Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show with IndyCar drivers Rinus VeeKay, Kyffin Simpson, Marcus Armstrong and David Malukas and much more from Detroit

Bruce Martin:
IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans an insider's view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, Auto Week, and Speed Sport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy as we begin our sixth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. And wherever you are, hopefully you are staying warm and safe while recovering from a massive winter storm that swept through much of the United States over the past weekend, especially in the Southland, the Great Plains, the South, the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and the East Coast. After taking a break for a few months during the off-season, Pit Pass Indy returns for another exciting season. Although we weren't producing shows during that time, we were compiling plenty of content in the off-season, including a trip to frigid Detroit last week for Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show. Our guests on this episode of Pit Pass Indy include NTT IndyCarSeries drivers Rinas Vike, Marcus Armstrong, Kiffin Simpson, and David Maloukas. We have exclusive interviews with each driver. Also, we have exclusive interviews with General Motors Vice President for Performance and Motorsports Commercial Operations Jim Campbell, Detroit Auto Show Executive Director Sam Clement, and President of the Detroit Grand Prix Michael Montry. Let's kick off our interviews with IndyCar Series race-winning driver Renas Vike, who joins Junkos Hollinger's IndyCar team in 2026. Although this is the first time he has driven for JHR in IndyCar, he previously raced for the team in IndyNext in 2019. In 18 IndyNext races in 2019, Vike won six times, finished on the podium 14 times, and finished second in the championship. He hopes to return to similar success with the team in IndyCar and joins me for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. The IndyCar Series season doesn't start for a few more weeks, but it's never too early to talk to our next guest. It's Renas VeeKay, who's returned to Junko's Hollinger Racing. This time he's going to be competing for the team in IndyCar. We're at the Detroit Auto Show. Renas, I know it's pretty cold outside, but it won't be long till the season heats up with the 2026 season. How do you feel being here at the Detroit Auto Show and start to spread the word on the next season?

Rinus VeeKay: Yes, it's great to be here. It's really the first appearance of 2026, so I feel like the season is almost starting. This really is an indicator by being here. It's nice to be a Chevy guy in Chevy country. So, no, it's great. I'm just really excited for 2026. Of course, a long off-season and no testing yet, so I'm just really… anxious to get going and get laps and get really acquainted with the team.

Bruce Martin: It's racing day at the Detroit Auto Show and it's a partnership between the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and the Detroit Auto Show and to be able to tie those two events in together Detroit is Motor City. It's known for the automotive industry in the United States and North America. And to be able to have an IndyCar race about a block or two away from where we're at in Huntington Place on the streets of Detroit, how special is it to combine the two events, especially for the city of Detroit?

Rinus VeeKay: Oh yeah, it's great. I mean, it is the automotive city. As much as IndyCar is racing, it is a lot of Chevy and GM's IQ really. Yeah, it is really cool to be here and see all the new cars, you know, the Chevys, the GMs, everything. So, it is really good to be here and, well, I've never been in Detroit in winter, so that's quite a sight to see as well.

Bruce Martin: It gets cold in Indianapolis, but it's pretty cold here in Detroit. Oh, yes. The other thing is you live in Indianapolis now, although you're from the Netherlands, and anybody who lives in Indiana knows what a huge story the state has just gone through with the Indiana University football team. Won the national championship last night as we taped this interview the day after the college football national championship game. Did you get swept up in all the Hoosier hoopla?

Rinus VeeKay: Yes, the gym I train in, there's a lot of football talk. I am not a big football follower, but some things you just cannot get around. Yeah, just the last two games they played, really, I followed and it's just cool to see. It's nice to see an underdog story and, well, an underdog that has been very, very dominant this season. So, just very cool.

Bruce Martin: And what it means for the history of the state of Indiana. It's just something that everybody that's from Indiana or lives in Indiana or who attended Indiana University I graduated from Indiana University. I never thought that was ever going to happen, that IU football would be any good, let alone win a national championship.

Rinus VeeKay: Yeah, you can see everybody's so proud in Indiana because they beat the Miami fans in Miami. So there's, I mean, there was more Indiana fans by quite a bit in Miami, which shows the pride of the state.

Bruce Martin: As a professional athlete that works with coaches and works with motivators, you have to get inspired by the head coach in Indiana, Kurt Cignetti. He really did a remarkable job turning what was historically the losing his team in major college football into a national champion in just two years.

Rinus VeeKay: Yeah, I mean, that says, you know, it's the things with sport is just one or two people can transform a team. A team is a bunch of people working together. So, you know, it's just about how can we make a team work? as efficiently as possible. And, you know, it's something I've done last year with Dill Coin Racing, where, you know, I was brought into the team, made a big change, made a big difference. And it's something I'm also looking to do with JHR coming season.

Bruce Martin: But when you see a coach from a different sport, do you sometimes listen to what they have to say and say, that's a good idea? I might want to incorporate that into my mental approach in a competition?

Rinus VeeKay: Of course. I mean, sport is… I mean, it's the same mental approach in every sport, as different as it can be. I can see it between my wife, who's in boxing, and me in racing. We still approach things the same way, and it's all about your professionalism and your drive, and also much of how you treat your team. So, yeah, of course, I look at what other people say, and there's… Things you can really learn from, and one big one for me is tennis, where that's such a mental game, which can really translate to racing.

Bruce Martin: You had an extremely impressive season at Dale Coyne Racing. You helped take what is generally considered to be one of the weaker teams in IndyCar in terms of resources and get them up to compete for the podium, for race victories. Dale Coyne is an inspirational figure in that he doesn't have a lot, but you're able to get the most out of what he has. So how difficult was it to leave that after one year? Because in a lot of ways you had built up a pretty good dynamic with the team.

Rinus VeeKay: Oh yeah, definitely. It wasn't a no-brainer to leave. It's one of those decisions that take a lot of thought and approaches. Yeah, I mean, I've gone over the two of them and of those two, from all the info I had gathered, yes, the old coin raising has become a pretty stable place if I had stayed there. But with JHR, the investments they could make, the The projects they had going for the offseason and the role I could play in their team just was the better choice for me.

Bruce Martin: You've had a previous relationship at June Coast Hollinger Racing. How important is that to be able to go back? In many ways, it's almost like going back home. But of course, when you were there before, it wasn't with the IndyCar team.

Rinus VeeKay: Yes, I mean, the team has changed a lot. So, I mean, with Brad Hollinger joining the team, that's, you know, that happened after I wasn't in the next with the team. So, no, it definitely is a totally different team, but everybody's really welcoming. And it is much like coming home. And, well, I mean, it is only a 25 minute drive from my apartment to go to the team. So it's an easy, easy drive to get there and I've been coming there as much as possible to get to know the guys, to motivate the guys and to work together with them to really already become a team before we do one single lap on a track.

Bruce Martin: That's the one thing that's different because Dale Coyne Racing is located in Plainfield, Illinois, which is a far western suburb of Chicago, down the Interstate 55. How often did you make the trip up there to go into the shop when you were with Dale Coyne Racing?

Rinus VeeKay: I've been up there a handful of times. I'd say three, four, five times. I mean, once the season really is going, It is hard to get there all the time. You know, you really have to take a full day to drive up there, be with the team and come back. So, yeah, that was a little bit hard. It is definitely convenient with JHR being in Indianapolis, basically being on Main Street near the Speedway. It is a really easy drive to do, and I'm their regular driver for pit stop practice, so that's just nice to do, and it's nice to just get to know everybody and work with them already.

Bruce Martin: You're one of the drivers that changed teams during the off-season. David Maloukas is now at Team Penske, Will Powers now in the 26 at Andretti Global, Kiffin Simpson now has a new sponsor. How long does it take for drivers to know mentally, that's who's in that car now? Well, I mean, it goes pretty quick.

Rinus VeeKay: It goes pretty quick. I'm sure it's going to be a little bit of, I think Will Power being an Andretti, that's just the one. I think everybody's going to struggle with that one just because, well, I would say Power and Penske were like synonymous in the past. So, yeah, that will take a little bit of adjustment. But no, it's going to be, It's going to be pretty quick when we get to the adjustments. I already feel like when I look in the mirror and I see this J.H.R. logo on my shirt, it feels normal.

Bruce Martin: But when the 12 car is in your side view mirror, is it almost natural to think, that's Will Power pulling up behind me instead of David Maloukas?

Rinus VeeKay: Oh yes, definitely, definitely. But yeah, I mean, you'll get used to that quick. As quick as we learn tracks, we'll learn cars as well.

Bruce Martin: You're a previous IndyCar Series race winner. Now you're with a new team. Everybody's involved in this sport to win races and fight for championships. So how confident are you that there's going to be some big things for Arena's VeeKay in 2026?

Rinus VeeKay: Oh, I'm really confident. And I mean, it's going to take a lot of hard work. And I feel like since my win in 2021, I have grown tremendously as a driver and I can really, I've showed I can really transform a team. So I've already sat down a lot with the engineers and we have, I think the team, how we're going to show up in Sebring for the first test. is already miles stronger than they were last year in the final race. So I'm really excited, and I really believe we should walk away with the win by the end of the year.

Bruce Martin: Well, Rinas VeeKay, good luck in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. Enjoy the Detroit Auto Show the rest of the day, and make sure when you get back to Indianapolis in the state of Indiana, you celebrate the Indiana Hoosiers National Championship. Oh, yes, I will. I'll have a pork tenderloin for sure. Thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Next up is a driver that showed tremendous improvement in 2025. It's New Zealand's Marcus Armstrong of Meyers Schenck Racing, who finished seventh in the NTT IndyCar Series Championship last season. Armstrong intends to continue that upward trend as he tells me in this exclusive PitPass Indy interview. We're at the Detroit Auto Show and it might be pretty frigid outside, but that's also an indication that the NTT IndyCar Series season is going to start up here in a couple of weeks. And our next guest is going to be one of the hottest drivers on the track, Marcus Armstrong, Meyers Schenck Racing. I don't know if you've been to Detroit Auto Show before, but in a lot of ways it signals the fact that racing season's not far down the road. This is more of a business trip for you, but how excited are you to come to an event like this and know that testing's coming up, it's time to go racing?

Marcus Armstrong: It certainly is time to go racing. We've got Sebring in a couple of weeks, Phoenix very closely followed. It's nice to finally get back with the team and do some meaningful preparation as opposed to just hypotheticals. But I'm really looking forward to the season. It's going to be a great one, very busy to start as well, so preparation is key.

Bruce Martin: Your improvement in IndyCar last year was pretty significant. So how much confidence does that give you going into 2026 that you can make the same type of leap this season?

Marcus Armstrong: Absolutely. It's exciting, but it's why we have to keep our feet on the ground here because, you know, it's a long season ahead. Even though we're approaching it one race at a time, you've got to look at the full picture. Last season was certainly better. We didn't at all accomplish what we wanted to, but we're certainly on the right track. Luckily for me and my team, we're basically staying unchanged almost. Continuity as well, it's a positive thing.

Bruce Martin: And to be able to go back to a team that has a lot of consistency and continuity, how valuable is that for an IndyCar driver?

Marcus Armstrong: It certainly is. You're not learning each other. You're not learning personalities or anything like that, or the way that each other works. You know, I'm very lucky to have a fantastic group around me at Myoshank Racing. And as well, my engineering crew is so hungry for success. You know, it's fantastic. I mean, everyone shares the same passion. And we're going to go out there, we're going to go try and win some races and challenge for a championship.

Bruce Martin: Your teammate Felix Rosenquist also had a pretty good season. It seems that the two of you work very well together. What's the key to that chemistry? Well, Felix is a great guy.

Marcus Armstrong: He's very chilled, calm, and just a really good dude. So I don't think anyone's ever had a bad thing to say about Felix, frankly. Him and I, we do work well together. We always want similar things from the car, fundamentally. The priority for us is to get us both up the grid. We want to be as close to the front as possible. Last year, we started St. Pete starting the race third and fourth. That's the sort of thing that we want to be continuously doing, just starting right at the pointy end and delivering good results for the team.

Bruce Martin: Your team owner, Michael Shank, along with Jim Meyer and Elio Castroneves is also a stakeholder in the team. Mike Shank's a very inspirational type of guy. How much does that really fire you up a little bit? Because when you talk to Mike, he can really sell you on what he's after.

Marcus Armstrong: Yeah, Mike is certainly motivational. Jim as well. I think Jim's got enough charisma to fuel the entire team. No, but they complement each other very well, I think, in their management styles. Like I said, I feel like the environment inside the team is very good, very friendly. We obviously push each other hard. There's no doubt about it. We don't just try and rock up and finish P8. We're constantly looking for ways to improve, but I must say from an environmental point of view, it's a great place to race.

Bruce Martin: Do you enter the 2026 season thinking, win or else? It's important to win races that you've got to get into victory lane in 2026. Is that like a driving goal for you to win a race?

Marcus Armstrong: Yes, I want to win a race this year at least. I feel like we did a great job being consistent last year. Consistency is certainly, I think it's a good quality to have. We managed it well, but I feel like we need to have a few more spectacular results. I'd love to really start strong. And then obviously throughout the season when it gets really busy, week to week to week, it's important to keep that momentum rolling.

Bruce Martin: Throwing Alex Fallot's spectacular season in 2025 out of the way, one thing that I thought helped him was getting off to a fast start in the championship. So just how important is that to get off to a very fast start?

Marcus Armstrong: I mean, it's good to start the season inside the top five for sure. That was the first time Alex has won in St. Pete. I think he told me that he hasn't even been in the fast six in St. Pete before. I don't think it's all or nothing for the first race. It's just got to start strong. Unfortunately, in the last two years have been in very strong positions and then ultimately not finish the race, which is a real shame, really. But we're going to rectify that this year and compete for a race win, like I said.

Bruce Martin: After that first race at St. Pete, it's going to be off to Phoenix. IndyCars return to Phoenix Raceway. You've never competed on that track before. It's a historic track for IndyCars. How do you look at the Phoenix race in terms of putting on a really good show on the short oval? And also, it's going to be part of an IndyCar NASCAR doubleheader weekend.

Marcus Armstrong: Yeah, that's going to be really cool. I'm looking forward to it. I love my ovals. It's good to start the season with an oval too, as opposed to waiting till Indy. Despite having a very different characteristic to Indy, I feel like it is somewhat relevant. I think Phoenix is going to be a really cool place to race. I haven't investigated it too much. We've got a test here in the next couple of weeks, so we'll get down to the nitty-gritty very soon.

Bruce Martin: I have been asked by some people what the surface is going to be like between the tire rubber that NASCAR uses, the Firestone tire rubber that IndyCar uses. Is there any cause for concern that as far as the way the track surface is, the way the IndyCar might handle with some of the different compound tire rubber that the NASCAR vehicles use?

Marcus Armstrong: No, I think it's probably a positive, if anything, because they're going to be cleaning the track pretty heavily up top. I imagine it's only going to be a positive, just from a grip or track cleaning standpoint, at least. But ultimately, we lay down rubber so quickly. It would take us maybe 10 laps to clean it off a wee bit. I remember back in the day when we were racing with the Formula 1, the first three laps of the run would be super quick because that's the Formula 1 rubber. But then after three laps, the F2 rubber was already laid down, so it's a quick process.

Bruce Martin: You're from New Zealand. The term football means something completely different to somebody from New Zealand, but you live in Indianapolis. How much did you get swept up in the Indiana football team that won the national championship? It's a historic day for the entire state of Indiana, in many ways, for college football.

Marcus Armstrong: Yeah, don't get me wrong. I'm more of a NFL fan than a soccer fan, so American football, let's say.

Bruce Martin: The cult started off good. Unfortunately, it didn't end well.

Marcus Armstrong: I mean, I train with DeForest Buckner almost every day at Oswell. No, I mean, I watched the game last night. I actually watched a lot of their games through the season. I mean, it's amazing to see. And as well, I love the intensity that Kurt Cignetti has. I think that's pretty unmatched.

Bruce Martin: Can you use any of what Kurt Cignetti did mentally to approach your craft?

Marcus Armstrong: Well, certainly I appreciate the way he goes about his business where he actually, you know, it's one thing after another. He never celebrates, you know, it's always what's next, what's next. So from a sporting standpoint, it's pretty spectacular. There's no, I suppose that's why, you know, he's become so successful. But, you know, I think the whole team, you know, it's also the The defense was strong as well. It wasn't only the offense, you know, it was also their play call at the end. Was it the first or second quarter when they had their tight end rush for a touchdown? You know, that's just trickery. That's brilliant.

Bruce Martin: But the play that's going to go down in history for anybody from the state of Indiana is Fernando Mendoza's fourth down touchdown where he put himself at tremendous risk physically. Nothing was going to keep him out of the end zone. How impressed were you as an athlete what he was able to do when it mattered the most?

Marcus Armstrong: Well, I think that's obviously impressive. But what I find really cool is when he's been knocked down so many times, he's had huge hits. I think every single game of recent history, he's had a huge hit and he just jumps straight back up and he's unfazed. It's kind of like when you crash a race car, oftentimes people will be a bit tentative to begin with before building their confidence back. He, like a true racing car driver, doesn't have that tentative first couple of minutes back.

Bruce Martin: And in our final question with Marcus Armstrong, we're at the Detroit Auto Show. a couple of blocks away from the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix streets that form the street course. How big of an event is that for you, the weekend after the Indianapolis 500, to come to Motor City, USA, and put on a race on the streets of Detroit?

Marcus Armstrong: I mean, I love it every year coming here. It's certainly one of my favorites, honestly. You know, nice, it's a cool city, nice hotels, and the track itself is very challenging. It's certainly a change of pace when you come from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's always been kind to me, this place. First podium here and we have strong cars too. The Detroit Grand Prix, it's always circled on my calendar.

Bruce Martin: Well, Marcus Armstrong, it's a busy day for you today. You're in high demand, so I'm going to let you go. But good luck in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. When you go back to Indianapolis, take part in the celebration for the Indiana football team. Good luck the rest of the year, or good luck at the start of the year and throughout the year. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. We continue with more driver interviews from the Detroit Auto Show. Our next guest is another young driver that showed improvement in 2025. It's 21-year-old Kiffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing. Simpson had three top five finishes and one podium in 2025 when he finished third at Toronto. The driver from the Cayman Islands will carry the iconic Sunoco colors on his Honda in 2026. Here is my exclusive interview with Kiffin Simpson for Pit Pass Indy. It might be negative 15 wind chill outside, but inside Huntington Place here in Detroit, it's nice and warm. As our next guest joins us, Kiffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing. Kiffin, it's racing day at the Detroit Auto Show held in January, but it also signals that the start of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season is rapidly approaching. So how's the off season been and how excited do you get this time of year when it's time to get ready to go racing again?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, it's been a great offseason, great to spend time with family and get back home to Cayman, but definitely a long offseason. So looking forward to getting back in a car and getting back on track.

Bruce Martin: You had a really good season of improvement in 2025. When you look at some of the things you were able to accomplish, how much does that really get you excited about what's further to come for you and what you can do in 2026?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, it's great for sure. I think the big thing for me is we made a big improvement on ovals at Nashville. So we just want to make sure that we continue strong at ovals like we finished and make sure that we did actually learn from that improvement and can apply it to other tracks. So we're going to work hard at that for Phoenix and try to Well, we'll see how it goes at the test. And I'm excited to get out there to actually experience that track for the first time as well.

Bruce Martin: When you're on the same team as a driver who dominated IndyCar the last couple of years with Alex Polo, he won eight of 17 races last year, including the Indy 500, and a legend like Scott Dixon, do you enjoy the fact that you're able to focus on what you need to do to get better and let them have all the accolades for now?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, it's nice for sure. Is it a lot of pressure being on the most winning team on the grid right now? Maybe a little bit, but I mean, I enjoy it. I think that it's nice to have them there to be a good reference for myself, to push myself and to find ways to improve for myself and push progress.

Bruce Martin: There's a lot of talk and a lot of anticipation for IndyCar to announce the new car that's supposedly set to begin in 2028. We haven't seen it yet, but what are your thoughts on how much the series needs to have a new car and to do something different? Because we've been driving this car now since 2012.

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, for sure. I think a new car is very important for us. If done correctly, it'll be a good way to make the series feel fresh. Not that IndyCar doesn't naturally feel fresh with every race weekend being different, but I think it's just a good way to make IndyCar more relevant and just expand it furthermore.

Bruce Martin: So you split time between Indianapolis and your home in the Cayman Islands. Have to ask you, what's the climate like in the Cayman Islands in January?

Kyffin Simpson: I mean, it's probably 75 and sunny right about now. So yeah, maybe a little bit of wind too. So that would be quite nice relative to the one degree we have here.

Bruce Martin: Yeah, so with the wind chill, it's probably 80 degrees difference between Detroit and the Cayman Islands. Yeah. But what do you typically do in the offseason when you go back?

Kyffin Simpson: A lot of everything in Cayman, you know? There's a lot to do on the beach, so spend a lot of time at the beach. Go out on the boat quite a bit, jet skis, kite surfing, you know, any sort of water sports we can do. Yeah, and then spend time with family, of course.

Bruce Martin: How much do you keep up with what's going on with the race team during the off-season up in Indianapolis? I'm sure it's pretty active that you're involved with them.

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, I mean, they take a break through Christmas, so I don't miss out on too much around then, luckily. But then, yeah, as soon as we're getting back into race season in January, then I've got to tap back into what we're doing and what we're working on and make sure we're all moving in the right direction.

Bruce Martin: How much have you been able to use the knowledge and experience that your teammates like Scott Dixon and Alex Pillow have to make yourself better?

Kyffin Simpson: A lot of ways. I mean, obviously Scott's got his whole magic with fuel saving, so it's great to be able to see that up close and personal and learn from that. And then Alex is kind of just a jack of all trades, so learning from him in all sorts of ways. Yeah, a lot of it's weekend to weekend stuff where you just learn new ways of driving each track. So, yeah, it's been a huge help for me, and I think that's a huge part of my progress.

Bruce Martin: You live in Indianapolis, but if you live in Indiana, you had to get swept up on the Indiana University football team. They won the national championship, something that I, as an IU grad, never, ever, ever thought would ever happen, ever. And they did it. So how much did you get swept up in that? And how excited are you to see something so historic for that state and in a lot of ways for college football?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, it was very cool. It was great to watch this year. It's also cool for me personally, because I got to meet quite a few of those guys on the IU team, like Carter Smith and a couple of the other guys. They came to the 500 one day, one practice day, and got to meet them there. So it's very cool to see them go on to win the national championship. And it's great for Indiana. And cool that Indiana has a pretty incredible football team right now. So I'm excited to see how they fare next season as well.

Bruce Martin: As a professional athlete, how impressed were you to see the play that's going to live on in history from the national championship game was Fernando Mendoza's fourth down run for a touchdown as the quarterback. He put himself out there. and he scored and a lot of people look at that just the way how many hits he took and how he was still able to get into the end zone and it's going to be a play that'll live in college football history but you as an athlete how much do you admire the competitive fire that somebody like that does to win?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, it's great. It's great to see the competition from both sides. Miami was obviously out there to win as well and they were putting their bodies on the line for it. like big football guy, only now getting into it, so still learning a lot. But, you know, from my perspective, it seemed like, yeah, he really had the fire in his heart to go win that game.

Bruce Martin: The coach, Kurt Cignetti, very inspiring, very motivating type guy. Some drivers say race drivers. There's a lot of metal that goes into winning races. And in coaching, there's a lot of metal to get athletes to be able to do things that maybe they're not sure they can do. So do you learn anything from observing other coaches and other sports, how they're able to utilize certain motivational things that can help a race driver?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, yeah, I think so. You know, it's at the end of the day, all sports end up being mind games. And when you can tap into that part of it, it's very important. So he obviously was very famous for his mindset this year. And I think that's a very important part of sports.

Bruce Martin: And as I said, the season's coming up pretty quickly. It's going to be content days coming up next week in Indianapolis. Then you're going to have some preseason testing a few days after the Daytona 500. Track that you haven't raced at before, Phoenix Raceway, Short Oval. How excited are you to get a chance to go out there and see some of the old style IndyCar series Short Oval racing at Phoenix?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, I think it'll be interesting. Obviously, a couple people have tested there already, so I've heard a little bit about it. Super excited for a race weekend there as well with NASCAR. I think that'll be a cool little crossover. And yeah, I think it'll be cool to be going to a new oval. It's going to be a steep learning curve for me. I never even watched a race of that track until when I heard it was announced. It's going to be a steep learning curve, but I'm looking forward to it.

Bruce Martin: NASCAR uses a really curious type of exit out of turn four at that track, where they'll drive across the apron. Do you see IndyCar using any type of line like that, or do you see them sticking more to the actual racing layout?

Kyffin Simpson: I'd say it's not likely. Just the way the car is built, it's not going to be happy going down there. Maybe in qualifying it could be worth it, but I don't know. We'll have to see what people think once we get there and what people's ideas are.

Bruce Martin: Maybe for a last lap win the race type of pass, but not something on every restart like we see happen in NASCAR.

Kyffin Simpson: I don't know. I mean, it could be one of those things. I haven't been there, so I haven't seen it for myself, haven't seen what it actually is like, haven't felt it. So it'll be a learning curve. That'll be another thing that I'm learning when I get there.

Bruce Martin: And another big race on the schedule is going to be the Grand Prix of Arlington, right there where the Dallas Cowboys play, where the Texas Rangers play. So in a lot of ways, how excited are you over the prospect of that race?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, very excited for that race. I think based on all the buildup, it looks like IndyCar is putting a lot into that and the promoters are putting a lot into that race, which you love to see. And it's just great to see IndyCar really putting a lot of effort into that race, that new race. I think it's going to be a great event. and it's gonna be the home race for Sunoco as well. So that'll be very cool for me driving the Sunoco car. And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the track in person.

Bruce Martin: Well, Kiffin Simpson, keep up the improvement. Keep your climb in the NTT IndyCar Series. Good luck in 2026. Thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Our final driver's interview is with David Maloukis, the newest driver at Team Penske. He takes over the number 12 Verizon Chevrolet as longtime Team Penske driver and two-time IndyCar champion Will Power moves over to Andretti Global in 2026. David Maloukis joins me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview at the Detroit Auto Show. It might be a windchill of minus 15 degrees outside, but the season is starting to warm up a bit because it won't be long until our next guest is on the track for some IndyCar Series testing. David Maloukas of Team Penske has joined us. We're at Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show after the Indianapolis 500. We'll be back up here for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Do you look at this getting out, getting back on the road, going to the auto show knowing this is where the season really kind of starts and now you start really focusing in on racing.

David Malukas: Yeah, 100%. Is it June? I thought it's like end of last week of May. No? Is it June?

Bruce Martin: It's the last weekend of May, the first weekend of June. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's wherever the calendar falls on that. I didn't say last weekend of June. I said in June.

David Malukas: Okay, I'm just making jokes. Anyways, no, life is good right now. We're at Racing Day, Tri Auto Show, looking at some beautiful cars. Obviously, we're looking at a bunch of Chevys right now. It's awesome, but No, this is definitely kind of the start point of, hey, the season's coming up. It's right around the corner. We got to get to work. A lot of stuff we got to get done. And that's the plan. I mean, right after this show, we're heading back to the shop. We got engineers already got a bunch of stuff ready for me that we're going to look through and work on the sim.

Bruce Martin: To connect IndyCar, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, and the automotive industry of the United States, how important is that? Because the success of each is very vital for the others.

David Malukas: Oh, 100%. Yeah, I mean, we need success all around. And yeah, you come from the racing world and even into normal production. That's definitely what we need.

Bruce Martin: So the last time I caught up with you, I believe, was in November. What has been going on with David Maloukas since then?

David Malukas: I can't believe it's already been November. I feel like we just talked last week. It's been, it's time is going by fast. But hey, I guess they say time flies by when you're having a good time. And I've been having a fantastic time. Team Penske has been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. I get to live it every day now. So since November, I have officially moved into the Charlotte area. I've gotten comfortable. I've been heading to the shop now, working through data plans and getting ready for this next season. I'm trying to go to the gym a lot. Not enough, though. I just talked with Reynos and Marcus, and they're showing their numbers and saying, we're doing this, doing that. I was like, man, I got to stop talking. I got to go for a run. I got to run back to Charlotte now. I got some work to do. But no, things have been good, and we're getting ready.

Bruce Martin: For a kid from Chicago, you're used to traffic. But in some ways, did the traffic in the Charlotte, Lake Norman, Mooresville, North Carolina area surprise you, just how bad it really is?

David Malukas: That bridge on 77, it gets really bad, man. I couldn't believe it. I was like, man, this is, I mean, Chicago downtown, it's bad, but this is kind of the same thing. I mean, just trying to get down back into the South, it's been… It's been tough, but we're getting used to it. There's certain times you can get around it. I'm starting to figure it out and I'm trying to plan my schedule around it so I don't miss two hours in traffic.

Bruce Martin: And that dynamic toll lane? Sometimes they'll charge you $8 to go a mile and a half.

David Malukas: I don't want to talk about it. I don't like it. I don't like it at all. And yeah, I don't want to talk about it.

Bruce Martin: Yeah, at least in Chicago, it's pretty much a set fee what you do every time you go under a tollway transponder.

David Malukas: Yeah, I much prefer that. I mean, you have a set fee and it's for all lanes, so it just makes much more sense. A lot of the traffic, I think, is built around this toll system, so I'm not a fan.

Bruce Martin: One thing you are a fan of, though, is getting in that Team Penske No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. And we're going to go somewhere that I don't think you've ever raced at before, Phoenix Raceway, second race of the season. What do you think of that? It's going to be another short oval. And what we've seen is the short oval races in IndyCar are really, really good.

David Malukas: They are very, very good. And I'm very excited. I have my love for ovals. And to add another one here into Phoenix, it's going to be brand new for me. But somebody who's done really well there, Joseph Newgard, and he's my teammate. So I'm going to be talking with him. trying to get some tips and tricks to see if he would tell me. He might not tell me, but you know, his data is somewhere in there. So I'm going to talk to the engineers and find it and try to get ready for this race.

Bruce Martin: As a Chicago boy, were you a little disappointed that the Chicago Bears season ended the way it did? They came close.

David Malukas: Yeah. You know, when it came to football, you know, I was never too much into football. But, you know, being a Bears fan throughout my life, it's been hard. You know, we haven't really had too much success. But hey, there's a lot of positives to look at this season. I mean, We made it close and there's a lot to be proud of, but yeah, obviously we came just short, but it's okay. To see this turnaround and to actually be easy to root for the Bears, it feels good.

Bruce Martin: And wrap it up here with David Malouk as a team Penske, as a Chicago boy living in Charlotte, you're not going to really find a good Chicago pizza place in Charlotte. You're not going to find a good Chicago-style hot dog in Charlotte. I don't know whether you As a fit trim athlete, you probably don't indulge much in those either. But is it going to be a little surprising that some of the things you grew up that were easily accessible are no longer as accessible?

David Malukas: Not too bad. I think, you know, like you said, we have our certain diets. We go out, you know, maybe once a week to some nice little dinner spot, you know, going on a nice little date. But majority of time, we want to cook our own food and try to be on that healthy grind. Season's right around the corner. Who knows, maybe through time we'll start missing it, but I think it makes the trips back to Chicago for Christmas, for Thanksgiving, I think it makes those trips that much more valuable, because now I could be like, oh, you know what I really need right now? I need some portillos. I've been missing out on my portillos. Let me go get some.

Bruce Martin: Or a trip to Elle's for an Italian beef.

David Malukas: Oh, yeah, man. Yeah. That's what I'm saying now. Now it's a joy because, hey, it's been a long time. Let me go over there and experience it.

Bruce Martin: Well, anyway, David Belugas, it's always fun talking to you. Good luck with Team Penske. We'll have an extended interview with you coming up here later on Pit Pass Indy. But enjoy the Detroit Auto Show. Stay warm. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you for having me. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show combines the American automotive industry, the city of Detroit, the IndyCar Series, and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, allowing us to talk to some of the most important individuals in each industry. That includes General Motors Vice President for Performance and Motorsports Commercial Operations, Jim Campbell, who joins me for this exclusive PitPass Indy interview. I really got to straighten up and fly right here because our next guest is a very important individual because he runs General Motors Motorsports Operations. It's Jim Campbell. He has a very impressive title, which I'll never remember it all completely. But here we are at the Detroit Auto Show. It's January. It's got a wind chill outside of negative 15. but there's a lot of heat and warmth in this building because we all know it's not long before racing heats up again, and that's big news for Chevy for a man in your job. So how excited are you?

Jim Campbell: It's great to be here at the Detroit Auto Show. The show's back in January where it belongs. It's focused on Detroit and all the automakers that are based here, plus just some other makes as well. But today's race day at the Detroit Auto Show, and today's a day when it's bitterly cold outside where we can look forward and forecast some amazing racing coming at us. Obviously, we'll be racing here with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with IMSA, Indynext, and IndyCar on May 29th, 30th, and 31st. It's going to be great to be back in the city of Detroit, but we've got a lot of great racing ahead across all the series we're involved in.

Bruce Martin: Huntington Place, the convention center here in downtown Detroit, is just a block or two away from the actual race course on the streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. And just to have this much synergy between the auto show, downtown Detroit, General Motors, Chevrolet, IndyCar, and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix all in this one little area, how important is that synergy?

Jim Campbell: Well, it's a great time to celebrate all things automotive and motorsports and racing, and look forward to this race coming at the end of May. Literally, you walk out the front door of Huntington Place, you can walk about, call it 50 steps, and you'll be right at the part of the course of this 1.7 mile 13 turn. Grand Prix course for Detroit and so there's a lot of action that's gonna be right out the front door here. We can't wait for it to come. Obviously we'll be running Corvettes and the GTD class of the IMSA along with our Cadillacs will be in GTP and then of course on the other end of the weekend IndyCar will be running and about half the fields will be Chevrolet's powered and we can't wait.

Bruce Martin: But I would imagine that with your new offices, with the new headquarters for General Motors, you no longer have the ability to look out your window at the race course like you did when it was the GM Center, which was previously the Wren Center in Detroit, which overlooked everything. So that's gotta be a little different.

Jim Campbell: It's a little different, but General Motors and Dan Gilbert still have, you know, kind of were aligned to redevelop the whole Renaissance Center together and committed resources to do just the same thing. We've previously committed a lot of money to build up the waterfront in front of the Renaissance Center. So we're going to celebrate all that. Our world headquarters moved about six, seven blocks away, right here in downtown Detroit on the famous Woodward Avenue. We opened it up last week and it's great to be still in Detroit. It's at a location that was a long time ago called the Hudson's department store. And so Dan Gilbert built a facility, the department at Hudson's and that's where our world headquarters is now.

Bruce Martin: Between the automotive industry and between Roger Penske's civic efforts, Detroit's really been revitalized. Don't have to go back very long to where there was a lot of areas of Detroit that needed some work, but now downtown Detroit is really revitalized. It probably rivals a lot of other cities now for things to do, for cleanliness, for new construction, for a lot of cool things that happened in Detroit. So how valuable is that to play such a role in that revitalization?

Jim Campbell: Yeah, that's a great point. And, you know, I was at a, Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club last week with Roger Penske and Mark Royce. They were hosted by Carol Kane. And they talked about that journey that Detroit's been on. Detroit is one of these secrets in America where you come here, it's an amazing place, great restaurants, lots of things to do, activities all the way through the summer and through the winter. It's a great place to be. And when people come here, they discover how, what a great city it is. And so a lot of commitment as both Mark Royce and Roger Penske talked about his teamwork inside. of the Detroit area, private and public entities coming together to invest in this amazing city. And we love it. And we call it our world. It's our headquarters. It's where we're from. It's where we're headquartered. And then obviously having this race here is a big deal for us. As a car company, you know, selling cars and racing cars is what we love to do.

Bruce Martin: How involved are you with the Formula One Cadillac effort?

Jim Campbell: Yeah, I'm involved, you know, we're uniquely an equity owner in the team. It's General Motors along with TWG Motorsports are formed a joint venture. And so from that perspective, you know, Mark Royce and Barry Barra and a number of us, Eric Warren, myself are heavily involved in that effort. And so it's something that we're representing kind of our shareholder interests, but also we're We're deeply involved from an engineering standpoint, working on projects to get assigned from the Cadillac Formula One team to our team in Charlotte, primarily. Eric Warren leads the team there, and when we get an assignment to deliver an engineering solution on an area that they're developing, our team's eager to go to work and get after it. We also have people from GM that are sitting in the team itself, and so it's great. It's an amazing new journey. It's a startup. We're building a brand new organization and a new car at the same time. As you probably know, for the first few years, we'll be running a Ferrari power unit, but at the same time, in Charlotte, we're just putting the finishing touches on building a new facility that's gonna develop the General Motors power unit that will power, you know, the Cadillac power unit that'll power our Formula One effort here near the end of the decade. So it's an exciting time for us. A new series, we're involved in a lot of series in our company, but Formula One's the latest edition.

Bruce Martin: Before IndyCar hits the track, and even before NASCAR hits the track, you'll hit the track, the Rolex 24 at Atona, the sports car race. You've got a lot of different divisions that General Motors is part of. How important of an event is that, especially from a manufacturer's standpoint? Because that really is the form of racing that really showcases, I believe there's 18 different OEMs that are involved in IMSA.

Jim Campbell: It is. We're certainly one of them, and we're proud to be racing there. We love that race. It really essentially kicks off the racing season for us. We'll have our whole team down there. Obviously, Cadillac will be competing in the GTP. class will have three entries, two with Wayne Taylor Racing and one with Action Express or Wheelin Racing with Cadillac and then Corvette will have five entries, two in the GTD Pro category and three in the GTD which is the Pro-Am class. Obviously last year one of the Pro-Am Corvettes won its class. Corvette, the number three Corvette on the pro side, won the championship last year overall, driver and team. And we're looking forward to kicking off 2026 with a big weekend coming up. I'm leaving here in about 24 hours.

Bruce Martin: After that, you return to Daytona for the biggest NASCAR race of the season, the Daytona 500. That's always a crown jewel event in racing and Chevrolet has won that a lot of times especially William Byron's going for his third straight at Hendrick Motorsports.

Jim Campbell: That is a favorite race also of the year so we'll be there in full force. This year we're running an updated Camaro ZL1 and so the teams are you know putting the new pieces and parts together. It's always a unique time when you get a new You know, new body panels and you got to make sure it's all working well together, but we're excited about the possibilities for 2026. We won 15 races last year in NASCAR Cup, and obviously Kyle Larson won the championship as a driver in a pretty dramatic, you know, final lap shootout with Denny Hamlin. It was an unbelievable finish. They're changing the format now for the championship with the 10 race format, you know, kind of, you know, the chase format, if you will, kind of going back to the way it was previously. So that's exciting as well. And so it's going to be a big weekend at the Daytona 500.

Bruce Martin: How important was it for you being a major stakeholder in NASCAR to see that there was a settlement between the teams and NASCAR involving the charter agreement?

Jim Campbell: Well, we're glad that the settlement is done and behind us and we can get focused on racing going forward. That's what we want to focus on, racing.

Bruce Martin: But of course, this is Pit Pass Indy, and we talk about IndyCar, and there's a lot of big things that are in the works for IndyCar, including the possibility of a new car in 2028. I'm sure you're involved deeply in those discussions. If only you would tell me what they were. But just how important is that to get that concluded, get a new car, start testing a new car, and get it ready for the 2028 season?

Jim Campbell: You're asking for all the behind-the-scenes info here. I think the key is that, seriously, as a racing series, and then the key stakeholders, whether it's us, or Honda, or Firestone, or all the key stakeholders, the race teams, of course, we've got to work together to really grow the IndyCar series. The racing's incredible, wheel-to-wheel, upwards of 240 miles an hour. when you're at Indy. The racing's incredible, a variety of racetracks. So, you know, always pushing on what's next is important. And I'm pleased to say that we're working closely with the series on a number of those things you mentioned. So more to come on that one, but we love the series. It's part of our history and heritage. Lewis Chevrolet and his brothers, they race there. So it goes back to our co-founder of the company. And here we are over a hundred years later and still heavily involved in IndyCar racing and we love it.

Bruce Martin: And of course, Team Penske and some of the other Chevrolet teams. They're going to come out looking for a way to stop Alex Pillow at Chip Ganassi Racing and the other Honda teams. So just how invigorated do you think the Chevy teams are in 2026 to really regain control on the racetrack?

Jim Campbell: Yeah. Well, we've had a lot of success in the series since we re-entered in 2012. Last year was a pretty humbling year. I would say on a positive, we finished the last half a dozen races in a stronger position. Everyone's motivated to figure out how to get ahead of Palo and the Ganassi crew that won the championship. And so that's one thing about racing. When you win races and a championship, it's a great feeling. When you don't, you're completely motivated, completely motivated to figure out how to improve performance, improve execution on the track, and deliver wins and go after that championship, both manufacture and support our drivers who are going for a driver's championship. So, high motivation.

Bruce Martin: Well, Jim Campbell, the head of Performance Vehicles, Commercial Division at General Motors. I hope I got that right. It's probably not exactly the way it is on your business card, but it's a lot of words to try to memorize. Anyway, good luck in 2026. Thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Jim Campbell: Hey, thanks for this. Thanks for being on the Detroit Auto Show.

Bruce Martin: Next up is Detroit Auto Show Executive Director Sam Clement, who describes the synergy between the automotive industry, the city of Detroit, IndyCar, and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. We're out of the winter chill and now we're joined by Sam Clement, the executive director of the Detroit Auto Show. Sam, it always is a big event to not only the automotive industry, but the city of Detroit, and also for IndyCar to be able to be part of this racing day. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix happens up here the end of May, the week after the Indianapolis 500. In your mind, how important is the synergy between the Detroit Auto Show, the automotive industry in North America, IndyCar, and just being able to kick it off with this event?

Sam Klemet: Well, I think it's very cyclical. I mean, because as you heard today, the Grand Prix announced that tickets are on sale and coming up in May. And so now there's a four and a half month build up to the to the race at the end of May, which is great because, you know, we're a good partner of the Grand Prix. And so to promote what they have coming up is very helpful. And then in May, we do something very similar. We do what's called Cruise Night at the Grand Prix, where people can come by and drive their own cars on the track. And that's in promotion of the Detroit Auto Show, which comes in January. So, you know, two great institutions coming together to promote each other, I think is certainly beneficial for the city of Detroit, because we want these events to thrive. We want to connect with the community. I think that's a good way to do that.

Bruce Martin: In a lot of ways, between the efforts of Roger Penske and the Penske Corporation and General Motors and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, it's really helped revitalize Detroit. The city now is really in a much better place than it may have been 10 years ago, 15 years ago, longer than that. So how much pride do you take in seeing the revitalization of Detroit?

Sam Klemet: That's incredible. I'm a native Metro Detroit. I grew up here and I saw what it was like, you know, in the early 2000s. And so to have people like, Roger Penske make the investment and to have the vision as to what the city can be again. Because remember, you know, the 60s, you know, this was the Mecca of the world. And then people looked at, you know, not only the auto industry, but the shopping, the fashion, the culture, the music that came out of here. This was the epicenter of the world. And so for us to come back like we have over the last decade and a half or so, it's been remarkable. And I think that when you have leaders like Roger that are willing to take those risks at a time when not a lot of other people were, speaks one to his character, speaks to his belief in the city, and I think that the fruits of his labor and his investment are paying off.

Bruce Martin: The American automotive industry has done a lot of reinvention itself. There was a period there where EVs were pretty much going to be mandated by the government. Now people have choices to either go EV or go fossil fuel or hybrid. And do you think that the ultimate thing that will help the automotive industry succeed is to be able to have choices rather than have mandates.

Sam Klemet: We're certainly hearing, you know, from people that come to our show that they want to see everything that's out there. You know, I think that there is still a lot of interest in EVs, but I think that you're seeing based on what we're seeing on our show of people wanting to get into different powertrains. And so, you know, I'm not I'm not an industry analyst, so I'm not going to predict as to where that's going to go. But what we're hearing from our attendees is that they want to see what's out there in the market.

Bruce Martin: As far as the amount of visitors that this show brings into the city of Detroit, do you have an economic impact that the period of the Detroit Auto Show does for downtown Detroit and its businesses?

Sam Klemet: Well, it's huge. And it's, you know, our move back to January, I think was critically important because this is a time of year when it is typically slower. You know, people aren't going outside, they're staying at home and they're not going to restaurants. So by us having this huge, basically two and a half week festival, essentially, it has people coming out. They're going not only to the restaurants and the bars, but they're buying hotel rooms. And so there is a huge lift for the city. You know, we're bringing in international journalists from around the world to stay here for a number of weeks, have conversations about the industry, to hear from newsmakers, to see the reveals, and to have a signature event like that every single year is huge. It's something that we're really proud of. How important is the partnership that you have with the Detroit Grand Prix? It's massive. You know, I think that you've seen a growing interest in racing. You know, obviously IndyCar has always been big, but we had two F1 reveals over the course of the last week by Cadillac and Ford. And so there is a growing interest in racing. And I think that for the Motor City to have a pulse on that is important and it's been reflected here at the show.

Bruce Martin: And when you see the tremendous growth and revitalization that IndyCar has experienced since Roger Penske purchased IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Indianapolis 500, it's dramatically improved over the way it may have been 10 years ago, 15 years ago. How do you see the strength of that series continuing to grow and knowing that Detroit plays a key role in that?

Sam Klemet: Yeah, I was fortunate enough in my younger years to be a journalist in Indianapolis and I got to cover the 500 for a number of years. And obviously what that race means to that city, you know, starting May 1st, the entire, It's all Indy all the time in the city of Indianapolis. And so I think what Roger has done a really good job of, and what the series has done a good job of, they make their drivers accessible. And I think that that's a great way to grow a series. This is a perfect example. You've got some of their drivers out here. autographs, shaking hands on a cold January day, and they're just, you know, they feel like regular guys, and these are some world-class athletes. I mean, these guys are incredible talents, and they make you feel like you're your best friend when you walk around. I think that's, you know, that's the Penske way, to make sure that things are buttoned up, to make sure things are done properly, and their drivers being so accessible, I think, really helps grow the series, because people feel connected to them and their teams.

Bruce Martin: And when you think about it, we're at Huntington Place, the convention area. If we walk out the door and take a right and cross Jefferson, we're at where the race course is for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. And to know that everything is right here in this general area really does make it the heart of racing in Motor City.

Sam Klemet: It's great. It's a great track. I think Michael Montrey said it earlier today, you know, 50% of that track is free and open to the public. And I think that that again is a testament to the commitment to the community. And so, you know, as we talk about the revitalization of downtown Detroit, you know, we just have this brand new Riverwalk, which is going to be exceptional and all these things tie together. And anytime you can have a race that brings that much attention, that much media, it's a way to highlight the city of Detroit. You know, we see our show as the same way. It's a two-week stage to highlight our city and all the great things that are made up of it, including the Grand Prix. So, I know it's been a great synergy between us and the Grand Prix and they do an exceptional job.

Bruce Martin: And how many exhibitors did you have this year for this show?

Sam Klemet: We have 41 brands represented on the floor. And then over the course of the weeks, we've had all these new activations too with obviously racing day has been one, you know, obviously we have our charity preview, which raised, you know, over the course of 30 is about $125 million. And so we have all these different touch points throughout the week. We've had a number of concerts on the stage. We had a celebration for MLK day yesterday. And so just to do different things over the course of the week to tie people to the automotive industry and tie people to Detroit has been special.

Bruce Martin: And finally, wrapping up, for anybody that's involved in the automotive industry or motorsports, just the name Detroit really gets your heart pumping faster. And just as a native Detroiter, how much pride do you take in that?

Sam Klemet: I love this city, and I love everything that we're doing. I love where we're going and moving forward into this new generation. I think anyone that comes down here for the Grand Prix will feel an injection of that energy. I think they'll feel the same way when they come to our show. And I think having those two groups work together make each other better. And so I'm incredibly proud of what this city has done and what the city represents. And most importantly, what the people represent who come to these races and come to our auto show. And so Detroit pride is a very strong right now.

Bruce Martin: And do you make it back to the Indianapolis 500?

Sam Klemet: I do. Yeah. I love the Indy 500. I've spent time everywhere. I've spent time, you know, in the paddock. I've spent time, you know, in the snake pit. I've spent time in the media center. So I thoroughly enjoy myself when I go down there.

Bruce Martin: Well, it's certainly a one-of-a-kind sporting event that's unlike anything else that happens on earth. But Sam Clement, the executive director of the Detroit Auto Show, congratulations on another successful Detroit Auto Show. Good luck the rest of the term of the show. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Sam Klemet: Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate it.

Bruce Martin: We wrap up this edition of Pit Pass Indy with an exclusive interview with Detroit Chevrolet Grand Prix President Michael Montry, a man who has many responsibilities within IndyCar and the Penske Corporation. One of the telltale signs of winter is when it's 15 below zero wind chill in Detroit, but you'll walk across the street, enter Huntington Place, and it's the Detroit Auto Show. Our guest today is Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix President Michael Montry. He's a man who wears a lot of different hats, has a lot of different responsibilities at the Penske Corporation. But I know you invest an awful lot of your time in this event, and it just goes to show that even though the race is May 31st, the real time that you start putting it together, wheels have got to be rolling here in January to get it to be a successful event. So how important is the Detroit Auto Show to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix?

Michael Montri: Well, you're right, Bruce. It's actually year-round. We start on Tuesday after the checkered flag. So two days after the checkered flag, we do our review of the event of the previous weekend. We put our plan in place on what we want to improve, and then we start to investigate how to do it best. And then by the time January rolls around, you're in execution mode with all those plans. And here today at the Detroit Auto Show, we're kicking off the public sale of tickets as part of racing day presented by the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. So it's a year round endeavor, but this racing day at the Detroit Auto Show really just kicks off all of our promotion for this year. As you said, May 31st is the big race.

Bruce Martin: How valuable is the synergy between the American automotive industry, Detroit, the Penske Corporation, IndyCar, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and the Detroit Auto Show.

Michael Montri: Well, those are a lot of stakeholders there, but the key word is stakeholders. They're all a part of what we do here. It is the Motor City. People that grow up in this area, grow up coming to this auto show every year. They grow up reading in the papers about, or on the internet, I guess now, showing my age there, Bruce, about auto executives. And it is such a part of this community and culture. You just, you know, It's more rare to know someone that's not in the auto industry than it is to know somebody in it. Everyone has a relative, friend, acquaintance that's some sort of way involved in the auto industry. So all of that comes together to form the Motor City, to form the Detroit Auto Show. And we bring every summer racing back to Detroit as part of the Motor City. And it's all intertwined. Our cars and our series don't go without the OEMs that you see here, Chevrolet and Honda specifically. So it's all intertwined.

Bruce Martin: You work for a man who has been a major proponent for revitalizing Detroit. In 2005, he brought Super Bowl to Detroit. He's been involved actively with the Detroit business community for 30, 40 years. And there were a lot of times where some people wondered why Roger Penske was so interested in trying to revitalize what looked like a dying city in Detroit. But now we see the revitalization, because this city has transformed itself. It's a very good city. Right now, it looks like a lot of improvement has happened, a lot of revitalization. So just from working for a man who was that dedicated to helping bring a great city back to greatness, How important has that been for you to be a part of it?

Michael Montri: Well, it's a certain level of civic pride, quite honestly. I mean, Roger will tell you that he wasn't born here, but this is his adopted hometown. And he and the company feel like we have a responsibility to contribute to our hometown and make sure that it's the best it can be. All of the companies and folks that are based here in Detroit take a certain interest in this, but certainly Roger has been a leader on that front. There have been a number of people and a number of executives and families and companies that have contributed. to make Detroit what it is today. And the strides that it's taken in the last five years in particular have just been amazing. And it is through every fiber of our event every year in downtown, now that we're back downtown, how important this city is to not just the event, but also the entire community.

Bruce Martin: It started on the streets of downtown Detroit, then it moved to Belle Isle in 1992, and for the next 30 years or so, it was out at Belle Isle, and we all grew to appreciate that race course and that picturesque setting of Belle Isle, but it really seems that moving it back to Detroit has really brought a lot of electricity and energy to that event. You being the promoter, how do you quantify that?

Michael Montri: Well, a number of things. First of all, you take a look at the economic spend that this event generates on an annual basis. Over $104 million economic spend every year that this event happens in the city. Then you take a look at our ticket sales and our corporate revenue. Ticket sales, we have sold out this event every year since we brought it back downtown. On the corporate side, our revenue is up more than 15% since we moved it back downtown. From a very high base on Belle Isle, we've always had really great corporate support. So all of the metrics are up. And beyond that, just kind of the anecdotal buzz that happens around this city. when this event starts to get close. It's kind of the kickoff to summer here. You know, we're the weekend after Memorial Day. It's just at the point where the weather is starting to warm up and everybody wants to get outside. And we've really, with some really good data equity, established that as our weekend here in Detroit. And we're really, really proud to be able to bring the NCT IndyCar Series and the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship here every year.

Bruce Martin: And how important is it to have Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show?

Michael Montri: Well, as I mentioned earlier, it's the kickoff to our promotional efforts. It introduces our event, particularly, to Detroit, and it marries up our event with the auto show. Just because it's the Motor City doesn't mean it's the racing city of the world, right? But by partnering with an event like the Detroit Auto Show that's such a part of the fabric of the city here, it it, we benefit each other, right? The Grand Prix has become the event of the summer here in Detroit. The auto show obviously is the event of the winter. We partner with each other by doing racing day through the Grand Prix here in January. And then the auto show, help sponsor our cruise night that we have on Friday night of race week this year on May 29th. So it's a great opportunity for both us and the auto show to promote both of our events year round.

Bruce Martin: But it doesn't end for you with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, because you're also heavily involved with Penske Entertainment. You're heavily involved with IndyCar. You're the partner promotions guy who helps put the schedule together. And we're going to have a different schedule in 2026. A race that was very important to you and Penske Corporation and Penske Entertainment was Iowa Speedway. That's no longer on the calendar. NASCAR pretty much has taken that track back over as a NASCAR venue. But you have a Grand Prix of Arlington that's going to kick off in April, and that has a lot of potential to be a huge event. So how excited are you to be able to now put your focus on having this street race that includes the AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL play and Globe Life Field where the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball play.

Michael Montri: Well, I gotta tell you, for Penske Entertainment to be in a joint venture with the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers in order to put on this unprecedented street circuit around the entertainment district in Arlington with the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. It's going to be an amazing, amazing weekend. 2.73 miles of really, really fast racetrack. As you mentioned, it goes around AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. It goes around Globe Life Field, which is where the Texas Rangers play. both of those organizations are championship organizations, and to be able to partner with them, promote a race in Arlington is just, it's a phenomenal opportunity. We are going to have a great event on March 15th in Arlington, and we're gonna continue to build it from there.

Bruce Martin: Another change is a race that you promoted, Penske Entertainment promoted, was the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. It was the championship race that's now going to be moved up into the middle of the summer in July. It's going to have a tremendous lead in on Fox with the final game of the World Cup FIFA Soccer Tournament, which is held every four years. So you've got a great lead into that race. But how do you change the ticket sale or the ticket campaign now that that's going to be a Sunday night race as opposed to the championship race on a Sunday afternoon at the end of the season?

Michael Montri: Well, when we were putting the schedule together and we had this amazing opportunity, as you mentioned, from Fox to have the World Cup finale as the lead-in to an IndyCar race, we thought long and hard about what do we want that audience to see. And we wanted that audience to see close, exciting racing, which means ovals. And when you start to think about what oval should it be, what oval can it be, Nashville came to the top of the heap very quickly. And so we took a look to see if we could switch the schedule around, change things around, make something else the finale, in this case Laguna. at Monterey and it all worked out. And what we're working on there, Bruce, is going to be exciting. We have a lot of very, very unique activations that we have not quite yet announced. Renewals for tickets went on sale there today. for the Nashville race. And we'll have tickets open to the general public in about three to four weeks. It's gonna be a really great show and it's gonna be a really great event. And so we're very excited about it. Very excited.

Bruce Martin: Is one of the challenges with Nashville Super Speedway is to encourage people to leave the party district in Nashville, the entertainment capital of Nashville. America in many ways to be able to hop in the car and drive 45 minutes to go to Nashville Super Speedway. Is that a challenge from a promoter's standpoint?

Michael Montri: Well, look, we have to stand on our own two legs. We have to be an event there that people want to go to. We're not necessarily focused on pulling partiers out of Broadway and moving them up to the racetrack. The way we look at it is let's get people in town that are IndyCar fans, let's get new fans in town, but let's have the Broadway and the downtown Nashville atmosphere be an add-on, a value add to people that wanna be there for the race or for whatever else we might have going on and haven't quite yet announced at the venue. So we're looking at it a little bit differently, right? It's a little bit backwards to what you might think, like how do we get those people out? We're not really looking at it that way. that and all of the amenities that Nashville offers. And it's a phenomenal, amazing town. We want those to be value ads for sponsors, for guests, for ticket holders, whatever it may be.

Bruce Martin: Fox purchased a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, the IndyCar series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How valuable has that been to the company?

Michael Montri: Well, I can't even state how important that's been. When you look at our metrics from last year and look at the impact that Fox has had on our viewership year over year, 25 was an amazing year. Particularly in the 18 to 34 demo, we were up 81% year over year. So just by having all of our races, our NTT IndyCar races, on Fox Network nationwide was a huge lift. Then you start talking about the investment that they're making in our sport, not just as an owner, but in advertising and making stars out of our athletes and drivers. And you cannot put a value on it. You cannot put a value on it. When you saw last year during the Superbowl in 2025, the Superbowl in February, how they debuted some of the ads that they did for our series and how they were promoting some of our race drivers and stars as stars. They're gonna continue to do that. And that's our opportunity collectively We need to turn our stars into household names. We need to turn our stars into people that your average viewer wants to tune in for and see, and see them succeed. So Fox is helping us do that. They'll continue to do that. Eric Shanks and his team, they're huge proponents of the sport, as you know. And look, there's only a bright future there. It's amazing.

Bruce Martin: And also I understand that they've leveraged some of their contacts in the business world to help put them together with IndyCar to become potential sponsors and some sponsor deals that may already be agreed to haven't been announced yet. So how valuable has that been?

Michael Montri: Well, it's another example of them being equity partners in the business and the contacts and the resources that they have on a nationwide basis, whether it be sports teams or advertisers or what have you. So we're working very closely with them across all of our events, across our series for all of those positive impacts that they can bring.

Bruce Martin: Well, we could talk about a variety of subjects and take up a lot of time, but there's a lot of work for you to do on the show floor here at the Detroit Auto Show. So Michael Bontry, president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Good luck this season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Michael Montri: Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate it.

Bruce Martin: We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. That puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy as we return to action in 2026. We want to thank our guests, drivers Rinas Vike of Juncos Hollinger Racing, Kiffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Armstrong of Meijer Shack Racing, and David Maloukas of Team Penske. Also, General Motors Vice President for Performance and Motorsports Commercial Operations, Jim Campbell, Detroit Auto Show Executive Director Sam Clement and President of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Michael Montry for joining us on this week's Pit Pass Indy. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy your path to victory lane in IndyCar. 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. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.