Hosts

Dan Maldonado

I  remember the first time I watched the Indy 500. It was May 1989.

Emerson Fittipaldi won over Al Unser Jr. when the two drivers touched in turn 3. Little Al spun out and Fittipaldi went on to claim his first victory. I just thought Emerson or Emmo was the coolest race car driver I’d ever seen on TV. After that I was hooked!

It was many years before I got to visit Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As luck would have it, my first visit to IMS was 1995 when the vaunted Team Penske missed the show.

To this day I still believe the Marlboro Team Penske PC chassis are among the best looking IndyCars ever. BUT that day, Penske leased a Lola from Rahal Hogan racing where all the Miller Decals were replaced by a simple with “Marlboro” on the side pod. Simply amazing. 

This Podcast is the culmination of a desire to share my thoughts on IndyCar racing – post reunification and now under Penske ownership. When news and notes from the world of IMSA, Formula 1 and NASCAR warrant it, we will discuss it.

Tim Reiner

As a pre-teen I attended my first Indy Car event at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) with my father and eldest brother.  

It was an annual journey that solidified by passion for motorsports. I can remember Paul Tracy, in the Mobile 1 entry slapping the wall on lap two, in turn four, of the 1991 Marlboro 500.

However, in all the years attending MIS the most prominent moment was meeting Walter Payton. He was a people’s person taking time to interact with the fans. In my college years, I would attended pole day at Indy and have since attended the race many times. Meeting Jay Leno in the paddock was a treat in 1995. 

Through luck and, I suppose, hard work (aka a job in the “industry”) I was able to visit and attend many Indy car events. A few stick out – 2000 Nazareth Speedway Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, the race never happened that weekend because of a snow storm but going to the dinner to honor Mario Andretti as the “Driver of the Century” was pretty awesome. The 1999 Indy 500 with VIP access.  I recall standing on the grid prior to the event in awe.  Although not Indy Car, Talladega Superspeedway is another.  The fans and the race were incredible. There are so many more memories and I could go on, but I won’t.

This podcast is Dan’s idea and we’ll see where it takes us. Godspeed!      

This podcast is Dan’s idea and we’ll see where it takes us. Godspeed!