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

WILL POWER, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, JOSEF NEWGARDEN, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, and SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with the media on Indianapolis 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We’ll continue with the front row. Starting third, he is the defending champion of the 500, two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, driver of the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden. Starting second, the 2018 winner of the Indianapolis 500, two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet, Will Power. To your right on pole for Sunday’s race, fastest pole speed in 500 history, driver of the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin.

Josef, how is your week going?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s good. It’s really good so far. We’re one day closer to the big show, so I’m doing great.

THE MODERATOR: How is the car?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Car is fantastic. This has been a really pleasurable month so far. I mean, for the whole team. I was just having a conversation with Hinchcliffe. You can see every individual on this team has been really proud of the effort, as they should be. What they achieved on the weekend is not easy to do, to make the cars as quick as they are. This didn’t appear overnight. Everybody that has been here the last four years knows we’ve not had speed in the cars. We’ve been chipping away. Last year was a big step. Got pretty close, but we were still off. I think this year we really turned the page.

Proud for the team. Everybody is happy and excited. For me, it’s the opportunity to be here, to be in the race. It’s a big deal to run the Indy 500. Excited to see what we can do on Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: Will, how crucial is tomorrow’s practice?

WILL POWER: Oh, yeah, I mean, I think you just be doing engine checks, new engine. Not much for us. Not much. It’s a funny place. Pretty finicky. The balance could go out. You have a perfect car Monday, a little bit out of balance. I can’t see big changes.

I’ve been here where you’re just throwing everything out it at this point. On Carb Day we’re like, Man, I don’t feel comfortable. That hasn’t been the case this month. I’m hoping for a pretty straightforward day tomorrow. Just hate waiting for the race. This is the worst time, these few days. You just want to get into it.

THE MODERATOR: Scott, what is it like? How do you stay on top of things? You feel like you’re good to go, but you never know, right?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, I think Carb Day, it’s more you’re trying to sort out your car, your engine, like Will said. I feel like we’re definitely in a spot where we feel like we really have a good, comfortable race car underneath me. Just finalizing some downforce levels and a few things.

Overall, in and out laps are going to be pretty critical in the race. We’ll finalize some of that, braking markers, whatnot. Ultimately it’s been a really cool week. As Josef touched on, I think everyone is just really proud and excited to get ahead to the race.

Yeah, it’s an awesome deal right now.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the front row for the Indy 500.

Q. Last year, Josef, you said your car was similar to what you had at the open test. How different is your car now compared to what it was at the open test or first day of practice? How much have you changed?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: For me it’s just a little downforce change. Basically fundamentally exactly the same as how I started really.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Same, same.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I changed a little bit. Yeah, not much. It’s pretty similar, just little details. That’s just how this place is.

Q. Everybody says you can win here from anywhere. When Colton was in here, he talked about how it’s more difficult if you’re farther back. Where you guys are, how much more do you feel you can control the race if things break your way knowing it is track position oriented?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not an expert around here, but I don’t think you can ever get ahead of yourself. Regardless of where you are… If you’re starting up front, you think you have the fastest car in the fold, you’re starting in the back row.

I believe it’s true nowadays. If you look at the current formula, you can win from anywhere. Anything can happen in this race. Can go great for the first 150 laps, then it turns. Vice versa. You can also have a terrible day until lap 150 and all of a sudden it turns. It is true that when you start up front, I think the opportunity to control the race is a little bit better, it’s higher.

Having said that, as well, you just don’t want to hang your hat on that. I think that’s getting ahead of yourself. I think you have to be prepared for any circumstance, any opportunity. It’s great to have fast cars, be in position, but you have to be ready for that to change at any moment.

Q. Scott, starting first, you’re controlling the pace to some extent.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, the drafts and everything these days, it’s a whole lot different to how it used to be in some ways, from watching races back.

I think you control what you can control. I just race my race and hopefully the cards fall my way. Pretty focused on just executing right now.

Q. Will, you were talking about the wait to get to the race, does that get worse when you look at the forecast?

WILL POWER: Yeah. That’s actually something I’ve never experienced in all my times here since 2008. There hasn’t been a rain delay. It’s about time we got that. I mean, on the law of averages it’s going to happen at some point. Looking like that’s going to be Sunday. I hope not. I hope we just get it in.

Q. Josef, the move you made coming out of four and stuff last year, was that spur of the moment? What does it mean to you to have a rule named after you?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that it’s named after me. I know it was published as that. In reality, it’s happened quite a bit over the last couple years. I think this style of racing really crept in, if you want to date it, probably back to Montoya in 2015 is where it started creeping in.

It is in response to the style of racing that we have. The way we compete and the way the cars draft is very, very difficult to find an advantage. You can be at points just exposed when you’re sitting in the lead and you have cars behind you.

To answer your question, I think last year was a combination of historical approach, but also reaction. I mean, I knew immediately when I went into turn three and I saw where Marcus was positioned, he was very tightly tucked behind me, I thought, Man, the opportunity for him to get back behind me before the line was pretty high.

I knew the rules at that point with the line. They weren’t policing it. You had to use it. The response to change that I think is unanimously liked by everybody. We’ve all wanted it to change. It’s good they’re going to be doing that now.

I don’t know that it will change the racing style too much, but it will certainly change that little portion.

Q. Will, you said something about the little details to get to the point with the car. Can you touch on dampers?

WILL POWER: On what?

Q. The dampers. Can you go a little further on that to understand what happened over there that you are not used to do.

WILL POWER: It would have been a very small improvement there. We already had pretty good dampers. It’s just a combination of a lot of little things basically. Yeah, there’s no one magic bullet here. It’s a lot of details.

Q. Scott, I heard you tell about the process to get into the pole position that you saw the videos of your teammates. Do you have a balance to know what is the thing that you want to accomplish with the car or is more have the confidence to know what way not to go?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, ultimately you got to trust yourself in some ways like what you want from the car, the feedback you’re feeling from the car.

Majority, 95% of the time, my feeling is different to what Josef feels or Will feels, to a certain degree. A little bit there you just have to separate yourself from and figure out what works best for you. I felt like we really nailed that down here in the last month.

Yeah, felt really comfortable. I did look at their videos, especially Will’s for the qualifying over a Saturday night. Figured there were a couple lines I was taking slightly differently. I tried them in practice. It worked. Thankfully it sort of paid off for the Fast 12 and that.

When we’re all so very close, very good drivers, we’re all pushing each other really hard, you got to try to find that little bit. That was probably my process looking through that stuff, figuring it out, seeing what I wanted from the race car.

Q. Josef, between the angle of entry entering turn one from the outside and also the fact that nobody runs up there, how tricky is it to be up there at the very start of the race?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Talking on the outside of turn one?

Q. The outside of row one.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I don’t know. I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve ever started third here. I’m going to find out with you if it’s tricky or not. I hope it’s not tricky.

WILL POWER: It’s not.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I love Will. He’s my favorite (laughter).

We’re going to find out together, Bruce. Let’s hope we get through this start and we have a race on our hands.

WILL POWER: It would be amazing if you can make turn one.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not worried about putting this into the atmosphere, but it would be hilarious.

WILL POWER: Into the wall.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Bruce is like, It was difficult to start on the high side. Well, I asked him, he said he didn’t know.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Probably the best time to do it. Cleanest time at the start.

WILL POWER: It is.

Q. Scott, how much of an advantage is to start on the inside of row one?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We’ll start out together, Bruce. I never started on the pole, mate.

WILL POWER: The middle is good, Bruce. You get the double draft. I’ll probably be leading out of turn one. We’ll see. Rossi will be P1 by turn one (smiling).

Q. Santino was in here before you. He talked about the things on his car that he’s using came from Team Penske. You say you’re not using any stuff that came from Foyt. Is that correct? He says it’s not correct.

WILL POWER: We didn’t say any. We said it was a small part.

Q. Not their setups?

WILL POWER: I’m running my setup from last year, same dampers, same setup.

Q. The rest of you?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, exactly like Will.

Q. Simon is coming on Sunday. He’s going to do a tribute lap for Gil de Ferran. What do you think that will be like and what did Gil mean to Team Penske even though his time was over before you were Team Penske drivers?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just heard this morning that he was doing that. I think it’s really beautiful that that’s happening. Gil, people have spoke to great length about Gil. He was a tremendous ambassador for motorsports. He was just a fantastic guy. Got along with everybody. He was an easy person to talk to for anybody I think in this paddock, someone to lean on.

For Simon, as everybody knows, they were very close. I think it’s special that he’s going to be doing a tribute in his car. I’m happy it’s happening. Really cool to hear that this morning. I’m sure everybody in the paddock is going to be loving to see that.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I always enjoyed talking to Gil. Very technically savvy. Good guy. Very good guy. He was great to talk about the mental side of racing. Got to swap a helmet with him. He was always at the Penske dinners. You’d see him around at certain races.

Yeah, top-level driver. Probably stopped too soon.

Q. Scott, you’ve worked with Ben since you came onboard to the 3 car. What has he helped you possibly, helped you get ready?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I mean, various ways. I think the way that I used to work with Jonathan when I first got here, then I got Ben in 2022. Both those guys are different characters in how they work. Ultimately it’s just the fundamentals. I think Ben allowed me to sort of, regardless of my experience on ovals and whatnot, trusting my feeling, as I said before, trusting what I say, what I give feedback to the car. There’s no sort of wrong feedback. If it’s something you can’t feel, say that. If it’s something you’re not feeling comfortable with, make sure I say it.

It’s easy to be an open book with Ben. Very easy person to talk to. It helps we’re very close friends. I’ve enjoyed working with Benny. Absolutely, he’s got a lot of experience around this place. I think he builds a really nice oval car. For a guy, he’s been box number one before at this race in 2019 with Simon, so he’s got a lot of experience up there, too. Nice to have him in my corner.

Q. Josef, a year ago today you were doing the same thing, media room. What has this past year been like? How have you changed since winning last year?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Feels really similar to me in a lot of ways. I feel a lot of respect for this facility and this race, this track. It’s a tough day to get right. Everything has to in a lot of ways go your way. I don’t care how good you are, it’s got to be perfect.

We were fortunate enough as a team, as a group, where it just fell into place for us. We had a great car. One of the best cars I’ve ever driven around here. Made my job pretty easy. Circumstance-wise, the way it all flowed, it was our day.

I feel the same in that regard. I think I’ve got another great race car. Really excited to be here.

I had sort of let go of the fact that I was ever going to win this race. It’s such a tough race to win, I think you had to be comfortable with that. I think that rings true for a second. I’m happy to be here, happy to have a shot.

There’s nothing like the Indianapolis 500. I know that. That’s how I feel. I feel the same way. Pleased to be here.

Q. I’m sure the boss is thrilled that you’re 1-2-3 going into this race. When do you turn off the friendship camaraderie thing? When the flag drops?

WILL POWER: No, it’s interesting because the race starts, in a way, slowly. Not speed-wise, but as far as aggression. It really ramps up in the last 50.

I think the further back you are, the more aggressive you have to be to put yourself in a position at the end. It’s a pretty cruise-y start in a way. Slowly work on your car, get in the first stint. Yeah, I mean, every man for themselves basically when it comes down to it. Coming down to the win, it is what it is.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: As long as we don’t take each other out, the boss is happy. That’s the main thing.

WILL POWER: It’s a bad problem — sorry, good problem to have. I know they don’t like that. It really is nerve-wracking for the higher ups like Roger and Tim to watch all three cars battle for a win. Tim has said it to me before. What can you do? You just hate to see an incident, but that he understands it’s such a big event that it really is every man for themselves.

Q. (No microphone.)

WILL POWER: At the end, you mean (smiling).

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

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.