Josef Newgarden’s Short Oval dominance continues at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis and much more

Bruce Martin:
This is Roger Penske and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy, sponsored by Penske Truck Rental. 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. Team Penske's latest celebration came on Sunday night, June 7th, after Josef Newgarden's big win in the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 at Worldwide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The 1.25-mile short oval is located just across the Mississippi River from the St. Louis Arch, and the joint was lit up for a Sunday night race with a near-capacity crowd and a big TV audience on Fox. Despite ailing from an injured left foot, Newgarden sustained in the 110th Indianapolis 500 on May 24th. Newgarden's healthy right foot was able to stand on the throttle and win his sixth race at Gateway. It was New Garden's 34th career IndyCar win, moving him into a tie for 9th place with El Ansar Jr. The Team Penske star led 53 laps in a wild race that had ended near midnight local time and had been halted by two red flags because of brief rain. Newgarden defeated Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson by 0.6613 of a second in a race that had 17 lead changes between six drivers and a track record 268 passes for a position. It was a big win for Newgarden for many reasons, as he explains to me in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Now we have the star of IndyCar's version of Midnight Madness. It's Josef Newgarden. Joseph, it was a very late race on Sunday night here at Worldwide Technology Raceway, but once again, you were the showstopper. You got your sixth victory here. All in all, how would you assess the way things went, especially with your injured left foot?

Josef Newgarden: It was a great night for the team. They executed a great race. Tremendous pit stops, great calls, good decisions on the car, the whole thing. So it was a tough night. It was a little chaotic with the rain. It almost feels like it turns into a casino. But thankfully, we went the distance, which I think brought the fast cars to the front again. And that's where they finished. So I was happy to see it go the full way.

Bruce Martin: You led 53 laps to get your sixth victory here at Worldwide Technology Raceway for your 34th career IndyCar Series victory, which puts you in a ninth place tie with Al Unser Jr. So in a lot of ways, you had the numbers up. It's got to be a big night for you.

Josef Newgarden: Well, it's a great night for the team. You know it's it's nice when you have fast cars and we always have a fast car here. It seems like so it makes our job easier and you know I love going to work with my team. I really do and you know you gotta win races to keep doing that so.

Bruce Martin: It's a good thing when when nights like tonight happened, you had some great battles on the track with several drivers, one of which Christian Rasmussen was one. Marcus Ericcson was another throughout the course of the night. Who was your toughest foe?

Josef Newgarden: Erickson by far, I thought him and I were super similar. We were neck and neck as far as speed. And it was gonna be hard to beat him tonight without track position. So we were a little better, I think, for traffic management. And we did a great job on the ins and outs, and that's what made the difference. I mean, the team, they just executed and at the end of the day, we needed that.

Bruce Martin: Key moment on pit road was when Alex Pillow is coming for his pit stop, but he's running out of fuel. And he runs out of fuel on pit road, and you were right behind him. How did you navigate that whole scenario to where it wasn't a bigger traffic jam than it could have been?

Josef Newgarden: Yeah, I mean, thank goodness he didn't fully run out. He was still moving relatively fast when I got to him right on the entry. And then I was able to cut left when he was in the fast lane. And it just worked out fine for us. So yeah, it was just, I guess, right moment so that it didn't hold us up too much.

Bruce Martin: You're still wearing the boot on your left foot. But on tonight, it's the right foot that you stood on the throttle. So how important was that, that it wasn't the right foot that you had to wear?

Josef Newgarden: Yeah, it is easier this weekend. But it's easy when the car's fast. It just makes such a difference. And this thing was nice to drive. When you have a nice car to drive on a place like this, it just elevates you to a different level. And I've had that more times than not here.

Bruce Martin: And are we starting to see the Jonathan Duguid era start here at Team Penske because he's the team president and it's a different philosophy and a different path. You've got a lot of great guys that work on that team but it's kind of a new era for a lot of the guys back at the shop and how important is that? to give them success.

Josef Newgarden: Well, I'm of two minds. Look, I've been at Team Penske for a long time. So is Jonathan. This team has always had the common thread of consistency with people. And you get a lot from each individual here. But I think Jonathan is no doubt one of the best I've seen in his position. He's so excellent at what he does. And he's dedicated. And he's seen this place from all different standpoints and uh he's doing a tremendous job you know i love working with him i think everybody on the team you know enjoys working with him and and we've got a great we've got a great you know um that's the way to put it we just we have a great team underneath us you know every single individual you know pulls their weight and it makes a big difference when you show up to these tracks and I think we're really figuring out where we're going right now and what we need to be doing. And I'm excited for the future. I think we've got a lot to prove. Maybe not a lot to prove, but we've got a lot to do is a better way to put it. We've got a ton of work to do and a lot that we can accomplish.

Bruce Martin: What did Mr. Penske tell you in victory lane? He had a pretty big smile on his face when he was posing for photos.

Josef Newgarden: It was nice to see him here. I saw him before the race and I was happy he was still here. He stuck around. He saw the whole thing. And there's no one more thrilled than Roger. I mean, he's a competitive person and he loves to seal the deal. And we delivered tonight for him. So it feels good when you can see him after that.

Bruce Martin: And also it was a Sunday night race, a true Sunday night race. It started in the dark. In years past we've had early evening races, we've had day races, we've had Saturday night races. The last two years they've been on Sunday night because it's a good night for Fox, for TV audience. How did you like this? Even though the race ended late, it still was in a prime position from the television network.

Josef Newgarden: It was fun. I mean, you know, I didn't like the weather. It would have been nice not to have the delays. I think that was the only thing that could have made it better. But, you know, outside of that, Fox has been doing a tremendous job for us and giving us, you know, just unbelievable coverage and, you know, boosting the series like crazy. So, yeah, it's great. I love a nighttime show, too. It's always fun under the lights in IndyCar. I would do it more if we could.

Bruce Martin: And you get a weekend off. Everybody in IndyCar gets a weekend off this weekend. But then we go to one of your favorite tracks, Road America. So by then, your left foot should be in great shape. And it'll be a chance to gas and go at one of the great road courses in America. So how excited are you about going to that race?

Josef Newgarden: I'm excited. You know, Road America is one of the best. And we're working on our road course program like crazy. So I'm excited to see what we can do there.

Bruce Martin: Well, I'm sure you'll do well. But Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, congratulations on the big win in the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 Worldwide Technology Raceway. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Thanks, Bruce. IndyCar modified the rules package for Sunday night's race with 100 less horsepower and a major reduction in downforce that allowed the tires to degrade at a much slower pace than in 2025. The results were more time on the straights and slower cornering speeds in the race, but the show was still exciting as more control was shifted to the drivers in terms of throttle management. As previously mentioned, there were a record 268 passes for position in Sunday night's race. Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, interviewed some of the drivers on Saturday as they predicted how the rules modification would affect the racing. First up is Alexander Rossi of ECR, who started 10th and finished 18th. All right, Alex. Short oval around here.

Alexander Rossi: How do you feel your car is? Yeah, I mean, I think the ECR cars have been phenomenal on short ovals for the past year or so. So it's just a matter of, on days like this, getting the conditions right. or getting the balance right for the conditions, which I think we did a decent job at. Like I said, the short oval car is good, but it's so tight around here. There's a lot of good cars, so you just have to execute on the day. I think that regardless, even when the package hasn't been right, when we go to night races, they're always good, even years before this. So I think even if it's maybe less good than last year. I think the night racing will all bring it back. So I think it's going to be an awesome show regardless.

Bruce Martin: Rossi's teammate at ECR is Christian Rasmussen, who had quite a week. He agreed to a multi-year contract extension to remain with the team and was in the thick of the battle for the win at the end before finishing second to race winner Josef Newgarden. Rasmussen had 38 on-track passes, the most of any driver in Sunday's race at Gateway.

Christian Rasmussen: It's very nice to be knowing where I'm going to be for the next couple of years. I'm very happy at ECR and I feel like we'll just keep improving. We'll just keep getting better and being part of that process is very valuable. It's been good so far. We've obviously had a tough start to the year. But yeah, we'll just keep improving and keep getting better.

Bruce Martin: It's wild that as your contract goes on, you'll be the longest tenured ECR driver, other than Ed, of course. But that's got to make you feel like they're really making an investment in you.

Christian Rasmussen: For sure. You know, and I think it, yeah, it obviously shows a huge commitment. And with ECR being the first team I came in with an IndyCar, they obviously took a chance on me. And obviously, they're seeing something that they like since they keep me around. Yeah, it feels good. You can definitely, you know, relax the shoulders a little bit when you know that you're locked in. So it's a good feeling. So now we just have to… Have a good St. Louis race.

Bruce Martin: Short oval. You love them. You do well on them.

Christian Rasmussen: How excited are you? I'm excited. I wish we could have had a little bit of a better qualifying. I weren't super happy with the car in that run. And I think we could have been a lot better. But again, we didn't have a great qualifying here last year either. But we went through the field twice and finished on the podium. So hopefully we can do something like that tomorrow. I think the car for tomorrow is fine. I think we have a good car here. It's just the qualifying cars is what we seem to be struggling with. And just getting that perfect balance in qualifying, or just having something that we can compete with, at least. And that's where we seem to lag a little bit, and where we need to put in a lot of emphasis on trying to improve. But I think the speed is there.

Bruce Martin: It's been a long four weeks of racing. How much do you need a weekend off? How much does the team need a weekend off?

Christian Rasmussen: Yeah, it's definitely tough on all the guys. It's definitely a grind to get through, but yeah, I think everyone's excited for a week off.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. David Maloukas of Team Penske entered Sunday night's race on a track where he has done well in the past with Dale Coyne Racing and AJ Foyt Racing. This year, he drives for Team Penske and talked about his prospects in the race. Malukas started second and finished seventh on Sunday night. Here is Malukas before the race.

David Malukas: Well, I mean, everything's just just so refined, right? And I have all these resources. I mean, every minute, every second leading up to before I get in the car, I'm looking at data, I'm getting new feedback. So I just I just feel so ready by the time I get in the car. I have a game plan. I know exactly what I want to do. And at that point, it's just time to go out there and execute. So, yeah, that's that's just the big team Penske difference. Be calm and collective. Honestly, with the ovals, and also just last year, trying so hard at this race, I mean, the chances will come, right? I gotta stay calm and just see how the race plays out and see if we're in the position to win at those last 20 laps. But I need to be calm and collective. I need to be, we just, we gotta, let's just make it to the line.

Bruce Martin: Malukas was on pole until the final driver to qualify knocked him off. That driver was Alex Polow of Chip Ganassi Racing, who won his fourth straight pole this season.

David Malukas: You know, we're getting closer, reeling it in. It's just, like I said earlier, if anybody were to go out right now, they would go even faster, right? It's just the play of who goes first, who goes last, especially for today. I mean, this cloud cover, how much it cooled down, the speed increase. I wouldn't say we're miles an hour quicker than the rest of the field. The track just got that much better.

Bruce Martin: Dennis Hauger of Dale Coyne Racing is a rookie in IndyCar, but he competed in the IndyNex by Firestone race at Gateway in 2025. I caught up with Hauger on Pitt Lane after qualifications to get his thoughts in this Pitt Pass Indy interview. Dennis Hauger, the good news is you've experienced this track before in IndyNex. So how much does that help going into this as an IndyCar rookie?

Dennis Hauger: A little bit, I mean, I feel like I was pretty comfortable, but yeah, we just We had some set up stuff that wasn't set up right for practice and it was just completely off in practice and then it's kind of a guessing game for all of us going into qualifying and that's just never going to be optimal so that's just how it is but I felt like Max might still run with what we had and we usually end up having a better race car so hopefully we can do something tomorrow.

Bruce Martin: Dale Coyne's had some cars that have done pretty well here, so are you counting on some of his magic tomorrow night? We'll see.

Dennis Hauger: I mean, still all the ovals are different, right? So they're differently set up, different type of pushing, also tire degradation is different. So still a lot of new stuff, but I mean, I just, I get more and more comfortable every time I get in an oval since last year and in the next. So it's just about building up and keep, keep experiencing the new stuff.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. 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. This year's Indy 500 winner, Felix Rosenquist, started fourth and finished 14th. He was on top of the board when Pit Pass Indy caught up with him during Saturday's qualifications. When you're on top of the board and you gotta wait for five, six guys to go by, is that the most tense time when you're in a position that you might win another poll?

Felix Rosenquist: Well, I mean, I think three years ago, I was like the first car out and got the pole in Texas. So that was the ultimate test of patience. But yeah, no, it felt pretty good. The first lap was amazing. I think that was hard to beat from my side. And I kind of lost a little bit of grip on the second one. So unfortunately, we bled off a little bit there. So I think if someone gets us, that's going to be why. But yeah, car felt great. Honda engine really good. Boombastic radio car looks amazing. So yeah, hopefully we can get a sticker on that car.

Bruce Martin: Do you have a renewed boost of confidence after you won the Indy 500 that now you know you can do anything?

Felix Rosenquist: I mean it doesn't hurt right but I'm also realistic with the fact that this is not Indianapolis Motor Speedway and I feel still like this is probably one of my worst tracks to be honest I'm pretty excited with you know how it's going so far but yeah like if I can figure this place out then I'll definitely be more confident. I feel like it honestly started before the 500. We had a really good kind of change of approach into Long Beach and then we just kind of been riding that and yeah it feels good like we feel calm and confident we kind of don't really look too much on the others and just stick to our program and it's been going well so far so yeah hopefully that'll be cool with pole number two this year.

Bruce Martin: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Graham Rahal was happy with his 11th place qualification effort, but in the race he crashed on lap 112 and finished 23rd. Rahal offered his thoughts on a variety of subjects, including his qualifications and on recent changes in IndyCar officiating, including long-time technical director Kevin Blanch announcing his retirement effective May 31st. Graham from what you were saying down there it sounds like you're pretty happy with that effort that you're gonna get a top ten starting spot so.

Graham Rahal: I mean it was a good it was a great run maybe just outside the top ten it's hard to say but yeah I mean overall it's I'm pleased with what we've got I mean look to do two tenths or three tenths quicker a lap than what these guys did. We don't have that. I mean, we did our best laps of the weekend and we're still shy. But look, I mean, we didn't start practice in a great spot. So the changes that we made, I thought were huge improvements. Yeah, I don't, I mean, I don't think it matters. I mean, as I've said to Everybody, you know, I mean, I think it's everybody's in a tough spot. Dan, you know, race controls damned if you do something damned if you don't do something. I mean, that's just naturally the way it's all going to be and drivers and teams inherently complain. And so does the media. And so does everybody on social media. So unfortunately, You're always going to be in a bad spot. I remember we looked back at Barnhart, who's now with us, and at the time everybody was disgruntled. I always thought Barnhart played it very fair. Maybe it wasn't the way you would have liked it or me at times, but I thought he played it fair. Unfortunately, I think sometimes the more people you get involved in officiating, the harder it gets. You've got to have one man sort of in charge, and if he screws up, it's your problem. There's a lot of chiefs nowadays in the new group, so that's a bit of a challenge.

Bruce Martin: Ray Hall was asked if IndyCar drivers wish the troublesome hybrid assist unit was not part of the current IndyCar formula.

Graham Rahal: But that's an accurate statement. That's an accurate statement. And yes, I think it would be great to get rid of them. I think, although the racing's been pretty good, I think reliability would get better. The cars would get significantly lighter. I would still increase the displacement of the engine. Let these things rip.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global entered Sunday night's race as the defending winner from last year. He started third and spoke about how impressed Polo Streak has been as the Chip Ganassi racing driver won his fourth straight pole on June 6th. Kirkwood went on to finish sixth Sunday night.

Kyle Kirkwood: Oh yeah, I mean we won here last year from 10th, right? And I think our cars are definitely better. I think we just proved that in qualifying, right? We qualified 10th last year here. I think that was my best qualifying around there. And then today, third. And I don't know how he does it below, but putting that big of a number up is mind boggling to me. It's like nearly being flat around this place. But I was happy with my car. We can definitely win from there. It's just one guy makes our lives really tough. So it'll be, once again, him to beat. It's not frustrating. He's kind of expected at this time. So it's like, ah, well, he did his job again. He's doing everything right. I mean, they have the crew around him. He does a phenomenal job as well. He's comfortable there. He just, it seems like it's coming easy. And it's a pretty rare thing to have. I had it in lower level cars, but never in this level, right? So I understand where they're at. And it's just momentum, to be honest.

Bruce Martin: And this is supposed to be his weak track.

Kyle Kirkwood: Yeah, but that's the thing about Ganassi and Pillow. Their weak tracks turn into their not-so-weak tracks as they work on them, and they do a really good job working on them. And for instance, like street courses. Street courses wasn't their strongest thing, and now it is. Now it's one of their strongest things. So yeah, it's hard to beat right now. They're doing a really good job.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Louis Foster of Ray Hall Letterman Lannigan Racing was pleasantly surprised by the speed of his car and qualifications and gave his thoughts on his progress as IndyCar heads into a weekend off.

Louie Foster: So Louis, how did your run feel and what's your outlook for tomorrow? I'm surprised with it, to be honest with you. I'm surprised it was fastest. in a good way, I think we had a lot more on the table really, it wasn't the cleanest of runs for us, I think the wind was difficult, we just had too much understeer so I was rolling as much speed as I could but I got to the exits trying to feed on power but the thing just wouldn't turn. So yeah I think all in all… A decent run, we're ahead of a few quick cars there already that we kind of expected to kind of maybe not be in front of. So I'm a bit surprised by it to be honest with you, but we'll see where it stands and we'll see where we start tomorrow. Yeah I think just consistency, I mean I think we were doing a decent job beforehand anyway, we just didn't have any of those massive results you know. Getting a few top tens. I mean, it's where it's where we have the pace to be We've just struggled as a team in in the race on red specifically. So You know, I've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes trying to figure out what we can do to mitigate that loss But I think generally so far this season's gone reasonably. Well, obviously we always want to do better and get more but so far I'm happy with it

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Marcus Ericcson would go on to lead the most laps in Sunday night's race. He was out front a race high 114 laps. I caught up with Erickson after Saturday's qualifications to get his thoughts entering the race and having a weekend off after a very busy month of May, followed by the short oval at Gateway on June 7th. Marcus Ericcson, from looking at the board, looks like you had a pretty decent run. How did it look from your point of view?

Marcus Ericcson: Yeah, it was okay. I think the first lap we were a bit off to the balance. I had to sort of adjust my tools in my driving. Lap two was pretty decent, so… Yeah, there was a bit more in it, but… Decent run, and I think, you know, we're gonna start there in the mid-pack probably for the race, which should be fine. It should be plenty of overtaking available tomorrow night, so I'm excited about that.

Bruce Martin: So how much do you need a weekend off? How much does your team need a weekend off? And more importantly, how much does Iris need to have Hubby have a weekend off?

Marcus Ericcson: She's enjoying the races. I think probably the guys, the crew, it's just tough for them. For the drivers, we love driving race cars. And having a blast here in Gateway is always a fun track to be here in St. Louis. And Worldwide Technology Raceway is always a cool track. So I don't mind racing every weekend. it's always pressure in this sport so I think you know it's uh he's always there I feel like we've had a strong year on the 28 car we had a couple of unfortunate dnfs to sort of put us back and lost quite a few points because of things outside our control but I think apart from that we've been very consistently in the top 10 every weekend so keep doing that and then you know get a couple of big results here for the rest of the year we should be in good shape.

Bruce Martin: Another Marcus, Meyers Schenck Racing's Marcus Armstrong gave his thoughts on his efforts after qualifications. Marcus Armstrong, that's a pretty good lap out there.

Marcus Armstrong: Pretty good two lap.

null: Thank you.

Marcus Armstrong: It was OK. It wasn't my greatest effort, to be honest. But we're going to see McLaughlin really fast right now, and also Felix, I think. But I was happy with my run. I would say you're guaranteed a pretty good starting spot. Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we've had a fast car from the very first lap, so that's good. But yeah, to get the very last bit out of it in quali, it's tricky. Also, it's very hot out here, so it's been tough to nail it. But I think that we're certainly in the ballpark, obviously. I think the fast cars are the fast cars, ultimately. But it will be very different come evening, yeah. I guess now we just wait it out with you.

Bruce Martin: Yep. Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Mick Schumacher was back on a short oval for the first time since Phoenix on March 7th and his third oval start including the May 24th Indianapolis 500. Every track on the IndyCar schedule is new to the former Formula One driver who joins me for this exclusive pit pass Indy interview. Mick Schumacher you're back on a short oval are you starting to get the hang of this?

Mick Schumacher: Yeah, I mean, you know, I think we were hoping for a little bit more. You know, we came here testing, you know, the car was in a great place. Unfortunately, I think with the temperatures being just that little bit more hot than what I expected, I think the conditions made it very understeery for us. So hopefully we'll be able to figure out what we need to do for tomorrow. But, you know, wherever we start, that's where we start and we're going to have a good race tomorrow. It's all a learning curve for me, right? I mean, I'm definitely the only one in this paddock so far that has never seen, or hasn't seen pretty much any of these tracks till this year. So I think our progression rate is good. We just got to put it all together in the race to score some results and stop going first out in short rollables. But no, I'm having fun. The team is doing a great job. We're just trying to put everything together so that we can score those points that we deserve.

Bruce Martin: Something that's new for you is a night race. How do you think that's going to go?

Mick Schumacher: Um, you know, other than that, we're driving under lights. I think not much is going to change. I think it's a great spectacle. It's great to see that, you know, already so many people have opted to come. I think it's up to 90% sold out so far, and hopefully we'll get a couple more, and I think we'll be able to have a good show out there. Last short oval. You know, we unfortunately had a really slow pit stop. You know, the gun didn't work and that cycled us through to the back. I think without that we would have been pretty comfortable in the top 10. So hopefully, yeah, won't have that this time and just go out there and run our pace, run our strategy and hopefully get lucky.

Bruce Martin: Nolan Siegel of Arrow McLaren had high hopes entering the race, but crashed on lap 53. But he gave his thoughts on several topics, including Ryan Hunter Ray, named as Arrow McLaren sporting director in this quick interview for Pit Pass Indy. How did it feel?

Nolan Siegel: Not great, not great. Yeah, not not what we were hoping for, that's for sure, but. We'll see. I'm sure we'll have a good race car. I think it's going to be a day of working lane two tomorrow. If you're going to be strong, as we've seen people do on the ovals here this year and in the past here last year. So I'm going to channel my inner Christian Rasmussen and try to go up high.

Bruce Martin: What's it like having a new sporting director with Ryan Udderay?

Nolan Siegel: No, it's great. I've really enjoyed working with Ryan all year. He has a new title. I don't think it really changes what he's been doing. It's been great having him both as a driver here and on the other side and helping us out. hugely beneficial to have him sitting in the trailer. And I'll be asking him what I did wrong there for sure. Hopefully he has some answers. I don't think the weather conditions are the biggest difference. We're going to go into just purely race-focused tomorrow. So it's a completely different mindset, completely different game. And again, it would have been really nice to qualify well here. That would have been cool. But I don't think it's really going to make a difference tomorrow.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Thanks. Another one of Siegel's teammates, Pato Award, was not happy after his qualification effort, as you can hear in this quick interview.

Pato O'Ward: Yeah, I was I was pretty unhappy with that one. It was not like it was at the end of practice, I think. I think the ride height was definitely not where it was supposed to be. It was just limiting the car and doing a lot, especially in 3 and 4. Considering how big of lifts I had to back out, a lot of times where the car was already accelerating, I think it wasn't too bad. It's pretty freaking annoying.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Rinas VeeKay crashed in Saturday's practice, but was able to respond a few hours later to qualify 13th on the grid. He charged his way through the field in the race and finished fourth. So Rinas, you had the incident in practice. What did it do with the car in terms, and how did the crew get it all back together in time for you to put out a decent effort?

Rinus VeeKay: Yeah, I mean, for this morning, you know, we luckily only damaged the rear wing. We got into the barrier literally straight. Not a lot of damage there, but great job by the team to get the car good. And with limited data because of practice crash, a good job by them to set up the car for qualifying well. I think I was a bit more in there. I think I had a bit more pace and a bit more grip than I had this morning, not having put on new tires later in the session, not being able to do it. Yeah, it was a good run. I mean, after, you know, your previous lap being in the wall, I think that's a solid run. Yeah, you got to trust the car, trust yourself. We had a good car before the crash, so I kind of went with that. Never was able to really put new tires on in the morning. So I think we had a little bit of grip left, but yeah, not very upset with how we've done so far. I think initially, you know, I wanted to qualify a little bit better, but Yeah, we can race from anywhere here. Connor did it last year, so looking forward to the race, for sure. I mean, this car, it's a little bit different. We have 550 pounds less downforce, less power, less everything, really. A good car is a good car, so you can't really change that. We made some adjustments to start this weekend from where Conor was last year, you know, taking a little sprinkle of Phoenix and putting that on there, but it is just nice to have a comfortable car on an oval, and this car is comfortable. So, yeah, I mean, running the Highline will make it a bit more enjoyable, I'm sure, with this car rather than what I've had in the past.

Bruce Martin: How bad do you need a weekend off, and how bad does the team need a weekend off?

Rinus VeeKay: I want to race every weekend. I just want more shots at it. The team, yeah, I mean, I cannot speak for the guys because I'm not sitting in the shop all the time. I get to go home after the weekends, but I'm sure they'll do good with a weekend off, but they've done an incredible job so far.

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

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Roman Grosjean of DelCoin Racing arrived at Gateway with some hardware in his right hand to repair the injury he sustained in a crash with Alexander Rossi at Detroit one week earlier, as he tells me in this exclusive PitPass Indy interview. No, it's pretty impressive, right?

Romain Grosjean: I got screwed and it's working. So the pain has been really, really good. The doctor, IndyCar, all the doctor, everyone has been fantastic, so I'm glad it's out there. How long of a screw? A big one. It was, I don't know, maybe an inch and a half. It goes from one side to the other side of the bone, so it's a good one. It's a weird pain. It's not a very hard pain, but it's a pain that you know it's not good. If you don't remind me, I don't know, I have a broken hand, so I'm happy with that. Yeah, it felt really bad. He texted me all week long, knowing how I was and if I needed a ride or whatever. So it's been super nice and shit happens, right? He didn't mean to. I made a mistake. onto onto Gateway.

Bruce Martin: Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing has become firm in his dislike for the hybrid assist unit and how it has affected some of his races as he tells me in this Pit Pass Indy interview.

Scott Dixon: It's still obviously really annoying. I think when it's stuff that's out of your control, you know, it's I guess in one way you get over a lot quicker just because it's not your problem, you know. It's just unfortunate that a lot of people seem to have the same issue with something that really adds zero. No, we tried through the race to not use it to see if that would help, but then you kind of get a runaway sell, and then ultimately it finally failed. It went a lot longer than I thought. When we first had the failure on lap four, I'm like, OK, I'm going to be done in 10 laps. I can catch an early flight. I'll get home. But then it went for like another 60. I'm like, oh my god, it's going to run the whole race. It's political, right? It's above my pay grade, man. I think if you did a poll against the drivers or a WhatsApp group, I think it would be 100% get rid of it. But there's bigger things than us, and I don't want to tell you more than that.

Bruce Martin: Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin had a throwback paint scheme on his No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske. It was designed after Elio Castroneva's 2009 Indianapolis 500 winning car, similar to the glory days of the Marlboro paint scheme. The red, white and black car was a real eye catcher all weekend. Here's my exclusive interview with Scott McLaughlin for Pit Pass Indy. When you saw that paint scheme for the first time, what did you think?

Scott McLaughlin: Oh, I mean, for me, it was what made me fall in love with Indy 500 and Indy itself. And then obviously, you know, now pinching yourself driving for Penske and driving, you know, that car number three. So pretty special. Just want to do it justice. It felt pretty hooked. Yeah, no, it felt pretty hooked. I'm not going to lie. It felt pretty good. But I would have liked my second lap to be slightly better. But yeah, first lap was strong. Degged a little bit as the run went on. Maybe didn't quite have enough balance in the car. But overall, pretty solid. Thank you. Thanks.

Bruce Martin: Stingray Rob of Juncos Hollinger Racing explains why having a weekend off is very important for his race team. Stingray, how much do you need a weekend off?

Sting Ray Robb: How much does the team need a weekend off? I mean, I don't know if I need a weekend off. I just want more good results. I mean, Detroit was OK with top 15 there. We just keep doing that. I think that our energy levels will be a lot better. But I'm sure the crew guys could use a weekend off just to reset, recalibrate their heads, get back in the space they need them to be in. Hopefully after this weekend, barring anything too crazy, we can hold our heads up high and walk away with a good finish and be able to come back to the next race with a lot more momentum.

Bruce Martin: Thank you. Thanks. 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. We wrap up this edition of Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, with a deep dive into the importance of mechanical grip on an Indy car, and the role that damper development plays in creating that grip. Damper development is one of the few areas that each IndyCar team can use their own innovation to help gain an advantage because much of the current IndyCar series package uses spec parts. That means all teams use the same manufactured part. Here is an exclusive interview with Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hall, who goes into detail explaining mechanical grip and damper development for Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is Mike Hall, the Managing Director of Chip Ganassi Racing. Mike, you've been in this business for a very long time. You've worked with the greats, including six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, now you have another grade on your team. Alex Pillow's already got four championships. But what I wanted to ask you about is the importance of mechanical grip. Because if I talk to a lot of teams around here, they say that you guys have as good a handle on mechanical grip and creating mechanical grip as any team in racing. And how important is that? Because it's one of the areas that a team can actually work on in an area where a lot of the other things on the car are very limited.

Mike Hall: Well, I think… When you have a spec race car, it encompasses the entire race car, first of all. Mechanical grip creates the advantage that you have with the tire contact patch over an entire run. So here we can run 50 to 60 laps on a set of tires before we come to the pit lane, provided it's green. So it's really, really important to be able, for particularly the two-thirds of the run, to rely on rely on the tires the right way. So we work really, really hard on the practice sessions we have to do that.

Bruce Martin: And how do you explain to people that may not be deeply involved in understanding the concept of how a race car works, the difference between mechanical grip and aero grip?

Mike Hall: Yeah, that's a really good question. Maybe somebody can explain that to us. It's a fine balance, but a lot of it has to do with the driver, the driver input, the driver feedback, and the driver's ability to be able to, for him, he or she, to first of all understand the nuance of the smallest changes you can make incrementally on the car. mechanically is we would change with the adjustments on the car, we would change camber, positive and negative on all four tires independent of each other. The toe-in, that's how the tire profile either is inward or outward. Caster is certainly important, the steering input is really, really important. And then that combines with the aero itself, so when you change The bottom of the car is aerodynamically more efficient than the top surface of the race car. So what you try to do is understand with the right height change, with how the four tires are directed as they go through a corner, with the lateral acceleration and lateral load, how to have the driver be comfortable with what they have when they turn the steering wheel.

Bruce Martin: If you increase aerodynamic grip, does that not also increase drag? Which is one reason why mechanical grip may be a preferred way to create grip on the track.

Mike Hall: I think that's a really good question. The answer is yes. The short answer would be yes. You've answered your own question.

Bruce Martin: I know, but I'm not the expert. But if you could explain to me how that works.

Mike Hall: How it works is… The freer the car, the faster it goes. So the more advantage you can create with the contact patch as opposed to the aerodynamic property of the car, the faster you're going to be. And that's really what it's all about. It's about reducing friction. So if you think, just think about it like this. If you're standing near your nearest lake or pond and you take a rock and you decide to throw it across the water, and it starts to bounce, it starts to slow down, and that's kind of what goes, in a layman's term, that's what goes on with a race car. Every time the aero is increased, it affects how the car travels in a straight line, and so that's what we really try to do, is try to balance the aero with what the contact patch is to create the traction for what we want to do.

Bruce Martin: The key in creating mechanical grip, it's another area that teams are allowed to work on and create their own, and that's damper development. Your team at Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, and probably Arrow McLaren, are probably teams that devote the most resources to understanding damper development. How important would you say damper development has been to the overall success of the team, especially with Alex?

Mike Hall: I think it's important to have a suite of dampers that helps you with the mechanical advantage of the race car. But it also helps with the tires because as the tire change, you have to continue to develop a way to be able to control the tire, the contact patch of the tire. And so that in itself is why teams work with dampers and the latest technology for control. It's all about controlling the contact patch on the roadway and having the driver be confident that the balanced front to rear will achieve that.

Bruce Martin: Now some people may ask, well it's a damper. My answer would be it's like a shock absorber, but is it a little bit different?

Mike Hall: No, it's a shock absorber. That's what it is. And frankly, the word damper came from the British. And a lot of people use it in motor racing today, which is fine. And it does more than dampen what the car does.

Bruce Martin: Well, so did Overtake and Slipstream come from the British, and also Garage instead of Garage. When you think of the myriad of possibilities of how you create a damper, I'm sure there's just all kinds of concepts that my brain probably can't comprehend. Because I think if I need shocks, I go to my tire dealer and they put some shock absorbers on. But it's not like that with a race car. So how precise has damper development become?

Mike Hall: Well, when you think about, you know, you're controlling ride, ride control, and when the car moves up and down less than the width of a thimble, that's what you're trying to control. You're trying to control that action. So think about the finite adjustment that you have inside a cylinder, and that's what you're doing.

Bruce Martin: So because that is another area where teams are allowed to do their own development, how important is that to have those boxes where you can get your own development and use your own ideas and innovation?

Mike Hall: I think it's extremely important to be able to do that. But as I said earlier, I think what you're trying to work on is controlling the movement in a very finite way. Let's face it, technology has come a long, long way. The technology and ride control and damper technology has come a long, long way. And a lot of the efficiency that you would see if you're sitting in the grandstands, you don't see the byproducts, you see the result of that efficiency. In order to create it takes hours and hours of work.

Bruce Martin: The key to your success with the 10 car is obviously Alex Pillow. The guy is just fantastic on any type of track, any type of environment. The kid finds a way to win races. But would you say that one of his not-so-secret weapons may be the fact that the damper development on this team is so good?

Mike Hall: I think it represents a team of people. Alex is our quarterback, so he throws the ball down the field. But guess what? Somebody has to receive it. Somebody has to block and tackle. Somebody up in the booth has to look down the offensive coordinator. He has to look down and see the formation of the play on a global perspective. And I think that's what we're seeing in Alex. He's able to take full advantage of what technology can do for you.

Bruce Martin: Well, I'm certainly not putting a damper in any way on Alex's success or his ability to win races and drive a race car. But it does seem that a lot of teams up and down the track marvel at how well you guys have been able to figure dampers out. And a lot of teams wish that they could have figured them out that well. But in some ways, it's good to be in the competitors' heads like that.

Mike Hall: Maybe. But you know what Chip Ganassi Racing does? It looks at other race teams and thinks, wow, how did they just do that? So some days we set the standard, and some days we follow the standard bearers. So we just keep working on it like everybody else does. Talk about the investment in dampers. The investment in dampers isn't just the technology. The investment in dampers is the people that it takes to manage the process. And no matter whether you have a spec damper or you have a team directed damper, you still have to have a staff of people to be able to manage that. So that's how you define any product that you have on your race car is the people that fashion themselves to make it right for you. I think that's where the real cost is and that's the best part because that's the team, that's the team of people that work together.

Bruce Martin: But as far as a man in your role, you've got to love when there are certain boxes that you can leave your mark, do your own thing, as opposed to just, here's a piece we can't do anything with because the rules don't allow us to.

Mike Hall: Racing has always been that way. And IndyCar racing, from the very beginning of time, when there were two people riding around in an IndyCar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was all about using the latest technology to be the fastest person on the racetrack.

Bruce Martin: Final question, you have to say your real secret weapon is Alex Pillow and I know there's the famous story back in 2020 when he was driving for Dale Coyne Racing and your pits were together. I believe it was at the COVID Indianapolis 500 or might have been at another track where your pits were. Pit boxes were together and you got to know him during that time. What was it about him that really impressed Mike Hall that led you to go to Chip Ganassi and say, I think this kid's going to be great?

Mike Hall: I think for me what it was, was watching him recover. from pit stop to pit stop to pit stop, and watching his ability to understand a big oval. It was in Indianapolis, and drivers who turn up at Indy for the very first time, and with a little bit of time on the racetrack, understand to get around that place, a flat oval, 8-degree banking, at the speeds you travel. have a special ability and I think people who watch race drivers there understand that that can transfer itself to anywhere else.

Bruce Martin: One last question though. I don't know whether you've seen the new car that's supposed to start in 2028 or not, but how many areas would you like to see for teams to be able to be allowed to do their own development or work on certain areas to innovate to make their setups different than the next guy's?

Mike Hall: We haven't really seen the car to this point and we'll get to see it hopefully soon. But being part of driving technology is why people work in motor racing. And we would like to be able to work on all aspects of the race car to make it faster.

Bruce Martin: Well, Michael, it was certainly fascinating to do a little bit of a deep dive into some of the mechanical things that make a race car go fast and why the team is so successful. Once again, I tell everybody, it's because Alex is just so darn good. But good luck the rest of this season. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of Alex in post-race interviews from now to the end of the year. Who knows? Maybe he'll get his fifth championship this year. But good luck in that quest, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you, Bruce. Thanks a lot. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guest, Bomberito Automotive Group 500 or Worldwide Technology Raceway winner, Josef Newgarden of Team Penske. Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen of ECR Christian Lungard, Nolan Siegel, and Pato Award of Errol McLaren David Maloukas and Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske Also, Meyerschank Racing's duo of Marcus Armstrong and 110th Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenquist Graham Rahal, Louis Foster, and Mick Schumacher of Rahal, Letterman, Lanigan Racing. Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global. Dennis Hauger and Roman Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing. And Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing. And a special thanks to Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hall and his thorough explanation of mechanical grip and damper development and its role in creating a fast IndyCar for joining us on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests helped make Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental your path to victory lane in IndyCar. On the highways, the raceways, and every pit stop in between, Penske Truck Rental keeps you moving forward. Gain ground with Penske. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team. Executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Sean Ruhle-Hoffman and Nathan Corson.