Road America Preview with Marcus Ericsson, Conor Daly, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, Louis Foster, Alexander Rossi, Bryce Aron and Dennis Hauger.

Roger Penske:

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

Bruce Martin:
IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans and insiders view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek, and SpeedSport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to this bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our fifth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. And a big thanks to Penske Truck Rental for helping bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock, to the racetrack, to the highways and streets of America. After a primetime battle under the lights at Worldwide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois for the June 15th Bomberito Automotive Group 500, it's off to America's National Park of Speed, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The beautiful 4-mile, 14-turn road course is a favorite of IndyCar competitors and the spectators. It's a weekend of camping out, beers, bratwurst, cheese curds, and other delectable delights in this beautiful resort area of Wisconsin. Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, has another jam-packed episode as we preview this weekend's Expel Grand Prix of Road America. Let's kick it off with two drivers who are fans of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association. The Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, and at the time these two interviews were conducted, the Pacers were up two games to one over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since that time, however, the Thunder have rumbled back to be on the verge of clinching Oklahoma City's first NBA championship. Because IndyCar is based in Indianapolis, where most of the teams have their race shops, most of the drivers were hoping to celebrate an NBA championship for the Pacers. Alas, that looks grim, and by the time this show airs, Oklahoma City may be celebrating the NBA championship instead of the state of Indiana. But on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, we never let a good interview go to waste. So let's catch up with two of the Pacers' biggest fans in IndyCar, Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global and Connor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing. First up is my exclusive interview with Erickson. Our next guest, by the time this show airs, we'll know whether the Indiana Pacers are the NBA champions or not, but it is a rapidly growing fan of the Indiana Pacers, Marcus Ericcson, Andretti Global, Marcus, I'm sure you've got to really be excited with not only the way the IndyCar season is going, but also the fact that the Pacers are on the verge of possibly winning the NBA championship.

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, no, it's been fun to follow. And like you said, the last couple of years have been trying to follow the Pacers as much as I can. And yeah, this year has been really fun. A lot of fun games in the playoffs. And yeah, keeping my fingers crossed, it will be big for the whole city. You know, if we could win it, that would be amazing.

Bruce Martin: They held Game 3 at Greenbridge Fieldhouse a couple of nights ago from when we did this interview. Were you able to attend?

Marcus Ericsson: I wish. I was actually watching from home with friends and we were quite a big group, so it was hard to get tickets for everyone. So we had a bit of a watch party at our house, but it was a good game and good fun to watch.

Bruce Martin: Well, I know the guy whose name is on the building is also your team owner. Did you put in a request? Does he have a pretty long list of business clients that he's got to take care of?

Marcus Ericsson: That was the thing. I've asked for a lot of tickets throughout the season and last season. I didn't feel like being one of the thousands of people asking for tickets for that game because I assumed there was going to be a lot of people wanting to go. So yeah, I decided to stay home and watch this time.

Bruce Martin: Is this the first time in your life that you've been in the city where the home team is going for a world championship?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, I mean… We're not going to play any World Championships in Kumla, Sweden, so this is new. But it's cool. I think the cool thing is just to see the excitement in the city with the people. You know, the Pacers mean so much to Indianapolis and the whole community, and to see that excitement in people is really, really cool. And I think that the 500, obviously, it's always a special month of May for Indianapolis, but to have that together with the Pacers and the way they've been playing was really cool to experience.

Bruce Martin: Speaking of the excitement, the Indianapolis 500 is a sporting event unlike any other on earth. You've won the Indianapolis 500 before. You know how that takes over the city. How do you compare when a home team is going for a championship or when the hometown is staging one of the greatest sporting events on earth.

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, I mean, it's a bit different because unfortunately the Pacers are not going for the title every year. So, you know, the 500 is there every year and, you know, that excitement always builds and, you know, month of May is always going to be the best month of the year in Indianapolis. So I think this is a bit different because I feel like people are really excited because they don't know whenever that's going to happen again, if it's going to happen again. So I think people are super excited about that. So I think that sort of creates a bit of a different feel.

Bruce Martin: Your previous racing series, Formula One, announced earlier last week that they were going to have the Canadian Grand Prix, not only on the same day as the Indianapolis 500, it's in the same time zone. You as a former Formula One driver who's an Indianapolis 500 winner,

Marcus Ericsson: What's your reaction to that? I thought it was disappointing to see because I think that's what I always say when people compare the two and try to sort of put the IndyCar and F1 against each other. I always say, like, why don't we try and help each other and grow each other's, you know, sports. And obviously F1 is the biggest racing series in the world. There's no doubt about that. But the 500 is the biggest race in the world. It's the best race in the world. I don't really understand why we have to compete against each other. And yeah, I was not super happy to see that. I'm hoping that the 500 will be, I'm sure the 500 will be as good as ever. But yeah, it will be interesting to see what that does to the Canadian GP.

Bruce Martin: Do you think Liberty Media is volleying a hand grenade toward IndyCarve?

Marcus Ericsson: Nah, I don't know. The 500 is such a strong race here in North America and the world, so I don't think really that will affect the 500. I think probably it will affect more the Canadian Grand Prix.

Bruce Martin: But the thing is, it could potentially harm some of the TV rating, because a lot of the 7.01 million viewers on Fox this year may have also been Formula One fans who tuned over to watch The Indianapolis 500.

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, and that's why I think it's not the most or the best thing to do. I think we should, like I said, try and help each other and respect each other. I think when Monaco was there earlier in the day, and then people could switch over and watch the 500, it was like a perfect day for motorsports. And when they announced they were going to move Monaco, I was hoping that would mean that everything could focus on the 500. But obviously, that's not the case now. So I'm hoping that we'll reconsider that in the future for sure.

Bruce Martin: And finally, next race coming up, Road America. You got to love that track. You got to love that course. How excited are you about Road America?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, it's one of the absolute best tracks in the calendar. There's no doubt about it. I've had some good success there before, being on the podium and being faster over the years. So it's always a highlight on my calendar. And yeah, I can't wait to get there.

Bruce Martin: Well, Markus Eriksson, your interview is always the highlight of pit pass in presented by Penske Truck Rental. I love that. Yes. Good luck the rest of the season. We'll catch up later. Thank you. And thank you for joining us today. And now, let's hear from Connor Daly of Noblesville, Indiana, a driver who literally grew up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as his father is former Formula 1 and kart IndyCar driver Derek Daly, and his stepfather is Doug Bowles, the president of both IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Needless to say, Daly is a big fan of the NBA's home team in Indianapolis. By the time this interview airs, we'll know whether the Indiana Pacers are NBA champions or not. Wow. But it's a Pacer superfan, Connor Daly's Jukos Hollinger Racing. As a lifetime resident of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis area, you're from Noblesville. This has got to be one of the coolest experiences that you've been able to live through.

Conor Daly: It really is because I think everyone's counted this team out and everyone, there's no sports show that's like, oh yeah, the Pacers have a shot. And so it's been, you start to hear that and you're like, ah, you know what, let's just enjoy this ride and see what happens. I bet on the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA championship in October of last year. And so I felt really good about that. But there's just something about the energy of this group that's super cool. And, you know, I love Indiana and I love the energy that our stadium produced. You know, going to game three was one of the coolest experiences, a sporting experience other than the Indy 500 in my life. So that was awesome.

Bruce Martin: Not only that, but the legends of Indiana Pacers history and the legends of Indiana basketball history. Oscar Robertson was at the game from Crispus Attucks High School. The great Oscar Robertson. Many people believe he's the greatest player in basketball history. But to see that outpouring of, it's almost like a family.

Conor Daly: Oh, I mean, Looking at Reggie Miller sitting over there, too, next to Oscar Robertson. It was just a cool thing. Seems like Indiana sporting icons. The only person that seemed like we were missing was Peyton Manning. If he was there somewhere, that would have been cool. But just awesome. Happy for the city. Honestly, happy for Gainbridge, too. They're an IndyCar partner. They're part of the Pacers in a big way. So love that connection. And our Indy 500 champion was there at Game 3. It was good to see him representing and get some good TV time. So it was cool.

Bruce Martin: You also got to feel pretty happy about the way your season's gone. You led some laps at the Indianapolis 500. It seems like you're putting together a pretty good, chemistry-wise, a pretty good deal here at June Coast Hollinger Racing. We're on a short oval at Worldwide Technology Raceway. We've got two short ovals coming up in July at Iowa Speedway. How do you feel about this stretch of the season?

Conor Daly: I think we're about to enter a really good stretch, honestly. Detroit was a bit of an outlier for us. We definitely know that we needed to improve on those types of tracks. But Indy was awesome. I think we truly had a car to win that race, which was a really amazing feeling. And we still had, obviously, a good top 10 day there. So yeah, this weekend we want to be our best weekend of the year, and I think we're going into a couple tracks that could be really beneficial for us. So yeah, we're still a young group, and we're all learning each other, but this is finally a track that we were together last year at, and so there's a knowledge already, there's data we can look at already, and that's pretty cool.

Bruce Martin: This was also a track where people realized that the added weight of the hybrid can actually help the racing on the short oval. How big of an eye-opener was that last year?

Conor Daly: Yeah, last year was a good race. And honestly, I think it only gets better in the night, I hope. I love this track. I think it produces a great product. And we just got to go out there and make it happen. So hopefully the weather cooperates and we can put on a great show for these fans and the Sunday Night Primetime Fox audience.

Bruce Martin: Another biggie coming up is this weekend, Road America.

Conor Daly: Yeah.

Bruce Martin: That's a track that all the drivers love. How much do you love it? You know what?

Conor Daly: I haven't raced there in a little while. So I tested there in a sports car last year at one point, and it's just such a great track. And I think IndyCar races really well there. So hopefully, we put on a great show there too. And obviously, we know the fans show up really well in Road America. So yeah, I can't wait. And hopefully, it's our best road course to date.

Bruce Martin: And as far, though, as Connor Daly's racing career, do you feel that you found a home here at June Coast Olinger Racing?

Conor Daly: I hope so. I mean, I live life one weekend at a time, sadly. But, you know, I've enjoyed working with these guys. I feel like we're working our butts off to try to bring partners to the table and give them results. And I think we made a big statement at Indy. I mean, this small team went out and produced a car that qualified in the top 11. You know what I mean? We led a lot of the race. Well, not a lot of the race, but we led a good portion of the race. We spent most of the time in the top five, top six. And that was a big statement. So we'll see what happens as we begin.

Bruce Martin: Because it is a smaller team, does that make the accomplishments that much more satisfying?

Conor Daly: For sure, I think smaller teams definitely, it's tough and you see weekend to weekend, some people benefiting, some people struggling, but I think for our group, we just gotta keep working. There's so much we still have to do and hopefully we can keep on our path of upwards.

Bruce Martin: Well, you certainly are on an upward path. Good luck the rest of the year. We'll catch up with you later to see some McConner Daily's Jukos Hollinger Racing. Thanks for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. 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. Team Penske was hoping to begin a revival of the 2025 season with last Sunday night's Pomerito Automotive Group 500 near St. Louis. And for the first half of the race, that looked like a good possibility. Will Power won his 71st career IndyCar pole, but he never led a lap after David Maloukas passed him for the lead on the opening lap. Power would later crash out of the race on lap 47. But Power remains determined to turn around the 2025 season as he joins me for this exclusive PitPass Indy interview that was conducted before the race. A regular on Fit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, of course, is Team Penske driver Will Power. Will, I'm going to go out and make a prediction. Gateway is the beginning of a Team Penske revival because the next couple of tracks coming up, Road America where you're the defending winner, Mid-Ohio where you guys always race well, Iowa where you guys race well and also Toronto. Those are all really good tracks for team Penske Do you see this as start of a really good revival for the team?

Will Power: Yeah, I think they yeah, they're all very good tracks coming up for us I think they've all been good tracks to be honest. It's just Yeah, just one of those years, right? I I feel like just a few of those races, if we qualified a bit better, we certainly would have shot at a win. So, yeah, not looking forward to it. Actually, really, really looking forward to racing.

Bruce Martin: Going back to Road America last year, you won the race. It was a big victory for you. You said because of everything that your wife, Liz, had been through, that was one of the biggest victories of your career. If you could elaborate a little bit on why that win was so big for you.

Will Power: It was just, yeah, along Breaking along, windless drought. It was just, man, everything we'd been through and it's just really nice to get a win. Yeah, I had a very rough year the year before that with, you know, some health issues with Liz. So, yeah, big deal, man. It was really nice to win. I love that track too.

Bruce Martin: And what was it about last year's race that went so well for you? Because you pretty much controlled the race.

Will Power: Oh, I think we just had really good cars. We, all three of us, you know, qualifying was rained out, so we didn't really get to see how we stacked up, but it was a pleasant surprise in the race to stay, to be so fast. Yeah.

Bruce Martin: Now, after Road America, of course, is Mid-Ohio. How do you like that track?

Will Power: I do. I like Mid-Ohio. I really do. It's just another IndyCar track that's got a lot of history, and yes, I do enjoy all the tracks coming up. I really do. They're all good tracks for me, and hopefully we get a bit of momentum here.

Bruce Martin: And then the doubleheader at Iowa, it's going to be a little bit different. We're not going to have any of the big name music acts performing after each race, but it will still be a weekend geared toward the grassroots race fan. I know you love that track. Yeah. How much are you looking forward to that? And could that also be a willpower weekend? Hey, we haven't seen a guy in a while go back to back at that track.

Will Power: Yeah, it could be. It could be. You know, I think the resurfacing changed the way it races, but maybe a bit of degradation and all that on the track will make it better.

Bruce Martin: Also, what's it like now working with Team Penske? It's not the same Team Penske you began the season with, because three of the key members of the operation aren't there anymore, but you're still working with key people that you've worked with on your timing stand. They just now have more responsibility.

Will Power: It's, man, you know, obviously people have had to take up the slack, sort of three key people that we lost. You know, this will be the first weekend that Dave is actually the guy calling my race on the radio and engineering, so we'll see how that plays out.

Bruce Martin: also i gotta ask you this question earlier in the week for me one announced that they were going to run the grand prix of canada the same day in the same time zone is the hundred and tenth indianapolis five hundred a lot of us may look at that is a pretty bold move on their part how do you look at it uh…

Will Power: Yeah. Hopefully it doesn't take away from both events, to be honest. I don't know what to think about it. I think we had a great crowd, great TV audience this year, so I hope that continues.

Bruce Martin: Well, some people may look at that like, why are they making that move? Because Monaco had held that race date for decades. They moved Monaco, so a lot of people assume that that's going to be an open weekend. And then all of a sudden, they move in another North American race, which could be running an overlap on the Indy 500. It just really seems to me to be a move that didn't need to be made.

Will Power: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I don't know the politics of it. Probably not ideal for motorsport, but you know, it is what it is. What are you going to do? What are you going to do, man?

Bruce Martin: Well, I know that you try to stay out of politics as much as possible, and you're focused on winning. So go out there, start winning some races, and then we'll be able to introduce you later this year as Race Winner Willpower 2025. Good luck this upcoming race at Road America. Hopefully, you can go back to back. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Will Power: Yeah, thanks, Bruce. Appreciate it.

Bruce Martin: Josef Newgarden is another team Penske driver that was hoping to continue his streak of success at Gateway and have that begin a resurgence to the season. At the halfway point of the race on lap 130, Newgarden led David Maloukas just before he had one of the most horrific crashes in his career when his car crashed and landed upside down at the start-finish line. It took 11 members of the AMR safety crew to turn Newgarden's No. 2 Chevrolet over onto its wheels. Newgarden was able to unstrap and climb out of the race car. Louis Foster triggered the crash when his car drifted into the marbles and was loose coming out of turn four. He tried to regain control, but it slid in front of Newgarden's speeding Chevrolet, which slammed into it and went airborne, turning over on its top. Newgarden's car nearly cleared the wall between the front straight and pit lane. Newgarden was checked and released from the IU Health Medical Unit, but refused to talk to Fox Sports, IndyCar Radio, and the other media that were gathered outside of the medical unit. Newgarden led 25 laps in the race and was attempting to win at Worldwide Technology Raceway for the fifth time in his career and his second win in a row. Instead, he finished 25th in the 27-car field, and a bad season just got worse. Prior to the weekend, New Garden was upbeat and hopeful when he joined me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Welcome back to Josef Newgarden. Joseph, we're here at Bomberito Automotive Group 500 Worldwide Technology Raceway. By the time this airs next week, of course, the race will already be over. I think it's a great place for a Team Penske revival, though, since you guys have done so well here. Do you see this as the start of the season where you guys can really fight your way back into the battle?

Josef Newgarden: Yeah, I mean, I think we've had good speed all year. It's just a matter of getting the results to transfer. You know, we got to keep executing and probably execute at a higher level. And hopefully we can get a couple of these to stick.

Bruce Martin: What is it about this track and Iowa Speedway that you seem to do so well at?

Josef Newgarden: We just had good cars here. You know, had good cars for many, many years. And that's the difference maker. You know, when you have a fast car that you kind of put anywhere, it's just easier to drive.

Bruce Martin: I've asked you this in the past, and you said you don't look at it this way, but it seems like when it comes to setting up cars on an oval, that's Team Penske's prowess. You always tell me, well, they also know how to set up cars on streetcourses and roadcourses. But if you were going to say which type of discipline they're the best at, would you say it's the short ovals?

Josef Newgarden: I mean no, I don't know that I think we're pretty We're pretty balanced. Maybe there's the one one deficiency that we've had at the moment is road courses But I think our street course cars are phenomenal super speedway cars Excellent and short oval cars are excellent. There's maybe though the one deficiency at the moment has been road courses But that doesn't mean we're just good at turtles. I

Bruce Martin: After the month of May and also the first day of June, I know you were getting pretty worn down, wasn't feeling that great at Detroit. How important was that off week for you?

Josef Newgarden: It was good for everybody. I felt the same way that probably everybody in the paddock did, that we just wanted a little time to reset. You always get that coming out of May, so it would be nice if we could figure out a way to schedule that differently. It just seems like everybody needs a reset after the month of May.

Bruce Martin: You've been enough of these championship battles to know that Alex Pillow's had a great start to the season. He's got a huge lead, but we're really entering the halfway point of the year. There's plenty of time to catch him. So do you believe that it's going to end up being a dogfight?

Josef Newgarden: Well, it's never over until it's mathematically over. So, you know, you just got to see how this whole thing trends. It's tough to say. It changes so quickly, like you said. You know, he could continue to have a great run or they could, you know, they could change and someone else could have a good run. You just never know in the series.

Bruce Martin: Now, some of the key people working on your team are always the people that you've worked with in the past. It just now seems to be they've got more to do because of the organizational shakeup that had happened at Team Penske. So how big of a challenge is that?

Josef Newgarden: Well, we've been working through this whole process. Last couple of weeks, everyone's done a great job pulling together. You know, we got an incredible team. This is the best people I've ever worked with. So, you know, we always try and rise to the occasion, and that's what we're doing right now, trying to rebuild and move forward.

Bruce Martin: One of the things that Roger Penske always does is when he makes a decision, he looks forward. He doesn't look back. Is that the approach you've taken?

Josef Newgarden: I think we're all looking forward. That's what you got to do. And now we're here at Gateway.

Bruce Martin: So the next couple of races coming up here at Road America, Mid-Ohio, Iowa, all great tracks for you. You have to feel like this is a great time to really start harvesting some success.

Josef Newgarden: Well, you just never know. I mean, look, we got to get back on, you know, the right end of the The timesheet here, you know, if we can, a result sheet is more so what I should say, but if we can get on the right end of it, a couple of these events would be great. I think our speed's been good all year. It's just, you know, we got to figure out the execution piece.

Bruce Martin: And finally Chevrolet, Honda's have won every race up through the Bomberito Automotive Group 500, but Chevy hasn't been off the pace that much. In fact, I kind of think it's probably an equal manufacturer's battle. It's just Alex Polo's had a great season.

Josef Newgarden: Yeah, I mean, we're not really lacking anything on the engine program. You know, kind of similar with car speed, like I said. It's not like our speed's been an issue. It's just not, you know, we're just not fully connected to everything for some reason right now.

Bruce Martin: Well, Josef Newgarden, I'm sure you'll find a way to get connected. Good luck the rest of the year. We'll catch up later this summer. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass, Cindy.

Josef Newgarden: Thanks, Bruce.

Bruce Martin: Paddle Award of Arrow McLaren finished second to race winner Kyle Kirkwood. He enters this weekend's race at Road America, 73 points behind championship leader Alex Palou. I caught up with Award for this short interview before the race at Gateway began. Pat O'Ward, you're in the fight, you're getting closer to Alex Blow. You came in a Bomberato Automotive Group 500, 90 points behind him, that's still a little close to two races worth of points. But you have to feel like a lot of these races coming up in the summer stretch play into your favor.

Pato O’Ward: How do you feel about that? I think there's an opportunity to gain some ground and hopefully we'll be able to get on a run ourselves and close that gap. But yeah, I think we're in a great spot.

Bruce Martin: The other thing is you've been the top Chevrolet team all season. A lot of people have asked me, does Honda have an advantage over Chevrolet? And I go, I think it's more that Alex is off to a great start more so than that.

Pato O’Ward: How confident are you that Chevrolet has got a pretty competitive package against Honda? I think Chevy's going to give us exactly what we need in order to fight our way forward.

Bruce Martin: after the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway, it's off to Road America. Is that one of your favorite tracks?

Pato O’Ward: It seems that all the drivers love to race there. It's phenomenal, phenomenal track. I've had a mixed share of results there, mixed bag, but yeah, I think everybody in the paddock enjoys racing there and I consider myself one of those.

Bruce Martin: After that, it's Mid-Ohio and Iowa. You've won in Iowa before, so how big do your eyes get when you see those two races coming up?

Pato O’Ward: Because they could really be a really good opportunity to gain place. I think it's a great handful of tracks coming up very soon to have a massive opportunity, so we'll see what we got.

Bruce Martin: This will have already happened by the time this show airs, but NASCAR in Mexico City. Looks like they've had a huge response from the fans. Of course, you're from Mexico. What did you think of the fact that they took the gamble, went to Mexico City, and it seems like it's a really popular move for NASCAR?

Pato O’Ward: No, I mean, they've got a Mexican driver in there, and it's a fantastic place to race in, so hopefully we'll be able to do the same soon. Do you know anything about whether it'll be on the 2026 schedule or not? Does it look good? Well, I know the Penske organization and IndyCar is pushing hard for that to happen.

Bruce Martin: Another group that's pushing hard to make IndyCar happen is Fox Sports. The Bomberito Automotive Group 500 was shown Sunday night in prime time. How huge is that for you guys to be able to have that type of audience?

Pato O’Ward: It's great, man, and we're going to race under the lights. We love racing at night.

Bruce Martin: All right, well, Pat O'Ward, Errol McLaren, good luck the rest of the season. We'll catch up with you later. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global was the winner of a wild race at Gateway that featured 254 passes for position, which tied the series record for this track with 485 total on-track passes. Christian Rasmussen started 25th and finished 3rd with 62 passes, the most of any driver in the race. There was also an event record 14 different leaders, but in the end, it was Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global that took the checkered flag for his first win on a short oval in his career. It was also Kirkwood's second straight IndyCar win to go along with his victory in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on June 1st. Kirkwood has won three IndyCar Series races this season, including April's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. I caught up with Kirkwood before the weekend began for this pit pass Indy interview as the series heads to Road America. Joining us now is two-time IndyCarSeries race winner in 2025, Kyle Kirkwood, a four-time IndyCarSeries race winner in his career. Kyle, you're having a pretty good year. Like I said, if it wasn't for one other driver, you'd be the story of the year so far. But we're entering a stretch of the schedule. It's going to be pretty grueling, pretty demanding, but some great tracks coming up. How do you look at these upcoming races?

Kyle Kirkwood: Yeah, I'm excited. And like you said, we've had a great season, but Alex Below is making everyone's great seasons look worse than they actually are. So you had Xavier the Green Assault. But I'm excited for the stretch. Gateway is a good track for us, for sure. Road America is a good track. I think one of our cars could have won last year here at Gateway. And I led a good portion of the beginning of the race last year at Road America, qualifying third. And we'll see what happens. But it's a long, grueling stretch. But fortunately for us, there's a lot of tracks on that pamphlet that proved to be good tracks for us at Andretti Global, so I'm excited for him.

Bruce Martin: chances to rest in the next couple of months?

Kyle Kirkwood: Staying loose, that's the big thing. I honestly didn't relax much. I went home and went fishing and had some fun, right? Did you catch anything? I did, yeah. Caught a couple big sailfish, some bonitas, kingfish, random stuff, bunch of random fish. We had some fun just for a morning, but hung out at home for a weekend and got a little R&R in. back at a racetrack now. But you know what, it's staying loose through these next seven weeks is very important. You don't want to get too beat down, whether it's based on performance or what it might be. It's staying loose through the whole thing and trying to keep your rest up and stay as fit as possible so you just move into the next week and feeling like you're fresh and ready.

Bruce Martin: And during this stretch, we have some classic road courses like Road America and Mid-Ohio. We also have some really fun short ovals like Worldwide Technology Raceway and Iowa Speedway. We get a street race in Toronto. We go back to another world-class road course in Monterey, California. This has got to give everybody a little bit of everything that they want.

Kyle Kirkwood: Yeah, and it's an interesting layout, right? We just kind of bounce around from one end of the spectrum to the other. This is an extremely high-speed oval, right? This place even feels faster than Indianapolis in some way, shape, or form, just due to the amount of downforce that we run here. But then we shoot over to another high-speed road course, and we go to some slower-paced stuff, back to an oval. And you're moving around. quite a bit, which makes it fun, right? It's a new perspective on things every weekend, and you're having to adapt quickly, which is actually pretty enjoyable.

Bruce Martin: You're chopping away on the points lead that Alex Palou has. There's a lot of races left. You have to really feel like it's still out there within your grasp.

Kyle Kirkwood: Yeah, I wouldn't say chopping. I'd say we chopped. Whittling, you're whittling away at us. Yeah, we had one good whack at him. Trimming away at us. Yeah, one trim. One haircut on him at Detroit. So hopefully we can continue that. Ultimately, it's going to take winning races to catch up to him. or some really bad luck from him, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. So the focus is here winning races, forgetting about competition, and focusing on ourselves to try and do the best that we possibly can to keep ourselves at the front.

Bruce Martin: Well, if you win more races, you'll really make it a close shave with them in the battle for the championship. Yeah, that's the goal. Yes. Anyway, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, congratulations on your two wins so far in 2025. Good luck the rest of the season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, Bruce. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

Will Power: This is Will Power of Team Penske, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Louis Foster is an IndyCarSeries rookie with Rahal Letterman-Lanigan Racing. Although he is 24th in points, his initial season in IndyCar is one to learn, as he tells me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Louie Foster is joining us now. Ray Holt Letterman, Lanigan Racing. Louie, how would you grade or categorize the way your rookie season has gone in IndyCar? Because we're getting pretty close to the halfway point of the season.

Louis Foster: Yeah, I think ups and downs for sure. I think for me, am I happy with the performances in qualifying? Yes. In the races, no. We've had a lot of things outside of our control of being issues, but there's also a lot of mistakes that I've made as well. And I'm fully aware of those. Definitely underestimated the races this year. That's been my kind of difficulty. But I do feel like we're starting to turn the tide on it. There's been a lot of each race, the first kind of five races, there's always something that came up new that compromised our end result. So I think we've gone through most of that grunt work now. And I think as long as we kind of just keep our foot on the right path, there should be some pretty strong results coming soon. Yeah, so far, if I'm blunt, not happy. You know, when I look at where I am in the standings compared to what our actual pace is, it's not representative whatsoever. But look, we know that it's a difficult championship. We know that it takes a while for drivers to kind of get their feet wet and get into the series. So, you know, I'm not overly nervous about it. I just got to keep doing what I'm doing every weekend, keep learning and just keep progressing.

Bruce Martin: How great of a resource is it to have Graham Rahal as your teammate? Because he does have a wealth of knowledge.

Louis Foster: Yeah, I mean, he's awesome to have, right? I've said this time and time again over many interviews over this year so far, but, you know, he's a great guy to have on the team. He knows a lot. He knows what he's doing. He's great helping me out as well. You know, he's in a stage of his career where, you know, he's here to help out me and Devlin especially, right? There's no bad blood. There's no competition within the team. You know, if he does well, we celebrate him. If I do well, they celebrate me, etc. So, you know, it's a great team environment and I'm lucky to have him.

Bruce Martin: It also seems that Devlin DeFrancesco's game has picked up a little bit as the season's gone on, so there seems to be a really good way of gauging the improvement of both of you.

Louis Foster: Yeah, for sure. I mean, Dev's been doing a great job. I mean, obviously, he's taken a year out of the series, coming from Andretti, what, two years ago now? So, you know, he's been doing an amazing job as well. I think all three of us are really pushing each other and trying to improve the team. And, I mean, that's really the goal, right, is to try and make sure that Rahul lets Mellanigan Racing keep improving, and we want to be fighting up the front, and that's what we're trying to do.

Bruce Martin: How much of a change as Jay Fry as Rahul Letterman-Lanigan president brought to the team? He seems to be a guy that's almost like a football coach in some ways, the way he inspires the entire operation.

Louis Foster: Yeah, Jay has been absolutely fundamental. I've obviously known him since I was doing Indie Next. I've known him for a while now, and I was always close to him before, but now in the team, he is absolutely phenomenal. I mean, he brings in partners, he brings people together. Without him, well, with him, I think the trajectory of the team in the next couple of years is very different to what it might have been. And it's all positive. So, yeah, bringing him on board and having him, you know, a fundamental member of our team is super, super great. It's awesome. And I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

Bruce Martin: Even though you're an IndyCar rookie, you've been to some of these tracks coming up before when you were in IndyNext by Firestone. Coming up next is Road America, which is a favorite of everybody's. And then after that is a weekend off and then Mid-Ohio, the Iowa Doubleheader, Toronto, Monterey. How does that portion of the schedule size up for you?

Louis Foster: It's going to be busy for sure. I think the most I've done ever is two weekends back to back of racing. Now we're going to be doing four. So yes, I think it's going to be new for me to try and manage, like almost pace myself in a way. But I think at the same time, we're already so locked into the season now. Like this last week we took off, I haven't been able to really decompress a lot just because you're so involved in the season. So, you know, although it's going to be straining for the crew especially, I think the most important thing is to make sure that they're all good. Those guys work their butts off on every single team. So trying to make sure that those guys are good and give them the rest that they need is the most important thing. So, yeah, I think for them it'll be the most difficult. For us drivers, again, it's about just keeping ahead and, you know, If you have a mistake in the first race of those four, just got to make sure that you reset and go again for the second one.

Bruce Martin: What track in that stretch do you like the most?

Louis Foster: Laguna Seca.

Bruce Martin: And why is that?

Louis Foster: Because it's awesome and it's on my birthday.

Bruce Martin: Well, that's very good. So obviously a podium finish or maybe a victory would be a great birthday present. That would be a lovely birthday present, yes. But a lot of drivers also love Road America. How do you look at Road America?

Louis Foster: I like Road America as well. It's not a track that I've had great success at. It's very technical. It's very difficult. It's such a long circuit that you've got to nail every single exit, every single corner, every single apex, which makes it very technical. It's not usually viewed as a technical track. I guess, kind of. But it's hard. It's a very hard circuit. But the landscape that it's in, the recent work they've done to the circuit over the last couple of years has been absolutely phenomenal. The fans there are awesome. It's definitely one of the cornerstones of American motorsport.

Bruce Martin: And finally, as a rookie, completing all 500 miles, all 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500, you've got to be very proud of that.

Louis Foster: For sure, I mean, I've said this to people, but if you told me going in that I'd have finished 12th, I'd have taken that every day of the week. Looking at it from behind now, I'm like, ugh, we could have so easily got a top. eight with those penalties as well top ten on the road so whilst yes I'm very happy with the result and you know it was a good showing for my first 500 you know the only rookie to finish the race strong pace throughout you know held the leader off at the end you know to try and not be a lap down was you know just testament to the team's abilities and the way I'm racing so yeah I'm happy with it You know, like I said, I think we could have got better had we not had the drive-through penalties. But, you know, for a first time out, I'll take it.

Bruce Martin: Well, Louis Foster, I'm sure there's a lot of great moments coming up ahead for you. Good luck the rest of the season. We'll catch up later this year. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Louis Foster: Cool. Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Alexander Rossi is in his first season at ECR and seems to be meshing well with the team. Rossi is 13th in the standings as IndyCar heads to one of his favorite tracks, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Alexander Ross, AECR, is joining us now. Alex, a lot more people are getting to see you on TV now, now that the Java House commercials are airing nationwide. Have you gotten a little bit of a sense of how that's going so far?

Alexander Rossi: No, honestly. I've seen them myself. Well, you're the star of the commercial.

Alexander Rossi: Well, no, I think Ed is the star, let's be honest, but I think they turned out really well. Obviously a huge amount of investment from Jobhouse to make those happen, so I'm pretty proud to be a part of it and glad people are enjoying them.

Bruce Martin: That's just the type of thing that IndyCar needs, a sponsor activation. Do you think in a lot of ways Java House is giving the blueprint to other sponsors of how you market these guys, how you get a return on investment from being involved with an IndyCar team?

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, I mean, I think every team, you know, can look at other teams and see things that they're doing well and things that they would like to emulate. And I think that certainly having nationwide commercials promoting the product that you're sticking on a race car is one of those things that other teams are going to look at and think is a pretty good idea.

Bruce Martin: So we're in the summer stretch of the season. Began with the last race that happened here at Bomberito Automotive Group 500 Worldwide Technology Raceway. This show will air after that race is over. Then it's off to Road America. I know that's one of your favorite tracks. What is it about Road America that makes it universally loved by all the drivers?

Alexander Rossi: I think it's such a natural terrain road course. It's in a beautiful part of the world. It's the longest track that we go to. You've got a huge variety of corners. It was repaved two years ago, so very high grip. And it's just an amazing event overall.

Bruce Martin: When you're on that course, there's so many long straights to that. Does it really give a driver a chance to really stretch their legs and open it up?

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's probably one of the quickest road courses we go to, just because of the length of the straights, but also there's the back section of the track with the carousel and the kink, and there's some high-speed corners as well. It's got a little bit of everything, and again, that's why people love it so much.

Bruce Martin: Well, not only do you get to stretch your legs, but you also have to hit the brake pretty hard in some areas, some heavy braking areas. I guess that probably tests the challenge of a race driver the most in the fact that, as you said, it's got so many different aspects to it.

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, for sure. You can't just be good in one area, right? You gotta be good in braking zones, you gotta be good in high-speed corners, you have to be good in kind of sequences as well. So, yeah, it takes a complete driver to be faster on that.

Bruce Martin: It appears that things are going very well for you at ECR in terms of the way the team, the car that they're giving you, the way you get along with the team and your teammates. Has it brought back the joy of racing to you?

Alexander Rossi: Uh, I think that's a little unfair to say. Um, but yes, things are, things are going really well. And, um, we've, we've come to a really good working relationship very quickly. And, um, you know, I think it's only going to be an upward trajectory as, as things continue to progress throughout the year. So, uh, feel good about what we've done. You know, there's been some missed opportunities, especially if we look at Indianapolis, but, um, yeah, overall it's been, it's been a positive start and got a lot of races coming up to continue that evolution.

Bruce Martin: I don't mean this to sound unfair in any way to your previous owners, but do you see Ed a little bit as the regular everyday guy who can be a little more relatable to what the drivers go through since he is an owner driver himself?

Alexander Rossi: I think he's the most involved of the team owners that I've had just in terms of like every day in the office Very on the ground floor understanding what's going on across all aspects of the team so I think I think that approach has garnered him a lot of respect within the within the team and everyone knows whether you're the chief engineer or mechanic or a truckie or whatever that you can go to Ed and he's going to have time to hear your ideas and concerns and I think that's really important to have from a team leader.

Bruce Martin: After Road America weekend off and then another very busy portion of the schedule, Mid-Ohio, Iowa doubleheader, Toronto, Monterey, That's going to be a lot of races in a short period of time. How do you get yourself up to that? How do you keep the team from getting burned out and still being on top of their game?

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be demanding for the mechanics as well, especially when you think about it being summer months. It's just going to be a long stretch. It's going to be a hard stretch. But I think in this sport, results encourage everyone, even the toughest of times. So if you're doing your job on the track, then the rest will follow.

Bruce Martin: And finally, I know that you're a man of opinions, and what was your reaction when you found out that Formula One was going to put the Canadian Grand Prix, the same time zone, the same day, at the same time, as the 110th Indianapolis 500? To me, I have a hard time figuring out a justification for that. What was your reaction when you heard that?

Alexander Rossi: I don't really care, because ultimately I think people still choose to watch the 110th run of the Indianapolis 500 over an F1 race in Montreal.

Bruce Martin: And speaking of the 109th Indianapolis 500, you had a hot rod, you had a fast car. If it hadn't been for the pit fire, who knows, you might have been the guy celebrating in Victory Lane, but… How difficult was that to go through all that to know that you had a car that could have won that race and to see it end the way it did?

Alexander Rossi: Yeah, it's tough. You only get so many opportunities with a car like that at Indy. It was early on, but I think in that stage of the race, we were the car to beat. It's very unfortunate, but that was a month ago now, so we've moved on and we'll continue to push forward, obviously looking ahead to next year at Indy as well.

Bruce Martin: Well, speaking of moving on, it's going to be off to Road America. Good luck there. Good luck at Mid-Ohio. Good luck at Iowa. Good luck at Toronto. Good luck at Monterey.

Alexander Rossi: Good luck at all of them. Yes, thank you.

Bruce Martin: We'll catch up with you later in the season. Alexander Rossi, good luck and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you very much. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

Scott McLaughlin: Hi, I'm Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevy, and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Let's wrap up today's show with two drivers who hope to one day become IndyCar Series racers. It's Indy Next by Firestone drivers Dennis Hogger of Andretti Global and Bryce Aaron of Chip Ganassi Racing. Aaron arrives at Road America 14th in the standings, but is confident he can continue to climb the ladder and garner experience that may one day bring him to IndyCar. New to the Indian X by Firestone series this year is Chip Ganassi Racing, and one of our drivers with it, Bryce Aaron, has joined us. How do you like it so far, and how do you like working with Chip Ganassi Racing in a development series such as Indian X by Firestone?

Bryce Aron: No, I really enjoy it. There's a lot of super talented, super intelligent and experienced people at Ship Financier Racing. So I'm learning a lot from all those guys. Obviously, it's a first year program in Indynex, but we've been learning a lot, developing at a really rapid rate. So I'm super excited for the second half of the season coming up.

Bruce Martin: And not only that, but when you look at your IndyCar teammates, there's the best of the best. Aston Dixon, Alex Pillow, Kiffin Simpson. You've got to really feel like it's a master class on how to drive race cars.

Bryce Aron: No, absolutely. I mean, especially with Scott, Alex and Kiffin, being able to have access to the guys, talk about them, you know, ask them questions about certain corners is always super helpful. So definitely it's a massive resource to have and I'm very grateful for it.

Bruce Martin: We're doing this interview at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway. It's an oval. Indian X by Firestone doesn't get to run many ovals. So how new of an experience will this be for you?

Bryce Aron: So this is my second year in IndyNex, so it's not completely new to me. Luckily last year in this race, I had a really good run. We were the biggest mover of the race and finished in sixth place. So excited to get back here this weekend with another year of experience under my belt. So hopefully this year we'll get a podium.

Bruce Martin: But for a lot of drivers that you're racing against, this is their first oval experience. So what can they expect?

Bryce Aron: I'm going to hold back some of my information and knowledge here, but yeah, they can expect a lot of battling, a lot of side-by-side action, but I'm not going to give them too many tricks of the trade right now.

Bruce Martin: But when you look back at your first Oval Race, you really don't know what to expect until you experience it. Yeah, for sure. Just how different was it than what you thought it would be like?

Bryce Aron: Honestly, it was kind of what I expected it to be. I think the biggest thing you have to experience is when you do go through corners right behind other cars at 170 miles an hour, it's crazy how much air wash you get from the car in front. So that's a big thing of just learning how to race, understanding that, understanding how to use your spotter, communicating well with your spotter is a huge thing. So those are kind of two big things. But I feel like, honestly, everybody at this level is at a very high level. All the teams are at a high level. And so are all the spotters, engineers, everybody. So I think everybody will get up to speed pretty quickly.

Bruce Martin: When you walked into the door of Chip Ganassi Racing shop up in Indianapolis for the first time, what went through your mind? Because in a lot of ways, it's probably like walking onto the court at Madison Square Garden for the first time.

Bryce Aron: Yeah, for sure. It's one of those things when I walked in the first time, I opened the doors. I was like, oh, wow, that's a lot of trophies. That's the first thing you see when you walk in there. So obviously, an extremely successful team. And I hope in the future here, I'll be adding some trophies to their collection.

Bruce Martin: And how important do you believe the program is to be involved in IndyNex by Firestone? Because there's a lot of things that come with it, extra test dates that involve the IndyCar team, and also just bringing, teaching young drivers how to prepare for IndyCar.

Bryce Aron: Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, of course, there's extra test days teams get for being an Indian X, but also, I think, especially in the case of Chip Ganassi, it's very nice to see a big organization like this take a stake in the younger generation and help younger guys come up. So I think it's very, it's very cool that they're doing it. It's very valuable, not only to them, but to the whole series of IndyCar to promote the future generations of talent.

Bruce Martin: Well, we'll catch up more later in the season, but good luck the rest of the Indian X by Firestone season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you very much for having me. And finally, here's the star of the Indynext by Firestone series. It's Dennis Hogger of Andretti Global. The young star from Oslo, Norway has four wins and four polls in his first six Indynext by Firestone races this season. He leads teammate Lockie Hughes by 19 points heading into this weekend's activity at Road America. Let's get to know a star in the making. Here's my exclusive interview with Dennis Hogger for Pit Pass Indy. Pay attention to our next guest because you're going to be hearing a lot out of him in the future. It's Andretti Global Indy next by Firestone Dryer for Dennis Hauger. Dennis, you've dominated the schedule. We're doing this interview at Worldwide Technology Raceway, which is going to be your first oval race. How excited are you to try this high speed type of racing with left turns only?

Dennis Hauger: Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. New experience this weekend going into a all race weekend but um no yeah just taking it step by step obviously building experience but we want to be up there fighting for wins as we as we have been this year so um yeah we'll see how it goes you haven't only been fighting for wins you've been winning the fight you've won most of the races on the schedule what do you see as being the biggest reason why this season has gone so well for you and your team I'm just working really well with my team, working hard with my engineer Andy to optimize everything and I feel like we're just getting the car in the right spot for me. It feels natural to drive within the next car and just having a lot of confidence with that. So I feel like that's been a part of it. But yeah, still a long season ahead, so we'll see how it goes.

Bruce Martin: There's a long season ahead, so as you say, you take it race by race. With this being a chance to master the ovals, you know that that's something that for the next step up to IndyCar, you have to be able to know how to do. So how valuable and how important are the ovals for you to be able to learn them?

Dennis Hauger: Oh, for sure. It's vital for me to get up to speed on ovals and to show the paddock as well I can be a fast fast driver on the ovals. The last two races of the season will be on an oval. It's a big part of the championship as well, getting points in there. As I said, it's just about building confidence now, go through practice, getting up to speed, and hopefully we can have a good qualifying.

Bruce Martin: So after Gateway, they're going to race at Road America, a very classic, picturesque, beautiful road course in Wisconsin. Do you find that that's going to be a little reminiscent to some of the great road courses in Europe?

Dennis Hauger: Yeah, probably the most similar one to what I'm used to. I've known that track since I was a kid. always want to race there. So it's going to be super cool to go there and see how it goes. But I think that can be a race we can have a good weekend. Probably the closest one so far this year has been Barber. The other ones have been more street course style. Or in the GP, obviously. It's also a bit similar. So I think we will find pace there. It's just about building up the confidence as well. We haven't tested there and we haven't I've never been there like most tracks this year, so we'll see.

Bruce Martin: You've said previously you take it a step at a time, but obviously the goal is to one day be an IndyCar. How far away do you see that goal becoming reality?

Dennis Hauger: You know, I'm not worrying too much about it until I hear negotiations or a contract is around there. But at the moment, I'm just fully focused on the next season with the team to do a good job race by race. And if we manage to perform race by race and get that championship, that's when the chances and opportunities will come. So I'm just taking it one step at a time at the moment.

Bruce Martin: Have there been nibbles? Have there been… Any discussion underground about possible interest in talking at the end of the year?

Dennis Hauger: Not too much yet to be honest and you know I think everyone sees it's still a lot of races left and we haven't done any ovals yet so hopefully you know the last few next months we can do a good job and then we'll see how it see where we end up.

Bruce Martin: So for a lot of IndyCar fans who may not follow Indian X by Firestone like they should, what is your background and if you could tell people how you got started in racing?

Dennis Hauger: Yeah, my dad used to do a lot of rally. So when I was two, I got my first quad. When I was four, I got my first motorbike, motocross. And started with karting around the same time. So yeah, I was with my dad as a mechanic. He was a mechanic, and we were driving around doing races, having fun. And then it sort of just built up from there. Didn't really have any set goals, but we had good results and ended up doing some international races and started winning there. And it just sort of built up from there, winning F4, winning F3. And yeah, had a couple of wins in, or five wins in F2 as well. It's progressed, but it all started just, you know, doing what we love and, yeah, it just built up from there.

Bruce Martin: How young were you the first time you got to ride in a rally car with your dad around a race course? Ooh, I was probably, he had a test day.

Dennis Hauger: I was around six, seven. It was in a Mazda RX-7, which was, yeah, pretty cool to be in.

Bruce Martin: For a six or seven-year-old, was it terrifying or was it the coolest thing ever?

Dennis Hauger: A bit of both, to be honest, because I couldn't really see over the, you know, I couldn't really see the track properly because I was so little, so it was a bit of both.

Bruce Martin: But yeah, definitely some adrenaline. And as we hit the summer months of the Indy Next by Firestone schedule, A lot of great courses coming up. It's going to be pretty grueling because the schedule is going to be pretty action-packed and jam-packed. But for a young guy like you, I guess the more times you're in a race car, the better off you are.

Dennis Hauger: For sure. And as I said, most of the tracks this year for me is new. I haven't been to most of them. And Road America is a track I've never been to live. It's going to be important to just keep working as we have, preparing to do every race weekend and just trying to optimize when we get there.

Bruce Martin: Well, so far, you've been a quick learner by evidence of all your victories and leading the championship. But Dennis Hoger, Andretti Global, good luck the rest of the 2025 Indynext by Firestone season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

Dennis Hauger: Thank you very much.

Bruce Martin: And that puts checkered flag on this edition of Pet Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Run. We want to thank our guests, Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global, Connor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing, Will Power and Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, Pato Award of Arrow McLaren, Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Alexander Rossi of ECR, and Indy Next by Firestone drivers Bryce Aaron of Chip Ganassi Racing, and Dennis Hoger of Andretti Global for joining us on today's podcast. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests helped make Fit 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 Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.