NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
Starts 32nd

THE MODERATOR: Going back to row 11, two-time reigning Indy 500 champion, 31-time race winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, starting 32nd on Sunday, Josef Newgarden.

How you doing?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not sleeping tonight (smiling). Long days, late nights, especially with the travel. Kind of ready to get locked back in the bus here and not go anywhere for the next 72 hours, however long it’s going to be.

Yeah, it’s cold in here, for, so I’m keeping my jacket on. All good, ready to go.

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on getting back in the car tomorrow.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I can’t wait. I think the weather looks really perfect actually for the weekend in a lot of ways. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, pretty excited for that. Yeah, can’t wait.

Q. These guys that are no longer on the team, they weren’t just guys you worked with, they were friends, people that you were close to. How difficult is it to see them leave, especially under these circumstances?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think we got a lot of people sitting here today, it looks like. I don’t want to disappoint or offend anybody. I’m here to talk about the race. I’m here with my team. I’m ready to go racing. I love this race. My goodness, I’ve been enjoying being here this whole time. I look forward to it every year, as we all do. Ready to go to work with our group.

Proud of everything that we have done up to this point. Ready to go racing. So that’s what I got to say.

Q. Speaking of the race, Kyle Larson thinks you have the fastest car on the track. What can we expect to see, what kind of charge? As Rick Mears says, you can win this race from any seat in the house.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think he’s right, you can win this race from any seat in the house. There’s no bad seat in this house. I like saying that, too. I love listening to where people sit and hearing their stories. There’s just no bad seat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think that goes for the starting grid, too.

I like the challenge coming from 32nd. I don’t know what the day looks like, it’s so hard to predict. We do have a great car. It just seems to be getting better every year. I’m trying to protect that right now. It’s one of these things where every day changes a little bit at the Speedway. You have to stay on top of it. Sunday is really going to be the day that counts. We have to make sure we’re in the right place for that day. If we can do that, we should be in a good spot.

Q. Do you come into this race angry? Frustrated? Anxious? What’s your emotion?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Right now I’m trying to remain – what’s the way to put this – trying to remain happy. This is the Indy 500. I just said it at the very beginning, too. I look forward to this time of year every season.

I can’t wait. We’re going to have a sold-out crowd here for the Indianapolis 500, as it should be. To see all the people that show up and make this what it is, I look forward to that.

That’s how I feel right now. I’m ready to go racing. I know I have a good car. I’m ready to work with my team and hopefully put on a good show. There’s no guarantees, but I’m ready to rock.

Q. Has it been easy to try to be happy?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s a little cold to be happy today. A little gloomy. I think the weather is going to help tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

Q. As you’re fighting from back there in 32nd, how do you approach that fight? Probably not a place you’ve been too much in your career. As you’ve been starting to think about this race, how do you approach trying to work your way up to the front? Do you have some benchmarks?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s a good question. I don’t have a plan at the moment. I don’t want to set anything in stone as far as markers or milestones throughout the race. I think we just got to go.

I know this. If we can get the car where it needs to be on Sunday, which is where it’s been pretty much every day that we’ve been here so far, Indy is this mysterious place. Like every day, every condition is a little different.

I know if we have the car we’ve had this entire month, we’re going to be completely in the fight. I don’t know what that is going to look like. It’s so hard to predict. I’m pretty open-minded on how this day is going to go.

We have the tools and the people to battle to the front, which is what we plan to do.

Q. Doug has said that they believe what was wrong on your car, Will’s car, found in tech inspection, wasn’t any sort of performance gain. You dropped back to 32nd and 33rd. Do you think the penalty that was dealt to you was an otherwise fair penalty? How did you react to it when you heard?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just see a bigger mountain. That’s all I see.

Q. You said you’re here to talk about the race. The race gets a lot harder for you when you have distractions and your team seems in turmoil. How are you going to stay focused and block out those distractions without letting that seep into your preparation?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s the same challenge as always. I think you have to focus on what you can control. That’s the difficult part about this job. It’s the difficult part about the Indianapolis 500 is how do you stay focused on what is in your control.

That can look very differently every year. There can be different stressors that push you. If you can just get yourself to a place where you are focused at the task at hand, you know what’s in front of you, you know what you’re in control of, you’re truly just focused on, that then I think you said yourself up mentally to have the best day possible.

That’s what we’re doing. We’ve got to just, like I said, get the car right for Sunday. Even tomorrow in a lot of ways does not matter. It’s a last check. But Sunday is what matters. If we just focus on what we need to do for that place, I think we’ll be in a good place.

Q. You can still win?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

Q. How much will you and Will talk about moving up from the back? You can plan, say you’re going to work together, but the elements take over, the emotions take over. Is there an ability to work together, especially with the hybrid, start saving some fuel?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s hard to work together. We can certainly not hinder each other. That’s probably the best way to put it. We’re on the same team. We got the same goal. We want to get all our cars up front. We want a car to win for our team, for our group.

We don’t need to be hindering each other. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to work in parallel. It’s very tough to do here at the Speedway. In a lot of ways starting in the back, it’s every person for themselves.

We’re just aware of each other. We both know what the game plan is in a lot of ways. I just think trying to not hinder each other is more the challenge.

Q. Obviously you have Luke Mason as a strategist. What has made him the right person for the role?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, Lucas. His name is not even Lucas. I just like calling him that.

Luke is going to be just fine. He’s one of the most naturally gifted race engineers I’ve ever met. I’m always excited when he’s on the stand. It will be no different on Sunday.

Q. You’ve been traveling these last 24 hours. Will told us that Roger called him in and talked to him to deliver the news of yesterday. Did you talk to Roger on the phone, or how did you learn about what we learned yesterday morning?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I learned it on the phone just because I wasn’t present here.

Q. Do you have any input on how folks were elevated? Did they ask you what you wanted to do on your car or just say this is what we’re going to do with the replacements?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, Roger Penske is the boss. It’s his team. That’s a question for him.

Q. I’ll give you a break and give you a fun one. Is there anybody — with Kyle Larson being here doing the second double, is there anybody from either the INDYCAR side or NASCAR side also attempt the double?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So many. So many. Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it.

I think Blaney really wants to do it. Obviously McLaughlin. I want to do it. I think you could ask the majority of the field would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.

It’s just very difficult to get that lined up. Doing what Kyle is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that.

I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. Should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult.

Yeah, there’s a lot of people that want to do it. I would love to see Blaney do it at some point. I don’t know how he would do in INDYCAR, but it would be fun to see.

Q. With how this race has ended the last few years, thrilling last-moments passes, going into this race, is there a certain time frame, a certain lap that you guys feel like would be the opportune time to pass for the lead?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s different every year. I didn’t predict anything the first two races. I didn’t know how they were going to flow. First one in ’23 was quite chaotic with the reds. It was very hard to track what was happening until the very last moment.

Last year same deal. You’re just sort of going off instinct. It was a really big battle last year with multiple cars. I don’t know what this year’s going to look like. I think you have to stay very open-ended, at least as far as your plan or perspective. They’re all different.

Maybe that’s not going to be the case this year what we saw the last two seasons. Maybe it doesn’t turn into that. Maybe it does. Even if it does, it might look differently than it did last year. I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what it’s going to be. You have to be open to it.

Q. There’s some very good drivers starting in the back, the rows in front of you. Does that give you confidence you guys will all race each other very well, or do you see that as they want to get to the front just as bad as they do?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think everybody is going to be of the same mentality. Everyone wants to get to the front as quickly as possible. I’m not sure how it affects me with the cars. I kind of look at the field, you’re against everybody here. I think everybody’s really capable. It’s not like, Hey, the first half of the cars I have to get through with the team, are they weak? I think everybody is going to be pretty strong throughout the field. You’ll have some weaker cars, but I don’t think they go in batches necessarily.

Yeah, I’m not really looking at who’s lined up in the back to start.

Q. Since Tom Brady played such a big role in your commercial on FOX, are we going to get a chance to compare each other’s jawlines?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that that’s necessary. If there’s a man for the job, it would be you, Bruce. We should put you on that assignment, yeah. We could get your camera out with your flash. I think you’d do a great job. Let’s put you up to that task (smiling).

Q. On a human-to-human level, Will said it’s pretty heavy on Mr. Penske to make those fines with people he has a long relationship with. In what ways do you hope to be there for him in this time?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’m not going to comment further on the actions that have happened with the team this week, like I said earlier.

Q. The NASH sign out there with you in the green hat, that is your real hand?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Does the photo look weird?

Q. Only the hand.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Which one, the right one? Whichever one is exposed?

Q. Yes.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That sounds weird, my exposed hand. Maybe it’s the ring, I don’t know.

Q. Should put two rings on.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Now that you said that, I need to go look at that photo. It’s probably warped in some way. Maybe that was a strategy. We wanted people to be freaked out by my abnormally large hand and then visit the pop-up. Everybody should come out and check out my abnormally shaped hand at our pop-up and buy some NASH merch.

Q. Do you think there’s going to be a lot of passing because the hybrid or not because of the hybrid?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you’re going to see a very similar show to last year. I really do. I don’t think we’re going to deviate much from the amount of passing or the style of passing, which is a good thing.

We had a really good show last year, right? Still gets tricky with multiple cars in a pack. If you’re sitting three or four deep, you’re working harder to try and look for a mistake or an opening.

But the ability for the front group to pass, certainly the first two, to get through the field a bit, I think it should be a similar show. It’s a little different way we’re getting there. You have to use the hybrid now within either attack or defense. So that strategy is different than last year because we didn’t have that.

I think the ability to pass, et cetera, it should not deviate much from last year’s show, which is a good thing.

Q. I remember two years ago you said that you have a specific plan in order to go to the front. I remember also that you said you already know, your team already know, the way to win this race. Do you already have in process this plan for this year in this specific situation?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, definitely. I don’t think the plan changes in a lot of ways. As far as how do you win the Indianapolis 500? I think there is no one formula. I know of a formula that you can prescribe to win the race. I don’t think it changes starting from 32nd. We know what we need to do throughout the race to give ourselves an opportunity to go for the win. I think that’s really not the secret, but it’s just the formula, if you will. You have to give yourself a chance at the right time. Seems simple, but this race, it’s an endurance in a lot of ways, it’s 500 miles.

A lot you have to calculate through: the way you manage yellows, where you put yourself in the strategies, when you’re making moves, when you’re not. There’s a cadence to it. We’ve done it before, and we’ll try and do the exact same thing this weekend.

Q. You spent years trying to celebrate with the fans. You never did it. Three in a row has never been done. Anything up your sleeve if you win on Sunday?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know yet. I don’t know yet. It’s kind of an in-the-moment thing. We’ll see.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming out.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing
Starts 17th

THE MODERATOR: Sting Ray, for you, how important will those two hours tomorrow be?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for us it’s critical. We found an issue in the car on Monday with something that was affecting the handling, and so I had been struggling with it, and we couldn’t figure out what it was because it was one of those things that wasn’t bad enough yet. Finally it got bad enough on Monday and took it back to the garage and went, Oh, there it is.

I don’t really know what kind of race car I have, but I do know that it’s fast. Even though the balance hasn’t been good, the car has been very, very quick, which is kind of out of the ordinary. Usually it’s the other way around. You get really good balance but the car is not quick. This year it seems like these cars are just rapid.

I’m excited to see what we can did do for the race. Conor has been happy with his car. We both like a similar thing, which is nice. We can kind of use his foundation to build from.

Tomorrow is important for us. I think that we need to have that experience to find out what we need for the race.

Q. Sting Ray, about the speed on the car, do you feel like you can compare what you feel last year with this year, like the little things that change with the hybrid and the things that are changed just for the setup of the car? How do you can explain us a little about this difference?

STING RAY ROBB: Compared to last year it’s a new team for me on the 500 setup, and the car is quite a bit different with the hybrid as well. It’s hard to compare, right? The hybrid unit itself, I don’t think it has changed too much of what the cars are. It’s added weight, but it’s also added a little bit of the tools in the deployment region in how you maximize those.

I think that the balance change has been pretty minimal in that sense. Then going from last year’s team to JHR this year, I think that the speed that’s naturally in the car this year is better than what I had last year, which is kind of nice. I think that that comes down to the preparation.

So I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. That’s not necessarily my job to know every little detail, but I do know that these guys have worked super hard to get these cars ready.

To be honest, I think it’s the same throughout the paddock, right? We see guys where they have their primary car and then an accident happens and they go to their backup car, and it’s just not the same. Thankfully for us we haven’t had that as far as an issue so far. We’ve been running our primary car, and it’s been very, very quick all week.

THE MODERATOR: Speak of experience for you, Sting Ray, Conor has led a lot of laps around this place. How has he helped you as a race car driver?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, Conor has been a great teammate for me this year. For him it’s nice to have some familiarity coming back to a team that he’s run at least a part of a season with.

I think that the things that he needs from the car is similar to what I need from the car, which is nice. Usually you have a certain driver going one way and a certain driver going another way, but this year it seems like we are kind of pushing the team in the same direction, which it’s nice when you can get two cars going in the same direction. Things happen a lot quicker that way because you don’t have to compromise.

So it’s been nice to kind of have a teammate that has similar feedback and is driving a similar car that I find to be good. We’ve seen it in other places other than here, right? I think Long Beach was a place that based off our street course setup we kind of pushed the team in the same direction. They had already been developing that way anyways.

Now coming to a track that Conor has done so well at, has so much experience at with different teams, he has a lot of knowledge, and also his approach to the car has been really good.

That’s the thing with the month of May. You can’t just outdrive anything. You kind of have to work up to it. You have to go through the process. You have to check all the boxes. That’s where the experience comes in is which boxes do I need to check today? Conor has done a good job to kind of help check those boxes for me throughout the week and the week prior to get ready for qualifying and all that, so it’s been very good.

THE MODERATOR: Setup similar between you?

STING RAY ROBB: Identical. You could copy one setup sheet to another. Part of that is I don’t know what kind of car I have, so we’ve just been following his leads.

THE MODERATOR: It’s a good leader certainly.

Q. Just got one for Sting Ray. Obviously your two previous race setups have been different. The first time was quite difficult, and you had that incident after running. Last year you were running at the front for quite a large period of it. I guess from your perspective, how unusual is it to have such two vastly different experiences that you carry over into the race this year?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, those are very, very two different experiences, but I think that the last two years here have been very unique experiences for me just because it’s overwhelming the month of Indy 500. I think this year I’m in a much better place mentally, physically. I understand and have expectations that are much more appropriate for what this is.

I’ll take my leading experience from last year, and hopefully that will come in handy for this season. Starting a restart from first is a little bit different than starting it from 20th. Now I know what that’s like. Hopefully I’ll have another chance to do it again this year.

Q. Especially in your rookie year you sort of said the off track stuff, all the commitments you have to do and all the other stuff got quite tiring. Now you’re in your third year. Has anything really changed? Have you got the schedule off track where you can manage all this?

STING RAY ROBB: The schedule has been way better this year compared to the first year I was in INDYCAR. I remember it was my mom — my momager as I affectionately call her — that was scheduling everything for me at that time. She just said yes to everything that she could.

Whether it was talking to someone about doughnut at their doughnut shop or someone that was with FOX Sports. You name it, we did every interview that we could that rookie season. I remember I didn’t interview in the car driving from one speaking event to another while eating my lunch. I was, like, Okay, that’s it, I’m not doing that again.

Now I have scheduled naps into my routine, which is way better. I like it a lot more.

THE MODERATOR: Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for me outside of the racing there’s a lot of tradition here, and I’m still learning what it means to be an INDYCAR driver at the Indianapolis 500. Every year it seems like there’s another layer added to it.

I actually got to sit in on Jake Query giving a little bit of a speech earlier this month and just kind of the history of how the speedway came to be. It makes you appreciate the grounds a little bit more, the fans a little bit more, the city a little bit more, and it makes you realize the impact that we’re having is more than just driving race cars around a racetrack.

I think one of my favorite moments that I’ve experienced so far, and it’s been the same answer the last two years, but when they do the playing of the “Taps,” and it’s dead silent after, and you look around, and you can just see the sort of solemnness that’s in the air. It’s one of those things where it’s, like, Yeah, racing is cool, but it’s not everything.

It’s kind of a neat perspective to have on Memorial Day weekend being from America and appreciating that these are the freedoms that we’ve been doing to steward well. That’s part of the reason why we have the livery on the car that we have this year. It’s been a pleasure.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing
Starts 18th

THE MODERATOR: Continuing with row six, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 18th, making his second appearance in the Indy 500, the 2023 Champion of INDY NXT by Firestone, driver of the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet for ECR, it’s Christian Rasmussen, and starting 17th, he led 23 laps in last year’s race, driver of the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, great to have Sting Ray Robb with us. Devlin DiFrancesco is also in row six. He starts 16th. He will join us later this afternoon.

Christian, for you, tell us about looking ahead to tomorrow, which is obviously hugely important to get you ready for Sunday as well?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, looking forward to it. I think we’ve had a good month so far. We’ve had really fast race cars. We he missed out a little bit in qualifying, but we’re better than what we showed there.

Yeah, I’m excited. Excited to get started. We had a good race here last year. I was able to move forward, so hopefully we can do that again.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about — we’ll start with Christian — having Rossi on board now, a guy that’s won this race, that’s been around here a lot. Ed has been around here a lot. You’ve worked with Ed now for the second year. How much has experience helped you at a place like Indianapolis?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, he’s been a massive asset not only here but the whole year. Alex comes in with a ton of experience. Obviously won around here, but he’s in his ninth year of INDYCAR, 10th year of INDYCAR.

THE MODERATOR: It’s his 10th Indy 500.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: No, it’s been amazing having him on board. I think Alex’s feedback to the car, knowing what’s going on is exceptional and more than anyone that I’ve ever worked with closely, so it’s been really good. He’s been helping on moving this whole project forward.

THE MODERATOR: It just seems, too, the team has a lot of momentum commercially speaking, and then obviously you’re seeing performance on track too, which I think has improved this year over last year. What is the momentum like for the team?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, for sure it’s there. It’s like Rome was built in a day and it’s not you get a new guy in and things are going to change overnight. It’s a process. I think Alex has really helped move that process in the right direction, and I think, like you are saying, I think results are getting better and better. I think this is just the start of it.

Q. I’m wondering here, going into your second Indianapolis 500, finished 12th last year, great result. What are your thoughts going into your second Indianapolis 500? Do you think there’s going to be less nerves maybe, or just because it’s Indy, are those butterflies still going to be in your stomach coming back here for a second year?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I think there will always be butterflies when you are just about to start the Indianapolis 500, but no, just as the month as a whole, I’ve been a lot more calm in a way this year just kind of knowing what to expect a little bit more, having been through it all one time before.

You just know what to expect a little bit more, which makes it — yeah, at least for me I’ve just been able to have a little calmer approach, which has been nice.

Q. Christian, it seems that turn two might be your favorite corner. I was just curious if you know what’s happened there in terms of why that seems to have been a place where the car kind of got away from you?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, the first time we thought we had a certain setup with the car. We were feeling very competitive up to that point. We had slight differences to the other car, but at that point when I did my first spin, we were I think 33 laps on tires. So it was a very easy one to brush off.

I was a little bit low, super old tires, and we just kind of thought that that was just one of them. So when we came back for practice the other day, we put on that same setup of the car because that’s where we felt the most competitive.

Obviously went out on new tires, and the same thing happened.

So it was just kind of out of the ordinary. The rear just kind of stepped out on the car on both instances out of nowhere with not really any sign of it wanting to do so. So, yeah, obviously we’ve kind of had to re-evaluate the package that we are bringing and adapting a little bit from the other cars and kind of going towards that direction.

Q. Do you have a similar setup to your two teammates?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: It’s very similar. It’s been slight differences throughout the month. We’ve done things on the 21 car that the 20 and the 33 has adopted, and the other way around as well. That’s kind of how the team dynamic works around here. If you find a little bit of something that you find an advantage in, then we can adopt that on the different cars.

That was just kind of the instance here where we had a thing that wasn’t really working for us, and we adopted some from the other cars.

STING RAY ROBB: I will say that you did it fairly well considering the other guys that had done it.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: About as good as you can.

STING RAY ROBB: That was impressive. I was puckered up watching like, Oh, all right, he’s okay, we’re all good.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The first time the only damage we had was a slight crack on the rear wing.

STING RAY ROBB: That’s pretty good. Very impressive.

THE MODERATOR: Very impressive. Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day? Christian, start with you.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The racing (laughing). I love racing around here. I think it’s so cool. I think you can do stuff around here that you can’t really do anywhere else. The racing on ovals in general are different from racing on a street circuit.

Obviously it’s super special being here. Walking through Gasoline Alley with 350,000-plus people, that’s a whole other story, but on the racetrack I think, yeah, it’s the coolest event that we do.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Callum Ilott – PREMA Racing
Starts 21st

THE MODERATOR: Continuing on with Row 7 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 21st, making his fourth start in the 500 from England, driver of the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, it’s Callum Ilott.

Starting 20th last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion, a rookie from England, driver of the No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Louis Foster.

And starting 19th, ready for his first leg of the Hendrick 1100, once he arrives here, Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren

Chevrolet. Callum, let’s start with you. Looking forward to getting back in the car, I’m assuming, tomorrow?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, we agreed that we would start before Kyle gets here. You can ask us some questions before the star arrives.

No, really happy to get back going with the race car. Monday was the first time I got to do some laps in the pack because we’ve been focusing on qualifying. Yeah, felt really good, actually. Really strong. I was happy.

I think I was able to overtake a few people, but still a couple of cars are quite a bit faster. Yeah, I think we can move forward quite a bit.

Q. Callum, given that this is PREMA’s first oval race, obviously we saw what happened with Robert, but what have you seen in the team that’s helped them get up to speed — pardon the pun — over the last several days in practice leading up to qualifying?

CALLUM ILOTT: I mean, they’ve just progressed and progressed and progressed. Each day the cars got better and better, and we focused a lot on qualifying. We got my car into the field pretty easily, and Robert exceeded expectations by a mile, and then the race car, look, we had our first proper go at it on Monday.

I think it’s a big, big challenge for Robert and his car to learn that quickly in two days, how the timing of everything works. They’re going to give it a go, and he’s starting in the sharp end of things.

Yeah, it’s like any other race. Once you are out there, you just have to execute with strategy and pit stops. We’ve got enough people with experience on the team to get those right.

Q. Then for Callum, two years ago you finished 12th here. Last year you finished 11th. How do you feel about your chances of picking up your first Indy 500 top 10 or better this year?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think pretty good. We’ve exceeded expectations as a team so far this week and last week. I think the team is only improving and improving. Yeah, we just have to execute. I feel like I’ve got a good enough understanding of ovals to move forward from the starting position. Yeah, just have to build on it.

Last year I was in the pit lane when the race started. I was also last again, like, I think, lap 110 and managed to come back through to 11th. Speed is good, and we’ll have to see. Pretty high chances hopefully.

Q. How do you think the race is going to flow with the hybrid this year and all the tools you’re going to be using?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think the thing is you get so much use of the hybrid per lap everybody is going to be on it. It’s the same basically. Everyone will be in the same rhythm. You recharge in the corner when you let off and let off the gas and then deploy on the exit. It just makes everything the same.

I’m sure that some people can do a slightly better job than others with it, but it’s not exactly the most challenging thing right now. It’s just another — I think in qualifying it was more challenging if you were doing a complicated way with it. It can get very complicated. But there was more time in getting the car right than there was in getting the hybrid right, so…

LOUIS FOSTER: Even then in qualifying, getting the hybrid perfect was like nothing.

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, it doesn’t — yeah.

LOUIS FOSTER: It’s another thing to do on the straights. I think it’s a bit of a “get out of jail free” card. I think if you make a mistake, before you would lose your momentum. With the hybrid it helps to pick up the momentum. You have guys behind you that have that additional momentum. It’s just another button to press.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
KYLE LARSON – HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren
Starts 19th

THE MODERATOR: Kyle, busy weekend ahead. You set, ready to go?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m excited about it. It’s obviously a really cool opportunity. I think the weather looks good so far. It changes every day at this point.

THE MODERATOR: We don’t need the pessimism. It’s looking good on Sunday.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Knock on wood.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, we’re ready to go.

Q. Kyle, I wanted to ask you, coming back this year, what is the biggest difference for you? Is it just kind of ease of getting around? Do you know how the flow is going to go, or is it something specifically on track you feel that much more comfortable? What is it like year two compared to year one?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. It’s been different a little bit. I feel like it’s obviously been a little more challenging with a couple of smaller crashes that we’ve had and then just having to work on the balance of the car more than we did last year.

I feel like last year we didn’t really have to mess with a whole lot. I thought the balance was pretty comfortable, but it’s just taken a little bit more time to get to that comfortable spot this year.

Happy with where we’re at now. Yeah, you know, just kind of focused on both of the races at this point.

Kyle, Josef Newgarden has a very fast car. He’s starting in the back. What do you expect to see? You’ve seen guys in NASCAR with fast cars come from the back through the field. You as a driver at mid-pack, what do you expect to see him be able to do? What does a driver like you also do to race your way up to the front?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I think it’s going to be really exciting for fans to watch Josef carve his way to the front. I think he’s definitely got a fast car, one of the most experienced drivers out there, bravest — one of the bravest guys out there too.

It will be tough to pick his way forward, but I think he’ll be able to execute his way to the front along with a good car. He’ll be great on restarts. He will execute good pit stops. It’s the unknown of if there’s an accident in front of him and stuff that he can’t avoid, things like that. He’ll have no problem getting his way to the front.

Q. As far as you, there’s a lot of times the way NASCAR races play out you might get mid-pack and you race your way back to the front. How easy or difficult will that be to do that on this track?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s not easy at any track and NASCAR either to drive your way to the front, but that’s where you have to rely on the people around you, your team, and the car that they’ve built and provided, your pit crew, your strategist.

You can’t just do it all on your own at this level. So, yeah, I think for any of us in the field, you have to rely on your team. That’s what we’ll be doing. That’s what everybody will be doing.

Q. Kyle, I know the restarts were a little bit problematic last year for you. Is there anything you have been able to do with the team to working on that and prepare, or is that something you literally have to do in a race because you can’t really necessarily practice here to do stuff like that?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah. I mean, you don’t get the chance to practice restarts in practice, but yeah, I just had that one kind of mishap last year where I think I kind of hit the rev limiter right when I went to shift to second, and then it got me confused if it did shift, and I think I hit it again maybe or something and ended up in the wrong gear.

You know, I was able to kind of overcome that and had — I would say every restart after that was pretty good. We would gain a spot or three. It was honestly probably good for this year I think to go and have that bad restart and then you have to get aggressive on some others to learn for this year having to start from, I don’t know, row seven or wherever we’re at.

Yeah, I think it’s tough. You get a lot of laps throughout these couple of weeks, but there’s still more to learn during the race than practice. Just getting into the rhythm of all that is a challenge. But, I mean, there’s a lot of us out there that really don’t have that much experience racing on ovals for some of these guys. Specifically, the Indy 500.

Q. Kyle, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t really want to use your tools, like your weight jacker last year. This year you’ve got the hybrid in addition to that. How much have you been using that or messing with it? Do you think it will be a big thing for you during the race?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I have definitely gotten more — I think last year I was just scared to do anything. I think my balance was, like, in a happy spot last year, and I was like, I don’t want to go and — I didn’t know how sensitive everything was going to be.

This year, yeah, I’ve definitely played around with it a lot more. I feel like even last year I was afraid to do things in the short chute, moving bar. This year I’ve gotten way more comfortable with doing those things.

The hybrid is, I feel like, hyped up as being this crazy new thing, but it’s really not a big deal either, I don’t think. I don’t know what these guys think. But you just pull the paddle and go. When you want more charges, hit a button. It’s not really, like, a big deal.

Yeah, there is definitely more to the cockpits than what we’re used to all year long in NASCAR or sprint car racing, but yeah, I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of it more this time around.

Q. Kyle, do you have anything to add? (about how the hybrid

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, do you have anything to add?

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, the thing about it is you’re at an iconic speedway here. You’ve got a fellow New Zealander now in cut with you. Then you were a regular feature at Western Springs Speedway at New Zealand over the years. It’s sadly closed now. What’s a memory that you have of racing Down Under in New Zealand?

KYLE LARSON: I always love going to New Zealand. It’s probably some of the best racing memories that I have to this point, just getting to spend time down there with our Kiwi friends that have kind of turned into family and other Americans going there to race. Racing 15 minutes outside of Auckland with 15,000 people there for a dirt race was pretty crazy. The racing was always good. You had off days to spend as vacation going to Waiheke Island and going on wine tastings on your scooter, and all that was fun.

Yeah, I haven’t gotten to go since 2019 and ’20, so I’ve missed going there. I wish I could have got there for the final season, but yeah, it’s just unfortunate, but hopefully maybe someday it will reopen.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Ryan Hunter-Reay – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Starts 25th

THE MODERATOR: Ryan, do you care to introduce your guest?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, this is Ryden over here. He just is graduating from fifth grade and missing his last week of school to be here because he would rather be nowhere else, so that’s what we’re doing.

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts about missing your last week of school? Grab the microphone. What’s it like to miss the last week of school for this?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: I think it’s better than going to school. Way better.

THE MODERATOR: We agree. We’ll open it up for questions for all three, or four, for that matter.

Q. You guys are staying across the street. You get to come and watch your dad race. That’s pretty cool. Your friends get into it? What’s this week like staying so close to the track and having this place as your playground?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: It’s really cool because we get to kind of scooter everywhere. Yeah, really fun.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Like his own little playground here. Tough life.

Q. This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q. My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, I think qualifying day, really Saturday is probably the longest day of the whole year for anybody involved in this business and especially from behind the wheel. It’s extremely stressful, but I think over time over the years you just learn to kind of deal with that.

It never gets old, though. It’s not like it becomes less stressful. You just deal with it in a different way, and you manage that a bit more. Yeah, it’s always come with a lot of pressure and obviously consequences on the racetrack and all that stuff. It’s part of the job.

Q. Then for Ryan, you’re a former winner here at the 500, so you know what it takes to finish up front here. What’s one thing that the rookies or the younger drivers don’t realize about this race until they’re, like, deep into it?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It’s a long race really. Like kind of Colton said, you can’t really just focus on I have to get to the front now. It’s several cars at a time. Get some on the track. Get some in the pit lane. Work through it methodically that way.

You know, I think just knowing when to take the lunge and when not to, I think maybe the experienced guys have an upper hand on that, with it being all about keeping the momentum up. It’s tough now, though, with the cars how they are and the current specs, everybody is very desperate for every pass.

There’s a lot of blocking going on.

It’s definitely a bit of a different approach than it’s been maybe, I don’t know, ten years ago, but we all adapt to that and drive accordingly.

THE MODERATOR: Ryden, who is going to win on Sunday?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: My dad.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: There it is.

THE MODERATOR: Right answer. Guys, thanks for coming up.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Jack Harvey – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Starts – 26th

THE MODERATOR: Jack, rising TV star at FOX Sports, putting that aside for at least a week. How much are you looking forward to Carb Day tomorrow and then obviously on race day?

JACK HARVEY: I think with all the drivers it’s always a privilege to get to compete in the Indy 500. Probably like a lot of people, we felt good on Monday, so we’re hoping that just translates to Friday and the race.

Q. Jack, for you, race car looked pretty good. How much is it patience and how much is it wanting to go forward because there could be a lot of potential we’ll see? Restarts are going to be key here. How do you methodically work your way up knowing you have a good race car underneath you?

JACK HARVEY: I think patience is probably the right word. It’s obviously a super long race. We really just need to be there from halfway to the end. I think feels like a pretty fast row, at least from what I observed on Monday. So I think we’re all probably hoping that if one of us is going to the front, that we all just kind of as a convoy go to the front as well.

One thing that has been really cool with working with everyone at Dreyer & Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports is the emphasis they put on the pit stops and the preparation they’ve done. So far the stops have looked really great in practice. So I think that’s going to be more of an asset to us than a hindrance, which I think for a part-time or single-race team, it’s a really huge thing.

If the car is good and balance is good and everything is ticking away nicely, then hopefully we’ll have a great day.

Q. This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q. First of all, Jack, you’re a lad from Lincolnshire. How on earth have you acquired the nickname Hollywood? It seems like you’ve been forced to embrace it now it seems?

JACK HARVEY: That’s a pretty accurate observation, I would say. I think it started by — well, it definitely — I know it started by Will Buxton. I see Kevin. He was a culprit in this too. So between the booth and Kevin, and I low-key think Georgia was involved. I can’t remember exactly how Hollywood Harvey came up.

Just for context, the village that I grew up in is like 1,000 people in a small town in a small part of the United Kingdom two hours north of London. This is a rural place, guys. The fact that Hollywood Harvey is my nickname, I have my friends who didn’t get to see the build-up to it. They’re, like, Oh, big-time now, you’re on TV. I’m, like, I know it’s going to come across that way. Even these hooligans, they all heckle me now saying Hollywood and stuff. Kind of been forced to embrace it.

I

‘ve had worse. Muffin Man is worse, I have to admit. So maybe we’ll make a game out of just bad nicknames, but if it was an Olympic sport, I think I would be gold medalist right now.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: — got a very explicit British vocabulary now.

JACK HARVEY: Ryan has been watching some TV shows, and his vocabulary has rapidly improved.

THE MODERATOR: For instance?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We can’t give that out.

Q. This question is for Hollywood. I’m just kind of curious. You have driven Honda your entire career. This is the first time you’ve ever had Chevy. I’m kind of curious what the differences you’ve noticed with the power band pounding laps around Indy.

JACK HARVEY: Nothing crazy, honestly. I would say, too, just top-tier organizations. My time with Chevy so far has been really good. I think probably some of what I hear other people talking about is the drivability of the car, on throttle application. That probably shows up more so on a street circuit and then road course and then probably least affected at the oval.

Yeah, my time with Chevy so far has been really great. Yeah, first race weekend not in a Honda, but that’s fine. It would be pretty cool if I can’t win it, to see Ryan win it, and then just a Chevy driver after that really.

Q. My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

JACK HARVEY: I set boundaries with people from the team, sponsors, myself, et cetera. We do what is absolutely required, but after that if it’s 10 o’clock at night, if it’s urgent, you can call me. If it’s not urgent, let me have that moment to myself and unwind.

One thing I did this month, which hopefully you guys will do too, is watch “Andor Star Wars,” but I paced it out. I watched an episode a day because I used that as my time to unwind and do something I actually enjoyed.

Not taking on more than I could feasibly do and having boundaries I think was the best thing that I implemented this month of May.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: So I’m working on my vocabulary. You are watching “Star Wars.”

THE MODERATOR: How was it?

JACK HARVEY: It was excellent. It’s like top tier “Star Wars,” Dave.

Q. This question is for Jack. Jack, obviously you’ve got your new role with Fox, but what has it been like switching off from that for the month of May and being on track back in the car?

JACK HARVEY: It’s been pretty easy, honestly. I would say the opportunities that Fox has been given to me this year have been brilliant. It’s kept me in the paddock amongst all my pals and in an environment and a community that I like to be a part of.

Only getting to race once a year, I knew we had a lot of free time. Finally when I got the call from them, I was just really happy. That’s an area I still have to work on. It’s not totally my comfort zone. I feel like we’re making progress on it. Wearing the helmet, putting the suit back on, that’s still a place where I feel the most at ease, the most confident. It’s been if un.

Actually one thing I’ll share, both FOX Sports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports, both organizations — I guess three organizations there, haven’t really overlapped. Everyone has been very respectful when it’s been time to be a pit reporter and then announce the NXT races and then also when it’s time to be driver.

The mutual respect between everybody has probably allowed me to focus on both jobs that I have this year to 100%. I’m very appreciative of that. When we’ve been able to maybe speak to the guys when I’m in the car, that’s just a fun bonus, but it’s come at a time that’s convenient to the team, convenient for the booth.

So, yeah, I feel like I’m living a pretty awesome life, honestly.

Q. Just a quick one on Dennis and Don. What’s it been like working with those two guys?

JACK HARVEY: They’re awesome, honestly. A lot of respect for everybody at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Cusick Motorsports. It takes a village to be competitive at this. We all know that. We’ve had a great team of people right at the very top. It’s hard to get that message across.

What the team, both sets of teams, stand for and how they want to be, they radiate all the time. And they set the tone, and it trickles down through the entire — well, through both organizations. I think me and Ryan are lucky that as a single-race entry that we’re with both of those teams.

Q. Then for Jack, you’ve been in the pit lane all season as a reporter, like you mentioned earlier. How has seeing the sport from the broadcast side changed your perspective as a driver coming back for this 500 run?

JACK HARVEY: It’s probably just appreciation for what goes into actually a good show and a good presentation of the INDYCAR SERIES, whether it’s TV, radio. So much more goes on than I think drivers are typically exposed to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just everyone is doing their jobs.

More so just some appreciation and respect and gratitude for how hard so many people work just to try and make this a great product that people can come watch.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Will Power – Team Penske
Starts 33rd

THE MODERATOR: Starting 33rd, he was the winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, good morning, Will Power.

Will, start off for you. Obviously you’re looking forward to getting out on the racetrack tomorrow. A couple of hours of practice before the race on Sunday. How crucial will those two hours be for you?

WILL POWER: I think because of the temperature it will be interesting. I think it’s going to matter. It certainly changes the car a lot. It’s very sensitive around this place to wind and temperature. It will be interesting to see how that feels.

I kind of feel like it helps everyone. It’s a bit more grip for everyone, a bit more downforce, less tire deg. I feel like it will be a race similar to last year where the cool track temps created a lot of close racing and epic restarts and so on.

Q. Will, you’ve been with Tim Cindric, Ron, and Kyle for a long time. Roger had to make the decision that he made, but for you personally these were more than just people you worked with. They were your friends. They’ve been to your house, up at the lake. Just how sad is it for you to see that these great careers now have this happen to them?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s kind of a shock and a pity. They’re all extremely good at their job. Yeah, it was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain. Yeah.

I called Ron. Obviously he’s on my car. I didn’t get him. But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do. It’s just a tough — I don’t know what else to say. They’re all extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team.

Yeah, a real pity.

Q. Talking to Rick Mears the other night, he said you can win the Indy 500 from any seat in the house, so obviously that’s the mindset you both have. If you could just describe how challenging it’s going to be to have a fast car coming up from the back?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s certainly tougher these days with the very tight field, but absolutely possible. Obviously depending on where yellows fall and so on, you can certainly find yourself in a really good spot.

The car is good. The car is fast. It feels like it’s good in traffic. I have started back there before. Yeah, so looking for a very, very clean, good day. Good, solid day.

Q. Will, did you have any input, or did you lobby for anybody to be your strategist for this weekend and/or are you going to lobby for anyone specific going forward?

WILL POWER: Have they —

Q. They’ve announced it.

WILL POWER: Roger asked what he would like, and he asked my engineer and all the engineers, What’s the best way to do this? They’re all very capable people on each car. I think it wouldn’t have mattered who they went with. I got Jonathan Diuguid, who is extremely experienced and has been an engineer and run INDYCARs before.

I think between Dave and Jonathan, those two guys are incredibly smart and understand strategy, everything. It’s a very strong group for all three cars.

Q. Obviously when things were going on on Sunday, there seemed to be other teams telling INDYCAR about what you all were doing. There was a lot of talk about did they tip off INDYCAR? Are you angry at other teams? Are you upset? Do you come in here with a kind of chip on your shoulder after what happened on Sunday?

WILL POWER: Yeah, no, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say, but I know what happened. Obviously, yeah, you want to — I just want to do a good job for all the guys on the team on Sunday. That’s sort of the main — I’m just very focused on the race. Not really out to get anyone.

It’s the circumstance that it is, and we’re all very motivated to have a good day, sort of try to put this stuff behind us. Yeah, you know, news cycles move pretty quick, so if you can throw a win in there, that would certainly be a good way to move forward, yeah.

Q. Will, I know we all learned about this yesterday morning at about 10:40 via email. How did you find out about the news and the decisions that Roger had made?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I was called in to see Roger at RP1 there. Yeah, that’s how I found out. Jonathan and Bud in there as well, and spoke to the drivers, yeah.

Q. You said, I think, in your initial comments — you said you felt like Roger either was forced to make this or had external pressures to make this. How did your — I know it’s a private conversation, but how did your conversation with Roger go, and what did he say to you to explain why he felt like he was having to make these moves?

WILL POWER: I know it was very tough for him. He said that. It’s obviously a very tough decision to make. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision.

I feel bad for him. He’s in a very tough spot in that situation. Yeah, it wasn’t really a long conversation with us. He just explained what happened. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that.

Q. Will, is it hard for you being swept up in this, in something that you didn’t do that to the car?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, man, I’ve been around long enough to shut that stuff out and still focus on the thing that you’re here to do, and that’s to get the absolute most out of the car. You still have to do your homework. You can’t be distracted by all this. My main focus is Sunday, and that’s true. I’m not too swept up in it. I’ve got plenty of time after the race to think about that, but we’re coming up on the biggest race of the year for us.

Yeah, I think everyone — I feel like everyone on the team is positive and very motivated. I think being the driver you need to show that this is not affecting you, and you’re very focused on the job at hand, and I am. I am. I haven’t allowed too much emotional stress to take away energy that I need on Sunday.

Tough situation, but we still got a job to do.

Q. You touched a little bit on how it felt like it was heavy for Roger. What kind of impact do you think this could have on him? Obviously he cares a lot about his integrity and credibility.

WILL POWER: I think Roger moves forward very quickly. I know him over the years, he makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn’t dwell on it. Starts looking at what is absolutely best for the team and everyone to move forward. That’s Roger. That’s why he’s so successful.

He’s not going to sit and spend a month worrying about what happened. I think he’s how can we fix this and let’s move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Q. I don’t know if there is such a thing as being extra motivated because I know how highly motivated you guys always are, but is there any sense of that this weekend, that you guys have to really pull together and that this is an opportunity to rise like you never have before?

WILL POWER: I think it just kind of makes you lock in. You know, yeah, I think everyone is just locked in on the job. People have to step up now because we’re missing some key individuals, and that can be motivating for people. Like, all right, I’ve got to take on more work and responsibility. You know, that’s all of us in the team right now.

I think you get the best out of people in those situations. No one is ever ready for that. That’s why competition is so good. I think that’s what always gets the best out of me is tough situations. You see how good you really are.

Q. Will, we know you can be an emotional guy. How quickly did you kind of get over this and start looking forward? What is the driver’s reaction? I know Monday we were out here for the photo. What’s been the other competitors that you go up against — what’s been their reaction to this?

WILL POWER: I actually haven’t seen any of them. Yeah, I haven’t really talked to them. Everyone kind of goes home for a couple of days.

Man, I’ve been focused on the job, just doing all the homework I need to do. Obviously my engineer is more busy now. He has more obligations. But, you know, we have to be very good with finding time to sit down and make sure we don’t weaken the program or our potential for this weekend.

Yeah, everyone is positive in the team. They understand this is the biggest race of the year, and we want to have a great result. Yeah, it’s just an incredible number of circumstances that just you would never have dreamed of would play out like this. It’s just crazy. That’s Indianapolis. You just never know, man.

Look, PREMA turns up first year on pole and two of our cars are on the back row. Scotty crashed in practice with probably the car for pole. That’s Indy. A lot of pressure. So much effort goes in, and these sort of things happen, you know?

In some ways, having been around so long, it’s not that shocking. Like, oh, my God. These things happen. Strange things — like the year we almost didn’t make the field. Just things you wouldn’t think. This place just throws real curveballs at you. That’s just the way it is. It’s a very daunting, tough race to win, and the consequences are big when you make a mistake on and off the track.

Yeah, I guess that’s what makes it so special.

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