More from The Thermal Club with Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, Conor Daly and Christian Rasmussen

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 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 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. Let's welcome back our friends from Penske Truck Rental as they return to sponsor Pit Pass Indy, helping bring you the inside stories of IndyCar from the paddock to the racetrack to the highways and streets of America. Pit Pass Indy was at the Thermal Club for the second race of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. In the regular show earlier this week, we had complete post-race coverage with the winner, Alex Palou, and other IndyCar drivers, including Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Kyle Kirkwood, as well as Chip Ganassi Racing team managers Barry Wanzer and Blair Julian. On this special bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy, we hit on a few topics outside of the race itself and look forward to the next race in the 2025 IndyCar Series schedule, the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 11th through April 13th. Here is an exclusive interview with Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood from last weekend at the Thermal Club.

KYLE:

Hi, Bruce. Hi, Kyle.

BRUCE:

It seems only fitting to have our next guest on since we're in California. It's Kyle Kirkwood, who has won the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We're out here in California. You're a Florida boy, but I'm sure every trip out to California is rather interesting and a unique experience for you.

KYLE:

I thought you were going to say I'm from California for a second. No, I'm definitely not.

BRUCE:

You just win in California. You live in Florida, but you win races in California.

KYLE:

It's not as humid as it is in Florida here, so it's quite a bit different. But you're right, I did win at the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach a couple years ago, so my first win in an IndyCar in California State, so yeah, good place.

BRUCE:

How tempted are you when you come out here to bring your surfboard?

KYLE:

Not close enough to the coast here, but I actually have a couple boards that live in California for when I go out to Long Beach, so I don't have to bring any out here.

BRUCE:

We're doing this interview out at the Thermal Club. Beautiful area, it's out by Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley. Unique course, don't know whether we'll be back here in the future or not, but what do you think of this IndyCar experiment by racing at this private country club for motorsports enthusiasts known as the Thermal Club? I mean, I've got a lot of thoughts.

KYLE:

It depends. You know, everything that I'm going to say there's a double edged sword to. I think it's a very interesting circuit. It doesn't seem like there's going to be a lot of passing here if you just look at the the geometry of the course. But with that being said, I think Tired Egg could change that quite a bit when you look at the actual event as a whole doesn't have a lot of people out here, but nor does the PGA. They go to a lot of private events and they don't allow as many people in. What's the difference on that? So another double-edged sword. Yeah, I mean, and that's really all there is that I have to say. Not as many comments as I thought I said, or as I thought I would have. But, I mean, only time will tell how this, it's a great filler for our season, right? We need something to fill that gap, and this is a good one to get that done.

BRUCE:

How do you think it serves as a studio backdrop for IndyCarRace on Fox Sports?

KYLE:

I mean, as a studio backdrop, it looks great, right? I think this is a very gorgeous place. It's a very high-end place. It should hopefully create some good racing and hopefully it turns some heads here because Fox is still new to us. So we need to grab those people while we can that are new viewers and lock them into IndyCar. So this is an important one for IndyCar, I think.

BRUCE:

I tried to ask you a tire day question after St. Pete. I don't think it really went over that well because you thought that the alternate tires were too soft. How do you think they're going to be at a coarse track with a coarse surface like they have here at the Thermal Club?

KYLE:

Um, we're not sure yet. I think everything that we're going to run is going to be deggy, um, just because of the nature of California circuits with, um, the asphalt being so coarse and it's usually causes a lot of deg. So I don't, I don't think it really matters what tire you're on here. It's not going to be like St. Pete where you have a giant gap between the two, two tires, where one is really good for racing and one's really good for qualifying. Um, so yeah, only time will tell with that though. We don't have enough information to really, to really know at this moment.

BRUCE:

Do you think the difference between the two tires is going to be more in play when you get to Long Beach?

KYLE:

Yes. I don't know what they're going to do about Long Beach, though. That's a big question right now, I think, for us. Are we going to have the same tires as St. Pete? If we are, it's going to be similar to St. Pete. So, yeah, we'll see what happens with that.

BRUCE:

Important test coming up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. How important is that for the teams to get ready for the Grand Prix that happens in May?

KYLE:

I mean, it's crucial. We've obviously done a lot of preparation for that. It'll be nice to know exactly what everything we have done actually shows on the racetrack. So it's important for us. It's important for Honda. It's important for all the teams. So we'll see how we go.

BRUCE:

It's the first time the hybrid assist unit will be in the race at the Indy road course, but there was an awful lot of testing that went on on that road course before the hybrid started. How do you think it will react on that course?

KYLE:

I haven't driven it, so I don't really know at this moment. It obviously adds some weight to the car. It's going to create a little bit of strategy for the driver on how they utilize it. Yeah, another one where it's only time will tell.

BRUCE:

It's going to be a couple of weeks before we head to Long Beach. What are some of the things you like to do when you get there, besides win?

KYLE:

I like to go surfing. I like to go down to like San Kamani area and surf. Obviously, the food's really good in that area. It's nice to be in the sun and nice weather. So, soak it all in. Favorite restaurant? I forget the name of the restaurant. I'm blanking right now.

BRUCE:

Operetta or whatever it's called.

KYLE:

I don't know, there's a place right there on like the strip of all the hotels where they're at. It's like a steakhouse, seafood place. Oh, 555? Maybe that's what it is. Yeah, it's really good. Really good.

BRUCE:

Yes, in fact, Dave Furst and I always have a standing reservation at 555.

KYLE:

So Brian Heard is a big fish there. So next time you see him, call him a big fish.

BRUCE:

Okay, we'll do that, but one last thing, though. The Indy 500 test comes up next month in April, and I know that's very valuable. It's a two-day test, so how much work do teams get done at that Indy 500 Open?

KYLE:

A lot, but the weather needs to be right, too. You can't just do everything if the weather's super cold and super good, because it's all going to change when the month of May comes around, so a lot of work gets done there, but it's more preparation to what the work is gonna be in the future, I would say.

BRUCE:

Kyle Kirkwood, make sure you keep that surfboard wax. You're gonna get to use it next month when we're back in California. Sounds good. Good luck, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rentals.

KYLE:

Of course, thank you.

BRUCE:

Next up is an interview with second year ECR driver Christian Rasmussen of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 2023 IndyNex by Firestone champion continues to build momentum in his IndyCar career and explains his development in this exclusive interview. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is Christian Rasmussen. Different colors, actually different team name, even though it's the same team. It's now ECR instead of Ed Carpenter Racing. So far, how do things look now that Ed Carpenter Racing's had a bit of a makeover? I'm sorry, ECR has had a bit of a makeover.

CHRISTIAN:

No, I think it's looking up for the team, you know. I think it's getting better and better. Rome wasn't built in a day, so we definitely still have more to come, but I think St. Pete was a decent result for us, two top 15s, which is obviously not where we want to be, but it's, again, a step in the right direction. Had a really good test out in Barber, and hopefully we'll have a good weekend this weekend.

BRUCE:

Your new partner has come in and thrown more resources at the team. What are some of the things that are different this year than what was there before?

CHRISTIAN:

I think just a lot of the stuff that the team has been able to do over the winter with all the prepping side of things and prepping the cars and getting them ready for the season there. So they've been able to do a lot more than what they're used to doing just from having the funds to do it. So yeah, a lot of that stuff.

BRUCE:

Where do you see your development at this stage of your career? Because you're still very young.

CHRISTIAN:

Yeah, I mean, I still have a lot of developing to do, you know, but I'm in a great spot to do it right now with this team, having Alex as my teammate as well, having a super experienced guy to be able to lean on and learn from. So I'm at a good spot. And yeah, I'm happy to see what the future brings. What's it like having Alexander Rossi as your teammate? It's great, you know, it's super cool to have someone that has this much experience, know what a fast race car and an IndyCar is supposed to feel like. So, like from a feedback standpoint he's super valuable obviously from an experience standpoint and then he's super quick and and super professional so no he's and we get along great so it's you know it's he's a super good good teammate to have. Have you learned his rather unique sense of humor yet? Yeah I'm picking up on it.

BRUCE:

What is the secret to his sense of humor? I know he can be pretty dry-witted sometimes.

CHRISTIAN:

Yeah, for sure. But I think, honestly, when it comes to that, I think we're pretty similar in our sense of humor. So it came pretty natural.

BRUCE:

Also, your team owner is Ed Carpenter. We know how good he is at the Indianapolis 500. How much do you learn just by being on the same track as him in practice?

CHRISTIAN:

No, a huge amount, you know. And Ed is obviously super knowledgeable, has been around there. Many, many, many times. So it's good to have these guys around me to support me as I'm still learning in the series. And last year, obviously, was my first Indy 500, but I don't know everything yet. So I'm still going into year two, learning more. And yeah, having those guys around me is great.

BRUCE:

Is it too soon in your career to maybe look in the crystal ball and pick the type of racetrack that you could win at?

CHRISTIAN:

No, I mean, I would like to think that I can win at any type of racetrack, you know. I'm obviously not quite there yet in IndyCar, but I proved that in lights, you know. I won at ovals, I won at road courses, and I won at street circuits. So, I like to think that I could win anywhere.

BRUCE:

And as far as some of the things that you check off in development, what would they be? You can probably see your improvement that maybe a lot of race fans don't know.

CHRISTIAN:

Yeah, I think just getting more and more consistent with it. You know, obviously there was a lot of mistakes last year, so I think the first line of business is to eliminate a lot of those mistakes, which we're slowly starting to do.

BRUCE:

We're doing this interview at the Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California in the Coachella Valley. In about three weeks, we'll be back in California at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Just how cool is it to be in that event realizing it's the 50th anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach?

CHRISTIAN:

Yeah, it's awesome. You know, Long Beach is also is always a super cool event. Didn't quite go my way last year, so I'm ready for redemption out there.

BRUCE:

And even though you're from Europe, is that a race that you were familiar with long before you ever came to North America?

CHRISTIAN:

Not really, to be honest. I wasn't really super familiar with any IndyCar stuff before coming over here, but I did come over here in 2018. So coming from Europe, it was a little bit of a unique situation doing all of my junior categories basically over here. So obviously I've known about it for a while.

BRUCE:

But that race did begin as a Formula 1 race, actually a Formula 5000 race for a year before it came to Formula 1.

CHRISTIAN:

Obviously, you know about Long Beach in general, yes.

BRUCE:

But there's been a lot of great names that have been part of that event. And just how cool is it to know that you're on the same race course where these Formula One legends and IndyCar legends of race.

CHRISTIAN:

Yeah, it's super cool. And it's, you know, not only Long Beach where the history takes a part of it, you know, you have it at the 500 and you have it at a lot of Road America. You have a lot of history around IndyCar, which is cool.

BRUCE:

Well, Christian Rasmussen, good luck this year in IndyCar, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. 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 Rental.

BRUCE:

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Connor Daly is one of IndyCar's most popular drivers because of his friendly personality and the time he spends talking to race fans, whether it's at the track or around town in Indianapolis. Daly is the driver of the number 76 Chevrolet at June Coast Hollinger Racing and joins me for this exclusive interview from the Thermal Club. The fan favorite is back. It's Conor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing. Conor, we're back in California at the Thermal Club. In about three weeks, we'll be back in California at the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach. You might have heard, but it's the 50th Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach. How cool is that? to know that you're going to be in a milestone event that's got so much history in racing.

ROGER:

I think the coolest part about it is, is I have a photo hanging in my house of my dad in a Formula One car at the Long Beach race, you know, in the 80s. So, you know, it's a cornerstone event for us. It's a cornerstone event for motor racing in general. And, you know, my hundredth IndyCar start was at Long Beach. So the fact that I could do that there and then be a part of the 50th, It's special. And my one of my Indy Lights wins was there too. So like that, you know, everything about Long Beach to me is special.

BRUCE:

And not only that, I remember a Long Beach where you showed up with nothing. Yeah. And on Thursday you got a ride.

ROGER:

Yeah, yeah. Shoot. I sat on some cargo blankets in Dale Coyne's car and got to drive. So yeah, it's pretty wild.

BRUCE:

I'm trying to recall the year. I know that it was- 2015. 2015, and it was Rocky Moran Jr. had an injury, and you got the call, and that ended up being more than a one-race ride for you.

ROGER:

Well, that year, it was just that race, but- Down the road. My rookie year. Yes. What a wild time to look back on. Had my GP2 suit on, everything from Europe. It was cool to be a part of.

BRUCE:

Speaking of a wild time, we're doing this interview at the Thermal Club. The race has already happened by the time this interview airs. What do you think of the three-year experiment that IndyCar has had coming to the Thermal Club? It's not so much a fan event that brings in spectators because it's a private club, but it makes for a great TV backdrop for Fox Sports. What is your thinking about the whole experiment of IndyCar at the Thermal Club?

ROGER:

You know, I understand a lot of fans opinions on it because, you know, we're used to I think our fan base is used to being able to, hey, we're going to get to whatever event we want to go to. And we love the support that we have at those events. But. I think no matter what, we want to create a television product that is also like, hey, if we can't make it to this event, we gotta sit down on our couches, we gotta watch this thing on Sundays, you know what I mean? So it's still a great IndyCar race. It's still an event that we hope is incredible. They've improved it every time we've come here. They've listened to us about some of the track improvements, some of the track changes. And honestly, if tire deg is a big deal on Sunday, It'll be a great race, so I'm totally happy to be here. It's definitely a different vibe for sure, but this is a crucial part of our championship. It is round two of the NTT IndyCar Series Championship, so it means a lot.

BRUCE:

You're a Hoosier. You live in Indiana. You live in Indianapolis, although you didn't go to Indiana University. Your stepfather, Doug Bowles, is a proud graduate of Indiana University. Got to ask you, What did you think of their hire of Devin DeVries as the head basketball coach at Indiana university?

ROGER:

Well, I didn't go to college, so I have no idea what that means. And, uh, that's, that's my opinion on it. I, I don't, I, I don't actually pay as much attention to college sports. My little brother goes to Purdue. So that's all I got, uh, any connection to, to college sports.

BRUCE:

Well, in the state of Indiana, you don't necessarily have to go to college in order to be a big Indiana Hoosier fan. It's just like Ohio. Most of the people that go to Ohio Stadium never attended Ohio State.

ROGER:

I've been to an IU basketball game at Assembly Hall. It's called Assembly Hall, right? Yeah, isn't it? Something like that? Yeah, but it's a very cool experience. Very cool experience.

BRUCE:

Speaking of cool experience, though, the Indianapolis 500 doesn't get any cooler than that. Doug has got dueling commitments now. He's president of two different organizations, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar. How do you think he can manage both jobs?

ROGER:

Honestly, I don't think there's any more of a qualified leader in any of our arena of motorsport. I think Doug is extremely qualified to lead this sport and extremely qualified to do the job that he's been asked to do by Roger Penske or else Roger wouldn't have asked him to do it. So I have all the faith in the world. And Doug, he's an incredible person and an incredible, you know, passionate warrior for our sport. So I'm excited to see what what happens.

BRUCE:

You carried the Unikel 76 decal on the car at St. Pete. Was that just a one-race deal or are you going to have a chance to have them on more this year?

ROGER:

Nope, we're still 76 and still the very, very special logo on there and the Cyclone Next Gen Travel Center logo is on our side pod as well, which is part of the deal as well. So yeah, you'll see it for a few more races.

BRUCE:

You got to admit, it is kind of cool to see that Union 7, or the Unical 76 logo on an Indy car.

ROGER:

Yeah, Dale Jr. texted me. He was very excited about it too, so I thought that was cool.

BRUCE:

Well, you're a man that bridges all gaps in motorsports, whether it be Formula 1 with your father, or whether it be Dale Jr. with NASCAR, but you're an Indy car driver. Yes, indeed. Actually, you can drive more than just Indy cars. But, Conor Daly, good luck this year, and thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. We wrap up today's show with Alex Pillow, who already has a 39-point lead in the IndyCar Championship standings after two races, after winning the first two races of the season. Here is an interview with Pillow from early in the weekend at the Thermal Club before he became the first back-to-back IndyCar race winner since Scott Dixon in 2020. Our next guest, as Fox Sports likes to say, he's so fast he got his taxes done on New Year's Day. Unfortunately, I haven't even begun my taxes yet. It's three-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou. Alex, we're out here in California, great state for racing, some great race courses. We're doing this interview at the Thermal Club. By the time it airs, the race will have already been held. But what do you think of IndyCar's experiment coming and having this race at a private club for motorsports enthusiasts? What do you think of the course and what do you think of the area?

ALEX:

I love the area. I mean, I love it. basically because of the weather. I love the weather here, especially after a couple of weeks that we had in Indianapolis. I love the course. I think it's a very technical course, very long. It's an exciting track to drive, but I miss that IndyCar atmosphere with the fans, like having a crazy paddock and pit lane with all the fans asking for pictures and just that energy that they bring. So, Yeah, I miss that part, but we're here to race and that's what we're going to try and do as well as we can.

BRUCE:

Having grown up in Indiana myself, I'll admit that it doesn't generally get really warm in Indiana until about the 4th of July, but... California itself, though, to be able to come out here to be around motorsports enthusiasts and in three weeks you're going to be back out here for the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. How excited are you for that? That's a milestone race in the history of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

ALEX:

Oh yeah, I'm super excited for Long Beach, especially after the start of this season that we had at St. Pete. Hopefully, I'm just looking forward to go there on Friday on practice and see if the car is a little bit better than what we had in the past in Long Beach as we had in St. Pete. Yeah, I'm excited for that. It's a crazy weekend. I would say it's our biggest street course weekend that we had in a year with how historic the track is and also with the fans out there. And I've never won there, so we need to change that.

BRUCE:

The Indianapolis 500 is obviously the one race everybody wants to check off the box. Would you say the second box they want to check off is Long Beach?

ALEX:

Yes, I would say so, 100%. Obviously, biggest race, single race is the 500, but probably the second biggest race is Longreach, and you want to win that one.

BRUCE:

I was chatting with a former teammate of yours last night, Marcus Ericsson, and he was lamenting the fact that if Alex Palou gets off to a fast start in 2025, it's going to be a long season for the rest of IndyCar. How important is it to you to have a fast start? Because I think once you get the lead, you're already in other drivers' heads.

ALEX:

I wish it was as simple as that. But yeah, honestly, having a great start of the season at the beginning helps a ton. Helps. The team helps myself, my confidence, helps everybody to just push everything inside the team and try and make it a little bit better each time. So that's what we're focused on. And if it helps to pressure a little bit our competitors, it's welcome as well.

BRUCE:

Speaking of the Thermal Club, last year's race was an exhibition all-star race, which you won rather easily. If that had been a points-paying race, you would have clinched last year's championship with one race to go. So in some ways, you look back at that and go, man, I'm glad it's a points-paying race now.

ALEX:

Yes, I am. I am. I think that at the end of the day, we obviously race for points. Obviously, if you Throw in a big check. It's welcome, but the beauty of racing is that you race to be the best and to get points to try and get a championship. So I'm glad that it's back to that, back to a normal race, and we can try and get all those points on Sunday.

BRUCE:

It seems that every time I'm watching a sporting event on Fox, or if I'm even watching local Fox back in Charlotte, North Carolina, there's an Alex Palou commercial popping up for Fox Sports. Every time I go to fill up at Shell, there is an Alex Pillow commercial popping up on the pump. Have you noticed increased recognition from people out in the public now because of those commercials?

ALEX:

Yeah, absolutely. Made a big change in Indy. I think that in Indy, everywhere I would go, I would sometimes get recognized, but now it's every day, like even at the airport, which normally it's a place that There's a lot of people, but nobody recognizes you now. Now people just say, hey, good luck at Thermal. I had three persons yesterday on my way here to Thermal telling me something about the race. So it's great. It's amazing, the job that they did. And it's amazing to be that guy.

BRUCE:

Last question for Alex Pillow. Marcus Ericsson also told me that in the whole time YouTuber teammates only saw you get mad once. What is the secret to you keeping the cool demeanor?

ALEX:

I don't know. I mean, I can tell you I get mad sometimes, but at the end of the day, it's quite simple. I'm living the dream. It's amazing to be a racing driver, it's amazing to be an IndyCar driver and to do this for a living, so I'm just enjoying every single day. Even a bad day in an IndyCar, it's an amazing day.

BRUCE:

It's great to be living a dream, especially if you're Alex Palou. But Alex, good luck when we return to California here in a couple of weeks at the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach. Good luck in 2025. Try to make the points race a little bit more exciting this time. We will see about that. And thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We want to thank our guests, the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, Blair Rasmussen of ECR, and Connor Daly of June Coast Hollinger Racing 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.