INDYCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 12, 2023

Christian Lundgaard

Press Conference

DAVE FURST: It's officially the summer stretch for the NTT IndyCar Series, essentially five races in five weeks beginning this Sunday. For the 37th edition of the Honda Indy Toronto, last year was really the start of an important run for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, including our guest today. He finished eighth at Toronto last year. At Mid-Ohio just ten days ago, finished just outside of the podium, marking his best finish of the season, and now has back-to-back top tens and is obviously looking for more this coming Sunday.

He drives the No. 45 Vivid Clear RX Hy-Vee Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, last year's Rookie of the Year, Christian Lundgaard joins us today.

Christian, thanks for doing this.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Of course.

DAVE FURST: Let's go back to Mid-Ohio, we'll start there. Nice weekend for the entire team. What clicked, and how do you keep it going?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: What was really important is we were all strong. I've been doing stats on my own just to track our programs really, and every time we were fast in practice 1, we have a successful weekend. They do link up, which is always nice.

I guess I shouldn't speak too soon, but I hope we'll be fast on Friday in Toronto as well.

No, I mean, Mid-Ohio itself, it was a clean race for me. I didn't really feel like I saw a lot of cars, other than the back of Will's car really.

Other than that, we've gotten to the point now where once we have a package that's fast, we just try to execute. Luckily in my position we were on the Honda Vivid 45 car, but on the 15 car they weren't so lucky with the pit stops. We're making progress for sure. Looking forward to see how we'll do in Toronto.

DAVE FURST: Friday is important in Toronto. Other than that, last year, your first look at the circuit, what kind of confidence do you have going back up to Ontario?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Honestly, I do think that we're going to have a fast car. We made a lot of progress going into that weekend last year. I think at the time in the season it was my best qualifying result, and I think at the time as well, it was the best finish we had that year up until that point.

Just thinking about that, I think, we knew that we were making progress that part of the year of last year, and already now, we've seen an increase in performance early in the season. We outperformed ourselves compared to last year in Mid-Ohio. So we just need to stay on that trajectory.

I think going into Toronto, it's very important that we keep our head cool and kind of focus on our own stuff. Then I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I do think we can come away with at least a match of a fourth or potentially even a podium.

DAVE FURST: Let's hope so. Let's go ahead and open it up for questions. Again, if you have a question.

Q. Ontario, the race stand there, was my home track for a little bit. What do you put down to the kind of steady progress that Rahal have made in recent weeks? Do you think it's the fact that you have three race cars, or is it the new race shop, or is everything clicking together at the moment?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Honestly, it's a pretty good question. Sometimes I wish I knew that myself, and we all do because then we'd be better all the time.

I mean, right now I think it's the simplicity in things and the approach that we take because, at the end of last year, when we started really performing well, there was times where we were basically just not changing the car, just trying to understand what we had.

There's certainly been occasions this year where we just kind of left the car as it was, as we rolled off with trying to understand what we really had. It gives us a better understanding going into a following weekend and et cetera, which is also why.

Now that we've left two good weekends, I think we have a chance at Toronto. Also because we performed relatively good compared to the beginning of the season last year, when we went there last year. So I do think that we can do something good, but I think it's all -- for us right now, it's all in the mentality and the way we approach things.

Q. Excellent. In terms of the track, I know it's an extremely bumpy circuit. What kind of effect does that have on you physically in terms of like does it affect the concentration level at all with the car kind of constantly bouncing up and down?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes and no. We get hustled around in the car for sure, but I do personally like the bumpy street circuits, even just bumpy tracks in general because it puts the driver to a test and it puts all the material to a test.

It's a fun track in general. I really like the track. We're relatively fast, so that makes it a lot more fun, but it is very challenging and it's very physical, just because you get moved around and shuffled around so much in the car. That's the one good thing about the race pace compared to qualifying pace because it does drop a bit.

I'm sure it will be a hard, physical race this year.

Q. Christian, that was kind of a turning point to your guys' season last year, that Sebring test Between Mid-Ohio and Toronto. You mentioned you feel like the improvement this year between those same races previously, I guess coming into Toronto, do you feel a breakout is kind of on the horizon here for you guys with more consistent podiums and wins coming here soon?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Well, I hope so. Honestly, right now obviously we're optimistic, leaving Mid-Ohio. I think last year the best car qualified 13th, which was just not transferring from the first qualifying group. This year we had two cars in the Fast Six and one on the Front Row and me in 5th, and we had Jack up in 11th as well.

Just looking at that specific race from last year to this year, we moved a lot, and we really struggled at Mid-Ohio last year. Now we're coming into a track where we didn't necessarily struggle as much, but we built a good foundation for Nashville at Toronto last year, and we were very competitive at Nashville.

So coming in here, I do think, just looking at that, that it is sort of a turning point, at least I hope so. We want to continue building on what we're building on now and basically don't really leave those performances.

Q. Graham mentioned last week, two weeks ago, that he felt like in Mid-Ohio the car was kind of responding to what he wants out of it better. I know you've only been doing this a year and a half, this isn't two full years yet. Do you feel like you have much input yet in what you want out of the car, or are you still trial and error learning the comfort level of it?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No, I'd say I was pretty much comfortable as soon as I basically -- I mean, last year we saw certain tracks where it took me a while to just figure stuff out, but I would say this year we've been fast in pretty much all Practice 1 sessions.

To me that just indicates I've been to all these tracks now. I'm comfortable in the team. I'm comfortable in the series. I'm comfortable in the car. I didn't really need to go out early in the session just to run laps. We're actually going out straight away with our run plan and not having to deal with all the trying to figure stuff out.

I guess to really answer your question, I'm very comfortable in the car. I know exactly what I need, exactly what I want, and that's where the three drivers come in, where it's tougher for a team to fix and get a car that fits three different driving styles.

Q. I was going to say, my last one, now that we are in the second half of the year, what are some realistic goals you want to see, want to achieve these final eight races? Is it top ten in points? Is there something that you're after for these final eight races?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I would definitely like to get rid of my mustache, and we all know what that means. I do feel like it's about time now. I'm tired of waiting.

Luckily, we have another Indy GP later this year, in August, and we've been competitive there. I had my first podium, had my first pole there, so I might as well get my first win at the speedway. I really do think that we have that opportunity at that race. We just need to nail it during that weekend.

Again, there might be other opportunities. We know we'll be strong at the two road courses at the end of the year, and I do think we'll be strong at Nashville as well. We just need to figure Iowa and St. Louis out, and I think we can at least finish around sixth or seventh in the championship if we really do things well.

I'm definitely hoping for a podium, definitely hoping for a win. We've come close a couple of times this year. So I'm definitely hoping we get to that.

DAVE FURST: We talked about the summer stretch off the top and how quickly things are going to happen here the last eight races of the season. Iowa is obviously a big one. You guys were testing there a couple weeks ago. Hy-Vee is obviously a huge partnership in that. If there's anything that crystallizes this championship, it's that you're going to a road course, street course, and some fast elbows, right?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes, which is also what I really like about this series. You have a lot of different challenges that you don't have in other racing series. It's such a high level.

I was talking to my engineer and my crew on the car from the engineering side, and we were talking specifically about Scott Dixon at the time and how he's just very, a complete driver, and we're seeing that in Alex Palou now. That's what I'm hearing from the other people is that he's just a complete driver. He doesn't have any weaknesses.

Thinking about it, back in the days in IndyCar when they were running so many ovals, where a rookie now comes in, when I came in last year, Callum, we have Armstrong this year, how are we really supposed to get good at ovals really quick when we only do two speedways, super speedways a year, you know? You also want to prioritize the other 17 races, 16 races that we race.

It's just a super competitive racing series, and it makes it fun because you need to be on your A game every time you show up on track.

Q. Christian, last season at this point, you had two top ten finishes. So far this season, you have four top ten finishes with two top five finishes. This is a quantifiable improvement. What can you attribute this incredible improvement? You were 14th in points this time last year. Now you're 10th. What do you attribute that to?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Consistency, experience really. The experience is a big part of it. This year I had to spend a lot less time trying to figure my way around in each practice session when we go to a race weekend, and I think that took up a lot of our time last year, just trying to get up to speed and get comfortable on the car and on the track and just understand exactly where to brake and these kinds of things.

This year -- I mean, I touched on it earlier. This year I've just been fast from the get go. I felt comfortable. I didn't really have to go out and try to find my way around. Even at our test in Iowa, I remember last year I felt comfortable after our test, and I went to the race weekend and suddenly felt completely different, and I wasn't really there. Just not confident enough.

Then we went to the test this year, and I think my first run I matched my fastest lap from last year. Just very comfortable in the car, and I think that makes a huge difference, especially this year, and I do believe our package is better at certain places.

So whenever we do have that, I'm just trying to execute. I rather want to finish fourth twice than not even finishing the race at all fighting for the podium because right now we need the consistency, we need the points. So I guess that's it.

Q. One other thing. You talk about -- we all know about the physicality of Toronto. What do you do in the off-season to keep yourself in shape? You said you love these physical type of tracks. What do you do as far as conditioning and diet, et cetera, to keep yourself able to participate and achieve at the highest level?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I guess that's very similar for every athlete in whatever sport you're really involved in. We try to stay in shape as well as we can and always improve ourselves.

I do remember beginning of last year Texas for me was the toughest race last year, and it was also my first oval race, so I didn't really know what to expect. This year there's been absolutely zero issues. I do remember our test at Thermal. Every driver on the grid was struggling with our necks, but that's the muscle you can't really train. You can't really work out the right muscles.

We do as much as we can, but obviously it's a part of our lifestyle.

Q. Hi, Christian. I'd like to return on like the fact that many young drivers from European racing are switching to IndyCar these days, like you and Armstrong and Ilott. Why do you think this series has become such a popular choice for drivers based in Europe and for young drivers? Is it because it's a very complete challenge with different types of courses or why?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, at least I know that, when I spoke to Callum, when I did my first race in 2021 and I came back to finish my series at F2, we were talking about it, and I just really liked the environment of the series and everything that the series does for the sport.

It's just fun. I mentioned this last year that when I did my debut that it reminds me a lot about go-karts. It's a fun racing series where I do feel like some of the racing series in Europe can be very political. You get to the point where you're like, okay, am I really enjoying this? Is this what I really want to do? I'm not going to say that you're doubting yourself, but I think when I came here, I kind of got the spark for the sport again and it made racing fun.

I would only say this series has become more competitive since then, so it's only more fun now.

Q. Also, you are teammates with two very experienced drivers, such as Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey. How proud are you for doing so well and faring so well against them so far?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: To put it in perspective, we might be teammates but we're still all competitors. If I'm in a position where I have a completely different strategy that doesn't seem to play out at the moment, I'll give them an easy pass. Other than that, we're going to race hard and all these kinds of things.

I think, because I'm so young and I've driven a lot of cars in Europe that's, in my opinion, quite difficult to drive and I've also driven some easy ones and just my experience with the F1 team back in a few years ago when I was doing a lot of simulator work, you're just very involved and you drive a lot of different cars, a lot of different -- I wouldn't necessarily just call it setups, but the evolution of different cars, and you understand the differences and how you need to drive certain cars.

I wouldn't say you develop the skill, but you sort of do. You just get a better understanding, and you improve your talent. I guess that's why on certain occasions Graham will complain more about the car than I will because we kind of just get on with it.

We saw the car this weekend was in a good window for him at Mid-Ohio, and he was fast. There's no question that Graham is a good driver, same for Jack, but I just think I can do things they can't do just because of my previous experiences.

Q. I wonder if you're aware that this past spring the Danish TV network did a docuseries, six parts, on one of the Danes in the world, and one of those episodes focused on Danes who came to the United States in search of success. I wonder if you saw that episode. Also, if you have a historical context, thinking of yourself in that same framework of Danes who immigrated into this country.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think I've heard of it, but I'm not sure I've seen it, to be honest. I'll definitely do that because it does sound very interesting, and then we can have a follow-up about that later. I don't think I've seen it.

Q. It's available on their website.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I will definitely check it out.

Q. What about the other aspect? These people who came, and they succeeded in Hollywood. They succeeded as automotive executives in Detroit. Lars Ullrich, the drummer from Metallica, have made names for themselves in the USA. You're in that tradition. Do you spend any time reflecting about this?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Not really. Right now I feel like I'm too young. I just live on the go. I'm so busy and caught up in the racing world that I want to win, and we're not in the position to win right now as a team, so I basically dedicate my time as much as I can to do that.

Sometimes, I will say I do forget how to live because you're so caught up in it. For me it is difficult because I moved to the states alone. My parents are home. My brother's home. My friends are home. The good thing is my friends and family come over and visit me on certain occasions. Other than that, it is a very boring life when you're alone.

Everybody, they don't really believe that, but it is like that unfortunately.

Q. Thanks. Just want to say the mustache does look amazing. I can't deny that.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Thank you.

Q. My question is this weekend is the last race on Toronto's contract, and they said they're organizing a new one, they hope it will be multiyear. When you were first looking at joining the series, how much of an appeal was it having this race on the calendar? And looking forward, how important do you think it is to continue racing here and having a presence for IndyCar?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I do think it's important. Not necessarily just Toronto or Canada, but in my opinion, we need to go to South America more. We need to go more international. We need to do more fly-away races because, in my opinion, that's what we see in F1 right now, moving more and more over here and there. They're sort of exploding because of that, just because there's more people around that are aware.

That's a problem with this racing series being nationally -- a national racing series, but at the same time, we do have the best racing product in the world. I didn't really -- obviously not having raced an IndyCar before last year, I came in, every track was new. I had to understand the history of the races, the history of the circuit, and all these kinds of things.

Still right now, I'm still trying to catch up on all of that, but after having done Toronto last year, it's a beautiful city. I really enjoy going there. My best friend will be there for the race as well. He kept asking me which races should he come to, and I picked out a few that was better than others. He will show up for that.

I think that's why it's great that it's on the calendar, and I actually didn't know the contract was going to be up at the end of this year. I definitely hope they figure something out. If we need to go somewhere else in Toronto, move the track, I think I'll be up for that as well, but it is a cool track for sure.

Q. Kind of a follow-up to earlier questions about the variability of tracks with ovals and road courses and stuff. Talking to INDY NXT drivers, they only want to do a full season if they come in as rookies next year. They're not even considering part time because they don't think the amount of learning they'll get in one year will be worth the driving market for the year after to then get a full-time spot. Looking at your experience, do you think it was important you go full-time from the off, or could you have come into IndyCar on a part-time basis last year and be as competitive as you are?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think that would be possible, yes, but at the same time, if you have the opportunity to come in for full-time, I don't see a reason why not to. In the end, it's a job as well, and it's job security. And it gives you the opportunity to shine on more occasions.

If it gives you the opportunity to do full-time rather than halftime, I would do full-time. I think everybody wants to drive as much as they can. We're racing drivers. We wake up wanting to race, and we go to bed wanting to race. Whenever there's an off period over the wintertime, we're just ready to go, and then we get five races in, and we're like, oh, can this finish now (laughter).

Q. You were talking about races outside of America. Given the amount of Scandinavians in the series, do you think you should have a race over there?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I definitely think we should. How many -- there's me and Benjamin, which is two Danes. We actually got Josef as well, who's a half Dane. I think we've got two Swedes. So I think we'll have to fight over where it's going to be.

I know there was plans of actually building a proper racetrack in Denmark. I don't know what's happened to it or if it's been built or whatever. But that would definitely be something that I would be up for and would definitely push for it.

Right now I don't think it's the right time for the series to move to Europe. I mean, obviously now with Canapino, I don't think know if they're looking for a race in Argentina or not. That would be a starting point. We'll take it slow, but I do think we definitely need to move somewhere as well.

Q. There's at least a half Swedish driver in Blomqvist making his debut this weekend. Out of ten, how difficult is Toronto to make your IndyCar debut, do you think?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: With his experience in the LMD car, they do run Long Beach and run the faster race tracks and longer race tracks as well. I think with his experience, he'll be fine. I think he'll be as competitive as the car will be.

But I do think it's a tough track, but he has the experience and the talent to execute with his opportunity.

Q. Just thinking back to your debut a couple of years ago, what's the biggest challenge. He's only done one day at Sebring. What are the biggest challenges when you jump into the cockpit of an IndyCar?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think it's the difference in compounds. We all hear that when you come into a racing series that has different compounds. It's always difficult to know what you've got, what extra you've got, I should say, when you put a softer compound on. Again, he has that experience with the different integrities that he's raced.

Quite honestly, I think he'll be doing well, but it is a tough championship to just jump into and be competitive, even though that I feel like the guys that are here now that have a one-off race were all very competitive in their first race.

Q. I know that in racing you never want to look past the event that's in front of you, but if we could skip over to next week, how busy of a schedule do the folks at Hy-Vee and Iowa Speedway and Rahal Letterman Lanigan have set up for you?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Let's just say I'll be occupied and be busy enough.

Q. Could you elaborate a little bit on what some of the things are? I'm sure there will be store visits, autograph sessions, meet and greets, and things of that nature.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Absolutely. I don't exactly know what the plan is right now. I do know that I got a schedule for Toronto today, but I don't know if I have one specifically for Iowa. I know I will definitely be around. There's a lot of stuff to do.

I understand, it's a part of it. I'm only excited about it. We spend a full day in Des Moines with Hy-Vee, me and Jack, after the test. Honestly, I got to understand what Hy-Vee really does for this racing series, and I remember calling Randy and telling him about it just because I appreciated understanding what we need more promoters like that. He's really set a benchmark within the series of what needs to be done.

I'm not really a fan of Iowa Speedway in the sense that the racetrack, it's bumpy, it's very tough. It's in the middle of nowhere. But what they do to that place, they make it look like it's at the top. It can compete with any other racetrack. I think I will definitely be enjoying myself with the Hy-Vee team.

Q. With you being top 10 in points and with there being 104 maximum points for that weekend, here's an opportunity where if you do well or any driver does well, they can really make a leap forward in the standings. How important is that to you, and how much do you focus and does the team focus on that?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Obviously being in the Hy-Vee Vivid car, there's a lot of pressure on me and the team performing well at Iowa, but at the same time, if you just kind of forget about the Hy-Vee car and the Hy-Vee event, it's a doubleheader, and there's a lot of points on the table. If it was another track, we'd still be focusing on doing well there because there's an opportunity to score a lot of points.

Unfortunately last year, I actually ended up having a brake failure in the second race, luckily while that was coming into the pit, so that made it a little better. At the same time, we were on the sort of cutting edge of 10th there. So we didn't really score that many points, but we definitely will focus on having a good weekend here, which is why we tested there.

I'm not going to say we were the fastest car, but we were definitely more competitive than I think we were last year, and we're just in a better place. I think we'll be able to do good.

Q. Also, the physical demands of three races in an eight-day period.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yep. I mean, I'm a race car driver. That's what I signed up for.

Q. What do you have to do to be ready physically and mentally, sharp for that type of demand in a short period of time?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don't think that three races in eight days is really a problem. The problem is the time of year that it's going to be super hot, it's going to be humid. It's just going to be very exhausting. I think the people that will be able to do a good job and recharging from, especially the Saturday to the Sunday race in Iowa, will be the faster drivers on the Sunday.

Again, that's what we use our whole winter for to train, to prepare ourselves for these times. Obviously we've known that we were going to come there in the end of July, it's going to be hot. We've known the calendar for a very long time. So we've had time to prepare for this scenario.

Q. One year ago I did a question to you that it's how -- what is your evolution? Because you debuted more or less one year, two years -- in that case, two years ago, when at the time I asked that question one year. I repeat the question. How much have you changed since your arrival in IndyCar, not also for you, but also for the team? How much?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It's a little tough question because I think as a team we've improved certain packages. As a driver, I think it kind of lines up with the experience and the understanding, just knowing all the tracks as well.

I'm definitely a different human being than I was two years ago. I'm also a lot smarter in terms of race smart, just understanding the outcome of races early on, just understanding how they pan out and these kind of things.

The best way I would kind of explain it is I'm more racing mature, just understanding. I don't necessarily think my talent or what I'm capable of is any different than it's always been. I just think I'm able to extract more from from what I have and not making silly mistakes. Just being more complete, I guess.

Q. And focusing on now and the next races until the end of the season, which track are you most waiting for, or which track do you think that Rahal will have more options?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Options in terms of --

Q. Achieving a good result.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: For obvious reasons, I'm looking forward for Iowa. I'm also, those three races, which is Iowa, Nashville, and the GP, those three races I'm looking forward for. But again, I'm pretty much looking forward for every race for the rest of the season because those were the races that we were strongest at last year other than St. Louis.

I don't think there's one that I look forward to more than any other, but if I would have to say one, I would definitely go with Iowa.

Q. Talking about the following year, the IndyCar Series is a little bit crazy. There's some not busy seats in teams like McLaren or Chip Ganassi. Have you had any conversations with these teams talking about your future and that, or you are only focusing on this year and the following years with Rahal?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Right now I'm not focused on anything other than the position that I'm in. I'm happy at Rahal. The most satisfying feeling as a racing driver is beating your teammates. Right now that's what I'm doing.

I'm not going to sit here and say that I'll stay here, but at the same time I'm on a roll right now. I'm going to have some momentum that I'll try to carry with me, but at the moment, there's no plans for anything else other than staying at Rahal.

DAVE FURST: Just to follow up on that, Christian, you're talking about mentally you're more mature than you were two years ago. Part of that is just race craft. It's just knowledge that there's no other way you can pick up on stuff like that until you're in a car for a while, right?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It is all about being race smart, and that's definitely something I struggled with last year because, when I have friends that ask me how am I supposed to understand in the middle of a race where people are? We've got all these different strategies going on.

It's basically the same position that I would be in, just understanding how the race will pan out because Mid-Ohio, when I came out, I can't remember if it was the first or the second pit stop, I think the second, when me and Colton were in the pit at the same time, he beat Pano out, so did I, but Pano got me down into turn 4. And I just thought he's got to be a lap down or something because I knew where he started the race.

That fight on track is what cost me the podium in the race. If I would have known straight away I was fighting him for position, I wouldn't have let him by as easily as I did. It's understanding these kinds of things while I'm doing it. That's what I'm way better at this year than last year just understanding who I'm around, who to not battle with in certain scenarios and just be more race smart, just race mature, understand the game really.

DAVE FURST: You'll be better at it next year and so on and so forth as you go on.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I hope so.

Q. A bit of a follow-up to the fact that we have Iowa as a doubleheader, and Detroit used to be a doubleheader, and Toronto only nine years ago was holding two races in one weekend, and to the full 85-lap distance for both of those races, which is a big challenge. Do you think any other events on the IndyCar calendar would maybe work better as a two-race weekend? And having the two Indy GPs so far apart as well, do you think it would benefit from having them either on the same weekend or maybe like a weekend apart?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. Because I think, especially what's good about the second GP is that we share the track with NASCAR as well. Recently I had the question, does that change anything with NASCAR putting down different rubber?

I think it's just very good to have those two separated. I'm not sure -- I mean, I have only been to the tracks that we are racing on again this year in the states. I've not been to any other tracks, so I don't know if there's any other tracks that might be a better fit or just to add to the calendar.

But I mean, personally, I'm pretty happy with the calendar as it is. I would prefer that we do more super speedways. Which ones, I don't know because, again, I don't have the experience. I don't know which ones to go to.

I do feel like Iowa is a suitable fit because of what Hy-Vee does for the weekend. I do have friends that won't be coming to the race weekend to watch the race but just the concerts. I think that is great because we get people out and we get people out that comes for the music, but they will also see the racing. They will hopefully get interested in the sport and want to come to more races. That's what we need.

Again, it just shows what Hy-Vee does for the sport.

Q. Because of what you just said about it's important that IndyCar is on the same track as NASCAR at the Brickyard, now that NASCAR had their street race in Chicago, how would you feel someday about NASCAR and IndyCar on a street race somewhere on the schedule? What do you think that weekend would be like? How excited would you be for the possibility of that?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I would not want to turn that down. I think that will only be cool, the two biggest American racing series sharing a track. I think just as a street race that will bring a lot of people there from all over the country, potentially even the world.

I think that definitely would be something super exciting. It's tough on street circuited to find the space for all the trailers, but I'm sure we'll manage to find a way to solve that out if we had the opportunity.

Q. Would the different rubber cause an issue on streets more so than --

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don't think so. I think on street circuits, the track just gets better every session anyway just because it's so green, and the more we drive on the track, the more rubber we lay down. If there's more car on track, even though it's different tires and a different car, you will always rubber the track up. I think that's only going to be a benefit for all of us.

DAVE FURST: Unless there's anyone else, Christian, safe travels.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Thank you.

DAVE FURST: Again, drive the No. 45 Vivid Clear RX with Hy-Vee Honda, it's Christian Lundgaard. The Honda Indy Toronto comes up Sunday, coverage begins at 1:30 eastern, streaming live on Peacock in the United States and you can listen to the IndyCar Radio Network.