IndyCar’s Wild Weekend In The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix With Race Winner Alex Palou, Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, Team Penske’s David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin, Penske Corporation President Bud Denker And More.

Roger Penske:

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

Bruce Martin:

welcome to pit pass indy presented by penske truck rental as we continue our sixth season of giving indy car fans an Inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet the ntt indy car series We welcome back our friends from penske truck rental who return as the presenting sponsor of pit pass indie 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 Runnel and Pit Pass Indy helped celebrate Team Penske's 60th anniversary. An incredibly exciting 110th Indianapolis 500 was held in front of a sold-out crowd at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and 6. 6 million viewers watched the race on Fox. The race peaked with 8,349,000 viewers from 4 to 4. 15 Eastern Time. They witnessed Felix Rosenquist win by the closest margin in Indianapolis 500 history. 0. 0233 of a second over Team Penske's David Malukas. It was down slightly over the 7. 05 million viewers that watched Fox's first Indianapolis 500 telecast in 2025. The peak viewership for that race was 8. 04 million. So this year's race saw an increase in viewers over 2025 for that same peak time period. It's a 37% increase over the viewership from the 2024 Indianapolis 500, the last year that the race was televised on NBC. Rosenquist collected a record $4, 340,500 for winning the 110th Indianapolis 500 at the Indy 500 Victory Awards at the Indiana Convention Center on May 25th, the night following race day at the Indianapolis 500. After that was over, Rosenquist and his entourage boarded a private jet and flew to New York City for a two-day media tour as the Indy 500 winner. By Thursday, May 28th, it was time to prepare for the next race on the schedule, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, on Sunday, May 31st. I caught up with Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenquist for an exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental at the GM Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit on May 28th. And now let's talk to the hero of the 110th Indianapolis 500. It's the winner himself, Felix Rosenquist, Meyer Shank Racing. We're doing this interview on Thursday before the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. And I know you haven't gotten much sleep, because right after you won the race, right after you went to the Victory Awards banquet on Monday night, they got you on a jet, flew you to New York, and you've been busy ever since. So are you operating on adrenaline now?

Felix Rosenqvist:

I think the adrenaline is pretty much gone to be honest. Right now I'm just operating on coffee. I think I'll get a good night's sleep in tonight. As I said, it's been quite a whirlwind, but you know we're here now, we don't really have anything planned tonight and tomorrow morning, so that'll be nice to just kind of get that first proper night of sleep and get ready.

Bruce Martin:

What are some of the fun things you got to do in New York City?

Felix Rosenqvist:

I went to the Empire State Building, bunch of morning shows, podcasts, some nice restaurants. You know, we had a little fun as well, which was nice. I went to a movie premiere. A lot of interviews, man. I can't even, it's probably in the triple digits, to be honest.

Bruce Martin:

What restaurants? You know I'm a foodie, so I'm always interested to see where they took you to eat.

Felix Rosenqvist:

We went to Nobu one night, the other ones I don't remember the name, it was some Mediterranean, little Italian, good places, good places.

Bruce Martin:

He didn't take you to a Swedish restaurant?

Felix Rosenqvist:

I'm not sure if we have one in New York, is it? Yeah, there's probably one. Oh yeah, you're right.

Bruce Martin:

But when you look back and see the replay after replay after replay. I was on Fox 59 this week in IndyCar earlier this week and they asked... "What could David Malukas have done differently?" And I said,"Nothing." He drove the perfect lap. But you drove a lap nobody ever thought you could pull off. So as you sit back and look at that. What goes through your mind?

Felix Rosenqvist:

Yeah, like I know it's been a lot of like discussion what everyone should have and could have done When you're in that situation, especially in our series when we don't we don't run We don't normally run too wide at Indy So it's kind of a tough scenario to practice for like it's more more of a take it as it comes adrenaline instinct thing I'd say technically if Dave just gave the toe to Marcus and Marcus got boxed in by me, maybe that would have been enough for him to get it. I'm not sure. I think honestly I was in a pretty good situation there and it probably would have worked out more times than I initially thought. But yeah, it's just a crazy finish, man. None of us had been in that situation before. We just, I'm just happy no one ended in the wall and I was the one to walk away with a big one.

Bruce Martin:

- It was the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, but you were unaware of the fact that right behind you wasn't even. closer finish for third place. 3rd, 4th, and 5th cross the line in formation. When you saw that for the first time, what did you think of that finish?

Felix Rosenqvist:

- Yeah, it was, someone mentioned it, I think it was Mario Andretti. It was such an unbelievable finish, but also for for third for fifth and I saw the pictures like it almost looked staged It looked like it was a photo On Monday morning that they placed the cars there. I couldn't believe it I don't know what the margin or what the actual time difference zero point one five seven or something like that I'll have to go back and check

Felix Rosenqvist:

Yeah, that's... - I mean, I just-- -. 0157. - Yeah, that just tells you what a, I mean, that race was pretty much anyone's in the top five to win, you know? And if we had another lap, like who knows what would've happened, you know? But just cool for the fans. I just, they really, you know, after Kyle Busch died and such a sad day for, or sad week for the sport leading up to that, I feel like everyone got a little relief and something to celebrate for sure. - And our last question with Felix Rosenquist, the winner of the 110th Indianapolis 500. We're at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. That race will be over by the time this interview airs, but the next race is at Gateway near St. Louis on an oval. I expect we'll see some more excitement on that as well. - I think so, I mean, that's actually one of our best races. When we started going there, it wasn't, and IndyCar really put the work in to create better race in there, which is, you know, it's really paid off. It's such a cool, the last two years have been some of the highlights of our season. So yeah, you know, hopefully we'll have the same action there. - From now on, I get to introduce you as the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It's a title you'll take with you for the rest of your life. But Felix Rosenquist, congratulations once again on winning.

Bruce Martin:

probably the most dramatic Indianapolis 500 ever. Good luck the rest of the season. We'll catch up with you soon. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Felix Rosenqvist:

Thank you very much.

Bruce Martin:

David Malukas of Team Penske was the heartbreak story of the Indy 500 as he led the final lap that was a green and white shootout that would determine the winner only to lose the Indy 500 by just 0. 0233 of a second and the closest finish in history. Although Malukas was heartbroken after the race, he was able to put the day into perspective in this exclusive Pitt Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental interview at the GM Center in downtown Detroit on May 28th. He may not have won the Indianapolis 500, but he was certainly a hero to the fans who saw the dramatic finish of the 110th Indianapolis 500. It's Team Penspe driver David Malukas, driver of the #12 Verizon Chevrolet.

David Malukas:

We're at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, another big race for the team because Mr. Penske is the promoter of this race. How would you explain how the week's gone? By now, you've probably had a chance to let it settle in and realize you had a heck of a race. Yeah, no, it was a fantastic race, honestly, and even a fantastic month in general from practice to qualifying to the race. It all was very stellar and, I mean, we did everything that we did right. Obviously, in the end, we got lucky with those yellows, strategy play would have been better to go for the fuel save, but we were just so damn fast at just going full push, so we decided that was going to be the better strategy, and I think it made it more fun for myself and for the fans having to dice through the pack. But overall, yeah, the ending, it is what it is. I ran many simulations in my head of what I could have done differently, which, yes, there probably is, but, you know, with those high-speed scenarios, it's hard to make different decisions. So, yeah, I look very happy from everything. We did what we could, gave it my all, and, yeah, you know, as long as I gave it my all, then we're all happy.

Bruce Martin:

There was a famous college basketball coach named Al McGuire who led Marquette University to the 1977 National Championship. And one of his great quotes was,"Losing hurts worse than winning feels good." And I think you were a.

David Malukas:

representative of that comment because it really hurt last year when you finished second you were happy this year it was not happy it was painful so how do you describe the range of emotions for anybody that finishes second in the Indianapolis 500? Well you know last year it was you know I realistically were third but you know overall it was last year we were just like happy to be there you know I don't think we had a winning car you know it was a very good car but not the winning car so to be in P3 you're like wow that was fantastic we got everything we could but I think going into this year's more of wow that car was so fast it deserved to win and I ended up just short of it so that's why it hurt so much and you know so going back to back second places you know it's it hurts you know being that that close to a dream come true to describe that pain it's hard to put into words but winning definitely yeah that's the thing if I won this race I wouldn't have dissected it at all I would have been so happy I would have been going on a media tour right now and I wouldn't have have gotten better as a driver because I wouldn't have looked back at the race but instead being second you know and and feeling that hurt I've done nothing but study that race study every single lap and I for sure can say I'm a better driver for it now. Is it a bit much to ask a field to go green and white on the same lap one lap shootout to decide the Indianapolis 500 because restarts are crazy enough as it is.

Bruce Martin:

And as I told some people, that's one reason why the finish was as close as it was, because it was only one lap. So how difficult is it in that scenario?

David Malukas:

to be able to win the Indianapolis 500? - I mean it's hard, especially for the way the temperature range was, and where tired egg situations, where fuel set up, it's hard, 'cause people are on different strategies, and when you all bring it down to one lap, it makes it tough to make the right decision, but it's not to say that that won't happen again, and I think it's a good call, the way that IndyCar did it, to go for that last lap shoot up, make it under green, because it makes it fun for the fans. At the end of the day, that's what's most important. We're here to put on a good show, and make it a lot of fun, and because of that whole shootout, it created one of the best last laps ever from Felix, I mean to go around the outside, all four corners of the track. I think in some ways, Felix has really showed his hand there and he got a win out of it, but for the future years, I think we're gonna see some crazy moves being done because of what Felix proved. You know, a lot of these drivers, they say,"Oh, it's possible, I'm gonna go and try it."

Bruce Martin:

I was on Fox 59 for"This Week in IndyCar" and they asked me what David Malukas could have done differently on that last lap. win the race and I go nothing he ran a great last lap it was just that Felix made a move that people didn't think you could do and was able to pull it off you have to feel I don't wanna say satisfied, but content that you know that you gave it, as you said, 150%.

David Malukas:

At the end of the day, that's what we can do, right? I can't be thinking about things that are outside of my control. Looking back at it, maybe there's a little bit of this or that, but probably would have ended up with the same result, just seeing how big that toe was. So for me and the team, we are so happy cuz we gave it our 150%. We gave it our all, and that's the best we can do, and it was a good race for us.

Bruce Martin:

Now if we could go back to the restart before that after the red flag, where Marcus Armstrong was able to take the lead, and it looked like he had a pretty good gap before Mick Schumacher brushed the turn one wall to bring out the yellow, which set up the one-lap shootout. Was that more of a matter of you had four laps to catch him that you would have probably by then? There's a lot of racing. It showed all day with 70 lead changes that anything was possible.

David Malukas:

- That would have been a better situation for us, you know, for being in a 1v1 situation, 1v2 situation, going full speed with the car that we had, that was the winning scenario. So when it went yellow again, we were pretty disappointed 'cause at that point it's kind of a guessing game on a shootout of who's gonna get it. But when Marcus was leading and we were P2 there, he had a bit of a gap, but seeing how severe the toe was on the last restart, you could pretty much tell that we would be right back on there, you know, in a lap or so. And yeah, it would have been a much better situation for us.

Bruce Martin:

What have the drivers and fans told you since the end of that race?

David Malukas:

Um, everything that's been so good. I mean, for me, it made me feel, you know, incredible from all the fans, the drivers, the victory, the victory of that banquet. You know, all the drivers just gave me so much so much good praise, especially veterans that would never expect to hear it from. Um, so to me, it made me feel really good and kind of solidify this thought process of, look, I gave him my all. People saw that I showed up and, uh, you know, we're gonna keep pushing for it. This team is more driven than ever to go and get that win, and we're gonna go and do just that.

Bruce Martin:

We're doing this interview before the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, so by the time it airs, we'll already know where you finished. But this is a big weekend for the team and for team owner, Roger Penske and for the Penske Corporation. So we had talked earlier this year about. You happen to buy suits, you happen to buy dress up clothes because there's a lot of. corporate functions that you... must attend when you're a driver for Team Penske. So how busy was your schedule at Detroit?

David Malukas:

>> Yeah, the schedule is looking really busy here, but it's all for good things. A lot of these people that I meet are incredible and it's because of these opportunities here and doing all these events. And to me, it means the world. I've made so many friends, especially from the Clarion's boys, Verizon, Gallagher, all these guys that we're gonna be supporting this week and it's fantastic. And yeah, I'm really excited to go on to this weekend. Detroit's a big one for Team Penske and for me, I love this circuit. We qualified P2 last year and there's a lot of room on the table for improvement going into this year. - Now looking ahead to this weekend's race at Gateway, you've had a heck of a career at Gateway already, whether it be with Dale Coyne or A. J. Foyt Racing. You have to really be excited about chances to win that race. - Oh, of course. I mean, once again, I think we're gonna look at it the same way we look at the Indy 500, where we're gonna give it our all, give it our 150%, and just try our best. And as long as we leave it all on the table and things play out in our favor, then maybe we can get that first win there if we don't get it here at Detroit. But all I know is we're gonna be trying so, so hard every single time we get out on track, leave it all out there, and that's the only way that we're gonna be leaving happy. - Well, David Malukas, you were already a popular driver in IndyCar, but you've earned even more fans with the dramatic race that you've had at the 110th Indianapolis 500.

Bruce Martin:

Congratulations on thrilling the crowd, and good luck in the upcoming races. We'll catch up soon. And thank you for joining us today on Pitt Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

David Malukas:

Thank you for having me.

Bruce Martin:

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

David Malukas:

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

Bruce Martin:

Welcome back to"Pit Pass Indy," presented by Penske Truck Rental. For as close as the finish was for the win in the Indianapolis 500, our next guest had an even closer finish for third place. It's Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske, who won a three-wide battle with Pato Award and Marcus Armstrong by inches at the Yard of Bricks, the start/finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The nose of McLaughlin's number three Chevrolet was just 0. 006 of second ahead of the nose of awards number five Aero McLaren Chevrolet and 0. 0155 over the nose of Armstrong's number 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda. Award was only 0. 0089 of a second in front of Armstrong. It was an incredibly tight finish. Scott McLaughlin joins me to explain how it happened in this exclusive interview for"Pit Pass Indy" presented by Penske Truck Rental. - For as close as the finish was on the 110th Indianapolis 500, this man won a battle that was even closer, if that was possible. It's Scott McLaughlin who won a three wide, across the line battle for third place. I don't know. Can't recall off the top of my head the exact margin, but I think it was. 015, which was even closer than what Felix. half a front wing. He defeated Pato Award by half a front wing. You also used the outside lane, which worked for Felix. When you go back and look at that photo of how close that three wide finish was with you, Paddo, and Marcus Armstrong, are you amazed by it?

Scott McLaughlin:

You know, it's funny how it all sort of worked out, but you know, I think we just took our run where we could, and yeah, pretty awesome, it would have been amazing if that was for the win, but you know. So cool that they even had a photo finish across the line for first as well. So, yeah, it was a solid day. We didn't have a car that was fast enough to win, I don't think, but we had a car that we could fight with to a point and we worked out.

Bruce Martin:

So how would you describe the month? I told everybody all month long, they're talking about Alex winning the Indy 500. They're talking about Takuma Sato, other people having a chance to win the Indianapolis 500. Alexander Rossi, I kept telling everybody. that I represent, including Fox 59 in Indianapolis and Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. don't overlook the Penske's they're here they're fast they're the most successful team in Indianapolis 500 history on race morning they asked me Who's going to win it? And I said, it's either going to be Scott McLaughlin or David Malukas. Yep, you're close. I was very close. Yeah, I was very close. So when you think of just the way the month went. - At least for your two cars, it went very well. And Joseph didn't have a chance to be there at the end because of the turn four crash. But across the board, Team Penske has to feel.

Scott McLaughlin:

very much redeemed from last year. - Yeah, no, I think we executed really well as a team. Ultimately from my side and the car three side, would I have wanted to have a little bit more car speed on Sunday? Yes, I definitely thought I had a little bit more than I ended up with in the race So that was a little frustrating from my side, but I was really proud of how we executed we were like sublime in pit strategy and pit stops and didn't make a mistake and that's sort of how we ended up with third. I thought we were maybe seventh to twelfth in terms of pace so for us to fight and be at the front all day is very good.

Bruce Martin:

with four laps to go.

Scott McLaughlin:

Your 10th at the checkered flag your third. How did you make up so much ground? I just had yeah, I was just Strolling it in on the restarts big cajones on the restarts It just took him my right took my runs where I could and it's always better to be Attacking and and having that forward momentum. So I was just trying to keep that up and uh the holes worked out and I sort of just took them when I could Why did the track in this car that has been used since 2012, why did it work so well this year with a record 70 lead changes for the Indy 500? - Look, honestly, I think just the way that the race turned out, I think you would've had that last year, but everyone had to save fuel last year. So I think when you had full burn and you were just passing each other and whatnot, it was always gonna be a lot of passing. And the way this package works, you can basically pass each other on each straight. So it's a big strategy game, but it's a lot of fun and I enjoy it. It's just, yeah, that was probably what it would've been last year, but it was a lot of fuel saving.

Bruce Martin:

And also the age of the track, the track surface, it just seemed the grip level and the weather conditions and the Firestone tires that day.

Scott McLaughlin:

created an optimal situation. No I think they've done a really good job of the tire but I also think IndyCar has done a fantastic job before the restarts they sweep the track as well as they can and it allows that second lane to really work and as the track is getting older I think that second lane is still a little bit younger and you're able to sort of roll that when it's clean so yes props the Firestone for not building tires that marble up a huge amount and then also the track for just being other IndyCar teams for being a lot more you you know, on it in terms of sweeping. We're doing this interview at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. By the time this interview airs, we'll already know the outcome, but this is a big weekend for you at Team Penske because you're team owner, the owner of IndyCar, is also the owner of this race, Roger Penske. So how busy is a Team Penske driver at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix? It's pretty busy. We've got our AMSA friends as well as all the IndyCar stuff happening and obviously Penske's hometown as you said and then my sponsor on my car this weekend, Clarins Technologies, they're based here as well. So we've got probably 100 people coming out from their side, so it's busy but it's part and parcel being a Penske driver, you're always busy.

Bruce Martin:

Now the next race that's coming up is at Gateway, and that's up.

Scott McLaughlin:

Great track for you and the other Team Penske drivers. How do you view your prospects of winning a race down there at Gateway right outside the St. Louis arch? That's a track that I've been close multiple times at winning that race. I'd love to try and get on top of that top step. Yeah, overall it's been a good track for us, good hunting ground, but hopefully we can be one step better.

Bruce Martin:

Looking at the points, we're nearing the halfway point of the season. How do you think you're doing so far and it's still within reach? Yeah, we're still within reach.

Scott McLaughlin:

I'm sort of just putting that on the back window. I think, you know, I just need to execute. We need to start winning some races or at least getting more podiums. So we need to perform a little bit better just from execution on race weekend, and we did that on Sunday at Indy. So hopefully that springboards us a little bit here for the second half of the season. You're the best golfer of any of the IndyCar series drivers, so how therapeutic is it after a race to go out there and take a few whacks at the golf ball and play a couple of rounds? - Oh, I just like playing golf. I don't know if I'm the best golfer, that's a hot take, but I think Graham's still pretty strong, but we make a very good scramble team, but I do love the golf, I do love the golf. - Graham's strong, but he calls you a beast on the golf courses. - I'm probably a little bit more consistent, yeah, you could say that.

Bruce Martin:

Not only is he a beast on the golf course, he's also a beast in the race car. Scott McLaughlin, driver of the number three. Team Penske Chevrolet, you have so many different sponsors. I don't know which one you're going to be in technologies. That's for Detroit where you're gonna be at Gateway. - I'm gonna be Dex imaging and a very special livery too. - Like I said, this interview will air right before Gateway so the Dex image of Chevrolet. - Keep an eye out, it's gonna be cool. You got to have a lot of old driver uniforms. Oh, you wait, you wait. But anyway, as I was leading up to, as we're getting ready to get the hook from David Hovis. Good luck the rest of the season, trust me, you'll hear from me a lot more often between now and then. We know. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Runnold. Nice work Bruce. Kyle Kirkwood of Andrei Global finished 16th in the Indianapolis 500 and entered the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix as the defending winner on the streets of Detroit. He had high hopes of winning for the second straight season, but finished second to Alex Palau of Chip Ganassi Racing in Sunday's race. Kirkwood joined me from the GM Center in downtown Detroit on May 28th for this exclusive interview for"Pit Pass Indy" presented by Penske Truck Rental. Our next guest is Kyle Kirkwood, the king of the streets so far in the NTT IndyCar Series. And we're at a street race at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. A lot of people believe that you're the favorite, we'll know how the race ended up by the time this interview airs, but... What's your confidence level and your outlook returning to a street race?

Kyle Kirkwood:

That's good. You know, we've obviously been good at street courses. They're some of our best events. We won here last year, and there's no reason why we don't think we can do it again. So we'll see how the weekend goes.

Bruce Martin:

Now reflecting on the Indianapolis 500, we've talked at the victory awards celebration the night after the race, but now that you've had a chance for it to settle in.

Bruce Martin:

How would you--

Bruce Martin:

categorize the race went for you.

Kyle Kirkwood:

Uh...

Kyle Kirkwood:

say not incredible. not terrible, but not incredible, you know, kind of somewhere in between. We had a reasonable car, we got to the front pack, definitely weren't the fastest car out there, but we could contend, and then we just got stuck on the wrong strategy there, which at the time felt like a more kind of 50/50 split field situation, and obviously with the yellows and the way the rain turned out, it was not so much, it was a clear choice that the other strategy was better. So, yeah, hard to really read into it, but we were reasonable, I wouldn't say ecstatic with our event.

Bruce Martin:

Still a work in progress. - So as the Gen Z kids would call it, it was mid.

Kyle Kirkwood:

- Mid, sure. - Mid or, well, mid is better than meh. - Is that what David says?

Bruce Martin:

I don't know. I barely have enough keeping track of my own generation, letting alone the kids these days. But anyhow. You probably should you're in that age group, but anyhow No rest for the weary. After three weeks, actually it was more like a month when you count, factor in the open test at Indianapolis, then the Sanzio Grand Prix, then the Indianapolis 500. Then, no rest, off to Detroit Street Race. This track's challenging enough as it is. Does this test the mettle of those who are able to be diverse?

Kyle Kirkwood:

I think so. You know, all of us are a little little beat down after the after the 500. You know, you put so much time and effort into that place and every single day you're there from seven a. m. to eight p. m. It feels like. And um then you have to pretty much just change things over. You get about one or two days to change the cars over, get ready for a street course. There's no breaks in between between these events and you're just gonna roll straight into the into the Detroit Grand Prix. So yes and no. I think we all do it very well. It's not the first time that we've had um these back to back races kind of five six weekends in a row. So um we understand the cadence. It's just keeping our heads high. Uh keep driving. Don't let any sound go on turned and and try and win every race is in front of us. And then the next race after this interview errors will be

at Gateway. Another short oval.

Kyle Kirkwood:

And how excited are you? Or what are your prospects heading into, your confidence level heading into the game? - That's high, right? We won there last year. And just like here, Detroit. We feel like we can do it again there. definitely have some some new and exciting things for for gateway. We quite honestly we kind of lucked into a win last year right we were good we were very solid but a lot of the good cars either did something wrong crashed uh and we were kind of just the the lone wolves out there that that uh didn't do anything wrong and still had a good car so we still need a little bit of performance there I think we've got it I think we got it in our pocket now so um excited to to go back to that oval you know ovals are so much fun when when your cars are good right there's no better racing than an oval race when you have a good car so um that's one that we're really looking forward to. As we're at the halfway point of the season or getting pretty close how do you look at the prospects for the championship? - Yeah, it's still looking good. We're losing some points. We had a pretty dull month of May. A dull kind of last three weekends with Long Beach losing some points to Palau, then Andy GP doing some things wrong, losing some points. Should have had a gift there, and then the 500 too, losing some points to him. So yeah, we got to turn that ship back around and start cutting out of that deficit, which we think we can do. It's not only street courses now that we feel like we have to get it done at. It's kind of all circuits we feel pretty strong at and we can beat them. So still a long ways to go, still a long ways to get back to the front of this championship race.

Bruce Martin:

And our last question for Kyle Kirk would have been Andretti Global an old friend returned the weekend of the race Marco Andretti What was it like having him back? It's cool. It's good to see Marco. You know, it's a little bittersweet For sure, right because not seeing him run. He didn't really have like

Kyle Kirkwood:

retirement party like some of the older drivers have had right going into their last races and the TK last race that you'll ever see him I mean kind of just kind of floated away so it's good to see him you know we still have a lot of love for the Andretti family Michael Mario Marco everyone in between they're still a big part of big part of our roots here so it's great to see them glad he made it out it's fun to just joke around with them and get to catch up. The thing with TK's last race is which one he had about five last races. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, Marco didn't even get that chance, so he didn't get a chance for one, so who knows. You never know with Marco, he potentially might be back at some point, but I guess that's who knows is the question.

Bruce Martin:

Well, Kyle Kirkwood, good luck the rest of the season, good luck as we head to Gateway, and thank you for joining us today on Pitt Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. Thank you! On Friday, Pelot took a few minutes to talk about his Indy 500 penalty that was assessed after the race and explained the parts failure that caused the penalty. During post-race inspection, the front wing of the car failed front wing height measurement. Chip Ganassi Racing was in violation of the rule involving the speedway front wing end plate minimum and maximum heights. IndyCar officiating determined that the non-compliance was the result of an assembly error and not an intentional modification. Pelot's entry was penalized five championship driver and entrant points and the team was fined $10,000 but allowed to keep his seventh place finish. Hello Alex, anything you'd like to say about the penalty or what happened or anything of that nature because we haven't really had a chance to talk to you since then.

Alex Palou:

- Yeah, I mean, no, yes. What do you want to know? I mean, very hard to say.

Alex Palou:

I think there was a lot of people deciding that and that's what it's going to be from now to the future. I mean, if something happens again, I guess it's going to be the same penalty. I think knowing what it was... and knowing that it was not done on purpose and that it was creating a disadvantage, and knowing that in the past, when this same thing happened, which is not the same as Prema, by the way. Nobody got penalized, but still it's new rules like you cannot compare to last year. So About the penalty there's nothing I can, well basically the wing. How it felt, tech, was that it was not lower. It was just falling from one side because there was a nut that was unscrewing. So it was not consistent, it could have... completely undone itself in like next lap or in 50 laps or maybe in 500 laps like you never know when but it was basically because of a puma mistake or a part mistake, a part failure, but yeah, it basically made it super inconsistent. Like it was like half an inch difference, like it was just basically the wing flapping. No, I'm a little bit concerned of like, people maybe not giving enough information.

Alex Palou:

I wish that people could understand really what happened because there was a lot of people, even you guys seem that don't really know or didn't really investigate. I don't know, you know really what happened or not? I feel like a lot of people don't really understand that. I'm not concerned but like I feel this is racing and there's sometimes where things are gonna be like everybody's just trying to push the limits on everything. Um, so at one point, maybe today or tomorrow. We're going to be off the limits. on purpose to try and get an advantage, or not on purpose, I mean just by pushing the limits. And you take whatever you need to take, but this time, it was literally something that was making us slower, and it was not done on purpose, and the team didn't modify any parts like other teams did at the 500 last year. That's why they got a huge penalty compared to us. So yeah, if people think that that's how we got success, perfect.

Bruce Martin:

Next, I asked Pelot about his month of May at the Indianapolis 500. He won the Sanzio Grand Prix on the IMS road course on May 9th, won his second Indy 500 pole on May 17th, and led the most laps in the Indy 500 on May 24th with 59.

Alex Palou:

Honestly, I think it was positive. It was a good month of May May breaks your heart. everybody like there's only one person that is happy about me I'm not happy about. 500 but at the same time I cannot be mad about the month of May we had. We had a very positive one. the fastest cars in both. in the road course pole, in the 500 pole, like I cannot complain about the speed I had on those cars. We just didn't really execute perfectly like Felix did, like driver and team standpoint. So yeah, I'm happy, but at the same time with a small piece of the heart broken like everybody else, but at the same time I'm... I got lucky last year, so I cannot really complain about how my... indie is treating me. Even if you win, like I remember last year like once they got here it was like okay it's Detroit. But yeah it's easy. At the end of the day we get it once a year so that's it. You cannot really cry about it for a lot more. But it's the only race that breaks your heart. Like you put so much effort into it that then you're like man I just I feel sad, right? So yeah it's cool. That's the emotion that that's why it makes it so special to win. Yeah next year we need to wait. Have you grown to like this track at Detroit? At Detroit? That's a tough question.

Bruce Martin:

That's why I asked it.

Alex Palou:

I think it's better than the first year and I like that we've had a lot of success here. Would I prefer to have five more corners? Yes. But it's the same for everyone.

Bruce Martin:

Thanks, Alex. Thank you. We caught up with Scott Dixon at Detroit to get his thoughts on the tight 9 turn 1. 645 mile street course that is bumpy and tight. Hello Scott, have you grown to like this race course?

Scott Dixon:

Yeah, what's not to like?

Bruce Martin:

Alex didn't like it the first year and he wishes there were five more corners.

Scott Dixon:

But you've always seemed to go out there and take it for what it is. Yeah, it's a race track. You're driving a race car. I don't see the problem. Yeah, there's obviously, I think, new circuits and new places that we go to. There's always room for improvement. And it's not easy in downtown streets, for sure. But each year they keep applying that and helping to try and change it. I think this year, maybe with two less cars, we'll maybe alleviate some of the practice and qualifying issues. Obviously, qualifying is a little easier just because they're split groups anyway. But yeah, it's a tough track. It's very easy to lose concentration, make a mistake. And obviously, I think for the race, as usual, it would be mayhem. I think, you know, it's quite hard to become comfortable here, you know, I think each lap you're trying to push the limits, which we do at every track, but here with just the bumps and things like that, if you kind of miscalculate by a small amount, you're confined by the, you know, the walls, they're very tight, you know, there's no real big runoffs or anything like that, so, you know, you got to take risks and sometimes a lot of these circuits, you know, you can get court out but here I'd say is more so than anywhere else.

Bruce Martin:

At the Indy 500 Victory Awards, Dixon also said Felix Rosenquist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 because of the size of his quote"Swedish meatballs" end quote. It was perhaps the line of the night.

Scott Dixon:

He's free to use that, you know. He is the Swedish person in this whole conversation and yeah, he's got some big old Swedish meatballs going on. Did you come up with that on the spot the other day? Yeah, I don't know where it came from. The whole, yeah, that whole conversation and then the lady bits, yeah, it kind of, I don't know. I don't know what happened. And what did Emma have to say to you afterwards? Ah, she was happy, yeah, she thought it was hilarious. So that was good, it helped. We'll be right back to Pitt Pass Indy after this short break.

Scott McLaughlin:

Hi, I'm Scott McLachlan, driver of the number three Team Penske Chevy, and you'll listen to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix is held just days after the biggest race of the year, the Indianapolis 500. That's a position on the calendar that is important to the city of Detroit, to race sponsor General Motors, and to our next guest. It's Penske Corporation president, Bud Denker, who is also the promoter of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Denker is also the promoter of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix at Washington DC that will be held on a course around the National Mall in our nation's capital on August 23rd. Penske Corporation founder and chairman, Roger Penske, also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500, and IndyCar, after purchasing it from the previous owners of 74 years, the Hallman-George family, on November 4th, 2019. He's one of the busiest people in business and in motorsports, but Denker took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to join me for this exclusive interview for"Pit Pass Indy" presented by Penske Truck Rental. Now we're honored to be joined by the President of the Penske Corporation, who also has many other titles in racing, so many that I've lost track of them all. This weekend, he's the. promoter. or is it chairman of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix here on the streets of Detroit, it's Bud Danker. But I know that you haven't had much rest. It's always on the go when you work at this position. But I know that you love it. So... What's it like getting ready here for the 2026 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix?

Bud Denker:

Well you know I think the word I use this week is momentum. coming off that. amazing race last week in Indy. Probably the most spectacular sporting event of it and not motorsport but sporting event from sunrise till the race ended. The pageantry, the competition, the closeness, never seen before, right? So many people I have no interest in racing called me and said,"I watched every minute of that race. It was so compelling." And at the end of it... I'm excited about the millions of new fans we've brought into the sport. I'm excited about the momentum we're carrying to Detroit. Everybody's tired. Crews are tired, I'm tired, we're all tired. But you know what, that momentum carries forward and that's what I'm excited about this week.

Bruce Martin:

The ratings came out for the 110th Indianapolis 500 and last year's rating was 7. 15 million. there was a lot that played into that. One was the fact that... You weren't going to have a Formula One race start toward the end of your race. And also there was curiosity in seeing how Fox did. their first Indianapolis 500 telecast. But this year's rating is something to really show the dramatic uptick in interest in IndyCar, even though it was less than last year, but it was pretty close, it was a 6. 6 million. So when you see those numbers, how excited are you that... you've got room to really hold on to those fans especially after the finish that we had in 2026. You're absolutely right. There's a lot of firsts last year especially with Fox doing it as well.

Bud Denker:

A lot of things going on Formula One the same day a little bit afterwards you mentioned too. We were very, very, very interested in the rating we would get. We'd pull a six million plus. And we did that well above that, so. as a goal standpoint carry that forward from last year we did it so we are so excited about the momentum of the series you know last year we were up 27 percent this year up another 20 25 again with the indy ratings as well too so i think what we're seeing. Name me another sport with our kind of growth right now. You can't find one. we have that opportunity to grow it even more.

Bruce Martin:

Not only that, but you're selling out 350, 000 spectators for the Indianapolis 500. Second straight year, third time in the last 10 years you've done that. It really seems like we're seeing the end result of what we expected to see when Roger Penske bought the track from the Holman George family in November 4th of 2019.

Bud Denker:

Yeah, I think we're really into this two years in a row now sellouts, but we have to rethink back to the first three years of owning that speedway. we had a lot a lot of obstacles in our place we had to regrow it because we had a year of nobody there following your limited attendance the following year full attendance but regrowing it I mean, the improvements that we've made, almost $100 million of improvements made, people see it. When they come back there and see it now, it's a new 100-plus year old facility because of the investments that Roger and us have made.

Bruce Martin:

And the important thing that cannot be stressed enough, you see a lot of younger fans now, not only are they coming to the Indianapolis 500, they're coming with Team Penske shirts on, they're coming with Paddo Award, Aaron McClaren shirts on, they're buying...

Bud Denker:

shirts and wearing them with their favorite drivers and teams and that is a recipe for success. How important is that? Well you know we we do a lot of things around our sport to bring young people into the series whether it be our promotions, whether it be the drivers, whether it be the competition. Also whether it be the snake pit for instance. The snake pit was sold out for the first time since 2016. Those are young people. The average age would be 21 and 22 years of age. They're coming there to see something very different, hopefully graduating into the grandstands, and we've proven that. So I think also the female side of it, the growth in the female side of it as well too. I can tell you one guy who gained a lot of new female admires is David Malukas. After that race he put on, the emotion, the passion. Everything he showed, the humility, was something that everybody gravitated to, and he's cute, I understand, from what the girls tell me as well. So a lot of new female fans are coming in this sport because of our drivers. - But another driver that is now going to be famous for the rest of his life is Felix Rosenquist. The pass that he made to win the race is a hero move of all time. And when you think of what he pulled off, I know you're disappointed because you represent Team Penske also, but when you look back at it and see how he did it, how proud and amazed are you that he was able to pull it off? - I think everybody, the drivers talked about it at the celebration dinner, that wow, they've got a new place to pass now, don't they? If you've got enough Swedish meatballs to be able to do what he did. And I think what he did was, what Joseph did when he passed paddle around turn three and turn four, right, flat out, stick it, see if it sticks or not. If it does, you're a hero, if it doesn't, you're a zero. And he showed us that, so it was the most amazing. But I have to think, my Team Penske had off. I'm interested in the growth of our sport also, and we saw the growth because of what he did.

Bruce Martin:

Your team Penske hat is also off this weekend as we do this interview with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix because you're the promoter. And you go from one of the most. sleep deprived busiest months of the year in May and you end it with... The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. We know how important that is for the city of Detroit, for the community, and for Roger Penske.

How do you pull it off?

Bud Denker:

You know it's. I know it's just it's an opportunity for us to carry that.

forward, right?

Bud Denker:

And I saw somebody talk about our schedule. We'd all like to have a break after Indy, wouldn't we? Remember this. If we didn't have this weekend here in Detroit, we'd have no race. Because everybody, the kids are still in school this week, they're off next week. And if they're off next week, people leave this town, they go up north, the sponsors aren't having anybody in their suites. Without having a race this weekend, I've said it before, we're not gonna have this race. We're down to 16 events, not 17 events. But also, I love the competition of the race. These stats are pretty important. Long Beach this year had 69 passes. St. Petersburg had one hundred and seven. Last year here, 261. We had more passes for this race than the combined Long Beach and St. Pete. Pretty cool and everybody says it's tough to pass on the streets of Detroit. 269 passes, oh by the way in 2024. 217. Pretty good.

Bruce Martin:

That is definitely pretty good. Haven't had a chance to talk to Mr. Penske yet after the Indianapolis 500, but you've spent a lot of time with him.

Bud Denker:

What was his reaction to just the way the entire race day played out? Yeah, you know, he's the most resilient person in the world, he moves on so quickly. Obviously disappointed his driver didn't win, but to the next minute saying,"My God, what does this do for our sport? We own this sport, along with Fox, what does this do for our sport?" And that he has a lot of pride in, as do I.

Bruce Martin:

So this interview will air after the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, so we'll know who won by then, but then a next race after that will be at Gateway, right outside the St. Louis Arch on the Mississippi River. Team Penske has done pretty well in that race, so I imagine you expect similar prospects for this year's race at Gateway.

Bud Denker:

- You know, we'll see, it's just so competitive, this series. Look at the fact after 200 laps, you're separated by two one hundredths of a second. It's so hard, it's so tough, it's so difficult for a driver to win. Here in Detroit, look what's happening in Detroit. This is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, presented by Lear. Honda's won the last three races in this city, right? There's some folks in this building that we're in right now, the Renaissance Center, that wanted to be a Chevy. So, anyway, the competition is so tough, it's so vicious, because it's so tight. It's hard to win and we'll see what happens in St. Louis.

Bruce Martin:

Well, Bud Denker, I admire you for a lot of reasons, being the president of the Penske Corporation for one. Being able to have the energy you have at this stage of our careers is another. I wish I had that kind of energy. But also, we've developed a pretty good relationship. You're quite a friend for Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. Thank you for all of that. Good luck at Detroit, although we will know by the time it airs how that race ended up. But good luck the rest of the season. Oh, by the way, you've got a big race coming up in August. in the streets of Washington, D. C., and that's going to be a real showstopper.

Bud Denker:

>> Well, when your show airs, we'll have 80 days to put on a race in Washington, DC. The most complex environment, most complex event I've ever put on. But we're going to make this country very proud. celebrate his 250th anniversary so thank you Bruce.

Bruce Martin:

Bud Denker, president of the Penske Corporation. Thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bud Denker:

- Very good.

Bruce Martin:

And finally, Pitt Pass Indy would not be complete without hearing from the winner of this year's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. It's Alex Pelot of Chip Ganassi Racing who started on the pole and led 71 laps in the 100 lap race for the 23rd victory of his IndyCar career. It was a wild and crazy race on the streets of Detroit with 173 on track passes, 172 passes for position. and 30 passes within the top five, which is the second most all-time in Detroit Grand Prix history, only trailing race two of the doubleheader in 2013. Pelo all but doubled his NTT Indycar Series Championship lead, taking it from 37 points over David Malukas after the Indianapolis 500. to 62 points over now second place, Kyle Kirkwood in the race at Detroit. There are 10 races left in the 18 race season and Kirkwood believes there is a lot of racing left to neutralize Palau, but it appears Palau has all the ingredients for a fifth NTT IndyCar Series Championship in 2026. Here is my exclusive interview with Alex Pelo for Pitt Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Alex Palou:

- Hello, Alex. - Hey, Bruce. - I haven't really had much of a chance to get up with you after a race win, but this is your first one since winning the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach back in April. Your fourth win of the season already. There's 10 races left to go. But how important was it to get back into Victory Lane here, especially a win from the pole here in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix? - It was big, it was huge. I mean, we've had a lot of success throughout the year, and also in May with two poles, but still, it never feels as good getting a pole as what you feel when you're in Victory Lane. And after May, after the 500, when you cannot win, I mean, there's only one driver that is happy and that is with high confidence. So it was good to recover and to kind of give it to the guys, to everybody in the team that's been working so much so hard. And also for myself to feel better and to get ready for next week because now we're going to get to a stretch where it's super back-to-back races, where it's super busy and we need to, yeah, we need this good momentum.

Bruce Martin:

I think we've had that stretch of back-to-back-to-back races at Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500 was just a week ago. from the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. And although you had a really good finish in the Indy 500, you certainly weren't happy with it. As you know, 32 drivers go home.

Alex Palou:

bitterly disappointed only one driver wins it. So how important is it a week later to get back on the racetrack and win a race? Yeah, it's it's great. It's great because as I said we we have another race next weekend and it helps when you have That confidence when you have that happiness inside you and it's not only on my side on the driver's side It's also on the crew side on the engineers and everybody working on the car So hopefully that helps everybody to to get energy back and and to be back At Gateway with high energy the race started off clean first ten laps were run Without any cautions you got off to a good start from the pole

Bruce Martin:

Then it got a little goofy there. There was some full course yellows that happened. A lot of people now question that race control now throws full course cautions too quickly, but we knew that was gonna happen after the Sanzio Grand Prix when they fell under scrutiny because of the way that was handled. So where do you fall on this?

Alex Palou:

- I need to review the yellows. Obviously when I'm in the car, I just don't know. I just see a yellow and I don't really see the incident. So I haven't had the chance to see it. We knew that it was gonna be a little bit earlier on the buttons, right, on throwing yellows and stuff. But I have to say it's probably on a street course, you cannot really compare it to like a road course at the Sanzio where maybe it would have been a different scenario and they would have waited. Here on a street course, I think even with the old rules or old mentality, let's say, I think they would have thrown the yellows as well. But again, I need to review it. I need to see what happened. I'm glad that I didn't get caught up on any yellow and that we were on the good side. - 23rd career victory, you now tie the great Tommy Milton, the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 from way back in the '20s. You're starting to surpass historic names now in IndyCar and how important is that to you? - It's important, but at the same time, it's not important. I love it. It's insane to hear that. It's so cool to be escalating on the history books, but that's not really what drives me, although I would love to one day be first in that leaderboard. What drives me is just waking up every day, working with my team and trying to beat our competitors on track, but it's insane. I never thought I would be in the top 25 of race wins, and hopefully we'll have a lot more to go.

Bruce Martin:

You have a 62 point lead with 10 races remaining a full. IndyCar series race if you run the table on all points is 54 points. So you're already

Alex Palou:

race plus worth of points I had of Kyle Kirkwood I know that doesn't mean anything to you now but this close in the season they have that big of a gap how important is that? It's good it's good especially when you're heading to races that are really tough that you don't know what can happen doesn't really change our mentality we still wanna win and we're still gonna be aggressive we're not gonna try and be like okay top five is good today no like a win is a win it gives you so more so much more points and so much more satisfaction for everyone that we're gonna still continue to be aggressive but again I wouldn't trade my position with anyone else

Bruce Martin:

And now it's off to Gateway, a short oval, and you've said in the past, that hasn't necessarily been your strong suit. You're getting a lot better, I'm not so sure you. have any weak links.

Alex Palou:

Well, I crashed on the last one at Phoenix, so hopefully we can get back on track, go track and get our first win on an oval this year.

Bruce Martin:

Yeah, but I was gonna ask you just how important it is to have a race the week after the Indianapolis 500 so that you can just put whatever disappointment from Indy out of the way and just get back to work.

Alex Palou:

- Yeah, it's great, it's very hard. It's very hard though for everyone, just with all the work that you have to do to prepare the cars and to prepare different races, but especially for me that we were on Victor Lane today, feels great.

Bruce Martin:

Well, Alex Pelot, congratulations on your big win here at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. I'm sure it always feels good when you have the Honda Honda and you win in Chevy's backyard. But we'll catch up with you next week at Gateway and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Run. Absolutely. Thank you, Bruce. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of"Pit Pass Indy" presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guest, 110th Indianapolis 500 winning driver, Felix Rosenquist of Meyer Shank Racing. Second place Indy 500 finisher David Malukas of Team Penske. Third place finisher Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske. Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood. Chip Ganassi racing driver Scott Dixon. Penske Corporation President, Bud Denker, and Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix winner, Alex Pillow of Chip Ganassi Racing, 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 @X, previously known as Twitter, @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 Ruhl-Hoffman and Nathan Corson.