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This is off track.
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Hello guys. Uh, it's me, Alex,
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on a Tuesday episode by myself.
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Well, Tim's here ish, you know, uh, mostly by myself though.
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Um, because James is at a wedding.
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Um, actually the entire Indy car
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paddock is essentially at a wedding. Yeah.
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How did you not get the invite for that? I don't dunno.
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Did you run Marcus off the track sometime?
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I mean, yeah. But like,
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I also live three doors down the road from him,
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so it's, it's a little bit weird.
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But anyways, uh, we can talk about that another day.
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Um, we have a guest coming on today
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and it's, it's pretty interesting
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because, um, she's a director of communications.
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She's actually the VP of communications and marketing,
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and these are the people that we spend a lot
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of time editing our show around to make sure
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that they don't get mad at us if we say something,
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um, that we shouldn't say.
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So it's gonna be interesting
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to have. Yeah, you sent me it live.
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You sent me her email. I was like, I have it .
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I've had to send her plenty of emails. ,
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We are joined by someone. I had the, the privilege
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of working with, um, in 2023.
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In 2024 at my, with my time at Errol McLaren.
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Um, Lauren Gian, which your title now is Director
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of Communications, is that right?
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Or VP of communications.
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VP of Marketing and Communications. Yeah.
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VP of Marketing and Communications. Good.
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Um, , before we get into what that entails, a little bit
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of background that I know and,
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and would love for you to share with our listeners,
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but you started outside of racing, um,
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you actually were working for Lyft Academy, which is the
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kind of the, the starting point
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to becoming a pilot in Indianapolis mm-hmm .
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Um, to, to Republic Airways.
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And you, you were very influential in kind of their growth.
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So why don't you talk us through kind of what you did there
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and then why you decided to make the switch
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to IndyCar racing?
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Yes. Yeah. So apparently always attracted
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by fast moving vehicles, um,
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but started, um, when I moved to Indianapolis,
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I worked a quick stint at the ncaa, um,
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but then worked close to 10 years for Republic Airways.
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Um, and about halfway through that venture, they decided
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to start a flight school, and that was intended
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to create training specifically for airline Destin pilots.
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So a lot of flight schools, you can kind
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of go any different direction,
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whether it's just leisure flying, um,
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or want a more career based flight training.
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And so that's what they did was to kind of make sure
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that who's ever coming through their doors have the skills
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like that foundation built specifically to fly airline jets.
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Um, so that was really fun getting to build a brand,
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like create a logo, create the admission requirements.
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It was a group of four of us that had airline experience.
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Um, but we were on the task force to do all of kind of the,
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the building of that program.
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Um, and now it's got close to I think, like 500 pilots
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that are now working at the airline industry.
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Um, I get to see a lot of that
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whenever I'm on my flights to
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different races, which is cool.
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Um, but then if you're in the Indianapolis area,
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if you look up in the sky, odds are
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that you'll see these like little lift DA 40 twos flying
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around, buzzing around.
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Um, and it's pretty cool to just see that, like
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that's continuing to grow
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and, uh, build way after I've been there.
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Was that, were you a part of it when in, in 2020?
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Mm-hmm .
Yeah, so, right.
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So a huge pilot shortage ended up happening in
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that kind of timeframe.
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And, and also there was a lot of free time for people,
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so the influx of new pilots, um, became massive.
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So it would've been pretty interesting, I think,
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to be a part of that as su such a big influx
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and interest in aviation came about.
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Yes. Yeah. That was, um, that was a wild ride.
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So we started in 2018, um, kind of
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as like the pilot shortage was like in its
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probably worse timeframe.
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So we did a ton of recruiting all over the US just
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to find people that would be interested in flying,
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convince them to like either go straight from high school
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to train or leave, you know, other jobs knowing
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that the demand was, was building.
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But then in 2020 it was a total different ball game one,
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like the recruitment was different
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because we weren't able to just travel to events
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and, and find people.
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Um, but a lot more applications were coming online through,
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through that channel, but then also balance that with the,
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like, crisis comms of an airline.
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And that was at an all time high of just people
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and flight attendants being mad
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that people weren't wearing a mask
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or passengers being mad that people, you know,
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That they had to wear a mask. Yeah.
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That they had to wear a mask. So that was, um,
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Did something happen in 2020?
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I, I didn't get out much then.
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Some, some pandemic.
Yeah. Yeah.
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Forgettable .
So,
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um, is it true,
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and this is kind of my last question about that,
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but I've always been curious, is it true
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that like you can go from never having stepped foot in an
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airplane before to flying a regional jet in 18 months if you
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like, go through the lift program?
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Um, that is true,
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but weather, as you know, plays a big role in
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that when you're flight training in Indiana.
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Yeah. Um, so they actually opened some satellite
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destinations while I was there.
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So in the winter they would send people down like Galveston
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or to Myrtle Beach to keep flying.
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Um, but that also, yeah,
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depends on like the motivation of the pilot too.
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So average is like probably more two years,
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but some people got it done in 18 months, which is wild
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That, that is incredible actually to think about.
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Um, and something that, you know, Tim could, could never do,
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um, just because he has commitment issues.
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So I don't even think he could do anything for 18
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Months.
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Wait. And nobody on an airplane wants me to like nobody.
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You don't want. That's good point. You don't wanna know
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that I'm flying and be like, by the way,
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like two years ago I'd never
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even been on one of these things.
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Backed into someone in my Bronco
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and like got into a, got into an argument with them.
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Um, okay, so, so you, you did your stint with airplanes
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and then you decided to do airplanes of the ground,
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essentially flip 'em over in terms of ind Yeah.
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Flip 'em over. Uh,
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how was Motorsport something you were always interested in
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or was this just an opportunity
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that popped up and you jumped at it?
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Uh, the latter, um,
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actually had never really been a motor sport fan,
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but coincidentally,
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my first IndyCar race was the one you won.
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Nice. The hundredth running of the Indy 500. Nice. Nice.
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Um, so you played a part in this. Cool.
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But, um, I, uh, honestly, the woman
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who hired me at Republic Airways call it 10 years
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before she was then head of HR at Aaron McLaren.
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And so they had a comms opening role
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and, um, our comms role opened
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and she asked if I was interested.
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I was sure why not count me in, what do I do ?
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But found out quickly that, um, I thought I had seen all
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of the crisis from the airlines and,
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and felt like I was pretty prepared.
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But that was good training for, for the motorsport world.
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Would you say that you were surprised by,
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by that, you know, when you look at, when you look at racing
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and, and obviously you can think about these worst case
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scenario situations of someone getting injured
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or God, God forbid something worse, right?
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And you will think about, okay, there's a risk
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involved in motor sports, so there's always gonna be this
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kind of crisis management that could potentially happen.
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But in your stint, you haven't had fortunately to deal with
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that in, in such a case.
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But you have had a lot of scenarios that have involved,
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you know, people coming and going, drivers coming
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and going, um, maybe before they ex were expected to or not.
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Um, and so was this all something that you kind of had
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to just adapt to on the fly?
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'cause I would imagine it wasn't something
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that you were really prepared
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or expecting, I should say, going into it.
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Yeah, I think I was pretty naive at that.
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I mean, I'd worked in sports
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before, so know that like yeah, players change teams
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and things like that all the time.
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Um, but yeah, when I was thinking crisis comms,
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I was definitely thinking to be an issue on track.
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Um, not a ton of driver changes,
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but honestly like those while can be super unfortunate.
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Um, you learn a lot about your team,
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you learn a lot about the drivers,
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you learn a lot about just kinda
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like navigating those things.
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And you can make, you can make good scenarios
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because, you know, like while it may be detrimental
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to one person, so really good
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opportunity for the next person.
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And so how do you onboard or bring
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or market that new driver?
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Um, so trying to focus on that.
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Um, but also you've got a very passionate fan base,
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which I think that's a privilege that IndyCar has.
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You can have some pretty passive fans,
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but we've got a very vocal, um, group
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that we're always trying to, um,
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you know, create affinity with.
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And they,
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they tell you really quickly whether you're
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doing it right or doing it wrong.
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So that's, that's an interesting kind
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of follow up question in terms of a team, right?
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So you're, you have so many responsibilities to
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your partners, obviously to your employees, to the drivers,
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but also to a, to a fan base, to an audience, right?
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Is it, is it difficult to, you're,
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you're never gonna appease everyone, right?
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And, and you are always kind of balancing the,
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the company line, if you will, especially working
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for an organization like, like McLaren.
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Um, and then also the,
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the bringing people into the personalities of, of
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who your indie car drivers are, which I think is,
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is an amazing thing that our sport does.
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But walk us through kind of how you try
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and manage that kind of juxtaposition.
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'cause it exists where, you know,
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we know Pat's personality, right?
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It's not necessarily always a, a corporate McLaren way,
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but he has to still represent that,
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but at the same time not be this like box figure
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that is just reading company lines.
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So, so how do you, how do you manage those situations?
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So I think that's actually where I got a lot
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of good foundational, like,
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I guess call it like business strength, um, from the airline
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because at Republic we were representing American Delta
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or United, which I mean a lot
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of them are very conservative versus, um, you know, some
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of our flight attendants views and things like that.
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So you kind of had to like find the best neutral,
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um, in, in whatever message that you come across.
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But fortunately where we were trying
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to avoid headlines in the airline industry, like from a
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brand standpoint in racing,
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you can create a really good scenario out of some bad press,
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um, or get people to pay attention to your brand that, um,
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and just kinda like help, um, kind
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of massage the problem away a little bit by creating,
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like I said earlier, like the more affinity,
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um, from a fan base.
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So I felt like it's, it's fortunate, I think Zach and,
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and Tony are interesting in the fact that they're leaders
255
00:10:51.855 --> 00:10:54.385
that very much appreciate a marketing angle.
256
00:10:54.885 --> 00:10:56.385
Um, you get some team owners
257
00:10:56.525 --> 00:10:59.145
or some business owners that marketing is,
258
00:10:59.165 --> 00:11:00.665
is not the primary role
259
00:11:00.665 --> 00:11:02.345
that you will serve when you're on a team.
260
00:11:02.615 --> 00:11:04.185
It's just kind of like a happenstance
261
00:11:04.245 --> 00:11:05.425
of your responsibilities.
262
00:11:06.165 --> 00:11:09.505
Um, but the McLaren brand is, is very out there.
263
00:11:09.645 --> 00:11:13.345
Um, they want to keep growing it, they want fans to, to kind
264
00:11:13.345 --> 00:11:14.345
of help build it as well.
265
00:11:14.925 --> 00:11:18.265
So using that to our advantage of knowing like,
266
00:11:18.275 --> 00:11:20.185
we're not gonna make everyone's day, we're gonna have people
267
00:11:20.185 --> 00:11:22.425
that can't stand some of our drivers
268
00:11:22.605 --> 00:11:23.985
or really love them as well.
269
00:11:24.765 --> 00:11:28.985
And so trying to lean on, okay, what's the,
270
00:11:29.205 --> 00:11:31.105
how do we keep the fans that we have
271
00:11:31.685 --> 00:11:34.145
but also kind of cater to those that kind
272
00:11:34.145 --> 00:11:36.225
of may be wavering on every other day.
273
00:11:36.225 --> 00:11:37.425
They're gonna either hate you or love you.
274
00:11:37.705 --> 00:11:39.665
Speaking of hating people, was anything
275
00:11:39.685 --> 00:11:40.865
fun about working with Alex ?
276
00:11:41.855 --> 00:11:43.345
Well, we got along well.
277
00:11:43.385 --> 00:11:44.745
I say that we got along pretty well
278
00:11:44.745 --> 00:11:47.785
because he, he was a pilot, so, um,
279
00:11:48.645 --> 00:11:49.645
We had that in common.
280
00:11:50.525 --> 00:11:54.565
His, um, glares when I would come around for media,
281
00:11:54.565 --> 00:11:56.245
windows sometimes were fun to
282
00:11:56.485 --> 00:11:57.485
navigate
.
283
00:11:57.485 --> 00:11:58.405
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
284
00:11:58.865 --> 00:12:01.605
But, um, you were pretty good though. It wasn't personal.
285
00:12:01.605 --> 00:12:02.645
It wasn't personal. No,
286
00:12:02.785 --> 00:12:03.785
No, it never is.
287
00:12:03.785 --> 00:12:05.525
No. Yeah. He's just a prick to everybody
288
00:12:05.625 --> 00:12:06.805
and that makes it okay, I guess.
289
00:12:06.805 --> 00:12:08.805
There you go. There you go. There you go. I
290
00:12:08.805 --> 00:12:11.365
Would like to to say usually left those windows smiling
291
00:12:11.635 --> 00:12:13.885
more often than glaring. So I think I did my job.
292
00:12:13.885 --> 00:12:15.645
Mm-hmm
. People. That's what we all know.
293
00:12:15.645 --> 00:12:16.965
Alex is a big softie.
294
00:12:20.505 --> 00:12:22.165
People know what they get.
295
00:12:22.345 --> 00:12:25.685
Um, okay, so speaking of, of knowing what they get,
296
00:12:26.205 --> 00:12:29.525
I would love for you, a lot of our listeners are,
297
00:12:29.545 --> 00:12:30.965
are huge Patto fans
298
00:12:31.225 --> 00:12:33.445
and they're, I mean, every, a lot
299
00:12:33.445 --> 00:12:35.285
of people are huge Pat Patto fans, right?
300
00:12:35.285 --> 00:12:37.965
You look at what he's done from a mer sales standpoint and,
301
00:12:37.965 --> 00:12:41.445
and his just general following seemingly everywhere we go on
302
00:12:41.445 --> 00:12:45.245
the calendar, um, give us an inside look
303
00:12:45.705 --> 00:12:47.965
as from, from your job, like
304
00:12:47.965 --> 00:12:49.245
what it's like to work with him.
305
00:12:49.265 --> 00:12:51.765
You know, he's, he's the most popular driver,
306
00:12:52.225 --> 00:12:53.285
um, on the grid.
307
00:12:53.475 --> 00:12:55.605
He's obviously incredibly successful as well.
308
00:12:55.605 --> 00:12:57.525
It's, he's not just a, a fun personality,
309
00:12:57.525 --> 00:12:59.085
like he's getting it done on the racetrack.
310
00:12:59.865 --> 00:13:04.445
Um, is it, it must be cool in, in kind
311
00:13:04.445 --> 00:13:06.045
of a dream situation for you,
312
00:13:06.065 --> 00:13:07.845
not only from a team perspective,
313
00:13:07.905 --> 00:13:09.765
but also just in your job description
314
00:13:09.765 --> 00:13:11.325
to be able to work with someone like that. Yeah,
315
00:13:11.325 --> 00:13:15.445
I've always said that I'm, we're, we as a team are lucky
316
00:13:15.635 --> 00:13:17.805
that like, you don't have to convince him
317
00:13:17.825 --> 00:13:19.405
to help build his own brand.
318
00:13:20.145 --> 00:13:23.485
You know, he, he spends as much time trying to
319
00:13:24.265 --> 00:13:27.485
be a better race car driver as he does to kind of build
320
00:13:28.265 --> 00:13:30.085
who he is to fans, um,
321
00:13:30.085 --> 00:13:32.645
but also does a lot to contribute back to the team.
322
00:13:32.785 --> 00:13:34.525
And then IndyCar, um,
323
00:13:35.005 --> 00:13:38.965
I think he's doing a good job right now to kind of also like
324
00:13:39.785 --> 00:13:41.685
cement like who he is, you know,
325
00:13:41.885 --> 00:13:43.245
whenever he was younger, probably back
326
00:13:43.445 --> 00:13:45.005
whenever I started with the team in 23,
327
00:13:45.065 --> 00:13:47.005
it was just like he did a lot of everything.
328
00:13:47.745 --> 00:13:49.405
Um, whereas now you can definitely tell
329
00:13:49.405 --> 00:13:51.685
that he's leaning into this persona that he is built.
330
00:13:52.225 --> 00:13:54.765
Um, he's, he's attracting more fans
331
00:13:54.825 --> 00:13:57.845
and that kind of all just like avalanches into,
332
00:13:58.715 --> 00:13:59.885
into huge bark cells,
333
00:14:00.195 --> 00:14:03.525
into getting a s Super Bowl commercial, um,
334
00:14:03.525 --> 00:14:06.645
that doesn't just happen because he is a pretty face.
335
00:14:07.225 --> 00:14:10.125
Um, you know, so I think that he's done a lot of good work
336
00:14:10.465 --> 00:14:13.805
to, like I said, create who he wants to be to finance,
337
00:14:13.985 --> 00:14:16.085
but then also he spends a lot of time on it.
338
00:14:16.505 --> 00:14:19.005
Um, and money. It's one and money, yes. Yeah.
339
00:14:19.155 --> 00:14:21.685
Like he has done, he's put his money where his mouth is
340
00:14:22.115 --> 00:14:25.805
with buying out sections of racetracks for his fans,
341
00:14:25.865 --> 00:14:28.085
but then also just like where he will go
342
00:14:28.265 --> 00:14:30.125
to be present with fans.
343
00:14:30.705 --> 00:14:33.765
He goes into markets a lot of times early on, um, sometimes
344
00:14:34.185 --> 00:14:36.365
for his own will, sometimes at the asking of IndyCar.
345
00:14:36.945 --> 00:14:39.885
Um, but he's always been able to take care of
346
00:14:39.885 --> 00:14:41.565
or take advantage of big opportunities.
347
00:14:42.465 --> 00:14:43.925
Not only because he is asked, but also
348
00:14:43.925 --> 00:14:46.205
because he like realizes that's good for him, it's good
349
00:14:46.205 --> 00:14:47.205
for the sport, it's good for the
350
00:14:47.205 --> 00:14:48.205
Team.
351
00:14:48.205 --> 00:14:50.365
Yeah, I mean, he definitely has a, a very holistic view
352
00:14:50.365 --> 00:14:54.005
of like being a race car driver is not just about, you know,
353
00:14:54.005 --> 00:14:55.405
going fast in a race car, right?
354
00:14:55.435 --> 00:14:57.885
It's, it's, there's so many other elements that,
355
00:14:57.995 --> 00:15:02.525
that create success, that create a brand identity, um, and,
356
00:15:02.525 --> 00:15:03.685
and create that fan base.
357
00:15:03.705 --> 00:15:06.485
So, you know, I think he in a lot of ways is the benchmark
358
00:15:06.625 --> 00:15:10.045
for all of us in, in terms of what he does off the track as,
359
00:15:10.105 --> 00:15:11.365
as well as what he does on the track.
360
00:15:11.505 --> 00:15:14.845
So, um, I want to get back a little bit.
361
00:15:14.845 --> 00:15:16.605
You mentioned Zach and Tony, right?
362
00:15:17.075 --> 00:15:19.445
It's, um, it's a pretty unique dynamic
363
00:15:19.635 --> 00:15:23.045
that Arol McLaren has, you know, your your own race team,
364
00:15:23.045 --> 00:15:24.125
you're your own entity,
365
00:15:24.225 --> 00:15:27.565
but at the same time you're under a bigger global brand
366
00:15:27.835 --> 00:15:29.605
that is McLaren and,
367
00:15:29.605 --> 00:15:31.325
and there's McLaren F1 involved in that.
368
00:15:31.325 --> 00:15:32.965
And, and Zach Brown is obviously the,
369
00:15:33.265 --> 00:15:34.765
the ultimate decision maker,
370
00:15:35.025 --> 00:15:36.685
and he's also in charge of the F1 team.
371
00:15:37.575 --> 00:15:40.325
How's that work, um, for you guys?
372
00:15:40.865 --> 00:15:44.325
You know, not only from a, you kind of have these two
373
00:15:45.525 --> 00:15:46.765
probably criteria you have to meet,
374
00:15:46.785 --> 00:15:48.325
but you're also operating on completely
375
00:15:48.325 --> 00:15:49.525
different time zones most of the time.
376
00:15:49.585 --> 00:15:52.205
So is your phone just constantly on and,
377
00:15:52.225 --> 00:15:54.365
and you're managing different countries?
378
00:15:54.525 --> 00:15:56.405
'cause Zach doesn't seemingly ever sleep .
379
00:15:57.715 --> 00:15:59.285
Yeah. You know, as well as I do
380
00:15:59.285 --> 00:16:00.845
that you never know what time zone that he's in.
381
00:16:01.065 --> 00:16:03.645
Um, yeah. But yeah, I mean, in a way,
382
00:16:04.005 --> 00:16:06.725
I think coming from an airline industry where
383
00:16:06.725 --> 00:16:08.405
that was happening regardless, um,
384
00:16:08.405 --> 00:16:09.845
because there were always planes in the sky,
385
00:16:10.685 --> 00:16:15.125
I felt like this isn't as bad as that, um, in terms of the,
386
00:16:15.265 --> 00:16:17.805
the, the text messages and messages that come through.
387
00:16:18.265 --> 00:16:21.405
But I think that both operate really quickly.
388
00:16:21.905 --> 00:16:24.525
Um, they expect a lot from their employees,
389
00:16:24.545 --> 00:16:26.285
but then they also like create a lot
390
00:16:26.285 --> 00:16:28.085
of opportunities from a brand standpoint too
391
00:16:28.085 --> 00:16:29.645
that we wanna take advantage of.
392
00:16:30.305 --> 00:16:33.445
Um, so I think it depends on like your pace
393
00:16:33.665 --> 00:16:36.325
as an individual, but I like to work fast and yeah.
394
00:16:36.425 --> 00:16:39.645
So it, the, the demands that they have don't seem as, um,
395
00:16:39.645 --> 00:16:42.325
sometimes crazy as what they make to other people.
396
00:16:42.995 --> 00:16:45.605
What was it like kind of watching Tony?
397
00:16:45.965 --> 00:16:50.195
'cause like I was there when he first came into the team
398
00:16:50.295 --> 00:16:52.275
as a driver slash kind of,
399
00:16:52.875 --> 00:16:54.235
I don't wanna say this in a bad way,
400
00:16:54.235 --> 00:16:57.515
but kind of tour guide for NTT, right?
401
00:16:58.215 --> 00:17:00.195
And then it kind of pre progressed
402
00:17:00.195 --> 00:17:02.435
through like driver liaison and,
403
00:17:02.435 --> 00:17:04.435
and he started to have a little bit more involvement here
404
00:17:04.435 --> 00:17:08.595
and there, and then fast forward to now, and he's the boss.
405
00:17:09.305 --> 00:17:13.675
Like it was, was that cool to see his development?
406
00:17:13.675 --> 00:17:16.595
Because I know, I know he was super kind
407
00:17:16.595 --> 00:17:18.435
of nervous about it in the beginning, like
408
00:17:18.435 --> 00:17:21.075
that this wasn't his plan, like from the beginning, right?
409
00:17:21.095 --> 00:17:24.035
He wasn't going into this thinking he was gonna be in charge
410
00:17:24.035 --> 00:17:27.155
of Menindee car team, but just the way the dominoes fell
411
00:17:27.175 --> 00:17:28.275
and, and things happened
412
00:17:28.415 --> 00:17:30.955
and he ended up being very good at it.
413
00:17:31.495 --> 00:17:32.675
It kind of worked out that way.
414
00:17:32.735 --> 00:17:34.915
Was that, was that kind of wild to see his,
415
00:17:35.095 --> 00:17:37.755
his rise in progression through that time? It is,
416
00:17:38.095 --> 00:17:41.155
But now looking back on it, it's not a surprise at all
417
00:17:41.425 --> 00:17:43.435
because I feel like he almost treated it
418
00:17:43.435 --> 00:17:45.635
as like driver feedback from the car.
419
00:17:46.175 --> 00:17:47.715
You know, like at first he started
420
00:17:47.905 --> 00:17:49.885
like, I think this is right.
421
00:17:50.045 --> 00:17:51.645
I think this is how the car should feel,
422
00:17:51.905 --> 00:17:54.165
but I'm not quite sure because engineers are, aren't,
423
00:17:54.345 --> 00:17:57.085
you know, who, who's making the decisions.
424
00:17:57.505 --> 00:17:59.445
But then like, he couldn't control himself,
425
00:17:59.465 --> 00:18:01.685
so he started giving more feedback, more feedback,
426
00:18:01.985 --> 00:18:03.885
and then all of a sudden, like he was then making more
427
00:18:03.885 --> 00:18:05.125
and more decisions because of it.
428
00:18:05.825 --> 00:18:09.525
So it was, it wasn't like, there was no point
429
00:18:09.525 --> 00:18:10.925
where it was like, oh, today's the day
430
00:18:10.925 --> 00:18:12.005
where he can see like the shift
431
00:18:12.005 --> 00:18:14.805
of him being a driver versus a team leader.
432
00:18:15.425 --> 00:18:17.325
Um, but it just became more of that, like
433
00:18:17.435 --> 00:18:18.845
what he's saying is making sense.
434
00:18:18.915 --> 00:18:21.925
He's like building a team around him because he gets it.
435
00:18:21.955 --> 00:18:24.845
He's been a driver. He's had such close relationships
436
00:18:24.915 --> 00:18:27.445
with every person who has a role in this team from
437
00:18:27.445 --> 00:18:30.845
marketing, from mechanics to um, engineers.
438
00:18:31.105 --> 00:18:35.325
And so Kyle Moyer said it really well a few weeks ago when
439
00:18:35.325 --> 00:18:37.685
we had an interview with him where he's like,
440
00:18:38.425 --> 00:18:41.085
Tony's not the guy who's necessarily giving the expertise
441
00:18:41.185 --> 00:18:43.845
for everything, but he's found the right people
442
00:18:43.845 --> 00:18:45.045
because he is had years
443
00:18:45.045 --> 00:18:47.125
of building relationships across the paddock
444
00:18:47.255 --> 00:18:48.805
where he is putting the right people in.
445
00:18:49.465 --> 00:18:51.965
And he's listening in all those conversations say
446
00:18:51.965 --> 00:18:53.005
like, yeah, that's right.
447
00:18:53.185 --> 00:18:54.365
We should do that because
448
00:18:54.365 --> 00:18:55.805
that person really knows what they're doing.
449
00:18:55.835 --> 00:18:57.005
Yeah. And I think it's clear.
450
00:18:57.085 --> 00:18:58.565
I mean, you look at, you look at the results
451
00:18:58.565 --> 00:19:01.365
that the organization had this year, it was the best year
452
00:19:01.365 --> 00:19:04.085
that they've had across, across three cars, right?
453
00:19:04.185 --> 00:19:07.325
In terms of the podiums that were, uh, accrued
454
00:19:07.325 --> 00:19:08.805
through the year and the championship position.
455
00:19:08.865 --> 00:19:11.125
So whatever he is doing, he's, it's obviously working.
456
00:19:11.145 --> 00:19:13.165
And I think if you look at the, you know,
457
00:19:13.165 --> 00:19:14.285
the legacy teams, right?
458
00:19:14.285 --> 00:19:16.485
The teams that have had the most success over the past
459
00:19:16.485 --> 00:19:20.805
several decades, it's Penske, Andretti, <inaudible>,
460
00:19:20.805 --> 00:19:22.005
what do they all have in common?
461
00:19:22.185 --> 00:19:24.365
All three of those owners were
462
00:19:24.365 --> 00:19:25.485
drivers at some point, you know?
463
00:19:25.485 --> 00:19:28.125
Mm-hmm . You look at RLL Bobby was a driver.
464
00:19:28.125 --> 00:19:30.125
You look at ECR, ed was a driver, right?
465
00:19:30.185 --> 00:19:31.405
So it's not uncommon.
466
00:19:31.545 --> 00:19:33.725
It makes a lot of sense that, that someone, especially
467
00:19:33.725 --> 00:19:34.765
of Tony's personality
468
00:19:34.865 --> 00:19:36.965
and for how long he's been in the sport
469
00:19:36.965 --> 00:19:39.085
and how good he is from the commercial standpoint, that,
470
00:19:39.085 --> 00:19:41.205
that he would be really suited to this role.
471
00:19:41.425 --> 00:19:44.405
So good to hear, um, that you see it that way as well.
472
00:19:44.565 --> 00:19:47.925
I guess my, my final question I have for you is really just
473
00:19:48.555 --> 00:19:51.525
your viewpoint, um, of where the series is going.
474
00:19:51.545 --> 00:19:54.685
You know, there's been a, a lot of positive things
475
00:19:54.685 --> 00:19:56.325
that have happened, especially, you know,
476
00:19:56.325 --> 00:19:57.765
if you look at this year and,
477
00:19:57.765 --> 00:19:59.845
and some of the things that, that went on with Fox
478
00:19:59.905 --> 00:20:01.165
and our, our broadcast partner.
479
00:20:01.465 --> 00:20:04.205
Um, obviously the TV numbers for the 500 were incredible
480
00:20:04.265 --> 00:20:07.405
and, and some other races this year and,
481
00:20:07.505 --> 00:20:08.525
and the sport is growing
482
00:20:08.585 --> 00:20:09.885
and it is going strength to strength.
483
00:20:09.945 --> 00:20:12.965
But where do you see, you know, it going in the next couple
484
00:20:12.965 --> 00:20:15.045
of years and, and what is the biggest thing
485
00:20:15.635 --> 00:20:19.045
that you would like to see, not just the series do,
486
00:20:19.045 --> 00:20:20.845
but other teams and drivers do to,
487
00:20:20.905 --> 00:20:22.565
to continually close the gap?
488
00:20:22.825 --> 00:20:25.125
Um, to, to our sports. We're competing against.
489
00:20:25.465 --> 00:20:27.685
The news about Fox was super exciting.
490
00:20:27.825 --> 00:20:29.765
Um, I know we're all waiting on the edge of our seats
491
00:20:29.765 --> 00:20:31.085
for the schedule, um mm-hmm .
492
00:20:31.165 --> 00:20:32.965
But keep hearing whisperings of really,
493
00:20:33.185 --> 00:20:34.685
you know, fun locations.
494
00:20:34.685 --> 00:20:36.725
And it's, it's nice to see that
495
00:20:36.785 --> 00:20:38.965
that's just creating a buzz not only within the team,
496
00:20:38.965 --> 00:20:40.605
but like more fans are talking about that.
497
00:20:41.145 --> 00:20:42.885
Um, so I think we'll,
498
00:20:42.895 --> 00:20:45.165
we'll hear more in the hopefully coming days
499
00:20:45.185 --> 00:20:47.005
or weeks on, on where we'll be next year,
500
00:20:47.145 --> 00:20:50.245
but I have a feeling that the markets that we'll be in
501
00:20:50.265 --> 00:20:51.845
and the fans that will be coming
502
00:20:51.845 --> 00:20:54.085
to the races will keep growing and getting better.
503
00:20:54.705 --> 00:20:55.965
Um, I'm excited to see
504
00:20:55.965 --> 00:20:58.725
what Fox is gonna do from an activation standpoint.
505
00:20:58.875 --> 00:21:00.405
Like I loved, um, St.
506
00:21:00.405 --> 00:21:02.405
Pete last year where they had some components
507
00:21:02.405 --> 00:21:05.125
of the commercials that they had at the racetrack
508
00:21:05.365 --> 00:21:07.845
with Joseph's Cologne bottle and Pancho's newsstand.
509
00:21:07.875 --> 00:21:11.245
Sure. So like, bringing those things to life,
510
00:21:11.485 --> 00:21:13.565
I think just help the fans buy in.
511
00:21:14.225 --> 00:21:17.965
Um, and I hope that, you know, teams
512
00:21:18.995 --> 00:21:22.045
realize kind of the money that you put in the investment
513
00:21:22.045 --> 00:21:25.125
that you put back into marketing, you are going
514
00:21:25.145 --> 00:21:26.405
to reap that as well.
515
00:21:26.665 --> 00:21:28.085
Mm-hmm . Um, so it's not just a cost
516
00:21:28.085 --> 00:21:29.685
that goes out the door, never comes back to you.
517
00:21:29.875 --> 00:21:33.405
Like I, I love what Ed Carpenter racing's doing, um,
518
00:21:33.405 --> 00:21:36.885
with Splenda and with Java House, I've got some brand envy.
519
00:21:37.265 --> 00:21:39.045
Um, and having brick and mortar locations
520
00:21:39.045 --> 00:21:40.125
that you guys can activate at,
521
00:21:40.315 --> 00:21:42.605
even though you may not love all those appearances,
522
00:21:43.065 --> 00:21:44.125
um, fill in your calendar.
523
00:21:44.125 --> 00:21:45.965
Yeah. It's, it's awesome to see like
524
00:21:46.105 --> 00:21:49.285
how different brands are activating outside of kind of
525
00:21:49.285 --> 00:21:50.285
what we're doing as a team
526
00:21:50.985 --> 00:21:53.645
and more, you know, they're more social people,
527
00:21:53.985 --> 00:21:57.565
social media people in the paddock now than ever.
528
00:21:57.905 --> 00:21:59.205
Mm-hmm. And that's only helping us.
529
00:21:59.205 --> 00:22:00.725
It's keeping us on our toes on what we have
530
00:22:01.085 --> 00:22:03.245
to do from kinda just keeping the conversations
531
00:22:03.245 --> 00:22:05.445
and building the characters around our drivers alive.
532
00:22:06.105 --> 00:22:08.365
Um, but hopefully you see, you see more of that.
533
00:22:08.365 --> 00:22:10.925
You see investment from nearly every team in the
534
00:22:10.925 --> 00:22:12.045
paddock to some degree.
535
00:22:12.045 --> 00:22:14.805
It doesn't have to be, you know, equal across all teams,
536
00:22:14.985 --> 00:22:19.925
but the more that teams can create sentiment
537
00:22:19.965 --> 00:22:21.405
around their drivers beyond just
538
00:22:21.405 --> 00:22:23.725
what their race results are, I think you're going
539
00:22:23.725 --> 00:22:26.885
to get this buy-in of people wanna wear the merch, they want
540
00:22:26.885 --> 00:22:29.405
to see cool things, that that's another thing,
541
00:22:29.435 --> 00:22:31.565
like the quality of the merchandise at
542
00:22:31.565 --> 00:22:32.765
track is getting better.
543
00:22:33.105 --> 00:22:35.765
Mm-hmm . Um, and wear that becomes more than just a driver's
544
00:22:35.885 --> 00:22:39.485
t-shirt, I think becomes kind of a lifestyle play
545
00:22:39.485 --> 00:22:41.005
that you're not just wearing that to the track,
546
00:22:41.005 --> 00:22:42.165
you're wearing that out and about
547
00:22:42.165 --> 00:22:44.405
and you get other people to ask questions.
548
00:22:45.145 --> 00:22:47.485
Um, so yeah, I think it's got a lot of momentum
549
00:22:47.795 --> 00:22:49.365
that we need to tap into now.
550
00:22:49.785 --> 00:22:52.125
But it's not just IndyCar, it's not just Fox
551
00:22:52.195 --> 00:22:53.325
that have to play a part in it.
552
00:22:53.355 --> 00:22:54.965
It's, it's every team member.
553
00:22:55.195 --> 00:22:58.085
It's, you know, even the fans continuing to spread the word
554
00:22:58.105 --> 00:23:01.205
and, and make sure that their fandoms known outside
555
00:23:01.205 --> 00:23:02.405
of just whenever they go to race.
556
00:23:03.155 --> 00:23:05.805
Yeah. I think, I think you really nailed the point there
557
00:23:05.805 --> 00:23:08.125
about the activation, you know, in terms
558
00:23:08.125 --> 00:23:09.725
of the team slash sponsors, right?
559
00:23:10.265 --> 00:23:12.965
You can't, as a sponsor just go in and,
560
00:23:12.965 --> 00:23:16.005
and put a sticker on a car and expect the ROI to be there
561
00:23:16.005 --> 00:23:18.685
because of eyeballs from a TV metric, right?
562
00:23:18.785 --> 00:23:22.045
It has to be the brand affinity that,
563
00:23:22.075 --> 00:23:23.925
that McLaren does such a good job at.
564
00:23:23.985 --> 00:23:26.685
And, and I'm actually very proud of, of what ECR is doing
565
00:23:26.685 --> 00:23:28.885
as well from the Java House Splenda side,
566
00:23:28.885 --> 00:23:31.605
because they understand that it's, it's the,
567
00:23:31.825 --> 00:23:33.645
the product experience, right,
568
00:23:33.875 --> 00:23:35.885
that people are having at the racetrack
569
00:23:35.885 --> 00:23:37.085
that is gonna make them fans.
570
00:23:37.115 --> 00:23:39.005
It's not just seeing a sticker flash by
571
00:23:39.005 --> 00:23:40.365
or be on the podium or whatever.
572
00:23:40.465 --> 00:23:42.525
So, um, yep, you're absolutely right.
573
00:23:42.525 --> 00:23:44.605
Gotta spend money to make money. It's what Pat's doing.
574
00:23:44.715 --> 00:23:47.085
It's, it's what, you know, Aaron McLaren does
575
00:23:47.225 --> 00:23:48.765
so well in a, in a lot of respects.
576
00:23:49.255 --> 00:23:51.205
Thank you very much, um, for your time
577
00:23:51.385 --> 00:23:54.165
and sharing your, your thoughts and viewpoints and,
578
00:23:54.165 --> 00:23:55.165
and as well as your background.
579
00:23:55.265 --> 00:23:59.725
And, um, like I I, I loved what you guys did,
580
00:24:00.145 --> 00:24:03.645
um, or are doing when I was there and, and, um, keep it up.
581
00:24:03.645 --> 00:24:05.885
It's, it's very cool to be a part of, and I still follow
582
00:24:06.065 --> 00:24:08.405
and double tap on socials most
583
00:24:08.405 --> 00:24:10.525
of the time. , keep doing that. Please,
584
00:24:10.525 --> 00:24:12.765
Please, somebody who struggles, somebody who struggles
585
00:24:12.765 --> 00:24:14.525
to make Alex appear likable.
586
00:24:14.805 --> 00:24:17.085
I I admire that you made it through that .
587
00:24:17.875 --> 00:24:18.885
Yeah. Yeah.
588
00:24:18.945 --> 00:24:20.445
We did our best. Yeah.
589
00:24:20.765 --> 00:24:22.645
, I think he came out on the other side better for
590
00:24:22.645 --> 00:24:23.645
it.
.
591
00:24:23.645 --> 00:24:24.805
Yeah. Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.
592
00:24:24.895 --> 00:24:26.245
Thank you very much. Alright.
593
00:24:26.245 --> 00:24:27.485
Always. It's a pleasure to see you guys.
594
00:24:29.035 --> 00:24:30.405
This has been off track with Hinch
595
00:24:30.405 --> 00:24:31.965
and Rossi Off Track is part
596
00:24:31.965 --> 00:24:34.285
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597
00:24:34.705 --> 00:24:35.765
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598
00:24:35.765 --> 00:24:37.885
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599
00:24:37.885 --> 00:24:39.005
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600
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603
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604
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606
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607
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608
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