Speaker 1: This is, is off track.
Gentlemen, welcome. Welcome to Off Track with Hinch
or Rossi this week.
It is. You guess it, Tim, take it away, pal.
No, I'm just kidding. Don't do that.
No, seriously, don't talk. Just shut up.
Uh, no, we're joined.
We're very happy to be joined this week by a guest
and not just any guest.
A very special guest, Mr. Reus vk joins us this week.
Uh, welcome to the show, bud. Thank
Speaker 2: You.
Thank you. It's, uh, good to be here for the first time.
Speaker 1: Yeah. First time, uh, first time guest.
I, I assume long time listener.
I, you know, I assume you just regularly listen to Off Track
with in Generosity. Oh,
Speaker 2: Yes.
I wake up every day longing for a new episode.
Yes. He would be
Speaker 3: The only one of the three of us that does Correct,
Speaker 1: Correct.
Or any fan or any, any listener whatsoever.
Uh, before we started, I,
I was just commenting on your helmet collection behind you,
and I said, I really like the one
that's directly behind your head.
Yeah. That one there. Yes.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 1: And you said that my national helmet
said was, yeah, your national helmet.
I love that. Prize possession. I'm my helmet
Speaker 2: Short, but I put the brackets up,
so I might as well put that on.
Speaker 1: You gotta put something up there. Yes.
Is that, like, is that not the one
that you wore when you did your little spin?
Did you, did you wear a cowboy hat when you did your famous
spin intro at the Indy 500?
Speaker 2: Not at the 500, but I did it a few times
in Nashville, Texas.
I actually bought it in Nashville.
Uh, it's real Stetson,
but, uh, I only found out when my card
was in the reader that it was real. So
Speaker 3: From the cost then I take it?
Speaker 2: Yes, it was a bit too expensive. Is James
Speaker 3: Frozen up a little bit?
Speaker 2: Yes, he might be shook. All Speaker 3: Right. You're back, James.
Speaker 2: Alright. You look better this
time. Speaker 1: ,
I'm gonna take that as a compliment. Yes. Um,
Speaker 2: Well, quality wise,
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's Oh, oh, so not, I don't physically.
Okay. No. Yeah, no, yeah, I knew,
I knew such meant, knew touch meant.
Yeah, it's fine. It's fine.
uh, well, yeah, sorry for that little interruption,
but s obviously, you know,
you're coming off an incredible weekend in Toronto.
I'm still up in Canada. I can see you're back home.
Jim didn't bother making it out for the trip,
but just, just talk to me man about the feelings
of getting your first podium of the year, first podium
with Dale Coin Racing last week in Toronto.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was awesome. It was, it was just, uh, it,
it was waiting to happen.
Uh, we had all these races back to back coming, you know,
being a hard charger coming from the back
and really moving forward on strategy into the top 10.
But we never really started up front, so
that was gonna be my focus.
We just need to build a car that's gonna be, you know,
good enough from the get go
and, you know, something we can roll off quick
and, and qualify well with.
So we qualified ninth. Pretty good. Good.
Way better than, you know, the best of 18
to had in the last five.
So, uh, then going to, uh, coming into the race,
we just maximized strategy
and uh, we got it right once again, which, uh, you know,
Del Coin Racing is known, known for.
And, um, yeah, I mean, this is my first podium in 60 races,
so Wow.
Pretty big. It feels, feels good
to be back on on the podium.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt. So, I mean, I kind
of wanna talk about a couple of things you touched on there.
Um, you know, you've had this incredible run of,
of top 10 finishes this year,
and normally, as you kind of alluded to,
they've been coming from further back starting positions
than you'd like, certainly starting positions
outside the top 10.
So when you find yourself starting inside the top 10,
you've got this great qualifying position in ninth,
like you said, is it,
are you more worried about maintaining that position?
Or are you thinking, Hey, if I can move up from
20th into the top 10 now that I'm starting in the top 10,
I mean, top five is a realistic goal? Um,
Speaker 2: Both, I would say yes.
Um, if you look at the, our stats,
we should be moving forward, but also it's, it's, you know,
you're, you're starting in the back kind
of no pressure at all
before the raise, kind of, well, whatever happens, happens,
we'll, we'll, we'll we'll see, we'll see out there,
and now you're starting in nine
and see, just have a bit more pressure
and you, you gotta move forward.
So, um, I knew we were gonna be on that kind
of weird strategy to start
with going along on the alternates.
Uh, but I had a lot of faith in it.
I, I knew exactly what we needed to do
to make that, make that work.
So, uh, even though we were struggling in the beginning,
keeping them under underneath, you know,
we had one less stop to go at the end.
Speaker 1: So when you, when you talk about, uh, the kind
of strategy play,
because this was a, this was very much a,
a strategy race, right?
I mean, there were a few different times when the field
split under caution kind of Road America esque in
that sense, Dale Coin racing and,
and Dale as a strategist in particular, he is known
for being able to roll the dice and,
and kind of read the strategy Well,
how much were you involved in those decisions
that were being made when, I mean, obviously you were,
you were involved in the very first decision, which was
to start on the softs
and try to do it a little bit differently.
But then as the race evolved
and we saw some of the cautions come out
and we saw some of the wrong decisions made
by some big teams, what's that process like between you
and Dale, you know, on the racetrack
making those strategy calls? Well,
Speaker 2: I have to say, actually this was exactly
our plan, what we did.
So before the race, kind of
after to warm up, which wasn't really a warm up
with a little bit of driving we did in the wet, um, we,
yeah, we basically made the plan to go long
and, you know, just kind of stick with it.
So that's exactly what we did.
And, um, yeah,
I think it did, it worked for us.
We didn't have to, to do any crazy
things out there on track.
We, we didn't have to make any crazy calls,
but that's, I mean, that's how, how it went.
Uh, we just kind of went with the plan.
You stuck again, huh?
Speaker 1: Sorry man. We're we're getting you just fine.
I'm up in the middle of nowhere,
so my internet's terrible. I apologize.
Speaker 2: No, it's fine. Speaker 3: This would be better if I had any
insightful questions and could pick up the slides ,
but no, it was just awkward silence for
me. Speaker 1: ,
oh, the war. See Reina,
this is why we're not even sure why we hire this guy,
why we keep him around, but it's fine. Um,
Speaker 2: We all have these people our
Speaker 1: Lives, we have these people, we have these people. ,
um, Sonas tell me, I mean, coming into this year,
you know, you and I have talked obviously outside
of this show,
but about how the,
the change from ECR came as a surprise.
Dale jumped in pretty quick, you know,
even though the deal wasn't announced until fairly close
to the season, you guys did
that test together in October at the Speedway.
You were pretty confident, you know, from an early phase
that it was going in the right direction.
So you probably knew a bit more than the rest of us.
But when you came into this year,
what were realistic expectations for you in terms of,
you know, how many top tens you guys thought you could get
and, you know, what sort of position the championship you
thought you'd be running it?
Speaker 2: I think a realistic goal for me was P 16
or top 16 in the championship.
Um, and I would say, you know, like three,
four top tens would would've been, you know, pretty,
pretty big after, after last season for them
with no finished benefit, 13th.
So that was, for me, a realistic goal.
But, you know, you never really know what to expect.
I, I hated setting goals to the beginning of the season
because I didn't know how we,
how we were gonna be every weekend. So
Speaker 3: With obviously having a little bit of a momentum now
behind you guys, I mean, have the conversations changed?
Are, are you starting to expect more outta the weekend?
Does that come with more
disappointment if you don't get that?
Speaker 2: I mean, we, we've been getting top tens most of the time.
Uh, we've, we've been doing so well. Uh, yes.
I mean, IO was a struggle.
We, we didn't have any base in qualifying,
but still finishing 12 to 16th was pretty big.
So as long as we keep maximizing what we have, you know,
strategies on our side,
it's not gonna be like that every race.
So if, if we get strategy to not go our way
and we still maximize, that's all we could do.
So, you know, I, I think we're at that this point
of the season where we know what we need
to show up with every race in, in,
in the every race coming up.
So we, we've got that experience at this point.
Speaker 1: So, Rena, with the success that you've had, uh, with Dale,
and you know, obviously it was a,
it was a tough last kinda year at ECR,
but it's just been such a revelation here and,
and you've talked about the sort of family atmosphere.
It's, it's the people around you
that are really helping you kind
of get the best outta yourself.
Again, you're putting up these incredible results.
I don't know, are you allowed to tell us,
are you on a multi-year deal with Dale Coin Racing?
Or was it a, is it a one and, and then see what happens?
Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, it's just a one year deal for now
because it all came together so late.
You know, both of us.
Yeah, we, we, I just took what, what Dale gave me ,
Speaker 1: Uh, point Speaker 2: As you do,
Speaker 1: As you do, Speaker 2: I needed to be IndyCar. We've,
Speaker 3: We've heard some things about, uh, about the,
the agreements that Dale can coined driver
skidder sometimes don't
get , Speaker 1: ,
Speaker 2: Hey, I'm driving, I'm driving happy
Speaker 1: To be in the car, happy to be in the car and kicking ass.
Speaker 2: My stock has gone crazy since Dale hired me.
So , he made a good investment.
Speaker 1: So that, that leads me to my next question is,
with only a handful of races left in the season, you know,
silly season starts a little bit earlier these days than it
did five, 10 years ago.
Has this led to conversations with other teams?
Do you have any idea what 2026 looks like for you?
Is it staying with Dale? Are you exploring other options?
Kind of where, where are we at?
Speaker 3: He's got power seat, right? Speaker 1: ? Well,
Speaker 2: We're not even sure what he,
he's not even sure about his future.
But I mean, for, for me, yes, I'm, I'm exploring every,
every option I see around me right now, just, just seeing
what is best for my, for my career in the long term.
Um, there is some more chatter around me.
Yes, there's some, you know, some,
some pulling on my shirt going on,
but I, things are still moving
and it's still really dependent on other,
on other pieces of the puzzle.
So, um, best thing I can do right now is just be
successful, keep doing this.
It's gonna be good for me, good for Dale, good
for whoever profits from it.
So that's, that's basically what I'm, what my goal is
for now is to just keep doing what we're doing
and, uh, hopefully get a top 10 in the championship.
Speaker 1: Correct me if I'm wrong,
Mike Cannon's engineering you at the moment, right?
Yes, he is. And so, you know, Mike Cannon comes with,
I don't even know how many years, decades
of IndyCar experience
and IndyCar success, not just experience.
I mean, he's been winning at the highest
level for a long time.
Just kind of talk to me what it's like, you know, getting
to work with somebody that's got that sort of track record
and what has he kind of brought to your program, taught you
as a driver, you know, what has his,
how has his experience kind
of helped you perform in this new environment? Yeah,
Speaker 2: So he, he brings a lot of consistency to our team.
I think that's the biggest thing.
You know, we, we had some success
before he joined, uh, after the 500.
But yeah, he just brings us consistency, like showing up
with top 10 pace every weekend.
And I think what he really brought to me as
what he is teaching me is, you know, he worked
with Scott Dixon, the, the Master of Fuel Saving.
So my green, green mileage was great, it was fine.
It was the yellow mileage, how to save fuel
with the Honda engine under Pace car laps.
Is that, that's where you make a big difference.
So, uh, he's, he's been pushing me there.
Like the first real race I did with him was Gateway.
He is like, I'll give you this number for yellow.
I'm like, what? How's that possible?
So, but at the end of the race I made it.
So it's just things like that,
that open up strategy make things easier for, for, for Dale
and, and the other guys Underst stand
and, um, he also has,
just has a good leadership role within the team,
you know, to the tire guy.
Just little things, you know,
little management roles on the timing stand where he just,
you know, takes that very well. Wait
Speaker 1: A year you're what now?
24, 25, 24?
Speaker 2: Yes. Speaker 1: 24. And you're in your sixth
season of IndyCar. I'm
Speaker 2: Very, I just wanna Speaker 3: Say I'm very against people
that much younger than me doing this. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: Sorry. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: And, and Tim, I I maybe missed the, the second part.
He's in his sixth season. No, I caught at the age of 20.
Love it. Right? I just didn't like it. Right.
I mean, is it weird person for you arenas
to think about the fact that you are 24 years old
and you already have this much experience in IndyCar racing.
I mean, 18 year olds don't get opportunities like
that and make it last.
I mean, the few times I've seen it in my career
before you, those drivers didn't end up having
long careers in IndyCar.
I mean, you are a bit of a phenom in that sense.
Do you, do you appreciate that at this point?
Speaker 2: Oh, I really do. I really do.
And, uh, I mean, for me, my goal is to be in IndyCar
for the next 20 some odd years
and turn into, you know, one of the big, some
of the big guys you're
Speaker 1: Going after Dixon's record, aren't you?
Oh yes. You're going after his star record.
Speaker 2: Oh, yes. Oh.
And hopefully his win record too, but there you go.
Speaker 1: Um, Speaker 2: So yeah, for me, I mean,
I was telling my manager Adrian Sussman,
that I'm worried about getting too old at this point, .
So, and I said, yeah, I want you to know something.
Do something before it gets too old.
He's like, old, you're 24. So I,
Speaker 1: I want you to appreciate something here.
I got into IndyCar at 24,
my rookie season was 24. So like, well that's
Speaker 3: 'cause they had just invented
the internal combustion engine.
Speaker 1: God, I hate you. So I'm not Hunter Ray. Calm down .
But I mean, no, dude, it's, it's incredible
that you've had not only this number of races,
but the success that you've had at this age.
And it's, I I, I'm, I was curious,
and I'm interested to hear you say the fact that you are
gunning for those records, you wanna be the guy
that's racing here till you 45
and has maybe the first guy to reach 500 IndyCar starts.
Like is that ki is that the kind of thing you think about?
Speaker 2: Oh, yes, yes. And, uh, I just wanna be, I want my name
to be synonymous with IndyCar.
So, you know, when you think of IndyCar,
Scott Dixon, it's willpower.
It's, well, a few years ago, Ryan Hunter Ray,
it's people like that, you know, that it is just,
it's my goal to be, to be one of the legends in the sport.
Like, like, like they are.
And, um, yeah, I mean just, just
IndyCar itself, like I have no, no,
no interest in driving anything else than IndyCar.
IndyCar is just the, the thing I live for at the moment.
Speaker 1: So tell me about how this sort of came about,
because obviously, you know, growing up in the Netherlands,
everybody in Europe's original dream is def one,
but you always stood out to me
because you were one of the guys
that made the transition in North American
racing very early.
You came over, you know, on the road to Indy,
you won championships, you kind of excelled through that,
that c or that program.
What was it for you that was so appealing to IndyCar
that made you from such a young age want to come over,
you know, stateside and, and try that on front for size?
Speaker 2: I think the first thing for me, the, the,
the biggest thing when I first came over is the, at
that point it was the master road to Indy,
but just the latter system towards IndyCar
where success actually gets you to the top.
Where in Europe, you know, there's numerous
of Formula three, formula two drivers
that win championships,
but just don't get the shots in, in F1.
So it's just, uh, you know, for us, we didn't wanna be one
of those guys where yeah, you're, you're winning stuff in,
you know, on the way to F1, but then you get stuck
because politically
and financially it just can't,
there there's no place for you.
So for me, NICAR was the spot
and I just, you know, when I first started racing in the US
and, and, and the road to India was just, yeah, I mean, you,
you race in the same weekends,
you fall in love with it right away.
Speaker 1: So that, so that was really it.
I mean, growing up was, was F1 what you watched
and kind of what you originally aspired to, to get
to when you were, you know,
carting we say at, uh, a young age?
Speaker 2: Initially, yes. I would say when I was a little kid,
you know, every Sunday races were on,
and I mean, I rely on like,
is not just a name in the Netherlands, you know, he's, he's,
he's, he has a big identity, so I've always looked up
to him, to IndyCar
and you know, you just grow up with everything.
You know, you're go-karting.
If we're not practicing, we're watching F1, right?
It's just on, on TVs.
So that's kind of the, the, the local sport,
the, the national sport.
But then when you, when you look further is, you know,
IndyCar is getting so much more popular right now
also just because of me being in there. For sure,
Speaker 1: For sure. I get it. I believe
Speaker 3: It.
That's why I started watching Finally ,
Speaker 2: I mean, in the Netherlands, I'm not making that much
of a hit yet in the US .
So we've got 17 million people.
So we're, we're, we're getting here.
Speaker 3: Hey, I'm, I'm, I'm part Dutch.
I'll, I'll, I'll claim some of that.
Speaker 1: Don't you speak some Dutch Tim?
Speaker 3: No, Hazel was trying to learn it
and I, I, no offense, I don't know why like, we're,
we're from a very big Dutch family, but I was just like,
but like, when are you gonna use that in Los Angeles? ?
Like,
Speaker 1: Well, she goes to the race lot.
It could have been to communicate with Reus.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there you go. There you go. You can help her out.
She's, uh, she'll, I'll get her
to start her Duolingo again. Oh, yes.
Speaker 2: Those are weird sentences. That's
Speaker 3: Language has ever learned a language from Duolingo,
Speaker 1: Um, reus, you know, I've always admired the fact that,
you know, family is obviously a really big part of your life
and a big part of your career.
You know, your parents, I think,
I think I've seen them at every IndyCar race, you know, uh,
maybe outside of COVID since you joined the series,
your wife Carmen is there all the time as well.
How important for you is it to kind of have that,
that very close support system of your family
with you seemingly all the time? Yeah,
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just very important.
I mean, especially, you know, uh, with my parents, they,
they sacrificed a lot for me
to get into a ncar, uh, just as a family.
We did so did my sister.
Uh, so for, for them to be at all the races, you know,
being there in Toronto, being there for my first win,
just all that support.
Um, it's, it's very important to me
because, you know, it, it, I I feel like that's my way to,
uh, uh, like my, my way to repay them for,
for everything I sacrificed, you know, success is just,
you know, I feel like, like I'm, I'm,
I'm doing the right thing there for them. Uh, and
Speaker 3: Why is it, is it hard for parents
to have a kid that's into racing?
I've never heard that. Terrible. I
Speaker 2: Would never do it. Speaker 1: .
Oh my God, there's no chance. Absolutely.
Like, I'm not having kids explicitly
because I never want, I wouldn't want them
to ever have an interest in racing.
So I'm not even gonna have kids. I don't risk yet.
Speaker 3: I have, I have never met anyone in racing
who says it's a good idea to get their kids into
racing Speaker 2: .
Yeah. And they still end up doing it too. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Dixon's kids in a car right now,
all harder race kids love driving car.
Like, I mean, they all say it, but they're all dumb
and expose their kids to it and,
and then they're gonna be, you know,
wanna be drivers down the line.
It's gonna be a whole thing. Yeah, true.
Speaker 3: I mean, worked out for Speaker 2: That's true.
But then, you know, also my wife, this was her first podium
that she was actually at in Toronto. Really?
Speaker 1: So Speaker 2: Yeah, that was pretty cool.
So, uh oh, that's very cool. 360 races has been so long.
Yeah. So, um, you know, it is, it is just awesome
to be on there, have them around
and, uh, yeah, it is, it, it is just like you said,
a support system that really, you know, it, it,
it ma makes me feel at home, even in the us. And
Speaker 1: Look, I mean, that support system is so crucial
because a driver's career is up and down, right?
You have good days, bad days,
you have good years and bad years.
And with what, you know, you went
through in this off season, I bet having
that support system there and
and close to you was, was a huge boost
and helped you kind of come back from that and,
and find the success that you've had.
So kind of on that same path,
the success that you've had this year, like the podium,
even aside, I mean, all the top tens, all the strong results
that, that you've had, the super strong Sundays
that you've had, how rewarding is it for you as a driver
and how, you know, confidence inspiring?
Is it for you coming off a year like 20, 24, you have
what happens at the end of this season?
You drop by the team
and then to come back with the smallest team on the grid,
the lowest funded team on the grid, all the things
that people kind of associate with Dale Coin
to come into this year
and have hit the ground running, have all the results
that you've had now, the podium to your name.
I mean, how, how good does that feel?
And kind of how important was it to you
to really make a statement this year?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was very important and it just feels,
it feels super good, not just for me, but also for Dale.
We're kind of in the same redemption kind of story.
Um, different, you know, different ways we got there,
but we, we both want the same thing.
So, um, yeah, just the, the story makes,
makes it just so much better.
When I was the last guy to be signed, uh, right
before the season now we've had seven top tens,
which is my tide for best, with four races to go, really?
And yeah, yeah, year best season you
Speaker 1: Had seven top tens.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so, so last year I had seven, which was my,
my best in my incar career.
And now we're at seven.
Well, I hope we can get to 10 so that,
you know, it is just so good.
It feels so good. And, um, I mean, do coin racing too.
They, they just, they make it all work
and with the family too, you know, we suffer as a family
and we, we, we celebrate succeed as a family.
Family, yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. That's so cool.
Well, hey man, uh, we were just so, so impressed
with everything you've done all year,
but especially that drive on Sunday in Toronto, uh, I know
that that champagne probably tasted a little bit sweeter
than any of the ones that you've had.
So congrats on that. Oh yeah.
We wish you all the best for the remaining four races.
I'd love to see 10 top 10. Let's make it happen.
I'd love to see a top 10 in the points.
Let's make it happen. And then I'm super excited for you,
man, for the off season because you know,
we've got a longer off season than normal and, uh,
and there's some movement happening in the driver's market
and I know that your name has now kind
of reached fever pitch, you know, it's, it's top
of the pile in terms of, uh, of the drivers
that people are talking about.
So keep up the great work buddy.
Always been a fan, uh, always impressed with what you do
and can't wait to see what
the last four have in store for you. Yeah,
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Thank you very much. Thanks for everything on the show
and, uh, well let's do another one.
When I got 10 top tens and top 10 in the
Speaker 1: Championship, that's a deal.
That's a deal. Okay, we'll see you at the end of the season.
Celebrate the 10. Alright. Alright, buddy, take care.
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