The Inside Line

Latest Episodes:

The Inside Line podcast: What's next for the IndyCar season and schedule Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

In this week's edition of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes discuss the ways Toronto race winner Pato O'Ward and championship leader Alex Palou diverged, creating the potential for a title race down the stretch. Nathan and Joey also dove deep into the former's 2026 schedule sleuthing story from earlier in the week, and Nathan discusses how he expects many of the puzzle pieces to fit together.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcast: Patient winners, Josef Newgarden's tough weekend and dismal attendance, TV numbers at Iowa Jul 15, 2025

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IndyStar motorsports insider Nathan Brown an co-host Joey Barnes break down the on- and off-track successes and failures around IndyCar's Iowa Speedway doubleheader weekend in this episode of "The Inside Line." The pair first touch on the ways in which Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou bided their time en route to race wins and how Josef Newgarden and Team Penske saw them slip through their fingertips. Nathan and Joey then dove head first into the elephant in the room: the mostly empty grandstands and the underwhelming TV numbers and discussed why IndyCar's annual stop at Iowa has fallen so far in interest, who's to blame, what could be done to save it and ultimately what it's fate may be.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcast: IndyCar Mid-Ohio drama, Alex Palou & Scott Dixon's finish plus previewing SYNK & Farm to Finish 275s Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

In this week's edition of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports insider Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes dive into all the on and off-track drama in the wake of IndyCar's race at Mid-Ohio.

They start the episode taking a look at the moves and decisions that led to the exciting end-of-the-race battle between Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, and the two discuss whether Dixon has a shot at challenging A.J. Foyt's all-time IndyCar wins record. Then, they break down the oddity that has been this season for Team Penske and the streaks and themes that have made it one of the program's worst ever in its 50-plus years in the sport.

The pair also dive into the chatter around Josef Newgarden, why his post-qualifying media interaction became the story it did and do their best to clarify sentiments and assumptions around their own (as well as paddock-wide) reporting and story-writing involving Josef and Team Penske at-large over the last couple years.

They end this week's episode looking ahead to this weekend's Iowa Speedway doubleheader and why many in the paddock believe it will be more of the same of the lackluster passing opportunities of a year ago.

The Inside Line IndyCar podcast: Road America, ranking the top teams (and Team Penske) Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

On this week's edition of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes break down the strategy that fed into Alex Palou's sixth win of 2025. The pair then rank their top teams in the sport through the season's halfway point and debate where they'd have a winless Team Penske. Brown and Barnes also dive into the big topics of the week, including IndyCar's new car announcement, Arrow McLaren's hiring of Kyle Moyer and why the ratings fell off as much as they did after a strong post-Indy 500 run.

The Inside Line podcast: IndyCar WWTR recap Jun 18, 2025

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In this episode of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes breakdown how Kyle Kirkwood earned his third win of the season at World Wide Technology Raceway and what proved to be his race-winning pass on runner-up Pato O’Ward. The pair also discuss Team Penske’s miserable race and where the team’s first win of the year will come — if at all. They also discuss the race’s ratings and what they mean and who they think could pick up their next career-first win in IndyCar.

The Inside Line podcast: Zak Brown on changes in IndyCar and chasing Alex Palou Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s episode of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes discuss Andretti Global’s dominant Detroit Grand Prix weekend that led to Kyle Kirkwood’s second win of 2025. The pair also dig into the ins and outs of Santino Ferrucci’s post-race tech inspection penalty, Zak Brown’s comments about needed changes in IndyCar, the TV ratings and what they mean and look at who might still be alive for a championship push other than Alex Palou.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcat: Alex Palou wins the Indianapolis 500 May 28, 2025

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In this week’s edition of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports insider Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes break down everything that was in this year’s Indy 500, from Alex Palou’s late-race win — and the pass that made it so on Marcus Ericsson — to other standout performances and disappointing ones throughout the field. The pair also dive into the post-race penalties and what they believe IndyCar would’ve done had Ericsson won with an illegally modified car, as well as the Fox broadcast and IndyCar’s massive ratings win from it.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcast: Indianapolis 500 preview May 23, 2025

Show notes

In the latest edition of The Inside Line, IndyStar motorsports insider Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes breakdown the latest Team Penske-related drama since Indy 500 qualifying and discuss why ultimately Roger Penske made the major decision he did to fire his entire IndyCar leadership team. Later, Nathan and Joey work their way through their field and hand out their picks for Sunday’s Indy 500 and debate whether Josef Newgarden can still make history from 32nd on the grid.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcasts: Indy 500 qualifying controversy, rookie takes pole May 20, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of ‘The Inside Line’, IndyStar’s motorsports insider Nathan Brown and co-host Joey Barnes tackle the story of the day, the week and the month: Team Penske’s illegal attenuator modifications, and the impact they’ve had on the paddock. Nathan and Joey first lay out the facts and timeline before dishing out takes on the IndyCar’s tech inspection process, the penalties and the effects this should have on Team Penske and IndyCar moving forward. The pair also touch on the incredible story that was brand-new team Prema and rookie Robert Shwartzman taking pole for the Indy 500.

The Inside Line IndyCar Podcast: Alex Palou continues dominance with Sonsio Grand Prix win May 12, 2025

Show notes

In this week’s edition of ‘The Inside Line’, IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown and his co-host Joey Barnes dissect Alex Palou’s fourth victory in five starts in the 2025 IndyCar season on the IMS road course. The pair talk through the impact of IndyCar’s new tire rules and how they both shook up the field and how they might impact races beyond the Sonsio Grand Prix if they’re adopted. Then, Nathan and Joey shift into a breakdown of what they’re watching as Indy 500 practice gets underway on Tuesday and list the teams and drivers they think are in most need of a pick-me-up from the everything the 500 and the lead-up to it offer in looking at the rest of the season and the various history on the line in the 109th Indy 500.

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