DEFIANCE, MO (January 17, 2024) — Top Fuel team owner and driver Shawn Reed and Shawn Reed Racing today announced Red Line Oil will be powering the Top Fuel team as it enters the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competing in all 21 NHRA national events. Reed, who has competed in 40 NHRA national events since his professional debut in 2015, will be competing full-time for the first time in his professional career that includes multiple drag boat world championships and a runner-up finish at the historic Gatornationals in 2018.

 
“I am excited to have Red Line Oil join our team,” said Reed. “This is our first sponsor announcement for 2024. We are going to be adding additional marketing partners before the season, but Red Line Oil will be with us all season and we are excited to be using their oil and products. These cars create so much power and stress on the motor you need a product like Red Line Oil to get to the finish line under power at over 330 mph. I can’t wait to get started at the Gatornationals.”

 
Red Line Oil has been an industry leader and a popular choice for racers for more than 40 years. Since its start in 1979, Red Line Oil has produced high-quality lubricants for the racing industry and currently manufactures more than 100 products, including motor oils, gear oils, assembly lubes, fuel additives and the company’s popular WaterWetter cooling additive for the automotive, motorcycle, marine and industrial markets.
 
“We are excited to have Shawn and his team join us on #teamredlineoil,” said Mark Beatty, Brand Director Red Line Oil. “His passion and excitement for not only racing, but for life, is contagious. Our goal has always been to surround ourselves with quality people that understand what it takes to be successful. We are a family here at Red Line Oil and we are lucky to have Shawn on our team.”
 
Shawn Reed Racing will make their season debut at the Gatornationals, March 8-10 at Gainesville Raceway. The team will be on track for the first time on Friday for two qualifying runs as Reed looks to capture his first NHRA national event title at a race reached the final round in 2018.

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2023) – John Force Racing has announced Austin Prock will be taking over driving duties from Robert Hight for the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to begin the 2024 season.  Hight, a three-time Funny Car world champion and president of John Force Racing, will temporarily step out of the driver’s seat for personal medical reasons. “I have to put my health first,” said Hight who has finished second in the points standings for two consecutive years. “Once this is resolved, I’ll be back. I’ll be looking forward to racing again, I’m a competitor and can’t wait to get back to doing what I love. I know Austin will do a great job in my place for Cornwell Tools, AAA, Chevy and all of the John Force Racing sponsors. I have no doubt he’ll win races.” The unfortunate circumstances created an opportunity for Austin Prock to check several boxes on his bucket list: driving a nitro Funny Car and driving for his family. As they did in 2023, Austin’s father Jimmy Prock and brother Thomas Prock will crew chief the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevy along with Nate Hildahl. “First off, all the best wishes to Robert and his health. It’s been a dream of mine to drive a Funny Car with my family, but this is not the way I hoped it would happen. It’s bittersweet,” Prock said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and thankful to John and all of our partners, especially Cornwell Tools, AAA, and Chevy for giving me a chance to fill this seat. It’s a huge role to fill considering how outstanding of a driver Robert is and how successful this team is. It’s been a whirlwind of an off-season so I’m just ready to get back to racing.” Austin will make his Funny Car debut at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park February 8-10 before starting the 2024 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season at Gainesville Raceway for the NHRA Gatornationals March 8-10.

CONCORD, NC (Jan. 15, 2024) – Ryan Timms is returning to the national Midget circuit in 2024, chasing the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota championship.

Timms, 17, of Oklahoma City, OK, is one of the brightest young stars in open-wheel racing and has renewed his partnership with Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) to pilot the JBL Audio, LynK/Toyota #67 in all 30 races on the Xtreme Outlaw Series calendar.

“I’m to the point where I really want it, and I’m putting in as much work as I can to get better,” Timms said. “This coming season, I’m really trying to make a statement throughout the whole year.”

Timms contested the entire USAC National Midget Series schedule in 2023, winning three Features and clinching fourth place in the championship points standings. He also mixed in 11 starts with the Xtreme Outlaw Series and, after repeated misfortune racing for the win, finally scored his first Series win at Port City Raceway in October, leading all 55 laps of the Donnie Ray Crawford Sooner State 55.

“It shows the speed we had,” Timms said. “To be up front at 90 percent of the races we were at, it makes me feel really good for this year.”

This year will mark Timms’ second consecutive full-time season as part of Midget racing’s most decorated team at Keith Kunz Motorsports. He and KKM crew chief Beau Binder are aiming to build on the progress they made last season, which was Timms’ best thus far.

“All the races we were at [in 2023], I was either leading or, at the worst, I was in a top-10 or top-eight spot,” Timms said. “Most of the time, me and Beau were just getting more and more comfortable working together, and he’s just getting me faster and faster every night.”

While he amps-up his Midget efforts, Timms won’t neglect the Sprint Car. He’s set to drive his family-owned #5T at a variety of 410 and 360 races this season, including the upcoming Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout at Volusia Speedway Park, Jan. 25-27.

Since his breakout season in 2022, Timms has been turning heads across the country in both the winged Sprint Car and Midget ranks – most notably recording a second-place finish in his second career start with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. He’s bagged several Feature wins at the regional and national level and established himself as a major player at nearly every event he competes in.

While he navigates what is set to be the busiest season of his career, Timms recognizes the challenges he’ll face and the opportunity to better himself as he continues to try and move up the motorsports ladder.

“When you go from a Sprint Car to a Midget, it takes a few races to get used to the feel of a Midget again,” Timms said. “Now that I’m doing both, I’ll be running just as many Midget races as I am Sprint Car races – probably more.”

Despite some of his misfortunes with the Xtreme Outlaw Series last year, Timms has put it all behind him. A flat tire, a mechanical malfunction, even a late-race pass for the win – he’s not letting any of those past results get in the way of his pursuit of a national Midget series championship in 2024.

“The big deal when it comes to the championship is gonna be luck,” Timms said. “Performance too, obviously, but I had a lot of bad luck last year. Hopefully, we have some good luck this year and can put some solid runs together and put a good season together.”

Timms’ run to the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota championship begins with the 2024 season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, March 15-16, live on DIRTVision.

Smokey is back to chase his first championship after a second-place result in 2024

BARBERVILLE, FL – January 15, 2024 – Chris Madden will chase a World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series championship in 2024, coming off the momentum of a runner-up finish last season.

The Gray Court, SC driver ended 2023 with three wins, 22 top five finishes, and 33 top 10s. His runner-up points result matched his career-best points finish with the Series – he also finished second in 2017 and 2021.

Madden currently sits seventh on the all-time wins list with 36 – two wins away from Rick Eckert. 

He’ll enter the new year with the momentum of six straight podium finishes to end the 2023 World of Outlaws season, along with wins at the Blue-Gray 100 and National 100.

Also, Madden will have a Longhorn Chassis underneath him for an entire season for the first time in 2024. He switched his #44 team to Longhorns late in 2023, leading to more consistency and strong finishes. Helping him with that will be crew members Steve Eldridge and Ricky Arnold, who will be with him for another year.

With 16 new venues on the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models schedule, the path to the championship offers a new challenge for Madden to tackle.

Starting the year on the right foot is key for Madden, and Volusia Speedway Park has shown bright spots for him in the past, including the Big Gator title in 2018.

Madden begins his hunt for a World of Outlaws CASE Late Models title when the season starts at Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Jan. 17-20, a Late Model Palooza that features Crate Racin’ USA Late Models and 602 Late Models. For tickets, CLICK HER

CONCORD, NC (Jan. 15, 2024) – Milton Hershey School (MHS) and World of Outlaws will continue their partnership in 2024, enhancing initiatives for fans and the school’s students.

Along with serving as the “Official Education Partner” of the World of Outlaws, the top-tier private school’s 2024 plans are highlighted by Pit Crew Experiences for its students and the second annual Hershey Sprint Car Experience.

“We’re thrilled to team with World of Outlaws again this year to provide our students with career-focused learning and to share the life-changing mission of our school with racing fans across the nation,” said Kristina Pae, vice president of communications and marketing at MHS. “Our school is grateful to World of Outlaws for its tremendous support, and we look forward to a banner year of events and experiences ahead.”

After a successful debut in 2023, the school’s Hershey Sprint Car Experience returns on Monday, May 13, featuring meet and greets with the stars of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at Hersheypark Stadium – which was built in 1937 by Milton S. Hershey to be a speedway. Fans and students will get to spend time with the drivers and their cars throughout the day while learning about MHS. The event celebrates modern-day racing while paying tribute to those who raced here more than 80 years ago.

For the third straight year, eight MHS students will get a once-in-a-lifetime Pit Crew Experience with a World of Outlaws Sprint Car team at the historic Williams Grove Speedway. Four students will get hands-on experience with a team during the Morgan Cup event at Williams Grove on May 11 and another four will get to do the same in October during Williams Grove’s National Open crown jewel race.

“Through the MHS partnership with World of Outlaws, our students have access to fun, one-of-a-kind experiences,” said Nadine Krempa, senior director of admissions at MHS. “By supporting our students through these experiences, we are growing awareness as we grow our school.”

MHS will also expand its World of Outlaws presence in 2024, serving as the sponsor of Heat Race #2 for every World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event.

In addition to its World of Outlaws partnership, Milton Hershey School will grow its motorsports reach in 2024, serving as title sponsor for the second annual Appalachian Midget Week with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota. The four-race Pennsylvania speedweek consists of races at Action Track USA (Aug. 7), Linda’s Speedway (Aug. 8), Path Valley Speedway Park (Aug. 9) and Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Aug. 10).

Fans will also see MHS at several World of Outlaws events throughout the country this year, educating fans and handing out HERSHEY’s chocolate and candy.

“Milton Hershey School has been an exceptional partner, bringing new and creative ideas every year that not only benefit fans and their students, but also our race teams,” said Brian Carter, World Racing Group CEO. “We’re excited to again help elevate their initiatives and build the Hershey Sprint Car Experience into a one-of-a-kind event.”

The 2024 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season commences at Volusia Speedway Park during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 7-10. For tickets, CLICK HERE. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision – which will also feature multiple Milton Hershey School Education Moments throughout the year.

Sent on behalf of G&G Racing SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (January 15, 2024) – G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing announced today that Kolby Carlile will return to the team for the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season to again compete in the Mission SuperTwins class. Now entering its ninth year in partnership with Yamaha Racing, G&G Racing has enjoyed a run of success that has seen the team garner 19 victories, 40 podiums, 51 top fives, and 79 top tens across classes throughout that collaboration. With Carlile at the controls of the team’s Yamaha MT-07 racebikes, the squad enters the ‘24 campaign from a position of strength. The 2017 Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champion and a multi-time Mission Production Twins race winner, Carlile registered an impressive maiden season with G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing a year ago. He notched up eight top tens – including seven in a row – enroute to a tenth-place championship standing. In the midst of that run of top tens, Carlisle scored a career-best premier-class finish of fourth at the Sacramento Mile, where he also earned a front-row starting position and qualified for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.Kolby Carlile – G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing “I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to ride for G&G Racing one more year at the highest level. LJ and John have provided me with great Yamahas every time we went to the track, and having a full year under my belt has allowed us to build a notebook of setups for me. Getting to know those guys all last year has grown a great friendship and trust in one another. Going into 2024, I feel as confident as ever and have made some adjustments off track to help my performance on track. I’ll look to build upon what we were able to accomplish last year. I really want to get that top-three finish we were so close to last season, and I feel I am more prepared for that coming into 2024.” Jim Roach – Yamaha Racing Department Manager “Yamaha Racing is looking forward to the return of G&G Racing to the Mission SuperTwins class for their ninth year. After taking a year to get acclimated with Kolby, 2024 is looking good!” L.J. Gronek – Team Owner “We are excited for Kolby to return for 2024. Kolby showed speed and demonstrated the ability to be up front. With a year on the bikes, notes, and the hard work he has put in the off season, we believe he can continue to push to show that he can be a contender. Also, we are thrilled to continue our partnership with Yamaha Racing. We could not have accomplished all we have without their help. The Yamaha MT-07 is a very capable platform with great power and delivery.” G&G Racing would like to thank its sponsors who help make this happen: Yamaha Racing, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Yamalube, JMR, Twisted Development, Graves Sports, AIM, Fontana Radiators, Metalartopia, Motion Pro, and Rosa Plates.

Reigning GTP champion looks strong for second season of IMSA competition

DETROIT (Jan. 15, 2024) – All roads (primarily Interstate 95) lead to Daytona Beach, Florida, and the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona, where Cadillac Racing will seek to jump-start the bid to successfully defend its Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) championships. The prelude to the Jan. 27-28 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening event is this weekend’s Roar Before The Rolex 24, which includes a 15-minute GTP qualifying session Jan. 21 to set the field for the twice-around-the-clock test on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course.

Ten hybrid GTP racecars are entered, including the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist. Shortly after Cadillac swept the titles in mid-October at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, teams began preparations in earnest for the second season of IMSA GTP competition. That included an early December IMSA-sanctioned test at the racetrack where Cadillac Racing won the Rolex 24 At Daytona four years in a row in the DPi era.Go behind the scenesTwo-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Renger van der Zande is featured in the first episode of “IMSA Driver Stories.” WATCH/SHARE

Media resources* Notes, factoids and more* Rolex 24 driver bios* About the Cadillac V-Series.R* Full results since 2017* Cadillac 2023 results Overall wins since 20172020 (Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi)2019 (Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso; Jordan Taylor, Kamui Kobayashi)2018 (Christian Fittipaldi, Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa)2017 (Jeff Gordon, Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli)

“I hit the reset button the Monday after the IMSA banquet in October,” said Chris Mitchum, director of race team operations for Action Express Racing that runs the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. “You always want to improve and it’s not only with the car.” Knowledge, data acquisition, contingency preparation, communication and a host of other crucial elements were gleaned from the first season of competition, which early on had been an extension of testing the new racecar.

“There has been a huge advantage from where we were 12 months ago to where we are now,” Mitchum said. “In racing years – if you can compare it to dog years – I think we’ve achieved at least three years’ worth of work in one year’s worth of time across the Cadillac program. We’re equally prepared to go to Daytona now as we were in every other championship year we’ve had.” Cadillac has won the overall Rolex 24 title four times since the inception of the DPi era. Van der Zande is a two-time winner (2019, 2020) with Cadillac Racing, while third-year teammate Bourdais is also a double winner (2014, 2017). Blomqvist, endurance driver for the championship-winning No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, has won the Rolex 24 the past two years. He drove to the pole in 2023. “The 01 Cadillac team is anxious to kick of the 2024 IMSA Weathertech season. We are ready to build on our Rolex 24 At Daytona success with the Cadillac V-Series.R after finishing third and fourth there in its debut race in 2023,” said Mike O’Gara, director of operation and race strategist for the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R run by Chip Ganassi Racing.

“It has been a few years since Chip Ganassi Racing has won overall at Daytona, but we feel confident that we can compete for another win and add to our eight victories there. We have been working hard in the offseason at the racetrack testing, as well in the race shop, to be ready. It’s exciting to be returning with our IMSA veteran drivers Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, and it is great to have Scott Dixon back again and then with a pleasant surprise in being able to add Alex Palou to lineup this year, as well. Having the opportunity to work with drivers, engineers and a crew of this caliber is an honor.” Qualifying Jan. 21 will be streamed on Peacock and IMSA.combeginning at 1:55 p.m. ET. Cadillac Racing Roar Before The Rolex 24 roster

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon, Alex PalouVan der Zande and Bourdais are in their third season as teammates for the full IMSA Grand Touring Prototype season. They won the IMSA GTP race at Laguna Seca in May 2023 and teamed with six-time INDYCAR champion Dixon to place third in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and runner-up in the season-concluding Petit Le Mans. The trio also finished fourth overall in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. … Bourdais, van der Zande and Dixon are Cadillac Racing teammates for the Rolex 24 for the third consecutive year. … In 2022, van der Zande and Bourdais co-drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to three victories — at Long Beach, at Belle Isle and at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park — starting from the pole in the former two. … Laguna Seca 2023 was the 19th IMSA victory for van der Zande and 11th for Bourdais. … Bourdais is a four-time INDYCAR champion. … van der Zande is in his 11th season of IMSA competition. … Palou is the reigning and two-time INDYCAR champion. He teamed with the stellar trio in 2022 for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In total, the lineup represents 12 IndyCar championships.No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom BlomqvistDerani is reigning and two-time IMSA Driver champion. He teamed with Aitken and Alexander Sims to win the 2023 Michelin IMSA Endurance Championship. … The trio co-drove to victory March 18 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 31 Cadillac started from the pole. Also earned pole at Road America. … They also placed 10th in the Hypercar class in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans. … Derani is in his sixth season with Action Express and Cadillac Racing. … Derani, who has four overall wins at Sebring, has 12 IMSA wins and eight poles. … Aitken, a Williams F1 reserve driver in 2020-22, moves to full-season driver in 2024. … Blomqvist, the 2022 IMSA DPi Driver champion, won the 2023 and 2022 overall Rolex 24 titles and drove to 2023 pole start. … He will compete in endurance races for the team in addition to a full-time INDYCAR schedule. … Action Express Racing has earned IMSA Team and Driver Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2023 as well as securing the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023 Endurance Championships titles.

BARBERVILLE, FL (Jan. 12, 2024) – With the growth of 360 Sprint Car racing in Florida, drivers are looking at the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout as a potential crown jewel event to bring the division to the next level.

The second running of the event brings back the United Sprint Car Series (USCS), but now for three days (Jan. 25-27). It’ll boast a more than $65,000 purse – the largest ever in USCS history – with Thursday and Friday’s Features paying $2,500 to win, while Saturday’s finale will pay $10,000 to win.

“Everybody is excited for that race,” said Tyler Clem, who won the Sprint Car Shootout finale last year. “It’s probably the biggest 360 race you’ll have around this area. I feel like the quality of cars that come here for this race in January are better than [what you’ll find at other Florida 360 Sprint Car events]. You have like Ryan Timms and (Sam) Hafertepe and all these guys are going to show up for that race. Guys that run 410s. The quality of the field is going to be really good, and we’ll just try to do what we did [in 2023].”

The event is already attracting national names like 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two-time 360 Knoxville Nationals winner Wayne Johnson, and inaugural Sprint Car Shootout winners Ryan Timms and Clem, along with international attention from England’s multi-time BriSCA F1 champion Ryan Harrison and several regional stars. Pete Walton, founder of USCS, said he expects to see about 50 or more drivers, representing at least 20 states.

RELATED: England’s Ryan Harrison ‘Having a Go’ at Racing Sprint Cars in America

“You get some big names down here,” said Danny Martin Jr., of Sarasota, FL, who swept the Battle in Barberville 360 Sprint Car races in December. “You get people in the stands and get more people interested. The more people in the stands, that helps the tracks. Then, they want to put on more shows. You get names, like last year we had Ricky Stenhouse. Things like that, they hear he’s coming and you get more people in the stands and that helps the whole sport grow.

“In Florida, there are so many things to do. There are the beaches and the boats. There’s just so much stuff to do. Up north, it seems like racing is all they got in their towns. So, when they say like, ‘Ricky Stenhouse,’ there might just be a NASCAR fan that’s going to a dirt race and he gets hooked and starts bringing people and that helps the sport grow. In Florida, that’s what we need.”

The Sunshine State is set for an increase in 360 Sprint Car racing this year with the Top Gun Sprint Car Series going from a limited 360 c.i. engine to the 360-engine package already used with USCS and the American Sprint Car Series. The change puts a brighter spotlight on the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout as it becomes a prime destination for all drivers utilizing the 360 program. It already brought USCS back to Volusia for the first time in 18 years last season and brought 360 racing to a national viewership with the race live on DIRTVision.

“It’s actually great because we haven’t had a lot of 360 stuff down here,” said Shawn Murray, a 360 Sprint Car veteran of Jacksonville, FL. “Last year was 18 years since 360s were able to race here. We’ve been wanting to do it forever. We were thinking we’re going to have to buy a 410 (Sprint Car engine) to get laps at Volusia.”

On top of racing in a bigger spotlight and for a large purse, regional drivers said they’re looking forward to race and learn from the national series drivers – an opportunity they rarely get from regional events.

“Honestly, everybody probably says this, but it’s going to make us all better drivers,” Murray added. “We’re going to be able to race with the best of the best down here where home is. All of that high prize money will attract all those guys down here. Especially with the start of Winter Nationals.”

And for drivers like Stenhouse, the race is a good chance to have fun and get some early laps before his 2024 NASCAR season begins.

“I know they’ve put a lot more effort into the event,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot of race cars there, and it should be a good time. I’m looking forward to it. My dad is getting our car put back together and going through everything, making sure our engine is where it needs to be. He’s pumped up about it, and I’m definitely looking forward to getting back down there.”

RELATED: Stenhouse Jr.’s 2024 Sprint Car Slate Begins With Volusia’s Southern Sprint Car Shootout

The event will help kick off the 2024 season for USCS and its Winter Heat Series, along with serving as one of the first Sprint Car races of the year in the U.S. With that, Walton said the Sprint Car Shootout has already become a Daytona 500-like event for the Series.

“It’s huge, you know,” Walton said. “It’s the biggest purse we ran for ever. We’re really excited. I think it is going to be a great event.

“It’s a great way to kick off the 360 racing season for everybody.”

For more information and tickets to the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

Drivers Excited by Potential of Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout For 360 Racing

BARBERVILLE, FL (Jan. 12, 2024) – With the growth of 360 Sprint Car racing in Florida, drivers are looking at the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout as a potential crown jewel event to bring the division to the next level.

The second running of the event brings back the United Sprint Car Series (USCS), but now for three days (Jan. 25-27). It’ll boast a more than $65,000 purse – the largest ever in USCS history – with Thursday and Friday’s Features paying $2,500 to win, while Saturday’s finale will pay $10,000 to win.

“Everybody is excited for that race,” said Tyler Clem, who won the Sprint Car Shootout finale last year. “It’s probably the biggest 360 race you’ll have around this area. I feel like the quality of cars that come here for this race in January are better than [what you’ll find at other Florida 360 Sprint Car events]. You have like Ryan Timms and (Sam) Hafertepe and all these guys are going to show up for that race. Guys that run 410s. The quality of the field is going to be really good, and we’ll just try to do what we did [in 2023].”

The event is already attracting national names like 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two-time 360 Knoxville Nationals winner Wayne Johnson, and inaugural Sprint Car Shootout winners Ryan Timms and Clem, along with international attention from England’s multi-time BriSCA F1 champion Ryan Harrison and several regional stars. Pete Walton, founder of USCS, said he expects to see about 50 or more drivers, representing at least 20 states.

RELATED: England’s Ryan Harrison ‘Having a Go’ at Racing Sprint Cars in America

“You get some big names down here,” said Danny Martin Jr., of Sarasota, FL, who swept the Battle in Barberville 360 Sprint Car races in December. “You get people in the stands and get more people interested. The more people in the stands, that helps the tracks. Then, they want to put on more shows. You get names, like last year we had Ricky Stenhouse. Things like that, they hear he’s coming and you get more people in the stands and that helps the whole sport grow.

“In Florida, there are so many things to do. There are the beaches and the boats. There’s just so much stuff to do. Up north, it seems like racing is all they got in their towns. So, when they say like, ‘Ricky Stenhouse,’ there might just be a NASCAR fan that’s going to a dirt race and he gets hooked and starts bringing people and that helps the sport grow. In Florida, that’s what we need.”

The Sunshine State is set for an increase in 360 Sprint Car racing this year with the Top Gun Sprint Car Series going from a limited 360 c.i. engine to the 360-engine package already used with USCS and the American Sprint Car Series. The change puts a brighter spotlight on the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout as it becomes a prime destination for all drivers utilizing the 360 program. It already brought USCS back to Volusia for the first time in 18 years last season and brought 360 racing to a national viewership with the race live on DIRTVision.

“It’s actually great because we haven’t had a lot of 360 stuff down here,” said Shawn Murray, a 360 Sprint Car veteran of Jacksonville, FL. “Last year was 18 years since 360s were able to race here. We’ve been wanting to do it forever. We were thinking we’re going to have to buy a 410 (Sprint Car engine) to get laps at Volusia.”

On top of racing in a bigger spotlight and for a large purse, regional drivers said they’re looking forward to race and learn from the national series drivers – an opportunity they rarely get from regional events.

“Honestly, everybody probably says this, but it’s going to make us all better drivers,” Murray added. “We’re going to be able to race with the best of the best down here where home is. All of that high prize money will attract all those guys down here. Especially with the start of Winter Nationals.”

And for drivers like Stenhouse, the race is a good chance to have fun and get some early laps before his 2024 NASCAR season begins.

“I know they’ve put a lot more effort into the event,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot of race cars there, and it should be a good time. I’m looking forward to it. My dad is getting our car put back together and going through everything, making sure our engine is where it needs to be. He’s pumped up about it, and I’m definitely looking forward to getting back down there.”

RELATED: Stenhouse Jr.’s 2024 Sprint Car Slate Begins With Volusia’s Southern Sprint Car Shootout

The event will help kick off the 2024 season for USCS and its Winter Heat Series, along with serving as one of the first Sprint Car races of the year in the U.S. With that, Walton said the Sprint Car Shootout has already become a Daytona 500-like event for the Series.

“It’s huge, you know,” Walton said. “It’s the biggest purse we ran for ever. We’re really excited. I think it is going to be a great event.

“It’s a great way to kick off the 360 racing season for everybody.”

For more information and tickets to the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

January 11, 2024

R.C. ENERSON, No. 50 ABEL Motorsports Chevrolet:

THE MODERATOR: Joined now by R.C. Enerson, who is driver of the No. 50 Abel Motorsports Chevrolet, eyeing a return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a second run at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. May is going to be here before we know it. How excited are you about this opportunity?

R.C. ENERSON: Really excited. The goal is to be back again. We had so much fun last year, and I think we had a really good performance for a new team, my first time once we qualified in, getting all the practice in. And it was a big learning curve, that’s for sure. Hopefully this year the goal is to be more prepared, and now that we’ve done it, it’s just doing it again.

Q. I know the whole crew had a blast last year and Bill was on cloud nine. Just the whole energy from the team was — can you get into what it was like last year?

R.C. ENERSON: Yeah, our sole focus was to make the field. So I don’t think we ran in traffic a single lap up until after qualifying. So we were dead set on trying to make it in, and we succeeded with that. And the crew — the emotion on qualifying day, which all the way up to the 500, seemed like time could not slow down at all — it was just full throttle all the way through.

It seems like you don’t have time and then you get to qualifying day and it feels like it’s a week long. It was amazing. The crew was amazing. Bill, John, everything went right for us that day.

I still think we had more speed left in the car after the first run we did.

Q. What did you learn ultimately from last year, not only the race but just the couple weeks in general?

R.C. ENERSON: It was definitely a busier schedule than I’m used to. That was a very busy two weeks. The learning curve in the car was — the biggest part was just running in traffic. You have so many tools at your disposal. Like on a road course we’re used to just staying to roll bars. When now you get on an oval and not only do you have anti-roll bars, you’ve got 20 weight jacker clicks.

And it’s just a lot to take on. The first day running in traffic I was more mentally exhausted in the one-hour practice session than I’d been all of it combined.

Q. Now that you’ve lived this, is your comfort level a little bit different now this year?

R.C. ENERSON: Yeah, I think we’re just going to be more prepared and I’m going to know what to expect from the car, especially when we start trimming out and then on qualifying day when we turn up the boost. And the biggest one that I’ll have more experience in is just running in traffic, because that was the real battle the entire time.

Q. When you were qualifying for the Indy 500 and you looked down pit lane and see the drama playing out at a well-established, highly funded team at Rahal Letterman Lanigan, and here you are hardly even a startup team, and what you had achieved and what they were going through, were there times when you just wanted to exalt in the moment, or did you ask yourself, is this really happening?

R.C. ENERSON: Yeah, it was a bit of a pinch-me kind of day. Especially just qualifying day in general was nuts for us. I remember I think I sat on the toolbox in the garage with timing and scoring up on my phone for about three hours. And you’re sitting there, and the only way we would go back out is if we dropped out into the 30th spot to where we’d have to participate in Bump Day. That was the only way we would go back out.

And just kind of sat there, and then they actually got me back in the car for the last, I think it was 30 minutes, of qualifying where you have the line that went all the way through Gasoline Alley, people jumping around. So that was — it was exciting. But once we say the one run go out and we knew there was only one more car that could make it on the time, we knew we were kind of locked. And it was just — they wouldn’t let me get out of the car until the garage because I was freaking out.

Q. (No microphone.)

R.C. ENERSON: Yeah, it was really good. The fact that I didn’t have to suit up and run on Sunday was great. It would have been great to suit up for pole, but our goal was let’s just make sure we were in the show. And we were able to achieve that even though we were pretty much the unanimous pick to be bumped.

Q. Is the goal with your program to do more races down the road this year, next year?

R.C. ENERSON: I think it kind of all just depends. You look at funding, you look at — they also have a full Indy NXT program going on right now, so you don’t want to interfere on that. The Indy 500 doesn’t interfere with anything on the Indy NXT schedule. So I think that’s what really opens that up. I think the goal would be to look past future 2024. I think 2024 running the 500 is kind of just the sole focus.

Q. What do you do when you’re not getting ready for the 500 to keep in race shape?

R.C. ENERSON: I am full-time coaching, whether it’s private coaching, but mainly just full time at the racing school, Lucas Oil School of Racing. So anybody with a driver’s license, or these karter kids where I went into a racing school coming through, we’re their first stop going from go-karts to cars. And we run an event per month.

I’m the one that answers the phones for it, emails, everything. That’s my full-time gig. I love teaching these kids that — kind of trying to be the role model that I had when I was their age and help grow the sport. We need more drivers in every series.

Q. Where is that located?

R.C. ENERSON: Lucas Oil School of Racing, our shop is based in the Tampa-Bradenton area. We’re in New Port Richey, but that’s just where our base is. We go to tracks, Sebring, Homestead. This year we’ll be at Mid-Ohio in the summertime, Kentucky, Chicago Autobahn.

We kind of go everywhere, so we’re mobile. But we host these events and we can take on 36 or so students on a two-day program. And then we also run our race series, which is the jumping point for them to get into, say, the ladder system, USF2000, that program.

Q. When they see and hear that you ran in the Indianapolis 500, does that change the —

R.C. ENERSON: It’s like a 50/50 shot. Half of them have no idea, and then half of them will ask me about it. I have no problem talking about it with them. Most of the questions I get from them are just like, hey, what was it like going through the whole ladder system? Not necessarily where I’m at right now. It’s because they’re wanting to get to there.

So it’s like, what did you do and what class did you run? Did you go through the whole thing with them?

The other thing is they’re like, how do I get sponsorship? It’s like, well, we’re still figuring that out, too, and it’s a never-ending battle. One day at a time.

Q. You’re a Florida native; your dad is a local Southport High School graduate. When you made this field and you just had that time with your family, what were those conversations like? How special was it for him to see his son running the race that he grew up here just a few miles south of here?

R.C. ENERSON: It’s pretty amazing. I’ve been going to the 500 with my dad too since I was three years old. It was my first 500, so that would have been 2000. And he’s been going to it since he was a kid, as well. To come up through that many years of karting, where it was more or less just a hobby, through karting, finally getting into cars, pro racing, all the work that had gone into getting to INDYCAR. But after we already got to INDYCAR, then it took another six years to get to the 500.

It’s been a never-ending battle, but our motto is never quit. You just keep pushing, finding opportunities, seeing what we can do to keep being on track.

Q. I know obviously the Southport connection. Did your dad and Robin Miller have any kind of connection at all?

R.C. ENERSON: I believe my dad’s older brother and Robin Miller had a connection. I think my dad’s older brother worked on his car, one of his Formula Fords, 1600, something like that.

Q. Heading into this year, how important is it for you — you ultimately didn’t get to finish the race, but how important is it that you managed to get some race laps under your belt at the 500, and how much of a boost do you think that will be heading into this year?

R.C. ENERSON: I think it will be — it’s like anything else, every time you do it — it’s just going to keep getting easier every time you keep doing it. The first time around, that’s when you’re the most nervous. That’s when you’re going to make the small mistakes. And when you come back the next year, you know exactly what you’re supposed to expect.

Like I said, I think the biggest learning curve, especially in race mode, was just running in traffic. I talked to a couple of the drivers because I was like, I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.

But they’re like, no, you’re doing the right things. It’s just really difficult to pass.

I was like, okay, at least I’m headed in the right direction.

All the tools you have, it’s just a lot to take on. And now the more I did it, once I got to the race, it was finally the point I got comfortable running in traffic and being ahead on my tools and kind of knowing where I need to place the car. It took a bit to get there.

Q. Heading away from the 500, is a full-time INDYCAR opportunity something you would be keen to try and push you?

R.C. ENERSON: I think everybody would be pretty keen on trying it, but that’s the goal. This year — that’s the problem with trying to be full-time is you’ve got to plan it so far in advance. It’s not like something you can do a month before the season starts. It’s got to be in the works almost a year prior. The goal would be to run the 500 this year and then look forward to 2025 and seeing what the possibilities are.

Q. Thinking back to last year, if I remember right, John Brunner didn’t get a chance to get the engine lease locked up until April, so that put a dent in the chances to go to the open test. The fact that these things are kind of situated already and kind of in place, you don’t have to go straight from the track to learning tools. You’re going to have a chance to have the open test this year to maybe play around with that. Is that kind of the plan?

R.C. ENERSON: That would definitely be on the radar. I think we would have been in a lot stronger spot had we made the open test, but still, it wasn’t just us looking at the 34th entry. There was a couple other cars that were prospected to be there. And it wasn’t until — I think it was after Texas that we were finally able to be 100 percent we got an engine, we’re ready to go.

I think being — again, it’s more preparation time where we only had a certain amount of time to prep for last year. We have double the amount this year to get ready, so we’re just going to show up a lot more prepared.

Q. On the other end of that, for you personally, what are the chances of you getting more opportunities in the Chevy sim to get ready now that — obviously being with Chevy last year, you assume that’s kind of probably the case this year?

R.C. ENERSON: Yeah, I’ve actually never been in the Chevy sim. I’ve been on my simulator at home, but I haven’t got a chance to be in the Dallara or the Chevy simulator. That would be pretty cool. I think that would be a lot more fun than anything else.

I think with the amount of time we have in front of us to May, it’s just going to be a lot better of an opportunity than even last year was, even though we did so well last year.

Q. How much work do you put in during the off-season to do events like this, like sim racing and all that, like for the 500?

R.C. ENERSON: As far as sim racing goes, we do it for fun. I feel like a lot of us just do it for fun. Whenever I have an evening off and not really doing anything else, what better video game to play than the thing I like to do the most?

I have a bunch of friends that I’ve met through there. Since 2020 happened, we were internet racing all the time. I met a lot of cool guys and do a bunch of league racing stuff, and it allows me to do the thing I love to do most for just fun on the side. But I don’t do it necessarily to prepare.

But I guess it keeps the reflexes there, and you’re just constantly able to drive something.

Q. Over the years I’ve been watching these races, I know you have to keep a lot of reaction time to stay sharp for these races. How do you train for that?

R.C. ENERSON: To be fair, I haven’t done a lot of the reaction training. If I was based here in Indy, I’d be at PitFit doing the D2 machine and a lot of that stuff. But I guess it’s just being on the sim. And I do get to drive the school cars every single event we go to. I feel like I have a million miles in those things over the past eight years.

So I actually get to drive a car on track. It’s not necessarily as fast as an INDYCAR, but it gets my butt in a seat and I’m able to turn a bunch of laps every time we go to an event.

The Big Game Motorsports pairing could both reach 100 World of Outlaws victories this yearCONCORD, NC (January 11, 2024) – The 100-win mark is an exclusive club with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, eclipsed by only seven drivers and five car owners in the Series’ 46 years of history. But a driver and team owner that connected three years ago have a chance to reach the milestone together in 2024.David Gravel heads into the season with 88 victories under his belt. The team he competes for – Tod Quiring’s Big Game Motorsports – is home to 94 wins with The Greatest Show on Dirt. The 2024 championship may be at the forefront of each of their minds, but both are also eying the milestone that lies ahead.“It would be very cool,” Gravel said. “It’s definitely one big goal that I would like to reach in my career. It would be awesome to get that done. We’ll see if we can. I know Tod will get there before I do. I believe I’m the winningest driver with Big Game Motorsports, so that’s pretty cool. He had a lot of really good drivers drive for him for a decent amount of time as well. It’s always fun when you’re winning races. I think we’re on the cusp of doing something really great.”“It’s pretty incredible,” Quiring said of nearing 100. “I’ve always had a lot of passion for the World of Outlaws. Obviously, the teams ahead I have a great deal of respect for how they have operated and ran their teams.”Their dedication to Sprint Car Racing may be through different avenues, but similar paths have led Gravel and Quiring to this point.Gravel ascended the ranks, climbing into many quality rides along the route to joining forces with Quiring. The Watertown, CT native has won World of Outlaws races with seven different teams – CJB Motorsports (32 wins), Big Game Motorsports (30), Jason Johnson Racing (19), Roth Motorsports (4), DDR Motorsports (1), Bill Rose Racing (1), and Rod Tiner Racing (1).Quiring turned his lifelong fandom into involvement via sponsorship which eventually evolved into team ownership. He’s established his team as a top-tier organization with six elite drivers taking a Big Game Motorsports machine to World of Outlaws Victory Lane – David Gravel (30 wins), Craig Dollansky (28), Sammy Swindell (26), Kerry Madsen (6), Terry McCarl (3), and Danny Lasoski (1).And now their various chapters have brought them to a chance to reach 100 wins in the same season.“I think that would be really cool,” Quiring said of potentially reaching the mark together this year. “Obviously, David is one of the top few drivers in the world right now. Unless something strange happens, I think we hit our 100 this year. I feel David has a good chance to hit his 100 this year. It’s cool to do it together.”“It would definitely be cool,” Gravel said. “It’s definitely important for me and him and definitely something to be proud of. I feel like I’ve got a long way to go still, too. I’m really excited to see where this racing career takes me.”(Related: for the all-time driver win list, CLICK HERE)If last season is any indicator, both Gravel and Quiring are on pace to climb to 100 checkered flags in 2024. It took Gravel only 28 races to bag six wins in 2023 – the amount Quiring currently needs. Gravel requires 12 victories to become only the eighth driver to crack triple digits, which is exactly how many he collected last year.If Quiring is able to get six, he’ll join fellow owners Karl Kinser, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Steve Kinser, and Dennis Roth in the 100 club. And a dozen wins would put Gravel alongside Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz, Mark Kinser, Doug Wolfgang, Danny Lasoski, and Joey Saldana.All signs point to Gravel being as strong if not better than 2023. Veteran crew chief Cody Jacobs continues to call the shots on the Huset’s Speedway/Billion Automotive #2. Another year of working together could strengthen their dynamic even more.And while the 100-win milestone will be a moment to soak in, should they each reach it, their focus continues to be fully positioned on a championship. Three consecutive runner-ups in the standings have them hungrier than ever to make the final step to the top no matter how many wins it takes.“Wins are definitely cool,” Gravel said. “But we want that championship.”The 2024 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season begins at Volusia Speedway Park (Barberville, FL) for the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 7-10. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANAJanuary 11, 2024 STING RAY ROBB, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:THE MODERATOR: Continuing with our afternoon session, joined by Sting Ray Robb, who will drive the No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, wrapping up his rookie season with Dale Coyne (Racing) last year, making the transition to A.J. (Foyt)’s team. Are you ready to go with the new team and new outlook, new fire suit? How it is? Let’s go, right?STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, I’m ready to go. Q. How has the transition been with the new team?STING RAY ROBB: So far, so good. We haven’t seen a track in however many months since Laguna, but I’m excited. I’ve been to the shop a couple times, met with the engineers, met with the rest of the crew, and seems like everyone is pretty upbeat. I think they’re doing a lot of really good things, and I think the Penske alignment deal is going to be good for both parties. I think we have a lot to learn from each other, so mutually beneficial, and I think everyone is looking forward to the season already. Q. Are you one of those that come out of a new year with goals and that sort of thing?STING RAY ROBB: I think I started working on those new goals after Laguna (Seca). That already felt like the new year to me. So when January already rolled around, I was halfway through the goals already. It’s good. Q. What do you want to work on the most from a driver standpoint?STING RAY ROBB: Finishing all the laps of the Indy 500 would be a good start. Last year was tough. And it was more than just the on-track stuff. It was the off-track stuff, as well, just the rigors of INDYCAR racing. For myself as a rookie, I think I overcommitted at times on and off the track, and so I think there’s a balance there. I’m ready to go. I’ve watched the videos. I’ve learned what I can from my mistakes last year, and I think that it’ll just be a similar story to my past seasons. Rookie seasons are always tough, but sophomore seasons always seem to be a little bit better. Q. Obviously it’s a new year, new team. You’ve got Santino, who’s coming back this year. What do you think you can learn from Santino given that you’re going to be with a new power this year as well?STING RAY ROBB: That’s a great, great thing to have him back, and I think the team is excited about it, and especially, like you said, with that experience with the other power unit. We’ve gotten some engineers from other teams this off-season that kind of came from the other side of the world and have been joining the Chevy side. It’ll be nice to be transitioning together with those guys as well as having the knowledge of Michael Cannon and Santino (Ferrucci) to help us all learn something. I think we can learn from my past in the Honda car just as much as we can learn from their past in the Chevy car. I think it’ll be good just because year after year, you see the sort of tension between manufacturers. It seems like one is better at this track, one is better at this track. And I think Chevy is on the up and up right now. Q. In relation to Milwaukee, how excited are you about going there?STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, it’s good. Wisconsin is a wonderful place, and being up there at Road America is always one of my favorite places to be. Being just a little bit south in Milwaukee is going to be a good thing. I think it’ll be fun for everyone. Q. Your boss has some good memories at Milwaukee.STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, I need to take some notes. We’ll have a study date one of these days. Q. How important do you see it sort of coming in as a rookie to then have a second year or sophomore year to build on that? There’s the first year purely for you to adapt and then the second year you feel like you can really kick on? How important is having that second year?STING RAY ROBB: I think it’s super important. I think that for myself especially, I do better with experience. I always like to quote the book The Outliers, which talks about the 10,000 hour rule and how you have to spend 10,000 hours doing whatever it is in order to become great at it. So I’m not anywhere near to my 10,000 hours in an INDYCAR yet, but I’m on my way to it. So having that rookie season out of the way and having some time off to kind of digest everything from the season and really focus on the areas I need to work on, I think it’s good. I think it’ll allow me to go into the weekends not just from a learning aspect. It’ll allow me to go, okay, I already know what the deal is here at this track at this time and the tendencies with the team and whatever. So like you said, I’m not adapting during the weekend as much as I am preparing, which it makes a big difference. Q. Do you see this as a multiyear sort of thing with Foyt, or is it a case of seeing how the first year goes and going from there?STING RAY ROBB: I think it very well could be. With their results in the Indy 500 last year, I think we’re all hopeful for what the team is capable of doing. Like I said with the alignment, I think that both teams are going to have a lot to learn, and hopefully that’ll benefit both, and it’ll allow me an opportunity to learn and progress and have some success with the team. Q. I remember last year you talked about how your deal with Dale Coyne Racing came together because of one gym pass together with Linus Lundqvist. How did this deal with AJ Foyt Racing come together?STING RAY ROBB: I’m trying to even think, because this was kind of a long time in the running here. We weren’t really sure that AJ Foyt Racing was going to have an open seat before the end of the year. And so when we found out about the Penske deal and everything, we were really excited for the team because we knew that was a good opportunity for them to partner with another team just to learn and share resources that way. At one point, I think my manager, Peter Rossi, was talking to Larry Foyt in passing and started up a conversation talking about the opportunity. And I don’t really know much, honestly. I was kind of a bystander this year when it came to joining the team. I said, yeah, let’s do it, sounds like a good program, and it sounds like they’re doing a lot of good things over there. Especially with the Indianapolis-based shop, it allows me to go in and work with the team day in and day out, whereas I didn’t have that so much last year with DCR being based out of Chicago. That drive is a bit longer than I’d like to make on a daily commute. But, yeah, I can do pit stop practices now. I can go bug the engineers before they kick me out at the end of the day. And it just allows me more opportunity to kind of be in relation with those guys, which I feel like I missed out on a lot last year. Q. You mentioned the Penske partnership. What is it you think you can get out of that, and is that maybe the main difference compared to last year, when at Coyne it was a little bit you guys were more on your own?STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, as compared to last year, I think it’s just going to have more data. Like that’s the biggest thing, especially for myself with guys like Josef and Will and Scott. Those guys, their driving style, from what I’ve understood, are different than what I’ve seen that work in the Honda. So I think that will be interesting to learn from them early on and have their success kind of right there for us to access. Especially on — just having the affirmation of, okay, the car is good, it’s quick, now I can go work on myself. I think that an underrated part of being a young driver is having that good baseline to work from, having a good foundation so that you can work on yourself. I think we forget a lot of times that drivers aren’t robots, as much as we’d like to be, and there are outside influences that can make a difference on how we perform inside the race car. Q. We can see on your overalls that you’ve got some new partners on board. It sounds from what I’ve read in the press you’ve done a lot of hard work to bring that group together. Can you talk about that?STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, so the big one on my chest right now is Pray.com, and that’s an app that is trying to help people bring prayer into their daily life. For me it’s a pretty good alignment. We were looking for companies that I could stand behind, that could stand behind me. And obviously faith is a big aspect of who I am and it’s where I find my identity. So having them step on board this year was really, really exciting, and I think it’s going to be a good long-term partnership for us. Another brand, Goodheart, they have been with us for a long time. They came on I think around 2020 right before I won my Indy Pro 2000 championship. They’ve been with us ever since. As well as Tovuti, PNP, Pinecroft, all those guys, they’re returning this year, which is really cool to see. It’s hard to get those guys in the door and get them to our racetrack. So when they sign on and it can last, it means a lot, it means to see their support and they become part of the Sting Ray Robb family. Q. With a teammate like Santino Ferrucci, will there be a pit row battle of hairstyles?STING RAY ROBB: Maybe. I think that I need to find an electrical outlet with a fork. Does anyone have one around?Q. On a more serious note, when you were five years old, you said you wanted to drive race cars. I wonder what that means now. I think you’re 23, driving for the iconic Foyt racing team.STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, so I’m 22 now, and I think one of the coolest things about signing with Foyt this year was being at least associated with the name A.J. Foyt because that’s synonymous with winning, being the winningest driver in INDYCAR history. So for myself it’s cool to have that history and that legend to live up to. It is really cool to be a part of that group because motorsports is a small family. It’s a very small community. We all run in the same world together. So for myself, this is the second of some very, very legendary drivers that have won a lot of races that I’ve driven for. I have a box of Wheaties with his face on it that I’m hoping to get signed by the end of the year, but we’ll see how that goes, see if he approves of that. Q. Along that line, have you had a chance to talk to A.J. (Foyt) face to face yet?STING RAY ROBB: No, not yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Q. I wonder if it’s getting harder or just different, the way to find sponsors now with this (indiscernible) coming into INDYCAR, or is it the same hard work to get any sponsors?STING RAY ROBB: I think if anything it’s a help. I think that we’re all looking forward to the innovation that INDYCAR is doing with the hybrid system, and I think that myself, the team, as well as Chevy being a partner there, we’re all happy that INDYCAR has postponed the introduction of the hybrid system until later in the year so that way we can all get a good feel for what that will bring as far as the racing series goes and the competition we’ll lay out there. I see no difference as far as partnerships go that are negative. If anything, it’s a positive. Q. What could be the most valuable lesson that you take from Dale Coyne?STING RAY ROBB: I mean, there’s a lot to learn from last season. But from him himself, I think Dale was really good at not overthinking things. He was really good at just kind of maintaining a good balance in his personality, especially on the stand as a strategist. He made some good calls last year, but we were in tough positions a lot of times. And in INDYCAR racing, little things make a big difference. So for me I think that just learning from Dale’s experience and being able to sit down and listen. Instead of just giving him all the knowledge that I have, I should just listen to what they have to say. Q. You’re joining a new team with AJ Foyt Racing and Santino Ferrucci as your teammate. What can you learn from another young driver like Santino Ferrucci for this upcoming season?STING RAY ROBB: I mean, there’s probably a lot to learn. I think Santino is a good talent in the series, and I think that his personality goes well with what I have to give, as well. I think we’re going to get along just fine, and I’m looking forward to start working together. One thing that I learned last year that I wish I had known better was kind of how to enjoy the off-track stuff, and I think Santino does a good job of that. He knows how to have fun away from the racetrack as well as on the racetrack. I’m looking forward to kind of learning that side from him and just getting some good time together, having some fun on the racetrack. Q. This team has proved to show good speed on ovals. Are you excited for that going into 2024, knowing that you could possibly have a better shot at these oval tracks?STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, I’m hoping to not be in the last row qualifying this year. That would be a good start for things. Q. Last year Foyt showed a lot of speed, a lot more speed than we’ve seen, and I think everybody was deep in their soul cheering for Santino at the end of the race, an American driver in a Foyt car. Know you were in the back row last year and just the stress that probably caused you all weekend. I know you want to take it a race at a time, but you’ve got to be champing at the bit to be able to get out in that car, knowing it’s got some speed and show what you can do on the oval at IMS.STING RAY ROBB: Absolutely. I remember talking to one of the drivers for the team last year, I can’t remember who it was, but they said, the car is fast. I don’t know why. Like I just hammer down and it goes. And that was all there was to it. It wasn’t anything different that I was doing in the car that I was in on the last row qualifying. I was full throttle for four laps with no wiggles, no understeering. Stuck to the ground, trimmed out, and it just didn’t have it. I think it will be interesting to kind of have that feeling of like the car feels the same, but we’re just going faster. At least that’s my hope. I know there’s days like that where everything just kind of flows and it’s the way it’s supposed to be, so I’m hoping that we can get some of those this year.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

January 11, 2024

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

THE MODERATOR: Continuing on, Christian Rasmussen joins us, driving the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Chevrolet, of course the 2023 Indy NXT by Firestone champion, with five wins, eight podiums, and three pole positions last year. Moving up in size, team, whatnot. Happy New Year. Are you looking forward to a big 2024 for you?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I’m looking forward. NTT INDYCAR is something that we have been working towards for a long time now, and something that I feel ready for.

Getting the opportunity with Ed Carpenter Racing is huge for me. I’m just looking forward to a season where there’s going to be a steep learning curve, a lot of new stuff for me, pit stops, different cars, different people to drive against. There’s a lot of new stuff coming my way, but I’m going to the task very humble and just going to try and do the best that I can.

Q. You’ve won a lot of scholarships on the way up to INDYCAR. Would you be here without those scholarships?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: No, not at all. I am out of a very regular family, and obviously I’ve had great support from investors and sponsors during the way. But most of the budgets for each year has come from the scholarships. That was why like last year was very hard for us because that was the first time in a while where we didn’t have a scholarship, or I didn’t have a scholarship.

We had to find a full budget. That proved to be very hard. We pushed through, but not without issues. Like three times during the year we were less than 24 hours from losing my ride, which was hard. But we pushed through, made it happen, and still won the championship, which got me into INDYCAR.

Q. Do you think racing with that pressure every year will help you as you continue your career?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: It’s definitely a weight lifted off my shoulders. Obviously there’s still always pressure in racing. There’s always pressure to perform. You have to perform to stay in the game, especially in a competitive series like INDYCAR.

But having that financial burden off my shoulders is very, very great. And, yeah, I just look forward to start racing and focusing on my craft and getting better.

Q. Winning in all the Road to Indy levels — or USF Pro, whatever they call it now — now you’re coming up to INDYCAR, what does a successful 2024 look like from your perspective as a rookie?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: It’s very hard to say. I haven’t really set any overall, like, position goal in mind. I go to the season, I want to learn as much as possible. I want to improve over the season and see where we end up.

It’s hard to say where we’re going to end up, but yeah, I hope for some good results, see if I can be close to Rinus and give him a run for his money. He’s obviously the first guy to beat. But we’ll see. See where we end up.

Q. What do you think you can learn from Rinus VeeKay this season?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: I mean, obviously there’s a lot — is this his fourth or fifth season in INDYCAR? So obviously a lot of experience there.

But there’s going to be a lot. Learning the car is one thing, all the stuff that’s around INDYCAR with pit stops and a lot of new stuff that’s got to be learned. So I’ll be leaning on him. Hopefully he’ll help me out.

But just looking forward to the task.

Q. Do you plan on — obviously you’re running the 500. Do you plan to travel to the other ovals, learning from Ed (Carpenter) and the feedback that he’s going to give back? Are you going to travel with the team? Is that part of the learning process, as well?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: For sure. I go into INDYCAR my first year, I want to learn as much as possible and be as well set up for 2025 as possible. So that means also going to all of the ovals and everything else to see how all that works.

Obviously I get the 500, which is going to be super special, but it’s going to be the first time on a superspeedway for me and the first time on an oval in an INDYCAR.

I’ll go to all the events, try and learn as much as possible. Obviously Ed (Carpenter) has a lot of experience on the ovals and in INDYCAR.

Yeah, I’ll be like, what’s called —

Q. Sponge?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: A sponge, try and soak up as much as possible.

Q. Some questions about you and Rinus. Of course you’re the rookie on the team, but in age you’re actually older than him. How is he falling into this role as team leader, and how has he helped you get up to speed the last few weeks and months?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I think the work really starts now. Obviously we’ve been in the sim a lot where he’s been helpful, but it’s really when we get into the car, which we haven’t had a lot of time yet. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to working with him more.

Up until now, it’s just been kind of getting to know each other, and we seem to get along very well. I’m sure it’ll be a fun season. I’m excited to learn what I can from him and see where that takes us.

Q. Personality-wise, do you guys have a little bit of fun outside of work, as well?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, obviously he lives in Florida, I live in Indy, so we’re kind of far apart. But once we’re in each other’s town, we tend to do something.

Q. Not running the ovals this year, do you feel like that could actually help your development because then you are able to just focus on the road and street courses, and then in the future you could then develop on ovals? Or do you feel like you would rather have run an entire season this year?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, obviously the goal is always to run an entire season, but I’m very thankful for the opportunity to run the road and street circuits.

We’ll see. I think there is a lot to learn when you step up into INDYCAR, so having to only focus on road and street circuits might be a good thing.

I feel pretty strong on the ovals, so I think I could do some good stuff. But that’s also the plan, to continue through a full season in 2025.

For now, I’ll focus on the cards that I have been dealt and see where that takes me.

Q. You kind of alluded to this, but you talked about how you almost lost your Indy NXT ride three times within 24 hours. You were able to save that. At what points of the season was that happening?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Well, the first one came very early before St. Pete. There was that. We managed to avoid that bullet. Then again like midway through the season, and then I think again before St. Louis, I believe.

But it happened a few times, but thanks to the network that I have built up in racing over the years, I was able to save it and get some good help from a lot of different people, which was awesome, which helped me get through also.

My team was very good working with me, partly also because I was — at the end I was leading the championship. Obviously they wanted to win a championship as well as I did. I think that helped.

I think if I weren’t leading the championship, I don’t think I would have been able to finish the year because I wouldn’t have that same wiggle room.

But I worked, which was obviously partly thanks to myself putting in that situation, which I think was crucial for my continuance in Indy NXT.

Q. If I remember correctly, and I might be wrong, but if I remember right, some of your sponsorship or some of your backing through your Indy NXT career, obviously through the whole Road to Indy, came from Europe. What’s the challenge for someone who comes from Europe with your backing trying to sell the idea of racing in a junior category in America and making that a payoff investment for them?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, it’s very hard, especially in the lower categories. You don’t really have that media attention, and it’s hard to convince a company that there’s going to be a huge return of investment in those series.

We’ve had to go an investment route and do it that way, which is great. That’s what has gotten me there, what’s gotten me here, and it seems to be working now.

Yeah, it’s hard, but that’s what we’ve been dealing with.

I’ve also started to focus more on the American market in terms of getting sponsorship and investments from over here, which has also been a huge part of my success last year.

Q. You’re getting ready to be a rookie in INDYCAR. We know the journey. But what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about stepping up to INDYCAR, and who gave you that advice?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Not sure. But obviously I’ve been told a lot of times to just do the best I can, which is I think the way that I’m going to go to the task. Don’t overthink it and just do the best I can. I think that’ll be the main thing.

Q. What do you think about the fact that we are seeing more and more European competitors in the series? Why is that?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: I think it’s great. I think a lot of Europeans are starting to realize how cool of a series INDYCAR is. I took that leap a long time ago. I was one of the few that went to the U.S. early and went through the ladder series.

But I think it’s great. We have a lot of Scandinavians, obviously two Danes now, a lot of Swedish, and in general a lot of Europeans, which is cool.

I think the depth of the field is super great, and there’s a lot of very, very talented drivers out there. And I think it makes for some of the best racing in the world right now.

Q. What’s a track you haven’t done? Since you were in Indy Lights last year you’ve done a lot of road course stuff. So what’s a track you haven’t done in Indy Lights that you’re most looking forward to this year?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: I look forward to Long Beach. I love the street circuits in general, and Long Beach is such a cool event. I got to experience it as a spectator in 2022, so getting the opportunity to run the race is going to be super cool.

I look forward to going back to Toronto. I was there in 2019 last. That was my first win in the Road to Indy. So going back there is going to be super cool to run. It’s a cool city, enjoyed being there, and loved the circuit, as well.

Q. I’ve learned watching races that you have to keep a lot of reaction time. How do you train to keep that reaction time up?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: I work out with PitFit Training where it’s kind of a whole circle deal. We get strength, we get cardio, and the reaction training is part of it, as well.

We do a lot of training on these big screens where we do hand-eye coordination and reaction stuff. A lot of different stuff that we do.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANAJanuary 11, 2024 SANTINO FERRUCCI, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:THE MODERATOR: Joined now by Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, beginning his seventh year in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Third place at the Indianapolis 500 last year, 19 career top 10s for Santino. Just announced you’re returning to the team, so congratulations. Happy New Year. SANTINO FERRUCCI: No kidding. Q. You’re heading to the Chili Bowl, right?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I’ve got a couple busy weeks ahead between practice at the Chili Bowl, to here, back to prelim night, to Florida to get married, then to Homestead for INDYCAR testing. Q. Tell me about Foyt; why does this marriage work so well for you guys?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Well, I think one of the things that really works is the way that me and Larry (Foyt) interact. It’s just a very natural, very well-flowing part of our sport. Obviously it’s a very serious sport, but you also — we’re very fortunate to do what we do, and we both love it. And we just make it so much more fun for each other, and we do well doing that. Running at Indy, I think also we know that we can win. It just makes the partnership fantastic. Q. The fact that there’s now an engineering relationship with Team Penske, how valuable is that going to be, and will we see dramatic improvement happen from that relationship on the Foyt side?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Well, I think it’s massive. Seeing that partnership grow, seeing what it can potentially become, and sitting in on some of those meetings, it’s definitely very unique. I’ve seen some partnerships throughout my years in racing, and this one is definitely unlike any other relationship I have experienced. I think we can’t thank Penske enough for working with us. And dramatic results. There’s still a lot that goes on behind the scenes. It’s not exactly a plug-and-play sport, as much as we wish it was. But we should improve our road course and street course program significantly. And obviously our 500 program now working with a powerhouse like Penske — we were already really good. We did finish behind them this year in the race part, which is obviously not the goal. But I think with all of us working together, we can put five cars out there that are hopefully untouchable. Q. I don’t know if irony is the right word, but you were a Team Penske driver for about three days in 2022 after the Iowa race, and you didn’t get to get into the car after that because Josef was cleared to return to competition. But here we are two years later and you’re kind of in a way a satellite Team Penske driver because of this relationship. Kind of that long twisting road that you’ve been on.SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I think that’s kind of part of my journey. It’s one of those things to where — working with Mr. Cindric and Mr. Penske, it’s one of those things to where it’s been a dream. And obviously driving for A.J. (Foyt) and being able to do everything in one roof is, I think, a rarity. It’s not something that I think every driver has the honor of saying. Being able to have A.J. on the stand and working with a team like Penske in the background is definitely unique. Q. You called this relationship with Penske “massive” and unlike any other that you’ve known of or been a part of. I’m sure you can’t tell us everything, but why do you have the impression that this not only will be so impactful for AJ Foyt Racing but that it is so different and unique from other technical partnerships that we’ve known about?SANTINO FERRUCCI: So because of my experience in racing — I’ve obviously driven in other series, which we all know which one I’m speaking of. And the team that I drove for when we started, it was their first full-time year with a partnership with a massive team. The fact of how fast those guys got off the ground with me jumping in the car, no testing, no practice, no nothing, straight into racing, and we were in the top 15 with a team that had one owner and one mechanic when I went there in January, goes to show that was a pretty open-book partnership in my opinion. Working with Penske is taking it to a whole new level of sitting in engineering, working with their guys, what we’re doing with our team, how we’re setting up for the year. That’s kind of how I’m basing it, because it’s partnerships like that that — it’s a competition sport, which is always going to be part of it. But to have a team like that helping a smaller team like ours for the sake of the sport is just — I mean, it’s incredible. Q. Do you anticipate the level of — we know the Meyer Shank Racing drivers and Andretti Global drivers sit in with each other on debriefs after qualifying and practice and races. Is that what you guys are going to be experiencing here, or is there still a little bit of a silo between these two teams?SANTINO FERRUCCI: I think on the race weekends it’s a little bit more of a silo from what I can see and what I’m gathering. We don’t know yet. Since we’re so new in this partnership, it can be a bunch of things. I know Josef (Newgarden) would love to have me sit down and debrief, according to INDYCAR memes. But it would be really cool working with those guys. I’ve bounced a lot of stuff off of Will (Power) throughout my years here because I’ve always found him to be a good friend and a driver that I would aspire to be. He’s honestly, in my opinion, the world’s greatest qualifier, and it’s something that I’ve always wanted to work on myself. Being able to have more access to someone like him is something that is just unreal for me. Q. Your news and being confirmed to this team is obviously very new. When we last spoke to Larry (Foyt) at Laguna (Seca), seemed like things were pretty positive but also uncertain about you guys’ future together. Can you give us a little bit of insight about these last four months and how you ended up landing back here at AJ Foyt Racing?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I think it was always part of the goal with the team. When you’re obviously trying to build something new — we pulled apart this team last year, restructured it with Cannon, and to start to build continuity was the goal. I had an option on my contract, and we had always throughout the year talked about moving forward, moving forward, moving forward. Obviously the biggest hurdle with the team would always be — with a smaller team is sponsorship. I am a paid driver. It’s tough. I don’t bring anything to the table other than my good looks and hair. Q. Even that’s questionable, but that’s fine.SANTINO FERRUCCI: No kidding. But, no, obviously that was always the goal with Larry. We’ve been working on this for a while trying to figure out how to make it work through the winter. There’s been so many different ideas. And to get something done and inked after the new year was important for my career. I think it’s important for the team, important for the relationship moving forward with Penske, and just being able to build on Indy, honestly, because we all know we can win, and that is honestly the big goal. Q. Going back to the Chili Bowl this week, how important is it for you to race not just there but other types of cars besides INDYCAR to kind of keep things on the up and up?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, so with INDYCAR obviously testing is limited. We don’t play soccer or football or any of those sports so we can’t just go out whenever we want and hit the driving range and do our sport. So driving different disciplines — you know, the Chili Bowl is its own unique thing. It was the way to get into INDYCAR back in the day, so it’s a grass-roots form of racing. It is the complete opposite of anything we do in the INDYCAR, which is a fantastic tool to learn from because it teaches you adaptability. You have to adapt in a car like that like no other. Those guys are unbelievable, what they do. That’s why there’s 370 entries, and any given night, anyone can win. It’s also that mental challenge of I should be able to do this, and I’d like to do it well. But also, I go to a local go-kart track all the time. I have a track 30 minutes from my house. I rebuilt one of my — someone asked me the other day, oh, man, that thing doesn’t look too old. And I’m like, yeah, it’s from 2008. Built my own legacy go-kart that I grew up racing. Honestly doing all those forms of racing, keeping your skills sharp. Everything in INDYCAR happens slower than it does in a go-cart or midget, so keeping your mind sharp is a big tool. Q. Given your namesake, is there something you’d like to do more of other than just the Chili Bowl? Would you like to do sprint cars, Silver Crown, or is it just focusing on the Chili Bowl once a year?SANTINO FERRUCCI: My big focus is on the Chili Bowl once a year. I would be open to jumping in a Silver Crown car at some point in my life. But the thing with the sprint car — my first dirt experience was in a 410 sprint wingless. Needless to say as much as I’m not afraid of anything, racing one of those cars is not on my list of things to do because that is absolutely absurd. Especially on big tracks like Eldora and stuff like that, kudos to those guys. I’m happy with four wheels, wings, and the aeroscreen. Q. But would you do a winged 410 car?SANTINO FERRUCCI: You know what, the winged stuff, maybe. The wingless, not a chance. Winged, downforce, watching those guys do it, it’s a little bit more cushion. I’d be more open to something with wings on it. Q. The team obviously in 2022 lost leader circle spots. Last year you got one of those back. Did you feel that pressure late in the season, and how good did it feel when you got that accomplished?SANTINO FERRUCCI: I never really felt the pressure to put the car in the leadership circle. I kind of figured it would be a given. Considering the hurdles that we had to go through in 2023, it was definitely to the point to where you’re crunching numbers going into your final few finishes of, like, where do we need to finish, what do we need to do here? Especially since Indy was no longer double points, which it’s a big deal when you change that. But, no, I’m looking forward to it more this year because I think with Sting Ray and everything that’s happening, I think we can easily put both cars in the leadership circle. And that’s something that I think is huge for the team. That bonus money carries us a long way. Q. On a completely different topic, how many times have you replayed the last 15 laps of the 500 over, and what would you do differently?SANTINO FERRUCCI: I haven’t played the last 15. I’ve only replayed the last restart, and, trust me, I still lose sleep over it. It’s one of those things to where the second-to-last restart was executed perfectly because everything in that scenario had a variable, and it wasn’t going to change. And then with the final restart of something that we’d never done, to do a one lap out and go, there were so many different variables. Honestly, Marcus caught all of us off guard. He did a hell of a job restarting that race. No. At that point it was just — once we got going, it was just a hope and a prayer to see if those guys made a mistake. And obviously we’re all at the top of our game. None of us are making errors. It’s just cat and mouse at that point. Q. With the addition of Sting Ray Robb to the team, what do you think he brings to the team in terms of his experience coming in as a rookie from last season?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, obviously it’s hard not to see Sting Ray in the lower categories because of the name, so it’s someone that you always follow because the name is so freaking cool. I just paid attention to him. Honestly, I think that he’s just really consistent. So finishing races will be huge, especially for that second car and the 41. I think having him there, completing all those laps — he did a really good job of that this year. He definitely had his signs of speed, as all rookies do. I mean, even my rookie year, it’s just one of those things to where finishing laps is almost more important than anything else and keeping cars in one piece for the guys. And I think he’ll be able to do a good job with that. I don’t know how his feedback will be. I have not worked with him too much yet. I have met him a good handful of times, and I’m looking forward to working with him on more of a friends level. I think he would be a really cool teammate to be with. Q. You signed late; are you a full season this year?SANTINO FERRUCCI: That’s the intention. It’s basically the same thing that we did last year. So we’re going off the — our intentions of it, it’s obviously a lot due to sponsorship. Obviously my performance in the 500 was a huge deal to — big part of that, as well. But yes. Q. With the second year with Foyt, any particular personal goals that you’ve thought of?SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah. Obviously I’ve got a few off the top of my head. Obviously my big one is circling on the 500 and doing the same thing that we did this past season with the consistency, rolling off the trailer good, being smart about it, taking our time. But for full-season goals, I’d like to be in that top 10 of the championship. Obviously 27 drivers, everybody fighting tooth and nail, this is the most competitive the series has ever been, most competitive I’ve ever seen any open wheel series in my lifetime. And that’s just, I think, a solid goal right now for all of us. Just having that consistency is going to be key, and I think that’s something that we can achieve. Q. With the introduction of the hybrid car, do you think that’s going to be a positive or sort of a hold-back for your team?SANTINO FERRUCCI: I’m looking forward to it. I think that Chevrolet and Honda have been working diligently to obviously get the hybrid program started. I think it’s something that our series needs. Obviously we have a lot of enthusiasts. I’m a car enthusiast. I love my V-8s. It’s one of my daily cars, Corvette V-8. It’s pro charged. It’s one of those things to where there’s nothing that beats that sound. But as far as technology goes, adding in that hybrid is going to add in a completely different dynamic to a driver, and I think it’s going to make the series more challenging and it’s going to be more rewarding to those that can process faster, more adaptable. I’m looking forward to it. I know Chevrolet is. I’m happy that they’ve decided to wait until after the 500 this year just because I really like the way that we don’t know how exactly it’s going to make the cars handle different yet. And with them delaying it, also our book for this past year stays really good.We’ll roll in with the same car, and can’t wait to do that. Q. What’s your favorite course style? There’s the three different variants out there. There’s got to be one that you look forward to a little more than the others.SANTINO FERRUCCI: Well, when we have the setup down, I really love short track racing. I’m really looking forward to going back to Gateway this year with the full downforce package. I’m looking forward to racing the Milwaukee Mile, which I’ve heard so much about. Iowa with the repave is going to be incredible. Just short track racing in general is just honestly one of my favorite things. There’s nothing like going two, three-wide at 200-plus miles per hour, basically banging elbows.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

January 11, 2024

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

THE MODERATOR: Leading us off this morning, the driver of the No. 21, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, beginning his fifth season in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Two NTT P1 awards in his career and of course that memorable win on the IMS road course. Rinus VeeKay joining us this morning. Ready to go today?

RINUS VEEKAY: Ready to go. I’m excited actually. It’s been a quiet off-season, so it’s nice to be talking and thinking about racing all day.

THE MODERATOR: You’ve had a rather important event in your life since Laguna.

RINUS VEEKAY: That’s true. I got married.

Q. Looking ahead to 2024, what do you think the team has in store, maybe some goals you want to accomplish this year?

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I think 2023 definitely was a tough season, toughest so far, I think, in my time on the team. But, yeah, I think 2024 is going to be a good one.

Having Christian as a team, first time for me having a rookie as a teammate, but also someone who is basically my age. I think we really kind of think the same way and drive the same way, so I think it’s a really good match.

Already on the simulator we’ve been kind of saying the same thing while not knowing we say the same thing. So that’s really good.

I think it’s just going to be a good team. I think we’ve got a really good team that really can work our way up throughout the season to the top.

Q. Rinus, the team really seems to be making an investment in keeping young talent. At one time the team had Josef Newgarden and weren’t able to compete with Penske in terms of offers, but they’ve really made an investment with you. How important is that, that the team has identified who they want to build a program around and stick with them?

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I can definitely see that. Also with Christian (Rasmussen), they really value also the Indy NXT and the Road to Indy talents coming up. Same with Josef, same with me.

And with Christian, we’re all doing pretty good. Christian, I’m pretty sure he’s going to do very good this year.

I think that really shows the Road to Indy helps and it’s worth looking at as a team.

I think it’s good that the team is looking at young talent, and I think it’ll make us a very strong team.

Q. Obviously you’re entering your fifth season into INDYCAR. What do you think you’ve learnt over the last four years that you can bring into this season leading Ed Carpenter as you are kind of being the senior driver with Christian?

RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think over four years, it’s not really a specific thing I can say. I think one thing in general is I know what the car needs to feel like. I think Christian still has to find that out over the course of the season, what that perfect balance feels like, and what you need to achieve, what you need to do to achieve that.

I think I can really set that baseline and guide the team to where we need to go. And I think Christian needs to just explore and kind of follow my lead since we’ve had the same kind of driving style, feedback, and everything.

I think as a leadership role, that experience of knowing what I need as a car, that’s going to be very important. I think that’s how we will save time during short race weekends with practices that are so short, to be quick for qualifying.

Q. You had a veteran championship-winning teammate the second half of the season. What did you learn from him that you can take going forward to make yourself better?

RINUS VEEKAY: Well, Ryan (Hunter-Reay) age-wise could be my dad. He definitely is a driver from a different era.

With Christian, I see we really have the same approach. But what Ryan really made me see and helped me get better at is the preparation, the deep analyzing before an event. Writing everything down and thinking just a little bit further than I have before a race weekend to be more prepared.

I think that really has helped. I think my races so far, definitely the second half of 2023 season, have been kind of spotless.

I was happy with that, and I think that really helped me get a bit more complete and take some of his wisdom and made me a bit more versatile.

Q. I want to talk about Indy 500 qualifying weekend. Sometimes the format changes. It’s going to be consistent from last year. You’re always so good on that day, starting up front. How do you put everything that you’ve learned over the last couple of years together and finish off the deal?

RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think just the same thing. Just go fast and enjoy. I think that’s one thing with the team. They are really good in Indy, and it makes it a lot more fun when you go that fast, controlled, and you are controlling the car.

I think that is something — heading into every season, every Indy 500, I know we’re going to be good in qualifying. Also in the race. But just got to stay out of trouble.

I think just for 2024, I’ve kind of slowly graduated through that front row like fourth, third, third, second. It’s time to be on pole.

Q. We’ve talked about it a little bit with some drivers yesterday, but we might see 235-ish. Is that on your radar? Do you wait to think about that until you get to the test in April? We may see some records, and you’re probably going to be one of the guys that’s right up there fighting for that.

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I’ll be ready. I’ve hit 235 already, but you never know. Conditions are so specific. It could be a day where we’re one or two miles an hour slower, so who knows. As long as it’s fast enough for pole position, I’m happy.

Q. What do you feel needs to be done next year for the team to maybe become a bit more consistent? What specific improvements do you feel need to be made to get you back into a position where you could win a race or two again?

RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think for next season, it’s going to be important to get the details right. I think we’ve had a really good car at times, but I think we just kind of missed that window too often. I think if we can expand that window to be inside there more often or have a target, have the knowledge to be in that window, it’s just going to be important.

I think we can do that. I think the team has done the right things to have that little bit more knowledge from last year. I hope we can make the improvements that we want to make.

Q. What would make a successful season for you in 2024?

RINUS VEEKAY: One thing is getting back on to a podium. I think it’s well time we’re back on a podium. But also I think just kind of nibbling on that top 10 and championship is a goal.

Q. Yesterday we had Ed (Carpenter) in here and he talked about how he believes you’re ready to take that leadership role of the team. I know you touched on this a little bit, but I guess, one, what does that do for your confidence when he says that you’re ready for this? And I think on the second part, why do you believe that you’re ready to take the leadership role this year?

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it does give me confidence to hear that, but also I believe I’m ready. This is going to be my fifth season in INDYCAR. We’ve had to go through a lot with the team, so it’s been a fun ride so far.

I’ve always had a more experienced driver next to me. I still have Ed on the ovals, but I feel like I got the experience to carry the team and know what we need to do as a team to get better, also during a race weekend, and I know how to adapt to get better.

I think also Christian, he trusts me, trusts my experience. I think it’ll be a good season, and I’m totally ready for the leadership role.

Q. When did that transition take place where you started to take more of a charge in the debriefs and things like that, to be more comfortable to speak up and to take on a little bit more of that role?

RINUS VEEKAY: I think that really happened in 2023. With it being our toughest, hardest season so far, it made me work harder and also made me change my voice a little bit in the team and made my voice a bit more demanding, I think.

I feel like I’ve always really listened to the team, to what they say. I still do, but I think right now I’ve also got the voice, like I can talk to them and really make them change things if we need to.

Q. Talking about a little of the process that’s now internally different from last year, of all these things you said you’ve already learned from your teammates, if you can explain a little more about that.

RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think there’s — what I said, the preparation with Ryan, that he really showed me, he would have a whole notebook of things he thought about at night that popped up in his head, and he wrote it down and analyzed it and thought about it even more. Stuff like that I had never done.

I just started carrying a notebook that I just wrote stuff in and thought about and tried to just be as ready as possible for every race, and don’t try to find things out on the fly. That really helped.

I think I was more prepared in situations in a race, where in the past I would kind of be in doubt of what to do. I really had a strong opinion on where to go.

I think those are things that really helped me just be more ready for the races.

Q. You said something about control, controlling the high speed. If you can elaborate on that so we can understand a little more.

RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, so Rahal might not be happy with it, but if you looked at the Rahal cars at the 500, they were not really in control, and it looked scary for them to drive.

For us, it was the other way around. We were fast but also very controlled, so I could really focus on my driving and not have to worry about the car losing grip somewhere or anything happening. So I could really focus on being as efficient and as fast as possible. I knew the car would be fast and stuck to the track.

Q. I would like to bring a relaxed question and something that happened back in July on social media when Agustin Canapino started showing off some races in Argentina. And you were one of the first drivers that said I’m up for driving one of these cars, and the reaction on social media was huge in Argentina. Being an INDYCAR driver full time and being a strong performing driver, would you ever have the experience of flying overseas to the south of South America and having a race, or it all remained joking in social media, and if you could see anything about those cars.

RINUS VEEKAY: My focus is always INDYCAR, but if I can do something else on the side, it’s something to check off my bucket list. I’m a race car driver. I love racing. There’s many kind of racing I love.

If I can get the opportunity to drive a TC in Argentina, that would be awesome. It’s a pure form of racing. Totally different like INDYCAR, but also kind of follows the same philosophy with the tracks and the sounds of the cars.

If I ever can get the opportunity and it does not affect my INDYCAR calendar, yeah, I would love to go there.

Q. I’m sure there would be a long list of teams calling and your phone would be ringing in just a couple of minutes. If you can give any opinions on Agustin’s first season as a rookie. You performed very quickly since you arrived to INDYCAR. You know what it’s like to be a rookie; can you give any thoughts on that?

RINUS VEEKAY: Yes. Well, I think I speak for more drivers, we didn’t really know what to expect from Agustin because TC is so little known here in the U.S. But he really surprised us with his pace, especially on the ovals.

I was racing with him in — I think it was also Texas and Iowa, and he was running the outside around me, and with as little oval experience, he really had big balls to keep the outside and go hard. That was just very surprising.

It’s fun racing, and he’s a fun guy, too. He’s had a really good rookie season, and he should be proud of it.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA January 10, 2024   AGUSTIN CANAPINO, No. 78 Juncos-Hollinger Racing Chevrolet: THE MODERATOR: It is time for Agustin Canapino who returns for a second season in the NTT INDYCAR Series, driver of the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. Agustin of course 15-time touring car champion in Argentina, back here near for a second year. We’re all wondering how your English has improved since last year’s content day when you only had three or four months of English lessons then. Now you can probably read an entire dictionary, right? AGUSTIN CANAPINO: I remember this moment one year ago. Oh, my God. Q. The pressure was on. AGUSTIN CANAPINO: It was a lot, more than the Indy 500 qualification. Q. Tell us about the off-season and getting ready for a second season with Juncos Hollinger Racing. AGUSTIN CANAPINO: I am really excited, especially by the way we finished the season, because we were battling for a podium on the last race in Laguna just before the crash. We were fourth, and we were in a really good position to battle for the race. We did really good moments during the year. We achieved decent results for our first season in INDYCAR. We entered in the leader circles with the two cars. First time ever Juncos had two cars in a season, first time ever for me, so I’m really happy with the season so far. But we want more, and I think we have a really good opportunity this year to continue our improvement, continue both with the team and especially with Romain in the team. I think we have a really good opportunity to learn from him everything and continue this process. Q. How much more relaxed are you heading into a second season, or are you relaxed? AGUSTIN CANAPINO: I don’t know if relaxed is the correct sentence. I think now I know more what I have to do because now I have the way to prepare my physical, my races. I learn a lot about the car, the tires, the brakes, the way to manage the races, the other drivers, the rules. I learn a lot, everything. Of course it’s only the beginning, but now I have an idea what I have to do. Q. A couple tracks you went to twice last year, IMS, the road course. What’s a track you’re champing at the bit saying I can’t wait to get back there for a second time? And secondly, your relationship with Romain, when did you meet him? Was it this past season? Did you talk during the year or did you meet each other when you became teammates? AGUSTIN CANAPINO: Every track will be important for me because every time will be the second time, and I learn a lot from the first to the second. But definitely the Indy 500 is unique. These two weeks are unique. It’s impressive. It’s amazing. It’s impossible to explain, like a driver, like a fan, because I was a fan outside two years ago. For me, it will be amazing to be there again knowing what I have to do, knowing the situation, in the car, in the oval. Definitely the Indy 500 will be an amazing experience. With Romain, imagine when he was driving in Formula 1 I was driving in my country with touring cars. I watched him my entire life driving in the top series in the world, and it’s a big opportunity for me, for me and the team, because I knew the team is small. I knew, too, he has a lot of experience, a lot of achievement during his career, and I think we have a really good opportunity to learn from him. He’s a really good guy, and I have no doubts we will do a really good team to try to grow together with the team. Q. You and I had a conversation last spring at Barber where you said, all I want is another year in INDYCAR after this one. How much of a relief is it to be back in INDYCAR for another year, and how have your expectations changed compared from last year to this year? AGUSTIN CANAPINO: It’s totally different. My focus on my mind is totally different. I remember, again, when I was in the same situation here on the content day. I am totally surprised for everything, especially this situation with the series, with the journalists, with the team, with the language. Now I can think, I want to achieve good results. Of course. We don’t pretend miracles. We don’t forget we are a small and new team. But in INDYCAR you can battle. You can see my last race we were really good the world race battling with the top teams, the top teams, so sometimes you can battle with them. But I want to continue, to continue my improvement, step by step. Okay, the last year we were in the leader circles, we were sometimes close to doing a top 10. Okay, I want to be there again in the leader circle and I want to make some top 10s.  And why not one race like Laguna or Iowa too where we were good car battling with the top teams? Why not achieve a better result than the top 10. This is my mentality for this year, but again, trying to don’t lose my calm, try to keep the calm and continue step by step.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANAJanuary 10, 2024 ROMAIN GROSJEAN, No. 77 Juncos-Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Romain Grosjean. Tell us about the transition to the new team. How is it going, and are you looking forward to 2024 here? ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, the transition is going well. Everyone has been very welcoming in the team. Already spent the day yesterday, some time in December with everyone, and it’s been great. That’s very cool, and excited for the season for sure. A lot to discover, a lot to understand, a lot to know where we are, but the good thing is that we got a couple of tests before we go to St. Pete’s that should help us get started. Q. Seems like this team is moving forward. We saw a lot of progress out of them over the last two years. Talk about the relationship moving forward, both you looking for your first win, this team is on the growth, moving up, had some great runs last year, and then talk about some places where you know in your head you want to improve coming up in 2024?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, I think it may be early to speak about wins. For sure we’re going to try to do everything we can, but we also have to be realistic that we are, as you said, up and coming. The team has been doing really good for the last few years, but it’s still a three-year-old team. So a lot to do, but I think everyone is very motivated and very aware of what we can achieve and what we cannot achieve. That’s good. Places to improve, the Indy 500 for sure. At least try to see the checkered flag would be a good start. Q. You’re in a new team now. How does joining a new team in the INDYCAR Series help you in your direction for the new season?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, it’s the third one in four years, so I’m getting used to it. Obviously it’s always a challenge. It’s always positive. There’s always things we need to adapt. But as I say, everyone is super open minded. I’m excited to see what we can do together. I’m realistic of where we are and what we need to do. But it’s INDYCAR, and everything can happen on track. We’ll make sure that we seize every opportunity that we can. Q. When you look back at the last two years, how do you judge what happened? Obviously I would imagine you’re disappointed in how things played out, and then obviously going to a new team, you’re obviously excited about that, but the last two years, how can you analyze what happened both on and off the track for you?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, I think we tried and we had a lot of belief that we could fight for the championship, and we did not achieve that. I had an amazing time with some great characters over the last two years, made a lot of good friends. But right now I’m more interested in focusing on 2024 and seeing what we can do with Juncos Hollinger Racing than moaning about the past. As I said, a lot of good friends up there, a lot of good times, a lot of good positions, podiums. It just didn’t play out our way. But the next chapter is the important one. Q. Obviously you had a very successful time at Dale Coyne (Racing) when you came into INDYCAR and enjoyed working inside that team. I guess Juncos is maybe a similar size to Dale Coyne when you were there. Wondered if there was anything that you enjoy about working in a team like this. Obviously in Formula 1 you were working in much bigger atmospheres. I guess the chance to work in smaller teams means you can be more hands on and enjoy the experience more than in previous teams?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I think it’s positive working in both small teams and big teams. For sure small team is more family based small type of feeling. I really enjoy the Latin American, Latin type of relation that we have, that I’m closed to friends in Switzerland, where with Ricardo and everyone in the team, that’s for sure. There’s also a lot of beauty about being in a bigger team. They are the ones selected by the manufacturer to do all the hybrid tests so they have got a lot more knowledge than we do on all of that. They are more research on certain things. But I’m definitely excited about what we have coming and very happy with everyone that I’ve met and everyone I’m going to work with. Q. You were talking about the relationship in Latin American style that you have with people like Ricardo (Juncos). I would like to ask you about your new teammate Agustin Canapino. How did you get on with him in the first days and can you give any assessment on his rookie season in 2023 and what can you bring together as a team?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, sure. I think the team has been very welcoming. Agustin, as well. We’ve had a great time at the factory together. I know he’s excited to work with me. I’m excited to work with him, as well. I think he’s got an incredible background in touring car, and there’s definitely a lot of things that I can learn from him on that side and that driving style that he can bring into single seater, and I think for him it’s also important to have for 20 years or something like that, and has got a lot of experience. I have a very good relationship. I’m looking forward to working with him. I think we’re both at a time in our life that is all about working together and working well for the team, so that’s going to be exciting. His first year in INDYCAR, there was some very impressive performances. There was some that were less good, but also you have to remember that INDYCAR has got so little test that when you come as a rookie, it’s not that easy. Q. Do you think he has been progressing throughout the season? At the end of the season in 2023 Juncos-Hollinger Racing was fairly close to being in the top 10. Do you think you can raise even more that benchmark?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, we’re definitely going to try to be in the top 10 at first and then see if we can do top 5 and even more. But step by step, we know where we are and we know where we want to go. Q. When did you say your first test in a Juncos-Hollinger car is going to be?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: It’s going to be Homestead-Miami between the Roar and the Rolex, so I think it’s 22, 23 and 24. It’s going to be a day and a half somewhere in that week. Q. I know the last two years at Andretti, it was easy to kind of gauge what success was going to look like. It was going to look like poles and wins and podiums and things like that. You mentioned wins may be too soon to expect at a team that’s still just three years old. When we get to the end of this 2024 season, what would you at this point call a successful year in your first year with JHR?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: It’s the same question, and to be honest with you, I didn’t think of it. I don’t have an answer. I think we have to see where we start in St. Pete, in Thermal, and then see where we can move from there. I think success would be to improve and get better race after race, and see what we can do, see if we can get a decent Indy 500. That’s a big race in the year. It’s not easy, and the team is like, okay, we need to rely on you in the Indy 500, and I’m like, I’m going to be fair with you, I don’t know what a good car is. I can’t tell you. We have to learn together. I think, yes, it’s difficult to exactly — as I say, top 10 and top 5 would be awesome, try to be somewhere near that in the driver’s championship by the end of the year and see what we can do, but definitely try to get every opportunity we can. Q. Because a lot of the smaller teams didn’t get a chance to do any of the hybrid testing, were you a little bit relieved when INDYCAR delayed that until the middle of the season?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yes. I think for us, it was tricky. It was an advantage for some that was pretty significant, and when we were doing the drivers’ meeting early in December, the guys were asking a question about the hybrid, and I had no idea what they were talking about. Definitely kind of happy that it’s been postponed. It’s also going to allow us to start with a known concept on the car and move from there and see when the hybrid comes in, and hopefully by then we do have a lot more knowledge on it. Q. Also on the IMS road course, you’ve been successful with two different teams, so obviously it’s driver feel that you have for that course. Is it beyond the realm of possibility to expect you to have a really good performance, both in qualifying and in the race on the IMS road course?ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, I don’t know. I think the team looked really good in Portland and Laguna Seca last year. So that’s going to be good. We’re going to try to bring that for sure to a lot of different racetracks. Finding time to go testing on road courses is not easy. The weather obviously in the winter is impossible, and then the season starts. It’s definitely something I’m trying to put a lot of effort on because I think it’s important that we find the right package for the road course, but too early to say anything.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANAJanuary 10, 2024 SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:THE MODERATOR: Continuing on, joining us, Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet beginning his fourth full-time season now in the NTT IndyCar series, finishing a career-best third in the championship last year with a win last at Barber Motorsports Park, along with four podiums from there on. That’s in the past, though, right? Rearview mirror. It’s on to 2024 and even bigger goals for you. SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. 2024 is exciting. I think I’ve said a number of times today, I feel like my off-track side is sorted in terms of I’ve got my Visa now, I’ve bought a house, got a second dog. Everything is sorted on that side, and I can finally at the start of the season focus on racing in some ways. I’m excited to hit the ground running hopefully at St. Pete, a place that I love. I feel like we really finished the year strong last year and it is going to be important to start the year strong with the changes throughout the season. I’m really excited throughout the year and feel really comfortable with where I’m at. Q. You said a second dog?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: We bought a golden retriever puppy. The dogs are getting along really well, which is fantastic. The dog, Chase is five, and, yeah, he took her under his wing pretty well. Good stuff. Big steps. Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: That never really bothered me from that point of view. I always feel like I’m pretty loose when it comes to having a bit of fun outside the track. When I put my helmet on and I need to get ready, I know when I’m ready. Yeah, I felt like we had our best year last year leading the three of us, and I felt really good with my process. It was just a matter of putting together things a little bit earlier on in the season and winning races when we probably should have. There was a couple of races we kind of let go as well. But, yeah, I’m super excited for the year. I feel very comfortable with where I’m at with the team. Nothing is going to change on my team as far as I know, which is nice to go into the season ready to go. Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Oh, huge. It was awesome to be in Phoenix with Ryan (Blaney). We’re very close. I play a lot of golf, but hang out outside of golf courses and race tracks together. It was awesome being a part of that, and like you said, certainly puts a bit of fire in my belly to get it done and come back here stronger and hopefully do the same for myself this year. Q. You mentioned after Laguna Seca, you were really happy with being able to say you were the highest-finishing Team Penske driver in the championship. That was a big thing for you coming into that weekend. I know you won a couple of races in 2022. Was it two or three? I can’t remember.SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Three, yeah. Q. Maybe kind of a two-part question. First, did you come into last year feeling like you had a legitimate shot at winning a championship? And regardless of that answer, how much better prepared do you feel like you are to potentially do that this year?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: I think ever since I won my first race, I knew that every year after that, every year I come into the sport now, I’m going to have a legitimate shot, knowing that the tools I have at hand and where I am in my development as an IndyCar driver.Yeah, I never come out and say I’m going to win the championship. I don’t. I know that I’ve got the tools to. I feel like I’m in the best possible spot I’ve ever been for a long time, but even probably better than last year. But it’s the same for everyone. Everyone comes in and says the same thing, that they feel better and whatever. It’s just a matter of doing your talking on the track. I feel comfortable. I knew what we could do last year. I knew that I could beat Will and Josef in the championship, and especially when I had an opportunity to. It was a matter of me and Ben coming together and working out exactly what I wanted, and we had a really strong stretch. That was what really made it happen. I think we can certainly do that — with the championship side, we can have a really good run and put ourselves in position to hopefully finish off the year in a position that we are in contention for the championship. Q. You hear through stick and ball sports, even I’m sure in super cars, rising up through the ranks, rising up through the grid is one thing, but to get that next little bit, the top of the game, is one of the most difficult steps. You’re pretty much there. Have you seen that in IndyCar? Is it tougher than you thought it was? What are your thoughts to get that next little bit to be a champion in the sport?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: It’s like weight loss, right? You lose a heap, and the last little bit you want to lose is the hardest part. I’m going through that at the moment. The same thing with this sport. The hardest thing here is you just know you’re competing with the world’s best drivers in some ways. It’s so competitive, the margins are so tight, but you’re trying to get that last little bit. Sometimes that last little bit in the sport is a little bit of luck, whether it’s like yellows or certain things. You might have the fastest car and certainly places like Nashville and other places, road course that’s we’ve been to throughout the year, we had a really good opportunity to win, but the yellow didn’t fall our way, or fuel strategy didn’t work our way or whatnot, and you find yourself fifth or sixth in a race that you could easily have been maybe the top step of the podium. I think that’s — what Alex did last season was incredible. His season was fantastic, and it’s a credit to him and his team. We all strive for one of those seasons, and there’s no doubt that it can be done because he did it. But it is hard to find that last little bit. Somehow, some way, you find it. You’ve just got to keep working. Q. You mentioned about having your Visa now and you feel like your life off track is sort of — how big personally is that? I know your wife’s a citizen, but to have that all squared away just personally coming into this year. I know sometimes that can be a distraction. How rewarding, I guess, is that for you?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: It’s nice because you feel like you’re building actually the American dream in some ways. Last year my Visa was sorted, I had a green card and everything was sorted, but I was going through trying to buy a house with Karly and I didn’t have a credit score, so the whole credit thing was crazy. So that was like a stress thing. It’s just nice. I love this place. I love the people. I love the places we go, the racing, and I can certainly see myself being here for the rest of my life. Yeah, it’s nice to have that, like you said, off-track sorted. Not that it’s going to reinvent my wheel, but it’s a nice feeling.  It’s just really cool. Q. A lot of talk today about former drivers and what their roles are with various teams. I recall your first go at Texas when you got out of the car, Rick Mears came up to you. That was a personal moment. I won’t ask about what he said. But talk a little bit about how he has influenced your career both professionally and personally.SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah, huge amount. Rick’s basically my eye in the sky in some ways. He’s not my spotter, but he certainly watches everything with a keen interest and where I’m positioning the car. He’s one of the first people that always comments about my driving when I come back in from an oval. It has been more so his help has been on ovals to accelerate that phase, and that’s been amazing for me, particularly at Indy, but short ovals as well, I just find myself picking up the phone and ringing him, which I’ve had the privilege to, which is an amazing feeling. But, yeah, trying to use him the right way has been really enjoyable to do. But also, at the end of the day, I’ve really leaned on Josef and Will as well. Josef helped me a lot with short ovals last year and Will from a qualifying perspective as well. Like I said, we’ve got really good camaraderie, whether it’s Rick (Mears), whether it’s the three of us as well, it’s a really cool team, and it’s certainly helped me accelerate to the point where I am today. Q. First of all, Scott, you’re comfortable in the U.S., but we’re still going to call you a New Zealander.SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Please, I’m still going to call myself a New Zealander. Q. Looking at the comment you made before and the fact that the Thirsty-threes are all back together again, the consistency inside the team for you, having people like Finchy there alongside you doing strategy, is that important rather than having a change around in team members?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Look, like I said, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the same. It hasn’t been finalized just yet, but I know for a fact that Ben’s going to be my engineer and whatnot, and Malcolm is — it’s fantastic to have that same core group. We get along very well. It’s no secret that we play a lot of golf and hang out outside of the track, but that’s how we work together. We have this pretty seamless sort of feeling between all three of us, and it’s a nice feeling knowing that they’re in your corner. Malcolm’s been with me since I came to America. He’s a super good guy and super smart guy. Lucky to have the pair of them. But at the same time, our car and the 12 car and the 2 car, we all — it’s a very good group and a lot of motivation in the group this year to go bigger in ’24 and hopefully bring the Astor Cup back. Q. You’ve been around the surroundings before in terms of a chase for the championship and categories you’ve driven in previously. Last year you got to be in the IndyCar Series. Having now done that within this series, is that going to make you smarter come the last quarter of the season, like you’re aware of the situations that come into hand?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: I definitely think having the experience of trying to win a championship and being in a position to have that pressure, have the TV, have the media talking all about it, it definitely is a nice thing compared to someone who hasn’t been in that position before. I think that helps. But by the time everything, honestly, shakes out in IndyCar, you’re hard pressed to find a point at the end of the season where a reigning champ or someone that hasn’t won the championship or the 500 isn’t involved in winning the championship, which is a testament to how good they are and how good the category is. Yeah, I feel — I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage, but it definitely probably settles me down mentally knowing what to expect, I guess. Q. Finally, you’re back in Indianapolis for this content day that the season’s doing. It’s actually still quite a long time until the start of the season, but being back in Indianapolis, is that one place down on the corner of 16th and Georgetown that says come visit me in May, do you feel the vibe of the Indy 500 lurking in the background because you’re back in the city and knowing that it’s not really that far away?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it’s awesome. Every time you fly in basically, you fly over the track. So it’s pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of Bathurst where you sort of come over the hill on the road there and see the Mount Panorama sign for the first time. Same sort of vibe, same sort of goose bump feeling. That’s a big focus for us this year to be better at Indy, particularly on my car. Yeah, that’s the next goal for sure. Q. It’s kind of crazy to think that you’re entering year four. It’s kind of gone by pretty quick. Your transition into IndyCars has been nothing short of stellar. I’m just kind of curious, third place in the championship last year, this transition that you’re kind of going into, do you look at this and think that maybe there’s a specific area, whether it’s strategy management or applying data, driving lines, whatever it might be? Maybe tools in the cockpit. Is there something that you kind of look at that maybe you’re trying to just get that extra little oomph to seal this transition completely, if that makes sense?SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: I guess the first oval win is the next thing for me, to finish off everything. But I think from a comfort, pace feeling perspective, I feel really at home. I certainly don’t feel like the new kid anymore, and I feel more like an open wheel driver than a touring car driver now. Yeah, it’s very small. I was talking about the margins before, like the margins move up now, like there are a few little areas, a kink in my armor that I need to figure out that I’ll keep to myself, but I feel like we’re in a really good spot for the start of the season. Q. Obviously the hybrid getting introduced middle of the season going to impact the championship in some form or fashion. I guess I’m just kind of curious your thoughts on maybe how you feel that’s going to really shake out how this year might play out for the eventually champion.SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN: I think it puts a bit of emphasis on knowing what you have at the start of the season. Obviously going into the start, we know the package. We know where we’re at, even setup-wise and whatnot. After the 500, it all sort of happens. I think the category has done the right thing from a competitive standpoint. It does suck for everyone that we haven’t been able to get the parts and whatnot in time, but I think doing the right thing to keep our world-renowned competitiveness in the category, and I think it’s going to make an exciting sort of finish to the year about who can combat the changes the most. That’s what the championship and building the championship is all about is combatting the change. Things aren’t the same from St. Pete to Nashville, and they never are. We need to combat that, whether that is adding a hybrid or whatever it is. That’s all part about building a solid championship campaign and working with your guys and girls and making sure you can get at the front quicker than the rest of them.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANAJanuary 10, 2024 DAVID MALUKAS, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:THE MODERATOR: Continuing on with the afternoon session here at the NTT IndyCar Series Content Days with David Malukas, now driving the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, beginning his third season in the NTT IndyCar Series, with the podium of six top tens in 2023. Getting used to the new look for you? DAVID MALUKAS: I like it. I’m glowing. Anywhere I go, it’s just papaya. You can see it in your peripheral vision. It actually changes the way you see things. Like you know when you were a kid and everything seemed a little bit brighter, I feel like putting the papaya on, I have that same brightness back. Q. Looking ahead to 2024, what are the expectations? What’s the hope?DAVID MALUKAS: Oh, expectations, hope, I mean, now with Arrow McLaren, we are going for the top: podiums, wins. They are very competitive, and it’s the team to do it. That is going to be — my goals will coincide with that. Q. Your transition has been what? How would you describe it?DAVID MALUKAS: Whatever the word for as smooth as possible would be. That would be how well it’s been. It’s been great. As soon as we came in, met everybody. Everybody is treating me like family. Actually a lot of the people there too, I have known since go-karting, so I have a lot of history with them too. It’s been very cool, learning a lot. They have a lot of resources that I’m trying to use to the most of my capabilities. (Tony Kanaan) is there to help me and assist on that, and we’ve also done a little bit of testing. I’m already getting to know everybody. Q. You’re a lot of fun on social media. Arrow McLaren does awesome stuff on social media. Talk about how that’s going to help grow your brand, grow yourself as well. And secondly, when do these conversations kind of start? I go back to like when Palou started talking to Ganassi, he was like, oh. Like when you started talking to McLaren, when this became a realization, how excited were you? You probably couldn’t tell a lot of people at the time. Talk about the relationship and how social media is going to be great for you guys and how it all came about, what your first initial thoughts were.DAVID MALUKAS: It kind of all happened quickly after Nashville is when everything got done. So for those months until Laguna I had to kind of keep it in. I actually enjoyed it. I had a good time because keeping it in wasn’t too hard. I’d go online and see all these like, oh, this person is going over here, because I’d also know where the other drivers were going, and I’m giggling in the back like, hoo-hoo, you don’t know. But going into Arrow McLaren, one of the big deals has been from their socials. They do a fantastic job with promotion and promoting the drivers. Going into it, of course, that was one of the big factors. For my brand and for me personally, it’s going to help exponentially. Q. I don’t know if you follow college football, but Jim Harbaugh likes to say who’s got it better than us? Nobody. Could that same phrase be used for you?DAVID MALUKAS: Hey, I mean, I guess you could, yeah. That’s a good phrase. I like it. Q. Just as far as to be so early in your career to be on a team like this, just the opportunities that it presents for you.DAVID MALUKAS: It is a great opportunity. Like I said, they have a lot of resources; also have really good teammates of Pato and Rossi. Being 22, I still have some time to learn, and it is the perfect place to make sure that for my skills and to get the maximum out of my potential, this is the place to be. Q. Going into this year one, I know this in the past has sometimes been a team for other drivers that have come on, a tough car to really get a chance to master year one in. What is your — like what are you aiming for this year? Do you feel like year one and such a big opportunity, is this something that you feel like you have to hit on right away, or do you feel like there’s some leeway for you to be able to get adjusted to this team and how it operates and the setup of the car?DAVID MALUKAS: I think it’s a bit similar in between that line. Going from Arrow McLaren’s side, they’re competitive. They want to be up front, they want to get wins, they want to get podiums, and they want to compete with the best and be the best. Going into this season those will also be my goals. Going into it, yes, of course, I will be new, and it will take time to adjust. We have had a lot of testing, and I think by the time this season starts, we should be where we want to be. Q. David, nice exciting move for you going to Arrow McLaren. Obviously it’s a team with a few more resources than you’re used to. What’s sort of the biggest change you’ve seen moving up to Arrow McLaren so far?DAVID MALUKAS: The biggest change is there’s a lot of people and a lot of people I need to meet, a lot of names that I still need to get down. But that’s been the biggest change, is trying to get used to the different environment, something that I’m not used to. But all in all, it’s been a good change, and I’m very excited to get comfortable with it. Q. I’ve got two questions, the first one being you go to Dale Coyne (Racing), Chicago-based team, Chicago native, you’re able to kind of hang out there, learn the nuances that you needed to become an IndyCar driver. I guess I’m just curious moving to Indy, getting closer to Arrow McLaren, what are maybe some new habits in your approach that you’re taking that maybe you didn’t have that have been built over this off-season?DAVID MALUKAS: There’s been a lot of new changes coming here with the move and just being all around just a different team. Habits-wise, it’s just trying to get into the shop as much as possible. I want to be there for the guys. I want to already start building relationships, building that chemistry before the season starts, and just trying to get in and help and be with the content crew, get to know everybody from my side looking at onboards and different — anything that I can just to make sure that, by the time the season starts, I will be as ready as I can be so we can get those performances going as soon as possible. Q. I get the not-so-fun question to ask, is it’s been pretty well broadcast originally where Alex Palou was supposed to go in the seat you ultimately landed in. I guess I’m just kind of curious, just kind of knowing that, do you have any extra motivation to maybe prove something as it relates to him in particular, knowing that that was maybe the original plan before everything kind of pivoted?DAVID MALUKAS: I don’t really see it that way. I just more look at it as I have signed a deal with Arrow McLaren, and they are confident in me, and I am confident in myself to get the results. Yeah, we’ll just focus on getting the results that we need. Q. You spoke about victories. You spoke about podium. But I need to know about the internal cues or the internal fight on qualifications between Alex, Pato, and you. This year will be very interesting, you know.DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, for sure we’re going to be very competitive, but at the same time, we are teammates, and we’re going to help each other. At the end of the day, we want to see Arrow McLaren as a whole succeed. Of course we’re going to have our own little competition, but that is a part of racing and very important to have those type of teammates to where you can all better each other. Q. This is my last question. You will have new personal, new stuff to your car. How was the first contact, the first conversations?DAVID MALUKAS: Can you elaborate? Q. About the stuff on your car. The strategy, engineers, all the personal stuff on your car.DAVID MALUKAS: Like I said, I’ve been trying my best to get to know everybody. With all these different tests, we’ve been swapping out everybody, different engineers, different mechanics, which has been good from my side because I’ve been able to get to know everybody and work on that chemistry and build on those relationships. Overall, everybody that I’ve met — the engineers, mechanics, whoever it may be — everybody’s been incredible and awesome, and I very much love this team. Q. I want to ask you about something that has been announced a few weeks ago. It’s the introduction of the hybrid power unit will be delayed after Indy 500. How much can this change affect your season in two different aspects? Firstly, in the performance that you made, you will make, in these first races with the old car and the performance that you’ve made in the — when this new change is applied. Also to prepare the season in specific for you, as it’s your first season with McLaren, you start with a different car than you will finish the season.DAVID MALUKAS: With the whole hybrid deal, I think, when it does come along, yeah, maybe it could be a little bit of a performance boost from my side just because I’ve had some of that testing involved. But from my side, it’s more just getting laps under my belt and helping me overall. It will be a little bit different going into the start of the season now not having the hybrid, and I think from my side that’s what I’m most intrigued about, seeing the differences between what a hybrid car feels like and what one doesn’t. I will also be able to get already kind of a feedback of how the Arrow McLaren car and the setup is going to react between the two, so when the hybrid does come in later in the season, it will be something that I’ll have kind of that extra step to get to know it. Q. Speaking of another thing that it has commented in the last weeks, it’s that Honda can leave IndyCar in 2025. What’s your thoughts about it? If you had the opportunity to speak with new customers that are interested in IndyCar, in doing a promo, a program with IndyCar, what do you say? What would you say to convince them?DAVID MALUKAS: Sorry, to convince who? Q. To convince some new manufacturers to enter into IndyCar, some new brands.DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, IndyCar, it’s a special sport. I think we have something very special, and I think we should do the best that we possibly can to let it be known and to show everybody. I don’t think it would be very hard to convince another manufacturer to come in and to add more competition. I think overall it would help. But from my side, I’m very happy with Chevy, and I’m excited to get the season going. Q. Have you had a chance to sit down with your dad and your mom? You’ve made this long journey, and here you are now as an IndyCar driver that’s being paid to drive for one of the top teams.DAVID MALUKAS: Of course. I had a conversation with my parents and they were very happy, but at the same time, it was interesting. It was a bit weird because it was almost like I was also doing another meeting. They were just like, well, if you stay with us, we could do this, this, this. It was kind of weird because it’s my parents, but at the same time, we’re having a conversation about business. So it was weird, but it was interesting. No, of course, from the whole side, everybody is very happy and excited. Yeah, it’s cool. My dad can achieve his dream of having HMD in the Ladder Series, and I get to achieve my dream of being an IndyCar driver.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

January 10, 2024

WILL POWER, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

THE MODERATOR: Kicking off the afternoon session here day one of NTT INDYCAR Series content days at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis. We are led off by Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet; enters his 20th season in the NTT IndyCar Series, two-time series champion. Of course the 2018 winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, 41 career wins, and of course the series record 70 NTT P1 Awards, and I’m just glad that the neck injury you posted on social media —

WILL POWER: It’s feeling a lot better. It was just a brief injury.

THE MODERATOR: That’s good to hear.

WILL POWER: You should not try to squat 300. That’s big.

THE MODERATOR: How does 2024 look for you?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I think we’ve made improvements on the team front. Disappointed with 2023. Very determined to turn up in ’24 with simply better performances.

I would say going to ’23 was not a very good situation and the preparation wasn’t normal, and that kind of continued into the year a bit. Yeah, turning up ready to go.

Q. If you look ahead to 2024, strong out of the gates; consistency, obviously that was a big factor in your second championship, as well.

WILL POWER: Yeah, it does matter. It does. It really does. It puts you in that non-defensive mindset if you get the points early.

But it doesn’t necessarily have to play out like that, either. Every season has a different flow. Sometimes consistency matters, and sometimes you really have to win races to win a championship. You kind of get that feel as we take off.

The field is so tough and so strong and so close, yeah, you have to — it’s very hard to dominate. As we saw last year, someone did, like really dominated. That’s a tough level right there.

Q. When we talked after Laguna Seca you talked about reflecting on 2023 and how tough it was for you from a personal standpoint with everything going on in the background with Liz and her health. I don’t want to pry too much, but have things gone on this off-season that puts you in a better ability to be more focused on racing and not so much worried or anxious or focusing on things off track?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it does, yeah. Liz is doing a lot better. It’s actually about a year now since that happened. Yeah, she’s actually back, started working out a little bit. Way, way better from where she was.

Yeah, not having that stress, the constant thought in the back of your mind of what’s going on there frees up a bit of space. You can get back to the sort of normal routine of preparing for a season and working during the season.

Q. One of the toughest parts of that, was that just the mental load you were having to carry, where racing just couldn’t be your sole focus?

WILL POWER: Yeah, exactly, yeah. Those distractions really take away — you just cannot compete at a high level if you’re not 100 percent in on that thing, which is racing. If you’re not 100 percent in, you’re going to struggle in this field. It’s too tough. Depth is too strong.

You need to have everything going for you if you’re going to win in this series.

Q. We don’t know a debut date yet on the hybrid, but supposed to come at some point after the 500, so it’s probably somewhere around the halfway point in the series. As someone who’s put a lot of miles in the car testing that for the series and Chevy and Team Penske, how do you imagine that could factor into a championship hunt when you have some different rules and regulations splitting up this championship in 2024?

WILL POWER: It will be very interesting. There’s no question that it’s going to be a factor in the championship, how the car — obviously the weight distribution changes, the weight of the car goes up. You have this hybrid system that you have to use as efficiently as possible.

So there will be, yeah — people will be learning through those races on how to extract the most out of the system, which is a good thing. It’ll make for a very interesting championship. Very interesting.

Q. You were among the workhorses of the hybrid testing, so all those laps and all those miles that you did, how would you assess where it started and where it’s at right now?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I’ve done quite a few test days where you just run all day, two days, and no problems. No problems at all. I think it’s a bit of everything, a little bit of supply issue and so on.

To me, they’ve got to be able to — I think INDYCAR wants it to be absolutely bulletproof when it’s introduced, so I think they made the right decision there.

The testing has been good. The system has worked really well. I think the way it’s packaged and everything is really good. It just needs a little bit more time. That’s all. It just needs a little bit more time, and I think they want to introduce it with absolutely zero chance of problems, and that’s the smart way to do it.

Q. Now, one of the unintended benefits that comes with not having the hybrid is they lighten the car, so now you should be able to go faster because of the lighter car before the hybrid is put on. You always being a driver who loves speed, how important will that be for you?

WILL POWER: Oh, yeah, I love the fact that it’s lighter. It will make for a much nicer car. Well, a nicer car. Anytime you’re knocking weight out, it’s good.

Yeah, I don’t think it’ll be a big difference. It’s not like we’re knocking 100 pounds out of it. But it will be — it won’t be slower.

Q. But with the hybrid development, wasn’t there concern because of the added weight, even with the extra horsepower, it could be slower?

WILL POWER: It would depend on the track. Obviously track with long straights and all that, you’re going to get benefit from the horsepower.

Yeah, I think there’s a lot of potential in that hybrid. I reckon it’ll be started pretty conservatively, so if the lap times happen to be slower, that’s the reason. But eventually they’ll be faster because you don’t want to — you want to ease into it. I don’t think you just want to go, yeah, this thing will give 150 horsepower, bang, let’s go do it.

It’s still a hit, like it really — it jumps out of the corner when you’re using the hybrid. And you’re only using a third of what it’s capable of.

Q. Finally, a lot of people focus on race strategy, and Rick Mears told me the other day, the best race strategy is a fast race car. I guess in many ways is that your best strategy, the fastest car?

WILL POWER: Oh, it makes things so much easier. As you can see, if you’re just a little bit outside the window, you just struggle to even get in the top 10. Yeah, when you have that slight advantage, you just have a bit — you’re right in the window, just eases everything off of it.

You’re not making those little mistakes trying to make up for time. You’re just able to nail all your braking points and apexes and everything comes together nicely.

Q. Question with the hybrid engine. I know you’ve done a lot of testing, and you make it sound like it’s really easy. Do you feel that some of the younger drivers or the rookies are going to have a harder time adjusting to that change, or…

WILL POWER: I think it’s an easy — honestly, it’s hardly changed anything. The car pretty much behaves the same, and they’ve given you the ability just to push a button out of a corner and that’s it. I think it’s auto-regen, so you’re not holding the paddle or anything like that. It’s pretty straightforward.

I think it’ll be a pretty — it’ll be more about extracting the most out of the system, where you deploy it, all those strategies which kind of makes it a — it’s up to the teams to do the simulations and understand where to do that and where to regen, all that sort of stuff.

So yeah, I think it’s pretty straightforward. It’s not that complicated. Pretty straightforward.

Q. So it won’t take a couple races to get the hang of it?

WILL POWER: I mean, yeah, you’re just pressing a button. That’s the long and short of it. All the simulations will be saying out of this corner is where you should be hitting the button, and that’s what will happen.

Maybe in the races, slightly different strategies, maybe hitting a different spot to pass or something like that.

But yeah, I think it’ll be good.

Q. I’m curious your thoughts, you’ve been with Penske a while now. Do you feel since you’ve been there the morale at that team, with Team Penske, is as high as it’s ever been? I know you’ve got two straight Cup Series championships; you won the championship a few years ago; Josef just won the 500. Do you feel that yourself?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I do. It has changed quite a bit since I started there. Obviously the process has changed, the competition changes, and you evolve with it, and Penske is very good at being ahead of the curve on that stuff.

It’s a good tight-knit team. And I wouldn’t say as far as the number of people that work within the team, it’s not like a — it’s run lean but very efficiently, so everyone works very well together.

But yeah, winning two Cup championships back-to-back is very big. The 500 Championship last year, 500 this year in INDYCAR. So, yeah, the team certainly is firing on all cylinders. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.

Q. It’s already ridiculously difficult to win an INDYCAR championship; when you introduce a hybrid and it creates that required adaptability mid-season that we’re going to get this year, how much more difficult or how much more weight does that put on maybe or how much does this championship stand out, or will the eventual champion stand out compared maybe to other years?

WILL POWER: Yeah, like I said, I think it certainly will be — it’s definitely going to be a factor in the championship. Like what engine does it — what manufacturer does it complement the most, is it the Chevy or the Honda, because it’s going to hit in a certain power range.

Yeah, it’s hard to say how that will all play out, because it’s not like you’re going back to the same tracks. It’s sort of — yeah, it will play a factor in the championship. I don’t know how. I think it’ll be about adapting because it’s difficult to say what the struggles will be until you’re in the situation.

Q. Once upon a time, anybody could get maybe one, possibly two bad finishes and be right there at the end for the title hunt. You’ve got Dixon only had one finish outside the top 10 last year; Palou didn’t have a single finish lower than eighth. Can you make a mistake in this championship?

WILL POWER: When someone doesn’t have a lower finishing place than eighth and wins, what, four or five? Five wins, nothing outside the top eight, man, that is — what was the average finishing position for him? My God, you’re just sitting at such a high level there.

That’s why I said, like that is — yeah, people say he wrapped it up with one to go or he was almost done with two to go. He probably could have — he was on his way to winning the last race. He had taken off the lead in that thing obviously with a lot of mayhem.

But that’s a championship to remember in this field. That is a very, very impressive run. Very strong.

I couldn’t see anyone beating that — there’s no one sitting back going, if I just finish this race — like everyone is just going, this dude just absolutely mopped the floor, like he nailed it. But very strong.

Q. Does that kind of reset how you attack a championship in the sense that you just can’t have mistakes when guys are on that kind of level?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s not having mistakes plus winning races, not just finishing — you can’t just be top 5 every time. You’ve got to win races. Yeah, that’s one tough team and competitor right there. It just resets the bar in this series, which is a very high bar already, which is pretty cool. Pretty cool to see.

Q. You had a very long off-season but also did a lot of the hybrid testing, as well. How important is it to be able to take a step back from driving and testing and all that kind of good stuff and be at home away from everything and just recharge away from the shop, away from personnel, texts, social media and everything and just be a dad and be Will Power?

WILL POWER: That is important, to completely just disconnect from everything because of all the connectivity we have now.

Yeah, that’s great for two or three weeks, but then you want to get back to the job at hand and go hard again. That’s what it requires anyway, to be competitive.

Q. What is the most valuable advice Roger Penske has given to you that has left you thinking deeply as a person or racer?

WILL POWER: He often says to me before the race, just finish. He never really says go out there and win. Which is good advice. Just go out there, just be careful on — yeah, there’s many things Roger has told me. But when he talks, you listen.