November 4, 2025 • 45 mins
Tonight, on Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, they talk about the retirement of Marco Andretti and they look back at his career, especially in the Indy 500. They later talk about Kyle Kirkwood getting extended at Andretti Global. They also talk about whether Colton Herta will return to race the fourth Andretti car for the 2026 Indy 500.
In the second segment, Kevin talks about Brian Barnhart moving from Arrow McLaren to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Olivier Boisson moving from Andretti Global to Arrow McLaren. They also talk about Kyle Larson winning the 2025 NASCAR championship, becoming the first driver to win a NASCAR championship and competing in the Indy 500 in the same year.
To wrap up another edition of the show, Kevin talks about the NASCAR championship weekend and the amount of fan backlash from the playoff format, especially in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Connor Zilisch losing to Jesse Love. Kevin also talks about the significance of the championship loss from Connor Zilisch as he will no longer be able to test for Cadillac in WEC. He later talks about the interest of Connor Zilisch competing in the 2027 Indy 500, and A.J. Allmendinger returning to Meyer Shank Racing in the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is track Side with Kirk Cavin and Kevin Lee
on ninety three to five and one oh seven five
the Fan.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Tonight we discuss the ends for now at least of
essentially a sixty year run with Andretti's competing in IndyCar
style racing, with Marco and Dreddi's retirement, and at the
same time, the Andretti IndyCar team is solidifying its future
by keeping potentially the top free agent off the market
next year. There's some sports car news involving people IndyCar
(00:34):
fans know well, and we've crossed off one of our
off season markers. NASCAR season is over, but their fan
anger is in full roar. An Indy five hundred driver,
by the way, also won the Cup title. We'll get
into all that and much more tonight on the program.
Welcome the track Side ninety three five, one oh seven
to five. The fan in Indianapolis, landon Coons is there.
(00:57):
I'm here, my name is Kevin Lee. Kirk Cavin is somewhere.
We welcome you to the program. Your thoughts are welcome
to Kevin Lee twenty three of the X or Twitter
at kirk Cavin as well a reminder and a note
to the host in studio appearance, we'll see if the
key card works. Coming up next week, We're going to
(01:20):
Venture Downtown on Tuesday night at seven o'clock. All right, Kurt.
A lot to get into, so we will not waste
any time. I mentioned on the show. I brought this
up just in my random thoughts, Hey, we need to
hear what Marco Andretti is doing. And I swear it's
I think. Did the announcement come out the next day?
(01:41):
It might have, Yeah, so people knew. I did not
know this was coming, and clearly all the drivers knew
because they were asked to do tribute videos to Marco.
So this isn't just something where he woke up on
Wednesday morning and said I've had enough. This had been
in the works for a little while. But that was
(02:02):
my thought, was just common sense, And I didn't say
he was retiring. I just said we need to find out.
This seems like a bigger TBD to me. Marco does
not look like he's been having a whole lot of
fun at the Indianapolis five hundred the last few years.
And frankly, I don't know if I said this this bluntly,
(02:22):
but Frankly, the team would probably like to upgrade that
seat if at all possible, and they might have someone
part of their family that they would like to continue
with a foot in the door in Indy car. So
before we talk about if Colton hurt is going to
be in that seat, I do want to celebrate Marco.
While it hasn't been going awesome the last few years,
(02:45):
and it's always tough when that's your only event in
this type of car for the entire season and life changes,
but boy, for fifteen years he was about as you
could say. You could are argue he is on that
short list of the best to never win the Indy
five hundred.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Well, his results are his reuals say that, and he was.
He was just competitive, and you know, the irony is
the moment that he is going to be most remembered
for at Indy is really the moment when he was
least prepared, and I say that least experienced maybe that's
a better way of saying it. He was you know,
(03:26):
had he been in that position two or three years
after that, he probably would have won the race. But
the first time, you know, the first time to be
in that position and then have a team, Penske Car
and Sam Horace Junior, who you know that made his
you know, kind of cemented his IndyCar career. But you know,
had Marco been you know, two or three years down
(03:49):
the road, so to speak, I don't think Sam gets him.
And that's kind of the unfortunate part. You know, we
talk a lot about, you know, I don't like Andretti
curse it just the drow that they had, you know,
the unfortunate circumstances they had. But top of the list,
or certainly in that top two or three and Dretti moments,
(04:10):
is the fact that Marco just didn't have the experience
maybe to execute what he probably would have in many
circumstances later on. But as you mentioned, he had such
a great track record in Indianapolis. I know, Andretti the
team was good at that track during that era, but
(04:31):
Marco was. He was outstanding and he handled himself well.
And you're right, it just hasn't been fun the last
few years. I really thought when he crashed and turned
one last year at Indy and that was his twentieth start,
in my mind, I thought he was done. I just thought,
you know, it's been two years in a row. He's
had an early accident, and you know this, he reached
(04:55):
the twenty year mark. He is you know, he drove
longer at the speedway. Circumstances created this, but he drove
longer at the speedway than his dad did. And I
think the twenty years was a big deal to him,
and the way it ended, and the transition of his
father out of the team. I just thought it felt
like that was it, you know, last May. Yeah, that
(05:16):
makes sense. It's not the same that it was.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Mario still has an association, Michael still has some association.
We might see him a time or two. He might
bring the boat down to Saint Pete, he might come
to the Indy five hundred. But yeah, it's clearly not
the same. And it's one thing to keep doing it
if there is a chance. It's not going to be
(05:39):
a great chance most of the time when you're a
one off, when you have a part time crew, but
if you can tell yourself, I've got a chance. Others
have said the same thing, you know, Townsend Bell has said,
and Townsend didn't have the record that Marco did. But
Townshend was really good at Indy and when he got
to the point and decided I can't win. I'm not
going to do it just to do it. I've done
(06:00):
it enough. And I think that's the way Marco would
feel in that circumstance. And that's why a lot of
drivers feel I've been there, I've done that. It's what
Tony Stewart always said, I'm not interested in coming back
just to run the thing. I've been there, done that.
If I felt like I could win, I would keep
doing it. And it's just really hard in that circumstance.
Marco was not just good at Indy. He was brave.
(06:21):
He was good at all the mile and a halfs
and back in the day he was pretty solid. He
won a road course race. Okay, maybe a caution helped
him out there, but you're still in position to win.
He finished I think fifth in a championship at one point.
He was legit for a decade or so, and it
(06:44):
had to be challenging being not just the son, but
the grandson, the nephew, everything else that comes along with that.
Marco took a lot of flack over the years, and
you'd like that helps. You don't get to where you're
at without having that name. But there's a lot of
baggage that comes with that, and it can be challenging
at times.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You know, it also was challenging because you know, while
he was you know, the bright, you know, shiny, new
new contribution to the sport, he was really had a
personality more like his to some degree, more like his
dad publicly than his grandfather. You know, people assume that
that everybody's is as jovial and and and just you know,
(07:31):
outgoing as his grandfather became after he retired. You know,
Mario wasn't wasn't that kind of personality even when he
was driving. Just a little different, That's all I guess,
is what I'm saying. Marco's personality, you know, wasn't look
at me, I'm in the spotlight. You know, he didn't
didn't really care for that, So it was sometimes difficult
(07:53):
to embrace him and him to embrace the spotlight. But
you're right, for a decade he was as good as
any bunny. And he won a road course race and
he you know, he won an oval, and you know
he's you know, he he just his his record, he
earned on his own merit, and we should celebrate that.
(08:15):
And I think, you know, you and I do, and
I think the race fans that have been following the
sport for twenty plus years understand how good Marco was.
But you know, it's hard to compare him when you're
looking at Michael Andretti and Mario Andretti and even John
Andretti for all his success and and so forth.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So it could have should have won several other races.
He was in the mix. Every driver can probably say
that as well and as popular with the other drivers.
While he may have been quiet publicly and reluctance to
really be outgoing, he obviously had something behind the scenes
(08:54):
that most of us didn't really see. And yeah, I
think everybody there was a concerted effort to let's celebrate
Marco and everybody make a video. But I also suspect
they were all happy to do it because they all
genuinely like Marco, and Marco has helped other drivers. You know,
Marco's from a very He's very successful in business beyond
just being a race car driver. He's done well, he
(09:16):
hasn't needed to work for a while, and he's helped
out other people with little things along the way. So
it's gonna be odd not having Marco there, and this
will not be the first time that we've not had
an Andretti in the five hundred. You know, when Mario
started in sixty five, we had the split. I don't
(09:37):
think there was anybody there from what like ninety six
to two thousand or so until Michael came back, because
I don't think John was doing it at the time.
There were a couple of years between when Michael retired
the first time before Marco started in six. But I
mentioned at the top, I think it's the first time
though since probably nineteen well in the early sixties. Whenever
(10:02):
you want to say Mario got into IndyCar racing, I
think he'd say sixty four when he was in the
top level of USAK, because Michael was still driving during
the split and Marco. When Michael retired, Marco was driving
in junior Formula cars that looked like Indy cars in
two thousand and four and two thousand and five Star
(10:23):
Mazda Indy Lights. So really, this will be the first
time since nineteen sixty three there hasn't been an Andretti
that's been involved. Maybe we can get Jared over in
the Road to Indy. Jared still drives. There's some other
Andrettes to drive, but nobody in Indie style racing at
(10:43):
this point. And I think Marco's too smart to allow
his kids to get into it. Yeah, it could be.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yeah, I mean, look, whether it's Indy five hundred or
the season or you know, the championship or just a
sport in Jen, you know, it's been my whole my
whole life, your whole life where the Andretti's, the answers
and the Foights have been relevant and and for all
practical purposes, I know we have a Foight team, but
(11:14):
for all practical purposes from an on track standpoint, it's
it's a it's a strange time in my in my
coverage of the sport, so.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
And we have an Andretti team. Someone wondering how long
that's going to last. I don't think I got to
this question, but noticed who was it that tested at
Indie I forget which which driver tested? Was it? Kirkwood?
Whoever it was had a TWG Motorsport livery and I'm
(11:48):
not willing to put a whole lot in that. I thought.
My first thought was, well, I think they do want
to start to establish that brand a little bit more,
because even those of us in the industry might struggle
remembering what that is, and it matters. You know, this
part of the company owns the LA Dodgers. They own
(12:09):
the LA Lakers, not the motorsport brand, but TWG and
Googenheim and everything else, so that might have been just
part of it. We don't have a sponsor. It's a test,
so let's just put that on there. And I think
I saw it on one of the Indie Next cars
as well. And then you had the Michael rumors, which
have been debunked by Michael, but I do think there
was something to it. I think someone was pitching Michael,
(12:30):
can we use your name? And maybe he's not allowed
to or maybe he's not interested. But one of the
many questions we don't know is how long does TWG
Motorsport have the rights to use the Andready name. Is
that in perpetuity or is there any end date to that?
And then it may come down to if there's an
(12:51):
end date, there's going to be another check written. If
I'm the owner of the andre Ready name, I might
say that. So don't have any answers there, but it's
just something to watch on that front. Kyle Kirkwood is
an Andretti or a TWG motorsport driver or however you
want to phrase it, and he ain't going anywhere. Let's
(13:12):
be proactive. This is what will Power wanted to happen
last year. It's the offseason. Let's talk. Let's work out
an extension. Plenty of motivation for Andretti Global to get
this done right now.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Because there's big jobs available in twenty to twenty seven
at least we expect that to be the case, or
potentially could be the case. You could have, you know,
you could have an Aero McClaren seat, You could have
a Chip Ganassi Racing seat. Quite frankly, you could have
a Team Penske seat. So any of those seats, if
there was competition for services, you would think that the
(13:49):
price would go up that Andretti would have to pay.
And you know Kyle Kirkwood has you know, he won
three races in a season where Alex Polow was was dominant.
You're not ready to say that Kyle Kirkwood is, you
know that the next big championship level driver in this sport,
(14:09):
because you know, we saw Colton Herd to get right
to the doorstep of the championship, didn't win it and
had trouble coming back. So you know, you athletes often
say this, and teams often say this, You just don't
know how many second next chances you're going to get.
And you know Kyle had a great year. What do
you have a great year next year? You know, you
(14:31):
just don't know, So it'll be. It certainly changes the
landscape of drivers available for twenty twenty seven because Kirkwood
is out of the mix, and you know, good for him,
good for TWG, good for the Andretti Global organization to
kind of get this the stability. You know, he's always
(14:53):
wanted to be there, but you certainly would ask the
question if you're him, is it the right move to
go to a Team Penske, Chip, Ganassi, Racing, Aero McLaren,
you know, if those seats are available. But now that
that part of the discussion and Kyle Kirkwood don't fit.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I think this makes perfect sense for Kyle Kirkwood. Most
drivers dream of being a Team Penske driver. But right now,
would you leave Andretti or Ganassi or McLaren for Team
Penske right now? You know, I think it's the answer
is no. The answer is no right now that may
(15:30):
change in a few months, but they were midpackers last year.
So if I'm Kyle Kirkwood and my team wants me,
and by the way, I feel very confident he's going
to make more money where he's at than he is
going to Team Penske. Team Penske has never had to
pay massive salaries for drivers because that's where everyone wants
(15:51):
to be. Now they may have to readjust that. If
they don't find a rebound this year, if they're not
back to where they're used to being with two drivers
in the top five in the championship or more, then
you know they may have to match what McLaren and
Andretti and Ganassi pay if they feel like a driver
(16:13):
is what they're missing, But it's not driver, it's losing
three main decision makers. So I think it's an easy call.
I don't think you'd feel comfortable going to Team Penske
until we got past Indy next year, but I think
you want to have that sorted. Kirkwood seems like an
Andretti guy. Even if Team Penske were what was what
(16:36):
Team Penske had always been, I don't know that he
would feel like, yeah, I got to get to Team Penske.
There's a lot asked of you at Team Penske. There's
a lot asked of you at McLaren as well. And
we don't know that Ganassi is going to have an opening.
I think that's unlikely. You know, when you're forty five.
We always have to say a Dixon is year to year,
but I think he's probably going to do a couple
(16:58):
of more years. Hello has one more year in his contract,
but unless he goes to Formula one, and that's highly unlikely,
he's not going anywhere. So this works out best for both.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I agree with with everything he said. At the decision
opportunity right now, I would take I would I would
stay where I'm at. If I'm Kyle Kirkwood. The resources
at TWG are certainly unmatched. You know, you have the
opportunity to really do some great things there, and funding
(17:30):
shouldn't be an issue. Having said all that, you know,
if he waited till next spring, maybe you know a
little bit more information, Maybe Tim Pinsk is the way
to go, Maybe we know more about Polo and Dixon.
But at this point, I think it's the decision. You
have to make.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Pretty good options. Oh yeah, great, and by the way,
we never know what the money is and they're more
likely to pay the money post in this circumstance. So
this it was likely a pretty quick decision for Kyle Kirkwood.
Let's circle back. Who's driving the fourth Andretti car at
(18:11):
the end five hundred next year?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I just have I think you have to say Colton
herd it.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
But there are just high percentage in my mind how
it is high percentage.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
The question is, though I know he has the calendar
space to do this, but if he's focused on that,
doesn't it just a little bit of you say, why
would you break from what you're doing and the routine
you're in to come do this?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So that's part of the debate. The other side of
that is this was a major risk, major change most
you know, Potter Ward talked about this recently. You know,
I wouldn't be willing to go be enough to driver
unless I had a one guarantee I was going to
be in Formula one the next year, and he might
(19:03):
have that, but I doubt he does. So one way
to make this more palatable is you can still stay
relevant while you and I and the people listening to
this show think that every IndyCar race is relevant worldwide.
They're paying attention to one race. You can still do
(19:23):
that one race. And one of the regrets for Michael Andretti,
and I'm sure he feels like one of the reasons
I never won the Indy five hundred is I gave
up six chances in the prime of my career during
the split. Does Colton Hurda want to give up one, two, three?
And by the way, if he gets to Formula one,
he's not going to be back. I think he knows
(19:46):
he's coming back at some point. Formula one doesn't last
that long. Even if it goes well, it's going to
be a three five eight year span and he's going
to come back and finish off. So do I want
to I'm an Indy car driver, I'm an American race
car driver. What is an American race car driver? Asked?
(20:07):
Or what cements your career winning the Indy five hundred?
And if Andretti had a good package next year like
they likely will, if Honda was the engine to beat,
and he's sitting in Europe watching the race on television
wondering why am I not there, He's going to go
kicking himself. So as much as yes, you want to
stay focused. You're an F two and you've already decided
(20:31):
once they became willing to put him in three sports
car races. How does that help the cause? I know
it's a Cadillac, but that's clear that you don't have
to spend and there's only so much you can do.
These guys are smart enough to be able to venture
off and do something for three weeks and stay relevant,
(20:52):
save the company money that they don't have to go
hire a driver. He is under salary at an exorbitant
fee as I'm in last week. It's normally going the
other way. We learned through the McLaren case that drivers
will pay three and a half million dollars per free
practice one. That's thirteen or fourteen million dollars that they're
(21:15):
giving up for the four free practice ones. Plus. Normally
someone is paying three million dollars to do F two.
Colden Hurda has that paid for him and is still
likely receiving the same six and a half ish million
dollars salary that he's getting. But beyond all that, he's
the best driver available and if this doesn't work out,
(21:39):
he's coming right back over here in twenty twenty seven,
if Checko and Botas have great seasons and Colden is
eleventh and f two or maybe even seventh and f two,
and just say this isn't for me. It's going great.
He's coming back over in an Andretti car in twenty
twenty seven, and there will have been one less year
(21:59):
A one. He will be quicker up to speed. I
cannot guarantee this is going to happen, but it makes
too much sense. I've got some other names, but I
think this is what it's going to be. I think
so too.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And I don't mean to be combative in the discussion
because I honestly believe it's he.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
I want to hear other sides.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah, but I do think. I do think there's there's
something to it. The other thing, the biggest thing that
I think factors into it. I'm glad you mentioned it.
Maybe not the biggest thing, but a strong piece of
this is they're already committed to paying and this kind
of saves the team. They don't have to go out
and try to pay somebody else or and he is
probably the best driver available, So I mean, he doesn't
(22:41):
have the NY five hundred results that you would you
would like to think for that for that seat? But
but I think he'll be in the car. I will
offer reasons now to combat my own argument. So you
mentioned they and I did too. They don't have to
pay him. Well, you could just simply take a driver
(23:02):
who pays you, and one might be available who's pretty good.
Connor Daily can bring budget, so that there is you
could sell that seat for two million dollars million and
a half minimum. But two million dollars, I think is
what the asking price would be for an Andretti or
(23:23):
a McLaren or a Ganassi seat for the ND five hundred,
or a Penske seat. They've not done that in the past,
but a million and a half is someone is that
that's the bottom level at this point for the ND
five hundred. And there are some drivers that could find that.
Connor Daily stands out as someone who's and they're not
(23:45):
just going to take anyone, but Connor is good has
had a relationship with that team before.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I think this is all unlikely, but I'm just throwing
out the other scenarios.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
So let me ask you real quick, real quick, would
you take if you're the team and you want this
fourth card to have a chance to win the Indy
five hundred. Is Colton Hurda or Connor Daily a better option.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
I'm doing Colton Hurda because of the stability with the team.
He has been in the program. You have continuity, he
is a part of your family. You have invested in
Colton Hurda. And by the.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Ways, but it's close.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
It's close. Yeah, No, I think you can make the
argument who is better at Indy. Connor is arguably is good.
He's not qualified well, but he's raced really well, and
you'll wonder what he might do in a top line
situation like that. So that's why I bring it up.
By the way, also, if he were to win the
Indy five hundred and then move on to be the
(24:41):
Cadillac F one driver, how much does that help that program,
the Cadillac F one program, That's immense. It just helps
him stay relevant. It is part of Colton's job next
year is going to be doing meet and greets in
the garage at Formula one races. He's there as the
reserve driver and and he is the show pony the
(25:02):
rest of the weekend, and it's what are you doing well?
By the way, I've finished fourth in the Indy five
hundred this year. Oh yeah right, you're still yeah, you
should play good. So that's one scenario. By the way,
before I forget one other potential obstacle GM versus Honda.
So we do have to keep that in mind. And
I know a lot of people have mentioned that. I
(25:22):
think that could probably be worked through because he's not
the F one driver. I don't and I think Dan
Towers could massage that is. Hey, Cadillac, this is not
all on your dime. I've invested an awful lot of
my money and my company's money into this effort to
help you get to Formula one. I'd like you to
(25:44):
loan me this driver for the Indy five hundred. And
by the way, if Cadillac is not paying Colt and
heard it and it's Dan Towers, they may not even
have a say. So I highly doubt that is an obstacle,
but I can't guarantee that, So it's something to keep
an eye on in that front. What if Ta Kumasado
has not signed with Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan yet and
(26:06):
Honda would like him to run with Andretti, or that's
just simply the better deal. They're involved. My guess is
that's pretty far down the road. But if it's not
one hundred percent signed, and if they have decided that
they don't want Colton Hrda in this, and or they'd
like a good driver who, by the way, has won
the race twice and could have two more times, who
(26:28):
brings some some financial help, then to Kumasato is the
no brainer. And then other names out there. Ryan hunter
Ray does not bring the budget, but has been a
part of the family. Dan Towers was not in the
family at that time. But you know what I'm saying,
best driver available. I think I was almost talked out
(26:49):
of it, but I still think hunter Ray is going
to be at Aera McLaren next year. And James Hinchcliffe,
James Hinchcliffe has been a part of the family. I
purposely have not asked hinch if he would do this.
I don't even know if he's contractually allowed to do this.
And it's you know, each year it gets a little
bit less likely in that circumstance. But if you're looking
(27:14):
for visibility, Fox might say, oh, we'd like to have
our one of our active in the booth analysts staying
relevant for another year. Having a chance in a competitive car,
So I think that is a long shot, and I'm
not going to ask him because I don't want to know,
because it's more fun to talk about. But COLDENHURTA makes
the most sense, and I'm going to go ninety two
(27:37):
percent that he's driving that car. Yeah, I'm all for.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
I'm all for eighty five ninety percent as well, so
I can't really put much argument. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Okay, Silly Season is in a full gear for non drivers,
and we'll update the latest and get some Twitter questions
and more coming up. It's Trackside ninety three five one
oh seven five. Hi, this is Kyle Kirkwood and you're
listening to track Side. Okay, we start segment two with
a question from Storm and Soda. I've seen a lot
(28:14):
of behind the scenes personnel moves announced in the last
week or two. Anything significant expected from those changes, So
let's highlight some of the moves. And I think these
are all simply reports oftentimes there are not press releases involved.
But Marshall Prude at racer dot Com has reported that
Brian Barnhardt he is moving to Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan Racing.
(28:39):
He has been the president of IndyCar. He has been
at Andretti he was running the harding operation and most
recently he has been at Eryl McLaren as their general
manager and they have a lot of managers, so he's
moved on. He will become Grammary Hall Strategist and his
title is Senior VP of Operations. Also of note Kyle Sagan.
(29:02):
Most of you don't know Kyle very well. Regarded a
little bit surprised that he's splitting with Tony Kaan. They
have been together for many, many years. Kyle's a long
time outside rear tire changer and was hired by McLaren.
Has worked for multiple teams, but is sort of a
pitstop guru and a coach and still goes over the wall.
(29:23):
So that's two really good gets in that sense. Olivia
Boson has moved to aera McLaren. We've talked about him before,
very successful engineer, has a relationship with Cannon from his
Indy five hundred winning year in twenty thirteen, and this
shows the depth that McLaren has and what money will do.
They have a head of damper engineering. He's not responsible
(29:45):
and this is a race winning engineer, lead engineer. He
is going to be a support engineer overlooking dampers. Eric
Calden worked with Bosson as a lead engineer for Cannon's Indie.
Long time Penske Ganassi virtually every other team, Cowden has
(30:05):
come over as the director of engineering, so they keep
adding depth and depth. And then the other big one
that happened a while back is Ron Razuski, longtime engineer
and technical director at Penske, was really running the IndyCar
operation at Penske. He was the most significant, and they
were all significant, but you could argue he might have
been the most significance departure of that team. He is
(30:29):
now the team principal at Andretty. So impact, which one
has the biggest impact got my pick.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I think what I think is is what you were
talking about, the continued edition of depth at Aero McLaren.
That's going to pay dividends at some point. I mean
that's when you talk about Team Penske, when you talk
about you know, the top four teams. The strengthening of
the Andretti and the Aerol McLaren organizations is significant. I've
(31:06):
always been a huge fan of Brian Barnhardt. I think
he's as good a strategists as there is. I think
he knows the game as well as anybody in the sport. Certainly,
there are many a few, I guess maybe is a
better word. There are a few at his level, but
there's not very many. And I think that's a huge
get by Ray Hall. I do think it's interesting that
he goes and joins Jay fry At given that, you know,
(31:30):
they both worked at IndyCar together and Brian worked under j.
But you know, the Aerol mcclanan. You can't ignore how
much stronger Aeron McLaren has gotten in the last what
eighteen months. It's really impressive.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
So the question was anything significant from those changes? I
think all are hugely significant.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
They are.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
I might say Razuski to Andreddy is a big one
because when they lost Michael, you know, you lose some
leadership involved in that, and it was a lot for
Rob Edwards to do. And they keep adding mother or
sports entities and Rob was asked to somewhat be involved
in all those programs and you know, lead strategy and
(32:14):
lead the IndyCar program. That's too much for one person
to do. And Ron will take over IndyCar. Rob will
be there for support and he'll do a lot of
other things as well, but I think all these are impactful.
Brian Barnhardt is a really good get, really good get
because now Jay Fry has a little bit less than
he has to do, and Jay's not a mechanic. You know,
(32:35):
Jay is not able to see and recommend who the
best mechanics are when you're interviewing them. He can judge people,
and he's a competitor and understands that competition aspect. But
Brian's when you've been working for the series and all
the teams he's been when it comes to we have
(32:57):
an opening, here are our candidates, and I think he's
very well respected in the paddock. And that's a lot
of it too. Do I want I'm choosing between this
team and that team. Oh, I trust Brian Barnhart. I'm
going to go there and I'm going to work for him,
big deal on that part. And the same for Kyle Sagan.
And if you really want to know who the best
mechanics are, you get someone who's been a mechanic and
(33:18):
doing pit stops and want to improve your game there.
And I think that's an area where Ray Hall has
been lacking pit stops in recent years. Everybody has their bobbles.
That may be unfair, you know, I'd have to look
at the pitstop performance results, so it may just be
it seems, but I think that's a big deal and
all are very significant. We need to get to NASCAR
(33:41):
for just a moment here in Indianapolis because an Indy
five hundred winner has won the NASCAR Cup Championship. Kyle
Larson wins, and there was much hang ringing. By the way,
here's the list of NASCAR champions that have run the
ND five hundred. Kelly Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Tony Stewart, Kurt
(34:03):
Busch all made Indy five hundred starts, but never in
the year they won the title, and Kyle did it
the year he won the title. There's anger at the
playoffs and the winner take all, but really it's it's
just in this case, it's the bad luck for Denny
after dominating the race. Playoff or no playoff, that wasn't
going to change. Luck still comes into things.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yeah, I mean, but what Kyle did in a shootout,
good for him. Kyle's It's not like Kyle's is not deserving.
There wasn't a kind of a fluke, kind of deal.
In this case, Hamlin just unfortunate on his behalf led
two hundred and eight laps, just couldn't make the four
tire decision work, and it would have in many races,
(34:46):
it just didn't in this one.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So it looks like you're recording. I've got some things
I'm still going to say on this, but it looks
like your time has expired on us. So I'm just
going to go ahead and continue this conversation because it
says we've got a minute and a half left, So
we're just going to end here and I will continue
with some thoughts on this and how the Infinity Championship
has impacted Connor Zilich and more, and we'll get to
(35:10):
some of your tweets coming up in a moment on
trackside how this is Scott McLachlin and you're listening to
track side on ninety three five and one. I seven
five the fan. Okay, a little time to chat in
this segment, and we were talking about the the NASCAR season,
and it kind of reminds me this past weekend. I
watched a lot of television and none of it was ESPN.
(35:32):
So my final work assignment, I think of the year
was the boat show in Fort Lauderdale, which is always fun.
It's good to be a producer when your quote talent
is someone like Jamie Little makes the job a lot
easier because she gets things done on one to take
something like that. So we had a nice time of it.
So I came home and decided I'm actually going to
(35:53):
just take a couple of days off, and I consumed
everything strategically through DVR. I don't like watching two things
at once because I like to hear the announcers, so
I'd watch you know, football for a while until I
catch up, then switch backck over to the Cup Race.
Did that on Saturday night as well, with different things
in some basketball, I think as well. So I saw
(36:14):
Truck Race, Infinity Race, Cup Race, and we touched on
the Cup Race and the drama over whether it should
be a playoff or not. And you know, we've had
this debate and Indy Car as well, and generally I
am against it. I also think the conversation can be
worthy of consideration, and we do like fair especially if
(36:38):
you're really in it and you're close to people. But
I think maybe Hinch mentioned this in a Twitter poll
as well. Do we worry so much about fair or
what's best for business. Remember it is show business and
we shouldn't always look inward into what we all think
(37:01):
is most important competitors, hardcore fans and so forth. But
that is a major part of the discussion. And I
don't envy NASCAR and figuring this out. It is a
combination of things. Why their ratings are down at this point.
You lack of really interesting star power. The new TV
package with seven or eight different outlets make it a
(37:23):
little bit confusing, not getting built in promotion with practicing
qualifying on the same network. The race is going to
air on and all the streaming channels and head to
head with football. It's not easy at all. Would the
old system work. What they probably are doing is going
through all types of simulations to see how that plays
(37:46):
out and how often the championship would be wrapped up
if they went to the old points system. It's clear
that this one done is going to go away, but
is it going to be a ten race playoff? And
you still run the risk of it being wrapped up.
But it's not easy at this point. The infinity thing,
(38:07):
I find that that would be much easier to just
do full season points. I don't know that the playoff
system matters as much there. That's for hardcrees and seeing
up and comers, and back to the Cup situation. Do
they get rid of stages? Some want that, but remember
(38:28):
that helps you miss less action because it's a built
in spot for commercials. The commercials are still going to go,
so it's just a matter of whether it's over green
flag racing or not. And this guarantees you can get
some in during yellow flags, and I think it honestly
kind of breaks up the monotony of sometimes three and
four hour races and gives you a reason for a
(38:50):
stage point or something else in the middle. The overall
point system it is too confusing even for people sort
of paying attention. So that's going to be interesting to
see how they figure that out. And many Infinity series
so well, one they got lucky in the truck series
Corey him and dominated that went from like tenth to
(39:10):
first in the last restart to win that championship. He
won eleven of twenty four. Connor Zilich was in a
similar situation. He had won ten races but did not
win the championship. Jesse Love, who only won Daytona, the
first race and the very last race he wins it.
And we learned today that Connor Zilich was going to
(39:32):
get to test for Cadillac in the Hypercar, which is
the top level sports car, at their end of season
rookie test. However, he's now, like Colton Hurda, a couple
of points shy of being eligible. And this is one
of the greatest race car drivers on the planet. Some
of it is still upside, but anybody paying attention knows
(39:52):
that this guy is the real deal. He really could
be considered to get to F one if he wanted
to do it, but his lot is set in NASCAR,
but he wants to do road racing and he's not
going to get to do that at this point, so
that's a little bit annoying for him. I think he's
still going to test the Cadillac Cadillac top level GTP
(40:17):
car and running the Rolex twenty four in the top
class in January, so that's really cool. And we've talked
a lot about Connor Zilich, when will he do The
Indy five hundred. Sports Business Journal posted something a few
days ago that justin marks we know, I know everyone
has talked to Justin. He's been very open he wants
to come to the Indy five hundred, and he did
(40:38):
say Justin, the team owner the track house is interested
in bringing Zilich to a future Indy five hundred, but
next year is likely off the table to give him
time to get adjusted to his full time job in
the Cup Series. So there is that aj Almadinger is
coming back to that same GTP with Meyer Shank Racing.
(41:01):
They tease something yesterday that there was a big announcement
and it said something about all so that kind of
told me that was Dinger. I'm honestly a little bit
surprised he's driving the GTP car. Those are difficult. It's
more difficult from what I understand, than the DPI car,
which was the last prototype he drove in twenty twenty one.
He did the GTD car a couple of years later.
(41:25):
He won a Rolex, the first Rolex in twelve with
Meyer Shank. Justin Wilson was one of his teammates and
we know how good he is, so I'm excited about that.
I like Dinger. I think it's good for the event
as well, and I wonder if Elliot was a consideration.
Was it either or in that circumstance, is there someone
(41:46):
financially connected to Dinger that wanted him in this race?
Probably not. It's probably just Mike, Shank and Aj are
good friends and they wanted to work together again. And
there's limited time where he can still do that, and
he'll be fine. And he's and have Scott Dixon as
a teammate. He's in the sixty car, so Colin Brown
and Tom Blunquist are the others. Alex Polo is going
(42:07):
to be in the other car with the Ranger Vanderzena
and Nick nick Yelli, and they announced Honda back driver
Kaku Oda is the fourth driver for that. We learned
that the Fittipaldi brothers. There was a lot of sports
car news today. The Fittipaldi brothers are going to be
teammates in l M P two. Pietro is a full
season driver. Enzo, who has been confirmed now in Indie
(42:28):
next with HMD next year, is going to be there
endurance driver in that lineup. A couple of Twitter questions
while we have time at Camsoop's fl asked this a
couple of weeks ago, and I don't think I got
to it he asks, Is Honda just going to let
their contract expire and just walk away? Well, their contract
(42:50):
expires after next year, and no, I don't think it's
just going to be silenced. I this is one of
those where I wouldn't be surprised and I know nothing,
but I wouldn't be surprised to wake up tomorrow. It's
kind of one of these. We're just for the next
few weeks, we're going to be hitting refresh. It is
coming soon. It has to be. And I think they
(43:11):
are deciding between whether they're going to enter NASCAR or
stay in IndyCar. I feel better about the chances of
than staying. I think it makes more sense dollars and cents.
But is that a fifty five or sixty percent confidence level?
That's probably about all it is. I suspect that's the
decision that they are weighing, and I think they will
(43:33):
do right by IndyCar and give them lots of notice.
Andrew Dawson asked a couple of weeks ago, it didn't
have an answer, so didn't bother. Well, now we do,
he says. Any update on the ECR and Todd Alt lawsuit. Yes.
Racer dot Com posted this last week that it has
been dismissed, so todd Alt essentially wins that Ed Carpenter
Racing was trying to get something close between eight and
(43:56):
ten million dollars back in sponsorship money. Apparently though the
contracts were never signed. They may have been agreed to,
and there may be emails, but there was nothing as
far as a signature. Last questions that we have time
for the Cincy Buckey asks, I'm not sure which one
(44:17):
of us. Have you put a bid yet on Michael
Andretti's house and Fisher's. Oh if only Kurt were the
realtor for that, he says. My real question though, is
if will Power does not talk to Dan Towers at
Road American stay with Team Penske. Is Colden hurd n
F two for next year or is he in the
twenty six basically, which was the action that created the
second reaction. That's a great question. I think it's a
(44:38):
bit of a combination. If will Power were not available,
if he had re signed with Team Penske, I think
there is a very strong chance that Colden hurda is
driving the twenty six. But when Power became available, and
I think that they wanted to shake up to the
IndyCar program and to do some different things. I think
it made a lot easier to pull the trigger on
(44:59):
this DA. So yeah, I think he'd still be here
if will power was not available to take over that
seat at Andretti. We'll see you next Tuesday night in studio.
Thanks for joining us on track side.
This is track Side with Kirk Cavin and Kevin Lee
on ninety three to five and one oh seven five
the Fan.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Tonight we discuss the ends for now at least of
essentially a sixty year run with Andretti's competing in IndyCar
style racing, with Marco and Dreddi's retirement, and at the
same time, the Andretti IndyCar team is solidifying its future
by keeping potentially the top free agent off the market
next year. There's some sports car news involving people IndyCar
(00:34):
fans know well, and we've crossed off one of our
off season markers. NASCAR season is over, but their fan
anger is in full roar. An Indy five hundred driver,
by the way, also won the Cup title. We'll get
into all that and much more tonight on the program.
Welcome the track Side ninety three five, one oh seven
to five. The fan in Indianapolis, landon Coons is there.
(00:57):
I'm here, my name is Kevin Lee. Kirk Cavin is somewhere.
We welcome you to the program. Your thoughts are welcome
to Kevin Lee twenty three of the X or Twitter
at kirk Cavin as well a reminder and a note
to the host in studio appearance, we'll see if the
key card works. Coming up next week, We're going to
(01:20):
Venture Downtown on Tuesday night at seven o'clock. All right, Kurt.
A lot to get into, so we will not waste
any time. I mentioned on the show. I brought this
up just in my random thoughts, Hey, we need to
hear what Marco Andretti is doing. And I swear it's
I think. Did the announcement come out the next day?
(01:41):
It might have, Yeah, so people knew. I did not
know this was coming, and clearly all the drivers knew
because they were asked to do tribute videos to Marco.
So this isn't just something where he woke up on
Wednesday morning and said I've had enough. This had been
in the works for a little while. But that was
(02:02):
my thought, was just common sense, And I didn't say
he was retiring. I just said we need to find out.
This seems like a bigger TBD to me. Marco does
not look like he's been having a whole lot of
fun at the Indianapolis five hundred the last few years.
And frankly, I don't know if I said this this bluntly,
(02:22):
but Frankly, the team would probably like to upgrade that
seat if at all possible, and they might have someone
part of their family that they would like to continue
with a foot in the door in Indy car. So
before we talk about if Colton hurt is going to
be in that seat, I do want to celebrate Marco.
While it hasn't been going awesome the last few years,
(02:45):
and it's always tough when that's your only event in
this type of car for the entire season and life changes,
but boy, for fifteen years he was about as you
could say. You could are argue he is on that
short list of the best to never win the Indy
five hundred.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Well, his results are his reuals say that, and he was.
He was just competitive, and you know, the irony is
the moment that he is going to be most remembered
for at Indy is really the moment when he was
least prepared, and I say that least experienced maybe that's
a better way of saying it. He was you know,
(03:26):
had he been in that position two or three years
after that, he probably would have won the race. But
the first time, you know, the first time to be
in that position and then have a team, Penske Car
and Sam Horace Junior, who you know that made his
you know, kind of cemented his IndyCar career. But you know,
had Marco been you know, two or three years down
(03:49):
the road, so to speak, I don't think Sam gets him.
And that's kind of the unfortunate part. You know, we
talk a lot about, you know, I don't like Andretti
curse it just the drow that they had, you know,
the unfortunate circumstances they had. But top of the list,
or certainly in that top two or three and Dretti moments,
(04:10):
is the fact that Marco just didn't have the experience
maybe to execute what he probably would have in many
circumstances later on. But as you mentioned, he had such
a great track record in Indianapolis. I know, Andretti the
team was good at that track during that era, but
(04:31):
Marco was. He was outstanding and he handled himself well.
And you're right, it just hasn't been fun the last
few years. I really thought when he crashed and turned
one last year at Indy and that was his twentieth start,
in my mind, I thought he was done. I just thought,
you know, it's been two years in a row. He's
had an early accident, and you know this, he reached
(04:55):
the twenty year mark. He is you know, he drove
longer at the speedway. Circumstances created this, but he drove
longer at the speedway than his dad did. And I
think the twenty years was a big deal to him,
and the way it ended, and the transition of his
father out of the team. I just thought it felt
like that was it, you know, last May. Yeah, that
(05:16):
makes sense. It's not the same that it was.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Mario still has an association, Michael still has some association.
We might see him a time or two. He might
bring the boat down to Saint Pete, he might come
to the Indy five hundred. But yeah, it's clearly not
the same. And it's one thing to keep doing it
if there is a chance. It's not going to be
(05:39):
a great chance most of the time when you're a
one off, when you have a part time crew, but
if you can tell yourself, I've got a chance. Others
have said the same thing, you know, Townsend Bell has said,
and Townsend didn't have the record that Marco did. But
Townshend was really good at Indy and when he got
to the point and decided I can't win. I'm not
going to do it just to do it. I've done
(06:00):
it enough. And I think that's the way Marco would
feel in that circumstance. And that's why a lot of
drivers feel I've been there, I've done that. It's what
Tony Stewart always said, I'm not interested in coming back
just to run the thing. I've been there, done that.
If I felt like I could win, I would keep
doing it. And it's just really hard in that circumstance.
Marco was not just good at Indy. He was brave.
(06:21):
He was good at all the mile and a halfs
and back in the day he was pretty solid. He
won a road course race. Okay, maybe a caution helped
him out there, but you're still in position to win.
He finished I think fifth in a championship at one point.
He was legit for a decade or so, and it
(06:44):
had to be challenging being not just the son, but
the grandson, the nephew, everything else that comes along with that.
Marco took a lot of flack over the years, and
you'd like that helps. You don't get to where you're
at without having that name. But there's a lot of
baggage that comes with that, and it can be challenging
at times.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You know, it also was challenging because you know, while
he was you know, the bright, you know, shiny, new
new contribution to the sport, he was really had a
personality more like his to some degree, more like his
dad publicly than his grandfather. You know, people assume that
that everybody's is as jovial and and and just you know,
(07:31):
outgoing as his grandfather became after he retired. You know,
Mario wasn't wasn't that kind of personality even when he
was driving. Just a little different, That's all I guess,
is what I'm saying. Marco's personality, you know, wasn't look
at me, I'm in the spotlight. You know, he didn't
didn't really care for that, So it was sometimes difficult
(07:53):
to embrace him and him to embrace the spotlight. But
you're right, for a decade he was as good as
any bunny. And he won a road course race and
he you know, he won an oval, and you know
he's you know, he he just his his record, he
earned on his own merit, and we should celebrate that.
(08:15):
And I think, you know, you and I do, and
I think the race fans that have been following the
sport for twenty plus years understand how good Marco was.
But you know, it's hard to compare him when you're
looking at Michael Andretti and Mario Andretti and even John
Andretti for all his success and and so forth.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So it could have should have won several other races.
He was in the mix. Every driver can probably say
that as well and as popular with the other drivers.
While he may have been quiet publicly and reluctance to
really be outgoing, he obviously had something behind the scenes
(08:54):
that most of us didn't really see. And yeah, I
think everybody there was a concerted effort to let's celebrate
Marco and everybody make a video. But I also suspect
they were all happy to do it because they all
genuinely like Marco, and Marco has helped other drivers. You know,
Marco's from a very He's very successful in business beyond
just being a race car driver. He's done well, he
(09:16):
hasn't needed to work for a while, and he's helped
out other people with little things along the way. So
it's gonna be odd not having Marco there, and this
will not be the first time that we've not had
an Andretti in the five hundred. You know, when Mario
started in sixty five, we had the split. I don't
(09:37):
think there was anybody there from what like ninety six
to two thousand or so until Michael came back, because
I don't think John was doing it at the time.
There were a couple of years between when Michael retired
the first time before Marco started in six. But I
mentioned at the top, I think it's the first time
though since probably nineteen well in the early sixties. Whenever
(10:02):
you want to say Mario got into IndyCar racing, I
think he'd say sixty four when he was in the
top level of USAK, because Michael was still driving during
the split and Marco. When Michael retired, Marco was driving
in junior Formula cars that looked like Indy cars in
two thousand and four and two thousand and five Star
(10:23):
Mazda Indy Lights. So really, this will be the first
time since nineteen sixty three there hasn't been an Andretti
that's been involved. Maybe we can get Jared over in
the Road to Indy. Jared still drives. There's some other
Andrettes to drive, but nobody in Indie style racing at
(10:43):
this point. And I think Marco's too smart to allow
his kids to get into it. Yeah, it could be.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yeah, I mean, look, whether it's Indy five hundred or
the season or you know, the championship or just a
sport in Jen, you know, it's been my whole my
whole life, your whole life where the Andretti's, the answers
and the Foights have been relevant and and for all
practical purposes, I know we have a Foight team, but
(11:14):
for all practical purposes from an on track standpoint, it's
it's a it's a strange time in my in my
coverage of the sport, so.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
And we have an Andretti team. Someone wondering how long
that's going to last. I don't think I got to
this question, but noticed who was it that tested at
Indie I forget which which driver tested? Was it? Kirkwood?
Whoever it was had a TWG Motorsport livery and I'm
(11:48):
not willing to put a whole lot in that. I thought.
My first thought was, well, I think they do want
to start to establish that brand a little bit more,
because even those of us in the industry might struggle
remembering what that is, and it matters. You know, this
part of the company owns the LA Dodgers. They own
(12:09):
the LA Lakers, not the motorsport brand, but TWG and
Googenheim and everything else, so that might have been just
part of it. We don't have a sponsor. It's a test,
so let's just put that on there. And I think
I saw it on one of the Indie Next cars
as well. And then you had the Michael rumors, which
have been debunked by Michael, but I do think there
was something to it. I think someone was pitching Michael,
(12:30):
can we use your name? And maybe he's not allowed
to or maybe he's not interested. But one of the
many questions we don't know is how long does TWG
Motorsport have the rights to use the Andready name. Is
that in perpetuity or is there any end date to that?
And then it may come down to if there's an
(12:51):
end date, there's going to be another check written. If
I'm the owner of the andre Ready name, I might
say that. So don't have any answers there, but it's
just something to watch on that front. Kyle Kirkwood is
an Andretti or a TWG motorsport driver or however you
want to phrase it, and he ain't going anywhere. Let's
(13:12):
be proactive. This is what will Power wanted to happen
last year. It's the offseason. Let's talk. Let's work out
an extension. Plenty of motivation for Andretti Global to get
this done right now.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Because there's big jobs available in twenty to twenty seven
at least we expect that to be the case, or
potentially could be the case. You could have, you know,
you could have an Aero McClaren seat, You could have
a Chip Ganassi Racing seat. Quite frankly, you could have
a Team Penske seat. So any of those seats, if
there was competition for services, you would think that the
(13:49):
price would go up that Andretti would have to pay.
And you know Kyle Kirkwood has you know, he won
three races in a season where Alex Polow was was dominant.
You're not ready to say that Kyle Kirkwood is, you
know that the next big championship level driver in this sport,
(14:09):
because you know, we saw Colton Herd to get right
to the doorstep of the championship, didn't win it and
had trouble coming back. So you know, you athletes often
say this, and teams often say this, You just don't
know how many second next chances you're going to get.
And you know Kyle had a great year. What do
you have a great year next year? You know, you
(14:31):
just don't know, So it'll be. It certainly changes the
landscape of drivers available for twenty twenty seven because Kirkwood
is out of the mix, and you know, good for him,
good for TWG, good for the Andretti Global organization to
kind of get this the stability. You know, he's always
(14:53):
wanted to be there, but you certainly would ask the
question if you're him, is it the right move to
go to a Team Penske, Chip, Ganassi, Racing, Aero McLaren,
you know, if those seats are available. But now that
that part of the discussion and Kyle Kirkwood don't fit.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I think this makes perfect sense for Kyle Kirkwood. Most
drivers dream of being a Team Penske driver. But right now,
would you leave Andretti or Ganassi or McLaren for Team
Penske right now? You know, I think it's the answer
is no. The answer is no right now that may
(15:30):
change in a few months, but they were midpackers last year.
So if I'm Kyle Kirkwood and my team wants me,
and by the way, I feel very confident he's going
to make more money where he's at than he is
going to Team Penske. Team Penske has never had to
pay massive salaries for drivers because that's where everyone wants
(15:51):
to be. Now they may have to readjust that. If
they don't find a rebound this year, if they're not
back to where they're used to being with two drivers
in the top five in the championship or more, then
you know they may have to match what McLaren and
Andretti and Ganassi pay if they feel like a driver
(16:13):
is what they're missing, But it's not driver, it's losing
three main decision makers. So I think it's an easy call.
I don't think you'd feel comfortable going to Team Penske
until we got past Indy next year, but I think
you want to have that sorted. Kirkwood seems like an
Andretti guy. Even if Team Penske were what was what
(16:36):
Team Penske had always been, I don't know that he
would feel like, yeah, I got to get to Team Penske.
There's a lot asked of you at Team Penske. There's
a lot asked of you at McLaren as well. And
we don't know that Ganassi is going to have an opening.
I think that's unlikely. You know, when you're forty five.
We always have to say a Dixon is year to year,
but I think he's probably going to do a couple
(16:58):
of more years. Hello has one more year in his contract,
but unless he goes to Formula one, and that's highly unlikely,
he's not going anywhere. So this works out best for both.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I agree with with everything he said. At the decision
opportunity right now, I would take I would I would
stay where I'm at. If I'm Kyle Kirkwood. The resources
at TWG are certainly unmatched. You know, you have the
opportunity to really do some great things there, and funding
(17:30):
shouldn't be an issue. Having said all that, you know,
if he waited till next spring, maybe you know a
little bit more information, Maybe Tim Pinsk is the way
to go, Maybe we know more about Polo and Dixon.
But at this point, I think it's the decision. You
have to make.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Pretty good options. Oh yeah, great, and by the way,
we never know what the money is and they're more
likely to pay the money post in this circumstance. So
this it was likely a pretty quick decision for Kyle Kirkwood.
Let's circle back. Who's driving the fourth Andretti car at
(18:11):
the end five hundred next year?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I just have I think you have to say Colton
herd it.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
But there are just high percentage in my mind how
it is high percentage.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
The question is, though I know he has the calendar
space to do this, but if he's focused on that,
doesn't it just a little bit of you say, why
would you break from what you're doing and the routine
you're in to come do this?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So that's part of the debate. The other side of
that is this was a major risk, major change most
you know, Potter Ward talked about this recently. You know,
I wouldn't be willing to go be enough to driver
unless I had a one guarantee I was going to
be in Formula one the next year, and he might
(19:03):
have that, but I doubt he does. So one way
to make this more palatable is you can still stay
relevant while you and I and the people listening to
this show think that every IndyCar race is relevant worldwide.
They're paying attention to one race. You can still do
(19:23):
that one race. And one of the regrets for Michael Andretti,
and I'm sure he feels like one of the reasons
I never won the Indy five hundred is I gave
up six chances in the prime of my career during
the split. Does Colton Hurda want to give up one, two, three?
And by the way, if he gets to Formula one,
he's not going to be back. I think he knows
(19:46):
he's coming back at some point. Formula one doesn't last
that long. Even if it goes well, it's going to
be a three five eight year span and he's going
to come back and finish off. So do I want
to I'm an Indy car driver, I'm an American race
car driver. What is an American race car driver? Asked?
(20:07):
Or what cements your career winning the Indy five hundred?
And if Andretti had a good package next year like
they likely will, if Honda was the engine to beat,
and he's sitting in Europe watching the race on television
wondering why am I not there, He's going to go
kicking himself. So as much as yes, you want to
stay focused. You're an F two and you've already decided
(20:31):
once they became willing to put him in three sports
car races. How does that help the cause? I know
it's a Cadillac, but that's clear that you don't have
to spend and there's only so much you can do.
These guys are smart enough to be able to venture
off and do something for three weeks and stay relevant,
(20:52):
save the company money that they don't have to go
hire a driver. He is under salary at an exorbitant
fee as I'm in last week. It's normally going the
other way. We learned through the McLaren case that drivers
will pay three and a half million dollars per free
practice one. That's thirteen or fourteen million dollars that they're
(21:15):
giving up for the four free practice ones. Plus. Normally
someone is paying three million dollars to do F two.
Colden Hurda has that paid for him and is still
likely receiving the same six and a half ish million
dollars salary that he's getting. But beyond all that, he's
the best driver available and if this doesn't work out,
(21:39):
he's coming right back over here in twenty twenty seven,
if Checko and Botas have great seasons and Colden is
eleventh and f two or maybe even seventh and f two,
and just say this isn't for me. It's going great.
He's coming back over in an Andretti car in twenty
twenty seven, and there will have been one less year
(21:59):
A one. He will be quicker up to speed. I
cannot guarantee this is going to happen, but it makes
too much sense. I've got some other names, but I
think this is what it's going to be. I think
so too.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And I don't mean to be combative in the discussion
because I honestly believe it's he.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
I want to hear other sides.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah, but I do think. I do think there's there's
something to it. The other thing, the biggest thing that
I think factors into it. I'm glad you mentioned it.
Maybe not the biggest thing, but a strong piece of
this is they're already committed to paying and this kind
of saves the team. They don't have to go out
and try to pay somebody else or and he is
probably the best driver available, So I mean, he doesn't
(22:41):
have the NY five hundred results that you would you
would like to think for that for that seat? But
but I think he'll be in the car. I will
offer reasons now to combat my own argument. So you
mentioned they and I did too. They don't have to
pay him. Well, you could just simply take a driver
(23:02):
who pays you, and one might be available who's pretty good.
Connor Daily can bring budget, so that there is you
could sell that seat for two million dollars million and
a half minimum. But two million dollars, I think is
what the asking price would be for an Andretti or
(23:23):
a McLaren or a Ganassi seat for the ND five hundred,
or a Penske seat. They've not done that in the past,
but a million and a half is someone is that
that's the bottom level at this point for the ND
five hundred. And there are some drivers that could find that.
Connor Daily stands out as someone who's and they're not
(23:45):
just going to take anyone, but Connor is good has
had a relationship with that team before.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I think this is all unlikely, but I'm just throwing
out the other scenarios.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
So let me ask you real quick, real quick, would
you take if you're the team and you want this
fourth card to have a chance to win the Indy
five hundred. Is Colton Hurda or Connor Daily a better option.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
I'm doing Colton Hurda because of the stability with the team.
He has been in the program. You have continuity, he
is a part of your family. You have invested in
Colton Hurda. And by the.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Ways, but it's close.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
It's close. Yeah, No, I think you can make the
argument who is better at Indy. Connor is arguably is good.
He's not qualified well, but he's raced really well, and
you'll wonder what he might do in a top line
situation like that. So that's why I bring it up.
By the way, also, if he were to win the
Indy five hundred and then move on to be the
(24:41):
Cadillac F one driver, how much does that help that program,
the Cadillac F one program, That's immense. It just helps
him stay relevant. It is part of Colton's job next
year is going to be doing meet and greets in
the garage at Formula one races. He's there as the
reserve driver and and he is the show pony the
(25:02):
rest of the weekend, and it's what are you doing well?
By the way, I've finished fourth in the Indy five
hundred this year. Oh yeah right, you're still yeah, you
should play good. So that's one scenario. By the way,
before I forget one other potential obstacle GM versus Honda.
So we do have to keep that in mind. And
I know a lot of people have mentioned that. I
(25:22):
think that could probably be worked through because he's not
the F one driver. I don't and I think Dan
Towers could massage that is. Hey, Cadillac, this is not
all on your dime. I've invested an awful lot of
my money and my company's money into this effort to
help you get to Formula one. I'd like you to
(25:44):
loan me this driver for the Indy five hundred. And
by the way, if Cadillac is not paying Colt and
heard it and it's Dan Towers, they may not even
have a say. So I highly doubt that is an obstacle,
but I can't guarantee that, So it's something to keep
an eye on in that front. What if Ta Kumasado
has not signed with Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan yet and
(26:06):
Honda would like him to run with Andretti, or that's
just simply the better deal. They're involved. My guess is
that's pretty far down the road. But if it's not
one hundred percent signed, and if they have decided that
they don't want Colton Hrda in this, and or they'd
like a good driver who, by the way, has won
the race twice and could have two more times, who
(26:28):
brings some some financial help, then to Kumasato is the
no brainer. And then other names out there. Ryan hunter
Ray does not bring the budget, but has been a
part of the family. Dan Towers was not in the
family at that time. But you know what I'm saying,
best driver available. I think I was almost talked out
(26:49):
of it, but I still think hunter Ray is going
to be at Aera McLaren next year. And James Hinchcliffe,
James Hinchcliffe has been a part of the family. I
purposely have not asked hinch if he would do this.
I don't even know if he's contractually allowed to do this.
And it's you know, each year it gets a little
bit less likely in that circumstance. But if you're looking
(27:14):
for visibility, Fox might say, oh, we'd like to have
our one of our active in the booth analysts staying
relevant for another year. Having a chance in a competitive car,
So I think that is a long shot, and I'm
not going to ask him because I don't want to know,
because it's more fun to talk about. But COLDENHURTA makes
the most sense, and I'm going to go ninety two
(27:37):
percent that he's driving that car. Yeah, I'm all for.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
I'm all for eighty five ninety percent as well, so
I can't really put much argument. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Okay, Silly Season is in a full gear for non drivers,
and we'll update the latest and get some Twitter questions
and more coming up. It's Trackside ninety three five one
oh seven five. Hi, this is Kyle Kirkwood and you're
listening to track Side. Okay, we start segment two with
a question from Storm and Soda. I've seen a lot
(28:14):
of behind the scenes personnel moves announced in the last
week or two. Anything significant expected from those changes, So
let's highlight some of the moves. And I think these
are all simply reports oftentimes there are not press releases involved.
But Marshall Prude at racer dot Com has reported that
Brian Barnhardt he is moving to Ray Hall Letterman Lanigan Racing.
(28:39):
He has been the president of IndyCar. He has been
at Andretti he was running the harding operation and most
recently he has been at Eryl McLaren as their general
manager and they have a lot of managers, so he's
moved on. He will become Grammary Hall Strategist and his
title is Senior VP of Operations. Also of note Kyle Sagan.
(29:02):
Most of you don't know Kyle very well. Regarded a
little bit surprised that he's splitting with Tony Kaan. They
have been together for many, many years. Kyle's a long
time outside rear tire changer and was hired by McLaren.
Has worked for multiple teams, but is sort of a
pitstop guru and a coach and still goes over the wall.
(29:23):
So that's two really good gets in that sense. Olivia
Boson has moved to aera McLaren. We've talked about him before,
very successful engineer, has a relationship with Cannon from his
Indy five hundred winning year in twenty thirteen, and this
shows the depth that McLaren has and what money will do.
They have a head of damper engineering. He's not responsible
(29:45):
and this is a race winning engineer, lead engineer. He
is going to be a support engineer overlooking dampers. Eric
Calden worked with Bosson as a lead engineer for Cannon's Indie.
Long time Penske Ganassi virtually every other team, Cowden has
(30:05):
come over as the director of engineering, so they keep
adding depth and depth. And then the other big one
that happened a while back is Ron Razuski, longtime engineer
and technical director at Penske, was really running the IndyCar
operation at Penske. He was the most significant, and they
were all significant, but you could argue he might have
been the most significance departure of that team. He is
(30:29):
now the team principal at Andretty. So impact, which one
has the biggest impact got my pick.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I think what I think is is what you were
talking about, the continued edition of depth at Aero McLaren.
That's going to pay dividends at some point. I mean
that's when you talk about Team Penske, when you talk
about you know, the top four teams. The strengthening of
the Andretti and the Aerol McLaren organizations is significant. I've
(31:06):
always been a huge fan of Brian Barnhardt. I think
he's as good a strategists as there is. I think
he knows the game as well as anybody in the sport. Certainly,
there are many a few, I guess maybe is a
better word. There are a few at his level, but
there's not very many. And I think that's a huge
get by Ray Hall. I do think it's interesting that
he goes and joins Jay fry At given that, you know,
(31:30):
they both worked at IndyCar together and Brian worked under j.
But you know, the Aerol mcclanan. You can't ignore how
much stronger Aeron McLaren has gotten in the last what
eighteen months. It's really impressive.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
So the question was anything significant from those changes? I
think all are hugely significant.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
They are.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
I might say Razuski to Andreddy is a big one
because when they lost Michael, you know, you lose some
leadership involved in that, and it was a lot for
Rob Edwards to do. And they keep adding mother or
sports entities and Rob was asked to somewhat be involved
in all those programs and you know, lead strategy and
(32:14):
lead the IndyCar program. That's too much for one person
to do. And Ron will take over IndyCar. Rob will
be there for support and he'll do a lot of
other things as well, but I think all these are impactful.
Brian Barnhardt is a really good get, really good get
because now Jay Fry has a little bit less than
he has to do, and Jay's not a mechanic. You know,
(32:35):
Jay is not able to see and recommend who the
best mechanics are when you're interviewing them. He can judge people,
and he's a competitor and understands that competition aspect. But
Brian's when you've been working for the series and all
the teams he's been when it comes to we have
(32:57):
an opening, here are our candidates, and I think he's
very well respected in the paddock. And that's a lot
of it too. Do I want I'm choosing between this
team and that team. Oh, I trust Brian Barnhart. I'm
going to go there and I'm going to work for him,
big deal on that part. And the same for Kyle Sagan.
And if you really want to know who the best
mechanics are, you get someone who's been a mechanic and
(33:18):
doing pit stops and want to improve your game there.
And I think that's an area where Ray Hall has
been lacking pit stops in recent years. Everybody has their bobbles.
That may be unfair, you know, I'd have to look
at the pitstop performance results, so it may just be
it seems, but I think that's a big deal and
all are very significant. We need to get to NASCAR
(33:41):
for just a moment here in Indianapolis because an Indy
five hundred winner has won the NASCAR Cup Championship. Kyle
Larson wins, and there was much hang ringing. By the way,
here's the list of NASCAR champions that have run the
ND five hundred. Kelly Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Tony Stewart, Kurt
(34:03):
Busch all made Indy five hundred starts, but never in
the year they won the title, and Kyle did it
the year he won the title. There's anger at the
playoffs and the winner take all, but really it's it's
just in this case, it's the bad luck for Denny
after dominating the race. Playoff or no playoff, that wasn't
going to change. Luck still comes into things.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yeah, I mean, but what Kyle did in a shootout,
good for him. Kyle's It's not like Kyle's is not deserving.
There wasn't a kind of a fluke, kind of deal.
In this case, Hamlin just unfortunate on his behalf led
two hundred and eight laps, just couldn't make the four
tire decision work, and it would have in many races,
(34:46):
it just didn't in this one.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So it looks like you're recording. I've got some things
I'm still going to say on this, but it looks
like your time has expired on us. So I'm just
going to go ahead and continue this conversation because it
says we've got a minute and a half left, So
we're just going to end here and I will continue
with some thoughts on this and how the Infinity Championship
has impacted Connor Zilich and more, and we'll get to
(35:10):
some of your tweets coming up in a moment on
trackside how this is Scott McLachlin and you're listening to
track side on ninety three five and one. I seven
five the fan. Okay, a little time to chat in
this segment, and we were talking about the the NASCAR season,
and it kind of reminds me this past weekend. I
watched a lot of television and none of it was ESPN.
(35:32):
So my final work assignment, I think of the year
was the boat show in Fort Lauderdale, which is always fun.
It's good to be a producer when your quote talent
is someone like Jamie Little makes the job a lot
easier because she gets things done on one to take
something like that. So we had a nice time of it.
So I came home and decided I'm actually going to
(35:53):
just take a couple of days off, and I consumed
everything strategically through DVR. I don't like watching two things
at once because I like to hear the announcers, so
I'd watch you know, football for a while until I
catch up, then switch backck over to the Cup Race.
Did that on Saturday night as well, with different things
in some basketball, I think as well. So I saw
(36:14):
Truck Race, Infinity Race, Cup Race, and we touched on
the Cup Race and the drama over whether it should
be a playoff or not. And you know, we've had
this debate and Indy Car as well, and generally I
am against it. I also think the conversation can be
worthy of consideration, and we do like fair especially if
(36:38):
you're really in it and you're close to people. But
I think maybe Hinch mentioned this in a Twitter poll
as well. Do we worry so much about fair or
what's best for business. Remember it is show business and
we shouldn't always look inward into what we all think
(37:01):
is most important competitors, hardcore fans and so forth. But
that is a major part of the discussion. And I
don't envy NASCAR and figuring this out. It is a
combination of things. Why their ratings are down at this point.
You lack of really interesting star power. The new TV
package with seven or eight different outlets make it a
(37:23):
little bit confusing, not getting built in promotion with practicing
qualifying on the same network. The race is going to
air on and all the streaming channels and head to
head with football. It's not easy at all. Would the
old system work. What they probably are doing is going
through all types of simulations to see how that plays
(37:46):
out and how often the championship would be wrapped up
if they went to the old points system. It's clear
that this one done is going to go away, but
is it going to be a ten race playoff? And
you still run the risk of it being wrapped up.
But it's not easy at this point. The infinity thing,
(38:07):
I find that that would be much easier to just
do full season points. I don't know that the playoff
system matters as much there. That's for hardcrees and seeing
up and comers, and back to the Cup situation. Do
they get rid of stages? Some want that, but remember
(38:28):
that helps you miss less action because it's a built
in spot for commercials. The commercials are still going to go,
so it's just a matter of whether it's over green
flag racing or not. And this guarantees you can get
some in during yellow flags, and I think it honestly
kind of breaks up the monotony of sometimes three and
four hour races and gives you a reason for a
(38:50):
stage point or something else in the middle. The overall
point system it is too confusing even for people sort
of paying attention. So that's going to be interesting to
see how they figure that out. And many Infinity series
so well, one they got lucky in the truck series
Corey him and dominated that went from like tenth to
(39:10):
first in the last restart to win that championship. He
won eleven of twenty four. Connor Zilich was in a
similar situation. He had won ten races but did not
win the championship. Jesse Love, who only won Daytona, the
first race and the very last race he wins it.
And we learned today that Connor Zilich was going to
(39:32):
get to test for Cadillac in the Hypercar, which is
the top level sports car, at their end of season
rookie test. However, he's now, like Colton Hurda, a couple
of points shy of being eligible. And this is one
of the greatest race car drivers on the planet. Some
of it is still upside, but anybody paying attention knows
(39:52):
that this guy is the real deal. He really could
be considered to get to F one if he wanted
to do it, but his lot is set in NASCAR,
but he wants to do road racing and he's not
going to get to do that at this point, so
that's a little bit annoying for him. I think he's
still going to test the Cadillac Cadillac top level GTP
(40:17):
car and running the Rolex twenty four in the top
class in January, so that's really cool. And we've talked
a lot about Connor Zilich, when will he do The
Indy five hundred. Sports Business Journal posted something a few
days ago that justin marks we know, I know everyone
has talked to Justin. He's been very open he wants
to come to the Indy five hundred, and he did
(40:38):
say Justin, the team owner the track house is interested
in bringing Zilich to a future Indy five hundred, but
next year is likely off the table to give him
time to get adjusted to his full time job in
the Cup Series. So there is that aj Almadinger is
coming back to that same GTP with Meyer Shank Racing.
(41:01):
They tease something yesterday that there was a big announcement
and it said something about all so that kind of
told me that was Dinger. I'm honestly a little bit
surprised he's driving the GTP car. Those are difficult. It's
more difficult from what I understand, than the DPI car,
which was the last prototype he drove in twenty twenty one.
He did the GTD car a couple of years later.
(41:25):
He won a Rolex, the first Rolex in twelve with
Meyer Shank. Justin Wilson was one of his teammates and
we know how good he is, so I'm excited about that.
I like Dinger. I think it's good for the event
as well, and I wonder if Elliot was a consideration.
Was it either or in that circumstance, is there someone
(41:46):
financially connected to Dinger that wanted him in this race?
Probably not. It's probably just Mike, Shank and Aj are
good friends and they wanted to work together again. And
there's limited time where he can still do that, and
he'll be fine. And he's and have Scott Dixon as
a teammate. He's in the sixty car, so Colin Brown
and Tom Blunquist are the others. Alex Polo is going
(42:07):
to be in the other car with the Ranger Vanderzena
and Nick nick Yelli, and they announced Honda back driver
Kaku Oda is the fourth driver for that. We learned
that the Fittipaldi brothers. There was a lot of sports
car news today. The Fittipaldi brothers are going to be
teammates in l M P two. Pietro is a full
season driver. Enzo, who has been confirmed now in Indie
(42:28):
next with HMD next year, is going to be there
endurance driver in that lineup. A couple of Twitter questions
while we have time at Camsoop's fl asked this a
couple of weeks ago, and I don't think I got
to it he asks, Is Honda just going to let
their contract expire and just walk away? Well, their contract
(42:50):
expires after next year, and no, I don't think it's
just going to be silenced. I this is one of
those where I wouldn't be surprised and I know nothing,
but I wouldn't be surprised to wake up tomorrow. It's
kind of one of these. We're just for the next
few weeks, we're going to be hitting refresh. It is
coming soon. It has to be. And I think they
(43:11):
are deciding between whether they're going to enter NASCAR or
stay in IndyCar. I feel better about the chances of
than staying. I think it makes more sense dollars and cents.
But is that a fifty five or sixty percent confidence level?
That's probably about all it is. I suspect that's the
decision that they are weighing, and I think they will
(43:33):
do right by IndyCar and give them lots of notice.
Andrew Dawson asked a couple of weeks ago, it didn't
have an answer, so didn't bother. Well, now we do,
he says. Any update on the ECR and Todd Alt lawsuit. Yes.
Racer dot Com posted this last week that it has
been dismissed, so todd Alt essentially wins that Ed Carpenter
Racing was trying to get something close between eight and
(43:56):
ten million dollars back in sponsorship money. Apparently though the
contracts were never signed. They may have been agreed to,
and there may be emails, but there was nothing as
far as a signature. Last questions that we have time
for the Cincy Buckey asks, I'm not sure which one
(44:17):
of us. Have you put a bid yet on Michael
Andretti's house and Fisher's. Oh if only Kurt were the
realtor for that, he says. My real question though, is
if will Power does not talk to Dan Towers at
Road American stay with Team Penske. Is Colden hurd n
F two for next year or is he in the
twenty six basically, which was the action that created the
second reaction. That's a great question. I think it's a
(44:38):
bit of a combination. If will Power were not available,
if he had re signed with Team Penske, I think
there is a very strong chance that Colden hurda is
driving the twenty six. But when Power became available, and
I think that they wanted to shake up to the
IndyCar program and to do some different things. I think
it made a lot easier to pull the trigger on
(44:59):
this DA. So yeah, I think he'd still be here
if will power was not available to take over that
seat at Andretti. We'll see you next Tuesday night in studio.
Thanks for joining us on track side.
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