Fifteenth annual Steve King Memorial goes green next Saturday, May 31

CONCORD, NC (May 22, 2025) — The American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) will help honor one of Kansas’ most loved local racers when it returns to Dodge City Raceway Park for the Steve King Memorial on Saturday, May 31.

This year marks the 15th running of the event, which honors Steve King and his family’s contributions to the sport. The Dodge City, KS track has hosted the Memorial for eight of its 14 previous editions and presents a $4,000-to-win main event for the best 360 Sprint Car drivers in the country this year.

Kansas’ premier dirt track hosts several special events every season, but the Steve King Memorial stands out among all the others.

“Steve was a local legend in our area,” said Kyler Fetters, Dodge City track promoter and Steve King Foundation President. “Everybody, when they think 360 racing, they think Steve King in our area. If it wasn’t Steve King, it was Garry Lee Maier, but Steve was right behind Garry in everybody’s eyes when it came to 360 racing.

“Steve was just a great guy. He was always a pleasure to be around at the racetrack. Never had a bad thing to say, and very well looked up to amongst his peers.”

King was a second-generation Sprint Car driver from Jetmore, KS, who spent 18 seasons behind the wheel in his lifetime. King primarily raced the local and regional 360 Sprint Car circuits, most notably winning the 2002 and 2003 points championships with the National Championship Racing Association (NCRA).

However, King’s rising career was cut short after he succumbed to injuries suffered in a crash at the 2006 Knoxville Nationals. After his passing, the King family established the Steve King Foundation, which helps “provide assistance to race car drivers, pit crew members, racing officials and track operations personnel or the immediate families of those individuals who are involved in dirt track racing and are seriously ill, severely injured or have been killed,” according to the organization’s website.

It’s not every day a grieving family finds the strength to turn unthinkable loss into invaluable gain for an entire community. But that’s what the King family wanted, and that’s what they did.

“The generosity of the racing community was overwhelming,” said Danette King Amstein, Steve King’s sister. “It was so appreciated, but it was also just overwhelming, and we asked, ‘How do we best use these funds to help racing families?’

“The donations were coming in, and at the same time, we were learning there really wasn’t a national mechanism to help families that were in the same position that we were in.”

As of 2025, the Steve King Foundation has given more than $550,000 to over 240 racing families in their time of need.

“It’s a great organization that helps not only racers, and not a lot of people realize this, but if you’re a crew member of family of a crew member that is involved in racing, we can help out with that,” Fetters said. “Whether it be a broken arm, a vehicle crash, a motorsports accident — really anything, as long as you’re involved in racing, especially open-wheel, we try to do the best we can.”

Less than one year after King’s accident, his family partnered with Dodge City Raceway Park for the first edition of the Steve King Memorial. Nebraska racer Don Droud Jr. took the checkered flag in the inaugural event — a 360 Sprint Car race sanctioned by the former ASCS Rocky Mountain Region.

The event moved to King’s home track — Jetmore Motorplex (later renamed Great American Dirt Track) — for the second running under the United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS) in 2008. The event stayed in Jetmore for the next five years until the track’s closing in 2013, then pivoted back to its current home in Dodge City in 2014.

The event was revived in 2021 after a four-year break and is now back under ASCS sanctioning — a vital part to the event’s future success.

“As far as 360 racing goes, we’re tickled to bring the American Sprint Car Series back to Western Kansas,” Fetters said. “Several years ago, I brought them back to WaKeeney when I was promoting the racetrack there. It had been 20-something years since they had been to WaKeeney. Then, when I took over Dodge City, it had been a 12-year hiatus since they had been back to Dodge City.

“I feel really proud to be bringing back ASCS to our area. It’s probably, bar-none, the best 360 drivers in the nation racing.”

“We’ve been blessed with a lot of fans that, at this point, didn’t know Steve but know the story, and want to come see good racing,” King Amstein said. “While it’s changed tracks from Jetmore to Dodge, it’s certainly been an event that we look forward to because it brings good competition to the area. That brings everyone out to support the Foundation and to remember Steve.”

The Steve King Memorial is part of an ASCS Kansas doubleheader weekend with the Series first visiting Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, KS on Friday, May 30. Tickets are available online now.

Tickets to see the American Sprint Car Series in the 15th running of the Steve King Memorial at Dodge City Raceway Park will be sold at the gate on race day.

 If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceThursday May 22, 2025Indianapolis, Indiana, USASantino Ferrucci – A.J. Foyt RacingStarts 15th THE MODERATOR: Santino, how would you describe your month or two weeks of May? SANTINO FERRUCCI: I don’t know if I want to summarize my month (smiling). It’s been a lot. I really feel for my crew, who have probably split the car now eight times, which you’re only really supposed to do three. I feel really bad for those guys. They’ve been working really hard to give me a really, really solid race car. Monday practice was the first time we got to really be out there racing in the pack. I felt really competitive. Was able to pass a bunch of people, especially in the train. Couple small changes we want to do for Friday’s practice. Hope that everything is the same once we put it back together for the weekend. Q. Santino, INDYCAR season is finished after the European standard relatively early by the end of August. A couple of years ago you did some NASCAR stuff. Are you planning to do similar things the rest of the year to stay sharp? SANTINO FERRUCCI: I’d like to. I don’t have anything currently on my schedule. The only thing past INDYCAR that I have is the Chili Bowl, which I’ll be back again for. As everybody knows, I love my dirt racing. If I could figure something out over there once our season is over and my job is complete here at INDYCAR, then yeah, definitely. Q. Santino, you’re always up in the front of this race leading. How do you think the race is going to run with the hybrid, the conditions? SANTINO FERRUCCI: I think conditions… Even having the hybrid in the car, it makes it a little bit more free on the entry, which is one thing. Everybody is kind of fighting the same things, free in, pushy off. At the end of the day, the biggest thing that affects our racing other than downforce is the tires. If the tires are wearing really good or wearing out too aggressively or not wearing at all, really have a big impact on our racing. From what I can tell, it’s going to be pretty decent. The weather is going to help us. When it gets really hot and you can’t follow and you have as much downforce on as you possibly can. Gets cool like this, we can trim the cars out, not run wickers on the rear and get a lot closer. It’ll also allow the track to run two lanes, which is nice. Two lanes at the start, not two lanes throughout. I think it should be pretty good. If we get a nice 65-, 70-degree day, a little bit overcast, even for the fans that don’t want to be sunburnt, it will probably be good for everybody.Q.  Santino, how do you think the personnel changes at Team Penske could impact the technical alliance that you have? SANTINO FERRUCCI: To be honest with you, I don’t know. I mean, like I said, I drive for AJ Foyt. For us, I mean, our focus is to win the 500. Nothing’s changed for us. Seriously, nothing’s changed under our roof. Yeah, no, we still operate at two totally different teams in that respect. Like I said, it’s a bummer to see that happen. I think those are all fantastic people that have worked really hard to get to where they are today. It’s sad to see that happen in today’s world of motorsports.Yeah, no, that’s all I got. Q.  Rookie on pole who has never been on pole in an INDYCAR race, let alone an oval. How do you navigate the start? SANTINO FERRUCCI: Pretty cool. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty cool. You have a brand-new team, a driver that I’ve raced with growing up in Europe. So I’ve known him a long time. All in all, something of history. Cool to see. Not just as a competitor, but as a fan of this beautiful race. Now, I think does he trust his spotters? I hope so. Next to him you have probably one of the most talented people around this place starting it off, too.  Then Pato, as well, who has done amazing here. I think, yeah, it’s going to be entertaining. Q. Santino, third year for you driving for AJ Foyt. Is there any extra pressure on you to perform well here? SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I mean, A.J. has won it four. He won it once as a team owner as well. I would love to give him his sixth 500 win. Obviously it’s been a few years since the team has won. I brought them back a pole last year. I’ve come very close to winning this event in ’23 with them. I feel really confident in our abilities this year. I think this is going to be one of better shots I’ve had at it, too. It’s all about maximizing on race day. Driving and spending time with A.J. in the pits is unbelievable. You can’t even put into words what it’s like to just sit in the garage with him, especially during one of the days like Monday to where you have a lot of time on your hands before you go out for two hours of practice. Him telling stories back in the day, talking about the car, explaining to him the feeling of what I have, what we were doing in engineering, hearing his opinions and thoughts. It’s almost crazy to think that someone, when A.J. drove, he only retired in the early ’90s, that his car, what he would do with the setup, to what we’re doing in engineering really lines up pretty well. It’s pretty spectacular. It’s just a joy to be around him, and try to cherish all those moments while I can. THE MODERATOR: Do you have a favorite A.J. story? SANTINO FERRUCCI: Not one that I’d like to share. THE MODERATOR: We asked Malukas the same thing… GRAHAM RAHAL: No stories (laughter). SANTINO FERRUCCI: They’re all in the book. If you want to hear about the stories, read the book. I’m telling you, read the book.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren

Starts 3rd

THE MODERATOR: Pato, I’m sure you’re champing at the bit, ready to get going tomorrow. What do you hope to learn?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, obviously two more hours to get the car into a nice window, best window that you can going into the race.

Yeah, just looking forward to seeing everybody back at the Speedway. It’s going to be a sold-out event, nuts. The vibes are going to be cool. Yeah, just really ready to just be done and dusted with this. It’s been a long month (smiling).

It’s been a smooth one so far.

Q. Pato, we know how bad you want to win the Indianapolis 500. This year you’ve displayed a lot of inner peace and confidence. Do you feel a lot more confident here than in the past?

PATO O’WARD: I mean, I’m just calm. It’s such a long race, man. It’s like three hours long or something. You got to be there in the end just to even have a shot.

That’s pretty much how I approach it all the time. You have to be there in the last stint. When you get to the last stint, you got to be there five laps to go, four laps to go. It can end in a split of a second. But it also can turn around quite quickly and you can have a shot.

Every 500 is different. Taku has done more than me, but I think he can agree none of them are the same. Knowledge is priceless. If you’re obviously in a similar situation to the past, you can pick and choose what you’re going to do.

They’re all different, man. This year with the hybrid, the cars have been so on the edge. Some guys are driving insane in practice. I mean, last year in the race I was shocked with how some guys were driving in lap 15.

Yeah, I think it’s safe to say you never know what to expect. Just be ready for anything.

Q. Pato, with what’s come out over the last 48 hours about Newgarden’s car from a year ago, do you wonder whether he could have passed you, whether it made a difference in passing you on the last lap?

PATO O’WARD: You know what, whatever it was, I would have never wanted to win an Indy 500 a year later just because one car got caught being illegal, whatever. I truly believe Josef won that race. He timed it better than I did. I want to be able to experience what any Indy 500 winner gets to experience, the whole schnaz, the energy. That’s ultimately what makes the experience to the next level, just being an Indy 500 winner.

I know how to position myself to be in a chance to win. I believe I have the team behind me able to do that.

Starting on the front row, best starting position I’ve ever had, we’ll see what we can do on Sunday.

Q. How was it milking that cow?

PATO O’WARD: I’m jealous. I wanted to do that. I’ve never milked a cow.

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: That’s maybe what you need to have a proper good luck for winning the Indy 500. The woman, she came to me and said, The people who didn’t milk the cow, they never won Indy 500, and they were like DNF. It’s a bad luck. Whoever milk the cow. Alexander Rossi did it. He won the 500. You have to milk the cow.

PATO O’WARD: I’m going find a cow, and I’m going to milk it tonight.

TAKUMA SATO: I didn’t do that. There are some other ways you can get away with that (smiling).

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: You can always ask for milking a cow. Maybe next year ask for it.

PATO O’WARD: Get my own cow.

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: The cow name was Indy. I got to meet her. She was very calm and cute. First you need to pet her a bit, get comfy with her.

As I said, try next year. Whenever I came to her, she was ready. She explain to me the technique. It was working well.

Again, I don’t know. I don’t know how it works there. But it was a lot of fun. It was good. It was good.

PATO O’WARD: Did you try it?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: The milk? No, I didn’t try it, man.

The Californian is up to second in points with familiar territory ahead

ATTICA, OH (May 22, 2025) – Michael “Buddy” Kofoid might be from Penngrove, CA, but Ohio is a home away from home.

The 23-year-old cut his teeth on the bullrings of the “Golden State,” but he didn’t go right from the West Coast to stardom with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. There were a couple more stepping stones along the way, including an important stint in the “Buckeye State.”

Kofoid’s efforts in California earned him seat time in Ed Neumeister’s No. 11N toward the end of 2018 with the Linder family overseeing the operation. His first weekend in the car resulted in finishes of fourth and second at Fremont Speedway. The next year, Kofoid moved across the country to Ohio and in with the Linder family for a full season in Neumeister’s Sprint Car.

The pairing picked up four wins in 2019, including one with the All Star Circuit of Champions at Wayne County Speedway. The focus shifted to full-time USAC National Midget racing in 2020 before ultimately making his way to the World of Outlaws in 2024. It may have been brief, but the period spent primarily in Ohio is a time Kofoid holds close to heart.

“That Attica, Fremont area in northwest Ohio is pretty much the most home-type feeling I get not being in California because of the scenery and the familiarity of the area and the tracks,” Kofoid said. “But also, people make a place feel like home, and that’s really a credit to the Linders, the Neumeisters, the Brooks, and everyone involved with that. My first race with the Linders was 2018, so it’s going on seven years now. Everyone there has been really good to me and welcoming.”

The Memorial Day weekend ahead features an all-Ohio agenda for The Greatest Show on Dirt. It’s three nights at three different racetracks as Attica Raceway Park (May 23), Sharon Speedway (May 24), and Atomic Speedway (May 26) make for a big weekend in the “Buckeye State.”

Kofoid heads into the stretch having just taken over the second spot in points. After a somewhat slow start to 2025 riddled by misfortune, Kofoid and the Roth Motorsports crew are rolling with a 5.5 average finish in the last 16 races, including a trio of victories. After their strong conclusion to 2024, many expected Kofoid and company to be in this season’s title fight. Defending champion David Gravel still holds a healthy lead, but the No. 83 is now one spot behind him. And while the recent results have been strong, Kofoid is focused on where they can improve to have a chance at catching Gravel.

“It’s a good feeling for sure to see your name up there and see your face in the top three,” Kofoid said. “There’s still plenty of work to be done, and I feel like there’s some things that I could’ve done better even already this year. I think there’s some things that we can improve on to be similar if not better than how we ended last year.”

One area Kofoid knows they can perform better is Qualifying. It’s one of the most important times of a race night. It sets the tone. Two laps where tenths and even hundredths of a second can dictate the entire trajectory of an event. Kofoid’s average Qualifying result of 7.78 ranks sixth among full-time drivers. Meanwhile, Gravel’s Series-leading 2.61 average has been crucial in allowing him to build a healthy advantage.

“That tenth (of a second) that’ll get you in the top three or four, which is on the front row of a Heat Race, is the hardest tenth to find,” Kofoid said. “To me, it’s kind of similar to what I call finding that last 10 percent. Last year, I felt like I learned how to close out races a lot more, and to me, that was the last 10 percent of the day. Qualifying is almost like the first 10 percent, but it’s a crucial 10 percent, finding that little bit that, and it can make or break your night.”

The weekend ahead serves up three chances in familiar territory for Kofoid to work on making up some points on Gravel. Attica is an especially prime opportunity as he won there a year ago with a thrilling last-lap pass over fellow “Linderville” product Carson Macedo. A moment that truly made Kofoid feel at home despite being thousands of miles from California.

“When we won last year at Attica, it was cool to see the crowd rally for me,” Kofoid recalled. “You feel like one of their own even though you’re not from that area. I think when you’re involved with great people, great things happen. It gives you the want and the drive to come back and the excitement to be in that area, and that’s what I feel.”

Kofoid and the Roth team take on Attica Raceway Park (May 23), Sharon Speedway (May 24), and Atomic Speedway (May 26) this weekend. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the entire 2025 World of Outlaws schedule, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/uncategorized/home-away-from-home-kofoid-on-the-rise-entering-ohio-weekend/

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

David Malukas – A.J. Foyt Racingf

Starts 7th

THE MODERATOR: David, how much are you looking forward getting back in the car for Sunday?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, it feels really good. We’ve had a lot of really hot days to start off this month. I think the car is going to have a big transition coming for Friday. Very excited to get back into it and learn more on the setup heading for the race since it’s going to be cooler temperatures. Got one more, but it’s going to be a very important session for us.

Q. Do you guys go through and talk about family that’s here this weekend, having your support system here?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I guess I’ll start.

I have actually a lot of my friends, ’cause in my growing-up years, going through puberty, I actually grew up in England. I spent a few years there. That’s kind of where I had the interest in soccer, football, what it’s called internationally. A lot of my friends from England are going to be coming over. It’s actually their first time coming to the States.

Obviously my girlfriend is going to be coming, my family, my sister. It’s kind of going to be a good family reunion at the same time.

Q. David, I’ve lived in Chicago the past couple years, so I have to ask, with you being from Chicago, fans are always looking for new Chicago-born athletes to embrace. Does the notoriety that would come with being an Indy 500 champion provide you with any additional motivation?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, of course. I mean, we also have a few Chicagoans on the car. My mechanic Nick, as well. We always are having that cheer of the Chicagoan home.

A fan also gave me a Chicago flag, so we’re going to have that hung up leading up to the 500 in the garage, too. There’s definitely that city strength that we have.

It would be very cool to bring that home, to go back to Chicago. I would love to do that.

Q. David, there’s very little history anymore of the old Indy 500 and the new Indy 500 in the sense of historical figures like AJ Foyt. When you were a kid, with all due respect, what did you know about AJ Foyt? How is it different racing for somebody like him as opposed to some of the other leadership you’ve had?

DAVID MALUKAS: I think growing up, I always had that period that I wanted to be a part of history in some way. Those deep thoughts, what is the point of life. For me it was in that perspective. Growing up I always used to watch racing from INDYCAR, F1, NASCAR. I got heavily involved in it at a young age. Me and my dad would always go on the weekends.

To be here at the Indy 500, this is already a dream of mine, of course. To do it with my name side by side with AJ Foyt Racing, probably one of the most historical drivers when it comes to a big name. You say that name anywhere, people will know of it. To have my name side by side, I don’t think there’s any way better to be a part of history and achieve what my dreams are.

THE MODERATOR: Ice cream is not bad in the garage, too?

DAVID MALUKAS: Very good ice cream. I think the Drumsticks are the favorite. I see a lot of those.

Q. Starting seventh and eighth, how much encouragement does it give for both of you leading up to Sunday’s main event?

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, I’m really excited. Like Marcus said earlier, this is a really good starting row, row 3. It’s where we want to be.

I was talking to A.J. as well previously. He said he won a race from the seventh position at some point. I feel like it’s a very good spot, especially coming from the previous years. The team is very strong. It’s a very good car. Our traffic running has been impressive. I’m very excited heading into Sunday.

Q. David, I’m fascinated about your background in England, where you grew up, why you were there.

DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, for my karting years I lived there. If you’re familiar with the area, you’re going to be surprised. I actually lived most of my time in Grimsby, and then partly in Leeds, Manchester, and London. So I’ve been a little bit from middle to south, but kind of all over through there.

Q. David, has A.J. given you any advice?

DAVID MALUKAS: He’s given me a lot of good stories from his past races and events that have happened to him.

When it comes to advice, I mean, it’s so hard to give advice for the 500. Things kind of just happen as it is. I think it’s just as anybody always says, it’s a long race, so just keep the head down and don’t do anything too silly to start and save it for the end.

THE MODERATOR: What’s your favorite Foyt story?

DAVID MALUKAS: I can’t say any stories.

THE MODERATOR: None at all?

DAVID MALUKAS: Absolutely not, no.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren

Starts 8th

THE MODERATOR: Christian, what about you guys, what do you expect the conditions to do to your car?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I feel like we’ve been very conscious about this kind of the entire month, what does the car need for certain conditions. If it’s colder, if it’s warmer… I feel like we have a pretty good idea, pretty good baseline for any condition possible.

Obviously we haven’t really prepared for the rain. I don’t think any of us have. But no, I think we’ll be good. I think we’ve been good so far this month. We get another go at it tomorrow, then we’ll be ready for race day.

Q. Do you guys go through and talk about family that’s here this weekend, having your support system here?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think Marcus and I were just talking about it prior to the press conference here, who is filling up the house at home while we’re staying at the track.

My entire family will be here. It will be the first time my brother will be here for the 500. Pretty excited for him. I got some friends here, as well. The girlfriend’s family is from around here, so they’ve been here before. I think they’ll get a little different view, more from the inside.

So yeah…

Q. How was your day yesterday with Bubba Watson?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It was pretty cool. We ended up chipping marshmallows in each other’s mouths. I only stayed on the side with the club. Kyle got to try to catch one of Bubba’s chips. It was a cool experience.

As we all know, he’s a lefty. He took Scotty Mac’s driver and hit it over the snake pit as a left-hander. Obviously we know Scott is a right-hander. It was pretty cool to see what he’s capable of doing.

It was a cool experience just to kind of get to pick his brain a little bit. I brought my girlfriend around. Obviously she’s a golfer. I know she tried to pick his brain a little bit on what his best shot he ever hit. I was expecting it to be the one out of the woods at Augusta. Interestingly enough he said it was a tee shot at Augusta on the same final round. Didn’t stand up to his eye, hit the shot he wanted to, it worked out. I thought that was an interesting question.

Q. How does it help to talk with another professional athlete helping you with your approach to racing?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, first of all, he’s a lot better at golf than I am. That’s for sure. Again, I know he’s self-taught. He’s never taken a golf lesson in his entire life. At the end of the day I feel like it’s the same way I grew up. Even though I had a dad that used to race, but you have to go out there and learn by doing.

I saw a little familiarity in that. It’s just kind of learning. It’s always fun to pick athletes’ brains on how they approach things. Obviously when you reach a certain level, do you feel the same kind of pressure in this situation that I do. How do you approach it, and what is your thought process, how do you get away from it.

I know when you’re over the ball in golf, the lie is never going to be the same shot by shot, where for us the corners don’t change. Yes, the wind changes, but the corner doesn’t. Obviously the car doesn’t change from corner to corner.

I always find it kind of interesting to ask those questions.

Q. Starting seventh and eighth, how much encouragement does it give for both of you leading up to Sunday’s main event?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately you want to start the race as far forward as you can from the get-go. It’s a little bit of a different situation from what I’ve previously been in. Quite excited for that.

I know the Arrow McLaren cars were around this area last year. At least I have a lot of good video and information to look at. At the end of the day, as Marcus said, it’s a good place to start. Again, we’re around the cars. We want to fight. Let the fight kind of start early on and make sure we all get to the end.

Q. Christian, you have T.K. with you, you have the videos, good teammates to lean on. What kind of adjustments have you made, if any, to your driving style on the oval?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don’t think the driving style is particularly different. I think there is a lot of the same things going on. I mean, in my opinion, I knew going into this year that I was going to be in a car that was naturally faster. I think I have a lot to learn just from understanding and racing different people than what I’m used to.

I’m starting 20 positions further up this year than I was last year, which is obviously a massive gain. But at the end of the day, it’s the same for road courses and street courses. You can have a bad qualifying but still race your way to the front, depending on how the race goes.

I know I’m in a car that’s fast enough to win the race. I just have to put myself in the right situation at the right time and learn from the other drivers. I have that. I mean, Pato has been fighting for the race win the past few years going into the leading laps. I have all the information I need. I just need to take advantage of it.

Q. What is the best advice T.K. has given you?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Take it as it comes.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske 

Starts 10th

Q.  Scott, we haven’t heard much from you since your crash on Sunday, whole bunch of stuff happened with your team, you lost your strategist. How are you feeling? Where are you at in all of this?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point. I guess you could say there’s a sadness from my perspective.

At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward. I think I’m disappointed in some of my peers and people in this room, just how it was taken out of proportion in some ways.

At the same time, I think people forget just what Roger’s done for this sport in general, and that definitely gets thrown to the side a little bit, which I find a hard time not being passionate about that.

But ultimately what’s done is done. This happened. We have to move forward. The penalties are accepted. Personally I think I had the fastest car, I put it in the fence. I didn’t have what was said. Smart people in this paddock know there was no gain with that, you know?

It’s frustrating that this is blown up like it has and it’s cost three people that I’m very close with their jobs. But overall, my view on it right now is just to focus forward and win Roger his 21st.

I tell you what, there’s that much motivation in our garage, within the team, within my stand. I’m excited to work with Ben even closer than I have before. I think we’ve got amazing people coming in from a substitute perspective helping us out, Jonathan Diuguid, Raul Prados, people that have won this race before.

Yeah, you haven’t heard from me because I wanted the chance to just say that. I’m not really going to speak too much more on that.

Q.  Scott, you were talking about your peers.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not calling anyone out, Bob. I’m not.

Q.  There are people out there who are pointing things out.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There are. There are.

Q.  We heard that people told INDYCAR to look at it. Does that make you angry? If you saw something on somebody else’s car…

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s part of the game, I get it. It’s not the that part. That’s racing. That’s how it is.

It’s just I guess I’m disappointed with how Roger’s name has been thrown through the mud, his integrity, our team, the people on the floor, the people that spend hours away from their families trying to build these cars. Basically they’re being thrown to the mud. I take that personally.

Yeah, yeah…

Q.  Scott, you and Ed just made a wager for the Knicks/Pacers series.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: How did that go last night?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Real bad. We lost the unloseable.

We had a good wager. I don’t know how Ed is behind Rossi and Rasmussen, but — Edsters, are they called? I have to buy the equivalent — if the Pacers win in six games — if they win in seven, the bet is off, or I win — I have to buy the equivalent up to 2500 bucks of his milk. What is it?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Coffee. Java.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: But, yeah, I’m going to do that.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: What’s funny, I don’t think 2500 will get him there.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s why I capped it. Then the other way, if the Pacers win in seven, or Knicks, which I think will happen, we have to figure it out, but buy some steaks from Good Ranchers maybe, donate to charity, I don’t know. No one gets much out of this, apart from maybe Ed’s reputation.

Q: About someone moving a port-a-potty in front of his bus door

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The port-a-potty — I was actually out for dinner. I’m not happy about that, by the way. Whoever did that pissed me off again. It’s been a wild couple days. I’m ready to go. Ready to swing.

The porta-potty blocked the door to get in my bus. I was worried for Karly and my daughter. I respect the prank game, but they got to think a little bit. Whoever it is, they’re going to go down hard (smiling).

Q.  (No microphone.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I moved it myself. You should have seen me out there just pushing this sloshy little porta-potty around. And moving my golf cart. I thought it was someone else. I parked the golf cart next to their bus, said person, and left the reverse light on. It was, like, 11:30 at night. They had to come out and turn it off. Which they did. It was funny. I saw them do it at the time.

Q.  (No microphone.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yes, yes. It’s a guy that said goodnight to everyone. I thought straightaway it was him. I don’t think it was. Seems too lame for Colton. He was hanging out with us on Monday night.

CONOR DALY: Colton said earlier he was waiting for someone to play a prank on him.

Q.  I’m curious, the verbiage, with somebody else new on a timing stand, is that something you want to get down in tomorrow’s practice, or is that something where it’s already down and you’re on the same page?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, we’re good. Me and Benny have known each other for a long, long time now. He’s one of my best friends. It sounds crazy, but we play a lot of video games together, we talk together all the time, we hang out. I’m excited to work with Ben. Even on test days he takes over that part of the role. It’s not an unknown voice that I’m hearing.

Q.  Scott, you’re in the team backup car, if memory serves. The team spends months building these cars. In theory the backup car shouldn’t be as primed as the prime cars. Do you feel like it’s going to be close to what you originally had or too far off?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, it’s right there. It’s a brand-new car, brand-new chassis, brand-new speedway car. It’s a purpose-built speedway car. 

Unfortunately in the circumstance we have a crash like this, we had a car like that ready to go. Just bolted my race motor, all the race uprights, everything that I had one earlier in practice.

Honestly Monday felt very close. We just had a couple things not quite at upright that affected some setup and stuff. Ironed that out, had a good week to prepare, and things should be just as fast.

Q.  Scott, you said you’re determined, you’re motivated if you got the fastest car that should have won the pole, probably would have happened. You’re going to race your way up to the front. How long do you think it will be before the 2 and 12 will be able to get up there with you?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not taking for granted. It’s going to be a tough race regardless. I know we have fast cars. Everyone feels that way, as well.

I don’t know. For me, I’m not worried about their race. I’m focused on my own. 

But we know what we need to do to sort of keep ourselves in the game. I’ve said it all month. It’s been so nice to be able to come into a month where I was up the front a little further than I had been in my career. I understand the cadence a little bit more, you could say.

But yeah, not really focused on what they’re doing. I’m just focused on myself.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Alexander Rossi 

Starts 12th

THE MODERATOR: We will start with row 4. Starting 12th, the 2016 winner the Indianapolis 500, Alexander Rossi. Starting 10th, seven-time winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Scott McLaughlin. We’re waiting on Conor Daly.

Rossi, I was here for your first win as a rookie, with a new team this year, rookie on the pole. Number two this year.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I hope so. What I’ve explained to quite a few people throughout this month is when you feel all of the emotions of this place, the heartbreak and the close calls, as well as the good moments, it really just continues to increase your desire to be successful here.

You think each year that, like, Okay, I’ve reached the most that I could want to win this race. Then you come back and you go through the whole process again and you get a glimpse of you have a good team a good package, a good opportunity, and you can’t help but imagine what it would be like to do it again.

Yeah, I mean, I think it was a long time ago at this point. We’ve come very close multiple times since then. I think we have as good a shot as any this year to try to get number two.

Q. Because you won it so soon, do you look back at it now and kind of relish and cherish and appreciate it even more?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I think it’s hard for any athlete to in the moment, right, because you’re so focused on trying to get better, trying to improve yourself, it’s very hard to look back and, for lack of a better term, relax and reminisce about the good moments.

You so often think about the ones that got away more than you think about the one where it all actually worked out.

Yes, you see clips that bring you back. There’s memorabilia that I have in my house that you take a moment. Ultimately you’re always focused ahead and trying to figure out how you can get back to that point for a second time.

Q. You’ve been doing this for a while. First sellout in decades. There’s a lot of energy in Indy right now. How does it compare to years past? How excited are you for Sunday?

CONOR DALY: He won that one last time it was sold out, so he can start.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, just waiting for it to sell out again so I could drink more milk.

It’s amazing. I think INDYCAR as a whole has been on a pretty amazing trajectory since I joined in 2016. This race in particular. Every year, Doug would talk about, when we started in ’17, it’s been the most amount of tickets we’ve sold other than the 100th running. Finally we’re at as many tickets as the 100th running. It’s not an anniversary event.

I think a lot of people that came in ’16 were there because they wanted to be there for the 100ths. I think it just shows the appetite that everyone has for INDYCAR, for the Indy 500.

As Scott said, it’s a representation of what’s been done by the leadership to get to this point.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing 

Starts 11th

Q. Scott and Conor, where did y’all watch the game from last night? How much fun was that?

CONOR DALY: I sent Scott a text and he lied to me. He said he wasn’t watching the game. What were you watching?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: “Summer House.”

CONOR DALY: You’re a liar.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was watching it.

CONOR DALY: I was in the bus lot. Felt really good, honestly.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: 20 minutes of that game I paced around my bus.

CONOR DALY: I shouted a lot, yeah.

Q. Conor, you’ve had some really good race cars here, led laps. Compare this to your previous cars going into a Carb Day and your confidence level for Sunday.

CONOR DALY: You know what, thanks for asking the question. I’m excited.

This has been a fun one so far. This is going to be a crazy one. I feel really lucky. I think I’ve been in multiple different situations at this race before, obviously with some fantastic cars and some cars that have struggled to make the race.

This one all month — actually, the first day, I would say, Tuesday I was a little nervous, didn’t have the best day, found our issue. Every day since then, the car has been a joy to drive. That doesn’t happen often here. Qualifying trim stuff was hard. That was challenging for sure at times.

This car in race trim, it’s very good. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be fighting for the win. We have a decent starting position as well, obviously. This team has just done a great job. For ampm to be here with ARCO as well for their first Indy 500, they love it. The car looks awesome, everybody is pumped.

A lot of wild number stats people have thrown at me about cold days, pit box numbers, moon signs, but I’m just going to stay focused on one day at a time and do my job every lap and see what happens.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: When Rossi won, I was in the middle of the one and two on the silver bullets.

CONOR DALY: When he won, I was sitting on the couch in my bus because I already crashed.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Good job.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The winner is coming from this row.

CONOR DALY: Does feel right.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Could be a party.

Q. How was it at the card shop? Did you get anything fun?

CONOR DALY: Shout-out Parkside. We got new INDYCAR trading cars. Go get ’em. I got some Alexander Rossi autographs. That was cool. A lot of great stuff out there.

Again, INDYCAR, a lot of good things going for INDYCAR. I think that’s one of them. Our fans have been super pumped about that, which has been awesome.

Q. It feels like this year it’s really a little bit more wide open. No one has come in and said this person is absolutely the favorite. Nor has anyone completely dominated every session. Is that fair? Do you feel this is perhaps a little bit more wide open? Can you think of someone or some team that you think is the absolute favorite going into the race?

CONOR DALY: I mean, I guess, yeah. You see the grid. I would say there’s cars scattered all over the place that you’re like, We didn’t expect that.

After the open test, I would have honestly predicted these fellas over to my left to kind of sweep the front row. Penske front row sweep. I was very wrong.

What PREMA did, what a cool story. Takuma Sato on the front row. Cool story. Pato. All of it’s just, like, cool. The Fast 12, that was I thought pretty exciting. You have Felix Rosenqvist in the Creed car, that was cool. There’s people all scattered throughout this field you wouldn’t really expect.

Qualifying was really difficult I think for a lot of people. ECR, those guys, again, solid, but normally they’re always in the front row. That kind of throws in a little bit of a new, Hey, seems like a different year. Something about the car that’s definitely challenging.

I think that again makes it must-see television on Sunday. I completely think there’s going to be more overtaking. After Monday, it was cool to see that. Cool temperatures. That helps racing, as well.

All of it leads to hopefully just a great event.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing 

Starts 14th

THE MODERATOR: Ed, your thoughts about tomorrow? Two-hour practice, then Sunday.

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, really excited. I thought our last regular day on track Monday went really, really well. It’s always a nice, nice way to finish off that week feeling prepared, kind of take some of the pressure off of Carb Day. It can be such a weird practice session.

Yeah, so not super stressed about tomorrow. Just go make sure everything is back where we want it and everything’s working, get some pit stop practice in, be prepared for Sunday.

Q.  Ed, I just heard a lot of drivers say that the hybrid is not that much different to the car of last year. Also, it’s always said that we need to focus on all the details. Can you describe for you with your experience, with the speed that you had in past years, how do you explain what can be these little details and difference that you have to focus on?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of ways the cars can feel very, very similar to the past without the hybrid. For me, I feel like it made the window, the operating window, maybe a little smaller just with the extra weight.

As far as the details go, it’s just a whole ‘nother system to manage and use. It’s much more useful in a race setting than what it was in qualifying. Just being consistent with the usage and maximizing it, whether you’re on the move or defending.

It does play a pretty big role in helping manage keeping people behind you or getting past cars. It’s just another layer of detail that didn’t exist prior. So just a little more to think about and manage in the midst of the race.

Q.  Obviously as a team owner, INDYCAR has talked about having more independence in the wake of everything that’s happened this week with Penske. Is that something you called for in the past? What was your reaction to that whole thing?

ED CARPENTER: All that I’ll really say about that, just because there’s a lot to really be discussed still, I think the start of the conversations that have happened this week have been positive and productive. Look forward to hopefully being part of that as it develops.

I think this week kind of set the stage for what should be some productive work into the future.

Q.  Were you good with the way the Penske situation was handled overall this week?

ED CARPENTER: I think so, yeah. I mean, it’s obviously a tough situation for everyone, whether you’re talking the Penske drivers, especially the personnel that’s no longer with the team, but also the rest of the teams and drivers, our partners. That’s probably the most disappointing thing to me, is that we’re at a point in our sport where we have so many good things going on, so much momentum around this month, that it’s changed the storylines a little bit.

I think the Indy 500 is going to deliver a great show, and hopefully we’ll be talking about that come Sunday and not what happened last weekend.

Q.  Ed, Rossi has brought quite a bit to the program for all the different races so far this season. Speaking to Indianapolis, what’s maybe he added to the program that maybe you didn’t have last year?

ED CARPENTER: I mean, first and foremost, he’s won the race. That’s always a big plus, to have a past champion on your team.

But beyond that, Alex is really a professional, detail-oriented guy. The driver he replaced in Rinus was fantastic here, very quick. But in general, we hadn’t had a driver come into our team that had been at other high-level teams before they got to us, with the exception of Ryan Hunter-Reay doing a couple races for us a couple years ago.

To have a driver like that join us full-time, we’re in a really exciting time at ECR where we have a new ownership partner and new partners, new sponsorship. We’re really trying to raise our standards and aim higher than where we had the past couple years. He’s a big part of that.

Q.  Ed, obviously during the off-season, the team made all those changes. How would you assess how the team has progressed so far into this year?

ED CARPENTER: I think we’re heading in a good direction. We probably haven’t had all the results that we would have hoped on the 21 car. Alex has been quite consistent. We’ve been qualifying better with that car on average than we had been a year ago, and having some solid races.

It feels like we’re on an upward trajectory and really want to capitalize on that on Sunday.

Q.  Ed, I talked to Christian Rasmussen earlier, talking about his second start, said there’s always nerves at the Indy 500. Do you still get the nerves, those butterflies? Do you feel your mindset is that much different compared to when you were here for your earlier starts?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, you still deal with nerves and anxiety. There’s always a lot to worry about here, whether it’s the pace of the car or making the right decisions or all the number of things that are outside of our control that you hope and pray will fall your way on race day.

At the same time really enjoy the process and look forward to all the emotions that come with race day, try to go out and do the job to the best of my abilities and put together a solid 500 miles and see where it lands us.

THE MODERATOR: Ed, obviously not your first 500, but aside from the racing, what do you look most forward to on race day?

ED CARPENTER: I think my favorite part about race morning is probably walking out to the pits with my family, is always a memorable thing. Photos that I appreciate having afterwards. Also driver intros before we get serious and get in the car is a really special moment to appreciate how lucky we are as the 33 drivers that get to go out and race in the greatest race in the world.

THE MODERATOR: Family photos changed over the years?

ED CARPENTER: They’re getting quite large. They still come up with me for driver intros. Two of the three are full-grown now. It’s getting tight.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceThursday May 22, 2025Indianapolis, Indiana, USAJosef Newgarden – Team PenskeStarts 32nd THE MODERATOR: Going back to row 11, two-time reigning Indy 500 champion, 31-time race winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, starting 32nd on Sunday, Josef Newgarden. How you doing? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not sleeping tonight (smiling). Long days, late nights, especially with the travel. Kind of ready to get locked back in the bus here and not go anywhere for the next 72 hours, however long it’s going to be. Yeah, it’s cold in here, for, so I’m keeping my jacket on. All good, ready to go. THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on getting back in the car tomorrow. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I can’t wait. I think the weather looks really perfect actually for the weekend in a lot of ways. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, pretty excited for that. Yeah, can’t wait. Q. These guys that are no longer on the team, they weren’t just guys you worked with, they were friends, people that you were close to. How difficult is it to see them leave, especially under these circumstances? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think we got a lot of people sitting here today, it looks like. I don’t want to disappoint or offend anybody. I’m here to talk about the race. I’m here with my team. I’m ready to go racing. I love this race. My goodness, I’ve been enjoying being here this whole time. I look forward to it every year, as we all do. Ready to go to work with our group. Proud of everything that we have done up to this point. Ready to go racing. So that’s what I got to say. Q. Speaking of the race, Kyle Larson thinks you have the fastest car on the track. What can we expect to see, what kind of charge? As Rick Mears says, you can win this race from any seat in the house. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think he’s right, you can win this race from any seat in the house. There’s no bad seat in this house. I like saying that, too. I love listening to where people sit and hearing their stories. There’s just no bad seat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think that goes for the starting grid, too. I like the challenge coming from 32nd. I don’t know what the day looks like, it’s so hard to predict. We do have a great car. It just seems to be getting better every year. I’m trying to protect that right now. It’s one of these things where every day changes a little bit at the Speedway. You have to stay on top of it. Sunday is really going to be the day that counts. We have to make sure we’re in the right place for that day. If we can do that, we should be in a good spot. Q. Do you come into this race angry? Frustrated? Anxious? What’s your emotion? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Right now I’m trying to remain – what’s the way to put this – trying to remain happy. This is the Indy 500. I just said it at the very beginning, too. I look forward to this time of year every season. I can’t wait. We’re going to have a sold-out crowd here for the Indianapolis 500, as it should be. To see all the people that show up and make this what it is, I look forward to that. That’s how I feel right now. I’m ready to go racing. I know I have a good car. I’m ready to work with my team and hopefully put on a good show. There’s no guarantees, but I’m ready to rock. Q. Has it been easy to try to be happy? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s a little cold to be happy today. A little gloomy. I think the weather is going to help tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. Q. As you’re fighting from back there in 32nd, how do you approach that fight? Probably not a place you’ve been too much in your career. As you’ve been starting to think about this race, how do you approach trying to work your way up to the front? Do you have some benchmarks? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s a good question. I don’t have a plan at the moment. I don’t want to set anything in stone as far as markers or milestones throughout the race. I think we just got to go. I know this. If we can get the car where it needs to be on Sunday, which is where it’s been pretty much every day that we’ve been here so far, Indy is this mysterious place. Like every day, every condition is a little different. I know if we have the car we’ve had this entire month, we’re going to be completely in the fight. I don’t know what that is going to look like. It’s so hard to predict. I’m pretty open-minded on how this day is going to go. We have the tools and the people to battle to the front, which is what we plan to do. Q. Doug has said that they believe what was wrong on your car, Will’s car, found in tech inspection, wasn’t any sort of performance gain. You dropped back to 32nd and 33rd. Do you think the penalty that was dealt to you was an otherwise fair penalty? How did you react to it when you heard? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just see a bigger mountain. That’s all I see. Q. You said you’re here to talk about the race. The race gets a lot harder for you when you have distractions and your team seems in turmoil. How are you going to stay focused and block out those distractions without letting that seep into your preparation? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s the same challenge as always. I think you have to focus on what you can control. That’s the difficult part about this job. It’s the difficult part about the Indianapolis 500 is how do you stay focused on what is in your control. That can look very differently every year. There can be different stressors that push you. If you can just get yourself to a place where you are focused at the task at hand, you know what’s in front of you, you know what you’re in control of, you’re truly just focused on, that then I think you said yourself up mentally to have the best day possible. That’s what we’re doing. We’ve got to just, like I said, get the car right for Sunday. Even tomorrow in a lot of ways does not matter. It’s a last check. But Sunday is what matters. If we just focus on what we need to do for that place, I think we’ll be in a good place. Q. You can still win? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Q. How much will you and Will talk about moving up from the back? You can plan, say you’re going to work together, but the elements take over, the emotions take over. Is there an ability to work together, especially with the hybrid, start saving some fuel? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s hard to work together. We can certainly not hinder each other. That’s probably the best way to put it. We’re on the same team. We got the same goal. We want to get all our cars up front. We want a car to win for our team, for our group. We don’t need to be hindering each other. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to work in parallel. It’s very tough to do here at the Speedway. In a lot of ways starting in the back, it’s every person for themselves. We’re just aware of each other. We both know what the game plan is in a lot of ways. I just think trying to not hinder each other is more the challenge. Q. Obviously you have Luke Mason as a strategist. What has made him the right person for the role? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, Lucas. His name is not even Lucas. I just like calling him that. Luke is going to be just fine. He’s one of the most naturally gifted race engineers I’ve ever met. I’m always excited when he’s on the stand. It will be no different on Sunday. Q. You’ve been traveling these last 24 hours. Will told us that Roger called him in and talked to him to deliver the news of yesterday. Did you talk to Roger on the phone, or how did you learn about what we learned yesterday morning? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I learned it on the phone just because I wasn’t present here. Q. Do you have any input on how folks were elevated? Did they ask you what you wanted to do on your car or just say this is what we’re going to do with the replacements? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, Roger Penske is the boss. It’s his team. That’s a question for him. Q. I’ll give you a break and give you a fun one. Is there anybody — with Kyle Larson being here doing the second double, is there anybody from either the INDYCAR side or NASCAR side also attempt the double? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So many. So many. Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it. I think Blaney really wants to do it. Obviously McLaughlin. I want to do it. I think you could ask the majority of the field would want to do the double. It’s so much fun. It’s just very difficult to get that lined up. Doing what Kyle is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. Should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult. Yeah, there’s a lot of people that want to do it. I would love to see Blaney do it at some point. I don’t know how he would do in INDYCAR, but it would be fun to see. Q. With how this race has ended the last few years, thrilling last-moments passes, going into this race, is there a certain time frame, a certain lap that you guys feel like would be the opportune time to pass for the lead? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s different every year. I didn’t predict anything the first two races. I didn’t know how they were going to flow. First one in ’23 was quite chaotic with the reds. It was very hard to track what was happening until the very last moment. Last year same deal. You’re just sort of going off instinct. It was a really big battle last year with multiple cars. I don’t know what this year’s going to look like. I think you have to stay very open-ended, at least as far as your plan or perspective. They’re all different. Maybe that’s not going to be the case this year what we saw the last two seasons. Maybe it doesn’t turn into that. Maybe it does. Even if it does, it might look differently than it did last year. I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what it’s going to be. You have to be open to it. Q. There’s some very good drivers starting in the back, the rows in front of you. Does that give you confidence you guys will all race each other very well, or do you see that as they want to get to the front just as bad as they do? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think everybody is going to be of the same mentality. Everyone wants to get to the front as quickly as possible. I’m not sure how it affects me with the cars. I kind of look at the field, you’re against everybody here. I think everybody’s really capable. It’s not like, Hey, the first half of the cars I have to get through with the team, are they weak? I think everybody is going to be pretty strong throughout the field. You’ll have some weaker cars, but I don’t think they go in batches necessarily. Yeah, I’m not really looking at who’s lined up in the back to start. Q. Since Tom Brady played such a big role in your commercial on FOX, are we going to get a chance to compare each other’s jawlines? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that that’s necessary. If there’s a man for the job, it would be you, Bruce. We should put you on that assignment, yeah. We could get your camera out with your flash. I think you’d do a great job. Let’s put you up to that task (smiling). Q. On a human-to-human level, Will said it’s pretty heavy on Mr. Penske to make those fines with people he has a long relationship with. In what ways do you hope to be there for him in this time? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’m not going to comment further on the actions that have happened with the team this week, like I said earlier. Q. The NASH sign out there with you in the green hat, that is your real hand? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Does the photo look weird? Q. Only the hand. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Which one, the right one? Whichever one is exposed? Q. Yes. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That sounds weird, my exposed hand. Maybe it’s the ring, I don’t know. Q. Should put two rings on. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Now that you said that, I need to go look at that photo. It’s probably warped in some way. Maybe that was a strategy. We wanted people to be freaked out by my abnormally large hand and then visit the pop-up. Everybody should come out and check out my abnormally shaped hand at our pop-up and buy some NASH merch. Q. Do you think there’s going to be a lot of passing because the hybrid or not because of the hybrid? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you’re going to see a very similar show to last year. I really do. I don’t think we’re going to deviate much from the amount of passing or the style of passing, which is a good thing. We had a really good show last year, right? Still gets tricky with multiple cars in a pack. If you’re sitting three or four deep, you’re working harder to try and look for a mistake or an opening. But the ability for the front group to pass, certainly the first two, to get through the field a bit, I think it should be a similar show. It’s a little different way we’re getting there. You have to use the hybrid now within either attack or defense. So that strategy is different than last year because we didn’t have that. I think the ability to pass, et cetera, it should not deviate much from last year’s show, which is a good thing. Q. I remember two years ago you said that you have a specific plan in order to go to the front. I remember also that you said you already know, your team already know, the way to win this race. Do you already have in process this plan for this year in this specific situation? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, definitely. I don’t think the plan changes in a lot of ways. As far as how do you win the Indianapolis 500? I think there is no one formula. I know of a formula that you can prescribe to win the race. I don’t think it changes starting from 32nd. We know what we need to do throughout the race to give ourselves an opportunity to go for the win. I think that’s really not the secret, but it’s just the formula, if you will. You have to give yourself a chance at the right time. Seems simple, but this race, it’s an endurance in a lot of ways, it’s 500 miles. A lot you have to calculate through: the way you manage yellows, where you put yourself in the strategies, when you’re making moves, when you’re not. There’s a cadence to it. We’ve done it before, and we’ll try and do the exact same thing this weekend. Q. You spent years trying to celebrate with the fans. You never did it. Three in a row has never been done. Anything up your sleeve if you win on Sunday? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know yet. I don’t know yet. It’s kind of an in-the-moment thing. We’ll see. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming out. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.

About General Motors

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing

Starts 17th

THE MODERATOR: Sting Ray, for you, how important will those two hours tomorrow be?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for us it’s critical. We found an issue in the car on Monday with something that was affecting the handling, and so I had been struggling with it, and we couldn’t figure out what it was because it was one of those things that wasn’t bad enough yet. Finally it got bad enough on Monday and took it back to the garage and went, Oh, there it is.

I don’t really know what kind of race car I have, but I do know that it’s fast. Even though the balance hasn’t been good, the car has been very, very quick, which is kind of out of the ordinary. Usually it’s the other way around. You get really good balance but the car is not quick. This year it seems like these cars are just rapid.

I’m excited to see what we can did do for the race. Conor has been happy with his car. We both like a similar thing, which is nice. We can kind of use his foundation to build from.

Tomorrow is important for us. I think that we need to have that experience to find out what we need for the race.

Q.  Sting Ray, about the speed on the car, do you feel like you can compare what you feel last year with this year, like the little things that change with the hybrid and the things that are changed just for the setup of the car? How do you can explain us a little about this difference?

STING RAY ROBB: Compared to last year it’s a new team for me on the 500 setup, and the car is quite a bit different with the hybrid as well. It’s hard to compare, right? The hybrid unit itself, I don’t think it has changed too much of what the cars are. It’s added weight, but it’s also added a little bit of the tools in the deployment region in how you maximize those.

I think that the balance change has been pretty minimal in that sense. Then going from last year’s team to JHR this year, I think that the speed that’s naturally in the car this year is better than what I had last year, which is kind of nice. I think that that comes down to the preparation.

So I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. That’s not necessarily my job to know every little detail, but I do know that these guys have worked super hard to get these cars ready.

To be honest, I think it’s the same throughout the paddock, right? We see guys where they have their primary car and then an accident happens and they go to their backup car, and it’s just not the same. Thankfully for us we haven’t had that as far as an issue so far. We’ve been running our primary car, and it’s been very, very quick all week.

THE MODERATOR: Speak of experience for you, Sting Ray, Conor has led a lot of laps around this place. How has he helped you as a race car driver?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, Conor has been a great teammate for me this year. For him it’s nice to have some familiarity coming back to a team that he’s run at least a part of a season with.

I think that the things that he needs from the car is similar to what I need from the car, which is nice. Usually you have a certain driver going one way and a certain driver going another way, but this year it seems like we are kind of pushing the team in the same direction, which it’s nice when you can get two cars going in the same direction. Things happen a lot quicker that way because you don’t have to compromise.

So it’s been nice to kind of have a teammate that has similar feedback and is driving a similar car that I find to be good. We’ve seen it in other places other than here, right? I think Long Beach was a place that based off our street course setup we kind of pushed the team in the same direction. They had already been developing that way anyways.

Now coming to a track that Conor has done so well at, has so much experience at with different teams, he has a lot of knowledge, and also his approach to the car has been really good.

That’s the thing with the month of May. You can’t just outdrive anything. You kind of have to work up to it. You have to go through the process. You have to check all the boxes. That’s where the experience comes in is which boxes do I need to check today? Conor has done a good job to kind of help check those boxes for me throughout the week and the week prior to get ready for qualifying and all that, so it’s been very good.

THE MODERATOR: Setup similar between you?

STING RAY ROBB: Identical. You could copy one setup sheet to another. Part of that is I don’t know what kind of car I have, so we’ve just been following his leads.

THE MODERATOR: It’s a good leader certainly.

Q.  Just got one for Sting Ray. Obviously your two previous race setups have been different. The first time was quite difficult, and you had that incident after running. Last year you were running at the front for quite a large period of it. I guess from your perspective, how unusual is it to have such two vastly different experiences that you carry over into the race this year?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, those are very, very two different experiences, but I think that the last two years here have been very unique experiences for me just because it’s overwhelming the month of Indy 500. I think this year I’m in a much better place mentally, physically. I understand and have expectations that are much more appropriate for what this is.

I’ll take my leading experience from last year, and hopefully that will come in handy for this season. Starting a restart from first is a little bit different than starting it from 20th. Now I know what that’s like. Hopefully I’ll have another chance to do it again this year.

Q.  Especially in your rookie year you sort of said the off track stuff, all the commitments you have to do and all the other stuff got quite tiring. Now you’re in your third year. Has anything really changed? Have you got the schedule off track where you can manage all this?

STING RAY ROBB: The schedule has been way better this year compared to the first year I was in INDYCAR. I remember it was my mom — my momager as I affectionately call her — that was scheduling everything for me at that time. She just said yes to everything that she could.

Whether it was talking to someone about doughnut at their doughnut shop or someone that was with FOX Sports. You name it, we did every interview that we could that rookie season. I remember I didn’t interview in the car driving from one speaking event to another while eating my lunch. I was, like, Okay, that’s it, I’m not doing that again.

Now I have scheduled naps into my routine, which is way better. I like it a lot more.

THE MODERATOR: Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for me outside of the racing there’s a lot of tradition here, and I’m still learning what it means to be an INDYCAR driver at the Indianapolis 500. Every year it seems like there’s another layer added to it.

I actually got to sit in on Jake Query giving a little bit of a speech earlier this month and just kind of the history of how the speedway came to be. It makes you appreciate the grounds a little bit more, the fans a little bit more, the city a little bit more, and it makes you realize the impact that we’re having is more than just driving race cars around a racetrack.

I think one of my favorite moments that I’ve experienced so far, and it’s been the same answer the last two years, but when they do the playing of the “Taps,” and it’s dead silent after, and you look around, and you can just see the sort of solemnness that’s in the air. It’s one of those things where it’s, like, Yeah, racing is cool, but it’s not everything.

It’s kind of a neat perspective to have on Memorial Day weekend being from America and appreciating that these are the freedoms that we’ve been doing to steward well. That’s part of the reason why we have the livery on the car that we have this year. It’s been a pleasure.

CONCORD, NC (May 22, 2025) – Pack your bags, because the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision is about to head out on a summer road trip.

After a break in the schedule allowing teams to partake in the Dirt Late Model Dream and the opening weeks of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, the season gets rolling again with the busiest stretch of racing of the year.

The Series will log more than 1,200 miles across four states between June 20-29, with seven nights of racing on the itinerary at six different tracks.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park | St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff (June 20-21): One of the most universally loved tracks in dirt racing is back on the calendar in 2025.

For the first time in three years, the World of Outlaws will go head-to-head with the stars of the Hell Tour for a pair of races on the 1/4-mile. They’ll be joined by the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota and the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals to round out the tripleheader.

Dennis Erb Jr.’s three victories make him the only current Outlaw who has found Victory Lane with the Series at Pevely before, as he won for the first time in 2012 and then swept the weekend in 2022. Other past winners in the 11 World of Outlaws races held at the track since 2005 include Billy Moyer (’05), Clint Smith (’07), Shane Clanton (’08), Shannon Babb (’10), Josh Richards (’11, ’13) and Brandon Sheppard (’17, ’18).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Independence Motor Speedway | Monday Madness (June 23): The first of two Monday night events on the schedule is coming up this month with the seventh World of Outlaws stop at Iowa’s Independence Motor Speedway.

Bobby Pierce won the return trip to the 3/8-mile after a five-year hiatus last season, and he’s looking to go back-to-back this year. If someone else can get the job done, they’ll become the fifth World of Outlaws winner at Independence alongside Pierce, Richards (’11), Darrell Lanigan (’12, ’13, ’14) and Sheppard (’19).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

I-94 EMR Speedway | Fergus Falls Showdown (June 26): The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will make their first stop of the year in the “Gopher State” when they bring the Thursday night thunder to I-94 EMR Speedway.

The 2025 running of the Fergus Falls Showdown will be the race’s third edition – Frank Heckenast Jr. won the first World of Outlaws race at the track in 2021 before Pierce followed him up two years later in 2023.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

River Cities Speedway | Grand Forks Showdown (June 27): River Cities Speedway may be widely known as an annual highlight of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, but the North Dakota bullring has become a summertime staple for the Late Models as well.

The Series has been traveling to Grand Forks each year since the third season of the revitalized tour in 2006 when Lanigan took the inaugural victory. River Cities has been producing unforgettable racing ever since, and the list of winners is a who’s who of World of Outlaws history. In addition to Lanigan, past champions Richards (’09), Tim McCreadie (’11, ‘15), Clanton (’17, ‘22), Mike Marlar (’18), Sheppard (’19, ’20) and Erb (’21) have all graced Victory Lane, as have current Outlaws Ryan Gustin (’23) and Brian Shirley (’24).

For more event information, click here.

Norman County Raceway | Norman County Showdown (June 28): The World of Outlaws made their long-awaited debut at Norman County Raceway in 2024, and they’re back for more one year later.

Last summer featured a race of attrition, with Kyle Bronson, Pierce and Gustin all experiencing trouble while leading. That opened the door for Nick Hoffman, who got by Devin Moran with eight laps to go for his fifth win of the year.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Nodak Speedway | Minot Mayhem (June 29): The busiest week of the season comes to an end with a four-hour westward tow to Minot, ND for the first World of Outlaws race at Nodak Speedway since 1989.

The 3/8-mile hosted a two-night show as part of the second season of the Series, with Moyer and Mitch Johnson splitting the wins. While Nodak has not hosted national-level Late Model racing since then, the Northern Late Model Racing Association has made plenty of appearances at the track over the past three decades – two of them being won by Donny Schatz (’18, ’19).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing

Starts 18th

THE MODERATOR: Continuing with row six, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 18th, making his second appearance in the Indy 500, the 2023 Champion of INDY NXT by Firestone, driver of the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet for ECR, it’s Christian Rasmussen, and starting 17th, he led 23 laps in last year’s race, driver of the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, great to have Sting Ray Robb with us. Devlin DiFrancesco is also in row six. He starts 16th. He will join us later this afternoon.

Christian, for you, tell us about looking ahead to tomorrow, which is obviously hugely important to get you ready for Sunday as well?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, looking forward to it. I think we’ve had a good month so far. We’ve had really fast race cars. We he missed out a little bit in qualifying, but we’re better than what we showed there.

Yeah, I’m excited. Excited to get started. We had a good race here last year. I was able to move forward, so hopefully we can do that again.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about — we’ll start with Christian — having Rossi on board now, a guy that’s won this race, that’s been around here a lot. Ed has been around here a lot. You’ve worked with Ed now for the second year. How much has experience helped you at a place like Indianapolis?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, he’s been a massive asset not only here but the whole year. Alex comes in with a ton of experience. Obviously won around here, but he’s in his ninth year of INDYCAR, 10th year of INDYCAR.

THE MODERATOR: It’s his 10th Indy 500.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: No, it’s been amazing having him on board. I think Alex’s feedback to the car, knowing what’s going on is exceptional and more than anyone that I’ve ever worked with closely, so it’s been really good. He’s been helping on moving this whole project forward.

THE MODERATOR: It just seems, too, the team has a lot of momentum commercially speaking, and then obviously you’re seeing performance on track too, which I think has improved this year over last year. What is the momentum like for the team?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, for sure it’s there. It’s like Rome was built in a day and it’s not you get a new guy in and things are going to change overnight. It’s a process. I think Alex has really helped move that process in the right direction, and I think, like you are saying, I think results are getting better and better. I think this is just the start of it.

Q.  I’m wondering here, going into your second Indianapolis 500, finished 12th last year, great result. What are your thoughts going into your second Indianapolis 500? Do you think there’s going to be less nerves maybe, or just because it’s Indy, are those butterflies still going to be in your stomach coming back here for a second year?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I think there will always be butterflies when you are just about to start the Indianapolis 500, but no, just as the month as a whole, I’ve been a lot more calm in a way this year just kind of knowing what to expect a little bit more, having been through it all one time before.

You just know what to expect a little bit more, which makes it — yeah, at least for me I’ve just been able to have a little calmer approach, which has been nice.

Q.  Christian, it seems that turn two might be your favorite corner. I was just curious if you know what’s happened there in terms of why that seems to have been a place where the car kind of got away from you?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, the first time we thought we had a certain setup with the car. We were feeling very competitive up to that point. We had slight differences to the other car, but at that point when I did my first spin, we were I think 33 laps on tires. So it was a very easy one to brush off.

I was a little bit low, super old tires, and we just kind of thought that that was just one of them. So when we came back for practice the other day, we put on that same setup of the car because that’s where we felt the most competitive. 

Obviously went out on new tires, and the same thing happened.

So it was just kind of out of the ordinary. The rear just kind of stepped out on the car on both instances out of nowhere with not really any sign of it wanting to do so. So, yeah, obviously we’ve kind of had to re-evaluate the package that we are bringing and adapting a little bit from the other cars and kind of going towards that direction.

Q.  Do you have a similar setup to your two teammates?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: It’s very similar. It’s been slight differences throughout the month. We’ve done things on the 21 car that the 20 and the 33 has adopted, and the other way around as well. That’s kind of how the team dynamic works around here. If you find a little bit of something that you find an advantage in, then we can adopt that on the different cars.

That was just kind of the instance here where we had a thing that wasn’t really working for us, and we adopted some from the other cars.

STING RAY ROBB: I will say that you did it fairly well considering the other guys that had done it.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: About as good as you can.

STING RAY ROBB: That was impressive. I was puckered up watching like, Oh, all right, he’s okay, we’re all good.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The first time the only damage we had was a slight crack on the rear wing.

STING RAY ROBB: That’s pretty good. Very impressive.

THE MODERATOR: Very impressive. Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day? Christian, start with you.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The racing (laughing). I love racing around here. I think it’s so cool. I think you can do stuff around here that you can’t really do anywhere else. The racing on ovals in general are different from racing on a street circuit.

Obviously it’s super special being here. Walking through Gasoline Alley with 350,000-plus people, that’s a whole other story, but on the racetrack I think, yeah, it’s the coolest event that we do.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Callum Ilott – PREMA Racing

Starts 21st

THE MODERATOR: Continuing on with Row 7 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 21st, making his fourth start in the 500 from England, driver of the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, it’s Callum Ilott.

Starting 20th last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion, a rookie from England, driver of the No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Louis Foster.

And starting 19th, ready for his first leg of the Hendrick 1100, once he arrives here, Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren 

Chevrolet. Callum, let’s start with you. Looking forward to getting back in the car, I’m assuming, tomorrow?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, we agreed that we would start before Kyle gets here. You can ask us some questions before the star arrives.

No, really happy to get back going with the race car. Monday was the first time I got to do some laps in the pack because we’ve been focusing on qualifying. Yeah, felt really good, actually. Really strong. I was happy.

I think I was able to overtake a few people, but still a couple of cars are quite a bit faster. Yeah, I think we can move forward quite a bit.

Q.  Callum, given that this is PREMA’s first oval race, obviously we saw what happened with Robert, but what have you seen in the team that’s helped them get up to speed — pardon the pun — over the last several days in practice leading up to qualifying?

CALLUM ILOTT: I mean, they’ve just progressed and progressed and progressed. Each day the cars got better and better, and we focused a lot on qualifying. We got my car into the field pretty easily, and Robert exceeded expectations by a mile, and then the race car, look, we had our first proper go at it on Monday.

I think it’s a big, big challenge for Robert and his car to learn that quickly in two days, how the timing of everything works. They’re going to give it a go, and he’s starting in the sharp end of things.

Yeah, it’s like any other race. Once you are out there, you just have to execute with strategy and pit stops. We’ve got enough people with experience on the team to get those right.

Q.  Then for Callum, two years ago you finished 12th here. Last year you finished 11th. How do you feel about your chances of picking up your first Indy 500 top 10 or better this year?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think pretty good. We’ve exceeded expectations as a team so far this week and last week. I think the team is only improving and improving. Yeah, we just have to execute. I feel like I’ve got a good enough understanding of ovals to move forward from the starting position. Yeah, just have to build on it.

Last year I was in the pit lane when the race started. I was also last again, like, I think, lap 110 and managed to come back through to 11th. Speed is good, and we’ll have to see. Pretty high chances hopefully.

Q.  How do you think the race is going to flow with the hybrid this year and all the tools you’re going to be using?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think the thing is you get so much use of the hybrid per lap everybody is going to be on it. It’s the same basically. Everyone will be in the same rhythm. You recharge in the corner when you let off and let off the gas and then deploy on the exit. It just makes everything the same.

I’m sure that some people can do a slightly better job than others with it, but it’s not exactly the most challenging thing right now. It’s just another — I think in qualifying it was more challenging if you were doing a complicated way with it. It can get very complicated. But there was more time in getting the car right than there was in getting the hybrid right, so…

LOUIS FOSTER: Even then in qualifying, getting the hybrid perfect was like nothing.

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, it doesn’t — yeah.

LOUIS FOSTER: It’s another thing to do on the straights. I think it’s a bit of a “get out of jail free” card. I think if you make a mistake, before you would lose your momentum. With the hybrid it helps to pick up the momentum. You have guys behind you that have that additional momentum. It’s just another button to press.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

KYLE LARSON – HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren

Starts 19th

THE MODERATOR: Kyle, busy weekend ahead. You set, ready to go?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m excited about it. It’s obviously a really cool opportunity. I think the weather looks good so far. It changes every day at this point.

THE MODERATOR: We don’t need the pessimism. It’s looking good on Sunday.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Knock on wood.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, we’re ready to go.

Q.  Kyle, I wanted to ask you, coming back this year, what is the biggest difference for you? Is it just kind of ease of getting around? Do you know how the flow is going to go, or is it something specifically on track you feel that much more comfortable? What is it like year two compared to year one?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. It’s been different a little bit. I feel like it’s obviously been a little more challenging with a couple of smaller crashes that we’ve had and then just having to work on the balance of the car more than we did last year.

I feel like last year we didn’t really have to mess with a whole lot. I thought the balance was pretty comfortable, but it’s just taken a little bit more time to get to that comfortable spot this year.

Happy with where we’re at now. Yeah, you know, just kind of focused on both of the races at this point.

Kyle, Josef Newgarden has a very fast car. He’s starting in the back. What do you expect to see? You’ve seen guys in NASCAR with fast cars come from the back through the field. You as a driver at mid-pack, what do you expect to see him be able to do? What does a driver like you also do to race your way up to the front?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I think it’s going to be really exciting for fans to watch Josef carve his way to the front. I think he’s definitely got a fast car, one of the most experienced drivers out there, bravest — one of the bravest guys out there too.

It will be tough to pick his way forward, but I think he’ll be able to execute his way to the front along with a good car. He’ll be great on restarts. He will execute good pit stops. It’s the unknown of if there’s an accident in front of him and stuff that he can’t avoid, things like that. He’ll have no problem getting his way to the front.

Q.  As far as you, there’s a lot of times the way NASCAR races play out you might get mid-pack and you race your way back to the front. How easy or difficult will that be to do that on this track?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s not easy at any track and NASCAR either to drive your way to the front, but that’s where you have to rely on the people around you, your team, and the car that they’ve built and provided, your pit crew, your strategist.

You can’t just do it all on your own at this level. So, yeah, I think for any of us in the field, you have to rely on your team. That’s what we’ll be doing. That’s what everybody will be doing.

Q.  Kyle, I know the restarts were a little bit problematic last year for you. Is there anything you have been able to do with the team to working on that and prepare, or is that something you literally have to do in a race because you can’t really necessarily practice here to do stuff like that?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah. I mean, you don’t get the chance to practice restarts in practice, but yeah, I just had that one kind of mishap last year where I think I kind of hit the rev limiter right when I went to shift to second, and then it got me confused if it did shift, and I think I hit it again maybe or something and ended up in the wrong gear.

You know, I was able to kind of overcome that and had — I would say every restart after that was pretty good. We would gain a spot or three. It was honestly probably good for this year I think to go and have that bad restart and then you have to get aggressive on some others to learn for this year having to start from, I don’t know, row seven or wherever we’re at.

Yeah, I think it’s tough. You get a lot of laps throughout these couple of weeks, but there’s still more to learn during the race than practice. Just getting into the rhythm of all that is a challenge. But, I mean, there’s a lot of us out there that really don’t have that much experience racing on ovals for some of these guys. Specifically, the Indy 500.

Q.  Kyle, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t really want to use your tools, like your weight jacker last year. This year you’ve got the hybrid in addition to that. How much have you been using that or messing with it? Do you think it will be a big thing for you during the race?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I have definitely gotten more — I think last year I was just scared to do anything. I think my balance was, like, in a happy spot last year, and I was like, I don’t want to go and — I didn’t know how sensitive everything was going to be.

This year, yeah, I’ve definitely played around with it a lot more. I feel like even last year I was afraid to do things in the short chute, moving bar. This year I’ve gotten way more comfortable with doing those things.

The hybrid is, I feel like, hyped up as being this crazy new thing, but it’s really not a big deal either, I don’t think. I don’t know what these guys think. But you just pull the paddle and go. When you want more charges, hit a button. It’s not really, like, a big deal.

Yeah, there is definitely more to the cockpits than what we’re used to all year long in NASCAR or sprint car racing, but yeah, I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of it more this time around.

Q.  Kyle, do you have anything to add? (about how the hybrid 

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, do you have anything to add?

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, the thing about it is you’re at an iconic speedway here. You’ve got a fellow New Zealander now in cut with you. Then you were a regular feature at Western Springs Speedway at New Zealand over the years. It’s sadly closed now. What’s a memory that you have of racing Down Under in New Zealand?

KYLE LARSON: I always love going to New Zealand. It’s probably some of the best racing memories that I have to this point, just getting to spend time down there with our Kiwi friends that have kind of turned into family and other Americans going there to race. Racing 15 minutes outside of Auckland with 15,000 people there for a dirt race was pretty crazy. The racing was always good. You had off days to spend as vacation going to Waiheke Island and going on wine tastings on your scooter, and all that was fun.

Yeah, I haven’t gotten to go since 2019 and ’20, so I’ve missed going there. I wish I could have got there for the final season, but yeah, it’s just unfortunate, but hopefully maybe someday it will reopen.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren

Starts 24th

THE MODERATOR: The weather looks good. Nolan, for you, same story? The difference of the balance, the feel in the car between qualifying and the race?

NOLAN SIEGEL: I definitely feel the same as Kyle where qualifying was, I think, tough for everyone. It was a bit weird, I would say, how strong we felt on Monday relative to kind of the opposite on Saturday, which I guess is a good thing, but it’s been a bit confusing for us.

We’ve, I feel like, been really strong at some points and then weaker at other points. And qualifying day we weren’t as good as we thought we were going to be, and Monday we came back, and the car is fast and we’re really competitive in traffic.

Hopefully that stays that way, but it’s been very up and down. It’s been interesting. It’s been interesting.

Q. Nolan, for you as well, and we’ll just call you Kirk too. Your thoughts? First 500. As we mentioned, there’s a bunch of veterans in and around you. Is your mindset, great, I’m going to go in front of them right away? Or is it do I play it safe, learn from them, and then attack? What’s the mindset?

NOLAN SIEGEL: It depends how it plays out. No, I feel — starting where I am, I feel a lot better that I’m starting around great people that are also going to be moving their way forward. Yeah, I couldn’t ask for better people to be around.

If I can slot in behind Helio and follow him through the pack, then that’s going to be a great learning experience for me. Obviously he knows how to get around here.

Yeah, it’s definitely — starting where I am, it’s not where I would want to be starting, but it’s kind of the best-case scenario being where I am. So we’ll see. I’m going to do what I can. I’m going to try to be smart for the first part, but I think you can’t just sit around in INDYCAR. There’s no INDYCAR race where you sit around and wait, things just come to you. You kind of have to go get it.

I’ll try to move my way forward and be smart about it at the same time.

Q. Nolan, take me back to Sunday. You were watching Jacob Abel and trying to make the field, and it was the situation that you were in a year before. I’m sure you were relieved you weren’t in the cockpit at that time. Did it bring back some emotions? Did you have any opportunity to talk to Jabel and discuss, hey, I know the exact feeling, and maybe you and him might be the only two in the last two years that have felt that?

NOLAN SIEGEL: I have spoken to Jacob, and I stood out on pit lane with Jack Harvey, who was there with me through it all last year. It’s just hard. Someone has to go home, but no matter what, there’s no one in the field that you want to see go home. It’s just hard.

I know exactly what Jacob was going through. I have a lot of respect for Jacob. We’ve raced against each other for a long time, known each other for a long time, all through the Road to Indy.

Yeah, it definitely brought back some memories from last year. While I was happy to not be doing that on Sunday, it was hard not to feel for him and feel for the whole team. Like everyone there has put in so much work to be here in the first place, and to see a group of people go home with nothing, it’s hard.

Q.  Nolan, your famous quote last year was “I wasn’t going to go home because I lifted.” Is there a part of you that is amazed at the path your life has taken over the past 12 and 13 months since that day?

NOLAN SIEGEL: Yeah, definitely. I feel very, very lucky to be here. While I feel settled and obviously I’ve been in the same spot for long enough now for it to kind of feel normal, it is cool being here and looking back one year and thinking about all that’s happened.

I feel very grateful to be in the position that I’m in, and a lot of great things have happened in the past year. I just want to make the most of all the opportunities that I’ve been given. That’s my goal here.

Yeah, grateful to have another shot at this race obviously, and it’s been my goal for a long time to be full-time in INDYCAR, and to do it with a team like Arrow McLaren is really special. Yeah, I just want to make the most of that amazing opportunity.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Ryan Hunter-Reay – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Starts 25th

THE MODERATOR: Ryan, do you care to introduce your guest?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, this is Ryden over here. He just is graduating from fifth grade and missing his last week of school to be here because he would rather be nowhere else, so that’s what we’re doing.

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts about missing your last week of school? Grab the microphone. What’s it like to miss the last week of school for this?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: I think it’s better than going to school. Way better.

THE MODERATOR: We agree. We’ll open it up for questions for all three, or four, for that matter.

Q.  You guys are staying across the street. You get to come and watch your dad race. That’s pretty cool. Your friends get into it? What’s this week like staying so close to the track and having this place as your playground?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: It’s really cool because we get to kind of scooter everywhere. Yeah, really fun.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Like his own little playground here. Tough life.

Q.  This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q.  My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, I think qualifying day, really Saturday is probably the longest day of the whole year for anybody involved in this business and especially from behind the wheel. It’s extremely stressful, but I think over time over the years you just learn to kind of deal with that.

It never gets old, though. It’s not like it becomes less stressful. You just deal with it in a different way, and you manage that a bit more. Yeah, it’s always come with a lot of pressure and obviously consequences on the racetrack and all that stuff. It’s part of the job.

Q. Then for Ryan, you’re a former winner here at the 500, so you know what it takes to finish up front here. What’s one thing that the rookies or the younger drivers don’t realize about this race until they’re, like, deep into it?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It’s a long race really. Like kind of Colton said, you can’t really just focus on I have to get to the front now. It’s several cars at a time. Get some on the track. Get some in the pit lane. Work through it methodically that way.

You know, I think just knowing when to take the lunge and when not to, I think maybe the experienced guys have an upper hand on that, with it being all about keeping the momentum up. It’s tough now, though, with the cars how they are and the current specs, everybody is very desperate for every pass. 

There’s a lot of blocking going on.

It’s definitely a bit of a different approach than it’s been maybe, I don’t know, ten years ago, but we all adapt to that and drive accordingly.

THE MODERATOR: Ryden, who is going to win on Sunday?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: My dad.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: There it is.

THE MODERATOR: Right answer. Guys, thanks for coming up.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Jack Harvey – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Starts – 26th

THE MODERATOR: Jack, rising TV star at FOX Sports, putting that aside for at least a week. How much are you looking forward to Carb Day tomorrow and then obviously on race day?

JACK HARVEY: I think with all the drivers it’s always a privilege to get to compete in the Indy 500. Probably like a lot of people, we felt good on Monday, so we’re hoping that just translates to Friday and the race.

Q.  Jack, for you, race car looked pretty good. How much is it patience and how much is it wanting to go forward because there could be a lot of potential we’ll see? Restarts are going to be key here. How do you methodically work your way up knowing you have a good race car underneath you?

JACK HARVEY: I think patience is probably the right word. It’s obviously a super long race. We really just need to be there from halfway to the end. I think feels like a pretty fast row, at least from what I observed on Monday. So I think we’re all probably hoping that if one of us is going to the front, that we all just kind of as a convoy go to the front as well.

One thing that has been really cool with working with everyone at Dreyer & Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports is the emphasis they put on the pit stops and the preparation they’ve done. So far the stops have looked really great in practice. So I think that’s going to be more of an asset to us than a hindrance, which I think for a part-time or single-race team, it’s a really huge thing.

If the car is good and balance is good and everything is ticking away nicely, then hopefully we’ll have a great day.

Q.  This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q.  First of all, Jack, you’re a lad from Lincolnshire. How on earth have you acquired the nickname Hollywood? It seems like you’ve been forced to embrace it now it seems?

JACK HARVEY: That’s a pretty accurate observation, I would say. I think it started by — well, it definitely — I know it started by Will Buxton. I see Kevin. He was a culprit in this too. So between the booth and Kevin, and I low-key think Georgia was involved. I can’t remember exactly how Hollywood Harvey came up.

Just for context, the village that I grew up in is like 1,000 people in a small town in a small part of the United Kingdom two hours north of London. This is a rural place, guys. The fact that Hollywood Harvey is my nickname, I have my friends who didn’t get to see the build-up to it. They’re, like, Oh, big-time now, you’re on TV. I’m, like, I know it’s going to come across that way. Even these hooligans, they all heckle me now saying Hollywood and stuff. Kind of been forced to embrace it.

I

‘ve had worse. Muffin Man is worse, I have to admit. So maybe we’ll make a game out of just bad nicknames, but if it was an Olympic sport, I think I would be gold medalist right now.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: — got a very explicit British vocabulary now.

JACK HARVEY: Ryan has been watching some TV shows, and his vocabulary has rapidly improved.

THE MODERATOR: For instance?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We can’t give that out.

Q.  This question is for Hollywood. I’m just kind of curious. You have driven Honda your entire career. This is the first time you’ve ever had Chevy. I’m kind of curious what the differences you’ve noticed with the power band pounding laps around Indy.

JACK HARVEY: Nothing crazy, honestly. I would say, too, just top-tier organizations. My time with Chevy so far has been really good. I think probably some of what I hear other people talking about is the drivability of the car, on throttle application. That probably shows up more so on a street circuit and then road course and then probably least affected at the oval.

Yeah, my time with Chevy so far has been really great. Yeah, first race weekend not in a Honda, but that’s fine. It would be pretty cool if I can’t win it, to see Ryan win it, and then just a Chevy driver after that really.

Q.  My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

JACK HARVEY: I set boundaries with people from the team, sponsors, myself, et cetera. We do what is absolutely required, but after that if it’s 10 o’clock at night, if it’s urgent, you can call me. If it’s not urgent, let me have that moment to myself and unwind.

One thing I did this month, which hopefully you guys will do too, is watch “Andor Star Wars,” but I paced it out. I watched an episode a day because I used that as my time to unwind and do something I actually enjoyed.

Not taking on more than I could feasibly do and having boundaries I think was the best thing that I implemented this month of May.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: So I’m working on my vocabulary. You are watching “Star Wars.”

THE MODERATOR: How was it?

JACK HARVEY: It was excellent. It’s like top tier “Star Wars,” Dave.

Q.  This question is for Jack. Jack, obviously you’ve got your new role with Fox, but what has it been like switching off from that for the month of May and being on track back in the car?

JACK HARVEY: It’s been pretty easy, honestly. I would say the opportunities that Fox has been given to me this year have been brilliant. It’s kept me in the paddock amongst all my pals and in an environment and a community that I like to be a part of.

Only getting to race once a year, I knew we had a lot of free time. Finally when I got the call from them, I was just really happy. That’s an area I still have to work on. It’s not totally my comfort zone. I feel like we’re making progress on it. Wearing the helmet, putting the suit back on, that’s still a place where I feel the most at ease, the most confident. It’s been if un.

Actually one thing I’ll share, both FOX Sports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports, both organizations — I guess three organizations there, haven’t really overlapped. Everyone has been very respectful when it’s been time to be a pit reporter and then announce the NXT races and then also when it’s time to be driver.

The mutual respect between everybody has probably allowed me to focus on both jobs that I have this year to 100%. I’m very appreciative of that. When we’ve been able to maybe speak to the guys when I’m in the car, that’s just a fun bonus, but it’s come at a time that’s convenient to the team, convenient for the booth.

So, yeah, I feel like I’m living a pretty awesome life, honestly.

Q.  Just a quick one on Dennis and Don. What’s it been like working with those two guys?

JACK HARVEY: They’re awesome, honestly. A lot of respect for everybody at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Cusick Motorsports. It takes a village to be competitive at this. We all know that. We’ve had a great team of people right at the very top. It’s hard to get that message across.

What the team, both sets of teams, stand for and how they want to be, they radiate all the time. And they set the tone, and it trickles down through the entire — well, through both organizations. I think me and Ryan are lucky that as a single-race entry that we’re with both of those teams.

Q.  Then for Jack, you’ve been in the pit lane all season as a reporter, like you mentioned earlier. How has seeing the sport from the broadcast side changed your perspective as a driver coming back for this 500 run?

JACK HARVEY: It’s probably just appreciation for what goes into actually a good show and a good presentation of the INDYCAR SERIES, whether it’s TV, radio. So much more goes on than I think drivers are typically exposed to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just everyone is doing their jobs.

More so just some appreciation and respect and gratitude for how hard so many people work just to try and make this a great product that people can come watch.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Will Power – Team Penske 

Starts 33rd

THE MODERATOR: Starting 33rd, he was the winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, good morning, Will Power.

Will, start off for you. Obviously you’re looking forward to getting out on the racetrack tomorrow. A couple of hours of practice before the race on Sunday. How crucial will those two hours be for you?

WILL POWER: I think because of the temperature it will be interesting. I think it’s going to matter. It certainly changes the car a lot. It’s very sensitive around this place to wind and temperature. It will be interesting to see how that feels.

I kind of feel like it helps everyone. It’s a bit more grip for everyone, a bit more downforce, less tire deg. I feel like it will be a race similar to last year where the cool track temps created a lot of close racing and epic restarts and so on.

Q. Will, you’ve been with Tim Cindric, Ron, and Kyle for a long time. Roger had to make the decision that he made, but for you personally these were more than just people you worked with. They were your friends. They’ve been to your house, up at the lake. Just how sad is it for you to see that these great careers now have this happen to them?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s kind of a shock and a pity. They’re all extremely good at their job. Yeah, it was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain. Yeah.

I called Ron. Obviously he’s on my car. I didn’t get him. But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do. It’s just a tough — I don’t know what else to say. They’re all extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team.

Yeah, a real pity.

Q. Talking to Rick Mears the other night, he said you can win the Indy 500 from any seat in the house, so obviously that’s the mindset you both have. If you could just describe how challenging it’s going to be to have a fast car coming up from the back?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s certainly tougher these days with the very tight field, but absolutely possible. Obviously depending on where yellows fall and so on, you can certainly find yourself in a really good spot.

The car is good. The car is fast. It feels like it’s good in traffic. I have started back there before. Yeah, so looking for a very, very clean, good day. Good, solid day.

Q. Will, did you have any input, or did you lobby for anybody to be your strategist for this weekend and/or are you going to lobby for anyone specific going forward?

WILL POWER: Have they —

Q. They’ve announced it.

WILL POWER: Roger asked what he would like, and he asked my engineer and all the engineers, What’s the best way to do this? They’re all very capable people on each car. I think it wouldn’t have mattered who they went with. I got Jonathan Diuguid, who is extremely experienced and has been an engineer and run INDYCARs before.

I think between Dave and Jonathan, those two guys are incredibly smart and understand strategy, everything. It’s a very strong group for all three cars.

Q. Obviously when things were going on on Sunday, there seemed to be other teams telling INDYCAR about what you all were doing. There was a lot of talk about did they tip off INDYCAR? Are you angry at other teams? Are you upset? Do you come in here with a kind of chip on your shoulder after what happened on Sunday?

WILL POWER: Yeah, no, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say, but I know what happened. Obviously, yeah, you want to — I just want to do a good job for all the guys on the team on Sunday. That’s sort of the main — I’m just very focused on the race. Not really out to get anyone.

It’s the circumstance that it is, and we’re all very motivated to have a good day, sort of try to put this stuff behind us. Yeah, you know, news cycles move pretty quick, so if you can throw a win in there, that would certainly be a good way to move forward, yeah.

Q. Will, I know we all learned about this yesterday morning at about 10:40 via email. How did you find out about the news and the decisions that Roger had made?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I was called in to see Roger at RP1 there. Yeah, that’s how I found out. Jonathan and Bud in there as well, and spoke to the drivers, yeah.

Q. You said, I think, in your initial comments — you said you felt like Roger either was forced to make this or had external pressures to make this. How did your — I know it’s a private conversation, but how did your conversation with Roger go, and what did he say to you to explain why he felt like he was having to make these moves?

WILL POWER: I know it was very tough for him. He said that. It’s obviously a very tough decision to make. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision.

I feel bad for him. He’s in a very tough spot in that situation. Yeah, it wasn’t really a long conversation with us. He just explained what happened. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that.

Q. Will, is it hard for you being swept up in this, in something that you didn’t do that to the car?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, man, I’ve been around long enough to shut that stuff out and still focus on the thing that you’re here to do, and that’s to get the absolute most out of the car. You still have to do your homework. You can’t be distracted by all this. My main focus is Sunday, and that’s true. I’m not too swept up in it. I’ve got plenty of time after the race to think about that, but we’re coming up on the biggest race of the year for us.

Yeah, I think everyone — I feel like everyone on the team is positive and very motivated. I think being the driver you need to show that this is not affecting you, and you’re very focused on the job at hand, and I am. I am. I haven’t allowed too much emotional stress to take away energy that I need on Sunday.

Tough situation, but we still got a job to do.

Q. You touched a little bit on how it felt like it was heavy for Roger. What kind of impact do you think this could have on him? Obviously he cares a lot about his integrity and credibility.

WILL POWER: I think Roger moves forward very quickly. I know him over the years, he makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn’t dwell on it. Starts looking at what is absolutely best for the team and everyone to move forward. That’s Roger. That’s why he’s so successful.

He’s not going to sit and spend a month worrying about what happened. I think he’s how can we fix this and let’s move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Q. I don’t know if there is such a thing as being extra motivated because I know how highly motivated you guys always are, but is there any sense of that this weekend, that you guys have to really pull together and that this is an opportunity to rise like you never have before?

WILL POWER: I think it just kind of makes you lock in. You know, yeah, I think everyone is just locked in on the job. People have to step up now because we’re missing some key individuals, and that can be motivating for people. Like, all right, I’ve got to take on more work and responsibility. You know, that’s all of us in the team right now.

I think you get the best out of people in those situations. No one is ever ready for that. That’s why competition is so good. I think that’s what always gets the best out of me is tough situations. You see how good you really are.

Q. Will, we know you can be an emotional guy. How quickly did you kind of get over this and start looking forward? What is the driver’s reaction? I know Monday we were out here for the photo. What’s been the other competitors that you go up against — what’s been their reaction to this?

WILL POWER: I actually haven’t seen any of them. Yeah, I haven’t really talked to them. Everyone kind of goes home for a couple of days.

Man, I’ve been focused on the job, just doing all the homework I need to do. Obviously my engineer is more busy now. He has more obligations. But, you know, we have to be very good with finding time to sit down and make sure we don’t weaken the program or our potential for this weekend.

Yeah, everyone is positive in the team. They understand this is the biggest race of the year, and we want to have a great result. Yeah, it’s just an incredible number of circumstances that just you would never have dreamed of would play out like this. It’s just crazy. That’s Indianapolis. You just never know, man.

Look, PREMA turns up first year on pole and two of our cars are on the back row. Scotty crashed in practice with probably the car for pole. That’s Indy. A lot of pressure. So much effort goes in, and these sort of things happen, you know?

In some ways, having been around so long, it’s not that shocking. Like, oh, my God. These things happen. Strange things — like the year we almost didn’t make the field. Just things you wouldn’t think. This place just throws real curveballs at you. That’s just the way it is. It’s a very daunting, tough race to win, and the consequences are big when you make a mistake on and off the track.

Yeah, I guess that’s what makes it so special.