“Racing Day” at the Detroit Auto Show with drivers Josef Newgarden and David Malukas, Penske Corporation President Bud Denker and Michael Montri

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 SportsTicker, Sports Illustrated, AutoWeek and SpeedSport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to this bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy as we begin our fifth season of giving IndyCar fans an inside look at the most exciting form of racing on the planet, the NTT IndyCar Series. One of the biggest events in the automotive industry that kicks off the new year is the Detroit Auto Show. It's when the automotive world comes to North America's Motor City of Detroit as the latest models and innovations are showcased at Detroit's Huntington Place, previously known as Cobo Hall. Pit Pass Indy was at this year's Detroit Auto Show for a racing day and has some great interviews with some big names from the NTT IndyCar Series. Two-time defending and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden joins Pit Pass Indy for the second time this week. On the regular episode of Pit Pass Indy earlier this week, we spoke to Newgarden when he was awarded his second straight Baby Borg trophy for winning the 108th Indianapolis 500 in 2024. On this episode of Pit Pass Indy, New Garden tells us the importance of IndyCar at the Detroit Auto Show because it helps connect the two to the big street race at Detroit in June, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Driver David Maloukas joins Pit Pass Indy to talk about his excitement level joining AJ Foyt Racing after signing a multi-year contract with the Chevrolet IndyCar team last year. Speaking of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, the president of that event is Michael Montry, who is also the vice president of promoter relations for IndyCar. He joins PitPass Indy to tell us about the big plans for 2025 for Detroit, the Hy-Vee IndyCar race weekend at Iowa Speedway, and the IndyCar Series. We wrap up this bonus edition of Pit Pass Indy with an in-depth interview with Penske Corporation President Bud Denker, so be sure to stay tuned for that. First up is this exclusive interview with Team Penske Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden from Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show for Pit Pass Indy. I'm gonna double dip here on my next guest. We've already had him earlier on Pit Pass Indy, but it's two-time and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winning driver Josef Newgarden. You got the baby Borg last night at the Henry Ford, but today we're at the Detroit Auto Show at Huntington Place, which used to be Cobo Hall. This is a big event that not only kicks off the year for the automotive industry, but the relationship that Penske Corporation has with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. How important is this for you to be a part of?

JOSEF:

It's great, I love seeing the health of the show. It's a really impressive display for a lot of these manufacturers. And having Racing Day seems quite fitting, to be honest with you. When you're here at an event like this in Detroit, we should be tying it into the motorsport industry and what we do with manufacturers like Chevrolet and our competitor, Honda, and competing in IndyCar. And obviously the Detroit GP is a big event for us when we come to town here. So it's great to have Racing Day talk about our motorsport culture and how it ties into the manufacturers, but also just get ready for the Detroit GP, at least make people aware, you know, that we're going to be coming here after the Indy 500. So, yeah, we're having fun. I'm going to drive some E-Rays with Malukas here today. He's with me and should have a good time.

BRUCE:

And not only that, in past years, we'd come to the Detroit Auto Show and we would talk about the race being up at Belle Isle, which is probably about five to seven miles north of here. But if you look out certain areas of Huntington Place, you see the actual race course that the current Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix is on in downtown Detroit. So just how cool is that to really be right in the heart of the city?

JOSEF:

Yeah, location wise is awesome. You know, it was a really it was a great change for us. I mean, I loved Belle Isle. It was one of my favorite tracks that we used to go to, but it was it was difficult to, you know, migrate every everybody on to the course and to figure that logistics part out. I think being downtown here is just very easy access for everybody. You know, the backdrop is beautiful. Certainly with, you know, I think Detroit has only gotten more pretty over the last 12 years I've been here. It's, you know, it's fun to be downtown. It's exciting and energizing. And so to have the event so close in proximity to people and the businesses is really great. They've laid it out in a good way where nothing really has to be closed down. A lot of people can just show up. I mean, I think 50% of the tracks still viewable for free for the public. So you can get a premium seat or you can just find a spot that's free to go to and it's, you know, it's a great event for everybody. So, you know, Detroit GP for us is a home race. It's one I wanna try and win again in the future. Hopefully this year we'll have a good shot at it.

BRUCE:

Almost every race driver I've ever known is at its root a car guy. And this is the event for car guys. You see the latest, greatest cars that are going to be released by all the manufacturers. What have you seen so far that has really said, man, I'd love to have that car?

JOSEF:

It's definitely the ZR1 for me. That's next on my list. So I saw it in person today for the first time. I'd seen, you know, images online and I hadn't seen it in real life. And it's impressive what, you know, Chevrolet and what they've done with the Corvette brand. And, you know, I'm excited for not only that ZR1 but what's coming next more so.

BRUCE:

Is it also impressive that the automotive industry has not only gotten electrification improved, but the hybrid part is even better? You can drive a car a long way these days without having to stop for fuel. And plus you have on a hybrid the ability to use both electric and internal combustion engine. Just the constant advancement and evolution that the automotive industry is able to do with its products. And how in some ways, auto racing is a stage for that advancement.

JOSEF:

Well, it is. That's what it's always been, right? You know, you look at the Indianapolis 500. It was built off, you know, innovation and display. You know, it was obviously it's an event, you know, people want to see humans competing at a high level and pushing themselves. But you're also, you know, putting the automotive industry on display and what is possible. And it's about that innovation every single year. I think we're going to be innovating here in the near future with IndyCar. We've gone to a hybrid system ourselves that will continually evolve. And you see it in the commercial industry right now. When you're buying a vehicle, I think hybrid has really become that bridge strategy. People want to have the flexibility of both. You're seeing it on display here at the show. And I think you're going to only see more development of that in motorsport and trying to push the boundaries of it so that we can make it even you know, more fantastic for the consumer.

BRUCE:

So we're doing this interview in mid-January. You live in Nashville. How much time have you spent at the shop in Mooresville? And there's also a big two-day test coming up at Sebring two days after the Daytona 500 is over with in February.

JOSEF:

Yeah, I'm going to be spending a lot more time in the near future there. I've already been there this month a couple times, trying to get ready for some new equipment. I mean, if you look, the steering wheels are going to take a big change going into 2025, so we've been working on that and fitment. I'm trying to make sure that every other little detail, just small things. I've been doing this for 13 years, and every year you go back and look and say, all right, did we get this right, or do we want to change this, or how's my foot hitting the brake pedal? I mean, little things that, yeah, I've done it over and over again, but can I make it a little bit better? And so we've looked at all these little fitment issues around the car and been on the simulator quite a bit. This test in Sebring's going to be, Really our only time before St. Pete to test in reality. And then we'll be testing a little bit more as the season kicks off. So I like that. It's a slow build for the season, but as soon as the season hits, we're going to be flat out. I mean, it's just the way it works, you know, kind of it's a slow build. And when it builds, it it's intense all the way to the finish.

BRUCE:

A new car is on the drawing board. It's under development. You've probably had a little bit of input into it. How fine is the line between having a really futuristic looking car for the next generation while maintaining the ability to put on great racing like the current package currently has? Well, you can't have everything.

JOSEF:

You know, I think people really need to understand that you can't go say there's got to be a balance. You can't go so far where you have this, you know, crazy, radically different IndyCar and it, you know, it screams that, but it doesn't do everything else that you want. I think you're going to, you're going to get an evolution of the IndyCar. It's still going to look like a traditional IndyCar. It needs to, you know, it needs to look. kind of, you know, rooted in DNA of what you would expect from an open-world race car. But it will be evolved. You know, it's certainly going to look futuristic. But it needs to also maintain all these great qualities. You've got to be able to race well. And to do that takes a lot of things. The car can't be too heavy. You know, the aero platform has to be stable. You know, it's got to look after the tires correctly and have that right balance. And certainly we want to see, you know, a good level of horsepower that separates the, you know, the good from the great. So it's... You can't get all of this stuff, you know, perfectly. And I think they're working on getting the balance right. And so far what I've seen, I think they're headed in the right direction. I think they're going to make a great car.

BRUCE:

Well, we experienced what a dramatic leap looked like during the competitive Aero Kit era. where Chevrolet had a better aero kit than Honda, and it pretty much split the racing in half. Certainly don't want to go back to that. So, like you said, the concern with that is to still make it an exciting show. But obviously, first time out of the box, there'll probably be a little bit of change, some dramatic change.

JOSEF:

Of course, yeah. I mean, look, whenever you introduce a new car, I think typically you're going to find people that do their homework fast and figure it out quickly and others that might take a little bit more time. I don't know. It's hard to say now that it's so competitive. Everyone seems to be pretty good at problem solving and figuring out these solutions for each weekend. Maybe everyone figures it out pretty quick together. We're all going to learn that in 2027, but I do think change is always fun. It's going to be exciting for us to have a new car and something to work on.

BRUCE:

And then the number one thing that most of the drivers have said that they want to see with the new car is to make it lighter, redo the weight where it's located because the cars are heavier now because of the addition of the aero kit and the hybrid assist unit. Would you say that as well as safety are the number one aspects of the new car?

JOSEF:

Yeah, I think it hits. It hits both things. Look, the weight is one of the most critical items engineering-wise they've got to work on. It's also the most difficult. You can't just make the car lighter just because you want to. It costs a lot of money, and every little bit just gets more difficult and more expensive. But the lighter you get the car, the better balance you'll have, the easier it is on the tires, the better you can get the tires in an operating window that's going to work well for racing. and it helps safety. You know, you're reducing inertia on impact, all these sort of things. So I think that's very high on the ingredient list to get right.

BRUCE:

Well, Team Penske star Josef Newgarden, two-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver, back-to-back, as a matter of fact. Enjoy the rest of your time here at the Detroit Auto Show. We'll see you later down the road, and thank you for joining us again on Pit Pass Indy. Thanks, Bruce. David Maloukas has some high hopes in his first season with AJ Foyt Racing in 2025, as he tells us in this exclusive Pit Pass Indy interview. Joining us now on Pit Pass Indy is Lil Dave, David Maloukas. He's getting big Dave now. I'm getting the mustache now, you know? That's right, and he's driving for AJ Foyt Racing this year, who happened to celebrate his 90th birthday. I know. So we have one of IndyCar's youngest drivers driving for one of I believe he's IndyCar's oldest team owner, but he's also a hero. He's an historic legend. And what's it like to have the honor of driving for A.J. Foyt?

DAVID:

I mean, are you kidding me? A.J. Foyt, seeing my name next to that name, it's just it's incredible. He was a big inspiration for me growing up as a kid. And so now being a part of it and seeing him and meeting him, it's just everything I would have dreamed it to be. And I definitely had some celebrity moments. I mean, you've heard of me talking at Content Day. It was it was tough, but we're getting comfortable now. He's treating me like one of his other drivers. So I'm having a good time.

BRUCE:

A year ago at this time, in January, you were all excited and upbeat to begin your first season with Errol McLaren Racing. Unfortunately, I believe it was February 3rd or February 4th where you were snowboarding.

DAVID:

I think it was like the week after. 13th, maybe.

BRUCE:

Yes, but we had surgery the week after, but you fractured your wrist and that really set the whole thing behind. And you eventually ended up not being able to race for Errol McLaren at all. Just how do you even begin to describe the disappointment and devastation because you've got what seems like this great ride for your career ride, and then all of a sudden it goes away.

DAVID:

Yeah, I mean, it was it was super unfortunate. I mean, looking back, though, I don't want to also always keep looking at all the downs because I really need to look at the positives. I think from what it did for me as a driver in and out of the car, I matured a lot. I mean, I'm still 23. I definitely make a lot of mistakes for sure. This is the time to do it. Take those risks and do it. But I learned so much, and I don't think I would be able to be the driver that I am today from it. Going into that 2024 season, the chance that Meyers Schenck gave me, that was incredible. And I don't think I've ever wanted to prove myself and drive as hard as I did. And it's just given me a drive that I don't think I had before. So I'm very excited. I've been doing nothing but getting ready for this 2025 season. And I think being with AJ Foy Racing, it's the perfect setup, especially with the results they've been having recently. So I think we're going to be surprising a lot of people.

BRUCE:

The Meyer Schenck ride really did help salvage 2024. A lot of us pretty much had you pegged to maybe stay in that car, but then all of a sudden this opportunity with AJ Foyt Racing, as you told Michael, it was an opportunity, it was too good for you to pass up. What was it about the opportunity that made it too good to pass up?

DAVID:

Well, I mean, if you look at where their cars have been recently, especially with the Indy 500, I mean, those cars have been insane. Of course, everybody wants to win that championship. It's very important. But that 500, oh boy, that is a childhood dream. And to be in that car is where I want to be. But the team wanted me from the start. I mean, and I take a lot of respect into that. They really wanted me going into the discussions. So, I mean, for me, it was a no-brainer.

BRUCE:

Also, they share an engineering relationship with Team Penske. That has to be a valuable thing to consider also.

DAVID:

Yeah, of course. The alliance has definitely supported it, I think, from both sides. So, I mean, for sure, always having that alliance is good. But yeah, very excited.

BRUCE:

Now, of course, if you listen to the rumor mill, you're basically being groomed to one day, perhaps, be considered to drive for Team Penske. Is that a goal of yours?

DAVID:

I mean, for everybody, I think that would be very cool. I mean, rumors are rumors at this point. Right now, I signed multi-year with AJ Foyt, so I'm very excited to be a part of that team.

BRUCE:

And also, just the fact that it's one of the most historic teams in IndyCar history, how much does that history really mean to you?

DAVID:

I mean, it means a lot. Like I said, with AJ, I mean, coming into it, having And for me, I think bringing in that Gen Z audience, I also think it's a really good way from a media perspective to kind of combine the two. Having that big history with that team and starting to bring in this new generation to carry it on. And they've had their little bit of a period, but it seems that they're on their up. And to be a part of that and hopefully get another win on that AJ name, that would be, man, that would be a dream of mine.

BRUCE:

Your teammates with Santino Ferrucci, who's proven what he can do on the racetrack. He's also another guy with an extremely likable personality, the fact that the two of you really seem to coexist very well.

DAVID:

Just how do you see that relationship? It's going to be great. I think on and off the track, we're having a really good time. We've already done some similar with each other and actually going into into the ovals. I'm excited. You know, he's been very strong. I feel like we can really connect on that. And looking at a couple of the data points, we have some comparisons and some things to share. So we're going to be we're going to be a good duo into 2025.

BRUCE:

How much more careful are you these days with what you do off track?

DAVID:

Oh boy, I've done a lot of relaxing, nothing, just getting ready, going to the gym, making sure that everything's set. I've actually been doing also a little bit of PT, making sure that this hand has some maneuverability. I kind of had to put a lot of that on pause, getting the Meyer Schenck deal, so finish that up, and I've just been sitting at home and just enjoying my time. Like I said, I've matured off the track as well.

BRUCE:

But you did go on a zip line, if you could describe that to our listeners.

DAVID:

Oh, yeah, I know, right? Zip line, that sounds crazy. Yeah, I went on a kid-friendly zip line with my nephews. That was probably a drop of two. I mean, I had to lift my knees, which I saw it a good time. It was good connecting my family for Christmas time and seeing the kids. And it was awesome.

BRUCE:

Well, David Maloukas, good luck this year driving for AJ Foyt Racing. We'll catch up down the road some more often since, you know, we're at every race. But anyway, good luck in 2025. Thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

DAVID:

Thank you very much. I'm going to go to enjoy this auto show and go Chevy.

BRUCE:

We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Michael Montry is a longtime member of Roger Penske's senior management team at the Penske Corporation. He is also the president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and IndyCar's vice president of promoter relations. Detroit is the home of the Penske Corporation, and the Detroit Auto Show is a major event for the American automotive industry. Montrey joins me for this exclusive and informative interview for Pit Pass Indy from Racing Day at the Detroit Auto Show. It may be mid-January, but it's never too early to get ready for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. And our guest right now is the president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, Michael Montry. We're here at the Detroit Auto Show. It's racing day at the auto show. Got to be an exciting time after the holidays are over for you because you know it's really time to get things going and prepare for yet another festival on the streets of Detroit.

MICHAEL:

Yeah, to see the auto show in Detroit back in its rightful place in January for the first time since 2019, it really provides us a great springboard to start the promotion for our event. at the end of May and in June this year. So we're thrilled that it's back in January. We've collaborated with the auto show this year in a big way and it's turning out great so far.

BRUCE:

There was a plan at one time to move the auto show to June right after the Detroit Grand Prix. Whatever became of that and why did they decide to keep it in January? Which frankly, I like it being in January because it's a time of the year where you're anxious to go somewhere and see something.

MICHAEL:

Yeah, well, the short answer is COVID. But the longer answer is that we had a ton of really exciting plans for June of 2020. And it was, as you mentioned, Bruce, going to be the week after the Grand Prix. We were going to leave part of our track up for a time. And they were going to have these ride and drives that you see inside now, outside, around the city of Detroit. And there were a ton of really exciting plans. COVID happened. And then they never ran it in June. They moved it to September. And September in Michigan is a tough month. There's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of stuff competing with eyeballs and attendance in September here. And we're just excited that it's back in January.

BRUCE:

January used to be a downtime in Detroit, but now you still have competition for the Detroit Auto Show with the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. What's it like to be able to now have another winning team in Detroit and frankly, more competition?

MICHAEL:

Yeah, so I grew up in the Detroit area. I've been a Lions fan since I was little. They've never been good in my entire lifetime. But it's a football city. It's a stick and ball sports city, particularly football. There is no other sport, even in Detroit, where you go through 50 years of the desert and every game is still sold out. I mean, even in the Owen 16 season, it took until, you know, almost the very end until people didn't show up for the games. They sell out Ford field every time they have a game, regardless of their record. So I knew that if they were ever good, this city was going to go nuts. And I'm standing here right now, Bruce looking around. And I think I see about half a dozen, and there's only maybe 20 people around us, but half a dozen lion shirts and sweatshirts. So the city's going crazy.

BRUCE:

How valuable is the relationship between the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and the Detroit Auto Show? How valuable is that for your event?

MICHAEL:

It's great, and the collaboration we've always had with the auto show is huge. We've always had a display here. These are our folks. These are car fans. These are racing fans that come out to this event every year. This year, we're actually gonna collaborate with the Detroit Auto Show during the Grand Prix in the summer as well. We just announced this morning that we're gonna have a cruise night presented by the Detroit Auto Show on Friday night of the Grand Prix. So people are gonna be able to register in advance, bring their cars down, park them on the racetrack right along Jefferson Avenue, which is the big, long, almost mile-long straightaway, and have a car show right on Jefferson on Friday night.

BRUCE:

I've been coming to the Detroit Auto Show for quite a few years now, and it seems like there's more interactive displays. There are several full-course tracks inside the Huntington Place Convention Center. It used to be Kobo Hall. How important is that to upgrade the experience so that people can actually experience riding in these cars on a track.

MICHAEL:

It's very, very important. People don't like to just come in and see, as they call it in this industry, cars on carpet, right? They want to see, they want to experience, they want to touch, and they want to ride. And these three tracks that are of varying degrees, some of them are flat, some of them have makeshift mountains for the off-road cars, some of them have EV acceleration lanes, they give consumers a really great taste of what those cars are all about and it helps in their buying decisions. That's what the auto show is at its core. You want to help the consumers with their buying decisions so they can come to one place, experience all the cars, and then pick out which one they want.

BRUCE:

How much have you seen the move back to downtown Detroit benefit the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix give it a big event buzz that it may not necessarily have had when it was at Belle Isle.

MICHAEL:

This city increasingly is great at big events. Detroit Grand Prix obviously on an annual basis, but if you look at the NFL draft that was held downtown in April of this past year, 24, it was a record-setting attendance for the NFL in all of their drafts. So to have the Detroit Grand Prix downtown every year with that big event feel, as you mentioned, it's brought a whole new buzz to our event and a whole new audience, quite honestly. You can now come downtown, you can experience the event, our race, you can walk, get a bite to eat that's not inside the venue. We have a very unique footprint in downtown. It's different than any other race or any other really sporting event you've been to. You can watch the racetrack and watch the cars and experience the race and the event without buying a ticket. You can get up right close. So it's not until you go into the paddock area, it's not until you go into the grandstand area where you actually need a ticket. So we've tried to accommodate as many folks as we can from the community. as many folks as we can from the city to come in and really experience our sport without any ticket commitment. Now, our diehard fans love the seats that we have. We have really great access to grandstands. Our corporate suite area is, in my opinion, outdoes almost every other suite on the circuit. So we have the amenities if you want them. But if you just are new to the sport and you want to experience what it's like and get that big event feel, that it takes place all throughout downtown during our weekend.

BRUCE:

In addition to being president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, you're also president of the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa. You're also involved with the race, the Milwaukee Mile. In 2026, I imagine you'll be involved with the Grand Prix of Arlington. You're also the vice president of partner relations at IndyCar. Plus, you work for the Penske Corporation. So when do you ever have any time to yourself?

MICHAEL:

Not very often. You know, look, you're not successful, in my opinion, at a role or a job unless you really love what you're doing. And I love what I'm doing. I think you can say that pretty much across the board at Penske, that everyone loves what they're doing. Everybody loves working for the company. And it's fun. You gotta have fun.

BRUCE:

Things may be a little bit different this year regarding Hy-Vee. Randy Edeker is retired. A little bit of a scale back going on with the company in terms of their promotion and activation of IndyCar. They're still going to be highly involved in Iowa, but what are some of the changes that we should expect to see regarding Hy-Vee's involvement with the Iowa race?

MICHAEL:

Well, you got to remember that Hy-Vee's job, Hy-Vee's company, they're a grocer, right? And they're a great grocer, a big grocer, but they're really a grocer. They're not event promoters. And so you'll see the Iowa Speedway much more in a traditional setup. All of the temporary of bleachers and temporary suite structures that Hy-Vee constructed for their partners, they're going to scale back and they're going to utilize the permanent facilities that are already there. So you'll just see it look like, you know, I don't want to say every other race at Iowa Speedway because it'll still look great, but, and not that they don't at Iowa Speedway, but But there'll be some changes there. If you've tuned in the last couple years and seen the giant structures, those won't be there. But Hy-Vee is still very much present. They're still very much helping us, and we're happy to have them.

BRUCE:

But in some ways, the fans that have attended the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway have this elevated sense of expectations that Hy-Vee created, that Penske Entertainment created. And now to come and see it scaled back a little bit. Will there be perhaps a little bit of disappointment there from the fans?

MICHAEL:

No, I don't think so. I mean, we we we will communicate exactly what the event will look like at the appropriate time. We're still talking to Hy-Vee and figuring out exactly what it's going to look like. and we will make sure, and tickets aren't on sale yet, right? So before any of that happens, we'll make sure that the message is on point and everybody has the right expectations there. But the most important thing I want to mention is Hy-Vee, very much like the IndyCar series, is all about customer service at their stores. And you will get, at least equal customer service as you've gotten in the past and maybe in some ways even better because we'll have a little more leeway in certain areas to cater to the fan rather than a big corporate suite structure.

BRUCE:

Will there still be a entertainment concept for the weekend?

MICHAEL:

Absolutely. I mean, that's become a big part of Hy-Vee IndyCar Race weekend and we will still have some form of entertainment for that weekend for sure.

BRUCE:

But the purpose of getting involved with Hy-Vee in the state of Iowa and Penske Entertainment was to save Iowa Speedway and in many ways you have to believe mission accomplished. Now it's a matter of getting the race at Iowa Speedway to stand on its own. Do you feel It was a very successful effort and partnership to be able to save Iowa Speedway.

MICHAEL:

Yeah, I mean, look, NASCAR owns it. Save is, I think, you know, with all due respect, Bruce, save is a strong word. Maybe revive. We definitely revived it. I would agree with that one. Yes, for sure. Since we and Hy-Vee came back, NASCAR has now, of course, started racing there. And honestly, the amount of work that we and Hy-Vee put into getting that facility up to speed after many years of not being utilized, I do think that we did a really good job in reviving it and really making it possible for NASCAR to come in and have their event there.

BRUCE:

You added an incredibly exciting event that begins in 2026, the Grand Prix of Arlington, partnership with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. The race course is going to go around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. The excitement level of that, already expected that it can be a tent post event for IndyCar.

MICHAEL:

No doubt, and we're hard at work at making that happen. You know, Bill Miller is on point down there as the president of the joint venture between us, the Cowboys, and the Rangers, as you mentioned. Our operations folks are heavily involved. They've been down there as recently as this week with Tony Kottmann to go over more of the circuit improvements that need to be done in the roads. There's a lot of work to be done, but we're super excited to get going on it. The goal of that event is, as you mentioned, for it to be a tentpole event for the series year in, year out, and we're really looking forward to blowing it out of the water there.

BRUCE:

There's a lot of people in IndyCar, specifically Pato Award, that want to see an IndyCar race at Mexico City. You're involved with discussions of that. What can you tell us?

MICHAEL:

We're working on it, for sure. Obviously, it's an initiative of ours to get down there, particularly while Pato's in our series and while he's so popular and his popularity is growing. It's great to have him in the series, and we're working on it. You know, I'd like to tell you that, you know, it's a done deal and we're going to race there as soon as next year, but I can't say that right now. But we're working on it very, very aggressively, let's say.

BRUCE:

Well, a lot of people need to understand it's just not quite as easy to say we're going to race in this city and helicopter in and put on a race. You've got to have partners, you've got to have promoters, you've got to have everything in place. and you have to have a financial deal that makes sense. And is those the challenges that you're facing right now?

MICHAEL:

Yeah, I think we have a framework of all those things that you mentioned, Bruce. I think we have identified a potential promoter down there that we're in discussions with. We've spoken with the owner and the operator, I should say, of the track. There's a lot of discussions happening. I think we're in a good place and we'll continue to move forward and push forward to try to get it all finalized.

BRUCE:

And even though you're in charge of partner promotions and relations, which generally involve the tracks, but major partners joining IndyCar in 2025, Fox, and just how important is that relationship? Because they really look like they haven't dove headfirst into IndyCar. They've pretty much taken up the entire pool.

MICHAEL:

Indeed, they have. I don't know if you can properly describe the impact that they've had, even in the short amount of time they've been our partner. Forget about the fact that every one of our races is going to be on broadcast network. Forget about the fact that when you walk in a bar to see Fox Sports 1 televising an Indy Next Race or a qualifying session at night, that you're going to see IndyCar on TVs for the first time in a long time. Take all that stuff aside, just look at what they're doing to help us make our athletes stars and what they did with this latest commercial that they released last weekend during the NFL game, the playoff game with Josef Newgarden. There's two more coming. I think that speaks volumes to the commitment to the series. They're looking to raise the series to benefit us and them and we are all in.

BRUCE:

And finally, wrapping up here with Michael Montry. As I said earlier, January, New Year started just a couple of weeks ago. I always looked at the Detroit Auto Show as really the first big kickoff of the year. Events like that have to be valuable, not only for the automotive industry, but for the racing industry.

MICHAEL:

No doubt, I mean, it was 2017, I think, maybe 18, when IndyCar, this is before Penske Entertainment owned IndyCar, but they unveiled the latest iteration of the aero screen here at the auto show. It's a hugely important show, not just for Detroit, but also for the auto industry and the racing industry, so I agree with you absolutely.

BRUCE:

Michael Montry, IndyCar vice president, partner relations, and also the president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Good luck in 2025. We'll be chatting often. 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. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. Bud Denker is the president of the Penske Corporation and one of Roger Penske's most trusted advisors. In addition to running one of the most successful business operations in the world, Denker is also in charge of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and a major force at IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Danker is always busy, but he took time out to give Pit Pass Indy this exclusive interview from racing day at the Detroit Auto Show. Joining us now is Penske Corporation President Bud Denker. Bud, we're at the Detroit Auto Show. It's racing day here at the Detroit Auto Show. And of course, the highlight of that is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, of which you're the promoter. How big a day is this and how important is it to combine the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with the Detroit Auto Show?

BUD:

Well you know the auto show in Detroit has been a huge event for this city and frankly for the automotive industry for so many decades and last year they didn't have it at all. It was not part of our scene in Detroit and this year they brought it back to the January date which makes so much sense. Our city needs these kind of activities in January. It brings people back to the hotels, media back to our city in a time when usually the hotels are empty. And they asked us this year to be a partner with them, to add some excitement to the auto show in a way that they've developed a track where actually the drivers are driving. Josef Newgarden, David Maloukas, Miles Rowe. on our designed racetrack inside the convention center here. They're here signing autographs and meeting with people, but also a beautiful display that includes some IndyCars, some of our Porsches, Team Penske cars as well. IndyNex is represented here as well too. So the tie-in here this time of year, and they'll get hundreds of thousands of people will come through this convention center this week and a half. And that is important for the Grand Prix. It's also important for the auto show to have these kind of events like today is racing day. We're 133 days from the Grand Prix. It's about 25 degrees outside and people are thinking about 133 days from now when it's going to be 75 degrees.

BRUCE:

The other cool part about the evolution of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, it's back on the streets of downtown Detroit. And when you enter Huntington Place, which used to be known as Cobo Hall, you look out the window and you're seeing what will be part of the race course. You're seeing Jefferson Avenue and also the GM Center. It really does bring into perspective that this is where all the action will be for your race in June.

BUD:

Yeah, about a thousand yards outside. What's now Huntington Place, but as you said, used to be Coble Hall, is our racetrack, right? Turn three, the hairpin turn on Jefferson Avenue, where cars are coming down Jefferson Avenue at 185, 190 mile an hour, making that hairpin turn. It's right in front of us here. This is along the riverfront of Detroit, our beautiful riverfront. It means so much now to be back down in the city of Detroit. Belle Isle was great, but it also means so much now, too, because remember, GM just announced Their headquarters is going to remain in downtown Detroit at a new location that opens up this coming July, right downtown. So having General Motors downtown, having our race downtown, having the auto show here downtown, just makes so much sense. The common ingredient in all those words is downtown. And our downtown has seen a metamorphosis of change over the last decade.

BRUCE:

I remember coming to the Detroit Auto Show maybe 10 years ago, and back then it was cars on the carpet. Every new car display was on the carpeted floor. It was your basic traditional auto show. Now you've got interactive race courses on the track with real cars driving on them. It's not a simulator, it's the actual cars on designed race courses. How important is that interactive aspect to the clientele that you have in 2025?

BUD:

Your point's a very good one. Any auto show you went to, even pre-COVID, was a pretty static environment, meaning you walked around, looked at a car that was just sitting there, right? Maybe you got inside of it, you didn't turn it on, you didn't put the windows down, you didn't drive it at all. Now, it's changed. The OEMs have changed, obviously, the way they're deploying their new designs and new cars and features at various events. CES, it could be Moab, it could be anywhere else. So there's very few of these left in the country and Detroit is one of the mainstays because we are the automobile capital of the world. So if you come down here now, as you said, Bruce, you're going to see a very different environment. You can touch the cars. You could do that before, but you couldn't get inside and go for a ride. You can do that now inside a Cobo Hall or inside Huntington Place now. Electric cars, hybrid cars. Josef Newgarden and David Maloukas are driving people around in the Corvette, you know, hybrid Z-Ray today. So that is the element that's changed in terms of the interaction between the consumer and the vehicle is very different than it was 10 years ago.

BRUCE:

Every auto manufacturer that does business in North America is at the Detroit Auto Show. IndyCar business is very, very, very good at IndyCar these days, but how far are we away and how much interest have you sensed of just trying to get one or two more of those engine manufacturers to sign up and be an engine manufacturer with IndyCar?

BUD:

Yeah, it's a critical objective that we have. When I say we, that's Roger, myself, Mark Miles, Dave Fry, and others. And with the new 2027, 2028 launch of the new engine and new car, that is the cycle time by which we're going to bring in new OEMs. It'll be a different model than you've seen before in terms of the OEM powertrains that we're talking about with the new hybrid system. The engine obviously was a bit different as well. The chassis is totally different from Dallara. So our timeframe now is that to get one or two More OEMs into the IndyCar and 2027 is our objective. It's a key objective. You know, you think back two years ago, our objective was what? It was to get a network partner aligned, right? We had NBC for a number of years. Look what's happened with Fox already. The momentum of Fox is incredible. That's done. Check that box. We needed to get the right markets under us. Dallas, Texas was a key market. Arlington, check that box. Long Beach, we bought Long Beach now. Check that box. That's stable. That's in our portfolio. Detroit, downtown, obviously. Nashville. Good events, good markets. What's critical now is the next OEM partner.

BRUCE:

How much interest have they displayed to being part of that? How many would you say are really close?

BUD:

Yeah, I think we've got, there's two in particular that we think are very viable. Can't get any more details than just that. But the fact is, that's ongoing dialogue. In fact, our good partners at Chevy and Honda as well have also volunteered to them. to even talk to the new OEM partners, to tell them about the series, tell them about the cost, tell them about the challenges they may face as a new OEM partner. So it just shows you the willingness of our current partners to want more OEMs in the space as well too, and that's pretty encouraging.

BRUCE:

If you go back 12 months, IndyCar was in the middle of what, at that time, between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. I don't know any other way to describe it, but it was a tumultuous off-season. There had been the delay in the hybrid. There had been the imminent movement of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix from the streets of Nashville out to Nashville Super Speedway on the Oval. which put on a really good race, but it wasn't really in the heart of the action like that event was designed to be. There were a lot of obstacles that IndyCar was facing at that moment. The fact that the video game was being delayed. I would say 2025, 12 months later, is much more upbeat than it was a year ago.

BUD:

Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's upbeat. I would say there's always white water, as I call it. and you're always going to have choppy seas in any environment, whether it be racing or business, that never goes away. However, the choppiness of our seas has really dwelled down into a much more clear way going from 24 to 25. As you said, the key opportunities, as I mentioned, regarding locations for events, working with our TV partner now, which is, of course, Fox, 17 network races. I would say the other thing is, if you talk to any driver after content days, and Bruce, you were there at the content days, you talk to any driver and they'll tell you it is a sea change from what it was yesterday to what it is today with Fox. We can't underestimate the power of 17 races on network TV. Think back to last year. How many times did we get put on CNBC? For whatever reason, we had a situation with Trump at one time, if you remember the shooting. We were in Iowa, we had a situation for a rain delay here or there. We're not going to have this situation with Fox anymore. We're on Fox Network for 17 races. But the investment they're making right now with Josef Newgarden's spot that was shown to 39.9 million people during the Packers-Eagles game, the spot we're going to see with Alex Pillow and with Pato Award, which is coming, is all the power of Fox using their muscle across their diverse empire of sports, football and now IndyCar. So, wait till you see Indy. Wait till you see Fox's idea for Indy 500. It's going to blow you away even more. So, as you said, there's the tumultuous nature of what occurred a year ago is very different than today. It's very purposeful because our team has done a hell of a lot of work to get us to where we are today.

BRUCE:

Did going through that adversity make the team stronger?

BUD:

I'd say you always learn, right? You know, you never want to have situations that disappoint people, right? And let people down. And, you know, letting ourselves down, right, with these changes that occurred. Some that were totally, you know, out of our control. The Nashville piece was one of those, right? The different change in administration. different change in terms of what the Nissan Stadium was going to do regarding their construction. We had no control over that one. But the good news about it is we pivoted. With Scott Broschetta, we pivoted and still had a great event in Nashville, a very important market that we want to be in. We've got to be in that marketplace. We plan to be in that marketplace. So you pivot, you move on, and look what happened with the hybrid. Yes, we had to wait and delay it. We delayed it to mid-season, which people thought we were crazy to do. but look at the outcome of it, a very successful launch and a very successful outcome for the whole year of hybrid.

BRUCE:

A new car is on its way, how difficult is it to balance being evolutionary, futuristic, while maintaining the outstanding ability to put on a great show on the racetrack?

BUD:

Yeah, you've got a great question there because you can go out and put a crazy looking car together and if it doesn't compete on the racetrack, What's, what good is it? You know, we call it form versus function, right? Function versus form. And yeah, you want, we're going to have changes to the new car. People are going to love to see what our changes are, but at the same time, you got to be sure that you're not disturbing the competitiveness of the racing. You know, for instance, can people behind you, get up on you and pass in your wake. What's the under tray going to look like? What are the wings going to look like to have competitive racing? So the good news is our partner in Dallara is providing us a lot of that CFD and wind tunnel analysis now to be sure our car forms with function, but at the same time have changes that are enough noticeable to make the car more dynamic. Remember, our car is 15 years old, right? So we're due for a change and people are going to see that change in a couple of years.

BRUCE:

The 109th Indianapolis 500 will once again be coming up in Memorial Day weekend. I've been told by many, including Mr. Penske and also Doug Bowles and Mark Miles, ticket sales are far ahead of where they were at this point last year. What can you tell us about that? And do you expect it's going to be a sellout this year?

BUD:

Well, you know, it would have been a solid last year, but for one fact, it was the week leading into our race. Remember, it was the forecast were Armageddon, right? And when the forecast in your marketplace in Indiana are saying rain, rain, rain, it keeps people away. Had it not been for that last year, we're confident we would have had a sellout last year because our sales were up, up, up, up, up until the very last week. And then they were, they were down the last week, last week being very important. So the fact that we're up this year over last year when we had, you know, 300,000 plus people, the fact of whatever, you can't control the weather. What we can control is our promotions and the activities we're doing around the marketplace. I hope we're at a sellout. Don't know it until obviously we get there with the factors that we can control. But the good news is the momentum continues for the Indianapolis 500. Our suites are sold out. We have a huge waiting list for people to get into our suites. Our ticket sales are up a very decent percentage, as they are even for the Detroit Grand Prix going into Detroit this year. When tickets went on sales today, our pre-sales were way up. I was talking to Jim McCallion, who's now part of our portfolio. And his ticket sales for Long Beach are double digit over last year, when last year was his biggest crowd in decades. So look for a lot of that, those two words, sellout, hopefully to be occurring across our series here with our momentum this year.

BRUCE:

Hy-Vee was a very important partner of the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway. It grew into a very impressive partnership with other IndyCar Series events. Randy Edeker, of course, has retired as the chairman of Hy-Vee, and they're scaling back a little bit. The Iowa race will still be a major race on the schedule. What will be different this year than what we've seen in the past?

BUD:

Yeah, I think that if you were there at the track, you saw a tremendous amount of infrastructure that they built for their employees and their partners. You saw a tremendous expense relatively spent on entertainment. We are so grateful for Hy-Vee for developing this Lollapalooza type of event in the middle of Iowa and Newton, Iowa. So they have created a lot of new attention to our sport, new people that would never have gone to a race before that thought, wow, I'm going to go to a concert. But that racing is pretty cool. So we've attracted a lot of new people that are now part of our sport, which is what the whole goal was in the first place of having a race in Iowa, was to inspire people to come out to this track. Not easy to get to, you know, 40 miles outside of Des Moines. So you're going to see differences in terms of the still going to be entertainment, but the entertainment may not be at the levels that we saw before when these crazy numbers that we had there. You're going to see two great races again. You may see the races are a little bit longer this year because our window for TV is a little bit longer. than 250 laps. So that's being worked on with Jay Fry and his team. And then you're going to see, obviously, Hy-Vee look a bit different there at the site than they have. Hy-Vee's still going to be involved. The look will be a bit different, but the excitement will remain as it has been.

BRUCE:

But in 2021, when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Randy Edeker of Hy-Vee and Roger Penske announced that they were there to save Iowa Speedway, revive Iowa Speedway, Hy-Vee was a key partner in that. You guys have succeeded in reviving Iowa Speedway. So now is it a matter that this is how when racing will allow it to stand on its own?

BUD:

I wouldn't say racing will stand on its own. Racing will still be there along with entertainment. I think the entertainment piece has become accepted to people to say it's a key element of it. So you're still going to see the element of entertainment, but you're going to see racing. So it's not going to stand on its own. It's going to complement each other as it has been. I don't want to just cut it off cold turkey to say there's no more entertainment because people enjoyed the combination of entertainment and racing. We saw that, right? It looked fantastic. And once again, remember, this is Newton, Iowa. Not the easiest place to fill stands, right? So, no, we're happy to be there. It's a doubleheader again in 2025. Very important part of our schedule. And Hy-Vee's still engaged. We're blessed with them. Been a great partner of ours and has really brought a lot of excitement to the Iowa Speedway.

BRUCE:

2026, the addition of the Grand Prix of Arlington, IndyCars in partnership with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, a tremendous street course that's going to run around AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field. Your partners are Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers. That has a chance to be what's known as a tentpole event on the schedule. And how excited are you, even though that race won't be on the schedule 2026, how excited are you over the prospects of what that event can become?

BUD:

Yeah, you rarely have the opportunity in a metropolitan marketplace to design a racetrack. You know, fortunately, Michael Montroy and I did that in Detroit. But there's not many places in the country that you can go into a city and say, we're going to bring a race to your market. We get to design our own racetrack. I call it putting our own canvas out there, our own painting on a canvas and do that. And then on top of that, have two partners, as you said, and the Dallas Cowboys with their great brand and the Texas Rangers with their great brand combine to help you make it a successful event. So we have a 2.7 mile track. Dual pit lane. We learned a lot from Detroit, didn't we, about that, how great it is. How about the cars that are going to race under the suites? I always wanted to do that. Got to do it now. I also always wanted to have race cars race under the bleachers. You might see that too. So there's a lot of new ingredients that we're bringing into that race because We're starting with a blank canvas and two great partners. So our suite sales go on sale here in the near future. Ticket sales will follow those also. But with two partners like the Cowboys and Rangers in a huge market like Dallas and Arlington, it's going to be definitely a tenfold event.

BRUCE:

And also, just tapping into each other's season ticket database has to be extremely important.

BUD:

Huge, huge, absolutely. I think this Cowboys have over 130 suites, which means 130 plus partners, right? And the Rangers have, I don't know how many as well, too. So you tie those two things together, it's gonna be an amazing weekend for racing.

BRUCE:

So you're the president of Penske Corporation, you're the president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, you're part of Roger Penske's senior leadership. It's the roar before the 24's this weekend, the Daytona 500 will be soon after that. How do you describe what it's like to be Bud Denker?

BUD:

I think the fact is is that I'm blessed to be the fact that my mentor and my best friend is Roger Penske, and the fact that I'm blessed to be part of an organization that he's developed that allows us to excel and frankly learn from him every day. So we have 74,000 people now in the company, excuse me, and every day those people are in charge of providing customers with a great experience. And we do that through our automobile dealerships, our truck leasing and rental locations, of course, around the world, our businesses, but also on the racetrack, our common thread, as Roger calls it, is racing. So I'm lucky I get to be involved in all of it. And my days are never the same because one hour you're working on automobile business, next we're working on the IndyCar series, next day you're working on a promotion going on in a marketplace. So, hey, I'm lucky what I do. I'm blessed at what I do. And I never complain as a result of that because of the man I work for.

BRUCE:

All I know is your days start very early and they end very late, so you have to be in great shape to be able to put up with that pace.

BUD:

I'm lucky to do that, but I've got a great family behind me and Roger calls it human capital. We got a great team around us that allow me to help me do what I do.

BRUCE:

And at Penske Corporation, it's always on to the next project. And here at the Detroit Auto Show, it's going to be on to the next event. So Mr. Danker, I appreciate your time. I'm going to let you go because you do have more functions that you must attend here. Good luck in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. Good luck in the Penske Corporation. And also thank you today for joining us on Pit Pass Indy.

BUD:

Thank you, Bruce. It's always great to have you with us. You've been a great partner of ours for many, many years in the IndyCar Series and look forward to many more of those years to come.

BRUCE:

Appreciate that, thank you. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass Indy. We want to thank our guests, two-time and back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, IndyCar Series driver David Maloukas of AJ Foyt Racing, Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix President Michael Montry, and Penske Corporation President Bud Denker for joining us on today's podcast. We also want to thank the Detroit Auto Show and Penske Corporation Communication Executives Merrill Kane and Edward Williams for helping Pit Pass Indy be part of the action. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests helped make Pit Pass Indy your path to victory lane in IndyCar. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.