Exclusive interview with Roger Penske, plus Team Penske’s first winner in 1966, George Wintersteen. Also, preview of Indy 500 Open Test

Roger Penske:
This is Roger Penske and you're listening to Pit Pass Indie, 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, Auto Week, and Speed Sport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our 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 help celebrate Team Penske's 60th anniversary. It all started in the 1966 24 hours of Daytona when team Penske won the GT class with Dick Goldstrand, Ben Moore, and George Winterstein as the drivers. It was the first ever victory for Penske racing as an organization. And today we have the driver who won that first race, George Winterstein. Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental was able to meet the Pleasant Pennsylvanian at the 51st Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. He has some fascinating stories to tell about the beginnings of the most successful team in racing history and that first race in the 24 hours of Daytona. Of all the great drivers that have won races for Team Penske over the past 60 years, it all started with Winterstein, who joins us for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. joining us now on pit pass indy presented by penske truck rental is george winterstein and that name is very important in the history of penske racing as they celebrate their sixtieth anniversary because you were part of the team's first winning entry in the nineteen sixty six Daytona 24 hour race. A lot of people probably don't even remember what that race was like or that you were part of the team. There's no other driver at Team Penske that's won a race prior to you.

George Wintersteen: Well, it didn't exist before that. Exactly. And basically, as far as remembering the race, sometimes I try to forget it because I famously took the front end of the car off. It wasn't my fault. You know, I took some digging to clarify that. But the car was not typical Penske quality when it finished. They stole a radiator from a nearby Corvette in the parking lot, and Roger, being brilliant as ever, since there were no headlights, He got two flashlights and taped them to the front fenders and was immediately, I think Dick Goldstrand was driving it at the time, or Roger sent Dick Goldstrand out. Roger sent me into the end of the van to go to sleep, I think with my tail between my legs. So Goldie was told to go out and just follow some headlights. Well, of course, the officials said, you know, you're illegal. So they came in, they found two flashlights and taped them to the front to the front fenders and immediately was questioned on that. And Roger said, well, the rules say you've got to have two white lights at the front and two red lights at the back. There it was, but we finished, I think, in spite of all the falderal of trying to get the car drivable, I think we still won our class. But when it was my turn to drive the car, sort of in dawn, at dawn I said, I'm supposed to get into that thing? And so it was not a classic car, hardly not the Penske quality. But the next race at Sebring, it was up to snuff. Did you realize that was the start of something big for Penske Racing? Well, having known Roger for quite some time through racing, I knew his reputation and I had an inkling that this might be the start of something good. Yes, exactly.

Bruce Martin: So if you could tell us a little bit about the car that won the race and also the co-drivers that you were with.

George Wintersteen: Okay, well, Dick Gouldstrand was suggested in quotes by General Motors that he should. Of course, General Motors was not racing at the time, as you know. And so Goldie, and then Roger was a co-owner of Moore Chevrolet in downtown Philadelphia. And so Ben Moore, and since I'd known Roger for quite some time as a starting race driver, there was the three of us. So we had an experience there. I would have to say I'd look back more fondly on Sebring, but Daytona was an experience. What was your racing background prior to getting involved with Roger Penske? Well, a classmate of mine at school has two credits to his name. One, he introduced me to my wife, Gretchen. And the second was he got me into racing. And at that time, you had to be 21 to race. Well, I wasn't 21. But we did something called the Eastern Pennsylvania Hill Climb Series. and they obviously wanted to see my proof of age. Well, I said, geez, you know, I just lost, I misplaced my wallet, but I went to AAA and they gave me a voucher, which did not have my age on it. So that got me for, I think, really about three years doing the hill climbs. Then when I turned 21, I got an RSK from Bob Holbert and that was, there we went. How long did your racing career last as a driver? Well, as a driver, like I say, 63 legitimately started. And then the last year was a technical disaster, but it was a hell of a lot of fun because we had Smothers Brothers Winterstein Racing. And the Smothers Brothers were typical. I mean, it was just Dickie was a hell of a good driver. But we would have Tom and Dick, and we had cars that were somewhat notorious about being delicate, and that, I think, cost us a lot of positions, but it was still a fun summer.

Bruce Martin: And your career lasted how long? Well, 1970 was the last time I, yeah. So prior to the beginning of Penske racing, Roger Penske was a famous race driver, mostly in sports car racing. He was the 1961 driver of the year by Sports Illustrated. How did you get involved with Roger Penske? And he was already a well-known name even before he started as a team owner.

George Wintersteen: Yeah. Well, he lived, he actually happened to live not far from where I lived and outside of Philadelphia. And so I guess one thing, we would go and rent a racetrack in southern New Jersey called Vineland. And my friend and I would rent the track. uh, which they didn't need to know what our ages were and so Roger would also bring his, his, uh, his, his xerox special down and, and practice it. So we sort of got to know each other that way and then we, He actually then became an usher at our wedding, and so all sorts of stuff. So we've known him a long time.

Bruce Martin: So at that time, they had that little bungalow garage in Newtown Square. And the partner was Mark Donahue, who was also the engineer. And they brought in a guy named Don Cox and also Carl Kanehofer. Yeah. Was that pretty much the crew of the team that you worked on?

George Wintersteen: Well, I had a race car. Actually, I had the Grand Sport No. 5, the chassis, the coupe. And we had it at another race shop, but we moved it down to, I called Roger, he said, do you have a spare bay down in Newtown Square that I can rent from you? Because we need some place to get the car ready for Sebring. And the Sebring happened to be the one of the Great Flood. So we got together and actually I don't know if I actually ever rented the, if I was the renter of the garage. I think I rented it from Roger. And so then it expanded and then he went into bigger digs further down the street and then even bigger digs in Reading and then finally I guess in Mooresville.

Bruce Martin: So what was Roger Penske like as a younger man? We know how he is now, but a lot of people, Don Cox tells some great stories about the younger Roger Penske. He was, he knew what he wanted.

George Wintersteen: For sure. He absolutely did. And, uh, obviously with Roy Gane, who I didn't really know was the one that, uh, him, uh, Roy Gane and Bill Scott called Scotty, they put together the, uh, The questionable Zarek special was a, it used to be an old Cooper, it was a Cooper two liter, and they put a full body on it, and back that time you had to have two seats. Well, the second seat was not very comfortable. There's a classic picture of Roger sitting in it. I mean, it looks like he's curled up in a, but he was absolutely famous in that sense. So what did you do after your racing career came to an end, and where do you live now? Well, we live in Pennsylvania. I can't remember what I did, but I mean, I worked for a car dealer, so to speak, and then we now are involved with three-day eventing in horses. But we live now in Chads Ford, Pennsylvania, which is still a suburb of Philadelphia.

Bruce Martin: And people have heard the name Mark Donohue, but of course he passed back in the 1970s. But what could you share with us about what Mark Donohue was like? Because he was really one of the first engineers to come into big time racing.

George Wintersteen: Oh, absolutely. Now, I can remember driving, there was a very prestigious group of race drivers, supposedly race drivers, the RRDC, which was actually last night. And I can remember driving with Mark and George Alderman up to a very fancy French restaurant up in New York for their regular meetings. But Mark was a really, really nice guy. I can remember when Gretchen was asked to do the timing for Gurney. one year. And then the following year, Mark had retired. And Mark said, could you just sort of get a feel for the race? And of course, if you're 20 yards away from the cars going by at 230 miles an hour, it's sort of hard to follow. But we had a good time with him. And Mark was a terrific, he was a good friend, actually.

Bruce Martin: So when you think of all the great racing names that have driven for Team Penske, and you're on that list, and you're a winning driver on that list, and you have to really say, that's quite a collection of talent. And how does it feel to be part of that list?

George Wintersteen: Well, when Roger had his 50th big party in Charlotte for the 50th, somehow I wound up on the stage and somehow I wound up next to Roger, so that is a treasured photograph. But the drivers that were on the stage, I was there not of their ilk.

Bruce Martin: But you'll go down as the first winning race driver that's still around for Penske Racing. You won the first race for Penske Racing, the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. But when you see what's become of racing now and what Roger has become, how impressed are you to see what this man's made out of his life and his career?

George Wintersteen: absolutely blown away i mean roger is there there's no equal to to roger penske and and uh… a classic story that was recounted during this uh… the celebration of for the fiftieth was he was asked to uh… drive an indycar by i can't remember what the name of the guy was but uh… roger said no i'm i'm just retiring now and i'm not going to do that So the guy said, do you have somebody you can recommend? And Roger said, well, why don't you guide this young guy called Mario Andretti? So to think that Mario Andretti was number two on the list, I mean, that is rather awesome to Roger.

Bruce Martin: when they list the winners of penske racing george wintersteen's name's gonna be number one on the list because you won that first race well that's uh… a long time ago it's a long time ago but you gotta start somewhere and rogers continue in this ride but george wintersteen one of the winning drivers for penske racing their first winning driver their first winning race car in the nineteen sixty six twenty four hours of daytona Thank you for joining us today and sharing some of those stories of that big victory. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. My pleasure.

George Wintersteen: And Penske racing goes down in history.

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. Roger Penske was a star racing driver before a career in business took him out of the cockpit. But racing has always been a key part of business for Roger Penske, and he was the winning car owner in the GT class of the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. Three years later, he took Penske Racing to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. And three years after that, his team and driver, Mark Donohue, won the 1972 Indianapolis 500. It was the first of an Indy 500 record 20 wins for Penske in the world's biggest race. On November 4, 2019, Penske purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and the Indianapolis 500 from the Holman George family. He also presides over the Penske Corporation as chairman and founder. Of course, one of the key businesses of the Penske Corporation is Penske Truck Rental. At 89, Penske remains one of the top business leaders and sportsmen in the world. In addition to owning the Indianapolis motor speedway and IndyCar, he is also the owner of team Penske in IndyCar and NASCAR, as well as Penske Porsche Motorsport in IMSA sports car racing and the world endurance championship. Pit Pass Indy had an exclusive interview with Roger Penske as he talks about the man who won Penske Racing's first race in 1966, George Winterstein. When we can expect the 110th Indianapolis 500 will be sold out and a variety of other topics. One of those topics has already been answered as Catherine Legge at AJ Foyt Racing was announced on Monday, April 27th as the 33rd entry for this year's Indianapolis 500. Here is my exclusive interview with Roger Penske for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. It's a real honor to be joined by our next guest. It's Roger Penske, owner of IndyCar, the founder of the Penske Corporation, and a friend of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. Roger, we're out at the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach, and I had a chance to meet a man who won Penske Racing's first race, George Winterstein, drove the GTO to victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. When you think of all the great drivers you had, all the great winners you've had, it all started with George Winterstein.

Roger Penske: Well, that was a big day for us. We had a red Corvette. We had a sponsor for $250. That time was Sunoco, if you can believe it. And Ben Moore and Dick Goldstrand were the other drivers. And George knocked the front of the Corvette off during the night, so we got some big, long flashlights, and you needed lights on the car. And we put that gray tape on and finished the race, and we won our class.

Bruce Martin: George told that story the other day and said that the officials looked at it and said, I don't think that's going to work. And you said to him, all it says is white lights attached to the car. So how long did it take for you to convince the officials that the flashlights would meet the requirements?

Roger Penske: Well, it mattered. We knew that. I don't know how long. argument discussion was but we moved on everything was fine but uh it was funny to see the whole front of that car off and what was left of the front fenders we had big flashlights on there was terrific.

Bruce Martin: Well how did you discover George Winterstein? I'm sure you raced against him quite often because you had just finished your career as a active driver A lot of people probably don't know much about George Winterstein. He was involved with the Smothers Brothers race team in 1970. But what do you recall? What was it about George that made you decide you wanted him on your team?

Roger Penske: Well, George is a friend of mine who got to know him. And, you know, we put this together. This was kind of a, you know, a local guy from Philadelphia. And he was someone we knew was interested in the program and and he was willing to take a chance with us. So I guess those days were so Long ago, Bruce, I don't remember all the things that put it together. George, quality guy, family, we knew him well in Philly.

Bruce Martin: How have you kept your friendship with him over the last 60 years? Because this is the 60th anniversary season of Penske Racing.

Roger Penske: Well, I think his wife Gretchen always sends me a note after the races and we connect and from time to time we get a chance to get together at one of the races.

Bruce Martin: We're at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which a couple of years ago your company purchased. So you're in charge of this event. Huge event all weekend. Friday, Saturday crowds have been jam-packed. It's race day. We'll have another jam-packed crowd on race day. But when you see how this race continues to grow, it's the 51st Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It's got to be a pretty good investment.

Roger Penske: Well, this was an investment for us from an IndyCar perspective. We needed a West Coast anchor. And when the time came and Jerry had the track and Cal Colvin had passed away, we contacted him. And I've known Jerry for a long time, Forsyth. We made a deal because we felt we could build it. And then, of course, Jim McCallion, so we're so sorry he passed away, but we had a leader there that could get us through the first year. And I think now Jim Lau, who is, he started drifting, is now our leader here, working with Michael Montrey and our people. But great, great day on Friday, Saturday, and of course today. But the amazing thing is, What we're seeing, the commitment by the teams and the sponsors, you look at some of the hospitality areas, they're just amazing. But also, I see that the quality of the drivers and the times, I think 1,500, I think between all the top six. So we got a great series going on. I think this is a key event, will be, nothing like Southern California. So let's see what we can do with it, it's up to us.

Bruce Martin: I think not enough has been said about how successful the 2026 season has been in terms of the business side, the crowds, the TV ratings. I know that's something that you like to talk about and Fox Sports has jumped in and been a big key part of that. There are always people out there that always want to find something to criticize IndyCar about, but in 2026, it's getting hard for them to find something for them to be upset about.

Roger Penske: When you buy a business and you're on a journey, you got to have a commitment. And I think Doug Bowles at the Speedway, he took over, obviously IndyCar, which is because without IndyCar, we don't have a Speedway and vice versa. And I think we put that in place and he's been very instrumental in pulling together a good team, you know, for our organization as we go forward. And on top of that, We're expecting the promoters to step up and deliver a quality, clean, safe place for people to come. And you top that with our friends at Fox who have just done a terrific job. And quite honestly, TV ratings up over 20 percent last year, up again almost 20 or 25 percent. You can't beat it. But look, There are a lot of naysayers out there. We're committed to the sport. Look, I grew up in the sport. You know, I want to do everything I can, you know, to put what I can put into it myself personally and the company. And with things like D.C., you know, things like Greg Penske worked so hard to get the deal together in Arlington. You know, the new racetrack we'll have up in Canada. These are all going to be key. We just need these tentpole events. the right teams and the commitment by the sponsors. Then having a TV partner, which is actually an equity partner too, in Penske Entertainment, it couldn't be any better. And I think the officiating, there was lots of concern about our closeness to everything. And look, I'm a racer at heart. And I came in here to try to help this series, not blow it up. On the other hand, we have taken some punches in the face on it, which I understand. And on the other hand, I'm going forward and I want to win races here. And that's our goal. And I'll tell you, there's some great competition.

Bruce Martin: There was a tentpole event in March in Arlington, Texas, the Java House Grand Prix Arlington. How much do you think that raised the level and set the standard for all other events on the schedule to try to meet? Because it was an absolute spectacular event. Everything was first class.

Roger Penske: Well, that was, remember, it went to a first class neighborhood. When you get down there and, you know, the Rangers and the Cowboys, and they really turned out for us. And I think our whole group, Michael Montree and Greg and Miles and everybody else did a great job there. There's things we can do to make it better, which we will. The only friend we didn't have was the wind down there, which hurt us because we had to take a lot of the things down because we were concerned about the wind. But overall, Great event, and now we have some interest from some other areas who might do the same thing.

Bruce Martin: What was Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' reaction after the race weekend was over?

Roger Penske: Well, Jerry is a super guy. I've known him for quite a while, and he was so helpful and thrilled. And, you know, obviously he stayed for the whole race. So, to me, you know, he's a player in the business. He's a great sportsman. You see what he's done now in that whole area, Texas Live, which is, you know, part of the Rangers. This is just a You couldn't build this yourself. And we're a partner going forward, which is great.

Bruce Martin: Coming up in May, the biggest event of the year, the 110th Indianapolis 500. I know you're getting close to announcing a sellout. Just how far away are we from that magic moment happening?

Roger Penske: Let me put it this way. We're going to be selling folding chairs here before long.

Bruce Martin: And that's quite an accomplishment because we've seen years where there was some empty spots in the grandstands, but not lately. The last couple of years, it's been sellouts and we're going for three sellouts in a row here. And how proud would you be of your staff for that?

Roger Penske: Well, we've got just a great group of people. Many of you don't know them, but they're the ones that make it happen. Remember, there's no dress rehearsal. 300 plus thousand people, real now, this is not a telephone book number or a newspaper, real there. And I'll tell you something, what we try to do every year is make it better for the absolutely for the guests that come in, the fans. You know, we've put handrails up these big stands this year going up in the Southwest and in the North so people can walk up those stands. That's one of the new things we did this year.

Bruce Martin: When you bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Doug Bowles was the president. He's now the president of IndyCar, in addition being the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But if you were going to pick a guy, maybe a younger version of roger pesky in terms of enthusiasm and passion you would have to look at doug bowls is that type of guy

Roger Penske: Well, Doug Bowes is our leader, Mark Miles is our CEO, and Doug is the great operating guy, and giving him both sides of the fence was really key because it gave him the opportunity to make an impact both at IMS and also at IndyCar, and he's done that.

Bruce Martin: And finally, I'm not worried about the car count, but there are some people who are. I'm wondering, you have 33 cars. I don't think enough is stressed that it's the engine manufacturers that really determine what the car count is, how many entries you can have for an Indianapolis 500. But what could you tell us here in the middle of April when you expect to have 33 entries?

Roger Penske: Well, we expect to have 33 cars, let me say that. And, you know, obviously there's lots of things working. But remember today, it costs a lot of money to go to Indy. And you want to be competitive. It's not the old day where you picked up your pickup truck, grabbed your car out of the garage and came to Indy. That's not the case anymore. So we'll have 33. Just exciting to fill the field and see what happens.

Bruce Martin: And finally, when you look at everything that has been done to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and how you've brought the Indianapolis 500 back to added a lot of luster to an already huge event, I know you're never really satisfied because you can always do more, but what do you think when you see what you've done since taking over that track November 4th, 2019?

Roger Penske: Well, I think it was our duty, the iconic track, what the Holman family had done for so many years. And when we took it over, we wanted to maintain that level of professionalism and add what we know from our track experience business. And when you put them together, I think that we've made it better and we want to continue to do that.

Bruce Martin: Well, Roger Penske, you've certainly made IndyCar better. You've made the Indianapolis 500 better. And you've been a friend of Pit Pass Indy with Penske Truck Rentals support. Good luck the rest of the year, good luck at the Indianapolis 500, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Roger Penske: Bruce, thanks. Great for your support too, thanks.

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

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. The sounds of racing are emanating from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week as it's time for the annual two-day Indy 500 Open Test, weather permitting. The full field of 33 entries for this year's 110th Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to be on track Tuesday, April 28th, with another day of testing on Wednesday, April 29th. Of course, the fickle springtime weather in central Indiana can impact that schedule, so let's hope it is dry conditions instead of rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's an important time for the teams and drivers that will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway one week later to prepare for the Sanzio Grand Prix on the IMS road course, followed by practice and qualifications leading into the 110th Indianapolis 500 on May 24th. It may not be on the schedule, but the Indy 500 Open Test is an important part of the season. Andretti Global driver Will Power gave his thoughts on how important the test is, especially for him as it's the first time he will be on track in an Andretti car. He also reflects on how important his win in the 2018 Indianapolis 500 with Team Penske was to his career.

Will Power: That will be an important test. We've got a lot of things to try, so that'll be interesting too. Think about 17 years in a Penske car. Yeah, definitely something new, but looking forward to it. I think we'll be good. I think we've got some good stuff happening. I hope to be competitive when it comes time. That's why I'm so excited. In my mind, it's the biggest thing ever in my life. You know, apart from having my kid. Incredible. It would be incredible to win again. It's such an amazing place. An event and everything about it. Incredible. If I could win. I have a chance too. The cars are great. I've been loving it. As much as it looks Some bad things have happened. We've had incredible pace. It's been really good.

Bruce Martin: Alexander Rossi won the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 for his first career IndyCar win when he was with Andretti Global. Now with ECR, I caught up with Rossi to reflect on the historic significance of winning the Indianapolis 500 10 years ago in this PitPass Indy interview. It's the 10-year anniversary of your first IndyCar win in the 100th Indianapolis 500. Yes. Thank you. Well, I had a little gray hair then. I've got more now. When you think about it, historic day, historic milestone for you. Does it seem like 10 years you're going to do anything to celebrate? Is there going to be a big party, a cake or anything?

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, I'll have some cream in my coffee. So just black. That'll be my celebration. I know, right? No, not at all. I mean, it's a it's a huge honor, obviously, and something that one day I will probably be more appreciative than I am right now. But right now I'm trying to make their life difficult and make them carve some more years on that thing. So it doesn't really matter at this point in time. I think years is the honest answer. Like obviously in the weeks that went by, it took a couple years. I think in the weeks after there was some like small realization, but it wasn't until probably I went back. for sure the first year, but then the second year, and then realize how difficult it is to win, that it's like, oh my God, what I was able to accomplish was pretty incredible. That's what people say. I would never say that, but that's what people say. I mean, I think that it, from a personal standpoint, it doesn't necessarily affect my life, but from a professional standpoint, it gave me a career. So for that, I'm… forever grateful and we'll look back on that moment as something that did change the trajectory of my life from a professional standpoint.

Bruce Martin: When you say about how it lasts with your life, you see the cavalcade of champions before the race were the past winners. Well, when you do audio, you have to come up with big words sometimes. But when you see the past winners, the Tom Snebas and Dario Franchitis and those convertibles, there's going to be years that's going to be you. And is that when that will probably sink in what you accomplished?

Alexander Rossi: Again, I mean, we're talking about things that hopefully are a long way, a long way out from now. But yes, to be a part of history is obviously something that will stay with me forever.

Bruce Martin: Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing is the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and the driver everyone in IndyCar is trying to beat, not only in the series, but also at the Indianapolis 500. Palou was asked if he understood the magnitude of winning the Indy 500 in 2025. I also asked Palou his thoughts on how important last week's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is to IndyCar.

Alex Palou: No, um, it still does. Yeah, I think it's still, I think it's sometimes when you go to an airport in Houston where we don't even race, we're not even close to Houston and people is calling you for winning the 500, not for championships. Like it's things like that. Yeah. There's so many things now that it's only about the 500, um, which is super cool. Um, so obviously, yeah, I realized when I won, it's not like I was under rating it or anything, but it's like, it keeps on growing. It's like, Oh, it never stops.

Alex Palou: Yeah.

Alex Palou: Which is super cool. That was very good. Yeah. I think in Spain it's not the same. Like they don't really realize until they are here. I think, um, Everybody that was able to see the Vorkburner was like, oh wow, like this thing is, like these Americans are for real, you know, like this is a real thing. So yeah, I think that helped a lot on like getting more people to understand.

Bruce Martin: You're here to win a race but in some ways do you step back and just realize what a huge event the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach really is because IndyCar has taken over. They're a headline show in one of the largest areas of the United States in North America. Do you ever get a chance to really step back and go this is big?

Alex Palou: Yeah this morning I was walking from the hotel and there was already so many people at like 10 a.m. which normally we have Nobody. And already now, just getting here to media bullpen, you can feel there's so much more people than in the past. So it's great. I think the momentum we're having in IndyCar, it's great with folks, with everybody involved in media and teams and drivers. I think everybody's pushing towards the same direction and hopefully we just keep on growing.

Bruce Martin: At 29, Palou is easily the top driver in IndyCar with four NTT IndyCar Series championships, including the past three in a row. And to think, the prime years for Palou are ahead of him.

Alex Palou: Prime years now, I feel I still have that hunger, I'm still hungry like I was when I was 18, but I have a lot more experience than when I was 18 or 20. And the thing is that you don't know when that's gonna finish, right? There's a lot of people that finishes when they're 32, but there's people like Bauer that is just now suddenly is on his prime, right? And Dixon as well. I think it's not easy what they do. And I wish I could be in the same position 50 years from now and still be on my prime, which is pretty crazy to think about.

Bruce Martin: Another driver who will be on track at IMS with the new team is David Maloukis of Team Penske, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Here are Maloukis' thoughts on the importance of the Indy 500 Open Test.

David Malukas: Just, you know, getting comfortable, right? Right before the big month of May. I've seen A500 and knowing Team Penn State's success there in history and even just the past few years. I think you just try to get comfortable, take things nice and slow because we have a lot of time for it. And, yeah, see how things play out.

Bruce Martin: But are you prepared, showing up at the Indianapolis 500, driving for Team Penske? It's almost like the New York Yankees showing up in the World Series. Have you looked at what that whole scenario is going to be like and what to expect?

David Malukas: You've got to get a little excited about that. Oh yeah, no, very excited. For me, even coming into Team Penske's start of the season has been a dream come true. I've been super excited, but there's always, you know, you're always also looking forward to Indy 500. And yeah, that's going to be like the one final checklist of new experiences for me going into this 2026 season.

Bruce Martin: I caught up with Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global to get his thoughts on the Indy 500 open tests coming at the end of April rather than earlier in the month as teams return for the month of May one week later. How much do you like having that test so close to the start of the month of May? Because some years it's been earlier in April.

Kyle Kirkwood: It does help because usually it's very cold and sometimes rainy and you don't get as much running as you would hope to have. So it is a nice change to hopefully get some conditions that are somewhat similar to what the race day is going to be like, or at least the qualifying days.

Bruce Martin: Kirkwood was also asked if Andretti Global has closed the gap in IndyCar and can challenge for the championship in 2026.

Kyle Kirkwood: We've closed it for sure, right? Of course he had the DNF, he had some bad luck, but also I'd say that the first string of races we might have not thought were going to be as good as they were. I would say Barber and Phoenix weren't tracks that people would be like, oh Andretti's going to be the ones maybe to beat at these. And that was kind of the case. We were very, very good at both of those circuits. I think we've closed the gap mostly with development on our cars. I think what Will and Ron, kind of the headway that they've kind of probed us to go on, it's been a huge part of our performance this season.

Bruce Martin: Marcus Armstrong of Meijer Schenck Racing is a young driver ready to break out in IndyCar. PitPass Indy caught up with the young driver from New Zealand for this exclusive interview. Indy Open Test is coming up. How important is that to you?

Marcus Armstrong: Always starting with the good questions, huh? Indy oven test. It's a… I mean, certainly it's important, but the thing is, in Indy, like in Indianapolis, it can be like zero Celsius one day and then 30 Celsius the next. Like, it's crazy how much it varies. But it is important to get into a rhythm, figure out where the car is and sort of be in a good position to start the month in a nice spot.

Bruce Martin: What about the Sanzio Grand Prix of Indianapolis? That's a road course race. You've been doing very well on road course races. So how excited and upbeat are you about your potential there?

Marcus Armstrong: That's a cool one. I mean, I guess it's a bit of a pace race, but ultimately last year we started too far back and we had a lot of speed in the race, but we kind of need to start right at the pointy end if we want to beat that 10 car, don't we? He's pretty quick, so hopefully we can nail quali this year as we did in Barber and just drive our way past the 10 car and lap everyone. Oh, certainly the tanker is the benchmark, so luckily he's somewhat of a teammate, but he's certainly, I would say, in terms of performance, the guy to go and catch. He's a great reference. We have all the data in the world, really, to measure it, but it's also important to to trust your approach because you can't copy exactly what he does. He drives in a bit of a different style to me as well, so we can't like… In fact, oftentimes we go in a bit of a different direction in terms of setup. So it's just one of those things where sometimes it's better to trust your intuition and go in your direction.

Bruce Martin: Marcus Ericcson won the Indianapolis 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022. Now with Andretti Global, Erickson reflected on what that moment meant to him and what the Indy 500 means to him.

Marcus Ericsson: I think I did to some extent, but still I think until you win it you don't really understand how big it is because you get to experience so much things after it that's hard to imagine before. But I think having done the 500 a few times before really made me appreciate how special and unique that race is. But it was still, yeah, I mean it was still hard to understand before you did it for sure. I mean it took a long time, yeah. Probably… Yeah, I was gonna say, probably after when I did my Sweden trip, that was probably… a big part of it for sure, yeah. I mean, it's such a special race, it's such a long race, there's so many things that could go wrong, and even, you know, when you think you've won, they can be a curveball, like in 23 for me, so it's always, I think that race is the hardest race to win, so for me to have won it once and being so close another couple of times, it's pretty cool. But yeah, I definitely have a lot of hunger to get back and drink some milk this week.

Bruce Martin: A strong argument could be made that Pato Award is the best driver in the field and has yet to win the Indianapolis 500. He has come close on several occasions, only to experience heartbreak at the end, most recently in 2024, when Josef Newgarden passed him for the victory in Turn 3 on the final lap. But Award loves the Indianapolis 500 and that fuels his desire to win it. Award talks about that love of the Indy 500 along with having 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as his teammate at Indy this year and other topics in this Pit Pass Indy interview.

Scott McLaughlin: Love Indy. I genuinely love it every time I go. You go in there and there is such a privilege of being able to just do that and being able to be a part of that and knowing that you're going to have another opportunity at it because you've got a great team behind you, you've got a strong car. That's all one can hope for and there's too many things that aren't really controllable, right? From the driver's perspective, from the team's perspective, there's a lot of things that you can. And that's what we try and kind of perfect from year to year. But I love Indy. And like there really is, as much as I've had highs and lows in Indy, like I hold no resentment towards it. Like I genuinely am so excited to go every single year. And I appreciate it more and more. the more that I do it. That's really special. Well, you know what? Someone asked me, he's like, what's gonna be the feeling that you feel whenever you win? And I know it's gonna be relief. I know I'm just gonna feel like so much weight has been lifted off my shoulders that I've been carrying for so many years, emotionally as well. But I know that is what actually is gonna make it an unbelievable experience. Like that is what's going to make it unforgettable. Yeah. Oh, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to pick his brain. Ryan knows his way around that place. He's obviously won it before. He's been, uh, you know, a front runner for so many years and I mean, he's someone that knows exactly what is needed in order to get that done. So, yeah, I'm excited to have Ryan alongside me as a teammate to be able to see that other part of, you know, somebody that's done this. I mean, more than twice than I have, right? It'll be my seventh Indy 500. I think for Ryan, it's going to be quite a bit more. So he's a great guy. He's also an open book. And he's been super helpful. So I'm super excited. It's kind of like the same approach with having like a Montoya in the car and just somebody that's got so much experience with that. It's an awesome opportunity. Any good Pato Mania stories yet here in Long Beach? It's strong. It's coming in strong today. There's a lot of people here. And, you know, I expect it to be a great weekend just like it always is. I mean, very passionate fans, people ready to cheer us on. And we want to make it a good one for them. I think it's nothing hidden that it's been a challenge in the past, but it doesn't mean that we can't turn it around. Has anybody mentioned the garbage truck? The garbage truck? Has anybody mentioned it? They mentioned it a lot to start the season, but right now, not anymore.

Bruce Martin: A ward was also asked if Errol McLaren has closed the gap in IndyCar. I?

Scott McLaughlin: No. The gap is as big as it's been. We're working hard to try and just be to the level of being able to win every race, but we don't have that. That is not a reality. It's still a work in progress, you know, like we're behind, you know, we're behind on on everything because it's taken us a while to kind of get into the development where it had to have been. But I know we're all working hard. Like the days have been long. The analysis have been like very in depth of like where we've gone wrong, when we have. And Yeah, I mean, for us, really, it's just trying to minimize damage when it's bad. And I think the next step after we do that, then it's like, OK, how can we win every single race? It's development that takes years, man, years and years and years. And, you know, the reality in the IndyCar calendar is that the 500 is That's the one where everybody puts their R&D, right? And I do believe that we have very strong cars at the Indy 500. And, you know, I'll double down and I think this year we're going to have strong cars again. And, you know, if you were to tell me, you know, put the R&D for the rest of the championship and, like, take away from Indy, You still need to prioritize it, especially for us that we haven't won it before. In the other races, there's always improvement that can be made, right? There's always things that you can learn from prior years. But then you have to take all of those with a grain of salt because not necessarily because you had something good the previous year, you're going to have something good this year because the tire changes, you know, the behavior, the behaving of how you set up a car with the tire compound sometimes have even more difference than maybe an upgrade that we can bring. Right. So for us, I think it's just understanding like the guidance of where we need to go. And I think we know, but it's not from one day to another.

Bruce Martin: We wrap up this episode of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental with the story of Bob Power, Will Power's father. On April 6, the day after Easter, Power's father was stopped by an armed man in Toowoomba, Australia, attempting to steal his car. The 39-year-old man was on a crime spree in Queensland, Australia, and sized up the elderly Power as his next victim. But Power's father refused to give up the car and wrestled with the armed man, who was carrying a sawed-off shotgun, shouting at him. Police helicopters and drones had been tracking the assailant, and police arrived at 1 p.m. and arrested the suspect. Bob Power did not give up the car and was uninjured. Will Power told us more about his father in this Pit Pass Indy interview.

Will Power: Well, I actually was flying out to Long Beach to do promotion, and I landed, got my rent car, and called Liz. Or Liz called me, either or. She's like, do you hear what happened to your dad? I'm like, oh no, he's died. And he's like, no, he got held up by a gun. I'm like, what? I was thinking the Gold Coast. He's like, no, in Toowoomba, he was at a cafe. Some dude tried to get him, you know, open the door, rip him out of the car, get the F out of the car, and he struggled with him a bit. Eventually the guys pointed the gun at him. My dad says don't you shoot me not like don't shoot like don't you shoot me authoritatively Then so he's like I could see in the guy's eyes. He's probably gonna shoot me. He's pretty crazy So he said just I'll get out just let me have a dog out and the SWAT squad must be fine with a drone because he robbed a few people and then they all swarmed so Just another day Bob powers life is if you know, my daddy is crazy That's where the crazy side of me comes from. My mother was a nun and incumbent for seven years. So that's the really, you know Empathetic side of me so I have this real tug-of-war all the time on how to behave and act and It is crazy, but it's not surprising that he wrestled with them. Because that is my dad. Like, you're not stealing my car. He was like, I've got a sawed-off shotgun. Dad has a special affinity for all his cars. He wouldn't let any of us kids drive his cars. So it was no surprise. It was a Honda Type R. So yeah, he does like that car particularly. So great PR there. He did not want his Honda stolen. He won't let me drive that, by the way. Yeah, there's many crazy stories like that with my dad. Many. People have gone on racing trips with him. I was in one of them, and we're driving from Phillip Island racetrack. He's in a trailer, I've got a car in a trailer, and it's sort of wet. and the speed limit goes from 100 to 80 to 60 and then there's a busy traffic intersection and I like start slowing up and dad and a few of his mates are in that car and he's just I'm like he's not even slowing up and suddenly I'm like there's a traffic light you see this thing like locking up and he was not going to stop so he starts getting on the horn beep beep Like, I mean, multi-lane intersection, and he just straight through, misses everything as per normal, and gets through. We pull up next to him on the traffic light, and his friend John Deutch is being with him on many of these trips, and these things have happened. It's just like, you know, typical Bob Power, like, something crazy happens, but he just gets away with it. Like, oh my God. So yeah, when he got held up with a Sawn-Off shotgun and kind of wrestled with him, I was like, yeah, that happens. You know my dad, that is, yeah. Yes, he's still going hard, man. Quadruple bypass, like, skinny as all get out. Swimming and in his 80s, still racing in 75 in a Formula 4. Broke his hip because he got T-pumped. But this is Dad. He's crazy. He's 81 or something, 80s, yeah. Well, his girlfriend was going to get a table at the cafe and must have heard the commotion, came out and said, leave him alone! And saw the guy and was like, ah, take him. I'm pure good, yeah. Yeah. Because she saw them struggling. So she was like, leave him alone! And he stood back and was like, oh yeah, nah. He should leave you alone. Yeah. I can't remember the conversation because I'd heard from everyone else beforehand. I heard from my brothers and it's like, nah, just dad. Like, yeah, I tried the thing. I said, I got this switch under it because he had a car stolen before. He's got it. I got this switch that I can switch off. So but it was on like where they can't start it. So he must be thinking of that, too, before he got out. But yeah, just a normal day, as you saw in the interview. It's like, yeah, he tried to grab me and I juggled and yeah, nothing. Yeah, not a big deal. Wouldn't even register now. It's just like, hey, so crazy, man. You could do a movie on my dad.

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 guest, the winner of Penske Racing's first victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, George Winterstein. Roger Penske, the chairman of the Penske Corporation and the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and the Indianapolis 500, Also, drivers Will Power of Andretti Global, Alex Pillow of Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Ericcson and Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, David Maloukas of Team Penske, Marcus Armstrong of Meijer Shank Racing, and Pato Award of Arrow 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 Rule Hoffman and Nathan Corson. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.

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