Unpacking the end of the 2025 INDYCAR Series Season with Scott Dixon, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson and much more

Bruce Martin:
IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans an insider's view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek, and SpeedSport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to PitPass Indy 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. The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season is over and Alex Palou is celebrating his fourth IndyCar Series championship, including the past three seasons in a row. Although the season concluded with Team Penske's Josef Newgarden winning the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville's Super Speedway on August 31st, there was plenty of major news in IndyCar in the early days of the offseason. Less than two days after the final checkered flag of the season, Will Power and Team Penske announced they were splitting up after an incredible 17-year run. Power leaves Team Penske as its winningest IndyCar Series driver, as 42 of his 45 IndyCar wins were with Team Penske, including the 2018 Indianapolis 500 in 2018. Power also won both of his IndyCar Series championships with Team Penske, including 2014 and 2022. The following day came three more major announcements, including Colton Herta of Andretti Global leaving IndyCar to join the Formula One team as its test driver. Hurta will also compete in Formula Two for a team yet to be announced so that he can score enough points to get his FIA Super License. All Formula 1 drivers must have at least 40 FIA points for the Super License. Hurta fell 5 points short of getting enough points for a Super License in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series. If Hurta finishes in the top 3 in the Formula 2 Championship in 2026, he will earn his Super License and be eligible for Formula 1 competition. Hurta leads IndyCar with 9 career victories, 16 pole positions, and over 1,000 laps led. He finished second to Alex Pillow in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series Championship. The No. 26 Gainbridge Honda that Hurta is vacating will be filled by Power, who announced less than 24 hours earlier he was officially leaving Team Penske. The IndyCar Great will join a three-driver team that also includes three-time IndyCar Series race winner in 2025, Kyle Kirkwood, and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner and former Formula One driver Marcus Ericcson. Those weren't the only big news items that became official on September 3rd. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, held nearly every year since 1986 with the exception of 2008 at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, is moving to the suburbs beginning next season. It will become the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Markham, held in the northeast Toronto suburb of Markham, Ontario beginning next August. Green Sabri Promotions, IndyCar, and the City of Markham announced a multi-year agreement on September the 3rd. Later that same day, Renas VeeKay announced he would not return to Dale Coyne Racing after he led the underfunded team to a 14th place finish in this year's championship standings. The highlights for VeeKay and Dale Coyne was the second place finish at Toronto in July. There could be more announcements made this week, including the driver that replaces Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet at Team Penske. That driver is expected to be David Malukas, currently the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing. VeeKay could be in line to take over the No. 4 Chevrolet when Malukas is named at Team Penske. PitPass Indy will have more on those developments in future episodes. Meantime, let's unpack the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. Some of these interviews were conducted a few weeks ago when IndyCar was at Milwaukee and wrapped up at Nashville, so some of the questions and comments on such topics as, where will Will Power be in 2026, have already been answered. But we thought the interviews had much interesting content for our listeners, so the start of the off-season seemed to be a perfect time to roll them out. We start off with Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global, who admittedly had another disappointing season on the team as he finished 20th in the standings. Here is my exclusive interview with Marcus Ericcson when IndyCar was at Milwaukee a few weeks ago for Pit Pass Indy. Our old buddy Marcus Ericcson has joined us now. Marcus, we're getting to the finish line of the season here. So if I were going to ask you your highs and lows of 2025, what would they be?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, unfortunately, quite a few lows, to be honest. We've had really a lot of bad executed races and issues in the races. Obviously, getting the disqualification from the 500 was the biggest low, really. But at the same time, it was maybe our biggest high as well, fighting for it, leading the 500 for a long time, and just finishing second. So it's been a lot of potential. But yeah, we've been just struggling, really, to get results on the board on Sunday. A season where, you know, it's been frustrating because I feel like we've had a lot more pace, but we haven't really been able to show that.

Bruce Martin: When you look back at the Indianapolis 500, how are your mixed emotions? Because you had the heartbreak and disappointment of finishing what you thought was second. Actually, you were the second place finisher on race day. only to discover later that night that they were moving it all the way to the back. Just how do you describe, I mean, do you look back at it with, does it go from disappointment to anger in some ways?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of emotions from something like that. Like I said, first of all, there was a lot of, you know, sadness and disappointment from missing out on winning. You know, finishing second is probably, you know, maybe not the worst place to finish, but it's definitely a mentally tough place to finish being that close to winning a 500. So that was first really tough, but then sort of when it sunk in and, you know, you look at the bigger picture, second place was still a good result. And then to get that taken away from us was really, really tough. And I think sort of put the tone on the rest of the season, unfortunately. So, yeah, that sort of all the events that happened there, I think was definitely tough for us as a group.

Bruce Martin: And we knew your contract status, you knew your contract status, but did you think it was absolutely necessary that you had to come out and say that, yes, you were coming back in 2026 when you had that all along when you signed the deal?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, I mean, that's how it works, right? But again, we had a tough season, so I think that was why that was talked about. But for us, you know, now the focus is to finish off strong, have two good races here to finish off the season and build some momentum going into next year. It's a long off-season, but you still want to finish off strong and sort of get that momentum going into the off-season. So that's where we really focused on here for Milwaukee and Nashville.

Bruce Martin: You've completed your first full year of the Dan Tyrus era of owning this team. Looks like they've made some improvements in some areas. What would you say they were?

Marcus Ericsson: Yeah, I feel like we're really moving continuously in the right direction. You know, we've done, there's been a lot of investments into the team. We are, you know, getting better and stronger in all areas and adding people and, you know, using the people we have. So I really feel like we're definitely moving in the right direction. It'll be really interesting into 2026 to see where we can go with another offseason to build on what we've achieved this year. So it's really exciting to be part of that. And got any big plans for the offseason? I mean, I'm getting married with my wife, so we are married on paper, but we're having the wedding. So that's the biggest plan. Yeah, that's it. The reception, the big party. So we're very excited about that.

Bruce Martin: Well, give her my best. Will do. Good luck in the off-season. I'm sure we'll be in touch once racing concludes. Enjoy the off-season and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. The driver who replaced Ericsson in the No. 8 Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2023 season is Kiffin Simpson of the Cayman Islands. Backed by a hefty budget when he arrived in IndyCar, Simpson proved in 2025 that he is quite a racer, too. He finished on the podium at Toronto in July, when he was third to race winner Pat O'Ward and second place Renis Viquet. He also had a fierce battle with Scott McLaughlin in the final race of the season for third place, but finished fourth at the checkered flag at Nashville Super Speedway. Simpson finished the season 17th in the standings. Here is an exclusive interview I had with Simpson before the final race of the season at Nashville. Hello, Kevin. Good highs and lows for 2025. You had a really good stretch there during the summer portion of the season where you were doing very well. So if you were going to pick some highs and lows from 2025 for you, what would they be?

Kyffin Simpson: Highs, definitely a couple have to be the podium in Toronto and the P3 qualifying in mid-Ohio. I'd say those are the big highs from my side for the season. Lows, I felt like Laguna was definitely a low for us. I was disappointed with that. a little bit in Portland as well. So yeah, I think between those two in the last couple of races, it's not been going as well as I want it to, but we're going to try to turn that around right now.

Bruce Martin: So how important has the learning process been for you, your second season in IndyCar?

Kyffin Simpson: It's been good. It's been pretty steep. I think this season, I feel like I've improved more than I did last season. I feel like with every race, I've Understood the car more and then from there. I've been able to build on it even more so Yeah, I think it's been a big progression this year from st. Pete to now and I'm looking forward to just continuing to improve

Bruce Martin: And just by being a teammate with Alex below his outstanding season, how much do you learn just by observing what he's able to do that you can one day apply for yourself?

Kyffin Simpson: Yeah, a lot. I mean, you always have a good reference with Alex, so it's always good to know where you can be. Always good to be able to go back to that. And if you're unsure about something, you know that he's probably found the fast way around the track. So you know that you can always rely on him to have a good benchmark for you. Well, Kevin Simpson, good luck.

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

Bruce Martin: Another young driver who showed flashes of speed and improvement in 2025 was Stingray Rob of Junco Salinger Racing. Although he finished 25th in the standings, Rob is convinced there are better days ahead, as he told me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview before the Milwaukee race a few weeks ago. Stingray Rob joins us now. Stingray, if I'm gonna ask you your highs and lows of 2025 in IndyCar, what would they be?

Sting Ray Robb: Highs so far, I would say the ninth at Long Beach for sure. Definitely a good day there. It's coming from the back of the pack to the front. Lows, probably the Indy 500 shortly after that. With Kyle spinning in front of us and us getting kind of caught up there ending our day early was unfortunate because I felt like I had a really good car. So, yeah.

Bruce Martin: But when you look back over the season, the thing with IndyCar is you wait all year for it to start. It starts early March and some long gaps here and there, but then once the Indy 500 starts, the season's relentless. And as you get toward the end of the year, do you feel that part of the relentless part of the skin?

Sting Ray Robb: Yeah, at the end of the year, it does space out a little bit more. We have a couple more breaks here and there. The middle part of the season, though, you really feel it. Everyone's exhausted. You're wanting to go home for at least a day and take a nap. But I think that it's the same for everyone at that point, right? The crews are feeling it. The teams are feeling it. The drivers, everyone has that sort of strung out weekend to weekend feeling.

Bruce Martin: IndyCar closes the season on two short ovals. Do you like that aspect after all the street and road courses that you run all season to be able to line it up with some ovals?

Sting Ray Robb: Personally, I feel like we were missing an opportunity to end on on some different tracks. You know, I really like the national street course. I felt like that was a good event being downtown streets there. But for me, I've had better results this year on the road and street courses. So I'm favorable to that sort of was not so much. So I'm interested to see how it goes. I think that we have a good package for these next two races. And I think that there's going to be a lot of opportunity to be had here.

Bruce Martin: Of course, the reason they can't run on the streets of Nashville is because of the construction of the Tennessee Titans new stadium has taken away the layout of what that street course would have been. But what do you think of the return to Milwaukee? It does have a lot of history and tradition to it, and it drew two decent crowds last year. From what I understand, ticket sales are pretty good for this year's race. What do you think, though, of IndyCar at Milwaukee? It just seems to be a great fit.

Sting Ray Robb: Yeah, I think that it does a good job of kind of filling the role of such an event because it's at the fairgrounds, people are familiar with in that sense. And I know that from a fan experience perspective, I've had family members that go out into the fan village, walk around and just love the whole aura that's around this place.

Bruce Martin: You come from Idaho, which has many lakes. But what do you think of the Great Lakes?

Sting Ray Robb: Great Lakes are more like oceans to me. The lakes I'm more familiar with, you can see across, swim across some of them. Usually not too intimidating, but the Great Lakes are a whole different ballgame.

Bruce Martin: And when you compare the different species of fish that are out in Idaho compared to what you have up here in Wisconsin, Are they dramatically different?

Sting Ray Robb: They are a little bit. We definitely have our perch, our lake perch that I like back home in Idaho. We don't have the bigger fish, the bigger, more aggressive fish they have out here in the Great Lakes. But it's all good. Fish are fish. We like catching them. We like eating fish fries on Friday nights. I mean, it's all about the same. So it's good.

Bruce Martin: And as far as your time with June Coast Hollinger Racing, how big of a boost have they given your career by giving you the support and, at times, pretty good cars to drive in IndyCar this year?

Sting Ray Robb: Oh, it's been great. You know, I have a lot of fond memories with this team in previous years as well, being we won a championship together back in 2020. And there's definitely some familiar air because of that. And I think that, you know, going forward to build a program together would be really nice. You know, it's nice to have stability going into this year with a team that I've been with before.

Bruce Martin: Well, Stingray Rob, you've done a pretty good job in 2025. Good luck in the off season. We'll catch up with you during the off season and look forward to talking to you again in 2026. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass, Cindy.

Sting Ray Robb: Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Also at Milwaukee, I caught up with Graham Rayhall for this exclusive interview. Ray Hall went on to finish the season 19th in points for Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan Racing. Well, Graham, it seems like the buzz is back at Milwaukee. How do you feel about it this year?

Graham Rahal: Yeah, I mean, I feel it was good. You know, a lot better than qualifying last year. Obviously, we want to keep getting better. I don't think that we're good enough, but I feel like we're better. So we'll keep working at it. You know, see if tomorrow we can put something good together. It just all comes down to that at this stage. So we'll see.

Bruce Martin: There were a lot of unknowns how the car would react at this race last year because of the hybrid. Turned out to be a fantastic two races. So with that confidence level heading into tomorrow, is there going to be another wild race?

Graham Rahal: Yeah, I would expect the same. I think it's going to be a great race. You could see the tired egg this morning was massive. So, you know, massive tired egg means great racing. So we'll see what happens.

Bruce Martin: It's not your car, but that Miller Lite car at the Milwaukee Miles got to bring back some great memories for the Rahal family.

Graham Rahal: It should be mine. We could have blown that thing out of proportion. But no, great job by Abel to put that together. And it looks beautiful. It's damn cool to see. I got a lot of fond memories of those cars. And Max and Harley Davidson, you know, Miller car was amazing. So a lot of cool days.

Bruce Martin: And you go way back here at the Milwaukee Miles. So just what would a win here mean for you tomorrow?

Graham Rahal: A lot of reasons it would be big. Yeah, it would be very, very, very cool. And it's a place I've been coming to since I was a little kid. I got a lot of love. And you know, I said it, but I mean it. Like, probably my favorite place, favorite oval by a mile. But it's just a great place, great place to go and be, you know, to race and to be. So I mean, look, I know it's Saturday, you know, and it's not packed. But look, you know this. We go to most ovals, and on Saturdays or qualifying days, there's nobody in the stand. So it's nice to see. Thank you.

Bruce Martin: Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing had an impressive stretch of the season that began in May with a 5th place finish in the Indianapolis 500 and continued with a 2nd place at Detroit, 5th at Worldwide Technology Raceway, and a 3rd at Road America in June. But a 15th place finish in the second race of the Iowa doubleheader began a streak of bad finishes for Ferrucci that took him out of contention for a top 10 finish in the standings. Ferrucci ended the season 16th in points. Here is an exclusive pit pass in the interview I had with Ferrucci as the season neared its conclusion. Our old buddy Santino Ferrucci is back. Santino, if I were going to ask you your high points and your low points of the 2025 season, what would they be?

Santino Ferrucci: Man, high points, definitely Detroit, St. Louis, you know, the 500, that stretch of four races, Road America especially, you know, with everything that was going on. with our team and, you know, with Mrs. Sexton. So, and then, you know, last couple of weekends, Toronto has definitely hurt on top of, you know, Portland. Just, you know, unforced errors on my part. So, yeah, just excited to be back at a racetrack. Excited to be back here in Milwaukee of all the racetracks. This is probably my favorite one on the calendar. So hopefully making another high point.

Bruce Martin: It also seems that you have become a very good fit on the team that Larry Foyt has put together at A.J. Foyt Racing. What do you see as being the reason why this group seems to work very well with you?

Santino Ferrucci: You know, I think there's a lot of things, you know, going back with my relationship with Larry and wanting to, you know, really take this team and make it competitive and winning and, you know, with the goal in mind of winning the 500. So also, I think the way that I drive mindset with the team has been a big help. You know, just very focused on, you know, not forgetting who we are, but also striving to be competitive and, you know, finish well in the championship.

Bruce Martin: Now, one of the hallmarks of A.J. Foyt's racing career was the Milwaukee Mile. When you come to the Milwaukee Mile and see it, can you almost see A.J. driving a front-engine Roadster around here?

Santino Ferrucci: I feel like he can. I mean, I'd love to see him when he brought the sprint car here. So just crazy stories around this place. It's amazing the history here and just awesome that we get to race here now. And I'm excited to be on the track and I'm happy Firestone and the series didn't change anything from last year to this year.

Bruce Martin: And as far as next season, what are your plans? Are you set for next year with AJ Foyt Racing or is that to be determined?

Santino Ferrucci: We're working on it. But I mean, I don't plan on going anywhere. So as long as Larry's happy to have me, we're good to go.

Bruce Martin: And also, you've had some shots at victories here. There's no reason to believe that either Milwaukee or Nashville, we might not see Santino Ferrucci up there battling for the victory. How great would it be to enter an offseason and be able to celebrate the last win of the season for a couple of weeks or even a month?

Santino Ferrucci: I mean, it would be pretty amazing. I feel really good about it this weekend. But like I said, we're going to go out there. We're going to have fun, do our own thing. And to be honest with you, I don't see why we're not there at the end. So it's a long 250 laps. And I think we've got a great race car, especially from last year. So excited to see what we get.

Bruce Martin: Well, Santino Ferrucci, good luck. Enjoy the offseason. We'll catch up with you between now and then. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Santino Ferrucci: Thanks, Rich.

Bruce Martin: Rookie Jacob Abel had a very challenging initial season in IndyCar. He was the only driver who failed to make the 33 car starting lineup for the 109th Indianapolis 500 and struggled throughout the season. His best finish was 11th in the second race of the Iowa doubleheader and Abel finished 27th in the standings. Throughout it all, the 24-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, kept a positive attitude and hopes to be back in IndyCar in the future. Here is my exclusive interview with Abel for PitPass Indy. Jacob Abel has joined us, Dale Coyne Racing. Jacob, it's been a tumultuous rookie season for you, so how would you begin to describe it?

Jacob Abel: Yeah, we've definitely had our fair share of bad luck, for sure, hoping that all of that's behind us at this point. And we can have a few good races to really show our pace and maximize results at the end of the year. I think there has been pretty drastic improvements with everything on the team and all of that, pace-wise, engineering-wise, throughout the year. But it just feels like those weekends where it's been going well will have something unprecedented happen. Yeah, it's been tough for sure. I'm excited to, you know, have a little bit of a reset after a weekend off after that super intense stretch of the season and, you know, hopefully be able to finish it strong here.

Bruce Martin: Any IndyCar rookie knows they have a limited amount of time to really impress the IndyCar paddock that they belong there. Is that doubly disappointing about what's happened to you this season?

Jacob Abel: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'd like to think that people can recognize the bad luck and all of that that I've had personally. I don't really know what it's been. It's really been a struggle for sure. But I'd like to think people can recognize that. But for sure, I'm eager to prove myself. I'm eager to get some good results to close out the year, absolutely. Do you know what you're doing next season? I do not yet. No, I think, um, yeah, the options are open. You know, some obvious dominoes have to fall before the whole silly season really kicks off. So I think, you know, with the schedule, how it is now, we do have a bit of an extended off season, but, um, at the same time, I don't want to wait until, you know, mid to late January to, to have our plans for next year, like they were this year. I think that definitely hurt us a little bit coming into this season. And, um, yeah, I would like to, obviously be back in IndyCar and hopefully figure that out sooner rather than later.

Bruce Martin: And does the willpower situation affect you because everybody says… He's the grenade that'll set off silly season. If he stays, then don't expect a whole lot of movement. If he moves, then the dominoes start to fall.

Jacob Abel: Yeah, I don't know. It's hard to say. I think, I mean, obviously that's a seat that will become open and things will start to move around. But whether that directly affects me or not, it's hard to really say. We won't really know until it happens. So yeah, I guess we'll see.

Bruce Martin: And for somebody in your situation, as young as you are, Do you think about it at night when you're trying to sleep, like, man, what have I got to do to catch a break here?

Jacob Abel: Yeah, I mean, I try not to, to be honest. You know, I've been trying to just focus on what I can focus on. I think, you know, personally, I've seen a lot of improvement in myself and a lot of things in the team this year. And, you know, I think you see that through practice sessions, through qualifying, things like that. But just we kind of need things to come together as a whole to be able to maximize those race results.

Bruce Martin: Well, Jacob Abel, good luck. It's been great chatting with you throughout your rookie year. Hopefully, we get to chat with you as an IndyCar sophomore next year. It just goes to show how difficult it is to break into this series. Good luck the rest of the way, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Jacob Abel: For sure. Thank you.

Bruce Martin: We wrap up today's Pit Pass Indy with a segment we'll call Great Scott. It includes interviews with the two drivers named Scott in the NTT IndyCar series. First up is Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin, who went winless in 2025 and finished 10th in the final championship standings. It was a season of adversity, but in the end, McLaughlin endured through the hard times as he prepares for what he hopes is a successful season next year. Here is my exclusive interview with Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin for Pit Pass Indy. Our old buddy Scott McLaughlin has joined us. Scott, season's about to come to a close. In a lot of ways, you can have good reason to look forward to the end of the season, but you're a racer, and I know you like to keep racing. Yeah. But in many ways, how important will it be to close one chapter and begin anew once the season is over?

Scott McLaughlin : Yeah, there's pros and cons to that. I think, obviously, it hasn't been the year that we all wanted in the team. I just feel like we're just slowly starting to get our mojo back a little bit after what had happened. It was, you know, the things that happened and then the changes that were made going into the busiest part of the season was always going to make it difficult for us to get our feet on the ground. But that's not an excuse. It's just the fact of what happened. So, you know, you look at it now, it's, you know, I feel like we've got a lot of momentum, but then I've got two weeks left and I'm going to be six months off, you know, so it's tough. But at the same time, You know, I feel like we're doing a really good job as a team building up for next year. We've got two tracks now that we're going to be probably really strong at. And then, you know, hopefully we can just, like you said, turn the page and get on with it.

Bruce Martin: Is the bad thing about having six months off is that you can replay the season over again in your head, even though you shouldn't, or, but then again, you're only going to get better if you repair some of the problems that happened during the year.

Scott McLaughlin : No, I think there's, it gives us a lot of time to like, you know, go over everything, dot the I's cross the T's and figure out like. where we can improve, where I can improve. You know, is it my fitness? Is it my mental capacity? Is it the way that I work with my engineers? But yeah, look, after a year like this, sometimes it's nice to have that six months to just really go over everything and reset and go again. You know, I think we're A lot of things have been out of our control, but a lot of things have been in our control this year. So we need to make sure that we're on top of those and having a good understanding and come into 26 full steam.

Bruce Martin: If the season concludes in 2025 on two short ovals, that seems to be one of Team Penske's strengths. How valuable would it be to enter the offseason with a victory?

Scott McLaughlin : Yeah, really. I mean, been close a couple of times this year. Not close enough, but I think as a team it was nice that we won last race, which was really good for us and whatever. Yeah, I would love to just, you know, I think we can definitely win this weekend. I think we can definitely win in Nashville. We've got really good cars. And it's just a matter of just executing. But at the same time, everyone's trying to do that as well. So as we all know, the competitiveness in IndyCar is just every year, every race, it gets more and more competitive and gets tougher and tougher. So yeah, we'll keep working.

Bruce Martin: Now, I don't know how to ask this the right way, but I'm going to take my chances at it because of what happened at team Penske at the Indy 500, because it did set the team back for at least a month or two. Do you think that is one reason why Alex Palou may have ended up with at least eight victories in 2025?

Scott McLaughlin : No, no, no, because I don't think we were good enough regardless of if there was any changes and stuff. I think we just have lost, we lost a little bit of our edge on the road courses especially, and we came into a pretty road course heavy part of the season. So, you know, that's on us a little bit to get our mojo back, and we're working on that as we speak. I know they're planning tests and whatever in the off-season. So, yeah, we need to be better on road courses. We probably need to be a little bit better on a street course too. Our oval package is really, really good. But, you know, look, Alex has executed. Alex has done his job. And honestly, the CGR stuff is top notch right now. So it's up to us to work with our engineers to get better.

Bruce Martin: But I think the point I was getting at was if Team Penske is operating at its full capacity, then three more challengers that Alex has to contend with.

Scott McLaughlin : Yeah, look, and I hate putting excuses on it, but at the end of the day, like I said, we came into the busiest part of the year with guys in roles that hadn't been in those roles before and everyone was learning new roles. And, you know, it was obviously a little bit that happened, but the changes needed to be made in Roger's eyes and we 100 percent stand behind them. But yeah, I'd be lying if I said that we were a little stretched in that period. But as you've seen, like the last couple of weeks where we've been able to sort of get our feet on the ground and everyone's starting to work together really well, I feel like we're starting to see like our old team again. And I think that's full credit to who's running it now. Jonathan, Travis Law, those guys that have come in and really helped things are doing a great job.

Bruce Martin: Jonathan Duguid comes with a very impressive resume that he was able to start halfway through the season. Takes a while for everybody to learn the new system, or his system at least. How long of a process is that? Because, you know, once he gets his system in place, there's a very good chance Team Penske will return to its glory.

Scott McLaughlin : I mean, the good thing about Jonathan is that he's really worked at Team Penske his whole life, and he's relatively young for a person in that role right now. And, you know, I've worked with him before. He's tenacious. He's competitive. You know, it doesn't take really no for an answer, which is a really good thing, and we need someone in that role to do that. You know, obviously, being led by Tim Sindrick for many years, Ron Ruzewski, Kyle Moyer, these guys are all quality individuals. But I think having a fresh face like Jonathan, fresh face like Travis come in, and then, you know, using the talent that we have in the team, Ben Bretzman, Robbie Atkinson, David Faustino, you know, I think we're in a really good spot. And Jonathan leading the way is a great thing.

Bruce Martin: So highs and lows of 2025, what would be your high?

Scott McLaughlin : Oh, well, many probably probably I'd have to say probably St. Pete pole. That was pretty cool with Lucy involved and then probably my drive from 27th or whatever it was to fourth at Iowa. I was pretty good. Yeah, I was really bummed that I couldn't do that on Sunday because I thought we had a car that could easily have replicated if not better. So yeah, those are two highs probably.

Bruce Martin: I think I already know the answer to your low.

Scott McLaughlin : Yeah, my low was probably the Indy 500. And yeah, everything in between. But the Indy 500 will go down. It was probably my career low, probably, at this point.

Bruce Martin: When the car snapped on you on the pace lap, how shocked were you?

Scott McLaughlin : I was super shocked. And honestly, though, what was really nice about that whole situation, and I don't expect people to feel sorry for me, but a lot of the competitors text me after the race and said, man, I nearly did it myself or whatever. And it was just honestly one of those things. I still stand by that. I think the track was in that spot either like a little cold or wet compared to because because the cars have been sitting there for so long. And I bet that's on me to be less aggressive in that spot. But, you know, 50 feet. If I if I go 50 feet down the road, I spin into the grass and I probably keep going, you know. So it's just luck of the draw. It's unfortunate, but I'll learn from it and absolutely that won't happen again.

Bruce Martin: And we'll know soon whether Will Power will be back at Team Penske or whether he'll be driving for another team, but having him as a teammate, would you like to see him back?

Scott McLaughlin : I'm not up to make that decision. But at the same time, for me, I get along with Will really well. I would like to see him back, to be honest. I think he's a great racer. He's someone that really leads the team well, especially with development as well. He's one of the most amazing guys I've ever seen with feedback. And I just enjoy working with him. The three of us get along really, really well. And I've helped push the team forward. But at the same time, You've got to look at the future, too, and that's up to the heads to sort that out. And I'll back whatever decision, you know, the bosses make.

Bruce Martin: And our final question was Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske. You're going to have a hard day at the track, but you've got a little girl that you get to go home to every night. How much has that helped you in 2025? It's been awesome.

Scott McLaughlin : And I think, you know, there's a couple of races that I missed that she wasn't there and my wife, Carly, wasn't there. and the dogs. And I said, nah, enough of that. They're coming to most races next year. So it's awesome. It puts a cherry on top. Things aren't that bad when you come home to a very healthy little girl. So yeah, everything's good. And I'm really enjoying dad life.

Bruce Martin: Well, Scott McLaughlin, we know that team pens you'll turn it around probably as early as next season. Who knows? You might end up going into the off season with a victory, but we'll find that out over. Yeah. Over the next few races. You've always been there through the good and the bad, and I want to thank you for that. And thank you for joining us today on pit pass.

Scott McLaughlin : Cindy. Thank you, Bruce.

Bruce Martin: Our final interview is with another great Scott, six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winning driver, Scott Dixon. He finished the season third in the standings, the 16th time since 2003 that he has finished in the top three in the final NTT IndyCar Series standings. Although third place isn't worthy of a celebration by Dixon, he took time for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. One of the IndyCar heroes is joining us now. It's Scott Dixon, six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion. Scott, you know what it's like to be a winner. So when you look at the season that your teammate Alex Polo has had, you can relate. You've had some seasons where you were pretty darn successful like that. 2008 was a very good year for you, and you've had some others. But when a driver is on a roll like that, how do you even begin to describe it?

Scott Dixon: Well, I don't know. I guess the good thing is the season's almost over. But no, you know, I think seeing it from within too, you know, Alex has done a tremendous job himself, but obviously the team, you know, has done a great job too with, you know, just everything they touch kind of, you know, goes the right direction and not taking anything away from anybody's ability. But yeah, you know, we've seen years like that previously. This one is definitely one of the standouts, you know, of all time. But yeah, I don't know. All you can really say is congrats and good job. And, you know, all of us really got to step it up to try and beat him.

Bruce Martin: Well, you beat him for one of those few races that he didn't win. So you beat a lot of great drivers in your career. But was there a satisfaction level in the fact that you beat your teammate in a year where your teammate was having such an historic season?

Scott Dixon: I think you think more about the losses, to be honest. You know, wins are great, but obviously in that situation, I think throughout the year, you know, it kind of stems back to the first one where we had, you know, radio issues and, you know, strategy I was trying to have to do from the car and it caught us out and we lost the first race at St. Pete. So, you know, it is one of those things where, you know, It's all about, you know, as a team first. And, you know, for us, if I can't win, I want one of my teammates to win. And, you know, Alex has definitely, you know, put that front and center this whole season. So, yeah, you know, I think for even for me, for someone that's been in the sport for a long time, you're learning constantly. And what he's been doing is just getting everything right.

Bruce Martin: There's still a chance entering Milwaukee would take quite an effort that you could still finish second in the standings. Do you feel that's still in play?

Scott Dixon: It's still in play until it isn't. You know, obviously, Paddoe had a bit of an issue at, you know, Portland. You know, we had an issue with a penalty, too, that kind of lost some valuable points. But, you know, that's the way it goes as well. But, yeah, we won't back down, obviously, until it's all over.

Bruce Martin: You competed against Will Power the last time. He wasn't driving for Team Penske. He was back when he was driving for KB Technologies. There's probably a decent chance that he may be driving for a different team in 2026. How surprising is that for you that Will Power may be driving on a different team next year?

Scott Dixon: Yeah, definitely kind of strange. You know, I think for Will, I think, you know, he's found his home at Penske. They've done a tremendous job. He's had very good results throughout. And honestly, I think it would be a bit strange for them not to continue with him. So, you know, there was a time I remember talking to Will maybe five years ago where he was thinking about, you know, retiring. So, you know, I was like, why would you do that, man? you know, what else are you going to do? So I'm glad he's, you know, he's all fired up, definitely wants to keep racing. And, you know, he's got a massive, he's a massive talent and obviously had fantastic results.

Bruce Martin: Is he still one of the fiercest drivers you've raced against?

Scott Dixon: Yeah, he's an all-round great driver. And I think, you know, he's proved that, you know, year in, year out, you know, and, you know, last year had a fantastic year and was fighting for the championship coming down to the last race. And, you know, he's done that many years.

Bruce Martin: But we know you'll be back with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2026. I'm sure you're going after another Indy 500 win and that record-tying seventh IndyCar Series championship. So just wrapping up here, how excited are you that you're still out there and you're still at the top of your game?

Scott Dixon: Yeah, excited. You know, it's been a weird year and to think that we're still third in the championship is quite bizarre considering the amount of issues that we've had. So, we'll keep our head down and looking forward to getting off to a great start for next season. Well, Scott Dixon, you've always been a great pro.

Bruce Martin: You've always been a very good friend of mine. Good luck with the rest of the season. Enjoy the offseason and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, man. That puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guest, Marcus Ericcson of Andretti Global, Kiffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing. Stingray Robb of June Coast Hollinger Racing, Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing, Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing, Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske, and six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing for joining us on today's podcast. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy your path to victory lane in IndyCar. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team. Executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Sean Rule Hoffman and Nathan Corson. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.