Another The Race IndyCar Podcast, another Alex Palou win, but still plenty to dissect from the Mid-Ohio race, including the key trick underpinning the Spaniard's recent success. Away from Palou, hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand also discuss the other big story of the race: Backmarkers and blue flags, with Benjamin Pedersen copping a torrent of abuse for holding up multiple drivers during the race. Should the rules around blue flags be changed? That's just one topic up for discussion. And ther...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver and ex-Formula 1 racer Alexander Rossi joins this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast to talk about his strong maiden year with his new team. Rossi has been one of the under-the-radar stars of the year and could be as high as fourth in the championship had two other results not gone against him, netting four straight top 10s heading into this weekend's race in Mid-Ohio - traditionally one of his strongest tracks. Rossi tells hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand...
Jun 28, 2023•58 min
A third Alex Palou win in four races, a win slipping away for Colton Herta, and shenanigans with a sewage truck - they're just three of the topics discussed by hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand in our Road America review episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. The hosting duo assess Palou’s rivals' claims that not much has gone wrong for the Spaniard this season, and that he’s still catchable in the title race, while Jack explains his theory as to why Palou’s success could prove a distraction whe...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 10 min
A thrilling new street course venue in Detroit and a dominant win by runaway points leader Alex Palou gave hosts Jack Benyon and Indianapolis 500 regular and Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand plenty to discuss on this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast. JR gives his suggestions for how he would alter the new track, which produced a good race but is extremely short, narrow and features plenty of surface changes. Jack and JR also discuss how the track allowed IndyCar to display a rawness not seen in...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min
The 2023 Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden is our very special guest on the latest episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. The Team Penske driver talks about the weight of relief he feels after finally winning the 500 at the 12th attempt. After two years with two new engineers and personnel moving around, Newgarden a;sp discusses what it was like to prove they were capable all along, and also addresses his newborn son’s impact on his life and how having a child has helped him to prioritise hi...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 24 min
On the eve of the Indianapolis 500, Jack Benyon and co-host JR Hildebrand, an Indy 500 runner-up, discuss all of the big talking points ahead of this year's race at The Brickyard. As cars circulate behind them, they recap qualifying, go over Graham Rahal's late call-up to replace the injured Stefan Wilson (with JR explaining how close he came to the ride), pick their dark horses and favourites for race victory, and much more... Follow The Race on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook Check out our la...
May 26, 2023•49 min
Alex Palou, the fastest ever Indianapolis 500 pole-winner, is our star guest for this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. The first Spaniard to win an Indy 500 pole is in good form, discussing why securing pole led to such an emotional celebration, how his analytical nature helped him capture P1, and his motivation and desire to score more poles, this being his first on an oval. The 2021 IndyCar champion also looks at how his team-mates - especially Scott Dixon - helped him to win the pole, and...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 44 min
On this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast Jack Benyon and co-host JR Hildebrand analyse Alex Palou beating the McLaren team he’s been linked to joining in the GMR Grand Prix on the Indy road course. Plus, with the build up now well underway, we preview the start of action at the Brickyard ahead of the Indy 500. How will Palou winning so early in the season impact his assault on his year’s title? That's one of the key topics for debate, as is whether McLaren’s rise in performance has mad...
May 15, 2023•56 min
Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar championship leader Marcus Ericsson is our guest on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast as we officially kick off the famous 'Month of May'. Before getting to the Indy 500, Ericsson discusses his season so far, makes a promise to improve his out-laps, talks about Chip Ganassi Racing’s improved qualifying form, and explains how it feels to be leading the championship at this stage of the year. Fresh from attending the Kentucky Derby, the 50...
May 10, 2023•37 min
With a rematch of the Romain Grosjean/Scott McLaughlin on-track warfare and a fascinating strategy chess game, the Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber raised plenty of talking points to debate on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. The Race’s Jack Benyon and IndyCar podium finisher JR Hildebrand analyse Grosjean’s drive, discuss whether his Turn 5 error gave McLaughlin what was already an inevitable win, and explain how he’s excelled in saving fuel in multiple races this year. They al...
May 02, 2023•59 min
IndyCar’s latest race winner Kyle Kirkwood is our special guest on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Andretti Autosport's Long Beach victor had a best finish of 10th prior to that race, but with a calm and assured drive in what was a complicated event, Kirkwood emerged victorious - and he reflects on the experience in the show. On the agenda, Kirkwood takes questions about his rollercoaster rise to the top, and how he handled the criticism, pressure, and expectation that came whil...
Apr 26, 2023•41 min
This week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast digs into several spicy storylines coming out of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, including a driver claiming the gloves are off after a crash that the other party refused to apologise for, a breakthrough win for a long-touted racer, and a driver wanting his crash damage to be paid for. After an action-packed Long Beach race even by IndyCar standards, co-host JR Hildebrand charts his former team-mate Kyle Kirkwood’s rise culminating in last weekend’s ...
Apr 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min
A ‘hate-mail’ inducing pit stop crash, Pato O’Ward’s mindset after heartbreak and success to start 2023 and the reasons for a brilliant Texas oval race punctuate the latest episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Back after a short break to become a Dad for the first time, co-host and former Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand breaks down the Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi crash in detail, as well as looking at some of the reasons this Texas race was so good after multiple poorer races have been ...
Apr 05, 2023•51 min
The latest episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast provides an inside view on what it’s like preparing a rookie for their oval debut, with Agustin Canapino’s race engineer Charlie Ping joining the show. Ping has worked for a broad range of IndyCar teams as well as the engine manufacturers and has also spent time in tin-tops in the Australian Supercars series, so is the perfect fit as Canapino’s race engineer having also worked with the show’s co-host JR Hildebrand in the past. On the agenda for this...
Mar 28, 2023•33 min
In a bumper interview edition of The Race IndyCar Podcast, the series' most recent winner Marcus Ericsson and its latest breakout star Callum Ilott join to discuss their fast starts to the season. Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing gives a unique insight into his St Petersburg victory, before delving into details of his new mental coach for this year, how that’s helped improve his performance and perhaps how speaking about it could break down the stigma associated wit...
Mar 15, 2023•47 min
Two airborne crashes, incidents galore and two drivers who had victories stolen from their grasp make up the talking points of this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast after a frantic St Petersburg opener. Regular hosts Jack Benyon of The Race and IndyCar podium finisher JR Hildebrand start with the race’s key incident, as Scott McLaughlin clashed with Romain Grosjean while fighting for victory, which eventually went to Marcus Ericsson. Grosjean hasn’t always been given the respect of his peers in w...
Mar 07, 2023•58 min
In a special episode previewing the season commencing in St Petersburg this weekend, The Race IndyCar Podcast is joined by an ace rookie in a race-winning seat and a series champion turned Indy 500 winner. Simon Pagenaud has a big year ahead with 2021 Indy 500 winners Meyer Shank who were brilliant on road courses last year but struggled with tyre wear. The engineering-minded Pagenaud gives a fascinating insight into the ground-up evaluation the team went through in the off-season, his leadershi...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast ranks the top five teams by driver line-up, and wraps up IndyCar’s first pre-season test at the $270 million Thermal Club track in Palm Springs. Co-hosts JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon use The Race’s recent feature ranking the IndyCar team’s by driver line-up to assess the top five in greater detail. Who was number one? Why has one of IndyCar’s ‘big three’ fallen to fourth, and who got the top spot between Penske and Ganassi? Tune in to find out. Standout perf...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 12 min
NASCAR champion and new McLaren IndyCar signing Kyle Larson joins The Race IndyCar Podcast this week for an exclusive interview on the news he will race in the 2024 Indy 500. Larson is known for his desire and ability to jump in any machinery and go fast quickly, although he’ll face some unique challenges making his IndyCar debut at the Indy 500. He joins hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand to discus what some of those challenges might be, the relevance of the fact he’s already won the NASCAR ra...
Jan 25, 2023•25 min
McLaren’s new blockbuster Indianapolis 500 driver-signing Kyle Larson has triggered a special episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast this week. NASCAR champion Larson is known for his ability and desire to race in as many different series and disciplines as possible, and that portfolio will expand as he and NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick team up with McLaren for a 2024 Indy 500 entry. Regular co-hosts JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon break down what we know about the move so far, discussing what Lars...
Jan 13, 2023•30 min
The new Formula 1 campaign may still be a while away, but international motor racing returns with a bang this weekend with the start of the 2023 Formula E championship. Season 9 brings with it many things: A new generation of car, new tracks, new driver line-ups - and a new host for The Race Formula E Podcast! Hit like, follow or subscribe in your podcast player of choice to join The Race Formula E Podcast for an electric season of racing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...
Jan 11, 2023•1 min
Topics like driver pay, the series' recent engine delay and a new documentary for the Indy 500 get a driver’s insight on the latest episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Host Jack Benyon is joined by Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Graham Rahal, who brings his 15 years of top-level experience to the podcast, as he discusses some of the series’ biggest topics right now. He also sheds a light on the rollercoaster season 2022 proved to be for RLL, which was one of IndyCar’s best teams in 2021 but sta...
Jan 06, 2023•30 min
With the new year looming, this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast is dedicated to five topics that have our hosts excited already for the 2023 season. IndyCar regular and regular podcast co-host JR Hildebrand joins The Race’s Jack Benyon to take an in-depth look at some of the key storylines for next year, including Arrow McLaren SP’s ascent and its signing of Alexander Rossi and Gavin Ward, how Alex Palou’s return to Chip Ganassi will go after their infamous lawsuit battle, and the emergence of S...
Dec 12, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Indianapolis 500 winner and ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson is here to answer your questions on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver took questions from the podcast’s audience from Twitter. Obviously the Swede’s Indy 500 victory is a big topic of conversation, including what he felt when he crossed the line, the ‘craziest’ moment since and what it was like taking his trophy back to Sweden. However, the Brickyard success isn’t the only thing on the a...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 9 min
This week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast asks if you could choose any personnel, how would you construct your perfect IndyCar team to take on the championship regulars? Co-hosts Jack Benyon and Indy 500 podium finisher JR Hildebrand pick a team they would takeover if they could choose any, and then select two engineers, two strategists, a team boss and two drivers to make a perfect Fantasy IndyCar team. The co-hosts have to pick realistic personnel for the roles, and there’s a rich select...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr
IndyCar’s rookie of the year Christian Lundgaard joins this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast to discuss his rollercoaster season in which he beat fellow star newcomer David Malukas. Lundgaard reckons no other driver could have extracted more from his Rahal car at the start of the year and discusses the journey the team has undertaken to find competitiveness in the second half of the season after a rocky start to the year, with a second at the Indy road course being his top result. The ...
Oct 11, 2022•34 min
This week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast introduces some of the stars of tomorrow, featuring interviews with the drivers that will benefit from around $1.5 million in scholarship money in 2023. With three tiers that award money to step up to the next series, there's a lot on the line for these drivers and regular host Jack Benyon is joined by US junior single seater writer Tony DiZinno of Trackside Online to discuss each champion. Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist joins the show and of...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 4 min
The Race’s now traditional top 10 driver rankings returns on this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast with Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand. The format is simple: Jack and JR independently rank their top 10 drivers of the season and then the two rankings are averaged out to create the ultimate top 10. They discuss the reasoning behind where they’ve placed each driver, with a five-way fight for the championship in the last race providing a really difficult challenge to order the series’ top stars from a...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Less than 24 hours after sealing his second IndyCar Series title, Will Power sat down with The Race IndyCar Podcast to discuss his phenomenal 2022 in an exclusive interview. Co-hosts Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand delve into a multitude of topics with a relaxed and talkative Power, including on his new mental approach for 2022 which he is keen to guard, but did open up on details of what makes it work. He discusses where his 2022 title ranks compared to his earlier successes, and how he might hav...
Sep 14, 2022•58 min
Will Power won the IndyCar championship in a five-driver shootout at the season finale at Laguna Seca, triggering a busy week for The Race IndyCar Podcast. Later this week Power is scheduled to appear as a special guest on the show, so co-hosts JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon used this episode to break down the events of the championship decider itself. There's a look at the mental strength of Power and how his pole position pointed to why he deserved the championship, and a look at Josef Newgarde...
Sep 12, 2022•55 min
