Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / The Kenny Conversation - Episode #5 - IndyCar President Jay Frye
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome back to the Kenny Wallace show, it's the Kenny
- 0:03conversation brought to you by Jegs the leader in high
- 0:08performance aftermarket car parts.
- 0:10Remember to go to jegs.com for everything and anything you
- 0:14need. This is the part in the Kenny
- 0:17conversation where I I tell everybody slow down and pause I
- 0:22am overwhelmed and excited J fry J fry is the president of
- 0:31Indycar series and a dear friend of mine.
- 0:34Jay your road has been awesome, what a journey I saw you in
- 0:39NASCAR working for a lot of great teams.
- 0:43Budweiser, Valvoline, Red Bull in.
- 0:46NASCAR in here, you are now the president of the Indycar series.
- 0:52Well, thanks, Kenny. Well, thanks for having me.
- 0:53It's been a, I guess partly. When you go through that list
- 0:58Wallace getting older, right? That's part of the problem.
- 1:00You're still good. Yeah, we've been around a long
- 1:02time. Snow.
- 1:03It's really good. Really proud to be part of the
- 1:05in teeth. The NTT Indycar series I guess
- 1:08this is my cases eighth season of the strap so things are going
- 1:12good. You're coming live for I guess
- 1:15we're kind of live from my officer tracks.
- 1:18I didn't have Superspeedway. So we got a lot of good things
- 1:20going on here and looking What's coming up this weekend?
- 1:24Jay you're on your important to the Kenny conversation because
- 1:28the Indianapolis 500, the greatest race in the world
- 1:32especially for us. Americans is coming up this
- 1:34Sunday, but there's so much going on in the kidney
- 1:37conversation is just that you know we started out with Tony
- 1:42Stewart a couple months ago and Avila.
- 1:45Bonnie, Mark, Martin. Kevin Harvick, you're important
- 1:48to us, brother. How's it going?
- 1:52How's the start of the I know that the Indycar series is now
- 1:56getting ready at Indy for the Indy 500.
- 1:58How's everything going so far? It's been going great.
- 2:01So through yesterday's, practice situated to our practice
- 2:05yesterday. Yesterday we ran about ten
- 2:07thousand laps, so that's a bunch of laps.
- 2:10It's funny every year at the end of the season or the end of the
- 2:13500. You know, we get this list of
- 2:14all these records that we broke. Well, last year for the 500, the
- 2:17list was really full, right? So, we had last year, we the
- 2:19fastest pull, the fastest front row, the fastest field in
- 2:22history. So coming back.
- 2:24This year, you go your how can you pivot?
- 2:26How can you duplicate that again, what we just did.
- 2:28So, it's past Sunday. We again, set a record for the
- 2:31fastest Paul in the fastest front, row of the fastest field
- 2:34in the history hundred and six hundred seven year history, they
- 2:37need a 500. So it's amazing.
- 2:41We got amazing group of competitors, amazing group of
- 2:43drivers teams that they just get after it and get after in a big
- 2:47way. So it's been really exciting so
- 2:49far. You you quickly alluded to about
- 2:52my fifth question. So, Here we are running.
- 2:55We're bumping 240 miles per hour.
- 2:58Indy 500, exciting, three cars row by row.
- 3:03Those three cars are running. Unbelievable speeds for 4 cars
- 3:10with tires on the ground. Have you ever talked about?
- 3:13Have you ever thought about what is too fast?
- 3:17Since these are airplanes on tires?
- 3:20Have you ever had a conversation?
- 3:22Is there a limit in your mind? It's funny, not not yet.
- 3:28I guess. At this point, every year, we've
- 3:30kind of touched this this to 42 42 to 43, going into turn three
- 3:36kind of thing, it's pretty, it's pretty fast.
- 3:39So far so far, the cars have been able to accommodate those
- 3:43speeds. We've done a lot of things from
- 3:45a safety initiative with the cars and now we got these
- 3:48drivers side impact pieces on the tubs.
- 3:49It's kind of a coke bottle, kind of designed the arrow screen, so
- 3:53there's a lot of things that we've done.
- 3:54Safety is a big priority of ours and will continue to be.
- 3:57So we don't think we've hit that speed yet again, the track one,
- 4:02lap, track record, I guess of set 1996.
- 4:05So it's been a while ago. So we're not.
- 4:08We're not quite there yet but we do.
- 4:09We do keep an eye on that. Yes.
- 4:11But don't think we're, you know, to that point at this point.
- 4:15Why do you think they went so fast in 1996 and what part did I
- 4:21miss? Why were they so fast in 96?
- 4:26There's just different things. Obviously, with the cars with
- 4:28the engines that type thing. We're again, we just set the
- 4:33record for the fastest palmistry.
- 4:34The 500. That was a one last thing, so a
- 4:38couple years in a row. So I think the cars are very
- 4:40comparable to the, the one lap speed record actually, it's
- 4:44funny that the person that has a lap speed record is actually one
- 4:47of our stores are aligned Ike, so he still he still gets to
- 4:50walk around you and you still got the one lap record.
- 4:52Yeah, he's a badass. Is it bad?
- 4:54Gasps he's a badass. So let's, let's talk about
- 4:58something. That's right now, Stephen
- 5:00Wilson, had a wreck fractured vertebrae.
- 5:04Graham Rahal has been announced today this morning to replace.
- 5:08Stephen Wilson. What do you have to say?
- 5:11I mean, any, anything new did you have?
- 5:15I mean, hard to think that you would have to prove G Wilson,
- 5:19but what is the protocol there? Does this Stephen Wilson's team
- 5:23call you? How did that?
- 5:24Work out. Well, yeah, we hate what had was
- 5:28Stephen yesterday, ultimate, he's going to be okay and we're
- 5:31really grateful of that. Again, the cars are very safe,
- 5:35yesterday was a new visual incident and we haven't had
- 5:38something like that happen for a while, so we'll evaluate that
- 5:41will see where rat will see. We do to make that better so
- 5:44that never happens again. I guess is number one.
- 5:46Number two, you know, works at the media.
- 5:49Team comes in the kind of like what's our options.
- 5:50Well, the options at this point are limited because we've
- 5:53already had qualifying You know, the drivers have to come in and
- 5:57either do ROP or they have to do a refresher to become eligible
- 6:01for the 500 as a rookie or as a veteran who's ran within the
- 6:06past year here or not. So there's a handful of drivers
- 6:09that were eligible that they would have had to come to a
- 6:11special session. We would have gave them maybe an
- 6:15hour on Thursday afternoon to get through a refresher and then
- 6:18obviously with Graham Graham was obviously already through all
- 6:20that process. He's a veteran, you know, he's
- 6:23practice he's qualified, he's Everything.
- 6:25So he was immediately eligible even being immediately eligible
- 6:29or going to do with both those teams tomorrow.
- 6:31I'm sorry. Thursday is we're going to give
- 6:33them a 15 minute session at themselves.
- 6:36The 24 was Graham and then the 44th Katherine Legge.
- 6:40Basically, what we do when we do that is we have a big deal, it's
- 6:43a big deal. What we let them do in and outs.
- 6:46So they leaped at roads, they can come out of turn four.
- 6:48They have to piss, they can't do a complete lap but we'll give
- 6:50them a 15 minute session to make sure the cars you know
- 6:53especially with With its or the 24, it's obviously a car changed
- 6:58in any driver changes, a lot to it.
- 7:01The 44, it's not a driver change but a card, you know, the
- 7:03significance of the car. So we want to make sure they're
- 7:06right. So when we start Carb Day on
- 7:07Friday, which is our last practice, we have a two-hour
- 7:10practice on Friday, for carp. Take both those legendary
- 7:14carved, a legendary carved, a both those things come out of
- 7:16the box and I'll be ready to go. So so again, we'll do a
- 7:1915-minute special session with those two cars.
- 7:22Thursday afternoon, 4:30 4:45. Out sins, only but other let
- 7:27them get an idea where they're at, that's really good.
- 7:30As I say in the news business, that's breaking news.
- 7:32Well, I'm glad Stefan's going to be fine.
- 7:34And I know that real team like, like Roger Penske years ago,
- 7:42that's India, will humble you quick.
- 7:44I remember Rogers cars, not making the race in here.
- 7:48Real had a tough time up. I think that kind of shows us
- 7:52how tough IndyCar is when you see a team.
- 7:55That good. What, three-year their cars?
- 7:57Didn't make the race? Yes.
- 7:59Well, they three of three of those cars that it was your last
- 8:04chance, qualifying. So for qualifying, what we do is
- 8:07everybody gets one attempt on Saturday.
- 8:09Then you can do multiple tests that attempts after that we lock
- 8:13in the top 12. So the faster, the top 12 is the
- 8:15fast 12. And then after that, we like
- 8:18into top 32 top 30. So 31 through 34, which is what
- 8:23we had Saturday are not Qualified.
- 8:25So they have that opportunity come back in on Sunday and we
- 8:27caught Last Chance. Qualifying missile base.
- 8:29So you get one time guaranteed through.
- 8:32And then again, they can go again if they want to if they
- 8:34need to. And yeah, there was, there was
- 8:37three real cars in that last chance and one deal Coyne racing
- 8:41car. So ultimately Graham was bumped
- 8:44out, you know, obviously like you mentioned some very intense
- 8:48series. The competition is second to
- 8:51none. If you look at one of the things
- 8:53in 20, I Yes, 2016. 2017 we first got here, we come up with
- 8:57this Five-Year Plan. A part of The Five-Year Plan was
- 9:00we need to grow the series. We need to grow the teams have
- 9:03new team owners come in have new entries, come in that type
- 9:06thing. The goal at that time was to
- 9:08have twenty four full-time teams, and we have 27 now.
- 9:12So the field is, is guiding gotten obviously larger, but the
- 9:16quantity is also off the charts at this point.
- 9:19It's you can't be off at all. If you're off at all your, you
- 9:24know. So yeah, very proud of where
- 9:27we're at. Again we have amazing teams,
- 9:29amazing drivers, they just get after it.
- 9:33Jay you're you're so well respected, you really are.
- 9:37Well, sometimes we're humbled but you are respected.
- 9:41So I just want you to know that I did some checking up on you
- 9:46and they're saying that you are the reason for the new Arrow
- 9:50screen that keeps everything from flying into the It, I think
- 9:55it's a good look. Tell me a little bit about that
- 9:58new Arrow screen when I look at the IndyCar.
- 10:00Now, it looks like a Fighter's yet.
- 10:02I think it's a good look. Tell me about how you came up
- 10:05with that. Well, we have been working on it
- 10:08for a couple years and it was really just the just the like
- 10:10almost so Shield, you know, kind of a winch, like windscreen kind
- 10:15of type thing is needed. Yeah, what's needed?
- 10:17Absolutely. And we were not having a lot of
- 10:21luck getting it done. So fortunately, the Red Bull F1
- 10:25guys are good friends for my Red Bull days.
- 10:28They've been working on a similar type project but they
- 10:30had this Frame across the top. So this was what was incredible
- 10:34when we did this in, I guess was 2018.
- 10:37We basically call our friends at Red Bull, Advanced Technologies
- 10:40in March and said hey we're having a hard time, putting is
- 10:43this our Arrow screen together on our car?
- 10:45What if we collaborated you help us with what you've been working
- 10:48on and we figure out how to do this so that was in March by
- 10:53February of the next February of 2019.
- 10:57We had it on 26 cars at an open tested Circuit of Americas.
- 11:01So it was an engineering Marvel. It was done really quick.
- 11:04The, the frame upper frame. This 3D printed out of titanium
- 11:08spectacular. Frump ankle.
- 11:10PPG does the actual Shield which is unbelievable weave through
- 11:16three pound, projectile sat in the 220 miles an hour and they
- 11:18just bounces off and spectacular, watch his whole
- 11:20thing. So it's been a it's been very
- 11:23well received. There's been Probably not unless
- 11:26couple of years five or six incidents that probably had
- 11:30really good results that might you can't speculate but might
- 11:32not have if we had not had the screen on the car or their
- 11:36screens. So it was it was a really cool
- 11:38project to be part of I think like you mentioned kind of
- 11:40change the look of the cars kind of change.
- 11:42Where we're at, where we're at? When we did it.
- 11:44There was really three things to the was number one was obviously
- 11:48safety right to make our drivers safer.
- 11:50Number two was we thought it could help bringing other
- 11:53competitors other Hers because, you know, we've made the cars
- 11:56into safer and three the team said an opportunity to monetize
- 11:59it. If you look at the cars, it's
- 12:00pretty cool. They got him branding on top of
- 12:02it. So it's a really good spot on
- 12:03the car on the inside of it or the outside of it and if you
- 12:05have any camera, the carp. So yeah, it's been a, it's been
- 12:10it was a great project. Lots of people involved, we did
- 12:13it really quick or we probably really proud of the result.
- 12:17So the Indycar series is we're five races into the year and the
- 12:23race that stands out to me is the Texas Race.
- 12:26It just it just does. It was such a such a great race.
- 12:32Do you feel like I have my opinion I think Indycar series
- 12:39racing the competition, just gets better and better.
- 12:43And that in that Texas Race kind of blew me away.
- 12:46I was like on the edge. My seat.
- 12:48Steven Rae's control? Yeah, are you happy with your
- 12:51competition right now? What's excuse me?
- 12:54What's what's that? Are you happy with your
- 12:55competition? We absolutely, yeah, we always
- 12:58want to improve your voice while you better but we measure we
- 13:01have data points like everybody else, everybody, it's a data
- 13:04driven Society, data-driven world.
- 13:06So we had a like 1070 on track green flag, passes its axis,
- 13:11which is your before there was like four eighty, so, again, you
- 13:15know, that's big. Yeah, it's very right.
- 13:16So we worked on some different Arrow changes from Texas that we
- 13:21certainly helped. We do this upper group practice,
- 13:23which we try to rubber in the upper Groove, which is kind of
- 13:25cool. It's kind of fun to watch.
- 13:27We think the track was probably a little better.
- 13:29That's been the last couple years.
- 13:30So put those three things together with, you know, 27 or
- 13:3428 of the greatest drivers in the world.
- 13:36That's what you get, right? So it was it was in a
- 13:38spectacular event. What's really cool about it?
- 13:41Is I think it's a real Prelude to the Indianapolis 500, the
- 13:44both bills. Those are our two Speedway.
- 13:46Is super speedway races. So yeah, the 500 were really
- 13:50excited about it. Coming up this Sunday, it's
- 13:52going to be great. Show, practice yesterday was you
- 13:55know, you can see the intensity level even picking up.
- 13:58It's game time right? Qualifying over, it's time to go
- 14:01get ready to, you know, get your face on a trophy that type of
- 14:04thing. So it's going to be excited Jay
- 14:06as a kid you and I played video games and we sure did like that
- 14:11boost button. You know, nitrous oxide.
- 14:14I see that you brought something like like that with the rear
- 14:17wing so that that rear wing. Will it be a little bit
- 14:21adjustable for the Indianapolis 500 from the driver cockpit yet?
- 14:26Not from the cockpit. Would it be adjusted from the
- 14:28teams can before you? It was kind of a static
- 14:31adjustment. Once you started the race, you
- 14:32had what you had. So this year, we did something
- 14:35with rear Wings where the ruins and I'll adjust for the teams
- 14:38will be able to make the adjustment.
- 14:39So basically if you start off in the rear, you've got a lot of
- 14:44allows you to put a lot of downforce side and as you come
- 14:46Order the front, when you pit, you can take someone without
- 14:49trim out or so it gives a team of opportunity to move forward.
- 14:52So what we've had here, some last year's is a the guys in the
- 14:57front, lots of passing on incredible whatever but then
- 15:00turbulence as you go throughout the field guide they had and it
- 15:03got harder to pass as you want your the field.
- 15:05So we've tried to give a the team's another tool that helps
- 15:10them navigate their way up to the front.
- 15:13So that's part of. So we didn't have that at That's
- 15:17right. That's we mentioned about, we
- 15:18had some great. We think Arrow changes that tax
- 15:20is that wasn't one of them. So when we came here, that was
- 15:22another Edition that we had for the 500 that should help with
- 15:26the race. You've done it.
- 15:28All everybody sees it from outside.
- 15:31Looking in, you've got that Arrow.
- 15:33Squeaks Green Arrow screen. And of course party say it Huh.
- 15:38Arrow screen can be hard to say it time.
- 15:40Yes it is Eros queen or was we we know the Kenny conversation
- 15:45is more than serious side of me. I can laugh, you know?
- 15:49But yeah, there's the arrow screen and, of course, the
- 15:53adjustable Wing. You've got it going on.
- 15:57A lot of passes things are going good.
- 15:59So as we wind down here, your wife, Danielle fry, she loves
- 16:06those quarter midgets. Looks to me like you're painted
- 16:09forward. The family is paying it forward
- 16:12you and your wife, bringing these young drivers up, tell me
- 16:15a little bit about that. Yeah, well, she's been involved
- 16:18with it now for a few years it's an amazing series.
- 16:21To me that's, you know, you talk about us and the 500 going to 40
- 16:25that type thing. When you go to a quarter quarter
- 16:27midget race and you see these kids running, I don't wear the
- 16:30running, but they're running fast, right?
- 16:31So it's pretty cool. These little mini ovals that
- 16:34they're doing and hitting the walls and know.
- 16:37It's amazing. She's done a great job with that
- 16:39series. I think they're, you know, again
- 16:41their card counts way up, their participation is way up.
- 16:44I think if you look in the truck series now even there's some
- 16:47kids who are a bit come up to the court of edges here recently
- 16:50and there's a lot of logano's and, like, down the road that
- 16:52have. But yeah, it's a cool series.
- 16:55It's a cool family atmosphere at school for families, something
- 16:58different besides, you know, just we're families can
- 17:02participate. So, it's pretty cool.
- 17:04I got these speaking of that. Remember remember I was the
- 17:06official Methanol supplier for this guy in North Carolina who
- 17:12had a go-kart track is backyard way back in the day.
- 17:15Remember that I tell you what. That was a good time for me.
- 17:18It was a log. You know, what was happening?
- 17:21Is the world carding Association?
- 17:23I wanted to I was in over my head.
- 17:25Yeah, we all were back there. Oh my gosh, I had this.
- 17:28I just little little go-kart, they are quotes and little
- 17:32go-kart track behind my house. It was awesome.
- 17:36We had James. Brady, who was the national?
- 17:39Press secretary at the time that took a bullet.
- 17:42For Ronald Reagan, he showed up in a limo then all of a sudden,
- 17:46another limo shows up and it's the country western group Brooks
- 17:50& Dunn. Don, the snake Prudhomme, Bill
- 17:53Simpson you I'm like whoa whoa, whoa.
- 17:57And on Monday. I got a twenty five dollar fine
- 18:00from the city of Concord North Carolina because I didn't get a
- 18:03license because the people were parked up and down the roads.
- 18:08Good old eggs. Those are some good times.
- 18:11Yes, sir. And meth methanol wasn't hard to
- 18:13come by was hard to come by. So we're bringing you 55-gallon
- 18:17Drums of methanol. It was a, we need is legit,
- 18:19right? It was legit, and it was one
- 18:21hell of a night. It was a great time.
- 18:23And so, you know, I'd be remiss, is, is what they would say.
- 18:29I'm from st. Louis Missouri.
- 18:31Missouri is a big deal to me. You're a Mizzou graduate.
- 18:35Yes, sir. I'm proud of you.
- 18:36I'm proud of you. That's our connection.
- 18:38You played football. So before we end the Kenny
- 18:42conversation, just tell me about your days at at our our College
- 18:48in Missouri Tigers. Am i z by z0 U?
- 18:52Yes sir it was funny when we were there
- 19:05for the first couple years we were pretty good.
- 19:06The second couple years weren't so good, so Part of the demise
- 19:09of the program but then, you know, obviously the recent years
- 19:12they brought it back up, it's some good friends coaching there
- 19:16and it still coaching there. And, you know, it's just, it was
- 19:18a great place to play great place to go to school.
- 19:22Like you mentioned, great state, great people.
- 19:24I use the show me thing all the time, it's like, don't tell me,
- 19:26show me, right? I love it.
- 19:28Just show me what you got. Would you say?
- 19:30I think, one of the other reasons you're such a good
- 19:33leader at the Indycar series is, you're a big guy, you played
- 19:36football and always say, Say it it helps a little bit when the
- 19:40leader is kind of tall and big can see, you know, you kind of
- 19:45like Mike Helton. Yeah.
- 19:47And ask are you guys are over your overwhelmingly big and
- 19:50we're all kind of looking up in my I'm not going to Jack but
- 19:52that guy has has that ever come up that you're at all.
- 19:56Bleeder. Yeah.
- 19:57Every now and then. So you know, I'm sitting in
- 19:59your, this is Jason. He said he saw a video of the,
- 20:02the transporter thing we did on that.
- 20:03Hey Jay, well, I'm in my office. Are used to have, you know, they
- 20:10currently have right? That this is the big red truck
- 20:12or whatever. So this is the office.
- 20:13This is where you come. So after qualifying, were open
- 20:16for an hour, the stores are in case.
- 20:18Anybody has a major complaint questions about qualifying.
- 20:22Same, same to, you have to race were here for an hour, so they
- 20:25can come by, you know, and ask questions.
- 20:29Obviously, we're open all the time.
- 20:30They're welcoming here any time, but this is where it's at.
- 20:32And every now and you do have to, I do have to stand up to
- 20:35announce that the meetings over and I guess being the size does
- 20:39come in handy. Yeah, we'll Jay listen, thank
- 20:42you so much for being on the Kenny conversation, you are
- 20:47officiating the sanctioning body Indycar series running the
- 20:52biggest race in America. If not the world, I think the
- 20:56Indy 500 is I guess I'm getting goose bumps right now.
- 21:00I can see it. Congratulations on any car
- 21:04success and we'll end it right there.
- 21:07And throw anybody that open invitation to you, anytime we
- 21:11love to have you Be Our Guests, anytime you need a 500 or any of
- 21:15our races when you get back to the 500?
- 21:18You talked about the three wide, 11 rows deep.
- 21:21There's nothing like the first lap they have as 500.
- 21:25I'm you talk about Goosebumps and still right?
- 21:27I mean it's you see those cars going to the first turn?
- 21:30Its in the drivers skill bravery commitment, all of it, right?
- 21:36Off the charts. It's a site yet.
- 21:39In television is spectacular. You're watching on TV, but to
- 21:43see it one time in person is like unbelievable.
- 21:46So, tell me. I got to add to that the racer
- 21:48and me, you know, I love strategy and yes, that is
- 21:54exciting. No doubt, but buddy when there's
- 21:5520 laps to go in the Indianapolis 500 and you know
- 21:58the leaders got a pit and does the second guy got that the
- 22:03second place God has, he got a pit or not but you got Going on,
- 22:06buddy. Thank you so much Jay.
- 22:09I respect you. Obviously, I look up to you
- 22:12whether I want to or not. Pleasure.
- 22:16Thanks for having me my friend. Thank you.
- 22:18So listen up everybody, we are in podcast form.
- 22:21ITunes Spotify, listen to J. Fry on your way to work it.
- 22:25Kenny conversation just keeps on rolling until next time.
- 22:30Thanks.