129 - Breaking Barriers - IndyNXT Racer Jamie Chadwick is Helping to Bring Women to the Forefront of Racing

After an unpredictable, weather-filled weekend at Road America, Conor Daly and co-host Chase Holden return to Speed Street to recap the historic action. On the IndyCar side of the event card in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, race fans saw rain plague practice two and most of qualifying, leading to a spectacular crash by Josef Newgarden that halted the Fast Six session as Colton Herta was in the midst of his final run. The result was Ganassi Racing rookie Linus Lundqvist scoring his first career IndyCar pole, a position he wouldn’t hold long as a fracas broke out on the opening lap of the grand prix. Conor explains that Lunqvist’s own teammate Marcus Armstrong was to blame for the pile-up that saw several contenders, including Colton Herta have their race days become much more complicated. In the end, race strategy prevailed, and a decision to stay out an extra lap before the last pit cycle brought Will Power to the front of a Penske podium sweep, snapping his two year winless streak.

The IndyNXT Series also experienced historical happenings as Jamie Chadwick brought home the victory at Road America, making her the first female to win in the series since Pippa Mann in 2010. Jamie joins the show to discuss her victory and what it means for her career and other women coming up in the motorsports ranks. She explains that a lot of her transition from the W Series to the IndyNXT was spent preparing for the physicality of the racecars, which she explains are bigger and more powerful than she had experienced before. Jamie credits her engineer and driving coach with making adjustments in the car that have helped her quickly adapt, and after a 12th place points effort in her rookie season last year she had begun to hit her stride in 2024. Jamie expresses that while she’d love to race Formula One in the future, she is on the path to race in IndyCar and feels that this year’s IndyNXT field is great preparation for the challenges that lie ahead.

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