Celebrities At The 110th Indianapolis 500 Including Actor Brendan Fraser, Formula One World Champion Lando Norris, NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson And Much More

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our sixth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. We welcome back our friends from Penske Truck Rental, who return as the presenting sponsor of Pit Pass Indy. Penske Truck Rental helps Pit Pass Indy bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock, to the racetrack, to the highways and streets of America. And this season, Penske Truck Rental and Pit Pass Indy helped celebrate Team Penske's 60th anniversary. As the host of Pit Pass Indy, I'm honored and humbled to be recognized for outstanding achievement as the 2026 Society of Professional Motorsports Journalist On-Air Broadcaster of the Year, presented at this year's 110th Indianapolis 500. The award is for the hard work all of us at Evergreen Podcast and Front Porch Media have invested into making Pit Pass Indy one of the leading podcasts in the motorsports category. And a special thanks to our loyal listeners who continue to help Pit Pass Indy grow. It's time to celebrate a great American holiday this weekend, the 4th of July, which this year is a milestone celebration as it's the 250th anniversary of the birth of this great nation, the United States of America. It was 250 years ago, on July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed by our Founding Fathers in Philadelphia. Auto racing and the Fourth of July have shared the celebration throughout the history of this great sport and this great nation. whether it was the Firecracker 400 NASCAR Cup Series race that began as the Firecracker 250 on July 4, 1959, or Bobby Rahal scoring his first IndyCar win on July 4, 1982 at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport, racing and Independence Day go together like hot dogs and fireworks. This year's 4th of July that celebrates America 250 falls on a Saturday, so the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will take place on Sunday, July 5th as the second half of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season is underway. As IndyCar starts the back half of the season, four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Pillow takes a 60-point lead over second-placed David Maloukis into the weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. There was some big news last week when Meyers Schenck Racing announced Indianapolis 500 winning driver Felix Rosenquist would be leaving the team at the end of the 2026 season to race for another IndyCar operation. That could presumably be a return to Arrow McLaren for Rosenquist. Moving over to Andretti Global or a return to Chip Ganassi Racing are also in the mix for Rosenquist, depending on how other driver movement plays out. But at the moment, it appears the leader for Rosenquist Services are the same team he raced for from 2021 to 2023, Arrow McLaren. While IndyCar is part of the America 250 celebration this 4th of July weekend, the traditional red, white, and blue holiday that IndyCar is known for throughout its history is Memorial Day weekend and the Indianapolis 500. It has been the centerpiece sporting event that celebrates Memorial Day since 1911. The only times it wasn't part of that holiday was during World War I, World War II, 1986 when two days of rain moved the race to the following Saturday, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when it was moved to August 23rd. The stars turned out for the sporting event that draws the largest single-day crowd of the year with over 350,000 fans jamming the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day, May 24th. There were also plenty of celebrities that took part in this year's race, and on today's Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, we're going to talk to several of them, including actor Brendan Fraser, the honorary starter of this year's Indy 500. Frazier stars as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the film Pressure as it focuses on the decision to launch the D-Day invasion and how weather played a major impact in the campaign that would prove to be the decisive effort for the Allied forces in World War II that would ultimately lead to victory. Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental had this exclusive interview with Fraser on May 23rd, the day before he waved the green flag to start the 110th Indianapolis 500. One of the great things about the Indianapolis 500 is not only the action that you see on the track, but the number of people and celebrities that play a key role in this event. And we've got one of them with us now. It's actor Brendan Fraser, who's going to star as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the movie Pressure. Brendan, thank you for joining us today.

Brendan Fraser: It's a pleasure of mine, Bruce. Thanks for having me.

Bruce Martin: So is this your first time you've been to the Indianapolis 500? And if so, what do you think of this entire facility?

Brendan Fraser: Funny you should ask. I was born in Indianapolis. It's my natal place. And I was a little kid, but I didn't attend at that time with my family. But I do have a recollection of my older brothers who taunted me with the sound and Doppler effect of the engines when I was a little kid. And that shrieking sound was the sound that became visceral for me. I came back a number of years ago to say, gentlemen, start your engines. That was my duty. But I'm so happy to be here again today.

Bruce Martin: Well, you're going to get another honor on race day, and that's waving the green flag to start the race. Yes. And just how excited and thrilling is that going to be?

Brendan Fraser: Well, I found myself asking rookie questions like, do I hold it in my teeth when I climb up that little ladder over there to get to the top? No, no, there's a flag, man. I'm told that the speed of these cars per lap is like two minutes, somewhere around there sometimes, depending, or less or more per lap. So I'll be up there for, oh, goodness me. Okay. My information is very bad.

Bruce Martin: We're going to be coming down the front straight at about 2.30. Oh my goodness. So it's quite a scene. In fact, the start of the Indianapolis 500 is the one thing that really gets us hooked on this event for life in many ways. But just what the Indianapolis 500 means, it's been held for the most part every Memorial Day or Memorial Day weekend since 1911. There were a few years during World War I and World War II where it was not held because of the war effort. Your next role, your big role that you're in is General Dwight Eisenhower in the movie Pressure. And it's all about the D-Day invasion and just the pressure that was under to launch that invasion with bad weather and bad conditions or to end up losing the war. So if you could give us a little bit of a recap of that film and where it stands in some of the projects you've been able to do as an actor.

Brendan Fraser: The pressure that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were under that fateful weekend wasn't just barometric, but it was definitely a consideration. In 1944, weather prediction was almost on par with looking out the window, oftentimes. And the science and facts of meteorology were a discipline that were accelerated by the war effort, but essential considering what was at stake in June of 1944 on that Monday, the 5th, when D-Day was scheduled to be the deployment that weekend before a meteorologist who had been working with the Home Office, the British, and the Americans had to deliver the weather report to the two superiors and it wasn't the news they were hoping for and it did mean they needed to deliberate about if or not to deploy Operation Overlord on Monday June 5th or to cancel it and delay it for two weeks until around the 18th when the moon would have cycled through again, then the rise of the tides, amount of moonlight to attack. Many, many considerations, not just to mention it's not a small task to bust a Yui with 300,000 troops at sea. So the plan was they were going to delay for two weeks and I this is this is factual historical knowledge. I personally did not have until I came to this movie. Till that weekend, Chief Meteorologist James Stagg gave the report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that there's a window of opportunity the following day on Tuesday, June 6th, between 10, 12 hours possibly tops, where a storm that was raging would abate, just enough to not be as bad as it was, but that meant What was already looking like a bare-knuckle fight with a chainsaw had a fighting chance considering that the enemy would never see it coming because they believed that the Allies would be mad to attack under these storm conditions. In, I believe, just an act of faith and profound trust that Eisenhower had in troops, they deployed the following day. It was astonishing to me to consider what was already going to be, as we all know, a tough fight to begin with. To consider that those troops were now going into the eye of a storm to fight an enemy that was rooted in and had had still had the advantage of surprise and many, many other factors. But what the decision finally came down to was, in my research, the belief that Eisenhower had in his troops. He was a leader I grew to admire through studying him a bit. His style was It was more to listen rather than to just hear people when he didn't know something He got the opinion of the experts factored that in didn't pretend he knew something he didn't and he was a diplomat excellent diplomat and strategist and he never fired a shot in anger during his military career nor was fired at He had graduated West Point with aspirations as a young man to serve in the First World War, but felt disappointed when it had concluded by the time he graduated. And the next 40 or so years saw him getting successive promotions. for his ability as an excellent strategist and a skilled diplomat. He was the type of leader who He had a more open approach. He got a lot more done over a dinner table than he did in a session over a boardroom very often. And he was a leader who astonished me when I learned that he had written a letter to be published in the event of victory wherein he gave credit to the troops. And he also had written a letter in the event of defeat that, as we know, wasn't necessary to be released, but that found its way into a coat pocket. years later into a biography, and that letter put, in the event of the defeat, squarely on his four-star general's shoulders.

Bruce Martin: There's a very dramatic photo of him speaking to the invasion troops before the invasion began on D-Day. And he knew, I believe he reflected later, that he knew that he was sending many of these young men into death. And to be that cognizant of just what was at stake, How were you able to portray all that in the movie Pressure? Because I'm sure that was one of the things that weighed heavily on anybody at that time. But it was something that had to be done in order to win the war.

Brendan Fraser: Well, the grim statistics were… were the writing on the wall. He didn't sugarcoat anything, but at the same time, and you're speaking I think about the 101st, as the account goes, yes, he was talking about fly fishing and how bad the food was and how they miss their mom and their gal back home, but I can't not look at those very same photos and not see a man looking into the eyes of these 20-something year old soldiers and I can't imagine that he didn't see the eyes of his own sons let alone I think it was intensely personal to him and his style of leadership was one of such concern for them that they even said, sir, don't you worry about us. We'll take care of this. You have your job and we have ours. We're going to take care of this. They were bucking him up, and that really moved me. And let's also consider a fact that I was unaware of historically until this project came my way, which was the ill-fated Operation Tiger, which was an exercise that had tragically gone wrong and became one of the grim statistics of friendly fire incidents in US military history. only six weeks before the June 5th deployment date. In the south of England at Slapton Sands and Kennedy Down, there was a beach that had near carbon copy conditions as Utah Beach. The surf, a shale beach, stones, a roadway, a berm, another roadway, and then a water feature, which was a lake. And this was in England, which was pretty much Utah Beach. So in the exercise, which was a joint operation, of the British and American forces. It took place on April 28th and 29th, which was only six weeks before the deployment of Operation Overlord, and historical accounts have conflicted over the years, but a combination of a clerical error, coupled with a difference of frequencies between the British and the Americans, and the harassment of German e-boats against the LSTs, the large loading and troop transport vehicles, the giant ones with the doors in the front. There were eight or nine of them. Two of them went down the night before from torpedo fire from German e-boats. And while that is tragic, they were guarding the operation. And the troops who were to land in the exercise did not get the stand down order from the Admiralty. to land on the beach at 830, at 0830, instead of what they believed were their orders at 0730. And Ike Eisenhower had ordered live ordnance to toughen the Green troops up and to emulate the conditions of battle that they would be seeing shortly at Utah. And tragically, they walked right into that. And on those two dates, 749, Army and Navy lost their lives and clearly this would have been detrimental for morale so it was shrouded in secrecy for the duration of the war and then largely forgotten about thereafter until The late 1970s, when a man called Burns, who lived in Slapton Sands, wanted to know why the fishing lines kept getting snagged at the same spot in the surf. And somebody went down to the diving mask, came up and said, tank. And they thought, water, oil? No, no, Sherman, tank. There was a tank, two meters, that never made it. It stayed there until 1984, when they dragged it up on the beach, where it now remains as a monument. And so with that tragedy in mind, my springboard to playing this role was the concern and the conscience that Eisenhower had to have had knowing what had happened in an exercise and what he was deploying 300,000 men and women to the next day. That kind of, the stakes were already high enough, but it's certainly the substance of what I like about films when you actually learn something that you thought you knew about.

Bruce Martin: Do you feel, two things, that in many ways the historical significance of General Eisenhower has been forgotten by current society? He was a hero back in the 20th century, but in many ways here in 2026 a lot of people may have forgotten about him. And also, your role, did you humanize him?

Brendan Fraser: I think he was intensely human to begin with, in my view. He had all the colors of life experience and emotion. didn't necessarily have the automatic cultural and popular association that we have with MacArthur or Patton. Eisenhower during the war years was more of an obscure figure in our recollection. Of course, until his president years, which were certainly after the war, when he became a five-star general. and beyond but and even then my personal knowledge was just when someone said Ike Eisenhower I thought of a campaign lapel pin that said I like Ike yes and I in my own self-professed ignorance I didn't know enough about the man yeah and then finally race days coming up

Bruce Martin: You're going to be climbing that flag stand, which may be a difficult thing in itself, but climbing up that flag stand, being in the crow's nest, seeing the Field of 33 come at you, and you're going to be waving the green flag. After all the fame and glory and great roles that you've had, are you excited about this opportunity that you're going to get to have to start the 110th Indianapolis 500?

Brendan Fraser: It's like winning an award that you already know you're going to win, but you haven't done it yet. So there's no anxiety about, will I or will I not? But I know the only anxiety I have is, I hear those are very narrow ladder steps.

Bruce Martin: Yes, like I said, that may be the most difficult aspect of it all.

Brendan Fraser: I actually asked Doug, do I keep the green flag in my teeth? Like, what do I do?

Bruce Martin: I think they hand it to you. I'm hopeful.

Brendan Fraser: I don't want to make history for the wrong reasons.

Bruce Martin: But anyway, actor Brendan Fraser, I've always admired your work. Like I said before we started the interview, Blast from the Past was always a favorite movie of mine.

Brendan Fraser: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: You've done some great work in film and tomorrow you're going to get to do some great work in racing. Good luck on that. Good luck with the movie Pressure. Thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Brendan Fraser: Thank you. Thanks, Bruce.

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

David Malukas: This is David Maloukis, driver of the number 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. And you are listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to PitPass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. The movie Pressure wasn't the only motion picture that was part of this year's Indianapolis 500. The documentary Kyle Larson vs. the Double also made its debut that week on Amazon's Prime Video. It's the culmination of a two-year effort by two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his quest to complete the double, the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in 2024 and 2025. The film premiered on May 21st, but Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, was part of a private screening in Indianapolis on May 20th that included Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Content John Dahl, and many other celebrities who were at the private screening at the Living Room Theater in Indianapolis. Kyle Larson vs. The Double was directed by Cynthia Hill, an Emmy and Peabody Award winner, and produced by Imagine Documentaries, Marque Media, NASCAR Studios, Penske Entertainment, and Jeff Gordon. Sandra Catherine Davidson was a producer and director on the documentary, and Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, had an exclusive interview with both Hill and Davidson at the private screening on May 20th. We're going to do something different now on Pit Pass Indie. We're going to talk to two filmmakers. They were the creative force behind Kyle Larson versus the double. It's Cynthia Hill and Sandra Davidson. We saw a lot of the two of you in 2024 and 2025. Now it's a finished piece of work. So after spending all that time, how difficult was it to pare it down to an hour and 45 minutes?

Cynthia Hill: We saw a lot of you too, by the way. But that ended up on the cutting room floor.

Bruce Martin: Now you got me nervous.

Cynthia Hill: No, you're good. A lot of footage is not in the film, but I think what is there really captures the essence of it. So we're really happy for people to see it.

Bruce Martin: But just a lot of hours go into making a film, a lot more than people realize.

Sandra Davidson: Oh, yeah. I mean, we were truly embedded with the family and the team. And so they really opened up their world to us. And I think that you see that in the film.

Bruce Martin: And just the entire nature of what Kyle was trying to do didn't go off quite as expected either year because obviously it rained in 2024 and he wasn't able to get to the Coca-Cola 600 in time for the start of the race and when he arrived there it rained and he never got a chance to get in the car. Luckily he got a chance to try it over again and and unfortunately downshifted instead of upshifted on a restart, and that was the end of his day at Indianapolis. But did it really just show just how difficult of a task this was?

Cynthia Hill: Yeah, absolutely. I think that at the core of this movie is understanding that this feat is not easy. And there has to be a good bit of luck involved with being able to get from one place to the other place. And you just hope for no rain. And unfortunately, in both years, rain played a role. But in 2024, it really, it walloped the whole venture.

Bruce Martin: Well, you brought up a good point about how rain affected it both years because they're getting ready to start the Indianapolis 500 in 2025. They're strapped into the car, then it starts to rain. And for 45 minutes, they're strapped into the car. And when that happens, it's getting closer and closer because last year, The only way he's going to be allowed to do the double was to make the NASCAR races priority. So how tense was it getting, not only from his standpoint of having to get out of the car, but from your standpoint of trying to document it?

Cynthia Hill: Yeah, we're sitting there looking at the clock and seeing that by each minute that ticks down means that he may not be able to finish that race because they have to pull him out of the car at a certain time. It's a big scene in the film where you see. that happening in real time and you see the emotion on his face and you know what he's going through or what's going through his mind is like, oh my God, this is happening again.

Sandra Davidson: And I would say that the other element of this film is that for both of those races, we had a team in Indy on the ground of race day and we had a team in Charlotte on the ground for race day. So we capture the drama of everybody waiting to see in both locations, is he going to pull it off? So like in Charlotte with the NASCAR team, everybody's sitting there like, Well, obviously he's going to make it the second time because we know NASCAR is a priority. But the first time, there was the whole question of was he going to make it? Is there going to need to be a substitute driver? So we capture that beat in the film as well. So you really get to see, you know, how many people were invested in Kyle getting this thing done and, you know, how it feels for folks when it doesn't go exactly the way that you'd want it to go.

Bruce Martin: How much do you think the fans will get to know the Kyle Larson that they didn't know before?

Cynthia Hill: Oh, you'll absolutely get to know him. And I think he is someone that seems, or is, really zen and cool as a cucumber most of the time, and maybe a little bit standoffish. I think he's a little guarded. But I think because we were just with him for so long, we just wore him down. He just had to be Kyle Larson. It was just, it was an incredible experience being able to be with him in those unpolished moments and getting to see the real Kyle going through the ups and the downs, the disappointments, the excitement, and being able to share that with an audience is pretty incredible.

Sandra Davidson: And you also get to see how much of a family man he is. And you'll have the great distinct pleasure of getting to know Caitlin Larson as well. So, you know, he'll say in the film that she's the boss. And that's definitely, you see how strong she is in the moments when Kyle is really like in the thick of, oh my gosh, is it not going to work out? So that is also one of the things that we were really excited to show folks.

Bruce Martin: How much did you show his non-NASCAR, non-IndyCar races? Because Kyle will race anything, anywhere throughout the week. How much did you get a chance to showcase that side of him?

Cynthia Hill: Not as much as we wanted to, and definitely not as much as we filmed, because as you're saying, dirt, sprint car racing is a huge part of Kyle's life, and we do get a taste of it, but it's not, you don't get how prolific he is of a racer while we're there with him, just because there's only a limited amount of time in a film that you can show everything.

Bruce Martin: It's a project for Prime Video. How long will it be available at Prime, and what has the response been so far from race fans?

Cynthia Hill: Well, no one has seen it yet, so… That's why we're at a premiere!

Bruce Martin: But yet, I'm sure there's been anticipation built up for this project.

Cynthia Hill: Yeah, I think there is a lot of anticipation. I think because the outcome is known, I assume that people may think that they already know the story, but you don't know the behind the scenes part of this story. And it will be on Prime Video indefinitely. So hopefully people will watch it early and often.

Sandra Davidson: Race fans, what their perspective on it. Okay, yes, I did have something to say about this. Because when the trailer dropped, there were so many people in the comments that were saying things like, Why does anybody want to watch this? We all know he failed. Why would somebody get a movie made about them if they failed at something like what in the world? And I think the whole point is to show people what it takes to try to pull something like this off with the weather factor, with all of the logistics at play. And that, I think, is what we're excited to show people because it's way bigger than like, oh, he just didn't, it didn't work out for those two days. Like this is years in the making, so.

Bruce Martin: One thing you got to understand about race fans, they'll complain about anything. And also they don't understand the concept of the backstory, which is what you're showcasing.

Cynthia Hill: Exactly.

Bruce Martin: So in the film industry, would this classify as a biopic?

Cynthia Hill: uh… it is a sports doc it is a bio pic uh… it is bio pic yes pronounced it wrong it is a combination of both of those things and so you get the beauty of an event type of doc where we are going towards uh… you know the double two times and you also get biopic so it's woven together in a way where I feel like you get the to understand his backstory so that you understand him more completely.

Bruce Martin: Do you think the reason why Kyle Larson is so popular amongst the race fans is that he's kind of the everyday man?

Sandra Davidson: I don't know, Bruce. I can't speak to race fans, really, because the thing is, like, now, Cynthia had done a NASCAR project before, but a lot of the people on this crew don't really come from the sport. So we made a film about a man who was trying to do something really hard, a man who is excellent at what he does. That certainly we found him very compelling because amidst all of that he's so down to earth and such a real person. So I do think that that is the part of his appeal for sure.

Bruce Martin: Obviously you two are filmmakers. What are some of the other projects that you've made?

Cynthia Hill: Well, we've made films about true or true crime documentary series. We've made a series about southern food ways. We've made a movie about domestic violence. We made a series about the Hendrick 2016 race season. You want me to go on?

Bruce Martin: Sure.

Cynthia Hill: We did a project that recently came out about kids that race at Mill Bridge in North Carolina. I'm sure there's something we've left out.

Bruce Martin: I'll have to watch your southern food documentary since I live in the south and I do enjoy food.

Cynthia Hill: It's good. You should watch it.

Bruce Martin: John Dahl was a key person in this project and a lot of people have seen a lot of John Dahl's works because he was the man behind the 30 for 30s at ESPN. So what was it like to work with someone like John who has been so widely respected in the industry?

Cynthia Hill: I think it was, he was pretty standoff like and let us do our work in the field and we had more interactions with him as we were in post and he actually is the one responsible for the name of the film so let's give him kudos for that but yeah he brings a lot of experience to this form and it was really cool to work with him

Bruce Martin: And finally, John Edwards played such a key role the first year of this movie. John Edwards was a friend of mine. He was a friend of a lot of people in racing. And you dedicated the film to John Edwards. We did. And just how special was that to be able to honor him in the making of this film about Kyle Larson?

Cynthia Hill: We knew that we were going to do that pretty early on as we're finishing up the edit of the film and he's in the film a good bit and he played a huge role in the logistical component and working with us on a day-to-day basis and so we felt like we were doing the double for John Edwards as well.

Bruce Martin: Filmmakers Cynthia Hill and Sandra Davidson. Good luck on your project for Prime Video, Kyle Larson versus the double. Good luck on whatever your next project may be. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Cynthia Hill: Thank you. Thank you.

Bruce Martin: When it comes to creating compelling sports documentaries, there is nobody better than our next guest. It's John Dahl, NASCAR's Senior Vice President of Content and Executive Producer for NASCAR Studios, who was the driving force behind many of ESPN's great documentaries, including the famed 30 for 30 franchise, as well as SEC Storied and The Tournament, The History of ACC Men's Basketball, to name a few. I first met Dahl way back in the 1980s when I was a sports writer and he was working for the Charlotte News and later CNN. As NASCAR's Senior Vice President of Content and Executive Producer for NASCAR Studios, Dahl recognized another compelling story in Kyle Larson's quest to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 and played a key role in the creation of the documentary as he tells me in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Our next guest, guarantee you you've seen plenty of his work. He used to be the man behind the 30 for 30 documentaries at ESPN. Now he's with NASCAR Productions, the head of NASCAR Productions. It's John Dahl. John, you're the moving force behind Kyle Larson versus the double. You've done a lot of excellent sports films in your day. What was it about this story that intrigued you?

John Dahl: I think it was Kyle trying to do something that really hadn't been done in a decade, and the challenge of it has gotten harder and harder over the years. The Indy 500 now starts just a little bit later than it did before, and so the margin of error is so thin. But I think going beyond that, I think it's Kyle, not just the racer, because he really is a racer's racer, but it's Kyle, the person, the man. And I think a chance to really get to know him through this struggle of trying to pull off the double, as it turned out, not once but twice he tried to pull it off. We get to know the human being, and I think that's what makes this film stand out.

Bruce Martin: And because Kyle Larson is such a big name in racing, not just in NASCAR, but in racing, he seemed to be the perfect individual to attempt to do the double and maybe even succeed in the double.

John Dahl: Oh, without a doubt. I mean, he's been so successful. He's a future Hall of Famer, now two-time Cup Series champion. with over 30 career cup series victories, you'd think if anybody can do this in this day and age, it would be Kyle. He loves to race, no matter what the format, he'll race. And I think what it took from Kyle was not only a dedication to trying to pull off that double, and there's so many things that are out of his control, but allowing cameras to follow him, allowing our filmmaker Cynthia Hill to chronicle the whole journey with his family, with Caitlin, his wife, and his kids. And that takes another level of commitment that Kyle is willing to give.

Bruce Martin: Do you think one of the reasons why Kyle is so popular amongst the everyday fan is that he's an everyday guy? He could be the guy that lives next door to you that goes and punches a time clock at work. That's one reason why there's an appeal with Kyle Larson. He's not afraid to race at Kokomo, just like he's not afraid to race at the Indianapolis 500 or the Coca-Cola 600.

John Dahl: That's exactly right. I think that's what makes him so relatable. And it comes across in the film. not just his efforts as a racer, but his willingness to show you who he is, what his family life is like, that life can be messy, that it can be really hard, even at his level, his elite level of talent, really hard as a racer, that he's willing to go there and open up and show it all, that is what makes him, I think, so appealing to fans.

Bruce Martin: With NASCAR having a partner with Amazon Prime, the ability to do projects like this, because Prime is in the entertainment business, they have on-demand movies, videos, things of that nature. Is this a whole new aspect that can open up more projects? for you and for NASCAR.

John Dahl: Absolutely. Last year was our first year of the prime relationship where they're broadcasting five races every year and working with Amazon Sports, then Noah Malalay, Karen Hammerberg now. They're just fantastic to work with. They're great partners. They want to story tell. They want to go beyond just the race broadcast for that five week window. They want to get to the human stories that we want to get to as well.

Bruce Martin: So when did John Dahl realize that he's a storyteller?

John Dahl: When I was a kid, quite honestly. It's just that I always aspired to maybe be in front of the camera or with a byline, and that's the journey I was on until I got out of college and I actually had an offer to write for the Charlotte Observer in sports, but I turned it down for no money. I took an unpaid internship at CNN Sports because I just really wanted to try TV. And once I got there and got into the production aspect, I said, you know what? I think this is what I was meant to do, actually. And it just led me down this path where I felt like I could story tell in a way that I wouldn't have been able to with a byline or in front of the camera.

Bruce Martin: We go way back without realizing it, but back in the days when Emil Parker, Davidson College, the SID used to have the media softball game at Davidson College. They'd invite all the local media out, we'd play softball. Not very well, but we would play softball. But I remember you were there, and Stan Olsen, and Gary Schwab, and a lot of the people that worked at the Observer, and WBT, and WBTV, and all the Charlotte media. But it's really interesting to see how far you've gone in your career. Do you sometimes realize that you really have had quite an impact?

John Dahl: I do. I feel so fortunate to have been able to tell the stories I've been able to tell over my career or my life. And really, honestly, that time at the Charlotte News and the Charlotte Observer shaped me, instilled fundamentals in me, instilled confidence in me. So many of those folks there, those great people at the Charlotte Observer and Charlotte News took me under their wing. Ron Green was a huge mentor to me, and then his son, Ron Green Jr. and Stan Olsen and Mike Jameson and Gene Upshurch. I could go on and on. I still think about them today, how they basically set me on a path to where I am now. If they didn't believe in me and give me the opportunity, I don't know where I'd be today. And then when you were at CNN, who were you involved with? Well, I was in the sports department. CNN at that time had a thriving sports department that was actually the main competitor to ESPN at the time. So Bill McPhail, whose father was once president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. And his brother was the American League president. Bill McPhail, former CBS Sports president, he did so much for me. What a great human being he was. Jim Walton became the president of CNN Sports. Again, guys who just totally believed in me and gave me opportunities to become a producer at age 24. And that just made me feel like and believe that I was on the right path.

Bruce Martin: Was that also in the days of Van Earl Wright?

John Dahl: Yes, Van Earl did come along. I think in my second stint there between leaving to be the first Chicago Bureau producer for ESPN and then returning, Van Earl, most definitely a memorable figure in our sports department.

Bruce Martin: You were pretty much with 30 for 30 from the very beginning.

John Dahl: I was, yes.

Bruce Martin: And how did that concept happen? Because it's turned out to be Extremely, the legacy of 30 for 30s is very well known and very important to the history of sports.

John Dahl: Yeah, it started with Bill Simmons, the sports guy, genius writer, great sports fan, had an idea for the 30th anniversary of ESPN and reached out to his good buddy Connor Schell. And he and Connor got to talking and said, you know, pretty soon 30 for 30 started to take shape. What they wanted me to do from the very beginning was get into the production of the films. That's what I focused on, taking these films and doing everything I could, setting up a mechanism, setting up a series of teams to get the most out of the idea, the vision for each filmmaker's idea, and make them the best films they could be. So I would look at every rough cut of every film from the first ever 30 for 30.

Bruce Martin: Is it fair to ask you which is your favorite?

John Dahl: It's fair to ask me, but it's very hard to get an answer on that because it is like asking me my favorite child. But I will tell you that I have favorites for different reasons. Different films appeal to me for different aspects of them. I Hate Christian Laettner was a film that we did a few years into 3430 that I really appreciated because it was just so different. We just took all kinds of chances with our director Rory Karp doing a great job. Catholics vs. Convicts, a very personal story that then had an amazing game action sequence to it. Patrick Creed and the director of that. Those are a couple of my favorites, but I gotta tell you, like The Best That Never Was and Marcus Dupree, from the first set of 30 films, that was, I think, my favorite.

Bruce Martin: I'll tell you my favorite, Reggie Miller versus the New York Knicks. That was just, the pace of the film was fantastic. Another one that I always stop and watch is Pony Excess about SMU. It's such a compelling story about how all of that, which is probably now legal with NIL, but how all that just brought down so many different people and just how great SMU was back in those days.

John Dahl: We slotted that in as the last film of the original 30. It was Pony Excess, and it really was a wild story to tell.

Bruce Martin: Correct me if I'm wrong, but was your first project in your role with NASCAR the Dale Earnhardt, 25 years after his death at Daytona in 2001, when that aired this February?

John Dahl: Well, that wasn't my first project. The first one, in terms of documentaries, was The Madhouse, The Return of Bowman Gray. It just received an Emmy nomination at the Sports Emmys. Congratulations. Thank you. We had a series of films, Earnhardt the Series, the four-part documentary series on Amazon Prime a year ago. was a big one. But yes that Earnhardt 25th anniversary special that we did do as I think a companion to the four-part doc series on Amazon Prime really felt like closure to that 25th anniversary.

Bruce Martin: And now the newest one featuring Kyle Larson versus the double. How proud are you of this project?

John Dahl: I'm immensely proud because I think we were all swimming in the same direction. Amazon Prime Sports, Hendrick Motorsports, Jesse Essex and the entire Hendrick team, Jeff Gordon, Mr. Hendrick himself, Rick Hendrick, and Kyle and Kyle Larson's entire family, Cynthia Hill and her team, Imagine Entertainment. Everybody was moving in the same direction and that's when you can do something special.

Bruce Martin: Well, John Dahl, you've had quite a career. You've made quite a name for yourself from the non-paid role that you were going to have and also being from the Charlotte Observer. You've done quite well for yourself. Well, John Dahl, Senior Vice President of Content for NASCAR. Good luck on this project. Congratulations on this project and good luck in all the other future films that you're going to be in charge of. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

John Dahl: Thank you very much for having me.

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

Josef Newgarden: 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 Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. As the team principal at Arrow McLaren, Tony Kanaan played a key role in Kyle Larson's Indianapolis 500 effort in both 2024 and 2025. In fact, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winning driver and 2004 IndyCar Series champion was the standby driver for Larson in 2025 if the start of the Indy 500 was delayed by weather and Larson had to leave to compete in the Coca-Cola 600. Canaan, an Indianapolis 500 veteran, had completed the refresher course and was eligible to compete in the Indianapolis 500. As fate would have it, the start of the 2025 race was delayed by rain. After a delay, the race started with enough time for Larson to complete the race. Kanaan talked about his role and the impact that Kyle Larson had on the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 and 2025 in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. Our old pal Tony Kanaan has joined us now. Tony, we're not at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we're at I guess this place is called the Living Room Theaters. We're here for the premiere of Kyle Larson versus The Double. You played a key role in Kyle Larson versus The Double. So to see it all come to fruition, how do you feel about the way the film turned out? I'm sure you're as excited as the rest of us to see what it's like.

Tony Kanaan: So I'm really excited. I have not watched on purpose, so I have no idea how it came about and how good it is, but I am pretty sure that, you know, showing what's happening, you know, outside the race car, the effort it takes on the family, the toll that it takes physically, mentally, and so on. Throughout my career, I think the fans enjoyed that quite a bit. So I'm excited to watch. I didn't do it on purpose because I want the element of surprise, but it was a journey, Bruce. For me, extremely rewarding, as you know, but when I announced my retirement in 2023, We announced Kyle Larson before I actually announced that I was gonna race and then for two years I had the pleasure to being called at his coach which is… Kyle Larson doesn't need a coach so I'm extremely thankful to be able to experience such a good transition for me. Obviously, I didn't know what to expect out of the car. And then obviously the two teams like Eric McLaren and Hendricks. Kyle has a talent. I had a blast.

Bruce Martin: You've worked with some of the greatest racing drivers of this era or maybe even of all time. A few of them I think qualify as greatest drivers of all time that are currently racing in IndyCar, but Kyle was kind of different because he's almost like a throwback, like a Parnelli Jones, not afraid to race anything and do well on anything. So what was it like to have the opportunity to work with Kyle Larson?

Tony Kanaan: I like you said, if I start naming names here that actually I've been teammates with my entire career, it's amazing how lucky I was. And Kyle was just really, to me, one of the most unexpected. Because I've heard all along, the Pernellis and the AJs, you don't see those anymore. Because the way the situation has been, we just not allowed to do the multiple races and the teams don't let us do this you're only focused on your own series and I mean what a talent what a I wish you know I remember once I joined IndyCar the first thing is in your contract you can only do IndyCar And I think that actually cost me sometimes, especially with the evolution of the cars. Sometimes you have difficulty to adapt. This kid, man, he can sit anything, but he drives eight different cars seven days a week. So it was awesome to see.

Bruce Martin: You've made friends with a lot of people outside of IndyCar. You've made friends with even NASCAR people. You worked with Jimmy Johnson. And that relationship has now helped Legacy become a partner in Ryan Hunter-Reay's efforts here for the Indianapolis 500. Brian Campy is going to call his race strategy, and he's got some crew members that are going to fuel the car. So that has been a valuable relationship that was forged partly because of you, Zach Brown, the people at Arrow McLaren, the people at Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmy Johnson, and now Legacy Motor Club.

Tony Kanaan: I mean, you know, Bruce, I live, breathe racing, right? You know that. Racing is my life. People say, do you have friends? Yeah, all my friends are either racers or they work in racing. And I think when you talk about champions like Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson, Jimmy Johnson. Those were relationships that we admire each other and we actually, I had a pleasure to share a car with Jimmy and then when we, coincidentally or not, Jimmy took ownership of a NASCAR team. I'm running the IndyCar team. We tried to brainstorm a couple things together and We always, you know, when you race in the top like that, a team like Hendrick, Legacy, you know, Aaron McLaren, we were always trying to learn from each other because there is always something that you can learn from the guys that know what they're doing. And with Jimmy, it was a very casual conversation. I needed a little bit of help. uh on a pit stop with a pit crew i've been trying to go that route having to ease up on my mechanics a little bit to have them focus on building the car and not being able to do both just because it's a lot pit stops nowadays are deciding races so it was great i was good you can just pick up the phone and call the seven-time champions can i borrow two guys and three days later he sends them on the plane and they're my shop so those are the beauty and glad to have Jimmy around he's gonna be around with us and hopefully this will be the start of you know innovating I think I get a lot from my commercial team with with Lauren and the guys they're always trying to think outside the box Zach obviously doesn't need any of that explanation he lives for that so I'm taking that to competition and trying to steer the pot a little bit

Bruce Martin: When you were announced as the team principal at Arrow McLaren, a lot of people may have thought this is a pretty big task, a pretty big step up for a former driver, but you have probably exceeded any expectations that people had of what Tony Kanaan can do running Arrow McLaren.

Tony Kanaan: I raced my entire career with people judging me and making expectations of what I could do and what I could not do. So when I took this job, I also was going to admit, all I had was the drive and the focus to be obsessed and work relentlessly towards building a good team and learning the process. I'm happy. I think I made mistakes along the way. I'm still going to make some, but I'm obsessed with winning and that's what I'm going to do.

Bruce Martin: Tony Kanaan, team principal, Arrow McLaren. Good luck in the 110th Indianapolis 500. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Tony Kanaan: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: And now let's hear from the star of Kyle Larson versus the double two time NASCAR Cup Series champion and two time Indianapolis 500 starter Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. Our next guest is a guy that I've been on every step of the way of his double, at least the part here in the Indianapolis 500 the last two years. It's Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren. Kyle, that project's finally completed. The film Kyle Larson vs. the Double is out at Prime Video. We're all at the first screening of it. Are you glad the project's over? Because you had to basically have film crews following you around nearly all the time the last two years.

Kyle Larson: Yeah, yeah, definitely was a lot. But Cynthia Hill and her team, they made it so easy for us. And they made us feel so comfortable around them. But yeah, it's been building to this day, this night. So glad to kind of get it out there and close the book on the double. Have you seen it already? I have. I've seen it a couple of times. They did a really good job piecing it together. I was, as I'm sure all of us, nervous and didn't quite know how they were going to make it be good. But I felt like they did a great job of kind of painting the picture of my life and my journey through racing and why I love racing so much, why I love this event so much. And then the emotional struggle, that was our two attempts of the double.

Bruce Martin: Well, they only had thousands of hours of film to go through and to be able to whittle that down to an hour and 45 minutes, that's pretty challenging. It's almost like editing one of my stories, probably. But when you've done it for two years, are you relieved that you're not doing it this year?

Kyle Larson: I am very relieved that I'm not doing it this year. I think just more so, you know, I would say if we only did one of the years and it was perfect weather and all that and none of the, you know, just emotional I would definitely have FOMO probably every year, you know, of not running it. But just the way that how stressful the race days were for me the last couple of years, I don't have any FOMO right now. I don't think I could put myself through that again from the weather side of it or the mistakes that I made behind the wheel. All that, you know, I think we're going to have to get through it. I didn't recognize the pressure that I was putting on myself in the moment, but after knowing how I felt afterwards, yeah, I'm good. I don't need to feel that again.

Bruce Martin: You don't have to look at the weather reports on Wednesday and worry about what it's going to be like on Sunday in Indianapolis now, because frankly, the weather reports don't look that promising. But in a lot of ways, you did complete your first Indianapolis 500. You were Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. I believe you're only a lap down because of the one mistake coming off pit lane. The second one, there were a lot of expectations because now that you have the experience, you can be up there and give it a really good shot. How disappointing was it the way that ended?

Kyle Larson: Yeah, that one was disappointing because, yeah, I mean, I felt like I had, I guess, maybe higher expectations and then just, you know, kind of pissed it away from the very beginning, very first pit stop. Yeah, still, as any race car driver would be, still, you know, you think about the mistakes more than the good moments. So yeah, it still kind of lives in my head a little bit about, man, I could have did a much better job. But you know, it is what it is. You can't take it back. You just learn from it and try to apply it to all the future racing and not make those mistakes again. But yeah, I'm excited to watch Indy 500 this weekend. As always, cheer on the Aaron McLaren team. And hopefully one of them can win. If I had to pick one, I would love to see Pato win, just for the emotions that he's had to go through now for a while. But yeah, always rooting for them.

Bruce Martin: You already knew half the paddock in IndyCar from your days of racing in Indiana, but how many friends do you think you made with IndyCar fans and other people within the IndyCar community? Because here was a modern-day Parnelli Jones getting a chance to try out the Indy 500.

Kyle Larson: Yeah, that's a good question. I definitely felt the support, for sure, when I was here every single day, every practice day, on through the race, and even after the race. So yeah, I don't know. But I would say, all I can say is that I just appreciated it the whole time. And I would say that's the thing that I missed the most. is those days when the true race fans were there and supporting everybody, but especially myself on those practice days and all that.

Bruce Martin: We know you said that it'll be a while before you try it again and it'll be when your regular NASCAR career is probably winding down. Is that still a goal of yours to return here one day in the cockpit in the Indy 500?

Kyle Larson: I don't know. I mean, never say never, I guess. But I would say it's not on my to-do list currently. But yeah, like I said, never say never. I definitely wouldn't do the double again. It's just a lot to commit to and for how tight the window is and how perfect everything has to go to finish all 1,100 miles. That's just it's just a lot to commit to not only for myself, but from everybody it takes, you know It's not just me doing the double. It's hundreds of people doing it with me So I probably wouldn't do the double again, but I may never close the door on an Indy 500 opportunity But again, I'm not gonna do it while I'm full-time racing and that's probably put me in my 40s. I

Bruce Martin: And finally, it was a dream of you and your father, Mike, to run the Indianapolis 500. A lot of people have dreams of running the Indy 500, don't get to do it, but you got to do it twice. So how important is that to you? That when your career is over, you can always reflect and say, I did this in NASCAR, I got to run the Indy 500. It really rounds things out.

Kyle Larson: Yeah, I mean, I think it's everything that you get to experience throughout your racing career. You're going to reflect on it when you're done racing and appreciate it all a whole heck of a lot more. So right now, I mean, I don't think about it. But I recognize and I know that this is the biggest race in the world. So yeah, whenever I'm done racing, I think I'll be able to reflect and be like, man, I did a lot of cool things, got to experience a lot of amazing things. Win a lot of cool races, race in a lot of cool races, race for a lot of great team owners, all that. So yeah, I definitely am aware of it, but I don't reflect on anything right now. I'm just in the moment.

Bruce Martin: Well, Kyle Larson, good luck with the premiere of Kyle Larson versus the double. Congratulations on, you did attempt the double for two years. Good luck the rest of the NASCAR season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Thank you. We'll be right back to PitPass 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 PitPass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to PitPass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We wrap up this edition of PitPass Indy with reigning Formula One world champion Lando Norris of McLaren F1. Norris was not at this year's Indianapolis 500 on race day because he competed in the Grand Prix of Canada, which started at the conclusion of the Indy 500. Norris did not finish the Canadian Grand Prix because of gearbox failure that left his car in the gravel after 40 laps. Afterwards, Norris flew to Indianapolis to catch up with old friends Connor Daly and former F1 teammate Daniel Ricciardo for some post-race fun. The following day, Norris came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Aero McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan took him around the famed 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in a pace car before turning the wheel over to Norris to take a few spins around the world's most famous race course. Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, was part of a small group of media that talked to Lando Norris the day after the 110th Indianapolis 500 for this exclusive interview, leading off with his admiration for race winner Felix Rosenquist.

Lando Norris: So I grew up watching him in Formula 3. I think he's older than people think sometimes. But also my manager, Fraser, my management team and Fraser knew him very well. So if you ask him, do you know Fraser Sheeter, then he would definitely say yes. And I don't know, I just heard a lot of stories about him and growing up. And he was an incredible driver when he was in Formula 3. I'm pretty sure he won Formula 3, in fact. So I grew up watching Formula 3 at that time and remember him. And obviously, then he was part of the McLaren team as well. So that was always just cool to see someone that you kind of knew. And of course, like I said, I didn't race against him, which is a shame. I would have loved to race against him. always knew he was an incredible driver and therefore it's always cool when you see someone you knew could that could achieve things go on to achieve things um always it's kind of like a cool story so it was always a pleasure to watch him and even happier for him after this weekend.

Bruce Martin: Norris gave his thoughts on the incredible final lap that Felix Rosenquist drove by taking the outside line around the track for the final lap to pull ahead of David Maloukas just one second before crossing the finish line.

Lando Norris: I mean that was nuts because he was side by side right for pretty much the whole lap till out of three. Yeah so I don't know if he lived like I would love to see his throttle trace on the last lap and see if there was any moment he just had a little whoop. But I'm sure it took some balls to achieve something like that on that final lap. So I know it's cool. It wasn't just that he led it and then crossed the line first. He was side by side for the final lap. I thought Malukas had it. And then you kind of just are kind of watching second and third separately to Malukas. But then to kind of see him keep it pinned around the outside for pretty much the whole lap and then get a perfect slipstream across the line. Of course, I feel bad for David at the same time, but it's racing sometimes, so I can't imagine how he felt. You have to say congrats to him as well for driving the race that he did, and that's just unlucky. I don't know what else you're meant to do in that situation. I don't know what I would have done if I was in Felix's car, but he did what he had to do, so you have to give him credit for that.

Bruce Martin: What do you think of the grandeur of this event, the enormous size of this place? You race at the world's most historic racing venues in Formula One, but there's only one Indianapolis Motor Speedway and one Indianapolis 500.

Lando Norris: That's true. There's a few singular events that are more special than others. Obviously Monaco is one of them. I don't know how many fans go to Monaco, but it's certainly like probably one grandstand here or something, you know. So it's a different type of special event. It's special because of the history, as is this. This is also special because you have so many people here around the whole circuit. And that always makes it more, I guess, more pressure at the same time, but also more special because I remember racing in COVID when there was no fans. And honestly, it just feels like you're not racing for anything in a way. So the fans make it special and therefore I think that's why this is such a special event at the same time. But it is, like you said, it's the biggest sporting event. It's bigger than anything else. Bigger than any football, anything put together. That's pretty crazy to think of and it's just a tough race. I saw Conor last night and actually just now and a good friend of Conor and Conor was in for a fight pretty much the whole race. It's four hours four hours of sitting there trying to achieve, you know, the perfect timing on a final straight. So It's pretty pretty insane to think of it So I wonder I would want to experience it and maybe not the actual race at the minute But just you know a lap around around here and in Indica I think would be pretty pretty gnarly but one day.

Bruce Martin: Norris was asked about his visit to the Indy 500 the day after Felix Rosenquist defeated David Maloukas by just 0.0233 of a second in the closest finish in Indy 500 history.

Lando Norris: Because I don't get many opportunities to do such a thing It is the biggest you know, I think it's a big sporting event right over the years like that's that's just a pretty insane the fact is to do with motor racing and Obviously McLaren's involved so it's something that I've always loved and it's just always one of the coolest races you can possibly watch you know because it's about Timing, it's about strategy, it's about being in the right place at the right time. And you obviously have a finish like you had yesterday, which was even cooler. And it was Felix, which is the guy that I knew growing up and never really raced against, I don't think. But I knew of Felix for many, many years when I was younger, so I was happy for him and nice to see him win. Especially because he just had his kid as well, so that made it even cooler. But I just, I love, I mean, I love racing. I'm just, I'm a fan of racing. So, you know, the other day I got to go and drive the Nordschleife for the first time. Now I get to come and just obviously not experience it like on track. in an Indy car, but I get to just experience the atmosphere of it in a way and the history of it and just see it for what it is, which is pretty special.

Bruce Martin: So would Norris ever consider competing in the Indy 500?

Lando Norris: You know, I never know. And you never know. I don't want to say no. I certainly want to try things outside of Formula One. I've always, like I said, I'm a racing fan. I love Formula One more than anything. But at the same time, I love everything. I love bikes. I love rally. I love IndyCar. I love just all racing in general. Whether it is the Indy 500 or just kind of an Indy car in general, I know the Indy 500 is the one and obviously it's part of the triple crown for McLaren as well. So I won Monaco, which is part one done. I've obviously got a championship now under my belt. There's two more to do so I don't know if I want to kind of I've never had a thought of trying to achieve the triple crown But obviously I've kind of ticked One of the boxes already And now I kind of come here to the warm-up for it all and and seeing Fernando attempted and things like that always makes it more inviting So you never know I mean, it's just cool like I mean, I know I can't imagine in some ways, but I can imagine how just amazing it is for Felix right now, you know. Obviously, it's the day after, but it's still just as special. The trophy looks just nuts. It's crazy how big it is. I think it's almost as big as Felix. No, it's just cool. I just love when you see the joy on someone's face. You know how much, I guess as a driver, I know how much goes into achieving something like that, how hard you've got to try. And even when you feel like you drive perfectly here, sometimes it can still not be your day. You just need things to go right. And obviously, he timed it to perfection by 200th of a second. So no, it's just cool. It's nice to see people happy and achieving things like that. Yeah, obviously I was not here for the race. It would have been even better to be here for the race, but just to see people achieve something is especially when you're within the sport is always very special.

Bruce Martin: Arrow McLaren driver Pato Award is also the reserve driver for McLaren F1. Norris gave his thoughts on awards F1 role and how valuable that is to McLaren.

Lando Norris: I mean, that's up to him. You know, and Formula One is also the hardest sport to just. try and be in. You know, there's less seats in IndyCar and there's less opportunities in general. So Formula One is probably one of the hardest sports to just get a chance to do it. That's why I always count myself as lucky that I was just, you know, sometimes you need good timing and sometimes you can be unlucky. But, you know, he's always, he's great because he's, like everyone knows, he's better when he pushes. He wants to, he wants to go for it. He wants to put in those good laps. He doesn't just get in the car and kind of, you know, drive around and just do a practice session. he finds the limits within a corner, within a lap. And then he always gives valuable feedback for us as a team. And that's what you want. You don't want someone you just put in and just kind of gets up to grips, like he gets up to grips straight away and gives us feedback that we want. So that's always very special. And, you know, obviously, normally he drives in Mexico. Mexico was my best race last year, so maybe it's all down to Pato. Yeah, no, he's a valuable part of the team. You always want someone that can add, that can give information, that can help move things forward. And he's always done that. So I don't know if he wants to go to F1. That's not up to me. Obviously, I want my seat. So I hope he doesn't come after my seat. But otherwise, I always support Pado and I support the McLaren team in general, and Christian and the whole team, and Nolan. I'm always cheering for them, most of all. So I'm always wishing them well and want them to win here as well.

Bruce Martin: And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indie presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guests, including famed actor Brendan Fraser, this year's honorary starter at the 110th Indianapolis 500, who plays General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the film Pressure in theaters now. Also, film directors Cynthia Hill and Sandra K. Davidson of the documentary Kyle Larson vs. The Double, which can be seen on Amazon's Prime Video. NASCAR Senior Vice President of Content and Executive Producer for NASCAR Studios, John Dahl. Aero McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Kyle Larson. And a special thank you to 2025 Formula One World Champion Lando Norris of McLaren for joining us on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. 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 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 Sean Ruhle-Hoffman and Nathan Corson.