Special 110th Indianapolis 500 Edition with Indy 500 Race Winner Felix Rosenqvist, Second Place finisher David Malukas and much, much more from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our sixth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. We welcome back our friends from Penske Truck Rental, who return as the presenting sponsor of Pit Pass Indy. Penske Truck Rental helps Pit Pass Indy bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock, to the racetrack, to the highways and streets of America. And this season, Penske Truck Rental and Pit Pass Indy help celebrate Team Penske's 60th anniversary. The 110th Indianapolis 500 is over and it was one for the ages. Felix Rosenquist of Meyershank Racing proved that he is a real racer by taking the outside line of the final lap of the Indy 500 all the way to victory lane. Team Penske's David Maloukis was in the lead and Rosenquist was third but raced side by side with his teammate Marcus Armstrong for an astounding 23 seconds on the final lap. As Maloukis came out of turn four as the leader with the checkered flag in sight, Rosenquist stayed on the outside line and drag raced Maloukis' number 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet down the front straight. the nose of Rosenquist's number 60 Honda edged past Malukas' car just one second before crossing the Yard of Bricks, the finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The margin of victory was 0.0233 of a second, the closest finish in the 110 runnings of the Indianapolis 500. It broke the previous record of 0.0450 of a second margin of victory that Al Unser Jr. had over Scott Goodyear in the 1992 Indy 500. There were also an Indianapolis 500 record 70 lead changes that thrilled the sold-out crowd of 350,000 fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from start to finish. 14 drivers led laps in the 500, led by pole winner Alex Pillow with 59, Scott Dixon with 32, Malukas with 30, and Rosenquist with 25. For as incredible as the fight for the victory, the battle for third place was a three-wide photo finish with Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske mere inches ahead of Pato Award of Arrow McLaren and Armstrong of Meyers Schenck Racing. Without a doubt, it was one of the greatest Indianapolis 500s of all time and could go down in history as the absolute greatest. But the statistics don't tell the true story of this year's Indianapolis 500. It was a tale of joy and heartbreak. Felix Rosenquist created a heartwarming victory in Sunday's 110th Indianapolis 500 while breaking David Maloukas' heart in the process. Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental was on pit lane for the dramatic final laps and to chronicle the range of emotions this race produced. Before we get to the tale of the winner, let's tell the story of David Maloukis' heartbreak as the 24-year-old from Chicago sat on the pit wall openly crying. He had given it his best shot and did everything he possibly could do to win the race, only to see Rosenquist pull off the race-winning pass for history. A few feet away sat Team Penske President Jonathan Duguid. And Pit Pass Indy caught up with him for this exclusive interview. Jonathan Duguid, the Team President, Team Penske. It certainly was a fight to the finish. Fell a little bit short there, but it's the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. How painful is it when it's your driver that's second?

Jonathan Diuguid: Obviously it hurts, we know we come here to win and David did everything right today. To miss by that much, we're going to think about it for a long time, but really proud of our group. They did an amazing job all day.

Bruce Martin: Did the yellow flag for Mick Schumacher help you or hurt you in that situation?

Jonathan Diuguid: I don't think it made a huge impact on the difference there. I think the cars that were at the front were really competitive and it was going to be a close race to the finish no matter what.

Bruce Martin: And as far as the strategy that Felix had on that last lap, he didn't do anything wrong, but he was able to make it wide enough that David wasn't able to get a really good draft at him.

Jonathan Diuguid: Yeah, he ran too wide there. It was an amazing race finish, and we'll come back stronger next year.

Bruce Martin: But as far as what David did today, it was really an impressive race for David Maloukas.

Jonathan Diuguid: Yeah, it was a tactical race. He managed his tires, managed his fuel, did everything he needed to do all day long. What do you tell him after this? I mean, he did a hell of a job. Nothing. He did a great job all day long. Yeah, David did nothing wrong. So we'll get it next year.

Bruce Martin: It's like Elliot always says, this race sometimes picks the winner. And I guess it picked Felix today.

Jonathan Diuguid: Not going to take anything away from him. He did a great job also.

Bruce Martin: Jonathan, do good. You guys certainly put on a heck of a show. Good luck next week at Detroit. Yep, thanks. After Maloukis was able to wipe away the tears, the second place finisher was devastated, but regained his composure to explain the emotional second place finish.

David Malukas: Yeah, I mean, perfect position, went green again. I mean, we had that opportunity right there. I mean, I really thought we could hold it, and I just, I don't know what else we could have done. Maybe something different with deployment region, but I don't know. In the car, it looked a lot closer. I mean, looking at the replay there, I mean, Felix had such an incredible run, so I don't know. It just, I don't think there was anything else we could have done. The track just didn't choose us today. I mean, we, every strategy, everything, I mean, we did everything correct under this team. I give all the kudos to this team, Verizon, everybody. They did a fantastic job. And yeah, I think this just comes down to the IMS gods not picking us yet, but it's coming. A lot of anger, a lot of pain. I feel like I'm mourning, you know, and just a lot of shock. I just, I still can't believe it. Just being that close to winning the damn thing. I just can't believe it.

Bruce Martin: Henry Maloukas is David's father and helped get his son started in racing at the age of six. He has been there throughout his career and felt some sadness that his son did not win the Indianapolis 500, but was tremendously proud of his boy. Here is an exclusive interview with Henry Malukas for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Henry Malukas, you gotta be a really proud father right now because even though your son David Malukas finished second in the Indianapolis 500, it was one hell of a finish.

Henry Malukas: Well, I think for me that's I think that was the best race I ever seen. It's just it's just the next level. I I mean the show is just unbelievable. I know we missed by inches or V feet or I don't know how much that but but that's you know when you talk about the 500 that's how it goes here but but amazing race. fast car. David did an amazing job. I'm very proud and we're all crying here.

Bruce Martin: I know that David is really down right now and he's in tears but there's got to be a lot of pride also because a lot of people wondered was he ready for the number 12 car at Team Penske. I think he's proven that all season that he's more than ready and he's going to be a big winner here before long.

Henry Malukas: Well, I've I'm with him 24 years and racing since six years old. So I knew, I know he's ready right before anybody even, I'm following him for all, so there's no doubt about that, no question about that.

Bruce Martin: And in many ways, you think Felix Rosenquist showed this crowd and maybe even people up and down Pit Lane that he's a true racer, that he really made the right moves to try to win this race and he was able to pull it off.

Henry Malukas: You talking about Rosenquist? I'm talking about Rosenquist. Oh yeah, 100% yes. I respect that guy. Extremely good racer, good person, and he definitely deserves it. I mean, he's always fast. He's always here.

Bruce Martin: And finally, last year, your son finished second in the Indianapolis 500, although he was installed in second place after Marcus Ericcson was moved to the back. He was pretty happy about getting second place. I don't think he was happy about second place in this, so it just goes to show the contrast of the emotions of the Indianapolis 500.

Henry Malukas: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it was very fast. It was there. Definitely, he felt like he could do that. And he can do it pretty easily, too. It's just, that's the 500, right? Yes, he's not excited about it, but I think it was, again, extremely good show. The best race ever in my lifetime.

Bruce Martin: Well, Henry Maloukas, go tell your boy he did a hell of a job. Good luck next week at Detroit, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. Thank you. It was an incredible day for the Indianapolis 500 with a second straight sold out crowd of 350,000 spectators. And despite the threat of rain, the race ran the full 500 mile distance. Those fans that attended the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or watched the telecast on Fox will forever remember this year's 500 mile race. IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Bowles had reason to feel proud after the race, as he tells me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Doug Bowles, if people didn't like the end of that race, then they don't like excitement. What did you think of the finish of the 110th Indianapolis 500?

Doug Boles: And it actually surprised me, because I thought with Malukas out front and Marcus and Felix sort of battling for second there that David was going to get that win. And then to see those guys go side by side through turn three, and then Felix just come down the front stretch, it was unbelievable. I was here for the closest finish in history. Well, the two closest finishes in history I've been for. Now it's a new one, so I've been around for all three of them.

Bruce Martin: But what a great day. You got the full 500 miles in. It didn't rain. It only sprinkled a little bit. You had like a brief stoppage. But all in all, packed house, fantastic finish. As the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you got to really feel very happy right now.

Doug Boles: It was really good. And it's just a reminder, you know, when we start getting worked up about the weather, you just sort of have to let it play out and And just not make decisions too early to move dates or times. And just really happy to get it in. It was an amazing crowd and an exciting finish.

Bruce Martin: Do you think Felix Rosenquist showed us that he's a true racer today?

Doug Boles: I sat in the grandstands for the Fast 12 and the Fast 6. It was amazing how the crowd really embraced him at that point in time. And certainly now, they'll definitely embrace him. So it's exciting for him.

Bruce Martin: Last question with Doug Bowles, president of IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We saw Felix absolutely joyful by winning the race. But on the flip side, we see David Lucas over here in tears. did all he could to try to win the race. He felt just a little bit short. So how do you compare and contrast the two?

Doug Boles: That's what this place means. No, I mean, that's what makes it so special is this isn't this race at some level isn't about points. It's not about finishing second through 33rd. It's about winning the race. And we see that emotion in the in the drivers that come here and do that. And that's what makes the Indy 500 so special.

Bruce Martin: Doug Bowles, you got a new winner to meet. Good luck. And thank you for joining us. Thank you, Bruce. Dale Coyne gave young David Maloukas his first IndyCar ride in 2022. Coyne's two drivers in this year's Indy 500 were 9th place finisher Roman Grosjean and 19th place finisher rookie Dennis Auger who actually had a strategy that could have earned him at least a 3rd place finish. Hauger, however, was penalized for speeding on his final pit stop and that strategy was ruined. Here is my exclusive interview with Dale Coyne for Pit Pass City presented by Penske Truck Rental. Team owner Dale Coyne, he nearly had the right strategy for Dennis Hauger to win the Indianapolis 500, but too fast on pit road foiled the strategy.

Dale Coyne: Sure did, no, he came in, locked him up, missed his marks by six feet, and oh no, we recovered from that, but then we realized that he was going too fast, so the drive-through killed him, lost a lap with that.

Bruce Martin: Had that not happened, where in your calculations would he have been?

Dale Coyne: Third, I think he'd have been third.

Bruce Martin: But in many ways, when you figure a rookie in his first Indianapolis 500 can be in that position to battle it out for the victory at the end of the race, you've got to be very proud of what Dennis Hauger did today.

Dale Coyne: Very much so. I mean, you're in the top five, six in the last stint. You've got a chance to win this thing.

Bruce Martin: And I don't know about you, but at the end of the race, whether you look at what the first guy crossed the line or not, you're looking for your driver. That's a heck of a finish.

Dale Coyne: What did you think of it? Oh, that was great. You know, I thought Malukas had it. And then Rosenquist got him right at the tip of the line there. So that was, it's good for Honda. Do you think Felix showed everybody that was here today that he's a true racer? My wife just asked me, why did Malukas not win? I said, I think it was RaceCraft last lap, last lap or two.

Bruce Martin: Well, that comes with experience. But anyway, I don't know about you, but they got the race in before it rained. It hasn't rained yet. You might hear soon. But all in all, packed crowd.

Dale Coyne: Great crowd. Fantastic crowd. Been a great month. This is a pretty special event. I never felt adrenaline. All that hoopla beforehand. It's nice. Tears you up a little bit. Today I felt adrenaline. It was really exciting.

Bruce Martin: Dale Coyne, we know you're going to pull a trick out of your bag here before the season's over. Good luck next week at Detroit, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. All right. Thank you. Thanks. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing started on the pole and led a race high 59 laps in the Indy 500 before he finished seventh. He won the Indy 500 in 2025 and was considered a favorite entering this year's race. Here is my exclusive interview with Palou immediately after the race for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Alex Palou, you didn't win the race from the pole, but you had a really good race in many ways. You led a lot of laps. How fun was it out there when you were swapping leads back and forth in the early to mid portion of that race?

Alex Palou: Yeah, really fun. Had a lot of fun. Was preparing for the end to see if we could have a shootout with David. But the other strategy, seemed to pay it out a little bit more, and then David was able to move through traffic a lot better than I did, so I got kind of stuck, but yeah, happy that we tried, that we gave everything, and happy to see Felix winning this race.

Bruce Martin: For Felix winning this race, it really is a feel-good moment, and did he really just show what a true racer he was by the way he won that race?

Alex Palou: Yeah, I haven't seen much, honestly. I need to see. But I think it was really close. I think he did a great job.

Bruce Martin: And finally, Alex Below, you know what it's like to win here. Just how much more are you thinking right now, right after the race is over, that you can't wait for next year's Indy 500 to do it all over again?

Alex Palou: Yeah, I cannot wait. We're going to prepare hard and see if we can make it happen.

Bruce Martin: Alex Blow, congratulations on the great racing that you did. You fell short, but there's always next year and there's always next week at Detroit.

Alex Palou: Absolutely.

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

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. And now for the tale of the winner, Felix Rosenquist of Meyers Schenck Racing. His victory in the Indianapolis 500 was the second NTT IndyCar Series one of his career, but his first in over six years. His first victory came at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in 2020. It was also the second IndyCar Series win for Meyers Schenck Racing. The team's first win was the 2021 Indianapolis 500 when driver Elio Castroneves won the race to become the fourth four-time winner of the Indy 500. Castroneves is an ownership partner at Meyers Schenck Racing, and the 51-year-old competed in the race in the No. 06 Honda, attempting to win the Indianapolis 500 for a record fifth time. Castroneves didn't reach that goal as he finished 25th, but he got to celebrate in victory lane as his teammate Rosenquist drank the milk that goes to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. Here is my exclusive interview with Elio Castroneves for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Helio Castroneves: two cars running, fighting for the win, that was incredible.

Bruce Martin: Well, Elio Castroneves, you got to feel like at Subway's you won your fifth Indy 500 today, because you're one of the car owners.

Helio Castroneves: That's right. I mean, in the end of the day, like I said, it feels like it. But look, all credit is for MSR, you know, especially the team behind the scenes. They work so hard. And yeah, hell of a job. I'm just so proud to be associated with those guys.

Bruce Martin: Yeah, cool feeling. Because Felix is such a hard luck driver sometimes. How uplifting is this to see him win the biggest race in the world?

Helio Castroneves: This is amazing. I mean, look, he just got a kid. Obviously, always qualifying, you saw that he had probably the best car out there and unfortunately didn't make it. Nobody knows who's starting in pole position, but everybody knows who's going to win the race, so they deserve it. Obviously, patience is a virtue. That's what we talk about all the time, especially in the meetings that we bring together. But look, he's an experienced guy. I have over 10 years here in IndyCar, so I'm glad he was able to put it together.

Bruce Martin: When you see the finish, if you haven't seen the finish already, are you just going to say, wow, because he really battled to the very end. I mean, he left David Maloukas in tears. And you know how tough it is to beat a team Penske car for the last lap of the Indianapolis 500, because you used to be in one.

Helio Castroneves: That's right. No, I saw the two cars battling between him and Marcus. When I was watching, because my car had a hybrid issue, and I was like, one got to let it go, because otherwise it's going to not be able to pass. So finally, when Felix cleared Marcus, that was great. That was absolutely insane.

Bruce Martin: Well, Elio Castronevas, congratulations on winning the Indianapolis 500 as a team owner for Felix Rosenquist. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks for having me. The morning after the Indianapolis 500 is an important one for our next guest. It's famed sculptor William Behrens who creates the face of the winning driver of the Indianapolis 500 that is attached to the permanent Borg Warner trophy. Behrens explains why the day after the Indy 500 is so important in the process in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. An old friend has rejoined us here on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. It's BorgWarner sculptor William Behrens. William, it's the day after the 110th Indianapolis 500. Today's a very important step in the process of you sculpting the winner's face on the BorgWarner trophy. It's going to be Felix Rosenquist. You did your initial photo shoot with him this morning. Now it's in your hands. So what do you think you'll be able to craft?

William Behrends: Well, it's always a challenge, and he's got a wonderful face. I got a little bit of a sense of his personality, and that's really what I'm looking for. You know, of course, the camera catches the imagery, and I just want to know something about the person. And he's got a good face, good smile. I'm looking forward to starting.

Bruce Martin: How do you capture the emotion of yesterday's victory? Because it was one that I don't think anybody was prepared for. The closest finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

William Behrends: Yeah, that was amazing. I told him this is my 37th year coming to the race and by far that was the most exciting finish I've seen yet. As far as capturing it, that's really my biggest challenge when I do this is I want to I want to capture that moment in victory lane when he's just just done this wonderful victory and Trying to capture that is is is really what I'm shooting for. You know, it's the it's the expression it's the joy on his face it's it's something because it's It's a freezing of that moment. It's something that will be on that trophy forever. So I want that moment to be preserved in silver. So the photos that are taken today, how useful are they when you start your work? Well, they're really all I have to work from while I'm doing my initial life-size clay study. And so they're really the only source material I'll use. And I'll work with those and develop that life-size study as far as I can. And then, hopefully, I will see him later on in the year, perhaps September, in the studio when I see him in person. And what happens then is I I refine it and just do the final revisions to it before I then redo it in the small size that will be on the trophy.

Bruce Martin: So to put it in Indy 500 racing terms, what you do today would be the Indy 500 open test that they hold in April, where they all get their baseline together, so that when they return in May, they then fine-tune the race car. That's pretty much how you probably look at what you do today.

William Behrends: That's a very good comparison. Never thought of it that way, but that's exactly what we're doing. We're just testing it and finding a baseline, and then it's refining after that.

Bruce Martin: But an important part of the process comes later when the winner does show up at your studio in Tryon, North Carolina, because then you're able to get all the subtleties, the nuances, and everything about his face into the clay head, which will eventually be the next important step in the process before it gets the next step in creating the sterling silver-sized face that goes onto the BorgWarner trophy?

William Behrends: Yes, absolutely. It's a portrait and all the creative part of this process happens in that clay. Everything after that is the technical process of converting that into sterling silver. So it all is, all my study is done into the clay model initially.

Bruce Martin: So during your tenure, You probably have seen, because I was thinking it over yesterday, because I was also here for the 82 finish, but we've seen the closest finishes in Indianapolis 500 history, starting with Alonso Jr.' 's victory in 1992, then moving on to Ryan Hunter Ray's victory over Elio Castroneves in 2014, and now yesterday. Yes, yes, yeah.

William Behrends: I was thinking of the Al Unser Jr. victory yesterday, as a matter of fact. I knew it was going to be close. In fact, right after they crossed, I thought, that's close. I wonder if that's closer than that victory.

Bruce Martin: Well, also Sam Hornish when he beat Marco Andretti in 2006. That was another close finish.

William Behrends: That's true. That's true. Yeah, that's true.

Bruce Martin: You're an artist. You're going to create the face of Felix Rosenquist on the BorgWarner Trophy. It's going to be quite an accomplishment for him. Yesterday's a day that has changed his life forever, and you're gonna be the man that immortalizes it on the trophy. So when you have that honor of doing that, you know you do have a little bit of a responsibility in capturing that for all time.

William Behrends: Oh, I hold that responsibility very seriously. I recognize that this is permanent and this is, for these drivers, this is one of the, if not the highest moment in their career. So I'm mindful of that throughout the process. I want to do as good a job and represent that as well as I can.

Bruce Martin: Well, William Behrens, as always, I enjoy catching up with you. Look forward to seeing you down at your studio and try on North Carolina later this year. Get to work on that trophy. You've got a lot of photos to go over now. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

William Behrends: Thank you, Bruce. I enjoyed it.

Bruce Martin: Adam Rovazzini is the chief operating officer of Meyers Schenck Racing and the race strategist for Rosenquist. The morning after winning the Indianapolis 500, Rovazzini joined me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. It's an honor to have my next guest here on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. It's the COO of Meyers Schenck Racing, Adam Rovazzini. whose driver Felix Rosenquist won the closest Indianapolis 500 in history on May 24th. How do you even begin to describe what he was able to do and what the team was able to do?

Adam Rovazzini: Yeah, you know, I don't know if I can, Nick, because I'm not sure it's really sunk in. You know, we knew we had a good car all day. You know, it's Indy. Things go 100 different ways. You have multiple different emotions throughout the day. You know, before the Kyle crash, you know, we were in a really good place there, you know, saving behind Pato, saving fuel, honestly, even with Marcus, too. But then the yellow came out. You know, IndyCar does what they do. They make sure we have a good finish for the fans. You know, it came down to the last lap like it always does. You know, and I was pretty nervous. Ross, our engineer, said, as long as we can stay flat, we have a chance to win. We went through one and two, we were flat. We went through three, four, we were flat, and we had a chance. We came away with the win. It's just incredible. I've never seen a car go side by side on the outside for a whole lap in Indianapolis. So I'm sure the fans loved it. I know I did. It was just amazing.

Bruce Martin: I've re-watched the finish over and over and it is amazing that he was able to make that work. And when you think of what David Maloukis of Team Penske could have done and there really wasn't anything he could have done. He did everything the right way but that pass, that outside line really worked for Felix Rosenquist and it's amazing because that's going to go down in history just like the move that Ross Chastain made it Martinsville and NASCAR a couple of years ago by using the outside line. That wasn't the Indianapolis 500. Yesterday was. So how do you even begin to describe how he was able to find a way to make that work?

Adam Rovazzini: Yeah, I think we had a great car all month, right? And I think, like Felix said, it's Indy 500. It's the last lap. We're either going to crash or we're going to win. And that was kind of the mindset, right? You know, when it comes down to Indy, you put everything on the line. That's exactly what he did. And Felix did it in qualifying as well. That run we had the first day, he earned every second, every ounce of speed he earned, just like he did yesterday.

Bruce Martin: So the final 10 laps of the race we had a red flag because of the Cahill Collette crash in turn two. They brought out the track sweepers and they swept most of the track. Did that help create a raceable surface for the outside line?

Adam Rovazzini: Absolutely. You know, I give IndyCar kudos for doing all the track sweeping that they did. And also to Firestone, like Felix said in his interview yesterday, there weren't as many marbles as years past. So the high line was a thing for sure. But yeah, without sweeping, without the tire that Firestone brought, that wasn't going to be possible.

Bruce Martin: Now at that point, they restart the race, there's four to go, and it looks like Marcus Armstrong's gonna win the race for Meyers Schenck Racing. He had a great start, took the lead, was driving away, and then Mick Schumacher brushes the turn one wall. Didn't look like there was any reason to throw the yellow, but they did. And at that point, were you beginning to think this might not work out for us now, because Malukas might jump us on the start?

Adam Rovazzini: Yeah, of course. I mean, like I said, the amount of emotions that go through your body, through the timing stand in a five minute period, I can't even explain it. I mean, it's a roller coaster. I thought for a second there we had a chance to be 1-2. Which didn't happen, you know, we finished first and fifth. But yeah, Kyle Novak and race control, they have the reasons for what they did. They felt like they needed to throw the yellow. Again, if maybe Mick had a bent toe wake and they did it, there would have been a crash, right? We would have questioned why they didn't. So, no reason to question, they did what they did and it worked out like it did for us.

Bruce Martin: So, they've decided they're going to go green and white, one lap. And at that point, anything can happen on that last lap. And it looked like Malukas probably had the advantage. But the thing about Felix, he didn't give up. We timed it. It was 23 seconds that Felix and Marcus were side by side. And you never see cars for 23 seconds go side by side around here. That had to be a real nervous moment for you.

Adam Rovazzini: Absolutely, yes. To watch those cars do that for an entire lap, I mean, I think, you know, I'm a race fan just like everyone else. And I was just sitting there thinking, I'm not sure how this is going to play out, but I'm glad I'm getting to watch this. And I'm super happy the way it played out. So when they come around turn four, did you think that he was going to be able to pull it off? I did. I mean, I did only because Ross, our engineer, said, we haven't lifted. We got a chance. And that's kudos to Felix. I mean, he got that run off turn four. We had a little bit of hybrid left, so we're screaming at him, use the hybrid. You know, we had a good six gear in the car, and the Honda Power got us what we needed.

Bruce Martin: So you're down on the south end of Pitt Lane. So your view of them coming out of turn four is a good of course you're in the timing sense So you had a lot more information the people do visually but could you see that it was going to work?

Adam Rovazzini: Honestly, no. No, I just I I saw everyone else's reaction I think I was a little late to the to the party there. But once I saw everyone going crazy, I knew what happened. I

Bruce Martin: And I believe that the pass for the victory came one second before the checkered flag, before they crossed the line. And when you think of just, I mean, it was like right there. Right. You know, just, it was amazing. And in many ways, so how do you describe the emotion? This is what you work your whole life for is to win this race. How do you describe the emotion that came over you?

Adam Rovazzini: Man, I wish I had a word for it. Like I said, I don't think it's fully set in yet, but just pure joy. I mean, there's no other word I can say. It's just, you know, the second best day of my life other than having kids, right? I mean, that's the best ways I can explain it. You work your whole life. This is why we do it. It's for Indianapolis. Just, yeah, the best feeling ever.

Bruce Martin: How did you celebrate? Were you one of the Binkley's guys last night?

Adam Rovazzini: Absolutely.

null: 100%.

Adam Rovazzini: I may or may not have been one of the last people there, too.

Bruce Martin: But your career in IndyCar goes way back. You were with Chip Ganassi Racing, I believe, from the start. Yeah. And how did the opportunity come for you to move over to work with Michael Schenck and Jim Meyer and Elio Castroneves as the owners of Meyer Schenck Racing?

Adam Rovazzini: That's a funny story. Actually, dumb luck to be honest with you. I moved to Cincinnati in 2015 or 16. Got a call from Timmy Keene that he was working with Mike Schenck on the NSX program and they're looking for mechanics. Went over there and met Mike and met, you know, with Tim, met everyone and it kind of just fit. Did the NSX program with Mike. That was his first like real factory deal. Never ever talked about IndyCar ever Doesn't even brought up at the time and that's when the Jack Harvey deal came about with Andretti And he asked me about hey, we might do this, you know one-off deal with Andretti What do you think and to be totally honest with you? I think I said to him I mean, I don't know if I really want to do it But if you're telling me we're doing it I work for you, then we'll go do it and we did it I don't want to say it was a complete disaster, but it wasn't super smooth But then Mike met Jim there and now the rest is history. I

Bruce Martin: Well, as I said to your team owner after winning the Indianapolis 500, it's his second victory in IndyCar. They've both come in the Indianapolis 500. In many ways, you've got to find a way to win another race outside of the Indianapolis 500. But to think that if this is going to be your track, it's the best track to pick to be good at.

Adam Rovazzini: That's exactly what I said yesterday. If we're going to win something, let's keep winning here. But I mean, we've been knocking on the door for a while now. Obviously Long Beach, we were super close to getting a win. Armstrong had a couple of podiums last year, so we're knocking on the door. Hopefully, like Mike said in our pre-race meeting, we win this race, hopefully the floodgates open. We can keep doing this and get back on the podium more consistently.

Bruce Martin: Well, Adam Romazzini, congratulations on winning the closest Indianapolis 500 in history. Go celebrate, go enjoy it. It's going to be something that's going to change your life forever. Before I let you go, though, when you were at Chip Ganassi Racing under your term there, how many Indianapolis 500s were you a part of?

Adam Rovazzini: One directly when Dixon won, when Scott won.

Bruce Martin: That was a very big race. We all, in many ways, would like to see Scott get a second. That day will happen, but your day happened on May 24th. Congratulations, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Adam Rovazzini: Thank you. Appreciate it.

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

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

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental. The success of Meijer Schenck Racing belongs to an entire organization that was started by team owners Michael Schenck and Jim Meijer. Schenck was already a very successful sports car team owner and a multiple winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Meijer is the former CEO of Sirius XM Radio. Together, they have worked diligently to make Meyer Schenck Racing a competitive IndyCar Series team. Those efforts have paid off with two victories in the Indianapolis 500. Here is my exclusive interview with Schenck for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. When you think about all the team owners that have come here to win the Indianapolis 500 that haven't achieved it, our next guest has won it twice. It's team owner Michael Schenck of Meyer Schenck Racing. The interesting thing about you is the Indianapolis 500 is the one race that you're able to win. You've come close in the other races in IndyCar, but haven't been able to get a victory yet. But if you were gonna pick a track to get your victories at, this is the place. How do you even begin to put May 24th, the 110th Indianapolis 500?

Michael Shank: I think when you grow up like I did very Midwest and central high, you know, for me in the racing family, this is absolutely the pinnacle of everything we do. So to win it twice is unfathomable. It's just unfathomable, but. I give all credit to Adam Rivazini, who you've talked to, and the team.

Bruce Martin: How do you even begin to describe the last lap of yesterday's race?

Michael Shank: In real time, watching my two cars, our two cars, running side by side for a whole lap around this place, and Felix on the outside, which is not a fun place to be here at IMS, and him holding it and never lifting, not breathing a second. But the whole time, Felix was calculating where he was. He knew where he was spatially. I don't know. I was so stressed out. But, man, did it work out. And what a great finish. Closest in history, I think, right? It was.

Bruce Martin: It was. It broke the record in 1992 between Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear.

Michael Shank: Okay.

Bruce Martin: But as far, though, as making it work on the outside, because in many ways, you're sitting there going, this is either going to work or they're both going to end up in the defense.

Michael Shank: Same deal, yep. I think you only do that move when it's the last lap, the last turn of the Indianapolis 500. And they did it. And we had a chat with all three of our guys two days ago before the race on the pre-event. And we just asked them not to take each other out. But when you're on the last lap of the Indianapolis 500, all the rules are gone. And each man was fighting for the future of his life, to be honest with you.

Bruce Martin: Now I know after the race you're celebrating with Felix, and Felix has deserved this because he's had a lot of hard luck in his career.

Michael Shank: Yes, I agree.

Bruce Martin: But also you hadn't talked yet to Marcus Armstrong, who ultimately finished fifth. He had a shot, a really good shot of winning this race before the last red flag, the caution, the whole, everything that happened in the final eight laps. What did you say to him, and how did he take this finish?

Michael Shank: He was really upset, and I talked to him quite a bit last night at our party, and I told him how proud I was of him. He did nothing wrong, and I'm grateful for what he achieved yesterday. Without that last yellow, he quite possibly wins the race, so it was just… A great moment for him, too, because he's new to this place, basically, right? And he really showed that he deserves to be here.

Bruce Martin: To not win the Indianapolis 500 probably hurts more than winning it feels great. So you probably saw, even though David Maloukas doesn't drive for you, he used to drive for you.

Michael Shank: He did.

Bruce Martin: You still have a very good relationship with him. But when you see just how crushed he was, it really displays what's at stake here.

Michael Shank: Yeah, I think I saw that video of him afterwards and know him pretty well now. And I feel for him. But we've all been in that spot. And we will be in that spot again sometime. It's brutal. But listen, you're here on the biggest stage in the world in racing. And you're competing for the win. That's a pretty damn good day.

Bruce Martin: Does it baffle you in any way? Like, man, we've worked so hard to win races at Detroit and Long Beach and the other great tracks throughout the year, Road America, Mid-Ohio, and man, we can't catch a break. And then all of a sudden, since 2021, Elio Castroneves drove your car to victory for his fourth Indy 500 win. Felix Rosenquist wins your second IndyCar victory here yesterday at the biggest race in the world, the Indianapolis 500. Does that baffle you how

Michael Shank: This place chooses its winners. It does. It's absolute proof of it. You saw it yesterday. There was three of them. Literally, when Malukas came by and jumped both our guys, essentially, I just thought we were done. I thought we were finishing 2-3 that day, and I was going to have to deal with that. But the track had something else in store, which is coming off turn four, Felix getting a little side draft, pulling top gear, and being able to accelerate like he did, which is unheard of.

Bruce Martin: From your view down on Pitt Lane, of course you have monitors and telemetry and everything in front of you, so you can see what's happening probably better than the spectators can. But were you looking up Turn 4?

Michael Shank: I was looking, but I didn't even know what I was looking at. I just thought we were beat, to be honest with you. And then the radio cackled and went, 60 car wins. And we just lost.

Bruce Martin: How do you explain that emotion?

Michael Shank: Think about when you get the Tingleys on 12. The Tingleys all the way to the top of your head. They dominate you and then you can't think. You get like a red mist for a period of time and then it sets back in and you go celebrate with everybody. So how did you celebrate?

Bruce Martin: I have a good idea how you did.

Michael Shank: We went to our favorite local bar called Binkley's. And we partied until midnight last night and then we came back here last night and we all did pictures drunk on the yard of bricks. So I got a bunch of those on my camera too.

Bruce Martin: So how much sleep have you had four or five hours?

Michael Shank: It's OK then. Well, yeah, that's we have the banquet tonight. We have the banquet tonight so.

Bruce Martin: That's doable. The only thing you didn't do yesterday that you did in 2021 was you didn't run out and jump up on the pit wall like you did when Elio won and throw your fist in the air.

Michael Shank: I, you know, I, I just didn't think we won the race. Like I, from my perspective, you know, looking, looking here, I just didn't think we won the race, but we actually won the race. So I, you know, uh, if I had more time, I'd have done it.

Bruce Martin: But in those last eight laps, you thought, Marcus is going to win this race. And then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, man, they threw a yellow for that. And then all of a sudden, Malukas is in the lead. And it's like, ah.

Michael Shank: Malukas is going to win the race.

Bruce Martin: Yeah, Malukas, ah, we're cooked. And then all of a sudden, Felix wins. So that's got to be the worst roller coaster ride ever. It's hard. It's the best roller coaster ride ever.

Michael Shank: Well, when it ends like this. Yeah, when it ends like that.

Bruce Martin: But I mean, that had to be the scariest roller coaster ever.

Michael Shank: It was. But what went when you got it? The most intense roller coaster ever. Super intense. And probably not healthy for my heart.

Bruce Martin: You saw the reaction of the fans because everybody loves Felix. Felix is one of the most respected, most popular drivers in IndyCar.

Michael Shank: Yeah, I agree.

Bruce Martin: And it ended up being a tremendous story because just Felix has come so close. And then he became a father a couple of weeks ago. The month of May 2026 is something that will change Felix Rosenquist's life forever. in many ways.

Michael Shank: Agreed, agreed.

Bruce Martin: So how much does this change the dynamic of Meyers Schenck racing?

Michael Shank: I actually think it does a little Bruce and I'll tell you why. Because now you can't say a flukishly we won one race here. Now we've won two. So there's something in common here, which is we're a great team and I'm proud to say that.

Bruce Martin: Now, here's the good news. In 2021, because of COVID in 2020, you got the purse had been cut by half in order to make everything work. Yeah. Tonight, you're going to get the full purse.

Michael Shank: What do you think?

Bruce Martin: The full winner's share is going to be at least 3 million. Wow, that's awesome. Might be more than that. I don't know. Mr. Penske and the people in charge of figuring out the prize fund. I'm not involved in their meeting. It'll be revealed by the time this airs. You're going to get the full share this year. And how important is that to the team? I don't think people come here necessarily to win the Indianapolis 500 for the money, but it is good.

Michael Shank: Listen, I totally agree with that. Number one, I think we're going to have a lot of money tonight, but honestly, we're going to share it with all the folks that work here. Everybody from all three teams here, plus the two IMSA teams. Everybody's a part of this. the upward trajectory of your team sponsor interest. Yeah, I know that it just it pegs the meter on all those pegs, all of them and all the CEOs of our partners were here. So we're going to get renewal time going here quick.

Bruce Martin: That's a job for Tim Meyer to Tim Martin Myers job. So I guess when Tim Myers phones ringing every five seconds, that's a good sign.

Michael Shank: It's a good sign. But he's a one man show pretty much in the commercial him and Jim. So we we might need to hopefully expand.

Bruce Martin: The story about you is fairly famous. You've mortgaged your house several times to keep the team going. Whether it was the IMSA team, whether just getting started in racing, a lot of people probably thought, man, you're putting yourself at personal financial risk. But it's all paid off. It is. So in many ways, does it just go to show that the entrepreneurial spirit of America exists with Michael Schenck?

Michael Shank: Anything is possible. That's what Don King said, right? America's beautiful, and this is why.

Bruce Martin: And when you think of the multiple Indianapolis 500 winning team owners, Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Michael Andretti, going all the way back in history, some of the great team owners that won then. Now you're a multiple team owner. Now they're going to say Michael Schaik.

Michael Shank: I don't know about that. We want to win another one now. How about that? We get the three, then we can talk.

Bruce Martin: Well, that starts tomorrow.

Michael Shank: Literally. Yes. And that car will be here again. Yes. That car will come back.

Bruce Martin: The quest for Indy 500 win number three for Meyers Schenck Racing starts tomorrow. But before you do that, got to go to Detroit.

Michael Shank: Got to go to Detroit.

Bruce Martin: For the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Yep. And in many ways, this has been a very long, very intense month. Do you get momentum going into Detroit, or do you also have a lot of guys that are ready for a break? They don't get a break until the race after that at Gateway.

Michael Shank: There's really no breaks until June 13. So then we're going to have a big party on my lake. I live in Columbus. So they're going to be pretty hard on it. But that's the price we pay here to win the Indy 500.

Bruce Martin: Well, Michael Shank, I know you're a big Ohio State football fan, but I do want to say congratulations.

Michael Shank: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: A team from Ohio was able to come to the state of Indiana and win. And crush it. And crush it. And win. But as an Indiana University graduate, I had to sneak that one in there. All right, bud. But Michael Shank, all of us at Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Run, I want to congratulate your team, your driver, Felix Rosenquist, for winning the 110th Indianapolis 500 in spectacular fashion. Congratulations on that. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Presented by Penske Truck Rental. Got it. Let's hear from Jim Meyer in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview the morning after the big celebration for Felix Rosenquist's Indianapolis 500 victory. I know winning the Indianapolis 500 is a big deal, and I know that my next guest is probably somebody who celebrated it better than anybody else on the team. It's Jim Meier, one of the ownership partners of Meier Shack Racing. Jim, I know that you really enjoyed yesterday's race to see Felix Rosenquist win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history. I know the celebration probably went on long and late, but here you are the morning after. How does it feel to win this race for a second time?

Jim Meyer: I got to tell you, when you win this race once, the only thing in your mind is winning it again. And it's just such a great feeling. And yesterday was just such a great feeling. I'm so happy for our team. They worked so hard to get ready this month. I'm really, really proud of Felix. Felix just did a heck of a job. I'll be honest with you, I wasn't sure we won at the very end because it was so close. And then I see everybody jumping and so then I started jumping, but it was just great. And I can't thank Penske Entertainment enough for what they do here to allow us to have this great event. And it's just phenomenal.

Bruce Martin: At what point did you know that they had won, that you had won, that Felix had won?

Jim Meyer: Honestly, we knew in lap 185 we had the right strategy. And we knew at that point that we had more fuel than everybody else and we could win. And that we didn't need to stop again. And then the red light came. And that, of course, restarts everything, right? And then the yellow came. I'm like, oh my god. So the answer is, I didn't know until we crossed the start-finish line.

Bruce Martin: After the restart following the red, it looked like one of your drivers was going to win, but it was going to be Marcus Armstrong. And then the caution comes out. Mick Schumacher barely scraped the turn one wall, but they went yellow, which a lot of people kind of scratched their heads over because at that point, Marcus was pulling away from Malukas. And a lot of people thought, why did they throw the yellow?

Jim Meyer: But I'm sure Marcus didn't like the yellow, but I think the officiating crew did a great job yesterday, I think. And I think they took a lot, there was a lot of conflict from the Grand Prix, particularly the situation with Alex Rossi out there. And so they're gonna air now on the cautious side. And so it doesn't surprise me and it is what it is, okay?

Bruce Martin: But by doing that it really worked out well for Felix because they brought the track sweepers out under the red to sweep off everything. So the outside line had grip and Felix knew it and he used it and rarely do we see a driver win the Indianapolis 500 by taking the outside line for the entire last lap. How bold of a move and how bold of a strategy was that for Felix?

Jim Meyer: It was bold and I got to tell you, I'm sitting there thinking, oh, Felix is going to win. We're going to get first and I think, I think Marcus was fifth and we're going to get first and fifth and I'm excited. Then the pass, Marcus, I'm saying, oh my God, we're going to get first and third. And then I'm watching the two of them go around that turn and I see Felix go on the outside. I go, oh my God, we're going to be 19th and 20th because we're going into You know, and Felix told me last night, he said, I made up my mind that I was going to give it all. And if I went in the fence, I went in the fence. And, um, I, it was just great. Um, but I mean, you're right. That is not, that's a hard way to win. Of course, Joseph did it. Right. You know, so.

Bruce Martin: As they're coming out of turn four, David Maloukis is ahead. Everybody's sitting there thinking, we've seen this. When they usually come out of four, the guy's got the inside line, and plus he's able to zig and zag and make his car wider so that nobody passes him. But Felix stuck to that outside line, and it looked like when Maloukis tried to protect the bottom lane, that just opened it up for Felix.

Jim Meyer: David drove, he drove absolutely clean. He raced clean the whole day. He certainly finished, you know, David drove for us a couple years ago. David is going, is a superstar in this sport. David's gonna win this race, okay? I mean, he's that good. He didn't do anything wrong. It was just our day and Felix just happened to get the jump.

Bruce Martin: A lot of our listeners may not know, but they may not know Jim Meyer, but they have certainly heard Jim Meyer's productions that he was able to do because you were the CEO of Sirius XM for a long time. You really are one of the pioneers of satellite radio. So how did you get involved in that business? And when you see how everybody consumes their radio and entertainment differently, you're one of the reasons why they do it.

Jim Meyer: Well, I'd like to tell you I was a visionary on it, but that's simply not true. had the privilege of doing some pretty cool products with a mentor of mine. He's gone now. And he went to SiriusXM ahead of me, Sirius at the time, and he called me and he said, what do you think of satellite radio? And I said to him, I think it's the dumbest idea I've ever heard of. I mean, why would somebody pay for radio? It's free. And he said, well, you're going to come help me for a couple of days. And so I agreed to go help him. And I just fell in love with it. And it's such a great company. We have such great people there. And now 35 million subscribers. It's really, really great.

Bruce Martin: Well, what satellite radio was able to do was to give everybody a choice of what they wanted to listen to. Whereas terrestrial radio, you don't know when your favorite song's coming up or anything of that. Now you have dedicated stations, whether it be music, sports, politics, news, which has really given a lot of people a lot of choices. We do a little bit of that in the podcast industry, which is more on demand. When you think of just how the world has evolved, I grew up in an era where you had three TV stations and that was it.

Jim Meyer: Well, number one, podcast has completely changed. Spoken, you know, what I call talk radio. It's completely changed. Everything's a podcast now, right? And more entertaining. I'll give you an interesting story. Our subscribers, it's funny, once you get them to set the presets, they never churn. They stay, okay? Once they set, because they're engaged, right? But the problem is, you introduce a new station, you can't get them I'm okay the way I am, you know, don't change anything, right? And so we're constantly trying to get them to rediscover new things. And it's a challenge, but fun.

Bruce Martin: Well, I will admit, whenever I get a rental car, the first thing I do is I get my presets, I change what's on there to my presets, and that's what I go to. But I have discovered there are some new channels on there, which are very good. But anyway, getting back to the Indianapolis 500, Does it baffle you that it's the only race your team is able to win?

Jim Meyer: I guess if you're going to win, this is the one to win, right? But we got in this with a very deliberate strategy, Mike Shank and myself. Mike is an unbelievable partner. And Mike knows thousands of times more about racing than I know, OK? But we're great partners. And we got in this very deliberately. And we only bit off as much as we could chew for a while. But we got frustrated about three years ago. It's one of the reasons why we went out and got Felix We knew we had to get faster And I'll be honest with you. I'm disappointed. We haven't won more races in IMSA We went all the time. Okay, and and you know, we unload off the truck people are afraid of us, right? That's what I want here. I want people to be afraid of us and we're coming we're getting better and better

Bruce Martin: And when you think of the month of May for Felix Rosenquist, he became a father. He nearly won the poll for the Indianapolis 500. He was the fastest in the two rounds, entering the fast six, didn't win the poll and he was disappointed. But a week later, he wins the Indianapolis 500. So his life has definitely changed in May of 2026. And how do you even begin to put that into words?

Jim Meyer: Well, he's a wonderful member of our team, number one. You know what? Besides being a great race car driver, he's a really good human. And I couldn't be happier for he and Emil and their new little baby girl. He's changed. You can tell in two weeks. We all know it. We've been through it and you can see it. I think it's great for him. Furthermore, he's had this look for the last month. And we made a mistake in the Grand Prix, which we thought we were on the pole, and then we started way up front, and then we made a mistake. But he never lost his confidence. And I knew, I talked to him yesterday morning for about 15 minutes about what we wanted to focus on. I could just see in him that he knew what he wanted to do. Now look, I'm going to tell you, to win this race, you also have to get a little bit lucky, OK? And we certainly had God smiling on us yesterday.

Bruce Martin: They always say, Elio Kastradamus, the third member of your ownership group, always said that the Indianapolis 500 picks its winner, and it looked like it picked its winner yesterday with Felix Rosenquist. Everything just turned out well, but to have Elio is part of the operation. He was in the race. He's still trying to be a five-time, the first five-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. But I know he was just as excited as a team owner to win this race.

Jim Meyer: It was thrilling. He was right behind me, running out on the wall and jumping up and down, right? I don't know how he got out of his car that fast anyways, but he, uh, uh, yeah, it was great. And having Elio with us is, is really, really, um, uh, we, we, we, we're really happy to have Elio as a partner, uh, in our team. And, um, he's good for, you know, you just, the knowledge the man has is incredible. Right. And being able to be able to share that with our team has been, is really, really good.

Bruce Martin: Well, I know the celebration is going to go on for a very long time, especially at Binkley's.

Jim Meyer: We got to it pretty good last night.

Bruce Martin: Yes, but I'm sure that was probably just the first celebration. There'll be many more throughout the year. But Jim Meyer, one of the owners of Meyer Shank Racing, congratulations on winning your second Indianapolis 500 and Felix Rosenquist winning the closest Indianapolis 500 in history. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Jim Meyer: Thank you so much.

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

Josef Newgarden: Hey, everyone, this is two time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and you're listening to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bruce Martin: Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. And now let's hear from the winning driver of the 110th Indianapolis 500, Felix Rosenquist of Meyers Schenck Racing in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview a few hours after he won the biggest race on earth. I've known our next guest for a very long time, probably seven, eight years now, but I've never had the opportunity to introduce him as the winner of the 110th Indianapolis 500. It's Felix Rosenquist. Felix, if people didn't get excited by what they saw in today's race, then they just can't get excited. But it was the most exciting, closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. It had the record for the most lead changes in Indianapolis 500 history with 70. You said earlier it's been a whirlwind, but if you could take us through what it took to win today's race.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yeah, Bruce, that was a race. That was a really, really cool race. I can't wait to rewatch it and just to see those final laps unfold. It took, I mean we, first of all you need to have a good car and Meyers Schenck Racing and Honda gave me I think the best car in the field which you already saw in qualifying. Like there was, it was a rocket of a car and I wouldn't say we were like the most confident in practice running but somehow in the race it was just really really good from the get-go. And I knew that if we just nail our pit stops, our strategy, we're going to have a shot here at the end. And sometimes we were back to 9th, and it's never easy going through this race. I was just so excited when I knew we had a shot there in the final stint. Because last year I was just a little… I was like fourth or fifth in the final stint. It's just not gonna cut it. Like you can't pass four cars in one stint. So… Yeah, it was… It takes a lot and it takes luck and it takes everything. And it takes a lot of bravery and just a will to win. So… Yeah, what an incredible last lap.

Bruce Martin: Has it even sunk in yet that you've won the Indianapolis 500?

Felix Rosenqvist: No, it hasn't. It definitely… I think this is when they say it feels like a dream. This is pretty much it. If I woke up now in my bed and it didn't happen, I wouldn't be surprised.

Bruce Martin: Well, the way you won it was you were on a different strategy and you had to save some fuel. And when it became apparent that if the race went all the way to the distance, it was going to be a fight between Felix Rosenquist and Pato Award. So you had to basically try to keep up with him, save some fuel. But when you had the chance to go after Pato, you were able to get him rather quickly. If you could describe that portion of the race.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yeah, so Pato was in a tricky boat because he pitted earlier than us and he had less fuel. My strategist, Adam, he told me that he's worse than you on fuel. So I just tried to let him lead as much as possible, just to punch the air basically. Leading here burns about 20-30% more fuel. I knew I was in a perfect position because he wasn't really sucking up to anyone and then we finally caught the pack and he was able to fuel save and that's when I was just I just passed him and was able to I got Harvey into four actually in the short shoot and I was just able to pull off and then I knew Pato was gonna have to burn even more fuel to follow me And at that point in the race, it looked very good for us it was like kind of perfect situation because we were gonna be flat to the end and Potter was gonna have to to save a lot so yeah, that was I think I was a little lucky how it turned out with traffic and stuff but Great strategy from the team there

Bruce Martin: So then there's a red flag with seven to go on the restart. Then Mick Schumacher brushes the turn one wall. They call for a yellow. Now you've got to do it all over again with only a couple of laps to go. So how big a role did that play in your strategy? Because for a while there, it looked like it was really going to go against your teammate, Marcus Armstrong, because David Maloukas was going to get him on the restart.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yeah, it was, I think either way we probably had a good shot. So I fell back to third on that second last restart, which was fine. I was like, as long as I'm not down to fourth, I think I have a shot because I was able to pass cars from third in line all day. But it was obviously stressful when you, you know, now you're not leading anymore. Now you don't have the strategic advantage. But yeah, I think even with the yellow, it was probably a similar situation. Maybe it helped me, maybe it didn't. I don't really know the answer to that. But yeah, when it all got packed up and we had one to go, I was like, yeah, I'm just going to go for it.

Bruce Martin: So when you went for it, if you could describe the final lap, because it was pretty complex how you were able to do that.

Felix Rosenqvist: Yes, I had a good restart. I was able to not break my momentum. I was able to run high into one and I had a little better momentum than everyone because I was just using that toe and no one was on the high line. So I was like, okay, cool, I'm just hanging out here. And then it just went on for turn one, turn two, turn three. and then turn four and I was able to clear I think it was either Marcus or Pato in four and then go down to get the suck behind David and that little slipstream was just able to carry me through the finish which was like you can't even script that in a Hollywood movie.

Bruce Martin: But you thought you were going to finish second because, as you said, it never works going to the outside. But you made it work. How?

Felix Rosenqvist: Especially in four. I've been on the outside in a lot of corners, but never through four. And I saw Santino, actually. He had a great restart when he went from, like, he must have been back in, like, eighth and gone up to third. And he was really, really wide. And after I saw that, I was like, you might have to use this high line more than you think. So it was pretty easy for me because I was just like, I'm just going to use the Highline and if it doesn't work, then we tried, you know, and it was nice that I only had one option and it worked out.

Bruce Martin: I asked you earlier, you've had a lot of heartbreak, a lot of near misses, a lot of close finishes. You ended up being a hard luck driver. Was it all worth it? Because now your next win ended up being the Indianapolis 500.

Felix Rosenqvist: It was, I mean, there's nothing more rewarding when you have a lot of, you know, I've had a lot of success in IndyCar, but I also had a lot of really tough days and tough years and tough races, big crashes. But when you get through that and you, because it never feels easy to fight through that stuff. It always sucks. and you're grinding through it and you never get initial, how do you say, immediate results. But slowly over time, you know, it changes and the flow starts coming to you and it's just nothing better to finally be able to do it after you've gone through such a rough patch.

Bruce Martin: And for your team owner, Meyers Schenck Racing, their only other IndyCar Series victory came in the 2021 Indianapolis 500 with Elio Castroneves, who's also now one of your team owners. It seems that the only IndyCar Series races they can win are the Indianapolis 500.

Felix Rosenqvist: Hey, we'll take it. I think everyone's perfectly fine with that. Yeah, to have won this race twice for us, it's incredible. I'm not sure how many teams have actually won it twice, except the bigger teams. But no, that's what we want to do. We want to be out there winning. And Mike and Jim has been very, You know, very strict with like we're not here to just participate where we want to be a winning team. And it's so cool that we can go out and show these guys what we can do.

Bruce Martin: And as we wrap up here with Felix Rosenquist, your life has changed by becoming a father. And now your life's really going to change by winning the Indianapolis 500. It's a title that's going to stay with you for the rest of your life, just like being a father is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. So I guess it's great to be Felix Rosenquist these days.

Felix Rosenqvist: It is very great to be me. And I just feel so lucky. It's like, why did all this? You know, you said I'm an unlucky driver. And all I can think about now is I'm so lucky. Yeah, whatever happens after this is a bonus. That's all I can say. I feel like I've gotten everything I could ever wish for as a driver and as a person this month. It's just so cool. But I guess, you know, once the helmet comes on in Detroit, you're going to be just as hungry for another one.

Bruce Martin: Well, we'll always remember this day, the 350,000 people who saw the race, the millions who saw it on TV, closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, and it was the way that you want it. But from all of us at Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, thank you for joining us. Congratulations on the big win in the Indianapolis 500.

Felix Rosenqvist: Thank you very much. The 110 was special.

Bruce Martin: There are plenty more interviews from the Indianapolis 500, including one with reigning Formula One world champion Lando Norris of McLaren, who arrived in Indianapolis Sunday night after competing in the Grand Prix of Canada. We also have a special interview with actor Brendan Fraser, who was the honorary starter of the 110th Indianapolis 500 and waved the green flag to start the race. But those will have to wait for the next couple of episodes in the coming weeks. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guest, David Maloukis of Team Penske, who finished second in the Indianapolis 500, his father, Henry Maloukis, Team Penske president, Jonathan Duguid, IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway president, Doug Bowles, Alex Pillow of Chip Ganassi Racing, IndyCar Series team owner, Dale Coyne, and BorgWarner trophy sculptor, William Behrens. And a special thank you to the winning team of the 110th Indianapolis 500, including Meijer Schenck Racing Chief Operating Officer Adam Rovazzini, team partner Elio Castroneves, and team owners Michael Schenck and Jim Meijer. And most of all, we want to congratulate the winning driver, the 110th Indianapolis 500, Felix Rosenquist, and thank him for joining us on this Indianapolis 500 edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, your path to victory lane in IndyCar. On the highways, the raceways, and every pit stop in between, Penske Truck Rental keeps you moving forward. Gain ground with Penske. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team. Executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Sean Ruhle-Hoffman and Nathan Corson.