Category: NTT Indy

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 5, 2021

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET-2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR:

THE MODERATOR: We have Rinus VeeKay, 2020 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year. That still sounds nice, doesn’t it?
RINUS VEEKAY: It does, yeah. It’s quite dubious to be called that way.

THE MODERATOR: He is the driver of the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, running a full season, no longer a rookie.
Rinus, compare where you’re at now as to where you were at a year ago at this time sitting in an interview room not knowing what you were getting into. Now you have a full season under your belt, a successful one as Rookie of the Year. How has your mentality, your approach changed this year compared to last year?

RINUS VEEKAY: Definitely changed a lot. I’m a whole different driver now. Of course I only had Road to Indy experience before my rookie season started, but now I have I think it’s 14 INDYCAR races under my belt.
Yeah, it’s something I’m very happy with and I can really — I could already see last season that throughout the season I made so much progress. Yeah, I think we had a very steep learning curve last year, and my job is to make sure that steep learning curve keeps staying as steep as it is now throughout the season.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.
Q. Rinus, I’m curious, I got a chance to really evaluate your season last year, and if you noticed anything about your race craft maybe that you could have changed between a rookie and your second year?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I found out that finishing a race is quite important, so I will always race as hard as I can, as fair as I can. But definitely don’t take any risk, any unnecessary risk.
Beginning of the season I was just really aggressive. Came away with it a few times, but also in Texas it was just too much. I definitely learned a lot from those races, and yeah, it made me a complete driver.
I think now, yeah, I’ll have to make sure I keep it all going, and yeah, finish as well as possible every race.

Q. How do you balance that as a driver? I know INDYCAR is so tight, to balance the aggression, because if you slip a little bit it could be a difference between a podium and outside the top 10. You also don’t want to push too hard and find trouble. How do you balance that?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it’s definitely tough. You can’t always do it 100 percent well. But yeah, it’s mostly intuition, like your body does everything for you. Mostly if I do any moves in a race and I look back afterwards, I have no idea how I did it, but it happened. I think that’s a good thing, don’t think, and let everything happen how it goes.
Seems like it all went well last year.

Q. I’ve got a question about the current rookie battle that we’re going to get this year because you’re the reigning Rookie of the Year, but this year’s battle couldn’t be more different than last year’s. Last year it was all youngsters like yourself. Now we’ve got all these veterans coming in as new INDYCAR drivers. How do you look at that? What are your thoughts about that coming battle?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think first of all, it’s great for INDYCAR publicity-wise. But yeah, it really shows even more rookies it’s going to be a great fight. We’ve got Jimmie Johnson, who has accomplished a lot in NASCAR. Then we’ve got Scott McLaughlin, who of course did all that in Australia.
Yeah, it’s going to be big. Also with Romain Grosjean, he’s going to bring over a lot of viewers from F1. I think it’s going to be very good for the publicity of INDYCAR, but also just the whole rookie fight is going to be something people are going to watch and going to pay more attention to.

Q. Rinus, last year obviously as a rookie it seemed like you were kind of finding your way and you were trying to keep up with the team. Year two, does that equation flip a little bit, now you’ve got all the experience and the team is trying to take that next step? Is it kind of about them trying to match where you are and try to get you forward in your second year?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, we’re also working together all the time to make each other better. Of course, I’m not a robot, so I can do a lot of stuff better. We’re all working together. It’s a really nice team in terms of cooperation, so it’s very free. I can say whatever I want, and everyone wants to get better at everything.
I can already see that the team has made progression in the off-season, and I’m getting more professional. I now expect more what the team wants from me, so I can anticipate more of that coming into the race weekends and make sure I prepare better for the coming races.

Q. What are some of those things that the team wants from you this year, do you think?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think of course full commitment. It’s not just something that you’re driving INDYCAR. You just really have to give it everything, in your personal life, but in any way possible.
Coming into the race weekends, it’s not just another race weekend. We’ve got to make sure I’m fully prepared. I know everything that the engineers know from past years, even though I’ve maybe done no races on that track. But there’s data from before.
So yeah, it’s just all that working ahead towards the races that, yeah, I can improve this year more on.

Q. You mentioned that level of aggression when you started out last year. You sort of had to learn how to moderate that. It also seemed as if you had some really good respectful battles with some other drivers, especially toward the end of the year like you and Herta at Gateway. Did the other guys have to learn you as much as you were learning them about how to race around each other?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I think so. Of course I had a lot of fun racing hard against some guys, but they didn’t have as much fun as I did (smiling).
Well, it happens. But you get a certain respect with other drivers. You start to know them. Once you start a season, you know nobody. It’s an unknown person you’re racing against.
Now that I’ve met all the drivers, it’s getting more like I’m another driver. They know I’m going to race hard. I’m not going to make it easy for them. It’s a thing now. It’s not something they have to be surprised of.
I think that’s a good sign, and I think it’s worth the effort. So yeah, let’s hope to keep that on this season.

Q. You talked a little bit about kind of what you expect out of this next year from a big-picture perspective. More specifically, what are your own personal expectations for your second year as far as on-track results? What do you think is realistic and what would you say you’re shooting for that would make year two in INDYCAR a success for you?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, first of all, I want to do better than I did last year in any way. I think we can be a frontrunner regularly, like we can be one of the favorites every race. I’m thinking about top 5.
Once you’re in that position, I think there will — in those 17 races, there will be an opportunity where you can go for that race win where everything goes your way. We just have to make sure we have the pace. I know we’ve got the strategies, and just me being the driver I am that got a podium in Indy, and yeah, well, the driver I was last year.
I think if I just keep doing what I’m doing and have the team keep putting in the work that they did in the off-season, I think we can really run at the front, and yeah, hopefully go for podiums.
Hopefully that first win, that’s something I really want to go for. We’ll see how that goes. But yeah, I’m fully committed for the season.

Q. Do you feel like in any way the way Colton was able to grab a win so early in his career, I know Pato hasn’t won yet but he’s been really, really close, do either of their performances highlight how consistent they’ve been able to be early in their careers? Does that in any way give you any confidence in feeling like that’s possible for you?
RINUS VEEKAY: Oh, definitely, yeah. I think it’s definitely possible. I know the team is capable of it. You’ve got to be lucky to win.
Yeah, I’m going to go give it 100 percent, and I’m confident that we can do it, but just the opportunity has to arise. We’ll give it our all and see when it comes to us.

Q. I know you work with Arie Sr. What exactly is his role with you?
RINUS VEEKAY: He was kind of like my personal advisor. He has had a lot of experience in INDYCAR, his whole life as an INDYCAR driver, where he can give me so much advice like business-wise but also as a driver. Just with all the experience, he’s made a few mistakes, which he talks to me to make sure I don’t make those mistakes. It’s just great to have him around, and it’s a privilege to work with him.

Q. What kind of mistakes did Arie tell you he made that he shouldn’t make?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, being a little too aggressive on an oval. It’s basically always that because he’s the king at that. And yeah, just little things that — little tricks that save you a lot of time on ovals, like with setting up the car and feeling what’s the car going to do, because you don’t have a lot of time when you’re coming to the race. And obviously setup is so important. If you can really maximize that time, yeah, it’s super valuable.

Q. What have you learned from your first season in INDYCAR that you can bring forward to this year, either both good and bad?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I’ve learned that INDYCAR is one of the most competitive series in the world and you have to give it over 100 percent to be competitive and to get results. So yeah, that’s definitely something I’ve learned.
I expected it to be super tough, but this is next level. Yeah, as a driver, just experience. I’ve just learned about everything last year, every procedure, strategies, pit stops. I’m still learning a lot.
I’m feeling like a veteran now, so coming into the next season I will have a lot more time to think instead of time finding out what’s happening around me.

THE MODERATOR: Rinus, we’ll get you get to the next station. Thanks again.
for your time and we wish you the best of luck this year.
RINUS VEEKAY: Perfect. Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2021

WILL POWER, NO. 12 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FORMER SERIES CHAMPION AND INDY 500 WINNER:

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. First question, very important: We saw the birthday video. Did you get the donuts?
WILL POWER: I did. Got to look on my Instagram story. I bought the donuts for the people that made me great.

THE MODERATOR: It was a big birthday. Did you detect any gray hairs?
WILL POWER: It’s actually looking pretty good. There is like the odd — my wife says on the back of my neck I have some, but apart from that, the hair loss and the hair color has kind of maintained pretty well. I think Helio would be very jealous at this stage.

THE MODERATOR: Based on testing and the new addition to the team with Scott this year, what’s the outlook for 2021 and for Team Penske?
WILL POWER: I feel like they’ve done a very good job of development. You know, and other teams would have, as well. But we haven’t been quickest in testing, but we’ve certainly tried a lot of stuff and had some development items.
I feel pretty good about definitely being better than where we were last year at Indianapolis. I think that’s probably the most disappointing we’ve been since I’ve been at Penske. It was a surprise to us. Certainly worked very hard on that.
I feel like we’ll be much better than we were last year. So yeah, looking forward to really everything coming up.

Q. You mentioned the team’s continued development of cars in the off-season. How do you anticipate adding a fourth car into the mix to change any sort of dynamic? I know you’ve raced with this team with three cars, with four cars a handful of seasons both. What does that change typically do for you guys?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, it’s just more information and more quality people on the INDYCAR side. Obviously the sports car program went away and we took a lot of good people from that program. So yeah, just more engineering power and more information as far as drivers, setup info and all that sort of stuff.

Q. Entering this year in 2021, I know off track there’s a lot going on in INDYCAR, hopefully we can get back to the series, the series looking to enter a new TV deal, trying to add a third engine manufacturer. When you look at all those things, I know you guys are so hyper focused at preparing for things on track, but as a series veteran, do you kind of sense all of this stuff going on around you guys and how important this season could be for the series future?
WILL POWER: I do actually. I think it’s a very important season, and it is sort of concerning at times to think that — we must have fans this year. We really must. It becomes very tough on these promoters when they’re not getting the income from the ticket sales. Really praying that things open up, and in particular the 500, with everything that Roger has put into that place and all the effort that’s gone on since the purchase, I really hope that we can have close to full capacity there. That’s obviously dependent on a lot of other things at the moment.
Yeah, really hoping we can get another manufacturer. I think that would be great for the series. I’m sure that the series is working very hard on trying to make that happen. It needs to obviously happen with enough time for a manufacturer to be able to kind of catch up in a way to Honda and Chevy.

Q. Nobody is harder on you than yourself. You have lots of high expectations. If you don’t win a race you usually aren’t that happy about it. Do you look at this year as a rebound year for you?
WILL POWER: It actually does feel a little bit that way, you know, considering we’ve started the last four seasons in a really bad way. It certainly isn’t speed that’s the issue. It’s our bad days are just too bad. Our bad days are DNFs and multiple laps down. They’re not like a 10th place or a seventh place, and that’s our problem. The speed is certainly not. Winning is certainly not. Consistently, whether it’s mistakes on pit lane or mistakes by me, you just — we have to have a solid beginning to the season — I mean, you’ve just got to have a solid season, and that obviously includes the beginning.
I said it last year, it’s a huge focus, and that did not happen for us. This year, again, if we can just have a solid first few races, I think it gives the team confidence and myself confidence.

Q. Even though he’s from New Zealand and you’re from Australia, do you have a little bit of a kinship with Scott McLaughlin, the fact that you’re both from the same part of the world and he was such a huge name in Australian Supercars?
WILL POWER: I think it’s — I was really happy he came over because it gives a lot of attention to INDYCAR from Australia. I think the TV ratings will be better because he was so popular there and won three championships in a row. I think it just brings more attention to INDYCAR, which now that we don’t race down there doesn’t get much love.
And also it’s — Scott is a good guy. He’s from New Zealand but basically Australia, so we certainly get along well. I think he’ll be a pretty quick guy.

Q. I just want to get it out of the way: Are you in a contract year this year?
WILL POWER: Yes.

Q. So does that change anything for how you’re racing or how you feel?
WILL POWER: No, it doesn’t. It really — same effort that I put in because I had put so much effort in every time. I so badly want to win. Yep, same fire, internal fire burning. Just do as I do, do obviously my best.
Q. It’s Roger’s second year owning the series. I’m wondering what you took away from year one and what you think might happen in year two.
WILL POWER: Obviously a very awkward first year for Roger, unfortunately because of COVID. Really just hoping, like I said before that we can have fans at the races and things kind of return to normal, which helps everyone, helps the series, helps the promoters. Yeah, I think it’s important for pretty much all sports, but for our sport in particular, yeah, it’s just tough on these promoters not getting ticket sales. In turn, INDYCAR probably doesn’t get the sanctioning fees. Yep, we’re fortunate to have had Roger in this time I would say, very fortunate to have someone like that steering the ship.

Q. You played tennis with Brad Keselowski the other day; how are things over on that side of the team after the Daytona 500 finish?
WILL POWER: Yeah, actually that was an old video from a few years ago, so they’ve declined massively since then — no, just kidding. I haven’t seen Brad for a while. Yeah, obviously would have been an interesting conversation after the Daytona 500. It is a massive race to win, and I think it’s the team’s worst nightmare when in the 500, Indy 500 or the Daytona 500, you’ve got two or three guys from their team fighting it out. In one hand it’s a nightmare because it’s like, man, I hope we don’t take each other out because it’s such an important event, but on the other hand it means the team has done an amazing job to have two cars or three cars up there. So yeah, I’m sure — it’s a good problem to have. Let’s say that.

Q. How is the Invisalign?
WILL POWER: It’s not Invisalign. I went the full braces. My teeth had to move too much. Invisalign was going to be twice the time. I’m getting close, getting close to getting them off and then I’ve got cracked teeth, so they’ve got to replace a bunch of teeth and all this. It’ll be a great smile when I’m all done. I used to smile like this, so I’ll be able to really get to do that once I get them. There’s a lot of serious faces, like, Will, just get on with the bloody conference.

Q. Actually I just had a question about first Indy and if you’ll be involved at all with the team or with Miles during the season at all.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I keep in contact with Miles. I found him years ago at a kart track. I really think he’ll be great. I think he will surprise people in that field. I think he’ll be very competitive. He’s been put in a perfect position to be given enough miles and a team around him that has a budget to do everything necessary to be competitive.
Yeah, I’ll be watching. I have nothing to do with the day-to-day running or anything of that team, but I certainly had a lot to do with Miles getting into that seat, and I have some other kids that I’m working with, African-American kids that are doing very well in go-karting, and I think I really hope can get into that program. That’s the tough bridge to gap, like to get from karting to cars is very tough, and that’s what happened to Miles. He did one year of cars and they just simply didn’t have the money to do it. So it’s so great to see a driver that has the talent make it, and I hope there will be others after him.

Q. Obviously Scott McLaughlin has joined the team. Is there anything that you can learn from him in terms of his driving style or do you think that maybe you can kind of bring to the table in terms of his development during the season?
WILL POWER: Yeah, you know, it’s such a different animal to what he was driving. I think there’s not much that — I mean, you couldn’t say there’s not much that converts over, otherwise he wouldn’t be on the pace. Obviously the biggest change for him is the amount of downforce and commitment with these cars, like the faster you go, the more grip you have, significantly so.
Yeah, there will be things you learn off him, that we learn off him, especially in slow corners when the car is more about mechanical grip, what he’s used to, but yeah, he’ll be doing most of the learning just because it’s his first year in the car. But yeah, he’ll be — he’s going to be solid. He’ll be very good in years to come.

THE MODERATOR: Will, thanks for your time. We very much appreciate it. Best of luck this year and keep the Instagram stories coming, man. They’re social gold.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I’m trying to work out whether people like them or not.

THE MODERATOR: Oh, the one with the lighter —
WILL POWER: Oh, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: All-time classic.
WILL POWER: I’ll keep them coming, I promise.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2021

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FOUR-TIME NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPION:

THE MODERATOR: Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Hi, guys.

THE MODERATOR: Since you came to the team, since you started running with them at the end of last year, now in testing, everything is running strong. What is going on there at Foyt that has you running so well?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don’t know. I mean, the guys have given me some good cars. Obviously it started a bit rough at Indy GP. Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a real good group of guys which got reinforced by the arrival of Justin Taylor. Yeah, there’s the manpower, there is enough money to do things right, and passion, work. Yeah, I’ve had a good time.
I think we’re setting up for the best we can. There’s no particular expectations. We just working as hard as we can trying to cover as much ground and bases as possible and hoping for the best.

THE MODERATOR: Have the goals and expectations been recalibrated company to the strong performance at St. Pete and in testing?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I’ve never been one guy to just say, We’re going to do this or we’re going to do that. It doesn’t serve any purpose. Why would you limit yourself to top five or top three if you think you can win races? And vice versa. Putting yourself and coming out strong saying you’re going to win races, if you miss, you’re just putting a lot of pressure for no reason.
We know weekends are made or broken for two or 3/10ths. Predictions are impossible. It’s pointless. Let’s all work as hard as we can, feel like we don’t leave any cards unturned, just leave nothing on the table. Just work as hard as we can, and hopefully results will come.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. It really seems like from top to bottom there’s a renewed sense of optimism at A.J. Foyt Racing. Everybody kind of seems to be pumped up and fired up that there’s going to be improvement this year. What do you see as being the biggest reason for that renewed enthusiasm?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I mean, obviously we finished the season strong. We went testing and felt like the car was in the ballpark. We seem to be in the mix. Yeah, I mean, I think the more outings we get like that, the more confidence in what we got going on and where we fit is giving us confidence that we should be players.
I think there is a very good atmosphere. Everybody is enjoying that perspective. The fact that there is seemingly something to go to the track and fight for, it doesn’t take much to get a positive dynamic. It doesn’t take much to break it down either.
Hopefully we can just keep that dynamic and get the results to back it up because obviously it doesn’t matter how promising the thing is. If you get to the races and you don’t perform, the enthusiasm inevitably goes down. I’m just happy to see everybody kind of, like, pulling together, putting a lot of hours.
The guys were at the shaker yesterday, they’re at the shaker again today. We’re going to the simulator. There’s really a lot of ground covered. That’s refreshing both because we have enough people to do it, we have enough resources to go and get after it, thanks to Chevy trusting us to go to the simulator and stuff like that.
Honestly, everywhere I’ve been before ever since I’ve come back to the U.S. in ’12, there was something missing. It seemed like it was always a bit of a struggle. There were some really good guys with Craig and Olivier, but there wasn’t enough of them, we were short on money, something was happening. It just feels like the team is right enough right now to be able to have something well-rounded.
I really enjoy that. Hopefully it works out.

Q. In November of 2019 you had been dealt with some adversity, the ride went away at Dale Coyne. You’ve overcome that adversity and you’re back. How much do you appreciate being back now full-time?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Well, I mean, it’s really big. Obviously you don’t know that you’re going to get a second chance when you get the boot. It’s really good that things worked out and we can try to just bring the name A.J. Foyt Racing back to the front. That’s what we all are working towards.
On a personal level, for sure it’s a big satisfaction. To be entrusted to be the guy who is going to kind of spearhead the effort. Yeah, just really thankful and grateful to Larry and everybody involved for trusting me with that project.

Q. You got in the car late last year and it needed to get into the leader’s circle. Was that the sole goal for you those last few races? How huge was that for the team?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I mean, it doesn’t hurt. It’s a pretty significant number difference going one way or the other. For sure it was good to get a bit of help from Takuma, get that million dollars to the team. For me, I tried not to think too much about it because I was brought to the last three points races.
You can’t always control what’s going on, so we just try to prepare the season the best we could, the 2021, that was really the goal, kick-start 2021 in 2020. It just so happens that everything works out. We both got to the leader’s circle. A good result at the end. Then kind of teeing things off the best possible way for this season.
Obviously a lot of very positive things. Yeah, I mean, I really tried not to think too much about it because it was pretty stressful.

Q. Realistically where do you think the Foyt team can be on the grid this year?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I think Larry was really kind of hoping for a top 10 in the championship, which when you look at the entry list, it’s no easy task. Hopefully we can do that and show some glimpse of success. If we could win a race, it would be awesome. If we could get a couple podiums. But there’s no guarantee. All we can do, like I said, it’s just give it our best shot and see where we land.

Q. There’s a lot of talk about Foyt, the emphasis is so focused on Indianapolis 500. Obviously that’s a place where you’ve gone very fast in the past, also have had a couple of big misfortunes. Do you feel the team is now more rounded and ready to take on all the other courses on the schedule? Are you part of that plan to make it a more consistent team?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I haven’t really been thinking very much about the 500. It’s obviously the 500, then there’s just everything else between the road courses and the street courses, trying to get a good understanding of how the car functions and how you activate the best way possible the Firestone tires and all of that.
The one race that so far I’ve spent no time thinking about is the 500. You know in the background are those projects that the team obviously is pursuing to try and get friction out of the system, get the best aero car and everything. But the 500 kind of jumps in the front of the scene kind of late April. It’s going to kind of arrive when we show up there.
But we did spend a ton of time and effort trying to obviously bring the team up for more street and road courses. That’s what we’ve been focusing on now.

Q. You’re confident that has paid off looking at the testing times?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: It looks promising. That’s all we can say right now.

Q. Are the 24 Hours of Le Mans have been postponed to August 21st. The same weekend of the Gateway race. I don’t know if you have been working on a ride for that race.
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Unfortunately there was a conflict and there’s still a conflict, so it doesn’t really change anything.

Q. The Sebring race is in two weeks’ time, a little less. Which are the expectations for that race, especially after the performance of the team after what happened on that race?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, I mean, it’s a real shame. Obviously we had a pretty zoomy car at Daytona. It just didn’t pan out. Got caught up into some action.
Yeah, I think the team has stepped up quite well. Tristan and Loïc are going friends and we work well together. We were very much in the mix at Sebring in November. Yeah, looking forward to it. It’s always great to be able to kind of get as much running time as possible running into the INDYCAR season. We’ll get to do that again.

Q. Jimmie Johnson coming into the series, switching over after decades in NASCAR, what do you see as his biggest challenge? What have you seen from his energy and vigor that he’s put into his foray into INDYCAR so far?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I can’t talk to him. I have a huge amount of respect for Jimmie. I think his passion for racing is absolutely undeniable. He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s super passionate about it.
It’s great to see he’s taking that leap. It’s a huge challenge. It’s so far from what he’s done and knows. But he doesn’t care, he’s going to do it anyway and give it his best shot. I really hope that he’s successful because it would be great for the series.
I would really kind of be sad if he didn’t enjoy it because obviously he just comes very humble into this. We are race car drivers and we want to perform. I really hope he does.

Q. Tampa area resident, what do you feel like Tom Brady’s success can do for the veterans in INDYCAR, showing what you can still do at 40-plus years old?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, I think their experience obviously shows it can be quite important for success. I’m hoping that we can definitely pack this up. It’s been quite a year for Tampa Bay. Hopefully we can add our name to the list.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2021

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO.2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET,TWO-TIME NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPION:

THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden, the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet, Team Penske Chevrolet. Don’t like that number, do you?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You know, we seem to win championships in the 2. Hopefully it’s a good year for us, though.

THE MODERATOR: What is the outlook for this season? That’s the goal, championship or nothing?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s definitely the same. It’s a little boring, but it doesn’t change. We want to win an Indy 500. For me specifically, that’s a big goal. I’ve not won that race. Obviously as a team, we’ve had a lot of success there. They’d like to add to that.
For me, I’d like to get my first. Then the championship as well, yeah, we’re looking for another one. Obviously I was hoping we were going to win our third championship last year and we could be working on the fourth. We’re going to have to go back to square one and try to knock the third off this season.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.
Q. Back in January before the Daytona 500, you talked about how much you started preparing for Indy already. How hard is it in INDYCAR these days to not throw all your eggs in one basket, gain in one area but not lose in area?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s a balancing act, for sure. That’s a good point. You have to try and understand, when you push resources one way, how does that affect everything else. I think for us, we’re pretty good at balancing that formula.
Indy is a really tough track, not only because it’s the most important race but I think because it’s all about very small details, and those little details take a tremendous amount of time and effort to move the needle. It’s all these little things that add up at the end of the day when you show up in the month of May. It takes a tremendous amount of time to make large progress at Indianapolis, whereas at another track you may find a small difference or small change with something that you found that didn’t take nearly as much energy or money or resources.
I think you can have these bigger magnitudes of shift at a place like a street course or a road course compared to Indianapolis. Indianapolis really takes a ton of time, ton of resources to make those little incremental improvements forward. That’s why we emphasize trying to get that right. For us, it was skewed last year in that Indy was probably one of our worst tracks. There’s no doubt. We didn’t perform like we wanted to at the 500 from a qualifying standpoint and race standpoint. I think that’s why we’ve heavily leaned to get that right in the off-season.
We haven’t left anything else behind. We’re still pushing forward on all the other fronts because we need to be strong across the season.

Q. Is this one of the toughest seasons top to bottom with the talent level that is in the series?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It just seems like it gets better every year. It’s hard to diminish what happened the last couple years. I think our depth of talent has been incredibly high since I’ve been in the series. It’s just been incredibly high. It’s only gotten better from 2012, whether that’s teams, personnel or the drivers themselves.
Yeah, I think if you look at the championship, who is in there now this year, certainly the additions with people like Jimmie Johnson or Romain Grosjean, there’s a lot of talented people in the mix. It’s going to be really tough to stay at the front of the pack.
The field count is going up. It’s not just the depth of talent is increasing, it’s the depth is increasing but the size is increasing and you’re keeping that depth with increased size. Yeah, it’s going to be a tough task. INDYCAR is so tight nowadays. This is the closest form of racing that I see on the planet at the moment, the most parity out there. To try to find an edge on this competition, it takes a tremendous amount of work.

Q. How do you feel the pandemic has affected the big teams in INDYCAR? It feels like the shorter window for getting your car in the right place across the weekend, stuff like that, kind of gives a bit of an advantage to the smaller teams almost. You guys can’t get everything ready as much as you would have done before. Do you see it that way or do you feel like maybe you have a better advantage because you have more resources at your disposal?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That’s a great question.
You can look at it both ways, right? I should say you can look at it from both perspectives. You could argue we should have an easier time because there’s less track time, less time to figure things out when you show up to the weekend. The big teams, more resource, they should show up more prepared.
I actually look at it the opposite way. I feel like where our strength is, when we show up on a race weekend, we have two days to work through it, we are so good at if we have a deficiency right when we roll off, we’re so good at figuring out how to fix all the problems we need to fix by qualifying time Saturday afternoon, then race time on Sunday. That’s where we really shined in the past, especially when you have three or four cars that are all strong. This year we’re going to have all strong drivers, engineers. That’s where we shine is when we have enough testing time to sort it out on a weekend.
I think last year we struggled a little bit with the shortened sessions. We were not always prepared. And not prepared in that we weren’t doing our job, we just didn’t forecast correctly what we needed some of the time showing up to these tracks. When you don’t do that, you don’t have a lot of time to figure it out. If you don’t have the time, you might not get there on race day.
I think that is the new challenge with the pandemic, how do we work better in simulation, how do we show up more often with exactly what we need right away. We just know we don’t have the time to fix it across a race weekend. Pretty much how you roll off is going to dictate a lot of how your weekend goes. We’ve been working a tremendous amount figuring out how to be better right off the truck so we don’t have to play catch-up like we did last year.

Q. The Indy 500, that’s the big focus for you guys this season. What are you preparing for and what have you been working on the specifics of the 500? A complex event with so many different elements to it that you need to nail.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Last year our qualifying form was not strong. We were all disappointed with our speed. That was first and foremost. How do we fix the speed of the cars from last season? There’s been a tremendous amount of work that’s been put in. We have the best of the best in my opinion when it comes to talent and personnel. There’s been no shortage of effort and time to make these Penske racecars as fast as possible. That was first and foremost.
Then I think the race condition of the car, how does it really work across 30 laps on a set of tires in multiple-car drafts? That’s probably the most important ingredient nowadays is just figuring out if you get buried 10 or 15 cars back, how is your car reacting in that much dirty air. That was something we needed to be stronger at.
Just outright speed and the car’s potential in a big wake. That’s all different this year, too. We tried to learn where we were deficient last year, but now we also need to figure out where we need to be better in the future with the new aero parts. Quite a bit of difference with not only the front wing but the underside build of the car aerodynamically. There’s going to be some new elements. The car is going to drive different. We need to be better all around.

Q. Conor took high praise from you about his hair. He considers you a Greek God. If you like it, it must be good. I’m wondering if you actually like it.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I got to tell you, I thought he looked amazing. It’s not for me, but it fits him. At this point he’s built a brand, okay? I think he should own it, which he clearly is. You show up with that type of a haircut, he is on brand for Conor Daly. I thought he looked good. That was professionally done. I don’t know if he told you his backstory. He went to a hairdresser this morning and got that done up. The commitment level, admirable. I admire the level of commitment he has for his brand. Good for him. Good for him. He is a very committed person.
I think Conor probably gets a bad rap at times. From a personal note, I’ve known Conor since he was a young kid. We grew up together racing karts. He’s a super talented individual. He does work very hard and tries to get the most out of himself and out of situations that he’s in.
Don’t be deceived by this brand that he’s got going on around him. I do think he’s a hard-working individual. Yeah, I support what he’s doing. I think it looks great.

Q. He said he achieves it by a lot of staring at the American flag.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Pretty sure he went through like three cans of hairspray. He literally got up this morning to have someone do that before he showed up.

Q. Year two under Roger Penske’s ownership. What were the biggest things you saw that he achieved last year and what could be next?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Tremendously excited. I think we’re all so thankful to have the leadership of Roger. I’ve been lucky enough to be in front of that personally, having driven for the team now for the last four years. I got to witness how Roger works within the corporation at Penske Corp and certainly within Team Penske. Just the way he leads people, he’s really a tremendously impressive individual, but I think he’s probably the best ally you could have in racing.
Now he’s not an ally that I have or that our team has, but he’s an ally that the entire series has. Yeah, I think they’ve done a tremendous job trying to weather the storm. No easy task, not for anybody, any racing series out there. I think Roger and the entire group at INDYCAR has done a great job trying to keep us afloat, get us moving to the next phase.
I think this year has strong potential to really go to the next phase of where we’re at in this pandemic, hopefully back to a newer normal and working towards what we love, and that’s having people at the track, putting on great shows, providing great entertainment.
I’m really excited. As we get to this next phase, I think the best is still yet to come from Roger Penske and the entire organization. I think, like I said, we’re all very thankful that he’s in charge and that we’ve got a good direction in front of us.

Q. You mentioned you feel like the best is yet to come from Roger and his team. In a year where the series is looking for a third engine manufacturer, you’re looking to sign a new deal with NBC, explore new opportunities with broadcast, you mentioned the talent coming in, as drivers do you sense everything going on around the series off the track as you’re getting ready this off-season?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, you definitely have a sense of what’s moving, what needs to move, what’s taking play around you definitely. There’s a lot to do. Like I said, the best I do feel is still to come. But there’s a lot of moving pieces. There’s just a tremendous amount of effort that’s going in, much more than I could fathom. Thank goodness I only really have to work on figuring out how to make cars go fast and keep it out of the wall and in Victory Lane. That’s my job, which is much easier than what they are tasked with at the moment.
Yeah, there’s a lot on the horizon. I think the pandemic, navigating that, has been first on the list, trying to understand how do we just get to the racetrack, how do we serve our customers the best, how do we give our race fans the best experience possible. That’s still number one for all of us. Then how do we take the series as a whole, keep moving that forward every year, whether that’s TV contracts, engine manufacturers. There’s a lot at play there.
We have a sense of that. Thankfully that’s up to better people than me. I think we do have the best of the best looking after it.

Q. As Team Penske becomes a four-car team this year, how does that dynamic change when you add another driver into the mix?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m pretty excited about it. It’s good timing for us. We operate well as a three-car team. When I initially came to Team Penske, it was a four-car operation. I’ve seen both sides of it.
I think at this time and place, I think a four-car team will give us more strengths than weaknesses at the moment. Like Jack had asked the question about limited time on race weekends, trying to show up as prepared as possible, which is so critical now. I think having an extra car, extra hand, extra set of data, extra engineer full-time, it’s all going to benefit what we’re doing. We’re already seeing that. We’re already seeing the benefit of it.
Scott is a really smart, accomplished driver. He’s really good at what he does. He’s still learning INDYCAR. He’s not fully up to speed, I would say. He’s not going to struggle. He drives his car to a very high level. His engineer, Jonathan Diuguid, is a strong addition to our operation. I think it’s going to be a big benefit to us, to have a four-car operation. I’m excited from that standpoint.

Q. Does a strong finish to a season like you had last year where you almost won the championship, but you did have a great run at the end, any of that momentum carry over or do you spend a lot of the off-season thinking about how close you came to getting a championship?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I’ve tried to wipe last year from my memory as best I can, at least the tough parts. I felt like our momentum was quite consistent throughout the year, at least from a performance standpoint. We could just not seem to catch enough breaks. That’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes things just go your way without even realizing why; you can’t seem to do anything wrong. Some years you seem to be on the wrong end of the stick half the time.
I feel like last year was one of those years. We were just in the wrong place, wrong time, a little too often. You have that happen just one too many times, basically what happened to us is the result of it.
Yeah, we had a good run at it. I felt confident in what we could do every weekend. I felt like that in the beginning of the year, the middle and the end. I’m not trying to just ride the end-of-the-year momentum. I think the consistency we’ve had year over year is really strong. We need to keep that going. I think from year to year it’s been really good.

Q. The Music City Grand Prix, seems like every week they’re announcing another big name into the ownership group: Justin Timberlake, Dale Earnhardt Jr., the other day they announced a whole list of high-powered people in the business community. You as a Nashville resident, how excited are you about the prospects of how big that race is going to be?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m tremendously excited. I honestly think it’s going to be a huge deal, I really do. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we show up and it’s not that big of an event.
If I’m a betting man, all signs are pointing to a ginormous event, world-class event. I’m excited. The people, they have some serious hitters involved, like you said. They seem to keep just adding to that list. They’re very prepared. They have everybody onboard that needs to be onboard as far as the city, the support from the Titans, the support from local business owners, from national business owners, from brands, large-name individuals. They just have everything in place to make this a world-class event.
I think that’s their ambition. They want to host an incredible INDYCAR event but on top of that they just want to host a world-class event. Really that’s what we should be going for. We should be able to bring race fans in to this track in Nashville to have a great time and watch a great show, but we should be attracting people that don’t know anything about motorsports, maybe don’t care about motorsports. Bring them to an environment where they can enjoy it.
I think the knock-on effect is they’ll probably become motorsports fans as they leave the event. I’m energized about what they have going on. I think it’s in the best city in the world right now for an event. I don’t think anyone shows up better than Nashville at the moment when you bring these type of sporting events to that town. The sky is the limit from what I’m seeing at the moment.

Q. I was watching a Twitter video you did the other day, listing cameo videos or whatever, and you said you were in your apartment. Weren’t you building a house in your hometown? Are you still doing that? Will it be ready for INDYCAR’s big arrival in Nashville?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, still kind of transitioning. Trying to get that out of the way off my plate so we can focus on racing.

Q. With the NASCAR-INDYCAR crossover happening again this year, you’ve talked about wanting to run NASCAR. Is that still a possibility in the near future? Is it still going to be depending on the Indy 500 and then worry about that stuff?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’d love to. I would love to say it’s on the list right now. It’s not, unfortunately. I’m focused on what’s in front of me, which is purely INDYCAR. But I would really love to run some stockcar events. It looks like a blast. Similar to what you see going on with Jimmie Johnson and other guys from that series, they’re interested in driving in our world, and vice versa, we’re interested in driving in their world. I only see that as a positive. This crossover stuff is fantastic for the sport. We’re all racers at the end of the day. We all kind of want to drive anything we can, have new experiences.
I’m really hopeful at one point I can get an opportunity to cross over and dabble a little bit over there. Not take away from my INDYCAR commitments, but just kind of add to it.

THE MODERATOR: Josef, thanks for your time.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thanks, everybody. Take care.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2021

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO.3 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, ROOKIE SEASON IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES:

THE MODERATOR: Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Think about where you were a year ago today and where you are now. What is the expectation? What are the goals coming into this year?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, obviously last year took a turn for everyone. Yeah, my plan was obviously to do the Indy road course, get somewhat of a warmup, which my warmup was at St. Pete a week after my last race in the Supercar. It’s been a whirlwind adventure. The last three months I’ve been here or so, it’s been awesome to get acquainted with the team, get an understanding of INDYCAR racing, visit the Holy Grail in Indy at the Speedway there, do my ROP, which was fantastic. It’s all sort of coming together.
I still have a hell of a lot to learn, but I’m really enjoying it. Awesome to have PPG onboard as a primary sponsor for us for 10 races, hopefully more to come with the rest of the races, too.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up to questions.
Q. Obviously there’s a lot of unknowns this upcoming season for you. How much comfort do you have in the first few races you’ve been on those racetracks before?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it’s definitely nice to head to a track that you know. For me, heading to Sebring, for instance, just for the test, that was one of my first INDYCAR tests. To turn around there about a year later, actually get into it and know where everything goes, know some of the bumps, the curbs, dropoffs off the curbs, stuff like that, just little things you don’t know when you turn up to a racetrack for the first time was invaluable.
I think for me right now, heading to Barber after testing there twice now, then St. Pete obviously racing there, it’s a big thing for me in my first foray into INDYCAR racing. It’s not going to be like that all year obviously, so I really have to take that in my stride, try to accelerate my learning as much as I can in this period for sure.

Q. Obviously being new to INDYCAR, what has been the hardest thing for you to get used to? Is it the better braking, increased downforce? Where do you have to make improvements yet to be where you want to be?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There’s a lot of things I’ve got to get used to. For instance, even just driving a turbo car. I’ve never really done that before in Australia. For me, I’m learning boost levels, aero maps, trusting aero, aerodynamics through corners and stuff. It’s taken me a little bit of time at Barber. Barber is quite difficult. I put Barber at the same commitment level that you need at Bathurst. It’s very tough.
To build up and not make a mistake in that period, it’s a tough thing there. I’m slowly getting used to what I want from the car, what I can ask for, what I can’t ask for. That’s just going to keep getting better and better throughout the season.
This year for me is a learning season. I’ve got time. I’m planning to be here for a long time, not a short time. Just got to make sure I get through this year, learn the tracks, learn the car, come back stronger, even better in 2022 as well.

Q. What do you think of this rookie class?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, what I think of it (laughter)? Well, I think it’s phenomenal. I didn’t think I’d be racing Jimmie Johnson, Romain Grosjean. It’s crazy. Very exciting.
Someone put out a tweet, quite a good tweet, the rookie class where it’s like three-time Supercar champion, seven-time NASCAR champion, then a guy who is a veteran of Formula 1 in their first season in INDYCAR. It just shows what INDYCAR is all about right now. It’s exciting times for the category. I hope the fans relish it. I think it’s awesome to have Romain and Jimmie be a part of it. They’re two guys that have done so many things in world motorsport.
For me to be a part of it, I’m just proud to represent the brands, have PPG onboard, being able to try and have a good time in my first foray into American motorsport. I loved it when I came here and raced here once in 2013 back in the day with Supercars. To be here in my rookie season with those two guys, it’s phenomenal. I’m really excited.

Q. You’re the only one of the three running the full schedule, so I guess that gives you the edge. Is there any incentive to outperform them each week?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. I think it’s not just them. I’ve got three other teammates that are very high caliber that I’d love to have a good shot at and try and beat on the occasion while I learn and get better.
Yeah, it’s not just all about them for me. It’s getting the best out of myself and my team. We’ll get that. We’ll get better and better as the season gets on. If not, hopefully come out of the gates really fast. I’m preparing like crazy. I’m looking at footage, data, trying to make sure I’m ready for round one and we can hit the ground running.

Q. What have you learnt from your race in St. Pete that you can bring forward going into the new season?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think for me it’s learning the pit stops and stuff were very big for me. Like cold tires, hot tires coming in, cold tires going out. Obviously driving the red tire was a good little introduction for me. It’s one thing that I probably struggled with at St. Pete was just getting the most out of that tire. Unfortunately we can’t test on that. That’s all going to be race miles on that tire to get used to it.
But, yeah, just understanding little things like how to get from the hotel to the track, where the pits are, what it’s like. I didn’t even realize I had a scooter when I got there to get from the pits. Stuff like that. It’s learning not only on-track stuff but off-track stuff to make me comfortable, settle into the series quick.
I’m enjoying it so far. I’m really excited to head back to St. Pete. I love that race circuit, love the vibe there. Hopefully we can have an amount of fans that makes it really cool.

Q. Obviously we’re going to Nashville this season for the first time. Is that going to be a benefit to you do you think, given all the drivers are going with a fresh kind of point of view? You’re all going in as rookies for that race.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I guess in some ways it’s nice to have that happen later on down the road. I think you’re going to have your experienced guys that come up to speed on the track pretty quick. These days you got simulators as well. Everyone is probably going to have a simulator go on the track at one point beforehand and get used to the track and the limits there. Obviously you got to do it in real-time.
Yeah, look, it’s probably one that I’ve probably circled, said that’s probably one that I can be on the even terms in some ways for the first time this year. Yeah, I’ll try and make it work.

Q. You mentioned this would be a little bit of a learning season. You also said you’re paired with some high-caliber teammates, three guys who have been series champions, two guys who have won the Indy 500. What has the team told you about what are the expectations in terms of competing against Pagenaud, Power, Newgarden? Are you going to be okay if you don’t beat those guys the first weeks?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: My competitive instincts, probably not going to be okay with it (smiling). I’m very competitive, but I’m realistic at the same time. I’ve got a lot to learn. Yeah, I’d love to try and beat them a few times throughout the season. I’m not putting off that I can’t. I think if I feel the car and work with my engineer well enough and get better and better, there’s no reason why we can’t be at the same pace as those guys, if not better.
But I’m very lucky in that way. I’m trying to soak everything up like a sponge, learn their data, learn how they drive the car, what does Will do, what does Josef do, what does Simon do? They’re three very different guys in terms of driving style. I got best of both worlds. I can pick sort of what I want to do, how I want to feel the car kind of thing.
Yeah, look, it is a learning year. I’m being realistic. I know it’s going to take time. Those guys got experience. Everyone has experience here. I’d love to — yeah, for sure, my competitive instinct will kick on at some point for sure.

Q. Those three guys being different in style, are you most similar to one of them so far? Can you even tell at this point?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s hard to tell. Look, you put Will Power in a cardboard box, he’d probably get pole. If you put Josef, he’s just very bright. Simon, he likes the car secure. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m still figuring that out right now. It’s very interesting looking at the data. It’s something that I haven’t really had. I’ve only had one teammate in the past in Australia. It’s nice to have three, really get an idea.
With Simona coming onboard, as well, for Team Penske at Indy there, it’s going to be awesome to have her data as well, someone I’ve raced before in Supercars.

Q. Is there any chance you would be able to go back and run Bathurst later on in 2021?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: My plan is to go back and race that race. The problem being they’ve got quarantine periods in Australia, you have 14-day isolation in hotel rooms when you get there. With the calendar now with INDYCAR, Long Beach finishes basically two weeks before Bathurst. My quarantine would end by the time I get to Australia, two days, you lose a day going across, I think my quarantine ends the Monday after. Right now I can’t do it unless something changes on their end. If it does change on their end, it’s a possibility. I’m scheduled in to do it.
At the end of the day my main focus is here. If anything changed here, collided dates, something got pushed back, I don’t know. We know what 2020 was like. My main objective is here. I’d give up the Bathurst opportunity obviously.

Q. Who is the team you are set to run with?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Sorry?

Q. Who is the team you’re set to run with?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: My old team. Dick Johnson Racing. We did the old deal when it was all announced over here and stuff like that.

Q. The level of experience coming in here as a rookie, when you start a test, how significant is the progress that you see that you make from the start of the test till the end?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It goes in peaks and troughs. Sometimes I feel like I’m making the headway and then one of the boys will go out and smash me by half a second.
I think for me it’s just getting an understanding of the car, what I want from it. The last few test days, yeah, for sure I’ve made gains in that area in what we want. We’ve really had good debriefs post-Sebring and Barber to get an idea of where we want to go forward, where we want to start, especially for Barber, for the first race there.
Yeah, anytime I can get laps in the car, keep driving, learn what I have under me, what I want under me, is beneficial. But yeah, there’s been times during test days it’s been frustrating. Sort of don’t know exactly what I want. Then you find something, something clicks in your brain, then it all sort of comes back to you, gets going again.
But definitely the last test at Barber was the most comfortable I felt in the car. I felt really strong. Definitely a good platform for me to build on.

Q. I got to ask you this question. You’re new to Team Penske. What did you think of the last lap of the Daytona 500?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It was two hard racers going for a big victory. It’s unfortunate. At Team Penske in the past we’ve always been told we can race as hard as we want but fair. They were both going for the same real estate. Certainly we know that the goal is not to make contact and stuff like that. Unfortunately that happened. But I’m sure they’ll learn from it and move on together.

Q. Racers are racers. The culture at the track varies, but there’s a basic template you understand. How has it been moving from one continent to another knowing you’re going to be here pretty much for the full year? What is the biggest challenge for you?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think for me it’s actually just knowing where to go. Little things like you wouldn’t think about, but different airports, where do you put the rental cars up, where do you do all this sort of stuff (laughter). There’s stuff you don’t think about that’s second nature in Australia that you’ve been there your whole life, Australia, New Zealand. To come over to this place where I’ve really only been here for holidays. I’ve gone to only one or two places, New York and a couple other places because my wife is from New York.
Yeah, it’s been different. I’m going to learn a lot, learn a lot of America this year, get to see places I haven’t been to and probably would never been to if I didn’t race over here. It’s exciting.
For instance, the fans and stuff, the fans at St. Pete were really nice. Everyone was really welcoming, coming up and wishing me good luck, welcoming me to the series. Very on the front foot with all that sort of stuff. It’s pretty refreshing from that point of view, as well.

THE MODERATOR: Scott, everyone has loved your #scottlearnsamerica hashtag this year. The two I recall the most were the first time you went to Target, the first time you watched NFL Red Zone. Which one was cooler, Red Zone or going to Target?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, Red Zone by a mile. If you asked my wife, she probably enjoyed Target. She knew what to expect. But I hate shopping. I enjoyed sitting on the couch at 1:00, much to the disgust of my wife (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Panthers fan since you’re in Carolina?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I am. My wife tried to get me to be a New York Jets fan. I was like, No way, they suck. I jumped on the Panthers bandwagon. Hopefully we pick up a good couple players here in the trade period and we get going. I managed to get to a game, as well. Small attendance figures, but very cool to get to my first NFL game. Saw Drew Brees play. I love American football, watched it for a long time. Best thing now is I don’t have to watch it at six a.m., I can watch it at one p.m. with a beer in my hand. It’s awesome.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2021 INDYCAR PRE-SEASON CONTENT DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER MEDIA TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 4, 2021

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET CO-DRIVING WITH TEAM OWNER ED CARPENTER:

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, Conor Daly, driver of the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Chevrolet. Thank you for joining us.
Give us a little overview of how you see things shaking out this season. How are things looking for you heading into the 2021 season?
CONOR DALY: Honestly, I think everything’s looking great. We knew where we had to improve I think from last year with our group. So far, after our first two test days, we have been quite a lot more competitive, which has been nice. The car has definitely felt better for me. The operating window where my driving style works I think is smaller, but I’m broadening that out a little bit. It definitely feels better.
I’m proud of the team for the work we’ve done over the off-season; put a lot of effort in. It’s going to be nice to get out on the racetrack when everyone is finally together. It’s weird not having an open test like at COTA we did last year because that’s kind of like the first taste of where everyone is at.
Yeah, I mean, Barber is going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be a tough place physically to start, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: How far are we going with this?
CONOR DALY: I feel pretty good about it honestly. After seeing it come out of the fryer this morning, whatever they do to hair, it was pretty cool. I don’t know. We’re just going to let it live a little bit. I’m not sure when, what the timeline looks like. I feel pretty strong about it now. Josef Newgarden even said to me this morning, he said, wow, you look good. As a man who had to grow up going up against Josef Newgarden, not only in the driving category but also the looks category, because that guy is just a finely tuned specimen, he just looks like a Greek God, it’s impressive to hear that from him, so I feel pretty good about it.

THE MODERATOR: Any helmet adjustments due to that?
CONOR DALY: No, still same sized helmet. Someone actually got mad at me on the internet, What happens if your hair catches on fire because it comes out the back of your helmet?
If you think the hairs come out the back of the helmet, you have a serious problem. I’m tucking that stuff all the way in; we’re maximum speed.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions now.
Q. The truck race you’re running tomorrow, you ran the trucks last year, what do you think about your chances this week as you head over to run a truck?
CONOR DALY: I’m excited. I mean, just another chance to kind of capitalize on what I learned last time. I mean, did 138 laps, then you sleep on it, you can improve quite a lot afterwards. I’ve just been waiting four or five months to do that.
It’s something that I already know where I kind of want to start, what I want to do, and what I want to improve on. It’s going to be fun. We have Fatheads and Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts helping us out there which is really, really cool, and the team is awesome. Cody Efaw and everyone over there, Al Neese, great environment. I have some great teammates, too. It’s going to be fun.

Q. Do you have any other planned races for the trucks? They’ll be on road courses with COTA. Maybe the fall Vegas race or something?
CONOR DALY: I want to race everything, everywhere, anytime. I have a focused schedule on INDYCAR, so that’s going to take up every bit of my time. The only reason I actually got to run Vegas is because our schedule got pushed back a little bit. I got to keep myself busy. I got to get the body rolling into race mode. It’s going to help come I think Barber because I’m going to have a full distance race with some heat and sweat going. Nice preparation for the INDYCAR season.

Q. How do you get the top of your hair like that?
CONOR DALY: Well, there’s a lot of electricity, passion and staring at the American flag for a certain amount of time (smiling).

Q. And it works?
CONOR DALY: So far.

Q. Is it the staring that puts it over the top?
CONOR DALY: I think it’s realistically enough hairspray to set a house on fire, but I’m excited about it either way.
It’s not always going to look like this. For today, we’re just going to let it eat and have a great time.

Q. You have one truck race at this time on your schedule, but if opportunities came open, would you add more?
CONOR DALY: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I want to do everything that I can do. I’m ready to go whenever. But INDYCAR for sure is the focus. We got a lot of races in a row coming up in May, April and May, then basically all throughout the season. That will be taking up every bit of time.

Q. Can you remind me what your program is this year in INDYCAR?
CONOR DALY: Currently it’s 14 races with Ed Carpenter Racing, the Indy 500 and all the road and street courses. That’s officially all that I’ve got.

Q. You think you might fill the rest?
CONOR DALY: I mean, if I was a betting man, yes, I would enjoy doing the whole season. I think it’s possible. But it’s not up to me.

Q. Roger has had a full year to own the series. What is the most significant thing you’ve seen happen under his leadership?
CONOR DALY: Honestly, Roger’s leadership is something that I think we’re all lucky to be a part of. There’s some incredible things happening with the series. I think there’s a lot of energy. I know the improvements at the actual Indianapolis Motor Speedway are fantastic.
I think it’s just the amount of positivity that everyone has, like, under his leadership is pretty cool. I mean, I’m excited to see when we get back to a fully, fully normal season, I think then Roger’s kind of outlook on everything and his team obviously, his group of people that he’s put together, that’s when I think it will really start taking off into the sky, which I think is really cool. I’m excited for the future. The future is bright, for sure.

Q. The value of being able to have your deal locked in during the off-season, you haven’t had that opportunity very often in your career. How valuable is that just to keep your mindset positive?
CONOR DALY: It was great. I mean, honestly, I hadn’t really ever gone into like a renewal type of situation of a contract before. To have that with Ed and the Air Force, basically where we were just like, All right, we all like each other, we all know what we need to improve, let’s just keep this going. That was really cool.
Ed was always really honest with me as well. Ed is a straight-shooter. Really appreciate that guy. Happy late 40th birthday to Ed. He still looks like a young, athletic man, you know what I mean? That’s very exciting for him.
Yeah, I’m pumped to be with the same group. Continuity, it’s nice. We saw how that paid off last year with Carlin. I think it was super important to have that first year together, come back and take advantage of it. Want to do the same thing this year with ECR, first year, now we know what to do, take advantage of it in year two.

Q. In some ways you and Ed are like part of the family, the extended family. How important is that? How much do you kind of wish maybe this opportunity had happened much earlier in your career?
CONOR DALY: Well, I’ve been asking him much earlier in my career to be a part of the team, but it just didn’t work (smiling).
I mean, I love the group that he’s got assembled. A lot of the guys there I’ve known actually since I was a lot younger. It would have been cool to be here for a long time. But as I told Ed, I’d love to be there for 10 years. You know what I mean? You could be at that team, settle in in a competitive environment. They’ve got the resources there. They’re working hard. It would be great to be with those guys for a while, start winning races with them, really compete for the top spot more often.

Q. Make sure you get your Carson Wentz jersey early.
CONOR DALY: We’ll see (laughter). Actually, he’s a ginger, so love that. We’re going. I think he’s my guy now.

Q. How did it feel to have a really good test at Barber, with Rinus VeeKay? How is your relationship with him coming along? How is that working in the pits?
CONOR DALY: Rinus is obviously very talented. We all know that. He’s super fast. He’s a good kid, too. He’s someone that is just constantly happy, constantly has a smile on his face, which is great, and he’s quick.
For me, it helps. When you have someone that has raw talent like that as your teammate, it’s great data to look at, great information to have. I’m very much I think more focused on the technical side, trying to develop with the experience I’ve got. He doesn’t have that experience yet, only because last year, the rookie season, he didn’t get to go to all the tracks yet. He’s still got to experience some of these tracks in an INDYCAR. That was tough on the rookies last year, for sure. It’s been great to work with him. Ed has put a great group around us.
He’s going to be quick again this year for sure. The goal is to have us both on the podium as much as we can get there.

Q. You did well in the test. I guess you’re looking forward to the first race. It’s got to feel great to have a shortened oval season this year. Just gives you more races there at ECR. When do you think you might be able to talk him into having the full ride on every race?
CONOR DALY: Well, I mean, that’s always the goal. We were trying to make that happen, but it’s a financial game. Obviously we need to have certain things to make certain things happen.
Right now it’s the best situation possible for me and the U.S. Air Force. At some point maybe that could happen. For right now, I mean, we’ve got this opportunity in front of us, which is 14 races.
To be honest, I would actually like more ovals on the schedule. I like the oval racing. But, yeah, for right now it works out perfectly. If I can organize another program to end up doing the full season, it all fits really well.

Q. If the planets align, you still have enough races to get the championship. Go for it. Good luck.
CONOR DALY: If that managed to happen, that would be hilarious. We’ll give it a shot (laughter).

Q. We have Jimmie Johnson joining the series this year. He’s such an incredible driver, résumé. A lot of folks imagine it would likely be tough for him adapting to a new series and a new car. Do you have any idea what it would feel like finishing that first race in Barber and seeing yourself ahead of Jimmie Johnson, having grown up and watched him as a kid?
CONOR DALY: I mean, Jimmie is a brave man. Also I respect the heck out of what he’s doing. Doing the sports car stuff, coming over here to the INDYCAR world…
I think this season without a doubt has so much excitement. You have some real heavy hitters coming here, Scott McLaughlins of the world, Jimmie Johnson, Romain Grosjean, Pietro Fittipaldi now, two current F1 guys, V8 Supercar legend, man the world, incredible talent, then you’ve got Jimmie Johnson who has more trophies than all of us combined. I think we have to take advantage of that as a series and say, Look, we have the best in the world coming here to race. It’s no joke. We’re going to have a great time this year.
I would love to beat Jimmie. That sounds like a great plan. I’d like to beat everyone. I just think he’s taken on this opportunity so perfectly. He respects the heck out of what we’re doing. He’s getting out there, testing as much as he can. He’s doing everything he can. That’s super cool. To have him part of the series, awesome.
I mean, this whole championship is just stacked. It’s pretty cool to be a part of, for sure.

Q. We haven’t gotten on the track for races yet. You mentioned all of the new talent and the exciting drivers. The series potentially is looking to undergo some changes or potentially renew with NBC. You have the potential of a third engine manufacturer trying to come into the series. When you are preparing for the season, you’re involved with things on track, but do you have a sense of everything that’s going on around you off the track and what the season can potentially mean for INDYCAR’s future?
CONOR DALY: I mean, as drivers, it’s our job to just try to help as much as we can make all those things happen, you know what I mean? We got to go out there, and we got to produce a great racing event. We got to be smart, but we got to be electric. We got to get our personalities out there. There’s people with great personalities in this series. We got to be able to have — just got to put the best show on that we can. We have to make sure we do our work on social media, whenever we can.
It’s going to take us, like all of us, to do this. It’s a team sport, but it’s also like a team effort in general just to get this thing to go. I mean, we all know, everyone in the Zoom here knows the excitement of this championship, how much cool stuff is going on around us with the drivers and the teams. I think there’s so many full-time cars, it’s awesome, it’s great. Then we have an incredible Indy 500 as well that’s going to be happening. We have to hammer it home to everyone that doesn’t know about INDYCAR, hammer it home to everyone that might like F1. Maybe there’s some F1 guys in there now, we’ll check it out. I don’t know.
We got to do our jobs to help make sure this series takes off as we know it deserves to do.

Q. People have asked about your truck potential for the rest of this year. We have an Xfinity race on the road course at IMS the same weekend at INDYCAR is racing there. Any chance you would potentially end up or pursue an opportunity to run both races that day?
CONOR DALY: I think I’m too poor for that series. We’ll see. I’d love to be a part of it. I don’t think anyone is just going to take a chance, Hey, we like your hair, jump in this Xfinity car. We’ll see.
I have to focus on the INDYCAR races. Physically it’s going to be hard to do both of those races in the same weekend, that’s tough. But I’m a yes man. I learned that from saying yes to Travis Pastrana; anytime he asks you to do something you always say yes. I’m not a no man. I’m ready to go.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll let you go now and thanks a lot for your time. Best of luck to you.
CONOR DALY: Sweet. Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.