CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
CONTENT DAYS
THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST
THERMAL, CALIFORNIA
AJ FOYT RACING DRIVER TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 1, 2023

SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:

What are your thoughts on getting back into an Indy car this week?

“It’s going to be weird because I actually haven’t driven on a road course in INDYCAR in quite some time. Hopefully it’s like riding a bike and just comes right back to us. It’s been nice though to be with the team since September, so I kind of already feel like I’ve had a season before the season, so we’ll see what we can do.”

Being out for a season, you’ve had a little bit of racing in there, but what do you do? What’s the hardest part about staying sharp?

“You can only train so much before you start to go a little stir crazy. I think the coolest thing was now this year, I’ve been basically inside five INDYCAR teams. Starting off with Rahal, then Dreyer, then Juncos, then Penske, and at the very end, Foyt. It’s just kind of a weird way of seeing how operations work, which was kind of unique for me. I think it’s a really unique position as a driver to see. Then running the Chili Bowl actually was really nice because it knocked a lot of my timing, honed a lot of my timing because driving those cars, they’re very fast. They mimic racecars for setup, just in the reverse. Everything’s just a complete opposite, but it’s still a racecar. It really hones your feeling again. I’m really excited to get back into an Indy car.”

What do you feel is the biggest key in allowing [AJ Foyt Racing] to turn the corner here?

We just needed some organization. I had this chat with Larry [Foyt] a while ago. The team has all the fundamentals to really put a good car out there. If you look back at the results, they’re really not a reflection of the actual speed of the car, in my opinion. I think that having someone like Michael Cannon come on board to really help organize this team, put them on the right track, give them what he calls Racing 101, we just need some consistency. I think that was our biggest thing and that’s what we’re hoping to really find. I’d like to see this team back inside the top-10 consistently and then go from there. We’ve got to be a little bit realistic. It is tough coming off of where the team has finished in the last couple years, but we definitely can see a lot of rapid growth hopefully throughout the winter.”

Does it give you motivation knowing that you’re on the radar of the INDYCAR powerhouse teams now?

“It definitely makes you hungry and want more. I just want to do my best. I want to continue down the path I’m going because I think it’s the right path for me. Getting the opportunity to work with AJ [Foyt] and the team, and to take this team from where it is and to build something of my own with Michael and Larry is going to be nothing short of a challenge. But I’m really looking forward to that. I really think I’m up to that challenge now. It will be a reflection on all of us how we do this year because it’s not just on me, it’s not just on Michael Cannon, it’s not just on our leadership. It’s on everybody coming together as a team and making this effort, making a really good effort.”

How does it feel to be sitting at a team being the senior driver, and what does that mean to you about going forward in 2023?

“It’s definitely a unique position to be in. I’m very fortunate for Benjamin [Pederson]. He’s actually unlike some of the other rookies I’ve seen on the grid. He’s very willing to learn and he’s very, very into it. Working with him and spending some time with him, it’s going to be really good. His dad is a very brilliant person who came in when we needed organization while we were trying to get people like [Michael] Cannon on board, and he really put the base layer down. It’s not common that you see someone like that do something for a team like this. I’m very much looking forward to being the senior driver. I know that I am not even close to the same driver I was in 2019 and 2020 as I am today. The way that I drive, the way that I get feedback, the way that I know what I want out of the car, I kind of hopefully can speed his progression up the best I can with my knowledge while getting us working in unison. We really need to be a team to get this thing accomplished.”

What are your goals for the test at Thermal this week?

“I’ve got to knock the rust off because I haven’t seen a road course in INDYCAR in quite some time. We’re going to have a little bit of fun just getting used to track. We want to make sure that we have our road course car set to look forward to Barber, and to get through some fundamental testing. It’s a new team, I’m new to them. We have a bunch of new engineering and other structure, so we’ve got to get into the rhythm of working with each other, the chain of command. Communication will be huge. Once we get through that, I think this two-day test will be more about understanding each other and making sure everything’s good with the car more than anything else.”

BENJAMIN PEDERSEN, NO. 55 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:

Some changes at AJ Foyt Racing from last year to this year. How are things coming together for you?

“It’s been very exciting times at AJ Foyt Racing. New people, new organization, new structure, new methods, people are so hungry right now to be there and to improve and I think it’s been a lot of time, before my time there, of people wanting it but not knowing how to get there. Now there is a very good path with, as a team, how we can accomplish goals. People are staying extra during weekends to practice pit stops when they don’t have to be. People that don’t have to be there to help them are showing up to help them with that and it’s just really special to be a part of.”

You spent a lot of time last year shadowing AJ Foyt Racing. How valuable was that for you?

“It was so valuable. I felt like last year I was a part of the team. The only thing I wasn’t doing was driving the car; every team meeting I was a part of. Being on the timing stand, seeing strategy come into play, it was a really big help. It made me feel like I got a season’s worth of experience without driving the car, and now the only difference is, I’ll be driving the car. The strategy meetings, everything like that, will feel similar and I’m grateful to the team for letting me be a part of that last year. I can’t wait to do it now for real, and as an official driver for them and working together.”

Can you take us into a little bit more of what you’ve seen in changes Larry and the team made, and how it will be beneficial in continuing to climb up the grid?

“When I talk about the restructure of the team, new people, some of those key players are additions like Michael Cannon who was at Ganassi for the last three years with [Scott] Dixon, who is now our technical director and oversees many different areas. Craig Brooks is a new person as well who helps run the team as a manager position. New mechanics, same engineers that have been involved in the program to keep building on what they have started. New parts on the car that will help with dampers, etc. It’s a lot of new things and a lot of hard work, but as soon as we go live at Thermal here in a couple of days, it’s going to be a lot of hard work and I cannot wait to work hard with the team.”

You’ve got a somewhat veteran teammate in Santino Ferrucci this year. How much do you think you can lean on him and learn from him?

“He’s been awesome. I haven’t had too many interactions with him. The first one was at the Foyt Christmas party, actually. We were having dinner together, and the amount of information he shared with me that I would not expect him, or any teammate to share with me once you get to INDYCAR, it was pretty eye-opening, and I take my hat off to him for that. Everything from little advice or tips for how he has his cockpit set up, different tracks, what he prioritizes, and I was very impressed with what he shared. I can’t wait to work with him as a teammate, to help make this team better.”

Are there any particular tracks you’re looking forward to this year?

“In terms of tracks coming back to, I’m very excited for Barber, one of my favorite tracks. Honestly every track on the calendar in terms of tracks I’ve been at, there’s not any track I don’t enjoy. I very much look forward to the new tracks like at the Indy 500, Texas, Toronto, Long Beach. Very excited to explore these new places.”

Are you particularly excited about the ovals in INDYCAR, and do you anticipate expecting any difficulty in differences of machinery from INDY NXT?

“Personally, I’m a huge fan of the ovals. We’ve had a lot of success in INDY NXT the past couple of years on the ovals we have done. It’s not like I had a lot of experience on ovals before then, but we hit the ground running as soon as I was introduced to it. I’m looking forward to two superspeedways this year. I haven’t gone over 180-185 mph in a racecar, so I’ll be doing close to 240.”

What have you been doing to prepare for INDYCAR vs. INDY NXT?

“I’ve personally spent a lot of time on the simulator I have at my house. I’ve been doing a lot of sim racing, long races, to get used to that. Been doing go-karting. Been taking advantage of any track time I can get, but really since being in a proper racecar, which was Laguna Seca last year, and honestly since my INDYCAR test, it’s been seven months. I’m looking forward to getting back in real life and pushing like crazy.”

What are your goals for the test this week?

“I think the big goal is let’s get going. Let’s get comfortable in the car. To get used to a brand new track. My first goal is to push myself as hard as I can, and to work with the people around me to improve myself. Secondly, it’s also how can we improve the car. If we have a car that’s capable of being top-five, that’s what I expect. If it’s a car that we’re struggling in top-15, then anything over that I think is good. Whatever is realistic is what my goals are then we can always push for more.”

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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
CONTENT DAYS
THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST
THERMAL, CALIFORNIA
JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING DRIVER TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 1, 2023

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET:

On the team’s recent rebrand…

“Some big steps up. Hopefully that continues on the performance side as well. It looks really good, really professional so far, and I’m really impressed.”

Getting going in 2023, how do you parlay the success you had last year to get going in the new season?

“That sets a good baseline for us. Obviously, Laguna Seca was fairly impressive for what we could do. I think more of the consistency stuff, which we’re getting to in Portland, the P10, P9, that was more of a solidity for us to work on the performance side. Going into St. Pete, Long Beach, the ovals, for me, that will be really where the performance gain is. To be able to really compare what the performance gain that we had across the season to last year compared to now this year, that will be important to see. St. Pete will be a tough one, but a good one to see where we’re really at.”

Your thoughts on having a teammate this year, and how much of an advantage will that be?

“Let’s see. Augustin is in a very tough position. It’s not being easy being a rookie, and it’s not easy being a rookie without single-seater experience. I’m very interested to see how he gets on and do my best to help him as best as possible, especially over the next few days here. The closer he is to me and the better he does, the better the team does. It’s quite important to get that comparison, and I’m sure he will do a good job.”

With you being a part of a rookie class last year, and four new rookies this year, people all over the globe are now interested in INDYCAR. Are you aware of being a part of this changing face of INDYCAR?

“It’s good. I saw a lot of potential in INDYCAR when I came over. I think there’s some things that it does really well. The racing is incredible. I think there are some things that can be improved, but most people know that and are in tune to it. That’s the part of a driver in anything, you want to improve and want to do better, and the potential it has as a series is really highlighted across the years. What sets it apart from Formula 2 or whatever, you are constantly competing with the best. If you look at the grid this year, it’s incredible. I thought last year was good, and this year is going to be a touch better.”

You finished really well last year with ninth at Portland and qualifying second at Laguna Seca. How is your approaching heading into Year 2 now knowing the tracks, the car, do you feel in a better place?

“My race craft has always been slightly weaker than the qualifying side of things. That scenario for me to work on. I think, like in Laguna Seca, I proved that if we had a car we can be competitive, that’s what we can do with it and on the qualifying side. It’s up to the team to give the car on the weekend. Of course, I work as much as possible for it, but there’s only so much a one-man show can do in a year. I think the ovals are going to be a bit different. Having a teammate to share some feelings on will be helpful. The attitude, I’m just a bit more relaxed. I know my limits, I know what I’m confident in, and I know what should and shouldn’t happen. I think I can tame myself in the ways that I maybe didn’t last year while knowing where I could improve where there is the time.”

Do you feel your improvement from last year be quantified by results this year?

“I’m very quick. If you put me in the quickest car, I don’t think there’s many people quicker than me, honestly. Looking at Laguna Seca, we had a good car, and I was able to put it there. Once it’s there, I can always compete with it. That’s up to [the team] to do it. I rarely make mistakes in qualifying so if it’s slow, it’s partly 5% of the time it could be me. I feel a bit cocky to say it, but I can tell them when I’ve nailed it or when I’ve not. Normally, I’m quite honest if I’ve messed up. With the races and stuff, we’ve had incidents where I’ve made mistakes and made the wrong decisions under pressure. We’ve had incidents, like Iowa, where we had great race pace but we couldn’t keep up in the pit stops and you lose four or five positions every pit stop. It’s painful to do, but that’s the way it goes. Quantifying that, I think eliminating the mistakes, being consistent, if I’m doing a more solid, consistent job, we can easily see the strong tracks for us. Where we’re good, where we’re slow, the areas where we can improve. I have a good idea of where we needed to be better, especially the short oval qualifying, for some reason we’re just not quick. But when we get to the races, and the tire saving we have, we can’t extract the peak out of the tires, but we’ve ended up going five or ten laps longer than some other people. Some street circuits we could be better, so that’s why I’m interested in the first couple of races.”

AGUSTIN CANAPINO, NO. 78 JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET:

Ricardo [Juncos] has discussed for a while adding a second entry alongside Callum Ilott and to build the team. When did the prospect start for joining INDYCAR, and when did conversations start for you?

“Everything started in the test, because we did exhibitions in Argentina. We had a lot of people watching the exhibitions and it was a successful event. It all started there in Sebring. After that, in exhibitions. Honestly, I didn’t expect that. I had all of my 2023 plans ready in my series in Argentina. Richardo [Juncos] called me in December. We had a chance to do that, and so I needed to change everything with my team owner in Argentina. I took this opportunity for me because it’s my first opportunity outside of my country and of course I know it would be difficult for me. I haven’t done a full season in a single-seat car, but I am very excited and will do my best.”

What about this INDYCAR opportunity, as someone who has had little time in single-seater open wheel racing and success in stock cars in South America, why was this something you wanted to give a shot to?

“Because it’s INDYCAR. INDYCAR, in my opinion, is the most demanding and competitive category in the world. For me, it’s a big opportunity to try something at an international level. We’re here with [Romain] Grosjean, [Scott] Dixon, Callum [Ilott], some of the best drivers in the world. It’s a big opportunity. I don’t know the cars, the tracks, the ovals, but I love the challenge. I love the situation. I know it will be difficult to me, but I have confidence. I need time. I need to learn day by day, test by test.”

How big was the exhibition in Argentina, and how does that help seal the deal for being an INDYCAR driver?

“We had more than 70,000 people. In our country, the motorsport is very popular. It’s second after soccer. We have a lot of fans, so you can see on social media, the people are very crazy for this opportunity for me.”

Do you think there will be a smooth transition from the touring car to the Indy car?

“It’s very different, especially physical demand. INDYCAR is the most demanding. I did 45 minutes races in my home country, and here it’s hour and half, two hours. And especially the ovals. I think it’s very different, but at the end of the day, it’s racing cars. I think this is the most common thing – racing cars.”

You’ve had a long relationship with Chevrolet. How cool is it to keep continuing that?

“It’s awesome. In my country, Chevy fans are a lot. You can see a lot of people with tattoos of with the Chevy logo, my car, my signature. The Chevy brand in my country is very popular so for me, it’s a good thing.”

What are your goals for this test at Thermal Club, and the start of the season?

“I need to do laps. To complete the races. Improve through the season, and then results after that.”

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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
CONTENT DAYS
THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST
THERMAL, CALIFORNIA
TEAM PENSKE DRIVER TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 1, 2023

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

Last year you talked about you have five wins, but you could win 10 in a year, that’s how good we are. Do you have momentum heading into 2023? What’s the goal right now?

“Honestly, I don’t feel that different leaving Laguna [Seca], where I was kind of at mentally there, my statements, what I was projecting. I feel very similar to that place. Not a lot’ has transpired between now and then. I’m just in the same spot, ready to get back going, improve where we can, be better in areas where we need to be, put a good season together. I don’t think we’re going to change much. I don’t know that we need to change anything as far as our approach or process. I think everything that we’re doing is what we need to be doing. INDYCAR just has that intangible side to it where you just can’t predict everything. You do need a little bit of I don’t want say lock but you need the tides to favor you at times. It’s preparation, hard work, maximizing each day, then timing needs to be on your side. Sort of the tides need to flow for you. I think most of everything went well for us last year. There were just too many events, just a couple too many races that didn’t go our way that we needed to.”

They used to say in a championship race that the leader, biggest contender is going to have a bad race. Almost seems like with as competitive as the series is, you can’t even afford that any more. Has it gotten to that point?

“I think you can have a bad race. You just can’t have three or four of them. Three or four is a lot. It depends on the year. I think the complexion of each year is different. It’s always been hard for me to assess things by comparing year to year. They’re all different. There are some years you probably could afford three or four bad races. Last year was not a year that you could afford that. It depends on who’s having a great year. Sometimes people just have a good run and nothing seems to go wrong for them. That’s just the nature of the beast.”

What have you discovered when you dissected 2022? You said luck is a big part of it?

“It really is. I’ve done this enough I think to have a fair assessment of it. It’s my opinion there’s that intangible you can’t control. When I analyze other drivers and the seasons they’ve had, even my own, sometime timing just seems to work out really well for certain teams and individuals. That’s a thing you can’t control, unfortunately, right? With that kind of comes peace of mind. I focus on controlling how can we build the best cars possible to give ourselves the best speed, how can we make the best decisions we can strategy-wise, position-wise. You really just have to hope that the timing blesses you throughout the year as well. I am so positive, when we get a year where we get good timing paired with great speed and decisions, it will be a great year. It will be really great. Much better than what we had last year.”

A lot of drivers talked about continuity, how positive that is. You have another new engineer this year. Is that a scary thing or are there positives?

There are positives. I always have great confidence in whoever’s around me at Team Penske. We just are able to attract some of the best of the best talent-wise. Anyone that’s in the doors there I feel confident to work with. You could put anyone with me and I’ll be happy to find a way to make the most of it. But I don’t want to say it just like that. It’s not me making the most of it. I’m going to be working with great individuals. But there are a lot of new individuals on the 2 car again. It’s going to be a new crew chief, new mechanics. There’s a lot of new faces again this season. But there’s some continuity there. I think we’ll be able to get everybody gelling pretty quickly. My new engineer was with me last year, which is really great, Luke Mason, who was kind of the performance engineer. He is fantastic. I think he will step into the role and absolutely shine. I have no doubt about it.”

With this test coming up tomorrow and Friday, testing in the off-season is so limited, a track that INDYCAR has never been to before, what do you feel you can take away from going to Thermal these next couple days?

“You probably shouldn’t come out of here either too excited or too demoralized depending on how it goes because it is not incredibly relevant when it comes to at-track performance. We’re not going to run here this year for a points-scoring race. From that standpoint, it’s not relevant. What it is relevant for and what I’m excited about is just being on track. We definitely need it on the No. 2 car. We have a lot of new people. We’re going to maximize this time by just treating it like a race weekend in that we’re doing all the things we would do on a normal weekend to be fast and work well and efficient together. When we come out of the weekend we’ll have something to look at, what did we do well or not well. We have a good, relevant conversation piece to take into St. Pete. From that standpoint it’s excellent. If we finish 15th on the charts, yeah, maybe we shouldn’t read too much into that. It obviously matters, why were we 15th. I’m not going to be blowing up on the fact that we were 15th at Thermal when we’re not coming back here for a race this year.”

Bearing in mind your team won nine races last year, probably could have won at least three more, what do you still need to find? Are you just relying on Chevy finding another giant step?

“Yeah, I hope not. I mean, I think the parity in the sport it’s because of the longstandingness of the car. You’re seeing most teams have reached a certain max to what they can really look for, look into. I am always pushing the team on how are we going to separate ourselves? It’s difficult because we’ve almost examined everything to the Nth degree. What can we do? We are Team Penske, we’ve got to find a separator within the rules. Within the rules, there’s a way we can continue to work to separate ourselves. We’re doing that. We’re trying to continue to dive deeper into areas we’ve already been through multiple times. We’re going to go through them again, keep hammering them. We keep finding little things. I do believe there is more. I think we need to continue to have that attitude because when you don’t have that attitude is when you stay flat and you go in reverse. We just can’t afford that. We got to keep going forward. Indianapolis is obviously the most glaring example of where we can continue to push forward. There are other areas where we’ve excelled better, but Indianapolis is still a weak point for us.”

Would it be fair to say that will be where the team’s focus has been in the off-season?

“No doubt. It’s number one. It’s the number one objective. There’s just no excuse for it. We have to be better at Indianapolis, full stop. It’s not from a lack of trying. I can tell you it wasn’t from a lack of trying last off-season. We thought we were going to be exactly where we wanted to be. I think we made tremendous progress, but we weren’t fully there. We’re doubling down again. No excuses. We’ve got to make it better.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

Three wins last year, three poles, seven podiums, eight top-fives, 12 top-10s. Remarkable season, yet you got to get better if you want to think about winning a championship and the Indianapolis 500. Your thoughts heading into a new year?

“I know that we made a massive step personally for me last year. That was due to a number of things, things clicking, working out really good. But now what we know of INDYCAR racing, you just need to continue stepping up a little. McLaren is going to be fast, Andretti, Ganassi as we know is unreal. We need to continue to build as a team, myself. I’ve certainly looked at negatives that I can improve on. Hopefully that bodes me well for the rest of the season.”

What are the negatives you can improve on?

“Yeah, for me, I made a couple mistakes mid-season. My Indy crash, Detroit going down the escape road, a few things that just sort of put me on the back foot championship-wise. If you looked at my season from maybe Road America on, I felt like everything sort of clicked. I just took races as they came. The way I finished the season last year, I’ve got to start and continue to do every race of the year like that. I can’t afford mistakes. You can’t afford mistakes in INDYCAR and be on the back foot.”

Took a big step in year two. Three wins. Josef said he wants to end the run of 17 consecutive years of the championship coming down to the season-ending race. Have you been in that situation before? You have to keep going up against two championships that are your teammates.

“For me, it’s rewarding when you can beat those guys. You know that they’re at the top of their game. They’re probably the best INDYCAR drivers, some of the best INDYCAR drivers around right now. You know when you’re beating them, you’re doing a good job. As a team, we push each other. The competitiveness between us all, we hate losing to each other, but we also know the reward in beating each other, for the team to win. It’s just good camaraderie, the boys and girls push each other on the mechanics side. Whose cars get done the fastest. Good, competitive rivalry between everyone. That starts from how we interact, the three of us. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating that I have them as teammates. I think it’s like — I just want to chase something, if I’m better than them on the day, you have to be somewhere thereabouts.”

Last year when I interviewed Tim Cindric, he said you’re right where he expected you to be in year two. Year three he said he expected you to go into the last race of the season with the championship in his hand. How realistic is that especially after you’ve been through the fires of a championship battle?

“I’m sure it’s realistic. I believe in myself that I can do it and be a part of the fight again. I mean, being a part of the fight last year was a pretty cool moment. Realistically, we weren’t really a part of the fight, but we were mathematically in it. This year for sure I’m excited to continue to learn and be a sponge and just execute the way I think we need to execute to be there at the end. I truly believe I can do that.”

Some athletes don’t buy into the you can take momentum from one season to the next. Do you feel like you can take what you just did at the end of last season over to 2023? Does a longer off-season negate that?

“No, it’s the same length off-season last time. I think it’s more up to you and your mentality and what you think. I certainly believe you can’t stop me from learning what I learnt last year. I still know what I learn understand and what I can improve on. Whether it’s momentum or whether it’s just learnings, I know what I learnt and what I need to learn and be better at from last year, I know what I’ve had to work on in saying that. That’s what I’ve worked on. I think that hopefully will put me in good stead.”

You’ve felt pressure on yourself. You’ve always wanted quick results. Now everybody is pointing to you as a championship frontrunner. Do you feel that pressure? Do you block that out?

“I think now you just know, like, the learning is over now. Team Penske, you got a car that you know can win races. You’re expected to compete for championships. That’s just an expectation that I have, that I had in Australia for five, six years. I understand the mentality and understand what it’s like to have that pressure. I feel like it’s not an unknown for me. I’m not really stressed about it. I sort of know my ability, what I can do. If it’s good enough, it’s good enough. Yeah, it’s not an unknown and I’m not too worried about it at all. I put more pressure on myself than anyone can put on me. I just focus on that myself.”

What are your goals for the test this week?

“I need to learn the track first. I sort of don’t really know where it goes. I feel like I’m going to get lost out there. That’s probably the first thing. But we’ve got a bit of a list of things we got to get through, mate. We’ll work on that, get some bits and pieces done for what we think is going to help us later on in the season. We don’t know what the bitumen is like, if it’s hard on tires, low grip. It looks low grip and hard on tires. Who knows when you get out there, how long it will take for the track to rubber up. We got plenty to get through, like we always do. We’ll try to make the most of every lap we have.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

I know you mentioned having not been in the car since you clinched the championship at Laguna. I know testing has been increasingly a little bit more limited these last couple years. What has that been like literally having not been in an INDYCAR for six months after coming off of such a high and such an important year in your career?

“It’s the way it is these days, so you’ve got simulators that you can go through setup items and somewhat keep shot. It’s never the same as the real car. There’s no substitute for being in the real car. But everyone is in the same boat, and you’ve got to make the most of these very limited days.”

This next two days at Thermal, what have you understood about why INDYCAR is doing this, what you hope to gain from it? It’s a track you guys don’t race at. What do you think you can gain from it, and have you studied it much yet?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I actually haven’t asked INDYCAR why we’re doing it here, but it’s a nice location. I think it’s a pretty nice track. As far as what you’ll get out of it is going through the motions of a race weekend basically. It’s not really — we won’t know until we drive on it what it really applies to, which track would be the most similar. I’m thinking Indy road course, sort of Portland. You could probably get some stuff from it there. I think it’s getting the group together, going through the motions of getting a setup for a track, and being fast and getting back into the flow of things more than anything.”

How helpful is it to you to keep your race craft sharpness that GoPro is just a few miles away from Team Penske’s headquarters?

“Yeah, I love go-karting. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very intense, very competitive. Also, that’s somewhere you can get some race fitness for sure because you’ve actually got some G-forces. The simulator you get obviously the steering so you can work on your arms, but you actually get neck and whole body in the go-kart. I just love karting. I have since I was a kid. I do it for fun, and it keeps me sharp.”

Obviously now you’ve got the pole record. How big of a deal is it now to get that pole at IMS on the oval?

“That’s one that’s eluded me for a long time, and I’ve had times that I’ve had the car to do it and then just sort of overshot or undershot in some way of trimming or it just hasn’t worked out or the wind. It’s a tough one because it’s often out of your hands. It really depends on the car you have that year, the time you go, the temperature, it’s all got to work. It’s all got to. Either it’ll happen or it won’t. Either it’ll all fall in place and it’ll be there, or — yeah.”

You’ve gotten poles at St. Pete. What is it about that track and the start of the season that amps you up or gets you going so quickly? Is it important to start off with a pole the first race?

“Yeah, I think it’s the whole off-season of preparation, and you turn up and it’s a track that suits me. It’s pretty tight, technical, got to brush walls to get it. Yeah, everything I like about qualifying is that track, and there’s not much time to think so you’re always in a corner. Yeah, always look forward to going to St. Pete.”

You’re not known as an un-confident guy. What type of confidence does getting another championship and setting the all-time record in poles, how would you feel if you were able to get another four or five poles just this next year alone and another championship?

“Yeah, that’s the goal. The confidence, I just think the older you get, the more comfortable you are with the situation. You just naturally gain confidence. You know your strengths. You know your weaknesses. You know how to extract the most out of yourself. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I would say I don’t have much pressure at this time in my career, so it’s all about the craft and getting the most out of it. Yeah, it’s a good space to be in.”

Was that kind of key to your amazing consistency through the season, just not letting emotion override…

“Yeah, like I said, every season flows differently, but just in general in my life, I just don’t put too much emotion into situations. There’s nothing to be gained from it. There’s just a lot of things that clicked last year within my team, the crew. Obviously, Dave Faustino and the new crew chief are all pretty good group, pretty good, positive group, enjoying the job.”

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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
CONTENT DAYS
THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST
THERMAL, CALIFORNIA
ARROW MCLAREN DRIVER TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 1, 2023

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET:

Glad to get started back in the car this week?

“I’m ready to get back driving and ripping around in my Indy car. It’s been long. Way too long. It’s been a great offseason but I’m excited, I’m anxious, I’m really looking forward to getting back into the flow of everything. Working with the guys and the engineers and mechanics.”

“It’s a lot of new faces. I’m still in the process of learning all the names. It’s so cool to see we’re all growing. There’s been big steps each year, but in terms of personnel, this year has been a very big one. One reason being probably because of the third car, and the team is growing. It’s great to see, to see everyone’s enthusiasm. Everybody’s here for that one goal. We all put so much time and sacrifice and energy into making these racecars go quicker. We, as drivers, put it into how we can maximize it. Really excited to get this season underway.”

You’ve now got Gavin Ward. How has that transition been?

“Gavin is great. I’m a big fan of him. He, more than obviously trying to extract everything that our group can do in order to make our racecars quicker and more reliable, he really looks into how to get that performance. How can we make it easier on ourselves to find it and get it. I feel a lot of that comes with preparation that’s maybe not racecar related. Mental, physical, diet, I’m a huge believer in all those things from experiences I’ve had in my career. Going through the ranks, it’s so important to have. There are so many things that play into your performance that you have no idea.”

Did you have any concerns with McLaren adding more people, or is it more of a testament to the McLaren brand?

“That’s definitely not a rumor, right. I feel like it’s been so hard to find people in all departments. Form talking to not just the people on our team, but from other drivers or friends, it’s hard to find people. I trust the team. I think the group of people who are in charge know exactly what we need, and I trust they’re going to make the right decisions. From what I’ve seen, there’s so much talent. There already was, but so much more has been added on. It’s going to get us where we want to be.”

You were kind of a lead driver here over the past few years. Alex was a lead driver at his team. Has that been a change with Alex coming into the team?

“He’s been great to have around. We’ve all enjoyed the content days, the media that we’ve done with the team. At the end of the day, INDYCAR is as much as teammates will help in gathering data, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to specifically help you in what you need because it’s a series where you can really tailor the car to what you want rather than in, for example, Formula 1 where this is the car and you need to learn how to drive this certain car. In INDYCAR, it’s very different where you can tailor and customize it to what you want to feel like or to drive like. From past experience, I think Alex likes a car similar to what I do. I know he likes it to be to point well. From experience, I wasn’t there at Andretti for seven years like Alex was but from my experience it was an extremely strong car in the rear. I feel like our car is very different to that. I’m curious to see what he thinks and how he develops in where we can find some more time. I do think we have a very strong car in certain areas, but I definitely think he’s coming from a car where that other car has been strong than us at other racetracks. I feel like if we can find gains where we haven’t quite had a winning or podium car, that’s just going to help all of us, right? He’s been great. He’s been great to have around. I think he needed a fresh start and he’s excited to really work with all of us and create the strongest package.”

You had some tough ups and downs in terms of the car last year. Do you feel like you were able to diagnose some of that stuff this offseason and come into this year not wondering if the car will last like some of the races you had last year?

“For sure it’s been looked into. We’ve obviously looked for answers. Have we found them all? I really think it’s a hard statement to say because I feel like you can find and analyze reasons why things might have happened, but you never really know for sure. But what I do know is that we want to minimize those. The perfect thing would be to not have those issues, right? It’s possible for sure. The first two years I was with the team, I don’t think I never had a DNF. I had completed almost all laps all year, and last year, we had the best average qualifying positions we’ve had during a season. We had like four DNFs. One of those was unlucky. The others just had mishaps. It’s so hard to say. For sure it’s possible to make those a lot less than last year. We’re definitely starting this year with a clean slate and starting to work off the strong years we’ve built together.”

Was it important to have Will [Anderson] on your car for the 2023 INDYCAR season?

“I think it’s such an important relationship that you have with your race engineer. I’ve been working with Will since I joined the team, and he’s very calm. He’s in the same neighborhood as Taylor was in terms of voice volume and minimal speaking, which I enjoy. I think it’s good. I think it will obviously sound a little different, but I think it will be just fine.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET:

“I’ve been ready to go for a couple of months now. Things are finally kicking off. A lot of things to be excited about. New colors, new people in the team, another driver in the team. Another car. New partners. So, it’s super exciting. New track, that’s also fun. It’s not very normal in this series that we can go to a completely new place. No one has driven an Indy car here before. Good vibes.”

“It’s great to have some foundation in the team now at this point. I feel really at home. This will be the longest I’ve been with a team in quite a while, probably since 2014 when I did Formula 3. To be with the same team for a third year is huge for me with consistency. Basically, [we have] the same group as the previous year, some changes here and there. I have a new engineer this year, Chris Lawrence, who is a good friend of mine. He’s been on the car for many years on what used to be the No. 7 car, now the No. 6 car crew. I think what you look to is to improve all the small details. It’s so tight and as we said, have some standouts last year. I think we had some low points as well, so I think that’s what we’ve been targeting. How can we get rid of the lows and improve the highs a little bit more? In INDYCAR, it’s very tight. It’s small differences that make you go from, let’s say P10 to P1, it’s all within a couple of hundredths or tenths. It’s good to keep building on that foundation we laid. We ended the season on a very good note last year in Laguna Seca. Just trying to continue where we left off.”

What benefits and changes have you been getting with Alex [Rossi] coming on board?

“I think it’s always depends on what driver, what’s the dynamic of the group and all that, but my feelings have been that it’s very good. We had a chance to hang out quite a lot with Alex, and I think he’s well integrated at this point. A couple of days in the simulator and at the shop with media days and so on. I think the fit has been really good with him, me and Pato. I think on a trackside perspective, it’s obviously huge to have a third opinion of things. Every driver is different, and every driver’s opinion is valuable in its own way. I think everyone on the team knows how me and Pato operate at this point, and in our differences from driver to driver, but it will be really interesting to see what Alex thinks about the car, how we work, especially here at Thermal. That’s when we have time to look into operational things, bigger picture things maybe that we can improve as a team and we’re open to listening to him and hear what he has to say. Obviously he comes from a lot of success at Andretti, so we’re super excited to have him on board.”

How does it feel to be back with McLaren this year?

“I think it’s a massive opportunity to be back for a third year. I feel like I have all the tools I need to perform. I’m feeling pretty good with everyone at the car. There were so many things happening on and off the track, and as a team we really learned a lot from that we can bring into this season. So I think we will be tough this year. We have a lot of things in the bag to try early this season. A couple of things here at Thermal we want to try and going into the season, we have pinpointed some areas where we feel like we were lacking a little bit, like the short ovals, for example. I feel like we’ve done the best we can to attack all those areas and bring the best possible package we can going into the season.”

What kind of influence do you think [Gavin Ward] will have?

“I think he’s already had a lot of influence. He’s been very important to us in the transition to three cars. The transition to what we want to become in the future and the goals we have. We are very much on target I think with that thanks to him. He’s been great and I think everyone at the team agrees he’s been a great leader so far. It’s a new role for him. He’s been great. He’s a great leader. He’s a funny guy to be around. He brings good energy to the team, and I think he has had that ability to be funny and then switch it on in serious mode when he needs to which goes along with the vibe of our team in general. We have high hopes.”

How are you looking at this season?

“First of all, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s a long time until next year. But as I said, it’s a great opportunity for me. I’m in a great spot. I’m in a well-performing team, not only at Arrow McLaren but my No. 6 car will be strong this year. I feel well with everyone around me. I feel like I have good support from the team to go and perform. I just try to do what I can do which is go fast forward and races.”

Testing at Thermal, what can the team learn?

“I think it’s always exciting to come to new tracks and it’s an amazing facility. We’re staying at the villas inside the track area. I’ve not been here before and I’m really blown away. I don’t know if there are ambitions to race here in the future, if that’s an option, but I’m pumped to be in California in January. There are worst places to be. Learning the track will be a good lesson to who will get up to speed the quickest. I think the closet one we race at is COTA, with the smooth F1-style layout. We’ll see. I just think everyone is taking on the challenge. It’s a fun challenge. You never really know until you hit the track.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET:

There are a lot of great things happening with Arrow McLaren right now. Do you feel that too?

“100%. I think it’s been very cool to watch them evolve and expand over the past couple of months. Obviously, I don’t have a benchmark of what they were before, certainly the commitment to performance and results goes without saying and is apparent on every level of the organization. I’m very excited to get on track, to stop talking about it, and get to work and start driving.”

“There were close to 40 hires over the last couple of months, so it’s been a good time to come in. Everyone’s finding a new role or position, and kind of learning who’s who, and finding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Does this have the ingredients to have a really good breakout year for you?

“I hope so. I mean, it’s a fantastic organization whose results speak for themselves. I think that what they’ve done in the past couple of years is very impressive. They’re a great organization with great partners and great people and getting to work now with GM and Chevy has been pretty cool as well; to see what they’re doing and to push the program forward. Like Is aid, it’s been a lot of conversations and things in theory, and we don’t really know anything until we get on track, but from where we sit, we’re very, very excited for what’s to come.”

What’s it like working with Gavin Ward? You both have Formula 1 backgrounds. Does it help you both speak the same language?

“I think Gavin is a fantastic leader but also his background is really in everything. Whether it’s engineering, systems engineering or aerodynamics, and now kind of an all-encompassing role that has that technical director standpoint but also that team manager and team principal standpoint. He’s someone who his door is always open and he’s a very involved kind of person from every aspect of the whole organization. I think that’s been really cool to see and work with him on. He’s someone who understands the ins and outs of the sport from top to bottom and I think his big thing is maximizing people and their strengths. What they can bring to the table. If you can do that every single day and every single event, then you’re going to set yourself up in a good position.”

What’s it like being teammates with Felix [Rosenqvist] and Pato [O’Ward] so far?

“We haven’t really done anything yet other than some meetings and team activities together. I have a lot of respect for what they’ve done in INDYCAR, and also their prior careers. I think that we will all bring something a little bit different to the table which I think is unique in terms of not only personalities but also driving styles and experience levels. I think that we have the ingredients to really be able to develop the team and continue to push the team forward at a better level than what they’ve shown in the past. It’s been a really positive experience.”

Alex Rossi on testing at Thermal Club…

“You’re introducing INDYCAR to a demographic that has an interest in racing with some decent capital behind them. They may not know of INDYCAR. They may have known about INDYCAR but have not seen it in person, so what we’re doing is we’re able to bring and showcase what we believe is the best series in the world in front of people who are passionate about motorsports, participating in motorsports themselves and maybe haven’t seen it.”

How much time have you spent with [Craig] Hampson before the test? What has that been like?

“I’ve known Craig since 2016. He was at Andretti when I was there and I got to work with him a little bit. We’ve always been friendly in the paddock. That was a critical thing for me in terms of making the switch to Arrow McLaren was being able to work with Craig and kind of continue that relationship and develop it to be working together on the same car and same program. I have a huge amount of respect for what Craig has accomplished in his career. I think he’s a brilliant engineer and a great guy. His track record speaks for itself. Regardless of anything, I’m excited to get the chance to work with him.”

Do you have a better sense over the past couple of months of why this team has become so successful so quickly consistently versus competing with them over the last couple of years?

“I think there is just a very clear path in terms of what they’re trying to accomplish whether that’s on a daily, weekly, or monthly timeframe. There’s a very black and white set of objectives and reasons behind those objectives in terms of the development of the car, development of the people, the transition of people. I think there’s a lot of very detail-oriented people that are in a management role of the team, or senior role. With that comes a lot of structure down the pipeline that you’re very clearly able to see; path of progress as you go into the season.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 66 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – INDIANAPOLIS 500 ONLY:

Considering how close you go to winning the Indy 500 last year, has that made you want it more?

“You’re as good as your last result. When you start coming up to my age, which is 48, people ask you that question. People doubt you. People say, “Maybe is it time?” All those questions. The only way to reassure, even yourself. That weighs a lot also in my decisions going forward. Anything can happen in the 500, but as long as I have it in my head that I’m competitive. But if I think I still have the possibility to win, I will keep trying. But also I need others to see that.”

As far as what Arrow McLaren has done since coming to INDYCAR, it’s been quite impressive. Are we on the verge of really seeing McLaren, the McLaren influence really raise the level of competition in INDYCAR?

“Yeah, I mean, think about we hired so far 40 more employees since we went from three cars in Indy, two full-time to three full-time. I think Zak [Brown] has a vision that’s very aggressive, and he wants to grow the team and he wants to win. That’s all he cares. He’s a racer. Like a lot of the team owners in this series. Yeah, we have grown fast, and it’s going to be up to us to make sure that we keep up the expectations that he’s putting on us.”

By bringing you on board, Zak has the finishers from positions 2 through 5 of last year’s Indianapolis 500. In a lot of ways, I think it’s a great situation to be in based off last year’s race.

“Yeah, I think if you take the example with Chip last year, he put all his cars in the top 12 and he put himself in a position that he was going to be covered to win the Indy 500 if something happened to one of his cars, and look what happened. We had five cars, and we made it happen. Two of them had an issue, but the other two covered the bases. Yeah, I like our chances a lot.”

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.