The hosts and Alex Gintz run through a 2026 Indianapolis 500 preview, starting with what makes the weekend so intense—“the greatest four lap stretch of racing in the world”—and how qualifying pace, cautions, and practice tuning can swing outcomes. They weigh driver and team situations, including Rossi’s injury update and the rules around substitutions. The conversation also covers win contenders, Catherine Legge’s rare double attempt, and ends with Indy 500 winner picks like Connor Daly.
"As on this show, we'll be previewing the Indianapolis 500. It is the biggest weekend of the year, so we have to preview the biggest race of the year."
The Indy 500 is a huge American race on an oval track in Indianapolis. It’s part of the IndyCar series and is famous for being one of the biggest events in motorsports.
The Indianapolis 500 (often shortened to “Indy 500”) is a marquee American open-wheel race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s run as part of the IndyCar season and is known for its long, high-speed oval format and large fan turnout.
"But the caution is out. Caution is out. Palo will win the validation vindication for Alex Palo. He has won the Indianapolis 500."
A caution is when the race slows down because something is happening on the track. Everyone has to drive more carefully, and teams often use that moment to adjust their strategy.
A caution (yellow flag) slows the field because of an incident or hazard on track. During a caution, drivers may change strategy—like pit timing or tire decisions—because the race pace is reduced and gaps can be managed.
"He then goes out and sets the next lap as the fastest lap of the race from him on these tires that he claims are gone or whatever."
Tires are a big deal in racing because they provide grip. As tires wear out, the car can feel slower or harder to drive, so teams plan how long to run them.
In IndyCar and other open-wheel racing, tires are a major performance variable because grip changes as they wear and as track conditions evolve. Drivers and teams manage tire life and operating temperature to maintain pace over stints.
"He then goes out and sets the next lap as the fastest lap of the race from him on these tires that he claims are gone or whatever."
A fastest lap means a driver’s single quickest lap time. It shows who had the most speed at that moment, though it doesn’t always guarantee the win.
A fastest lap is the quickest single lap time a driver records during a session (like qualifying or the race). It’s often used as a signal of raw pace, even if the final race result depends on strategy, traffic, and cautions.
"And throughout qualifying weekend, you know, Palo's car looked decent, but he said more than once, it's not the fastest car out there and we're going to have to find something and we don't know what we're going to have to find."
Qualifying is the part where drivers try to set their best lap times. Those times decide where they start the race, which can be important—especially on oval tracks.
Qualifying is the session where drivers set their fastest laps to determine starting position for the race. In oval racing like the Indy 500, qualifying performance can strongly influence race strategy because track position matters.
"is extremely tight. And that's something that's great about a spec series like IndyCar is everything is always so extremely tight, right?"
In a spec series, most of the race car is the same for everyone. That makes the competition tighter because the teams can’t gain huge advantages just by building a different car.
A spec series is a racing category where many key parts are standardized across teams. That reduces performance differences from car hardware, so qualifying and race results tend to be closer.
Concept
four lap stretch of racing
"because it's like the greatest, this year was different, obviously, but it's like the greatest four lap stretch of racing in the world"
They’re talking about a qualifying format where your speed is judged over several laps. Because it’s only a short window, everything has to be perfect to get a great result.
This refers to the qualifying format where each driver’s performance is measured over multiple laps. The idea is that small differences in grip, setup, and execution compound over those laps, making qualifying feel like a high-stakes “window” of speed.
"Throughout the practice and qualifying the engines get dialed in the aerodynamics get worked out the speeds go up they break 227 228 232 32"
Aerodynamics is how the car shapes the air around it. The goal is to keep the car planted and reduce unwanted resistance so it can go faster.
Aerodynamics is how air flows around the car, affecting downforce and drag. At oval tracks, teams tune aero to help the car stay stable and fast at high speed through the turns.
"Throughout the practice and qualifying the engines get dialed in the aerodynamics get worked out the speeds go up"
“Dialing in” the engine means adjusting it so it runs the way the driver needs for that track. Teams tweak settings during practice until the car feels right.
“Dialing in” an engine means fine-tuning its setup so it produces the right power delivery and response for the track conditions. In racing, this typically involves adjusting engine parameters and calibrations during practice.
"But the photo that came out of Rossi at an event with the team in a full cast halfway up his leg is jarring and having a team release that says that he underwent outpatient procedure rather than surgery"
An outpatient procedure usually means the treatment is done and you go home the same day. It’s often used to suggest the injury wasn’t handled with a long hospital stay.
An outpatient procedure is a medical treatment where the patient typically goes home the same day rather than staying overnight in a hospital. In sports coverage, this wording can hint at the severity and type of injury treatment.
"So it's hard to say if Rossi just has a severe sprain if he had a dislocation that had to be corrected."
A sprain is when a ligament gets stretched or torn. It can hurt and limit movement, which matters a lot when you’re driving hard.
A sprain is an injury to ligaments, usually from overstretching or twisting. In the context of a racing ankle, it can affect how much force a driver can apply and how comfortably they can control the car.
"So it's hard to say if Rossi just has a severe sprain if he had a dislocation that had to be corrected."
A dislocation is when a joint gets knocked out of place. It usually needs medical treatment to put it back correctly and can take longer to heal.
A dislocation happens when a joint’s bones move out of their normal position. It often requires prompt medical correction and can lead to longer recovery times than milder soft-tissue injuries.
"All right, at Alex M. Gents on X, you'll be there, but I'm still going to put, I'm going to still put, well, no, I need to ask you, Catherine Legge attempting the double.
It feels like she's going to have a stronger Indianapolis 500 than a Coke 601 because she comes from that discipline..."
“Attempting the double” means trying to race in two huge events back-to-back on the same weekend. It’s extremely hard because it’s two very long races in different kinds of cars.
“Attempting the double” refers to racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same weekend. It’s a rare endurance challenge because it combines two long races with different cars, teams, and driving demands.
"Yeah, you can't count out. Obviously the guy who owns the track in Roger Penske. All right, at Alex M. Gents on X, you'll be there, but I'm still going to put, I'm going to still put, well, no, I need to ask you, Catherine Legge attempting the double.
It feels like she's going to have a stronger Indianapolis 500 than a Coke 601 because she comes from that discipline..."
The Indianapolis 500 is a famous IndyCar race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s a big deal because it’s long, strategic, and winning it is a major career milestone.
The Indianapolis 500 (often called the Indy 500) is a 500-mile IndyCar race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The episode frames it as a major benchmark for drivers and teams, including talk about winning, redemption, and the “double” attempt.
Concept
Coke 601
"It feels like she's going to have a stronger Indianapolis 500 than a Coke 601 because she comes from that discipline and she also is in probably better equipment on the Indy car side with AJ Foyt racing compared to the live fast motorsports side in the NASCAR side.
But what does this mean for someone like Legge who is the first international non-American attempt to double..."
“Coke 601” is referring to the Coca-Cola 600, a major NASCAR race. The hosts are basically saying it’s tough to finish near the front in that event, especially if you’re also doing the Indy 500.
“Coke 601” is a mis-transcription of the Coca-Cola 600, a NASCAR Cup Series race. The episode compares the difficulty of finishing on the lead lap in that stock-car event to the endurance demands of the Indy 500.
"And is a damn good one by all, I mean, you know, of all the drivers that have competed in IMSA, not, we know the statistics of how many drivers compete versus how many drivers win in any series ever. And she's a multi-time IMSA winner."
IMSA is a racing series for sports cars in North America. The hosts are saying Legge has a lot of endurance-race experience there, which helps for long events like the Indy 500.
IMSA is a sports-car racing organization/series in North America, and the episode mentions Catherine Legge as a multi-time IMSA winner. The point is that her endurance-racing background is relevant to the “double” challenge.
"My only concern, I think she finishes both races. I'm worried about the idea that she completes all 1100 miles because a live fast car finishing on the lead lap of a 600 mile cup series race seems kind of far fetched to me.
I don't, you know, I don't pay attention to NASCAR as closely as I did back in my prime when I was 12, but I don't look at that car and think lead lap finisher at the Coke 600."
“Lead lap” means you finish the race still on the same lap as the winner. If you’re a lap down, you got passed by the leaders at some point.
A “lead lap” finish means the driver completes the race without being lapped by the leader. In long oval races, staying on the lead lap is a strong indicator of pace and strategy, not just survival.
"Ultimately, I think the answer is you have to go where NASCAR isn't right now, at least for the Cup Series."
NASCAR’s Cup Series is the main, top-tier NASCAR racing series. The discussion here is about where NASCAR should race to keep fans excited.
The NASCAR Cup Series is NASCAR’s top-level stock-car racing series. In this segment, the host is arguing that NASCAR should look beyond its current footprint to keep the sport growing and “special.”
"It means you have to find a short track that you can invest in, spend a bunch of money for a one off to get barely enough infrastructure in place to host that race."
A short track is a smaller race course than a big superspeedway. The idea is that smaller tracks can make racing feel closer and more exciting.
In racing, a “short track” is a smaller circuit that typically produces tighter racing, more frequent lapping, and more opportunities for strategy swings. The speaker argues that NASCAR should invest in a short track venue to make events feel more impactful.
"You know, you can talk about it. We've talked about the Chicago Street Race."
A street race happens on regular city streets instead of a dedicated race track. They’re using Chicago as an example of an event that can be exciting, but not automatically “must-see” for everyone.
A “street race” is a race held on public city streets rather than a permanent oval track. The segment uses the Chicago Street Race as an example of a high-profile event that can draw attention, but argues NASCAR needs the right venue and community buy-in to make it feel truly special.
"We saw NASCAR bring the Xfinity series at the time drivers to Philly for a kind of a smoke show downtown day."
The Xfinity Series is NASCAR’s “next level down” from the Cup Series. It’s mentioned here because it helped put on a big downtown event with drivers.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is NASCAR’s second-tier national series, often seen as a proving ground for drivers. The segment references it as having brought drivers to Philadelphia for a downtown street-style event.
"So let's wave that checkered flag. It's going to be a drag race all the way back to the start, finish line."
The checkered flag is the signal that the race is ending. Here it’s used to mark the moment they wrap up the show.
The checkered flag is the signal that a race has reached its finish. The segment uses it as a metaphorical transition into the final thoughts, but it’s still a recognizable racing term.
"In the Indianapolis 500, I'm going to agree with Alex Gents. He took Santino Farucci."
Santino Farucci is a racing driver. The host is bringing him up as part of their Indy 500 predictions.
Santino Farucci is an IndyCar driver mentioned in the context of the Indianapolis 500. The segment implies he is part of the speaker’s prediction or outlook for the weekend.
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It's time for Bringing the Heat with Trey Lyle.
What is up, ladies and gentlemen? Welcome into this special Bringing the Heat, all biggest weekend in motorsports edition. We'll call it that.
As on this show, we'll be previewing the Indianapolis 500. It is the biggest weekend of the year, so we have to preview the biggest race of the year.
Outside of NASCAR and we'll have our IndyCar head editor, Alex Gintz join us in a matter of moments. And then Chris Graham and I talking the latest news and notes.
But let's get to that conversation now. Alex Gintz heads in the Inferno.
Now it's time for White Flag is out for the driver from Barcelona, Spain. Alex Palo could be on for his first oval and his first Indy 500 as he comes off turn two.
Little slide out of two. He moves to break the toe from Marcus Erickson. Erickson has it all now in his hands. It is now or never for Marcus Erickson.
But Palo has the lead. advantage. He told us coming into this weekend, if I don't win the Indy 500 in my career, it will be a career unfulfilled.
And the caution is out. Caution is out. Palo will win the validation vindication for Alex Palo. He has won the Indianapolis 500.
To go into the Inferno with Trey.
Joining me now, front stretch IndyCar editor, Guru, a man who has to unfortunately deal with Brian Nolan all weekend, Alex Gintz.
Alex, you heard that there. The finish of last year's Indianapolis 500 won by Alex Palo.
He has now won the poll. He's the first since Elio Castro had us to do this.
It feels like this is a man and as we dive into the Indy 500 in Alex Palo, that's kind of just hovering over everyone else at a level that we've just not seen in quite some time.
Absolutely. This is becoming really Lewis Hamilton-esque, I would say. And I say that I draw that comparison specifically because we always talk about when Lewis Hamilton says that his car is completely unworkable.
He then goes out and sets the next lap as the fastest lap of the race from him on these tires that he claims are gone or whatever.
And throughout qualifying weekend, you know, Palo's car looked decent, but he said more than once, it's not the fastest car out there and we're going to have to find something and we don't know what we're going to have to find.
He goes out and puts it on Paul. I mean, I'm sure a lot of us in the paddock are saying he just can't keep getting away with it because it's so...
He's just so omnipresent and so inevitable in so many ways. And if anybody was going to, you know, win the 500 and then win the Palo the next year like LAO did no 9, 2010, nobody should be surprised that it's Palo.
Looking at this month of May so far, building off of the NDGP, you were there. You were there for the obvious big week leading up to qualifying. What has this month of May been like?
Obviously, there is an Alex Rossi storyline of things. It feels like Connor Daley is developing his own sort of storyline.
But what is kind of the big picture kind of vibe around the paddock? See, I'm going to use that term because it's the IndyCar conversation.
Heading into, you know, ultimately the kind of exclamation point on the month of May, which is the Indianapolis 500.
The vibe is always fantastic. You know, on Sunday before Memorial Day, Speedway Indiana becomes like the ninth or tenth largest city in the country, if I recall correctly, because so many people come in for this event.
And it's, you know, the name, the greatest spectacle in racing is bestowed upon this race for a reason.
That being said, this year specifically, something that we've noticed on the oval, the NDGP being way better than usual aside, is that the spread of the field throughout qualifying, with the exception of Stingray Rob and whatever happened to that
is extremely tight. And that's something that's great about a spec series like IndyCar is everything is always so extremely tight, right?
So the anticipation just builds and builds and builds. And, you know, those who say, for example, that like qualifying in Monaco for Formula One is better than the race have never seen qualified in Indianapolis, because it's like the greatest, this year was different, obviously, but it's like the
greatest four lap stretch of racing in the world, back to at least 33 times. So, you know, as long as the rain leaves us alone, we're fine.
Yeah, we'll talk about that at the end, because that's the bad part of this conversation. But you made me think of a question about Indy qualifying. And to me, it's like one of the greatest spectacles that you can watch that four laps of literally a car on the finest edge
possible is kind of trying to explain this to the normal cueing. Try it like the easiest way you can explain how big it is is just to show them like how many people just show up for qualifying and how big of an event just trying to get into the race
is.
It's, it's so difficult to so many things about the 500 and the month of May and the Speedway are so difficult to put into words, but the example I like to draw for people is on 2023, when Jack Harvey bumped his teammate Graham Rahal out of the race and all you know all the
racing cars except Catherine leg I believe were, you know, just nowhere to be found on pace that weekend and over the course of four laps, 10 miles, averaging the speed at that end of the field was probably averaging 228 miles an hour.
The difference between Jack Harvey being in that race and Graham Rahal being in that race was seven 1000s of a mile per hour.
Over the course of I don't even want to know how many inches that is over the course of 10 miles it's nothing and you know people get it people show up for qualifying and they, they don't care which driver is which driver they're rooting for who's driving
for what team who's from where who's been performing however throughout the start of the season.
Throughout the practice and qualifying the engines get dialed in the aerodynamics get worked out the speeds go up they break 227 228 232 32 and every step of the way people cheer louder and louder for it.
Here with the man of the myth the legend at Alex him getting so on X, where you can follow him up coverage in Indianapolis 500 for us at front stretch.com because he is the Indy Carter.
Let's talk about a couple of contenders and a cool story coming from it.
Alexander Rossi who won of course the infamous hundredth running of the Indianapolis 500 in kind of this memorable way way he had a safe fuel and one of his first attempts and or his first attempt excuse me of this race.
He it's weirdly they say he's improved his like he is improved leaps and bounds from winning in terms of just his skill at the racetrack.
But he did have a scary moment in this week a big crash he hurt his ankle.
What's his status heading into a race where he is he clearly has a fast car he's qualified second for it.
He's going to be on the front row assuming everything is in order but what is kind of the status of Alex Rossi heading into this the Indy 500.
It's it's very very strange is what I would say the status is because at carpenter racing and Rossi himself seem insistent that he is going to race and while an ankle injury isn't the most significant thing we've ever seen in the sport.
I mean Takuma Sado drove last year's race with two broken ribs taking pain killing shots every time he got in the car after a crash and testing or practice one of the two.
But the photo that came out of Rossi at an event with the team in a full cast halfway up his leg is jarring and having a team release that says that he underwent outpatient procedure rather than surgery specifically is very very strange.
So it's hard to say if Rossi just has a severe sprain if he had a dislocation that had to be corrected.
We don't know the status of the injury to his finger on his left hand.
But I suppose if the if the team and the driver say that they're going to race I mean the Indy car medical team is fantastic and he's going to be doing this recovery under the supervision of Dr.
We will see you know Ed Carpenter racing has a reserve driver which is strange for an Indy car team but Hunter McElray has never raced on the Indianapolis oval he would have to undergo the rookie orientation program or be given a special session.
Names like Callum I lot have been floated around in case Rossi can't race but I lot is still under contract with Prima, which still exists at least according to the law.
It's really hard to say whatever the case, according to the Indy car rule book Rossi's car can start on the front row, even if he's in the backup car, whether or not the car will start on the front row if there's a different driver is a bit less clear I don't have the rule book on hand.
But, you know, assuming that the team and the driver telling the truth and he's going to toughen this out, he's going to start second and we'll see where things go from there.
And it won't be and you're not allowed to substitute driver because I know that was a conversation last year like with Tony Kanan and Kyle Larson.
It's not like they could put some like keep their second row spot run two laps with Rossi and then put someone new in that car correct.
That is my understanding.
There was a there was a release that came out from Indy car last year and I'm going to struggle to recall it verbatim.
Because of because of Larson Indy car specified that a replacement driver can be considered if the primary driver is also participating in another marquee event very convenient language there with the driver's principle racing series.
But it's been a while I can't recall in recent memory when we've had to pull the driver out of a car for for health reasons for example in Indy car and have the car finish the race.
I would lean.
I would imagine that if the team felt that was going to be the case this close to race day we would have already heard some kind of plan for it.
Here with Alex Gens looking at the other contenders I think a guy who was kind of I don't see a favorite during qualifying but sparked you know a lot of fan interest was Connor daily ends up qualifying eighth for the Indianapolis 500.
This is another guy who's been very close to winning.
He appears you know this is Indiana native like kind of the beloved son of this race next to Ed Carpenter.
What what what do you think of the chances that Connor daily has and to if he if he somehow was able to pull it off what would it mean for a guy like Connor daily to win the Indianapolis 500.
I am of the opinion that Connor daily needs to be counted among names like Santino for Ruchi who have not put it together at the Speedway but should never statistically be counted out.
And Connor specifically although I would give his teammate Jack Harvey some credit as well.
That entire drier and Reinbold Racing program has shown up in such a surprising way this year.
I don't know if I've ever seen two drivers simultaneously look comfortable.
Amused having maybe amuses in the right term having fun and aggressive throughout practice and qualifying obviously qualifying didn't go Harvey's way conditions were a mess and the car wasn't.
Fantastic and qualifying trim but Connor daily put that car squarely in the fast 12 and I would not feel terrible advising somebody I cared about to put their weight behind daily come race day.
As far as what it would mean for the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana at large I would imagine it would be something similar to how the city of Philadelphia looks every time an equals game has an outcome of some kind.
Every time an equals game runs to completion.
That's that's not a bad way to put it.
It would be very much celebrated in back home in Indiana.
See what I did there as we're here with Alex.
Ruchi car daily fall in this category that are really just good at this race and seem to be guys that you would expect you're in your out to contend.
Is there another name that maybe I'm missing right now that you look at is like, you know, he is really good around this oval and just hasn't broken through yet in terms of winning the Indian plus 500.
Outside of pattern broken outside of part of somebody who hasn't broken through yet. Oh gosh.
I often feel like Graham Ray Halls record around Indianapolis is a little bit understated.
I might be biased because my first year reporting on Indy car was when I was covering the race in the news capacity at home in 2021 when he had it under control and then his pit crew made a mistake that cost him the car and the race.
Beyond them before you said having broken through I was going to say to Kuma Sado.
I always I always have an itch about Sado every year.
I figured you were going to say that.
Yeah.
Hey carpenter.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You have to throw that little caveat in to keep me from Sado Maxine.
Yeah.
Ed Carpenter for sure.
Graham Ray Hall.
Alexander Rossi has won.
I can't say him.
Well, let's pivot now to the guy who probably is has been the closest to not win.
I'll you know pretty Joseph Newgarden and that is Patricio award.
If I mean he has literally been as close you possibly can get to winning this race.
It feels like you know I guess you could say if Marco was somehow racing in this heat you could.
Yeah.
Ready in this theoretically but Pato twice.
I mean he's been so good at this race and he I mean he literally crashed.
He one year he didn't fully go for it and the next year he fully went forward and crashed.
It does feel like if there's anyone in this field I don't want to say that is owed one because I hate that racing and racing.
But he is the closest in the field to a guy that is quote unquote owed one when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 is very Allah.
His arc is Allah his team principal Tony Kanan where you know he is the most popular driver in the sport.
He's gotten so close to winning and it just hasn't done it yet.
Yes.
Yeah.
And man, you know the I think the finish of the 2024 500 where Pato was two corners less than half a lap away from winning that kind of engrained that in his image in a way that I that I don't know that can be undone without him winning.
The 500 one thing I would take away from that is you know Pato didn't fully go forward in 22 he crashed in 23 he went forward and it still wasn't enough in 2024.
There's a progression there where where Pato is coming closer and closer every year and he's coming closer and closer because he's approaching the finish differently every year.
So you can never count him out if he's in the lead pack at the end of the race.
But you know, man, McLaren McLaren looks kind of rough.
The pace that they seem to be 15th to 20th place cars right now and we don't know if they're going to be able to to address that in time for the race now that being said.
We bring up Tony can on who's obviously serving as team principal and has driven for McLaren on a one off basis in the past. Tony can on one has only in the 513, thanks to a timely caution.
I mean, at the end of the day if you're on the Borg Warner trophy you're on the Borg Warner trophy I don't think you know if Pato award doesn't win this race or does win this race it's not going to be only Pato award that determines that.
I feel obligated based off the favorite driver in my household's name to ask you about one more first time winner that has also been really impressive but he's still relatively young.
And that of course is David Maluchus. Shout out to Storm Durham.
It does feel like David with his month of May so far has lived up to the hype of getting the ride at Penske.
You know, the fact he has the front row start he's in that 12 like he's in he's he's racing for Roger Penske and of course, you know, we've already seen Joseph do garden do it.
We've, you know, obviously Scotty Mack is another guy you could throw in that needs to break through but talk about like Maluchus and and Scotty Mack in terms of their, you know, redemption this year for honestly both guys considering how close David was last year to winning it.
What happened to Scotty Mack and this kind of two year journey for Maluchus in to get to the back to the spot.
Yeah, start starting with Maluchus I think to say he's lived up to the hype of going to Penske is the only honest thing we can say at this point.
I was among those who didn't necessarily have doubts but wanted to insulate myself from the idea that popular driver goes to popular team automatically means success, and therefore popular combo Maluchus has been the best of the Penske cars all month.
So far, Christa Hardy and I spoke to him after the race and he was in really good spirits and felt good about the car we spoke to Dave Faustino, who was the engineer on the 12 car up until this year and is now in a larger technical role at team Penske.
And Dave said that he's exceeded their expectations by far and the whole team feels good about where they're going right now.
McLaughlin was also among the last holdouts and qualifying that made it up toward the front of the field into the first third of it.
McLaughlin needs a whole different kind of redemption. I feel like finishing the race will be more than enough for McLaughlin this year and starting it compared to last year will be more than enough.
But McLaughlin is no slouch around the Speedway either poll winner in 2024. Penske as a whole looks good. They've won two of the last three and I won't count them out.
Yeah, you can't count out. Obviously the guy who owns the track in Roger Penske. All right, at Alex M. Gents on X, you'll be there, but I'm still going to put, I'm going to still put, well, no, I need to ask you, Catherine Legge attempting the double.
It feels like she's going to have a stronger Indianapolis 500 than a Coke 601 because she comes from that discipline and she also is in probably better equipment on the Indy car side with AJ Foyt racing compared to the live fast motorsports side in the NASCAR side.
But what does this mean for someone like Legge who is the first international non-American attempt to double and the first woman to attempt to double? It feels like a, even though it didn't get the build up like a Kyle Larson, like a Tony Stewart, like a Kurt Busch just because it was announced so late, this still feels like a pretty cool moment that's happening on Saturday.
And is a damn good one by all, I mean, you know, of all the drivers that have competed in IMSA, not, we know the statistics of how many drivers compete versus how many drivers win in any series ever. And she's a multi-time IMSA winner.
She's improved on her performance at the 500. This is only the fifth or sixth time she's done it. So I wouldn't call her an Indy car driver by trade.
My only concern, I think she finishes both races. I'm worried about the idea that she completes all 1100 miles because a live fast car finishing on the lead lap of a 600 mile cup series race seems kind of far fetched to me.
I don't, you know, I don't pay attention to NASCAR as closely as I did back in my prime when I was 12, but I don't look at that car and think lead lap finisher at the Coke 600.
I'm not, I'm not sure I look at that live fast car and see finisher of the Coke 600, but if Catherine like doesn't finish all 1100 miles, I'm not going to assume that it will be because of her.
Yeah. I mean, she could easily finish more than what Kyle Larson did last year. I feel like that's a really easy goal to obtain.
But Alex, last question for you. Thank you so much for this time. Your pick to win. I know it's what? Wednesday we're recording this. You got till Saturday Sunday, but I'm still putting you on the spot.
Who is your pick to win the Indianapolis 500?
Over the past week or so, I've been oscillating back and forth between for Ruchi and daily.
So I'm going to, I'm going to put my name on it right now and say that I think it's for Ruchi just because if you start seven Indianapolis 500s and six Indianapolis 500 so far and finish in the top 10 and all of them.
Statistically, you're going to win it at some point. The numbers suggest that.
And it's kind of feeling like every year that he doesn't win this race, he's overdue a bit more just because of how well he's performed. So I will be least surprised if Ruchi wins.
Pretty fun winner there at Alex and again, so I have coverage all weekend long in Indianapolis starting on Thursday. Alex, thank you so much for, for this annual tradition, whether it's you or Christopher to Hardy.
I know one year it was both pit straight guy. It was you and the late great Jack Swansea who's clearly still alive. We're still going to phrase it that way.
Previewing it. Check out the pit straight as well on the front stretch YouTube page or the front stretch podcast feed, but check out the IndyCar coverage this weekend. Thanks so much, man.
Yeah, thanks for having me, Trent.
That was Alex.
Good afternoon. Good night. Whatever time it is, I'm losing time on the day. We're talking the latest news and notes in all things NASCAR. There you are. You are, you know, we let's dive right into the announcement by Amazon Prime of their new broadcast team.
And a couple of surprising faces join the coverage, including, you know, Carl Edwards will have be at one race itself, but we'll provide at home coverage.
But they also bringing in the likes of Jeff Gordon, Brad Kizilowski, also bringing in Martin Truex Jr. Mark Martin. What do you think about the next couple of weeks with Prime bringing kind of, especially Martin Truex Jr., which was probably the most surprising name, a couple of new voices into the conversation during the week.
Yeah, I actually kind of think this is a story that's maybe getting drowned out a little bit because of when the release happened just by nature. You have Hall of Fame week. You had the all star race. You had a whole lot going on.
But getting Martin Truex Jr. off of the lake slash tree stand slash wherever else he has been hiding is absolutely fantastic because he is a very well spoken guy who I think really is going to provide a lot of really cool insight.
And like you said, the names, I love seeing Carl Edwards back. He was fantastic last year in that kind of analyst role. So I think Amazon once again is absolutely killing it between Amazon and the CW.
It feels like we're getting a stretch of races here where we're going to go. This is what modern NASCAR coverage should look like.
Obviously, he probably got a phone call from his very close personal friend, Dale Jr., who ironically they share the land where the tree stand is that Martin Truex Jr. likes to use.
Looking at other coverage, it was announced that Marty Smith deal is struck between ESPN and TNT. He's going to join their studio team.
This feels cool to see Marty back, at least covering NASCAR. Obviously, he was part of the Hall of Fame vote yesterday, so he still has a role in the sport.
But this feels like a guy who has really made a name for himself in the college football space of things coming back. And it just feels like this is a fun voice to get for TNT.
I think it is a spectacular get for TNT. A lot of people are going to forget that Marty Smith kind of started his national career on the NASCAR side of things for ESPN.
And then he just happened to be kind of one of those right guy, right place, right times when ESPN started the SEC network, that him and Ryan McGee just kind of were a natural to pivot them to SEC football coverage.
But yeah, I love Marty's commentary. I think he's really good. I'm interested to see what he's going to bring because they also listed, I believe, Tom Rinaldi, or that was on Fox.
Fox listed Tom Rinaldi for the Indy 500 coverage. I can kind of see Marty Smith playing that kind of Tom Rinaldi type role and doing really deep dive storytelling. And that's where Marty Smith really, really is going to shine.
Yes, indeed. And this was a speaking of, you know, I mentioned Marty Smith was in the Hall of Fame voting class. And yesterday we attacked more of the voting structure and who we would have voted for.
But as announced, Kevin Harvick gets 92% of the vote. Jeff Burton, the other member of the, it's not the pioneer class, the modern class, I believe is what they use Jeff.
Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips named to the pioneer class. Chris, ultimately, what did you think of this class in terms of obviously Kevin Harvick felt like the biggest lock, but then, you know, two interesting names were selected for the other two slots?
I don't see Larry Phillips as an interesting name. He is a guy that should have been in the hall long ago. Five weekly series national championships. That means he didn't beat the best in the Cup Series. He beat the best at every damn short track in this great country that has NASCAR sanctioning.
The man won something like 200 of 300 weekly series starts. His numbers were insane. And by putting him in, you kind of push the door open to open the NASCAR hall to more of that local flair and local flavor.
And then it feels like they slammed it right back shut when they, when they announced Jeff Burton, not because I think Jeff Burton doesn't belong in the hall, but because by putting Jeff Burton in now ahead of some guys with potentially better resumes.
You've kind of set the bar on now. Jeff Burton is the guy. That's, that's kind of the bottom. I don't want to say bottom of the barrel because that's not who he is. But you know what I'm saying? Like from a statistic standpoint, this is the minimum numbers you need to get in.
It'll be interesting to see if the voting process ever changes to more of a baseball style hall of fame. By the way, I checked that out conversation with Jordan Bianchi yesterday where we kind of dived deep into that.
And another part we did was the all star format, which now becomes the focus of our sound bite of the week. Thanks to Chase Briscoe.
I see. Now I'm trying to produce this here all at the same time. So I'm just going to leave all of this in. I got to know this is coming.
Well, Tony, what angered you at the end of the race? What did you take issue with?
What the hell do you think I was mad about? Dumb little s**t runs us clear down to the infield. He wants to s**t about everybody else. And he's one that drives like a little s**t. I'm going to bust his ass.
Thanks, Tony.
Thank you.
And short track races.
It's time for the sound bites of the week.
I feel like an all star race. I don't know. Maybe because it's during the day, like it just doesn't, I don't know. It just didn't, all weekend, didn't really feel like an all star race.
It just felt like we were at a normal points race, but we had practice, which was cool. I've never even came out of the garage at Dover in my career.
So that was kind of unique, just getting practice again.
But yeah, definitely didn't feel like an all star race. And maybe just because, you know, it's new, I don't know.
And definitely just didn't feel like an all star race for whatever reason.
Now, the consequence, not the consequence, but the reward for winning definitely felt like an all star race.
But the race itself, it just, it was so long. Like I don't feel like the all star race is typically like the shortest race of the year.
I feel like it was the Coke 600 or Southern 500. It is took forever.
Like you always have that moment. Like next week at lap 100 or lap 200, you'd be like, holy smokes.
Like we're only a quarter of a way or halfway into this race.
And today when we got done with the 21 or 75 lap runs, it was like, holy smokes. We have another 200 laps of this.
It was just a long race.
And then just click and watch that. But Chris, it does feel like this, this, the vibe of this race was not all star E.
Where, where can they regain sort of the luster that is the all star race?
I think that is a very, very hard question to answer because one of the most telling things in that entire sound bite was Chase Briscoe saying even the payout felt like an all star race.
It's the same generic thing we do every year at the all star race. There was a goofy format, paid a million bucks and we had an all star race.
I don't know what the answer is because ultimately, you know, I mean, we joke about Brian Nolan said, give it to Cleetus and let Cleetus run with it.
The problem is Chevrolet and Toyota are not going to let their guys drive Crown Victoria is around a short track somewhere.
So you can't just play the game of let's throw this thing off the deep end.
Ultimately, I think the answer is you have to go where NASCAR isn't right now, at least for the Cup Series.
That does not mean going to Bowman Gray. That does not mean going to Hickory or the Nashville Fairgrounds even for me.
It means you have to find a short track that you can invest in, spend a bunch of money for a one off to get barely enough infrastructure in place to host that race.
We're already in some of these places and you need that local community to actually want the race.
You know, you can talk about it. We've talked about the Chicago Street Race.
The City of Chicago has to want that the to have a street race in Philadelphia or Baltimore or D.C. or where the area has to want that race.
We saw NASCAR bring the Xfinity series at the time drivers to Philly for a kind of a smoke show downtown day.
And it was cool. They had, you know, a few thousand people hanging out, but it was not the streets are packed.
Oh, my God, I have to be here for this. So I'm kind of wondering what direction NASCAR has to go to make it special again.
And I think you do that by going smaller, not bigger.
I agree. Go smaller in venue. Go bigger in prize. Mention this last night. I think you need to do a, like it arguably needs to be your biggest prize the year around the 10 million dollar range is kind of where I think like even 3 million like
somewhere five. I think five is the number because Daytona pays what on the order of six to win.
Yeah. 667 I don't know. Maybe. But yeah, it just needs to be a jarring, a jarring, jarring number, but that will speaking of jarring numbers.
That's not a terrible transition trade, but it is time to wrap this podcast up because we do not want you to have a jarring time listening this for being too long.
So let's wave that checkered flag. It's going to be a drag race all the way back to the start, finish line.
The checkered flag is out and it's time for the final thoughts.
Final thoughts. Anything you want to rant, rave or review. Chris Graham, you're up first.
I say this every time I'm on one of these shows, but when I get these chances to talk about things at the end of a show, I like to talk about stuff that people might not think about.
The reason we have 1100 miles of racing on Sunday is because of the day we're going to celebrate on what we're going to commemorate on Monday.
What was originally called Decoration Day, the first formal celebrations happening right in my neck of the woods in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the first Decoration Day Parade where the town would decorate the graves of their Civil War dead.
There's a reason we get to have this party all week, all weekend long. We get to consume 11 million hot dogs and twice as many beers.
That's because of all of those men and women who came home under that flag. Keep that in mind at least at the very bare minimum in the back of your head as we get to enjoy these 1100 miles.
Mine's going to be a question and I'll even go first on predictions for the weekend. I think you summed it up perfectly as who has family members in the military who knows people who've served and has made the ultimate sacrifice.
I want to reiterate your statement, but let's pick them as my final thought. Chris, I'll go first. In the Indianapolis 500, I'm going to agree with Alex Gents. He took Santino Farucci.
I'm going to take the other side, Santonio Holmes. I don't know why I was thinking that. Santino, sorry.
I'm going to take, just for the fun of it, and I should take David Maluccas to get some brownie points in my own household, but I'm not. I'm going to take Connor Daly.
You actually have one of my pick. My brain is split very similar to how Alex's was. I have a pick that I think can win it and I have a pick that I really, really, really want to see win it.
My pick to win, I think, is going to be Connor Daly. The connections of that family at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are a lot longer than just his dad, Derek, driving there and commentating for years.
His stepfather is Doug Bowles, who is the president of IndyCar and IMS, and that is a family that eats, sleeps, lives and breathes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
And I'm going to take a little bit of offense to what Alex said, because it's not any Eagles game where we have to grease the light poles in Philadelphia.
The Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl. We got to grease the light poles. We expect to win every other game beyond that. And I think that's the attitude that Connor Daly is bringing in this weekend. He is expecting to contend in a really good car.
My sentimental pick is Ed Carpenter for the exact same reasons. Either one of those guys wins the 500 on Sunday, they will burn that place to the ground and I can't wait to see it.
Storm Durham has chimed in. Her official pick is David Maluchus and my house may burn down if he wins that race. As for the Coke 600, who you got?
This one always seems a little bit harder to pick for me because it is not necessarily outside the Jimmy Johnson years. The 600 was not a race that runs to chalk. It's not one of those that you just go, yep, I expect this guy to win.
With that being said, it also kind of sometimes is the race where you sort of just feel like you might fall into a win by chance. And a guy who I think is going to do that this time is William Byron.
I was going to agree with you. Obviously, Willie B dominated the 600 last year, just to fall short to Ross Chastain and Ross's great final stint to get that done. So I'll go different.
And I'm going to go with a guy who's been really good this year. I'll go Chris Buescher. He's fifth in points. I think he's been really under sneakily underrated this year. I'll go with Chris Buescher.
So for Chris Graham, which you can check him out on Sunday, he's going to be part of the watch party for the double. Mike Neff anchoring it. He'll be a part of that and having some fun coverage on the YouTube channel as well or the Facebook page for frontstretch.com.
The 47 hours of frontstretch.
Y'all have fun with that. You can follow me at Traylile VT. Thanks so much to Alex Gens. Thanks so much to you, Chris. And thanks so much to Caleb as well for helping us out behind the scenes with the podcast.
But signing off for now on this special edition, all of them are special of bringing the heat with Traylile. Bye everybody.
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