Trackside Podcast Trackside

Tonight, on Trackside with Kevin Lee and Curt Cavin, they talk about last week's rain-shortened Indy 500 Open Testing, that ended up having defending winner, Josef Newgarden back on top and rookie, Kyle Larson right behind. They also read some questions from X.  

Later in the show, Kevin and Curt preview the second largest race weekend of the season, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. They continue to talk about which teams look good and teams that might need to see some improvement. With the month of May looming, so does 2025, and there are already looks for new faces in new places as Kevin and Curt discuss early silly season predictions. 

Kevin ends the first hour of the show teasing the Indy 500 entry list and the newly joined team, Prema Racing. 

In the second hour of Trackside, Kevin and Curt talk about previous Long Beach winners that became series champions and other successful Long Beach winners. They talk about the recent Dale Coyne Racing shakeup for Long Beach, with Jack Harvey returning to the #18, and rookie, Nolan Siegel, will drive the #51 and was originally scheduled to drive the #18. They also talk about the largely rumored F2 Champion, Theo Pourchaire, replacing injured David Malukas in the #6 for Arrow McLaren. Finally, they talk about the newly announced team for the 2025 season, Prema Racing and the potential charter system for next season. 

Then, Kevin talks about the newly implemented and redone aeroscreen debuting this weekend for Long Beach and another newly redone first practice format session. 

Then to wrap up another addition of the show, Kevin talks some more details about the upcoming Burger Bash on May 20! 
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Tonight, Curt and Kevin talk about the Solar Eclipse and the viewing party IMS put on for it. Curt talks about how many people came to the Speedway that had never been there before. Kevin and Curt speculate on how fast Ed Carpenter was going when he made his laps around IMS before the eclipse. They talk about what would have happened if IndyCar decided to have their open test on the day of the eclipse, and Kevin gives a rundown of the open test schedule. 

Later in the first hour of the show, Kevin and Curt go more in-depth into the open test, and who will have to do the rookie refresher. The two debate on if Conor Daly will have to do his refresher test or not. 

Kevin and Curt round out the first hour clarifying on who will be competing in the open test. Kevin gives a review on the Vukovich: The Man Who Wouldn’t Lift that they talked about last week, and he talks about some interesting things he read in the book.  

In the second hour of the show, they talk about Abel Motorsports and the likelihood of them racing in May, and the status of David Malukas. Kevin believes he will drive the car at Long Beach in a few weeks. Kevin points out the reason for putting Théo Pourchaire in the seat for the open test. They delve into free agency and what will happen if Malukas does not return to usual form quickly. They talk about how Rahal Letterman needs to get their team together during May. They also hit on the possibility of Josef Newgarden leaving Team Penske to go to Arrow-McLaren. 

Later in the second hour, Kevin and Curt provide more information about the Burger Bash. They talk about their new location for the bash and provide a schedule for the events. They give some information on some items up for auction also. 

Kevin ends the show answering some tweets. 
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Tonight, Curt and Kevin talk about testing at IMS coming up. They also talk about a new book that Mark Montieth uncovered written by Angelo Angelopoulos about Bill Vukovich’s racing career. They talk about the eclipse at IMS and how IndyCar’s show 100 Days to Indy will help the series gain popularity. Kevin and Curt give updates on the state of the Long Beach Grand Prix, and Jerry Forsythe buying up Kevin Kalkhovin’s stock in the race. 

Later in the first hour of the show, Kevin and Curt discuss the Thermal Grand Prix. They talk about how the race filled a big gap in the schedule, and allowed for people to keep talking about IndyCar, as opposed to radio-silence for several weeks. Curt believes that they should eliminate cars at the end of each lap to ensure more battling for position. Curt makes the point that the race at Thermal could lead to more sponsorship deals being made at the race with wealthy businesspeople. 

Kevin rounds out the first hour looking at some tweets, answering questions including if NASCAR buying the Long Beach GP was overhyped. They also talk about the amount of money going towards the IndyCar race at Texas. 

In the second hour of the show, the two revisit the power of a show like 100 Days to Indy, and preview their segment with Mark Montieth. 

Later in the second hour, former IndyStar writer Mark Montieth joins the show to talk about a new book that Angelo Angelopoulos wrote back in the 60s about Bill Vukovich that was never released. Montieth talks about how he uncovered the manuscript, and got the book published. Montieth talks about some of the things he had to change about the book, and how there was not a whole lot that needed to change. He also gives an overview of the book. 

Kevin ends the show previewing next week. 
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Tonight, Curt and Kevin recap IndyCar’s first non-championship race since 2008. They give a rundown of what went right and wrong at Thermal Club, what the experience was like, and the fan experience. Kevin and Curt talk about the popularity of amenities in the area, including the popularity of ice cream with the driver. Kevin gives some insight on the life of a crew member, and how tough the job is. Kevin discusses how this race will benefit the Thermal Club, and the crowd size. 

Later in the first hour of the show, Kevin and Curt talk about the upcoming test at IMS and how it will be streamed on Peacock. They discuss IMSA’s schedule being released, and what can be gleaned from IndyCar’s future schedule from the IMSA schedule. They talk about things that could be improved for next year at Thermal, and Kevin gives some suggestions on when the race could be next year. 

Kevin rounds out the first hour previewing the second hour of the show. 

In the second hour of the show, Kevin and Curt talk about seeing John Elway at the race, and the celebrities who were at the event. They read some tweets, including some that were negative about the event. They address ways to fix the tire degradation problem that happened. Kevin answers questions about non-points concerns, and how the broadcast crew addressed the fact that it’s a non-championship race. They discuss the problem with Pietro Fittipaldi during the race. 

Later in the second hour, the two give a rundown on who will compete in the 500 this year. Kevin talks about Katherine Legge’s possibility of competing, and Conor Daly. 

Kevin ends the show going over things they missed earlier in the show. 
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Tonight, Curt and Kevin preview the Thermal Challenge this weekend! They delve into the rules of the event, and what viewers can expect from the race. Curt emphasizes the entertainment of the race, and how competitive it will be with the rules. They discuss the injury situation surrounding David Malukas, Callum Ilot’s performance thus far, and the number of tires each team gets at Thermal. 

Later in the first hour of the show, Kevin and Curt take a look at the weather for the Thermal Club race. It is supposed to be a high of 70 on Sunday. Curt and Kevin talk about the weather will change the racing. 

Kevin and Curt round out the first hour of the show reading some tweets. Kevin addresses fan concerns about pit stops during the race and how dusty the Thermal Club track will be. They address a fan request of expanding fuel tanks race-by-race, and tire degradation on the cars. 

In the second hour of the show, Kevin and Curt recap the 12 Hours of Sebring. Kevin talks about how hard the track is to drive on at night, and how it almost becomes muscle memory. Kevin gives a rundown of the finishers. Curt talks about Jack Hawksworth’s performance, and how consistent he was. Kevin preview’s Jack Hawksworth’s ride in the Truck Series this weekend. They also preview the Carb Day concert lineups and talk about what Leigh Diffey will do later in the season. The two also delve into IndyCar TV deals for next season. 

Later in the second hour, Kevin Lee talks to his son Jackson Lee about his performance during the Sebring Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Sebring. He compares the differences between driving an open wheel car and an Aston Martin GT4. He talks about how different the track feels in each car. Kevin and Jackson discuss how the types of drivers who raced in the Pilot Challenge have changed from last season to this season. 

Kevin ends the show answering some listener questions. 
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Tonight, on an abbreviated episode of Trackside, Curt and Kevin recap the first race of the IndyCar season at St. Petersburg! They talk about Josef Newgarden’s dominating performance, and the skill that he has as a driver. They discuss Newgarden’s odds on winning the championship, and how the rest of the schedule looks, and how the schedule favors Newgarden more than other drivers. Curt points out how dominant Penske has been on the streets of St. Pete. They also talk about the Indy NXT race, won by Nolan Siegel. They talk about how Marcus Ericsson is calm and collected, and his reaction to the engine failure on Sunday. 

Later in the first hour of the show, Kevin and Curt take you behind the scenes and talk about some of the production that went into the St. Petersburg IndyCar race. They answer some listener questions, including about the post-race show on Peacock. Kevin also gives updates on Jackson Lee’s racing career. 

Kevin rounds out the first hour reading some more tweets. He also talks about Ganassi splitting with Chevy in sports cars, and a talk he had with the promoter of St. Pete. 
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