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00:00Guys, this, I think, is absolutely fascinating.
00:03Our race leader, Felix Rosenquist, has been running consistently in the 1-minute 9.9s.
00:09109.9, 109.9, 109.9, every lap consistently on that.
00:14Joseph Newgarden, 109.5, 109.4, half a second a lap quicker,
00:20then a brace over the last three laps.
00:22109.0, 109.0, 109.0.
00:26He is the fastest driver on track compared to the race leader by a full second a lap right now.
00:32He is making pay while the sun shines.
00:34And he needs to because he's committed now to a three-stop program.
00:37You lose about 40 seconds on pit lane.
00:41So if you're going to make three stops versus two, you've got to make up 40 seconds somehow.
00:46If you don't get a caution, it's going to have to come on pace on the racetrack.
00:50Kev, what can you tell us about Pelot?
00:52Well, I know you guys have been interested in what Joseph Newgarden is doing
00:55in his quick lap times about a second, faster than everyone.
00:58Alex Pelot has also been asking, hey, what's Newgarden doing?
01:02You know he's always on top of things.
01:04He and Barry Wands are his strategists, have been talking back and forth.
01:07So Pelot has been asking, by the way, also,
01:10Barry asked Alex how are the tires about two laps to go, and he said they are good.
01:15So he's making the soft Firestones last.
01:17He needs to get at least seven more laps.
01:19Ideally, they'd love to get to 29 or 30.
01:24With the pace that we're seeing right now, I don't see why that would be a struggle.
01:28They tend to go to get to that ideal window.
01:31Let's hear what Felix Rosenquist has to say about his Firestones.
01:36We'll go rear bar to P2, rear bar, P2.
01:39We're just worried about the left rear than the front.
01:44So that's an instruction from Myers-Shank Racing to Felix Rosenquist to soften up, more than likely, the rear anti
01:51-roll bar.
01:52What that does is allow that suspension, as we see it working so beautifully right now,
01:57work independently with a little less resistance.
02:00That roll bar helps the car from rolling over too much.
02:04If it's stiffer, if it's softer, it lets the suspension be a little bit more compliant.
02:07So you lose some stability and a little bit of sharpness in the handling,
02:11but you gain more compliance, which allows the rear tire to hopefully last just a little longer.
02:17It also usually really helps with traction.
02:19And there's some big traction events here, especially coming up out of Turn 11,
02:24out of that famous hairpin.
02:25You're going 30 miles an hour minimum speed.
02:27Actually, let's check and listen.
02:28You're going to see about 30 mile an hour minimum speed.
02:31Then you've got to get 750 horsepower down onto the ground.
02:35And back on the timing stand, these engineers, they can see tire pressures, tire temperatures.
02:39They've got a really good sense of where those tires are at.
02:41They're trying to stay ahead of it, trying to predict where the problems could be coming
02:45and get Felix to make that adjustment before it becomes an issue.
02:49Its gap to Alex Pillow is increasing.
02:51Nearly two seconds between Felix Rosenquist and Alex Pillow.
02:54But the man pushing, the man trying to take advantage of this race is Joseph Newgarden.
03:00Way more than a second a lap faster than anyone.
03:06Yeah, pivotal stage of this race now.
03:09Lots of question marks over that red tire and also the fuel mileage.
03:13Thanks to everyone getting in touch on social media.
03:17Corinne and Conor Leonard getting in touch on Instagram.
03:21So is Aaron back.
03:23Conor Leonard saying, would Alex Pillow make it in Formula One?
03:27We've got to make it here first at Long Beach before he makes it in Formula One.
03:32Desperate to get back to the top of the championship standings after such a fantastic year last year.
03:39Yes, is the short answer to that.
03:43Alex Pillow's that good.
03:44You're watching a generational talent and he would be world class in whatever championship he competes in.
03:53Here we go.
03:55Joseph Newgarden's window of opportunity slowly eroding away.
04:28Joseph Newgarden has to keep pushing.
04:30And the teams will have to react to him and will have to keep him in their window because he
04:37is very, very quick.
04:41But to catch 40 seconds, you're going to have to, he's a second a lap quicker at this stage.
04:49But those tires will only last at that pace for a set amount of time.
04:54We'd have to do that for another 40 laps to get himself back into the window without a yellow.
05:00But it is exciting and he is pushing hard.
05:03And if there is a yellow, Newgarden will very much filter to the front.
05:08But at the moment, it's Felix Rosenquist who looks very much in control.
05:13Looking very good in that Maershank machine.
05:16On those red tires, pushing the air with the fuel number they want.
05:21Keeping Pillow honest behind.
05:23That is no mean feat.
05:25But they will be looking at Joseph Newgarden who is on that alternate strategy.
05:31And when there's an alternate strategy at playing IndyCar, you know to take it seriously.
05:58Felix Rosenquist still having a blast out there leading this race.
06:031.7 in 1.8 seconds to the good.
06:07But at what point will he say good riddance to these tires running 24 laps on the softs?
06:13He needs to try and get them to lap 30.
06:15And as we keep our eyes on Joseph Newgarden, he is still running about 1.2 seconds faster than the
06:22race leader.
06:23He will catch Nolan Siegel ahead of him if he maintains this pace in around 9 or 10 laps time.
06:30Which would be a round where Siegel should be pitting for his first stop.
06:35So if you are looking at how these tires are playing out, it's sort of looking like these softs are
06:43hanging on.
06:44The pace is decent up front.
06:46Those top four are making it work.
06:48If you're David Malukas, you could be sitting in a good position right now in P5.
06:53You're the top runner on the hard tire.
06:56You've got to run two sets of the softs.
06:58We know that.
06:58But if that becomes a preferred tire, he's already put his kind of mandatory stints on the hards out of
07:05the way.
07:05And he's keeping touch with these leaders.
07:07So that could potentially play it as advantage, especially if we do get a caution at some point.
07:12Newgarden, man, just ripping around.
07:14And this is what I want to ask you guys.
07:16You said it's such a joy as a driver when you're given this opportunity.
07:21But how sketch is it if you're asked to go out there and put in quali lap after quali lap
07:25after quali lap.
07:26Tanks full of fuel, heavy race car, knowing that this is your chance to spin point.
07:32It's the big race race down.
07:33For me, it's the physicality.
07:34Completely different to me doing what Newgarden's doing right now from a physical standpoint.
07:39This guy totally into the high rocks competition phenomenon.
07:43The cross training.
07:45He says it's like nothing he's ever done to prepare his body for the challenges of IndyCar.
07:50There's maybe no better driver physically prepared than Newgarden to do what he's doing right now, which is quali lap
07:56after quali lap.
07:57But let's talk about the pressure that is now going to be placed on Felix Rosenquist's race team as we're
08:04about five laps from pit stops.
08:06The spotlight goes to the men and women on pit lane.
08:09This team has only ever won one race.
08:12It was a big one, the Indy 500.
08:14But look at who they're up against as we're about to make the first pit stops.
08:19That is where that Team Penske, the Ganassi, the Andretti advantage might come to bear.
08:25Rosenquist has to be thinking about his team on pit lane.
08:29And hey, guys, I'm doing it right now, but I need your help.
08:33I'm not sure what Rosenquist said right there.
08:42What are you thinking for the next head of tires?
08:45Yeah, I've been thinking that Doriano.
08:47I don't know, I don't know, I want to finish on red.
08:50Copy.
08:51I'm thinking about it too.
08:53That's interesting.
08:54So the reds are lasting, but they're not necessarily happy with them.
08:59Kevin, what do you know?
09:01So that was about two or three laps ago.
09:03They debated it a little bit, and they're planning on going to their second set of new soft red sidewalls
09:09coming up in the next stop.
09:10So they want to finish on harder compound.
09:12By the way, we're getting into the unknown now.
09:15I know some got to 25 laps with not much degradation or wear in the warm-up today.
09:21After that, it's a little bit uncertain.
09:22And David Maloukas, as Hitch mentioned, might be in a good position.
09:26This is what he wanted.
09:28He just wanted to hold station in fifth, save a little bit of fuel when those in front pit.
09:34Presumably, he can go a couple of laps extra, and then he is going to really turn up the wick
09:38and try to do an over-cut, meaning pick up time by staying out longer on track.
09:43And the reason he can do that, folks, he is the lead driver on the hard tire, the top four
09:49all on the soft.
09:51You talked about how sketch it is, Will, when you're out on full fuel and pushing qualifying laps.
09:57Here's Newgard now to turn five.
09:58Look at just how hard he is pushing.
10:01Oh, boy.
10:02Brushing the wall with that left rear.
10:04That was beautiful.
10:23This could play out beautifully.
10:26And it's just such a beautiful thing for a driver to hear.
10:29You're giving this fresh set of sauce, this open racetrack, and your strategist comes on and says they're going to
10:35pit right when you catch them, and you're 1.2 seconds a lap faster.
10:39Newgarden is in the zone right now.
10:41He is, but it's going to be interesting when that fast race car gets to other cars on track.
10:48To make a three-stop work, you have to pass cars.
10:52That'll be the challenge, but Newgard delivering perfectly right now on this three-stopper.
10:58Newgarden has gained almost 11 seconds in the last 10 laps.
11:06Newgarden doing the job.
11:08We're right on board with Scott Dixon in the PNC Bank Honda.
11:13A stunning qualifying run from him.
11:16Hadn't been in the top 12 on the grid all the way through the season this weekend up there in
11:20the top six.
11:21Sitting six, biding his time.
11:23If anybody knows how to save fuel, if anybody knows how to make a strategy work, it's this man, Sir
11:28Scott Dixon.
11:2919 starts here.
11:30Two wins on the streets of Long Beach and in the PNC Bank Honda today.
11:35Sitting up there and could be sitting pretty once those first four have to stop on the soft.
11:39So just thinking about Joseph Newgarden, he sits 30 seconds back of the leader.
11:43So with Rosenquist Pitts, we'll expect Newgarden to take over the lead on that strategy.
11:47But if it's about 40 seconds lost on Pitt Thane, that means Newgarden's going to be coming around right around
11:53Will Power, Scott McLaughlin range.
11:55They'll be on cold tires, Newgarden on hot tires, high drama in those situations.
12:1135-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, a two-time IndyCar champion, already a race winner this season in Phoenix.
12:22It's been 69 races since he last won on a street course.
12:25That was here in Long Beach back in 2022.
12:29It's been a long time coming, and he's going to have to make the alternate strategy work today.
12:34Come on, where he has the bit between his teeth, and it looks like he's loving, loving his life out
12:39there on track right now.
12:40Back on board with Rosenquist at the point.
12:42And that number 10 is a lot closer, T-Bell, than it was just a few laps ago.
12:48That gap right here now down to under a second.
12:51That tells me that Alex Pillow is about to hit Pitt Lane.
12:54Kyle Kirkwood is definitely about to hit Pitt Lane.
12:58His mechanics getting ready for him.
12:59Is this the moment where the soft shot drivers pull the pin and jump?
13:05Not for Rosenquist, not for Pillow.
13:07What about the drivers behind?
13:09I'm assuming Kirkwood will come in.
13:11I don't think so.
13:12I think he's staying out one more time.
13:14They're going to try to extend the range.
13:15Those red tires are holding up.
13:17I wonder if that was a dummy.
13:19If that was the 27 crew trying to go with one of the other cars to come in.
13:23But it's going to be soon.
13:25Lap 30.
13:25They've done what they need to do.
13:26They've made these subs last.
13:29This is going to be a two-stopper for these cars for sure.
13:33And once again, we see the genius and the brilliance of Alex Pillow, who for 29 laps has sat and
13:40waited.
13:41Bided his time, saved his fuel, saved his tires, and now he punches.
13:45And this will be the question.
13:47Has he saved more fuel than Felix Rosenquist?
13:51If we see Rosie dive in this lap and Pillow stays out one more, that means he's been doing a
13:56huge job all stint long.
13:57And that could be a massive advantage.
13:59What do you mean if?
14:00It's Alex Pillow, man.
14:02We know the script.
14:03We know what he does.
14:04Well, if Pillow's going to go one lap longer, Dixon's probably going to go three.
14:07But don't forget, these two drivers, different race teams, but they share a technical partnership.
14:13Rosenquist knows exactly what Pillow has on his race car.
14:17They talk pre-race, but they are two different teams on pit lane.
14:21I saw, I think, Padua Ward duck in for the bat.
14:26O'Ward is the first.
14:27It's a pit.
14:28Kirkwood stays out.
14:30Rosenquist and Pillow stay out.
14:32Padua Ward is in to pit lane from the top four.
14:36Jack, take it.
14:37Thanks, Will.
14:38I chatted to Nick Snyder, and they were very happy with what Pato was doing.
14:42It was just a case of saving some fuel.
14:44You're seeing them fill that shell, 100% renewable fuel, all the way to the top.
14:49He's out.
14:50Very smooth stop.
14:51These five guys are known for it.
14:52Clean and tidy for Pato.
14:54O'Ward, Louis Foster on pit lane.
14:55So to Alexander Rossi.
14:57So to Graham Rahal.
14:58This is the moment, then, when the strategy starts to play out.
15:01The hard shot goes to the salt.
15:03Nice quick start for the Rahal crew.
15:05Graham out an 8.0.
15:06Oh, and look, even closer now.
15:08Up front, 7 tenths of a second.
15:10That's what it looks like at 160 miles an hour.
15:14Just closing that gap up, putting extra pressure on the 60 crew when it comes to pit lane.
15:20And you can see it.
15:22So far, they've been strong on pit lane.
15:23They were the third best on pit lane.
15:25And Barber, they're going to have to be all of that.
15:27And then some bulk cars are in.
15:28Both coming in together.
15:30Georgia is waiting for Felix Rosenquist.
15:32Felix Rosenquist has been hitting his marks all weekend long.
15:35And now it's time for the pit crew to do the same.
15:38He's reached them.
15:39They're going to go for their second set of soft tires.
15:42A little slow-threatening adjustment.
15:44But overall, they're going to fill it up with fuel to try to beat him.
15:50And Alex Pillow has to go around the David Maloukas tires.
15:53He's coming in right behind him.
15:55Michelle, 100% renewable fuel.
15:58Rosenquist is going to win that race off the road.
16:01It's softs for Pillow.
16:02He's out.
16:03Softs for Pillow.
16:04Softs for Rosenquist.
16:05And Rosenquist and MSR have done a beautiful job to keep that position ahead of Alex Pillow.
16:11That's what we were saying, guys.
16:13The tech crew actually hasn't been one of the quickest on pit lanes so far this year.
16:17But Rosenquist's team has been getting better every single race so far in 2025.
16:22And to your point, T-Bell, up against these organizations that have won hundreds of races in some cases to
16:27a team that's just done it once.
16:29Great performance.
16:30So that top four, all of them on the softs.
16:33They've all pitted.
16:34Will Power now leads in the TWG Honda.
16:38Joseph Newgarden making his way up as well.
16:41David Maloukas came in, changed from the hard to the soft, and actually got ahead of Pato O'Ward by
16:47doing so.
16:48Fascinating stuff.
16:49Only Power remains out on track for those who started on the hard tire yet to stop.
16:55Joseph Newgarden is behind him.
16:58What a huge effort from the 60 crew.
17:01Felix Rosenquist, when Pillow followed him in, it was all eyes on the pit crew.
17:08We look at the 26 crew now.
17:10That's Will Power and the Andretti squad.
17:12But they had so much pressure on them, the 60 crew.
17:16Now, that 10 crew, we know they're perfect, but they're used to doing pressurized pit stops all year.
17:22The 60 crew, first time they've been in this position all season, and they delivered that time around.
17:2810 out of 10 for them, and Felix will be really pleased with what he's seeing.
17:33It looks as though O'Ward has missed out.
17:35We saw the Chevrolet versus Honda fuel mileage there.
17:40O'Ward the first to blink.
17:41And that's because he had to.
17:42We know the Honda can go longer.
17:44I was surprised, though, that Kirkwood could, not Kirkwood, Pillow, couldn't quite go a lap longer than Felix Rosenquist.
17:53Probably didn't want to take that risk.
17:56But O'Ward, because he stopped early and the others went one lap longer or two laps longer, he's in
18:04a real pickle now because he's dropped a few positions.
18:07And that'll be so important for Carl Kirkwood.
18:10I was just talking to my producer off air saying Kirkwood will rue the fact that he was stuck behind
18:16O'Ward.
18:16And it was vital for Andretti and Kirkwood that he jumped Arrow, McLaren, and O'Ward in that pit stop
18:23sequence.
18:23They've done just that.
18:25The front runners are locked on this two stopper now.
18:28And this race starting to come alive because they went a long way, because that red tyre went the full
18:34distance and the fuel, full distance of the fuel tank, I should say, on that first stop.
18:40We're going to have less in the way of fuel saving as the race goes on.
18:44They've got a big chunk of that first stint out of the way.
18:48And now this race, I think, will come alive a little bit more.
18:52And that's willpower that you're seeing just flashing through your screen.
18:57Renis BK it is just behind him.
19:00He's got Scott Dixon ahead.
19:01Then it's O'Ward.
19:02And Maloukas will be the other driver, smiling like a Cheshire cat because he's got through.
19:08He's the lead Chevrolet car now, bar Joseph Newgarden, who's on the alternate strategy.
19:15So Newgarden will owe us a pit stop soon.
19:18He desperately needs yellow to make his three stopper work.
19:22But it's Felix Rosenquist who does lead on the primary strategy.
19:29Ahead of Pelot.
19:30Carl Kirkwood.
19:31We ride on board with Marcus Ericsson.
19:34Down in 23rd.
19:35Got Nolan Siegel ahead of him.
19:40Ericsson has just passed Mick Schumacher.
19:42A bit of a battle further back.
19:45Everyone has stopped now.
19:48Backl of the rookies.
19:50Looks as though it's Dennis Hauger who is leading that 19th overall.
20:20And this is the incredible thing.
20:23Despite the fact those behind him now have come in and changed for fresh soft tyres,
20:28Newgarden on 20 lap old soft tyres remains over a second faster than anyone else in the field.
20:35And he will have to be.
20:37He will have to be because he has to make up an additional pit stop in relation to everybody else.
20:42And that is about 40 seconds.
20:44So he has to keep coaching.
20:45This is going to be an entire race of qualifying for Joseph Newgarden.
20:49That's why it's going to be so physically exhausting.
20:53Newgarden's got to try to find about another 20 seconds of gap on this stint to make that extra pit
21:00stop.
21:00Meanwhile, the rest of the field, we think all on two stoppers, Rosenquist, Pelot, Kirkwood, etc.
21:05should be able to go to around lap 60, 62.
21:08Because remember, when he pit from 12th position, he was running right behind Christian Lundgaard in the number seven machine.
21:16And if you look at it right now, Lundgaard there is about 28 seconds behind Newgarden.
21:21So he needs another 10 seconds just to be net above from where he was before.
21:25It's a tall order.
21:27It's a big order.
21:28He's having more fun than the guy on the two stop, but until he sees the results.
21:32He'll be disappointed when the time the checker flag falls.
21:40I understand that Marcus Erickson is having some issues with his hybrid system.
21:46James, his teammate, Kyle Kirkwood, had a total hybrid failure in morning warm-up.
21:52They had to replace the whole unit.
21:53So watching the hybrid usage right here, it looks static.
21:58And Kyle Kirkwood told me this morning he thought he lost about half a second a lap with that issue.
22:04As we take a look at Erickson trying to get things sorted out here real slow.
22:09It almost looks like the car went into some sort of limbo or something.
22:12He had to do a reset.
22:13Jack, what do you know about what's happening with Erickson?
22:16James, you're absolutely right.
22:17They have an electrical issue right now.
22:19That car did go into limp mode.
22:21And also, Townsend, you were also right.
22:23No hybrid on the 28th.
22:25Marcus Erickson right now is such a shame.
22:28He's been so good this season.
22:29This team are so good on street circuits.
22:31We all know this is not the way he wanted his day to unravel.
22:34Started 15th.
22:35Now it's just about flinging on for Marcus Erickson down there in 22nd place.
22:42Joseph Newgarden wringing the neck of that Astemo.
22:46Chevrolet round the hairpin and chooses now to come into the pit.
22:51Lap 37 for Joseph Newgarden.
22:55Needs a clean stop to make this strategy work.
22:59Kevin Lee, this is a bold roll of the dice for Penske today.
23:04And I'm a bit surprised.
23:05Just a lap before, they said a few more laps.
23:08Use efficient overtake, meaning trying to go as fast as you can.
23:12And from Wim, Rosenquist pit.
23:14As we see him go from a set of sauce to those red sidewalls, it's a bit of a glare.
23:19Those are sauce again.
23:21He's getting four seconds.
23:22From about a 12-second lead to 16 seconds.
23:26So he's fast.
23:27What he needs is a caution to come up pretty soon that might make some others go ahead and stop
23:34and bail on their two-stop strategy.
23:36Interesting thing for Newgarden right now is he comes out just ahead of Marcus Armstrong and will try to defend.
23:43Armstrong gets past him.
23:44Brand new sticker soft for Joseph Newgarden.
23:47He will be lighter on fuel because he is attempting to do the three-stop.
23:51Everybody else on the two-stop.
23:54The big question though now for him is can he pass with a slightly lighter car?
23:59He is in traffic whereas before he was in clean air.
24:02This is a completely different scenario that now faces Joseph Newgarden.
24:07Don't go away.
24:07We will find out what Newgarden can do in traffic when we come back to the streets of Long Beach.
24:19Now for Joseph Newgarden.
24:22A little bit of no man's land for him at the moment.
24:28Desperately trying to make a way to get this three-stopper work.
24:34He's going to definitely need a bit of luck.
24:38Right.
24:39What are the front runners doing in terms of tyres?
24:42Well they have gone red, red.
24:46So don't forget the rules for 2026 are that you have to use the red tyre twice in the street
24:53circuits.
24:55If you watched the street tracks last year you will remember that the red tyre was actually a green tyre,
25:01the Wyoli tyre.
25:03But that's not the case this year.
25:05So it's just red and black every single track we go to bar the ovals.
25:09So road and street.
25:10But on the street tracks you'll have to use that red side wall tyre twice.
25:16And the big question mark as to whether or not it will go to distance has been answered.
25:21So we know that is the case.
25:22We know that they hit a big fuel number managing that tyre in the opening stint so they will be
25:28able to push a bit harder.
25:30They'll be looking to go another sort of 21 laps or so to get to the second stop.
25:36But that's the two stoppers bar Joseph Newgarden of course.
25:40He'll be going to well around lap I would say 68 if he's on the three stopper.
25:51But they've gone red red, the front runners.
25:54Pretty much everyone in the top 20 now on the red side wall tyre.
26:01So Stingray Robb the only one that isn't.
26:04So everyone has run that tyre at least once now.
26:12But for the front runners, for the ones that started on it, the front four, well they've run it twice.
26:20So Felix Rosenquist, Pato Award, Alex Pillow, Karl Kirkwood.
26:24They can either, well they'll have to run the black now for the final stint.
26:33It'll be interesting to hear from the drivers after the race as to what was the preferred tyre in terms
26:40of pace and balance.
26:41Because they're on the two stopper now, they're locked into this is what they're doing.
26:46But it's strange that they leave the unfavoured tyre to the end.
26:54So I think they think this is a black race, leaving it to the end and then just running it
26:58red red now.
27:00Those first four.
27:22And Joseph Newgarden still out there slugging it massively sideways on the exit of the hairpin.
27:29And that is Marcus Armstrong ahead of him.
27:32There's the fight for 13th and 14th places.
27:35An interesting call from Penske to bring him in when they did and put him back out in traffic.
27:40There's the moment for Newgarden.
27:41Look how hard he's pushing.
27:43Look how close he's getting to that wall.
27:46So easy to do when you're trying to line up a pass coming out of 11.
27:50You just, you want to be too throttled just a fraction sooner than the car in front of you.
27:55But if the grip's not there, if you're still turning too much, that could be the result.
27:58And then your high-tire temps had fallen way back.
28:01This is what we were talking about.
28:02To make this three-stop strategy work, you've got to be able to pass cars.
28:06And all of a sudden, that lap time advantage has really been muted.
28:11Newgarden might have a shot here looking for a run on Armstrong, but not maybe close enough.
28:16He was a second faster than the field when he was in clean air at the front.
28:20As he looks up the inside and sends it late, locks up the left front.
28:24Will he make it through?
28:25He does.
28:25What a really brave move from Joseph Newgarden.
28:29Barely.
28:29On the push to pass down shoreline.
28:32He's got fuel to burn.
28:34That's the big difference.
28:35Everyone else here has got to save fuel.
28:36They've got to hit a number, but Newgarden able to be full tilt, full rich on the path.
28:42Wow.
28:43I wonder if he's got a flat spot.
28:44That's a big lockup, T-Bell.
28:46Yeah, it's going to be a huge vibration for Joseph Newgarden.
28:49Potentially so violent that your vision is blurred.
28:54Let's head down to Pent Lane, though, and talk more about the importance of the pit crew
28:57when it comes to winning races here.
28:59Oh, pit crews are ever so important.
29:01But what it also is, it's a dangerous role.
29:04I'm here with Dustin Mills.
29:05He's the air jack for Rina's VK.
29:07But you're doing a different position this race because something incredibly scary happened yesterday
29:12with this thing right here.
29:14What happened to you?
29:15So we were coming into the box for our pit staff for qualifying.
29:19The wheel gun accidentally tapped the front tire, causing it to go into the air from the outside
29:24tire changer to me, the air jack, which caused it to then, this socket, run into my arm and down
29:30while wide open throttle.
29:32Gave me a big gash and a bunch of big cuts.
29:34Got about 10 stitches in here and some more subdermal under the skin as well.
29:40I think the most incredible thing about this is that you finished the pit stop.
29:43This slices arm right open.
29:45Today, he's back on the car doing a different role.
29:48What are you doing?
29:48Today, I'm doing the dead man.
29:50So holding the fuel handle down while allowing the fuel to flow.
29:53Thank you, Dustin.
29:54We're going to let you get back to your job.
29:55Thank you for the time.
29:57Different gravy, those boys.
29:59Crave.
30:00Wow.
30:01And girls.
30:02Great to see that.
30:04Our pit crew spotlight, courtesy and sponsored by Endurance.
30:09We sit on board with Felix Rosenquist back leading the race once again.
30:12His advantage over Alex Pillow.
30:14Two seconds.
30:15As we look at the bottom of the screen, to Marcus Ericsson sitting on pit lane,
30:19cutting off the lawn figure.
30:21And that is so disappointing for the man who had started off this season, getting his elbows back out, being
30:26aggressive again.
30:27And back to the Marcus Ericsson that we know.
30:29Yeah.
30:29And as a driver, just it's the worst feeling sitting there on pit lane, sweat pouring into your eyes as
30:36you heat soak there.
30:37You're looking optimistically at your crew, hoping they're going to tell you things are going to be okay.
30:42And then you see the field go by as you go another lap down.
30:47Guys, look at those stats there.
30:49200 consecutive green flag laps.
30:52We have never run for green flag to check out twice in succession without a caution at Long Beach.
31:00Look at the Verizon Chevy for Team Penske of Malukas chasing down Kyle Kirkwood as we see Marcus Ericsson retiring
31:10officially from the race.
31:12A full hybrid failure is what we're hearing from pit lane.
31:15And it's a real shame.
31:16That's not a component that the teams are allowed to really adjust or monitor.
31:20Let's just say, you know, touch.
31:23It's a spec part.
31:23But for the probability to hit the team twice in the same day, Kirkwood and now Ericsson, utterly bizarre as
31:30Malukas head down, trying to make some progress on Kyle Kirkwood there.
31:34That battle for third position.
31:37So we're at lap 45.
31:38Should be about 15 more laps until the next round of stops.
31:42So Malukas and Kirkwood both on the soft.
31:45But remember, Malukas has already run his hards.
31:48Kirkwood hasn't.
31:49So he might have that advantage in that final step.
31:51Well, neither has Palo, neither has Rosenquist as we head towards the final part of the race.
31:56Does it swing towards advantage?
31:59David Malukas, he will have the soft tire.
32:01The three ahead of him will be on the harder, which theoretically is the slower tire.
32:06You can see the flat spot.
32:08Look, oh, he's flat.
32:09The flat spot was so bad, it's actually burst the tire.
32:14Kevin, he's going to have to come and get that change.
32:16It's all come undone for Newgarden.
32:19And they've been monitoring this for a little while.
32:21There was a concern that you guys spotted about a flat spot.
32:24They asked him, do you need to pit?
32:25He said, let's wait a lap or so.
32:27He's dealing with a vibration.
32:29But Jonathan Duguid, his strategist, Team Penske president, just said,
32:32you're running a half a second faster than some of those around you.
32:35So let's stay out.
33:05We've got to get to lap 60 or we're in even more trouble.
33:06The vibration impacts the driver.
33:09You really do have an impaired vision and horrible sensation through your hands as well.
33:16Really noisy in the car.
33:18But the biggest concern is that tire coming apart.
33:21But they're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here.
33:24Obviously, safety is paramount.
33:26But in terms of trying to get to the sort of lap 60 mark, Newgarden, that's going to be a
33:33tough ask.
33:34As it stands, though, Felix Rosenquist.
33:38I thought it was Jack Harvey.
33:40Early on in the week.
33:43This is Newgarden.
33:45Yeah, what's the likelihood of it all together?
33:48We're looking at the data from St. Pete.
33:50We'll come back to you.
33:51Newgarden's radio here.
33:54They're desperately trying to work out what to do here.
33:57But it's, without a caution, looking difficult for Newgarden.
34:01But, you know, talking to Jack Harvey last week,
34:05and we were saying that Felix Rosenquist has had a really tough start to the season.
34:10And he'll have to go all the way back to 2020 for his last win.
34:13And he's been much better than that in terms of consistency.
34:18And this year, it's been very, very difficult indeed.
34:22And he's just come to Long Beach.
34:24A completely different man.
34:27And he delivered yesterday.
34:29And he's looking very much at the polished article today.
34:33And let's not forget the domination of, say, Pelo and Kirkwood at Arlington or Pelo at St. Pete.
34:41You know, Fro is up the road.
34:43From Pelo and Kirkwood, who are first and second in the championship,
34:47who have been the stars of the show.
34:49We were only really talking about Pelo and Kirkwood at the top of the show.
34:54Such has been their dominance and pace so far in 2026.
34:58It's been really impressive so far from Mayor Shank.
35:01And it's going to come down to the pit stop sequences.
35:05And can that 60 car do it?
35:08Willpower now.
35:09Got to be on the push to pass.
35:11This is Honda versus Honda.
35:12Chip Ganassi versus Andretti.
35:15Nowhere near in the end.
35:17The PNC bank car of Scott Dixon in sixth place.
35:20Holding off Willpower.
35:21Two of the best IndyCar drivers of all time.
35:25Juking it out for a top six position.
35:29They've got O'Ward ahead and then Malukas.
35:31This is all about pit stops now.
35:34And the 60 crew and Felix Rosenquist.
35:36Look out for lap 60.
35:38About 12 away.
35:39The pit stop teams.
35:41The crew members.
35:43They'll be getting nervous now.
35:44They'll be starting to feel it.
35:46It's all going to come down to them.
35:48And pit lane.
36:14And it's all going to come down to them.
36:19TT IndyCar series on Fox.
36:21Live from Long Beach.
36:22With Will Bucks and Townsend Bout.
36:24James Hinchcliffe.
36:25We ride on board with Kyle Kirkwood in third place.
36:27Looking back at the Penske of David Malukas.
36:30Malukas who potentially.
36:32And it is only potentially right now.
36:34Could have an advantage in the final laps of this race.
36:37Given how the strategies are rolling out.
36:40But it's Rosenquist who leads Alex Pillow.
36:42To the tune of 2.6 seconds.
36:4549 of 90 laps complete.
36:48Felix Rosenquist passed.
36:51His team passed the first test of the day.
36:54That brilliant pit stop around lap 30.
36:56They're going to have to do it again.
36:58But they should have great confidence.
37:00Knowing that the pressure was on.
37:01They delivered.
37:02It is all looking so good.
37:05For the young Meyerschenk team right now.
37:09It's so interesting.
37:10I'm just thinking about these tire choices.
37:12As we are a couple laps away.
37:1410 laps-ish away from that final pit stop.
37:17For all these two stoppers.
37:19Pillow was really the one that stood out.
37:21He said I don't want to finish on the softs.
37:24By the rules you have to run two sets.
37:26So even with the drivers that are running two sets of those.
37:30It's not that it's a red race necessarily.
37:32Or a soft race.
37:33This is by the rules.
37:34But it's interesting to see who's chosen to be on what at the end.
37:39Christian Lundgaard is in the pit lane from 11th.
37:43With 40 to go.
37:45Strange timing.
37:45He can't make it on fuel.
37:47Strange timing.
37:49It's not strategy.
37:50They've got a tire going down.
37:51So they're going to have to make this stop.
37:53And still one more stop.
37:55It already was not going great.
37:56Lundgaard didn't have the car that his teammate Pato Award had.
37:59He's trying to go to that set up.
38:01Didn't work.
38:02And it's going to go from mediocre to not very good.
38:05Because he's going to do one more stop than everyone else.
38:07Gollum for the man who came into this race third in the Drivers' Championship.
38:11Had a chance to fight for the win last time out in Barber.
38:15But a poor final stop denied him that opportunity.
38:18What chance David Maloukas fights for his first ever IndyCar Series victory today.
38:23There in the number 12 Verizon Chevrolet just his fifth race for Penske.
38:35Impressed how much Rosenquist has been able to open up over Polo.
38:39Polo obviously closed that gap to just under a second.
38:44Seven tenths of a second when they came in for that stop.
38:46They were running about a second and a half.
38:48Maybe 1.3 seconds apart for a majority of that first stint.
38:52And Felix has kind of been consistently able to keep it over two, two and a half seconds.
38:57And let's hear a little bit about what our leader is saying from behind the wheel.
39:04The rest are better, huh?
39:06But we don't have a choice.
39:07We have to get our black tennis.
39:08We have to go black next time.
39:10So does everyone else we're racing with.
39:13So there you go.
39:14He also prefers the softs, which is exactly what Alex Pelo didn't want.
39:18So this is going advantage Pelo.
39:20Rosenquist would love another set of softs.
39:22He says it's better for fuel saving.
39:24Meanwhile, Pelo behind says, I don't want to finish on the softs.
39:27I want my preferred tire.
39:28That's the hard.
39:29So this could still swing the other direction.
39:31And as a technical partner, Felix Rosenquist's team with Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Pelo's team,
39:37Rosenquist knows all too well how strong Alex Pelo is on the harder tire.
39:43Over the last couple of seasons, that's where he has really differentiated himself from the field.
39:49So that 2.3 second lead is looking marginal right now if I'm Felix Rosenquist knowing how they're going to
39:57finish on tires.
40:05Likely a minimum of nine laps and he needs to stop again.
40:08Felix Rosenquist leads being hunted down by Alex Pelo.
40:16Yeah, one or two of you getting in touch on social media saying this is a little bit like Monaco.
40:24It's not the circuit.
40:26It's because we've been in a fuel save mode, if you like.
40:30And if you don't get caution to it, it's a two stopper here at Long Beach.
40:34Less about the circuit layout.
40:36It's because of the approach of the drivers trying to hit that fuel number and very much in the first
40:42stint,
40:43not knowing what to do with the alternate tires.
40:47Couldn't take too much out of those tires because they knew it had to go 30-odd laps.
40:53And if they took too much out of it, then, well, they would have to pay the piper at some
40:59stage.
41:00And they would have to opt for a three stopper.
41:03And that would have scuppered their race.
41:06Joseph Newgarden went early enough to make it work, but he needed that 10, 12-lap window, a yellow in
41:14that chance
41:17to make sure that he could filter through to the front.
41:20About seven laps away from the next sequence of pit stops for the primary shot runners.
41:29And, yeah, it's interesting now to see what will happen.
41:34We heard James Hinchcliffe talking about what I was mentioning, Reid, whether or not this is a red race or
41:42a black race,
41:43because we do talk about that quite a lot in IndyCar over the races.
41:47And this actually is more going to the rule book here.
41:51It's the first time that we've come to Long Beach and had to use the red tires twice as per
41:57this new ruling for 2026.
41:59So it looks as though it's a red race.
42:01But actually, if we talk to the drivers afterwards, it'll be interesting to hear what they say.
42:10Joseph Newgarden's seen a lot of Newgarden in the clean air.
42:13He's the one that's pushing on, desperate to try and claw back some time.
42:19Newgarden pushing really, really hard at the moment.
42:23If you look at his last lap, 114 last time around for Felix Rosenquist, 10-5.
42:31So he hasn't got the pace of the front runners.
42:34And look at Froak as we ride on board with Will Power.
42:38Two and a half seconds out front.
42:41Will Alex Pillow be able to close that gap, though?
42:44Will we see Alex Pillow come right back to the Maershank driver in that sort of second pit stop window?
42:54Is Pillow biding his time, as we've seen him do so many times before?
42:59You just can't write him off at all.
43:02Still plenty of this race to go.
43:03What will happen?
43:37How about his race strategist, Adam Robazzini?
43:44Really new to the role as a Ganassi mechanic for years.
43:48Moved over to Shank, was elevated to team manager.
43:51What a job he is doing for that 60 car right now.
43:55Phenomenal job.
43:56He's really been a leader within that team.
43:59He's been with them for quite a while as they grew as an IndyCar team,
44:03starting with a few race a year program, part-time,
44:06going up, of course, to a full-time single car, then two full-time cars.
44:11You know, we talked about at the top of the show, they've won one race.
44:13It's the biggest one we got.
44:15Second biggest one is Long Beach, and it is looking pretty stout right now.
44:18Rough day for Newgarden.
44:19You saw Louis Foster got by, and now Dennis Hauger, the rookie,
44:25closing on Newgarden.
44:26Back on board with Rosenquist.
44:29Yeah, Newgarden was running the 1 minute nines.
44:30He's now down in the 1 minute 12.
44:33He's having to nurse that left front tire.
44:35He's only got four laps left to try and make it hang on.
44:38But all of that pace and all that hard work, guys, from earlier in the race,
44:42ultimately for naught.
44:44I like what I'm seeing right here, James.
44:46Rosenquist head down.
44:47He now has a three-second gap on Alex Pillow,
44:50giving himself some breathing room as we take a replay at Louis Foster.
44:55Up the inside of Newgarden, a little bit of a kiss and a cuddle,
44:59but both make it through struggle bus right now for the number two.
45:03Yeah, that gentle fade on the brakes there from the 45.
45:07No harm, no foul.
45:11Just one of those things.
45:13But you said it, T-Bell, that gap continues to increase
45:18as it really does seem like the 60 of Rosenquist prefers these soft tires.
45:23And, Georgia, it sounds like that's what they're looking like down in pit lane as well.
45:27You're right about that.
45:28We talk a lot about the Firestone hard and soft tires,
45:31but I wanted to give you an up-close and personal look of the race leader's tires himself.
45:36These were his set of soft tires from his first, and he made these last 31 laps.
45:41And I want to specifically point out this right front
45:43because you can really see the degradation all around this tire.
45:49At the beginning of this race, it was thought these tires might only last 30 laps.
45:52Like I said, they made it 31.
45:54Felix is on his second set of those soft tires.
45:57So, theoretically, on this last pit stop, he has to run a set of the Firestone hard.
46:03But these are so soft, I laid on it for just a second, pulled my arm up,
46:07and you can see some rubber got laid down on my arm, too.
46:09So, it gives you just an idea of just how soft these Firestone soft tires are, guys.
46:14These are Felix Rosenquist, by the way.
46:16There's a way to avoid that.
46:18Don't lean on the tires.
46:19Well, I mean, where's the fun of that?
46:21Exactly.
46:22Rosenquist, Polo, Kirkwood, all of them will have to revert to the hard tire
46:28in a minimum of three laps time.
46:31And we have debris on the track.
46:32That is a large piece of carbon.
46:36Could easily cut a tire down.
46:38Yes.
46:39All right.
46:40And we have a full control.
46:43Yeah, absolutely the right call there from race control.
46:45That could cut a tire.
46:46That could kick up.
46:48End up in the grandstands, even.
46:49So, great call there.
46:50It looks like the kind of part that goes underneath the gearbox, underneath.
46:55Yeah.
46:56Yeah.
46:57The attenuator that may have come off.
46:58Maybe some contact in the fountain from two cars running close together.
47:01We had just jumped on the Liquid Science on board of Alexander Rossi
47:05as one of the high movers so far this race.
47:07But let's see who it's coming off of.
47:09And what this is going to do.
47:10Was it off of Rossi's car?
47:12Yeah.
47:12Armstrong ran over it.
47:13Yeah.
47:14I think if it didn't come off of Rossi,
47:16Rossi kind of brought it onto the racing line.
47:18What this will do, of course, is stack the field up in the window
47:22for their final pit stop.
47:24So, whatever breathing room Felix Rosenquist and Meyerschenk Racing
47:29thought they had, it is eliminated.
47:32It'll be a straight-up shootout on pit lane for the win of this race.
47:36I'll tell you who this really, really is good for.
47:38David Malukas.
47:39Oh!
47:40In a Penske.
47:41They're so good on pit lane.
47:42He's going to be one of the only drivers at the front
47:44going to that soft tire for a restart
47:47with the last in of the race.
47:49Yeah.
47:49This could really be playing into Lil' Day's hands.
47:52Joseph Newgarden issues with his front left.
47:55His front right just collided with that piece of carbon fiber.
47:59If that hasn't sliced it, he's really riding his luck today.
48:01One of the days for Joe New where he's thinking,
48:03really, what else could go possible?
48:05of course!
48:05He's going to be trying to figure something out of meat.
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