IndyCar Spring Training at Sebring Raceway with three-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou, two-time IndyCar Champion Will Power and Conor Daly

BRUCE:

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 Pit Pass 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. With the conclusion of the Daytona 500, Pit Pass Indy was off to Sebring, Florida to cover IndyCar spring training at Sebring International Raceway for today's special bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy. The full lineup of IndyCar teams and drivers tested on Monday, February 17th and Tuesday, February 18th as they prepare to start the 2025 season next week on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins Friday, February 28th with practice. The starting lineup will be determined in qualifications on Saturday, March 1st, and the big race will be Sunday, March 2nd. IndyCar Series champions and Indianapolis 500 winners Will Power and Joseph Newgarden of Team Penske ended up 1-2 for Team Penske and overall in the two-day test, which served as final preparations for all 27 full-time drivers at IndyCar. Power was quickest on the final day and overall, with a lap at 52.2549 seconds in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, followed by New Garden at 52.319 seconds in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Both laps were completed in the cooler morning session when seven of the ten quickest laps of the two-day session were turned. The field was split into morning and afternoon groups both days on the 1.67-mile short course at the Historic Circuit in Central Florida that hosts the annual sports car classic, the 12 Hours of Sebring. Less than eight-tenths of a second separated the entire 27-car field over two days of testing. The results for Team Penske on February 18th were a contrast from the previous day, when power was the quickest for the team in seventh at 52.8032, more than four-tenths of a second behind the day's leader, Pato Award of Errol McLaren, at 52.3470. Awards leading time from Monday still placed him third overall in the combined speed chart. His best lap on February 18th was 52.7060 in the number five Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Marcus Armstrong's afternoon session leading time on February 17th of 52.3675 stood up as fourth overall in the number 60 Sirius XM Honda of Meijer Schenck Racing, normally driven by Felix Rosenquist, who was ill on Monday. Rosenquist was back behind the wheel of the number 60 machine the following day and was ninth overall at 52.5273. Colton Herta ended up fifth overall with his lap on February 18 of 52.3818 in the number 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Global. Nolan Siegel helped Errol McLaren join Team Penske with two drivers in the top six as he clocked in at sixth overall at 52.4405 with his top lap coming on Tuesday in the number six Errol McLaren Chevrolet. Three-time and back-to-back defending series champion Alex Palou was seventh overall at 52.4948 with his best lap on February 17th in the number 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. This year's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be the first of 17 races televised on Fox. It's the first time in IndyCar history that all races will be televised by the same major network. Fox will also air both days of qualifications for the 109th Indianapolis 500, giving IndyCar 19 different television events. One of the drivers featured on a series of commercials to promote Fox Sports as a new television home of the NTT IndyCar Series is three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Below. The Chip Ganassi racing driver is coming off his second straight IndyCar Series championship, and he is prepared to race for more in 2025, including a victory in the 109th Indianapolis 500. Here is my exclusive interview with Alex Palou from Sebring Raceway, site of IndyCarSpring training for PitPass Indy. We're now joined by a man so fast he had his taxes done on January 1st. It's three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Alex Palou. Alex, not only are you a great driver, but your commercials on Fox were outstanding. A lot of people saw that commercial during the Super Bowl. Just how cool is that?

ALEX:

It was amazing. Honestly, it was a great experience filming it. Like the setup that Fox laid out to do those commercials was impressive. But then, honestly, seeing the commercial at home alone was fun, but when I saw it live during the Super Bowl, it was impressive. So I don't know what to say to Fox and IndyCar, but what a way to start our relationship with Fox.

BRUCE:

When you think 125 million people or more watch the Super Bowl, they saw those commercials and that's exposure that is, you can't really put a price value on that with IndyCar. How important is that?

ALEX:

Yeah, honestly, like even if you put a price, it's a price that I would say the series or any sport cannot afford, like you cannot afford to spend all that much money on a couple of commercials in one day. So to get that just shows the commitment that Fox has and I cannot wait for new people to discover IndyCar, which this is what We've been asking for so long, now we finally have it, and it's our turn to take advantage of that, to show them how cool of a series it is, how cool of drivers and characters we have in our championship, how cool of cars, teams and different manufacturers. So let's see what we get, but I'm very excited for this season.

BRUCE:

Not only were those commercials aired during the Super Bowl, but during the biggest NASCAR race of the year, the Daytona 500. There's a lot of people who never thought they'd ever see IndyCar being promoted during the Daytona 500. That's another great thing. You hear that? How important was that?

ALEX:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we're talking about two of the biggest sporting events that you have in a year. The Super Bowl, Daytona 500. I think there's more coming, but obviously we're early in February, so we still need to see what Fox will come up with. But honestly, it's amazing. I think the fan base from NASCAR obviously they have something in common and it's that they like some good cars, some fast cars and some good racing. So hopefully they get to discover IndyCar and enjoy and also they get to discover the drivers, which I think they did an amazing job doing those commercials too. To show a little bit, obviously it's only a commercial and there's a story behind, but I think they did a great job showing the differences between Josef, Pado and myself.

BRUCE:

It's time to start the season, though. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg's coming up. Very popular race on the schedule. It kicks off an exciting season of IndyCar Series action. So just how big of a race is that for you? How much do you look forward to that? Because it means finally the long offseason is over and you get back to doing what you love to do the most.

ALEX:

Yeah, I would say everybody is always looking so much forward to St. Pete every single year. First of all, good weather. Normally, everybody's looking forward to that. And then getting back onto track and racing and competing against other teams. So you always want to start as good and as clean as you can. I think we've been struggling in the past in St. Pete, so it's a race that we look forward to, especially this year, because we want to make a big step on what our performances have been in the past two or three years. So, yeah, looking forward to that and see if we can improve a little bit.

BRUCE:

Before St. Pete, though, is the test at Sebring Raceway, which is where this interview is being conducted. After not being in the race car for so long and trying to get all your testing done in a limited period of time, how challenging is that?

ALEX:

It is. It's very challenging. Like the first two or three laps, you're like, oh, my goodness, this is fast. I don't know how to do this. And then obviously you relax and you start driving smooth and flowing a little bit with the car. But honestly, it's been a long, long break. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to do Daytona with Acura and that helped me. It's a totally different car, but at least the speed and the driving and competing against other drivers helped me a lot. So, yeah, as I said, the first couple of runs today were a little bit faster than I thought.

BRUCE:

How about the track surface at Sebring and how that replicates the track surface that you have at St. Pete? Because you can't test at St. Pete because it's city streets and those get shut down for the race.

ALEX:

Yeah, I mean ideally obviously we would test in St. Pete or any other street course but Obviously, that's impossible. And in my opinion, this is the closest that we have. Sebring being a road course, we do, let's say, half of the road course or even less with only the slow speeds. Almost we don't have any straight. And it's just to try and be as close as we can to a street course. So it's been working for everybody in IndyCar the past years. And even though it's not the same and you don't have walls waiting for you if you do a mistake, it's the closest that we have to try and do some set of work.

BRUCE:

It's also a very historic race course itself with a 12-hour race, the famed 12 hours of Sebring. Growing up in Spain, how much were you aware of this particular race that they have here for the IMSA sports cars?

ALEX:

Yeah, it's one of those races that you know about the endurance schedule, one of those that you follow. I always follow the 12 hours, it's an easy one to follow. I've never done it, but this year will be my first Serene 12 Hours, so I'm excited to do that with Acura. But yeah, I think it's a fantastic event, a great racetrack, lots of bumps, so I've never done the full road course, so I'm looking forward to Turn 1 and last corner.

BRUCE:

With three IndyCar Series championships in a four-year period, we know that you're the best on the track, but it also seems like you've gotten a little bit into the other drivers' heads because they all know they can't win the championship unless somehow they finish higher than you or beat you on the track. Is that half the battle?

ALEX:

It helps. Obviously, it helps me that I know what we're capable of and probably it helps to be in some other drivers' heads. But honestly, I think everybody knows that we all start with zero points on the scoreboard and that I need to at least repeat or improve what we did the past three, four years. So I'm looking forward. The competition is high and I think Every year, the drivers are making small or big steps and the same for the team. So I'm looking forward to to see what the outcome is going to be at the end of this 2025 season.

BRUCE:

Instead of a five car team this last year, you have a three car team this year. Of course, you're back with the legendary Scott Dixon and also Kiffin Simpson is back. How much do you think a three car team will help all of your efforts?

ALEX:

Yeah, I mean, it's not going to hurt for sure. I think the good thing about having five cars the past two years was to have more data. But hopefully this year we still get that amount of data with our Schenck Alliance and we don't need to make all that work. So hopefully we're in a better position I'm really happy that my tank car group stayed the same. I have the same amount of people. And it's the group that we've been carrying for the past four years. So, yeah, I'm excited again.

BRUCE:

And as far as IndyCar, there was a major change with senior leadership. Jay Fry is no longer with IndyCar. He's been replaced by Doug Bowles, who's the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He's also going to be the president of IndyCar. How surprised were you by that?

ALEX:

Yeah, I mean, I had no idea. Obviously, I got to know that the day before it went out. Honestly, I have no information. Like, I don't really know what was going on, if... something when the way it should have or another way. But honestly, it's not part of my business. I sent Jay a great message and I sent Doug a great message as well, because I think both Jay and Doug have done a tremendous job for IndyCar, for IMS and for all of us that they both are good for the sport.

BRUCE:

Well, another guy who's done a tremendous job for IndyCar and who's also good for the sport is Alex Palou, three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion. It's another season. I'm sure you're getting ready to find a clear place on the trophy case for a fourth championship, and maybe a baby Borg is the winner of the Indianapolis. That's a goal. That's a goal. But good luck in 2025. Good luck at St. Pete, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you, Bruce. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Connor Daly is one of IndyCar's most popular drivers, and he returns to full-time duty this year with June Coast Hollinger Racing. Daly joins me for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview from IndyCar Spring Training in Sebring, Florida. We're back with the ever-popular Connor Daly, who this year has a full-time ride at June Coast Hollinger Racing. Connor, knowing that you're going to be in the car every race this season, that's got to be quite a comforting feeling.

CONNOR:

Yeah, I mean, this opportunity is one that I'm super pumped about. And after last year, it just made sense. We wanted to keep the dream alive. A lot of fun things that we got to experience together in such a short amount of time last year. And we want to compete. Ricardo wants to win. Everyone here wants to win. Everyone here wants to continually be successful. And that's an environment you want to be in. We still want to bring as many partnerships to this team and as much support as we can to continue to strengthen it. But yeah, it's nice to be here and focusing forward.

BRUCE:

You've been on teams before where you've had other drivers that have been in the series who had a lot of experience, but now you're the veteran, you're the elder statesman, you're the wise old man who's been in the sport for a lot of years. So how much will that help working with your teammate and also here at June Coast Hollinger?

CONNOR:

Yeah, I mean, Stingray, obviously, he is a young fella and he's got a lot to learn, but he's such a nice kid. Very, very positive attitude on everything that goes on here. And really, this is our first day, first couple of days working together. And it's not even really together because we're not in the same session. So we haven't got to interact much when it comes to session-by-session data. But yeah, I'm excited to help him as much as I can, if I can. And we obviously want to be able to fuel each other. data that will help both of us. So hopefully, you know, that'll happen.

BRUCE:

How confident are you that the Junecoast Hollinger can produce more races like you experienced at the Milwaukee Mile with your third place finish?

CONNOR:

I mean, I don't think there's any reason why we shouldn't aim for more of that. You know what I mean? Certainly the Indy 500 is the main goal. And you know, that team, they were fast last year in qualifying. So there's definitely some experience I can bring to the table there. I think there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive at more places as well. So yeah, we'll see. I mean, I love to, I'm just excited for the opportunity. You know, we're obviously gonna encounter tough days like everyone does, but to limit those is the goal.

BRUCE:

IndyCar is giving you the option to self-start the car without the outboard starter this year. Have you practiced that during the IndyCar pre-season test here at Sebring Raceway?

CONNOR:

Yeah, I mean, that's the only thing we use to start the car here. So, you know, every run, start it up. And it's kind of weird that I am in control of the starter. I've always been waiting for the guy behind me just to fire that sucker up. But it's pretty cool. I mean, it works pretty well. No real issues with it. If it doesn't click over one time, all you do is just one little small thing with the ignition, and it seems to fire right back up. So it's, yeah, pretty good system so far.

BRUCE:

But you and I both grew up at the Indianapolis 500. Do you still want to see the traditional way of starting it for the Indianapolis 500?

CONNOR:

No, I don't think so. I mean, we're in modern times and if we can just fire that thing up and, you know, it also, what if the starter has an issue? You know what I mean? What if we got to get another starter? There's all kinds of things that, you know, I'm excited for this hybrid feature and the technology that we've got in the car. It's kind of cool. It'll certainly help us if we have any issues on track, that's for sure.

BRUCE:

All right, you're a multimedia guy, a big time podcast host. What did you think of the Fox Super Bowl commercials or all the Fox commercials they're doing with IndyCar this year?

CONNOR:

I think we can all be very happy about that. If you're not, then I don't really understand what you perceive as good, because that's really strong. Great, great production level, great excitement level. I had many people text me who don't ever text me about IndyCar racing saying, hey, this IndyCar stuff looks kind of cool. And that's what you want. You want the people that haven't really maybe given it a chance yet or don't know a ton about it to be like, hey, wow, this is crazy. And I think it did that. So we just need to continue to push it. You know, saw a ton more commercials are in the Daytona 500. That's a great thing as well. So I think we can only be thankful for what Fox has done.

BRUCE:

Which was more surreal to see an IndyCar commercial on during the Super Bowl or during the Daytona 500?

CONNOR:

I actually really enjoyed how many IndyCar commercials are during the Daytona 500. I thought that was very exciting. But the Super Bowl, I mean, you know, you got over 100 million people watching that event. That's just I mean, that's the most powerful time in television. So it's it's important.

BRUCE:

Speaking of the Daytona 500, you've competed in the Daytona 500, and I do believe you brought the car home in one piece. Our buddy Elio Castroneva has tried it out last week, and unfortunately he was a bit of a pinball. What did you think of his...

CONNOR:

Daytona 500 experience. I mean, it was just purely NASCAR look, right? Like, like Elio didn't do anything wrong. Uh, you know, I, I talked to him a couple of times. He called me before the duels. Um, and just because he hadn't done a stock car pit stop yet. Hadn't done anything like that. And just kind of wanted my experience and my experience is a little bit, our car was a little bit different than a track house car, but. It actually helped him. He did say that what I told him was quite helpful for the duels. But yeah, just wrong place, wrong time for Porelio. That's all. I mean, the guy was doing everything he needed to do, but sometimes you're just in the wrong place in that race.

BRUCE:

Well, he made quite an impression out of the car. A lot of media people and other people in NASCAR came up to me and said, wow, is he like that all the time? I go, yeah, he's definitely like that all the time. But when you see a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner competing in NASCAR's biggest race as an IndyCar driver who does do some NASCAR from time to time, that's got to give you a boost of pride.

CONNOR:

I think if you're a racing fan, it just makes you excited. I mean, I love motorsport. When you see drivers from different categories dabbling in something else, it's exciting for the sport. So I love what LAO's done. Love that Scott Dixon was down there. Looks like he was excited about maybe doing something like that.

BRUCE:

Joseph Newgarden was there.

CONNOR:

Joseph Newgarden was down there doing some promotional activities. So I think we'll see more of that in the future. I'd like to say that I started it, but you know, I'm not as cool as those guys, so they have much more prestige than me.

BRUCE:

Well, he's a real trendsetter. Connor Daly, June Coast Highlander Racing. We'll see you at St. Pete. Good luck in 2025. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. We wrap up today's Pit Pass Indy with our old friend and North Carolina neighbor, Will Power of Team Penske. Don't let Power's age deceive you. He remains one of IndyCar's fastest and most driven race drivers, and he is determined to once again challenge for another championship in 2025. Here is my exclusive interview with Will Power for Pit Pass Indy. An old neighbor is now back on the Pit Pass Indy podcast. It's Will Power of Team Penske. Will, before I start talking to you about IndyCar, what did you think of your buddy Elio Castroneva as being a pinball on the 67th Daytona 500?

WILL:

Well, you know what, I said when I saw he was doing the Daytona 500, I said, L.A. I was the type of guy that would win that race, come out and just be lucky and seize part, but no, that did not happen. Yeah, no, it was... But I think he would have fun no matter what, though.

BRUCE:

He looked good while he was out there, and all the crashes that he was in were not his fault. He even had a top-five finish in the ARCA race before he got dumped after the checkered flag. But when you just see the way everything plays, he loved the racing. He loved being in those cars and driving. And of course, we all know Project 91 and Trackhouse is a great NASCAR team. But in a lot of ways, just to have Aelio Castroneves in NASCAR's biggest race has to make the rest of the IndyCar field feel pretty proud.

WILL:

I would say so, yeah. We love seeing our guys go to different series and do well. But yeah, no, it's... Maybe one day I'll do it, Bruce. I don't know whether I'll do that race, but I think I would like to do like a road course, maybe a shorter oval.

BRUCE:

So the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season is about to start up with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2nd. We're at Sebring Raceway at the IndyCar Spring Training Open Test. New this year, onboard starters with the Hybrid Assist. Have you tested that here at Sebring?

WILL:

No, actually, strangely, I should ask my engineer about that. We probably should have tested that. But yeah, last year we were able to start the things.

BRUCE:

But not to start the race. You can now start the race, you can start pit lane, you can use it at your discretion.

WILL:

Yes, yes. Actually, you know, it just... It's a great thing because it reduces the number of yellows. In practice, in the race, if someone spins or goes in a runoff and stalls, you can restart it. And reverse is way easier as well. So I think it's been very positive.

BRUCE:

You may be one of the elder statesmen of IndyCar but you're still just as fast as ever and you were in contention for the championship entering the last race of the year. Had a little bit of bad luck with the seat belts coming unbuckled. You have to feel like you've got some unfinished business to tend to in 2025.

WILL:

I certainly do. It was a very disappointing end, man. Just the way that that happens, you know, but I know that these things do happen in motorsport and Paloo had a failure at Milwaukee. So, you know, it's just one of those one of those things that happen and super determined, just loving, loving racing more than ever and studying it more than ever. And yeah, it's just really good stuff.

BRUCE:

It's lunchtime here over at Team Penske. So before I let you go grab a plate, I did want to ask you, how surprised were you to get the news that Jay Fry was no longer part of IndyCar?

WILL:

Yeah, I was. Yeah, I was surprised. You know, Jay had done a lot for the safety of the sport. He listened to the drivers and, you know, he'll be missed. And, you know, I really wish him well in his next endeavor.

BRUCE:

But on the flip side, you no longer have to share Tim Sendrick with the other racing programs at Team Penske. So I'm sure you'll have a lot more of him to talk IndyCar this year.

WILL:

Yeah, Tim said he's going to go on my radio. No, I'm just kidding. He's not listening, but yeah.

BRUCE:

Well, anyway, Will, hopefully we can catch up at the house here before the season starts. Yeah. But good luck in 2025. Good luck the rest of the test. We'll see you at St. Pete. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy.

WILL:

Yeah, thanks, Bruce. Thank you.

BRUCE:

And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guests, three-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, Connor Daly of June Coast Hollinger Racing, and two-time IndyCar Series champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power of Team Penske 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 Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.