Pit Pass Indy

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Featuring Drivers Pato O’Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Felix Rosenqvist and Ryan Norman and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is taking a few weeks off after a dramatic 10-race stretch to begin the season back in April. But there is plenty of action on the latest edition of Pit Pass – Indy.

Show host Bruce Martin has a wide range of guests who talk about a variety of topics. This week’s guests include Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O’Ward of Mexico, who is second in the points behind Spain’s Alex Palou. Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing and Felix Rosenqvist of Arrow McLaren SP join us to talk about their return to action following injuries. Ryan Norman talks to Martin about his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut at Mid-Ohio on July 4.

Martin wraps up this week’s show with an interview with Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles, who previews the big INDYCAR-NASCAR Tripleheader weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 13-15.

INDYCAR’s next race will be a big one – the Big Machine Records Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee the weekend of August 8.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500

Fourth of July Weekend with Roger Penske, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal & Jimmie Johnson Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Host Bruce Martin takes NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans behind the scenes from the big Fourth of July Weekend race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Josef Newgarden’s victory in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 4 came on the 50thAnniversary of Team Penske’s first Indy car win when Mark Donohue drove to victory in the 1971 Schaefer 500 at Pocono Raceway. Martin has an exclusive interview with INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Roger Penske, who also owns Team Penske, on this historic win.

Newgarden finally broke his streak of bad luck that had kept him from winning the previous two races. He started on the pole and led 73 of the 80 laps in the race to score career victory No. 19. Martin interviews Newgarden after the race.

Ohio’s own Graham Rahal and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and INDYCAR rookie Jimmie Johnson also drop in for quick interviews with Martin on this week’s edition of Pit Pass Indy.

Will Power and Rinus VeeKay Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

As the NTT INDYCAR SERIES gets set for a Fourth of July battle in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Pit Pass Indy host Bruce Martin gets fans ready for the fireworks on this week’s episode.

This will be the last race before a lengthy four-weekend break because INDYCAR’s television partner, NBC, will televise the Summer Olympics from Tokyo. Combine that with the cancellation of the July 11 Honda Indy Toronto because of Canada’s ongoing battle with COVID-19, and this year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship will consist of 16 races instead of 17.

INDYCAR won’t have another race until the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville on August 8.

Martin interviews Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands, who was forced to miss the previous race at Road America because of a broken clavicle he incurred in a bicycle crash in Indiana on June 14.

The feature interview is with 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winning driver Will Power from his home at Lake Norman in North Carolina.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow Bruce Martin at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.

Road America Wrap-up Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES gets the weekend off after hitting the road at Road America for last weekend’s action-packed REV Group Grand Prix. Pit Pass Indy host Bruce Martin brings IndyCar fans up to speed with the action from Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and what to expect in the second half of the 2021 season.

Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing drove his No. 10 NTT DATA Honda to victory for the second time this season and reclaimed his position as the leader in the championship standings. The Road America thriller featured 231 on track passes, the most since the INDYCAR SERIES returned to this beautiful 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course in 2016. There were 194 passes for position, most since the return. There were also 11 lead changes among seven different drivers.

Palou and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson are featured guests on this week’s episode of Pit Pass Indy as they join show host Bruce Martin with insightful interviews.

Other guests include former Formula One driver and INDYCAR rookie Romain Grosjean, six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon and fellow drivers Kevin Magnussen, Conor Daly, Marcus Ericsson, Cody Ware and Oliver Askew.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow me at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.

Farewell Detroit, off to Road America Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

It’s another action-packed episode of Pit Pass Indy, loaded with content from the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle from June 12-13 along with a look ahead of the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on June 20.

Show host Bruce Martin has an all-star lineup of guests including Marcus Ericsson, who scored his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in last Saturday’s first race of the Detroit doubleheader as well as Sunday’s winner, Pato O’Ward. Martin also catches up with Penske Corporation President Bud Denker, who is also the promoter of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Denker recaps the highs and the lows of the weekend from the promoter’s standpoint.

Three of the four drivers from Team Penske sit down with Martin for separate interviews including Will Power, Josef Newgarden and rookie driver Scott McLaughlin. Pit Pass Indy catches up with racing legend Dario Franchitti at Chip Ganassi Racing and also with Scott Pruett, who is working with rookie driver Jimmie Johnson as the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series star continues his transition as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie.

Martin’s final guest is four-time Champ Car Series champion Sebastien Bourdais of AJ Foyt Racing.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow Bruce Martin at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.

Heading to Detroit Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

After taking a weekend off following the 105th Indianapolis 500, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Detroit for a weekend doubleheader in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. It’s back-to-back races Saturday and Sunday, which means another weekend of double points are available to the INDYCAR regulars.

Pit Pass Indy looks back at the other drivers in the top five at the 105th Indianapolis 500 as well as Rookie of the Year Scott McLaughlin from Team Penske and looks ahead to Detroit.

Bruce Martin’s guests include Indy 500 second-place finisher and current NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Alex Palou, third-place Indy 500 finisher Simon Pagenaud of Team Penske, fourth place Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, fifth-place finisher Ed Carpenter and 2021 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske.

In a special “cross-over” between Pit Pass Moto and Pit Pass Indy, our final guests are the hosts of Pit Pass Moto, PJ Doran, and Dave Sulecki.

The history of motorcycle racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway dates all the way back to the track’s opening in 1909. Balloon races were the first events ever held at the Speedway, but later that year, a series of motorcycle races took place before the first auto races were ever held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

More recently, IMS was the site of Moto GP from 2008 to 2015.

We compare IndyCar and motorcycle racing in this special “crossover” interview.

For more IndyCar coverage, follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.

105th Indianapolis 500 Recap Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

The 105TH Indianapolis 500 episode features 4-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves as well as Rick Mears, Michael Shank, Simon Pagenaud, Pato O’Ward, Conor Daly, IMS President Doug Boles, Penske Corporation President Bud Denker, 2003 Indy winner Gil de Ferran and Team Penske IndyCar Manager Kyle Moyer.

INDIANAPOLIS – It was fast, it was fearless, it was dramatic, and it was historic. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the 105th Indianapolis 500, but this episode we break down the May 30th Memorial Day Classic with the biggest names in the race. Show host Bruce Martin gives an in-depth interview with race winner Helio Castroneves, who became just the fourth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times in his career joining the greats AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Bruce also interviews the man who became a four-time Indy 500 winner 30 years ago, Rick Mears, who was one of Castroneves’ mentors when he was at Team Penske. Winning team owner Michael Shank, stops by from the “Yard of Bricks” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the day after the race as does Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles. Other guests on this week’s show include third-place finisher Simon Pagenaud of Team Penske, fourth-place Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, Indy 500 lap leader Conor Daly, who was out front for 40 laps on Sunday. Wrapping up the show are interviews with Penske Corporation President Bud Denker, 2003 Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran and Team Penske IndyCar Manager Kyle Moyer.

105th Indianapolis 500 Preview May 26, 2021

Show notes

INDIANAPOLIS – Start your engines early for Sunday’s 105th Indianapolis 500. This week’s episodei s a special preview of the “World’s Greatest Race” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30.

Host Bruce Martin gives a complete tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with guests Scott Dixon, who won his fourth Indy 500 Pole on Sunday; the legendary racing hero AJ Foyt; three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves; two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya; popular driver and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan; two-time winner Arie Luyendyk; James Hinchcliffe; Conor Daly; and young racing star Colton Herta, who starts in the middle of Row 1.

Also featured are interviews with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar owner Roger Penske, who has five cars in the starting lineup for the Indy 500 and the drama it took to get all five in this past weekend. Michael Cannon is Dixon’s engineer and stops by to explain the great driver’s success and Penske Corporation President Bud Denker talks about the successful return of fans to this year’s Indianapolis 500 and what to expect the next race, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

GMR Grand Prix Review and Indy 500 Practice Begins May 19, 2021

Show notes

They are on the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the “Month of May” for the 105th Indianapolis 500 is underway. The action kicked off last Saturday with 20-year-old Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands winning the GMR Grand Prix on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. VeeKay started seventh, was able to track down Romain Grosjean of France and use some brilliant strategy and a fast pit stop toward the end of the race to claim his first career IndyCar victory. VeeKay became the sixth-youngest driver to win in IndyCar history.

The Dutch driver also gave Ed Carpenter Racing its first-ever victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was also a fitting “Welcome Home” for ECR team partner Tony George, whose family used to own the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before selling it to Roger Penske on November 4, 2019.

VeeKay’s win continues a trend that began with Alex Palou getting his first career win the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 18. Pato O’Ward got his first-career IndyCar win in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 2.

Now, the focus turns to the 105th Indianapolis 500 as practice for the world’s greatest race began on Tuesday, May 18 and runs through “Fast Friday.” It’s Armed Forces Qualifying Day on Saturday, May 22 followed by the final day of qualifications on Sunday, May 22 featuring Last Chance Qualifying for the final Row 11 from 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 pm Eastern Time.

The run for the pole and the starting order for the first three rows will be determined in Fast Nine Qualifying from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. A final two-hour practice for the field of 33 will follow from 5-7 p.m.

Pit Pass Indy will keep you up to speed on this year’s Indianapolis 500 with another action-filled lineup that includes guests Rinus VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Jimmie Johnson, Arie Luyendyk, Ed Carpenter and Dale Coyne.

"Month of May" Kick-Off & Texas Doubleheader May 12, 2021

Show notes

Pit Pass Indy is loaded with content this week as the “Month of May” kicks off this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with three full weeks of activity culminating with the 105th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 30. But action kicks off at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday with practice and qualifications for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the IMS Road Course.

There have already been two races this May, however. Texas Motor Speedway hosted a doubleheader weekend with the Genesys 300 on Saturday night, May 1 with Scott Dixon driving to another dominating victory for the second year in a row. On Sunday, May 2, 21-year-old Pato O’Ward scored his first career IndyCar win in the XPEL 375.

Today’s show will take a look back at the Texas doubleheader. It was going to be the theme of last week’s Pit Pass Indy, but with the passing of three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Bobby Unser at the age of 87, we created a tribute to one of the biggest names in Indy 500 history.

After the two Texas races we take a post-race “Pit Walk” featuring on some of the biggest stories that came out of the Texas doubleheader including race winners Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward, Team Penske rookie Scott McLaughlin, four-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Rick Mears, Team Penske race strategist Jon Bouslog, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Will Power, Colton Herta and Arrow McLaren SP team owners Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson as well as team president Taylor Kiel.

Our featured guest this week is Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles, who discusses the plans for 137,000 fans at this year’s Indianapolis 500, making it the largest sporting event in the World since the COVID-19 Pandemic began last year. We also discuss a variety of interesting topics with Miles.

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