The Race IndyCar Podcast

After the sad passing of Alex Zanardi this weekend, we thought it was only right to put together a special episode of Bring Back V10s to pay tribute to a driver that is so fondly remembered by motor racing fans all over the world. Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and Matt Beer to look back on Zanardi's incredible life and inspirational career, which included two stints in F1, championship-winn...

UPDATE: Due to a change in coverage plans, The Race IndyCar Podcast will appear exclusively in The Race Members' Club this season, as occasional episodes only. To access full episodes, you'll need to join The Race Members' Club on Patreon today (where, for a limited time , you can get 90% off your first month). In this feed we're presenting a sample of the most recent episode, where Jack Benyon an...

Our Indycar Split series concludes by looking at how the CART/IRL war finally came to an end after more than a decade of fighting. But before we get to that, we have to talk about one of the biggest fights that took place during the split: the battle over who really won the 2002 Indy 500. Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw and Indy Split book author John Oreovicz dig back in great detail over what happened...

We're delighted to bring you episode 2 of our special three-part series on the infamous story of how Indycar racing was torn apart in the mid-90s. This episode deals with CART's US 500 nightmare as it attempted to go head-to-head with the first 'IRL' Indy 500 in 1996. Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw and John Oreovicz then look back on CART's strength in the late-1990s, and the IRL's struggles to become e...

We're delighted to bring you the first episode of a special three-part series focusing on how Indycar racing was torn apart in the mid-90s, shortly after Nigel Mansell had helped make the North American series so popular that Bernie Ecclestone saw it as a threat to F1. In episode one, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw and 'Indy Split' book author John Oreovicz head back to early-1994 and the moment Indiana...

It’s the champions edition of The Race IndyCar Podcast, as we speak to this year’s overall and rookie title winners, plus the victor in the Indy NXT support series. Alex Palou returns to discuss Will Power leaving Team Penske (the interview was done before Power’s Andretti switch was confirmed), his most likely future contenders, how he intends to repeat his near-perfect season and what his focuse...

The IndyCar silly season dominates this episode of The Race IndyCar podcast. Jack Benyon is joined by Josh Suttill to discuss the bombshell news that Will Power is leaving Penske and Colton Herta will become a Cadillac Formula 1 test driver next year, likely twinning that role with a switch to Formula 2. What do these moves mean for the individuals concerned and the rest of the IndyCar grid? There...

After a dramatic finish to the Milwaukee IndyCar race last weekend, the person responsible for that drama, Christian Rasmussen, joins the pod exclusively to talk about becoming IndyCar’s newest race winner. The Ed Carpenter driver walks through how he went from sixth to first with outrageous overtakes in the final stint, why he tried so hard to overtake lapped cars in the closing laps, and the rea...

Alex Palou is the man of the moment in the IndyCar Series after winning his fourth title and his third in a row last weekend. And he’s on this week’s show just for you. Palou picks his favourite stat from the year and his Ganassi career so far, picks some of the reasons he feels this success has been possible, discusses Chip Ganassi taking a chance on him and sticking with him through tough times,...

McLaren's Tony Kanaan joins this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast after his team bagged a record 11th podium of the season at Laguna Seca, having just announced a massive investment prior to the event. Kanaan discusses Christian Lundgaard’s assimilation into the team this year, Pato O’Ward’s maturation, a mega new factory for 2026 which was announced last week, and having a picture of Al...

It’s a bumper episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast this week with a typically bonkers street race in Toronto to assess. The Race’s Josh Suttill plays guest host with Jack Benyon this week, as Benyon outlines how the way Pato O’Ward won this race was symptomatic of his development as a driver, and how he has changed this year.  Alex Palou’s 'terrible' 12th place finish is explained, Suttill out...

Alex Palou making a mistake is big news in the IndyCar Series, especially when it costs him a win, and that’s a huge talking point on this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. JR Hildebrand is back to discuss why this incident won’t matter for Palou, and also triggers a fascinating debate on what Palou’s form means for Scott Dixon’s career in light of his Mid-Ohio win. Hildebrand and The Race’s Ja...

After an insane Road America IndyCar race, 2012 series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay joins from the ground in Wisconsin, but is also here to tell us about his incredible Indy 500 bid which really could and should have ended with victory. Hunter-Reay and host Jack Benyon look at Palou returning to form and how likely it is anyone can stop him after winning six races halfway through the season. Key stor...

Fox Sports analyst and six-time IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe joins Jack Benyon onthis week’s episode to review a brilliant Gateway race, discuss Will Power’s future and more. After being at the track, Hinch gives excellent insight into why this race - not normally an event he marks on his calendar - was a real thriller. And, with Will Power bagging a first pole since 2023, we discuss the...

This week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast tackles a typically wild street course weekend, with Detroit throwing up plenty of controversy on and off track. Matt Beer joins Jack Benyon to break down Kyle Kirkwood’s win, assess his credentials as Palou’s closest rival long-term, and work out how he went from being rammed in practice to a barnstorming series of overtakes to win. Speaking of Kirk...

Live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and overlooking the yard of bricks, Alex Palou joins The Race IndyCar Podcast just hours after he became the winner of the 109th Indy 500. Palou - with a croaky voice after all of the screaming after the win - breaks down the race winning move and how it was shaped by his 2021 loss to Helio Castroneves. But we also get into his career path from being disca...

Getting two of your three cars thrown to the back of the Indianapolis 500 grid is a bad look for any top IndyCar team. When you’re the team whose owner also owns the championship and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s even more complicated. Matt Beer borrows The Race IndyCar Podcast Jack Benyon’s host chair so he can quiz Jack on the dramatic developments since Indy 500 qualifying in a bonus mi...

After a stunning Sunday of Indy 500 qualifying action, Robert Shwartzman and Prema Racing gave us one of the storylines that will go down in the event’s long history, and he’s here to tell us about it. Shwartzman discusses the difficulty in putting his lap together, how the team went from nothing to being in contention for pole, what set up up to be able to achieve this, and more. JR Hildebrand -...

IndyCar dominator Alex Palou joins this week’s The Race IndyCar Podcast, which also includes a full preview of the first week of Indianapolis 500 action as the event starts this week. Alex Palou - who has now won four of the first five races of the 2025 season - discusses what it would be like to win the Indy 500, how the new hybrid unit could effect the quality of the racing on track, and how the...

Romain Grosjean joins this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast to discuss his plan to turn his reserve role at Prema into a series return, while James Hinchcliffe joins to break down Long Beach. Grosjean discusses how he’ll help Prema’s drivers, how he’ll balance giving away his secrets against potential future on-track rivals, his desire to get back into the series, plus he even gives his...

Felix Rosenqvist has had another strong start to the IndyCar season with Meyer Shank Racing, and is part of an equally strong line-up on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Among other things, Rosenqvist discusses Shank’s high-profile tie-up with the team that has won four of the last five IndyCar championships - Chip Ganassi racing. He outlines how the relationship is working in prac...

Two stars of IndyCar’s season opener join this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast, with Christian Lundgaard and Will Buxton joining the show. There was plenty of talk surrounding Lundgaard and what he’d be able to achieve entering a McLaren team built around Pato O’Ward, and he discussing that and the expectation he placed on himself before his eighth-place finish which was basically the w...

The Race IndyCar Podcast shakes off the off-season rust to get its teeth into the first race of the season in St Petersburg, which provided plenty of drama. Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand join forces to break down another Alex Palou series victory, how he undercut Dixon, Dixon’s radio dramas, how Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta’s races fell apart, and some of the star names and drives in the top...

The Race IndyCar Podcast is back to preview the St Petersburg race which promises to start a new era of the championship and its future. Jack Benyon is joined by JR Hildebrand as they assess the impact of Fox Sports taking over the series’ TV coverage and the massive amount of additional promotion that’s allowed for. To help preview St Petersburg, Benyon asks Hildebrand to name who he thinks will...

The IndyCar off-season always feels much longer than other series, especially for fans, but luckily The Race IndyCar Podcast is back to pick out five things to watch in 2025. Indy 500 runner-up, IndyCar podium finisher and former Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand is alongside The Race’s Jack Benyon to look in-depth at some big topics. What Andretti might look like with less Michael involved, how...