Deep Dive with James Hinchcliffe of FOX Sports. Also, Will Power, Conor Daly, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Lundgaard and INDY NXT drivers Dennis Hauger, Caio Collet, and Lochie Hughes

Roger Penske:

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

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. Alex Pillow clinched the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship in the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland presented by Ask ROI with a third place finish. It's Pillow's third straight IndyCar Series Championship, his fourth IndyCar title overall. Pillow clinched the championship with a full two races remaining in the season. In 2023, he clinched the title with one race left in that season. The race for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship may be over, but there are many great storylines left in the final two races of this season, beginning with this weekend's snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 at the Milwaukee Mile. Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is 64 points behind Pato Award for second place with a maximum of 108 points left this season, 54 points max for each race. Dixon is only 13 points ahead of fourth place Christian Lungard and 24 points ahead of fifth place Kyle Kirkwood. If Dixon is able to finish second to below in the final standings, Chip Ganassi Racing would sweep the top two positions in the championship. Chip Ganassi Racing has now won 17 IndyCar Series championships, tying Team Penske for the most in history. There is lots of ground to cover in this episode of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, including interviews from IndyCar Drivers Will Power of Team Penske, Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global, Connor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing, and Christian Lungard of Arrow McLaren. We will also feature three of the top drivers in the Indynext by Firestone Championship, the developmental series that leads into IndyCar. Rookie Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global has a 54-point lead over Kyle Collette of HMD, heading into the final two races of the season, and can wrap up the championship if he maintains a 54-point lead after Sunday's Indynext by Firestone race at the Milwaukee Mile. We have exclusive interviews with Hauger, the Norwegian Nightmare, Colette, and Lockie Hughes of Andretti Global. But wait, there's more! It's a deep dive interview with former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe of Fox Sports as the six-time IndyCar race winner gives his unique viewpoint of his new position and the progress IndyCar has made in 2025. let's hit the throttle with our first guest it's team penske driver will power who won the august 10th bitnile.com grand prix of portland presented by ask roi here is an exclusive interview with power from august 8th entering the weekend is the two-time indycar series champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner talked about his uncertainty heading into the offseason as his contract with Team Penske expires at the conclusion of the season finale at Nashville Super Speedway on August 31st. Hello Will. How did you enjoy riding first class with Alexander Rossi the other day out to Portland?

Will Power: It was informative, you know. Rossi seems to know a lot about what's going on around the paddock. And yeah, just chats about different cars he's driven and so on and so on. It was good stuff. Did he give you any advice that you could share with your agent, Oriol Servia? He said, you should probably switch agents. I know a really good one. His name's Peter.

Bruce Martin: Well, that's his father.

Will Power: Yeah. He didn't say that. If Oriel hears that, he'll be upset. Yeah, Oriel's got a sense of humor.

Bruce Martin: Well, you also have a sense of humor.

Will Power: Oh, yeah.

Bruce Martin: You almost kind of have to depend on that sense of humor this year, because like you said, contract year, and you've had a, the whole team's had a difficult season. So. Yeah. Probably the stars and the moon haven't lined up correctly to get a really good contract the next time around. Yeah. How much have you depended on that sense of humor to get you through this? Cause it can be a tense time.

Will Power: It has been stressful, but also amusing in a way. in a year you're up for contract that it's one of the worst years you could have. And that's so typical of life, right? Like, but that's what's funny about it. It's never perfect. Yeah. But yet you're the star of the team this season. I wouldn't say star, but you know, best performance. I don't think it really means much. Now if I was leading the championship, it'd be a different story, but yeah, it's not much to really talk about.

Bruce Martin: And how long will it take for the new management, like Jonathan Duguid and all that, to really leave their stamp on the direction they want to take Team Penske?

Will Power: Um, I think, uh, look, I think they're, they're already stepping into a pretty solid team anyway. Um, you know, Jonathan's very good. He, um, you know, him and Travis, they have been around a long time. Uh, they know the game well, I expect, look, I expect this weekend we should be very competitive. That's what I think.

Bruce Martin: There have been times you were confident about next year, other times you weren't so, so where is willpower with two races to go?

Will Power: Well, man, I just keep saying, you know, I'd love to know what I'm doing. I think I'll know in Nashville. That's what I think. But do you have an offer on the table? No, I don't right now, no. from anybody? No, I don't. You probably can't even say till the end of the season, correct? Well, I mean, I can't really do anything till the 31st anyway, but yes, nothing for next year right now. But I think that should open up after the last race. Do you expect to have a good meeting with Mr. Pinsky? I don't know. I really don't know. I think, you know, Roger has his plan. And I get, you know, if he goes the direction of getting a young guy, I understand, too. You know, he's looking for the future. So it is what it is.

Bruce Martin: Well, Will Power, we know there's still a future for you in IndyCar. Good luck finding it, wherever it is. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me quite often. But thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. You got it. Thanks. Thank you. Next up is 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global. When he left Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2023 season, he was hopeful Andretti Global could provide him with a ride capable of winning a championship. Instead, Erickson heads to Milwaukee 20th in points. A victory would send the driver from Sweden into the off-season on a positive note, as he tells me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview.

Bruce Martin: Our old buddy Marcus Ericcson is back and ready global.

Bruce Martin: Marcus. We're at Portland, two races after that. How huge would it be for you to win one of the final three races, to just look back at 2025 with good feelings?

Marcus Ericsson: I like what you're saying, Bruce. I think a win, it's been a while now for me, and I really am, you know, desperate is a strong word, but I almost is desperate to get a win back in the winner's circle. You know, it's something. We're all drivers, you know, we really work day and night to be in the winner's circle, victory lane, so we had a bit of a tough season, but I really think we can have a strong weekend here in Portland. Milwaukee is also a track I really liked last year, was running well at, and Nashville, we were really fast as a group, so I think we're going to have three good shots at it, and I'm going to do everything to try and become a winner in one of them, at least.

Bruce Martin: Well there's two positions an IndyCar driver wants to have. Actually three in a season. One is to win the Indianapolis 500. Another is to win the IndyCar Series Championship. But I'd have to say the third one would have to be winning the last race of the season because you have six months to celebrate it or six months to savor it. What would it be like to finish the season on a high note, considering everything that's gone on this year?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, no, that would mean a ton. And like you say, you know, finishing off the season with a win is definitely a perfect way to do it. Like I said, we've had a tough season with 28 cars, so we want to have a strong finish here to build some momentum going into 2026. So that's our mindset here, to be really having a strong last three races. And also, Nashville is such a fun place to race at, and it's a good place to win at. I won there the first ever National Grand Prix a couple of years back, so I know the feeling of winning in Nashville and definitely want to do that again.

Bruce Martin: But do you wish the Oval was closer to Broadway in Nashville?

Marcus Ericsson: For sure, yeah. I love the racing downtown in Nashville. That was such a bust. And the energy from the crowds were just amazing. I will say, though, I think Scott and everyone running the race has done a really good job getting a really good atmosphere out last year on the Oval. So I'm hoping people show up and we can put on a great show out on the Oval as well.

Bruce Martin: Your second year with Andretti Global, Kyle's had a pretty good season. Colton's had some speed. You've had some pretty good instances on the track. How would you categorize it for the entire team?

Marcus Ericsson: I think as a team, we've made some good progress. I think we're continuing to moving in the right direction. I think for me personally, it's been a very disappointing year. Not really with speed. I think speed has been decent, but just execution on race day has been really poor on the whole 28 group, including myself. So we just need to clean that up and get back to sort of executing well on race days, because we have the speed to be running up front on all tracks, but we just haven't been able to do that on race days. And that's where we really need to work and improve for next year.

Bruce Martin: And finally, as a competitor, what do you think of the era of Alex, as I call it, this stretch that we've seen four championships in five years, possibly three in a row coming up here. What do you think of his greatness?

Marcus Ericsson: It's very impressive to see. I know Alex well, and we were teammates, and I know how he is as a person, as a driver. And I feel like he's just getting better and better. That's the thing, right? He was already good back in the day when I was racing. together with him, but he seems to have improved every year. I think the fact that he's been working with the same key group of people, with Julian, Barry, Ricky, has really helped him build a dream team there with him as a driver and, you know, full of praise to them. But we want to beat him, right? We want to take the fight with them. So that's the goal. But they've been doing an incredible job.

Bruce Martin: So how does the rest of the IndyCar paddock elevate their game to be able to beat Alex?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, that's a million dollar question, right? So we have to try and figure out. I think we've been fast on occasions to challenge him, but obviously he's been good on every type of track and every type of session, and that's the key to success for them.

Bruce Martin: Well, Marcus Ericcson, good luck in finding your keys to success. You've had them before. I'm sure they're probably in the sofa covers or something. You can probably find them quite easy. But good luck the rest of the season and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass, Indy. Thank you. Conor Daly returns to the scene of his best finish in 2024 when the Junecoast-Hollinger racing driver finished third in the first race of a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile, a race won by Pato Award of Errol McLaren. Daly hopes to showcase his short oval expertise at Milwaukee on August 24th. Here's my exclusive interview with Conor Daly for Pit Pass Indy. Connor Daly always has a good 30,000, 35,000 foot view of IndyCar. Well, last week we got big news when Fox announced they were purchasing a third of the ownership stake in Penske Entertainment. You being connected with Penske Entertainment with your stepfather, Doug Bowles, who's president of both IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How do you take that news? It really sounds like it's got tremendous opportunities.

Conor Daly: Honestly, I don't see how you couldn't love it. I mean, I think with the way sporting entities are being evaluated right now, it seems to be extremely profitable to get into a sport at the right time. You know what I mean? And I think IndyCar right now is a sport that When you talk to the guys at Fox, they're like, we think we've got something here that's like really consumable. And that just hasn't, it's just been underdiscovered. Right. And I, and I truly feel that way. So the fact that they have skin in the game is extremely important for us. And now we just have to work together. I think this off season, I just said it on my podcast this week. I think this off season is the most important off season. We'll, we will have had in the last like 10 years for sure, because it's, it's just, We need to launch big time in the next year. Fox is going to learn everything about what they missed on this year and what will be better to take advantage of next year. And they have a true interest in seeing this sport grow to the highest level it can be.

Bruce Martin: And do you think what Fox brings IndyCar is to look at marketing and promotion through a completely new lens of creativity?

Conor Daly: I think that there's just so much that we just haven't even seen yet, right? I think after this year and after they go through their post-season analytics and post-season meetings, I just feel like there's such a great thing that we can do together next year, hopefully as a sport and as a as an entity. So I have a lot of faith in Fox. I think the way that they've been communicating with us as drivers and trying to ask us our thoughts and opinions and our feel for what's going on, I think that's great. So yeah, I'm very optimistic.

Bruce Martin: And also to be able to partner into potential new street races and big markets. that maybe IndyCar themselves needed a partner on to help make it a worthwhile venture? Do you think that's something that Fox brings? We've seen a little of that with the Grand Prix of Arlington.

Conor Daly: Yeah, I certainly hope so. I mean, we know that we need some, basically, like an injection of life into certain promotions of certain events, and whether that's for attendance or for TV ratings. You know, some events are obviously just household names, like, say, Pete, Long Beach, Indy. But some of the other events that we've seen struggle for a crowd like Iowa, that was such a shame. But it's probably because on the promotional side, it wasn't really done as much as it was when Hy-Vee was involved. And that's just money, right? It takes money to inject into the communities and into the places locally. So hopefully with this injection of funds and injection of a partnership, we can see every race have such a massive, healthy amount of promotion.

Bruce Martin: And as far as yourself this season, you have to really be excited that the next two stops on the schedule are going to be the Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Super Speedway. How excited are you that we could see you back on the podium at one of those races?

Conor Daly: Absolutely. And honestly, this race as well in Portland is one that we're excited about because it's the only one that I got to do with this team last year. So we have a little bit of a feel for what I like and what we need going forward. And I think that's hugely positive. So these last three are truly, I think, We want them to be our three best of the year. And we've had a chance to win, I think every oval race so far this year. So, you know, we want to continue that trend and it'd be nice to win three in a row, but that's a little bit optimistic, but we'll see. And do you know where you'll be next year? I would love to be here. I, I haven't really had any other conversations yet. This has been a group that I have a lot of faith in and, you know, they've trusted me to, to come into this operation. And I believe that we have so much that we can still do together. So we'll see.

Bruce Martin: And have they been positive in the possibility of you being back in 2026?

Conor Daly: Yeah, I mean, that's the conversations that I've had. But I obviously know, and I know there's a lot going on on the playing field. And there's only, you'd love to trust everyone in racing, but it's hard. So we'll see. We just got to come up with our sponsorship and partners to basically strengthen my program. And the more sponsorship you have, the stronger program you have.

Bruce Martin: And our final question with Connor Daly. Connor, I don't know if you saw the Colts' first preseason game. Doesn't look like the offensive line has improved much.

Conor Daly: Tough start for us. But hey, it's only preseason. It's only preseason. I hate to see Ant Rich go down like that, Anthony Richardson. That was tough. But as I always tell people in racing to not overreact to testing results, you know, the preseason's a little bit like testing. Let's just chill for now. We'll see.

Bruce Martin: Yeah, the season doesn't really start until September 7th.

Conor Daly: Exactly.

Bruce Martin: But, Conor Daly, good luck the rest of the IndyCar season, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Conor Daly: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Christian Lungard has had a solid first season with Errol McLaren and finished second to Will Power at Portland. He arrives at Milwaukee fourth in points, just 13 points behind third place Scott Dixon. Let's spend a few minutes with Lungard in this exclusive interview.

Bruce Martin: Christian Lungard has joined us now.

Bruce Martin: Christian, your first season with Errol McLaren, you got off to a tremendous start. Had a little bit of a lull there in the middle of the year. Picked it back up a couple of weeks ago. How would you categorize your first season with Errol McLaren?

Christian Lundgaard: Yeah, no, it's been good. I think there's definitely been ups and downs and I think we missed out on some good results that you know, that were kind of right in our pocket, and we threw all the money in the wrong pocket. But at the end of the day, I think we've had a good season. It's not over yet. We can still gain some positions. Essentially, I think we've shown what we wanted to show the first year, and I think there is still room for improvement for next year. But I think it's just really minimizing those mistakes and getting the results.

Bruce Martin: How far do you believe you are away from starting to have performances week after week like your teammate Pato Award has?

Christian Lundgaard: Yeah, I mean I think from a result perspective we've been very similar. You know, I don't really bother to compare to any other drivers, you know, teammates, competitors. You know, we all struggle with different things, and we all have different strengths. And, you know, I think there's clearly things that we need to improve on the seven car, vice versa, on the five car to, you know, to have better results. You know, because I think everybody on the grid wants to beat the 10 car, and they've set the standard. So, you know, we all got to do more of that.

Bruce Martin: So how does the IndyCar paddock raise their game to be able to start beating Alex Palou?

Christian Lundgaard: That's the million-dollar question.

Bruce Martin: You're the second person to use that analogy, by the way. And whenever you have an athlete that has that type of performance, it really encourages everybody else to step up their game. How much further do you believe the series has to step up its game?

Christian Lundgaard: Well, the product is there. You know, obviously, he's capable and… unable to do it so I don't see why any of us wouldn't be able to do it and I think it's at the end of the day plain and simple. We all just have to be better.

Bruce Martin: Final question with Christian Lundgaard. A couple of weeks ago Fox purchased a one-third stake in a Penske Entertainment which owns IndyCar the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In a lot of ways very positive news. Fox knows how to market and promote. How do you feel about that news?

Christian Lundgaard: Overall, I think they've just shown that they aren't just selling a product, they're selling a product that they believe in. If you're willing to invest that amount of money in something, you clearly believe in it. And essentially, Fox have done such a good job throughout this year. And I think we saw its challenges in the beginning of the year so much as it has improved. And we're only through the first couple of steps in that journey. And I think this is another step in the right direction. And I think all of us in this room out here on these racetracks in the IndyCar series are just super excited about this.

Bruce Martin: Well, Christian Lugard, good luck the rest of the way, and we'll see you catch up with you more between now and the end of the year. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Bruce Martin: 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.

Bruce Martin: Our next block will focus on the potential IndyCar Series stars of the future as they fight it out for the championship in the IndyNext by Firestone Series. Dennis Hauger has been the star of the series since the start of the season, but K.O. Collette got hot like the summer heat midway through the season. Hauger has six IndyNext wins in 2025 and is closing in on the championship. We have two interviews with Hauger. The first was conducted in Monterey, California, and the second before Indynext hit the track at Portland.

Bruce Martin: Here's the first of two exclusive interviews with Dennis Hauger for Pit Pass Indy. Joining us now at Pit Pass Indy is Dennis Hauger, Andretti Global.

Bruce Martin: Dennis, you have a really good chance of winning the Indynext Championship in your first season. Dan Towers said a couple of years ago that Andretti Global has been very successful in developing young drivers and then they end up getting hired by other teams. He wants to put an end to that. I believe he was specifically speaking about you. So is there anything you could fill us in on what your future may look like past IndyNext with Andretti Global?

Dennis Hauger: I mean that would be nice obviously if there were but kind of have to wait and see what opportunities opens and you know how big interests they have also to sort of keep me in their system so hopefully that obviously that would be the dream but we'll see how it goes you know just keep the focus for Laguna now and see what opens up in the next couple of weeks. But so far, it's not been too much. A bit of interest, but nothing crazy yet. So yeah, we'll see in the next few weeks. Do you expect to be in the IndyCar next year? Obviously, winning the championship is the goal. And we're on our way to do that. So IndyCar next year, that's the goal. And that's the aim. It's never easy, obviously a lot of good drivers in IndyCar and not a lot of seats available, so we'll see what opens up at the end of the season.

Bruce Martin: Because of your background in European racing, GP2, GP3, has your success really been expected for you?

Dennis Hauger: Obviously I had the goal of winning the championship, but you know, a goal in Making it happen is two different things, so I'm really happy we've been able to execute and do the job on track. And, you know, I have an amazing team behind me, Andretti, that gives me a good car to do that. So it's been a good year, probably over our expectations, but still really happy with that. So, obviously, I have experience in F3 and F2, but not all of it translates over to here. It's new tracks, new car. So I'm happy we've been able to make it happen.

Bruce Martin: But the competitive level of GP2 is very strong. How would you compare that competitive level to Indian X?

Dennis Hauger: Hard to say. I feel like the top five is really strong here, but probably the whole field is probably a bit weaker, I would say, than F2. So, yeah. I think the top guys are on a good level, and that's the guys I'm fighting, so yeah.

Bruce Martin: So at this stage of the season, do you start counting points and seeing how close you're getting?

Dennis Hauger: Yeah, I mean, obviously in Iowa, we were running P1 for a while. But Aoki obviously had a bad race, and I was having that in mind. But still just trying to win races and show myself worthy to the IndyCar guys. So yeah, we have two races this weekend to try and make that happen.

Bruce Martin: And finally, you've had a very good season, a great season in many ways. But is there any areas that you feel you need to improve?

Dennis Hauger: Always stuff to improve. I mean, my first year in this car, a lot of new tracks, a lot of new experiences. So it's just about really working hard to maximize everything and keep improving myself.

Bruce Martin: With Dennis Hauger, good luck in your quest to win the IndyNEXT Championship. I do believe you're going to be celebrating it soon. And good luck in your quest for an IndyCarSeries ride. Thank you for joining us on PitPass Indy.

Dennis Hauger: Thank you.

Dennis Hauger: And now, here's our second interview with Hauger that was conducted before the Portland weekend. Dennis Hauger has joined us once again.

Bruce Martin: Dennis, you're closing in on the Indynex by Firestone Championship. Second half of the season's been a little bit different for you than the first half when you were winning everything. Are you a little surprised by that or do you think the field has started to catch up to you?

Dennis Hauger: No, not surprised, but obviously hoping to win every race. That's the goal of every driver. But, you know, there's a lot of new tracks this year for me, a lot of new factors. And for sure, HMD has stepped up in the second half of the season. And that's just how it is sometimes, obviously. But I'm still feeling good. I think we can still have good weekends. And we're here. Our worst qualifying result is P2 this year. So it's not like we're slow. We know we have the pace. So it's just about executing from here.

Bruce Martin: At the start of the season, it looked like you were going to win every race this season. But you had to feel like all things changed, especially in racing. So did you have that feeling, enjoy the ride while you can?

Dennis Hauger: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'm enjoying every race weekend, coming into a lot of new experiences every time I go out on track with the new track, new setup, you know, a lot of different factors. So I'm just enjoying it, obviously, but I'm here to prove myself to the IndyCar ladder. So working hard and trying to make it you know, make it worth it.

Bruce Martin: Speaking of proving yourself in the IndyCar ladder, I asked you a couple of weeks ago if you've been in discussions with any IndyCar teams. Have those increased any?

Dennis Hauger: Not really. Still looking around a bit and think it's looking better and better, but nothing is signed, nothing is confirmed. So, yeah, it's just about keep doing what I'm doing and focusing on the last three rounds.

Bruce Martin: I have to ask you about the last race at Monterey. Uncharacteristically, there was a crash, an incident in turn two on a restart that involved you and your teammate, Lockie Hughes. You never want to get involved in an incident with your teammate. What was the debrief like afterwards?

Dennis Hauger: Not too bad. I think we both got a bit hot-headed into Turn 2. And obviously, the last corner wasn't optimal. But that's how it is sometimes. It's racing, and it's just about moving forward as a team. We want to fight each other, but first of all, we have to both be on top in front of everyone else. So that's the mindset for the weekend.

Bruce Martin: Since the season started, Keo Collette, you started off hot. But since July the 4th, Keo Collette's been pretty done it quite a bit. He's won a lot of races. How surprised are you at the resurgence that he's had since mid-season?

Dennis Hauger: For sure, the team has stepped up, and they've done a really good job. And I mean, I didn't expect to win every single race this year. I know Collette is on a high level, and we Yeah, we just have to keep calm and keep doing what we're doing. We know we have the pace, so I'm not stressed about it.

Bruce Martin: And finally, as we near the end of the season, how do these last couple of races size up for you? They're going to be on short ovals. How do you like that?

Dennis Hauger: I think the two last ovals are really cool. I think we're in a really good window for Milwaukee. We have good pace there. So just maximizing this weekend. I think we can have a good race in Milwaukee before Nashville.

Bruce Martin: Well, Dennis Hauger, good luck in your quest for the Indian X5 Firestone Championship.

Bruce Martin: And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you.

Bruce Martin: KO Collette of HMD was putting the pressure on Hauger entering the weekend at Portland with three wins since the first weekend of July at Mid-Ohio. Hauger, however, rallied to score a victory in the second race of the Portland Doubleheader to slow Collette's surge. Let's spend a few minutes with Collette before the Portland weekend began. Joining us now is one of the hottest drivers in the Indynext by Firestone series. It's Caio Collette. Caio, it seems like the beginning of the year, Dennis Hauger was winning all the races. Since July the 4th, you've been winning most of the races. So does it amaze you just how juxtaposed the season has become?

Caio Collet: Yeah, we all know how racing, how competitive it is. And I think at the beginning of the year, we just struggle a little bit they were stronger than us and I'm really proud of the team that we were able to work hard and make the switch around and be in the fight for the championship right now so we just need to keep working hard to make sure we have a good weekend here in Portland and keep our championship hopes alive.

Bruce Martin: Was your weekend at Monterey about as perfect a weekend as you could have for a doubleheader weekend?

Caio Collet: I think it was even more than I could ever imagine. It played out to be perfect in terms of not only results but I think for the championship with the gap being reduced as it was in both races I think was really something that I've never expected to happen and hopefully the chance that they gave us we can grab it with both hands and extract everything.

Bruce Martin: And as far, though, as the mistake that was made by Hauger and Lockheed, you don't expect those two to make a mistake like that. How shocked were you when you rewatched the race or found out about it later?

Caio Collet: Yeah, that's why I think was something that I was never expecting. So when I saw that they were both out of the race, in my mind, I was just, OK, maybe I have a chance to win the championship right now. Finish off this race have a good race weekend in Portland and hopefully we can fight in the last two But we all know how strong they are as a driver and also how strong they are as a team for sure will be difficult to To beat them here and obviously beat them in the ovals, but we just need to keep working hard that we have a chance now And what are your goals for next season? Obviously to be in IndyCar. I think that's the goal since I came to the United States. The goal is always to make it to IndyCar. I think we all know how hard it is to get in the grid next year, but we just need to keep working hard and hopefully an opportunity will come by.

Bruce Martin: Have you been contacted by anybody?

Caio Collet: We are trying. We are trying our best.

Bruce Martin: Well, Kyle Collette, certainly on the track you've been quite a story, but good luck in that quest and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Caio Collet: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Lockie Hughes is third in the standings, 121 points behind Augur. Here are his thoughts on his season as the Indynex Championship winds down.

Bruce Martin: Locky Hughes has joined us now, Andretti Global Indynex driver.

Bruce Martin: Locky, you've had a pretty good season. You're getting ready to wrap it up. How would you assess the 2025 Indynex by Firestone season from your viewpoint?

Lochie Hughes: Yeah, still three races to go, which in this series is quite a lot. But yeah, it's been a really good series. Up until Laguna, I mean, we've been basically on the podium every single race. If it wasn't for my front wing falling off in Detroit, that would have been a podium. If it wasn't for the penalty in Iowa, that would have been a podium. So really, Laguna is like the only weekend we've struggled a little bit this year. And as a rookie, I think that's really good. No one from the USF series has had this good of a rookie season since, I would say, Kyle Kirkwood. Yeah, no, it's been very positive and just trying to, you know, finish on a high with three race wins. That's the goal.

Bruce Martin: Well, like you had mentioned, Laguna was the one weekend where it didn't go well. How long was the debrief afterwards since you and your teammate Dennis Hauger were involved in that incident in turn two on the restart of the second race of the doubleheader?

Lochie Hughes: Oh yeah, it was alright. We obviously discussed the incident and all got it out and we're just moving forward to this weekend. No, no problems there. We spoke about it and just ready to get after it this weekend.

Bruce Martin: Well, of all things to happen, for it to happen with a teammate has to almost be doubly uncomfortable from a driver's standpoint.

Lochie Hughes: Yeah, of course. I mean, the first rule in racing is don't crush your teammates. So yeah, we broke that rule. So yeah, it's just one of those things. We spoke about it. And yeah, just moving forward.

Bruce Martin: Now, how about the last couple of races on the schedule? How much are you looking forward to them and how challenging they're going to be?

Lochie Hughes: Yeah, I like this place, Portland. Won the championship here last year in the USF Pro 2000. So I'm looking forward to driving around this place. And then two ovals to end the season, which, yeah, the ovals are kind of always an unknown. They're kind of, yeah, anything can happen. So yeah, I know. Looking forward to the end of the season. It should be fun.

Bruce Martin: Well, Lockie Hughes, you've put on quite a show on the racetrack this season. Good luck the rest of the way. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Bruce Martin: Cheers, appreciate it. 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. Our featured interview is with James Hinchcliffe of Fox Sports. His brilliant commentary and analysis during Fox's coverage of the IndyCar series in 2025 is a big reason why ratings are up and the future looks bright for both IndyCar and Fox. Let's find out more as James Hinchcliffe joins me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. One of the big reasons why IndyCar's ratings have taken an increase in 2025 is our next guest. That's James Hinchcliffe of Fox Sports. James, you're in your first season with Fox Sports. They brought a whole fresh approach to the way IndyCar is covered. You, of course, were part of the NBC crew before. But what do you see as being one of the greatest things you've discovered in your first season with Fox Sports?

James Hinchcliffe: Well, I mean, look, there's there's all the obvious stuff, right? There's the things that everybody sees on the broadcast, some of the additional tools and. bells and whistles that we've got to play with is certainly a big part of it. Uh, you know, the, the investment is, uh, is not lost on anybody. It's, it's pretty out there and obvious, but for me, what, what's been so fascinating and so great to see is you had a lot of people on this crew that hadn't really, not only not worked IndyCar before, didn't really know anything about IndyCar, maybe had done some stuff in other motor sports, but, um, You also had a bunch that were brand new to racing in general. And for me to watch how they've embraced this series, how they've kind of, in a lot of ways, grown to love this series, that's what's really cool. You've got this group of people that were sort of brand new to this world, and here we are, not even to the end of our first season, and we've made genuine fans out of them. And I think that translates into the broadcast. You know, if you've got a group of people that are passionate about what they're working on, the product that we put forward is even stronger than it would be otherwise.

Bruce Martin: And because they bring a fresh approach to the way they cover IndyCar, how much do you think that has appealed to a younger audience?

James Hinchcliffe: Well, certainly, you know, when you look at other sports and how they've grown, the digital side of things is very important and embracing that side of the world. And I do think we have a much younger fan base than we did, you know, five, eight, ten years ago. So it's important to make sure that we're catering to those fans as much as we are the old school diehard fans. And Fox has taken a very proactive approach on that. IndyCar is stepping up their game on that as well. And I think together, especially now with Fox having invested in the IndyCar series and being part owners, that's just going to continue to grow.

Bruce Martin: You came to Fox with plenty of experience with the other analysts. Townsend Bell, but you have a new anchor, new play-by-play guy in Will Buxton, and it seems like the three of you have meshed very quickly. What do you see as being the key to that?

James Hinchcliffe: Well, I think it's two things. I think, you know, firstly, Will and I came into this with a little bit of a working history as well because of my time working with F1 TV when he was the lead presenter over there. So I've known Will for over a decade, and I've had the opportunity to work with him a little bit as well. So I think that helped get him and I off on the right foot. And then, you know, Townsend's a pro. He's worked with a bunch of different people. And I think because Will and I had a bit of a rapport, and Townsend and I obviously have a lot of experience working together, we were able to sort of make it all mesh pretty quickly. as well as Fox, I think, taking a very, again, proactive approach in flying us out to L.A. preseason and putting on some mock races for us, for us to kind of work on a little bit of our, you know, our cadence and just kind of getting our working relationship going.

Bruce Martin: Fox during the offseason showed their ability to market and promote with their fantastic commercials that featured Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Pat O'Ward. What was your thoughts the first time you saw one of those commercials?

James Hinchcliffe: I mean, like everybody else, just blown away. I mean, they were such high production value. They were very funny. They were very engaging. I think they did a good job of capturing the personalities of the three guys that they focused on. And that, for me, is such a huge part of what we need to do here with this sport, is really get those personalities out there. They picked three great guys to kind of focus on, to highlight, and did a really, really good job in executing those commercials.

Bruce Martin: but you're working with new directors, new producers. How long of an adjustment period was that?

James Hinchcliffe: Well, look, I think we're also still learning every day, and we're still improving every day. You know, I think the product that we put on TV today is markedly better than it was in St. Pete. You know, there's been a lot of growth from every single person, ourselves included, up in the booth since St. Pete. and no one here is happy with how it is yet. We still are always looking to make it better. That's what's so good about this group. We're always pushing ourselves, we're always pushing each other, and ultimately it's about putting the best possible products on television for the fans at home.

Bruce Martin: It starts at the top with Eric Shanks, the CEO of Fox Sports, and he's a very unique, engaging guy, very inspirational in a lot of ways. You have a chat with him and you feel like you've known the man for years. What is it about Eric's leadership from the top that really invigorates and inspires the entire Fox Sports crew.

James Hinchcliffe: You know, it's interesting. I mean, he's definitely a lead by example kind of guy, and I think the culture that he's created at Fox Sports is a remarkable one. He's been at the company, I think, since inception in one capacity or another. And then, obviously, once he took over as the head of the network, was able to sort of put his fingerprint on it. And he is a very passionate sports fan. And he really has created this sort of family environment in what is a very big, very diverse company that covers a lot of different things. Everybody feels like they're all part of one big family. And we got to see that firsthand. Townsend and I were invited to the NFL seminar and see it for the football seminar that they hold in LA every year. So we got to meet a lot of the people that work on the football side of things for Fox. And whether it was people on air, people from production, the vibe is very much the same as what we have here with what feels like a small family on the IndyCar side. But it's just a lot of people who really respect this company because they really respect the people that work for them.

Bruce Martin: The ability to cross promote between major sports at Fox. They've got the NFL. They've got major college football. Big Noon Saturday. The Big Ten. They've got all of these great assets that they can help promote. Indy Carnell being one of their signature sports. That's really a partnership like they haven't had in quite a while.

James Hinchcliffe: How important is that? It's huge. It's huge. You know, I think there's a large part of the population here that are just sports fans, right? They might not know they're IndyCar fans yet because they haven't really been exposed to it. But I think there's a lot of people in America that just really love watching any kind of exciting sport. And we certainly have that with IndyCar. So with Fox Sports' relationship with these different leagues and these different series, I think it's a huge opportunity for us to do some of that cross-promotion, that cross-pollination, get some of those athletes and those fans to be supporters of IndyCar and vice versa.

Bruce Martin: For this year's Indianapolis 500, I think a lot of people would have been happy if, say, 4.5 million people had watched the race, or 5 million, or maybe outside, best guess would be, you know, maybe if we could get 6 million viewers. 7.1 million viewers.

James Hinchcliffe: What did you think when you saw that viewership? I mean, I was blown away, but also not that surprised. I mean, look at the effort that they put into that race. The effort that they put into the promotion. The pre-race show for me is still my favorite bit of television that I've probably ever done or been a part of. The quality of it was just so high. Again, the effort, the resource that put into it was so great. And I thought it was pulled off remarkably well for their first crack at doing the greatest spectacle in racing. So for me, it was an amazing reward to everybody at Fox that put that huge amount of effort into making that race, which is so special to people like Townsend and I who lived it. and been part of it, to kind of give it the treatment that it deserved and ultimately get it in front of that many more people.

Bruce Martin: A lot of people don't understand how much time is involved in doing a TV broadcast. People think, ah, they show up maybe an hour before the race, do a little bit of homework, they go on the air, and then afterwards, they jet on out of there. When does your day begin? How many meetings do you have to attend before you even have your first broadcast?

James Hinchcliffe: Well, yeah, I mean, that's one of the misleading things. It's kind of like thinking that a race team just pulls up to a track on a Thursday and starts practicing on a Friday and races on a Sunday. You're ignoring the months of prep in the offseason, the weeks of prep in the immediate run up to. And it's similar in television. This season started getting worked on basically at this race last year. This was the first time that some of the director, the producer, some of the senior people showed up to the racetrack once the deal got announced. And we actually celebrated our one-year anniversary of our first dinner together last night. So the prep started then, you know, for us on a on a race weekend or a race week. We have meetings on Mondays. We have meetings on Tuesdays. A lot of people travel Wednesdays and Thursdays. And then it's, you know, it's it's meetings. It's walking the paddock. It's talking to people before we ever get ourselves on air, filming features, filming digital segments. There's there's a lot that goes into it. And, you know, that's ignoring the setup from everybody that's got to come out to the racetrack. on the week ahead of time to set up cables, cameras, the compound. It is just like a race team. It's part of a traveling circus, you know, and it takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people.

Bruce Martin: So what time did your day begin on race day for the 109th Indianapolis 500? And when did you have your first production meeting?

James Hinchcliffe: So day started, actually, we got to sleep in a little bit this year. I think, I think I woke up about six. Day started about 7, production meeting was, first one was probably at 9, another one at 10. And then, you know, we were on air at, I think, 11 o'clock. So, 11 till 5 or whatever it was. So, it was a long day of television.

Bruce Martin: So, we're doing this interview at Portland International Raceway on a Saturday where the first session began at 9 a.m. The last session is really not going to end until about 6.30, 7 o'clock. So how taxing does that get both mentally, physically, and just making sure everything you say is clear, concise, and makes sense?

James Hinchcliffe: Yeah, a lot of espresso gets consumed in the booth, I'll be honest, on a day like today when you have these longer ones with three sessions. But it's good. I always find and I feel like a lot of the people I work with are the same mind. As long as you keep moving and keep yourself busy, it's good. It's when you slow down that everything sort of starts to get a bit sideways. So in between the sessions, we are having some meetings. But we are also, like I said, walking the paddock. And it's about talking to people, learning as much insider information as you can. Because anybody can go on to one of the websites, IndyCar.com, TheRacer.com, and read the articles that are being printed. But it's our job to know more than that. It's our job to know more than what's just out on the internet. So it's a little bit of that investigative journalism that keeps you busy in between.

Bruce Martin: So as an IndyCar driver, you were always a great interviewer, always a great talker, you always had great wit, great sense of humor, but when you began as a broadcaster, were there any particular phrases that you had to force yourself to stop saying? As, like for myself, using terms like like, or you know, or things like that. What were the things James Hinchcliffe had to make a conscious effort to get out of his vocabulary when that red light is on and you're on the air?

James Hinchcliffe: That's a great question. Honestly, I think your training as a driver kind of gets you used to that, right? I mean, there's a lot of things as a driver when you get out of the race car that you want to say that you can't say in interviews. So I think it's you put on that microphones in front of me, you know, mentality, which I've been working on for 20 years. The bigger thing is just getting used to what the real roles are in the booth, right? And when it's appropriate to talk, when it's not, what kind of information you think the fans should be getting and what's maybe a little too inside baseball and not really relevant for the broadcast. That's some of the sort of the harder side of it. And it's sometimes a really difficult balance to kind of strike.

Bruce Martin: And also the pauses when you're in the middle of a delivery and you're trying to think of the perfect word to say and then you pause.

James Hinchcliffe: How difficult is that? It's difficult but what you learn is it's never as long in real life as it feels like in the moment. You know, when you watch something back, it's never… It's never as anything. It's never as good as you think it is, and it's never as bad as you think it is. So all of your experiences are almost kind of heightened when you're on live television like that. And it's an interesting lesson to learn, because sometimes you get down on yourself when you think it's gone poorly.

Bruce Martin: So you spend all day with Will Buxton, and you spend all day with Townsend Bell. When the day is over, Do you guys still spend nights together? Do you go to dinner together? Are there times where you want to get away by yourself for a while?

James Hinchcliffe: You know, we're a big family, man. We dine together most nights. Obviously, we have Jack and Kevin and Georgia as part of that program as well. And Fox is also really good about kind of hosting events for everybody on the production side. So we're often also eating with you know, the producers, director, B.A. 's, P.A. 's, everybody that works on the broadcast. At least once a weekend, we're all together in a big, big group, and it helps kind of keep the family feeling. You brought up a good name.

Bruce Martin: One of your pit reporters, Jack Harvey. He's a rookie. In some ways, I'd have to say he needs to be considered for IndyCar Rookie of the Year, because this is new to him. And he said he didn't get the job really until a couple of days before the first race of the season. And here he is thrown out on Pitt Road, and he's basically trial by fire. How good of a job do you think Jack Harvey has done his first season as a Pitt reporter?

James Hinchcliffe: Yeah, he's done a great job, you know, and my favorite part about it is seeing the progress, you know, because like you say, he got job officially only a few days before we started. And they don't give you a lot of prep. They don't give you a lot of advice. They don't give you a lot of practice, any practice. They give you a microphone and just an appropriate to hang yourself, you know, so. It's a sink or swim sort of situation, and Jack has done phenomenally. You compare how he was in St. Pete to how he is today in Portland, and it's night and day difference, and it's great to see the improvement.

Bruce Martin: It hasn't been that long since he's been in a race car. It hasn't really been that long since you've been in an IndyCar. Do you still miss it?

James Hinchcliffe: There are things that I miss, Bruce, for sure. There's a lot that I don't. So for me, look, I'm so lucky to have had an 11-year career at the top of this sport in IndyCar and the successes that I had as a driver. you know, you're not equally as lucky, you know, to have this kind of second career within the sport and be able to slip into the broadcast side so quickly and be embraced in that world. So, like I said, I miss the thrill of racing. Sometimes you miss the thrill of driving an IndyCar on the limit sometimes, but as any driver will tell you, that's a small fraction of the job. So, yeah.

Bruce Martin: I hate to bring this up, but you had a 10-year anniversary this year. So in a lot of ways, how much do you look at every day as a gift?

James Hinchcliffe: I have every one of those days in that 10-year stretch, honestly. That accident in 15 was a big life-changing event for me in a lot of ways. Not professionally. I was willing to get back in the race car and do the same thing. But on a personal level, it taught me a lot about myself and a lot about how I want to look at and approach life. I consider myself the luckiest dude in the world.

Bruce Martin: Now from a business angle, one thing we want to do is the business of James Hinchcliffe. You're involved in a lot of business activities. If you could explain to them what they all are and how you got involved in many of them.

James Hinchcliffe: So there's a bunch of bunch of long stories involved in in that discussion, but The short and dirty version is you know, I'm a partner in a small management company that that helps out young drivers Something that I kind of wish I had access to when I was a kid and coming through So some partners and I created that a bunch of years ago now Partner in a restaurant group in Indianapolis, which has been a fun little side project as well a couple restaurants there and looking to expand that that came together through meeting of a contact that we reached out to about something unrelated sort of thing. Vitamin Patch Company, we had our own beer for a while. We're looking to fire that back up. That's been closed down for a bit. And then actually a few other things in the works that I can't quite reveal just yet, but it's fun to look for opportunities outside of racing.

Bruce Martin: What are the restaurants? Because I'm always looking for a great place to eat.

James Hinchcliffe: Well, the one in Indianapolis is called Root and Bone. It's in South Broad Ripple, 46th and College. And yeah, gourmet Southern comfort food. It's absolutely brilliant.

Bruce Martin: Well, you can't miss with gourmet Southern comfort. You cannot miss. Especially since I live in North Carolina. But one of the things that's always amazed me about race drivers, whether it be NASCAR drivers or IndyCar drivers, None of them went to business school, but they all get business opportunities. A lot of the team owners in NASCAR and in IndyCar came from racing. They were former drivers. It's almost like they learn on the job how to be a businessman. How difficult was that for you? Because I don't think in your background you attended business school in college.

James Hinchcliffe: Sort of. Actually, I took a year and a half of commerce and economics, so not business school necessarily, but I did drop out. No, I was lucky that my dad understood business a little bit, so I got a bit of education from him. But ultimately, the truth is, you learn in this business because it is a business first before it's a sport. Without the money to go racing, there is no opportunity to race. So anybody that's made it to this level, a lot of drivers get that sort of crash course school of hard knocks business education, and that's why I think so many of them can end up being successful in business post driving. And also you

Bruce Martin: How important was that?

James Hinchcliffe: That was huge. You know, I was, I was really lucky. I had a guy named Jim Bowie who kind of helped me understand the, uh, the fact that it was a business first, you know, there was that famous quote, uh, that you have to be 80% business person, 20% racing driver. And I think that's an incredibly accurate statement. And so, um, Yeah, like I said, I think every driver sort of had to go through that. And the social media thing was something that, when it first started becoming popular, we sort of jumped on board quickly. And it did sort of help me establish a bit of a brand early. And now, I mean, I'm kind of glad I'm not coming up in racing right now, because the way it's evolved, I mean, you have to be so active. You have to be so on top of the trends and what's going on. It's exhausting to think about it now.

Bruce Martin: At the beginning of your social media career, there was Hingetown. What was it you called it? A magical place or something to that degree.

James Hinchcliffe: Something like that.

Bruce Martin: Yes. But what's the latest in Hingetown?

James Hinchcliffe: Latest in Hingetown, man, is just staying very busy commentating on motorsports, you know, between the IndyCar stuff with Fox, Formula One with F1 TV, still racing a little bit, obviously, in the IMSA series as well. It keeps me pretty busy and always looking for the next opportunity.

Bruce Martin: And as far as the business opportunities that exist, obviously you want to grow them. So how do things look on a growth potential for a lot of that?

James Hinchcliffe: Yeah, great. You know, I mean, the truth of the matter is when you're on network television, you know, 18 times a year for IndyCar on Fox, and you're in front of a global audience with F1 TV nine or 10 times a year, it does come with a raise in profile, a boost in profile, and that in and of itself can create some opportunities. You meet a lot of people in this business, especially now on the TV side. When you're a driver, you're so focused on racing. You're so singularly focused on being better as a racing driver. Now I've got a lot more bandwidth to think about other opportunities and take some of these connections that you make when you're at events and networking and try to grow them into bigger opportunities. What are some of the other opportunities you'd like to get involved in? Trying to think if there's much I can say on some of them. Well, the easy one is, like I said, I'd like to get the beer up and running again. That would be a fun one. There's some stuff within the sport that we're working on. There's some stuff outside of the sport that we're working on as well. So there's really no limit. I've got kind of this philosophy of you don't know what you don't know. And I like to try everything and experience everything once because I might find that I'm passionate about something I never would have realized had I not tried it.

Bruce Martin: I'm going to throw a name at you because a lot of times an IndyCar driver's career or any race driver's career doesn't necessarily end when they want it to. It ends when It's over, but we've got a great driver named Will Power right now, doesn't have a contract for next year, isn't being told if he's going to be invited back to Team Penske or not. Season's running long. He needs to know. So how do you look at that whole situation?

James Hinchcliffe: It's tough to watch, man, if I'm being totally honest. And it's one of those situations where you can't help but feel that there's more to this story. that we don't know, which is usually the case in these dealings. But for a driver that's shared the success with that team that he has, that continues to perform at a high level. He's regularly the highest qualifying and finishing Penske guy this year. He's the highest Penske driver in points. The timing seems a little weird, to be honest. But like I said, who knows what's going on behind the scenes there. The one thing that I'll say is the seeming lack of communication up to this point We're, you know, we're three races, two and a half races from the end of the season for a driver to not know what he's doing that puts him in a bit of a bit of an uncomfortable spot. So yeah, I feel bad for will. He obviously wants to keep going. He's obviously fast enough to still be going. Um, but he's just not, he's not getting the information he needs to kind of make that move if that's what the, that's what the team decides.

Bruce Martin: I think one of the things he feels hurt by is the fact that he's given 17 years of his career and has achieved great things. You can put Will Powers' name up against the all-time greats, and he deserves to be right there. And I think he probably feels like he deserves a little bit more than what he's getting.

James Hinchcliffe: And look, it works both ways, right? I mean, that success wouldn't have happened with another team, necessarily. So I totally appreciate what Team Penske has given Will on that side as well, but for two entities that together have achieved so much. You know, Will certainly has had a lot of loyalty and respect towards that team. You would have expected that same level back. And I think, certainly from the outside, it doesn't look like that's been the case. And based on Will's comments, you would kind of think that's not the case.

Bruce Martin: What do you think of Alex Pillow's incredible season? I call it the era of Alex because Nobody's really seen a season like this since maybe Ellens or jr. In 1994 Sebastian Bordet had a great year in 2007 the series weren't combined like they were then so I pretty much go back to Ellens or jr. In 94 to see when the last time we've had one driver dominate like this what do you think of what it's almost like he was the perfect driver with the perfect team for the perfect time

James Hinchcliffe: I think I think it's actually a great way of summarizing it. You know, in this era of IndyCar to have that level of domination is it's almost it's unfathomable. You know, it's such a different time than when Al Junior did it in 94, when I think it was Al Senior had a pretty successful year. Was it 70 maybe? Foyt back in 64. Very different era, different cars, different engines, different tires. You had to have the right combination of everything. Now it's all so even. The way he's able to just extract everything at all times, minimize mistakes, the execution on qualifying days and race days is exceptional. And it's not just him. It is the team, like you say. And he's there at the right time when the team is just really firing on all cylinders. So it's a once in a generation thing to see.

Bruce Martin: I know you've got a lot on your plate, but I do want to ask you one last thing. Fox has purchased a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, the owners of IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500. We're seeing a lot of that going on now in the media landscape. The NFL has purchased a stake in ESPN. We're seeing other companies get involved with it. To know that Fox has that much commitment in IndyCar is extremely positive to help the series grow and attain even more fans, even younger viewers. How excited are you about the prospects?

James Hinchcliffe: I'm super excited because, you know, for me, it's a two-way street of mutual, I think, admiration and respect because you have Fox that obviously started this relationship and within very short order, if you think about it, decided that this was an opportunity with so much potential and a property with so much potential that they wanted to help exploit and help grow. And then on the flip side, you've got IndyCar, who have not been shy about the fact that Penske Entertainment have not been looking for investors. They've not been looking for partners. They don't need the money. So the fact that they were even willing to consider this option shows that they recognize that a strategic alliance between Fox and IndyCar outside of just being the police-chevy partner was really a key to success and a key to growth for the series and everything. So I think Fox delivering the way that they have in this first year really opened Penske Entertainment's eyes to what kind of a partner they could be. And then Fox being in the paddock, being part of this ecosystem, have really seen the potential here. So for me, it's a dream combination.

Bruce Martin: Well, Penske Entertainment may not have needed the money, but the creative concepts that Fox can bring may give them ideas of how to do things. Partnerships with new street races, you name it. It's a chance that there's now somebody with a stake in the game that can help make things happen.

James Hinchcliffe: it's not about the money. It's about the vision. It's about the execution, and I'm excited for what the future can bring.

Bruce Martin: Well, I know you're always a man on the go, but James Hinchcliffe, I've known you for decades. It's been a really good friendship in a lot of ways. I've always respected you as a driver. You were a tremendous interview when you were racing. You're still a pretty good interview as a TV announcer, too.

James Hinchcliffe: Well, thank you, Bruce. Appreciate it.

Bruce Martin: But congratulations on your first year of a Fox Sports. Good luck in the future. I know we're going to be hearing from you many years into the future here. But thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you so much.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: And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guests, Will Power of Team Penske, Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global, Conor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing, Christian Lungard of Arrow McLaren. Also, Indy Next by Firestone drivers, Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global, Kayo Collette of HMD, and Lockie Hughes of Andretti Global. Finally, a special thank you to James Hinchcliffe of Fox Sports for joining us on today's episode of 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 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 Rule Hoffman and Nathan Corson. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.