CONCORD, NC (January 17, 2025) – Tyler “Teddy” Edwards is ready to translate racing lessons into success approaching his second year with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota in 2025.

The Salina, OK native will again pilot the No. 56 for Mounce/Stout Motorsports during the 27-race season. This time with a better understanding of his car’s setup and the team that surrounds him.

“I feel like we’ve learned a lot in the whole year,” Edwards said. “There were a lot of different racetracks that I get to go back to and some new ones. I think the biggest thing is that our notebook is thicker for how I like to drive, what I like out of a racecar, and Jay got that figured out. So, I feel like we’re gonna have a really good year. I think we should be competing for wins anyway, and I know we were close, but I wanna win a couple of races this year and be in the mix for points.”

The 31-year-old racer made his presence on the Xtreme Outlaw Midget circuit for the first time in 2024, driving to seven top-10 finishes and a season-high fourth-place finish at Atomic Speedway – earning him a ninth-place points finish.

With a full year of national Midget racing completed, Edwards said he is more comfortable than ever in a Midget encompassing a well-rounded understanding of the tracks the Series is visiting in the new season.

“One hundred percent way more comfortable,” Edwards said. “With the racetracks, not knowing any is a big deal. Now that I’ve raced at all these places, we’re gonna be good I feel like anyways. Knowing (the tracks) is really the biggest thing on how to approach setup stuff for most of these nights. I won’t have a sophomore slump, that’s for sure.”

Building from rookie experience on a national Midget schedule, Edwards knows he can do more inside the car to help him stay competitive through an event with his Mounce/Stout team.

“Really, it’s car control,” Edwards said. “I feel like I have really good car control as it is, but some nights it’s about the right adjustments in the cockpit to compensate for my car control. That’s about it. We’re right there with them. I think if we’ve got everything lined up with the right people around us, we’ll be in the mix.”

Edwards’ car owner, Jay Mounce, said he’s optimistic about seeing his driver continue to gain confidence with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets, giving Edwards a chance to visit Victory Lane for the first time with his team.

“I think Teddy’s going to be much better this year after having the whole season under his belt,” Mounce said. “Last year, he felt more confident than he really was, and it was not knowing what to expect. Even coming into a week like the Chili Bowl, he’s gas, he’s ready to rock and roll.”

Mounce has seen what top-level performance looks like, as his former driver Chase McDermand won six Series Features for Mounce/Stout Motorsports in the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midgets season, finishing fifth in points.

Knowing that 2024 was a growing year for the program, Mounce has high hopes that Edwards will show what they have been building toward with more races behind the wheel of his race car.

“We’ve had some really good guys come through our program and end up in a lot better places than we could have gotten them to this point,” Mounce said. “We knew that we were in for a growing year because we didn’t have anybody that had raced through Midgets up to (2024) at all, it was more Micros or Sprint Cars.

“Ted could have finished on the podium a couple of nights last year, but one thing or another kept us back from doing so. He’s had some success, and I feel like going into the second year with confidence and getting another opportunity to build on what he’s learned last year, he’s gonna show some success this year.”

From the season-opening race at Farmer City Raceway to the season finale at Millbridge Speedway, Mounce said he enjoys the family-oriented atmosphere of the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets that makes traveling for the Tulsa, OK-based team worth every second of his time.

“I think (Xtreme) is the best deal going right now,” Mounce said. “I feel like everybody’s part of the team, whether we’re car owners or drivers or crew members or Xtreme employees, it’s more family-oriented than it is at some of the other levels. Everybody gets treated the same and that makes it easier for me with as many cars as we try to bring.”

Edwards enters his second season with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota at Farmer City Raceway’s Illini 100 on Thursday-Saturday, April 10-12. Tickets for the event are on sale now:

FARMER CITY TICKETS

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.

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Jake Timm Moving Up to Full-Time World of Outlaws Late Models Competition in 2025

January 16, 2025 ARP Trish

CONCORD, NC (January 16, 2025) –

Jake Timm is set to become the latest driver in a long line of Modified stalwarts to take their talents to the World of Outlaws Late Models.

The Winona, MN driver is turning his full focus to Super Late Model racing in 2025, throwing his hat into the ring for this season’s MD3 Rookie of the Year Award.

“We really wanted to do a lot more Late Model racing a couple years ago, but we had some bad luck with engines that kind of knocked us back a step,” Timm said. “We raced Modifieds last year and kind of set the Late Model aside a little bit. Had a pretty good year there. Kind of built our program back up a little bit along with some of our sponsors stepping up, it just made it possible for us this year. Definitely been in the works for two or three years now.”

If a Modified driver from southern Minnesota diving into full-time Late Model racing with the World of Outlaws sounds like a familiar story, it should – Dustin Sorensen did exactly that in 2024.

Sorensen finished his freshman year with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet with a commendable five top fives and a top 10 points finish, enough to claim last season’s Rookie of the Year crown. Not only does Timm now have a roadmap to follow, he also has the chance to renew a friendly rivalry at the pinnacle of dirt Late Model racing.

“Me and Dustin have known each other forever,” Timm said. “We both raced Slingshots, then B-Mods, then Modifieds at Mississippi Thunder (Speedway) and Deer Creek (Speedway) weekly. So, we’ve raced together our entire lives. We’re good friends, we’ve raced together for a long time, and it’s always been slide jobs, always clean.

“Going back beyond that, his dad and my dad raced against each other the same way, just Friday and Saturday, every weekend against each other in Modifieds. So, it’s been a generational thing, and it’s been really fun to grow together. It’s going to be pretty cool to race side-by-side again on the World of Outlaws. Both of us have dreamed of being at this level, so it’s pretty cool.”

Timm may be new to the World of Outlaws, but he is no stranger to traveling the country racing for big money each weekend. He spent 2024 racing for the United States Modified Touring Series championship, earning wins at Humboldt Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway – three facilities Timm will return to in 2025 with the Series.

“It provides a stepping stone,” Timm said. “I’ve kind of spent my career there the last two or three years racing Modifieds and last year was the first year I actually followed it full-time. Without having something like that where you can get a point fund check at the end of the year and race for good money all the time, I wouldn’t have been able to build my program up enough to race Late Models. There’s a lot of good drivers at that level. You learn to race aggressively and race smart and all that as well. So, it’s definitely a good stepping stone.”

Timm has finished top 10 four times in his scattered World of Outlaws appearances over the past six years, with three of them coming at his home track of Mississippi Thunder Speedway. Timm knows he’s in for a challenge competing at so many new tracks for the first time, but he’s also looking forward to the prospect of defending his home turf against the best Late Model drivers in the nation.

“Fountain City, Deer Creek and Cedar Lake are definitely my three most raced at tracks in my career, so I definitely feel pretty comfortable going to those three,” Timm said. “I know there’s going to be a lot of new tracks that we go to in a lot of new areas. I’ve never raced in Pennsylvania or really anywhere on the east coast, Florida, all that is going to be new to us. But I’m definitely excited, I know there’s a lot of good tracks out there. Definitely looking forward to it.”

Bringing the top rookie honors back to Minnesota for the second-straight year would be an ideal end to the season for the No. 49 team, but they’re also keeping their expectations in check for now. As the saying goes – in order to finish first, first you must finish.

“First and foremost, finish the season and do the best we can,” Timm said. “I really just want to make all the races. Top 10s would be great, top fives too. I almost won a qualifier at Mississippi Thunder a couple years ago, so it would be really cool to pull off a win, but I also know how hard it is. Those guys are tough to beat, so we’ll just do the best we can.”

Timm will kick off his first World of Outlaws Late Models season with six nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park, beginning with DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). To find ticket information for both events, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap of the 2025 World of Outlaws Late Models season live on DIRTVision.

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Cadillac unveils liveries of three GTP cars

January 16, 2025 ARP Trish

Cadillac Racing heads to the Roar with expanded, championship-winning lineup

DETROIT (Jan. 16, 2025) – Cadillac Racing, in conjunction with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac Whelen, revealed the liveries of its three Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) racecars that will contest the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The nine-race calendar begins this week with the Roar Before the 24 leading into the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 25-26.

Cadillac Racing, which has won North America’s premier endurance race four times since 2017, welcomes the return of Wayne Taylor Racing to the program with the Nos. 10 and 40 racecars and welcomes back for another season Action Express Racing to campaign the No. 31 prototype. The championship-winning teams have aligned with major primary sponsors for the GTP entries.

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Chevy racing–NASCAR–Jr Motorsports

January 15, 2025 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 15, 2025

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, co-owners of JR Motorsports; Chris Stapleton, 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician; and Justin Allgaier, 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion; met with the media to announce that they will join forces to field the Chevrolet organization’s inaugural entry in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2025 Daytona 500. Media Availability Quotes:

MODERATOR: We are joined by some great guests with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Justin Allgaier and Chris Stapleton. Dale, in the interest of time, I will kick it over to you. Obviously a big day for JR Motorsports with a big announcement today. Explain to us how all of this came together. Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Yeah, thanks for joining us. We spent the whole day here at Whiskey River out on our property; capturing a lot of content, talking to Chris (Stapleton) and Justin (Allgaier), and visiting withKelley. There’s been a lot of work that went into putting this program together; designing a race car, logistics, and our roster of mechanics and all the people that we will need to go to the racetrack. Buying our race car and putting it together, it’s been a lot of fun.. a lot of work. But we’re now starting to get a dose of reality and get to know each other, right? It’s really the first time me and Chris have been around each other, so really enjoyed the day. I can’t wait to see the reaction on social media. We know we have a lot of people that follow JR Motorsports and pull for our success, and we’re excited to see how they all feel about the Daytona 500 and us having an entry.”
Justin, for you, obviously winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship in November and now the opportunity to run the Daytona 500 in 2025 – I would have to say, you’ve had a great winter. Tell us a little bit about your outlook as this opportunity came together and you get the chance to pilot the car. Justin Allgaier: “I mean, obviously, it’s an amazing opportunity to win the championship last year and to kind of finally check a box that we’ve tried to check at JR Motorsports for so long with myself and with the team. And, you know, when I got brought into the office to discuss this, I thought I was being called to the principal’s office, to be honest with you at first. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When they were explaining some of the process about it, I kind of didn’t put myself in the position of them offering me the job to drive the car. I just thought they were kind of filling me in on what the plans were for JR Motorsports. And so when the opportunity was presented to obviously drive the car and to be a part of the foray for JR Motorsports in the Cup Series – I mean, that’s a big opportunity. I take a lot of pressure on myself in that moment to see this organization compete on the grand scale of the Cup Series.. something that I am surprised that has never come to fruition before this point. But then to add somebody like Chris Stapleton and Traveller’s Whiskey into this – to see how involved Chris has been in this process and how much passion he’s had. I mean, really, in the conversations of what’s going back and forth between him and the team, and then just today to see his passion for this, is really, really cool for me and something that I’m not taking lightly. I know that it’s going to be a stacked field at the racetrack. There’s a lotof open cars trying to battle for a few spots. But, you know, this is.. as somebody that’s been a part of the Cup Series, it’s great to get back. But this is a lot bigger than that for me. This is about seeing JRMotorsports make this transition for this race. And, you know, who knows if there will ever be another JR Motorsports Cup Series entry. But regardless, there will always be one ‘first’, and this is obviously something that’s really, really important to all of us.”
Chris, for you, just tell us a little bit of what it means to you to be able to bring your whiskey brand to put on a car in conjunction with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the relationship you guys have. Tell us a little bit about how that came together from your perspective and being able to see that brand on the race track.Chris Stapleton: “I’m not sure it’s fully sunk in. But yeah, it’s one of these things that you kind of think about.. what’s the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand? Well, maybe we should put it on a race car. And I happen to know Rick Hendrick, and Rick kind of hooked me up with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.). This opportunity came up and I was like – well, we’ve got to do that. So I went and talked to my partners in the whiskey and I said – hey, we’ve got to make this happen.. let’s make this happen. And they agreed. This is the best possible way that we could, you know, introduce our brand to the fans of the sport. And beyond that, I just think it’s super cool to see it on the car. You know, selfishly, I think that’s one of the things I wanted out of it the most, is just to see this thing happen. And now, like Dale said, a lot of realities are setting in like – oh, we’re entering a car in the Daytona 500 all of a sudden, and it’s just going to be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see what happens and, you know, enjoy just the whole thing.. the experience of it.”
A question for all of you. First, I want to know why Justin Allgaier? I mean, obviously, there’s a lot of drivers within the JRM camp, and now it’s out of the JRM camp. So, why isJustin the guy?Dale Earnhardt Jr: “For me, there’s a lot of layers to this. Obviously JR Motorsports, myself and Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) entering a Cup car in any race is a big deal for us. But this is also a bit of a continuation, at least for me personally, of celebrating Justin’s (Allgaier) championship – achieving a goal that, like you said, we’ve been after for a long time. We’ve came so close and we’ve had some really, really tough, heartbreaking moments, but it’s really strengthened our bond and partnership. And so when we were starting to talk about doing this, I think me and Kelley both knew that we had to consider Justin as the driver. And as all of that played out toward the end of last year, it was a no-brainer that that was what we needed to do. I want to let Kelley speak to this, too, because she’s probably more aware of this than I am.. but with Traveller, we want them to have a great experience. We know what Justin’s capable of doing outside of the car, as well as inside the car. And so we know that as a driver and through marketing engagement, that Justin will make sure this is a great experience for Traveller, Chris and his team.”
Kelley Earnhardt Miller: “Yeah, speaking to that part of it – you know, not only just having your brand on the car, but we want to make sure it’s a great marketing opportunity for the brand.. for the brand togrow and for the fan base to get acquainted with the Traveller brand. And so as Dale alluded to – Justin being with our organization so long, he just goes above and beyond anything that’s asked or not asked. He’s always there for his partners. He’s there for our team partners. And so we know that Justin will do a great job, not only around the Daytona 500 when we get the opportunity to get out there and attempt to qualify, but really all year long, for this partnership and what it means to the Traveller brand. We’re just excited that Justin was our guy and that he said ‘yes’ the day that we brought him into the principal’s office.”
Justin, we talked a lot last year, last November, about whether or not the championship wassomething that you could have ended your career having or not. And I’mcurious, how much did you think at this stage of your career about your twoDaytona 500 starts? Did you feel like you needed to have a Daytona 500 start with a quality team,quality people, to make your career feel complete? Justin Allgaier: “You know, I don’t know. I think for me, the interesting part of this is that I’m probably more excited about what I said earlier with this being JR Motorsports’ first Cup Series start. I love where I’m at. I love being a part of this organization and the people that I’m around. Dale, Kelley and L.W. are obviously the face and the upfront part of it, but it goes all the way through the organization; all the employees.. all the men and women that are part of it. You know, as large as our group has gotten, it’s still a family and it’s still the family feel. And I feel like, you know, with what Chris has brought with Traveller’s Whiskey, that feel is the same, right? It’s about just enjoying the experiences; being in the moment and kind of living present in the moment. This is something, for me, that’s really, really cool. And, you know, the championship last year was awesome, but I had conceded to the fact that I wasn’t really sure that that was ever going to happen. When we finally pulled it off, it was like – man, that’s a really cool, big moment. Seeing the excitement of our entire group at the shop was a big deal. And so this just takes that the next step further and I’m really proud to represent not only JR Motorsports, but the Traveller’s Whiskey brand. And like I said, we have our work cut out for us to even make the race, but there will be nothing cooler than if we can line up on Sunday. I told Chris already that the thing that I’m looking forward to the most, the thing that I miss the most, is the flyover and those chills of the pre-race moment of that event. There’s nothing like it in our sport. I stick around every year for Sunday and walk pit road and think about the days that I was there racing it. I don’t have to do that this year, hopefully. I can hopefully be there in a fire suit and getting my focus on for the race, and that’s really something that’s important for me.”
This is a pretty cool deal. Dale, you kind of touched on it in your last response, but canyou just kind of express what this means to have your entry in the Daytona 500? I know that this race means so much to you on so many levels.. Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Yeah, I still don’t feel like that. Like Chris said, I still feel like it’s still sinking in. I did tell Kelley that I wanted to be present for all the moments. And so from the moment we started to, you know, select the chassis and purchase the car; start to build, find the components, and get the components. And even going through that with NASCAR and understanding that whole process is really unique and new, compared to how things work in the Xfinity Series. So I want to be involved or at least a witness to everything. I’m going to be on pit road when the car is pushed out for qualifying. I’ll be there when it’s going out for practice. I’ll be there when they unload it on Wednesday at the racetrack. I want to go through tech. I want to see everything. I don’t know what’s realistic because there will be some other obligations, but I’m approaching this like it’s a one and only opportunity.. a dream come true. I told Kelley that I want her there for all of it, as well, because we’ve done this together from the start. This was something that we really waited for the right moment, and Chris and his brand, Traveller and their excitement around it feels nice and genuine. They’re experiencing it for the first time, as well. So yeah, we’re all kind of going through that.”
Chris Stapleton: “There’s a lot of synergy in that way, I think.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Exactly, so it’s really cool. It’s hard to put it into words right now, but I think to Justin’s point – I told him, if we’re fortunate enough for everything to go well and we can be there on the grid for the 500, that pre-race moment is going to be very emotional, and really, really cool. So, you know, once it’s on the grid, it’s out of my hands, but getting it there is going to be a lot of fun.”
Kelley, if I could just follow up and get your answer to that question and what it means to you to be a part of this endeavor from the Earnhardt family side of things.Kelley Earnhardt Miller: “Yeah, I can’t really sum it up any better than Dale did. You know, we talked about the opportunity. We’ve been talking about the opportunity to be in the Cup Series. And obviously, we’re a family of racers. This is our life. This is our passion. And so to be able to have a Cup entry at the Daytona 500 – a place that’s really special to us.. a place where the Earnhardt’s have had a lot of history and a lot of success with both my dad and Dale – you know, it’s just really kind of full circle. This is the perfect situation, the right moment, as Chris said. So we’re just pretty thankful and glad to be here.”
Chris, when you look at being teamed up with this legendary family.. forget about the business side of it. What does that mean to you, personally? Chris Stapleton: “More things that aren’t really sinking in. You set out to do things and you meet people sometimes, and these are good people, beyond just being Earnhardt’s. It’s very important to meto be in business with good people. I love that we’ve built something together, even though we’ve had this short period of time to do this thing in. I’m so grateful that they were willing to let me participate in the world just a small bit. And it really is, you know, it’s one of those surreal things that you get to experience.. once in a lifetime. Like I said, they don’t know.. they said they don’t know; it might be the only one we ever get a piece of, you know, or get to sit there and… It’s stuff you dream up that doesn’t happen, you know? And this is one of them. This is one of them. It’s one of those moments. Today has felt like, particularly with the car reveal, it became so real when the sheet came off the car. I was like – oh, this is not a napkin drawing anymore, or some ‘pie in the sky’ idea that we think would be cool. This is something we’re really going for and really trying to do, and I’m thrilled to be rolling the dice and taking the risk with them. I think it’s a wonderful energy. There’s great energy around it, for me.”
Justin Allgaier: “It’s also surreal to be sitting next to a legend in the music industry, right? You know, I mean, I see these guys (Dale and Kelley) all the time, and they’re amazing and they’re legends in the sport. But to have all of this is – I’m still pinching myself, to be honest with you.”
As you guys have built JR Motorsports and done this in kind of your own way, and obviously, Dale, you had your career in your own right and a lot of fans have followed you because they followed your dad. Going into the Cup Series for the first time, was there ever a sense that you wanted to do it for yourselves, you wanted to do it for the company, but you also wanted to do it for those fans that have stuck by you guys and the Earnhardt’s for so long? What do you think your dad would think about this?Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Well, I hope that he’d be excited about it. I’m sure he would have told us how we should have done it differently (laughs). But, you know, he was also always very supportive. So I think he would be excited about this. I do feel a bit of an obligation with our connection to the fan base. I do feel that obligation to like achieve and have milestones as an owner. And so yeah, you’ve heard the rumblings over the years that fans are excited or hopeful of a potential Cup opportunity for us. And so yeah, there’s pressure not only on me and Kelley — Kelley said it the best the other day.. she’s like we’re a family, and we race and racing is what we do. We’re always going to race. And you know, we find a way to get to the racetrack and compete because that’s what we’ve always done and what we want to do. We’ve always wanted to race in the Cup Series, we were just waiting on the right pieces to fall into place. For our fans, there will be some pressure to go out there and get the car in the field; get it on the grid so that we can all enjoy this.”
When you guys have done things, it’s always been the No. 8, 88 or 3 with those connections. The No. 40, obviously with the connection to the sponsor, how cool is it going to be to kind of do something a little bit different? Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I’ll let Chris talk a little bit about this, but Justin mentioned this – Chris was very involved and he knows what he likes. He knows what he wants this brand to be become and what they’re creating with Traveller. And so we were more than excited to allow them all of the creative influences that they wanted; to be able to have the race car on the racetrack that they want. As a traditionalist and someone that is a bit of a history buff, I was a bit surprised about how I felt about this because I didn’t mind what the number was. I was just hopeful to be able to put it together and get it on the racetrack. And the fact that there’s a connection for Chris and his team to the number makes it matter to me.”
Chris Stapleton: “Well really, the number – obviously Traveller Whiskey is blend number 40. We tried over 50 different blends before we picked the blend that goes in the bottle. I didn’t really know how much it was really, not necessarily a problem – but when I said can it be No. 40.. I was kind of throwing it out in the air, like will we have to check to see if we can have that? And I’m just like – oh, okay, yeah, it’s cool. But it really worked out for, you know, I think it’s a nice synergy to have that cue. I like Easter eggs and things like that on bottles and now on a car. And I wanted the car to also look like JR Motorsports, but also Traveller Whiskey. I wanted it to really look like both of those things, and I think we achieved that with what we did with the car. That was really my goal.”
Can you give more insight on bringing Greg Ives on board for this? I know you guys have a history together and you’ve both won at Daytona, but what else went into that business decision? Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I saw how many times he’s qualified a car on the front row at Daytona (laughs). I’m like, do you have any magic left, Greg? Let’s go to the track and see what we can do.
But you know, I think being an open car, there’s some challenges to get into the field. It won’t be easy. There will be some very tough competition. I was confident that Greg understood, better than anybody, the things that we would all need to gather into place to go there with the best opportunity we could. And me and him are just really great friends, and I just trust him wholeheartedly with his decisions. And I don’t think he’ll be too annoyed with me standing over his shoulder throughout the whole process and asking him all kinds of silly questions. That went into the thought process, as well. He’s got a great track record, in terms of qualifying, and that hopefully can be a big assist for us.”
Justin Allgaier: “I think a follow-up on that too is that – you know, Greg has been on the Xfinity Series car for Hendrick Motorsports on the No. 17. We have a really good working relationship with him back-and-forth on the Xfinity Series side. He actually came to us for some help whenever they started running the No. 17 car. Greg has gotten to work really closely with all of our crew chiefs and all of our drivers, and he’s got a really good understanding – I mean, he was a championship crew chief at JR Motorsports. He understands the business really, really well, and I think that gives some comfort when you look at trying to assemble people for this organization and for what we’re trying to accomplish. It gives that little bit of comfort that I think makes a big difference. Dale’s got a comfort. I’ve got a comfort. And I’m sure Kelley has a comfort. Chris, he doesn’t know yet..”
Chris Stapleton: “I have comfort because they have comfort (laughs).”
Justin Allgaier: “When we got the news about Greg, it was really, really cool because I think he’s a great person to have on the box for the race.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I’ll say this too about Greg – he worked at JR Motorsports for a while and was the crew chief on my car. But over the course of the last several years, there’s been moments where we’ve brought him into the building at JR Motorsports.. we were struggling a little bit in certain particular years and he came in to be an advisor for us and take a bit of a 40,000 feet view of what we’re doing to help us find ways to get ourselves back on track. So we utilize Greg all the time and his expertise has been beneficial to JR Motorsports, even over the past recent years, to try and continue our success.”
Justin, Dale referenced the challenge of making the Daytona 500. If you do have to race into the event through the Duels, with this being such a huge stand for JR Motorsports, can you kind of take me through what the emotions will be like.. trying to not just make the race, but keeping the car clean to get to Sunday? Justin Allgaier: “We’ve had a lot of pressure.. Phoenix is a great example of what not to do in those moments (laughs). But I think one of the things for me that’s been important – Greg and I have talked about this, and we’ve talked about this internally – but I think your mindset has to be to try and go qualify. That has to be number one. That’s the easiest way to do it because then you can race the Duels in a different capacity. You can allow yourself to do a little bit more learning. You can work on some of the things that are going to be key for the race. You can work on some setups, balance changes and things like that. If you don’t qualify in and you have to race your way in through the Duels, I think your mindset changes. You know, we’re all understanding of what can happen in the Duels. I mean, we can have something happen coming to the green.. anytime in those races. We’ve seen it time and time again. I remember watching last year with Jimmie Johnson trying to race his way in – I remember thinking to myself that if I were ever in that position and you know you’re going to have to go for it, you just kind of have to lay caution to the wind and you’re going to have to go and try to see what you can accomplish.
Number one, I have a great mentor in superspeedway racing. Number two, we’ve had success on superspeedways in the past. We’ve won at Daytona, not this past summer but the summer before, in the Xfinity Series. So I think there are things that we have going for us in that capacity, but it’s not lost on me how much pressure there is in this. L.W., who’s sitting off camera here, he told me to just go focus on doing all that we can do. But I do take a lot of pride in this process and what that’s going to look like. I have to do a lot more homework before Daytona. I have to understand the drivers. Watching footage from practice is going to be important. Looking back on SMT data from past races. Watch how drivers made their way in. I look at pit road.. that could equally be the difference maker in whether we make the race or not. There’s a lot that goes into this. We still have to try and go win in the Xfinity Series.. that’s first and foremost on what we have, too. A lot of effort and time goes into this, but I look at who’s assembled and I look at the whole process – it just feels right. As Chris has already said, it just feels right. I feel like if there’s ever an opportunity to do this, it’s definitely this year.”
What’s it going to be like to see that car on the track for the first time? Are you going to be nervous? Are you going to be excited? Have you kind of imagined what it’s going to be like? Chris Stapleton: “I have nothing to compare it to, so I imagine I’m going to be excited and then maybe nervous. I don’t know.. these guys are kind of laughing because (inaudible).. it looks like one thing on paper, but it’s another thing when it’s sitting out here in front of the building. And then it looks like a whole other thing when it’s out on the track. I think they’re speculating what is going to happen when I see that. I don’t know.. I really don’t know. We’ll have to take bets or something (laughs).”
In terms of the business and racing sides, what aspects are going to be most important to you or what will you go back to review everything from this process? Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Well, I think – you know, obviously, this is a tough one to answer because you would hope fans would understand the answer to this question. Performing on the racetrack is absolutely important. We do want to go and win the pole and win the race every time we show up. But given the circumstances and Chris and Traveller have trusted us with their brand and to go represent them well – I think at the end of the day, I want them to be happy with the experience and be glad that they did it and did it with us. And so that’s probably the first thing that you want to feel on Monday morning after the Daytona 500. Everything else is secondary to that. We want to go race well and do well. We’re definitely going to be thinking about that very thing all weekend long as we go through the process of qualifying, practicing and so forth. But in the end, none of that matters if Traveller doesn’t enjoy the experience and Chris doesn’t enjoy the experience because that partnership is how this comes together. I think that Kelley and I are both extremely confident in our people at JR Motorsports that they will deliver, and we chose the right driver to make sure those boxes are checked for our partners. And so that’s probably the most important thing. And then again, yeah – going and racing.. going and running well.”
Chris, you have that friendship with Rick Hendrick dating back a few years, but do your ties with NASCAR kind of date back beyond that? What does that kind of look like? Chris Stapleton: “You know, it would be a waste of time for me to sit here and talk about racing when you have these people sitting here that can do it so well. One time, I sat in on a major league baseball hitting meeting, and they were going through all these things that I had no idea went into it. That’s how I felt like hearing these guys talk about what needs to happen for this to happen.
I’m excited to partner with them and to kind of build off of what Dale was saying – I’m so pleased that you want us to be happy, but we’re already happy as partners with what we’re doing. Everything that I’ve ever dreamed this could be is happening right now. And now I want you guys to go out and do what you do. That’s what I want you thinking about.. doing what you do. I love to see great people being pros at what they do, and that’s what this is right now. It’s going to happen. It’s going to look good. It’s going to feel good. Just entering the track to qualify, that’s going to feel good, and that’s what I’m looking for out of it.”
Dale, when was the first time you guys started talking about this deal, and when did it start feeling like it could be a reality? Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I hope Kelley has a better memory than I do..”
Kelley Earnhart: “July.. So yeah, we were presented with the opportunity, like Chris had alluded to his friendship with Mr. Hendrick, and this was something they had interest in doing. We were able to put all of our heads together on the marketing side. I have to give a big kudos to my team at JR Motorsports for working with their team; understanding what kind of objectives had in this process and putting together a plan that they liked and that they felt would work for their brand to bring this all together. You know, we’ve been working on it since the summer. Not a long time, but not too short of a time. We’re here and we’re excited to make it happen in February.”

Uncategorized

Chevy Racing–Indycar–will Power

January 15, 2025 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 15, 2025 WILL POWER, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with the media at the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Content Days in Indianapolis, Indiana. Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up content days 2025 with Will Power, back in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, beginning his 21st year of association in the NTT INDYCAR Series; three more wins last year gives him 44 for his career, along with his record 70 pole positions and two INDYCAR Series championships.
Here’s to 2025.
Q. What are the expectations for 2025?WILL POWER: The expectations, yeah, based on the performance the second half, really most of the season last year were very strong. A very disappointing end, obviously, there to drop back a couple in the championship standings.
Yeah, very determined to come back and have a strong 2025. I think we’ll have the car, engine, package to do it, and I think Penske is in a very good spot right now. Obviously everyone goes back and works on their stuff. I’m sure Honda has gone away and worked, and Chevy has, also, and other teams.
Obviously Colton seemed very strong last year. I think Andretti will be strong.
I think McLaren will be strong. They’ve got Lundgaard there now with Pato, so that’s two very strong guys, as well.
It will be a tough year, as it is, and that’s why I enjoy it. I love that stuff.
Q. The Verizon car has got a little different look, clearly, this year.WILL POWER: Yeah, I love it, man. I love the look. It’s nice and bright, and it’s cool they keep coming up with different liveries each year and get to try something new.
Q. It’ll look good in Victory Lane, too.WILL POWER: It’ll look very good in Victory Lane.
Q. You were ahead of the curve on the FOX Sports promotions in that your car got unveiled on FOX’s NFL Sunday. Just to be able to have that type of platform which is how many millions of people tune in to FOX NFL Sunday, how valuable is that to you, and is that when you realized these guys are really invested?WILL POWER: It’s great to see what FOX has been doing. You look at that commercial with Josef, the unveiling of the Verizon car, they’re serious. They’re advertising us before NFL games. I don’t know the numbers, but you can tell they are serious about making our series big and doing a great job, and I think it’s everything that we needed.
Just really, really happy to have FOX on board, to be on all network races, similar times.
Yeah, I think similar place, same times, all the stuff that INDYCAR has needed. And yeah, just watching it all, it’s such a difference even from five years ago, but just having been around the series so long, it’s so great to see.
Q. Scott Dixon and you are both performance level, competition level, still right there, top of your game, and to be able to sustain that through the ages that both of you are, just how impressive is that?WILL POWER: It’s not just — so about being impressive, it’s like necessary. You’re certainly not sticking around if you’re not doing that. You’d better turn up or else she’s over. That’s just the way it is.
But I love it. I love the competition. I love the preparation. I love finding new little details and things to be better every year.
Yeah, it’s kind of funny you get to this point in your career and I feel you’re at your absolute best as far as putting a whole series together, weekend together, races together. You kind of have the same speed that you had but you don’t really build on speed. I think it’s just a natural thing that you have.
But the whole other package takes a long time to get unless you’re Palou, like some of those guys that just mature, and they work that out very early.
Q. I know the off-season after the 2023 season you were incredibly busy doing all sorts of testing, helping out with development of the hybrid. How different has this off-season that we’ve just nearly undergone been for you? Has it been a lot more low key? What have you been up to since you were on the racetrack in Nashville?WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s been nothing like last off-season, like you say. I think they’ve restricted testing too much. To just have one day before we start racing I think is too far — I feel like we should at least have sort of three days spaced out or something like that.
You know, all you can do is get as fit as you can and sort of do all the homework you can do without driving a car really, without driving INDYCARs. Obviously there’s other things you can do. We have the simulator and so on that you can do work on. But yeah, it’s hard.
It’s the same for everyone. It is. Except for the guys that are just coming in, and they probably get a little bit more testing. But yeah, it’s just the way pretty much all of motorsports has headed to save costs.
Running a simulator is also — yeah, I think if you’re spending a lot of money on a sim, it would be nice just to spend some of that on actual true track testing.
Q. I don’t want to assume this, but I know there’s been a lot of talk about what you may be doing beyond 2025. Was it specifically important to get that settled and have someone else deal with that for you as you enter a 2025 contract year with Team Penske, which I think we all know could get — typically gets taken care of fairly early in the season?WILL POWER: Yeah, some of that. Maybe I should have had a manager a long time ago. I think it’s just generally now, every driver has one. It’s just what drivers — drivers focus on what they do, and they have a guy taking care of even business stuff for you.
It’s many things, yeah.
Q. Helio is going to be running the 500 and of course has a provisional for that now. Is that something you want to do in the future given your partnership with Penske knowing you’re guaranteed for a spot now if you’d like to?WILL POWER: For what?
Q. The Daytona 500.WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, certainly open to any of those things that I haven’t done, yeah, to do at some point. It’s not really on my radar at present. I’m so focused on just specifically INDYCAR, to be ultra competitive at that. Some of that stuff I really like to watch and would love to do.
Q. Talking about Josef going for three in a row, Alex going for three in a row, you’re also going for three championships. You’re the only one not named Alex Palou to win a championship since 2021, and we talked in Nashville and thought you maybe you should’ve been a little more conservative in areas, but you were going to go back and look at it. What is your thought process as we get closer to the season? How do you temper that aggression? Do you try to go back to that blueprint from your last championship or do you have to be aggressive to win this thing still?WILL POWER: It’s that sweet spot of a balance. Definitely when I look at some of those moves, when I think about Toronto, that was just worth sitting there. There’s no question in my mind. The thing that sort of suckered me into doing something like that is I had done that move multiple times even in that race because people have to brake a bit early and you’re kind of put in a position where they have to lift out.
But that’s that sweet spot where you’re sitting in fifth and Palou is behind you at that point, you should be sitting there. That was a mistake. They’re the things that you’ve got to weigh up. It’s just walking that tightrope perfectly. I think if you’re too conservative in this current field you won’t get the performance you need to get the points. The field is too stacked. There will be too many people filling those gaps where you’ve just sort of let off a little bit.
It’s become harder to put that together. But yeah, I would say for our speed in the second half or the last quarter of the season, we had the potential to win like three more races or something, and it just didn’t happen.
I would say Palou didn’t have the outright speed and performance that those guys were sort of a little bit on the back foot, and it was sort of there for us as a team for the taking. We didn’t do it, and the team provided everything we needed to do that, and it didn’t happen. So yeah, certainly reflecting on that stuff.
Q. Last year is also the first year you didn’t win a pole. A couple years ago you didn’t get a win and then you stormed back. I know it’s just a pole but also that’s an extra championship point. How important is it to get back to winning poles this coming season?WILL POWER: Yeah, I think you put yourself in a great position if you win poles. You qualify in the top 6, you put yourself in a really good position. I wasn’t heavily focused on that. I really wasn’t. In some respects I didn’t want to get poles on ovals because I think it kind of in some ways hurts you a little bit at times, just being out front in nice clean air. Car feels great, then you get put back and it takes you another sort of stint to get your head around a car in dirty air. So there’s some good and bad in that.
But for sure on road courses qualifying at the very front is a big deal, which I was sort of getting more top 6s than ’23.
But yeah, it’s hard to get poles these days. It really is. No one is like pumping out multi-poles in a year anymore. It’s very difficult.
Very race focused. I have been more recently. But yeah, you can’t — like I said, you can say all these things, but you cannot leave anything on the table in this series anymore. There’s no place where you can go, well, be a bit conservative here; those positions will be filled anytime you are basically.
Q. I know you mentioned doing Le Mans at some point —WILL POWER: Yeah.
Q. But your INDYCAR performance was still really good. What is the timeline for you? Do you want to keep doing INDYCAR as long as you can?WILL POWER: I think I could be absolutely competitive for another five years if I wanted.
Q. Is that the goal then to keep doing INDYCAR?WILL POWER: It’s absolutely the goal, yeah, to definitely keep rolling while I’m really competitive. I was like very competitive last year. I won three races and seven podiums. No one else in the field but McLaughlin did that. So I’m still performance really high.
Yeah, if I wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t want to do it. I’m still learning. It’s crazy, but you’re still learning stuff.
Q. Your longevity as a driver speaks for itself, the tremendous success you’ve had and continue to have. I can’t remember a time, though, when you weren’t driving for Verizon. The relationship, talk about what that’s been like for you individually, not just for Team Penske, and how proud you must be of that.WILL POWER: Yeah, I feel like I’ve been very fortunate in that respect, to have kept Verizon as a sponsor for — I think we’re for 16 years now.
Yeah, it’s hard to do that in this sport, and there’s been a couple of different CEOs in that time. I’ve ended up having good relationships with all of them and sort of keeping them engaged in racing.
Yeah, I think a lot of that is the team that I drive for. Roger is a class act, obviously, and an organization that is sponsored like that would want to be associated with — when I look at it, for me signing with Penske full time in 2010 or getting my foot in the door in 2009 was just a pivotal moment in my career. Just set me up to be able to have these performances and keep a sponsor like Verizon for that long.
Yeah, I’m certainly reflective of how fortunate I am of being in a situation of driving for a team that will give you a car, that can win week in and week out and keeping that sponsor for that long.
Yeah, pretty cool. I can’t be more thankful to Roger for giving me the chance that he’s given me over the years.
Q. Will, it sounds like you’re really passionate about Le Mans. Has that been a key reason for the management change? It seems like you’re super keen to get over there and try and win that race.WILL POWER: Yeah, I would love to have a shot at winning that race. I’ve won the Indy 500, and when I think about those sort of opportunities, someone like Fernando Alonso certainly has a lot of good contacts in Europe.
Yeah, it’s a very cool event that I haven’t been able to do yet. It’s definitely, definitely on the radar.
Q. I know you said you intend to continue in INDYCAR for another five or so years. Are you happy at Team Penske, and is that where you would like to do that? From the outside I can’t see you driving for another team, but what are your hopes and how do you hope that plays out?WILL POWER: Yeah, like I said, I’ve been very lucky to drive for a team like Penske. There isn’t a better team in the series right now. The performance and the crews you’re given, everything. That’s ultimately the goal.
Q. As a multi-time winner and two-time champion, presumably it is your right to call the shots as to when you wish to end your career, right?WILL POWER: Well, yeah, I mean, if I understand your question, it isn’t my choice, obviously, because I don’t own the team. It always become complicated. Obviously a lot of things that play into that.
But at the end of the day if you’re winning races and you’re very strong, that’s the best defense you have against any of that stuff.
Honestly, the way I performed last year, if you did the same this year — winning three races in a season in INDYCAR now is very, very difficult. The champion only won two, I believe. That’s difficult to do, and if you’re doing that, you probably should be driving in that series. You deserve a seat.
Q. Verizon must have been fairly pleased with their results with you over the last however many years, 15?WILL POWER: Yeah, I’ve had some — yep. Won a 500, a couple of championships, a lot of races, a lot of poles. I’ve kept those guys on board, and I think companies like that want winners.
Obviously being associated with Roger Penske, and well, and that organization is a big part of it, too.

Uncategorized

January 15, 2025 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

INDYCAR CONTENT DAYS

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

JANUARY 15, 2025

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN, driver of the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, met with the media at the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Content Days in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Press Conference Transcript:

MODERATOR: Robert Shwartzman joins us, driving the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, rookie who moves to the NTT INDYCAR Series back in 2019 as the F2 champion, F3 race winner, along with Callum helped unveil the team’s cars, big launch on Friday down in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina.

Welcome to your first NTT INDYCAR Series content day. What’s the review? How would you describe this today?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, it’s really well managed, honestly.

Q. We’ll take that.

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: I’ve never seen — obviously I’ve never done so much media in one day and I was like — I seen the list and I was like, how do we do that, so much. How do we squeeze it all in.

But really well organized, guys. Really quick, really spot on. Just go there, boom, boom, boom, off you go, done. Really well managed.

Q. What are the expectations for 2025? Nervous going into this?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Not actually. I’ve done 20 years of my career. You get nervous when you have something to lose, that thing when you can lose your name, your status or something or a race you are leading. I feel fully excited. Everything is new.

I’ve done like 20 years in Europe racing from karting to junior formulas to the higher level formulas, being reserve F1 and stuff, and here it’s like fresh air. Like at some point after 20 years you know all the tracks already, you know all the people.

Here it’s new. It’s cool. Last year in 2024 I’ve done hyper cars or WEC and we actually were in Austin, so I was like, well, that’s another good thing. I have a good vibe in the U.S. here because we took the win.

Yeah, really looking forward to racing here. We are rookies. We have nothing to lose. We have only to gain. So that’s the mentality.

Q. Just to continue the conversation, just to know you’re into music and have a song, how did that come about and how important is music to your life and what would you like to do with it and promote that through the series, too?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Yeah, so basically the music thing came a long time ago from my dad. My dad was educating me quite a lot in music, mainly classic. Like nowadays it’s rare you can see any teenager or a youngster listening to classic music, where at some stage I also was like, dad, what is this, it’s boring.

But at some point I got my ear into that. I realized how the melody is structured, how everything is structured, that that’s where it all comes from. Then I started listening to some different artists like from when I was a kid, I liked rock, heavy metal, some pop songs and stuff, but like a mix.

I just like the top level, so in any genre there is a top artist that is just, like, the best. So I listen and try to learn and understand what is their unique thing, like if you remember Michael (Jackson).

Like he’s incredible because his voice, his moves, the way he was putting the music with the rhythm with the moves. It was just like something out of this world. So that’s why nobody in the pop industry even came close to what Michael did.

I just got into it and it just caught my ear and I started to expand my knowledge in that, and at some point when my dad already passed away I was like, I was feeling really bad and I was listening to a lot of music and it helped me, just my mood, my motivation. It sort of felt like a friend, like I’m listening and somebody is talking to me in a sense.

So I was like, wow, this is really cool. I had a friend and he was doing hip-hop, like he was writing lyrics and stuff and I was like, can I join in? Can you just teach me? Can we just do something together? And he’s like, yeah, come in.

We started doing the beats and he started explaining to me how it works, the hip-hop industry and stuff, and I was like, this is cool. Then we decided to write a song. We wrote a song. I released it. I don’t know, it’s up to people whether they like it or not. I personally quite like it. I can’t say it’s the greatest, but I think as a baseline it was kind of good and I was happy about it.

But at that stage I had to stop it a bit because I didn’t really have any promotional company that would promote it well because where I was located it was not — like it was not English, the language that would be interesting.

Actually now that I come here to U.S. maybe at some point I would really love to speak with some people who would be interested into collabing and working, because I really love music, love the whole process of it.

Yeah, I just need a team, let’s say. Basically it’s like if you want to become a racing driver you cannot be just driver; you need a team to drive. So that’s the same with music.

Therefore at the moment it’s on break, but I really hope that here in U.S., because obviously with its quite famous hip-hop industry here, to get in along and try to do something and get back on that.

Q. Can we hear that anywhere?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Yeah, you can go to Spotify. It’s called Active, my song. My name is Shwartzy, so I shortened up my name. You can check it out. Have a listen.

I have others, but as I said, because that song that I released, it was mainly my following that was — that heard it. I need someone else from the music industry to expand it because racing people can hear it and it’s really cool, my fans and stuff. I like it a lot. But if you want to grow, you need to expand the boundaries.

Q. What does it mean to be chosen to be one of two drivers to lead PREMA into their U.S. adventure?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, I’m really, really happy and thankful for the team for their trust because when we had the discussion, they had a lot of other drivers, other opportunities, and obviously there are some drivers who have more experience in America than I do.

So for sure in one sense it’s sort of a risk for the team to go for it, but the team knows me. We worked four years together. We’ve won together. We’ve won a lot of races and we know each other really well. So we both have full trust that we can win here together.

At that stage it was pretty clear that none of us had any doubts about each other. We understand that we need some time, obviously, because everything is new and we need to set up the whole team, people. It takes time, and we kind of have an expectation to go in the first race and dominate.

But that’s the target, and I believe we can achieve it. Inside we will achieve it. I feel like we will achieve it.

But yeah, so from my side, again, it’s really cool that me and Callum are there because we’re both ex-PREMA drivers; now we’re back with PREMA. Again, I think that decision has been made because the team knew who we are. They knew what we are capable of, and I think they were searching for that as we were searching for a team who is motivated to win and are determined and will do everything for it.

That’s where we found each other, and our journey begins here.

Q. A little bit off of Steve’s question, you talked a little bit about the importance and the coolness of PREMA choosing you. Why did you want to come to INDYCAR? I know you have a lot of drivers that you competed against that have come here in recent years, but what was the pull of wanting to come here and compete in INDYCAR, a category that’s new for you but I imagine one that’s also fairly familiar?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, I think when you grow up and you race in the single seater — I’ve tried the WEC, and I’ve realized that it’s not for me, at least at this stage in my life, because you have to share the car. You don’t really drive much. I want to drive. I want that feel.

I really missed a lot because after Formula 2 when you reach the result, when you win and stuff like that, you kind of go back. That’s it; door is closed.

So there is either Formula 1 or INDYCAR or Formula E, as well. But those are the only three options for single seaters. I really liked and loved the racing in U.S. and the competition, and because the cars are quite similar alike to each other, so it’s much more for me up to the driver in this series to make the difference, let’s say.

So therefore already a couple years ago when I did the test with Ganassi we were already putting an eye on that series. I really wanted to join in, but at that stage there were no space, no places, and at that stage I was working with Ferrari and Formula 1, so I had a contract there, so therefore there was not such an opportunity.

It happens — like the timing happened that PREMA announced they were joining INDYCAR. Again, it’s a team that I know really well, and my contract was expiring at the end of last year, so I was like, okay, this is probably a right moment to push for INDY.

So it happened, everything in that sense. I think it’s like meant to be. And there we are. For me, I’m very happy where I am. I’m happy with the team I’m driving with. As I said, it’s just happened so that I’ve already been looking for the series for quite a few years.

Q. You’re making this jump to the series, having finished runner-up in the Formula 2 championship; you won the F3 championship in 2019, so you’ve done a lot of winning in your career. I know you maybe haven’t been able to do as much driving the last couple years as you would have liked, but can you describe a little bit what the mindset is going from someone who’s used to winning, who’s used to having a lot of success to a role with a team in a series that I imagine is going to struggle a little bit, going to have some ups and some downs just as you and PREMA are learning the sport and competing against folks that have been here for a long time?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, yeah, it’s a good question actually. Whenever I was winning with PREMA and generally I had this winning, winning consequence of races and championships and stuff and I was always up there. It’s obviously a rhythm that you get.

But it honestly gives you so much pressure because everybody is looking at you as a winner and they all expect you to win. So unless you don’t win, it gets on your shoulders. Honestly, it’s quite difficult. I had that for like three years, that pressure on me, and it’s tough.

Here, as I said, we come here and I have zero pressure. I just want to enjoy. I want to have fun. I’m sure that we’re going to have it and we’re going to come up to that level.

We’re going to come up to winning, and that’s what we are here for and that’s what PREMA showed in Europe, I showed in Europe. So we have everything. We just obviously need some time.

At the beginning, who knows. We don’t know how much we’re going to struggle. Is it going to be very difficult, medium, light? I have no idea. We’ll see. But in any circumstance, I will do my best to always deliver. And again, I don’t feel any pressure because everything is new to me here.

I just want to, again — I have only to learn and to gain. Therefore that was also part of the decision that I’ve done to come here, is to finally feel back that excitement of racing and learning and working with your team and come basically from zero to here.

How do you say? That’s my goal. I want to, with the team together, bring it up from scratch, up to the P1. That’s the target. I think that’s the best part and that’s the process where I will enjoy it the most.

To go to a team who is already dominating, it’s good. It’s nice, because it’s a high chance you’re going to win with them and bring results. But your own part, you would not feel like it. You already went to a buildup project.

But to build your own one and bring it up to the winning side, that’s another story. That’s what I want to do, and that’s what I’m here for.

Q. In Formula 2, that was about three years ago now. You’ve done some racing in the sports car endurance racing, things like that. Have you done any actual races in an open-wheel car?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Nope.

Q. You’ve done test sessions and practice —

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Yeah, so after Formula 2 season, I’ve done only testing in Formula 1, practices, testing, so quite a lot of mileage on Formula 1 with different teams, and Formula E. That’s the 2 series. And one day testing with Ganassi two years ago. That’s basically the only testing.

Racing-wise since Formula 2, I haven’t raced in a single seater.

Q. So you’ll have quite a bit of side-by-side action here in open-wheel car again. Is that a different mindset versus the sports cars of how to race somebody side by side?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, in sports cars it’s not that you have much opportunities to bump each other. There’s some contact, it’s more durable as a car, but you can easily ruin your race by contacting things.

We had some moments last year where if you, like, have a contact and they break your rear diffuser, you’re going to lose so much track. I did one hour like that and we lost a lot, a lot of time in it.

It’s not as simple — it’s not as different. Also for me as a driver I don’t like to have much contact. I always trying to be fair and give some space and play fair. I hope that other drivers here are going to be the same and respectful, and unless it’s like this, there should not be any problem.

Q. What’s your relationship like with Marcus Armstrong? He said he knows you pretty well.

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Well, with Marcus, we started off from New Zealand end of 2017. We had this TRS championship where we had a lot of fun and we were battling until the end in that championship. I managed to win it.

Then we went to Formula 3 Euro Series. We had a season there together.

Then the next year in Formula 3 in 2019, again, we were teammates.

So we were teammates for quite a while, plus we were in the same junior program in FDA, in Ferrari Driver Academy. So we spent quite a lot of time together, had some quite fun. So it was me, Callum and Marcus that were in that sort of group.

So yeah, that’s where I know him for quite a long time, and then because I stayed in Europe, he went here to U.S. to Indy, and now we’re back. So obviously we know each other. We had some good fun in the past.

Q. And an impressive line of drivers that have competed with PREMA earlier in their career that are now in INDYCAR. To be able to continue that tradition, how cool is that for you?

ROBERT SHWARTZMAN: Yeah, of course. I think PREMA very often chooses the best drivers as possible. That’s their target. That’s where they are working really hard to get the best of the best in any category.

To be a part of the team here in INDYCAR, it’s a big privilege. As I said, I’m very, very happy about it, and I’m just looking forward to having a good time and to just improve, improve and gain, gain, gain until we come to the moment where we’re going to be winners.