164 - Engines Roaring - Alex Palou Captures the 2025 IndyCar Season Opener at St. Pete

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. 

It’s finally race week, and Conor Daly is ready to be back on the IndyCar grid at St. Petersburg this coming Sunday. He joins co-host Chase Holden to give listeners a preview of what to expect at the famed street course for the 2025 IndyCar season opener. The guys also chat about the recent announcement that the popular “100 Days to Indy” docu-series will return, concentrating on both the build-up to the Indy 500 and the subsequent championship points battle. Finally, Conor and Chase offer a pre-season power ranking of the 2025 IndyCar paddock.The newly appointed President of IndyCar Series J. Douglas Boles joins the show to discuss how he will split his time between his new position and his current presidency over Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He gives listeners an idea of what his role will entail with the series and what some of his goals will be moving forward. He touches on the development of the new IndyCar chassis, connecting with the current OEMs and working with promoters to help build up the series’ events throughout the year. Finally, Doug offers listeners some insight into what they should expect from the IMS Museum reopening in April and how it will reshape the way visitors perceive the speedway for years to come.

The IndyCar season is nearly upon us, and Conor Daly is here with a first hand look at his Juncos Hollinger number 78 Dallara and the rest of the paddock. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss how the test sessions at Sebring went earlier this week and why race fans shouldn’t put too much stock into the results. Also, Conor gives listeners an update on his sponsorship deals for the 2025 season after a recent referendum with Polkadot was turned down. The guys chat about what this could mean for Conor’s season as well as a hilarious interaction he had with Helio Castroneves during his time at Daytona. 

What did you think of the IndyCar commercials on Superbowl Sunday? Conor Daly and co-host Chase Holden are back on Speed Street to react to the exciting effort that FoxSports is putting into promoting the IndyCar Series in 2025. Also, big news drops as the announcement is made that Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles will also be taking over the presidential role with IndyCar. Conor explains why Doug is a great choice for the job and how he has demonstrated his dedication to growing the sport over the last few years. Up and coming racing star Connor Zilisch joins the show to chat about his meteoric rise from European kart racing to becoming a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series racer in 2025. Connor explains that Kevin Harvick was instrumental in helping him get his footing in the NASCAR world through an opportunity in Trans Am racing. Since finding success in TA2, Connor has made a splash in sports car racing, ARCA and NASCAR before signing a developmental deal with Trackhouse Racing and Red Bull. Through it all, Connor has managed to stay realistic in his expectations and tune out the noise and pressure put on him, trying more so to enjoy the ride and learn from every race he competes in. Connor explains that while he is on track to have a successful career in NASCAR, his ultimate ambitions in motorsports exceed beyond stock car racing and he hopes to compete in the Indianapolis 500 one day.

Conor Daly and co-host Chase Holden reconvene on Speed Street to chat about the recent test at Thermal Club and all the latest rumblings in the IndyCar paddock. Andretti Global and Dale Coyne Racing made the trek out west to share the track for the first time with the newly formed Prema Racing IndyCar team, and at the end of the day Marcus Ericsson had the fastest lap times to his name. Conor explains that while it’s hard to draw conclusions from tests with limited cars, people are beginning to raise their expectations of Prema due to the amount of effort and resources they’re putting towards on-track performance. The guys also react to Tim Cindric’s announcement that he’ll be stepping back from his day-to-day duties at Team Penske and the recent unveiling of Andretti Global’s 2025 liveries.Marcus Ericsson joins the show and explains how winning the Indianapolis 500 was a life changing event for him. He recalls fondly taking the Borg Warner trophy home to Sweden and getting to celebrate with family and fans and explains that the event’s prestige is recognized all over the world. Conor asks Marcus about his time in Formula One and the growth that series has seen in light of the popularity of Drive to Survive. Marcus talks about some of his favorite moments while in F1 and how global travel was a double-edged sword. Finally, Marcus makes some Indianapolis 500 podium predictions and explains his off-season training regimen to help get prepared for the upcoming year.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is in the books, which means the 2025 racing season is officially underway. Conor Daly joins co-host Chase Holden to talk about what unfolded in the race and how the IndyCar contingent finished. Conor touches on his past experiences in the grueling race, explains what drivers endure and expresses the desire to be back behind the wheel in the crown jewel event next year. The guys also discuss Fox Sports' new IndyCar ad featuring Alex Palou and his upcoming mediation in the McLaren contract lawsuit, what the Super Bowl might have in store for the upcoming Pato O’Ward commercial and Penske taking over the Nashville season finale.Fresh off his stint at the Rolex 24, friend of the show Felix Rosenqvist stops by to enlighten listeners on his experience behind the wheel of a Grand Touring Prototype this past weekend. He explains the differences between driving an IndyCar, which he says requires a lot of aggression to maneuver, with the  state of the art GTP, which needs a softer touch. He also gives admiration to his Meyer Shank teammate Tom Blomqvist, who excels behind the wheel of the GTP and closed in on Team Penske in the final laps to nearly bring home the victory. Conor and Tom dig into MSR’s new technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing and how the teams have been operating together. They also look forward to the 2025 season and Felix lays out some goals he has for the upcoming year.

It’s an exciting day for Conor Daly and Speed Street as the Juncos Hollinger IndyCar team unveils their base liveries for the 2025 season. Conor joins co-host Chase Holden to chat about striking paint schemes and what will be on the horizon for his number-78 Dallara this year. Conor also recaps a very exciting IndyCar Content Day and what he observed from the Fox Sports production crew. A recent dinner was held with members of the IndyCar paddock and Fox Sports and Conor reports that there are many exciting developments behind the scenes for 2025. It wouldn’t be a true team livery reveal without hearing from the other half of the Juncos Hollinger garage, and Conor’s teammate Sting Ray Robb joins the show to give his take on what the team is bringing to the table. Sting Ray discusses his tumultuous beginning to his IndyCar career and what he hopes to accomplish with JHR this year. He also fills listeners in on the origin of his name, which is arguably one of the most unique in all of motorsports. He and Conor chat about what they’re excited for in 2025 and what to expect at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway come May.

Conor Daly and co-host Chase Holden are happy to report that IndyCar is so BACK! After the premiere of the new Fox Sports/IndyCar commercial featuring Josef Newgarden that rocked the sports media world, it's safe to say that 2025 is shaping up to be a formidable year for the series. Conor and Chase discuss how the high production value of the advertisement was encouraging to see and how it portrayed IndyCar in a new light. They also chat about the big hires the new Prema IndyCar team made ahead of their high-budget livery unveiling on Youtube last week. Also, the 2025 paddock gets a little more crystal clear with Dale Coyne Racing’s announcement that they’ve hired Jacob Abel for the season.ESPN broadcaster and sports expert Ryan McGee joins the show to connect the dots on his history in motorsports and why he feels so passionately for the Indianapolis 500. After growing up in Rockingham, North Carolina and following in the footsteps of his father, who happened to serve as a part-time gasman for NASCAR legend Dave Marcis, Ryan found his way into sports media and eventually his longtime home at ESPN. Along the way, he produced shows like RPM Tonight and Totally NASCAR which instilled a deep love and understanding of all forms of auto racing. Ryan explains the gravity of the Fox Sports deal for IndyCar and how it can help elevate the series to a new audience and standing in American culture. They also discuss the rich, vast history of motor racing, how race fans should be less divisive and the power of streaming and cable television ratings.

We are officially in a new calendar year and Speed Street is ready to kick things off with a bang. Conor Daly and co-host Chase Holden check in after the holidays to report on the paddock’s latest rumblings. They also weigh in on the recently announced 2025 IndyCar season start times and how no night races for this year might not necessarily be a bad thing, for now.Longtime open wheeler and IndyCar pace car driver Oriol Servià joins the show to help give listeners a better idea of the progression of IndyCar over the last two decades. Conor asks Oriol to compare and contrast the path he took to IndyCar with the current Road to Indy ladder system in place. They also chat about the 2011 season and some of Oriol’s favorite cars he's driven in his career. Conor and Oriol find common ground in filling the role of substitute driver and competing with many different teams over the years. Oriol explains that without long term contracts in place, a driver constantly feels like he is auditioning for his ride and as a result, grows at a rapid pace due to always having to adapt quickly and perform.

The news we’ve all been waiting for is finally here as Conor Daly announces he will be driving full-time in the IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2025. He joins co-host Chase Holden to chat about how the deal came together and how talks really began after the season finale earlier this year in Nashville. Conor gives listeners some insight into what goes into raising funds to help secure a ride and what the partnership proposal process is like. The guys also chat about the prospect of being teammates with Sting Ray Robb and what Conor hopes to accomplish on track next season.