The Race IndyCar Podcast

It's the traditional The Race IndyCar Podcast post-season rankings episode, but did Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand get the top 10 right? Jack and JR offer their top 10s and had some pretty big disagreements in terms of where they placed some drivers (including Pato O'Ward and Scott Dixon) and both had drivers not included in the other's 10 on their list. Jack also discusses the last seats remaining...

Freshly-crowned IndyCar champion Alex Palou pauses his breakfast to chat with The Race IndyCar Podcast about his latest title success. Palou discusses some of his standout stats this year, sticking with Ganassi, how his analytical skill fits IndyCar so well, and his next goal of winning on an oval and an Indy 500. He also addresses his future, and talks about his previous efforts to get to Formula...

It’s a packed episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast ahead of the series finale, with champions, podium breakthrough drivers, strategists and more all packed in. Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand preview what a Nashville oval IndyCar race might be like and look at the championship decider between Alex Palou and Will Power. Those drivers' respective strategists are also featured ahead of a big weekend for...

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...

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'...

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 restar...

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...

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 is...

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 Ni...

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 ho...

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 th...

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 t...

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 as...

It’s a huge episode as a driver dropped from McLaren discusses his return and an ace rookie talks his first pole position in exclusive interviews with The Race IndyCar Podcast. In our first episode since Road America, The Race’s editor Matt Beer joins to discuss that event and Will Power’s win and under-the-radar bid for a third title. He also gives his thoughts on Colton Herta’s amazing highs and...

Last weekend’s wild Detroit race is the subject of this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Was it a good race? It was certainly entertaining, but co-hosts JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon reckoned it crossed a line. They assess driving standards (and how drivers need to do better), how the race was officiated, Dixon’s winning strategy, and how Alex Palou’s incredible 23-race streak came to a...

This special bonus episode features a heartfelt interview with 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, who drove his late mentor Gil de Ferran's car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week. Pagenaud raced for 2000-2001 CART champion de Ferran, who died in late 2023, when the former first came to America, and through the rest of his career de Ferran was a close friend an...

Less than a couple of hours after his Indianapolis 500 win, Josef Newgarden joins The Race to discuss defending his title with a spectacular move on Pato O'Ward for the win. Newgarden discusses the move that won it, what it means given the controversy surrounding him and the team after he was disqualified at St Petersburg earlier this year, and how qualifying laid the foundations for the success....

Our annual Indy 500 retro special episode features special guest Kenny Brack, looking back on his landmark 1999 Indy win, 25 years ago. Brack explains how, after failing to get on the F1 grid, he landed in the newly formed Indy Racing League, first with Galles Racing in 1998, and then with Foyt, for whom he won the IRL title and the Indy 500 the following year. He recalls the 1999 race, what it di...

This episode features an interview with the winner of the fastest-ever four-lap pole run in the history of the Indianapolis 500, Scott McLaughlin. The Team Penske driver talks about how a change of line helped unlock speed, his journey from tin-tops to single-seater superstar in just over four years, and gives some insight into his race car for Sunday’s 108th running of the Indy 500. Tune in for m...

Alex Palou’s Indy road course win, a host of expletive-filled spats and a look at the Indy 500 starting this week makes up this episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. Hosting duo JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon look at Alex Palou starting May in the same way as last year, with a pole and a win on the Indy road course, what that means for his title rivals and how Christian Lundgaard was hard done by. O...

It’s a bumper episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast as Theo Pourchaire discusses his new deal with McLaren, and points leader Colton Herta is also interviewed. Pourchaire will do all of the remaining IndyCar races for McLaren this season apart from the Indy 500, replacing David Malukas who was released after a hand injury. Pourchaire discusses missing out on an F1 seat (so far at least), the crazy m...

There's a lot to get into on this episode, with two of the biggest IndyCar stories in recent memory sandwiching a race weekend. Jack Benyon and co-host JR Hildebrand give their thoughts on the scandal engulfing the series last week as Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were disqualified from the season opener for illegal push-to-pass usage. McLaughlin rebounded in the perfect way to give Penske...

On this episode Jack Benyon and JR Hildebrand discuss Scott Dixon’s genius and how it led to a stunning victory in Long Beach. Dixon’s outrageous victory on the streets of California - underpinned by his insane fuel-saving abilities - drew praise from all corners of motorsport at the weekend. As well as discussing how he won and the qualities that mean Dixon can do things his peers can’t, Hildebra...

A crucial test for the Indy 500, an extended injury delay opening the door for the reigning F2 champion and an F1 feeder series juggernaut entering a new two-car team left plenty to discuss on this week’s episode of The Race IndyCar Podcast. JR Hildebrand and Jack Benyon are back to discuss Josef Newgarden and Team Penske’s form after topping the Indy 500 Open Test, and break down NASCAR star Kyle...

The Thermal $1 Million Challenge non-points race has been widely panned by fans, so The Race IndyCar Podcast does a deep dive into the event this week. JR Hildebrand joins Jack Benyon to discuss the things we liked and disliked from the event. Of course, the fact that it was so seemingly universally disliked - at least on social media - triggers a worry for Benyon that IndyCar will be scared to tr...