01x05 - The Road to the 500

[bunniefuu]

And it's the two guys

who gave us

that ultimate theater on

the streets of Saint Petersburg.

McLaughlin and Grosjean

going for the win again.

It's Saint Pete. Take two guys.

Scott McLaughlin wins

at Barber Motorsports Park.

[Cheering]

Let's go!

Scott McLaughlin, a winner!

For Scott McLaughlin to

win at Barber was huge,

and Will Power

needed that result.

- We'll get on the podium!

- That's good!

That was a good day.

Go, Willy! You did good.

Momentum from this race

carries over to Indianapolis.

[Engines revving]

♪♪

The month of May

in Indianapolis,

there are parties and parades

and there are festivals.

- Everything just changes.

- There's a buzz in the air.

The whole city gets behind it.

A lot of the drivers

live here in town.

That's what makes the racing

so great at the Indy 500,

'cause you really just spend

a lot of time there.

So for the Indy 500, we get

what they call one-off entry,

meaning that this is the only

race of the season they do,

and they might be

former full-time drivers.

Katherine Legge has been

a sports car driver

for the last decade.

There is not one time when

I'm in a race car

that I think about being

the only woman in the field,

and the car

doesn't know the difference.

If Katherine Legge were to

win the Indianapolis 500,

it would be crazy historic.

Stef Wilson,

a very accomplished

driver in his own right.

But there's no doubt every time

Stef gets in the car,

he's thinking of his brother,

Justin.

Something that helped me

deal with the loss of Justin

was to continue on.

There is no quitting, so I'm

just going to continue fighting

and trying to win

this race for him.

Everybody's thinking about

the Indianapolis 500,

but there's still

one more race.

You have the Grand Prix

in that month-long period,

which is great.

It's two weeks before

the Indy 500.

It's a road course. It's going

the opposite direction.

You get the month kicked off

with a road course race.

Winning that race still means

winning at the Brickyard.

This is the most famous

race track in the world.

Anytime you can win here,

it's a big deal.

♪♪

♪♪

What's up, champ?

- How's it going?

- Good.

You doing good?

My name is Stefan Wilson,

and I'm the driver

of the number 24

Cusick Motorsports

Breyer & Reinbold Chevrolet.

Okay.

Ready to do this?

- Ready?

- Get in there. Come on.

Squat rotations.

Keep that chest up.

Sit your butt down there.

Stand up tall in between.

- There you go. There you go.

- Keep those hands up.

Keep those hands up, Stef.

I never want

to look back and think,

Could I have worked

a little bit harder?

I want to know

that I gave it absolutely

everything in my power.

♪♪

Nice.

Stefan Wilson had success

on the way up to IndyCar,

but then just didn't

find the opportunity

and had been away

from the Indy 500

for a few years

when he got a chance again,

thanks to Don Cusick,

co-interim of this team.

The Indy 500

just consumes your life.

- Again. One, two.

- One more. Time.

And for me,

it has even more importance.

I grew up in Sheffield, England.

Car racing as a passion

really developed in our family

with my dad, Keith.

He raced back in

the '60s and '70s

in Formula Ford in the UK.

Watching the Indy 500

was something that we enjoyed

as a family together.

Justin was my older brother.

He was 11 years older than me.

I was just a chubby little

12-year-old

when he was racing

in Formula One,

and I wanted to

get into racing myself.

And I just remember

looking up to him.

You know, he was my hero.

On track, it is Justin Wilson

out in front.

Inside the car,

Justin, he was an absolute ace.

I'm not sure --

Can I use the word "badass"?

He was 100% focused,

100% determined.

I look back at times in my

career, like Toronto in 2011.

Stefan Wilson is the winner

and the Firestone Indy Lights.

Certainly an excited,

pretty proud older brother

in Justin Wilson.

Having Justin come up

to me in Victory Lane,

I could see he was

proud of me in that moment.

♪♪

Sage Karam just hit

the wall extremely hard.

Justin Wilson got some debris.

I knew that it was

very serious.

Any time that any kind of debris

strikes the helmet,

the outcomes are usually bad.

Once it happened,

we knew it was severe,

because we weren't

getting information.

Even as we left the racetrack,

we didn't really know

a whole lot.

I got a phone call from

Heather Carpenter and she said,

"Yeah, I think you might need

to get on a plane and come."

I said, "Oh, don't be so silly.

He'll be fine."

And then, like,

20 minutes later, she was like,

"We're sending a plane."

So I knew it was

a little bit more serious.

It's with profound sadness

that we announce that

Justin Wilson died this evening

at Lehigh Valley Health

Network Hospital

in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

You say, "Oh, wish it were

a little bit more to the left,

a little bit more

to the right.

A few seconds slower,

a few seconds faster."

In the end, you just

have to tell yourself

that it was an awful accident,

and you've just got to

try and move on from that.

Obviously, all

these things can happen,

and I obviously think

about that with Stef, but

you just get on with it.

[Quietly] Sorry.

We all acknowledge

that there's a risk

and every driver

takes that risk,

but when you see it play out

in the worst possible outcome

and you see the results,

you know, you see a family

left without their husband,

without their father,

without their brother,

without their son,

it takes a toll.

It was a huge loss

to our community

when Justin was taken

from us in 2015.

It took took a while for me

to process it, you know?

I mean, it was the most

painful experience in my life.

Something that helped me

deal with the loss of Justin

was to continue on

and to try and win this race

for him.

I think it's really Zen

to be in nature

and kind of grounds you

and gives you good feelings.

I mean, it is loud and noisy,

and our lives

are all go, all the time.

It's all or nothing, very much

all or nothing in racing.

My name is Katherine Legge,

and I'm racing for

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

in this year's Indy 500,

number 44.

I was born in the UK.

When I was nine years old,

my dad found a local

go-kart track

and he started racing there,

and I nagged him

and I nagged him,

and he bought me a kart

for Christmas that year.

That's when I kind of

caught the bug.

And so the love of motorsport

was born, really,

from the competition

and the adrenaline aspect.

♪♪

For me, Indy is still

kind of American home.

Now, I haven't raced IndyCar

or in the 500 for 10 years,

but I've certainly been

back here every year.

Now we get to go to

the Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Racing Shop,

make seat and get

even more excited for the 500.

♪♪

Katherine Legge came up

through IndyCar racing.

Right now, Katherine Legge,

one of the fastest cars

out on track.

Yeah, there's

no doubt about that.

She has been a sports car

driver for the last decade.

She has won a lot of races,

has been very successful,

and now she's getting

another chance,

and it's a proper chance.

It's the best chance

she's had at the Indy 500.

Like the good old days.

Oh, God. This suit is so tight.

Katherine Legge, this year,

is the only woman in the field.

Part of that is because

she's experienced

and she's very well-regarded

in the motorsports community.

I probably have one of the most

diverse careers in motorsport,

because I've literally

driven everything

from NASCAR, IndyCar,

electric cars, etc, etc.

But it's the first time

I've been back in

an open-wheel car since 2013,

so it's kind of wild,

because it's a long time.

And when I'm looking at the cars

and how much technologically

they have become more advanced,

it's like doing it

for the first time.

Oh, and I've never driven

with a halo either.

So that's going to be

all new to me.

With having this halo

on here in the aeroscreen,

it's not like Indy

before where everyone was trying

to scrunch your head down

as far as --

You have the freedom

to be higher now.

I do believe that

because of the last 10 years

and the amount of driving

of different things

and the experience

that I've got,

I will be a better driver.

at this year's 500.

I think as soon as I do

my first few laps,

it's going to be like no time

has passed at all.

Where you sit in the car,

how much are the front wheel

do you see?

- Oh, that's a great question.

- Can't they put one on?

- And then I'll tell you.

- [Laughs]

I'd like a decent amount

of sidewall at least.

Yeah, I like that much?

Like, not --

so not like normal?

Now you've got the halo

and you're up more.

A little bit up more, yeah.

- Hang on.

- Let me tie my hair back. Yeah.

There is not one time

when I'm in a race car

that I think about being

the only woman in the field

or wanting to be the best woman

or anything

gender-related at all.

They're just other drivers,

and the car

doesn't know the difference.

People like Lyn St. James,

Janet Guthrie,

Sarah Fisher, Danica.

I don't think any of them

wanted to be a beacon of light

for women in racing

across the globe, but they were.

All I care about

is that the racing is good

and that it's interesting and

that the personalities are cool.

I don't care

if it's a girl or a guy,

but if you are a girl

and you are a good driver,

all the better.

- I'm super happy.

- I'm over-the-moon happy.

I imagine winning the 500

literally every day of my life.

I think about what that would

feel like and how it would be,

and I get emotional about it.

And one of the 33 of us

is going to win it, right?

So why wouldn't it be me?

♪♪

[Dog barking]

- Hey. Come on in.

- Hi. How are you?

- How are you doing?

- Good to see you.

When we lost Justin,

part of the reason

why we moved to Colorado

was just to make sure that I was

part of his girls' life

and make sure they knew

who he was.

Enzo's a bit excited.

He's excited for some pancakes.

Both Katie and Stefan

are just huge,

huge part of my family life

and the girls', you know?

We couldn't be without them now.

♪♪

Definitely not ready.

We're gonna cut this one.

Definitely cut this one.

I've already made a mess.

I'm not much of a chef,

but getting the girls over here

and being able to make breakfast

every now and again,

it just allows me

to connect with them

and see what's going on

with their lives,

and at the same time

deliver up

some really delicious

chocolate chip pancakes.

Alright, that's

looking a lot better, okay?

Looking a lot better.

So, Jess, who makes the best

chocolate chip pancakes?

- Just the whole world.

- The whole world?

I think you meant to say

a certain person right now.

Oh, wow. The hesitation

is k*lling me here.

Oh, she won't even say it.

Jane, who makes

the best pancakes?

- You.

- See? No hesitation there.

Straight in. Easy answer.

It means a lot

that Jane and Jess

are able to watch me race.

Having a connection

with the sport

is important for them

to know who their father was.

♪♪

Even though

it happens in April,

the Indy open test really

is the start of the month of May

for all of these teams.

It's the first opportunity

to get in your Indy equipment,

get around the track

and really get a sense

of the competitive order.

Very keen to just

get in the car,

get all that anticipation

out of the way.

You know, it's nice that we're

getting to do this April test.

- I'm running at noon, dude.

- That's three hours from now.

- You'll be fine. I've got it.

- Yeah, I know.

- It's my 18th year.

- I'm not nervous. I'm anxious.

I just want to get going.

You deserve this opportunity,

so it's great,

great to see you get it.

Can't talk now. Going to be --

♪♪

[Loud mechanical whir]

[Engine revs]

The moment they fire it up,

I'm like, there we go.

[Engine roars]

Let's go!

♪♪

We welcome you as the cars

roll for this open test

in the lead up to

the 2023 month of May

and the 107th running

of the Indianapolis 500.

Oh, oh, oh ♪

Oh, oh, oh ♪

Clear the car to go.

[Engines roar]

This is going to be

everybody's Indy 500 car.

Whatever you want to do

to get up to speed.

This test really does

set the tone for your month.

I've heard from

a lot of drivers

about how thrilled they are

to be back at the Speedway,

including Scott McLaughlin.

Here is Josef Newgarden.

He's done 11

Indianapolis 500 campaigns.

He has come close with a third,

but for him,

that's not close enough.

Here's Katherine Legge.

Katherine is really excited

to start her

third Indianapolis 500.

For the one-off drivers that

are only doing the Indy 500,

the open test in April

is massive,

just to kind of knock

some of the rust off

and start to develop the car.

Awesome job out there.

The open test can be

a little bit intimidating,

because if you're not

quick out of the box,

you're now worried and nervous

for the rest of the month.

Let's have a look at this.

Stef Wilson in the middle

of Josef Newgarden

and Felix Rosenqvist.

It'll be Stef's fifth start

in the greatest spectacle

in racing.

Stefan Wilson

doesn't have the luxury

that the Penske and Ganassi

and Andretti guys have,

that he's been working

with his engineers

and he's been sitting

in data meetings.

This period is it,

and he's got to get

as comfortable as he can

as fast as he can.

We're happy to ride

where we are right now.

Katherine Legge slow

on the track.

You see her trying to get

back to pit road there.

There's a caution

on the racetrack.

Oh, nice.

They tried

to call her into the pits,

and she ran out of fuel.

So all is good, and she'll be

heading back out again.

♪♪

♪♪

Katherine Legge, has she

run out of fuel again?

Yeah, second issue there

for the #44 of Katherine Legge.

We're in

the closing minute anyway.

And there's the checkered flag.

End of the session,

end of a colossal day.

Hard to end up E6 at the end,

but most of the day,

we'll be full, so

to kind of show that speed

straight away,

off the trailer strong,

that's always a big relief.

I'm normally very

"glass is half full,"

so I'm trying not to

be negative.

I'm pretty upbeat,

but I was hoping

to feel a little bit

more confident than I do.

I think we got some work to do,

but I think we'll

get there in the end.

I'm going to the bus.

Dude, I hate this. This is

the worst part of the month.

- It really is.

- You're so dramatic.

I hate dressing myself.

Yeah.

Scott loves to wear

the same four shirts.

Yeah, I do.

The drivers for

the month of May

want to make their life

as simple as possible,

so they park a bus

in the infield and they move in,

and they have to make it

as comfortable as they can be.

Yeah,

I'll be in Indy for the month.

Scott will be there.

The dog will be there.

It's kind of like, I don't

want to be at home alone.

I love being in Indy

for the whole of the month.

Like, having the track

to yourself is sick.

Need golf hats too, Karly.

- Who hung this up?

- That was me.

Oh, my -- [Laughs]

Bet you Josef's got his,

like, laid out perfectly.

Yeah, probably

steamed, pressed.

- Ohh.

- You need pants.

Pants

What suits should I wear?

I don't know. You have

the same four, so

I can't imagine

what I would dress like.

- Oh, my God. No.

- It'd be

You wouldn't even

want to know.

The only thing I'm good

at dressing is my golf gear,

and that's the main thing.

Even that's a bit of a stretch.

So we'll go

and pack the bus now.

My father-in-law, John,

he leaves tomorrow morning,

so we want to make sure

that we are ready to go.

We get there Wednesday,

and then we will be just going

all the way through

till probably the Tuesday

after the 500.

It depends.

If I win, I go to New York

for a media tour.

So hopefully we're not

coming back to Charlotte

for about a month

and two weeks.

♪♪

- This goes inside, then?

- Yeah.

- Gotcha.

- And the hats.

Can't have enough hats,

I guess.

- Yeah.

- No.

You get so caught up in like,

"Oh my God, it's Indy.

Oh, it's Indy.

Like, this is the biggest

race in the world."

It is, but sometimes you get

so caught up by like,

watching highlights,

and certainly I do.

I've completely changed

my approach this year.

Like, I'm just very chilled.

It's just another race.

I've got to execute.

I've got to, you know,

do exactly what I did at Barber

and we'll be in with a shot.

You know, I'm just

a chauffeur and whatever.

Dog walker and whatever you

want to consider --

you know, whatever I can.

I really think this is going to

be a great run, you know?

For him and for us.

Her father came at

the perfect time for me.

Like, I feel really good,

my mind's is really good now.

Just another race.

- I'll see you down there.

- Yeah.

♪♪

- Let's put the glasses on.

- They look so funny.

[Engine starts]

♪♪

♪♪

I was thinking I wanted

to take the pad drum kit

to put up at the bus.

- It actually is pretty good to

- To pack up?

Yeah, you could

pack it up pretty good.

I'll have Colton Herta coming

around wanting to practice, too.

Oh, this is a serious set-up.

You miss this, don't you?

Yeah, I guess that's

the one thing --

You miss me.

You don't miss all the stuff.

I don't, yeah, I miss you,

but I don't miss

all the stuff you bring.

Into last year,

I started not feeling good,

and I was in ICU for 11 days,

and I had a really bad infection

in my spinal column.

Brutal time to see someone

that's so together,

so out of it.

Crazy how close

you came to dying.

I'm not 100%, but I'm excited

to be back with Will,

to be back at the racetrack,

to get out of the house.

It'll be the first race this

season that they will be coming,

so yeah, it was abnormal

not having them for

so many races,

but definitely nice to have

the whole family there.

I have a problem with packing.

I have to be prepared.

Drives Will crazy.

This isn't even close

to what we're bringing.

I know this seems

overwhelming, but for me,

I'm trying to be organized

so I can enjoy the month of May,

given everything that's gone on.

Give us just a little pointer.

So to get up, obviously

that's the first part.

You want your back foot here

and your other foot

just like, shoulder-width apart,

and you use the tension of

the rope to keep the board --

because you want the board

to be like this.

My teammates at Arrow McLaren,

we have lots of fun together.

It doesn't have to be

at the racetrack.

I mean, we've gone,

you know, we've had boys trips.

Because you don't want to,

like, push too hard

because then the nose

will go and --

you look stupid.

I think we're going to

look stupid regardless.

So that's not --

that's not a question about --

It's who's gonna

look less stupid.

It's such a good

family spirit in the team.

It's just this

yeah, home feeling.

And I think that's very rare.

I feel like I should --

Oh, [bleep].

Go.

Look at that.

♪♪

Felix Rosenqvist,

one of my best friends.

I think I do a good job

of bringing out his personality,

because he's a lot more reserved

than I am.

He's good!

♪♪

[Laughter]

Felix Rosenqvist is

pretty quiet.

Pato O'Ward,

the exact opposite.

Oh, he's gone.

Alex, really, really good guy.

Ohh!

Really funny guy as well.

With hindsight, it's like it was

the perfect match for our team.

- A foot there.

- Yeah.

And then your other foot there,

then you'll be fine.

Tony and I were actually

pretty similar.

People like to

call both of us [bleep],

so we kind of bonded over that.

♪♪

We turn it up to the max ♪

We never relax ♪

We bringing it back,

and that's a matter of fact ♪

We're gonna go down

in history ♪

We're gonna go down

in history ♪

Woo-hoo!

♪♪

We're opening

a new detailing shop

if you guys want --

McLaren Detailing.

We do boats, cars,

anything you guys want.

I'm out of a job May 28th,

so call us.

Look at this guy.

We know them.

Me and me and my best friend,

we made a stupid deal

that we can't shave our mustache

until I've won a race.

And I feel bad for him,

because it all relies on me,

so he just walks around

looking like a knob.

I'm convinced they photoshopped

it to make it look darker.

I like it, because

it puts things into perspective.

Like, it pushes you

into a different --

because you want

to get rid of it.

I mean, it's the whole point,

right?

It gives you something

to drive for.

It looks good on here.

Like here, it actually

looks like a mustache.

Oh, yeah.

Can we move the pedals?

Christian Lundgaard's

rookie year

was very much an indication

of the potential of that driver.

Winning Rookie of the Year

was a huge milestone.

I think he is a star

of the future in IndyCar.

In between here a bit.

To me, the atmosphere

in the shop is a good one.

Burnt my head.

Because we've got one direction

we want to go.

Can you spot the Brit

in this group?

[Laughter]

- You're older.

- You've had more time to tan.

If you look at the numbers,

you might say it's been

a really disappointing start

to a second season.

A lot was expected of him,

but the whole team

has to step up their game.

Everyone still believes

when they get it figured out,

Christian Lundgaard

is going to compete for wins.

No, I'm sure they've

photoshopped it darker.

They must have.

[Rhythmic tapping]

♪♪

♪♪

It's a good

warm-up before practice.

♪♪

Let's go.

♪♪

The month of May in Indy

is honestly

the best time of year.

Most of us stay here

for the whole month,

so it's like, an apartment

complex for all the drivers.

I've been coming to this

track since I was literally

zero years old and I

always thought the bus lot

was like,

the coolest place ever.

Like, this is

the executive community

that you want to be a part of.

It's just a special place to be.

Let's see who has the speed

on go-fast day,

the GMR Grand Prix,

as we set the wield

for tomorrow's 85-lap race.

There's nothing

more exhilarating

than IndyCar qualifying.

- When am I gonna get to see you?

- This is the start of it!

It's gonna be a long month,

but it goes by quick,

'cause it's busy.

Let's get a good

starting position and

we'll give it hell

in the race.

I think we're good.

Yeah, I think

we're looking strong.

- I like it, man.

- The cars are looking good.

You're fast everywhere.

- You just need some luck, man.

- Yeah. Thanks.

- Your baby's good, no?

- Really good.

We finally got a car that's

good enough for our driver.

Do it already.

It's hundreds, it's thousands,

in some cases ten thousandths

of a second

that make the difference

between positions here.

You have to be

millimeter-perfect here.

♪♪

You have to place your race car

so close to the razor's edge

of the track in every

single one of these corners.

- Cars roll.

- This is going to be fascinating.

Hey, Alex,

push it when you're ready.

Alexander Rossi right now

on the track.

So you got a lot of room to

gap here and then push hard.

Alexander Rossi

starting from 10th.

Will Power's in trouble.

Big mistake from Will Power

in turn seven, locked up.

Will Power in position 12.

♪♪

♪♪

What a lap from Pato O'Ward.

You're all good here.

How about that lap

from Jack Harvey?

- 109.4.

- Good job.

Shop crew, great job.

Looking pretty good

for all the Rahal cars.

Harvey will jump to third.

- All eyes on him.

- Alex Palou goes to third.

- Track's all yours.

- You're looking good right now.

Lundgaard firing up right now.

♪♪

Lundgaard should go to the top,

does go to the top.

Felix Rosenqvist, here we go.

Have to hustle up here.

We're gonna have to get

to the line here.

.009 is

the miss for Rosenqvist.

P2 by like,

the smallest margin, man.

Christian Lundgaard

is a first-time pole winner.

- First pole position.

- How proud are you?

What a great day

to be in America.

[Cheering]

That's a pole. That's a pole.

Well done. Well done.

Congratulations, boys.

♪♪

[Cheering]

Congratulations,

Christian Lundgaard,

you're a pole winner.

And it's something

that this 21-year-old Dane

has never done.

So let's look forward

to tomorrow to race day

to really kick off

the month of May here at Indy.

We had a plan.

We ex*cuted it, and it's been

a pretty great day, actually.

Best start since I've been

with RLL, so

- Well done!

- Thanks, guys.

Way to go!

I hope tomorrow's the day

I get rid of my mustache.

Now I feel like

I've got the best chance

that I've had ever to

get rid of it.

It would be cooler

to wait a couple of weeks

to do it at the end of May,

but if I get

the chance tomorrow,

I'll grab it with both hands.

I need to get this suit off now.

Thank you.

I need to get this suit off.

It's been on for -- no.

I got a new one for tomorrow.

I got a new suit for tomorrow.

I get new suits every race day.

This feels awesome. Awesome.

GMR Grand Prix is

coming your way

in just about an hour or so.

♪♪

The Indianapolis Motor

Speedway.

If you have never been here,

you have to

add it to your bucket list,

because you have to

see it to believe it.

This is the GMR Grand Prix

of Indianapolis.

Yes, we're road course

racing today.

It's just cool, you know?

You know, like you think about

May in Indianapolis.

I just love being here, man,

this whole month.

I cannot wait. Let's go.

The month's started.

Hey, yeah!

Let's go!

Josef's very confident.

He's a very American,

confident guy.

Gonna take my shirt off

so all the girls

can see how strong I am.

Girls love me.

Your American accent

is horrible.

[Laughter]

- You're P4, right?

- You're in front of me.

I'll make sure, I'll give you

a nice little bump.

[Laughter]

- I watched the car.

- It just looks super scary.

- You ready?

- Yeah, are you?

Good.

- Hi.

- Hi.

Oh, dude.

- Good job.

- Thanks, man. You, too.

How much time do we have?

You're looking good, baby!

Woo!

[Fans cheering, screaming]

[Screaming continues]

Viva Mexico!

Let's go.

- Fun race today, brother.

- Let's go out and have some fun.

You're gonna have

a good day today.

I have faith in you.

It's gonna be good

no matter what.

The question is, how good?

♪♪

Let's have a good day

today, boss.

I think we will.

- The fans are ready to go.

- We're ready to go.

We're almost ready to see

racing here at the Brickyard.

I can't tell you how good

it feels to be back at Indy

in the month of May.

The driver field,

they want a good result here

to put themselves

in a positive frame of mind

for the month of May.

♪♪

♪♪

21 year old Danish

driver Christian Lundgaard

becomes the first Danish driver

to ever win a pole position

in Indy car history.

Command has been given.

Hey, Christian,

it seems only appropriate

that you could get

your first win here today

and finally shave off

that mustache.

Yeah, I'm shaving that

mustache, sounds great.

We're going

to give it everything we have

and see where we end up today.

- Field is together.

- Here is car 45.

Getting a terrific start

is the pole man!

Christian Lundgaard

got a flier of a start

and Palou is going

with him on the inside.

They fan out five wide

and it's Alex Palou

challenging Lundgaard.

- Left side.

- Left side. Left Side.

Clear. Clear. Clear.

Overtake will be active.

We're okay here.

Teammates here, Rossi

and O'Ward side by side.

Uh-oh!

All clear. All clear.

Rossi got around there

no problem.

Look at the yellow car here,

pulling to

the side of McLaughlin.

McLaughlin

might have front wing damage.

Think I got --

right front wing.

We'll it on this lap,

get your front wing.

Palou for the lead of the race

on the opening lap.

Alex Palou is going

to lead the first lap

of the GMR Grand Prix

here in Indy.

Awesome pass for

the lead, man. Great job.

Copy that. Let's go.

Lot of chaos there,

but everyone's still pointing

in the right direction.

Kyle Kirkwood hits Will Power

and turns him around.

- It all happens so fast.

- What was that?

Will Power drove Kyle Kirkwood

pretty wide at the exit there.

Kirkwood on the grass.

The two come together.

Will Power the last car

on the lead lap now,

20 seconds behind.

Race control has deemed

Kyle Kirkwood avoidable contact.

Alright, Kyle.

So we've got

an avoidable contact penalty.

We have to let everybody

go up to Power.

- 27's been penalized.

- He has to drop behind you.

Copy that.

Avoidable contact.

I was right.

You don't

pass someone in the grass.

- Water bottle went -- cshhh.

- A little bit more.

Oh, there's a lot to go.

He's been this way before,

so I don't know.

♪♪

Crazy.

I think it was a bit of

a racing incident, like

Yeah, I haven't really got

a dog in that fight, so

That's not what

you said earlier.

[Laughter]

I don't want to make

any enemies right before May.

Alright, Christian,

so he's on reds ahead of you,

so this is not

too damn surprising.

We're just gonna do

our best to stay up with them.

What is Lundgaard dealing with?

They're trying to keep him calm

and remind him

with the strategy that we chose,

even though we were on the pole,

we're on those primary tires

trying to keep the young driver

from Denmark calm.

We believe the reds

will be quicker for a while,

but we're hoping

they'll fall off

and we'll be able to catch up.

Later on in the race,

they'll have to go to blacks,

and we'll be in red.

This lap.

Josef Newgarden, who gained

a lot of spots on the start

Three, two, one.

but now is starting to

fall back and saying,

"Hey, the rear tires

are absolutely going away."

- Good on the rear?

- That's great.

Things are switching up

before our eyes.

What you thought was

the right strategy

might be changing on the fly.

- Whoa.

- Alright, Pato,

we're gonna be tight

with Palou on the exit.

- How close do you like it?

- Take a look at this.

The undercut worked

brilliantly for the number five.

Beside you. Clear. Clear.

Pato O'Ward, Alex Palou,

Christian Lundgaard.

Three youngsters

in the NTT IndyCar Series

all fighting it out

at the front of this field.

This is awesome.

Palou trying everything

right now to get by O'Ward.

He goes to the outside

of turn four.

Very brave low probability move.

As close as you like

coming down into seven.

Palou pops out. Can he get

it done on the brakes?

Yes. Easily done there.

And Alex Palou goes to

the lead again in this race.

- Alright.

- Nice job getting O'Ward.

No pressure.

Up from with Palou,

the gap just continues to grow,

between Palou and O'Ward.

The gap to O'Ward is 11.4.

Palou has now led 50 laps

of this GMR Grand Prix.

The ebb and flow

of this race is incredible.

You've got a little bit

of everything.

Here comes Alexander Rossi.

He smells blood.

He wants that first podium

of the season,

first podium with the new team.

As Rossi makes his move.

Finally, the patience,

the persistence has paid off.

Lundgaard tries to respond,

but he can't.

Rossi's got him, and he's gone.

- Take care of the tires.

- Keep me behind you.

Good job.

Alex Palou,

what a way to start

the month of May.

Not only is he going

to get his fifth career victory,

but do it with authority.

Look at that.

15 seconds out in front.

Alex Palou comes onto

the front straight

here at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

Alex Paulo wins

the GMR Grand Prix at Indy!

Alright. Checkered flag, man.

Great job.

Great job, everybody.

[Cheering]

- Good job, boys.

- Thank you so much.

How about Arrow McLaren,

two of their drivers

on the podium.

Good job today, buddy.

Man, that's a great start to

the month of May.

Next one is our Super Bowl.

Got some great momentum

going to that.

A really good job.

Great job for the team.

You were second,

Rossi third, Felix fifth.

Alex Palou, the winner at

Indianapolis at the Grand Prix.

[Cheers and applause]

Alex becomes the fifth

different winner this year

in as many races.

We honestly knew we had

a fast car since P1 yesterday.

- Amazing work by these guys.

- I just had to execute.

We're now with the first win

of the season.

Last year, it came too late.

So yeah, we're starting off

with the right foot.

I just wanted to come over

and be like,

I'm not mad at you for anything.

I hope you're not mad at me.

- No, I'm not mad.

- No, I'm not mad.

I'm just like, disappointed

we didn't have a good day.

Yeah, 12th was not bad

out of all that.

- Anyways.

- Yeah.

- See you here in a couple days.

- Yeah, exactly, man.

I don't know that after just

the road course at Indianapolis,

you can say

who are the favorites,

but Rahal Letterman Lanigan

should feel better

about where things are for May.

It'll live another day.

The 'stache will

live another day.

I don't think anyone

really expected

that we would show up

and put it on pole.

That was a statement.

- Good work, bro!

- Dude, good [bleep] job, man.

Great job.

You have got to take

Arrow McLaren

very, very seriously,

because Pato O'Ward

has shown up every single week.

He's not going to finish second

and third for 17 races.

Eventually, he's going to win.

I think you can't say

that Ganassi

is not among the favorites.

They have two wins this season,

so does Penske,

but Ganassi's drivers

have been more consistent.

It's been the big teams

that have been dominating.

Penske, Ganassi, Arrow McLaren,

Andretti Autosport.

You are immortal if you win

the Indianapolis 500.

This is it. This is the biggest

sporting event in the world.

♪