabba House Grand Prix of Monterey from Monterey, California, so be sure to give that a listen. 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 Sean Ruhle Hoffman and Nathan Corson. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.