NTT INDYCAR SERIES: FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

August 21, 2026

Ed Carpenter

Colette Hirstius

Todd Huston

David Malukas

Mark Miles

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning. Welcome to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, DC. The electricity in the city is palpable, will only grow as the weekend continues.

We're starting off this weekend with a very special announcement: INDYCAR and Shell continue their partnership highlighting a shared focus on performance, innovation and sustainability across the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. With that, beginning with the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, the 100% renewable racing fuel will be sourced in the state of Indiana and processed in Illinois, all domestic.

With that, joining us this morning, leaders across the NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock:

From the team ownership side, owner of ECR, a veteran of 23 Indy 500s, Ed Carpenter is here. A Hoosier as well.

On Sunday he'll have one of the best views of the Grand Prix of Washington, DC, David Malukas.

From the Indiana House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, Todd Huston.

Colette Hirstius is here, president of Shell USA. Good morning to you.

Of course, the CEO and president of Penske Entertainment Corp, which oversees INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Mark Miles.

Ready for a big weekend?

MARK MILES: Yes.

THE MODERATOR: Let's start by talking about this big announcement. You were at the forefront of all this, getting it done. Tell us a little bit about how it happened.

MARK MILES: It's a pleasure. Thank you, Dave.

It's a pleasure to be up here with so many committed friends who have worked together for so long and I think so successfully.

It's interesting you asked the question: How did we get to this place? So I wasn't involved. Mr. Penske was involved.

If you think back to the Shell brands and Johnny Rutherford and Rick Mears twice, Josef Newgarden twice, huge part of our sport. Their success throughout the sport, the Indy 500, is legendary.

Then we get to 2022, we had a conversation about how to work together to make the series more sustainable, focused on the idea of 100% renewable race fuel. Before we knew it, they produced it. In 2023 it makes its debut, making us the first motorsports series that runs on 100% renewable fuel, which we're very proud of.

Then fast forward again - Speaker Huston will appreciate this - I'm at my desk one day in June of '25, the phone rings, it's a state representative from Union City, Indiana, whose family farms four thousand acres, usually corn. Representative Prescott says, I think it's fabulous that you guys have this 100% renewable fuel, but how come it doesn't come from Indiana?

I said, Well, let me look into that.

So one phone call to our friends at Shell - I thought it was going to be a fool's errand - in fact in no time, on that call, We're thinking about that, that could be a really good idea.

In no time at all - this doesn't happen - I can call the representative back and say, Done, anything else (laughter)?

That's where we are. This is the next formulation. As I think Dave said, the product will be sourced, as they say, in Indiana, then processed in Illinois. Very close to home for INDYCAR and our teams, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It's just another super development among lots of other things that are going on that we hope will keep us at the forefront of sustainability with INDYCAR.

THE MODERATOR: Colette, steps involved with this, get into that and the specs that are also involved with the 2027 version of Shell's 100% renewable race fuel.

COLETTE HIRSTIUS: Yeah, happy to share.

One of the things I find the most exciting about this announcement is it's taking on one of the world's biggest problems, figuring out how to solve that problem in motorsport, in INDYCARs that require the highest end performance. So it's not something that is mediocre performance, it is top-end performance. Solving those types of problems, being able to do it with our country's natural resources, do it in a way that is sustainable.

What makes these types of things come together is partnerships. Shell, with the challenge faced from INDYCAR and Team Penske, the OEMs, the engineers that need to work behind the scenes to really figure out from a technical perspective, from a scientific perspective, what needs to be done, then the drivers who of course are the ones who ultimately need to make sure that the performance is there within the vehicles. That's what it took, all of those different teams working together to bring us to this point.

I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm proud to say that we've produced all of the race fuels, as well as lubricants and motor oils, for the events like today.

THE MODERATOR: Speaker Huston, welcome. Great to see you here. The setting is pretty spectacular. What does it mean to the state of Indiana?

TODD HUSTON: It's awesome to be here. Second greatest race in America this year (smiling), after The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Look, so appreciative of the partnership with INDYCAR, what Mr. Penske has done, Mark, Shell, to do this.

Indiana is synonymous with racing and agriculture. To be part of this, to be part of the innovation, have Indiana farmers be part of something that's sustainable, that is going to help highlight the incredible work being done by farmers across of all Indiana is amazing.

Like Colette said, it's about a great partnership. So appreciate the quick spring to action to make this possible. I know Representative Prescott is thrilled about that, as we all are.

It's a great thing for the state of Indiana, continues to build the momentum of two of our favorite things, racing and agriculture.

THE MODERATOR: Ed, you know how important racing is, the racing industry is, to the state of Indiana. I'm going to call you a Hoosier. I know you're a Butler guy, but... What does it mean to have a deeper connection?

ED CARPENTER: I think for me and my team, the majority of our partners are all Indiana-based companies. Having another extension of that with the corn being sourced from Indiana, 100% renewable fuel, is just another connection to the state.

As we learned this morning, it's being made in Illinois, which is where I was born. I'm kind of connected on both ends of this thing, which is exciting.

Shell has been a great partner. As we talked about the performance, when we went to the 100% renewable as teams, we worry so much about quality, and it was a seamless transition. I'm sure this is going to be the same way, and even more connected to the state, which has been an innovator in our sport for well over a hundred years. Great connection.

THE MODERATOR: David, we were joking backstage, you like corn, right?

DAVID MALUKAS: I do, yes. It's incredible. When you hear about it, it was insane to me to hear that this is possible, right? Seeing on the stage all the hard work that goes into it.

For me I'm the special one, lucky one, because we get to race this incredible fuel. Like Ed said, I'm born and raised in Illinois, I hear it is processed in Illinois, but sourced in Indiana. So for me it's close to home and very special. I think it makes it that much better that now we're in the car, we have the 100% renewable fuel, now it's sourced in Indiana.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.

Q. Colette, how valuable of a platform is the INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 to be able to create awareness for Shell, especially when you're breaking out into these renewable fuels?

COLETTE HIRSTIUS: Yeah, so the partnership is longstanding. When you think about high-end products, that's what we want to be associated with. That's part of our brand, part of the importance of our brand, is the high-end products that we can provide.

Now, this product isn't going to go into your everyday car, but the science, research, engineering that goes behind this certainly does help us design products that fuel everyday cars. That's an important part of what we do.

Really we're very focused on providing the products that customers need today. It's from every end of the spectrum that we work to do that, from the day-to-day cars to the highest end vehicles.

Q. From an engineering standpoint, is there a difference in burn rate - probably a better question for Chevrolet engineers - than the current fuel?

ED CARPENTER: By the time it gets to us, our partners at Chevrolet and Honda as well, have sorted it out.

As Dave pointed out, I've been around for a long time. The fuel economy and mileage we've gotten out of our race cars over my career has taken huge, huge steps forward. It's still not a great number when you compare it to what we get in our street cars, but from where it was at the start of my career, they're getting more efficient all the time.

Q. Mark, if there is a new mixture, was it important to have it done before the 2028 car? How does the fuel mixture, what fuel you're using, impact any sort of development in that car?

MARK MILES: It's a good question. It reminds me of something we could have said earlier, that this is a drop-in product. When it was first introduced, the requirement was that Chevy and Honda have to do nothing different. It has to work with the OEMs and the engineering that they have. It was flawless. I think we expect the same for 2027.

I think we just thought sooner is better than later, not so much that it was tied directly to the 2028 car. Yeah, the whole package will be together for 2028 with the fuel, with the engines and the new car that you've seen.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, guys. Way to start this 2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, DC.