¶ Chat With Indy Car Driver on Road Trip
Absolutely nothing beats windshield time . Welcome back to Dan the Roadtrip Guy , a podcast where we have candid conversations about life lessons learned on the road . I'm your host , bimmer Enthusiast and Roadtrip Extraordinaire , dan Neal . And now on to the show . My guest today is Stingray Robb .
Last year I talked to Stingray pretty much about the same time and he was racing in what was called the Indie Lights . It's now the Indie . Next This year he's a Indie Car Driver , so I'm excited today to talk to him . He just told me he's on a road trip to Iowa . Welcome to the show , stingray .
Thank you , thanks for having me on .
I appreciate you being here . I've been taking the time . I know you're a busy , busy guy . We're eight races into 2023 in the Indie Car Series . How's it going from your perspective ?
Man , it's been an interesting year so far . To say that it's been a learning experience , i think , with so little short , yeah , i mean I think that we're in a good spot with the team . The team has got a lot of experience behind Dale Coyne .
It's nice to have someone with his level of experience , you know , bringing up young drivers or new drivers to the series , and also engineers and mechanics and everything else . He seems to have an act for picking out a good talent and kind of showing them which road to take to success .
But , yeah , i mean Amazon team leader and David and Malukas is my teammate . It's been really good as well , just because he's got so much recent rookie experience being a rookie last year . Yeah , some good results and you know , neither one of us have had the year that we wanted so far . We're still waiting for those good results to come .
Yeah , moments of goodness and a lot of attrition still , but we're moving on .
Yeah , i mean , you know I was watching , i was looking back a little bit and you know you're running up in , i think , 15th in Texas . So that was good . And you survived all the concrete in Detroit . How was that ? Detroit was crazy .
You know , i think going into the weekend we did a little bit of simulator time and we expected it to be very bumpy , but it was actually bumpy here in person And narrow where in person . that , when I was expecting it was interesting . I'm glad that they're already working on some changes there for next year and hope it'll be a better racetrack in your turn .
Yeah , it's . It looked kind of crazy on TV . I , like you guys were bouncing around everywhere .
Yeah , yeah absolutely The Indy 500 , i think that's probably on every racer's list to race there And it was just really fun to see you race there , having having watched you over all these years , and it's like the only guy I really know in Indy car racing that'll actually talk to me . So that was that was just fun , fun to see .
So it's a talk to you and you know , most of my guests are not racing fans . I think you helped introduce a few of them last year when we talked and people are like , well , that was pretty cool . I think I'm going to watch some racing now . So that was that was fun .
But share with my listeners the rookie test you have to go through before you actually get to run at the Indianapolis Speedway .
Yeah , so every year they do rookie orientation , as it's called , and it's just for anyone that's new to running the Indy 500 .
And they do the Indy 500 specifically because the race itself is very unique and it's very challenging because you're doing speeds of over 230 miles an hour on two and a half mile four corner track with low banking , and so there's not much room for everyone's concrete walls , you know , on the outside line there .
And so the rookie orientation essentially is that's restaged you On the first stage you do 15 laps from 205 to 210 miles an hour , and then , once you check that off unless you do 210 , 215 miles an hour , you need to check that off you go to the third stage , which is 215 plus for that 15 laps , and you have to go through those three stages before you're
allowed to even run in a qualifying for the new car . Now it's kind of funny because these cars , these in the cars , these days , cars are . They're made to go 230 miles an hour , they're made to go fast , and so when you're going at those slower speeds you have to work on getting the balance right through the turn .
You're actually lifting on the straightaway and then power down through the corners so you're not getting loose , because at that lower speed you have less downforce first off , and when you're not on the power it loads the nose of the car so it can create some instability .
Doing those lower speeds from like 205 to 210 miles an hour was actually probably more difficult than it was doing the 215 plus .
It gets a little scary when the car gets loose right at that speed . Yeah absolutely .
It's not a not a very comforting feeling .
There's a young guy who always wanted to race there . What was that first ? what was that first lap ? like Oh ?
man , i don't even know how to describe it . You know , i think it's kind of like the frog on boiling water . Now they kind of slowly turn the temp up on you and then , once you get there , you're like , okay , this is pretty cool .
And then you step back out and watch the other guys go around it , turn 30 miles an hour and take your breath away , realize and you're doing the same thing . But yeah , it was really cool . You know , the first few days around that place is one of those things that .
But yeah , it kind of takes your breath away because you don't realize how fast you're going to take a half second to look to the side of you because at those speeds you're looking so far down the road . I mean we're doing 300 feet a second .
That 300 feet a second comes at you pretty quick when you're looking , you know three quarters of a mile away And so it doesn't seem all that fast when you're looking that far ahead . But you take a peek around and you realize okay , it's like you're going light speeding this thing .
So then you moved on . So you passed your rookie test and then move into the month of May . Of course we had the Grand Prix jumping forward . Then you had some practice . I really wanted to talk to you about qualifying , because that's just the fun part of the 500 , i think to what you guys qualify .
Not the easiest thing in the world to be out there by yourself running four laps and trying to make them all perfect .
Absolutely , and you know these cars . When you're running in clean air it's not near as exciting as it is running in traffic and doing all that with a air wash and everything . Homefinding is a bit of its own animal in the sense that you got to tune the car to get free on its own .
And I say free , that means that kind of looseness in the rear end so that the rotation happens naturally and you're not having to steer as much in the
¶ Indy 500 Qualifying and Racing Survival
corners . We thought that we had a pretty good car in traffic , but that doesn't mean much for qualifying , and so we were in a position , unfortunately , that we had to do the last change , qualifying . And that's pretty nerve-wracking because as a driver you're doing everything you can . We did four runs or three runs on qualifying day .
I'm flat out for 10 miles , i'm pushing the corner to absolute limits and sometimes the speed's just not there . It doesn't take much to make it just miss that little bit of speed When you're dealing with a couple miles in the next big day .
I'm joking now , but I think that I got more experience than most rookies do during the rookie season , so you can call me quite the veteran . I got a lot more seat time , with the last chance of qualifying and everything else . But , man , my nerves are made of steel and that's what I think .
Yeah , i was going to ask you what it was like . I was watching from home and we were like , oh , come on , come on , come on , just for my listeners who don't know . So there were 34 cars . That meant somebody's going home without a ride for Sunday . You were in that lineup before you went out that last day . How were you feeling , oh man ?
stress to the max . It's one of those things where you don't want to be in that position . When you're going around in those four laps you kind of lose sense of that pressure . It's one of those things where you build , and build and build and build and look around at everyone around you and they all feel it too .
But once it's over it's such a sigh of relief And I think having that moment of realization of like , we're going to be in the 500 after going through all that stress was probably better for me , because it gave me a realization of what it means to be in the 500 .
It gave me an appreciation for the show of it all , the experience of it all And just to be able to be one of those 33 cars . there's only one guy that has to go home , but no one wants to be that one guy .
It was definitely I don't know if you could say best experience or worst experience in my life , career wise just because there's so much that's going on around it , so many emotions . And yeah , it was cool that once we finally did those four laps and got ahead of the other guys and we could sit there and wait for that clock to run out .
make sure that we made it in the 500 .
Well , it's those trials and laughs that makes it better , right , Yeah ?
absolutely . That's the James one Bible verse I keep referring to . It seems like it comes to life . So much in my racing career , but it's the Consider a pure joy when you face trials and many kinds , because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance , so that perseverance patients work , so they may be mature and complete , not liking anything .
And you know that consider a pure joy is kind of an oxymoron , because you know one of those things like that where you're in a position that you're kind of fighting for your career and struggling , it's it's not a good time to be cheering it on right , it's not , it doesn't feel like a moment to be saying , yay , we get to struggle a little bit today .
Yeah , so we did . And I think that , looking back at it , we can be thankful for it because it taught us a lot .
Yeah , it'll just make you better , That's for sure . You got to . So you got through qualifying . You got through fast Friday carb day and then Saturday night . You get any sleep on Saturday night before race .
I did . I slept like a baby . You know they ran is pretty ragged there during the week in between qualifying and the race .
You know , with interviews and everything else , we're getting up at seven in the morning for a person who had 730 was and then listen to about 845 that night A little over a 12 hour day just doing interviews and media events and production deals , and so I was ready for a nap . It seemed like in seven and I was that first time I really got to rest .
You know you're you're almost waiting for the 500 to happen for three weeks and so finally getting into Sunday , okay , it's here . We've been preparing for this for so long , so it's kind of relieved just to get through it .
Lots of lots of stuff on Sunday morning . but then you get strapped in the car and start those engines . Any butterflies still going ? at that point are you pretty calm ?
No , absolutely all the butterflies in the world was careful about what I ate because I was afraid I might see it later .
Yeah .
You know , it's one of those things where I think Simon kind of you know said it is that you see this as a rookie and you're like , wow , this is amazing and I'm really nervous . And it doesn't get any easier If anything gets harder , because you understand the pressure . That's not super company for rookie that had to just go through that man .
Okay , well , i'll take that and I'll learn from it . But you know , i think it's so true . It's just there's . there's so much of the show that goes on around and it's so cool , but As a driver you almost can't enjoy it because your butterflies are just all around the whole time and you're nervous and you almost want to just hop in the car and get going .
You know , once the helmets hold on , the nerves kind of go away and you can kind of switch on . and this is my job , which is good . Yeah , i'm going to be here for the next couple hours .
I better , i better focus Exactly . It's kind of hard to believe when you think about it going those speeds for that time and you know the first , you know so many laps were for green and you guys were just flying along setting a fast pace . Yeah , so what was that ? so green flag flies and you head down into turn one . What was that like ?
right , really , i'm still getting sucked into the corner so , and there's garbage flying around and dust everywhere .
It doesn't matter how good they clean the track , it just There's so much air getting pushed around by those cars , so much speed , that there's no sort of cleanliness . it seems like it all just goes to chaos . That was . that was cool to kind of see an experience that had fair warning from Dale and David .
Tell me , you know , just be calm , be patient , because it's all going to go crazy on the start . So all right sounds good Once we settle into a groove . it was , it was pretty OK . We were dealing with some tire issues during the race there . You know , i think that for the first two stints you're just trying to figure out how to solve those .
Yeah , i mean , we were , we were struggling for right from the start . Yeah , but stayed out there and you were running and I don't know if you want to talk about how it ended .
I was going to ask you before we started . You want to comment on it ? Just unfortunate , but you know it's racing also . Yeah , absolutely No , i think any racer is going to be disappointed with the result we had Only doing 92 of the 200 laps .
To go out racing with someone that was lapsed down was pretty frustrating . You know , i think my post race interview I blame the other driver and I shouldn't have done that . I mean , i didn't I was . I was angry , and that's about as angry as you're ever going to see me . It's just because , as drivers , you know you spend time on the track .
You know you spend three , four weeks , if not longer , thinking about this one race and you're working towards it . We don't feel like chance qualifiers and had the emotions up on to have it cut short . I feel like you've been robbed , you know .
I think , looking back , it was a matter of we were dealing with those tire issues from being the race and it was late in the stint , there was miles on the outside line and I'd have been 10 laps sooner on an extent , on new tires , we wouldn't have been in the wall . Just the way it worked out . We were in the wall and our day was cut short .
Yeah , it's unfortunate and , as you said , emotions . you know when it happens and we see that had some fun emotions up at Road America this weekend was a couple of the veterans , so that was fun to watch .
Yeah , road America is a track that I love and I joke around saying it's a real race track again , which is kind of funny because you know , for Detroit and Indy , those are two tracks I've never been to and were fully new to me .
And going back to Road America felt a little bit like home , being on a permanent road course in somewhere I've had good experience in the last few years , so it was good . We had some decent pace during the race and I just didn't have a collision flags all the way . Necessarily .
Some strategy calls that just missed out a little bit , but it's all part of the game . In any car It could be anyone staying . You look at guys like Scott Dixon started way back in the field and finished four . It's pretty impressive to see someone like that just do everything right and check all the boxes off and they fly up through the field .
I think our day is
¶ Stingray Rob Talks Indycar Racing
coming . On permanent road courses We're getting things figured out before we hear pretty soon And I'm enjoying one of those laps I was following will power out at Road America and I was staying with him . I didn't really think about it at the time . I was just thinking about how do I get around this guy Like man , he's fast , yeah , okay , i can .
I can see I'm picking up a little speed here and a little speed here and here and here , and so I was trying to figure out the set of the past and I realized like that's full power , i'm racing , will power Yeah . So it's kind of a cool moment to like , wow , okay , i can't believe I'm actually doing this and I'm staying up with the game .
Exactly , there you go . Stingray Rob chasing after will power Two of my favorite names in Indycar , by the way . Yeah , there you go . Well , that's great Speaking . You got so looking forward . You got nine races , i believe , to go . Is there a favorite track that we're going to the rest of the year ?
Yeah , for sure I love the West Coast swing just because , being from Idaho , those are my stomping grounds out West from my carding days . So all in one is a track that I've had decent experience and qualifying on pole there in the junior series and race pretty well there .
And to go back and kind of be my own track , you know , only a few hours on the road from where I'm from . It's nice to have a friend , a family out there and then finitely being at Laguna Seca , i mean I don't know how I can get much better than that The pork screw .
And with the new pavement that's going down there , i think it'll be really good and the racing should be nice and tight . The field of drivers that we got I mean it makes every weekend a new adventure . You never know what you're going to get . There's so much talent and depth in the field .
I think it's cool to see the racing is not just the three or four cars , it's the 25 , 26 , 27 cars that are fighting . Now . I mean every race is fun , every race is a new adventure and I'm looking forward to them all .
And then , not to mention , you had an Indie Lights win at Laguna Seca last year .
Yeah , yeah , i do tend to like the tracks that I went at , so Laguna Seca is one of my favorites .
We should be at Mid-Ohio , so hopefully I'll get to meet you there .
Very good , very good . Yeah , mid-ohio has another track that I love , and having to be on the Fourth of July is going to be kind of fun . It's always a good time of year .
So here's a question for you . You know you're a rookie , one of two from Indie Lights , if you and Peterson . and then are there any veterans that have come alongside you and just said , hey , sting , right , let me . let me give you a little advice here .
No , everyone kind of stays in their corners . David , my teammate , he has been very good at telling me . You know , hey , watch out for this . And , like I said , with his recent rookie experience , there's things that I can learn from him . Mistakes that he made last year , but I can watch out and try not make this . You know successes as well .
You know the good things that he did . That I can try and do .
It's nice to have someone that has kind of gone through the ladder at a similar pace And you know we finished second in the Indie Next Championship in the back of that year And so for us to have the kind of similar resumes and experience levels , it's good to kind of direct the team down the same path .
And I think that you know we haven't seen the fruits of our labor yet , but we're working on it . You know we're two young drivers I think we're the two youngest in the series . It's funny to call him the veteran of the team , but I think that David's talented and he's got good enough head on his shoulders of being figured out and through us .
It's going to comment You guys are the two youngest in the series . You know plenty of time to improve and get better .
Absolutely Yeah . And you know , i think one thing that Dale does a good job of , like I said , is pick down young talent and kind of training them up . And that's something I said at the beginning of the season . I thought that BR over and BN , she said he can kind of mold us and shape us into the drivers that he wants us to be .
And this might not be a one-year program We're going to see the results of it in a couple years . Down the road or wherever it is , we'll see what the future has in store for us but I think that we're building a good foundation for the future .
We're going to look forward to . you know , someday I'll get to interview you after win the Indy 500 . You know you have to come back , hey .
well , that's really what I wanted to talk to you about , and just really wanted my listeners to learn a little bit more about racing from a guy who's out there doing it , and particularly the 500 , which is a very special race every year . Thank you for your time and , you know , tell people how to find you .
Yeah , absolutely Well , i'm on most social medias Stingray , robb and Robb is with 2Bs , so ROBB And then my Twitter handle is actually a little bit different Sting underscore Ray , underscore Robb .
If you guys want to follow along on the IndyCar series , we're broadcast on the Peacock TV and on the NBC Sports Network and you can follow along online as well at IndyCarcom .
Thank you again , Stingray .
Thank you . Thank you , Armin .
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Dan the Road Trip Guy and we look forward to having you back again next time . In the meantime , if you want to find me , you can find me on the internet at Danny D-A-N-N-Y , neal N-E-A-L dot com . Until we meet up again , keep having conversations and keep driving .