Category: NTT Indy

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

SANTINO FERRUCCI, driver of the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, KYLE LARSON, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and ALEXANDER ROSSI, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Row 2, starting sixth, he finished third in last year’s Indy 500, driving the No. 14, Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, Santino Ferrucci is here. Starting fifth, ready to take on the first half of the Hendrick 1,100, the fastest rookie of the 2024 Indianapolis 500 field, driving the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet is Kyle Larson. Starting fourth, winner of the famed 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, it’s Alexander Rossi.

Santino, we’ll start with you. You’re bragging about how much golf you’ve played this week. You’re ready to go tomorrow, is that what you’re saying?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, of course. We almost got to complete the third round today, but now we’re here. It’s okay, I was burning anyway. It’s been good. It’s one of those things to where you keep your mind off driving a race car and hanging out with the boys and having a good time and getting a full reset.

Q. How has your week gone, Kyle?

KYLE LARSON: Just a little bit of golf. Not a whole lot. I played with some friends yesterday.

It’s been honestly like really busy until the last couple days, so it’s been nice to get a couple days out of the car, kind of just relax, enjoy the downtime before it gets crazy again. Yeah, not much.

Q. Fastest rookie luncheon, the community day —

KYLE LARSON: Milked the cow.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don’t think I was given a choice, but yeah.

Q. Alex, you said the other day you liked your car a lot heading into Sunday?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yes. I was going to talk about my week, but it’s fine.

Well, I did a turtle race, which was pretty cool. Turtles are not very smart, it would seem.

But it wasn’t mine. I think it was actually Santino. I picked him up because he was going the wrong direction and placed him in the lead. You’re welcome.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Thank you. I’ll take it.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: He didn’t win. What else did I do? I don’t play golf, so I didn’t golf. Yeah, the car is still good.

Q. Kyle, Pato was just before you, and he said that your schedule is so busy that he’s spent almost no time with you, and you’re at about 30 percent of the engineering meetings and things like that. Are you feeling like you’re being pulled in a lot of directions and not able to spend as much time with your teammates as you’d like to?

KYLE LARSON: No, I mean, I have been busy. I feel like I’ve been in a lot of the engineering meetings — I joked with our engineers. I was like I’ve gone to more meetings in one week than I have all season in NASCAR to this point. I feel like it’s meeting after meeting.

No, I really haven’t got to spend much time with anybody. The days start pretty early, and then they end late. You get dinner, and kind of just want to relax.

No, I haven’t gotten to spend a ton of time with them, but I don’t really know how their schedules vary differently to mine. I feel like I do a lot of interviews and stuff during the day, in between time in car and all that. Yeah, it’s just a busy couple weeks of all on track, so I’m not sure when anybody gets time to hang out much.

Q. You do big events. You do the Daytona 500, Kings Royal, Chili Bowl, all kinds of things. What are some things about Indy and the Indy 500 prep that you have found special and enjoyed and you’ve felt they improved the event?

KYLE LARSON: Well, I just think they have the funding to do it. I think there’s a lot of races that — I’m talking like dirt races, not the Nationals and Kings Royal. Like Knoxville does a really good job of getting it to the feel of a big NASCAR event or even similar to like what this is on a much smaller scale. But with the history and the traditions and all that, I think that’s been — I joked about milking the cow, but knowing that that’s a fairly new tradition that’s probably going to go on each year for a very long time is neat to be a part of.

Then, too, just this facility is — this is like Disneyland or Disney World of racetracks. It is the nicest facility. I think all of that makes it feel even bigger, too.

Two weeks of stuff, buildup to the race, there’s so many things that make this event feel different and bigger. But yeah, there’s no other event I’ve been a part of to this point, and I haven’t even gotten to race yet, that’s felt quite as big as the Indy 500.

Q. Kyle, obviously the weather is looking iffy. How much have you thought about various scenarios? I know you don’t get stressed about many things, but is this something that’s stressing you out at all? What are your current thoughts on it?

KYLE LARSON: I mean, sure, yeah, it’s stressful because weather is always unpredictable, but you just don’t really know until it’s like happening. So it’s hard to plan for weather. You can have all these plans and backup plans and backup plans for the backup plan. But you just can’t really do anything or react until it’s kind of the moment.

That’s what’s a little bit stressful. Yeah, it doesn’t look too promising for Indy on Sunday, but I think for me where I sit, if it’s going to rain, I hope it rains all day. That way it can just get pushed to Monday or something, and then Charlotte is not going to rain, I just hope it doesn’t rain, and we can get it in on Sunday night and then come here Monday.

Again, it’s weather. The forecast changes kind of every day. But yeah, we’ll see.

Q. Kyle, following up on Jenna’s question, you said Sunday that things have gone so smooth, but I think you’re talking about more in the car. Outside the car, have they gone just as smooth, just as efficiently as your support team? Have the Hendrick people made it so it’s plug and play and you’re just going where they tell you?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’ve been pretty relaxed from my side. I’ve done a ton of interviews and all that and signed bunches of autographs and everything, but it’s all been — nothing has been like surprising or I’ve not felt like overwhelmed really at any point.

It’s all been smooth, and I think there’s just been a lot of planning going on behind the scenes, between Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports for months. That’s helped it be really smooth.

Q. Have you had any moments yet where you’ve woken up and wondered what city you’re in, Charlotte or Indy?

KYLE LARSON: No, because I’ve been in Indy the whole time, so it’s pretty simple.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: This is one of the most talented race car drivers here. He does it with no sleep.

Q. It seems like all week you’ve kind of had your swagger back a little bit in terms of your performance. What is it about — you look like you’re a lot more confident here this year than in the recent past. How do you feel about the performance of your car?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I don’t know that I agree with that. I think this is the first time in quite a few years that we made — whether it’s the Fast Six or the Fast Nine, so you’re obviously going to be excited about that. But I think it’s just been a really smooth month for the whole organization.

I think we have four cars that have contributed really well throughout the month and pushed each other forward, and we all have really good tools to go to work on Sunday. I just think it’s a culmination of the hard work that was done in the off-season and just continuing to build the best race cars we can to go fast when it counts.

Q. Kyle, I hate to ask another weather question, but is there a scenario where the 500 would start at 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon and you would race the 500 and not go to Charlotte?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I think that’s all kind of game time decisions and maybe decisions out of my control. Yeah, I think the plan right now is hopefully everything just gets going as scheduled and we don’t have to worry about that.

Like I said earlier, I think it’s just all kind of spur of the moment decisions, and we’ll see.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Call Tony Stewart.

KYLE LARSON: What did he do?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: It rained and he was leading and he said he would deal with the consequences. It’s the Indy 500. Do you have a Coke 600?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah. You’re good. Stay here. I like having you here. They didn’t have the playoffs back when he raced, so it’s a completely — yeah, dude, you’re good. I’d say he’s staying here.

Q. Can you guys put yourselves in position for the double-header and think what kind of preparation that might take? Does it seem like that type of double is a lot to do in one day and the prep for all that?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Man, it’s impressive, but there’s very few drivers that drive everything today. He’s one of them, and if anyone can do it, I think he can. I’ve driven some of the stock car stuff. It’s very different. It’s a lot of fun. You don’t see INDYCAR drivers doing the double. That’s what’s kind of different for us because you have so many one-off entries coming to the 500. It’s a little bit more feasible. I’d love to do an attempt at it. It’s a completely different ballgame. For me to go jump in a stock car like I did during the COVID years it was so difficult. First time I was behind the wheel was green flag at Homestead, which is a little ridiculous, but it was a lot of fun.

No, just the physical side of it, but Kyle is a super fit dude. The cars are so heavy to drive. The stock cars are really hot inside. You get a 90-degree day here and you’re in the car for four-and-a-half, five hours. I mean, I get out and I’m completely depleted. So how you recover on a flight with IVs and everything and then get in another hotbox that’s like 130 inside there all over again, amen to you, brother. It’s cool as hell.

I’m rooting for him because like why not? Make some history.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I think he covered it.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Man of many words.

Q. Alex and Santino, when you guys were rookies and you had race morning in that first experience, talk a bit about what that race morning rookie atmosphere field like and what Kyle might have to look forward to?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Man, it’s as memorable for me as the end. I fell in love with this event at 9:00 a.m. that morning just because I had no idea kind of — you go through all of the processes to get to that point and you hear about it, but you don’t really realize until you open your bus door that morning, and you’re like — it is a life-changing kind of event and experience to be a part of.

I’m excited for him. I’m excited for every rookie that gets to experience it this year because it is one of those things that will change your appreciation for this race and kind of motorsports in general.

It’s a really cool kind of three, four hours, the buildup that happens. Really hope for a lot of reasons, kind of along the same line, that there is no weather so that he and the others can experience the full kind of buildup to the event with all of the tradition and beauty that goes along with that. Fingers crossed that it all works out that way.

Q. Alex, when Pato was in here, he said that he felt like the Penskes are still kind of class of the field, the favorites. I know in qualifying you said you were getting tired of hearing about the Penskes and their noise. Do you still feel like they’re the team to beat here after Monday or do you need to see what happens Friday? How do you assess that?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: No, not at all. I think qualifying and their improvements over the off-season were very much focused on qualifying. I think that the field gets a lot tighter kind of in race running. I think there’s 10 cars that look good out there and that are very capable of winning the race on Sunday.

Yes, obviously they’re going to be good, but it’s not just them. There’s quite a few guys out there that look pretty strong.

Q. Santino, obviously you have a career best at this race last year, you got like five top 10s, top 10 every time. You’ve been in this race and now you’re with the team that was so good in qualifying, with Penske. Can you put that in perspective? Everything is kind of going your way going into this race.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, obviously last year we were really quick in qualifying. I feel like we have had good cars here at Foyt, and part of our alliance for us is we struggled on road and street, we were good in the speedway. That’s where Penske kind of wanted to make up some ground. It worked in a very — it was a very helpful relationship for us, and then obviously, as you saw on Sunday for them, as much as certain drivers or a certain driver is not — that’s that guy. It’s kind of how it is.

But I’m not going to lie, I’m on their shocks, but they’re tuned to my setup and my car, and it’s every driver’s preference. Like Alex said, what makes speed in qualifying here isn’t necessarily a setup, it’s everything that goes into the car that we can’t see. But your race car is very much driver preference, driver comfort, and there are a lot of really solid cars out there.

Their three are pretty good. I’d say one or two of them actually looked really, really sporty compared to the third. I didn’t run much around Alex, but I did run around Kyle, and Kyle looks good, as well, and the 26 looks good. It’s pretty much anybody’s day come Sunday.

Q. Kyle, you touched on this earlier, and I wanted to ask you to elaborate. In 2022 I covered Knoxville, and the way that town embraced the event, it was mindblowing to me. Could you elaborate a little more about how the town of Speedway, literally named Speedway, and the city of Indianapolis as a whole embraces the 500 and how you’ve come to experience that throughout your rookie year here at Indy?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, again, it’s on a much smaller scale, but the feel from the town is very similar to the feel of Indianapolis. Like I’m renting a house for family in Whitestown, which is 20 minutes from here, and in a nice little neighborhood. Every other house has an Indianapolis Motor Speedway flag hanging off the side of their house, which I think is really cool because they’re a little bit outside of Speedway and still supporting it on their houses. So that’s cool.

Just the local community gets into it. Knoxville, even all year long, a lot of people that live in town are just huge sprint car fans. I would kind compare the Prairie Dirt Classic in Fairbury, the late model event similar, too. Again, much smaller scales, but very, very similar feel in how the community embraces the event.

Q. What’s been the best piece of advice you’ve been given about competing in the Indy 500 for the first time and who gave you that advice?

KYLE LARSON: I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know like — I’ve had so much advice throughout the last year I feel like. But I don’t know, I’ve had lots of people just telling me to enjoy the experience, enjoy the event, and I’ve really tried — I feel like I’ve done a good job of that. I’ve tried to take as much time as I can for the fans and media and all that, and I’ve really — typically, like at, say, a NASCAR event you’d get kind of burned out on it but I haven’t been burned out on it because this is just such a cool event. I don’t know how often I’m going to run this race. I don’t know if this is the only year I’m running it. Just trying to enjoy it, and I have. It’s been the coolest experience for sure to this point, and we haven’t even run the race yet.

Q. Who would your daughter like to see win the race on Sunday?

KYLE LARSON: You. Rossi. She said last night, I’m going to finish second and she wants Rossi to win.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Shoot.

KYLE LARSON: Real fan right there. I heard Kaitlyn say because she thinks that — I think she thinks that my wife and him grew up going to the same school, even though they were rival schools. Maybe that’s why she has one of his old Andretti crew jerseys.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

PATO O’WARD, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and RINUS VEEKAY, driver of the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

Q. Pato and Rinus, you guys are close to the best result expected in the race. What do you think is the feeling for the race next Sunday?

PATO O’WARD: I think Friday will be very important to get your car in the best window possible. Hopefully the rain stays away because it looks like it’s going to hit us at some point. But yeah, the three Penskes are obviously the ones that look like they’re the ones to beat. I know there’s multiple cars in the field that will make them sweat.

I’m confident that we can make our way forward and just put ourselves into a position to win it.

RINUS VEEKAY: I’m not too worried about the race. We did not have a lot of practice, but I think enough for us to get the car in a good window. Especially after the car was rebuilt for qualifying with the crash, the team has a lot of work to do from last Monday’s practice to Friday’s practice, Carb Day, to still make it a little bit faster, make it a little bit more aerodynamic.

I think we’re looking good for the race. I’m actually feeling very relaxed coming to the 500. Just like Felix said, the important thing is to focus on yourself because if you try to be — you might get ahead of yourselves, and as long as you maximize everything you have, that’s all you can do.

Q. Pato, every time you race here, I’m sure you learn something. What are you taking from last year’s race with you now from an experience standpoint of do’s and don’t’s or whatever you want could call it?

PATO O’WARD: Don’t finish in the wall because otherwise you can’t win the race.

Q. Does it ever strike you how long a race this is and the concentration level that’s demanded, et cetera, not just for what you’re doing but for what other people are doing?

PATO O’WARD: I don’t focus on what other people are doing. I just try and do the best race for me. I know how to position myself to go forward. I’d love to tell you what it feels like to win this race, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet.

I think it’s just all about opening those doors of opportunity and making sure you’re the lead car when the checkered flag comes.

Q. Pato, after practice Monday, you said that there was still an issue that you felt like you guys had to solve. Do you feel like you’ll be able to solve that now looking forward to tomorrow, and is it something car specific or is it different driving style from your teammates? Can you give us any sense of that?

PATO O’WARD: It’s car specific. I have faith that we’ve fixed it. We won’t quite know until we actually get a few laps under our belt.

But I’m not worried. If it’s not, then we can still race. It’s a great opportunity just to be part of this great event. Yeah, I want to be able to have the best tools available in order to make it happen for everybody.

Q. Pato, I’m sure you’ve been asked a lot what it’s like being teammates with Kyle Larson this whole month, but not just Larson, but what has it been like for the team to kind of slot in Callum Ilott, as well? What has he been to the team, not just Larson, but what has he also brought to the team, in terms of Ilott?

PATO O’WARD: They’ve both fit in well. To me, it really doesn’t make a difference if someone from NASCAR or someone from WEC or someone from INDYCAR or from Indy Lights or F1, I really don’t care. But I think what Kyle brings to the table is a lot of not experience in INDYCAR but in other forms of motorsports. But the guy has had such a crazy schedule that honestly, we don’t even see him. In all the engineering meetings that we’ve had, he’s only been in like 30 percent of them.

Really haven’t had the chance to talk to him that much or as much as people probably think. But yeah, I think he’s going to have a good race. He had a very good qualifying, and he’s got a good team behind him in order to give him the tools to get it done.

Q. Pato, obviously last year there was four cars, this year there’s four cars, but I don’t know if it’s just kind of the fact there’s two guys also in the team that’s just doing kind of the one-off with the 500 or what’s going on, but you’ve kind of seemed maybe frustrated and talked about trying to focus more on just your own program. I’m trying to understand, is it just a matter of too many people going too many different directions, or what’s going on with it?

PATO O’WARD: No, but this place is unique in the way that no matter if you think you’ve built four cars identically, sometimes that’s not the case. I feel like at this point, at least just in terms of qualifying, what I was telling the team is we’re not chasing a 234, we’re chasing consistency, because this car doesn’t have it. I’m not pissed off about it or anything. That’s just what we’ve got. From the things that I can control is I can make sure that the balance of the car is the most comfortable for me in the race because that’s a different beast. One thing is to qualify here, but one thing is to race and to make sure you’re one of the guys that has a shot.

That’s where your whole team really comes into play. If you’re starting within the first 15 or 20 cars here, you’ve got a good car, you can win this race. Honestly eighth for me is phenomenal. I was super happy with that, considering where we started on Saturday. I think just now it’s just finalizing the little details and fixing the little issues that we know we’ve got and make sure that we’ve got the best tools at hand in order for me to get the job done for myself and for everybody else.

Yeah, that’s the nature of this place. You never know what it’s got in store for you.

Q. This is a little bit random, actually a lot random. You’ve clamored for a long time about trying to get an INDYCAR race in México. If hypothetically speaking you end up winning this race on Sunday, do you think that could maybe help push the needle to get INDYCAR to be a little bit more forcible about trying to put a presence there?

PATO O’WARD: It wouldn’t hurt. But I think at this point I’ve shown enough that there’s a lot of wanting from Latin communities for there to be a race, and there’s no doubt in my mind it would probably be the best event outside of the Indy 500 on our calendar, no doubt. Why do you think Long Beach is so good? Because more than half of the attendance is Latin. The fans are just so passionate, and they love to go support, and they love motorsports.

Yeah, if we are going to do that, I would love to see it part of a championship because I’ve heard conversations of it maybe being like a one-off or something, but come on. If we’re going to México, we’re racing for points.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

CALLUM ILOTT, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We’ll begin our afternoon sessions here for media day news conferences 2024 with Row 5 for Sunday’s 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Starting 15th, making his third Indy 500 start, driving the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, is Callum Ilott there on the far right.

Callum, starting number three. What have you learned in the first couple starts that you’re now applying to this start?

CALLUM ILOTT: Little patience. First year was a good couple of weeks, but ended a bit on the wrong side and a big learning curve when you hit the wall here. Second year was tough from the get-go and managed to finish strongly, so the opposite of the first year. Then yeah, this year has been very, very promising. We’ve had a lot of speed. It was a shame we didn’t get a bit more out of qualifying, but yeah, it’s been a lovely couple of weeks back in the States.

Q. Callum, we don’t necessarily know what the plan is for you in INDYCAR after this start, so how do you approach this?

CALLUM ILOTT: Same as every other race, one step at a time. Yeah, there is no plan after this. So this could be my last event for a while or ever. Yeah, I’m just here to have fun and do the best job I can, and like every driver, win.

Q. What’s the overall experience been to this point? Do you feel like this is a true opportunity for you to showcase what you’re fully capable of?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, no, of course. It’s been great. Arrow McLaren have been awesome and it’s the team I’ve been working with earlier in the year, as well, so it’s been super familiar.

Of course like anything, you have to work hard to improve and get the most out of it. Like I said, we struggled a little bit in qualifying, more than I expected, but the race car is very good, and we’ve been working hard to improve that, and Monday it felt great. Hopefully we can continue that tomorrow and on Sunday.

Q. This could be for any of the three to answer this, but does it feel like there’s a real prohibitive favorite this year heading into the race? People have been fast at different times. Obviously I know the Penske cars were super fast in qualifying. Do you feel like this is a little bit more wide open of a race this year maybe than in the past?

CALLUM ILOTT: There’s a couple really strong cars, but I have to say the number of cars that look impressive this year seems higher than the last two years that I’ve done it, as well. It does look like a very competitive field, and like the others have said, anything can happen. Yeah, I think there’s a lot of guys who are expecting to do well.

Q. For Callum, is there a sense of urgency knowing nothing is promised for you past this? How do you keep that in mind and keep everything in focus?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, there’s no sense of urgency. Like, of course the race is super long, and there’s a lot of strategy to that. I think the people who try to push too early on make some crucial mistakes.

So no, I’m well aware of what is needed in this race to move forward, and I’ve got a very good team around me to help that. So yeah, I’m as relaxed as ever. I’m probably even in a better space of mind than I have been before.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

ED CARPENTER, driver of the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet and owner of Ed Carpenter Racing, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We will begin with Row 6. Starting 17th, he just surpassed with 200 starts last year in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, not that we’re counting, driver of the No. 20, Guy Care Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, it is the aforementioned Ed Carpenter.

THE MODERATOR: Ed, the Monday practice, what did you get out of that?

ED CARPENTER: I thought it went well. The cadence of the month has definitely been different with more delays than we’ve had in previous years.

I thought it was a good practice. You go from so focused on qualifying to running no downforce to getting back into the rhythm of race running, race downforce, locking in your timings and all those things.

All three of our cars, we’re quite happy with the way they feel in traffic. Just doing everything we can to be prepared for Sunday.

Q. Ed, the delays, from your perspective, how much does that alter and impact the program you have planned?

ED CARPENTER: I was probably a little worried about how the schedule played out for Christian, but in the end he got really comfortable really quickly. Seemingly has really taken to our car and this track.

I’m not really that worried about him at this point. He’s doing a fantastic job. On Monday he was probably our best car of the team, so… He’s fitting in and feeling less like a rookie all the time.

Q. Ed, last year Josef Newgarden mentioned that he was sort of mentally at peace with the idea that he might not win this race. That helped him to relax. Have you ever taken a similar approach?

ED CARPENTER: I think every year’s a little different. There’s been years that I’ve gone into this race feeling like we have the absolute best car and best chance of winning, had it not pan out. There’s been years where I didn’t feel as confident as I wanted to be, and we’ve had really good races.

I try to just take all the experience I have from all my starts and be prepared for whatever comes at us on Sunday. I would say as time goes on, I worry less about where I start and more so just what I have under me. It’s such a long race. There’s so many opportunities to work your way to the front.

Not really stressed about that. Just want to make sure we get a good, clean start, start executing our game plan.

Q. At Indy, what is the biggest challenge you think there will be on race day and how do you plan to overcome them?

ED CARPENTER: The challenge is always the same here: just being your best and having the car be its best for that final stint, final run after whatever the last restart is, whatever it may be.

It’s easy to get caught up in things happening early in the race. The hardest part is just being positioned properly in the end and having the balance where you need it to make a run. That’s always the most challenging part, I think, and the hardest to get right.

Q. Two rookies, neither have done a three-wide start. A lane-and-a-half for turn one. How do you look at navigating the start? Do you lean on Ed?

ED CARPENTER: For sure they should just follow in behind me, let me show them the way (laughter).

KYFFIN SIMPSON: I was thinking the same thing, you guys just fall in behind me. We’ll figure it out.

ED CARPENTER: I’m sure we’ll have some sort of chat. It’s a hard start. Definitely going to be different for these guys. It’s still challenging. Having done this 20 years, there’s a lot more movement than what you see out of a normal start.

Where we’re starting, there’s going to be a big draft with usually a pretty big checkup by the time you get to one. It’s definitely challenging.

It’s important, but really the only important part about it is surviving that first lap and making sure you don’t end your day too early.

Q. What would be, in your opinion, the key to managing that start for rookies?

ED CARPENTER: We all have the responsibility to take care of our own car and to take care of people around us by making good decisions. It’s obvious you’re not going to win the race on the first lap. Whichever one of us wins the start from our row doesn’t mean we’re going to win the day.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

AGUSTIN CANAPINO, driver of the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, driver of the No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, and STING RAY ROBB, driver of the No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Continuing with Row 8, starting 24th, Indy 500 rookie and last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion, driver of the No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Christian Rasmussen. Starting 23rd, returning for a second Indy 500, driver of the No. 41 Goodheart Pray.com Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, Sting Ray Robb. Also joined, starting 22nd from Argentina, driver of the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet is Agustin Canapino.

Christian, how was your week? Kind of chilling?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: No, it’s been a good week. Pretty slow from what we’ve been used to, driving all the time. It’s been nice having a few days off.

As you can see, I’ve gotten very sunburnt, enjoying it a little bit too much (smiling). I’m excited to get back into it and get back to practicing for the last practice on Carb Day, then get into the race.

THE MODERATOR: Stingray, two hours tomorrow, how crucial to dial in the car for Sunday.

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, I hate to say it, but we don’t have enough track time right now. I have no idea what kind of race car we have.

I’m hoping with the lessons we learned on Monday and the lessons we’re going to learn tomorrow, because there’s no rain, despite what others think tomorrow. We’re going to be good. I think the car has a lot of natural speed in it.

I’m excited to see how it shakes out because it’s so competitive this year. Even a little advantage is not going to be the difference maker. It’s so tight. Everyone is here because they deserve to be here, which makes it fun. It’s going to be a fun race.

THE MODERATOR: Agustin you had a sniff towards the front last year. What do you expect to happen? How will it play out on Sunday for you?

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: Hello, everybody.

Big expectation, honestly. Our car is running fast. Unfortunately we had that problem on the last outing in the qualifying when we were in a really good situation to be in the top 12. Anyway, I think the car is fast.

We need to improve our race pace a little bit. The funny part, we are the most rookie row just behind the most experienced row in front of us. It’s fun, that part (smiling).

I think the start of the race will be fun. We’ll see. It’s a long race. The important thing for me is try to maximize our potential for the race.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Row 8.

Q. (In Portuguese.)

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: The difference is big between one year and another. Coming from a touring car series, the difference is mega. This year I am starting to feel much better. I learned a lot the previous year about the car, the tires, the brakes, the track. Everything is totally new for me.

I think the team is growing a lot. We are improving a lot this year with the team. We are a small team but with big expectations. I’m really happy with our progress. We need more luck, more execution.

We have the pace to be in top 15, top 10 every time, but we need more execution in my side, like a driver, like a team. But it’s a work in progress. The good thing is we are showing a good pace. Every time is better.

Q. (Question about faith.)

STING RAY ROBB: I think the faith has been a big part of how I handle the highs and lows of racing. We’re also aware there are many highs and many lows in racing. Having that foundation of a faith to lean on has allowed me to find my identity in something other than the results because it is very easy in a competitive sport with my competitive nature to kind of get sucked into the number that’s on the screen.

Having my personal identity tied to something that’s firmer and also much more far-reaching, it adds purpose to what I’m doing on the track just as much as I am away from the track.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: The first time you’re here, it’s so fast, so tricky. After some runnings after the days, at least for me, I’m starting to enjoy the situation because is incredible. Is really fun, is really impressive because you have to work in every area little detail. You have a lot of tools to try to go faster and faster and faster. Every little detail in your driver and setup is all about the confidence with the car, with the track. You have to pay attention to the weather conditions.

It’s fantastic. I love it. I love this place. Of course, the difference is it’s impossible to describe because I have to talk hours and hours. In English is difficult for me. I prefer to say only it’s a big difference, but I’m starting to enjoy this year about this place.

Q. Christian, how is your experience as a rookie that already has a lot of focus on you and all these kind of racing lines and everyone talking about the kind of way you are driving on the track?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I mean, it doesn’t bother me that they’re talking about it. I think for me, practice has been all about getting comfortable, figuring out what you can get away with, what’s over the line, stuff like that.

I think we learned a lot during practices on maybe where the line is and maybe what’s over the line, stuff like that. But then again, I think that’s what practice is all about. I think we made great experiences with that. I think that’s just going to set me up stronger for the race.

Q. Christian, could you picture being here today middle of the season last year? Did you think this was possible?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: There were definitely points last year where it seemed pretty, pretty far away. Again, last year I tried not to think too much about it and just focus on the job at hand, which was basically winning the next race. That was kind of what last year was all about.

We pushed through and we got through, won the championship, which ultimately got me here. I’m very fortunate to have had great people around me that have been able to fill those buckets up last year where that was a big struggle. I basically owe everything to them.

Q. Sting Ray, talk about being a rookie here and absorbing all the stuff that’s going on. Has it been overwhelming at times? There’s 18 million little pieces of promotional things that happen for this race.

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, I mean, I definitely have a lot more experience now compared to last year this time. I think last year I overbooked myself in many situations, on the track, off the track. I can kind of relate to Christian about finding out in practice where to cross the line and when not to. If you don’t do that in practice, you do it in the race, it doesn’t end well as I found out last year.

I have a lot more confidence going into the season just with my expectations changing. Kind of talking about the 18 million things you mentioned, there’s more to it than just saying yes to everything here. There’s a lot of opportunities to say yes to, but I think the nos are just as important during the month of May.

For me, it’s been a good month so far in the sense of just how to manage my time better, set my expectations each day, how to manage each day. You can really get caught up in the wrong things too early on in the race, in the month rather, then hurt yourself for the race.

Our focus has been in the right spot this season, I think, with the team and myself.

Q. Agustin, what have you learned about saying no and yes?

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: Yeah, so I think is a big change. Of course, is difficult to explain here. Is a lot of amount of things were new for me the last year because I never run in an open-wheel and I never run in an oval. Everything is completely different.

The good thing is the team improvement, I think. If you look our pace this year, especially on Fast Friday, the car is running really fast this year. At the end of the day our race car is racing. It’s very important to have a quick race car.

I am happy with my improvement and the improvement of the team. We need to improve our execution to get better results.

Q. As the only Argentinian in the race, do you feel any extra pressure?

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: I feel it. Of course with Argentinians, they want to win everything in every sport. It’s not easy with Argentina fans. We are like this, so I’m very happy to be here.

Honestly, the Argentinians haven’t too much opportunities to race this race. For me is a big honor. I am very proud of that. I’m going to do my best.

Q. Christian, have you had an explanation for why the second run was waved off?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: I don’t think there was any confusion on the second run. There was an issue during the run, which was out of my control, unfortunately. But no confusion. We had the pace to be higher up than where we ended up, but, yeah, no confusion. Just an issue out of our control.

Q. Agustin, how have you felt things have gone for you early this season? Do you feel you’re in a better place?

AGUSTIN CANAPINO: Yeah, definitely, definitely. We are in a much better situation than the last year in both case, in my case and the team case. I think we are showing the pace. Again, we need to improve our execution.

It’s still in progress, but I think we are still in a really good situation to try to achieve more top 10s, to try to achieve other results. I think we can do it. I am with a big confidence about that.

Q. For Sting Ray, what differences have you noticed this year now with Foyt?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah it’s been very good. I’m very happy to be with AJ Foyt Racing just for one sake of being local. I think there’s a lot of advantages to being close to the track on a month of May. There’s a lot of things that can be done at the shop that get carried over to the racetrack, a lot of prep work that can be done back at the shop.

There’s a lot of good experience there this year. The car has much more natural pace than I had last season here. Obviously last season I had a lot more drama than I wanted starting on the last row. Pretty stressful as a rookie. Not something I would recommend to anyone. Hopefully that’s my last time I have to do that shootout there.

This year being solidly in the field, even though it wasn’t a spot I was super happy with, just without the issues we had during the day, could have been further up, the team is doing a good job.

We should be good come race day.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll cut you guys loose.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

ROMAIN GROSJEAN, driver of the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Continuing on with Row 9 with the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 26th, making his third Indy 500 start, driver of the No. 77, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Romain Grosjean.

Romain, how has your week gone?

ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Sunny (laughter).

No, I mean, last week was not as good as we wanted in qualifying, but I think Monday we got to a better place with the car. Obviously I wish we were driving a little bit more rather than sitting around. I guess we have a last taste on Friday, then let’s see when we race actually. Let’s see what the weather does for us.

Q. Romain, when you first came to the series, I think you were not real keen on ovals. Where are you now? Why was it so daunting to turn left?

ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I came here after something that was pretty significant in my life and in my family’s and friends’ lives. The first year not doing ovals was a mark of respect to my family because ovals are dangerous. You can put it anywhere you want to put it, when you drive a car 230 miles an hour next to a wall, I have had two impacts here in the last two years. We do as much as we can in motorsports for safety, but they’re dangerous. Definitely on the high end out of that.

Out of respect, I think the first year was the right decision not to do them. As a competitor, I want to do them. I want to be here. I must admit that this week, even though qualifying we didn’t have the speed, which nothing you can do about as a driver, which is very, very annoying, qualifying is all an engineering race. It felt like in traffic the car has came alive over the last couple sessions, and I feel good.

I’m here doing the best we can for Juncos Hollinger Racing and myself. I think I’m very fortunate to be racing the Indy 500, and in a month’s time, I’ll be in Le Mans 24 Hours with Lamborghini in the Hypercar. On the résumé of a driver, that’s pretty bad ass.

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. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
108TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2024

CONOR DALY, driver of the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Starting 29th, makes his 11th Indianapolis 500 start, driver of the No. 24 Polka Dot Chevrolet with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

What has your race week been like so far?

CONOR DALY: Great question. It’s been wonderful. Nice and warm, the weather’s beautiful, as I’m sure it will be continuing this weekend.

It’s been fun, a lot going on. Very busy. That must mean something great. A lot of good vibes. Vibes are good.

THE MODERATOR: You feel good going into tomorrow?

CONOR DALY: I do. I asked my engineer. He said we will get in Carb Day. I just want one or two more things to evaluate that we didn’t get to do on Monday because we couldn’t run the second half of the session just out of kind of a precautionary measure.

Yeah, just want a couple more things, couple more things out the car. Honestly, I think we’ve kind of been low-key pretty good and kind of sneaking under the radar, I hope. It feels good. Car’s fast. I mean, certainly one way to go, can’t go much further back, so we’re going to go forward.

Q. Conor, you seem to be just really friendly with everybody here. You have the podcast. You have a relationship with a lot of the drivers. You have experience at the 500. Have you talked to a lot of the first-time drivers this year telling them what to expect?

CONOR DALY: I mean, I don’t think as much this year only because I haven’t been around the paddock at all until this month. That’s obviously a little bit different.

I’m going to be honest with anybody, you know what I mean?

I’ve talked to Kyle a little bit, but not really only about racing. He asked me if I stole his scooter. I don’t know if anyone else is looking at me for advice or anything.

I had a great interview with Nolan Siegel yesterday. It was a tough weekend for him. I’ll talk to anyone. Obviously, I don’t mind. I just like talking about this event. This is the coolest thing in the world we get to do.

Not sharing too much with people is probably the goal. Like, Marcus Armstrong is a guy I’ve talked to a lot. Seeing his face, it’s kind of like, this is crazy what we’re doing. Yeah, man, welcome to the show. This is it, what we’re doing every year. It’s kind of wild. To see their reaction is actually kind of cool.

I remember having the same reaction many years ago now when I was a rookie. I remember having the same — I was like, Marco Andretti, when I was a rookie, I was like, dude, this is kind of nuts. And he was like, yeah, welcome to the game, this what is we do here. Kind of cool.

Q. You have a unique perspective with this being your only INDYCAR race of the year. How do you go about preparing for it from a mental and physical standpoint?

CONOR DALY: I mean, they say go big or go home. I’m literally going big and still going home afterwards. I have no other choice other than to leave it all on the table.

I love this event. It doesn’t really feel as much as if — when I showed up at St. Louis with the Rahal team, it was one practice session, then we’re racing. We’ve had a bit of time to get used to this team. We’ve had some practice sessions, couple days of qualifying, a lot of time to bond and get used to what I want. It’s definitely unique in that sense.

Monday practice, I’m just trying to run race stints because I haven’t done a race length yet this year. Physically you have to get yourself ready and more in tune with that. I wish we had more practice last week ’cause that would have been nice. Still, this event gives you more time than any other event to kind of get in the system again, get your body and mind kind of in tune with what you’re going to need for Sunday.

Q. Everybody talks about how much they love this event. Seems like you might have a greater appreciation for it because you’re from here. How do you go about not taking it for granted?

CONOR DALY: I mean, it never gets old. The butterflies every morning, wanting to stay here, the bus lot. Still that feeling is incredible.

I’ve seen this event, it’s always been the same car for me technically, just different shapes of the car, but I feel like I’ve seen many different eras of this event. I’ve been part of the hundredth running of the Indy 500, coolest thing ever to say. I’ve been here when Alex Rossi won the hundredth, all this cool stuff. It’s been amazing and it never gets old. Something exciting and cool every year.

I want to make history here, too. That would be really awesome. I love it. Never gets old. I just hope I can keep doing this for a long time, maybe as long as my teammate, Ryan. He’s in his 40s, right? Hopefully I got that many years in me, too. That would be pretty cool.

Q. Compared to previous years, what is your level of confidence going into Carb Day and the race this year? How different is it compared to the past seasons?

CONOR DALY: Yeah, honestly, when we did Fast Friday, that was the first time in a week where I was like, Oh, we might have — something’s going on here. The car was definitely difficult to drive.

Usually there is a reason for that happening. What I felt turns out was accurate after we looked at the data that night. Saturday morning we go out, we’re right back in the window. When you’re in Fast Friday and the car is loose, physically sideways in the corner, you’re like, this is probably not great. The next morning when you go out and you can do four laps, cool, we’re back. It was the same all during qualifying day on Saturday.

We actually were behind because of how difficult Fast Friday was. You maybe don’t run it as trim. We hope we fixed the problem, but if we didn’t, we don’t want to make an irresponsible decision.

Thankfully we probably could have run a little bit more trim, more aggressive qualifying day. We obviously know what happened on qualifying day anyway, which prevented us from being a little bit further up.

Other than Fast Friday, we’ve been really confident every day. I’ve honestly been impressed with this Dreyer Reinbold Cusick team. Everyone from Chevrolet has been super helpful for us, as well. As a one-time entrant, it’s tough to show up to the big game here and be right in the gate. We have cars in the Fast 12, two cars that are really fast. That’s really impressive yet again from Dennis and everyone at the team.

I feel great. I feel very confident. I wouldn’t lie to everyone clearly. I’ve been very honest, probably too honest, in my life. We’re pretty stoked about this weekend.

Q. Larson’s scooter, has there not been any driver bus lot pranks at all this month?

CONOR DALY: It’s been quiet in there. I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe we’re all just focused. It’s kind of sad. I sleep better at night, though (smiling).

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. 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 at www.chevrolet.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
MAY 20, 2024

Zak Brown, CEO of Arrow McLaren, and Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports Founder and Owner, met with members of the media virtually today to discuss Kyle Larson becoming the fifth driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, an effort dubbed the Hendrick 1100. Press conference transcript:

THE MODERATOR: After a thrilling weekend of qualifying, the countdown to the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is now on in earnest. Sunday Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet will start fifth. That’s in the middle of row No. 2 at the first half of the Hendrick 1100 with Kyle also competing later that afternoon and evening in the Coca-Cola 600 down at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Joining us this morning and for more on this very unique partnership, Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO, and Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports founder and owners and the winningest owner in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Gentlemen, let’s start by talking about this partnership, Zak and Mr. H. How did it start and how do you feel like it’s working out so far?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, it couldn’t have gone any better. I got a call from Zak. Everybody knew that Kyle wanted to run the Indy 500, and so started talking to Zak, Jeff Gordon did and I did, and we put a deal together. I never thought I’d get to have an entry in the Indy 500 in my life.

I just really appreciate the effort that Zak and his crowd have put together. It’s been an amazing effort, and the teams have been flawless working together.

It’s been amazing to see a car be able to qualify in the top 5. Nervous as I’ve ever been watching qualifying. But Zak and his whole group have just done an amazing job, and we’re very fortunate to be partners with him and his team.

ZAK BROWN: Yeah, it’s been awesome from day one. Mr. H and his entire organization are absolutely legendary in motorsports, not only in NASCAR but in GTP. I remember the Corvette program which I was very fond of. Racing through and through.

Obviously Jeff is a great friend and a legend of the sport, and Kyle Larson is as great of a racing driver as they get. The opportunity to partner with all three and the entire organization has been an absolute privilege and comes with a lot of pressure because we’re all here to win. We know how difficult that is. We know how difficult it is for a driver to change disciplines, and the collective effort everyone has put forward has just been amazing, exceeded expectations.

If you would have said when this got started what does success look like, at least up to qualifying, I would have said front half of the field would have been an awesome result. I wouldn’t have had much money on qualifying fifth. I think that’s a testament to Kyle’s ability and the collective effort of both teams to give him a race car and an environment to compete at the front.

Now couldn’t be more excited for race day.

THE MODERATOR: To your point, I think Kyle’s performance is living up to maybe even his own lofty expectations. Rick, Zak, what did qualifying weekend mean to you as you watched it play out Saturday and Sunday?

RICK HENDRICK: It’s nerves. I mean, once we got into the final 12, then you’ve got a sigh of relief. But I’m not used to watching a car go in the corner at 241. I was concerned about — I knew Kyle was going to push it. So I just wanted to get it over with.

But it was an amazing effort. He gets out of the car and I ask him a question, like you’d think he would be excited or — and he’s just kind of like, that’s what I do.

But Gavin Ward and the whole McLaren crew, just amazing. I get to watch teams a lot. We went to — I’ve been very fortunate to go to and watch Garage 56 run this year, last year, and watch organizations work. The whole group there with Gavin, our guys meshed, and we’re proud to wear their colors, they’re proud to wear ours. It’s just been amazing.

The pressure running four laps is something I’m not used to. One lap maybe at Daytona or two. It’s just biting your fingernails.

Then I watched guys trying to make the field, and I remember what that feels like. A lot of nerves for a couple of days there.

ZAK BROWN: Yeah, the qualifying format, I wish it was just four laps once, but the more competitive you are, you’ve got to do it a couple more times. So it’s a bit of a nail biter, not just the first time, and then you get in. I think what was awesome about Kyle, this wasn’t for him just about, well, let’s get in and be happy with that. It was let’s go for it. He certainly did that.

His teammates are very much enjoying racing with him. The atmosphere, which is what I think is important in any racing team and environment for everyone to operate at the highest level, is just awesome. It feels like one big racing team.

Very excited for the fans. At the end of the day, we’re all racers, and we want to go win, but I think the big winners out of this are the fans of motorsports. It’s a great privilege to be able to put on this show for them.

THE MODERATOR: Rick, looks like Kyle’s 5 crew is coming up for Carb Day. This is more than just about Kyle. The team as a whole has really embraced this very unique opportunity.

RICK HENDRICK: Our whole organization, not just the 5 team. This is a big day for everyone there. For the team to go up and watch that and be a part of just standing there, involved in that, they deserve that. They’re all excited. They’ve worked hard. They want to see Kyle do well. They feel like we’re representing NASCAR when we go to Indy, and they want us to do good.

They work so hard to get the car ready with Kevin Harvick and then switch it over for Kyle and then go run the All-Star Race. We saw the fans go nuts when the helicopter came in, and I was watching my watch. But no, I think it’s going to be a great day for our organization to be able to be there and experience Indy. It’s well-deserved.

Q. Kyle said before leaving for Wilkesboro Sunday that he was really surprised by how smoothly and efficiently everything had gone so far. Do you guys feel the same way aside from the hiccup Thursday with the engine change taking longer? And aside from the rain, has this gone a lot better than could have been expected through one week?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, just from my side, I was awful nervous Thursday when they had to do the engine change that morning and weren’t able to get back out and get enough laps. I wanted to see Kyle get more laps. He wanted more laps. Instead of getting a lot of running, we just had to get ready to start getting up to speed to qualify.

But he adapted so fast, and then the input from Tony and everybody there working with him to be able to make the adjustments in the car that he did and feel the car with no more experience than he had, I was amazed.

Tremendous pressure. I texted Gavin and I said, man, are we going to be okay? I wanted to make the race. That was the first thing I thought about. I’ve got to make the race first. And he said, not to worry, we’re going to be good. And they were.

It was a little nerve-racking on Thursday.

ZAK BROWN: Yeah, I think that’s what great teams and great drivers are made of when the pressure is on. You can’t let the pressure get to you. But make no mistake about it, you may not see us sweating, but you’re sweating.

You’ve got to say Chevrolet has done a fantastic job the whole month of May. You look at the qualifying results, they’ve done an awesome job. They were right there in the trenches with us to make sure we could get Kyle out, and when it was time to go, everyone was ready and got the job done.

Q. Rick, Kyle has said he doesn’t want to do this once; he said he would like to come back and do it again next year. From what I understand you guys have a multiyear deal with options. Are you waiting to determine if you’d want to do this again until after the race and see how it goes, or are you already starting to talk about 2025?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, haven’t had enough time to talk about ’25 yet, but I know Zak and I have talked about it before, so we’ll see how this goes, and then I’ve got to see if Zak wants to do it again.

ZAK BROWN: I already know the answer to that. As I started at the top, the opportunity to work with Mr. H and this entire organization, I think we collectively have a big passion for racing and road cars. Certainly when we got started, the intent was let’s see where this partnership can grow because I think we all like to be at the racetrack as many weekends as possible. I think it’s super cool to have some papaya on the NASCAR, so certainly we’ve got to focus right now on Sunday and then turn our attention to the future.

But we’ve known each other a long time and would certainly love to continue working together.

Q. Rick, your name is on both cars. Your name is on the team for the stock car team. Are you the one making the decision if there is rain or if he wins on whether he gets to the 600 on time?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, that’s a tough question because we’ve talked about it many times, and we know we need to be at Charlotte for the points. We’re just going to let it play out, and then Kyle and myself and Jeff Gordon, we have Andrews, we’ll make that decision Sunday.

Q. How hard would it be, if there are some delays, to pull him out of the 500?

RICK HENDRICK: It would be very hard. It would be very tough. Would be very disappointing because of all the effort that everyone has put in, from Arrow McLaren to Zak and the crowd, our marketing people. We’ve got a tremendous amount of folks there at Indy, and he’s in such a good position, it would be extremely hard.

Q. How are you feeling, and are you ready to get to the racetrack?

RICK HENDRICK: Yes, sir. This knee replacement has been a bigger problem than I thought, but I’ll be there Sunday, and I’ll be in Charlotte for the 600. Looking forward to getting back.

Q. 40 years you’ve had terminology like “splitters” and “roof flaps” and “air dams,” but I bet Saturday was the first time you’ve ever experienced a plenum event.

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I’ve had things similar to that before, but that was a little nervous when all that was coming down. But knowing Chevrolet and their capability, their talent, I knew that was something that would get sorted out. Didn’t have any real issues after that first problem.

But listening to the engineers and knowing what they were doing, felt 100 percent sure they’d figure it out.

Q. Kyle seems to be perhaps the least pretentious racing superstar you could ever imagine. He looks just like the kid you could be having a cheeseburger with at the counter next to you. What is it about his personality that makes him so perfect to be able to get through this sea of noise and not have it distract him?

RICK HENDRICK: You know, he’s always felt like super confident. If he’s nervous, he doesn’t show it too much. He just believes in his ability.

Once he gets in the car and gets comfortable, he wants to race. When I was watching practice, and I don’t remember who it was going — he got a run going into 1, and it looked like he was going to the outside, and I thought, oh, man, don’t try that. But that’s the racer in him.

He’s calm, cool, focused. He doesn’t let the outside noise get to him. Even though he said he’d never signed as many autographs as he did up at Indy, you could see the crowd the way they reacted when he was on the track and out of the car.

But he doesn’t get involved in that. He’s just a die-hard racer. He races in this race just like he would when he goes — flies somewhere and gets in a sprint car or a midget. He just wants to get in the car and race.

I think all the racing he’s done has kind of built his confidence so much that he believes in himself and he believes in the team and what the team tells him the car will do, and then he figures it out on his own, and he’s off to the races.

Q. You’ve walked on the starting grid of the Daytona 500 40 times. It’s Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary. You’ve been on the starting grid at Le Mans. Sunday you’re going to be on the starting grid of the Indianapolis 500, and for you to be in racing as long as you have, just how excited are you going to be?

RICK HENDRICK: I’m going to be — I think it’s going to feel like the first time I went to Daytona, when I walked in and I looked at Junior Johnson and Petty and all those guys. Now I’m really telling my age. I thought, man, I shouldn’t be here.

When I walk in Sunday morning and we look at all those cars and the crowd and the people and the legends of INDYCAR racing, Penske and Andretti and all the folks that are going to be lined up, I think I’ll be a little bit intimidated. But knowing who’s driving the car and Arrow McLaren behind it, I hope we can finish, and I hope the race finishes. I think we’ll have a good day.

Super excited. The Le Mans experience was unreal. This is going to be unreal. I’m getting to do a few bucket list things here in my old age.

THE MODERATOR: We’re kind of bullish on the start of the Indianapolis 500. It’s going to be pretty cool, and to have a Rick a part of that is pretty nice.

ZAK BROWN: I’m very excited. I think it’s a privilege to work for McLaren and to go racing with Mr. H, Kyle and the Indy 500. It’s a dream come true, so it’s definitely going to be a pinch-me moment. I’m looking forward to it.

Q. I just wanted to ask if you recall anyone in the Formula 1 paddock over the last few months asking you about Kyle. I know he’s not as familiar to some people in the Formula 1 paddock or people in the Formula 1 paddock are familiar with how good Kyle is. Have you had any big names coming up to you and asking you how he’s getting on?

ZAK BROWN: Yeah, absolutely. I think the racing community is big and small, and they all pay attention to the various forms of racing and have a lot of respect for all the different disciplines.

In Monaco, once that race is over, the world of Formula 1 will turn their attention to the Indy 500, and they’ll have one of their teams in the race partnering with one of the most if not the most legendary team in motorsports with a world champion driver if you like, and it’s going to be exciting, and everyone is tuned in and everyone is curious to see how we’re collectively going to get on. There will be a lot of eyes glued to the TV and certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that included all 20 Formula 1 drivers.

Q. I know Gavin says Kyle is one of the best drivers he’s ever worked with. What do you feed back to some of the people who ask you about Kyle and aren’t as familiar with what he’s doing and what he’s achieved? I’m interested in your take on how he’s done and how you portray that to people you’re talking to because it’s quite an interesting situation where you’ve got a driver this good who isn’t as well-known in other parts of the motorsports world.

ZAK BROWN: I think drivers realize how difficult hopping into other disciplines are. We’ve seen Formula 1 drivers coming to NASCAR and win Formula 1 races and struggle in NASCAR. Juan Pablo Montoya, who’s an awesome racing driver, and Dario Franchitti, et cetera, so I think everyone has a tremendous amount of respect for how difficult other championships are. Everyone understands how difficult Indianapolis is and how a small mistake can have big consequences at the speed you’re traveling. You’re not just locking a left front brake and going a little bit wide into Turn 1.

For Kyle to have not put a wheel wrong, yet explore the limits of the race car and the racetrack, as Mr. H said going into Turn 1 — it’s the same thing I saw when Fernando Alonso came over. What I’ve found about these great drivers is they can compartmentalize — they know where they’re trying to get to on race day, but they then know on day one they’re trying to accomplish a certain thing, day two, day three. They don’t get ahead of themselves.

I think what you’ve seen out of Kyle, which is what makes him a championship-caliber driver, is his preparation going into the race. I think he now knows what the high line is like, the low line, traffic, dirty air, wind direction change, and he’s been exploring that within his own comfort zone, even though from the outside sometimes people like myself and Mr. H were a little bit less comfortable watching. It’s the same thing we saw with Fernando Alonso when we raced with Andretti. Mario was like, he’s going to get himself in trouble, and Fernando came in and was like I’m just trying to kind of figure it out, and he was well within his comfort zone.

I think everyone recognizes the talent it takes to go out and qualify fifth in your first Indy 500 when you’ve never raced an INDYCAR, and so a huge admiration for him.

Q. Rick, it’s one thing to take just in your Indy 500 for the first time and everything that comes with that experience with a race fan, but Bruce kind of talked about this earlier, just the surrealness of it all. Your name is on the car. You have a race team in Charlotte that’s racing that night. Just how do you plan on taking this whole thing in with all these different things going on in your mind when it comes to not just the business side but trying to be a race fan and enjoy the moment with the fact that your driver, with your name on the car, is starting in the second row of the Indianapolis 500?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I want to get that car back in the museum, so I hope it comes to a finish.

But no, the pressure of being in the race and starting with a great starting spot and knowing we’ve got the World 600 to run, it’s going to be pressure all day. How does the race go? Is it going to rain? What time do we have to leave to get back to Charlotte? This is going to be a tremendous amount of pressure, but we signed up for it.

We’re in the race. We qualified race. Kyle is a heck of a talent. I just hope that the weather cooperates and we get to finish the race.

But I don’t think — well, the whole organization has been super nervous, and we know there’s a huge — there’s a lot on the line, and the amount of fans from both sides that are now engaged in this and want to see it. Like Zak said, we’ve gotten to this step, now we’ve got to get through Sunday.

I’m telling you, from 11:00 on Sunday morning until 11:30 probably Sunday night, it’s going to be tremendous stress, but once he buckled into that Cup car in Charlotte, I’ll take a big sigh of relief.

Q. Back to just the Indy 500, what are you looking forward to the most about attending your first Indy 500? There’s so many traditions that come with it, just the whole experience itself is super, duper cool. What are you looking forward to the most about attending your first Indy 500?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think, number one, again, I can’t enough about Arrow McLaren and Zak for what they’ve brought to the table. I’ve always dreamed of watching that race but never thought I’d have a car in the race, and our sponsor, our company is going to be there, a lot of people. We’ve got so many people I don’t know how we’re going to get everybody home. I think we have five airplanes up there.

But the pageantry, to see the legends of the sport, to see Zak’s cars and our car sitting there and the effort that they’ve put in, I can’t believe the speeds that they’re going to be racing at. But the pageantry and the pressure, again, I can’t say enough about Arrow McLaren and the effort they’ve put into this car and the relationship we’ve built.

Zak and I have been friends forever. We’re not going to tell everybody how many years that’s been. But I’m excited, I’m nervous, and can’t wait to pull the trigger.

Q. Rick, obviously what Kyle has done so far is remarkable. Do you think you could take any one of the top four or five NASCAR drivers and plug them into this situation and get a similar result, or is Kyle sort of an outlier here?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I heard Denny Hamlin say on TV the other day, he didn’t want any part of that program. I think it takes a unique guy that’s driven a lot of different cars, race cars.

I think Kyle is exceptional, and I think his confidence and ability — you never know, do you put one of them in there. I know Kyle Busch has wanted to do it. I know none of my guys have mentioned it other than Kyle, but I think his experience in every kind of car he’s been in gives him the confidence that he can do it, and he wants to do it, and it’s something he’s dreamed about.

I think when you put the talent and the desire and all that together, I think that’s what’s driving him, and I do think he’s one of the greatest drivers that I’ve ever been with.

Q. How do you think Gordon would have done in this situation?

RICK HENDRICK: I think Jeff would have done well. I really do. I asked him the other day, do you want to do this? He said no.

THE MODERATOR: Zak, I know it’s been fun to have a guy like Jeff Gordon hanging out with the team —

ZAK BROWN: Totally. Jeff is a legend, a great guy, a proper racer. I think he would have done a hell of a job in his day if he wanted to give it a go. Jeff has been very much a key ingredient in bringing this all together. Very appreciative. A long-term friend and awesome guy.

About Chevrolet

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Duo To Star in Upcoming Motion Picture ‘The Bikeriders’ from Focus Features

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, May 21, 2024) – Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, who star in the upcoming film “The Bikeriders,” will serve as honorary starters for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, waving the green flag Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Austin and Jodie star in a movie focused on two wheels, but they’re about to experience the exhilaration of 33 of the fastest cars on four wheels as they stand atop the flag stand and wave the green flag to officially start the world’s greatest race,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “This is one of the most powerful and exciting moments in all of sports.”

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, “The Bikeriders” captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing and follows a fictional Midwestern motorcycle club based off the book of the same title by Danny Lyon. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy, played by Comer, is inextricably drawn to Benny, played by Butler, the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny, played by Tom Hardy. Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

“The Bikeriders” is set to be released by Focus Features in theaters nationwide June 21, 2024.

Butler is an Academy Award nominee and one of the most sought-after actors working today. He boasts a long list of acting credits that illustrate his immersive character depth and range. Austin is best known for playing the highly coveted role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, “Elvis.” The film was released on June 23, 2022, by Warner Bros. and collected more than $280 million worldwide at the box office, making it one of the top three highest-grossing musician biopics across all genres. Butler won a BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for his performance in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award and SAG Award.

Butler can most recently be seen as the menacing Feyd-Rautha in the March 2024 release of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” opposite an all-star cast of Zendaya, Timothee Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Rebecca Ferguson, among others. He also can be seen in the January 2024 Apple TV+ series “Masters of the Air” alongside Callum Turner and Barry Keoghan. In spring 2018, Butler made his Broadway debut opposite Denzel Washington in “The Iceman Cometh,” which was nominated for eight Tony Awards.

Comer is a British actress best known for her role as “Villanelle” in the BBC America cult breakout series, “Killing Eve.” Comer won both the Emmy Award for “Lead Actress in a Drama Series” and BAFTA Award for “Best Leading Actress” in 2019. She also was nominated twice more for an Emmy Award, BAFTA Award and Critics Choice Award, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award throughout the duration of the show’s run.

Most recently, Comer made her Broadway stage debut at the John Golden Theatre as well as her West End stage debut at the Harold Pinter Theatre in Suzie Miller’s “Prima Facie.” Comer’s performance garnered her the 2023 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, as well as the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play. Comer also won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World award for her performance. She was also nominated for a Drama League Award.

Live coverage of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge starts at 11 a.m. ET on NBC, Universo, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 and for more information on the complete Month of May schedule at IMS.