173 - Attrition Drought - Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay Unpack the Weekend at Barber

The IndyCar season is picking up steam as the series moves from Barber into the Month of May. Conor Daly and the Juncos Hollinger team brought home a 19th place finish in yet another event that ran green in its entirety. He joins co-host Chase Holden on this edition of Speed Street to chat about the team’s struggles with the primary tires this year and how the lack of attrition is forcing the entire paddock to adjust to gain on-track positions during the last three races. They also discuss Alex Palou’s dominant victory, a huge boost in IndyCar’s television ratings and preview the upcoming Indianapolis Grand Prix.Barber race winner Alex Palou joins the show to reflect on his incredible start to the 2025 season and how Chip Ganassi Racing continues to strive for new levels of excellence despite one of the greatest track records in IndyCar history. Alex explains that he is happy where he is at in the 10 car and hopes to carry his road course dominance into Indianapolis this month. Later on in the episode, Barber hard charger Rinus VeeKay also stops by to break down his 4th place finish, which was a major accomplishment for Dale Coyne Racing. Rinus explains that after tough results at Long Beach and Thermal, the team celebrated his hard fought top-5 like a victory this past weekend. (Thank you to Fox Sports for providing the Mike Shank audio from the IndyCar warm-up broadcast.)

Last week race fans had the opportunity to see IndyCars on track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 2025, and Conor Daly turned in impressive results during both days of the Open Test. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss what he and the Juncos Hollinger Team learned during their time in the IMS paddock and how the hybrid system performed its first time out at the legendary oval circuit. Conor explains why he thinks Team Penske will once again be in the running for the front row sweep, and how the littlest details matter when it comes to superspeedway racing. The guys also look ahead to this weekend’s race in Barber and make some podium picks for Sunday.IndyCar Youtuber David Land joins the show to chat about the current state of the IndyCar Series and what social media content creators like himself can do to help drive the sport to the next level. David talks about how there currently aren't many Youtubers who concentrate solely on IndyCar, and how more creators with a similar output would be useful to bringing in new audiences. The guys talk about the current manufacturers in IndyCar and what can be done to attract new interest from other OEMs, including efforts to make the cars more of a focal point for the series. The interview also tackles the tough topic of negativity surrounding the series and what can be done to help curb bad publicity on social media, including changes to the schedule and less down time between events.

It’s finally time for IndyCars to take the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Conor Daly will be one of 34 drivers behind the wheel this week. He joins co-host Chase Holden to break down the schedule for this week’s Indy 500 Open Test and what teams and drivers are hoping to gain during their track time on Wednesday and Thursday. Conor explains that the big question mark this year will be the hybrid system, which did not come into the series full-time until after the Indy 500 last year. In an effort to gain data on the new system, IndyCar is allotting teams qualifying power during this initial test, which is something that normally doesn’t happen until the Month of May. As a result, there will be many unknowns during the open test, and race fans will be able to tune in for all the action this year on IndyCar’s Youtube channel.

Conor Daly had a rough showing at the Long Beach Grand Prix, and he is back on Speed Street to join co-host Chase Holden and break down what happened. After struggling in qualifying, Conor and the 76-Juncos Hollinger Team had an error in their fuel calculations during the early stages of the race, which Conor explains took him out of competition due to having to reduce speed to save fuel. He also outlines some of the mechanical changes the team was making to help get him more comfortable behind the wheel, but ultimately it was a difficult race day. Despite a record turnout for the historic race, IndyCar is once again in the headlines for the wrong reason: poor television ratings. Conor and Chase dig into the problem that has plagued the series in recent years and ponder solutions that can help put the series’ fantastic racing product in front of more viewers.Race winner Kyle Kirkwood joins the show to chat about Andretti Global’s success on street courses and how he was able to stay ahead of series point leader Alex Palou after the last pit cycle. The moment of the race was when Kyle managed to run competitive lap times on cold tires to keep ahead of the charging Palou, who made things interesting in the closing laps. The guys talk about the confidence Kyle will carry forward to Barber and the Indy GP with a win under his belt and how he hopes to close the points gap between him and Palou. Kyle explains how he hopes to improve on ovals this year and how he’s learned to love that form of racing in recent times. The conversation also touches on the electric environment in Long Beach and looks ahead to the open Indianapolis 500 test.

It’s finally Long Beach Grand Prix week, and Conor Daly has a brand new livery just in time for the famed event. He joins co-host Chase Holden to chat about the Mannkind-sponsored Juncos Hollinger 76 entry he’ll be piloting this weekend, as well as what listeners should expect to see when IndyCar hits the track. The race has been lengthened to 90 laps this season, which Conor explains will unlock new opportunities for strategy. Drivers and teams will also be dealing with a similar tire selection to the St. Pete season opener, which showed favorable results. The guys make their podium picks for the race and chat about the other latest news around the IndyCar paddock.In celebration of the 40th anniversary of his 1985 Indianapolis 500 victory, IndyCar legend Danny Sullivan joins the program. He fills listeners in on his journey from Louisville, Kentucky to the famous Jim Russell Driving School in England, which sent him on the path of formula racing. After a brief stint in Formula One in 1983, Danny would return Stateside and take his place in the CART paddock. In 1985, Danny completed the famous “spin and win” at the Brickyard, which has become one of the most iconic moments in the history of the race. He chats with Conor and Chase about what life was like on the grid back then and what the victory did for his life and career.

Conor Daly participated in an IndyCar hybrid test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this past week. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss the results from the test and how the added weight of the new hybrid system seems to affect the balance of the car less at this track than others. The guys also weigh in on the social media discourse regarding IndyCar’s Thermal broadcast ratings and Conor gives insight into recent conversations he had with representatives from Fox Sports.Marcus Armstrong joins the show to chat about his new team experience with Meyer Shank Racing and how it is difficult to break the must-win mentality and take solace in having strong runs towards the front. He and Conor discuss their training for the IndyCar season this year and Marcus tells listeners about his ability to plank for long periods of time. The guys look ahead to Long Beach, chat about getting into a flow state behind the wheel of a race car and methods for introducing Formula One fans to IndyCar racing.

The IndyCar Series had a great battle at Thermal Club, and Conor Daly brought home a respectable 16th place finish. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss the event in Southern California and how things panned out for the number-76 Juncos Hollinger team. Conor explains the difficulties around tire choices and gambles that didn’t play out as expected. They also discuss the Fox broadcast technical difficulties and the numerous hybrid issues experienced on the grid throughout the weekend.The hot topic of the race was Scott McLaughlin’s altercation with Devlin DeFrancesco, and Scott joins the show to unpack what he considers the worst weekend in his IndyCar career. He gives his take of the incident and lets listeners know how everything was resolved after the cameras went dark. The guys look at ahead to Long Beach and Scott weighs in on how he and the Penske-3 team expect to bounce back and begin to chip away at Alex Palou’s points lead.

It’s finally race week again and the Speed Street podcast is here to tell you everything you need to know for this upcoming IndyCar weekend at Thermal Club. Conor Daly and Chase Holden discuss the uncertainty of the tire package and how it will hold up to the increased weight of the hybrid system, which was not in use at last year’s $1 Million Challenge exhibition event. Conor explains that based on what we’ve seen from the track and the season opener at St. Pete, Alex Palou is still the driver to beat. The guys also chat about the recent test at Barber, this past weekend’s Formula One season opener and make some podium picks for Thermal Club.

We are in the middle of the agonizing gap between the first two races of the 2025 IndyCar season, but never fear as Conor Daly and Chase Holden are back with more Speed Street. Big news hits the motorsports world as Formula One announces that Cadillac will join the paddock in 2026, establishing itself an American-based team. The development could have serious implications for the future of IndyCar, as both Alex Palou and Colton Herta have been brought up as possible pilots for the team. The guys also chat about this week’s test at Barber and the upcoming test schedule for the rest of the IndyCar paddock.Christian Lundgaard joins the show on his way to the Barber test to chat about what he and the Arrow McLaren team hope to learn for the upcoming road course events. He touches on the season opener at St. Pete and how it helped his confidence for the year to lead some laps, as well as his first impressions of his new teammates Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel. The guys also chat about the connection between the McLaren IndyCar and Formula One teams, and how the information shared has helped the relatively new IndyCar outfit be competitive in a short amount of time. The conversation also covers tire strategies, 2025 season goals and off-track golf games.

Conor Daly brought home a hard fought 17th place finish in the 2025 IndyCar season opener in the streets of St. Petersburg. He joins co-host Chase Holden to unpack the weekend, including the practice sessions which were affected by the new tire allocation rules and qualifying which left a lot of competitive drivers buried in the pack. The guys compare notes on the atmosphere of the event, which saw great attendance and energy following a strong pre-season ad campaign from Fox. Speaking of which, the ratings return from the series’ debut on network Fox saw a massive increase from last year, establishing itself as one of the highest non-Indy 500 broadcasts in recent history. Race winner Alex Palou joins the show to share how his team captured the victory and held off a hard charging Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon in the final laps. Alex explains that traffic and well executed pit stops were the key to winning the race, an event that has long eluded him in his IndyCar career. The guys discuss how this win establishes Alex as an early season championship favorite, but there is still a lot of racing to go in a IndyCar series that gets more competitive with each passing year. Alex explains that now that he has captured a win at St. Pete, his next goal is to win on an oval, which he hopes to do this coming May in Indianapolis.