Penske Corporation President Bud Denker and IndyCar drivers Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson

Speakers: Bruce Martin, Bud Denker, Alex Palou & Marcus Ericsson

[Music Playing]

Bruce Martin:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcasts. 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 Sports Ticker, Sports Illustrated, Autoweek and Speed Sport.

So, let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy.

Welcome to this week's edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. We are proud and honored to bring Penske Truck Rental to the show as the presenting sponsor of Pit Pass Indy. We will continue to cover the entire NTT IndyCar Series community, and our partners at Penske Truck Rental will help us tell those stories.

The season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was filled with wild stories from a very action-packed and chaotic race. The 100-lap contest on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida involved two very large crashes involving a first lap incident that brought out the red flag after a massive pile up in turn three.

Devlin DeFrancesco's Honda was T-boned by Benjamin Pederson's Chevrolet, launching it into the air. Others involved in the crash included both Meyer Shank Racing drivers, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud; both AJ Foyt Racing drivers Santino Ferrucci and Pedersen; and Dale Coyne Racing rookie, Sting Ray Robb, who was able to continue in the race.

When the red flag was removed nearly 20 minutes later, poll winner, Romain Grosjean of Andretti Autosport led for the next 31 laps before Team Penske, Scott McLaughlin took over the lead after a round of pit stops.

Another Andretti Autosport car went airborne later in the race after Rinus VeeKay and Jack Harvey stuffed their cars into the turn four tire barrier. Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood ran into the back of one of the cars launching it over both VeeKay’s and Harvey's cockpit.

Thanks to IndyCar's Arrow screen, none of the drivers involved in any of the crashes were injured other than a few bangs and bruises. McLaughlin led the most laps in the race with 37 and Grosjean was in front for 31 laps, but both drivers crashed into the turn four tire barrier in a dramatic event that helped shape the outcome.

Grosjean pitted on Lap 71 for what he hoped would be the final stop of the race. One lap later, McLaughlin pitted as the leader. As Grosjean came down the front straight at full speed, McLaughlin left pit lane on cold tires, and the two cars intersected at pit out in a side-by-side battle.

But as the two cars raced into the turn four area, both made contact and both crashed into the tire barrier. Grosjean's race was over, but McLaughlin would later continue in the race and finish 13th one lap down. He was issued an avoidable contact penalty by IndyCar race control.

When racing resumed on Lap 79, Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren appeared in control, but when a brief issue with the plenum on the engine caused it to cut off for a second or two, that's all Marcus Ericsson needed to make his race winning move on the front street.

Ericsson took the lead in front of the massive crowd in the main grandstand with four laps remaining and went on to win the season opening race.

It was a great opener for IndyCar and its partners as Penske Entertainment, owner of IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 are creating some bold projects for this season.

Bud Denker is the president of the Penske Corporation, which includes our partner, Penske Truck Rental. He joins us to kick off the partnership and give us a detailed inside look at IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 in this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Joining us now, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, is Penske Corporation president Bud Denker.

Bud, some exciting news. Pit Pass Indy is now, being sponsored by Penske Truck Rental. We can't thank you enough for coming on board as a partner. If you could just explain to our listeners the new relationship, what it's like to be involved with this podcast that centers on all the great action that happens in the NTT IndyCar Series.

Bud Denker:

Well, first of all, thank you, Bruce, for the coverage you provide to the NTT IndyCar Series. It's one of the most competitive racing series, if not the most competitive racing series in the world. And you do a great job for our fans (current fans and new fans alike) to understand and communicate this great series.

And now, having an alignment with Penske Truck Rental, we think is a great opportunity for us as a company, but also, for you as the person who really reports back to the fans about what goes on.

We got a great business in Penske Truck Rental that's over 50 years old now. Roger began this business with 300 units, both cars and trucks, and now, we have over 411,000 units on the road. One of the largest fleets in North America, if not the world.

So, you see our yellow trucks out there every day when you pass them on the freeways, on the roads. There's a lot more that aren't yellow, that are our customers trucks that they wrap.

And it's a great business. It's a business in North America that we're very proud of. We have a great team that runs it for us, out of Reading, Pennsylvania. And it's a real halo to our brand with those yellow trucks on the highways and then the racing cars on the circuits.

Bruce Martin:

It also underlines how diverse the Penske Corporation is. You're one of the leading companies in the world, in the automotive industry. The track record speaks for itself in racing 43 national championships in all forms of racing. 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, I believe 17 IndyCar Series championships and on the highway, Penske Truck Rental is a leader in that industry also.

So, how do you describe the synergy between what the Team Penske does in racing to what Penske Truck Rentals does on the highways?

Bud Denker:

Roger uses the term, the common thread, often about what racing provides to our company. People don't know it, but we have a couple legs to our stools, and that's the automotive side of business. Over 350 car dealer ships around the world. 20 some thousand employees involved in that business.

And that provides us brands across 40 different brands that we retail around the world here in the US as well as internationally. From Chevrolet, to Porsche, to Mercedes-Benz, to Audi, Toyota, Honda, et cetera. Those are all brands that we represent and sell.

On the transportation side of our business, Penske Transportation Solutions, over 30,000 employees in that business taking care of transportation needs for our customers, logistics, distribution over the road, but also, truck rental and truck leasing.

On the racing side of our business, of course, Team Penske, as you mentioned, the numbers you know a lot better than I do. So, thank you for that, obviously. Over 50 years of racing on the various racing circuits. This year, of course, adding the Porsche business both in IMSA as well as WEC.

And then our newest business is Penske Entertainment, which is the business now, we've added since buying the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series. So, those are the four legs to our stool.

But overall of that, hangs the common thread of racing. And that common thread stretches into all of our employees. 71,000 employees now, make up the Penske organization and all of them are watching those races on Saturday and Sunday. They're all talking about it on Monday morning. It brings them great pride in our competition every day.

And we also, obviously, bring a lot of customers to every event too, like we have here in St. Petersburg this weekend and at the Indy 500 as well as other races.

So, that common thread permeates our organization and provides these 71,000 associates around the world with great interest and great pride.

Bruce Martin:

Penske Corporation is also, one of the leading innovators in really understanding the value of the business-to-business relationship, I believe going all the way back to the beginning of Penske Racing in 1966.

Roger Penske understood how racing can bring one business together with another business to create even more business opportunities, not only for the racing team, but for the corporation. And how valuable is that?

Bud Denker:

The business-to-business, I think we've developed the term and invented the term because it's been our secret sauce for decades. When you have that much business going on, you have a lot of companies would love to have part of that business. And let me give you some examples.

Verizon, of course, has been on Will Power's car now for well over a decade. Well, guess what? Over 42,000 Verizon units are being used by our employees and their families. Over 42,000. That's B2B.

Think about those 411,000 trucks that are on the road. Every one of those under the hoods using Shell Rotella oil, that's a big business opportunity. By the way, those 411,000 trucks use a lot of tires, hundreds of thousands of tires a year. In fact, over 800,000 tires a year we’ll purchase. 800,000. And the majority of those are Bridgestone Firestone.

So, that gives you an idea of B2B. And also, by the way, those yellow trucks, that's PPG paint. So, you now, get a linkage to how important our partners are on the business.

But we could not run our business without the strength of our partners. From Chevrolet to others in Ford, as well as in NASCAR, Chevrolet IndyCar, Porsche on the racing series, of course.

But you go to that B2B side of it, and that business of ours, over 40 billion of revenue a year, 71,000 employees around the world, our B2B partners make that happen for us.

Bruce Martin:

And you've also been able to broker a lot of those business-to-business opportunities now, with official sponsorships with the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was one of the first things Roger Penske did after he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar, was to bring in Shell as a presenting sponsor, to bring in Verizon as the sponsor of the NASCAR race, to be able to spread that around.

And now, they have the showcase palace of all of Motorsports in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to be part of. That has to be something you cannot place a value on to the sponsor.

Bud Denker:

No, you're right. We've got another, I would say bullet in our arsenal now, which is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to bring our partners to. And they love coming to it. We've got a golf course there. We've got all this great activity going on around our racing throughout the course of the year. So, a lot of opportunities for our partners to use this cathedral of racing.

And then another example is that, for instance, if you go to the speedway this year, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you're going to see the Shell pecten across the entire spectrum of that speedway.

And wouldn't Shell love to have the Shell gasoline alley? Well, guess what? The gasoline alley now, has the Shell pecten on it. So, that's just another pride point for Shell that came aboard with us buying the series or buying the speedway as well.

And you've got DEX Imaging, a partner of us in the NASCAR and IndyCar. Now, part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So, those partners came along with us and we're very proud of that also. And that goes back to the B2B.

But I got to tell you, these partnerships need to work for the partner as well. They can't be one way. And that ROI we really understand. We've got to provide them a return on in their investment. And they have the confidence to us to represent their brand, but we have the confidence in them to represent a great product and a great service they give us on a day-to-day basis.

Bruce Martin:

When you go all the way back to the beginning of Roger Penske at the Indianapolis 500 with Penske Racing, he elevated the game that you see involved in gasoline alley in the sport. He used to like to joke about how we were the college kids with the cruise shirts and the polished wheels.

A lot of the other teams saw that professionalism and they had up their game. Now all of a sudden, you have one of the most professional forms of racing on Earth, and the Indianapolis 500 has grown to be the biggest race on Earth. It already was when he started, but he has just brought a whole new polish and shine to that event.

And that once again, shows the level of detail, the eye for detail that not only Roger Penske, but the Penske Corporation has.

So, how valuable is that to the overall look an appeal of what the Penske Corporation can do for the consumer?

Bud Denker:

Well, the Indianapolis Motor Speedways is now, a reflection of our brand at Penske, a reflection of Roger, a reflection of me, and reflection of all of our people that walk in and out of our locations every day.

When we first bought the Speedway was interesting. Typically, we as a race team see three things. We see the garage, we see our motor coach, and we see pit lane. Every once in a while we see victory circle, thankfully.

We don't get out to turn four and see the concession stands. We don't get out to turn three and see the bathrooms. We don't get out to the golf course and see how that's going on. We don't get up to Pagodas to see how the operations are going. We don't get into the kitchens to see if they're clean or not.

When we bought the Speedway, we walked that speedway so many times and were in every single bathroom multiple times. There's over 110 suites at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Probably the same number plus in terms of restrooms, they all needed to be upgraded.

And the first thing we focused on was we got great racing. We know that we have a great product on the speedway. What can we do from a customer facing standpoint? And the first thing the customer saw for us buying it was the restrooms were all upgraded. Concession stands were all upgraded, the lighting.

How about those people that were sitting in the front stretch all the time? They couldn't see the video boards because they had an awning. Now, they had an opportunity to see the race going on at all the times with all the additional video boards we had.

So, our lens was totally focused on the customer. The product was good, but the customer experience needed to be increased. And as the customer comes back this year to the speedway, they're going to see some enhancing improvements as well from a customer service standpoint.

We're not stopping there. I'm excited this coming year when we are going to have the first time camping in the infield of the speedway when you come to the IMSA race and the NASCAR race. That's going to be cool as well. So, these are all amenities that we're doing to increase the customer experience, but also, reflects back on us as our Penske brand.

Bruce Martin:

You brought up an interesting point about the IMSA race. At some point there is speculation that you may have a 12-hour or a 24-hour race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is an opportunity to try IMSA out on the IMS road course. They ran there back in the early 2010s with the Brickyard Grand Prix.

But what are some of the exciting possibilities that can come from utilizing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with IMSA sports cars, and even maybe WEC at some point?

Bud Denker:

Yeah, it's a good question because as we've announced this September, we'll have our first IMSA race at the speedway. We had sports cars, as you mentioned, in the Grand-Am series, years and years ago. So, we're going to bring back the IMSA series, but also, another support series as well.

We'll have the pilot challenge, that'll be about a 4.5-hour race. It'll run from dust to dark. That gives us the first chance to see how cars operate in the dark at the speedway, where the right lighting needs to be done before we have the WeatherTech series there next year, racing at maybe a longer duration as race as you mentioned.

I can't tell you if it's going to be six hours, seven hours, nine hours, 12 hours or 24 hours. It'll be longer than we have this year, which is going to be over 2.5 hours.

So, we're going to have that opportunity, but we might need to create the atmosphere at a sports car race like they do at the Rolex Race in Daytona, where it's camping, it's a carnival inside. There's all kinds of things to see from the midway and from kids and families. Create this event that's in the infield all about sports car racing.

So, we're going to do it this year. We're going to do it the right way. We're going to have the pilot challenge, be the one that goes into the darkness to test it out. But we're really excited about 2024 coming back with a longer IMSA race.

Bruce Martin:

You also revitalize the Brickyard weekend. This year, the addition of the Indy NXT Series as part of the program. It's the only weekend of the year where IndyCar and NASCAR are both at the same venue, the same weekend. How successful has that been in revitalizing that event?

Bud Denker:

That was one of the key things that we looked at when we bought the series. A couple things you mentioned, Bruce. First, the NASCAR race. After we purchased it, you saw us go from the oval to the road course, which was pretty exciting for both the Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series.

Now, we're adjoining them again this year with both being on the track. But the fact that you're bringing an IndyCar fan and a NASCAR fan, as you mentioned, the only time you get to do that anywhere in North America is at the speedway. So, we're very proud of that. We still have ability to build that more. We want to build it back.

And I can't comment about what's going to happen in 2024, the 30th anniversary by the way, of a cup race there, what we're going to do, road course or oval? TBD. But you're going to see some exciting things coming ahead for that race as well too.

So, I know the France family and Steve Phelps and Ben Kennedy, they're great partners of ours. We rely on them for a lot of partnership and advice and counsel. We're proud to have them at the Speedway. They love coming there as well. It's one of the biggest races on their platform all year. And we are excited to see what happens this year as well as 2024.

Bruce Martin:

Were you surprised by the number of NASCAR fans that when it did switch to the road course, missed the race on the oval?

Bud Denker:

Yes. It's interesting, isn't it? We had a lot of people raising their hands saying the cars weren't conducive to the oval for this. “Are the NASCAR cars right? Try them on the road course.” We made that change. And then of course they say, “Put it back to the oval.” But a lot of people love the excitement of those cars banging and beaten on that road course of ours.

It's amazing seeing those cars go through the chicane and going through turn fives too wide and such. We've learned a lot over the last couple years doing that. This year will be another great weekend as well too.

But hey, we love our fans because they're always giving us advice and recommendations and counsel for the future. And that's why they're such great fans of motorsports.

Bruce Martin:

But of course, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the home of IndyCar. And the fact that the month of May means not one, but two IndyCar races. Start the month of May off on the road course, and then after two-day break, turn everything around, get the teams ready to go out there, run every day on the ovals, culminating with the 107th Indianapolis 500.

For anybody who loves motorsports, that is the month that everybody lives for. And how is that reflected at the Penske Corporation?

Bud Denker:

It's really the results we look at. You know what, Roger’s always saying that effort equals results. And what are the results? Well, the results for us are the easy ones. What are ticket sales? What are sponsorship sales?

Well, guess what? We have 110 suites at the Speedway, 110. They're all sold out, definitely. But we have a waiting list of about 20 to 30 corporations that want a suite there. That's amazing. Our ticket sales were up this year compared to what we were the last three years. That's a good indication. Remember we had over 300,000 people there last year and we're up, the revenue's up.

So, for us, the reflection to the Penske Corporation is the sign of what the customer thinks about it. And our signals are, are they coming back? Are they coming back early to commit to their seats? And they have.

And so, from a sponsorship standpoint, a suite sales standpoint, a fan standpoint, most importantly. The snake pit crowd as well too, of course, is a very younger crowd. Many of them don't even watch the race. We're up in those numbers as well too.

So, we're very pleased with the numbers we have going on. We’re some several weeks away, obviously, from the month of May. But Doug Boles, Mark Miles and the team there at the speedway … Doug Boles is the mayor of the speedway. He connects so well with our fans and our partners and we're so lucky to have he and the leadership of Jay Frye in the series, and Mark as our CEO to lead that way.

And we're there to support them. Roger, myself and the company, we're there to provide resources. I'm on the board like Greg Penske is and a few other outside board members.

And it's a place, it's interesting when I see Roger go on that property (and we're there almost every week), he has a new kick in his step. You see the pride in his face when he walks on that property of all the decades he's been there. We couldn't have a better steward watching over this facility than what we have in the Penske organization, but especially Roger Penske.

Bruce Martin:

And the man just celebrated his 86th birthday. And if anything, he looks more rejuvenated this year than last. Is it amazing to just see a man at his age able to be so well connected, have so much upstairs, see the vision of what he believes should be done here, the attention for detail. All the things that has made Roger Penske, the tremendous industrialist business leader, sportsman that he is.

Bud Denker:

I think you just said it all, Bruce. Attention to detail, I mean, results orientation. Looking things from a customer's lens all the time, whether it be our business or whether it be in the speedway. This is a pride point for he and the Penske family, and for he and his wife Kathy, and the whole Penske family organization and our corporation. It gives us great pride to see him and the joy that this facility brings to him.

But I got to tell you, he's always pushing us. He's pushing us every day to make us better. He's been my mentor, he is been one of my best friends and he makes me better every day and I'm grateful for that.

Bruce Martin:

And as if you don't have enough on your plate already, after the Indianapolis 500, it's off to the streets of Detroit for Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, which this year is going to be much different than any Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix we've seen since the 1980s. You're going back to downtown Detroit on the streets, the city streets of Detroit. How big of a project is that?

Bud Denker:

Oh boy. Great idea by Michael Montri and myself. It is a massive project to bring any race to the streets of any metropolitan city. You can't shut down business, you can't shut down commerce, you can't shut down the way of life of a city. So, we're not going to do that. In fact, we're going to add to all of those ingredients and make it a better place.

It's been 32 years since the cars have raced in the downtown streets of the Motor City and we're coming back. Imagine seeing cars go down Jefferson Avenue, the main thoroughfare downtown at 190 miles an hour. Imagine these cars going along on our beautiful riverfront, one of the best riverfronts voted across the country and in the world.

Imagine seeing the first time ever, a dual pit lane where cars are going to pit to the left and cars are going to pit to the right and in the end they're going to come together in single file and exit out orderly back onto the racetrack. Because we couldn't find a 1,000 feet of pit lane, so we got 500 feet on both sides of dual lane.

So, our ticket sales are up 70% when we announce coming downtown. We've gone from 23 suites on Belle Isle to 70 in downtown Detroit and all but eight are sold. That shows you the excitement of going back downtown Detroit.

Bruce Martin:

So, how do you compartmentalize the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, what your duties are with Penske Entertainment, with the Penske Corporation while putting together the race course in Detroit? That's got to be ready just a few days after the Indianapolis 500 is over.

Bud Denker:

Well, it's a good question, but the answer to it is you got to have great people around you. The human capital around, that has to surround you because, as Roger will tell you, one person can't do it all.

I can't do it all either, but I've got a great team in the Detroit Grand Prix from Michael Montri, and Letty Azar, and Rena Shanaman, and Merrill Cain. So, many people, my team of Courtney Gibbs. And all those folks make what happens magical in downtown Detroit.

And we're going to do it again. And I can't thank our partners Chevrolet, and Lear, and Strategic Staffing Solutions, Huntington Bank. 70 partners will line our suites this year behind pit lane.

Oh, by the way, that pit lane structure is the same structure they had at the Waste Management Open just a few weeks ago in the 16th hole. How cool is that? So, that gives you a visual of what you can expect behind pit lane in this massive cathedral of suites, double decker, looking at a dual pit lane for the first time ever and cars are running to the streets.

And what I'm really proud of in what we've done in Detroit, is over half of the race circuit, will be open to the public for free, never been done before. This needs to be an inclusive event, a diverse event, and over half the circuit be open for free. We'll make it just that. And I'm most proud of that than anything else that we've done.

And we're going to knock off the cover off the ball. Give us some good weather and watch what happens in downtown Detroit.

Bruce Martin:

Speaking of great teams, you have a great team at Team Penske, two-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion, Will Power is back to defend his championship. You have a two-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion in Josef Newgarden, who's finished second in the championship the last three years, pushing him in that title race.

And a newcomer in his third year ready to go challenge for his first championship, Scott McLaughlin from New Zealand.

You look at the ingredients of that race team and it's got winners written all over it.

Bud Denker:

Yeah, we're blessed to have the people we have. Besides being champions on the racetrack, they're also, really champions off the racetrack. You look at the caliber of the three people you just talked about, Scotty McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden and Will Power, and they represents the brands so well that they have on their chest and across their uniforms and on their cars.

So, that to me, is a great source of pride of how proud I am of them, of how they handle themselves.

On their racetrack, they're true winners. Now, as you know, only one person can win a race and we've got three guys that want to win that race. So, for us, you never want to take each other out, you want to communicate and learn from each other. But when there's two laps to go on the race, what's the best person to pull that out that victory.

So, we're blessed to have that, but this series of IndyCar right now, is the most competitive series. Look at our qualifying. Usually, the top 20 cars are less than a second apart. Nowhere else in the world do you have that kind of competition. Nowhere else.

It's an amazing, it's a battle, it’s 27 cars now. 27 cars are on the track this year as full-time in entries. We hope to have over 33 cars at the end of Motor Speedway for the 500 for bumping again this year.

So, now, it is going to be a battle this year. Will Power is our champion last year at over 40 years of age. Josef wants that spot, Scotty wants that spot, but guess what, so does Colton Herta and about 24 other drivers as well.

Bruce Martin:

And at every race on the NTT IndyCar Series circuit, 17 races on the schedule, you have vendors, you have concession people, and you have a lot of people who are part of the greater community and a lot of those people get to the track by using Penske Truck Rental.

And how important and valuable is that connection to know that a lot of these people are having Penske Truck Rental help transport their goods to the racetrack?

Bud Denker:

Well, we see that every day, don't we? Last year, over 400,000 one way moves a person made by taking their goods and services to a new home, to a new college for their student or just on and off from going to races perhaps as well too.

So, it's a great business. It's a great brand. You see that yellow brand everywhere. For us, it's been a halo effect as I mentioned previously along with racing.

And Brian Hard and the team, the CEO of that business that run up for us out of Reading, Pennsylvania, do a great job day in and day out and we're proud to be sponsoring your program now, Bruce, as a result of all of that.

Bruce Martin:

And also with Penske Logistics, you're always looking for professional truck drivers to maybe be part of the Penske team. How can they do that?

Bud Denker:

Yeah, go to our website, penske.com. Go penske.com and you'll see on there, you can lease a truck, rent a truck, but you also, can look for career opportunity as well.

And with most of the freight in America, about 80% of the freight still goes across the highway every day. And we're a key component of that with 400,000 trucks, obviously. And we always have a need for new employees, whether they be truck drivers, but also, technicians to handle those diesel engines of ours too.

Bruce Martin:

And I'm sure that when they go to work for Penske Logistics, it's a career for a lot of them. That they find a home that they can be satisfied with for the rest of their career. And how important is that to continue that, as Roger calls it, the human capital?

Bud Denker:

Well, the proof of the pudding there is our turnover in our retention rates. And our automobile business which typically, has a turnover rate of some 30 to 40% a year, we're less than half of that. About 19% turnover every year in an automobile business.

And the same thing is true in the transportation logistics rental side as well. Our turnover is far below the industry. That tells you there's a reason that people want to come to us, but there's a reason why they want to stay as well.

Our leadership in the Penske Truck Rental as well as Penske Transportation Solutions, typical person's been there 25 to 30 years, that shows the commitment they have to our company.

So, those pieces are all important for us. We want to provide a great quality of life to our associates, remember 71,000 around the world, and ensure that they're proud to work for it. But when they put that Penske Truck Rental, or Leasing, or Transportation Solutions or Automotive shirt on and go to work every day, there's a sense of pride.

And I go back to that common thread, they're now, members of Team Penske, not just that business they're talking about. And that emulates across the organization no matter what part of our company you're in.

Bruce Martin:

It's a winning team on the racetrack and it's also, a winning team on the roadways. And now, we're proud to be part of that winning team here at Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, which we hope is the start of a very long relationship.

Penske Corporation president, Bud Denker, we can't thank you enough for joining on board with us and thank you for joining us today, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Bud Denker:

Thank you, Bruce. Very good.

Bruce Martin:

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

Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. Next up is Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. He's back as the driver of the number 10 American Legion Honda after getting his contract situation clarified during the off season.

The talented driver from Spain is the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Champion and intends to get a second IndyCar title this season. Palou, joins me for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Joining us now, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, is Alex Palou, of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Champion. Alex, you're back with Chip Ganassi Racing, you're driving for the American Legion this year. Your outlook heading into the 2023 season?

Alex Palou:

Yeah, I'm super excited to be back here in St. Pete. Amazing weather. We've been preparing during this long off season. It's always long for the drivers. We always want to be driving the car, but yeah, excited to be back here.

Let's see if we can improve a little bit what we did last year, which we finished on the podium. So, excited to get this season started and hopefully, we can fight for the championship again.

Bruce Martin:

You proved last year that you're able to block all the noise that came with the contract situation out of the way, focus on racing brilliant race at Laguna Seca. How were you successful at doing that?

Alex Palou:

Not easy and I think in some ways it affected us for sure. So, yeah, I'm kind of a bit sad that we let go an amazing opportunity we had last year to fight for the championship, but still a top five in the final, it was great.

So, it made me stronger. I learned a lot and I cannot wait to have a relaxed year out of the track and just focusing on racing.

Bruce Martin:

You have some real competition on your own team with Scott Dixon, six-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion. You got yourself a former IndyCar Series Champion who's a threat to win every race. Marcus Ericsson has improved dramatically, Indy 500 winner.

Now, you got this young kid coming from a New Zealand, Marcus Armstrong. And oh, by the way, Takuma Sato at the Indy 500. Some of the best competition may be coming from within your own team.

Alex Palou:

Yeah, that's amazing. I think that's going to just help us. I think it's better when we have a strong team, to be honest. I think we've always had a strong team, but honestly this year looks amazing. So, cannot wait to see what Armstrong can do. I think he can bring some knowledge from Europe from three years in F2.

And Takuma as well, come on. I think it's going to be one of the first times that he has a real amazing organization behind and he's going to be a big pain during the Indy 500, but I'm going to learn as much as possible from him and hopefully, we can fight with him till the end.

Bruce Martin:

After the season nominating race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, there's a little bit of another layoff before going to the first oval at Texas Motor Speedway. What do you plan to do during that time?

Alex Palou:

Yeah, we plan to obviously analyze everything that goes through here. We have a test, a plan that we didn't do before St. Pete, so we saved it. So, we will go to Barber, if I'm not wrong. So, looking forward to that to try and get more knowledge for this season and then Texas. And then once that goes it's going to get yeah, crazy busy from there.

Bruce Martin:

There's a few tweaks of the procedures that IndyCar's going to do this year in terms of the timing of street and road course qualifying and the use of the red tires. How do you feel about that?

Alex Palou:

Let's see. I mean, it looks good so far. We just basically, have a little bit more time, we have a little bit more tires, we're going to see more action on track, which I think it's good for drivers, teams and also defense. So, let's see after this weekend, how it plans out.

Bruce Martin:

Now, we know you're out here to win races, win Indy 500s, win championships. So, now, how do you forecast the rest of the year for Alex Palou?

Alex Palou:

I think it's going to be busy. It's going to be exciting. I have experience from these past three years in IndyCar and I cannot wait to show what we can do. So, hopefully, we can be fighting for Indy 500 again in the championship. So, plan on doing the best we can and try and get the best version of myself out on track.

Bruce Martin:

And you're also representing the American Legion in more races this year. How do you like that?

Alex Palou:

I love it. It's a partnership that started really, really small in 2021, grow a little bit in 2022 and it's full-time. It's the main sponsor for us in the 2023. So, hopefully, you can get that number 10 American Legion to victory lane to spread out a bit more, be the one campaign.

Bruce Martin:

Alex Palou, driver of the American Legion car for Chip Ganassi Racing, good luck in 2023. Thank you for joining us today, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Alex Palou:

Thank you so much.

Bruce Martin:

One of the big stories to the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season is our next guest. It's Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing, winner of the 106th Indianapolis 500 on May 29th, 2022. Ericsson is starting 2023 looking for even more great accomplishments.

The driver from Kumla, Sweden won Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March the 5th. He drove a very smart race, putting pressure on race leader Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren in the closing stages.

Once O’Ward experienced a plenum issue causing his engine to briefly lose power, Ericsson pounced in his number 8 Husky chocolate Honda for Chip Ganassi racing. He passed O’Ward for the lead with four laps to go and drove to victory for his fourth career NTT IndyCar Series win.

Ericsson joins me after his big victory for this exclusive Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck rental interview.

Joining us now, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, is the winner of the Firestone Grand Prix St. Petersburg, it's Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing. Marcus, you kept your cool while a lot of the other drivers lost theirs. What do you see as the key to this big surprising victory today?

Marcus Ericsson:

Yeah, no, I think we had a really good weekend. We were in the mix from the get-go. First, in practice and then did a really good qualifying P4 there on the grid. We knew we were going to have a chance to fight for it.

Then the race was one of those crazy ones that we have every now and then in IndyCar. It was about staying cool, staying on top of the car, and staying out of trouble. And I think we did that to put ourselves in a position to fight for the win.

And then in the end there, catching Pato and putting pressure on him. I was going to have a go for it and then he did that — or something happened, whatever that was, and I got the opportunity and went for it. And a fantastic and perfect start of the season for us.

Bruce Martin:

Very big win for Chip Ganassi Racing with two drivers in the top three. Scott Dixon, your teammate finished third. Chip was ecstatic that he had two drivers in the top three. And how important is that for the team to get off such a great start?

Marcus Ericsson:

It's very important because we have worked really hard in off season to improve our package on the street and road courses. I think this weekend all four Ganassi cars were competitive. And Marcus did a great job in the 11 car as well, and Scott and Alex, we were all up there and fighting for it.

So, really good start for us. And like you said, two cars on the podium, it's perfect. So, really, really proud of the whole Chip Ganassi Racing organization and the work they put in.

Bruce Martin:

Because you won the Indianapolis 500 in 2022, you had a busier off season than the IndyCar champion. And to immediately back that up with a victory in the season opener, does that just keep the momentum going?

Marcus Ericsson:

For sure. And I know people were worried that I had so many things in the off season, but I tried to keep telling people that this just keeps me energy. I love it. I love the celebrations, all the traditions and all the stuff I got to experience this off season and I felt it's made me better.

And I think this first preseason testing in Thermal, being fastest there and then going here and having such a strong weekend and winning the first race shows that yes, we've celebrated that win, but we've also worked on improving.

Bruce Martin:

We've seen the last couple of years at a fast start as a key to winning the championship. So, do you see that as being the case in 2023 with your victory?

Marcus Ericsson:

Yeah, I mean, always important to start a season strong. I think you sort of get that momentum going. And for us to start this season with a win, it couldn't be better. So, we definitely have a goal. Chip always says we have two goals, to win the championship and win Indy 500, and that's the same every year.

So, this sets us off to a great start and now, we need to keep working hard and go to Texas and try and do it all again.

Bruce Martin:

What's your confidence level for back-to-back victories in the Indianapolis 500? I know it's still a few races away, but still, you have to really be looking at that as a major goal for you.

Marcus Ericsson:

For sure. I think I know our cars, the Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas is going to be strong on the speedway. We were so strong last year, almost dominant. So, we are looking forward to that a lot. And for me personally, to be there as a defending champion, it's going to be an amazing experience.

But like I said, I'm here to win races and obviously, that's the biggest race, so I'm definitely going to go for that back-to-back victory. That's a big goal of our season.

Bruce Martin:

You came to IndyCar after ‘97 Formula One starts, and like you just said, you were here to win races. Now, you're a four-time IndyCar winner. Do you feel more an IndyCar driver now, than a Formula One driver?

Marcus Ericsson:

Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know. I think I'm really starting to settle in here in IndyCar. It’s my fifth season, I love it here. I think the series is great. I think Roger and the Penske organization has done a tremendous job with the series.

The car count is going up. We got some really cool races and yeah, I feel at home. So, I'm happy to be here. Yeah, I probably am more an IndyCar driver these days, for sure. That's a fair point.

Bruce Martin:

And did you believe that today's race was going to be this chaotic?

Marcus Ericsson:

No, not really. I thought street course races can always be messy but maybe not this much things happening, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Bruce Martin:

And having competed with Romain Grosjean throughout his career, he started on the pole, led a lot of laps, but in some ways, were you not surprised to see his race end up the way it was?

Marcus Ericsson:

I don't know. I mean, I haven't seen the accidents. I don't know what happened. I think Romain is an extremely good driver. I know that from racing with him in Europe and also here in IndyCar. So, yeah, like I said, I don't know what happened there in the crash, but I'm sure he'll bounce back.

Bruce Martin:

And finally, a lot of people expected to see a former Formula One driver when the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and you proved him right by winning it. So, in a lot of ways, you have to feel good about that.

Marcus Ericsson:

Yeah, that feels great.

Bruce Martin:

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race winner, congratulations on the victory. Good luck in the 2023 season. And thank you for joining us today, on Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

Marcus Ericsson:

Thank you.

Bruce Martin:

And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental.

We want to thank our guest, Penske Corporation president, Bud Denker; 2021 NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing; and Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing for joining us on today's podcast.

Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests helped make Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, your path to victory lane for all things IndyCar.

And because of our guest and listeners, Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental, is proud to be the winner of The Best Podcast by the National Motorsports Press Association.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at Twitter @BruceMartin (one-word, uppercase B, uppercase M) _500.

This has been a production of Evergreen Podcasts. A special thanks to our production team. Executive producers are Brigid Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcasts.com.

Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.