WEBVTT
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This is, is off track.
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Hello everybody. Welcome to Off Track with Hinch
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or Rossi on today's Tuesday episode.
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We amazingly have a guest who was, um,
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I imagine tricked into being here and,
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and agreeing to be on the show,
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but we are endlessly appreciative for that.
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Uh, our guest today is Mr. Barry Wanzer, who
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among many other things you guys might know, uh,
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his beautiful voice from radio messages to
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and from Alex Palolo as he's the strategist on the 10 Stand
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for your Reigning Champion
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and Championship leader. Barry, welcome to the show.
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Thanks, guys. Nice. Uh,
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it's fun being here. Looking forward to it.
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Yeah, I think we, we were just chatting,
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this is maybe your second podcast you've ever been a guest
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on, uh, beat, beat to the Punch by Dinner with Racers
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as is pretty standard.
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They do a really good job
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and have been doing it for a while.
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But, um, you're, you're starting
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to get into listening to podcasts as well. Yeah,
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Absolutely.
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I listened to a few of the episodes that you guys have done.
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The, uh, certainly don't want after to say Pete and Thermal
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and The Seabring.
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'cause you know, obviously we're very much
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SA fans at Ganley Racing.
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You know, we just don't have a program this year.
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But it's, it's fun to watch and, and,
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and keep up to date on
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everything that everyone's talking about.
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So, but, uh, yeah, let's, like I told, like I told dinner
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with racers, you guys must be running out people to talk to.
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If you're, if you're asking me,
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You're, you'd be shocked
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and amazed how,
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how few people we've actually had on the show.
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So no, you're right near the top.
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But I mean, I gotta be, I gotta
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be honest, I gotta ask this question.
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Are you starting to listen to podcasts
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because there's like an active driver on it
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and maybe he'll slip up some insider info from the team
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or from Chevy or something?
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Or is this just general racing curiosity
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Really, you know, general racing curiosity
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and I, you know, it's what, uh, it's what we do is,
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what I love is racing and, uh, especially IndyCar racing.
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And, you know, I've been with, uh, chip for 28 years
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and it's, it's IndyCar.
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So hearing somebody talk about it, um, talk about it, um,
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with the personal experience
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and understanding like you guys have
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with the actual driving the current car.
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That's, you know, I think that's, uh, it's, uh,
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very insightful and it's fun to listen to.
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That's kind of you to lie.
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I mean, say, um, let's, uh, you talk about your,
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your long tenure with Chip Asse racing.
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Let's go back and give people a bit of an insight into kind
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of where you came from and
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how you got started in the sport in general. Uh,
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Without going all the way back,
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but, uh, I, I, I came, uh, I came here to Indy, um, to work
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for Chip Canac racing in 1997.
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Um, I started as, as an Artie's gearbox guy
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and won, we won the championship obviously in 97, 98.
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Then I removed onto the chassis rear end of the chassis
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for Montoya in 99. Um,
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That also went pretty well. It
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Did, started doing pit stops in 99, the, the Jack Vent
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and, you know, when it was in the center of the car.
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Um, and then was fortunate enough
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to win my first Indy 500, won in 2000.
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That was, that was pretty amazing.
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Um, and then for 2001, um,
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did some crew chiefing just at Indy.
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And then 2002, I was Jeff Ward's crew chief when we, uh,
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were learning the tracks in the Indie
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Racing League at that time.
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Um, you know, we were fortunate enough
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to get a big win over Little Al in Texas that year.
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I beat him at the line. Um,
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and then 2003, I started, uh, the year
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as Scott Dixon's crew chief
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and our long longtime team manager,
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Simon Hodgson hurt himself on his motorcycle.
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And, um, Mike, uh, hall asked me to step in for the rest
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of the year temporarily.
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So it was just before Indy.
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I took over the team manager role on Indy car side.
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Um, but I still got to do pit stops on Dixon's car.
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Ricky Davis was shop based
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and he came back on the road to be his crew chief,
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and I still gotta do pit stops.
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So it was fun to win the championship in 2003 with Scott.
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Um, but then in 2004 I was on the 10 car stand
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and I've been there since 2004
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and for 15 years I did, um, you know,
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the strategist kinda shared the duties with, with Chip
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and, uh, he, he taught me, you know, taught me how
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to manage the process and, you know, it's, uh, it's,
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it's one of the best things ever happened to me.
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So, I mean, how'd you get your start in racing your,
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was your first job in racing at Chip Cani?
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Or like, what were you doing before 97?
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So, uh, when I was in high, I was in first grade, just
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for reference, just to,
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That's just a jerk thing to say. Well,
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Well, there, there's one thing worse than that.
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The, um, the one, there's not a lot that's made me feel old,
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but, uh, when Alex came on, when Paolo came on, uh,
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on board, he was born the year I started with the team, so
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I always know how old he is. Yeah, yeah,
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Yeah. .
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But, uh, yeah, in high school, um, just, uh, leading up to
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before my, you know, freshman year when I was, you know,
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a kid played year round sports
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and at that time it's, you know, football, basketball,
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baseball, and then when you get to high school,
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you gotta make the team and, you know, like, uh,
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I didn't think I ate enough over the summer
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to make the football team, that's for sure.
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Um, didn't make the basketball baseball team
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and, um, some guys that were about, uh,
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10 years older than me, you know,
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two doors down from my parents' house,
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were building a northeast dirt modified, um, to race in, uh,
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in New York and where I'm from.
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So our, my home track is Orange County Fair Speedway,
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five eight mile dirt track in, in New York.
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And did that for quite a few years.
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And then, uh, got into, I, I went to work
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for a guy full-time in, in dirt track racing
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for a couple years, and that kind of opened up the doors
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for me to go into drag racing.
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So I, my first drag racing job was with the, uh, top Fuel,
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uh, funny car, um, the Boston Strangler Top, top,
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really sorry, top alcohol, funny car.
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Um, worked there for about a year.
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They lost their sponsor, you know,
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classic racing stuff, so mm-hmm .
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Um, then went, went with a small team in South Jersey,
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and then from there I went to, uh, work for, uh, Joe Amato
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and, uh, won my first professional championship in 1991,
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top Fuel Championship.
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So that was pretty awesome.
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But, you know, I always thought growing up doing dirt track
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racing, I'd end up in nascar,
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but, um, that really never materialized drag racing did.
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But then, you know,
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drag racing is the ultimate mechanic sport.
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Like I learned so much about working on cars Yeah.
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You know, beyond what I already knew.
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Um, and then, um,
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but it, it's an incredible sport,
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but to me there was so much effort
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to watch the car run sub five seconds.
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Right. And then you go work on it some more.
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So I really was looking to just
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45 minutes of disassembling, reassembling the engine
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between runs for five seconds of Yeah.
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Sub five seconds of entertainment.
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Yeah. So, um, you know, took a few years off from racing
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and then, uh, then was able to, uh, get back
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and, uh, then, um, got an interview with, uh, Mike Hall
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and Tom Anderson at the time, and, uh, and Nazareth
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and, uh, came to work for them two weeks later.
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So, uh, the rest is history as, as they say,
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but, uh, it's been an incredible career, so, so far,
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Yeah.
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So far and, and not finished, you still, uh,
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still out there competing at the very highest level.
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So let me ask you this then.
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Coming from that coming of Dirt Track, you know, dirt,
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short track, introduction to Motorsports, you went the,
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the NHRA route you got in with the IndyCar team,
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but Chip at some point did have, uh, a, a NASCAR team.
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Was that ever an interest, you know, of, of yours to kind
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of bug the boss and say like, Hey,
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if there's an opening over there, I'd love
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to give it a try? Yeah, so,
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Um, Andy Graves came,
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that's when Andy Graves came on board to run the NASCAR team
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after Chip, um, uh, purchased it.
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And, um, we,
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and Andy was involved with the Andy 500 program with Juan
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that, you know, we had obviously a very
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successful month to win the race.
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Um, and then went to nascar.
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And at that point we were, Andy was kind of recruiting me
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to go down there and it's, it's something my wife
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and I, you know, like for me it was like, man, this is,
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this is what I dreamed about
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when I was a kid, you know what I mean?
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Like, to work in nascar.
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So, um, it was a great opportunity, but,
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and my, you know, Lori and I went down and looked around
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and stuff, and it just felt like, you know, I've got
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so many good things going on with IndyCar
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and I love IndyCar racing.
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Um, I'm just gonna, you know, I, I appreciated the offer,
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but I'm gonna stay where I am.
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And you know, I'm glad I did. So,
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I mean, I, yeah, I would say it's worked out pretty well.
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I mean, I'm just, I'm just in my head kind of going through
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some of the names that you've got to work with
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directly on their car over the years.
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Let's not talk about even Chip Nessi racing
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as an organization.
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Mm-hmm . Just you on the, you say you came in with Zanardi,
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you worked on Montoya, you worked on Dixon,
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went over to the 10 cars.
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So that would've been guys like Dario, Frank Keating,
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you've, maybe you've heard of him, Dan, Dan Weldon.
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Yep. You've got this young kid now called Alex Pallo.
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Tony Canan, yeah.
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I, with Tony.
I gotta,
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I don't know if I had even put together, Barry, how many
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Hall of fame absolute legends of this sport
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that you've worked with and continue to work with.
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I mean, what's it like being able to look back on a,
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on a nearly 30 year career with this team
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and just look at the who's who of, of the legends
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of this sport that you've got to directly work
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With?
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You know, it's, um, you know, it's, to me, it's a privilege
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and honor really to work at Chip gne, GSI racing with all
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of the great people we get to work with.
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I mean, you know, there's, there's a lot of credit given
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to some, you know, individuals that, uh, you know,
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and I like, I like to spread out the credit and, and,
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but to work with, with the, the drivers that I've been able
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to, for sure, like, you can't, you can't win with unless
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and win consistently unless the drivers are,
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are fully capable of getting it done.
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I mean, ultimately that's, uh, that's
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where we've been fortunate, you know, at Chipi Racing,
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you know, chip and Mike being able to get talented drivers
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and, you know, sometimes they're, it's, they're,
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they're new in their career and sometimes it's later in
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their career, but, um, you know, the goal is
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to get the driver we want, you know,
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all the cars to run up front.
247
00:09:47.785 --> 00:09:50.445
Um, but like reflecting back, I, I only do
248
00:09:50.445 --> 00:09:51.725
that when I get asked about it.
249
00:09:51.725 --> 00:09:54.325
You know, I look, you know, I, I we, we kind of tend
250
00:09:54.325 --> 00:09:57.565
to focus forward at, uh, you know, I always looked at it
251
00:09:57.565 --> 00:10:00.005
that, you know, even with success,
252
00:10:00.365 --> 00:10:02.725
previous success does not guarantee future success.
253
00:10:02.785 --> 00:10:03.885
So you gotta keep working hard.
254
00:10:04.285 --> 00:10:05.525
Everyone's gotta work hard, and you gotta be,
255
00:10:06.055 --> 00:10:08.165
gotta be ready to adapt and change. Do you
256
00:10:08.165 --> 00:10:09.245
Have any dirt on any of them? ?
257
00:10:09.645 --> 00:10:11.805
Do you know anything, any good stories about tk?
258
00:10:12.585 --> 00:10:14.965
No, no. We, I got great stories about tk,
259
00:10:14.985 --> 00:10:16.125
but you know, we're, we're friends.
260
00:10:16.145 --> 00:10:17.325
We keep 'em amongst ourselves. .
261
00:10:17.925 --> 00:10:20.005
Okay.
All right. I mean, pinch knows,
262
00:10:20.005 --> 00:10:21.365
he spent a lot of time around tk.
263
00:10:21.545 --> 00:10:24.885
TK is just a lot of, a lot of fun. Cut constantly.
264
00:10:25.085 --> 00:10:29.485
I, I heard some legends constantly, uh, in involved with,
265
00:10:29.505 --> 00:10:31.285
uh, with, with messing with everybody.
266
00:10:31.585 --> 00:10:36.125
And, um, but, uh, yeah, it's, um, I think the, I the one,
267
00:10:36.205 --> 00:10:38.085
I guess one thing that sticks out that, um,
268
00:10:38.635 --> 00:10:42.005
like Tony will still be mad at me today about is, you know,
269
00:10:42.005 --> 00:10:45.205
he's, he's, he's, he's really a very intense guy.
270
00:10:45.345 --> 00:10:49.805
And, and, you know, um, the spotters at, at the Indy 500,
271
00:10:49.835 --> 00:10:51.445
even, you know, just even in practice
272
00:10:51.445 --> 00:10:53.485
and stuff, they're, they, they play a,
273
00:10:53.605 --> 00:10:56.365
a pretty crucial role in making sure you're, you're able
274
00:10:56.365 --> 00:10:58.805
to avoid things and, um, understand what's going on
275
00:10:58.805 --> 00:11:00.005
around you and, you know,
276
00:11:00.005 --> 00:11:01.325
hopefully prevent you from crashing.
277
00:11:01.325 --> 00:11:04.285
And we had, we had a couple close calls one day,
278
00:11:04.305 --> 00:11:06.845
and Tony kinda lost it on the radio, as you can imagine.
279
00:11:07.465 --> 00:11:10.005
Um, but, but the next day I kind of set him up
280
00:11:10.005 --> 00:11:11.525
and I had the two spotters in the truck,
281
00:11:11.525 --> 00:11:13.725
and I was like, Hey, A TKC, come on.
282
00:11:13.725 --> 00:11:15.445
You know, I said, we're looking for a better day too.
283
00:11:15.445 --> 00:11:17.445
Come here, come here. And we walked around the truck
284
00:11:17.445 --> 00:11:19.165
and two spotters in there, and I said, Hey, Tony wants
285
00:11:19.165 --> 00:11:20.245
to apologize for yesterday.
286
00:11:20.905 --> 00:11:24.245
And like Tony put him on the spot, he apologized, and he,
287
00:11:24.465 --> 00:11:26.685
and like he will, like, so he'll bring it up.
288
00:11:26.685 --> 00:11:28.325
Like, we'll be walking just down the paddock
289
00:11:28.325 --> 00:11:31.685
and be like, you remember when you made me apologize
290
00:11:32.025 --> 00:11:33.165
and I wasn't expecting it ?
291
00:11:34.565 --> 00:11:35.925
I was like, yeah, because you wouldn't have done it.
292
00:11:36.625 --> 00:11:39.445
You know what, I, I got a $20 bet.
293
00:11:40.175 --> 00:11:42.945
I'll, I I'll bet you $20, Barry, that
294
00:11:42.945 --> 00:11:47.345
before the end of his tenure as the team manager now
295
00:11:47.345 --> 00:11:49.265
of an IndyCar team, Uhhuh, he pulls
296
00:11:49.335 --> 00:11:50.945
that same trick on somebody else.
297
00:11:51.185 --> 00:11:53.445
I bet he turns that around and uses it on somebody else.
298
00:11:54.405 --> 00:11:55.605
Absolutely. Absolutely.
299
00:11:55.845 --> 00:11:56.965
, you know, and, uh,
300
00:11:57.585 --> 00:12:00.125
but, uh, like, I think one of the, uh, one
301
00:12:00.125 --> 00:12:02.525
of the interesting things too is, you know, Dario was
302
00:12:02.525 --> 00:12:03.605
with us for quite a few years,
303
00:12:03.625 --> 00:12:05.245
and we certainly had a lot of success there.
304
00:12:05.705 --> 00:12:07.845
Um, but it wasn't until he retired
305
00:12:08.665 --> 00:12:11.135
and he came back, um,
306
00:12:11.395 --> 00:12:14.095
to the first race since recovering from his injuries
307
00:12:14.095 --> 00:12:17.335
and stuff, and was on the 10 car, um, Intercom
308
00:12:18.115 --> 00:12:20.495
and for the race with TK out in Phoenix.
309
00:12:20.635 --> 00:12:23.095
And he was like, and after the race, he, he just said,
310
00:12:24.075 --> 00:12:26.415
you know, I just wanna apologize if
311
00:12:27.215 --> 00:12:29.415
anything I said on the radio or doubted
312
00:12:29.435 --> 00:12:31.535
or argued you with you and you know what I mean?
313
00:12:31.535 --> 00:12:33.495
Like, it was pretty funny. Like yeah, you just didn't know.
314
00:12:33.495 --> 00:12:36.745
Like, you know, we just, we, we keep it calm on the radio
315
00:12:36.925 --> 00:12:40.145
and you guys can, uh, go crazy, but
316
00:12:40.415 --> 00:12:41.745
Yeah, it's, it is,
317
00:12:41.745 --> 00:12:43.825
it's always funny when a driver gets the opportunity
318
00:12:43.845 --> 00:12:46.665
to be out of a race and see it from the pit stand.
319
00:12:46.905 --> 00:12:49.945
I remember when I got hurt in 15, the first race I came back
320
00:12:49.945 --> 00:12:52.625
to, stood on the stand for the first time ever
321
00:12:53.085 --> 00:12:55.265
and was blown away at, at how,
322
00:12:55.535 --> 00:12:58.505
what the dynamic is like there versus what you know
323
00:12:58.525 --> 00:12:59.825
of what's happening in the car.
324
00:13:00.665 --> 00:13:02.065
Absolutely. And then, you know, it's like, it,
325
00:13:02.085 --> 00:13:04.185
it takes the entire timing stand to do the strategy.
326
00:13:04.205 --> 00:13:06.945
You know, it's like, you know, chip taught me
327
00:13:06.965 --> 00:13:08.665
for those 15 years, we're together.
328
00:13:08.665 --> 00:13:10.265
Like you're managing the process, right?
329
00:13:10.825 --> 00:13:13.185
Ultimately, you have the final say of what you're doing,
330
00:13:13.185 --> 00:13:15.305
but you're constantly talking about the, the strategy.
331
00:13:15.885 --> 00:13:17.905
Um, you know, what would you do if yellow came out?
332
00:13:17.965 --> 00:13:20.905
Now, you know, you're, you're you, you know, one guy can't,
333
00:13:21.115 --> 00:13:23.745
can't look at all the data, can't look at the, the,
334
00:13:23.745 --> 00:13:24.745
you know, what the car is doing.
335
00:13:25.205 --> 00:13:26.825
You know, can't do the fuel you
336
00:13:26.825 --> 00:13:28.025
need, you know, a group of people.
337
00:13:28.025 --> 00:13:29.665
And they all were fortunate on the Tenco stand.
338
00:13:29.665 --> 00:13:32.265
You know, Julian Robertson is a great race engineer.
339
00:13:32.265 --> 00:13:33.785
He's been with the team for 31 years.
340
00:13:33.925 --> 00:13:36.865
He was the race engineer for Jimmy Vassar's, you know,
341
00:13:36.865 --> 00:13:38.825
the very first championship in 96.
342
00:13:39.445 --> 00:13:43.545
Um, he was, uh, Dixon's, um, engineer for hi,
343
00:13:43.565 --> 00:13:45.585
his first championship in 2003,
344
00:13:45.585 --> 00:13:48.185
and then he kind of was engineering manager for many years,
345
00:13:48.185 --> 00:13:49.425
wasn't doing race engineering.
346
00:13:49.765 --> 00:13:51.185
Um, so it's been fun to have an,
347
00:13:51.185 --> 00:13:53.065
having him back when Alex came on board
348
00:13:53.085 --> 00:13:55.465
and, um, just picked up where he left off.
349
00:13:55.565 --> 00:13:56.625
And, you know,
350
00:13:56.625 --> 00:13:59.025
we have a great performance engineer, Brian Welling.
351
00:13:59.065 --> 00:14:01.345
I mean, again, it's, you know,
352
00:14:01.345 --> 00:14:04.305
this experience in our relationship on the stand, you know,
353
00:14:04.305 --> 00:14:05.545
we're constantly talking about it.
354
00:14:05.565 --> 00:14:08.905
And really, Alex right now, he's given us all the options.
355
00:14:09.445 --> 00:14:12.065
You know, we, if we need, we need fuel saving, we need
356
00:14:12.065 --> 00:14:15.025
to take care of the tires, we need, you know, he's, he's,
357
00:14:15.125 --> 00:14:17.945
he is very smart and, uh, you know, some
358
00:14:17.945 --> 00:14:20.185
of the best drivers don't use all of their brainpower
359
00:14:20.185 --> 00:14:21.185
to drive the car.
360
00:14:21.215 --> 00:14:24.465
They have a lot reserved to be able to understand the,
361
00:14:24.845 --> 00:14:26.825
you know, the racing and what's going on around 'em
362
00:14:26.825 --> 00:14:28.305
with only given him a bits
363
00:14:28.305 --> 00:14:29.705
of information about what's happening,
364
00:14:29.705 --> 00:14:31.065
early pitters, stuff like that.
365
00:14:31.165 --> 00:14:33.585
And, um, he's got a great idea of what's going on there
366
00:14:36.895 --> 00:14:41.345
With three races in your average finish this year is 1.25,
367
00:14:42.015 --> 00:14:43.825
your worst finish is second place.
368
00:14:43.885 --> 00:14:46.745
You've won three of the last four championships, right?
369
00:14:46.935 --> 00:14:49.105
Like, uh, along
370
00:14:49.105 --> 00:14:51.550
with like you said about Alex giving you the options
371
00:14:51.550 --> 00:14:53.965
and being, you know, it all there
372
00:14:54.065 --> 00:14:55.445
and being able to figure things out.
373
00:14:55.465 --> 00:14:57.605
And the team that you mentioned, the people that you have,
374
00:14:57.605 --> 00:15:00.645
like, is there, is there a single factor that you can point
375
00:15:00.645 --> 00:15:02.365
to as like the biggest reason
376
00:15:02.465 --> 00:15:04.445
for your guys' continued success?
377
00:15:04.505 --> 00:15:07.005
Or is it just that collection of everything? I
378
00:15:07.005 --> 00:15:08.085
Gotta say it's a collection of everything,
379
00:15:08.085 --> 00:15:12.725
but Alex brings, um, a lot of talent
380
00:15:12.785 --> 00:15:16.925
to the table, you know, um, you know, when I compare to
381
00:15:17.395 --> 00:15:19.325
what we've had in the past for championships,
382
00:15:19.325 --> 00:15:23.045
certainly on a 10 car, um, very much like Dario, you know,
383
00:15:23.075 --> 00:15:25.445
very smart, very a big part of the strategy
384
00:15:25.465 --> 00:15:28.845
before you even, you know, before you even start the race.
385
00:15:28.875 --> 00:15:31.645
Like, you know, there's a, there's sometimes just a,
386
00:15:31.645 --> 00:15:34.365
it's a 50 50 shot whether you get the starting tires, right?
387
00:15:34.455 --> 00:15:36.445
Right. Serious,
388
00:15:36.445 --> 00:15:38.005
like right when you, when you go back to St.
389
00:15:38.005 --> 00:15:40.475
Pete, we were, you know, we were on the,
390
00:15:40.475 --> 00:15:43.035
on the correct tires, um, starting on the alternates.
391
00:15:43.035 --> 00:15:47.275
We had the early yellow gave us an opportunity to come in
392
00:15:47.495 --> 00:15:49.675
and get off 'em, and that was the strategy to won the race.
393
00:15:50.215 --> 00:15:51.995
But when we came off the track,
394
00:15:52.055 --> 00:15:53.275
we were fifth in our strategy.
395
00:15:54.095 --> 00:15:57.395
Um, you know, I think the 28 car had a slow pit stop,
396
00:15:57.415 --> 00:15:58.515
so we came out fourth.
397
00:15:59.175 --> 00:16:01.995
Um, so at that point, you know, I think we, we started 14th,
398
00:16:02.055 --> 00:16:03.355
but we're fourth in our strategy.
399
00:16:04.375 --> 00:16:08.235
Um, you know, you have Colton, Newgarden Dixon, then us.
400
00:16:08.615 --> 00:16:12.595
And really when you look at how it played out, col, Colton,
401
00:16:12.595 --> 00:16:13.755
they had a slow stop.
402
00:16:14.375 --> 00:16:16.675
Um, Newgarden pitted a few laps
403
00:16:16.775 --> 00:16:18.355
before us, so we overcut him.
404
00:16:18.655 --> 00:16:20.795
And really at the end, we came in the left,
405
00:16:20.795 --> 00:16:24.965
we came in on the last stop, um, behind Dixon,
406
00:16:24.965 --> 00:16:26.685
we were just covering ourselves.
407
00:16:26.745 --> 00:16:28.205
So new guard wouldn't jump us, right?
408
00:16:28.205 --> 00:16:29.205
I mean, that's what you're trying to do.
409
00:16:29.205 --> 00:16:31.285
You're either trying to do an overcut, overcut
410
00:16:31.285 --> 00:16:33.085
or undercut depending on who you're trying
411
00:16:33.085 --> 00:16:34.325
to pass or stay ahead of.
412
00:16:34.945 --> 00:16:37.085
And we came in and Dixon caught traffic
413
00:16:37.185 --> 00:16:38.765
and you know, we didn't know at the time he had a radio
414
00:16:38.775 --> 00:16:43.325
issue at that time, um, and that that enabled us to get him.
415
00:16:43.325 --> 00:16:45.685
But really, you know, we just try not
416
00:16:45.685 --> 00:16:47.085
to, you know, screw it up.
417
00:16:47.085 --> 00:16:48.965
Like, don't we talk about it all the time in a race meeting,
418
00:16:48.975 --> 00:16:50.645
don't beat yourself, um,
419
00:16:50.865 --> 00:16:52.085
you know, do the obvious things, right?
420
00:16:52.105 --> 00:16:54.565
We stayed outta trouble. We had great performance on track,
421
00:16:54.615 --> 00:16:55.885
great performance in the pits,
422
00:16:55.945 --> 00:16:59.445
and, you know, came out with the win, um, thermal,
423
00:16:59.625 --> 00:17:01.365
we ended up on the right tires, you know,
424
00:17:01.785 --> 00:17:02.845
at the end as well, right?
425
00:17:02.845 --> 00:17:04.525
We saved the, the sticker reds
426
00:17:04.525 --> 00:17:05.805
to the end, and that was a huge advantage.
427
00:17:06.025 --> 00:17:07.765
But again, that was a decision, right? Yeah.
428
00:17:07.765 --> 00:17:11.085
So it's, it's, I mean, what I think for me, you know, we,
429
00:17:11.085 --> 00:17:13.725
we talk so much about the strategy, you know, on,
430
00:17:13.725 --> 00:17:14.725
on the broadcast, right?
431
00:17:14.735 --> 00:17:16.485
We're trying to explain to people, Townson,
432
00:17:16.485 --> 00:17:18.725
and I try to pretend like we know what's happening even
433
00:17:19.125 --> 00:17:21.445
remotely and sound kind of remotely intelligent.
434
00:17:22.095 --> 00:17:23.965
Again, it doesn't, doesn't work that often,
435
00:17:24.425 --> 00:17:25.805
but, you know, I've talked to, so that's,
436
00:17:25.805 --> 00:17:27.205
You guys are trying
Yeah.
437
00:17:27.205 --> 00:17:30.085
Weirdly, if you can believe it, , um, that's our,
438
00:17:30.085 --> 00:17:32.045
that's our 10 10th best effort on that one.
439
00:17:32.105 --> 00:17:33.325
Wow, okay. But you know, I've heard,
440
00:17:33.475 --> 00:17:35.925
I've heard like Tim Cindrich say in the past, who, again,
441
00:17:35.925 --> 00:17:39.045
another very accomplished strategist in IndyCar that it,
442
00:17:39.115 --> 00:17:41.605
it's pointless to try to figure out what's gonna happen.
443
00:17:41.665 --> 00:17:43.845
He goes, we on the stand don't even know
444
00:17:43.845 --> 00:17:45.085
what's gonna happen most of the time.
445
00:17:45.275 --> 00:17:48.805
Correct. So obviously a lot of what you guys are doing is
446
00:17:49.605 --> 00:17:53.445
reacting to situations and to react to a given scenario,
447
00:17:53.945 --> 00:17:55.765
you've had to have thought out
448
00:17:56.185 --> 00:18:00.165
and planned ahead for almost any possible, you know,
449
00:18:00.605 --> 00:18:02.525
situation that could arise and then know
450
00:18:02.525 --> 00:18:03.845
what your decision was in that moment.
451
00:18:04.145 --> 00:18:06.885
So I guess the question is like, kinda run me
452
00:18:07.085 --> 00:18:09.925
through the process of the buildup to a race
453
00:18:10.345 --> 00:18:13.445
and how you guys sort of decide your strategy
454
00:18:13.745 --> 00:18:16.805
and how much planning do you do versus reacting?
455
00:18:17.065 --> 00:18:20.645
You know, if you just look at Long Beach, um, you know,
456
00:18:20.645 --> 00:18:22.725
they added five laps to the five laps at a race.
457
00:18:22.825 --> 00:18:26.885
It was still going to be, um, a two stop race with,
458
00:18:27.025 --> 00:18:28.365
you know, one lap windows, one
459
00:18:28.365 --> 00:18:29.845
and a half lap windows, so one lap windows.
460
00:18:29.855 --> 00:18:31.725
Right. Um, but,
461
00:18:32.065 --> 00:18:34.365
and I think you needed, like, you know, it's so secret.
462
00:18:34.985 --> 00:18:36.285
The, the fuel mileage is the fuel
463
00:18:36.285 --> 00:18:37.565
mileage you need for the distance, right?
464
00:18:37.565 --> 00:18:38.725
It's based on the amount, the 18
465
00:18:38.725 --> 00:18:40.125
and a half gallons of the car and the distance.
466
00:18:40.545 --> 00:18:44.565
So you needed 3.3 average fuel, fuel mileage
467
00:18:44.585 --> 00:18:45.685
to to, to get that done.
468
00:18:46.025 --> 00:18:49.645
But we all knew going in the, the alternates were not going
469
00:18:49.705 --> 00:18:51.005
to do a full stint, right?
470
00:18:51.005 --> 00:18:53.245
So 90 lap race, you gotta do 30 laps
471
00:18:53.905 --> 00:18:55.205
on each set of tires, right?
472
00:18:55.225 --> 00:18:56.445
On three sets of tires.
473
00:18:56.555 --> 00:18:58.565
Well, that, that was like you, you,
474
00:18:58.835 --> 00:19:00.085
like, no one anticipated.
475
00:19:00.105 --> 00:19:02.805
You, you would even, I don't think the entire, I think,
476
00:19:03.205 --> 00:19:06.685
I think you saw, saw by the, um, the starting lineup
477
00:19:06.685 --> 00:19:08.525
with all the cars that started on the alternates,
478
00:19:08.635 --> 00:19:09.685
that everyone knew
479
00:19:09.685 --> 00:19:11.285
that you weren't gonna go a full distance on
480
00:19:11.285 --> 00:19:12.685
the, on the alternate tire.
481
00:19:12.745 --> 00:19:14.645
So everyone was planning on getting off of them early.
482
00:19:14.845 --> 00:19:17.245
I think it was a, that was more of a reaction to, uh,
483
00:19:17.665 --> 00:19:18.805
to what happened at St.
484
00:19:18.865 --> 00:19:19.925
Pete's. Um,
485
00:19:20.745 --> 00:19:23.365
but you know, we're talking about that, you know, we,
486
00:19:23.425 --> 00:19:26.525
we really don't even know we're, we're about the tires until
487
00:19:26.575 --> 00:19:28.845
after the warmup when we have to make that decision.
488
00:19:29.545 --> 00:19:32.925
And, you know, the, the only time we get to do any
489
00:19:33.435 --> 00:19:35.925
lengthy runs on the alternates is the warmup.
490
00:19:35.945 --> 00:19:38.925
So we, we, you know, we get that set that we run for just in
491
00:19:38.925 --> 00:19:40.725
that 10, a 10 minute session on Friday.
492
00:19:40.795 --> 00:19:42.845
It's pretty much just a quick qualifying sim,
493
00:19:43.225 --> 00:19:44.525
and then those are stamped,
494
00:19:44.525 --> 00:19:46.405
and then we can't run them again until warmup.
495
00:19:46.825 --> 00:19:48.765
So we run them as long as we can in the warmup.
496
00:19:49.105 --> 00:19:50.805
Um, and I dunno if you notice the warmups are
497
00:19:50.805 --> 00:19:51.885
five minutes shorter this year.
498
00:19:52.195 --> 00:19:53.765
Yeah, so by the, they're 25 minutes.
499
00:19:53.765 --> 00:19:56.805
So by the time you do like a practice start, Alex likes
500
00:19:56.805 --> 00:20:00.325
to do a practice start, um, and then we do two pit stops
501
00:20:00.905 --> 00:20:02.365
and to warm up the, the crew,
502
00:20:02.585 --> 00:20:06.605
and then usually that's about 17 minutes remaining , um,
503
00:20:06.825 --> 00:20:07.845
of, of practice.
504
00:20:07.905 --> 00:20:09.965
So, and you know, sometimes you might wanna get a change in
505
00:20:09.965 --> 00:20:13.045
there, but so literally based on that and,
506
00:20:13.045 --> 00:20:16.805
and Alex's feel on, on the tires, we decide then
507
00:20:17.515 --> 00:20:19.005
what we think we wanna start on.
508
00:20:19.465 --> 00:20:22.165
Um, and then we're already talking about, you know,
509
00:20:22.165 --> 00:20:24.645
the strategy of when we would stop, how soon we would stop.
510
00:20:25.265 --> 00:20:29.565
Um, you know, there's options. Obviously everyone came in.
511
00:20:29.685 --> 00:20:32.405
I think everyone was kind of, uh, lured in once, uh,
512
00:20:32.405 --> 00:20:35.365
Newgarden was the, one of the first cars to go from the
513
00:20:36.055 --> 00:20:38.445
alternates to the, to the primaries.
514
00:20:38.665 --> 00:20:41.245
And then we saw his first lap time was already faster than
515
00:20:41.245 --> 00:20:43.205
what we were on up front, but we weren't, you know, we were
516
00:20:43.205 --> 00:20:44.605
behind, um,
517
00:20:44.975 --> 00:20:47.300
after the, uh, the start there, we were in, in fifth.
518
00:20:47.305 --> 00:20:48.285
So we, we were, you know,
519
00:20:48.285 --> 00:20:49.365
we were just kind of stuck in line.
520
00:20:49.465 --> 00:20:51.365
No one's really trying to check out at that point,
521
00:20:51.365 --> 00:20:52.525
which we were kind of surprised.
522
00:20:52.525 --> 00:20:53.685
So we're kind of stuck there.
523
00:20:54.425 --> 00:20:57.605
Um, we knew we had some good performance in the car, um,
524
00:20:57.705 --> 00:21:00.005
and then cars came in front of and came in the pits
525
00:21:00.005 --> 00:21:02.085
and we stayed out and did one blistering lap.
526
00:21:02.785 --> 00:21:04.605
You know, nothing better than being on good tires
527
00:21:04.665 --> 00:21:08.735
and telling your driver, Hey, you know, you know, as fast
528
00:21:08.735 --> 00:21:10.015
as you can go, yeah.
529
00:21:10.015 --> 00:21:12.255
You know, ma maximum overtake and then come in.
530
00:21:12.555 --> 00:21:14.255
And that allowed us to jump back up the second.
531
00:21:14.435 --> 00:21:18.575
But, you know, you, you, you, like you said, you're kind
532
00:21:18.575 --> 00:21:20.775
of reacting because could we have gone another lap
533
00:21:21.075 --> 00:21:23.975
and then, you know, fast and then be able to come in
534
00:21:23.975 --> 00:21:28.215
and jump, um, you know, Kirkwood and possibly,
535
00:21:28.275 --> 00:21:31.335
but you, you know, you also don't want to be overexposed and
536
00:21:32.395 --> 00:21:34.655
To yell out,
You know, especially early on in,
537
00:21:34.655 --> 00:21:37.215
at Long Beach, everyone's getting real racy, you know, it's,
538
00:21:37.215 --> 00:21:38.775
um, you know, there's, there's always
539
00:21:38.775 --> 00:21:40.255
that's one of your highest chances there.
540
00:21:40.755 --> 00:21:42.575
So, but, you know, we're always,
541
00:21:42.575 --> 00:21:44.495
always talking about the strategy and like you said earlier,
542
00:21:44.595 --> 00:21:48.335
you, you, there's, there's no there, there's no like magic,
543
00:21:49.155 --> 00:21:51.295
you know, eight ball to tell you what's gonna happen, right?
544
00:21:51.315 --> 00:21:53.175
You just, you're, you're, you, you know
545
00:21:53.195 --> 00:21:55.935
how many laps you gotta go when you pit then you know
546
00:21:55.935 --> 00:21:57.015
what fuel you need for,
547
00:21:57.015 --> 00:21:58.255
you know, to get to the end of the race.
548
00:21:58.835 --> 00:22:01.055
Um, you know, and if you burn more than that,
549
00:22:01.135 --> 00:22:02.295
you gotta make it up somewhere else.
550
00:22:02.875 --> 00:22:05.335
Um, you know, during, for that race,
551
00:22:05.445 --> 00:22:07.695
when you looked at the alternate strategy
552
00:22:07.835 --> 00:22:09.175
was actually playing out, right?
553
00:22:09.175 --> 00:22:11.055
The cars that started on the primaries
554
00:22:11.055 --> 00:22:13.895
and were going long, um, that was starting to play out
555
00:22:13.895 --> 00:22:16.695
because Lund guard was got within 34
556
00:22:16.695 --> 00:22:18.295
seconds to, to us, right?
557
00:22:18.395 --> 00:22:20.135
Or should I say we were 34 seconds
558
00:22:20.135 --> 00:22:22.375
behind him when he was leading, you know,
559
00:22:22.875 --> 00:22:25.535
and what, you know, what, at that, to, to us,
560
00:22:25.555 --> 00:22:26.735
we weren't going fast enough,
561
00:22:26.735 --> 00:22:28.015
but we couldn't get around Kirkwood
562
00:22:28.015 --> 00:22:29.055
and he wasn't going fast enough.
563
00:22:29.055 --> 00:22:30.975
Eventually they figured it out and needed to go faster
564
00:22:31.205 --> 00:22:34.335
because it was 38 seconds time lost in and outta the pit.
565
00:22:34.395 --> 00:22:37.055
So if Right, if we had, if we had gone four second
566
00:22:37.055 --> 00:22:39.375
Difference there,
Some, some more laps slower,
567
00:22:39.515 --> 00:22:41.415
and next thing you know, he's coming out battling
568
00:22:41.415 --> 00:22:42.775
with us when he comes outta the pitch, right?
569
00:22:42.875 --> 00:22:45.055
So, um, but it, it, it worked out
570
00:22:45.055 --> 00:22:46.535
and he obviously ran a good, good race
571
00:22:46.555 --> 00:22:47.735
to get up to third, right?
572
00:22:47.835 --> 00:22:49.935
So, yeah. Um, where
573
00:22:49.935 --> 00:22:51.735
that same strategy didn't work out at St.
574
00:22:51.735 --> 00:22:53.735
Pete, even with McLaughlin going like,
575
00:22:53.795 --> 00:22:56.575
I'd say even more flat out, out front, um, for sure.
576
00:22:56.805 --> 00:22:58.175
Just, just, it just didn't work.
577
00:22:58.755 --> 00:23:00.615
And that's what's, that's what's fun about it, is it's,
578
00:23:00.615 --> 00:23:01.735
it's different track to track.
579
00:23:01.755 --> 00:23:03.135
You know, we still show up with the same
580
00:23:03.135 --> 00:23:04.215
tires that we had in St.
581
00:23:04.215 --> 00:23:06.015
Pete, but it wasn't the exact same result.
582
00:23:06.225 --> 00:23:07.295
Trend did the same way.
583
00:23:07.315 --> 00:23:09.415
But you guys have to be able to adapt
584
00:23:09.475 --> 00:23:10.655
and, and think on your feet.
585
00:23:11.115 --> 00:23:15.455
Now, when we were in thermal, I guess, um,
586
00:23:15.535 --> 00:23:19.495
during the warmup show, we had Chip come out and,
587
00:23:19.555 --> 00:23:20.775
and talk to us on the show,
588
00:23:21.705 --> 00:23:23.365
and we were talking a lot about Polo,
589
00:23:24.185 --> 00:23:27.605
and he made the comment, he goes, look, as good
590
00:23:27.605 --> 00:23:29.645
as this guy is, we're still just
591
00:23:29.645 --> 00:23:30.765
scratching the surface with him.
592
00:23:31.105 --> 00:23:32.645
He keeps getting better and better.
593
00:23:33.225 --> 00:23:35.085
And as you know, the guy that's in his ear
594
00:23:35.085 --> 00:23:36.525
that probably has more communication
595
00:23:36.525 --> 00:23:37.685
with him on the team than anybody.
596
00:23:37.785 --> 00:23:40.685
I'd love to know your take on where Alex Polo is
597
00:23:40.785 --> 00:23:41.845
as a driver today,
598
00:23:41.945 --> 00:23:43.645
and whether you agree with the sentiment
599
00:23:43.645 --> 00:23:45.045
that he's still improving
600
00:23:45.505 --> 00:23:47.685
and he's just gonna keep getting better and better.
601
00:23:48.145 --> 00:23:49.405
Oh, I firmly believe that.
602
00:23:49.605 --> 00:23:51.645
I mean, he is definitely, um,
603
00:23:52.235 --> 00:23:53.845
getting better after every race.
604
00:23:54.045 --> 00:23:57.525
I mean, this is, um, this, this is something that, um,
605
00:23:58.935 --> 00:24:00.115
we talk about even internally.
606
00:24:00.145 --> 00:24:02.155
Like it's, that that's what makes it even more fun.
607
00:24:02.975 --> 00:24:05.555
Um, going to the racetrack, you know, being able to work,
608
00:24:05.855 --> 00:24:09.515
you know, with, with a guy like Alex is just, he,
609
00:24:09.605 --> 00:24:10.915
again, he gives you all the options.
610
00:24:10.975 --> 00:24:12.475
You know, you've, you, you've,
611
00:24:12.615 --> 00:24:15.155
you ev every driver's been in a situation sometimes
612
00:24:15.155 --> 00:24:17.115
where the tires have gone off so they can't do
613
00:24:17.115 --> 00:24:18.715
what the time the Tommy stands asked 'em to do,
614
00:24:19.215 --> 00:24:20.875
or, you know, and they have to change the,
615
00:24:20.975 --> 00:24:22.595
or adjust the strategy for that.
616
00:24:23.195 --> 00:24:24.715
I mean, Alex is good at everything
617
00:24:24.895 --> 00:24:26.875
and understanding the races, um,
618
00:24:26.875 --> 00:24:29.315
there's not too many obvious things I have to tell him.
619
00:24:29.315 --> 00:24:32.115
Right. Um, you know, sometimes I just have
620
00:24:32.115 --> 00:24:34.635
to say it's obvious like, you know, hey,
621
00:24:34.995 --> 00:24:37.595
I know this is obvious, but, uh, we're not going fast enough
622
00:24:37.705 --> 00:24:40.555
with Lund guard on the alternate strategy, you know?
623
00:24:40.975 --> 00:24:44.235
Um, but I know he just can't obviously just go, okay,
624
00:24:44.235 --> 00:24:47.675
I'll just turn it up and pass cut the car in front of me.
625
00:24:47.675 --> 00:24:49.275
Right? Yeah. Um, it's not that easy.
626
00:24:49.935 --> 00:24:52.955
But, um, Alex understanding the car
627
00:24:53.135 --> 00:24:55.635
and his, his relationship with Julian
628
00:24:56.135 --> 00:24:58.475
and the entire engineering staff is definitely, uh,
629
00:24:58.565 --> 00:24:59.995
definitely paying off.
630
00:25:00.295 --> 00:25:02.715
And, um, again,
631
00:25:02.755 --> 00:25:04.635
I think the sky's the limit on what he is capable of.
632
00:25:05.255 --> 00:25:07.115
One of the things that's always blown me away about him
633
00:25:07.215 --> 00:25:11.115
is, you know, we, we tune into his car radio from time
634
00:25:11.115 --> 00:25:14.875
to time and the guy just never seems down.
635
00:25:15.135 --> 00:25:18.515
He never seems angry, he never seems emotional
636
00:25:18.615 --> 00:25:20.235
unless it's after a checkered flag.
637
00:25:20.235 --> 00:25:22.395
And he is congratulating the boys on a great win.
638
00:25:22.895 --> 00:25:26.435
Um, you know, we, we've known Scott Dixon's nickname
639
00:25:26.435 --> 00:25:27.515
to be the Ice Man forever.
640
00:25:27.875 --> 00:25:29.875
'cause he couldn't, couldn't crack him under pressure.
641
00:25:29.875 --> 00:25:31.035
He was always a cool customer,
642
00:25:31.335 --> 00:25:33.915
but even Scott could get animated on the radio when the
643
00:25:33.915 --> 00:25:35.075
right person pissed him off.
644
00:25:35.865 --> 00:25:37.835
Alex doesn't seem to do that ever.
645
00:25:38.195 --> 00:25:40.595
I, I remember for me, the moment I realized
646
00:25:40.655 --> 00:25:42.875
how dangerous this guy was, behind the wheel
647
00:25:42.875 --> 00:25:46.115
of a race car was in 21, you're in the thick
648
00:25:46.115 --> 00:25:47.235
of a championship battle.
649
00:25:47.565 --> 00:25:49.435
We're coming down to the last third of the season.
650
00:25:49.885 --> 00:25:50.755
We're at the, the harvest
651
00:25:50.755 --> 00:25:51.875
maybe the last quarter of the season.
652
00:25:52.285 --> 00:25:54.515
We're at the, the second indie road course race.
653
00:25:54.515 --> 00:25:56.475
You guys have an engine failure while
654
00:25:56.475 --> 00:25:57.515
leading the championship.
655
00:25:57.935 --> 00:25:58.995
And he got on the radio
656
00:25:59.255 --> 00:26:03.315
and could not have been cooler, calmer, more in control,
657
00:26:03.335 --> 00:26:04.675
and just saying, yeah, no worries.
658
00:26:04.755 --> 00:26:08.435
Everything's good. And in that moment I'm like, oh,
659
00:26:08.435 --> 00:26:09.435
you can't flap this guy.
660
00:26:09.935 --> 00:26:12.595
So have, have you. I mean, can you give us some insight?
661
00:26:12.615 --> 00:26:14.595
Has, has he ever gotten really angry on the radio?
662
00:26:14.705 --> 00:26:16.035
Have, have we just missed it,
663
00:26:16.035 --> 00:26:17.595
but it's, he's possible. It's possible.
664
00:26:18.505 --> 00:26:19.955
Nope. He's never gotten angry on the radio.
665
00:26:19.975 --> 00:26:22.035
No, never does it. Yeah, I figured that was it. Yeah.
666
00:26:22.375 --> 00:26:24.675
You know, you, you can imagine the frustration we
667
00:26:24.675 --> 00:26:26.515
experienced, uh, last year at Milwaukee
668
00:26:26.515 --> 00:26:27.635
with, uh, Milwaukee for sure.
669
00:26:27.635 --> 00:26:28.675
Battery failure, you know, and,
670
00:26:29.015 --> 00:26:30.595
and a lot of people thought we had hybrid failure,
671
00:26:30.695 --> 00:26:32.635
but you know, we've, we've told as many people
672
00:26:32.635 --> 00:26:33.955
as we can, that was a battery failure.
673
00:26:34.055 --> 00:26:35.315
It went back to the manufacturer.
674
00:26:35.315 --> 00:26:38.275
There was a, there was a capacity on the circuit board.
675
00:26:38.275 --> 00:26:41.075
The battery could have the, the, it was a rare failure.
676
00:26:41.335 --> 00:26:43.685
It could have happened regardless of whether, you know,
677
00:26:43.685 --> 00:26:45.445
it's the original battery of the car kind of thing.
678
00:26:45.445 --> 00:26:47.005
Right. It's not, it could have happened
679
00:26:47.075 --> 00:26:48.325
with prior to the hybrid.
680
00:26:48.465 --> 00:26:51.005
And the hybrid had no effect on causing the failure.
681
00:26:51.225 --> 00:26:54.045
So, um, you know, imagine, you know,
682
00:26:54.045 --> 00:26:55.085
you roll off from the grid
683
00:26:55.085 --> 00:26:56.525
and it's, the car stops to pit out.
684
00:26:56.565 --> 00:26:58.205
I can't even talk to him on the radio. Right.
685
00:26:58.205 --> 00:26:59.485
Like there's no power to the car.
686
00:27:00.345 --> 00:27:02.485
So maybe he was mad there, you just couldn't hear it,
687
00:27:03.025 --> 00:27:04.025
I'm sure, right? ,
688
00:27:04.025 --> 00:27:06.365
he may, he he must, he must do a good job of hiding it.
689
00:27:06.365 --> 00:27:08.045
Right? Uh, you know, we, you know,
690
00:27:08.145 --> 00:27:10.525
and you know, when we got him back to the pits,
691
00:27:10.525 --> 00:27:11.805
we fortune, it was the pit outs.
692
00:27:11.805 --> 00:27:12.805
We got him back to the pits.
693
00:27:12.825 --> 00:27:14.485
We were able to reenergize the system
694
00:27:15.025 --> 00:27:17.245
and then, you know, had enough energy to go around
695
00:27:17.245 --> 00:27:19.045
and stop on the back stretch at that point, you know,
696
00:27:19.045 --> 00:27:20.645
they gotta get the driver out of the car
697
00:27:21.585 --> 00:27:22.645
to be able to lift the car.
698
00:27:22.695 --> 00:27:24.485
Right. They brought it back, he came back to, you know,
699
00:27:24.485 --> 00:27:26.085
got him, we got him back, made sure he came back
700
00:27:26.085 --> 00:27:28.685
to the stand and you know, it's like, you know,
701
00:27:29.185 --> 00:27:30.365
he is like, what are we doing?
702
00:27:30.365 --> 00:27:33.365
And it's like, well, we're hoping we're gonna analyze it.
703
00:27:33.365 --> 00:27:35.565
We think it's the battery e everything we see now,
704
00:27:35.895 --> 00:27:37.645
we're gonna change the battery, get it running.
705
00:27:37.745 --> 00:27:39.085
We need to get you back in the car
706
00:27:39.625 --> 00:27:41.845
and wherever we are, we're just gonna try to get
707
00:27:41.845 --> 00:27:43.005
as many points as we can today.
708
00:27:43.005 --> 00:27:45.125
We're gonna run laps. We'll have you pit
709
00:27:45.425 --> 00:27:47.565
and not interfere with pit stops and anything else.
710
00:27:47.585 --> 00:27:49.125
You know what, I enemy we're just gonna avoid everybody.
711
00:27:49.575 --> 00:27:50.845
We'll avoid everybody on track.
712
00:27:50.905 --> 00:27:52.165
You may have to let some cars go,
713
00:27:52.225 --> 00:27:54.445
but we're just gonna kind of stay outta trouble.
714
00:27:54.625 --> 00:27:57.805
And you know, we went from 27th and 19th, right?
715
00:27:57.945 --> 00:28:00.325
So that, that, that took a lot
716
00:28:00.325 --> 00:28:01.805
of pressure off us going into the national.
717
00:28:02.035 --> 00:28:03.845
Yeah. You know, and that you can imagine that was like,
718
00:28:04.065 --> 00:28:05.605
for all of us, it's like, man, you know,
719
00:28:05.605 --> 00:28:06.605
we've got a good lead here
720
00:28:06.605 --> 00:28:09.165
and now we've just, we've lost it all.
721
00:28:09.185 --> 00:28:10.885
You know, and then to start it, start of the race,
722
00:28:10.925 --> 00:28:12.485
I think when they were at the point they're tracking the
723
00:28:12.485 --> 00:28:14.925
points, like we were kind of tied with power and stuff,
724
00:28:14.925 --> 00:28:17.625
and then, you know, he had a problem unexpectedly
725
00:28:17.625 --> 00:28:19.625
and that, that kind of gave us a little more breathing room.
726
00:28:19.725 --> 00:28:24.025
But, um, yeah, he just, yeah, he was just calm, like again,
727
00:28:24.205 --> 00:28:26.505
and that was like the worst case scenario you can have.
728
00:28:26.995 --> 00:28:29.425
Right. Um, like I said, Milwaukee and he got back in the car
729
00:28:29.445 --> 00:28:32.705
and just was happy with like, hey, you know, there was some,
730
00:28:32.705 --> 00:28:34.545
there was some more yellows, there was some cars have
731
00:28:34.545 --> 00:28:36.385
dropped out, you know, so every time we gained
732
00:28:36.425 --> 00:28:37.465
a position it's like, yep.
733
00:28:37.465 --> 00:28:39.825
Another point, you know, that's Yep. And he focused on that.
734
00:28:39.825 --> 00:28:42.225
It's all worth it, you know? Um, yeah.
735
00:28:42.605 --> 00:28:44.905
He, he never, that's what makes champions. Yeah. Absolutely.
736
00:28:44.905 --> 00:28:46.385
Never lost a school. And I, yeah.
737
00:28:46.385 --> 00:28:48.505
You know, for all of us, we wanted to Right.
738
00:28:49.085 --> 00:28:51.585
You you wanna jump up and down and slam things. Yeah.
739
00:28:51.585 --> 00:28:53.025
And, you know, and scream,
740
00:28:53.245 --> 00:28:54.945
but, uh, everyone did a great job there,
741
00:28:55.005 --> 00:28:59.135
but, uh, yeah, Alex is, he is calm and he is unflappable.
742
00:28:59.285 --> 00:29:01.895
Yeah, I know. It's, it's fun to watch, honestly.
743
00:29:01.965 --> 00:29:03.055
It's, uh, it's cool
744
00:29:03.055 --> 00:29:05.815
to see someone in their absolute prime dominating the way
745
00:29:05.815 --> 00:29:07.095
that we've seen out of Drio,
746
00:29:07.095 --> 00:29:08.095
the way we've seen outta Dickson,
747
00:29:08.095 --> 00:29:08.935
the way we've seen outta power
748
00:29:08.935 --> 00:29:10.415
throughout their different periods.
749
00:29:10.875 --> 00:29:12.415
And so I just wanna, I wanna just kinda
750
00:29:12.415 --> 00:29:13.495
leave you with this final question.
751
00:29:13.755 --> 00:29:16.055
You know, right off the top, we talked about this list
752
00:29:16.055 --> 00:29:18.175
of legends that you've worked with one-on-one.
753
00:29:18.855 --> 00:29:22.055
A lot of different personalities in there from your ardi
754
00:29:22.155 --> 00:29:24.055
to your polos that you've experienced.
755
00:29:24.135 --> 00:29:25.935
I mean, those are two , nice, polar op,
756
00:29:26.045 --> 00:29:28.015
Montoya polo's, a couple, it's a couple.
757
00:29:28.235 --> 00:29:30.575
You got a wide range. You got a wide range. Yep.
758
00:29:31.275 --> 00:29:32.335
So I'm sure they're all different.
759
00:29:32.395 --> 00:29:34.375
I'm sure they all have different strengths and weaknesses,
760
00:29:34.595 --> 00:29:36.415
but is there a consistent trait
761
00:29:36.485 --> 00:29:38.535
that you've seen in all of those drivers?
762
00:29:39.195 --> 00:29:42.110
The ones that were exceptionally successful in IndyCar
763
00:29:42.355 --> 00:29:44.085
that was just consistent among the group?
764
00:29:44.405 --> 00:29:47.325
I, I think the ability to focus to, to,
765
00:29:47.345 --> 00:29:50.965
to have clear focus, not just, you know, it's,
766
00:29:50.995 --> 00:29:52.085
it's the entire weekend.
767
00:29:52.595 --> 00:29:54.725
It's getting the most out of the car, being prepared
768
00:29:54.725 --> 00:29:56.205
for qualifying to get most out of the car.
769
00:29:56.745 --> 00:29:58.365
You know, a lot of these tracks you, you know,
770
00:29:58.605 --> 00:30:02.245
everyone can put, um, a theoretical great lap together,
771
00:30:02.305 --> 00:30:04.765
but man, it's really hard to put in the,
772
00:30:04.825 --> 00:30:07.165
an actual get every corner, right.
773
00:30:07.385 --> 00:30:09.325
Um, to get that ultimate lap time.
774
00:30:09.785 --> 00:30:11.525
Um, and that's what these guys are capable of doing.
775
00:30:11.525 --> 00:30:12.845
These, these champions, they can do that.
776
00:30:12.845 --> 00:30:15.365
And then in the race, just having a complete understanding
777
00:30:15.365 --> 00:30:17.845
of the, of the racing and again, more focus
778
00:30:17.845 --> 00:30:19.645
and be able to, to be there at the end.
779
00:30:19.945 --> 00:30:21.885
And, and, and really understanding
780
00:30:21.885 --> 00:30:23.565
that if you can't finish first, finish second,
781
00:30:23.625 --> 00:30:24.645
you know, don't beat yourself.
782
00:30:25.145 --> 00:30:26.925
Um, you gotta get in and outta the pits clean.
783
00:30:27.625 --> 00:30:30.365
And you know, tho those are the guys that motivate the crew.
784
00:30:30.365 --> 00:30:32.205
They motivate the team, they motivate the pit crew,
785
00:30:32.205 --> 00:30:33.405
they motivate the timing stand.
786
00:30:33.905 --> 00:30:37.925
Um, that, that whole package, um, allows you to,
787
00:30:38.665 --> 00:30:42.045
you know, have greater success than one racer one, you know,
788
00:30:42.045 --> 00:30:43.685
looking into a race win. Right,
789
00:30:43.895 --> 00:30:44.895
Right.
790
00:30:44.895 --> 00:30:46.605
Well, look, we, we talk a lot about the drivers
791
00:30:46.635 --> 00:30:48.285
that have had huge success, um,
792
00:30:48.505 --> 00:30:50.365
but at the same time, it is a team sport
793
00:30:50.365 --> 00:30:52.365
and it can't be done without you
794
00:30:52.545 --> 00:30:54.845
and all the people that you work with at Chip Nessi racing.
795
00:30:55.185 --> 00:30:58.405
And, and that team has had a, a tremendous run in this sport
796
00:30:58.705 --> 00:31:01.525
and it continues and you play a big role in that, Barry.
797
00:31:01.625 --> 00:31:03.965
So wanted to just thank you so much for coming on,
798
00:31:03.965 --> 00:31:06.005
giving us us some insight into, into the drivers,
799
00:31:06.195 --> 00:31:08.685
into the process of, of what you're doing on race weekends.
800
00:31:08.745 --> 00:31:10.125
And we wish you all the best
801
00:31:10.265 --> 00:31:11.925
for the rest of the season, my friend. Thanks.
802
00:31:11.925 --> 00:31:14.445
Appreciate it. And it's, uh, great, great, uh,
803
00:31:14.445 --> 00:31:16.405
seeing the broadcast, I get to see them, you know,
804
00:31:16.405 --> 00:31:17.485
obviously the next day on Fox,
805
00:31:17.485 --> 00:31:19.285
but you guys are doing a great job, so, um, great.
806
00:31:19.285 --> 00:31:20.205
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
807
00:31:20.205 --> 00:31:21.205
It's great Randy Carr, so thanks.
808
00:31:21.385 --> 00:31:22.925
Yes, sir. All right. We'll see you, Barbara.
809
00:31:24.555 --> 00:31:26.445
This has been off track with Hinch and Rossi.
810
00:31:26.625 --> 00:31:29.645
Off Track is part of the Sirius XM Sports Podcast Network.
811
00:31:30.105 --> 00:31:31.245
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812
00:31:31.245 --> 00:31:33.645
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813
00:31:33.645 --> 00:31:34.685
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814
00:31:35.285 --> 00:31:37.485
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815
00:31:37.665 --> 00:31:40.445
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816
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817
00:31:43.325 --> 00:31:44.645
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818
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820
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821
00:31:51.355 --> 00:31:53.325
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822
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