Toronto winner Colton Herta plus NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson, Rick Mast and former NASCAR President Mike Helton at the 30th Anniversary of the Brickyard 400

ROGER:

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

BRUCE:

IndyCar fans, it's time to start your engines. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy, a production of Evergreen Podcast. I'm your host, Bruce Martin, a journalist who regularly covers the NTT IndyCar Series. Our goal at Pit Pass Indy is to give racing fans and insiders view of the exciting world of the NTT IndyCar Series in a fast-paced podcast featuring interviews with the biggest names in the sport. I bring nearly 40 years of experience covering IndyCar and NASCAR, working for such media brands as NBCSports.com, SI.com, ESPN Sports Ticker, Sports Illustrated, Auto Week and Speed Sport. So let's drop the green flag on this episode of Pit Pass Indy. Welcome to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental as we continue our fourth season of giving IndyCar fans a behind-the-scenes look at the NTT IndyCar Series and the drivers and teams that compete in the Indianapolis 500. Racing has hit the pause button for the next three weekends in both IndyCar and NASCAR, because its television partner at NBC will be covering the Olympic Games in Paris, beginning with this weekend's opening ceremonies. Pit Pass Indy won't be taking any time off, however, as the show continues to give IndyCar fans exclusive interviews with the biggest names in the series. That will continue during the Olympic break. This week's show includes an interview with Toronto IndyCar winner Colton Herta, and then we switch gears to talk to NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. PitPass Indy was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend for the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400. The inaugural Brickyard 400 was on August 6, 1994, and that proved to be one of the most important races in NASCAR history and in the history of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the home of IndyCar. Gordon won the race that day and reflects on the win that launched his career to superstardom. Also, Pit Pass Indy caught up with Rick Mast, the first pole winner for the Brickyard 400 in 1994, and with former NASCAR president Mike Helton, who played a key role in helping to bring NASCAR to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 30 years ago. But this is Pit Pass Indy and our focus is on IndyCar, so let's look back at Hurta's flawless weekend in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. During Friday's practice session, Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren had a hard crash into the tire barrier and broke his right thumb. He had successful surgery on the broken thumb in Indianapolis on July 22nd and hopes to return to action when the 2024 IndyCar Series season resumes in the Bomberito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway on August 17th. Hurta was the fastest driver in all three practice sessions, won the pole on Saturday, and led 80 laps in the 85-lap contest on the streets of Toronto for his first victory in 40 races. It was the first time in IndyCar history that the same driver led every practice session, won the pole, and the race. Here is my exclusive interview with Colton Herta, the race winner of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto for Pit Pass Indy. For the first time in 40 races, you can call our next guest, an NTT IndyCar Series winner. It's Andretti Global driver, Colton Herta, who dominated Sunday's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Colton, it was a near-perfect weekend. I guess you said the only thing you didn't lead was the second segment of qualifications. But it's not that often we have the same driver lead both practices, the warm-up, win the pole, and win the race. How unusual is that and how dominant was this victory?

COLTON:

Um, I think it, I think it shows cause it doesn't happen all the time where you get to lead all of the sessions and have, have a perfect car all weekend. Usually, you know, you're, you're fighting the car at some point during the weekend and you need to make adjustments. Um, so to have the car there all weekend is really big props to, to Nathan or Rourke and everybody at the Cambridge Honda team and Dreddy. Um, yeah, it's, it's very impressive from obviously from my point of view, but you know, from the outside point of view, I think it's, it's a cool thing.

BRUCE:

So this is your first victory after a 39 race winless streak. And when you look at all the near misses that you've had during that time, you knew that your time was going to come. Now that it's here, do you feel like there's several more victories waiting for you throughout this season?

COLTON:

Um, yeah, I mean, I, I wouldn't doubt us, um, at all. We've had, we've had good cars in a lot of places coming up. It has taken a while to get that win. Um, but you know, I think it, we've seen it in the sport where you can get a win and it can break you out into many more things. So hopefully that's the case for us.

BRUCE:

So as far as your car on the streets of Toronto, it seemed like it was a flawless effort from your standpoint. Was it just a case of the car being fast right off the truck?

COLTON:

Yeah. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. Um, like I said, like it's rare that you're fast in every single session. There's usually some sort of tuning, um, that you need to do that, that maybe you don't drop out of the top five, but you know, being quickest, it takes a lot. So the car being right there the whole time is, is super rare. And I hope that, that I can feel that feeling again. Cause it's awesome.

BRUCE:

And throughout the race, Kyle Kirkwood, your teammate at Andretti Global was in your side view mirror. Is there a certain comfort level knowing that? Because you know he's going to race you hard, but he's also going to race you fair.

COLTON:

Yeah, Kyle did a tremendous job all weekend. And I wouldn't want anybody else behind me. I know he's going to race tough, but he's not going to make any dumb decisions and he's not going to hit me. And he's a driver that definitely drives within his limits. So there's a lot of guys that I would not want behind me before him and he's probably at the top of the list there.

BRUCE:

The Toronto race course is generally known as a slippery course because of the different pavements. There's concrete, there's asphalt, there's all kinds of different track surfaces and grip levels. You said your car was perfect on all of them. How unusual is that?

COLTON:

Um, I think generally if you have good balance, it tends to make the grip at a lot of the places, but, um, you know, but to have it like that on restarts starts saving fuel, all these different ways that you would drive the car. That's a little bit more different, you know? Um, so it is, it is pretty amazing.

BRUCE:

So now you're back in victory lane, you've got momentum on your side and Wouldn't you know it, you're going to have the next three weekends off because NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, I think you would rather keep racing right now, wouldn't you?

COLTON:

100%. I would like to race next weekend, but I think it's good to have a break for all the guys. It's good to have a break for all the drivers. I know some guys are beat up, so it's a necessary break. And I think it's going to be nice for the teams and everybody involved. But for us, as far as my standpoint is, I would love to be racing every weekend. I guess almost every weekend of the year with IndyCar.

BRUCE:

Do you have plans for your break?

COLTON:

No, I'm just probably going to hang out. I've got some sim days. I've got some test days. I've got a media day. So I'm very excited for those things. And then when I'm not, I'm going to be laying on my couch.

BRUCE:

Also, the fourth race for the hybrid assist unit, did it come into play at all in the race or in qualifications? Did you use it very much? Did anybody use it?

COLTON:

I used it. Yeah, I used it every single lap, and everybody else did also, I'm sure. But, you know, on a road course and a street course like that, it's too much to lose. You know, it could be two tenths, and you just can't give that up with how close the field is and how good the guys are. So, yeah, it's not something that I could give up.

BRUCE:

Also, one of your challengers in the championship race for top five finish was a former teammate of yours, Alexander Rossi. He broke his thumb on Friday in a crash. You got to really feel bad for him in that regard, especially now that he's looking to get a new contract with a different team next year.

COLTON:

Yeah, I mean, I'm not too worried about him, him, because he's going to be sticking around here. He's going to be around for, for a very long time. Um, and as far as that, it, it sucks. You know, I've, I literally did the same thing, um, the same part of my body in the same turn in Indy lights. So, um, I've been there. I had to sit out a few races. It it's, there's nothing worse than watching somebody else drive your race car. And so I feel for him on that, on that front. Um, But yeah, it's one that luckily he's got four weeks now to recover, and I'm sure that he'll be back very strong.

BRUCE:

Well, Colton Hurley, you have two weeks to celebrate this victory, so enjoy every moment of it. We'll catch up with you when the season resumes at Gateway. Congratulations on a flawless victory in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Good luck the rest of the season, and thank you for joining us today on Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Realm. Thank you. As IndyCar heads into the three weekend break, Alex Polow of Chip Ganassi Racing continues to lead the points. The two-time IndyCar Series champion has a 49-point lead over two-time IndyCar champion Will Power. Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is just four points behind second place Power and 53 points behind his teammate Polow. Race winner Colton Herta is only four points behind Dixon and 57 out of the championship lead. Pato Award, who was involved in a massive crash that saw Santino Ferrucci ride over the nose of his car and go airborne late in the race is 15 points, 71 points out of the lead. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy presented by Penske Truck Rental. While IndyCar was competing on the streets of Toronto, Pit Pass Indy shifted gears to take part in the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400 as NASCAR returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5 mile oval for the first time since 2020. It was a chance to honor the legends of this race, including those who competed in the historic inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. This year's Brickyard 400 presented by PPG had a tremendous and compelling storyline as Kyle Larson, this year's Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, drove to victory over Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion. Larson, who won the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway disappointed with his 17th place finish after he was caught speeding on Pitt Road and had to serve a penalty in the Indy 500 back on May 26th. Seven weeks later, Larson was kissing the bricks as the Brickyard 400 winner. I asked him about how this win helps close the circle to his experience in the Indianapolis 500 in 2024. A lot of people up here, Mr. H, Jeff Gordon, said it kind of completed the circle of everything you wanted to do in May. Not the same race, but in a lot of ways it's got to uplift your feelings as to the way you left here in May with some unfinished business. So how do you put all that into perspective?

KYLE:

Yeah, definitely. I think it adds to the emotion of winning here and obviously this race means a lot to win. no matter what the circumstances may be. But I think just with getting to compete in the Indy 500, you know, and then having the weather kind of get in the mix and not being able to compete in the 600, and then getting to come here and run the same paint scheme I was supposed to run at the 600, and then ultimately win in the fashion that we did with a lot of things kind of going our way there at the end. So, yeah, it was pretty emotional winning for sure. And I think it definitely feels like it completes the circle of the double this year.

BRUCE:

A few hours before the race, there was a recreation of the class photo that was taken on August 6, 1994 of the inaugural Brickyard 400 starting lineup. A collection of former drivers returned 30 years later and took part in that photo. One of those drivers was Rick Mass, the poll winner for the inaugural Brickyard 400. He joined me for this exclusive interview for Pit Pass Indy. It's been 30 years since the first Brickyard 400 in 1994 on August 6th, and the man who led the field to the pole that day was Rick Mass. Rick, thank you for joining us today. Here is 30 years later. Has time flown by, or does it seem like 30 years?

RICK:

You know, Bruce, in some respects, it seems like it was two days ago, right? In some respects, it's like eons ago. You know, this is the first time I've been back since I got out of the car in 02, and the changes that the Penske organizations have made here, golly man, golly bum, it's good. And then we're getting big crowds back again, so that's cool. But to your question, to your point, yeah, some days I'm like, I sat on the pole here a week ago, right? And sometimes it's like, a long time ago I sat on the pole.

BRUCE:

But winning that pole was such a huge deal. Everything about that inaugural race was a huge deal. And it was really, really big for about 10 years before it started to drop off. When you think back to how big it was that day and then when it went into the decline, how sad was that for you?

RICK:

Well, you've got to understand, Bruce, in my view, watershed moments for NASCAR. RJR comes in in sport, the 79 Daytona 500, and then the Dogger Brickyard 400. The deal with the 400 is we were setting on a powder keg. I looked at our sport as a powder keg. Everything had come together, drivers, the fans, the media, the interest. It was like it needed something. It needed something. We came to the Brickyard 400, and it's like it ignited a powder keg of explosion, and that explosion propelled us to this stratosphere that we lived through the 90s and on through the 2000s. And we lived that. And Indy was a big part of that. And then when it started, the economy went bad in the 2000s. Some of our core fans felt like they got left behind and the economy got better. Some of the fad people that become a big part of our sport, they left the sport. So now we've been, ever since then, trying to get the sport back up. And, you know, luckily enough, it is starting to happen for us.

BRUCE:

When you won the poll that day, I brought up the fact that you traded a cow for your first race car way back when. And it's been 30 years. And if you could Recall that story once again about how you got into racing by trading a cow.

RICK:

Well, I didn't really trade it. I had a 4H cow, and I had a couple of them, and I sold. It was one steer I sold for $575. I took that money, bought an old dirt car from a guy that had been wrecked. It was a car in the trailer. We got that car, fixed it. The sixth race out, I won with that car, okay? And then the rest is history, man. You just live the dream for the next 30 or 40 years. Did the cow have a name? Uh, it was Ethel. Yeah, it was Ethel.

BRUCE:

Ethel the cow, that's good. Hey, when you came out of turn four, heading to the green flag to start the race, the very first inaugural Brickyard 400, how cool of a scene was that and how much do you always reflect back on here you were at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

RICK:

I think the lap before that, me and Earnhardt riding on the convertible parade lap. We come off turn four going down the straightaway, and Earnhardt looks at me and Rick, he says, Rick, can you believe all the damn people could have come here to watch us run this race, right? I mean, in that moment, the Intimidator was truly humbled, right? So then, start the race, you know, you see all the people, and there's probably more emotions than you normally have, but when they drop the green flag, it's over with. You don't worry about any of that. It's all about the race car. So what are you doing now? I've got, I do basically whatever my family tells me to do. And we have, I have a company called RKM EnviroClean. We do, we do a lot of state contract work and highway work and things like that. But you're still up in Virginia. I'm still in Virginia. We do the Kenny Wallace show now. The Rick Mass shows on the Kenny Wallace platform show. So have a lot of fun with racing.

BRUCE:

Well, Rick Mass, it was great to recall the memories of that first Brickyard 400. Good luck with in retirement with your companies. And thank you for joining us on Pit Pass Indy. Thank you, sir. Have a good day. Former NASCAR president Mike Helton returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. He played a key role with former Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George back in the 1990s to bring NASCAR to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Here's a quick interview I had with Mike Helton for Pit Pass Indy. Mike Helton, you remember August 6, 1994. I call it probably the most anticipated race in auto racing history. The inaugural Brickyard 400. Here we are 30 years later. You were part of that class photo back in 1994. They recreated it today, but as many people as they could. But does it really seem like 30 years have flown by?

MIKE:

No, it doesn't. And I don't know how you keep up with time anymore. I remember that day almost like it was like yesterday or last week, but it was a big day for motorsports and certainly a big day for NASCAR.

BRUCE:

But you were also playing a key role behind the scenes to make it happen, working with Tony George at the time and the people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What you accomplished was something that a lot of people thought could never happen. And how cool was that? How big a project was it?

MIKE:

It was big. But Bill Jr. and Tony George had gotten together and said, we're going to do this. And then it took a lot of give and take back and forth because the culture here and the NASCAR culture had some differences, but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony and his group wanted to be sure to maintain its character and a lot of the traditions from the 500, they wanted to be part of the first 400 and that just magnified the whole intensity, but certainly it caused a lot of conversations that had to take place between them shaking hands and us throwing a green flag.

BRUCE:

I always look at that inaugural Brickyard 400 as it really showcased NASCAR to a range of people that may not have watched NASCAR before and really sent you on your way to the heights that you enjoyed the later 90s and early 2000s. Do you see that one race playing that role?

MIKE:

I think it certainly went a long way to do that. I think NASCAR had some opportunities in that era, but being able to take advantage of such an iconic facility as Indianapolis and run on the same track that the IndyCars ran on and built the Indy 500. I think that gave us an opportunity that really magnified things.

BRUCE:

And here we are in the 30th anniversary. We're back on the oval. It's the Brickyard 400. A couple of years, three years, we had it on the IMS road course. How fitting is it to be back on the 2.5 mile oval?

MIKE:

Well, I'm glad we're back on the 2.5 mile oval, but certainly as we celebrate the 30th trip here, it should have been that way.

BRUCE:

Well, Mike Helton, good luck and thank you for joining us. Thank you. We'll be right back to Pit Pass Indy after this short break. Welcome back to Pit Pass Indy. We wrap up today's show with one of the greatest names in auto racing history. It's four time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, currently the vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports. When Gordon drove the victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400 on August 6, 1994, it was his second career win. His first came two months earlier in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But it was his win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that not only launched Gordon's career to stardom, it also rocketed NASCAR into the mainstream of sports. When Gordon's 25-year NASCAR Cup Series driving career came to an end, he had 81 victories. He was a star in mainstream media too, hosting Saturday Night Live and was a regular guest host on the Live with Regis and Kelly morning talk show. Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway projected NASCAR into mainstream sports with its boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I had an exclusive interview with Gordon on the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a few hours before the start of the 30th anniversary Brickyard 400 for Pit Pass Indy. For those of us who were here on August 6, 1994, they'll never forget the day when a young kid named Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400. Well, now he's the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. Rick, here we are, 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400 at the Yard of Bricks. When you think of everything that started for you that day with that victory to where you are now, is it like a...

JEFF:

a movie. It really is. I mean, my life changed in so many ways that day. You know, never dreamed in a million years as a kid I'd be able to race at Indianapolis, let alone win that, such a special event. And even, you know, for Hendrick Motorsports, our 24 team, I mean, just to see how everything, the whole sport kind of blew up from there. And so it's just a lot of great momentum to take the sport to new heights, and now it's great to reminisce and come back, see a bunch of competitors that were there that day, and hard to believe it's been 30 years. Seems like time's just flown by.

BRUCE:

Your formative teenage years, you were over here in Pittsburgh, about 20 miles away. You wanted to get into IndyCars, but at that time, IndyCar was changing. You had a chance to go into stock cars, and you lived your dream of making it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At one time, did you think, unless you drove the Indy 500, it wasn't going to happen?

JEFF:

Yeah, and I think you kind of nailed it. Like at that time, there was a lot of different things changing within motorsports. You know, NASCAR was becoming extremely popular. IndyCar was going through their split. And, you know, the drivers they were looking forward to race here at Indy and the rest of the series were not sprint car midget driver so you know it it worked out for the best and and I I couldn't you know have scripted it really any better in the way things turned out to go to down south connect with with Bill Davis you know win Xfinity races then get you know the opportunity to race for Rick Hendrick and and now you know and race for him for 23 years and and see the whole organization how it grew over the years and be a part of that um yeah it's Yeah, it couldn't have gone much better than that.

BRUCE:

How do you describe to somebody who wasn't here in 94 just how huge that day was? You couldn't get a ticket. They could have probably sold a million tickets for that first race. The anticipation level was two, three years in the making. That day was huge.

JEFF:

Yeah, you know, rarely do you hype up and advertise and just, you know, plaster an event everywhere that it doesn't exceed that hype. And I think that that day it did. I, you know, for whatever reason, people just clamored to Every time stock cars were on this track, people were interested and wanted to know more, whether it was the media, whether it was fans, competitors, and it just continued to snowball from there all the way through the race. You know, even the next couple of years after that, it had just a huge audience and interest level, and yeah, something that I'll never forget and made me very, very proud as a race car driver and as a kid that Went to high school down the road.

BRUCE:

It wasn't your first win that came to the Coca-Cola 600 a month earlier, but it was your biggest win that sent you on your career. The fact that you ended up with five brickyard 400s, the all-time leader in that category, how proud of you are that?

JEFF:

Yeah, I mean, you know, coming from an open wheel background, this place is always special to me. So that still to this day, other than Martinsville, where my kids were with me in victory lane for my final win, I would say this is still the biggest victory that I've ever had in my career. So, Indianapolis was special. That race was special. Coming back here in May to watch the Indy 500 just reminded me of just how much history there is. And what a great job, you know, the folks like, you know, Doug Bowles and Susie Elliott, just the people really are able to keep maintain that history. And here we are 30 years later celebrating in another special way.

BRUCE:

And last question with Jeff Gordon, winner of the inaugural Brickyard 400. You were here for the Indianapolis 500 back in May with Kyle Larson. Like I said, an anxiety-filled day because of the weather and it was going to really affect the double. But what was it like to be here and be part of an Indianapolis 500 team?

JEFF:

It was an intense month or couple of weeks. You know, I mean, qualifying, I think is one of the most intense days that anybody will have if you're a competitor or if you're involved with a team, just because, you know, those are four tricky laps to put together. You know, we saw our first time out what can go wrong and that you might not start the race and so to be able to to follow that up with a fifth place qualifying position and then a strong run throughout the Indy 500 but it you know it could come down to just one little tiny thing on a pit stop or strategy or restart and you know it was fun to be a part of that I was really proud of the whole Errol McLaren team and the Hendrick Motorsports effort and Kyle Larson did incredible so it's really fun to be a part of it as intense as it was.

BRUCE:

Well, Jeff Gordon, good luck and thank you for joining us. All right. Thank you. And that puts a checkered flag on this edition of Pit Pass, and we want to thank our guests, Toronto IndyCar Race winner Colton Herta of Andretti Global, Brickyard 400 NASCAR winner and twenty twenty four Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports. 1994 Brickyard 400 pole winner Rick Mass, former NASCAR president Mike Helton, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for joining us on today's podcast. Along with loyal listeners like you, our guests help make Pit Pass Indy, presented by Penske Truck Rental, your path to victory lane in IndyCar. On the highways, the raceways, and every pit stop in between, Penske Truck Rental keeps you moving forward. Gain ground with Penske. For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at X, previously known as Twitter, at BruceMartin, one word, uppercase B, uppercase M, underscore 500. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcast. A special thanks to our production team, executive producers are Bridget Coyne and Gerardo Orlando. Recordings and edits were done by me, Bruce Martin, and final mixing was done by Dave Douglas. Learn more at evergreenpodcast.com. Until next time, be sure to keep it out of the wall.