The Race IndyCar Podcast

We’ve got a double header for you in this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast, with a lookback on the tumultuous Indy road course race in the wet followed by a special drivers’ eye insight into the Indy 500 schedule.

With Colton Herta taking an audacious win in changeable conditions, many title contenders hitting trouble, and strategy calls deciding the end result, host Jack Benson enlists the help of The Race’s F1 correspondent Edd Straw - immersed in the Indy paddock all weekend - to look back on the action.

As well as a race breakdown, Straw delves into Romain Grosjean’s reputation from F1 - having covered most of Grosjean’s career - and whether Graham Rahal was right to criticise Grosjean last time out.

And of course it wouldn’t be The Race IndyCar Podcast without co-host JR Hildebrand, who breaks from his busy schedule preparing to race in the Indy 500 to preview the unique schedule awaiting him and the Brickyard. He outlines how a driver and team look to extract the maximum from the on track sessions and how they manage the hours of down time to ensure top performance.

Jack and JR also look ahead to this week’s Indy practice sessions, as well as previewing this year’s new two-stage battle for pole and how that might impact the order.

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Alex Palou’s Indy road course win, a host of expletive-filled spats and a look at the Indy 500 starting this week makes up this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.

Hosting duo JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon look at Alex Palou starting May in the same way as last year, with a pole and a win on the Indy road course, what that means for his title rivals and how Christian Lundgaard was hard done by.

Of course, Colton Herta calling his team-mate Marcus Ericsson an “ass” and Romain Grosjean and Santino Ferrucci’s unusual wheel-banging feud are also analysed.

After that, Hildebrand explains some intricacies of how Indy 500 qualifying works, and gives his thoughts on how badly impacted reigning winner Josef Newgarden will be after some of his crew have been suspended ahead of the event.

There’s also a run through the schedule this week and some things to look for as practice unfolds.

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On this episode Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand discuss Scott Dixon’s genius and how it led to a stunning victory in Long Beach.

Dixon’s outrageous victory on the streets of California - underpinned by his insane fuel-saving abilities - drew praise from all corners of motorsport at the weekend. As well as discussing how he won and the qualities that mean Dixon can do things his peers can’t, Hildebrand outlines some memories of racing wheel-to-wheel with Dixon and what makes him great in the process.

Reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire’s excellent debut for Arrow McLaren is also analysed, along with his prospects for a repeat performance at Barber this weekend, plus the guys dive into how IndyCar officiated the Josef Newgarden/Colton Herta incident that impacted the finish of the race.

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Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar championship leader Marcus Ericsson is our guest on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast as we officially kick off the famous 'Month of May'.

Before getting to the Indy 500, Ericsson discusses his season so far, makes a promise to improve his out-laps, talks about Chip Ganassi Racing’s improved qualifying form, and explains how it feels to be leading the championship at this stage of the year.

Fresh from attending the Kentucky Derby, the 500 is, of course, a big topic of conversation for Ericsson as we are mere days from practice starting.

Ericsson, who will not benefit from being under the radar like he was last year, weighs up the likelihood of even more competitive rivals, the pressure to win again versus the peace that comes from winning already, having continuity in the personnel in his team, and how winning the race changed his everyday life beyond recognition.

We also ask him for the latest on his future, as he is in a contract year at Ganassi and the list of other suitors appears to be growing by the day...

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 [email protected]

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Last weekend’s wild Detroit race is the subject of this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.

Was it a good race? It was certainly entertaining, but co-hosts JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon reckoned it crossed a line.

They assess driving standards (and how drivers need to do better), how the race was officiated, Dixon’s winning strategy, and how Alex Palou’s incredible 23-race streak came to an end.

Angst in the paddock is also discussed after tempers flared between Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood.

Note: This episode was recorded before it was announced that Theo Pourchaire had received death threats from fans after a crash with Agustin Canpino during the race, so we’ll address that in the future.

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