AutoSportRadioShow

The AutoSpotRadio.com 2024 Show for September 12th – Guests: Paul Page and Bob Gates The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for September 12th was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Paul Page The Evansville, IN native and longtime Indianapolis resident joined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (IMSRN) in 1974, where he was mentored by inductee Sid Collins, lead announcer and WIBC sports director. Page replaced Collins as the “Voice of the 500” after the latter’s untimely passing in 1977 and has been one of America’s foremost motorsports broadcasters ever since. In 1978, Page began anchoring auto racing coverage on NBC Sports, including IndyCar, NASCAR, NHRA, and Formula 1. In 1987, he moved to ABC/ESPN, where he served as chief motorsports announcer from 1988-98 and 2002-04. Although his voice has long been synonymous with IndyCar racing, Page has covered everything from the X Games to the Brickyard 400, AMA Supercross and NHRA Gatornationals. Page returned to the IMSRN in 2009. His coverage of the Indianapolis 500 won him Emmy Awards in 1989 and 1990 for Outstanding Live Sports Special. In 2021 Paul was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway HALL OF FAME. Paul is Chairman of ARUBA, a journalistic organization that recognizes the best journalists in sports each year. Paul also has a special announcement too. Also joining us is Bob Gates, author, ARBA board member, and board member of IRMA. - Host; Don Kay, Producer; Ted Howlett, Camera; Bill Pea, Production Assistance Brian Pearce and Speedway Cable Television, House Audio; Chad Pierce.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for August 22nd – Guests: Scott Goodyear and Kyle O’Gara This show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear is one of Canada’s best-known international racers, with experience in sedans, Indy cars and endurance races. In more than two decades of racing, during which he also operated a racing school, Goodyear is best known for his years driving in CART and the IRL. In his four-year Indy Racing League career, he recorded one top-five and two other top-10 finishes in the season point standings, as well as three wins, 14 other top-five finishes and seven other top-10 finishes. He finished in the top 10 five times driving in the Indianapolis 500, including two second-place efforts, the most memorable of which occurred in 1992 when he chased Al Unser Jr. to the finish line in a brilliant final two-lap charge, finishing second by just .043 of a second, the closest margin in race history. His most controversial Indy 500 race came in 1995 when he was ruled to have passed the pace car while leading late in the race. He was disqualified and the race was won by another Canadian, Jacques Villeneuve. Goodyear’s first Indy Car victory came that year at Michigan in the CART Marlboro 500. Six years after his 1980 auto racing debut, Goodyear seized his first title, the 1986 North American Formula Atlantic Championship, following a season in which he won five of nine races. That same year he was named Driver of the Year by the Canadian Race Drivers Association. Goodyear currently resides in Carmel, Indiana, with his wife Leslie and their three children. Scott is currently Director of F3 and F4 Series. Kyle O'Gara Consistency is the key to every championship. A perennial championship contender who embodies the notion of consistency better than most, is Kyle O’Gara. Another strong season saw O’Gara finish third in the 500 Sprint Car Tour Championship Standings for the second straight year. He, along with 2022 Tour Champion Kody Swanson, are the only two drivers to finish in the top three in points in back to back seasons. O’Gara began competing on a regular basis in 2018 with the group that is now known as the 500 Sprint Car Tour. Prior to the 500 Sprint Car Tour being formed in the winter of 2021, sprint car races held at Anderson Speedway were sanctioned by the facility. When O’Gara first began competing in these events, he struggled. He did not have a podium position through the first eight events he raced in, but broke that streak with a second place finish in the 2020 edition of the Glen Niebel Classic. A metaphorical switch had been flipped and O’Gara found his footing. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, he has eight top five finishes, five podium positions, and two wins at Anderson Speedway. His recent success at the Anderson, Indiana oval immediately translated to other tracks that the 500 Sprint Car Tour would visit in 2022 and 2023. In regards to being as consistent as possible, Kyle O’Gara fits the mold perfectly. Not only has he finished third in the final championship standings two years in a row, but he has collected a total of 16 top ten finishes over a total of 18 races competed in since the beginning of the 2022 season. More impressively, 12 of his 16 top ten finishes saw him finish in the top five as well. In 2022, O’Gara completed 522 of a possible 555 laps for a completion rate of 94%. He followed suit in 2023 completing 512 of a possible 525 for a completion rate of 98%. O’Gara’s ability to not only compete in every race, but to finish races while also competing for wins, sets him apart as one of the most prolific, and consistent, drivers in the 500 Sprint Car Tour. Producer: Ted Howlett, Camera, Bill Pea, House Audio, Chad Pierce, Production Assistance and Video Equipment by Speedway Community Television.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for August 7th - Guests; Linus Lunqvist and Jim Leo. Host Don Kay sits down with Linus Lunqvist and Jim Leo in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana for the Fastest Hour in Motorsports. Linus Lundqvist Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist is a quadruple single-seater champion, clinching the 2022 INDY NXT championship, the 2020 Formula Regional Americas title, the 2018 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship and the 2016 Formula STCC Nordic crown. In 2024, he will race the #8 American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. From Stockholm, Sweden, Linus won the Formula STCC Nordic single-seater title in 2016, before descending on the UK in 2017 for an attack on the Formula 4 British Championship. Despite suffering a sequence of frustrating technical setbacks, he finished fifth overall in his rookie year, claiming five race wins and 11 podiums. His pace was further underpinned by five pole positions and nine fastest race laps – the most out of all drivers in the series. 2018 saw the success story reverberate in resounding style. The step up to British Formula 3, one of the world’s most esteemed junior single-seater series, emphatically confirmed the potential of a future star. Winning the very first race of his rookie F3 season, victories kept coming aplenty throughout the campaign, culminating in the ultimate reward: the championship title. Becoming the first Swede since Stefan Johansson in 1980 to win the coveted championship, Linus follows in the wheel tracks of motoring greats such as Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen as champions of British Formula 3. Adding to his 2018 success, Linus also won the Sunoco Whelen Challenge; one of motorsport’s most valuable prizes worth more than $250 000 in the form of a Rolex 24 At Daytona drive. He duly took up his prize to complete his maiden endurance race during the American 24-hour classic in January 2019, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3. Linus’ main 2019 programme, however, revolved around the increasingly popular Euroformula Open single-seater series, featuring an attractive calendar that took in some of Europe’s top racing venues. Finishing fifth overall, and second among the rookies, it marked another valuable experience. 2020 saw Linus debut on the American single-seater arena, moving across the Atlantic to compete in the Formula Regional Americas championship. Dominating the campaign en route to 15 wins from 17 races, Linus established five new track records and led the way in every single qualifying session of the year. For 2021, Linus used a Honda scholarship to step up to the INDYCAR-supporting INDY NXT championship (then known as Indy Lights). Winning the first and final races of the season, and again at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in between, he rounded out the campaign third overall and was awarded a maiden INDYCAR test on November 1 with Andretti Autosport. Linus returned to INDY NXT in 2022 for a fresh title attack, racing for HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing, and duly clinched the championship in dominant style with five wins, nine podiums and seven pole positions. In doing so, he became the first Swedish driver in history to take home INDYCAR’s leading feeder series. In August 2023, Linus finally made his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut for Meyer Shank Racing. After impressing across a total of three late-season races, which included setting two fastest laps, Linus was picked up by championship-winning top team Chip Ganassi Racing on a multi-year contract starting in 2024. Jim Leo In 1997, Jim Leo formed PitFit and began working with other teams in the CART series. After a successful ‘97 season, in1998, PacWest Racing’s hired PitFit to train their drivers Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin as well as a comprehensive team performance program. In 2000, PitFit began working with new Indy Lights PacWest driver Scott Dixon. With a rigid and focused training/nutrition program, PitFit transformed Dixon into a lean winning machine. Down 30 lbs, Dixon won the 2000 Indy Lights title and the rest is history. Six Indycar championships later, Dixon still relies on PitFit for his human performance program. Jim has been including brain training and now the training is just what is needed with the new Hybrid on being used.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for July 25th – Guest: Conor Daly This show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Guest... Conor Daly From an early race crash to a strong late-race run inside the top-10, Conor Daly had fun as he earned his career best finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The fun started on the opening lap for Daly as he was swept up in a multi-car accident in Turn 3. The No. 26 Polkadot Toyota GR Supra received minor damage to the left front. Compared to several of his competitors, the NTT IndyCar Series veteran emerged relatively unscathed. Despite the damage, Daly ran up front throughout much of the Pennzoil 250. The Noblesville, IN native drafted with Shane van Gisbergen inside the top-15 throughout much of the 100-lap race. Late cautions and the resulting pit strategy in both stages kept the Sam Hunt Racing machine outside of the top-10 in both stages. Although this was Daly’s first Xfinity race since the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL last year, it was his first experience on an oval. He enjoyed competing just as he’s enjoyed watching the series. “That was really fun,” Daly said. “I mean, the car was really fast. I honestly had a tremendous time. I think I got moved out of the way a little bit, which I expected, but I really enjoyed the racing and like racing with Shane was really fun. He’s awesome to race with some of those other guys too, so it’s just fun to run at the front with these guys because I watch every week. I enjoy watching the series, but this Toyota was fast, and it’s got a lot of character to it now.” Daly climbed into the top-10 while working with van Gisbergen in the final Stage. He had been battling with Justin Allgaier when the final caution of the race waved for an accident on the backstretch with 17 laps to go. Daly’s crew chief Kris Bowen opted to gamble with two tires under the ensuing caution. The difference in tire life tightened the Toyota Racing driver’s car. With fresher tires behind him on the restart, he was sent into the corners by Austin Hill and others in the closing laps. When the checkered flag waved, Daly slipped from seventh to 14th, his best career finish in 10 starts across NASCAR’s three National Touring Series. Camera: Ted Howlett, House Audio: Chad Pierce, Production Assistance and Video Equipment by Speedway Community Television

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for July 25th – Guest: Conor Daly This show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Guest... Conor Daly From an early race crash to a strong late-race run inside the top-10, Conor Daly had fun as he earned his career best finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The fun started on the opening lap for Daly as he was swept up in a multi-car accident in Turn 3. The No. 26 Polkadot Toyota GR Supra received minor damage to the left front. Compared to several of his competitors, the NTT IndyCar Series veteran emerged relatively unscathed. Despite the damage, Daly ran up front throughout much of the Pennzoil 250. The Noblesville, IN native drafted with Shane van Gisbergen inside the top-15 throughout much of the 100-lap race. Late cautions and the resulting pit strategy in both stages kept the Sam Hunt Racing machine outside of the top-10 in both stages. Although this was Daly’s first Xfinity race since the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL last year, it was his first experience on an oval. He enjoyed competing just as he’s enjoyed watching the series. “That was really fun,” Daly said. “I mean, the car was really fast. I honestly had a tremendous time. I think I got moved out of the way a little bit, which I expected, but I really enjoyed the racing and like racing with Shane was really fun. He’s awesome to race with some of those other guys too, so it’s just fun to run at the front with these guys because I watch every week. I enjoy watching the series, but this Toyota was fast, and it’s got a lot of character to it now.” Daly climbed into the top-10 while working with van Gisbergen in the final Stage. He had been battling with Justin Allgaier when the final caution of the race waved for an accident on the backstretch with 17 laps to go. Daly’s crew chief Kris Bowen opted to gamble with two tires under the ensuing caution. The difference in tire life tightened the Toyota Racing driver’s car. With fresher tires behind him on the restart, he was sent into the corners by Austin Hill and others in the closing laps. When the checkered flag waved, Daly slipped from seventh to 14th, his best career finish in 10 starts across NASCAR’s three National Touring Series. Camera: Ted Howlett, House Audio: Chad Pierce, Production Assistance and Video Equipment by Speedway Community Television

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for July 10th AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for July 10th – Guests: Kelly Jones and Glenn Timmis For the AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for July 10th, Host Don Kay sat down with guests Kelly Jones and Glenn Timmis. Check out The Fastest Hour in Motorsports. Kelly Jones, Kelly Jones graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989 with degrees in aerospace engineering and Japanese. A collegiate boxer fighting at middleweight, Kelly earned All-American athlete status as a bronze medalist in the 1989 National Collegiate Boxing Championships. Through his 12 years of service Kelly rose to the rank of Major as a decorated F-16 fighter pilot, instructor pilot, and strike mission commander. A graduate of the Air Force F-16 Instructor Course, Electronic Combat Instructor Course, Pacific Air Forces Aviation Crew Enrichment Seminar, and Raytheon Maverick Missile Symposium, Kelly Jones applied his 2,200 hours flight experience in the F-16 to lead, teach, and train dozens of his fellow elite fighter pilots. Following his career as a combat aviator, Kelly Jones piloted Airbus aircraft for eight years as a commercial airline pilot with FedEx. It was during this time that Kelly transitioned from combat aviation to motorsports, racing cars, karts, and motorcycles internationally while instructing on track with national car clubs and motorsports organizations. The beginnings of RaceCraft1 took hold in 2008 when Kelly applied his engineering talent to design, develop, and assemble the RaceCraft1 simulators, purpose-built expressly for formal instruction. Kelly harnessed his highly regarded instructor background and racing experience to write the RaceCraft1 curriculum, drawing upon Air Force instructional techniques honed through the hard lessons of more than a century of aviation history. Kelly takes racer development to heart, the same way he personally took to heart the schooling of F-16 pilots under his tutelage and on his wing. He made sure they were more than capable of successfully flying into threat infested target areas, putting ordnance on time on target, then fighting their way out together in 700mph, 9g environments to return home safely every time. Glen Timmis, Raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Glenn had what some might describe as the perfect childhood. Glenn’s dad traveled five days a week, but his next-door neighbor was Ernie Flowers, the right-fielder for the professional men’s fast-pitch softball team, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. Across the street lived Harry Burden, a car salesman who did some race-car driving at the local level. “Since dad was gone during the week, if Ernie wasn’t taking me to a ball game, Harry was taking me to a race,” says Glenn, now 84. Not surprisingly, Glenn developed an affinity for both sports but took a particular shine to the racetrack. In the 1940s his dad would take him to the Indianapolis 500 qualifications. He didn’t attend his first Indianapolis 500 race, however, until 1956 when he was a senior in high school. He attended 10 Indy 500 races as a spectator before he began working at the racetrack. In 1970 Glenn became an observer, a track official whose job entails standing next to the track wall with a headset and being the eyes and ears for race control. “Essentially you’re an extension of safety, making sure the track is clean and that no issues arise,” says Glenn, a Hendricks County resident. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has 15 observer stations, usually with two to a station. Observers are not to be confused with spotters, who work for the race teams to keep their drivers informed of their surroundings during a race. In 1971 Glenn worked for the United States Auto Club (USAC), the sanctioning body at the time for the Speedway. When Glenn worked with the USAC, it was a volunteer organization. “I was never paid a dime from USAC,” he says. “They gave us a meal ticket, but the cafeteria line was always too long to ever use it.” He didn’t earn a wage at the Speedway until the Indy Racing League (IRL) took over in 1996, which later morphed into IndyCar in 2008. With the IRL, Glenn traveled to racetracks across the country including the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. “I saw some great racing there,” he says. “When that green flag dropped, you held your breath until the end of the race. That was a cool racetrack and different from Indy because you could see all the way around it.” He traveled to Japan seven times. “That racetrack was super unique,” he says. “It was essentially on top of a mountain. Honda chopped off the top of the mountain and built a racetrack. It was an engineering marvel.” Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a tsunami several years ago. It’s hard for Glenn to single out a favorite race. “I can’t tell you the number of races where the winner was a blink of an eye,” he says. “A lot of them, you could throw a blanket over a dozen cars that were so close they could have shaken hands with each other.” In October of 2011, Glenn was working as an observer at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He found an open space at the fence so he moved down to have a better line of vision. “I saw two cars start to get a little bit out of shape at the end of turn two, so I got on the headset and said, ‘I have two cars,’” Glenn recalls. Then two more. Ultimately, 15 cars were involved in a wreck. “Then I saw a car in the air and said, ‘Oh, my god,’” Glenn says. “I stepped back away from the fence because I knew there would be flying debris.” Tragically, Dan Weldon, the 2005 and 2011 Indy 500 champion, perished in the crash. Glenn and his colleagues picked up parts of race cars outside of the fence for nearly an hour. Glenn’s wife Mary didn’t go to that race, but when she learned that it had been red-flagged due to a bad crash in turn two, she began calling Glenn to be sure he was OK. His daughter Kim recalls a handful of times when she was in a panic, not knowing if her father was hurt. “There’s an element of danger in this job,” Glenn says. “You don’t take your eyes off of the track and you don’t turn your back on a race car. You don’t dare hesitate in this job. If you do, it could kill you and certainly could kill other people.” After one of Glenn’s friends got killed before qualification day in 1973, he vowed not to get personally attached to the drivers, as it was too heart wrenching. He spoke to most of the drivers through marshaling the green and yellow flags during Indy qualifications for 29 years. “If you ask Roger Penske, A.J. Foyt or Bobby Rahal if they know Glenn Timmis, they would say, ‘Who?’” Glenn says. “But if you ask them about the guy who handled those flags for qualifications, they would say, ‘Oh yes, I remember him well.’” Though he loved his job, Glenn always promised himself that he wouldn’t be a 70-year-old observer. When he reached his 70s, however, he changed his tune. Then he claimed he wouldn’t be an 80-year-old observer…and yet there he was, still at it when he was 82. Ultimately, in 2020, he decided to hang it up after a 50-year career. “I like round numbers, and 50 seemed like a good time to go,” he says. Of course, he had no way of knowing that a global pandemic would serve to make his last race so anticlimactic. The 2020 race had no spectators in the stands, and the workers all had to wear masks. His family was certainly disappointed. “I had big plans for dad’s retirement and it all went up in smoke,” Kim says. As for Glenn’s feelings on retirement, he has mixed emotions. “I did what was right for me,” he says. “I did what was right for the IndyCar Series, but the adjustment sucks. I could see the light coming. It was like I’d crossed a finish line and I told my wife, ‘Even good things come to an end,’ but I miss the heck out of it.” On the plus side, last year was the first time Glenn got to watch the race in the stands with his family. He hasn’t missed a race since 1963. As anyone who has attended the Indy 500 can attest, the atmosphere on race day is electric. “When you see those 11 rows of three cars coming at you, it’s hard to describe the rush,” Glenn says. Glenn is a member of the Oldtimers, which is for former Indy 500 workers. Members are required to have worked 20 years at the Speedway to be eligible. Glenn helped get the late Arthur Carter (Indiana’s own Tuskegee Airman) into the club. In 2014 Glenn proudly served as guardian for Carter’s Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Now that he’s retired, Glenn confides that he sometimes feels irrelevant, but nothing could be further from the truth. He’s beloved by countless people who appreciate him for countless reasons.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for June 28th - Host Don Kay sits down with Guests Mark Miles and Scott Jasek, Mark Miles, Armed with a new television contract that will put all NTT IndyCar Series races on FOX beginning in 2025, the next major project on the agenda is finalizing a Charter System with the IndyCar team owners. Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles, the de facto CEO of IndyCar, confirmed to me that he will meet with key IndyCar team owners individually this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. That is the site of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Miles and other key Penske Corporation officials were scheduled to meet with IndyCar team owners on June 9 at Road America in Elkhart Lakes, Wisconsin, but that meeting was canceled. Miles and his group wanted to make some additional tweaks to their proposal, that would grant Charters to teams that compete for the full season in the NTT IndyCar Series. The charter system would protect each team owner’s equity in their racing teams, similar to the charter system currently in use in NASCAR. A team owner must have a charter to be financially rewarded in the Leader’s Circle Program that pays each qualified entrant over $1 million by pooling the prize fund from all races and distributing it evenly to the participants in each IndyCar race. Currently, the Leaders Circle is limited to the top 22 entrants from the previous season. If a new team owner wants to join IndyCar, they would need to acquire a charter from an existing team to get the full rewards of IndyCar participation. IndyCar now has a new television contract with a new Network...Fox Sports. What will be the advantage for viewers? Scott Jasek, Founded in 2001, the Indy Racing Experience provides fans the ultimate opportunity of a lifetime by experiencing the high speeds of IndyCar racing with our driving and 2-seater programs. While casually talking one afternoon in a small garage on Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis, Scott Jasek, Joe Kennedy and Jeff Sinden imagined stretching out a regular IndyCar Series car to allow for a passenger to sit behind the driver and truly experience the speed and pressure that comes with IndyCar racing. Nearly a decade later, the Indy Racing Experience has evolved into a one-of-a-kind experience for race fans and car enthusiasts. In addition to taking a ride in the 2-seater driven by an Indy Racing League driver around any of the tracks on the IndyCar Series schedule, fans also have the opportunity to drive these IndyCar machines, which competed in the Indianapolis 500. Thrill seekers have traveled the world to drive these cars at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In November 2008, the Indy Racing Experience expanded its operations to the Walt Disney World® Speedway near Orlando, Fla., and offers daily ride and drive opportunities at the former home of the IndyCar Series season opener. To date, the Indy Racing Experience has given more than 12,000 rides to celebrities, media, race fans, and car enthusiasts over the past eight years. However, the history of the company and its owners extends back more than 20 years.

The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for June 26th was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Host Don Kay sat down with guests Mark Miles and Scott Jasek Mark Miles Armed with a new television contract that will put all NTT IndyCar Series races on FOX beginning in 2025, the next major project on the agenda is finalizing a Charter System with the IndyCar team owners. Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles, the de facto CEO of IndyCar, confirmed to me that he will meet with key IndyCar team owners individually this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. That is the site of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Miles and other key Penske Corporation officials were scheduled to meet with IndyCar team owners on June 9 at Road America in Elkhart Lakes, Wisconsin, but that meeting was canceled. Miles and his group wanted to make some additional tweaks to their proposal, that would grant Charters to teams that compete for the full season in the NTT IndyCar Series. The charter system would protect each team owner’s equity in their racing teams, similar to the charter system currently in use in NASCAR. A team owner must have a charter in order to be financially rewarded in the Leader’s Circle Program that pays each qualified entrant over $1 million by pooling the prize fund from all races and distributing it evenly to the participants in each IndyCar race. Currently, the Leaders Circle is limited to the top 22 entrants from the previous season. If a new team owner wants to join IndyCar, they would need to acquire a charter from an existing team to get the full rewards of IndyCar participation. IndyCar now has a new television contract with a new Network...Fox Sports. What will be the advantage for viewers? “Chicago's Own" Scott Jasek Founded in 2001, the Indy Racing Experience provides fans the ultimate opportunity of a lifetime by experiencing the high speeds of IndyCar racing with our driving and 2-seater programs. While casually talking one afternoon in a small garage on Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis, Scott Jasek, Joe Kennedy and Jeff Sinden imagined stretching out a regular IndyCar Series car to allow for a passenger to sit behind the driver and truly experience the speed and pressure that comes with IndyCar racing. Nearly a decade later, the Indy Racing Experience has evolved into a one-of-a-kind experience for race fans and car enthusiasts. In addition to taking a ride in the 2-seater driven by an Indy Racing League driver around any of the tracks on the IndyCar Series schedule, fans also have the opportunity to drive these IndyCar machines, which competed in the Indianapolis 500. Thrill seekers have traveled the world to drive these cars at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In November 2008, the Indy Racing Experience expanded its operations to the Walt Disney World® Speedway near Orlando, Fla., and offers daily ride and drive opportunities at the former home of the IndyCar Series’ season opener. To date, the Indy Racing Experience has given more than 12,000 rides to celebrities, media, race fans and car enthusiasts over the past eight years. However, the history of the company and its owners extends back more than 20 years.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for June 11th - Guest: Dr. Pat Sullivan

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for June 11th – Guest: Dr. Pat Sullivan The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for June 11th at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street, in Brownsburg is now online on Autosportradio.com, the Autosportradio YouTube Channel, Don Kay F/B, Autosportradio F/B, Rumble and X.... Dr Pat Sullivan Dr. Pat, a 2017 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee and a man who has announced more USAC events than any other individual has been hired by the United States Auto Club to serve as a Special Projects and Media Consultant. Sullivan, of Carmel, Ind., will retire, effective July 1, from his full-time job at Indiana University where he has spent the past 30 years as a Chancellor’s Professor and an Associate Dean at the School of Social Work. The accolades for his “day job” are numerous. He served as the Director of the Division of Mental Health and Addictions from 1994 to the start of 1998 and was honored with the Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Frank O’Bannon in 1997. He was the recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash from Indiana Governor Joe Kernan in 2004 and was the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare Outstanding Alumni award winner in 2004. On the racing side, Sullivan has been tabbed as the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame National Media Member of the Year on six occasions and is also a member of the National Association of Auto Racing Fan Clubs Hall of Fame. At USAC’s Night of Champions, Sullivan received a Special Contribution Award in 2003 as well as the Dick Jordan Award in 2021. Throughout the decades, Sullivan has been mightily successful in multiple realms and has managed to balance his passion for teaching with his passion for auto racing, where he has long been an award-winning track announcer and author for several publications, papers, magazines, and books along with being one of the most knowledgeable and thorough historians in the racing world today. Now, with his retirement from the university imminent, he’ll be able to devote more time to his racing endeavors. It’s a dream scenario for Sullivan. “When I knew I was going to retire from the university several months ago, on sort of whim, I reached out to (USAC President & CEO) Kevin Miller and thought, ‘what’s he going to say? I already do quite a bit of announcing.’ He responded very quickly. He asked me on the phone if I was in, and I said, “Oh, I am so in.” “I’ve been in an administrative position at the university for a while, and there’s a fair degree of stress with that,” Sullivan added. “I even have some anxiety when I’m announcing a high-profile race, but it’s nothing like the anxiety I feel when I’m in my administration role. To shed that, and to be able to devote that time to racing, including the research which I love so deeply, is incredibly liberating, frankly. It’s still work, and it’s still a job that I’ll take seriously, but it’s still very much an avocation.” As a young man, Sullivan did not grow up in a particularly racing-oriented family. Like many families, it was a Memorial Day weekend tradition to gather around the radio and listen to Sid Collins call of the Indianapolis 500, which he did with his father at his Kansas City home. Sullivan attended his first USAC event when he was in his 20s and can still recall the fierce supermodified battles waged between Emmett Hahn and Ray Crawford at the Tulsa (Okla.) Fairgrounds. It was a watershed moment that turned the tide for him, so to speak and led him toward his fanaticism with the sport of auto racing that he retains stronger than ever to this day. Sullivan later moved to Missouri for his work at Southwest Missouri State University, and on the side, did a little bit of writing before receiving the opportunity of a lifetime, which led him to being front and center at a seminal moment for one auto racing’s utmost superstars during his early years in 1992. “I moved to Missouri and was already a great fan,” Sullivan recalled. “I had written some articles for a local racing paper and Bill Don Willard, who owned I-44 Speedway and Bolivar Speedway, called me and asked me if I thought I could announce, and I said, ‘I have no idea.’ Of course, that’s stock car country, but I was immediately thrilled because we were going to get a USAC race that year. Ultimately, I interviewed Tony Stewart after his very first USAC win, and then Tony and I became friends. The announcing part started right there.” Three decades ago, during the early part of the 1990s, Sullivan received a job offer from Indiana University that allowed him to make the move to the Hoosier State. Simultaneously, Sullivan immersed himself in the state’s rich racing scene with the UMRA TQ Midgets, Bloomington Speedway, Indianapolis Raceway Park and a number of races from a variety of sanctioning bodies, including a lengthy and successful stint in the pressroom at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His first job at the Speedway, which Bill Marvel helped arrange, was on the certification team as a USAC official. The first duty of the job involved an induction ceremony that was held upstairs at USAC’s office, which was led by Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles’ father, Judge Jeff Boles. Boles arrived in a judge’s gown, and he administered an oath, all in fun, but the whole process was a prideful moment for Sullivan. “I had a shirt that said, “United States Auto Club” on it, and I was really proud of that,” Sullivan beamed. “Just because of the history, I’ve always felt that USAC really emphasized professionalism. I was able to have a long association with (former USAC Communication Director) Dick Jordan, I’ve gotten to announce all these races. I really care a lot about the club, so this is really, really exciting.” The on-track aspect of the sport needs no further explanation, as it tells the story itself. What Sullivan relishes most in the sport are the relationships he’s developed with the individuals inside the arena, relationships that have endured a lifetime. “We think we know who Peyton Manning is, or Patrick Mahomes, or anybody from a major sport, but we really don’t,” Sullivan explained. “This is a sport where you really have the opportunity to get close to these people and talk to them and know a little bit more about their lives. There are always interesting characters to some degree, then when you’ve developed respect for them, when they respect what you do and appreciate what you do to try and help them, that means a lot.” “The fact that, at last year’s banquet, Justin Grant asked to have his picture taken with me,” Sullivan continued. “It’s a simple thing but it meant a great deal to me. I’ve known Justin since he was a kid, and I appreciated all it took for him to get to that moment. This one really meant a lot to him, and for him at that moment to ask me to join him on the stage, that was really touching to me. The thing is, I like all of them, and I’ve always appreciated the grassroots nature in what we do with USAC.”

The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show from Thursday, May 23rd is now available at www.autosportradio.com, Don Kay F/B page, Autosportradio F/B page, X, and theAutosportradio Rumble and YouTube Channels... The Autosportradio.com 2024 Show was recorded in front of a live audience on Thursday, May 23rd at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street, in Brownsburg, Indiana is now available online at www.autosportradio.com, Don Kay F/B page, Autosportradio F/B pages, X, Rumble, and the Autosportradio YouTube Channel. Guests... Dick Simon Richard Raymond Simon (born September 21, 1933) is a retired American auto racing driver and racing team owner. Simon drove Indy cars in USAC and CART and made 17 starts at the Indianapolis 500. At the 1988 Indianapolis 500, Simon set a record as the oldest driver in Indy 500 history (54 years, 251 days), a record that was later broken by A. J. Foyt. Simon was a longtime car owner, founding Dick Simon Racing, and helping to begin the Indy car careers of Stéphan Grégoire, Arie Luyendyk, Raul Boesel, Lyn St. James, and many others. Simon had a notable record at the Indy 500. Of the many rookies he entered at Indy over the years, not a single one failed to qualify for the race. Simon never won a race as a driver or as an owner. His best finish as a driver was 3rd at Ontario, and as an owner, he had six second-place finishes. Simon had a best finish at the Indianapolis 500 of 6th in 1987 (as a driver), and 4th in 1993 as an owner with Boesel. Simon sold his race team to Andy Evans who formed Team Scandia in 1997. He returned to Indy car racing in the late 1990s and entered cars in 2000 and 2001. Rodger Ward Jr. Rodger is the son of the 2-time 500 winner Rodger Ward Sr. and has been involved with the sport for many years. He worked in the sport until he started his business, Forward Electronics which turned out to be very successful. Rodger currently lives lived in California but, does go to several IndyCar races a year. When Autosport Radio started in Indianapolis in 1995 Rodger was my first co-host. He is also a "part-time" Minister.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for May 7th Guests: Mike Hull and Mark Jaynes The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana on May 7th. Stay tuned for the next live recording and join us if you can. If you can’t, that’s okay you can stay tuned for information on the next broadcast release of the AutoSportRadio.com Show. Enjoy this installment of the Fastest Hour in Motorsports. Mike Hull - Target Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Target Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull has “been there and done that” in the world of auto racing. Hailing originally from Los Angeles, he became involved with the sport in his youth and displayed plenty of ability behind the wheel in the early days of Formula Ford before realizing his calling lay elsewhere. An accomplished mechanic, Hull began plying his trade in a variety of junior open-wheel categories, including Formula Super Vee and Indy Lights, before moving up to the Indy cars and eventually joining Ganassi in 1992. He was promoted to the role of team manager in 1996, at which point the organization could boast a mere two race wins. Over the course of the next four years, Hull presided over 30 race wins as Ganassi became the first team ever to win four consecutive championship titles – one apiece with Jimmy Vasser and Juan Pablo Montoya sandwiching a pair for Alex Zanardi. The team has since added five more INDYCAR titles under Hull’s stewardship, two with Scott Dixon (2003 and 2008) and three straight with Dario Franchitti between 2009 and 2011. Its tally of 89 race wins, including four Indianapolis 500 victories, ranks second only to Penske Racing. Hull also has overseen an astonishingly successful foray into sports cars, claiming six Rolex GRAND-AM titles in just nine years. “Proven long-term success in motor racing defines a true team sport – it’s the ultimate people business,” said Hull. “It can be a lot of fun but also requires real dedication and an unselfish trust in others. I have been impressed by what the RRDC has been doing with SAFEisFAST.com and am delighted to have been asked to provide some feedback to anyone who is willing to commit themselves to a career in the sport.” Mark Jaynes - Lead Announcer – The Voice of the Indianapolis 500 Longtime broadcaster Mark Jaynes excels at sharing the airwaves with colleagues, and he did that in spades Sunday April 7th 2024. On this occasion, Jaynes wanted the largest banquet gathering of the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association to know that he couldn’t have earned induction in the group’s Hall of Fame without the help of so many along the way, including members of his family. Thus, with a host of fellow broadcasters, high school coaches and friends in the room for his induction, Jaynes listed a virtual Who’s Who of his life. “Came in around 50,” he later said of the list of people he credited and thanked in a 20-minute acceptance speech at the Valle Vista Golf Club in Greenwood, Indiana. “Humbling day, for sure.” Jaynes said he achieved a lifelong goal in 1996 when he joined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Jaynes later became the sixth person to become the “Voice of the 500” in 2016 in addition to being the chief announcer for the INDYCAR Radio Network, which broadcasts all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone races. Jaynes grew up in Monrovia, Indiana, the adopted hometown of the Bettenhausen family. He began calling mock Indianapolis 500s into a cassette recorder. His voice was so booming even at a young age that a school official referred to him as “Howard” – as in Howard Cosell. In 1987, Jaynes began working in Terre Haute, Indiana, the home of the Hulman-George family. His first job was at WTHI, where he met longtime IMS Radio Network announcer Mike King. Together, they called races at the Terre Haute Action Track and worked high school and college games. Jaynes spent 20 years as a pit reporter and turn announcer on the “500” and NTT INDYCAR SERIES races before moving into the anchor chair. Jaynes credited King, Bob Jenkins, Gary Lee and John Royer for their early guidance in his motorsports broadcasting career. Jaynes also broadcasts a number of Indiana high school events for the IHSAA Champions Network and ISC Sports Network. Jaynes teaches communications at Monrovia High School. He also has been a longtime football coach in the school system. “This is unreal, obviously,” Jaynes said of his Hall of Fame induction attended by IMS President J. Douglas Boles, INDYCAR President Jay Frye and fellow radio broadcasters Davey Hamilton, Jake Query, Dave Furst and Michael Young. “A lot of emotion from me, believe me.” Jaynes went on to say that being “an educator, the ‘Voice of the 500’ and a Hall of Famer is all second to being a dad and a (grandfather).” Jaynes showed his biggest appreciation for his wife, Desiree. “We just had the 38th anniversary of our blind date,” he said. “I hope it works out.” It has and more. Jaynes is now a Hall of Famer.

The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana on April 23rd. Stay tuned for the next live recording and join us if you can. If you can’t, that’s okay you can stay tuned for information on the next broadcast release of the AutoSportRadio.com Show. Enjoy this installment of the Fastest Hour in Motorsports. It was United States Auto Club aka USAC night on AutoSportadio.com Guests... Levi Jones, and John Mahoney USAC announces 2024 Hall of Fame class ... LEVI JONES – USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024 From the time he set off rolling down the road with his dad and their family-run racing operation, Levi Jones was determined to become a champion. Originating from humble beginnings, Jones, born on June 10, 1982, wasn’t afraid to test his abilities against USAC’s best from the outset. From the time he turned 16, the Olney, Illinois native learned the ropes, the trials and the tribulations. After nearly seven seasons of USAC competition, he broke through for his first USAC Sprint Car win in 2004 on the dirt in Charlotte, North Carolina. Veteran USAC driver and executive Levi Jones has been named director for NXT by Firestone (formally Indy Lights). He will oversee all operations and competition in the development series. The move comes following Penske Entertainment Corp. taking back its role as promoter. Jones steps into his new role after spending six years working in USAC. Since 2019, he's served as executive vice president, where he focused on expanding the series' efforts to increase its reach into youth, off-road, rally and sportscar racing. Notably, he served as the race director for the inaugural six-race SRX series this past summer. He began working in the racing governing body in 2015 as the national series competition director, where he helped plan more than 75 USAC events around the country each year in the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget national championships. From that point forward, no driver was as consistently successful as Levi. He earned his first USAC Sprint crown in 2005 for 2B Racing before joining Tony Stewart Racing’s stable where he reeled off successive championships in 2007-09-10-11. To boot, he added back-to-back USAC Silver Crown titles in 2010-11 for TSR for a total of seven USAC national points championship in his masterful career. In 2015, he hung up his helmet and joined USAC as its national series director and was ultimately named Vice President of Competition for the club’s Circle Track Division through 2021. Jones was also instrumental in establishing many new foundational events for USAC, most notably the BC39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. USAC Names 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees ... JOHN MAHONEY – USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024 Few, if any, individuals have witnessed more USAC events through a camera’s viewfinder, and perhaps nobody has been more adept at snapping an action or candid shot and transforming it into an art form more exquisitely than John Mahoney. Born in Indianapolis, Mahoney was raised in the center of the racing universe, and it wasn’t long before he was hooked. Mahoney’s earliest racing memories recount visits to the Indianapolis 500 and the Hoosier Hundred during the mid-1950s. However, it was a USAC Sprint Car race at Terre Haute which laid the foundation for a lifelong addiction to the sport. Early on, Mahoney took his store-bought box camera into the pits after the races. With the assistance of his brother, Steve, Mahoney developed the photos for posterity. At Indiana University, Mahoney met fellow student Gene Crucean, and the instant bond between them forged a lifelong friendship. The Crucean/Mahoney partnership led to the creation of Sprint Car Pictorial, race promotion and even the ownership of a USAC Midget team. From 1984-85, Mahoney served as USAC’s Assistant Director of the USAC News Bureau as well as the Silver Crown Series Coordinator. In 2019, Mahoney was the inaugural recipient of the Dick Jordan Award of Excellence.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for April 9th - Guests: Jeff Horton and Bobby Plump; AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for April 9th was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana with host Don Kay. Jeff Horton Jeff was the Director of Engineering during both the Indy Racing League and also the IndyCar Series. He was involved in the development of the windscreen. Safety was his primary interest. After leaving IndyCar Jeff kept in contact with various safety projects. Though not directly involved with the development of the Safer Barrier Jeff helped develop the new foam that is being installed in all Safer Barriers. Bobby Plump (Bobby's last and winning shot) Butler Fieldhouse is filled to capacity with 15,000 people. There is less than a minute to go in what may be the most famous high school basketball state final in American sports history. The score is 30-28. Upstart Milan High School (161 students) is leading four-time state champion Muncie Central (1,662 students). Muncie controls the ball, with every pass, every cut and every shot carrying the weight of a championship. Ray Craft, a Milan senior guard, leaps to intercept a mid-court pass, but narrowly misses what would have been a game-clinching turnover. He recovers back by the free throw line, again with a narrow miss steal, fingertips away from potentially sealing the game. Instead, Muncie moves the ball down low and scores an layup. It's tied 30-30. Craft pumps his fist down in frustration after the basket. He regains his composure and passes the inbound to his classmate, fellow senior guard Bobby Plump. Plump calmly dribbles the basketball up the court. He's meticulous in how he bounces the ball back and forth, stalling to wind down the clock. A teammate to his left raises both hands to call timeout. The players run to their respective benches. The crowd noise rises to a crescendo accompanying anticipation inside the fieldhouse. Milan coach Marvin Wood calmly draws up a play in the huddle. He's always been quiet. This pressure-packed moment doesn't faze the 26-year-old. The play is repeated for clarification. Craft is supposed to take the ball out of bounds and pass to Plump. Wood tells the team that Plump can dribble for five to six seconds then make a move to shoot and in case of a miss, the team could possibly tip it in with time left. Starting center Gene White advises the rest of the team to stand on the left side of the court to clear a path for Plump. Wood agrees.

The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for March 26th Guests: Kasey Coler, Tony Pedregon, Bobby Santos III and McKenna Haase; The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for March 26th was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street (SR 267) in Brownsburg, Indiana. Every other week, or as is alternatively scheduled, AutoSportRadio.com Host Don Kay sits down with the movers, shakers and decision makers in the motorsports industry. Here is the recording for the show from 3/26/24 – Enjoy! Kasey Coler, As part of his responsibilities as NHRA’s Vice-President Track Management & Operations, Kasey Coler oversees the NHRA-owned and operated facilities in Indianapolis, Gainesville, and Atlanta. While they are primarily known for their NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series national events, Coler has helped to expand their schedules to include a wide-ranging schedule of events that include the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, NMRA and NMCA muscle car races, NHDRA motorcycle events, and the Ultimate Call Out Challenge Diesel festival, just to name a few. In 2019, Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis will feature 165-days of on-track activities while Gainesville Raceway and Atlanta Dragway are each expected to have nearly 100 days of racing apiece. Tony Pedregon, Two-time NHRA Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon stepped out of his 10,000-horsepower hot rod and into the FOX NHRA broadcast booth in 2016, making his broadcast debut at the season-opening Winternationals alongside veteran play-by-play announcer Dave Rieff. Tony began his professional drag racing career in 1992, qualifying for his first event behind the wheel of a Top Fuel dragster before moving to Funny Cars in 1995 for owner Larry Minor. In 1996, Pedregon went to work for 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, campaigning a second Funny Car for the team en route to winning the inaugural Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. Winning 43 national events in 76 NHRA final rounds on his career, Pedregon has driving experience in several NHRA categories, including Funny Car, Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster. Bobby Santos III, Robert Santos III is an American professional racing driver from Franklin, Massachusetts. He graduated in 2004 from Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School. Santos, nicknamed "Bobby New England", is the grandson of Bobby Santos, a former modified racer. His sister, Erica Santos, is also a racecar driver. He is the cousin of former University of New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos. After his stint in stock car racing, Santos returned to his roots, racing the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for Bob Garbarino's Mystic Missile Racing team and a limited schedule in all three USAC divisions. Santos also made select appearances in the NEMA ranks in 2009. Santos' post-NASCAR career has been highlighted by wins in many of the nation's largest midget races, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix and Copper World Classic. He also won the 2020 Little 500 USAC Sprint car race at Anderson Speedway. McKenna Haase, McKenna Haase is a 26 year old racecar driver from Des Moines, Iowa. She first fell in love with racing after accidentally meeting NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne in a shopping mall when she was in 3rd grade and was also inspired by her cousin, Trenton, who started racing junior sprints when he was 6. When she was 13, she started her own race team, Team Haase Racing LLC and began racing box stock outlaw karts in 2010. She funded her team through seeking her own sponsorship and has continued managing THR from 2010-2023. She began racing sprint cars primarily at Knoxville Raceway when she was 17, and in her second season she became the first female to win a sprint car feature at Knoxville in 114 years. In 2018, she picked up her 5th career feature win at Knoxville Raceway. Her mission since she began operating my own race team at the age of 13 has been to work in unison with partners, fans, and teams to create not only a winning race team, but a faith based race team focused on honesty, excellence, and integrity both off and on the racetrack. She is committed to putting her partners first and strives to be a good advocate for them as well as her fans and fellow racers. Throughout her career she's gained seat time behind the wheel of outlaw karts, micro sprints, midgets, asphalt late models, and sprint cars. Outside of racing she was a Finance major at Drake University where she was the president of the Drake Investment Club. She's appeared on NBC's American Ninja Warrior Season 11 and 13 and Fox Sports 1's This Racing Life. She also owns her own youth driver development program, Compass Racing Development LLC, which was founded in 2015 as a faith based youth racing program to give kids opportunities in racing they wouldn't have received otherwise. In 2019, she founded Youth Racers of America Inc. as a way of helping kids nationwide to have a more accessible path into racing. Today she lives in Indianapolis and races 410 sprint cars across the Midwest.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for March 14th, Guests; Conor Daly and Mike Maurini The Autosportradio.com 2024 Show is now available at www.autosportradio.com, X, Rumble, YouTube, the Don Kay FB page and the Autosportradio FB page. Conor Daly, "When Dennis first called me, he told me he believed I could win the Indy 500 and all he wanted going into 2024 was the best chance to win as a team. As a driver, what more could you want?" Daly said in a team release. "To be teamed up with a champion like Ryan (Hunter-Reay) as well I believe truly makes us a threat in the month of May." Having shared the 6th row on the grid with his new teammate a year ago in the 500 after qualifying 16th, Daly registered his second consecutive top-10 finish in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing a year ago, less than two weeks before he and ECR parted ways. His best 500 finish among his 10 previous starts came in 2022, where he took 6th. The Noblesville native raced four times a year ago as a substitute for an injured Simon Pagenaud at Meyer Shank Racing at Mid-Ohio and the Iowa doubleheader as well as with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at World Wide Technology Raceway after the team cut ties with Jack Harvey late in the year. During his brief stint with MSR, Daly and Hunter-Reay touched late in a race at Iowa, nudging the former into the wall with two laps to go, in a move that Hunter-Reay later blamed on his spotter and which Daly called "probably not malicious but oddly ironic." Mike Maurini “It has been a busy off-season, but we are anxious to get going,” explained HMD Motorsports President Mike Maurini. “Everyone at the shop from the mechanics, to engineering, to management has worked very hard through the winter to ensure that we are ready to start the season. The excitement for the first race of the season is here, but also for when the team comes home as we will return to our new 80,000 square foot race shop.” HMD Motorsports, the reigning two-time series champions, will debut a record-setting ten-car lineup in the season opener comprised of four veterans: 2023 INDY NXT Rookie of the Year Nolan Siegel, 2023 race winner Reece Gold, Christian Bogle, Josh Pierson, and six rookies including the 2023 USF Pro 2000 series champion Myles Rowe, Niels Koolen, Jonathan Browne, Nolan Allaer, 2023 FR Americas Champion Callum Hedge, and multi-time FIA F3 race winner Caio Collet.

The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for February 20th – Guests: Andy O’Gara, Danny O’Gara and Mike Kitchell The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show was recorded Tuesday February 20th at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street (SR 267) in Brownsburg, - Stay tuned for details on our next live AutoSportRadio.com Show recording. Andy O'Gara Andy got his start racing by following in the footsteps of his father, John. The elder O’Gara began in 1980, working on the late Tim Richmond’s car. Moves to A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers and Team Menard were next. Andy watched his dad and, like many sons, decided to follow his father in the same business. Andy began with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the Indy Racing League. It was in the IRL that O’Gara met his wife, race car driver and team owner Sarah Fisher. Fisher had the highest finish for a woman in the IRL when she took second at the 2001 Infinity Grand Prix in Homestead, Fla. After marrying in 2007, O’Gara and Fisher, established Sarah Fisher Racing, where O’Gara spent most of his career until a 2015 merger with Ed Carpenter Racing. O’Gara, like his father, also worked with Foyt. And while Sunday’s Indy 500 race will be the 24th for O’Gara, racing isn’t his only passion. Along with Fisher, he owns and operate O’Gara Enterprises, a multi-business company that includes Speedway Indoor Karting, Business Art Designs, O’Gara’s Irish Pub in Beech Grove, Metal Fabrications Plus and the nationally known Whiteland Raceway Park. “We started Speedway Indoor Karting in 2016 and then bought Whiteland Raceway Park in 2018,” O’Gara said. “We revamped it and finished a multimillion-dollar expansion there. On top of that, we’re trying to establish a foothold for industries that we utilize within motorsports as a whole.” And they juggle family life, too, with two children. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also the “other” race team they direct, which runs on the short ovals of the Midwest. “We have two USAC midgets, one USAC sprint car, one USAC Silver Crown car and one USF2000 car, so we’re busy racing those non-stop as well,” O’Gara said. Danny O'Gara “Danny O’Gara’s outstanding performance at the 50th Annual WKA Manufacturers Cup Series is a testament to his dedication and skill as a young driver. We are proud to have him represent our team, and excited for him that he is apart of history at the famed Daytona International Speedway now having 2 wins on his resume.” said Blake Deister, Owner Top Kart USA. Sarah Fisher, Owner of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, and mother of Danny O’Gara states, “Karting has been the most fun, best grass roots racing experience that Andy [Husband] and I have been apart of and this weekend was no different! From the variety of competitors to the depths of the fields, it was a tremendous weekend. We shared another year of family racing traditions in Daytona, although Dan set a record for our family, leaving with two wins and purple race laps in both classes! Hard work, preparation and the very best support from Top Kart USA, Allison Racing Engines and Lawson Racing Engines kept us top of class all weekend. Can’t wait for the next challenge!” Mike Kitchel I learned about the public relations profession at 230 mph: Ten years with an IndyCar Series team – Panther Racing – followed by another four seasons as the director of communications at INDYCAR, the sanctioning body for the open-wheel racing series that’s highlighted by the Indianapolis 500. Now I’ve decided to take the next step with the formation of Catalyst 317 – opening our services to the masses and, hopefully along the way, creating an opportunity to help up-and-coming PR professionals grow, inspire and flourish.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for January 31st - Host Don Kay interviews Guests: Merle Bettenhausen and Dennis Reinbold' The Autosportradio.com 2024 Show for January 31st is having it’s broadcast release today. You can tune into the commercial free version on SCTV Speedway Community Television, or you can catch it on several AutoSportRadio.com platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Rumble, Tumblr, or by clicking on the link on the AutoSportRadio.com page. The show was recorded in front of a live audience Wednesday January 31st at Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street (SR 267) in Brownsburg, Indiana. Our next live show is scheduled for February 20th. We’re skipping a week to spend some special sweetheart time with our loved ones on Valentines Day. I hope you all can do the same. Scheduled guests.... Merle Bettenhausen Merle is one of the three racing sons of the late Melvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen. In May of 1961, when Merle was 17, his father would pay the ultimate price at Indy while testing an ill handling car for friend Paul Russo. Merle and his brothers would take up the mission of putting the Bettenhausen name on the Indianapolis "500" Borg-Warner Trophy. Merle began driving Midgets, Sprint Cars and Champ Cars to get more experience before tackling Indy. During the winter of 1969 as he toured Australia and New Zealand under the wing of USAC National Midget Champion Bob Tattersall. By 1972, Merle believed he was prepared for the challenge of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He passed the mandatory rookie driver's test but did not attempt to qualify. Later that year Merle was involved in a serious racing incident that forever would alter his life. He was competing in a Champ Car at the Michigan International Speedway on July 16th. While finishing lap 3, he apparently lost control and hit the outside guard rail. The car caught fire and as he attempted to exit while it was still in motion and his right arm was severed. In the process he was badly burned as well but remained conscious through it all. During his recovery Merle gave recognition to many by name for saving his life. These included rescue personnel, firemen and others who retrieved him from the burning car, and to the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members. In June of 1973, Merle was ready to return to racing in Lehmann's Midget at Charleston, Illinois, on the 16th. More tragedy would come to the Bettenhausen family. Brother Gary would crash at Syracuse, New York in 1974, leaving his left arm permanently paralyzed. Moreover he would continue racing full-tilt, including 15 more "500" starts; driving one-handed he would also score his best finish of third in 1980. Nearly a quarter century later, Tony Lee and wife, Shirley, would perish in an airplane crash in early 2000. He had 11 Indy starts before retiring as an active driver and then became an owner of a successful CART racing stable. Merle then became guardian for Tony and Shirley's two daughters, trustee of their estate and manager of Tony's racing team. Although Merle's racing career was a short one, he demonstrated he was a winner as he had registered 8 USAC event wins. Dennis Reinbold Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was founded in 1999 by Indianapolis car dealer Dennis Reinbold. The legacy of the Dreyer and Reinbold family dates back to the 1920s with Reinbold’s grandfather, the legendary Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, a former factory motorcycle racer. Dreyer served as a crewman and mechanic on the famed Duesenberg driven by Benny Shoaff and Babe Stapp in the 1927 Indy 500. Dreyer went on to build Indy 500 cars in the 1930s which many started on the front row. In addition, Dreyer constructed championship-winning sprint cars and midgets as well as quarter midgets called Dreyerettes. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing captured its first win in 2000 with driver Robbie Buhl at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla., and has fielded a variety of drivers including Buhl, Buddy Lazier, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Rice, Ryan Briscoe, Al Unser Jr., Townsend Bell and Sage Karam. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has successfully qualified all 40 drivers for the Indy 500 in its history. DRR, who campaigned in the Rallycross for the first time in 2015, captured the 2016 Lites championship in 2016. In 2019, DRR campaigned Karam, Hildebrand, Conner Martell, Cole Keatts, Gray Leadbetter and Lane Vacala in the Lites division.

AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for January 16th – Brian Barnhart and Mark “Bones” Bourcier The AutoSportRadio.com 2024 Show for January 16th will be released tonight for broadcast. You can catch it again, or maybe just for the first time at www.autosportradio.com or the AutoSportRadio Facebook or Twitter, or on AutoSportRadio.com’s YouTube page. We’re also on Rumble and Tumblr. Scheduled guests.... Brian Barnhart, Brian is an American motorsports executive. He is the general manager of Arrow McLaren, having been known for his past roles within the IndyCar Series paddock as a chief mechanic, pit crewman, race strategist and team president. Additionally, he has worked in the past for the series as race director, president, and CEO. Career Chief mechanic/pit crew Barnhart served as a pit crew member or chief mechanic on IndyCar teams including Patrick Racing, Galles Racing and Team Penske. Teams Barnhart crewed for won two championships and two Indianapolis 500s In 1990, he suffered minor injuries during a pit fire in Al Unser Jr.'s pit during the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland.[3] In the 1992 Indianapolis 500, Barnhart was the left-rear tire changer on the pit crew of Unser's winning car.[4] In 1993, he served as chief mechanic for Al Unser Sr.'s King Racing, Kenny Bernstein-owned entry. IndyCar race director For 1994, Barnhart was working for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as director of race operations.[2] For the 1997 season, Barnhart had been hired by the Indy Racing League (IRL, now IndyCar Series) and was serving as its director of operations. In 2000, Barnhart was promoted to VP of operations.[1] Barnhart would hold the position of race director until 2011. From 2005 to 2007, Barnhart was also president and CEO of the series. On March 11, 2007, prominent open-wheel journalist Robin Miller reported that the IRL was seeking a new leader for its marketing side and that once found, Barnhart would return to his operations role. Terry Angstadt was subsequently hired to fill the role of President of Marketing Operations of the league and Randy Bernard was hired as CEO, leaving Barnhart to focus on operations. During the 2011 season, Barnhart was criticized by fans, drivers, and owners, and especially Miller for inconsistencies in his role as chief race steward. For 2012, Barnhart was repurposed to the role of president of operations and strategy and the next year to vice president of competition. For 2015, he was re-appointed by IndyCar as race director. Among Barnhart's roles in this position was to give final instructions at each driver's meeting before every race, including the public driver's meeting prior to the 2017 Indianapolis 500. He also was given a three-man Stewarding panel that assisted in assessing penalties, instead of being a lone chief steward, as he was through the 2011 season. The panel included former drivers Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis. Upon his departure after 2017, long-time detractor Robin Miller said, "I have to admit he was damn good as race director." Team management/race strategist For 2018, Barnhart became the president of Harding Racing and remained in the position as it became Harding Steinbrenner Racing. He also served as race strategist for driver Colton Herta, helping the young driver win his third career start.[2] When HSR merged with Andretti Autosport for 2020, the parent team retained Herta and Barnhart. For 2021 and 2022, Barnhart took a reduced role within Andretti, solely calling strategy for Andretti drivers James Hinchcliffe ('21) and Alexander Rossi ('22). For 2023, Barnhart joined Arrow McLaren, being named general manager after president Taylor Kiel left the team. His move followed that of Rossi's, for whom he would continue to call strategy. " Bones" Mark “Bones” Bourcier began writing for Gater Racing News at the age of 16 and never looked back. He became managing editor of Speedway Scene at age 19 in 1979. In 1988, he began penning for Open Wheel Magazine, and then in Car Racing and Speedway Illustrated. Since the initial writing of this mini-biography Bones has been elected into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

AutoSportRadio.com 2023 Show for December 19th with Guests JW and "Dad" Dr. Jack Miller - The AutoSportRadio.com 2023 Show was recorded live at the Green Street Pub and Eatery located at 911 N. Green Street (SR267) in Brownsburg, Indiana Tuesday December 19th. The program is broadcast on Speedway Community Cable (SCTV) on Xfinity and AT&T U-verse. It can also be found at autosportradio.com, the AutoSportRadio YouTube channel, Don Kay Facebook page, AutoSportRadio Facebook page, X (Twitter) and Rumble and Tumblr. Stay tuned for our next live show. We’d love to have you in our live audience. If you can’t make it, please tune in to one of the many platforms the AutoSportRadio.com Show is available on. 2024 is going to be a great year to catch the Fastest Hour in Motorsports. Scheduled guests: Jack William (JW) and Dad Dr Jack Miller, A fixture in the junior open-wheel formula program for the past several seasons, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (MVM) is making the move to the INDY NXT by Firestone program in 2024. With a pair of successful tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park, Jack William Miller, with the support of several new and longtime partners, will climb the ladder and now sits one step away from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “To say I am excited is an understatement,” explained Jack William Miller, who will pilot the #40 entry for Miller Vinatieri Motorsports. “I did my time in the ladder program, gaining experience along the way, and am ready for the future challenge. While we enter INDY NXT as a single-car program competing against some huge multi-car efforts, there are some positives that we hope we can capitalize on being a smaller program as I head into my rookie season.” “I raced five seasons in INDY NXT (formerly IndyLights) when I was younger and to watch my son succeed and move up the ladder is something very special to both myself, and my family,” explained Miller, who co-owns Miller Vinatieri Motorsports with former NFL Superstar and four-time Superbowl Champion kicker Adam Vinatieri. “His dream, much like mine was, is to compete in the Indy 500 and in INDYCAR and the move to INDY NXT makes the dream one more step closer to becoming a reality.” With two more tests and four more days on track before the first green flag of the season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in early March, Miller will see action at the Sebring International Raceway in mid-January before crossing the country and over to California to test at the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in early February. Miller continued, “I have been working hard both on and off the track to make sure that I am 100% ready. I feel physically and mentally ready to compete and in my two tests so far, felt comfortable behind the wheel. I am ready.”

AutoSportRadio.com 2023 Show for November 21st with Guests; Tom Weisenbach and Bill Pappas. The AutoSportRadio.com 2023 Show was recorded in front of a live audience at Green Street Pub and Eatery in Brownsburg, Indiana with Host and Executive Producer Don Kay with help from Cameraman and Producer Ted Howlett, with production assistance from Speedway Community Television's Brian Pearce and Bill Pea. For all you grass roots and IndyCar fans this program shows what is being done to improve safety at the short tracks and what's new for IndyCar. The Autosport Radio 2023 Show video will be available today, November 21st, on www.autosportradio.com. the Don Kay FB page, the Autosport FB page, also Rumble and Twitter(aka X). You can also find on the autosportradio YouTube page. Guests.... - Tom Weisenbach; Experience President T-Bach Sports Marketing, Inc. Mar 2006 - Present 17 years 9 months Indianapolis, Indiana Area *Business Development *Project Management *Event Planning *Team Building *Recruitment Clients have included the Monroe Custom Utility Bodies, International Council of Motorsport Sciences, National Transportation Center, the Bob & Tom Radio Network, Motorsports Safety Education Foundation, Speedway Motors/AFCO Racing, 180 Skills and the Indiana Motorsports Association. * Executive Director INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOTORSPORT SCIENCES INC Jun 2020 - Present 3 years 6 months Indianapolis, Indiana, United States • Team Consultant Lamkin Racing Nov 2022 - Present 1 year 1 month Fishers, Indiana, United States Nolan Lamkin Racing is part of Tom Wood Powersports and competes in the MotoAmerica Series. - Bill Pappas With Hybrid coming to the NTT IndyCar Series. How and why will be explained by Bill so we can all understand what it will do for the Series. Packaging this unit in the current IndyCar chassis – when the engine has already been refined by both manufacturers over 12 years to the point it’s as finely packaged as you can expect – has been a challenge, as you can imagine. The super-capacitor is significant because most series use batteries to store energy, but the super-capacitor helps to keep the weight of the IndyCar down and the amount of space taken up to a minimum, which was vital in retrofitting a hybrid system to the current IndyCar. Super-capacitors are not good for long-lasting power. But this hybrid will be used as part of IndyCar’s push-to-pass system in 2024, which suits the super-capacitor’s upside of being good at short, sharp and powerful boosts of energy. It also has certain safety benefits – it can be less volatile than alternatives, which is good when IndyCars reach speeds of 240mph. The end result of the package is that the stored energy is used to power IndyCar’s new push-to-pass system. Currently, on road and street courses, IndyCar drivers have a boost of 60bhp for 200 seconds and they can decide when and where to use that over a race. It’s a more flexible alternative to Formula 1’s DRS. With the new system, there will be an extra 150bhp on tap from the hybrid, and it can be used repeatedly through the race without a time limit. The only limitation is how good drivers and teams are at figuring out how to recharge their push to pass. IndyCar still hasn’t confirmed exactly how regenerating the push to pass will happen. It’s usually done under heavy braking. Using hybrid power on pitlane is common in other series, but how the hybrid gets used outside of the push to pass in IndyCar is still to be confirmed and, perhaps more importantly, clarified. In addition to Bill working with the administration of the Series, he also has 3 Indy 500 championship rings as a competitive team member.

AutoSportRadio.com 2023 Show for October 10th with Conor Daly and Jason VanSickel; The AutoSportRadio.com 2023 was recorded at the Green Street Pub and Eatery, 911 N. Green Street in Brownsburg, Tuesday October 10th. Host Don Kay chatted with two guests and the broadcast program will debut today. Guests... Conor Daly Second-generation racer Conor Daly climbed into a kart for the first time at the age of 10; within five years, he was competing in both United States and international open-wheel ladder systems. He found success in each before concentrating solely on American motorsports in 2015. He currently drives the No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing and is entering his fourth season with the team. Of course, IndyCar fans know that Conor didn’t finish the season in the BitNile #20 car for Ed Carpenter Racing. Conor and ECR separated their efforts near the middle of the 2023 IndyCar Season. Conor went on to fill in for Simon Pagenaud in his Meyer-Shank Racing #60 car for a couple of races after Simon’s Mid-Ohio wreck. After RLL and Jack Harvey ended their working relationship, Conor also filled in for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s #30 car. Conor always outperformed his teammates on these occasions and is currently seeking a competitive full-time opportunity. Conor has raced in all three of the top NASCAR series’ this year, including his efforts in the NASCAR crown jewel, the Daytona 500. Conor has also made several starts in the exciting Nitro Rallycross Series. Born and raised in nearby Noblesville, Ind., Daly has become a hometown favorite in the Indianapolis 500. The 2021 edition saw him lead the most laps of all drivers and in 2022, he finished a career-best 6th. In 2023, he will reach a career milestone as he makes his 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start early in the season and compete in his 10th Indianapolis 500. The 30-year-old’s off-track interests are as diverse as his on-track talents. He is no stranger to reality television, having crisscrossed the globe on The Amazing Race and competed on American Ninja Warrior. Daly is a huge supporter of live music and is commonly seen greeting fans in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Snake Pit just hours before the Indy 500. An avid gamer, Daly’s popular Twitch channel features his quick wit and infectious personality. Daly is also an advocate for Type 1 Diabetes, with which he was diagnosed at age 14, and is the only known U.S. professional racing driver who competes full-time with T1D. Jason Vansickle - Jason is Vice President of Curation and Education for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Jason has been with the Museum since 2011, having served in numerous roles, most recently as Curator starting in 2018 before being promoted to his current position in February of 2022. Jason is leading the charge with new exhibition creation and content development designed with visitation growth in mind. He oversees the collection and restoration department and is developing the Museum's educational programming. With the Museum undergoing a major renovation, Jason and his team will work with outside agencies to develop all exhibitions, displays, and content.