The Race IndyCar Podcast The Race

A crucial test for the Indy 500, an extended injury delay opening the door for the reigning F2 champion and an F1 feeder series juggernaut entering a new two-car team left plenty to discuss on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.
JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon are back to discuss Josef Newgarden and Team Penske’s form after topping the Indy 500 Open Test, and break down NASCAR star Kyle Larson’s second-fastest time performance with some key insight into how he’s approaching advice for his IndyCar debut as well.
Prema Racing’s two-car team for 2025 is outlined with Hildebrand impressed with how well previous drivers and employees speak of the team.
And of course, who to watch in this weekend’s Long Beach Grand Prix, with F2 champion Theo Pourchaire looking likely to replace David Malukas adding to the storylines. Hildebrand explains why he thinks this is more of a long-term move by the team.

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The Thermal $1 Million Challenge non-points race has been widely panned by fans, so The Race IndyCar Podcast does a deep dive into the event this week.
JR Hildebrand joins Jack Benyon to discuss the things we liked and disliked from the event.
Of course, the fact that it was so seemingly universally disliked - at least on social media - triggers a worry for Benyon that IndyCar will be scared to try new things - something it has been criticised for not doing recently.
The venue, heat format, push-to-pass in qualifying, the prize money not being enough and addressing some of the wider problems with the event’s messaging all make up parts of the analysis.

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Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden joins The Race IndyCar Podcast to discuss his perfect start to the year with a pole and a win in the IndyCar season opener, and victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Porsche.
Speaking to hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand, Newgarden goes into more detail than he has before on the mental struggles he went through last year, even admitting there were times that he didn’t want to get into the car.
He also talks about the intricacies of his win in St Pete, and what that might mean for the rest of a campaign in which he's aiming for a first championship win since 2019, despite winning more races than any other driver in that period.
With the Thermal $1 million Challenge event taking place this weekend, Newgarden gives a driver’s insight into the event, while Benyon explains the event’s unusual format with two heat races and a final dash for cash where the winner should earn $500,000.
Finally, Newgarden discusses the ‘bittersweet’ travails of his native IndyCar round at Nashville, which has been moved from its downtown street circuit location to an oval further out of the city.


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The Race IndyCar Podcast is back to what it does best - analysing races - after the 2024 IndyCar season got underway in St Petersburg last weekend.
Indy 500 regular and Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand joins The Race’s Jack Benyon to provide some fascinating insight into Josef Newgarden's victory, and the American driver's comments about how he's struggled to enjoy his racing and the steps he has taken to fix that.
Chevrolet and Penske’s strong starts are also discussed, as are terrible starts to the season for different reasons for two big marquee signings in Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean.
A starring rookie at Ganassi is also name-checked amid a rollercoaster race for that team, while Hildebrand gives his take on what Benyon called a disappointing race from an excitement perspective, and how IndyCar’s current ideological crisis might have been the root cause.

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James Hinchcliffe and Jamie Chadwick are the star guests on this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast, which previews the 2024 IndyCar season-opener at St Petersburg.
After a long off-season, the series is back and as a former race winner at St Pete and one of the series' TV commentators, 'Hinch' is the perfect person to help preview the race alongside hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand.
Hinch analyses the track, paying special attention to Turns 3 and 14, and also talks about what winning at St Pete in 2013 - his first IndyCar victory - meant for his career.
Hinchcliffe also picks out some of the storylines he’s most looking forward to covering this year in the 2024 IndyCar Series.
Following that, Jamie Chadwick drops in for a chat ahead of her second season in IndyCar feeder category, Indy NXT. Chadwick discusses the areas of focus for her off-season, her goals for this year and beyond, and also the new karting programme she has launched to try and get young girls into karting.
And finally, Jack breaks down some of the recent IndyCar driver moves, including three drivers being announced in the week leading up to the event, a new contract for one of its stars, the latest on a court case for another and more in a news round-up.

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We're delighted to welcome a special guest to The Race IndyCar Podcast this week, as Indianapolis 500-winning engineer Angela Ashmore of Chip Ganassi Racing joins the show.
From watching short-track racing as a child to engineering in NASCAR, Ashmore has a diverse resume that most recently led her to winning the 500 with Marcus Ericsson as his assistant engineer, before being promoted to lead engineer for Marcus Armstrong at the team in 2024.
Ashmore discusses how well the job of assistant prepares you for the lead engineering role, and looks at some of the key areas where there’s big gains to be made as an engineer. She also explains what she expects from IndyCar Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong and the team this year.
Ashmore also speaks passionately about becoming (according to the series) only the fourth female lead engineer in IndyCar history, including being a visible role model for women wanting to get into motorsport, and what the IndyCar paddock is like to work in.
Don't forget, if you have a question for our hosting team, you can email text and/or voice notes to be included on the podcast by sending them to podcasts@the-race.com

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