IndyCar’s Wild Saturday Night Showdown At Gateway With Josef Newgarden and much, much more

ROGER:

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

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 and insiders view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN Sports Ticker, Sports Illustrated, Auto Week and Speed Sport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, as we continue our fourth season of giving IndyCar fans a behind-the-scenes look at the NTT IndyCar Series and the drivers and teams that compete in the Indianapolis 500. After a three-weekend break, IndyCar was back in action Saturday night at Worldwide Technology Raceway near St. Louis in the Bomberito Automotive Group 500. It proved to be one wild Saturday night, culminating in some hot tempers between Team Penske's Will Power and Josef Newgarden during a late race restart on lap 240 with 20 laps to go that created carnage. Newgarden was the leader and brought the field of the green flag at a slow pace, although within the IndyCar rules as the leader can dictate the pace. This tactic is to prevent the cars from behind getting a jump on the leader and slingshotting their way into turn one for a potential race-winning pass. But as some drivers were preparing for the restart, when Newgarden hit the throttle, it was too late as other cars had stacked up behind. Power, running fifth at the time, was slammed into the rear by Alexander Rossi's Chevrolet, sending Rossi's car into the air. Power was furious, not at Rossi for destroying his car from what looked like an apparent top-five finish that would have closed the gap in the NTT IndyCar Series points race, but with Newgarden. IndyCar threw the red flag and stopped the race to clean up the debris. Power climbed out of his car and flipped off his teammate, Newgarden. Power said afterwards, quote, I think the leader went really late and then checked up and then someone checked up in front of me and I just got pounded. Man, a tough points night for us. He, Newgarden, is supposed to go in between turns three and four, but he just waited. Then he stopped. Then he waited. Then he stopped. I knew that was going to happen. I knew when he checked up again and I checked up, I was going to get pounded. And that is exactly what happened. Power ended with the quote. Once the race restarted, Newgarden scored the 31st IndyCar win of his career, moving him into the top 10 list of all time IndyCar race winners. We will hear from new garden later in this episode of pit pass. Indy team Penske has won every oval race on the schedule this season. Up next is the final road course race on the IndyCar schedule, the Benton Isle Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway this weekend. After that, the season wraps up with three oval races, including the Labor Day weekend Hy-Vee Twin 250s at the Milwaukee Mile and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at the 1.33 mile Nashville Superspeedway on September 15th. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing entered the race at Gateway with a 48-point lead over Power, but after Power's crash, Power has dropped to fourth in the standings. Colton Herta moved into second place, 59 points behind Palou. Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is third, 65 points out, followed by Power, who is 66 points out of the lead. Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin is 5th, 73 out of the lead. The most points available in an IndyCar Series race is 54, so Palou is in pretty good shape in the championship stretch. But his team owner, Chip Ganassi, isn't ready to celebrate, as you can tell in this short interview I had with Ganassi immediately after the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 on August 17th. You come in with a 48-point lead over Will Power, and you leave with a 55-point lead. And it was a pretty tough race for Alex. It was, no question. I guess when things like that happen, it's kind of your year.

CHIP:

I don't know. I mean, I don't know if it's our year or not, but it was certainly our night. Yeah. But I mean, it was... These guys were running good, and, you know, yeah, they were running good.

BRUCE:

As far as the race goes, a lot of people expected it to be single file, and it really wasn't.

CHIP:

I thought that was good. The guys were passing, and yeah. Worked out okay, I think.

BRUCE:

Do you see teams are getting better with the weight difference of this hybrid? Because it really seemed like there was a lot of passing.

CHIP:

Obviously teams are figuring out how they get to work with it a little bit, yes.

BRUCE:

And did you notice much of a boost with it in this race? Or did people generally just not use it much?

CHIP:

I'm the wrong guy to ask that to. I don't have an answer for that.

BRUCE:

But on all four races to go, you got to feel pretty good that you've got Alex below.

CHIP:

There's a lot. I always feel good. I got Alex below whether there's four races to go or 40. Thank you.

BRUCE:

Entering the race drivers, team owners, and engineers were predicting a less than stellar event because of the extra weight of the hybrid engine. They claimed it was going to be a single file race. It's not going to be exciting. It will be follow the leader. It ended up being a record breaker for passes lead changes with drivers using the outside line successfully in a fierce and frantic race. There were 676 on-track passes, 254 were for position, 115 came in the top 10, 44 came in the top 5. All those are IndyCar records since the series returned to Worldwide Technology Raceway in 2017. There were also a record 21 lead changes, shattering the previous record of 13. Let's sample the opinions of some of the drivers entering the race after their qualification attempts on August 16th and compare them with some interviews afterwards. First up is Conor Daly, who took over the number 78 Chevrolet for Juncos Hollinger Racing after Augustin Canepino was terminated by the team on August 7th. Back in the saddle again.

CONOR:

Yeah, yeah. First qualifying session with the hybrid. So it's kind of cool to be able to try to pick out what exact percentage you need to use and then how much you can get back in one lap. And here it's really interesting because you're almost flat in 3.4. I should have been flat in 3.4, but I was scaring myself. So yeah, it's just interesting, man. It's a bit of a learning experience. Good step forward for us from the practice session. Probably not going to be quite enough, but hopefully it keeps us around mid-pack and we should be all right. Do you feel a lot of the extra weight? Yeah, I mean, I always do, because I get in and everyone's like, oh, he's probably going to do this. It's like, dude, these guys have been at this all season. I've done one race, which is the easiest race physically for the 500, and much, much different car. So we're just going to do our best, get a lot of points for this entry. That's the goal. And I think, I mean, we're not in a bad spot. And Grosjean's been great to work with. He's really fast. So it's cool to learn from him, too. I love this track. I mean, this is such a great event, I think, for IndyCar racing, for racing in general. And it's just always great to come back. For some reason, I always end up having a job at this race, which is really nice, so I'm happy about that. Well, right now, what's fun, I think, about what we're all having to do is, like, we can trim for qualifying, so you're not just, like, stacking all the downforce on and seeing how much you can run. Like, so... You know, might we have been too trim? Like, maybe. But that was a better run than us this morning. I think you'll see the folks at, like, you know, Team Penske probably get very aggressive with it. But that is cool. That's interesting to be able to trim. And one and two is the entire lap. So if you screw up one and two, you can never make it back. Because three, four is flat, if not as close to flat as possible. So one and two is everything.

BRUCE:

Ed Carpenter is the owner-driver at Ed Carpenter Racing, a team that includes Renus VK full-time in the No. 21 Chevrolet. Carpenter drives the No. 20 Chevrolet on the Ovals, and rookie Christian Rasmussen is the driver on the street and road courses. Here are Carpenter's thoughts on the hybrid engine after his qualification attempt. Well, Ed, is it any different here than it was in Iowa? Because I know that you had some rather pointed things to say about the project.

ED:

It's hard to say just yet because, you know, the schedule is different here than Iowa. You know, that first session, everyone is really just doing qualifying stuff, no race running. It's going to be a challenge. I mean, you know, I think Iowa was a bigger swing because it had been such a dynamic race with with multiple lanes. This is a track that hasn't really had multiple lanes. So, you know, it's I don't expect as big of a difference here relative to there. But we haven't, you know, that first practice, everyone was trying to run alone. No one is really trying to run in traffic. So it's too early to say. Curtis here at the track and the Bomberito group, you know, they've been outstanding to work with. They make the place a little nicer every year and, you know, you can see their efforts being paid off. You know, we kind of helped get them back on the map and now they've got cup racing and more NASCAR racing. So, you know, they've done a really good job. Hopefully we have a great crowd for tomorrow. Yeah, it's a fun track. I mean, it's definitely unique. Very unique circuit relative to other Opels we go to, so it's always a lot of fun to race here.

BRUCE:

Pato Award is another driver that didn't have high hopes for the Opel package entering the race from this interview after qualifications. Hello Pato. Learning anything new on the hybrid this race? Is it getting better or is it just the same?

PATO:

No, it doesn't do anything. Especially here. Here it's really not doing much. I mean, it really didn't do an impact for people that had it or didn't have it in Iowa. So I would say, yeah, it's definitely... I probably would say we're in the same place if we used it or not used it. There's a lot more lap time and maximizing car performance. Yeah, it feels like we've been in a bit of a back foot since the practice. Like, I'm not... I'm not miserable in the car, but I'm not super confident to really take it to the limit. So, you know, we didn't have so much time in practice to really dial it in, or I guess we needed a little bit more to dial it in for qualifying. So we were kind of guessing going into qualifying and kind of picking and choosing our fights, I would say, and our risks, where we want to take them. It's just so high commitment now with more downforce. You get greedy, you'll do a hurda. It's tight. I don't know how tight it is, but I'm assuming it's tight because practice it was. Nolan tested here, so I was hoping that we would have learned a little bit more than what we did. You know, I know some other teams didn't test yet. I know Andretti did, and they look like they've got, you know, six rockets. So they're going to be really tough to beat. Tomorrow, I think the race strategy is going to change a lot to years past because of just how the mileage is going to be now with the fuel, with the more downforce and all that new drag. So we'll see. I mean, To be honest, I don't think I've ever had a pole in an oval. I know how to race them well, but it seems like in qualifying, we're missing something. I don't know what it is. We've had the occasional P2, maybe P4, but it seems like we're always in the realm of second, third to tenth-ish. So we're right where we always are. It's not a bad place. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I love night races. Which, is it even gonna be night? Aww. Well, that's a bummer. Yeah, well, Nolan had different issues than what I did. Alex, I quite didn't ask Alex what was wrong. I just, we just seem slow compared to where we need to be, basically. Like, the car just, they're sensitive, you know, you gotta get them in the window and We didn't quite get them there in practice. So when you go into qualifying, you really don't want to risk it too much and then find yourself with an awesome first lap and then be like, I'm starting at the back because I had a mishap. So you just got to pick and choose your fights. The race car is going to be very important and it's all going to be that second lane. If we can get that second lane to open up, we'll be just fine.

BRUCE:

Two drivers that believed progress was being made, however, included Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global and Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Here is what Ericsson had to say after his qualifying run. So here we are, another hybrid race. Is it getting any better?

MARCUS:

For sure. Yeah, I think, you know, we're making progress. We're learning things with it and getting used to pressing the hybrid buttons. So, yeah, it's getting better. So where are you getting use out of it? I mean you get an extra boost out of the corners and you can also play around with the balance with the way you regen. So it's definitely a tool in the toolbox that you have to do better than your competitors. It will be interesting to see in the race tomorrow if we can use it. The car is really good, we just missed a little bit of balance. It's just a bit frustrating. I think the unrated cars are so good. The team has done a really good job, so I'm just a bit frustrated that I didn't get the right feel there on my run, but I'm still confident we're going to be really good tomorrow in the race. Yeah, I mean, we were really good here in the test, and I'm sure Colton and Kyle are going to be right up there in probably 1-2 again, so we have good cars. A lot of potential, a lot of good speed, but very little to show for it. So it's been a bit frustrating at times, but I think the team, it's been great to get into the team, get to know the people, the support I have in the team, so that's been fantastic. I think as a whole, the whole team has been Performing on a very high level, you know, I feel like we really have been been really good as a team, you know Being up front on all kinds of tracks and I think that's something that I'm ready It's been a little bit struggling with the last couple of years the consistency and I feel like we've really stepped that up this year And then you know the work in relationship with Colton and Kyle. It's been fantastic We really work well together and I think is looking ahead for the next couple of years It's just gonna make us stronger and stronger

BRUCE:

Rahal implored everyone to be patient regarding the hybrid and how the added weight was affecting the racing on the day before the race. His faith was renewed with the outstanding racing the following night. Here is what Rahal had to say after his qualification attempt.

GRAHAM:

But as I urge all of you to be positive about, the thing that we're in the midst of, and unfortunately, this isn't like a lot of other sports and things where they can practice behind closed doors. Everything that you see, everything we're experiencing, you guys see it and are living it with us. And unfortunately, you're talking about a car that has a lot more mass. You're talking about a car that's got a different engine unit with a hybrid. And that can't be understated. The hybrid, the way that it works, it pulls away power from the engine, but it adds it back to the electrification. But on a track like this, you don't get as much of the bump from the electrification as maybe a really slow corner at a road course. You know, and for Firestone, there's a lot of things to go through that can't be understated. So while I know everybody's frustrated with what they're seeing right now, my hopes are, with time, we're going to get there. The downside of this is, you're going to get this show four out of the next five races. And that's a bummer. But hopefully, magic can strike and it'll be all right. It takes a lot of testing, it takes a lot of tire work, it takes a lot of, you know, work with the formula in general. How much hybrid juice can we, how much power can we get out of the hybrid? Because a place like this, you don't even feel it. It feels ineffective, which isn't right, right? So, like, we need to figure out how to get a little more out of it at a place like this. But again, though, when you have the downforce that you have here, you don't get the automatic, the part-throttle regeneration enough to utilize the full battery. Again, there's a lot that goes into this. There's a lot for everybody to think about, unfortunately, and we're living it live on air, and that's a little tough.

BRUCE:

So do you see ways of, with strategy and pit stops, that's gonna really have to be done in order to get up there?

GRAHAM:

Yeah, I mean, you guys know this, though. Anything can happen here. Anything can and will. We've seen it all. I mean, yeah, sometimes it's a straightforward race like Iowa, but that's not always the case. You know, things can go awry in a hurry. Let's just let's see how we're even in practice this morning. You could feel if you got a hair high and three and four, the marbles were beginning to build. And that creates drama. Somebody gets an overseer snap, gets a little high gone. You know, I mean, this can happen a lot. So we'll see.

BRUCE:

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

JOSEF:

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:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. You've heard the comments before the race, with many drivers expecting the added weight to have a detrimental impact on the racing. But those fears were not realized by the outstanding competition that came in the 260 lap contest at the 1.25 mile oval. I caught up with team Penske engineer, Ben Bretzman, the race engineer for second place finisher, Scott McLaughlin for this exclusive interview after the race for pit pass, Indy. I'm joined now by Team Penske engineer Ben Bretzman. Ben, everybody predicted that the race at Gateway would be a single-file, follow-the-leader race because of the hybrid. It turned out to be the most lead changes of any IndyCar race here at Worldwide Technology Raceway. Do you think everybody was surprised by that?

BEN:

Oh, for sure. I think, you know, going into it, we thought, hey, everybody's going to need to get some sort of fuel number and follow the leader. And you could see that it was a lot easier, almost like an Indianapolis-type situation. It was a lot easier to save fuel in the pack. And so people were coming and going, and I saw a lot of passing and stuff. And man, it was good. I think what the other thing that really helped it was, I think it was the Kiffin Simpson yellow. That was a mid-stint yellow. People had to make decisions then, and then you had guys saving fuel, guys not saving fuel, and you had a lot of moving parts there, which made the rest of the race really exciting.

BRUCE:

Do you think that the longer these teams use the hybrid assist, that they'll catch on to it better?

BEN:

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're always learning. It's going to get better and better as we go, and it's getting there.

BRUCE:

The weight seems to be the biggest issue that everybody has, and what can be done to solve that? It really looked like the weight didn't cause any issues today here.

BEN:

No, the weight, you know, the hybrid, it is what it is, right? It's out of the car, makes the tires get used a bit more, and it puts a little bit more stress on the teams to understand that, puts a little more stress on the tires and the Firestone to understand how do they bring a product for that heavier car. But in this scenario, I think IndyCar did a good job with the aero package that we brought this year. Obviously, we've added a lot of downforce. It's almost like a road course type car. And that made you use the second lane, and it started to work, right? And, you know, I think you're just going to have to... It's a very delicate balance of tires and teams and developing, and it's just going to take a little bit of time, but this is obviously the first really good step in it.

BRUCE:

Does this give you hope that going to Milwaukee for two races and finishing the season in Nashville in the championship race is going to be a really good opportunity?

BEN:

Yeah, I think Milwaukee is going to be awesome. It always is. It always races well. I'm excited to get there. You know, there's two lanes there. We can use them. So I'm excited to get over there. And what about going to Nashville? Nashville's, you know, it's going to be a new experience for a lot of these drivers. There was just a tire test, kind of tire arrow test there last week. And I think IndyCar learned a lot there. You know, it's got potential, and I think depending on how the weather and the tires and all that work out, it could race pretty well. But I think both of those are going to be good. Milwaukee, I think, is going to be real strong.

BRUCE:

And finally, with the one red flag, the situation that caused the red flag between Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and what eventually took out Will Power, what was your viewpoint of it?

BEN:

I don't know. It looks to me, I haven't been able to look at any data. It looks to me like Josef just went really late and I think it caught the field off guard. I needed to look at the data though and see what really happened. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but it just looked like he went late and there's a lot of antsy drivers behind him.

BRUCE:

But all in all, I guess you would really say Saturday night, the Pomerino Automotive Group 500 was a lot more exciting than a lot of us expected.

BEN:

Much more exciting. I think the fans really enjoyed that race. I'd want to buy a ticket to this race if it's like this every year. It was made a lot of passing, a lot of cars coming and going and a lot of good pit stops. So, yeah, no, it was a great product we did tonight.

BRUCE:

Well, thank you and good luck the rest of the way. Thank you. There were 27 drivers that competed in Saturday night's Bomberito Automotive Group 500, but only one of them left with the winner's trophy. That was Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, who overcame the controversy of the late race restart and the anger from his teammate, Will Power, as he claimed his 31st career victory. I caught up with the race winner immediately following the contest for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is the winner of the Bomberito Automotive Group 500. Once again, it's Josef Newgard and Team Penske. Your second victory of 2024 and your 31st career IndyCar Series victory. You're now in the top 10 in all-time IndyCar victories. That's got to be a pretty special feeling to crack the top 10 in IndyCar history for wins.

JOSEF:

It's been, you know, a challenging year, but a good year in a lot of ways. you know, super proud to be with this team and, you know, proud of everything we've done. I think we've got potential every weekend we show up to the track, which keeps me motivated. You know, if you, if you ask me, you know, what, what keeps you going? I, and I've been asked that recently. It's, it's just the potential and I see it every weekend that we can win races, you know, every track that we go to and every weekend. So, um, yeah, really, you know, cool to be at this point. I've had a, incredible career. You know, if it all ends tomorrow, like I'm crazy thankful for what I've been given. So, yeah, I'd like to keep going though and like to see how much more we can do.

BRUCE:

Team Penske dominated the race. Will Power led the most laps. Pole winner Scott McLaughlin, your teammate, the second. You were third with 17 laps led. What was it about Team Penske's setup that was just so good here?

JOSEF:

It's been, I think, typical for us, Bruce. Like if you look at it, Team Penske's, this has kind of been a stronghold for us. You know, if you look at the entire history of us running at this track. So, you know, we make good short oval cars. I think that's been evident in the last five, six years. We got to keep that up, but that's certainly been the trend. So we like coming here because of it. It definitely suits our package.

BRUCE:

It was everything you would want to see in a Saturday night race in IndyCar. There was some great racing, there was some fierce battling, there was even some hot tempers. Unfortunately, they involved your teammate Will Power, thought the next to last restart you may have brought the field up a little too slow. He got ran into by Alexander Ross, he launched over the rear. Will, for whatever reason, was angry at you. And I know that's difficult because Team Penske is a very close unit. So how do you take care of that?

JOSEF:

Well, I think just the toughest thing is we'll get run into, you know, I mean, I hate that he got run into by somebody which, you know, killed his race in a lot of ways. And he's in the championship. So, you know, for us, it just means we got to double down as a group and, you know, keep us in it.

BRUCE:

Is the beautiful thing, though, about Team Penske, as you said in the post race press conference, You'll go talk to Will as soon as this is over, that a lot of times with Will, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, but yet... when you talk to him, things will get better.

JOSEF:

Yeah. I mean, I think knowing will he's going to look, he's upset that he got run into. I get it. You know, he's a championship contender and he's getting wiped out of the race. So the last thing I want to see is that happen. Believe me, you know, as a, as a group, we talk about this stuff and we try and take care of each other. So not trying to adversely affect will in any ways. And, You know, I think he'll see once he cools down, of course, he's going to see, you know, what happened and transpired. And it's just an unfortunate situation in a lot of ways.

BRUCE:

Your success tonight was because you were the master of the high line. And I think surprised a lot of people who didn't expect a competitive race like we saw was the fact that you guys were able to use the high line effectively. And how big a surprise was that to you?

JOSEF:

I was shocked. I mean, it's it's what made us good at the end. I mean, I couldn't You know, we couldn't get to the front unless I had somewhere to go, and I had somewhere to go tonight. So, you know, you could see it. You could see the potential when it opened up. It was really cool. You know, last thing I wanted to do was teach people how to do it. And I think that's what made it hard. Once people caught on to it, then it got tougher, but it was really good. You know, we need to come back here and have that same style of racing.

BRUCE:

I would say going into the race, 90% of the drivers and teams thought that the race would be single file, follow the leader, processional. There won't be any passing. Everybody's going to be following the leader. The extra weight of the hybrid assist is too heavy for us to be able to use the outside line. It's not going to be a good race. immediately showed that it was going to be a good race. How soon into the race that were you going, wow, this is pretty good.

JOSEF:

Well, I was, I was, yeah, immediately I was shocked at how aggressive everyone was. Like the start, everybody was kind of full out. I mean, I thought everyone was going to sort of hang back and relax and it was like the opposite. So Yeah, it was frantic. Really challenging race. Good to see. I mean, got to be one of the best oval races I think I've been a part of in a little while.

BRUCE:

Does that give you hope that going to the Milwaukee Mile for two races and ramping up the season at Nashville, that the hybrid assist won't be an issue whatsoever? And in fact, you guys put on some pretty good races over those last three ovals.

JOSEF:

Well, I think we can. I mean, I don't think this is going to, you know, just set the recipe up for everywhere else. You know, Milwaukee is very different and Nashville is very different from here, but you know, of course we have the potential to figure it out. You know, this is just, it's a new car, it's new weight, new system. You know, sometimes it takes a little while to get it all bedded in and find the right recipe. We certainly had the recipe tonight, so it's, it's possible.

BRUCE:

Before Milwaukee, it's off to Portland, and you've been a pretty good driver out at Portland. What's it going to be like getting ready for the final road course race of the season, the Grand Prix of Portland?

JOSEF:

Yeah, I think we got, you know, good potential to be fast there and we need to, we need to convert something there. We've had, I think, race winning cars the last three years there and we just haven't converted it. So, you know, our mission is to go in there and have a, have a good clean weekend.

BRUCE:

Then it's going to be off to your hometown in Asheville to wrap up the season. And even though this might not be a championship season for Josef Newgarden, I know you're going to go out there swinging, but hey, you won back to back Indy 500s and two victories already. So that's got to be a pretty good year.

JOSEF:

It's been, you know, it's been an up and down year for sure. But, you know, we'd like to finish on a good note. And that's our mission. So, you know, let's see where we land.

BRUCE:

Well, Josef Newgarden, it was certainly a great race at the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 at Worldwide Technology Raceway. Congratulations. You put on a heck of a show. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, Bruce. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

WILL:

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

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. There was plenty of other news in IndyCar other than the wild racing and Saturday night's Bomberito Automotive Group 500. One storyline was the return of Jack Harvey to the cockpit of the number 18 Honda at Dale Coyne Racing. It was Harvey's first race since experiencing severe neck pain during the July 7th Honda Indy 200 at MET Ohio weekend. Because of the pain and his inability to properly turn his head, Harvey had to step out of the car for the Hy-Vee IndyCar race weekend at Iowa Speedway on July 13th and 14th. Harvey also wasn't in the car for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on July 21st. IndyCar went on a three-weekend break because of the Olympic Games afterwards, before Harvey returned to Worldwide Technology Raceway on August 16th and 17th. Here's a quick interview I had with Harvey entering the weekend. Jack is back in the IndyCar paddock. It's Jack Harvey. You're back for this past weekend's Bomberito Automotive Group 500. First question is, how are you feeling?

JACK:

Significantly better than I was feeling, so yeah, big improvement from Iowa for sure, so yeah.

BRUCE:

Well, the fact that you're jumping into the deep end on another oval, would you rather have tested it out a little bit more on a road course, or, hey, if you're going to get back on the Bronco, get back on the Bronco?

JACK:

I mean, ultimately, if you're ready to go, it doesn't matter what the track coming up is, you're just ready to go, and I put a huge amount of effort into All the rehabilitation that came with it didn't cut any corners or anything like that. I've still got some more, no doubt, to do between weekends. You don't know what it's going to be like until you get back in the car. But yeah, I mean, I'm certainly just night and day different from where I was.

BRUCE:

An athlete can have broken bones, he can have muscle issues, he can have torn ligaments. Was it really the strangest type of feeling that you have gone through to try to focus on what do I need to do to get better?

JACK:

Well, I mean, it wasn't really a head injury. It was a, you know, shoulder and neck issue. So, I mean, there's nothing. I've had concussions before and, you know, missed race because of that. So, you know, I understand the difference between, like, head trauma.

BRUCE:

But anything to do with nerves neurologically anything like that is a very difficult science to itself.

JACK:

Oh it is and you know there's no there's no rehab timeline particularly other than are you making progress how you feeling are you getting better? You know I've had amazing support from everyone from you know, IndyCar medical to my own doctors, my own PT and everything like that. So, yeah, I think rehab went as well as it could. I think one of the big factors really was I just knew I couldn't drive the car a hundred percent. And at that point, you're doing a disservice then to everybody, including the team, to our sponsors and you know, I'm obviously always confident that I'm going to get in the 18 and do a better job than other people who they could put in it. But on that particular weekend, actually also at mid Ohio just wasn't it wasn't there. So

BRUCE:

He said a lot of times whether it be the vertebrae, nerves, things of that issue.

JACK:

I'm not worried about anything long term.

BRUCE:

Long term, as far as your driving career, you've had a little bit of a setback. So what do you have to do now to get back up to where Jack Harvey can now contend and vie for full-time rides in the 2025 IndyCar Series?

JACK:

You know, that is a great question and one that we have been pondering ourselves for a little bit. I think ultimately you just want to get back into a competitive seat. You know, I'm very lucky that I've got to do this for so long. Obviously, what happened with the last few years hasn't been ideal from, you know, the platform that we were doing it off previously. I mean, ultimately good results, you know, and I think coming into this weekend, I think everyone at Dale Coyne Racing is refreshed, recharged, a little bit rejuvenated even perhaps. So, the team have been good here in the past, I've been good here in the past and, you know, as my mentor told me early this week, can't think too far ahead in the future, we got to be present this weekend, you know, do the very best we can and, you know, if we just focus on what we have for the next, you know, five weekends, I guess, to finish out the season, hopefully something good will happen next year and, We'll cast a wide net on what racing might look like for next year and see which one we can reel in.

BRUCE:

You hadn't driven for Dale Coyne racing before this season. I've always thought Dale has a very good 35,000-foot view of what IndyCar needs, the series. He doesn't have the biggest budget, doesn't have the most resources, but every race, he's got two cars out on the grid. What is it about Dale Coyne having experienced his team that you really admire?

JACK:

Well, probably like you've already said, it's his ability to continue being here on, you know, without any doubt, the smallest budget out of any race team. I mean, that in itself every year, the stress that he must go through in the offseason just to continue figuring out how to do it must be immense. You know, and he still comes here with, you know, the hopes of winning. And obviously that's what we want to do. And, you know, is that our realistic expectation going into the weekend? Probably not. Is it a hopeful one? Absolutely. But I think we really can come here this weekend and, you know, I'd like to see us finish in the top ten. I think that's I think that could be very much on the cards and Yeah, obviously, I learned a lot from every team that I've been a part of, every team owner that I've had the pleasure of working with. And, you know, certainly will take things I've learned from Dale and, you know, hopefully just apply them myself one day if it happens or, you know, try and pass on someone else.

BRUCE:

Well, Jack Harvey, hopefully you can end the season on a strong note and that will bode well for 2025. I hope so. Good luck the rest of the year and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Yuri Vips returns to action for Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan Racing in this weekend's BitNile Grand Prix of Portland. The driver from Estonia has been working with the team all season, mostly on the simulation program. Vips joins me for this quick interview for PitPass Indy. Joining us now is Jyri Vips, who's going to be returning to Rahall-Letterman-Lanigan Racing here. Jyri, welcome back, and how cool is it to be back in the IndyCar after all the work you've done on the simulator?

JYRI:

Yeah, it's awesome to be back. Yeah, and I'm happy that Bobby and Mike and the team has rewarded me with this race this year, and yeah, just can't wait to get going, really.

BRUCE:

And basically, to be able to get another opportunity, A lot of driver movement going on right now, so how important is that going to be for you to get out there and show what you can do?

JYRI:

Very, because I think people in motorsport generally have a short memory of performances, and I haven't raced since last year, so it's good to kind of put myself out there again and show what I can do, and it's coming at a really good time as well, because as you said, there's a lot of people and not enough seats, you know?

BRUCE:

Well, I know that Bobby Rahal has a lot of high hopes for you, and when the team owner has that much faith in you, how rewarding is that?

JYRI:

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. It's so good to see that Bobby recognizes what I'm capable of, and yeah, really, really grateful for everything he's done for me.

BRUCE:

So I'm sure you're going to be quite busy doing a lot of appearances.

JYRI:

Yeah, yeah. I think I have a pretty packed schedule. More than usual, because now Portland is announced. But yeah, looking forward to this weekend as well, but more to Portland.

BRUCE:

Well, Yuri Vips, good luck in your return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Good luck at IndyCar, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. Felix Rosenquist has helped bring stability to Meyers Schenck racing this season. The veteran driver heads to Portland with hopes of finishing the season on a strong note, potentially with a victory, as he tells me in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is Felix Rosenquist, Meyers Schenck Racing. Felix, I had your team owner as our guest on last week's show, talked a little bit about how the season got off to a pretty good start. He's seen a lot of improvement, credits a lot of that to you. How would you assess the way the 2024 season has gone for Felix Rosenquist with a new team at Meyers Schenck Racing?

FELIX:

I've been loving it, man. It's been a really exciting year for us. A lot of things happening, you know, short term, long term. I feel like we're... In a way, just getting started, we have actually been super quick everywhere. We haven't had one single track. Maybe Detroit lacked a little pace, but otherwise, we've been, I think, pace-wise, one of the top contenders. The last couple of rounds, we've been struggling a bit with reliability for different stuff, engine, hybrid. suspension and stuff. So we had three DNFs purely based on mechanical issues, which is tough in IndyCar. And, you know, that was one of the goals going into the season to not have DNFs. And unfortunately, they're kind of out of our control, which have definitely bumped us down a bit in the standings. But, you know, it's still Quite a lot of racing left, and I think we can hopefully finish more where we deserve. But, yeah, overall, really exciting, and I think, you know, some things you can't control. I think what we can control, it's been hugely exciting so far.

BRUCE:

It's a very oval-heavy portion of the schedule. After the Pomeranian Automotive Group 500 Worldwide Technology Raceway, you go to your last road course race of the year at Portland. You've done well there in the past, you've had good qualifying there. To know that that's the last road course race and you're going to have three races after that, what do you think?

FELIX:

I have to say, if you asked me earlier this season, I would have been a little worried about this part of the year. I'd say now we're in a different position. We've worked very hard on our oval car, and I think we've actually made huge gains this year compared to last year. So we're actually pretty excited going into it. It's still an unknown, because there's some new tracks and whatnot. But overall, I think we have a pretty good shot here. You mentioned Portland. I've had two second places there. Normally, probably my best car overall, best track in IndyCar. So definitely feel like we could potentially fight for the win there. So a lot of excitement to look forward to.

BRUCE:

Then they're going to wrap up with three races on tracks you've never been to before. The Milwaukee Mile is going to be a doubleheader on Labor Day weekend. And then the last race of the season at Nashville Super Speedway for Felix Rosenquist, you've never raced there before. So how unknown will that be for you?

FELIX:

Yeah, completely unknown. Luckily, we have some you know, indirect teammates that have been there with Andretti. So we have some data to go off, which is hugely important for us. It would have been really hard going there completely blind. But yeah, new Super Speedway, which is exciting. I can't really remember the last time. I think, yeah, I haven't really experienced a new Super Speedway since Pocono back in 19. So that'll be fun. I love Super Speedways. I think it's one of, probably, I'd say I'm more historically stronger on the super speedway than compared to the short oval. So yeah, exciting.

BRUCE:

Last week, David Maloukas announced that he had signed with AJ Foyt Racing. When I did the interview with your team owner, Michael Shank, earlier in the week, I'm not even so sure he knew about that yet. How shocked were you that he made that announcement that he was going to go to AJ Foyt?

FELIX:

Honestly, I think I have a pretty good idea what's going on, but yeah, that was a little bit of a shock or surprise. I think it makes sense, though, for him, and I can kind of see probably why he did that. You know, obviously, I've been in that situation before in the Silly Season, where... It's kind of like musical chairs and you want to secure your spot. So I get that he he wanted to do that. And I think, you know, AJ Foyt has been really on the uptrend this year. So I think he'll he'll have a good a good time there. Obviously, I'm bummed to lose him. I think he was a really good addition to our team. He's been performing well, he's been quick everywhere, all kinds of tracks, and he's a good guy, so we'll miss him for sure. But obviously good to see that he's got his future secured.

BRUCE:

Do you think he's learned a little bit by the fact that that team has an engineering agreement with Penske Racing?

FELIX:

For sure, I think a driver as strong as David will definitely see the value in that, and I think also they see the value in him. He's one of the younger drivers in the field, and I think he's one of the most promising as well, so I think it's a win-win for them, for sure.

BRUCE:

And it seems that, if you believe everything that's going through the paddock, that your team may have an engineering alliance with Chip Ganassi next year. You spent some time driving for Chip Ganassi. How valuable would that be if Meyers Schenck Racing is able to have an engineering alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing?

FELIX:

I mean, it's only speculation at this point, so I won't comment on anything that isn't, you know, agreed or signed upon. But yeah, I mean, I have I have a good history from there and some really good friends from that team that I still keep in touch with. So if that were to happen, I would be for sure a good thing.

BRUCE:

And in our final question with Felix Rosenquist, are you a little bit surprised that so far the hybrid assist, I can't say it's really wowed anybody yet. And it seems that with some of the teething issues, you guys were struck by him a couple of races ago that there's still a lot of work to sort out on the hybrid.

FELIX:

Yeah, I mean, I think it's still kind of unproven in its whole purpose. You know, it's still it's still early days. You know, let's say going into the future, if you can squeeze out some more power out of this hybrid, I think that would be a win. You know, at the moment, maybe the weight is a bit too high if you compare it to the horsepower output. But You know, as I said, early days, unfortunately, we kind of got affected by that in Toronto, where we broke down. But we'll see in the future. I think it still has some potential, too, that we haven't seen yet.

BRUCE:

Well, Felix Rosenquist, you certainly have some potential that we may see by the end of the season with another victory, maybe an Oval victory, but good luck the rest of the season. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indie. Thank you very much. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break.

SCOTT:

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

BRUCE:

Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is Scott Dixon, driver of the number nine PNC-backed Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing. Scott, we're in the homestretch here of another championship, just where you want to be every year. How do you feel about 2024 and being able to get that seventh IndyCar Series title?

SCOTT:

It's been, it's been a pretty good year. You know, I think if you take out kind of Barber and then, you know, Mid-Ohio and Road America and the issues that we had there, we'd be, you know, leading the championship. But everybody can kind of do that to a certain point. You know, two of those were totally out of our control with, you know, things failing on the car, but... Yeah, it's been good. Could always be better. There's always areas that you can definitely improve on. But as a team, I think for a lot of the season, to have the nine and the 10 in the top two or three of the championships throughout has been a lot of fun.

BRUCE:

How was the three weekend break?

SCOTT:

Yeah, it was good. It was actually nice to have a bit of a summer break. You know, I think for all of us, it's normally the head down, kind of bum up situation where you've got a bunch of races, you know, all together. So, you know, it was nice to spend some time with some family, get a little bit of holiday in and a little bit of training. And obviously we had a little bit of testing too with Nashville and trying to, you know, get the tire right for the...

BRUCE:

Now that's exactly what I want to ask you about. There are only two drivers in the series that have participated at Nashville Super Speedway that are still left. Yourself, winner of the last race at Nashville, and also Will Power of Team Penske. How much has that track changed, and with these particular cars, how do you envision the race being at Nashville Super Speedway?

SCOTT:

Yeah, it was great to go back, you know, obviously, what, 15 years since we'd been back there. You know, I think the track itself hadn't really changed much, being a concrete circuit, you know, I think the biggest thing that had changed was really the landscape, because everything around it, it kind of, you know, it's... you know, really packed in around Amazon buildings and things like that. You know, the test itself was pretty productive. We'll have to wait and see, you know, how the race plays out. I think that can always change depending whether you can get multiple lines to come in. I think Firestone are definitely heading in the right direction to create a tyre that degrades a little bit more so you have some degradation over the run. But, you know, From 2008, you got a car that's 400 pounds heavier with all the updates that we've had on it throughout that kind of era. The car has changed a lot and I think you'll see that maybe with speeds as well.

BRUCE:

Back in 2008, it seemed to be a track position race. If you were the leader, you could take that low groove and control the race. What do you expect it will be like with a heavier car?

SCOTT:

Yeah, you know, I think a lot of that, again, can change depending on, you know, the configuration that you run in. You know, there's lots of things that can change with, you know, engine power to downforce levels to the tire. You know, I think there was definitely a kind of top five or six cars were difficult to pass back, you know, kind of in 2008. You know, but, you know, you had a lot more separation with other cars and other entries in that race, so you could definitely get past some of those. We'll see. The last thing we want to see is single-file cars and no passing. I know everybody at National Super Speedway and everybody on the IndyCar side has been doing as much as they can within the reasons or areas that they can improve.

BRUCE:

It's been 15 years, but you and Will Power are the only two that have any experience there. Will that help?

SCOTT:

Uh, yeah, not really. You know, you're still talking about an oval. It's two corners. You know, a lot of it will just depend on how you offload. Yeah, I'm surprised it's only us two. Was Graham Graham maybe as well as well? Yeah, there might be a couple of others. Graham was another one. You know, if you got a quick car and you roll off well, that will define the weekend pretty quickly. So it's not a big advantage. You know, even for me, you know, not having been there for 15 years, it took, you know, five, 10 laps.

BRUCE:

What do you think of the job that Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Records have done in trying to make that a championship big event?

SCOTT:

Yeah, Scott Borchetta, as we all know, is a machine man, and it's great to see him in action. It's great to see what he's done, I think, you know, with what he was kind of dealt with, I think, with the Nashville Grand Prix. So, obviously, huge kudos to him and a huge thank you to him and his people that are making it happen. It could have easily just disappeared, you know? So, it's definitely in a rebuilding phase. It'll be interesting to see how it's received at the Super Speedway. I think everybody's hopes are to get back to the street race, which, you know, there's talks of that happening for 27 once that stadium is finalized.

BRUCE:

It's been a while since we've decided a championship on an oval. How much different of a dynamic does that bring in the championship decider? Because a lot of times, especially at Laguna Seca, the leader may stay the leader for most of the race, whereas on an oval, that can change drastically.

SCOTT:

Yeah, I agree. I think it's going to be fun. Obviously, the goal is to have great racing. So, you know, everybody's on the edge of their seats, you know, for the whole two-hour period. You know, and I think that adds to the fact, hopefully, we've got, you know, a good one, two, three, four, five, you know, way race for the championship at that point. Obviously, you know, our team would like it to be, you know, one or two of us fighting for it. But, you know, it's... I think it just, it keeps you on the edge of your seat a little bit more because an oval, an instant problem can happen very quickly. And I think that's true for all the races that we've seen on ovals and finishing the season.

BRUCE:

You've had quite a lot of battles for championships and ended up on the ovals. The one that happened at Chicagoland Speedway in 071 that you still think about.

SCOTT:

Yeah, it was a bummer, man. I think we would have won the championship in the race, you know, had we had, you know, a quarter more of a cup of fuel. To lose a championship and a race on the last corner of the last lap of the last race of the season is never too much fun. But looking back on it, you know, it was definitely rewarding to see that it was, you know, a good friend, Dario Franchitti. But yeah, he still holds it over me, man.

BRUCE:

And one other thing I wanted to ask you about Nashville, the fact that The race is going to be at Nashville Super Speedway, but there's still going to be a lot of activation and events that are going to be going on on Broadway in Nashville. I don't know how much you guys are going to be able to participate in all that because you have a job to do. That's go out and win a championship. But what do you think of that dual approach to be able to still have an impact on the Broadway district, the entertainment district of Nashville, that this is the home of the IndyCar championship race?

SCOTT:

Yeah, obviously, the last couple of years, it's been a lot easier to do that activation right downtown because that's where we're racing. But, you know, I think it's important for the series. It's important for the building of it to be important. If we go back to downtown, you know, I know they're going to do the pit stop competitions. There'll be a lot of activation, not not just for IndyCar, but also for specific teams and their partners. I know a lot of our parties and the teams are all still staying downtown. The track's only 30, 35 minutes away from downtown, so pretty easy commute. So hopefully they can drum up that interest and make the short drive out to the Speedway to watch a great race.

BRUCE:

And final question, what is it that Scott Dixon really likes about Nashville?

SCOTT:

I just, honestly, it's just people watching, man. If you're downtown in Broadway, you can see a lot of different things. So it's a lot of fun, a lot of people coming over from New Zealand, a lot of friends and family. It's a destination, no matter what you're doing, people want to get to.

BRUCE:

Well, I know that Scott Borchetta is going to make sure there's a lot of people that are at both. Agreed. And that's one of the great things about having him as a promoter. So hopefully it'll work out really well at Nashville. Me too, man. But Scott Dixon, good luck in your battle for your seventh IndyCar Series championship. Good luck at Nashville. Good luck the rest of the way. Hey, we're going back to the Milwaukee Mile, too. That's an old favorite of yours. Oh, yeah. Good luck and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, mate. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guests, including team owner Chip Ganassi, Team Penske race winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske engineer Ben Bretzman, and drivers Scott Dixon, Connor Daly, Ed Carpenter, Pato Award, Marcus Ericcson, Yuri Vips, Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, and Felix Rosenquist 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. 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.