When I hear that from the strategy, I need to go for it. Turn up the risk a little bit and and really send it. Go out Sunday and kick ass. Crying as you drive your first go-kart around a parking lot to then rookie of the year in 2022. Like, that's crazy. I would have loved to experience the Indianapolis 500 as a spectator. Let me tell you, but I don't want to now because I know that's a bad reason. What is Indianapolis's global influence on racing? From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between, this is Get In, the show focused on the Hooser State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Today's episode is fueled by the Kelly Evening NBA program. As we talk to Hoosiers across the state, we're constantly inspired by the people who shape Indiana business and culture. If you've reached a point in your career where you're asking what's next, but aren't willing to hit the brakes on your current success, you're exactly who this program was built for. Ranked the number one part-time NBA in the state by US News and World Report, the Kelly Evening NBA program is based right in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. You'll study alongside the same ambitious Hoosiers who are leading local industries, learning from worldclass faculty who bridge the gap between theory and the real world. Take strategy from the classroom and apply it to work the very next day. Whether you're eyeing the sea suite or planning a career pivot, the Kelly Evening MBA program ensures you keep your momentum while building for your future. Discover where your ambition can take you with a Kelly Eveningmbba. Apply now at go.iu.edu/kelly evening MBA. That's go.u.edu/kellyingmbba. Let's get into today's episode. My guest today is Christian Lunard and he is a Danish professional indie car driver for Arrow McLaren driving the number seven Chevrolet. Now he was named the 2022 NT Indie Car Series Rookie of the Year and is currently putting together one heck of a season. Before Indie Car, he built his experience through European racing before coming to the States for a race in 2021. We're so excited to talk about your journey from Denmark to the Brickyard, Indy's global influence on the racing industry, and what you spend your time doing when you're not racing, when you're off the track. Christian, welcome to the show. Thank you very much. The 500 is right around the corner, which is one of my favorite days of the year. So, this is like getting the dominoes, getting my gears turning, the dominoes are set in motion. I'm pumped. I know the one thing is for you, Indieg is a lot more than just Indie and May, right? You guys are what, four races in thus far? Four races in, 14 to go. Yeah, four races in, 14 to go. But I mean, here in Indianapolis, everyone's got their sights set on uh the end of May in the Indianapolis 500. How many races do you have between now and uh the 500? Three. Three. I think it's the seventh this year. Well, you're currently, speaking of third, you're sitting in third in the standings thus far. Uh what you've been top 10 in three races, top five and two thus far. What do we finish? third, 7th, 13th, and second. Two like top podium finishes. Let's freaking go. Yeah, we got uh we got two pieces of uh silverware, so that's nice. I mean, not too bad. Uh I think that's uh it's fun and it's cool to have you in here at a time where it seems to be things are coming together and you're you're feeling How are you feeling about the season thus far? I'm feeling great. I think what's just so nice is, you know, how Indie Car is progressing in the past couple of years and how Box has come in and helped us with with getting the season going. This year we have three races back to back to back. The first three races was three weekends in a row. We had one weekend off uh going to Barber and just kind of creating that momentum. Obviously, I think we've been on the right side of it from a Sunday's perspective. uh Friday and Saturday certainly hasn't been as good as we wanted them to be, but you know, getting those results with that momentum going into May is what you need. Yeah. Well, even like you talk about starting, you were rookie of the year in 2022. Even from 2022 to 2026, Fox coming in has just like from the outside perspective really blown up Indie Car. Has there been any moments where like Fox, you know, trots out Tom Brady or one of their like crazy people and you're just like, "How the heck is this guy or this gal like at an indie car race? Like this is crazy." Yeah. We were we were walking around the uh the drive a lot at Indie last year and Tom Brady was just casually walking around, right? And obviously I'm I'm not a big American football guy, but growing up knowing the name Tom Brady and then seeing him walk 10 ft in front of me and I'm like, what is this guy doing in a drive a lot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? And I think it's just one of those moments where you're like, okay, I I get to drive a race car on as a job on weekends, but I get to see and meet all these amazing athletes that I would never have dreamt of meeting. And I think that's the the cool thing about our job that I think people don't really understand because yes, we drive race cars, which okay, it doesn't really sound that tough from a mental mental and physical perspective from from other people. And I think we we do lose some sort of credit from that perspective. You know, people don't necessarily see us as athletes. And I always love, you know, just picking the brain on on those major hall of famers, the big names, you know, just talking to them, even if it's golfers. I got to meet Bryson last year as well um at at Indian. It's just, you know, talking to them, picking their brain on how similar we actually are. Wow. Okay. So, what do you think the biggest simil similarities between an American football player and an indie car driver are? I would say the work ethic, but also just how competitive we are, right? It's the need for more and it's also just wanting to put that work in to be the to be the best. I think we we see obviously Alex Pollo right now, you know, his last three years looking at him and comparing him to Tom Brady looks very similar at the end of the day, you know, from how um how their performances look just on pure paper and it's the chase for that. Dude, that was the thing that always amazed me about Tom Brady was that like he would go and say like, "Good luck trying to compete with me because you have to give up your life." Like he gave up 20 plus years of his life. You talk about like, you know, his family at times. Like nothing was more important than winning Super Bowls. Like not money, not contracts. Like it was always about just winning more Super Bowls. Oh yeah. And like optimizing his team, taking less money so that they could get like a great starting line and and then second string. And it's just uh his commitment to winning is is insane. Well, that's the thing. There's so much more to it, right? And I and I think I've I've always been good on understanding. Yes, we are the drivers that sits in the car, but without the crew, the car doesn't get to the track. You know, it doesn't it doesn't get put together without the truckies. The cars never make it there. And you know, all the trouble that's on the road, we never hear about, you know, I mean, I don't know how many tires we've blown on a on a truck going to to a racetrack, but you know, you never hear about it. And I think that's in some ways unfortunate. And again, you you speak of Tom, you know, necessarily taking a a pay cut to put a better team together. And those are the the ways that you win championships at the end of the day, right? You you can you can win a race here and there, but you need to be consistently there. Yeah. And and to take the next step and to create greatness and to win big events, there's a commitment level. For you growing up in Denmark, at what age did you make the full commitment that you were going to be a professional driver? I would never really say I looked anywhere else in in some ways because like from your from the get-go. I mean, as soon as I I was introduced to a go-kart. Uh my first ever experience with a go-kart was actually kind of terrifying cuz I was very young. I didn't really understand what was going on. It was in a parking lot and it was me, my brother, and my dad's friend who owned the go-kart who had kids very similar to me and my brother's age. Yeah. And I was driving around this thing just crying cuz it was so loud, right? I mean, you're a little kid. You're what, five, four, five years old. You don't know what's going on. Um, and then after that, you know, like you're a kid. You're determined. I've tried this thing. It was actually kind of fun. It was a little scary, but it was fun. Let's go do it again, right? That's that's just the nature of of being a kid. So, I went out there. I started doing it. And from that moment on, I don't remember ever wanting to do anything else. That's so from crying as you drive your first go-kart around a parking lot with your dad's friend to then, you know, becoming, you know, rookie of the year in 2022. Like that's crazy. Well, that's the thing. Like, you don't necessarily really understand everything in between, right? Cuz there's I mean I I this is actually kind of funny. I had that talk with my girlfriend this morning. You know, there was times through 2021 in F2 where things were going so much against just the whole program of what we were trying to build. You know, obviously my path in Europe was always to get to Formula 1. Yeah. That wasn't happening. And you know, you you you don't necessarily doubt yourself, but it's more that you're not making any progress. You're not getting anywhere. You see these guys show up as a rookie. They win four races in a row for whatever reason that might be. You know, do do they have better material? was did they just hit it when it counted? Right? We don't really know. But I was in my second year at that time and it just wasn't going. And that was actually when I got the opportunity to drive an indie car that very same year, probably a month, two months later. And then everything turned around, but it's you put in so much work and you're not seeing results. Where was the first uh step along that journey growing up where you had to sacrifice being a kid to pursue the dream from from day one and you still you still do? Like do you remember it was like some kid invited you to like their sixth birthday party to eat cake and ice cream and you were like I I've had this debate with my dad multiple times actually. Uh because my dad is is the kind of guy who understands and knows and was a driver himself, right? So, he doesn't want me to to make the same mistakes he did. And obviously just improve him as as a driver and also as a human being. And there's definitely times as a as a youngster in in school where there was birthday parties, there was school parties, there was XYZ, all this stuff that I was never able to go to. And I think it gave me a much better appreciation as I grew up because now I don't necessarily really want to either. It's like, okay, I got old enough now. I tried it out. Now it's like, okay, it's not that fun. You know, winning races is much more fun on the on the long term. So, I rather want to focus on that. And it was, but again, as a kid, you don't understand. You don't understand the big picture. You don't you don't see 5 years out in the future of, hey, I would actually rather be be an indie car champion, a Formula 1 champion, whatever it might be. You know, you can't get this and that. Some people can. And like I think you you see the natural talents who can do whatever they want and they're still going to go up and show up and perform, right? Unfortunately, we're not all like that. You know, we we wish to be, but um there's a lot of sacrifices. I mean, birthdays, family vacations, holidays, all this stuff you have to sacrifice. Is there a conversation you remember having when you were a kid where it clicked for you a little bit? I think so. There was there was definitely a very interesting conversation uh at the dinner table one time with with my mom, my dad, and and my brother where I guess this was late 2013. That would have made you like 12. I would have been 12. Yes. My um my parents asked my brother and I if we wanted to to start going international and race internationally. And the conversation basically became, okay, we're going to rent the house out and we're going to live in a trailer and drive around Europe and race all the big go-kart races. So in 2014, we lived in a trailer driving around from country to country, from racetrack to racetrack, lived at racetracks, at trailer parks all all around the country, all around the um the world essentially. And that was the kind of kickstart cuz that was 2014. And then in 2015, I showed up. I won the first international race of the year and I won the European Championship that year. So at the end of the day, that was kind of the springboard to, okay, now it's happening, right? But then you're in it. You don't really think about, okay, what am I going to do next year? What if we didn't do this? It was more just jump on the ride and see where it takes you. Wow. So spending a whole year, you, your brother, your mom, and your dad living in a trailer, driving around Europe. Yes. And every it was so funny because we had a we had a cat which is very funny because he was named after Carlo Science Jr. which is obviously the Formula 1 driver. So we his name was Carlos Science Jr. Jr. essentially but we just call him Carlos. But it was kind of funny. So every time we would come home like if there was a race relatively close to home we would go home. Or if there was a big gap between races we would come home but we would still live in the trailer but in by the house in the in the parking garage. So we had a big property. My dad had a uh a car dealership, so we had a big workshop. There was a uh there was a canteen in there where we had built beds, so if we wanted to sleep in there, so we didn't have to sleep in the in the uh the trailer all the time, but our cat kept jumping into the car cuz he knew we would be leaving. And there was times where we would be on the road and realized he was in there and we had to turn around and drop him off again. That's wild. Like talk about a a crazy moment bonding with your family, like spending, you know, that time cuz a lot of other drivers end up leaving home. I know we had we had Tony on uh and he was coming up. He like left Brazil to go to Europe and you know, maybe you get to see your family a couple times a year. You know, maybe you're getting to call, but you know, I don't know. that perspective of being on the road with your family is I mean probably annoying at sometimes when you're like a teenage boy but other times like looking back do you look back on it finally? I look back at it as a massive experience because obviously I was still in school at the time and and my brother was as well so we had to do homework while we were gone and obviously this is a big commitment one for from us as a family but also you know being away from school kind of missing that social environment of of your friends etc. And you know, every time I'd come home, racing isn't a big thing in Denmark. It's super expensive. There's not a lot of actual kids that are racing. And in your average school, you're maybe one out of 5,000 kids that are actually pursuing this this this sport. So, no one knows what it is, you know? So, whenever I would come home and actually have to show up in school, they're like, "Why have you been gone for six weeks? You know, what what are you doing?" Right? Like, they don't didn't understand. And I honestly still to this day don't think most people understood what I actually did at the end of the day, which was super tough because like you you don't lose the friendship with your your school friends, but I just don't think they had the same appreciation for like their friends that had to go play soccer tournaments, right? Like football tournaments. Yeah. You know, it'll be okay, cool, we'll be following where for me it was like, you're gone for six weeks. Cool. Right. But like they didn't really understand. Yeah. Well, and you can't really relate to them a ton because you're giving up like you're committed to this thing where you're gone from school for 6 weeks at a time where it's like you might be gone for a weekend for a soccer tournament or you have practice from, you know, 3 to 5 after school or whatever it is. Yeah. Now, where along this journey then did you get into the formula? Do you call what do you call the European racing like formula system? 2017. Okay. So, you're 16 years old and you get to get out of a go-kart and into like open wheel racing. Yep. So, I remember there was a test which was organized by the Danish Motorsports Federation in the end of 2015, if I'm not mistaken, end of 20 2015. It was at Barcelona and I'd never driven a race car at that time. And I remember getting out there and it felt so different from a go-kart cuz obviously it's bigger. You're you're you're bolted in in seat belts, but you aren't in a go-kart. You're you're just free, right? Like there's no seat belts in a go-kart. There's no seat belts in a go-kart? No. You flip your out of the cart. Which is which is very interesting because you know like me and my girlfriend had had this conversation earlier like if it's if we have kids it's a boy or a girl like what like what do they do? Do you want them to follow cuz she's a golfer. Do you want them to follow golf? Do you want them to go racing? And you know like how do you tell your kid it's like it's it's okay to race in a in a thing that goes 60 70 mph, but if you crash you're flying out of it. Do you ever fly out? I did not know. No, luckily. Oh my god. There's there's actually a fun story where the first time I ever my my brother is 3 years older than I am and we were driving at this very very very popular go-kart track called Lonato in the south of of Italy. It wasn't a race. It was just kind of like a practice. But we were in two s two different categories because of the age gap. And we were testing and we're driving the same engine. So we were same weight, same material essentially, right? Mhm. and we ended up crashing and he drove over me and basically yeah it was a whole thing and ever since then my parents were like no you're never doing that again and then in 2017 I was racing in in two serieses in in Formula 4. I was racing the Spanish championship and also the North European zone which was actually split over three or four different countries. I ended up winning both championships but mid year there was a Danish cuz there was a new Danish F4 series at the time which my brother was competing in. So, we were both driving F4 at the time, but it was two different types of cars. So, there's two different manufacturers. So, I was I was racing a chassis called Tatus, which is Italian, and he was racing a Miguel, was a French chassis. That just depends on which series they choose which which cars they they're going to drive. But there was an offer for me to drive one of the races in the Danish Championship. And I remember showed up, never driven the car before. It was a car. It was the show car for the series, but it was a Renault championship because they're using Renault engines and I was part of Renault's F1 Academy at the time. So, they were like, "Okay, you can drive this car if you can build it." So, we had a week basically to build the car, rebuilt it cuz it was this the the show car. So, whenever people crashed, they would just take parts from that car. Like, we had to figure out on the go what was missing from this car. Uh, which was very interesting and and long process. And there's another fun story with my brother sitting in the car when we filled it up with fuel, but the bolts weren't tight on the fuel cell. So, he was sat in the car and as we're f fueling it, all the fuel just ended up in the cockpit. So, he was bathing in fuel. But anyway, we got this car car ready to go and we went out there and there was no practice before qualifying. So, we show up, never driven the car straight into qualifying. We qualify at first and second. No way. He he actually ended up outqualifying me, but I wasn't allowed to race him, which was the worst part cuz he was fighting for a championship. So, I had to take points away from the rest of the field. So, basically, he had to win. I had to finish second just to take points away from the rest of the field, which is so funny. Uh I think I ended up finishing fourth, fourth, and Okay. Is that a thing? Like let's say you're in a race and you know your teammate is you know competing for a championship and maybe you're you know way down the list. Is that like something that you guys are having dialogue about? Cuz it's an individual sport but it's also a team sport. Like how does how does that work? I mean I mean a great example is is paddle and barber right? You know he was on a different strategy. It didn't work out. We were obviously the the fastest car on track at the time, fighting for a win, and he had come out and we were still yet to pit, but we were fighting Alex Polo for the the the lead at the time, just over the pit sequence. And obviously, he's told to move out of the way cuz there's no point of holding me up, you know, as a as a team. We want to have the win. And there's examples from the last year, you know, where I'm trying to help him when I'm in a shitty situation and not having a great day and he's having a great day. than it's just try to help help each other out versus what does what does helping out your teammate look like in Indie car not staying in the way get out of the way and I mean you can let you can make you can't deliberately slow people down right but you can make life hard for them and I think there is a I wouldn't say there's a um a big disconnect in that from from drivers but I think there is some people are really good at being good where they need to be good just to slow people down. Oh, like is there someone out there that is just like the greatest teammate? Like if like someone across the Indie car series where you're like if they were having a bad day, I would want them on my team. I would not want to be driving against someone. I mean, the only reason why I'm leaning towards Will Power is cuz he has the experience. I was just thinking Will Power. Like I don't know why. I'm not like a diehard anymore. I feel like he will always be respectful. Yeah. But he will make life so hard for you and then like smile at you as you like as when you finally get around. He's like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good luck." Wow, man. Um that that's uh that's so interesting. So, you end up losing to your brother, but because you had to. I mean, I was still trying to beat him, but at the end of the day, I wasn't allowed to. He was he was outright faster than I was. Yeah. For the most part that weekend. And uh I think we learned a lot from each other. I I obviously were driving in the the two other series throughout that year, which I ended up winning. But for me to come in driving a different car, you know, if it's brake bias or just pure car setup, you know, coming in and giving him not necessarily advice, but coming in with with some sort of knowledge, you know, to how he was driving the car versus how I was driving it, um, which I think elevated his performance for the rest of the year. He ended up winning the championship, which was which was good, but, you know, success. Yeah, I guess. Absolutely. Shout out to the bro. Uh, growing up in Europe, was your dream always to make it to F1? Yeah. When you started to, you know, you talked about not making progress towards that dream. Like, what was the final conversation that you had to have to, you know, end up coming over to Indie Car? It was a very easy conversation actually. You know, I never, you know, growing up I knew what Indie Car was. I didn't necessarily follow it, I think, as as closely as I think the younger generation is now. Yeah. Um, but I also think a lot of in the past F2 drivers, let's just say actually before me and Callum, there wasn't really anyone taking that step to go towards the US, you know, they would just rather stay in F2 and waiting for their their opportunity in F1 where I think we we saw it otherwise and was like, hey, we can sit here and and spend a bunch of money or waste a lot of time in our life, you know, years trying to chase a dream that has a 1% chance of happening at this point. You know, you can come to Indie Car, be be competitive. I mean, if you go out and win three championships in a row, I don't think your chance of going to F1 is any smaller. Yeah. So, at the end of the day, and here, I think the racing, the product that we have here is so good. And I think that's what the younger generation are now seeing, which is why they're moving more towards this way. But that wasn't really a thing five, six years ago before we really took the initiative to come over here cuz me and Callum were racing an F2 together at the time and we both basically moved over together. You know, chasing that dream in Europe, you're so fixated on Formula 1 like it's you're just going that way. Obviously, I was a part of for a part of a Formula 1 junior program. So, I didn't you know my life was already set 3 years before that when I joined that team. So that's where you're you're paying attention and you're uh you're really chasing. Um but I did I remember I overheard a phone call from the uh managing director of the academy at well which ended up being Alpine but at Renault about a indie car test and I you know I just overheard the conversation you know on the phone call. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. I just heard something about a an Indie car test. you know, at this point, when was this? This was in 2021. So, obviously, I I knew way before that what what Indie Car was and what the 500 was, but I wasn't really putting two and two together. The next morning, my dad calls me and asks me um that he had well, he texted me, I have something I need to talk to you about. And my response to him was, "Does it have anything to do with an Indie card test?" And he was like, "How the hell did you know that?" I'm like, "I might have overheard some things." But anyway, uh we were on the on the phone and we were just talking like, "Is that something you'd be interested in?" And I'm like, I'm never going to say no to try to drive in a a new race car, right? And I end up doing the test at that very same test. I signed the deal to do the race in 2021. 2021. You get a test in Indie Car. I did. Yep. I was doing my in Europe or in America. In Barber. At Barber, actually. Oh, at Barber. So, you fly. Is this your first time in the US? I mean, I'd driven go-karts in the US before. Yeah. Oh, okay. So, but this is your first like professional like you're here. You get a shot with Indie Car. You show up, Barber's in Alabama. Yes. Okay. So, you show up, you fly into Atlanta, I think, right? And you instantly you got to get prepared to go to Barber to like get ready for this test. So, you're probably like hightailing it directly to the track, right? No. Um, no. It was it was actually a whole mess because in Indie car you have to do these drug tests before you can even drive which was also a whole thing because we flew my brother and I we flew to Indie to do the seat fit and then we did the seat fit which I actually did on my birthday so end of July and then we flew to Atlanta did the drug test. So, I don't know why we had to do it in Atlanta, but I remember doing it at in Atlanta and then driving to Barber, drove by Talladega. Uh, I was watching Talladega Nights the whole way and my brother was driving, which was kind of funny cuz I he was like, "Have you never watched Talladega Nights?" And I was like, "I don't think so." So, I watched it and then, you know, like I'm I definitely have a memory, a vivid memory of having watched it before. You know, a lot of it seemed very familiar. Uh, but obviously love that I keep watching it probably once a month now, which is, you know, you just have to keep keep it fresh. Oh, absolutely. Um, we had to drive by a Waffle House cuz my my brother wanted Well, it's probably a good thing that you did the drug test and then stopped by a Waffle House probably. Cuz you don't want to get like a secondary like, you know, someone else's residuals on a on a Waffle House. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and then obviously did the test and then on that day after after the test, I remember it was me and Oliver as you who did the test. Um, I could not find my way around for half the day and I was so confused, so slow at the time. Like the the first half of the day I was so slow. Like just did not make sense to me because the Pirelli tires in F2 are so delicate. You have to really be so smooth, so nice to them. Uh, and these these Firestones, you can just really push them. And that was like it took a while to just kind of figure out. And I remember Were you worried? Like we're like halfway through the day, you know, you realize you're going slow. You're like, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very, very much so. And then obviously my brother was trying to tell me like, "It's okay. Just go out and have fun." Like you're you're at least learning something, right? And was your brother still racing at the time? No, he basically quit after 2017. Okay. So he he was done. So he he now studies cognitive science, actually. Oh, yeah. So he's the smart one, not me. There we go. Which is also a whole funny part of the family. But anyway, we were we were driving that test. Wasn't very competitive. half half the day and I remember struggling just keeping pace with Olive Ask and I was likely I' I've watched the 500 so I knew how he had filled in at the time at at Arrow as well and it's like okay this is enough I'm going to go out I'm going to haul ass started spinning like I was spinning left right center on the cuz I was I was really pushing and we put a new set of tires on I spun on the first lap I was like this is not happening so I went out and I basically went over a second faster than ask you at the end of the day. Over a second faster. Y from where you started to where you ended. Y and then they were like, "Okay, uh would you have any interest in driving the the IndieGP race in August, which was the I guess the merge with NASCAR?" And I was like, "Sure, sure, whatever." You know, I'd be happy to do that. Cuz our season in F2 was kind of coming to an end and we weren't really looking at anything good at the time. So, I was like, "Sure, why not?" And we made it. We made it happen. Showed up for the Indie GP that time uh beginning of August. Never been to the track. Drove to Indie. Was at the sim the very morning of practice cuz that's the two-day weekend. So it's a Friday Saturday. Mhm. Showed up uh Friday morning in the sim. Wait. So how long between your first test down at Barber? It's a week and a half, I guess. So you test first time driving an Indie car. I don't actually remember if I went home. Well, you said it was the end of July for your birthday was July. End of July and then the race was in beginning of August and like so within like less than a month span. Yeah. You drive an Indie car for the first time, you figure it out on the test and then you're getting ready for a race. Y and I was in the sim that very morning, Friday morning for the race weekend. And I'd never been to IMS at the time. Like never been there. I didn't know what the track looked like. I didn't know what to expect. Obviously, this was the GP, not the the speedway. And I show up in the sim. I drive the sim. I drive around on the tracks. I'm like, "Okay, now I know where left and right is." And I show up, we do practice. I was ninth in practice. I was like, "Okay, this is pretty decent." You know, like we're on pace pretty quick. And then qualifying starts. And I knew the way the system worked with the fast six, fast 12, like how it's the the split groups, the six guys transfer, all of this stuff. I knew that. But I didn't know we weren't doing a fast six that weekend. No one had told me. So I was under the impression that we were doing a fast six. And we were rapid. We're super fast. I think we're P1 and Q1. We were the fastest car. So I'm like, this is easy. You know, I I didn't I don't even know the track. And I just showed up and kicked all these guys' asses. Like this is easy. We do Q2, which I thought was you just have to be in the top six. And then it's the Firestone Fast Six. So, I was saving tires because we didn't have the same amount of alternates that we do now. You have to race uh do the fast six on used tires. So, I was saving tires while still being fast. Like, I was just taking care of the tires, you know, like the spots where I know you can take a lot of life out of them. And we qualified fourth uh less than a tenth of pole. It was the closest Firestone Fast six uh well, the closest qualifying at Indie GP at the time. Me and Rosenquist actually did the closest top two years later. Do the Do these people know like who you are? Like just random European guy shows up and all of a sudden is like like running good times in at the NDGP. Yeah, I remember I've heard a bunch of stories afterwards after the fact, you know, I still hear them to to this date. um you know, people, team owners, you know, telling engineers and and drivers, you know, like if this guy comes out here and puts it on pulley, he's going to make us all look like we're we're we're not doing anything, right? Um and I thought that was kind of funny because I thought it the other way around. I was like, these guys aren't doing anything, you know, this is easy. And then we ended up I had the whole team ended up getting food poisoning from qualifying day to race day. So, it was a very long tough day for me. No, it was it was so bad because I had a trainer from Alpine with me. I had one of the uh the head media guys who who's actually Pier Gastley's right man uh still to this day. His name is James and we started at Renault Alpine at the same time. So, we were and he he started at the academy. So, we we grew grew a good relationship really fast. I still speak to him to the state and you know he always gives me a lot of [ __ ] when when weekends aren't going well and he yeah he always sends me nice messages when when it goes well which is funny you know he's he's a good guy but we we were staying at the Marriott downtown and we wake up we go down to for breakfast and we all look at each other and we're like you look like [ __ ] he was like you look like [ __ ] and then turns out none of us knew cuz we hadn't communicated overnight but none of us had slept no because we had food poisoning, but no one knew. So, we're sat there at the breakfast table like just pointing fingers at each other. Why do you look so bad? And then it it became kind of obvious that we're all sick and we showed up at the track and everybody was just white basically. No, my engineer had to step off the stand multiple times during the race to go to the bathroom. And you you got to get in the car and you got to drive. Yep. Yeah. You just got to survive. It wasn't a great day. I've never had food poisoning before or after on a race weekend thankfully. I mean I I know I know a few that's been in that situation and it really really sucks. Yeah. I mean talk about welcome welcome to it. You where so how does that race end up? Uh what did we finish 12th I think. I mean that's honestly given the exterior circumstances there like good for you buddy. We we led the race actually which was quite impressive for for me you know at the end of the day. Um I was just so eager to win the race cuz I was like these these these guys are you know they aren't they aren't anything you know I I thought it was so easy. I definitely learned otherwise and I still am today. Yeah. Well I do want to talk a little bit about you know thinking about coming over here thinking that it's so easy. You talk about Indie Car versus the Formula Series. Like what is Indianapolis's global influence on racing? Like when people in Europe or around the world think of Indianapolis, like how big of a deal is that? I think now I have a much better understanding and appreciation for it, right? And I think when I was growing up, it was all about Formula 1. It was all about Schumacher. It was all about Senna. And your your knowledge is is so much bigger because you understand what ID Carter is. And I think understanding the history um not necessarily just of the Speedway, but also just the series in general and what this product racing product really is. And you know, obviously I'd grown up knowing what the Indianapolis 500 was and and I've I'd seen videos of if it's accidents or good moves, you know, the Senari move in in the corkcrew at Laguna Secika, you know, these kind of highlights like you you'd seen, but you didn't really realize to the full extent how big of a series it is as a as a championship. Like, you know, Formula 1 goes to Monaco, you know, they go to um Australia, you know, they go to Japan, all these cool cool tracks, right? like you know their calendar. I think now most of America knows it as well because of Drive to Survive. Yeah. But if you take Drive to Survive out of the equation, who would know what Formula One is in the US? Yeah. That didn't know that they raced at Indianapolis in the early 2000s. Like you wouldn't have a clue. And I think that's what Indie Car is missing in the span of the Europeans. You know, if if if the Europeans had the same view on Indie Car as we America, well, the Americans do now after Drive to Survi, Drive to Survival, it would be a whole different thing. Yeah. I to like if there was the Netflix documentary about Indie Car or the like inside, which I think that Fox has done a a decent job, a really tremendous job. Yeah, you're right. Way absolutely. And I think it it's really really nice, you know, to see Arlington come together this year and and how that turned out because I think this is what us drivers have been pushing for in the past 3, four years. You know, this is what we need. Um, you know, nothing against Iowa, but at the end of the day, since the repave, it just doesn't create a good race. It just simply doesn't. Old Iowa with the old pavement was awesome to race on. Yeah, cuz it was tire deck. It was a tire de race, which is what is that? Wait, say that again. Tire de. So, the tires degrade and as a stint, you get slower and then you have people that are undercutting that comes out on new tires and they're 5 seconds faster uh than than anybody else. And which create great racing because you have these guys that look like heroes when the others are on old tires. They're just driving around them like they don't exist. And that's what old Iowa used to be. And then they repaved it and it was a single lane race. Um, which kind of ruined I think that for for most of us. Again, it's it's still a still a race. You still want to be fast. You still want to win it, right? But it it it brought it it removed some of the joy of actually racing at Iowa. And I think Arlington coming in as a huge new event is showing us all but also indie car in general that we were capable of producing these events that people want to show up and have FOMO for. You know, we want people to fear of missing out. Well, when uh they bring on an interview with Jerry Jones and he's like, "My one stipulation was that this was going to be a high quality event and he's like, "And the Indie Car team far surpassed my expectations." Like, that's good press. Oh, 100%. And I and I think we're we're we're just missing that. And I think this was the the the first step. I think there's so much good to come uh for the series. And it was really just making that investment, you know, taking that first step, proving that it's we're capable of it. Yeah. And and then it's clearly doable. We just need more of it. We don't need a full season like that. Not at all. You know, the races at Road America, Mid Ohio, you know, these these tracks that are out in the countryside where we have all these campers, you know, it's it's it's a huge family event. Those are so cool, but we need to merge that with something else. We need to bring something into these events. They just did a full uh podcast breakdown on on F1 on I think it was acquired maybe where they talk about like the business and how every race feels like the Super Bowl. Like there's there's obviously the racing and that whole piece of it, but there's the music festival and the this and the that and that's the one thing I think that is so cool about Indie is that like in Indianapolis one you have the entire month's festivities but like that week leading up to it there's just all these cool different pieces and whether or not you're a diehard race fan and this is so cliche and everyone's heard it a thousand times but there's something for everyone at the Indianapolis 500 when you think take out Indie what are your other favorite races across the entire series. I love St. Pete, the first race of the year. Uh St. Pete is is awesome. I love Barber, the facility there. You know, obviously we lost Mr. Barber beginning of this year or was it end of last year? Um you know, I would really hate to see that track disappearing from from Indie Car, you know, cuz it typically it wasn't built as a racetrack. It was built for motorcycles. Oh. And I think that is one of our greatest races, you know, that that we that we go to that produces such great racing. Um I love Lagona. Laguna Secika. I wish we could go back downtown in in Nashville instead of the Super Speedway because one, the Super Speedway is so far away. It's so difficult to draw people out there. And I mean, I even think that that NASCAR is having a tough time bringing people out there. And the race that we had downtown was so fun, so cool. You know, you're staying downtown, you're on Broadway. It's it's a great great I mean, it's it's just a great event. Uh obviously that was ruined by uh them building a new stadium which is basically on where we were driving on the racetrack. So that hurt that those American football players man. Yeah. They get priority now. What about uh Washington DC? Like this is a new one. Like how are you feeling leading into that? I think we're all excited because it's a new event. I love new events because it it brings this uncertainty to it. We know the Andreddies are super strong on street circuits. So, that kind of ruins a little bit of my uh my anticipation and and you know, my excitement just because I know it's going to be a tough time beating them regardless. But, I think the whole event, you know, it being a free general admission to to show up. You just have to be there and you you can watch. And I think that's awesome for this series because we're going to get this new audience that doesn't have to pay. just show up, see what it's about, and you know, obviously in the hope for for them to to find some sort of love for the performance uh that that we and the show that we put on at the end of the day and and I think that will will help us uh moving forward. But I think just the event and obviously the president being so engaged uh I think is awesome as well. Yeah. Like in one year, you talk about having like a UFC fight and having as well as having like an indie car race in like I mean it doesn't get more American than that. Nope. Well, even I mean I guess you're like, "What do you mean by this?" Yeah. No, I I perfectly understand. Um No, I mean my um my girlfriend went to to Georgetown for undergrad, so she's super I mean, she's already made uh food and dinner reservations for the whole week and I'm just like, "Cool. There you go. I mean, I'm I'm I'm there to race." Well, yeah. And you might need to bring someone along like a taster just make sure we have no no food issues going into that race, right? Yeah. I mean, I I need I need different people, right? Because if that was the case, then you need different people because you need to know which dish dish it was. Uh yeah, absolutely. It's like a whole this is the cognitive science, right? You have to do a little bit of this and that. I'll bring the whole family up. Yeah, absolutely, man. Well, I want to catch up a little bit this season, you know, when this drops, it's going to be, you know, in a couple weeks, but thus far, you're four races in. Four races in. Where do you feel like things are trending? How do you feel like stuff has gone thus far and what are you really excited about leading through the stretch of the series this year? I think what's really great about this year and I think we we've done great about this in the past the last couple of years from a calendar perspective is the momentum of races throughout the the year. This year we had three races back to back to back to be to start the season which I think was awesome where this whole first quarter has always been a little more stretched out but the mid part of the year is always back to back. So I think it was very nice one for the drivers but also the fans and the audience just to see and get that attention. Hey we're going like we're we're it's it's happening. Um so I think that was very nice and obviously creating that momentum. Obviously, we're on the right side of it, which is kudos to us. You know, we we feel good about that and and we want to do good in in Long Beach this weekend. Um we we didn't qualify last year and still finished on the podium. We finished third and on on strategy, drove a great great race and you know, we're going there this year knowing that okay, we had a great result, but we weren't really as competitive as I think the result showed. So, I think, you know, we're we're still trying to push for more performance um while still keeping May in mind. I mean, we have our open test here in a week and a half, two weeks. when you think about getting better, you know, like you're thinking performance, we kind of talked about, you know, whether it be at Old Iowa or some of these different places, what are the like what are the the levers that you're pulling to try to get faster and how much of it has to deal with strategy versus your performance versus your team? Like I think that that people may not understand all the different things that go into being fast. Yeah. I mean, I think it's very simple. Um, if if you're fast, strategy is a lot easier because it gives you a lot of freedom. Mhm. Um, and I think that was the difference between I think a great example, you know, obviously we're we're now making people watch the highlights from Barbara here because if you just look at the performance of the 10 car and me, the seven car. So me and Po, we had more performance in the race than the entire field did, but we didn't have it for the rest of the weekend leading up to the race. And that's where the track position difference come because we start at 10th, he started first. So obviously even if he's just slightly slower than I am, I still have to make up that track position and that time to him. But it gives him the freedom of doing whatever he wants to do on strategy cuz they can cover us very easily where it's very difficult to gain that ground. So, if you're fast from the get-go, it makes your your life so much easier. Where, let's say, we go to Long Beach this weekend and we're sixth in in qualifying and Pelo's still first, you know, we're still at a deficit of him, you know, cuz clearly on on on qualifying pace, he's proven to be faster than we are. So, we need to be creative on strategy to beat him, but he has a lot of freedom because he can dictate one the pace, but also the strategy. So, it's it's very there's a lot that goes into it, but at the end of the day, it's very simple. You just need to find lap time. There it is. The faster you go, the easier life is. Yeah. Yeah. So simple, right? Like, how much of it is you like, you know, you're going around and you're like, "All right, I got to make this move." Like, versus the preparation gone in by like your engineering team and everything there. Like is there a moment where you're you're just making these split decisions of like all right punch it and go this all the time. I mean, there's uh we we had a kind of what we call a rev ops meeting where where we go over the the prior race weekends uh and we were looking at Arlington actually and there was a time where I was stuck behind Louis Foster on on track just from a strategy perspective and we had much more pace than he did but this was one of those times where he was fast exactly where he needed to be fast to hold me back like I couldn't get by him just because of that And I was told over the radio like, "We really need to get rid of this guy, you know, because we were losing so much track position and and lap time to the to the leaders and the guys that we were fighting to try to beat on strategy for for the next stop." And that's one of those moments where when I hear that from the strategy and and the stand, I know I need to go for it, kind of turn up the risk a little bit and and really send it. And sometimes it works. I mean, we we've we've been very lucky with that. We we haven't had many accidents. Yeah, knock on wood. Uh I I I put myself in the ball last year, so that one was on me. Um yeah, I actually broke the car and they had to change chassis from Saturday to Sunday last year in Long Beach. I crashed in qualifying, topped the car, so that the the the chassis had to be changed and I put the mechanics through all that work. So obviously for me there was some sort of determination to go out Sunday and kick ass and we we drove through the field. Obviously on strategy we did a good job and we finished third and I remember Saturday night I went to bull coffee for the whole team you know just cuz they were they had to stay late so I'm like here here you go guys you know thank thank you for doing this and yeah that's something that people don't think about. It's like you put it into the wall during qualifying and you know you're still going to probably get a full night's sleep and get prepared for the next day to be at your best and your team and your engineers and all that crew are putting together the car that you crashed. Yes. It's it's it's very tough because there is a lot of misconception in that sense, right? That it doesn't really get talked about. Yeah. And when it does, it kind of just get Yeah. Who's Who's the biggest unsung hero of your team? At the end of the day, there's all of us. I think TK does a great job. Uh Lauren, that's sitting right here is doing a phenomenal job. I think she's uh she's the glue really. She I mean, we we we talked about it so many times. You know, there there's always something always happens where there's a miscommunication somehow. The language barrier. Yes. And that also comes from Tony. Yeah. Double language barrier. And and obviously Tony's personality, it it happens all the time and and you know, we we talk about it and there's there's been so many times where me and Tony have had a discussion which not doesn't necessarily turn into an argument, but but a disagreement, right? And then we're we're not really best friends for a little bit and then we go out, we have a great weekend and then it's like we're best buddies and like we we've kind of created this thing. Uh I don't remember which race it was last year, but he walked up and kissed me on the cheek. That seems and we we we had a fantastic race. I I think it might have been Barber last year where we started seventh and finished second and then this year we started 10th and finished second and he did it again this year at Barber and Arlington. Hey, double kisses. Yeah, let's go. Come on, Tony. He's a cuddly guy, apparently. Yeah, I mean, I could You can just tell that, you know, just a softy. Um, when you're Where's home for you during the year? I live in Indie. You live in Indie? Okay. Well, I have to ask a few Indiana related questions then as we get close to the end of time here. So, this is where I need to be educated, huh? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We're going to put you to the test. No, I need the What was going through your head the first time you saw the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Wow. Wow. Yeah. Just wow. Just wow. I remember we like was it what you thought it was going to be? Like how did it what you had imagined versus what it is in reality? Yeah. I mean obviously I've been to so many great racetracks in Europe, right? And and basically all over the world. I've raced Monaco, I've raced Baku, you know, all these these different places. What was really impressive to me was the facility, the museum at the time. You know, obviously it's it's been redone now, the museum. And have you been in there? I have. Yeah. It's fantastic. They they've done a really really good job. When I think of museum, you're kind of like, oh, you know, be ready to read a lot of stuff and a little bit st. No, it is. The way they present it is phenomenal because it keeps you engaged, but you also want to see the next thing. Yeah. It's not like you're just walking by like, "Oh, this and that." You know, like I'll never know what it's like to be in the car on the grid like as the 500's about to start, but their little like the activation they have is like the closest that you're ever going to get to it and it like makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I just get so pumped up. It's it's fantastic. Um my brother and I got to get shown around in the pigota and we're up there. We're we're on on the roof and we're watching the the track just from obviously from a distance just kind of seeing it. you don't really understand how big it is and then there's a golf course on the track like you know you don't that doesn't happen in Europe at the end of the day and I I think it was just that culture shift I think it's awesome that there's a golf course there you know last this was funny last year we we were in the top 12 at least but we weren't in the fast six and my my girlfriend and I were playing golf we were on the seventh T- box when Tkumasada was qualifying for his fast six, which is awesome. It's kind of crazy. And I I I know I have a video of it somewhere. I've tried to find it multiple times, but just being there and just cuz when you're at a racetrack and you're driving, you're competing. You're either in the engineering truck, you're staying in your motor home, you're trying to just have your own time. You're not thinking, "Hey, I'm going to go out in the golf course and whack a few balls while someone's out there qualifying." And I just thought it was such a fulfilled moment because I get to do something I enjoy while kind of just relaxing and getting my mindset right for for race day, but still looking at these guys and getting that experience and the view of these guys out there. And also I appreciate the speed because when I'm out there, I only see what cars are doing down the main street, you know, cuz you're in the pit pit garage. You don't really get to go out to either corner. Um, so that I mean it was definitely an experience and that I said this after my first 500. I would have loved to experience the Indianapolis 500 as a spectator, let me tell you. But I don't want to now. Yeah, because I know that's a bad reason. Yeah. Right. If you would have been like a a young boy that got to go over and experience your first 500 as a spectator. Sick. But now at this point it's like you got to wait till like retirement way down the road. I mean, I I hope I hope I would have won it before I get to see it as a spectator. Yeah. Well, and it's an interesting, you know, the the quest for a 500 is long and arduous. Like, we talked with Tony last year about how long it took him to like keep putting yourself out there, giving yourself the opportunity. Joseph, I mean, I think a great example is Roy Maroy for the Masters, right? I mean, how long didn't 19 years it took him to to win the Masters and now he goes back to back and it's very similar to to Joseph, you know, what did it take 11 12 years for him to win the 500 and he wins the back to back he should have won it three times in a row with how fast he was last year and and I think it's just weird how that comes together at the end of the day and then there's guys like Rossi that shows up his first year just puts it together, you know, like like how much of that comes down to sometimes you just have a day like you need to have the the day on the right day. Yeah. Um this year's 500 is going to be raced on my mom's birthday. Oh yeah. And I mean what a gift that you have the opportunity to give to your mom. Yep. It's it's going to be something. Yeah. She's really big into like family days, vacations, holidays, birthdays, all this. So is my girlfriend. And she's like, "Oh, you can't be there for my for my birthday." Like, "This is my girlfriend, right?" I'm like, "No, I need to race." I'm like, "Okay, but I really want you there, but I'm I can't uh you know, like to me, it's just another day." Um, which which is nice, but I think it is very nice obviously to be able to race on my mom's birthday for the 500. I knew I've always known that it was going to happen one year. You're like, "Oh yeah, you know, 3 years from now it's going to be my mom's birthday and we're going to have to put together a really good gift for her." Yeah. I mean it is the seventh race of the year and we are on number seven. So Oh, lucky number. Now you got to find one more seven to get like the triple sevens and like the jackpot on the slot machine, you know. I mean this was end of 24. This must have been end of 24. I was at a dinner with Zack downtown and we were seven people total and the bill was exactly 500 bucks. Whoa. Seven for the 500. that that's what I mean obviously that's what I was thinking at the time and it didn't really work out last year so I was like okay hey this but we finished seventh which is also ironic a lot I see I'm seeing a lot of sevens we're we just got to keep seeing a few more sevens um when you think about you know growing up seeing F1 having like that exposure as well as now your exposure to Indie car if there was one race you could win any series anywhere what would that race be the 500 it's the biggest race like it is the prize is crown jewel. Having a different appreciation for it and a different understanding, it would be the 500 because it's much more than just a race. And it is a lot harder to win than you think it is. And again, it has to be your day. You really have to take risk even when you don't want to. And I think that's kind of that challenge where I think the way the races have kind of turned out the last couple of years with some some weather delays and just some some weather influence, you know, it's you're mentally prepared for the race to start at a certain time and then all of a sudden you're 5 hours delayed or you're like half an hour delayed but you don't know if it's 20 minutes or if it's another hour and it's just I mean two years ago like the full on 24 Yeah. Well, so I had a great time because we knew it I mean obviously it was pouring down, right? So it wasn't like, okay, we're racing in an hour. It was we knew we had time. So I remember going down to the team hospitality. We were singing karaoke, you know, spending time with the part the team partners. Yeah. And and that it was so fun. I had my my family there pretty much my entire family and we were just having a blast cuz that would have been 2024. Yeah. Okay. So that was the first year. So like we've gone on this whole journey to be uh the first vehicle in the infield in turn three. Like I get there, you know, night before camp out, sleep in the car. Like I have this. Okay, I got to show you it. This is like my stickick for Indy500. So I own this uh this truck. Okay, so it's like a 1986 Dodge that we will like on race day, we'll have all of like our sponsors like lined up like a true race car. And I get there the night before sleep and this was the first gear. We pull up there, we're doing our whole big activation and any anyone can come and get whatever they want. Like we have burgers, beer, the whole nine yards. It's great. I'm get this rain delay. We have a DJ that's like going hard and like we just like tighten down the hatches on the tent. It's like pouring and we're just vibing. It it was calming down and it was like you hear the stories of like the old school Indy500 like snake pit vibes and like this was probably the closest that you know modern era is going to get to that. It was just like everyone underneath this like we had three like 10x10 tents and the DJ just like put trash bags over the speakers and just kept going and it was awesome dude. It was like and from that moment I was like well Larry Basiglia was like the iconic guy. He was first in line 37 times in a row. And that was my first experience being first in line. And I was like, well, I got to keep doing this now. Like, I got to go. I got to go make a run for history. So, this year will be the third one. So, then we have this one and 35 more to go. And, you know, I'll be an old man by then, but it'll still be fun. All that to be said is when, you know, many, many years from now, you've won several 500s and, you know, decide to have a happy retirement, you're going to have to come out and hang in turn three with us. And I would absolutely cuz like you'll uh you'll achieve your goal and I'll still have like two decades left to achieve my goal. So it'll be great man. I love it. This has been so much fun. We uh we round out. So during the season India is home or all year round Indy's home? Indy's home all year round pretty much. Let's go. I I get to go home for for Christmas in the offseason in December which I'm going to say this as it is. It sucks because the weather is terrible. Yeah. you come home and it's like you're there's no upgrade in weather. December December in Denmark is uh is pretty cold. It's I mean I I think more people know of the UK weather, right? Yeah, we're very similar to the UK weather. It's just gray, cold, rainy, and it sucks. But that's pretty much how our entire year is. Uh we we do have a couple of months in uh in the summertime where it's pretty decent, which is July and August. And I'm going home this July. Oh. So, I'm very I'm very excited to have two weeks where cuz normally we don't get two weeks, you know, in the middle of the of the year in the summer period. We did we did have it under the the Olympics or was it the World Cup? What was the Olympics? Olympics a couple of years ago where we had that summer break which was awesome. And I do remember going home and it's just nice to go home and there's a sun versus you go home and it's cloudy, it's rainy, like what's the point? Um, but what's also so tough for me is I am here for let's just say pretty much 10 months out of the year. You obviously I I do travel as as well, but like those 10 months is you're on you are on every single day just trying to to find that little edge and when when then you can finally relax and go home and see your friends. Hey, the weather is not going to be the final decider, right? But it would just be nice to be able to come home and actually go out and be active and do something at home. Yeah, I'm going to be spending my birthday at home playing golf. We're going to Sweden for uh the European Go-Kart Championship, which is at the same track I won in 2015. Um so I'll be out there. Uh the girlfriend's coming home with me, which is the first time she'll be Denmark. So we're both very excited for that. Uh we're going to go to the UK, go to MTC, uh to McLaren factory and spend a little time with Zach as well. So yeah, nice two weeks. Two week. I'm not a guy that plans. Lauren knows how my planning goes and it it is not good. And I don't think we should get into that cuz that's a whole whole Yeah, that's going to spiral. Um but we we have this this kind of planned and I we're kind of loose, right? It's it's loosely planned. We don't have anywhere to we haven't booked anywhere we're going to stay or anything. Uh it's it's just we we just want to go out and experience. Obviously, I want her to see the country. Uh where where I grew up. Uh we're most likely going to go by the house that I grew up in cuz my school was just on the other side of the street. Yeah. So, I could never complain about not making it to school cuz I just had to cross the street and I was there unfortunately. Well, until you guys rented it out and you know, then you set off to then it was just on a computer instead, unfortunately. That's that's even worse. I couldn't couldn't get out of that one. And you couldn't say dog ate your homework either cuz Yeah, we didn't have one. The cat Sorry, the cat ate your homework. Yeah. Um, but it's super nice and I'm I'm very much looking forward to to just spending those two weeks in which will be right after Nashville is between Nashville and Portland. Yeah. We have two weeks off. When you talked about playing golf, is that kind of like your the hobby you've picked up? Play more golf. Play more golf. Uh yeah, I I got this hat on Thursday. Do you uh do you play a lot around Indiana? I do. Of the last two days. Oh, yeah. What are What are some of your favorite courses? Uh I would say I'm mostly at I'm a member at Bridgewwater. Oh yeah, that's a good one. Love Bridgewwater. We we opened Memorial Weekend. We closed down the course to to redo the greens. So we were basically doing what? Crooked Stick did two years ago. Um, so very it it looks in fantastic condition now. I think we even may open a little sooner. Um, but I played Purgatory. I played Bear Slide quite a lot. Cicero uh Shane out there. He's one of our uh He like raves about Bear Slide. Bear Slide's awesome. I played there Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Wow. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that that's a good one. I mean Yeah, you could probably still find like I'm not a huge golfer. I'm starting to get into it more. So, you could probably find like 20 or 30 of my balls in in purgatory. They're just out there waiting for someone to go pick them up. That's the thing about purgatory is in the off season, the course is actually in very very good shape for the time of year, which is why I enjoy going there in the early part of the year where the weather is just starting to get nice because they they cut down all the weeds so you're not actually losing balls out there. I mean, you you need to go in the woods to to lose to lose balls, but I feel like peak summer. It's like you're you have that like tall good luck. Yeah. Good. It's like you see it go in there like, "Yep, that never getting that back." Yeah. My my girlfriend dad plays out there every Saturday with his buddies and it's so funny to hear some of his stories of like, "Oh, I had a great day." And then, you know, as the year progresses and the weeds grow, it just he he gradually gets worse, which is kind of funny. Wait, is your girlfriend from Indiana? Oh, that's awesome. Heck yeah. So, like this has really become like a home a home base and raised in Indie. Yeah, that's so cool, man. Uh, what's been your favorite place? Okay. Outside the speedway, outside of, you know, golf courses. What's been your favorite place to explore in Indiana? The Monon is is really nice. I like Westfield. Oh, you know the I mean I'm not a big city kind of guy. So I really like I I also grew I guess I didn't grow up but where in in 2015 we built a new house out on a golf course in Denmark. So which was on the countryside. So I I hate big cities. I hate traffic. You know as long as I can get away and just it's quiet. You you know you can hear what you're you're thinking and you don't have to to listen to all these uh car horns. You know you go to New York and it's just move. Come on. Go. I like countryside. Just imagine if you would have been in Westfield like 20 years ago. It was actually west of a field. Y but it's still pretty nice. The Monan keeps stretching all the way up there. I I don't understand where all these buildings come from. And I mean I talk to uh to my girlfriend's dad about this every single day. Where does the people come from that I mean that are going to utilize all these these units? Well, I mean, you see like it's because like Hamilton County keeps like Westfield and Fisers and Caramel keep winning like best place to live, like safest place to live. Best most roundabouts in the US. I'm actually going to shoot a YouTube video and see if I can make it from one side to the other of Caramel and not hit a roundabout. Impossible. Like I don't know if it's possible, but imagine just like it's like Pac-Man style. You're trying to see like how you could make it from east to west not hitting a roundabout. That is that is very interesting cuz I don't actually think you can do that unless you're on the highway. Yeah. Unless you're on 31. Not including 31 or like Keystone. Like could you actually figure out how to go across and not hit a roundabout? You you you have to do your homework on Google Maps. Yeah. You have you have to print it out and then you need to start drawing a line. I love it, man. Basically, what do they call those things where you have to figure out uh a maze, right? Where you have to figure out where the walls are going and where they stop. Yeah. Like are there any like I want normal corners like where I turn left to go left, you know? Yep. Or I turn right to go right. To be fair, that raises a great point. Why doesn't the rest of the world have turning right on red? The rest of the world doesn't have that? No. I have never been to a country where turning right on red is allowed except the US. Well, would it be because there's they're flipped? Like because you drive on the left side of the road? That's only in the UK though. Well, the UK, Singapore, all that stuff. I mean, it just seems like we're more efficient. Like, but that I mean that it's definitely one thing I wish we could take and bring home. The efficiency would be so much better. You know, it actually probably goes back to like a bigger like philosophical thing of just like people in the States always being in such a hurry, you know, like around the world everywhere like, you know, slow down, smell the flowers. I I mean I I don't necessarily think you guys are in in such a hurry sometimes. I'm like, "Come on, you can you can speed up. You can start driving the speed limit now." Yeah. Like you're on 465. Do you ever feel like, you know, like I'm on I'm at the IMS and I got to get places. No, I mean there's defin there's definitely time I I mean I'm known in in my friend circle for definitely being the responsible driver. Wow. Which is which is But that's the thing. I know what I have to lose. Oh, that's fair. Right. So like they're just like living life, hauling ass and and and then there's me like I'm doing 70 and a 65, you know, just kind of cruising and then there is these guys that come flying by and then there's trucks that will pass you. It's it's very interesting. Okay, we're uh we're rounding out. We have a few rapid fire questions here. Okay. Uh what's your favorite Indy500 tradition? the driver walk to the grid under gasoline alley. Why is that your favorite tradition? It's one of those times where the spotlight is more on you where you actually get to experience it from your own perspective versus when you're obviously when you're driving, you know, people are are looking at you, but here you're it's that anticipation. You know, this is the time where the fans, the audience really get to also engage with you at the end of the day. Um, you get to bring family. You get to bring your core group of people with you. And I think that's what makes it more special. The driver walk is sick. Like that one is it's so wild to just like see and you like see the faces of these people and all the drivers that are going to be going so fast and you're like, "Oh, wait." Like you are a human being. Like you're normal. Like what? What's like the most wild Indy500 story you ever heard? obviously never experiencing it as a as a spectator, but I'm sure you've heard crazy cool stories. People getting stuck in in bathrooms, you know, getting locked in also, you know, by other drivers, you know, it's it's so funny. You know, the potter putties, we just lock each other in. It's so funny cuz you're out there for a whole month. Yeah. Do you Well, I guess the guys that live in Indie, do you still camp out there or So, you're like, how long will you be at the track? Um pretty much from the beginning of the Indian GP which is obviously uh what the first week first weekend of so like you are you're out at the so like when you wake up on race day you are at the track. Yeah in a in like a camper at the Indianapolis and I'll just be right outside the gate just waiting for the gates to get like I'll be sleeping in the bench seat of this old truck while you're in and then we both wake up at the same time when the cannon goes off. Oh I've already I'm already like a I'm a beer too deep by the time the cannon goes off. Like we're we're ready to rock that day. Uh I mean the last year No. Yeah. The last two years I've like served coffee and donuts to the 20 cars behind me. Like I just done this whole Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. You know, if anyone's crazy enough to get out there, you know, midnight, 11:00 p.m. the night before, but they should get rewarded, too. So, we're out there. So, who's giving you donuts? So, I go and buy them get them from uh Long's Donuts, you know, the spot over there, and I keep them warm. Like we have literally everything. Like last year our tailgate was four trucks deep. Like we had four buddies that are all crazy to go out there and like host this whole thing. We have like this year we're going to have I've been living life all wrong. Oh dude, let me tell you. We're going to have multiple DJs. I think I need to speak to my parents about my childhood. You know what? Amen, dude. Where was this education? Uh absolutely, man. Well, hey, uh we appreciate you coming on. We have our same three questions that we ask every guest that comes on as we close out every show. First, you've been literally around the world from, you know, Europe over here to America, going all the way all over racing. But if you could shout it from the rooftops, what's one thing the world needs to know about Indiana? I mean, Indie Car, they need to know about Indie Car. And I mean, one, they got to know about Doug BS. Like, that guy is when it comes to Ind. How many and he's the nicest guy. I want to know how many blue suits do you think Doug BS owns? More than one. I'm just going to say more than one. Just more than one? Yeah. Like if you had to give it a spread like more than one less than five or more than one less than 10. Do you think he has one for each day of the week? He probably does, but I I don't know. Like does he does he wear it like five times and then swaps it out? Does he you know like does he have one each day of the week? Do you think he has a dry cleaner or do you think he has like a dry cleaner thing at home? He probably has a dry cleaner. Like cuz you could tell me Doug BS has two blue suits and you could tell me he has 20 blue suits and I would believe both. Yes, that is true. I don't think I've ever seen that. I've never seen him wear something. Yeah. All right. That's what we'll have to ask, Doug. U Okay. This is your opportunity to to shed some light on a part of the state that more people need to be talking about. What is a hidden gem in Indiana? I mean I I know my girlfriend would say handles. Oh, she she introduced me to handles. They're very nice. Are you a fan of handles? I am. Is that in the Can that be in the pro driver? Like you eat too many of those and you're not going to fit in your seat anymore. Well, that's the thing. If you eat ice cream, you just have to work out more. Ah, that's fair. You know, like there is that you you you know the pros and cons. If you were to ride your bike on the Monan, you know, down around the squirrels, the chipmunks. Oh, the chipmunks. I mean, obviously we I think there's so many stories now with drivers getting injured on bikes where I'm like, "Okay, I'm just going to take it easy now." And so maybe a walk. No, I set up a bike indoor. So, I have one indoor where it's boring as hell, but it's safe. It's safe. That's true. It's It's 99.9% safer. Actually, one time I was on the trainer, like I was riding my bike on the trainer and I was like really getting into it. The beat dropped on the song I was going and I busted loose and ran right into my TV. Can't make that up. It was crazy. I was like I was really churning on this thing and somehow it came loose and I had a pretty cheap trainer at the time and it was like night I was like on I I was training for an Iron Man. I did a full 112 mile bike ride. It was like I'm like 2 hours into this training ride and I'm like let's go. Come on. Boom. Right into my TV. Oops. Talk about 99.9% safe, you know. All right. And final question. This is your chance to uh share the love with someone else throughout the state that has ties to the state of Indiana. Who's a hooer we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. IU coach Signetti. Yeah. I mean, you're you're going to give him a few instructions. If you had to give Kurt Signetti some advice on driving an indie car, even though he's not going to really be driving it, but what advice would you have for him? That depends. Isn't he driving the pace car? Did he get to actually turn left, not right? He actually gets to drive that thing, I think. Yeah, Tyrese did it a couple of years ago, I think. So Kurt Signett is driving. Don't turn right. Turn left. Don't turn right. There you go. If you turn right, you're you're in trouble. There you go, Kurt. Welcome. I mean, talk about crazy. This guy was coaching at I don't even know what uh James Madison and now he's driving the pace car for the Indianapolis 500. Yeah. Hey, think about where where any of us could be in two years. Wild, man. Hopefully on the top. Amen. Hey, we appreciate you stopping by. It's been a pleasure learning more about your journey from Denmark to the US to Indiana, calling Indiana home. Yeah, I'm excited to see how you how the stretch goes through here leading into May. Keep up the momentum. I think it's super super fun to uh one I love the guys that call Indiana home like like Indianapolis. Those are my favorite ones to root for. We're going to be uh so it's your mom's birthday. The number seven lot of sevens. A lot of sevens. A lot of sevens. We're looking for one more seven to get the triple sevens and that is the jackpot. So keep your eyes peeled for it. Uh everyone out there make sure you follow along and Christian journey getting ready for uh what through the stretch of the season here, man. Good luck. Some good races coming up. All right, we'll talk to you soon. Thank you. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at Sweetwater. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hooer State great. We'll see you next time here on Get
