The 34-year-old Frenchman is now formally one of the elder statesmen of the F1 grid, his best season remains 2013 when he finished seventh in the World Championship, collecting 132 points for the Lotus team including six podium finishes. In four years with Haas, the Swiss-based racer has never finished higher than fourth, achieving that result in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix. But he insists the “dream” lives on that he could yet emulate the multiple title triumphs he enjoyed in junior formulas ... until now since he has joined the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Image Credit: Planet F1 (2020) |
F1 Driver Romain Grosjean Enters INDYCAR, With Reservations, For Dale Coyne
Rick Ware Racing
So, if anyone was going to bury the lead, then some will never mention that
Romain Grosjean is a Mike Conway from a different country. Romain isn't
coming to INDYCAR with the intent to race every challenge the series
presents to a professional race car driver at the top of the competitive
challenge game - something the NTT INDYCAR SERIES delivers over any other
professional open-wheel racing series.
Romain Grosjean will not race ovals ... there, this is the lead, every
challenge presented are not the challenges this series is suited for to the
likes of one Romain Grosjean.
PULL QUOTE:
Q. According to the release, it says the road and street course races.
What's it going to take for you to get on the ovals?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, I think if I was 25 and single or even with no
kids, I would be racing ovals definitely. No, it's also a family choice. I
think on the 29th of November, 2020, for 2 minutes 45 seconds thought they
had lost a dad and my wife unfortunately lost her husband. The idea of
putting them back into that situation, really I can't take it.
The speedways at the minute, no. But I am not saying 100% no to Gateway.
Let's see how the season goes. If we can do some testing on short track
and see how it goes.
It's not 100% yes and 100% no, but for now I just need to look after my
family in the speedways.
ENDS
Okay, he is soft peddling his reluctance to race ovals, but this is a
professional race car driver who has raced in Formula 1 for a decade and has
just suffered one of the most horrendous one-car crashes in modern F1
history ... and he doesn't much care for going round n' round.
NTT IndyCar Series News Conference - Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Dale Coyne, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
Rick Ware, Dale Coyne with RWR
Romain Grosjean, Driver Dale Coyne with RWR
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: Good morning. Let's start with some introductions. Dale Coyne
is set to begin his 38th year in INDYCAR competition. The former driver, now
long-time owner of Dale Coyne Racing.
It was announced last week that Rick Ware and Rick Ware Racing would be
partnering with Dale Coyne this season with a taste of the NTT INDYCAR Series
last year in the Indy 500, but the NASCAR team owner expanding things
certainly in 2021.
He announced earlier this morning Romain Grosjean will be driving the No. 51
on the road and street courses this season. A veteran of nine plus seasons in
Formula 1, some 180 starts. The 34-year-old joining so many others who have
made the transition from F1 to INDYCAR.
Let's start with Dale. Congratulations. Speculation is over. What can Romain
bring to your team this year?
DALE COYNE: Look at his résumé. He's bringing a lot. Formula 1 is such a
challenging world to judge a driver because it's by team. But if you look at
what he did, we're impressed what he did before he got to Formula 1. He won
the GP2 series by 35 points. It was a year that I think nine drivers in that
series made it onto Formula 1. It wasn't a light year. He won six junior
categories before that. He's a winner.
Formula 1, it's difficult to be a winner unless you're with the top two or
three teams. So we're going to get him over here with the fourth best team and
show that he can still be a winner. We're looking forward to having him with
us. Our French engineer Olivier Boisson will be his head engineer. I think
they were together over the holidays at Christmas over in Switzerland.
I just think it's a good feeling all around. We're going to create a good
environment for him. We're happy to have Rick Ware with us this year. Got a
taste of it at Indy last year. Once you get a taste of that place, you want to
keep coming back.
We just look forward to a strong year with Romain and with Ed, so...
THE MODERATOR: Rick joins us as well. Welcome to a full-time participant in
the series. How did this partnership come together? You're obviously not
messing around when you have a driver like Romain.
RICK WARE: Yeah, Dale said it best. I grew up with a road racing background
initially. We're kind of knee deep into NASCAR. But follow road racing, love
road racing. Anybody that's in motorsports obviously I believe follows Formula
1 to a huge extent.
We had some opportunities for sponsors to expand a little bit last year, from
an owner's standpoint I've never been to Indianapolis. Who could not want to
be part of that? When James Davidson came onboard, we started talking. The
racer in me wanted to try to figure out a way to do it. Talked to several
people. Had nothing but great stories about Dale, working with him.
Got to meet him. I felt like we kind of hit it off as far as he's a journeyman
driver into a team owner. Kind of the same with us. This is our 30th year in
motorsports. This is all we do for a living. We live and breathe it.
The racer in me, man, just ate up Indianapolis. Of course, we'd been there
with NASCAR. Indy is about INDYCARS. We put a deal together. I really started
seeing the benefit of trying to expand just our reach as a race team.
To go in and say that we're going to just do it all on our own would have been
a huge feat. Right now with where we are in our career, we want to have
success. I joked a little bit with Dale, I kind of want to be him when I grow
up. He's been very, very successful.
We kind of just talked back and forth about kind of what my dreams were, where
we wanted to be with RWR. I wanted to expand in the business and marketing
model like Penske, Ganassi, that can go to sponsors and be able to offer
different motorsports platforms.
We just talked more and more. I think over the long haul we really didn't have
a second plan really for a driver. We said there's maybe an outside chance
that something may happen with Romain. I think we waited for several months.
Selfishly, we figured it was going to be a great story to have a great driver.
It's a business, obviously, first.
I'm excited to have a guy like that drive for us. I'm excited to just get to
the racetrack, expand our sponsors. It's all business, but man, some part of
it I'm kind of like a kid, too. I'm just so thankful to be here.
THE MODERATOR: Certainly congratulations to Romain. Welcome to INDYCAR, the
NTT INDYCAR Series. Why is this move the right one for you at this time?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, thank you.
I mean, it's the one I want to do. I have a chance after doing 10 years in
Formula 1, I had the option to discover something new. There were few options
on the table, but I felt like the one that I wanted to do was INDYCAR.
I got in touch with Dale last year, before Imola. I really felt there were a
big enthusiasm on getting me onboard. It's something that I really, really
loved and felt good about.
I looked at the options that I had. I say what I want to do is to go in
INDYCAR because I've been watching the races. The series looks super
competitive. The car looks fun to drive. The circuits looked amazing, just the
old style that I really like. When you look at Road America, Mid-Ohio, the
street courses, Laguna Seca, they're part of the circuits that I used to play
video games on those 20 years ago. Not good to say that, but 20 years ago
(smiling).
I am super excited to discover the championship. I've been absolutely amoring
the YouTube channel of the INDYCAR over the Christmas period, watching every
race for the last three seasons, trying to understand what I need to learn.
There's lots to learn from a rolling starts to doing the pit stop to learning
the car. I'm ready to tackle the challenge. I think it's the right one.
THE MODERATOR: I have to ask you about your recovery from the accident. How is
that going for you?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: It's going okay. This is my left hand, so it's still quite
marked. But it's uglier than it is bad, I would say. It's all working well.
The left hand ligament was pulled away. I've had surgery. This is going okay.
I think the first test for us is the 22nd of February. I may not yet be 100%
in terms of what I can do, but definitely good enough to drive very well. By
the time we go to race one, I think I'm going to be ready.
I'm not worried about it. I've been in the gym since the accident. The
accident happened on Sunday in Bahrain. By Wednesday I was already in the gym
trying to get the mobility going.
It was a difficult call for the doctors between stopping my hands to move and
getting the recovery and the skin faster, or keeping it moving to keep the
strength and the mobility. But we knew there were more risk of delaying the
healing.
With the season start being postponed a little bit, all actually played in my
hand, if I can use the play of word (laughter). As I say, I am not worried
that we're going to be okay.
In terms of physical training, I've been going in the gym quite a bit because
I know there is no power steering in INDYCAR. That's something I need to
relearn.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.
Q. Romain, some of the Formula 1 drivers have been over here in the past, such
as Fernando Alonso. They like the fact that the driver can really race with
the INDYCARS more so than with some of the technology you were used to with
the F1 cars. As a racer, how much does that intrigue you, that you can go out
there in a lot of ways hustle this car rather than have the technology be so
dependent on the vehicle?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, this is something I'm very, very much looking forward
to. I've been watching the races. The way you can follow the car in front of
you, the way you can slide the tires, the way you can either try to play with
your 'push to pass', the fact that the cars in qualifying are within 6/10ths
of each other. This is all really exciting.
You need to get the details right and so on. I think, yes, as you say, you
don't have the differential you can move, you don't have the recovery and all
the shaping and the braking, the systems you can have in Formula 1.
I think the racing, yes, the car a little bit slower, but the racing looks
much better from everything I've been seeing. I think in that respect I'm
super excited about it.
Q. Formula 1 was the first to come up with the halo concept. INDYCAR kind of
went one step beyond that with the Aeroscreen. You tested out the halo. We saw
how valuable it was to save you from further injury. How do you feel about the
Aeroscreen, that extra added layer of protection?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, I mean, it's now part of the motorsports in general,
halo and Aeroscreen. As you say, Aeroscreen is a step behind I think
absolutely even because the speed are higher, it makes more sense. But I think
it's a great invention generally. I need to test it to see if there are any
things that you need to adapt in terms of visibility. From what I believe, no.
Obviously it has saved my life. I'm sure it's going to save some more in the
future. It's not unknown that I was against the halo being brought to
motorsport. But in French we say only idiots don't change their mind. I did
change my mind. I wouldn't race a car with no halo or Aeroscreen on.
Q. According to the release, it says the road and street course races. What's
it going to take for you to get on the ovals?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Well, I think if I was 25 and single or even with no kids, I
would be racing ovals definitely. No, it's also a family choice. I think on
the 29th of November, 2020, for 2 minutes 45 seconds thought they had lost a
dad and my wife unfortunately lost her husband. The idea of putting them back
into that situation, really I can't take it.
The speedways at the minute, no. But I am not saying 100% no to Gateway. Let's
see how the season goes. If we can do some testing on short track and see how
it goes.
It's not 100% yes and 100% no, but for now I just need to look after my family
in the speedways.
Q. Rick, you're still really building your NASCAR stuff. I know you probably
want it to be performing better. Looking from the outside, why invest in this?
Some people would say you're doing more than what you should be.
RICK WARE: Those are good questions.
The reality is, NASCAR, until the new car comes, which they say is coming next
year. It was supposed to come this year. We are stuck in some certain
parameters with our budgeting, what we can afford to do and to not do.
Last year we ran more cars. We are running less cars this year. All of our
cars across the board are going to be running I think dramatically better,
better level.
As you know within NASCAR, you get a sponsor, you get a driver. You're at a
certain level. Just because you spend more money doesn't mean that you're
going to move up two or three or four spots. We have teams that we're spending
14 and 15 million dollars for the season, 10 million dollars more than we
were. They finished two, three, four spots ahead of us in points.
What we have to do is we have to make sure year in, year out how we survive
and that we're here and we grow every year. You've seen how we've grown over
the years. It takes a lot marketing-wise to make this happen. We brought in 20
new primary sponsors last year. We've kept about a third of them over into
this year.
To make it through the COVID, to make it through year in, year out, you've got
to have marketing partners, you have to have sponsorship, you have to be able
to offer some things that people don't have to offer.
We're not taking money away from the NASCAR side. We're generating new
dollars. It's a family business. We invest everything back into our business
anyway. So my hope is to grow this to where all the conversations I'm having
right now are going to talk about running two or three NASCAR cars and
full-time INDYCAR in the 2022 season and beyond.
We are investing more this year into our NASCAR, and we are investing into
INDYCAR as well. I firmly believe that will allow us to have longevity. We've
seen a lot of really wealthy owners. They got tired of losing $10 million a
year. This has to be a business. There has to be a fine line.
We had several top 10s last year. That's hard to do for a small team. To go
compete against teams like Romain's car owner and Stewart-Haas is no easy
feat. We're trying to grow and be financially responsible.
Q. Is Cody part of this INDYCAR program as well?
RICK WARE: Yes, we haven't made any of those announcements yet. Again, it
being a business, Cody only ran a few races last year because we decided to
wait until we had proper funding. Cody is now going to run full-time in the
Cup schedule.
A few of the Cup races that conflict, we have some really good drivers that
we're going to fill in. We've been able to achieve sponsorship with Nurtec
ODT, the migraine medication. They're going to be involved in some INDYCAR.
They're involved in NASCAR heavily in the Cup Series and Xfinity.
That's an example of how we were able to get a full-time publicly traded
company like this. We are trying to be an entity that for a certain amount of
money you can be part of the three largest motorsports opportunities in North
America.
Getting into the INDYCAR, I hope this will be an ongoing venture and we will
grow it together with Dale. Someone like Romain, selfishly as a business, he's
a great tool because I think now he'll be loved just as a family guy and a
racer, which is very unique, especially coming from Formula 1.
As Dale said earlier, his accomplishments just speak for themselves. You have
to understand, this is a business opportunity to grow. This is going to allow
us to be more competitive. But we're kind of stuck on the NASCAR side a little
bit until the new car comes out. We lost two or three major car owners this
past year because the business model did not work. You have to be very
careful.
Q. Romain, you were talking about your hand. The recovery is going well. Is
there any concern with the new skin rubbing on the steering wheel, putting any
pressure on that?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I guess time will tell. But there's always painkiller if
needed. We're going to work around the steering wheel the best we can.
I think it's going to be all right. I mean, it's only a simulator back home
that I have for eSports, but I've been using it a fair bit just to get my hand
in the right position and get the skin used to do those movements.
I don't have any concern and it should be fine really.
Q. With regards to switching to INDYCAR, is there anything in particular that
INDYCAR brings that other options might not have, such as Formula E or
anything like that?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Sexiness. As I say, after the accident, there's one thing I
realize in life, is to have the choice to say no or yes. Really I think
INDYCAR is a top series, top drivers, top cars, super exciting to drive.
I shouldn't mention it, a competitor of mine right now, but yesterday Will
Power posted on Twitter a nice video from the helmet, testing in Sebring.
Hearing the sound of the engine and watching the onboard, I just took the
clip, sent it to my wife and said, This is why I do it. I felt like this is
what I want to do. This is what I want to race. It looks mega. Let's do it.
Q. Romain, how many of the INDYCAR drivers do you know personally?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I'll know Simon Pagenaud, Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi. I
think that's it.
Q. Dale, how difficult has this been as a process? Through kind of no fault of
his own, Romain has changed from doing a full season of INDYCAR to kind of
scaling back initially to do the road courses. From a financial aspect, how
difficult has the deal been coming together based on those things?
DALE COYNE: We wanted Romain from the beginning. Like he said, before Bahrain
we were talking quite seriously. He was always our target. We're happy that it
all worked out together that we could make this happen.
Obviously we respect that he's only going to do the road courses. But we're
happy with the whole program and looking forward very much to the year.
Q. You've had a lot of drivers come from Europe, from various backgrounds.
What do you think makes the team so great at sort of bringing young talent
into INDYCAR and also talent from Formula 1? It seems like the team has a
really good record of bringing in engineers, people from different
championships, helping them to adapt to INDYCAR quickly. What do you think is
the secret behind that?
DALE COYNE: I think the secret is the drivers need to feel like we do. We
enjoy it. We enjoy the racing, we enjoy the competitiveness of it all. Drivers
come here and they enjoy the car. The car is back in my hands again. We can
set the car for a driver that likes an understeer, oversteer car. In Europe,
they give you a car and you drive it. The engineers are everything and you're
just a tool in the car. Here you're the biggest tool in the car.
I think they enjoy that. We enjoy doing that with them. We enjoy learning them
and their driving styles, pointing out how to make them better. As Romain
says, it goes back to his earlier days in formulas where the camaraderie in
the pits, everything that happens, it's such a different feel over here than
it is in Europe. I think that gives the driver a whole new rebirth no matter
what their age is.
I say this is the year of the old man rookies. We have Romain and Jimmie
Johnson, the young guy McLaughlin who is in his late 20s. Hopefully they all
enjoy it, have a good time with it. Again, we're really looking forward to it.
Q. Romain, Dale mentioned you've already met your engineer. How did that go?
How have you adapted to working with him? Are you positive your chances this
season based on your work with him so far?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yes, I am. I think the relationship, it's very difficult to
explain, but sometimes the alchemy works quite well. With Olivier,
straightaway we get on very well. We come from the same region in Europe. I
guess maybe that helps a little bit. We've had a straightaway good
relationship.
I asked loads of questions, some very simple to some more advanced, and we've
been talking through emails and WhatsApp quite a bit.
I also told him that I can run on iRacing the INDYCAR. I can send him the data
so he can see if it's completely off the reality or not. I can learn the
circuits in that aspect.
I also spoke with some of the other engineers working on the dashboard, some
of the first few things you do. Also the chief mechanic is named Todd.
Straightaway from the day the contract was signed he sent me an email
welcoming me in the team, as well as Terry the team manager. I got five or six
emails from the guys the day the contract was signed. This is what I'm looking
for. I'm looking for working with people that are motivated about racing, and
they love it, as I do.
I'm maybe turning 35 in the first race of this season, but I still feel like
I'm 20. I've got lots to learn and lots to do.
Q. Romain, have you thought about relocating to the U.S.? Will you commute?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Initially I'll be commuting quite a fair bit because the kids
are at home at school. I won't move them. But if things go very well and I'm
enjoying my life and my start in INDYCAR, we may think about coming a little
bit more.
Let's see. For now I'll be commuting. We've been working with the team and
Dale on the date, how we can make sure it all works the best it can.
We know family-wise it may be a bit of a tricky year with some long time of
dad out of the house. They also know and feel that I'm excited, looking
forward to it. That makes them happy.
Q. Romain, how beneficial do you think it's going to be for you coming from
Formula 1 into INDYCAR in terms of getting up to speed? The cockpit is
similar. The steering wheel is quite similar, as well.
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, I think there are a lot of things that are similar.
There's also things that are different. The anti-roll bar you can set up
inside the cockpit, that's not something I've run before. I'm quite excited
about it. You can always fine-tune things to your liking.
I've got loads of experience from Formula 1. Some will be useful, I'm sure. A
lot of things I need to learn as well. I'm really coming with an open mind and
getting ready to be like a sponge, to learn as much as I can from all the
guys, from the engineers, from my teammate Ed Jones, as well. He knows
INDYCAR. He's been racing there. For me it's going to be very interesting to
learn all of that.
Maybe on the engineering side, whenever I've got things that I've done in the
past that were useful, just bring that on the table and see how we can work
from there.
Q. Dale, as Romain says, he's coming from Formula 1 where it was very kind of
data driven. How beneficial is that to you as a team owner to have someone who
is experienced with engineering meetings?
DALE COYNE: I think it will be big. Honda has already shown more enthusiasm
about our simulator work, what we can learn from that knowing he has an
extensive background of some work in the Europe. That's probably our biggest
addition this year with his knowledge, what we can learn on a simulator.
Q. Romain, is there any one of the tracks you'll be running that you would say
you're looking forward to the most?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: If I'm being honest, pretty much all of them. If you really
want to have one that stands out, is Laguna Seca, just because I used to race
it when I was, again, teenager couple of years ago on video games. I think it
was Grand Tourismo. I really liked Laguna Seca. I think it's going to be cool
to go there.
Q. You mentioned you have been watching some of these older INDYCAR races
while riding your bike. You mentioned the competitiveness throughout the field
as something that excited you. What stood out to you, if anything, in some of
those races and how it differed from the Formula 1 racing?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I have been watching 18 hours and 36 minutes of INDYCAR
racing over the last couple of months (laughter). Yes, I think the excitement
comes in the fact that in Formula 1, after turn one, you normally know what's
going to be the race result just because you know the pace of the car,
Mercedes is going to pull away, maybe the Red Bull is going to be there. Some
things can change, but nowhere as much in INDYCAR.
Mid-Ohio 2018 I watched recently was Sebastien Bourdais had an issue in
qualifying and started back of the field. He came back like a bullet from the
gun and finished sixth just behind Scott Dixon. The race was not over. The
strategy was the alternative one. He started on the black tire, went for the
reds, just came back from the back. That's not something you're going to see
in Formula 1 unless Mercedes qualified in the back, which never really
happens. That was great to see.
Most of the races between the cautions, the pit stop, the fueling and so on,
there is always options for strategy. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it
doesn't really go your way. That's really something I have appreciated about
it. The fact that, yes, it's never over. You may run into trouble with fuel,
you may not. You may have tires going away. Because the car are quite close in
performance, the field is never really spread. That's cool to see.
There's also things that I'm surprised with. Blue flags. You don't need to let
by when there's a blue flag. Many times I got penalties in Formula 1 because I
didn't respect the blue flags. You have five corners to let the car by, whilst
in INDYCAR you can just keep racing. It's an information. It's not so much
mandatory. Few things that I just need to get used to that are quite
different.
Yeah, the races are really good to watch.
Q. Dale, obviously Romain has this long, extensive list of achievements in
Formula 1. Being in that series for nine years along says a lot. Was there
anything beyond the fact that he's this experienced Formula 1 driver when you
look at what he's done and what he's accomplished that stood out to you or
maybe excites you the most?
DALE COYNE: I think it's just says volumes to have the ability to stick it out
over there. Being with Haas, it's not like being with Mercedes, yet he tries
every weekend and gets the best he can out of his car. They say in Formula 1
you're racing your teammate. He raced his teammate. Never gave up, went at it.
Again, his attitude here. You see how he is. He's excited about being here.
We're excited about having him. I think that's just a good combination, a good
marriage. We can do good things with that.
Q. Are you guys committed with this driver/team relationship beyond more than
one year?
DALE COYNE: We haven't committed to next year yet, but we've certainly talked
about it. I think he wants to stay here and prove some stuff. Maybe we'll get
him to Indianapolis next year.
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Never say never (laughter).
Q. Romain, with all the other racing series that are out there, my question
would be why INDYCAR? Why not something like endurance racing? Did you talk to
any of the other INDYCAR drivers who are currently racing about the series
before signing on with Dale?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, I did. I did. Simon Pagenaud and Marcus Ericsson were
very helpful in asking questions, basically what HANS device to use to what
are the good teams, what do you think, how do you deal with your hotels.
Various questions. They've been great help in that aspect.
Why INDYCAR? Because I am passionate about motor racing. That's the most fun,
exciting and competitive option I could think of right now. As I say, I'm
super happy to be joining. Endurance is a midterm thing that I'm looking for
when I'm too old for single seater. Right now I felt like I was ready to take
the challenge, I wanted to do it. As I said, I'm a rookie, there's many things
I need to learn and to understand.
I think the passion of racing was the number one priority in my choice.
Q. You mentioned your hand was healing well. You'll be taking part in INDYCAR
testing in a few weeks. There's no power steering in INDYCAR. What in
particular are you having to do with your hand to rehab it, to get full
strength back?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Yeah, the strength is 90% back, which is very good. Initially
the first limitation would be the ligament from my left thumb because that is
just time that heals it. But I've been very gentle and followed the rules from
the doctor, which is a hand specialist in Geneva I really trust. When he tells
me I can do something, I do it. When he tells me not to do it, I don't do it.
I think that was quite important for me to know where to put the limit. He's
very confident in the ligament being good.
Really I don't see much limitation. As I say, when I wake up in the morning,
the hand is quite stiff. I need to put some cream, getting it moving and so
on. Some of the movements are still a bit limiting.
I shouldn't say that, but I've been on the podium in Formula 1 with a broken
right hand twice (smiling). The pain goes away when you go racing. Yeah, I've
been racing with broken parts. I've been on the podium. I think it was okay.
Q. Dale, you've been around INDYCAR from the beginning. This current season
INDYCAR rookie lineup is impressive. Can you rank the talent compared from
2021 to back in the '90s?
DALE COYNE: I think the talent's gotten better every year. I think the teams
have gotten more competitive. We're much more competitive today than we were
back in the '90s. Everybody has raised their game. I think that's why it's
attractive to that kind of talented driver, because the series, everyone from
top to bottom, is strong now. Obviously that brings in strong drivers.
Yeah, I think the whole series is much, much stronger.
Q. Dale, I want to be clear. 51 will run the full season, you're just going to
fill the ovals later?
DALE COYNE: Yes.
Q. The third car, is that going to be the Indy 500 or more than the Indy 500?
DALE COYNE: Probably more than the Indy 500. We haven't come up with exactly
what we're going to do there yet. It will probably be four, five races plus
the Indy 500.
Q. Is it your goal to get to a three-car team?
DALE COYNE: No. It's funny. That's an interesting question. We got to a
two-car team. Back in the day we had different drivers. We got to a two-car
team worried we weren't going to be a one-car team. We get to a three-car team
worrying we're not going to get to a two-car team. Every year we put it
together and get it done.
We're happy being a two-car team. We think we can do it well. Obviously
running a third car at Indy helps the series, and you have the time there to
do it. We already have the team assembled for the third car. Really strong
group of guys, great group of guys. We're excited about where we are
manpower-wise. Manpower is the biggest thing when you started adding cars.
We're confident about what we're doing.
Q. Rick, you said Cody is going to do full-time in NASCAR, but indicated he
could do some INDYCAR. He did the Rolex. Where do you see him going with his
career?
RICK WARE: We're trying to just give him a well-rounded career. Obviously
NASCAR is our core business. I think he's going to do a handful of races this
year. We've put together the funding to do that.
We're trying to test a lot of what we can do to make sure we have a continued
base of interest with sponsors, et cetera. The 24 Hour, obviously it's an off
weekend in theory from all the series actually. It was really good for us
social media-wise for our sponsors, television time, et cetera.
NASCAR, like all mega series, is very competitive. Sometimes we have to think
outside the box how to make sure we can stay relevant for our sponsors and
have a storyline.
Again, I'm a hardcore racer like Dale. I'm very excited just to be part of it.
We're very serious in trying to see how maybe Cody can work into a handful of
races a year, to be part of an ongoing sponsor program.
He's got a fair amount of experience on ovals. He does really well there. So
there might be some potential to do a handful of those here and there
throughout the year. But right now he's really looking forward to doing some
testing, the road course, some INDYCARS.
One of the weekends we have on the schedule, the All-Star weekend, which is a
non-points event for the Cup cars. We're just kind of looking at all that,
trying to build a brand around Cody as a driver, trying to attach a sponsor to
him for his ongoing career.
Q. You have an interesting entry at Daytona with Derrike Cope. I'm wondering
how that came about, what you expect from that entry.
RICK WARE: So Derrike drove for me I want to say I think 2005, 6, 7 or 8. I'm
not quite sure. He's driven for me in Trucks, Xfinity and Cup. We do a lot of
business back and forth together. We were kind of talking. He was an older
guy, obviously won the 500 years ago. He was wanting to do his final race.
Again, I think we do a good job, storylines that have some interest that we
can tie into things that make sense. At Derrike's age, I would say it's
tougher for him to go to Martinsville for 500 laps. To go to the Daytona 500
with the car we got from Richard Childress, an ECR motor, he has a legitimate
shot to stay out of trouble and have himself a top 10.
Jacob Companies, which was our sponsor on my first Indy 500 with Dale, they're
back. There is their fifth year with us. That's a perfect example of how we've
kept some interest. It's something different we have to offer. Jacobs is back
now. They're doing 17 primaries on the Cup side. They're going to be involved
with some INDYCAR stuff as well. They were on the 24 Hours this weekend.
I say, Hey, we got a shot to have a really great storyline with a guy that's
won the 500. They're all excited about it. So we partnered up Jacobs with
Derrike for that race. I think it's going to be a great storyline.
That's my responsibility, whether it's my son or whether it's Romain or
Derrike Cope or Haley. A lot of different storylines. We have to make sure
we're relevant with the media. Every year we're trying to grow our team and
the quality of our team. It's very competitive so we have to take baby steps.
Q. Romain, it's been mentioned making the jump from Formula 1 to another
racing entity has helped certain drivers, Kevin Magnussen. Are you hoping to
have going into the INDYCAR campaign?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I spoke with Kevin yesterday morning. I think we exchanged.
He was super enthusiastic and super happy about his experience in the Rolex
24. He also showed his speed. They had the speed to win the race. It showed,
again, Formula 1, if you don't have the car, you just can't do anything.
Yes, I'm excited to come to the U.S., discover a new world, a different world
of racing, but a world where you stand on the same chance to win the race.
Q. Rick, what is the one thing that over the past few years Cody has grown
from a competitor? Does running the multiple disciplines, like Asian Le Mans,
help him realize his confidence level?
RICK WARE: Yeah, I think every driver has their strengths and weaknesses.
You'd like to think there's some core talent there. I believe there is.
There's a lot of drivers that have core talent.
His biggest issue probably has come up through a racing family is having to
preserve equipment, the mental aspect of not being able to race like he would
like to race. The Asian Le Mans definitely gave him some experience and
confidence.
He loves road racing and so do I. It is definitely harder to make a living
doing that from a business model just because of the amount of television
time, the sponsor you can attain, then the prize money. It's an issue.
We try to do that as much as possible. We had an invite to Le Mans last year.
Cody was going to be one of the drivers. But with the COVID, they were going
to cancel, pushed it back to September, so it wasn't even an option for us
because we were running so many NASCAR races. It's given him a lot of
confidence.
It's also making him a better driver, learning how to do different
disciplines. It's amazing just how I see how he takes that to different
levels.
We did a test with Dale in INDYCAR. It was kind of amazing just how he took
different things from that. It definitely elevated him in the LLP2 car this
past weekend. We had a (indiscernible), which is a lot slower car, straight
line. He had some good teammates. It just made him a better driver.
So we're looking forward to doing more of that. Every bit of it makes it
better now with NASCAR, having seven road course races, including going to
COTA, where the F1 guys have been, INDYCARS have been. He is even more excited
about that because he loves the road racing.
The racer in me, we just finished the 24, kind of thinks about if I can talk
Uncle Dale to get involved, we get Romain, Ed Jones, we could have a heck of a
lineup at the 24 Hours next year.
Anything is possible. But, yes, as far as Cody goes, I'm excited for him, just
to see him grow, for sure.
Q. Romain, when you were first released from F1, were looking for a new drive,
you said you were only motivated by joining a competitive team. At the point
after Bahrain where you were looking at the contract, in what way you wanted
to go forward, how much did the competitiveness of Dale Coyne Racing matter as
a factor in terms of not having to justify going to it but in motivating you
to?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: Again, I know if you compare maybe the Penske or Team
Ganassi, Dale Coyne Racing is a small team. Again, it doesn't mean that you
cannot compete at the front.
I think I need to learn how INDYCAR works. We need to learn to work together.
I'm not going into race one thinking I've done 10 years in Formula 1, I'm
going to win that easy. No. I need to learn. Drivers there have been running
for many years, they're very competitive.
But the car are pretty much the same, apart from the dampers. It's up to
setting it up and getting the right relationship with the engineer and driving
it.
I think we can be competitive. I am not coming just to be entering INDYCAR.
That is definitely not my option. But also I'm entering knowing that I've got
many things to learn. Let's see where that brings us. We're ready to tackle
the challenge and to learn as fast as we can.
But as I say, I've been watching many races. The team has done very well last
year with some rookies, so I'm hopeful that we can repeat that or even top up
a little bit on top.
Q. Dale, Romain mentioned that February 27th was going to be the first test.
Where is that going to be? How many times do you think you'll get him in a car
before the season starts?
DALE COYNE: It's actually the 22nd of February. We're at Barber. A week later
we're at Laguna. Looks like we're going to have four testing days scheduled
before the first race at Barber, four road course tests. That's good. We got
that and some simulator work that's going to be coming up. I think all that
will get him ready.
Q. Rick, I want to clarify something you said earlier. Maybe I misheard you. I
thought you said this was a business deal and that there was a corporate
sponsor as part of this deal. I didn't see that announced. Did I miss
something or did I mishear you?
RICK WARE: I think we're probably a week or two away for announcing that
because we have sponsorships for both the 51 and the 52. You have to
understand that Romain has been I wouldn't say first choice because it's
really kind of our only choice or decision that we're having to wait. You can
imagine trying to sell a sponsor at this level without being able to say who
the driver is.
First and foremost from the business standpoint, we needed to make sure we had
Romain on. Now we're going to put together the pieces of the puzzle. There are
going to be sponsors tied to our NASCAR scenario. We're going to be leveraging
some of these INDYCAR sponsors to cross over into the NASCAR.
I think we're probably a week or two away from that announcement.
Q. Rick, you mentioned Cody has an interest in maybe trying INDYCAR. I believe
he may have tested last week with Dale on a road course at Sebring. You said
he likes road course racing. If Romain isn't going to do the ovals, would he
do an oval race and fill in for Romain or would he try to do a road race?
RICK WARE: We've talked about that. Again, Dale has probably literally run
more rookies than anyone in the garage, right? We're discussing that. I'm kind
of leaving that up to Dale for the final decision.
Cody has a lot of oval track experience. Obviously he's never been an on oval
track in an INDYCAR. Dale has taken a lot of guys to oval tracks for the first
time in INDYCAR. So for me, I have full confidence in Dale. I think it's just
a matter of what makes the most sense.
Again, we want to make sure if Romain changed his mind that we were prepared
for that, right? The Indy 500 is a big scenario.
We're prepared to fill in the gap if we need to. But I think that's really
going to be some conversation with me and Dale, ultimately with Dale, kind of
where all the sponsors see fit.
We would be excited to do that if that opportunity makes sense.
Q. Romain, I wanted to ask you about the TV coverage of INDYCAR in France, the
Internet coverage in France in French language. Do you see a lot written about
champions like Simon and Sebastien? Can you add to that? Do you see it
blossoming in years to come thanks to your participation?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: I hope so. I think the channel that does Formula 1 does
INDYCAR in France, as well. It's a pay TV. It's always going to limit your
viewers. But they are doing most of motorsports. Obviously Simon, after the
Indianapolis 500 was a big thing. One of the top four races in the world. That
was big.
Yeah, obviously we can get people involved. I think with the social media, we
mentioned the YouTube channel, some of the tools we have we can reach out to a
big audience.
I think we should have some good viewings. I'm hopeful that we can make
INDYCAR even more known in Europe. It's a very American-based series, but I'm
sure if we are competitive people will follow.
Q. Dale and Rick, how hard is it to sell to a company, a business, to sponsor
your car with a Frenchman compared with an American, those barriers being
knocked down? Is it just all about talent, they just want to see their names
running up front and it doesn't matter who's in the car?
DALE COYNE: I think it's about talent. Romain coming here kind of reminds me
when Nigel Mansell came here. He wasn't American. He lit the world on fire
over here. People want to see results. They want to have a driver they can
cheer for, somebody who is a good spokesman for them, a driver that has
results.
Numbers don't lie. If you can finish towards the top, I think it gets you what
you need.
Q. Rick, do you share those views?
RICK WARE: Yes, I absolutely share those. Again, it still takes dollars to
make all this happen. Romain is in a unique category. Nigel is probably a
perfect example of that kind of person that came over and raced. Using Nigel
as an example, he was technically a foreigner, but he was sponsored by Kmart.
At the end of the day Kmart got a lot of coverage.
Things are a little bit different now. Again, like you're talking about with
television, the value of social media, the things kind of behind the scenes.
Again, me and Dale are racers. First off, we got a racer in our car. But we
can work around. We don't necessarily have to be selling hot dogs and
hamburgers. Social media is so important.
Again, we leveraged that this past weekend at Daytona. That's where we're
going to get the by-product of having a true professional. Just a great guy,
great storyline, a great race driver.
At the end of the day people want to see people go fast. People want to see
people passing people. For sure I think we have that person. So that's going
to sell for us.
Q. Romain, coming into INDYCAR, a lot of time a lot of people see the
fan-friendly aspect of INDYCAR. Drivers are accessible to the fans. How
exciting is it for some of these new areas, potentially being able to interact
with the fans, especially American race fans?
ROMAIN GROSJEAN: It's super exciting. I don't know much of the U.S. As
surprisingly as it is I've been traveling around the world a lot. The first
time I came to New York in my life was 2018, whereas I've been pretty much
every else. I know a little bit New York, obviously Austin, a little bit Los
Angeles. Nothing really outside of that.
I'm super excited to discover new places. With the jet lag anyway, I will need
to come quite early on the races to get used to that. It's going to be a great
opportunity to discover something new, as you say, to discover new paddocks as
well where you don't need a very complicated pass to enter, and you can have
interaction with the fans, open paddock sharing with the drivers and sharing
passion.
If you come to see a racetrack, it's because you're passionate about racecars.
If you're drivers, you're passionate about racing cars. We have many, many
things to share.
THE MODERATOR: That is a good point, Romain. The credentials we have don't
have the chip in it. It's a little easier to get into the paddock. You'll look
forward to seeing that.
A lot of wonderful stories of Formula 1 drivers coming overseas and
transitioning to INDYCAR. We welcome you, can't wait to see you at the test
here in a couple weeks. Congratulations, Dale and Rick. That season opener
Barber Motorsports Park is going to be here before we know it on April 18th.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us.
[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]
Romain Grosjean observes that F1 cars are much faster, but maybe it's the
constant speeds INDYCARS travel throughout the duration of a superspeedway
oval racing event - jus' sayin'. After all, this is what caused Mike Conway to
tap out.
It is hard to become, as a fan of INDYCAR, overly excited about a driver who
comes in less than excited to tackle the entire challenge the NTT INDYCAR
SERIES represents to the world of Motor Culture and Motorsports overall, no
matter the personal concerns (see Scott Dixon).
We will just have to wait to see if he might "get it" and catch the
INDYCAR racing bug.
... notes from
The EDJE
TAGS: Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne, Rick Ware, NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Super
Speedway, Ovals, The EDJE
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