RaceSchool.com Podcast hosted by Larry Mason

Carson Koester is a wing mechanic for ECR (Ed Carpenter Racing) in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. We bumped into Carson at the Tech Inspection area at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he had a rolling cart of wings getting ready to be inspected before the race. Koester was nice enough to answer some questions about how he got involved in racing, what his roles and responsibilities are, and some of the behind-the-scenes stories on how everything comes together in preparation for going racing. A fine young mechanic with a bright future in front of him. Enjoy!

Brian Till has enjoyed an incredible racing career with many victories along the way including the Formula Atlantic East championship in 1990. From there he worked his way up to Indy cars and the SCCA TransAm Series. Although he began his broadcasting career the year after he won his Atlantic championship, it really flourished after he retired from racing full-time. These days you’ll find Till at all the major IMSA sports car races in addition to other professional racing championships. We bumped into Till at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he was kind enough to sit down with us and reminisce about how he got started and made it to where he is today. A humble guy with huge talent both behind the wheel and the microphone – Till is a real class act who dedicates himself to his craft. Enjoy!

Cover photo courtesy of Brian Till

Patrick Long is an American racing driver who originally started out on the open wheel ladder to chase the F1 dream. When the Porsche factory called him to join their team, he did and never looked back. He went on to win the greatest endurance racing classics in the world and multiple championships. We met up with Patrick at the media day for the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he was giving hot laps to the assembled media (including www.raceschool.com). Although he’s officially retired from Porsche factory racing, he’s still an ambassador for Porsche and is often seen at race tracks testing cars for clients and doing corporate events. In this interview he fills us in on his career and what he’s up to now, including a cool upcoming event in October at the Orange County Fairgrounds in southern California. Enjoy!

Roberto Guerrero has raced all over the world including pinnacle series like Formula One and Indy cars. He sat on the pole for the 1992 Indianapolis 500 and won two races in the Indy Car Series. He’s lived his dream of being a professional race car driver and is still involved with automotive manufacturers doing driving events today. We caught up with Roberto at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Press Day where he fills us in on his journey from karts to F1 to CART Indy cars and more. He also gives us his take on the current F1 cars. A terrific racer in his day and a humble and true gentleman today, Guerrero is the kind of guy you want to hang out with and talk racing. Enjoy!

Caio Collett is a rookie in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and races for the legendary AJ Foyt Racing team. We caught up with him just prior to qualifying for the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he filled us in on his background in European racing and how the different classes of cars compare to what he’s raced here in America (including the Indy NXT series). He’s been knocking on finishing in the top-ten with a 12th at Arlington and an 11th place finish at Mid-Ohio. Even better than that, he led nine laps at the Indianapolis 500 this year before ending his day due to contact with the wall. His stock really rose based on his performance there and his name has been often mentioned as a driver with future championship potential.  Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment – Chris Owens

In our annual feature prior to the Fourth of July holiday on the raceschool.com podcast, we interview CHP officers to get safe driving tips and some insight into what the officers do and look out for while helping to keep motorists safe on the roads. This year, we met up with officers Marissa McIntire and Jordon Church. These two officers represent the CHP with class and professionalism while giving out good advice and helping us to understand their roles better. Enjoy!

NOTE: This Fourth of July weekend will be a maximum enforcement period for the CHP. Please drive safely! For driver’s training, join us at FastLane Racing School! www.raceschool.com

Santino Ferrucci is known for not only having a stellar finishing record at the Indy 500, but also having fun with his helmet designs. Some drivers go their entire career with the same helmet design. Ferrucci has multiple designs that he uses every year. For 2026, we caught up with Ferrucci in his AJ Foyt Racing Team transporter at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he generously gave of his time and explanation of his super cool helmet design for this year. With America’s 250th birthday coming up, he did something special. We thought that this would be the perfect time to show it off. Enjoy!

NOTE: Santino Ferrucci has earned three, top-ten finishes this year already including the Indy 500 and the race at Road America.

Howdy Holmes raced Indy Cars in the seventies and eighties and then took time off to join his family’s business. After stepping back from his day-to-day duties of the family business, he returned to Indy car racing as a sponsor with Chip Ganassi Racing. If you haven’t seen his Jiffy Mixes sticker on Alex Palou’s race car, take a closer look on the nose and sidepods. If you haven’t heard of Jiffy Mixes, you’ve probably never stepped foot in a supermarket! It’s the number one brand in the country. We met up with Holmes in the Ganassi hospitality area at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he fills us in on his journey through racing as well as a fascinating history of his family’s business. A really fun guy to hang out with that has serious racing and business skills. Enjoy!

photo courtesy of Howdy Holmes/Getty Images/RacingOne

Marcus Ericsson came from the Formula One world to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and won the biggest race in the world in 2022 – the Indy 500. He spent a good portion of his career with Chip Ganassi Racing but left for Andretti Global a couple of years ago. Those two years were quite rough for Ericsson as success was hard to come by. However, this year, he earned his first career pole at the Arlington Grand Prix and led most of the laps at Saint Louis before ultimately finishing second. We caught up with Ericsson at the “media bullpen” at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where it was tough to get a word in edgewise. Your host of this podcast, Larry Mason, decided to go a different route than normal and instead of asking more detailed questions, do some rapid-fire ones instead. This is the first of this kind of interview that we’ll be highlighting this year. Ericsson is a true gentleman of the sport yet fast and humble. Enjoy!

NOTE: Ericsson had a race weekend to forget in Long Beach after he failed to finish due to a mechanical problem.

Alex Palou has been on a tear in the NTT IndyCar Series ever since he joined Chip Ganassi Racing. He’s won three straight INDYCAR SERIES championships and four of the last five years. To top it off, he won the Indianapolis 500 last year and is currently leading the championship on the strength of four wins already this year including Long Beach and Detroit. We caught up with the champ at the “media bullpen” at the 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where various questions are asked to him by a scrum of journalists including Larry from FastLane. Not an ideal one-on-one setting, but when you’re this popular, it’s hard to get a word in edgewise. We managed to get a couple of questions for the champ to answer including his take on what the most fun performance aspect of racing an Indy car is, as well as what’s the most challenging corner on the circuit. Enjoy!