About this episode
Tony Kanan joins Hinch and Rossi to break down the IndyCar driver shakeup: Dixon and Rosenqvist coming to the team at the expense of Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel. Kanan draws a sharp line between “not renewing an option” and “firing,” then tackles the bigger question of why the moves happened and how they were shaped by contract timing, seat availability, and team performance pressure. He also revisits past roster decisions, injuries, and strategic gambles—arguing the team’s recent results justify the direction, even if the optics are brutal.
Friend of the show and team principal Tony Kanaan walks Hinch through the shake up in the lineup for Arrow McLaren next year, how the decisions came to be, and how he's handling the opinions about it.
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starts
"She goes, 389 starts, 285 top 10s, 230 top five. [593.8s] So I'm like, what are you getting?"
“Starts” means how many races the driver actually started. It helps compare performance fairly over time, because it accounts for how many opportunities they had.
“Starts” refers to how many races a driver began from the grid (i.e., was in the starting lineup and started the race). It’s used to normalize stats like top-10 or top-five finishes over a career.
top five
"She goes, 389 starts, 285 top 10s, 230 top five. [593.8s] So I'm like, what are you getting?"
“Top five” just means you finished the race in the first five spots. It’s a quick way to show how often a driver is doing really well, not just occasionally.
In racing, “top five” means finishing a race in positions 1 through 5. It’s a common way to judge consistency and competitiveness, since finishing top five repeatedly usually correlates with strong points results.
top 10s
"She goes, 389 starts, 285 top 10s, 230 top five. [593.8s] So I'm like, what are you getting?"
“Top 10s” means finishing in the first ten places. If someone has lots of top-10 finishes, it usually means they’re regularly competitive and scoring points.
“Top 10s” means finishing in positions 1 through 10. In motorsport, it’s a consistency metric: a driver with many top-10 finishes is usually scoring points regularly.
clause in the contract
"I borrow Porsche from Sauber with a clause in the contract that they could take him hinge on Friday of a race weekend. [656.1s] If somebody had a, you know, I don't know, one of those drivers didn't feel good enough when they could take him."
A “clause” is a specific written condition inside a contract. Here, it describes a rule that lets the team swap drivers based on circumstances around Friday of a race weekend.
Sauber
"I borrow Porsche from Sauber with a clause in the contract that they could take him hinge on Friday of a race weekend. [656.1s] If somebody had a, you know, I don't know, one of those drivers didn't feel good enough when they could take him."
Sauber is a racing team. The way it’s used here suggests they had a Porsche-related car or deal that another driver/team could use for a race weekend.
Sauber is a Swiss motorsport team/constructor that has competed in Formula 1 and other top-level racing. The speaker mentions borrowing Porsche “from Sauber,” indicating a team-to-team arrangement for race-weekend participation.
race weekend
"I borrow Porsche from Sauber with a clause in the contract that they could take him hinge on Friday of a race weekend. [656.1s] If somebody had a, you know, I don't know, one of those drivers didn't feel good enough when they could take him."
A “race weekend” is the whole event across multiple days—practice, qualifying, and the race. This matters because teams may make decisions day-by-day.
A “race weekend” is the multi-day event structure around a Grand Prix or major race, typically including practice sessions, qualifying, and the race itself. Driver availability and contractual rules often reference specific days within that weekend.
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