The Race IndyCar Podcast

Everything from a lack of a race in Mexico to a brilliant Milwaukee double-header featuring a huge championship missed opportunity make up this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast.

JR Hildebrand is on hand for fascinating insight into how drivers bounce back from missed opportunities within their control after Will Power spun while looking set to erode the ailing Alex Palou’s points lead. Both drivers’ weekends are investigated.

While talking about the race winners and Pato O'Ward, Hildebrand and Jack Benyon examine the furore over NASCAR getting a race in Mexico before IndyCar, with debates over getting the most out of a diverse driver base and if IndyCar really needs to focus closer to home rather than looking further afield.

The fight for $1 million for the top 22 cars in the series also heated up and took a huge swing in Milwaukee as the event returned for the first time since 2015, while one team got its first podium ever and another got its first top fives of the year.

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A shock first-time polesitter and a rare instance of Alex Palou's championship lead being reduced give The Race IndyCar Podcast plenty to review from Portland last weekend.

More race control decisions in the spotlight, a much more traditional style of race and how that worked out strategically in race winner Will Power's favour, plus the changes made at AJ Foyt recently that made Santino Ferrucci's pole possible are all discussed by Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand.

The duo also look ahead to the return of the Milwaukee Mile, home of this weekend's IndyCar double-header after which only one race will remain this season.

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An under-the-radar wildcard who's impressing team owners makes a guest appearance on this week's episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast, which also looks back at the Gateway round - where Penske team-mate drama and more issues for Alex Palou's title rivals made for a brilliant race.

Jack Benyon is joined by JR Hildebrand to discuss the main talking point from Gateway: a controversial late-race restart. Hildebrand evaluates what he learned from seeing the data, which exonerates winner Josef Newgarden of any wrongdoing on a slow restart late on that resulted in a crash and eliminated title contender and Newgarden's team-mate Will Power.

The pair also assess Linus Lundqvist's second podium and what that could mean for the rookie's IndyCar future as he battles to stay on the grid, Colton Herta's rollercoaster weekend and more.

Joining the episode is Toby Sowery, the Brit who got a shock IndyCar debut at Mid-Ohio earlier this year and equalled Dale Coyne Racing's best result of the year. He has the best average finish of any rookie in 2024 after two starts and will be back racing this weekend at Portland.

Sowery discusses his need to be adaptable, how his talks for next year are coming along, and how vital it is for his hopes that he performs well at Portland.

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It’s the driver move nobody saw coming, as David Malukas joins The Race IndyCar Podcast to discuss his blockbuster decision to switch to the AJ Foyt team for 2025.

Malukas has his third team in a year - after being dropped by McLaren after his wrist injury and returning to action with Meyer Shank - and he outlines the reasons for his decision to switch.

He also addressed rumours about this being a ploy to get to Team Penske - linked to Foyt - in the future, and answers those who think this is a backwards or sideways move, as well as discussing his strong form on his return.

Kyle Kirkwood - and Malukas - preview this weekend’s race at Gateway, too.

Andretti Global's Kirkwood also discusses his incredible consistency this year - something he’s been criticised for a lack of in the past - and talks about the adaptation to IndyCar from a successful junior career.

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We've got a bonus episode in the feed this week, from our sister podcast Bring Back V10s.

Glenn Freeman and Matt Beer are joined by longtime IndyCar reporter Curt Cavin to look back at the 1995 Indy 500 - a race won famously by Jacques Villeneuve - which was the last before US single-seater racing's dreaded CART vs IRL 'split' that changed the racing landscape in North America.

But this episode isn't just a celebration of Villeneuve's incredible victory after getting a two-lap penalty. We also look at the pre-race shock of the Penske team failing to qualify, Firestone's stunning return to the Speedway for the first time since the 1970s, Honda's recovery from a humiliating 1994 attempt, and the moment that decided the race, when Villeneuve's fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear passed the pace car on the final restart, getting himself black flagged while leading. 

With 'the split' on the horizon, we also look at the political landscape in IndyCar racing in May 1995, when nobody realised just how bad the battle between CART and the IRL was about to become. 

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IndyCar commentator Kevin Lee joins this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast to analyse Colton Herta's two-year win drought coming to an end in Toronto, and a shock call-up for Theo Pourchaire at the McLaren team which sacked him.

Lee joins The Race’s Jack Benyon to discuss Herta’s path to redemption, plus the excitement in the paddock when it became clear Pourchaire would be flying from Nice to Canada to qualify and race for McLaren.

The huge crash triggered by Pato O’Ward’s spin prompts discussion about the development of car safety in IndyCar, and the guys also chat about what to expect next from the title race after almost all of Alex Palou’s rivals stumbled while he went from 18th to fourth.

Lee also explains how he came to be a commentator in IndyCar, discusses the new perspective he's got since his son Jackson started racing, and gives his take on what the new hybrid has done both for IndyCar and for him as a commentator.

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A controversial Iowa double-header where overtaking was tough and an interview with race winner Will Power make up this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.

Power won race two and discusses his journey to being a better oval driver, a first win at Iowa (and the rebound that required), plus his chances of taking a third title with just six races in the series remaining. 

He also discusses how he feels about his long-term IndyCar future after questioning whether he should race while his wife was ill last year.

Elsewhere hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand assess Scott McLaughlin’s claim he felt he wasn’t an IndyCar driver before winning on oval, Penske’s dominance at Iowa, and what transpired to make one of the most exciting oval races become such a poor spectacle in terms of on-track passing.

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Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward joins this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast in a special interview after his race win at Mid-Ohio on Sunday.

O'Ward discusses the weight being lifted of his and the team's shoulders following the end of a near two-year winless streak, talks about his rollercoaster season so far, and describes how he feels about his championship chances after vaulting into third in the standings.

He also discusses McLaren's fight to catch Ganassi as IndyCar's top dog and the impact of Tony Kanaan as the team's sporting director this year.

Elsewhere, regular hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand break down the Mid-Ohio race and have a very detailed look at how the debut of IndyCar's hybrid unit really went.

They also look ahead to this weekend's Iowa double-header where a repaved track alongside the hybrid's oval debut creates plenty to get stuck into.

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A ranking of the top 10 drivers in IndyCar so far this year and what to expect from its new hybrid unit are the big talking points on this week's episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.

JR Hildebrand is on hand to dissect Jack Benyon's top 10 rankings and ask some crucial questions of where Benyon has gone wrong, and pin down some of the areas he has right.

Elsewhere the duo outline some key things to watch as IndyCar's hybrid unit makes a mid-season debut, and react to the news that Alexander Rossi will leave McLaren and be replaced by Christian Lundgaard.

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Alex Palou destroying the opposition, a wild weekend for record-breaking Romain Grosjean, and a controversial yellow flag trend make up the talking points of this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast.

JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon are back together to analyse IndyCar's latest round in Laguna Seca, and how Palou came out on top again at a track he's made a habit of dominating at.

They also assess Palou's title credentials, and who might be favourite with a host of ovals and the new hybrid unit ready to shake things up.

Grosjean’s rise up the order to deliver Juncos Hollinger’s best IndyCar finish is also on the agenda, as is the trend of IndyCar delaying a yellow flag to avoid cars being caught out and not allowed to pit.

The hosting duo also assess how David Malukas, returning from a wrist injury, and his 'replacement' Nolan Siegel (via Theo Pourchaire) got on in their new homes.

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