NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Thursday May 22, 2025
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren
Starts 8th

THE MODERATOR: Christian, what about you guys, what do you expect the conditions to do to your car?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I feel like we’ve been very conscious about this kind of the entire month, what does the car need for certain conditions. If it’s colder, if it’s warmer… I feel like we have a pretty good idea, pretty good baseline for any condition possible.

Obviously we haven’t really prepared for the rain. I don’t think any of us have. But no, I think we’ll be good. I think we’ve been good so far this month. We get another go at it tomorrow, then we’ll be ready for race day.

Q. Do you guys go through and talk about family that’s here this weekend, having your support system here?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think Marcus and I were just talking about it prior to the press conference here, who is filling up the house at home while we’re staying at the track.

My entire family will be here. It will be the first time my brother will be here for the 500. Pretty excited for him. I got some friends here, as well. The girlfriend’s family is from around here, so they’ve been here before. I think they’ll get a little different view, more from the inside.

So yeah…

Q. How was your day yesterday with Bubba Watson?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It was pretty cool. We ended up chipping marshmallows in each other’s mouths. I only stayed on the side with the club. Kyle got to try to catch one of Bubba’s chips. It was a cool experience.

As we all know, he’s a lefty. He took Scotty Mac’s driver and hit it over the snake pit as a left-hander. Obviously we know Scott is a right-hander. It was pretty cool to see what he’s capable of doing.

It was a cool experience just to kind of get to pick his brain a little bit. I brought my girlfriend around. Obviously she’s a golfer. I know she tried to pick his brain a little bit on what his best shot he ever hit. I was expecting it to be the one out of the woods at Augusta. Interestingly enough he said it was a tee shot at Augusta on the same final round. Didn’t stand up to his eye, hit the shot he wanted to, it worked out. I thought that was an interesting question.

Q. How does it help to talk with another professional athlete helping you with your approach to racing?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, first of all, he’s a lot better at golf than I am. That’s for sure. Again, I know he’s self-taught. He’s never taken a golf lesson in his entire life. At the end of the day I feel like it’s the same way I grew up. Even though I had a dad that used to race, but you have to go out there and learn by doing.

I saw a little familiarity in that. It’s just kind of learning. It’s always fun to pick athletes’ brains on how they approach things. Obviously when you reach a certain level, do you feel the same kind of pressure in this situation that I do. How do you approach it, and what is your thought process, how do you get away from it.

I know when you’re over the ball in golf, the lie is never going to be the same shot by shot, where for us the corners don’t change. Yes, the wind changes, but the corner doesn’t. Obviously the car doesn’t change from corner to corner.

I always find it kind of interesting to ask those questions.

Q. Starting seventh and eighth, how much encouragement does it give for both of you leading up to Sunday’s main event?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately you want to start the race as far forward as you can from the get-go. It’s a little bit of a different situation from what I’ve previously been in. Quite excited for that.

I know the Arrow McLaren cars were around this area last year. At least I have a lot of good video and information to look at. At the end of the day, as Marcus said, it’s a good place to start. Again, we’re around the cars. We want to fight. Let the fight kind of start early on and make sure we all get to the end.

Q. Christian, you have T.K. with you, you have the videos, good teammates to lean on. What kind of adjustments have you made, if any, to your driving style on the oval?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don’t think the driving style is particularly different. I think there is a lot of the same things going on. I mean, in my opinion, I knew going into this year that I was going to be in a car that was naturally faster. I think I have a lot to learn just from understanding and racing different people than what I’m used to.

I’m starting 20 positions further up this year than I was last year, which is obviously a massive gain. But at the end of the day, it’s the same for road courses and street courses. You can have a bad qualifying but still race your way to the front, depending on how the race goes.

I know I’m in a car that’s fast enough to win the race. I just have to put myself in the right situation at the right time and learn from the other drivers. I have that. I mean, Pato has been fighting for the race win the past few years going into the leading laps. I have all the information I need. I just need to take advantage of it.

Q. What is the best advice T.K. has given you?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Take it as it comes.

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
Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske
Starts 10th

Q. Scott, we haven’t heard much from you since your crash on Sunday, whole bunch of stuff happened with your team, you lost your strategist. How are you feeling? Where are you at in all of this?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Ultimately, those three guys are friends of mine and have done a tremendous amount in my career to get me to this point. I guess you could say there’s a sadness from my perspective.

At the end of the day I drive for Roger Penske. I respect the decision. I understand the decision. We move forward. I think I’m disappointed in some of my peers and people in this room, just how it was taken out of proportion in some ways.

At the same time, I think people forget just what Roger’s done for this sport in general, and that definitely gets thrown to the side a little bit, which I find a hard time not being passionate about that.

But ultimately what’s done is done. This happened. We have to move forward. The penalties are accepted. Personally I think I had the fastest car, I put it in the fence. I didn’t have what was said. Smart people in this paddock know there was no gain with that, you know?

It’s frustrating that this is blown up like it has and it’s cost three people that I’m very close with their jobs. But overall, my view on it right now is just to focus forward and win Roger his 21st.

I tell you what, there’s that much motivation in our garage, within the team, within my stand. I’m excited to work with Ben even closer than I have before. I think we’ve got amazing people coming in from a substitute perspective helping us out, Jonathan Diuguid, Raul Prados, people that have won this race before.

Yeah, you haven’t heard from me because I wanted the chance to just say that. I’m not really going to speak too much more on that.

Q. Scott, you were talking about your peers.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not calling anyone out, Bob. I’m not.

Q. There are people out there who are pointing things out.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There are. There are.

Q. We heard that people told INDYCAR to look at it. Does that make you angry? If you saw something on somebody else’s car…

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s part of the game, I get it. It’s not the that part. That’s racing. That’s how it is.

It’s just I guess I’m disappointed with how Roger’s name has been thrown through the mud, his integrity, our team, the people on the floor, the people that spend hours away from their families trying to build these cars. Basically they’re being thrown to the mud. I take that personally.

Yeah, yeah…

Q. Scott, you and Ed just made a wager for the Knicks/Pacers series.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: How did that go last night?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Real bad. We lost the unloseable.

We had a good wager. I don’t know how Ed is behind Rossi and Rasmussen, but — Edsters, are they called? I have to buy the equivalent — if the Pacers win in six games — if they win in seven, the bet is off, or I win — I have to buy the equivalent up to 2500 bucks of his milk. What is it?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Coffee. Java.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: But, yeah, I’m going to do that.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: What’s funny, I don’t think 2500 will get him there.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That’s why I capped it. Then the other way, if the Pacers win in seven, or Knicks, which I think will happen, we have to figure it out, but buy some steaks from Good Ranchers maybe, donate to charity, I don’t know. No one gets much out of this, apart from maybe Ed’s reputation.

Q: About someone moving a port-a-potty in front of his bus door

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The port-a-potty — I was actually out for dinner. I’m not happy about that, by the way. Whoever did that pissed me off again. It’s been a wild couple days. I’m ready to go. Ready to swing.

The porta-potty blocked the door to get in my bus. I was worried for Karly and my daughter. I respect the prank game, but they got to think a little bit. Whoever it is, they’re going to go down hard (smiling).

Q. (No microphone.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I moved it myself. You should have seen me out there just pushing this sloshy little porta-potty around. And moving my golf cart. I thought it was someone else. I parked the golf cart next to their bus, said person, and left the reverse light on. It was, like, 11:30 at night. They had to come out and turn it off. Which they did. It was funny. I saw them do it at the time.

Q. (No microphone.)

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yes, yes. It’s a guy that said goodnight to everyone. I thought straightaway it was him. I don’t think it was. Seems too lame for Colton. He was hanging out with us on Monday night.

CONOR DALY: Colton said earlier he was waiting for someone to play a prank on him.

Q. I’m curious, the verbiage, with somebody else new on a timing stand, is that something you want to get down in tomorrow’s practice, or is that something where it’s already down and you’re on the same page?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, we’re good. Me and Benny have known each other for a long, long time now. He’s one of my best friends. It sounds crazy, but we play a lot of video games together, we talk together all the time, we hang out. I’m excited to work with Ben. Even on test days he takes over that part of the role. It’s not an unknown voice that I’m hearing.

Q. Scott, you’re in the team backup car, if memory serves. The team spends months building these cars. In theory the backup car shouldn’t be as primed as the prime cars. Do you feel like it’s going to be close to what you originally had or too far off?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, it’s right there. It’s a brand-new car, brand-new chassis, brand-new speedway car. It’s a purpose-built speedway car.

Unfortunately in the circumstance we have a crash like this, we had a car like that ready to go. Just bolted my race motor, all the race uprights, everything that I had one earlier in practice.

Honestly Monday felt very close. We just had a couple things not quite at upright that affected some setup and stuff. Ironed that out, had a good week to prepare, and things should be just as fast.

Q. Scott, you said you’re determined, you’re motivated if you got the fastest car that should have won the pole, probably would have happened. You’re going to race your way up to the front. How long do you think it will be before the 2 and 12 will be able to get up there with you?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not taking for granted. It’s going to be a tough race regardless. I know we have fast cars. Everyone feels that way, as well.

I don’t know. For me, I’m not worried about their race. I’m focused on my own.

But we know what we need to do to sort of keep ourselves in the game. I’ve said it all month. It’s been so nice to be able to come into a month where I was up the front a little further than I had been in my career. I understand the cadence a little bit more, you could say.

But yeah, not really focused on what they’re doing. I’m just focused on myself.

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
Alexander Rossi
Starts 12th

THE MODERATOR: We will start with row 4. Starting 12th, the 2016 winner the Indianapolis 500, Alexander Rossi. Starting 10th, seven-time winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Scott McLaughlin. We’re waiting on Conor Daly.

Rossi, I was here for your first win as a rookie, with a new team this year, rookie on the pole. Number two this year.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I hope so. What I’ve explained to quite a few people throughout this month is when you feel all of the emotions of this place, the heartbreak and the close calls, as well as the good moments, it really just continues to increase your desire to be successful here.

You think each year that, like, Okay, I’ve reached the most that I could want to win this race. Then you come back and you go through the whole process again and you get a glimpse of you have a good team a good package, a good opportunity, and you can’t help but imagine what it would be like to do it again.

Yeah, I mean, I think it was a long time ago at this point. We’ve come very close multiple times since then. I think we have as good a shot as any this year to try to get number two.

Q. Because you won it so soon, do you look back at it now and kind of relish and cherish and appreciate it even more?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: I think it’s hard for any athlete to in the moment, right, because you’re so focused on trying to get better, trying to improve yourself, it’s very hard to look back and, for lack of a better term, relax and reminisce about the good moments.

You so often think about the ones that got away more than you think about the one where it all actually worked out.

Yes, you see clips that bring you back. There’s memorabilia that I have in my house that you take a moment. Ultimately you’re always focused ahead and trying to figure out how you can get back to that point for a second time.

Q. You’ve been doing this for a while. First sellout in decades. There’s a lot of energy in Indy right now. How does it compare to years past? How excited are you for Sunday?

CONOR DALY: He won that one last time it was sold out, so he can start.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, just waiting for it to sell out again so I could drink more milk.

It’s amazing. I think INDYCAR as a whole has been on a pretty amazing trajectory since I joined in 2016. This race in particular. Every year, Doug would talk about, when we started in ’17, it’s been the most amount of tickets we’ve sold other than the 100th running. Finally we’re at as many tickets as the 100th running. It’s not an anniversary event.

I think a lot of people that came in ’16 were there because they wanted to be there for the 100ths. I think it just shows the appetite that everyone has for INDYCAR, for the Indy 500.

As Scott said, it’s a representation of what’s been done by the leadership to get to this point.

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
Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing
Starts 11th

Q. Scott and Conor, where did y’all watch the game from last night? How much fun was that?

CONOR DALY: I sent Scott a text and he lied to me. He said he wasn’t watching the game. What were you watching?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: “Summer House.”

CONOR DALY: You’re a liar.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was watching it.

CONOR DALY: I was in the bus lot. Felt really good, honestly.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: 20 minutes of that game I paced around my bus.

CONOR DALY: I shouted a lot, yeah.

Q. Conor, you’ve had some really good race cars here, led laps. Compare this to your previous cars going into a Carb Day and your confidence level for Sunday.

CONOR DALY: You know what, thanks for asking the question. I’m excited.

This has been a fun one so far. This is going to be a crazy one. I feel really lucky. I think I’ve been in multiple different situations at this race before, obviously with some fantastic cars and some cars that have struggled to make the race.

This one all month — actually, the first day, I would say, Tuesday I was a little nervous, didn’t have the best day, found our issue. Every day since then, the car has been a joy to drive. That doesn’t happen often here. Qualifying trim stuff was hard. That was challenging for sure at times.

This car in race trim, it’s very good. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be fighting for the win. We have a decent starting position as well, obviously. This team has just done a great job. For ampm to be here with ARCO as well for their first Indy 500, they love it. The car looks awesome, everybody is pumped.

A lot of wild number stats people have thrown at me about cold days, pit box numbers, moon signs, but I’m just going to stay focused on one day at a time and do my job every lap and see what happens.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: When Rossi won, I was in the middle of the one and two on the silver bullets.

CONOR DALY: When he won, I was sitting on the couch in my bus because I already crashed.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Good job.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The winner is coming from this row.

CONOR DALY: Does feel right.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Could be a party.

Q. How was it at the card shop? Did you get anything fun?

CONOR DALY: Shout-out Parkside. We got new INDYCAR trading cars. Go get ’em. I got some Alexander Rossi autographs. That was cool. A lot of great stuff out there.

Again, INDYCAR, a lot of good things going for INDYCAR. I think that’s one of them. Our fans have been super pumped about that, which has been awesome.

Q. It feels like this year it’s really a little bit more wide open. No one has come in and said this person is absolutely the favorite. Nor has anyone completely dominated every session. Is that fair? Do you feel this is perhaps a little bit more wide open? Can you think of someone or some team that you think is the absolute favorite going into the race?

CONOR DALY: I mean, I guess, yeah. You see the grid. I would say there’s cars scattered all over the place that you’re like, We didn’t expect that.

After the open test, I would have honestly predicted these fellas over to my left to kind of sweep the front row. Penske front row sweep. I was very wrong.

What PREMA did, what a cool story. Takuma Sato on the front row. Cool story. Pato. All of it’s just, like, cool. The Fast 12, that was I thought pretty exciting. You have Felix Rosenqvist in the Creed car, that was cool. There’s people all scattered throughout this field you wouldn’t really expect.

Qualifying was really difficult I think for a lot of people. ECR, those guys, again, solid, but normally they’re always in the front row. That kind of throws in a little bit of a new, Hey, seems like a different year. Something about the car that’s definitely challenging.

I think that again makes it must-see television on Sunday. I completely think there’s going to be more overtaking. After Monday, it was cool to see that. Cool temperatures. That helps racing, as well.

All of it leads to hopefully just a great event.

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
Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing
Starts 14th

THE MODERATOR: Ed, your thoughts about tomorrow? Two-hour practice, then Sunday.

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, really excited. I thought our last regular day on track Monday went really, really well. It’s always a nice, nice way to finish off that week feeling prepared, kind of take some of the pressure off of Carb Day. It can be such a weird practice session.

Yeah, so not super stressed about tomorrow. Just go make sure everything is back where we want it and everything’s working, get some pit stop practice in, be prepared for Sunday.

Q. Ed, I just heard a lot of drivers say that the hybrid is not that much different to the car of last year. Also, it’s always said that we need to focus on all the details. Can you describe for you with your experience, with the speed that you had in past years, how do you explain what can be these little details and difference that you have to focus on?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of ways the cars can feel very, very similar to the past without the hybrid. For me, I feel like it made the window, the operating window, maybe a little smaller just with the extra weight.

As far as the details go, it’s just a whole ‘nother system to manage and use. It’s much more useful in a race setting than what it was in qualifying. Just being consistent with the usage and maximizing it, whether you’re on the move or defending.

It does play a pretty big role in helping manage keeping people behind you or getting past cars. It’s just another layer of detail that didn’t exist prior. So just a little more to think about and manage in the midst of the race.

Q. Obviously as a team owner, INDYCAR has talked about having more independence in the wake of everything that’s happened this week with Penske. Is that something you called for in the past? What was your reaction to that whole thing?

ED CARPENTER: All that I’ll really say about that, just because there’s a lot to really be discussed still, I think the start of the conversations that have happened this week have been positive and productive. Look forward to hopefully being part of that as it develops.

I think this week kind of set the stage for what should be some productive work into the future.

Q. Were you good with the way the Penske situation was handled overall this week?

ED CARPENTER: I think so, yeah. I mean, it’s obviously a tough situation for everyone, whether you’re talking the Penske drivers, especially the personnel that’s no longer with the team, but also the rest of the teams and drivers, our partners. That’s probably the most disappointing thing to me, is that we’re at a point in our sport where we have so many good things going on, so much momentum around this month, that it’s changed the storylines a little bit.

I think the Indy 500 is going to deliver a great show, and hopefully we’ll be talking about that come Sunday and not what happened last weekend.

Q. Ed, Rossi has brought quite a bit to the program for all the different races so far this season. Speaking to Indianapolis, what’s maybe he added to the program that maybe you didn’t have last year?

ED CARPENTER: I mean, first and foremost, he’s won the race. That’s always a big plus, to have a past champion on your team.

But beyond that, Alex is really a professional, detail-oriented guy. The driver he replaced in Rinus was fantastic here, very quick. But in general, we hadn’t had a driver come into our team that had been at other high-level teams before they got to us, with the exception of Ryan Hunter-Reay doing a couple races for us a couple years ago.

To have a driver like that join us full-time, we’re in a really exciting time at ECR where we have a new ownership partner and new partners, new sponsorship. We’re really trying to raise our standards and aim higher than where we had the past couple years. He’s a big part of that.

Q. Ed, obviously during the off-season, the team made all those changes. How would you assess how the team has progressed so far into this year?

ED CARPENTER: I think we’re heading in a good direction. We probably haven’t had all the results that we would have hoped on the 21 car. Alex has been quite consistent. We’ve been qualifying better with that car on average than we had been a year ago, and having some solid races.

It feels like we’re on an upward trajectory and really want to capitalize on that on Sunday.

Q. Ed, I talked to Christian Rasmussen earlier, talking about his second start, said there’s always nerves at the Indy 500. Do you still get the nerves, those butterflies? Do you feel your mindset is that much different compared to when you were here for your earlier starts?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, you still deal with nerves and anxiety. There’s always a lot to worry about here, whether it’s the pace of the car or making the right decisions or all the number of things that are outside of our control that you hope and pray will fall your way on race day.

At the same time really enjoy the process and look forward to all the emotions that come with race day, try to go out and do the job to the best of my abilities and put together a solid 500 miles and see where it lands us.

THE MODERATOR: Ed, obviously not your first 500, but aside from the racing, what do you look most forward to on race day?

ED CARPENTER: I think my favorite part about race morning is probably walking out to the pits with my family, is always a memorable thing. Photos that I appreciate having afterwards. Also driver intros before we get serious and get in the car is a really special moment to appreciate how lucky we are as the 33 drivers that get to go out and race in the greatest race in the world.

THE MODERATOR: Family photos changed over the years?

ED CARPENTER: They’re getting quite large. They still come up with me for driver intros. Two of the three are full-grown now. It’s getting tight.

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
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.

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