No Researchers, Just Race Opinions And A Very Fast Puppy

Memorial Day weekend always brings a familiar question to our group texts: who actually has the car to win the Indianapolis 500, and who are we cheering for? Jeff and I connect for our annual Indy 500 preview, and we keep it real, no researchers, just decades of watching the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and a lot of love for the traditions that make Indianapolis Motor Speedway feel like its own universe.

We start with the stuff fans obsess over before race morning: the weather and how a mid-race shift can scramble plans, what it’s like to watch from different seating areas, and why being at the track changes your sense of speed. Then we get into the human stories that make the grid more than a spreadsheet, including rookies trying to survive the early laps from deep starting spots, and Katherine Legge taking on the brutal logistics of running the Indy 500 and then heading to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.

From there, it’s all about contenders and pressure. Alex Palou sits on pole and looks like the man to beat, Alexander Rossi fights through a late clearance to race, and David Malukas steps into big expectations with Team Penske. We also talk surprises like the Andretti team positions, the threat of experienced winners throughout the field, and the chase for history with Helio Castroneves aiming for a record fifth Indy 500 win. We close with our picks, our wish list, and a reminder that this race is won by full teams, not just fearless drivers.

Subscribe for more road trip conversations, share this with a racing friend, and leave a review if our Indy picks make you agree or argue. Who do you think wins the 500 this year?

Transcript

Welcome And Indy 500 Tradition

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I'm your host, Dan, and each week we'll embark on a new adventure, discovering memories and life lessons of our incredible guests. From everyday travelers to thrill seekers and everyone in between, this podcast is your front road speak to inspiring stories of passion, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness. So buckle up and enjoy the ride. Well, it's uh Memorial Day weekend. And for my good friend Jeff Zucker, who's on with me, this means one thing to us. The Indianapolis 500, the 110th running tomorrow. As we've done for a number of years, Jeff and I are going to share our thoughts on the race this year. So I hope you enjoy this. Maybe you'll learn something. Don't hold us to everything we say because we have no researchers. We do it on our own. And sometimes the internet lets us down. Enjoy

Weather Watch And Where We Sit

SPEAKER_00 1:06

the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Well, hey Dan, good day to you. Good rainy Saturday. We're hoping it doesn't translate into a rainy Sunday. I was looking at the forecast for the race, and it said maybe around two or three o'clock there could be some issues, but uh after four, maybe just cloudy. And of course you'll be you'll be sitting there experiencing it. And uh I'll be wishing I was sitting there experiencing it. But it's it's fun to do our our annual uh race podcast. So great to be with you.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Great to be with you. And at some point we have to go to the speedway together and sit side by side and do this, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

That's true. And or in different turns, that way we can, you know, have better perspective, broader perspective. We'll still text each other, I'm sure, uh, even if we're sitting side by side.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Of course we will, because we've done that for years now. Yeah, and you've got a you've got a new seating location this year, right? Yeah, we're gonna try something new. We're in the top row of the tower terrace. We should be able to see turns four and one, and then some pit action.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yeah, and when I have gone to the 500, uh other than my first trip, which was when Danny Sullivan won, but I've always sat uh in pit row, and it's uh, you know, you do have limited uh views of the turns, but it's great to watch the pit action there.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

I don't think that was there for Danny Sullivan's spin to win, but you were.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

I was, and I uh, you know, I want to say I was sitting in turn four, but I don't know. I can't remember. It was my first 500. I think it was the 75th 500. I believe that I I I got a ne like a neoprene, almost kind of shiny maroon hat with the braid, you know, the braid across the bill. Oh yeah, that my that my dad got for me. That was a cool experience to go with my dad. Obviously, growing up in Indiana, uh the 500's a big tradition and a big tradition for racing fans. So as you as you said in your your other podcast about Memorial Day, it's it's crazy to believe that you know we're it's this time of year again. Uh it's just goes by so quickly.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Yes, the years fly by. This is the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 coming up tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yes, and uh as we're talking now, uh appropriately, maybe I'm doing laps in my house because we just got a new puppy. So I have a complete uh front row. I have we have three dogs now, and you know, the veterans are not really wanting to give the rookie any line, so they're they're chasing her around a little bit, and she's uh squealing and looks like her uh you know her back end's loose at times because she's skidding across the floor. But uh uh so I'll be I'll be you know practicing the race as we're doing this podcast here.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Well, let's talk about our rookies first. You want to? Go ahead. So we got um Colette, he's in the number four with AJ Foyt Racing. Dennis Hauger, he's with Del Coyne, and he was the Indy Next champ from last year. We've got Mick Schumacher, and people might recognize that name in the 47 car with Ray Hall Letterman. And then we've got Jacob Abel with Abel Racing out of Louisville, Kentucky. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

And the interesting thing about Colette was in up and toward the front, 10th or 11th, right? And then got a penalty and and got bumped, jumped back uh to the back row. Good racer and good car, so could have good results.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Yeah, and a good team. Um, yeah, yeah, I believe he was in seventh, and yeah, due to some technical issue, uh, he's been bumped to the back.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

I think it'll be fascinating to watch uh Schumacher uh with his with his success in F1. You know, obviously Indy's very different animal, and the cars are very different. I don't think we have time to get into that, but I know we've talked about that in the past. But experienced racer, it'll be fun. He's coming in as a rookie, but a different kind of rookie.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah, and he's starting back there in position 27th, which um starting in the back in Indy, that could be good or bad. You might want to just uh if you're back there in the back, maybe just hold back a little bit and see what happens

Rookies To Track And The Double

SPEAKER_00 4:55

in turn one.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Yeah, especially, you know, we've got rookies 27th, 29th, I think 30th for Jacob Abel, and then Colette in 32nd. So it could it could get uh it could get rambunctious back there. Yeah. Like this puppy, like this puppy we have, just jump it, jumping all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Absolutely. And and let's uh mention we have one female racer, Katherine Leg. She's back again. Good to see her. She's trying to do the double and run the Indy 500 and then head off to Charlotte to run the Coke 600. Right. And that's a short list of people who have tried that.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

I think is it Tony Stewart the only one who's done every lap at both races? Is that accurate?

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Yep, that's the only one. And uh Robbie Gordon tried it five times.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Well, and of course, uh, should there be weather in Indianapolis, that would that would obviously uh hurt her opportunity, her chances to get to get to Charlotte on time.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Absolutely. So that's uh that's quite a logistical feat they're gonna pull off.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

And as you and I were talking earlier in the week, certainly a Powler hanging over the the NASCAR series with uh Kyle Bush's past.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

That was very sad to read and had just won a race, I think last week or week before.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Just run a truck series race, and I was reading about that uh appropriately, and not not because he knew what was obviously going on in his his life, but appropriately because this is how we should approach every day. He talked about how special that was, and you just don't know how many opportunities you're gonna get to to win a race, to to live a day, to be with your kids, to every day's every day's special, and it's unfortunate uh for his family, I think, of his two children, and his son's quite the racer, but uh yeah, it'll be a different uh feel for that event this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Well, let's talk about the front row for a moment. I don't know if it's a surprise to anyone, but Alex Pillow sitting on the pole, and then you've got Alexander Rossi, and then we got David Malucas, new young racer, past couple of years. He's with Pinski now. He's in that familiar number 12, which Will Power piloted for years. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Well, uh, you know, reading on Pillow and when he his dominance of late, right, is he's getting mentioned in the same breath as guys like A.J. Foyt and Mara Andretti. I mean, that's that's rarefied air. And I know he's the odds-on favorite. Obviously, he's on the pole. Obviously, he's been a championship driver now for for many years and trying to do the the repeat, and uh which is is not common. I think uh uh Newgarden, guess if Newgarden is the last guy to do that. Not too many years ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Just a few years ago, Newgarden pulled off two and was going for a third, and mechanical issues ended that. Pelow is a four-time champion. 21 23, 24, I think, and 25. He's gonna be a hard man to beat. Great, great that Rossi's in the race uh too. I was thinking about that. As a team owner, driver, you you qualify great, you know, you're on the front row. Do you just sit out that last week and go, great car, great driver, but you know, they're racers, so they want to get away with the city.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

That's right. Uh and wasn't he just cleared Friday, I think.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

He ran Carb Day on Friday and was just cleared. And he's on crutches, but as he said, keep the weight off, I guess. But uh he said in a race car there's there's no weight issue, so he'll strap in and head out second. You know, I I had I had to think about the rules for a minute because I was like, oh, they're going to the backup car. Does that mean he moves to the back? But I don't know, maybe that's the way it was years ago. I don't remember.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

You you've been watching this race now, and as you talked about again in that other podcast and for more than 50 years. Well, this will be the 50th anniversary of your first first time to the track, correct?

SPEAKER_00 8:38

It is, yeah. And I'm I'm hoping it's not as rainy as it was in 1976.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Well, and then back one more comment

Pole Storylines And Front-Row Pace

SPEAKER_01 8:45

on Rossi and Ed Carpenter's team, Rasmussen there in the in row five with Ed. You know, obviously everybody would love to see Ed get one as a as a as a driver, you know, that'd be special.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Absolutely. And then you got uh David Malucas sitting on the outside, and he is wanting to win. This young man, he is and he and he's on the right team to get it get a victory for sure with Penske. He is he is on the right team. Interesting in those first two rows, you've got there's a team missing. That's the Andretti team.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Let's see. Who's is Erickson uh the top driver as far position going in?

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Yeah, Marcus Erickson, but he's back in 17th. Will Powers in 19, and a guy we thought would be up near the front, Kyle Kirkwood, who's second in the season points, is back in 25th. And like you said, starting in the back, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Uh especially uh with those rookies, could get uh could get dangerous the first first few turns to people settle in. And if you know, if there's any crazy conditions, which I know they don't run if unless it's safe, but you know, it does affect everything weather-wise affect the track, as as anybody who knows racing knows.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

So guy who's trying to redeem himself last year, crashed on the warm-up lap is Scott McLaughlin. Yep, that's gotta be tough.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Casual race fans, and you're you're more serious of a fan than I am, but I've you know, growing up in Indiana, 500's always been very important to me. But casual race fans probably don't think about how much goes into getting a a car ready, especially for this race, and then to go out at the beginning is uh you know, the drivers obviously are upset, but when they say they feel bad for their team, they really mean it because it is a team effort.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah, they spend the whole month, right, uh getting ready for this race. Well, let's talk about winners. There are nine pass winners on the grid, including the guy who is still trying to break out from the four-time winners, and that's Elio Castrenevis. So he'll be going for win number five in the Indy 500.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yeah, and and I believe he got his fourth when he was in his late 40s. Yeah. After quite a uh you know, decade plus after not being in the winner's circle. So I think all of us quote unquote old guys would love to see that. Uh although I'm sure there's some traditional race fans that don't want him to per surpass, you know, a guy like AJ Foyt, for instance. But uh what what a fan favorite. Glad he's in the race, even though he's not really, you know, he's not racing full time like some of these drivers, but he's always uh a fan favorite.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

And then Sado. Uh he's got he's a two-time winner here. Right. And uh correct me if I'm wrong, he was going for one win, and he and Frankiti got together literally on the very last.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Late, yep, very, very late. And uh obviously performs very well. Some guys just drive well at that track, right? They just it's just the the the the feel or the setup or the team, all these things we talked about earlier. So yeah, I expect him to to do well, and certainly the experience of knowing how how to win a race, right? A lot of these guys coming in, they're learning how to prepare for a race, but we have nine guys who know how to win.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Yeah, and others on that list. Uh, of course, there's New Garden. We mentioned him, Scott Dixon, Marcus Erickson. He was second last year. We got Ryan Hunter Ray, he's back in a car this year. Rossi. Is it is it Rossi the the last guy? Yeah, Ryan Hunter Ray, and then we got Alexander Rossi.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Ray is with the Aero McLaren team. So it's crazy when you look at the the, you know, obviously there is a grid, there are qualifiers, but in racing is in in the thousandths of a second, we know that too. But Pelow at 232, and then you go all the way down to row where we're talking about Ryan Hunter Ray, he's at he's at 230. 2.02, so 0.202. So the margins are and again, I think as you said uh in the other podcast, you have to go to the race, right? Because you can you can see that on paper, you can watch it on TV, but until you would hear it, I think, and feel it, especially where you're going to be sitting, just the how close these cars are, the science and the and the guts and the experience that goes into making the necessary changes or strategies to to win a race is is really phenomenal.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

It's really a thing of beauty if uh if you know what you're looking for. Absolutely. And I'm looking at a couple other names here that we didn't quite mention, and that's Ferrucci and Connor Daly. Connor Daly ran extremely strong last year. This is uh Ferrucci is AJ's guy, and AJ knows how to race at Indianapolis. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Yeah, and I think the uh the sports books are are putting Connor Daly at he's the um the odds on him are third, only behind Pelow and Potto Award.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

And Pato um he's kind of had a slow year this year starting out. We expected a little bit more, and he's finished a strong second a couple years ago to Newgarden. Yeah, he keep an eye on him. He's due he is due to win this, and he's starting sixth. He's in sixth, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

I was gonna

Past Winners, Dark Horses, And Picks

SPEAKER_01 13:45

ask you, and and you know, I talk about this with my family all the time when we're watching a sporting event, and I say, I think this team or this golfer or this gymnast is going to win. I don't necessarily want that person to win, but I think they're gonna win. You know, in that vein, I'd love to hear from you. Number one, who do you think all these drivers, most of them have a shot, but who do you think will win, and then who do you want to win?

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Well, we always want Scott Dixon to win. We like Scott Dixon. He's he's a great competitor, and when he's interviewed, he's just he's very gracious about things in the public eye. But I think what I would like to see is I would like to see Daly or Ed Carpenter win. Yeah, and I think that would be fun. Now, who do I think is gonna win? It's hard to say, but it is gonna be hard to beat Alex Pelow. I think he's going to win.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

And then uh until Ed Carpenter gets one, I'm always gonna want Ed Carpenter to win. You've been watching racing far longer than I have. Uh if if Helio gets the fifth, is that is that great? Is that okay? Is that oh, I wish he wouldn't have surpassed some of the old school drivers. What what's it what's it uh registering for you?

SPEAKER_00 14:57

You know, I think that would be exciting. He's uh I believe 51 years old. He is. Yeah, records, you know, they're meant to be broken. I think that might be kind of cool, actually. Yeah. Well, I was just gonna say the the excitement he would bring to that place if he did would be crazy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

And then another, you know, a couple other favorites. I know it'd be fun to see a Ray Hall back in Victory Lane. Graham starting in 28th position. Obviously, folks who listen to this podcast know your your relationship with Stingray, Rob. So obviously we would be we're pulling for him as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Yeah, Stingray had a good start to the month of May, and then qualifying, I don't know, the car just seemed like it went away on him. Yeah, we know a few of these guys from Henry's days of working in the ladder system of IndyCar. Um and I should mention up in seventh is Giffin Simpson from the Cayman Islands, uh driving for Chipkanassis. So hey, he has come on strong here lately. Yeah, but you got Jacob Abel back there. We know the Abels.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Yeah, it's cool that he has a like his team's family owned. Yeah, Jacob Abel, that'd be cool because of his team is family owned, and it feels a little bit like Ed Carpenter in the early days, a little fluble guy. Yeah. Speaking of teams, and I think maybe, you know, one thing it'd be cool to hear from you, especially with Henry's experience in racing, you know, and and so many people again who just turn into this one event a year or racing casually don't understand or don't appreciate, I should say, the the team aspect of it. But if you can talk about that for 15, 20 seconds, how important it is to be, you know, on the track with teammates. Uh some of these guys have uh the power of multiple cars and others are like Jacob Abel going going solo.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

But yeah, those multi-car teams giving feedback to one another. But it is just a huge team effort. And I think most people don't know what goes on behind the scenes with all these crew members, and they've got to be on their game too, because when these guys come to the pit stop, you gotta be on your game. And we've seen guys fumble around with wheels and wheel nuts, and two seconds is gonna cost you the race. Whole thing's a big team effort, all the way down to the people who transport these things and work tirelessly throughout the month of May. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

And we

Teamwork, Pit Stops, And Farewell

SPEAKER_01 17:12

get to soak it in and uh the sights and sounds and doing fun things like this, thinking about who might win, who we want to win. It's uh it's a really a joy uh for me, and I think I know for you too, and uh we'll be looking forward to hearing from you from the track tomorrow and hopefully without interruption uh because of the weather.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Yes, we hope we start at noon and we finish three and a half hours later or something. I will look I look forward to our constant text messages as we commentate throughout the race, and it's always good because you see things I don't know by being only seeing one section of the track. You were telling me some things last year. I'm like, oh dang. Well, Jeff, always a pleasure to talk with you.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Yes, sir, my friend, and enjoy the day and uh, greatest spectacle in racing.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

Yes, greatest spectacle. Thank you for tuning in to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I hope you enjoyed our journey today and the stories that were shared. If you have any thoughts or questions or stories of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me anytime. Don't forget to share this podcast with your friends and family and help us to spread the joy of road trips and great conversations. Until next time, keep driving, keep exploring, and keep having those amazing conversations. Take travel. And remember, you can find me on the internet at stayandtheroadtripguy.com.