Indy 500 Open Test Wrap-up with Kyle Larson, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin

Bruce Martin:

This is Roger Penske and you're listening to Pit Pass Indie, sponsored by Penske Truck Rental. 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 this special bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our fifth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. And a big thanks to Penske Truck Rental for helping bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock to the racetrack to the highways and streets of America. PitPass Indy is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this week's big two-day Indy 500 Open Test. All 34 cars and drivers that will compete at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May in preparation for the 109th Indianapolis 500 were on the famed 2.5 mile oval on Wednesday, April 23rd and Thursday, April 24th for two solid days of testing. Today's bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy is a fast one, as we have exclusive interviews with back-to-back defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden of Team Bensky and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who is back for his second attempt at the Indianapolis 500. We also have a quick interview with the fastest driver in the high-speed, high-boost qualifying simulation session on Thursday morning, Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin, who was last year's Indy 500 pole winner. We will have more interviews from the Indy 500 Open Test next week, but it was important to talk to three drivers with the biggest storylines entering the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 109th Indianapolis 500 on May 25th. The first is Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who has a chance to become the first driver to win three straight Indy 500s this year. He is just the sixth driver in history to win back-to-back Indianapolis 500s, when the two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion drove to victory in 2023 and 2024. Our second guest is NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who competes in the Indianapolis 500 for the second year in a row, which could potentially be his last attempt at the Indy 500 until his full-time NASCAR career concludes. And that isn't happening anytime soon. Larson was last year's Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year as he started fifth and finished 18th. He was in contention until he was nailed for speeding on Pitt Lane after the halfway point of the race. Larson was attempting to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day in 2024, but rain interfered with that plan. The start of the 108th Indianapolis 500 was delayed four hours because of rain, and that prevented him from starting the Coca-Cola 600. When he arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway near the halfway point of that race, he was ready to take over the number five Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports from substitute driver Justin Allgaier, but the rain impacted that race also. The rain continued into the night and because the 600 was past the halfway point, NASCAR called the race complete. By missing a NASCAR Cup Series race, Larson was in jeopardy of missing the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs because each driver that contends for the championship must compete in each race. NASCAR eventually gave Larson a waiver, but this year Larson must make the Coca-Cola 600 his top priority in the event of another rain delay in Indianapolis on May 25th. Larson completed his refresher test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 23rd. In the full field session, Larson finished 11th out of 34 drivers on the speed chart with a fast lap of 223.430 miles per hour in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. On Thursday, April 24th, IndyCar had a qualification simulation session for two and a half hours that allowed teams to use the extra boost that they will receive on Fast Friday and Indy 500 qualifications in May. Larson was set to make a flying run and had a trap speed of 233.433 miles per hour entering Turn 1, but his car developed a tight handling condition and crashed into the Turn 1 Safer Barrier. Larson's Chevrolet IndyCar drifted across the track and made a second impact into the Turn 2 wall, damaging the right side of his IndyCar. Larson was examined and released in the IU Health Emergency Hospital in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield, but his car was done for the day. Larson left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway shortly after 12 noon and returned to his home in North Carolina. He will turn his attention to this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Super Speedway with Hendrick Motorsports. Before he left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Larson joined me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. I'm happy to be the first to introduce you as an Indianapolis 500 veteran now. It's Kyle Larson. We're at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You did your rookie refresher course, even though you were a rookie last year. How do you look at your second attempt here at the Indy 500 Open Test? It ended a little earlier than you expected because of a crash on day two, but how do you look at the way things went here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Kyle Larson:

Yeah, it was good to get back in the car. And honestly, I don't mind going through the ROP like we did yesterday. It's just nice to kind of take things slow to get built back into the comfort of an Indy car. So the speeds are way faster than what I deal with on a typical weekend. So just building into that is good. So yeah, I thought yesterday went well. You got to get in some traffic and the balance didn't quite feel like what we had last year. So, yeah, we're going to we're planning to work on that, I think, a fair bit today. But, yeah, just made a mistake there in our qualifying round or whatever you want to call it. Gone to the wall, so we're done for the day, but still I think a lot to take from the test and getting us all prepared for May.

Bruce Martin:

The crash occurred when you entered Turn 1 of the qualifying simulation session that they had set up where you all got the full boost of what you'll have on Fast Friday in qualifications. When did you sense something was about to happen with the car?

Kyle Larson:

Pretty early on turn into the corner, but after looking at it and thinking about it more, they run this DRS weight jacker thing, and I hit the button to whatever, engage it, disengage it, whatever you want to call it, off of turn four, and then I forgot to hit the button to reset it before turning into turn one, so no surprise that I had the understeer that I had. That makes me more bummed that I was a big part of the mistake. But regardless, I think the teammates are also struggling with understeer. So we'll work on that as a team and try to get it better hopefully by the end of the day and then come back in May in a much better spot.

Bruce Martin:

What's different on the cars this year is the hybrid unit, which is about an extra 100 pounds. Did you notice that this year compared to when you were in the IndyCar here last year?

Kyle Larson:

Um, well, yesterday I just felt like I was, I had a lot more understeer than what I had last year, so I, I don't know, I guess I would factor that into, you know, why, maybe, you know, some of it, but, um, yeah, I mean, I did play around with, like, the hybrid system in traffic yesterday, and it, it helps a little bit, but not as much as I think probably you would need for it to be an effective sort of push to pass.

Bruce Martin:

When the crash started or when you lost control, you said that you could see the wall coming up. And what goes through your mind then to wonder what the impact is going to be like? Because it's really the first time in your career you've been in an IndyCar and had an impact.

Kyle Larson:

Yeah, yeah, that was the first time I'd gotten to the wall in IndyCar. So yeah, I mean, I mean, when I knew I was going to hit the wall off a turn one, you're just you don't know what to expect. But I've seen enough on boards that thankfully I was quick to, you know, take my hands off the wheel. And then, yeah, I mean, the impact didn't feel any different than a stock car, but it was a pretty generous angle that I hit the wall at. So I know it could be a lot worse. So I hope that I don't encounter that. But in a sense, I'm happy that in a way to hit the wall and feel fine through it and know that All the safety gear worked fine and the insert felt fine. Seatbelts felt fine. You know, I don't wear a Hans in the NASCAR stuff. I wear a hybrid, which I prefer to use that. So that was my first time hitting anything with a Hans and all that felt fine on the collarbones and all that too. So, but yeah, like I said, I hope did not hit it again, but it was good to, you know, know that it felt similar.

Bruce Martin:

The team's decision to not repair the car and just go ahead and let you head to Talladega early, is that something that you feel like with all of the testing and practice you have coming up here in May, that it's really the right call? Because if they got the car fixed, you may have only had a few minutes. before the session ended.

Kyle Larson:

Yeah and I think there was more damage to like the bell housing and stuff so it would have been more extensive repair than maybe what it looked like exterior wise but yeah so no I mean it's fine we still have three other teammates out there making laps and thankfully yesterday we all kind of felt the same thing so they'll work through the balance and get it better and like I said we'll be in a better spot come May.

Bruce Martin:

How important is the fact that it's your second year with Arrow McLaren that you are now familiar with the people that you're working with?

Kyle Larson:

Yeah, yeah, but it is, I don't think anybody on our team besides a couple people is the same from last year. So it still feels like a totally new environment. I think the other teams though, engineers and stuff in there, are the same. So that's that's nice. But as far as like mechanics and stuff, I'm pretty sure I have like a totally new team. So so just trying to figure out everybody there. But, you know, surrounded by great people here are McLaren. So we'll be we'll be fine.

Bruce Martin:

And our final question with Kyle Larson, you mentioned the other day that you're approaching this as probably your last Indy 500 attempt for a while, at least while you're a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. And how different do you approach the race, realizing it might be a while before you get a chance to run the Indy 500 again?

Kyle Larson:

I don't know, I mean, I don't really think about it a whole lot, it's just, I race a lot, so it's not like I'm retiring from racing, so it doesn't feel like a big deal to me that this could be the last one ever, or the last one for a while, so I don't know, just... Same as last year, just trying to enjoy the atmosphere and there's no event like the Indy 500 and what you feel here every single day in May. So yeah, I look forward to it and look forward to spending time with the family here and letting all the family and friends kind of enjoy it as well.

Bruce Martin:

But if you win the 119th Indianapolis 500 on May 25th, you can go out of here on a high note.

Kyle Larson:

I would definitely never run the Indy 500 again if I won, probably. But it'd be a stretch, I think, to potentially win. But we're going to try our hardest and hopefully be kissing the bricks.

Bruce Martin:

Well, Kyle Larson, 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion for Hendrick Motorsports. Too bad the test ended a little early for you. Now it's off to Talladega. Good luck there and good luck when you return here in the month of May for the 109th Indianapolis 500. Yep. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

Kyle Larson:

Thanks. Appreciate it.

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. Next up is a driver who is hoping to celebrate a three-peat in 2025. Here is my exclusive interview inside the Team Penske garage in Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden. It's always an honor to talk to our next guest. It's two-time and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winning driver, Josef Newgarden of Team Penske. We're back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500 open testing in April. You were one of the fastest guys in the first all-field session on Wednesday. How satisfied were you to see the speed in the car that quickly?

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, it's good. It's always nice to start out and be able to put the car on track after a full year of working on it and see what it can do. The first thing you hope for is that it has some relative speed. It sounds obvious, but natural car speed is really what fixes everything at the Speedway. Any problem you can come up with, speed is sort of the answer. Yeah, that's what we look for right away. And I think we're in the window, you know, compared to last year and what we can project so far with what's going to happen next month. So I'm excited to come back. You know, I'm excited that we're so close to it.

Bruce Martin:

You were the fastest in that session until the very end when Scott Dixon ended up being the fastest in the Wednesday session on April 23rd. Even though it's a test session, I know how competitive you guys are. You're looking for a baseline setup, but is there a little bit of pride that you have walking out of here as the fastest or at least the second fastest?

Josef Newgarden:

Yes and no. I think what you want is to know personally where the car is at and what it can do. You have to have a big toe to put up a good lap. As long as we personally know the car is capable of good speed, then we feel good about it. A lot of what you see on the board or the charts is You know, it's circumstantial in that everyone has a different reason why they're putting up what lap time. And so we can pick that apart a bit and understand where the true speed is at. And that's more so what we look for.

Bruce Martin:

For the first time in a couple of years, we had a couple of days here at the test that were not impacted by weather. And how unusual is that? Because a lot of times we've had days where one of the test sessions was a complete washout.

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, I mean, look, the Indy Speedway is, you know, it's a mystical place, much like my teammate, Will Power. He's a mystical human being.

Bruce Martin:

Rather impish. Yes. He can be impish.

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, very.

Bruce Martin:

A little bit like a gremlin.

Josef Newgarden:

A little bit, yeah. He's an interesting cat. And this, you know, to your question... Sometimes a jester. He's all over the place, but this Speedway is up and down, too. You try and come up with a formula for this place, and there's no consistent formula for what you should be doing. It's moving around all the time, and that's the challenge of it. It's also the fun of it. So, you know, to have a couple good days of weather. These last two days for testing has been lovely. We're gonna try and utilize the track time that we've had and put it to good use for when we get back here in May.

Bruce Martin:

On Thursday, April 24th, they did something different. They turned up the boost and you did qualifying sims. Did you like that idea? It did cost a couple of drivers their race cars. Kyle Larson crashed and then Takuma Sato really crashed. And that's one of the dangers when you're doing qualifying sim runs, is that can happen.

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, it's good and bad, right? I mean, obviously, for those guys, they don't want to crash a car, but we're pushing the new limits of this year. With the weight and the hybrid system, there will be new limits to what we saw in 24, and you're going to figure out where we can exactly put the race car and what we can ask of it. And potentially, those guys ask too much, but it's good to get the simulation in. We don't typically have it. you know, during this open test. So it was kind of nice to at least get an initial idea of what qualifying is going to look like.

Bruce Martin:

As far as the race car, have you found the baseline?

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think our car is in a good window, which, you know, for the very beginning is nice to see.

Bruce Martin:

Now, you're going to be one of the main storylines of the month of May at the Indianapolis 500 because you could become the first driver to win three straight Indianapolis 500s. You've already been asked that ad nauseum, but it has to be something that you think about.

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, it's impossible to not think about it. We have an opportunity to do something that no one's ever done. But at the same time, we're just here to do our normal job. And that's not deflecting. That's the truth of it. We're going to focus on trying to win the race. If winning the race just so happens to be three times in a row, then that's what it's going to be. But we've got to focus on trying to produce a fast car and put everything together. That's ultimately what we're here to do.

Bruce Martin:

When you return to Gasoline Alley for the Indianapolis 500 as a Indianapolis 500 winning driver, do you come in here with a little bit different sense of relief, of accomplishment, of something that will define your career? And how much does that even increase when you come in here after winning the last two Indianapolis 500?

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, it just changes substantially. You know, you have more respect for the place, you know, more respect than you could imagine. I've always had great respect for the Speedway, but it changes when you win it, and you just see the significance and the history of it, which is a really good thing. And yeah, being able to be fortunate enough to win the race, I think it puts you more at ease here. You get to enjoy being here a lot more.

Bruce Martin:

And of course, before we get to Andy, we return to one of your favorite tracks, Barber Motorsports Park. Near and dear to your heart, you got your first victory there. How cool is it to go back to Barber every year?

Josef Newgarden:

Yeah, I love Barber. It used to be my home race before we had Nashville, and I'm excited to hopefully right the ship there. We haven't had a good couple events there the last two years, but I think we've got great potential, so I'm excited to get back in the race mode.

Bruce Martin:

as willpower hovers over us here. I think that's a proper time for us to bid farewell. But Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winning driver, driving that shell car again this year at the Speedway. Good luck in the 109th Indianapolis 500. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Josef Newgarden:

Thanks, Bruce.

Bruce Martin:

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

Scott McLaughlin:

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

Bruce Martin:

Scott McLachlan brings us home on today's episode after he was the fastest driver in the high boost session on Thursday morning with a fast lap of 232.686 miles per hour in the number three Pennzoil Chevrolet for Team Penske.

None:

Yeah.

Bruce Martin:

Instead of doing a grid walk, we're going to do a walk and talk with Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske. Scott, we're at the Indianapolis 500 open test. You were fast in the qualifying sim session. How do you assess the way the two-day open test went for you?

Scott McLaughlin:

Look, I think it was pretty solid just to get a handle of the regen and the hybrid system, to be honest. That was really what I focused on a lot over the last couple of days. I think our cars got pretty good raw pace. It's just a matter of doing the right sequence, you know, like, yeah, I guess, like, deploying the hybrid at the right time and whatnot. It's definitely a different thing now. So, yeah, I'm enjoying using it.

Bruce Martin:

You like the extra boost that IndyCar gave you guys for that qualifying sim session. Is that something you'd like to see continue in future open tests here at the Speedway?

Scott McLaughlin:

I think it's nice. I think it gives some of the rookies, like I remember me as a rookie, like I would have loved to have a bit more practice on the high boost. It's definitely a bit of a daunting thing initially. And then just getting more tests running on it is a good thing. So if the manufacturer is up for it, I don't see any reason why we don't need to do it. So it's a cool thing.

Bruce Martin:

How bad was traffic during the qualifying sim session on Thursday?

Scott McLaughlin:

Pretty bad. A couple of the teams were a little aggressive where they deployed their cars. Maybe the new ones probably don't understand the etiquette, I guess. of uh you know the IndyCar qualifying at Indy so um but at the same time you can only be so sportsmanlike about some of that stuff so um yeah all good.

Bruce Martin:

Of course the number one priority here is to find your baseline setup so when you return from May you have that to work off of. Yeah. How quickly did you, at Team Penske, discover your baseline?

Scott McLaughlin:

Pretty quick. We had a reasonable car straight away. I had a reasonable car straight away. I think we were strong and not too dissimilar car to what we ran earlier last year. So we were all good.

Bruce Martin:

So now you're back home in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's going to be the last off weekend for a while. Yes, sir. And I know you being a newborn father, off weekends are very important to you. So how are you going to enjoy the final off weekend, at least till the middle of June?

Scott McLaughlin:

It's my wife's birthday. So we're going to go to a winery and have a nice lunch and a couple of savvy bees and whatnot and enjoy the day. Are you able to tell us what you got her for a gift? I will. I got her a nice new digital camera so she can take some photos. She's been wanting to take some more photos of Lucy and a bit more than just an iPhone so she's getting into that a little bit.

Bruce Martin:

Hey, go catch your flight. We really appreciate you joining us and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass, Andy.

Scott McLaughlin:

You're the man, Bruce. Cheers.

Bruce Martin:

And that puts a checkered flag on this bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guests, 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, Kyle Larson of Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports. And two-time back-to-back Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and 2024 Indy 500 pole winner and the fastest driver in the Indy 500 Open Test, Scott McLaughlin, both from Team Penske, for joining us on today's podcast. 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. Pit Pass Indy is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this week's Indy 500 Open Test, and we'll have more interviews next week from IndyCars Biggest Stars. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.