Travel, Soccer, & Silly Season

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James HinchcliffeHost1:00

This is Off

Track.

James HinchcliffeHost1:03

This is a travel podcast after all.

James HinchcliffeHost1:05

And...

James HinchcliffeHost1:06

I had an experience traveling here that was just wild.

James HinchcliffeHost1:10

It was a first.

James HinchcliffeHost1:11

It was a first for me.

James HinchcliffeHost1:12

Decorum-less? It was so decorum-less.

James HinchcliffeHost1:15

The amount of decorum that was lacking in this situation was wild.

James HinchcliffeHost1:18

Tim's hair looks different.

James HinchcliffeHost1:21

I just got out of

Tim DurhamHost1:21

the shower.

James HinchcliffeHost1:23

Okay, so that wasn't like a, it's not like a styling choice.

James HinchcliffeHost1:25

Like a hair oil? No, just

Alexander RossiHost1:27

got out of the shower and did like that.

Alexander RossiHost1:28

You know there's like greaseball mobsters from like the 80s? That's what he looks like.

James HinchcliffeHost1:34

I do, but I gotta be honest with you.

James HinchcliffeHost1:36

It's just wet.

James HinchcliffeHost1:37

Tim, I don't hate it.

James HinchcliffeHost1:38

Like if you were to style it like that with like gel or whatever.

James HinchcliffeHost1:42

Hey Tim, this is the

Alexander RossiHost1:43

same guy that kept the handlebar mustache.

Alexander RossiHost1:46

So I wouldn't take any sort of aesthetic advice from him.

Tim DurhamHost1:51

You got the handlebar for the kids.

Tim DurhamHost1:53

You did not keep the handlebar for the

James HinchcliffeHost1:55

kids.

James HinchcliffeHost1:56

The deal was I

Alexander RossiHost1:57

had to keep it through Sunday.

James HinchcliffeHost1:58

Yeah, but then you could have shaved.

James HinchcliffeHost2:00

Oh, yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost2:01

Well, I was trying to grow it out.

James HinchcliffeHost2:02

I was trying to make sure.

James HinchcliffeHost2:03

Anyway, that mustache was far more popular than I thought it was going to be.

James HinchcliffeHost2:07

I got a lot of positive feedback on the

Alexander RossiHost2:09

mustache.

Alexander RossiHost2:10

You got sympathy likes.

James HinchcliffeHost2:12

Nope.

James HinchcliffeHost2:13

Pity likes.

James HinchcliffeHost2:13

I mean, yes, there was definitely some of those, but there was some genuine.

James HinchcliffeHost2:18

That's not the point.

James HinchcliffeHost2:19

Let's go back to the decorumless passenger that I experienced on my flight.

James HinchcliffeHost2:23

Was it Tim? So this time, amazingly, no, it was not.

James HinchcliffeHost2:26

So we all know that like eating on an airplane, like bringing on your own food is, it's only acceptable like in an emergency situation.

Alexander RossiHost2:34

Or if it's like tuna fish.

James HinchcliffeHost2:35

Nope, that's, I wouldn't default to that.

James HinchcliffeHost2:38

I think that would be

Tim DurhamHost2:38

the one that I'd be the most against.

Tim DurhamHost2:41

Yeah,

James HinchcliffeHost2:41

that's, I think that's, it's up there.

James HinchcliffeHost2:45

I mean, to be fair, though, tuna fish doesn't actually smell that bad until it's in somebody's mouth.

James HinchcliffeHost2:50

Unless you're smelling their breath, that doesn't actually put out that bad an aroma.

James HinchcliffeHost2:54

But anyway, I digress.

James HinchcliffeHost2:56

This gentleman in the seat behind me brings a full meal onto the plane.

James HinchcliffeHost3:03

And look, I've done it exactly one time in my life.

Alexander RossiHost3:06

What does a full meal consist of? I don't know.

Alexander RossiHost3:09

Are you saying like a salad, a soup, a dessert, and an

James HinchcliffeHost3:12

entree? This is not a Q&A.

James HinchcliffeHost3:17

It's not a fireside chat.

James HinchcliffeHost3:19

This is a story.

James HinchcliffeHost3:19

You're going to sit down and shut up and listen to it.

James HinchcliffeHost3:21

I think we need to dive into

Tim DurhamHost3:22

this.

Tim DurhamHost3:23

No, no, no. Let's explore this.

James HinchcliffeHost3:25

And is a

Alexander RossiHost3:26

gazpacho a soup?

James HinchcliffeHost3:28

Gazpacho is a soup.

James HinchcliffeHost3:30

So I assume it was a full meal just based on how much I could hear being unwrapped.

James HinchcliffeHost3:36

He was behind me, so I couldn't see it.

James HinchcliffeHost3:38

Was it in foil? Like prepared at home, not bought at the airport? No, it was bought at the airport.

James HinchcliffeHost3:43

But like, you know, like you wrap a sandwich up and like that, that like wax paper that's just so loud and obnoxious.

Tim DurhamHost3:49

I'm going to counter with if they sell it at the airports, you should be able to bring it on the plane.

Tim DurhamHost3:54

I think it's different if you bring like a Tupperware.

James HinchcliffeHost3:59

What have you ever, what? Because if you're in a hurry and you buy something on the airport, yeah.

Alexander RossiHost4:04

Tim, let him finish.

Alexander RossiHost4:06

Oh,

James HinchcliffeHost4:06

now we're being polite? No, look, we all know this show works that there's only ever two people being mean to the one other person.

James HinchcliffeHost4:14

And it rotates at all times.

James HinchcliffeHost4:16

So it's just briefly shifted to you after you two are shitting on me.

James HinchcliffeHost4:20

So, uh, f*** you, Tim.

James HinchcliffeHost4:22

Anyway, right, Alex? Correct.

James HinchcliffeHost4:25

Couldn't have said it better

Tim DurhamHost4:26

myself.

Tim DurhamHost4:26

Rude.

Tim DurhamHost4:27

Rude.

James HinchcliffeHost4:27

Right? Just, anyway.

James HinchcliffeHost4:29

Well, that's true.

James HinchcliffeHost4:29

Just rolls off the tongue.

James HinchcliffeHost4:30

Tim, shut up.

James HinchcliffeHost4:31

Let me finish my story.

James HinchcliffeHost4:32

God.

James HinchcliffeHost4:34

So this guy, this is so blown out now.

James HinchcliffeHost4:37

Anyway, this guy unwraps something.

James HinchcliffeHost4:39

It's so loud and obnoxious.

James HinchcliffeHost4:40

And whatever he bought, the smell just envelops the plane.

James HinchcliffeHost4:44

And he's sitting there just chomping away, like very audibly eating, which, again, I know that we eat on the show sometimes and that some people get very upset by it.

James HinchcliffeHost4:53

But this is like, Whatever.

James HinchcliffeHost4:58

At this point, you're like, maybe there was an emergency, whatever.

James HinchcliffeHost5:03

So we're up in the air, and he's opening it up, and all this, and the noise, and the chewing, and the munching, and all of it.

James HinchcliffeHost5:10

And then he calls over the flight attendant, and he goes, do you guys have any, by chance, do you guys have any ketchup or mustard? Like, with a mouthful of food.

James HinchcliffeHost5:19

And I was just like, oh my god, this is...

James HinchcliffeHost5:21

No, that's where you lost me.

James HinchcliffeHost5:24

This is unbelievable.

James HinchcliffeHost5:26

The guy's asking if they have condiments for his food that he brought onto the plane.

Tim DurhamHost5:32

It's insane behavior.

James HinchcliffeHost5:34

Absolutely.

James HinchcliffeHost5:34

Do you want to know what else was crazy? Was the same flight coming into land.

James HinchcliffeHost5:39

We have not landed.

James HinchcliffeHost5:40

We are still very much airborne.

James HinchcliffeHost5:44

I know that Wi-Fi on the planes has gotten very good.

James HinchcliffeHost5:46

And I know that Wi-Fi on the planes now doesn't only kick on above 10,000 feet and it kind of just always works.

James HinchcliffeHost5:52

What's the one rule they have about this new Wi-Fi ecosystem on planes? No

Tim DurhamHost5:56

calls.

Tim DurhamHost5:57

No calls or

James HinchcliffeHost5:58

FaceTimes.

James HinchcliffeHost5:58

No calls.

James HinchcliffeHost5:59

This guy was having a full-on conversation at a very loud volume as we were on descent.

James HinchcliffeHost6:05

And I was just like...

James HinchcliffeHost6:06

I think this

Tim DurhamHost6:07

is why they have people in the exit rows to open the door to throw somebody like this out.

Alexander RossiHost6:13

Pro Eagle, don't do that.

Tim DurhamHost6:15

Also, I don't think it would actually open that high, but

Alexander RossiHost6:19

I'd give it a

Tim DurhamHost6:19

shot for this guy.

Tim DurhamHost6:21

Oh, they will.

Alexander RossiHost6:22

Pressurized cabin, you think like a passenger could

James HinchcliffeHost6:24

open that up? Yep.

James HinchcliffeHost6:26

I think it blows out, doesn't it? It's very bad.

James HinchcliffeHost6:29

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost6:29

It's like higher pressure in...

James HinchcliffeHost6:32

The tube.

James HinchcliffeHost6:33

So it would...

James HinchcliffeHost6:33

You don't need to throw it.

James HinchcliffeHost6:35

It'll...

James HinchcliffeHost6:36

Physics will take it.

James HinchcliffeHost6:37

Suck it.

James HinchcliffeHost6:38

Wow.

James HinchcliffeHost6:38

One other travel note as I'm on this European leg.

James HinchcliffeHost6:42

I gotta just be honest, guys.

James HinchcliffeHost6:44

Europe's great.

James HinchcliffeHost6:45

But, like, North American hotels are just miles better.

James HinchcliffeHost6:50

Like...

James HinchcliffeHost6:52

Like miles better.

James HinchcliffeHost6:54

But a very distant second to Asian hotels.

James HinchcliffeHost6:58

You think North American hotels are a distant second to Asian hotels?

Alexander RossiHost7:02

Yes.

Alexander RossiHost7:03

I

James HinchcliffeHost7:04

just want to point out

Tim DurhamHost7:05

real quick, not having any expertise in this, it is physically impossible to open a commercial airline exit.

Tim DurhamHost7:13

In flight.

Tim DurhamHost7:14

Why? Because of the pressure and because after 92 miles per hour, there's additional locks in place that passengers can't disengage.

Tim DurhamHost7:21

Oh,

James HinchcliffeHost7:22

well, okay.

James HinchcliffeHost7:23

If we're talking about locks.

James HinchcliffeHost7:24

The pressure thing.

James HinchcliffeHost7:25

And the pressure, it says.

James HinchcliffeHost7:26

No, I disagree with that fundamentally.

James HinchcliffeHost7:28

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost7:30

I'm just going to say no.

James HinchcliffeHost7:30

You should still not try it.

James HinchcliffeHost7:32

Let's

Alexander RossiHost7:32

just be clear on that.

Alexander RossiHost7:34

Anyways, I love how Tim has to Google things to prove his point.

Alexander RossiHost7:38

I was right.

Alexander RossiHost7:39

It proved that I was correct.

Alexander RossiHost7:41

There's a lot of things on the internet that are fake, bro.

James HinchcliffeHost7:43

So now that I think about it, yeah, when we went to Japan last year, the hotel's pretty nice.

James HinchcliffeHost7:48

I've also stayed in one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed in in

Alexander RossiHost7:51

Japan, though.

Alexander RossiHost7:52

I'm talking like Hampton Inn equivalent to Hampton Inn equivalent.

Alexander RossiHost7:56

I'm talking like...

James HinchcliffeHost7:58

But see, I kind of

Alexander RossiHost8:00

am.

James HinchcliffeHost8:02

Okay.

James HinchcliffeHost8:03

A luxury hotel anywhere in the world is like, it's going to be good, right? But the baseline, the standard, I just feel like is so much higher.

Alexander RossiHost8:13

Quite honestly, I would say that eight times out of ten...

Alexander RossiHost8:18

A Hampton Inn or a Courtyard by Marriott or a Holiday Inn Express is better than like a Westin or a Sheraton, even in North America, certainly in Europe.

James HinchcliffeHost8:31

I feel like I feel like what's good about North American hotels is like in that like mid range baseline range is that.

James HinchcliffeHost8:39

The newer the hotel, the better.

James HinchcliffeHost8:42

It's almost more of a function of when it was built.

James HinchcliffeHost8:44

Because like you say, you have like a slightly higher end one that's 15 years old or like a brand new Holiday Inn Express.

James HinchcliffeHost8:51

I mean, put me in that HIE all day long.

James HinchcliffeHost8:56

Whereas over here, that level of hotel is awful.

James HinchcliffeHost9:00

Very bad.

James HinchcliffeHost9:01

You're right.

James HinchcliffeHost9:02

It's like really bad.

James HinchcliffeHost9:03

I agree.

Alexander RossiHost9:04

I agree.

Alexander RossiHost9:04

I agree.

James HinchcliffeHost9:05

Okay, I'm glad we're on the same page about that.

James HinchcliffeHost9:07

While we're talking about European things that we don't like.

Alexander RossiHost9:12

Yeah.

Alexander RossiHost9:13

Soccer's stupid.

Alexander RossiHost9:15

World Cup.

Alexander RossiHost9:16

Not because the game is stupid.

Alexander RossiHost9:18

Not because the World Cup is stupid.

Alexander RossiHost9:20

The World Cup is...

Alexander RossiHost9:21

The World Cup is cool, objectively.

Alexander RossiHost9:23

It's very cool.

Alexander RossiHost9:24

But we are in this group chat, and our friend group in the United States... who has never once spoken about soccer in their life.

Alexander RossiHost9:34

Just so we're clear, sorry,

James HinchcliffeHost9:35

this is the one that Tim's not in.

James HinchcliffeHost9:37

I just want to reiterate, we're going to talk about this chat for quite a while now.

James HinchcliffeHost9:40

Yeah,

Alexander RossiHost9:41

he knows.

Alexander RossiHost9:41

We could invite him.

James HinchcliffeHost9:42

We cannot.

Tim DurhamHost9:44

I mean, we have other things we can talk about.

Tim DurhamHost9:47

We can talk about racing.

Alexander RossiHost9:48

Anyways, so the World Cup.

Alexander RossiHost9:51

I can't get behind a soccer game at 2 o'clock on a Wednesday.

Alexander RossiHost9:56

I can't do it.

Alexander RossiHost9:57

I'm not saying that it's not.

Alexander RossiHost9:58

So for you, it's more of a timing thing, eh? Well, it's no like I struggle to get behind it at 8 p.m.

Alexander RossiHost10:04

on a Saturday, if I'm honest.

Alexander RossiHost10:06

OK, OK.

Alexander RossiHost10:07

But I certainly am not going to be taking time out of my day in the middle of the week to watch a soccer game if I'm not going to do it

James HinchcliffeHost10:15

on my off time on the weekend.

James HinchcliffeHost10:16

Prime time on a Saturday.

James HinchcliffeHost10:18

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost10:18

That's fair.

James HinchcliffeHost10:19

And also, OK, so let me ask you this.

James HinchcliffeHost10:20

Have you watched any of the Team USA games? The first one.

Alexander RossiHost10:25

And at that point, I determined the USA was going to win the World Cup.

Alexander RossiHost10:29

So the next World Cup game that I will watch is the final that the USA is inevitably going to be in.

James HinchcliffeHost10:36

I just want to remind you that the World Cup final does happen moments before the green flag in Nashville.

James HinchcliffeHost10:43

It'll end when you'll be on the grid for the anthem, probably.

James HinchcliffeHost10:49

Or shortly before.

James HinchcliffeHost10:50

I

Alexander RossiHost10:50

was... kind of lying when i said i was gonna watch it but now like okay i can just admit that i'm definitely not gonna watch it now yeah

James HinchcliffeHost10:57

now you have a plausible and like really good reason to not i

Alexander RossiHost10:59

can tell you one thing i'm definitely not gonna do like record it

James HinchcliffeHost11:02

yeah you're not gonna watch it back

Alexander RossiHost11:04

no no

James HinchcliffeHost11:05

you'll see the twitter highlights and and be done and scroll right past them yeah So I'm with you.

James HinchcliffeHost11:11

Today, whatever day it is that we are recording this, England played, and I am in England.

James HinchcliffeHost11:19

So I went to a pub with a friend and watched the England game where they beat Congo 2-1.

James HinchcliffeHost11:26

World Cup game for England.

James HinchcliffeHost11:29

Big soccer place in England.

James HinchcliffeHost11:32

The correct

Alexander RossiHost11:32

time of

James HinchcliffeHost11:32

day.

James HinchcliffeHost11:33

They won.

James HinchcliffeHost11:34

Good time of day, 5 p.m., kickoff, or whatever they call it.

James HinchcliffeHost11:38

And I was, like, happy for them.

James HinchcliffeHost11:41

I was, like, I was happy for the environment and the people, but, like, I still just, I just can't.

James HinchcliffeHost11:48

The game just eludes me.

James HinchcliffeHost11:49

It just, it's just not my thing.

James HinchcliffeHost11:53

And I'm okay with that, and I'm okay with everybody that enjoys it.

James HinchcliffeHost11:56

We're just going to agree to disagree.

James HinchcliffeHost11:58

Some people like cilantro, some don't.

James HinchcliffeHost12:00

It's kind of, I'm just putting it to that.

James HinchcliffeHost12:01

There's, like, a gene that I just don't have.

James HinchcliffeHost12:03

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost12:04

And even though it was like England should have won that game.

James HinchcliffeHost12:07

And for a long time, they were not winning that game.

James HinchcliffeHost12:09

And it was like you could feel the tension in the room.

James HinchcliffeHost12:11

And even still, I was more interested in just like chatting to my buddy than the game itself.

James HinchcliffeHost12:17

I just don't find exciting.

Alexander RossiHost12:20

I feel like the game would be infinitely more exciting if the field pitch was half the size.

Alexander RossiHost12:30

It's just too big.

Alexander RossiHost12:31

I can see that.

Alexander RossiHost12:32

Because it has elements of hockey, right? And hockey is very entertaining to watch.

James HinchcliffeHost12:37

Very entertaining.

Alexander RossiHost12:38

But if hockey was four times the size, it wouldn't be that interesting.

James HinchcliffeHost12:42

It would be much less interesting.

James HinchcliffeHost12:44

I agree with

Alexander RossiHost12:44

you.

Alexander RossiHost12:45

It would be way

James HinchcliffeHost12:45

harder to get into it.

James HinchcliffeHost12:48

So, look, I am supporting Team Canada.

James HinchcliffeHost12:51

I want them to do well.

James HinchcliffeHost12:52

I am cheering.

James HinchcliffeHost12:53

Go team.

James HinchcliffeHost12:55

National pride.

James HinchcliffeHost12:55

Name one

Alexander RossiHost12:56

player.

James HinchcliffeHost12:58

And I am not going to watch any games after this is done.

James HinchcliffeHost13:08

I'll probably watch the remaining because now we're like at a point of the tournament where like it matters and like it's elimination and stuff.

James HinchcliffeHost13:14

So it's important.

James HinchcliffeHost13:14

One of our

Alexander RossiHost13:15

buddies in this group chat that Tim's involved in compared it to...

Alexander RossiHost13:19

the Olympics, right? It's like, well, I don't watch swimming or track and field any other time of the year, but I'm going to watch it on the Olympics.

Alexander RossiHost13:27

And while that point has some validity, I still can't get behind this stage of the tournament because we're not at the point where like it really matters yet.

James HinchcliffeHost13:38

Well, I think we are now.

James HinchcliffeHost13:40

I think now it's like elimination time.

James HinchcliffeHost13:44

So if you lose, you go home? Now you have to win to move on.

James HinchcliffeHost13:46

Yeah, I think now we're there.

James HinchcliffeHost13:47

Okay.

James HinchcliffeHost13:48

Well,

Alexander RossiHost13:48

that's more interesting because before it was like, if you lose, you still, it's like points that are acquired and all this.

Alexander RossiHost13:55

Hold on.

Alexander RossiHost13:55

Anyways, it doesn't matter.

Alexander RossiHost13:56

That's not what we're here to talk about.

Alexander RossiHost13:57

And we don't have that much time left.

Alexander RossiHost13:58

Some big news hit the internet today.

James HinchcliffeHost14:01

Well, can we call it news if it's still speculation? No, but I feel like it's one of those things that has enough, where there's smoke, there's fire, right? Like there's always rumors in sport and there's always rumors in racing when it comes to silly season and stuff.

James HinchcliffeHost14:14

But like this one has now persisted so far and for so long that I can't help but think there's some reality to it.

James HinchcliffeHost14:21

I'm not saying that it's not true.

James HinchcliffeHost14:22

We're of course talking about Dixon to Coyne.

Alexander RossiHost14:24

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost14:24

Well, Dixon is leaving.

James HinchcliffeHost14:26

Dixon leaving Ganassi, and we should not be surprised because we have been calling it on this show for half a decade now.

James HinchcliffeHost14:33

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost14:34

So he's finally leaving Chip Ganassi Racing, allegedly, which opens the door for him to finally make his Dale Coyne Racing debut.

James HinchcliffeHost14:44

Makes sense.

James HinchcliffeHost14:45

Now, for some weird, like... inexplicable, you know, twist of the universe, Christopher Nolan-type stuff, he doesn't end up at Dilquan Racing.

James HinchcliffeHost14:58

One of the other crazier, weirder, way less realistic things out there is that he might be going to McLaren, which to me just says...

James HinchcliffeHost15:08

I want a hyper car ride when I'm done racing IndyCar.

James HinchcliffeHost15:11

And Chip no longer has a sports car program.

Alexander RossiHost15:13

I think it's more than that.

Alexander RossiHost15:15

I think it's a couple things.

Alexander RossiHost15:17

I think, you know, his family spends a lot of time in England.

Alexander RossiHost15:21

I think that his two daughters go to school over there, or at least part-time go to school over there.

Alexander RossiHost15:26

And Emma's obviously from England.

Alexander RossiHost15:30

And McLaren is a brand, right? It's a manufacturer.

Alexander RossiHost15:33

And so...

Alexander RossiHost15:35

As much as Scott Dixon's the greatest of all time, like at some point he's got to go beyond putting a helmet on.

Alexander RossiHost15:41

And so I don't know if this is true, but you would have to imagine that there's some sort of role post-driving career with a brand, a British brand of that 92 that could allow him to live in England and be the guy.

Alexander RossiHost15:54

Should he want that? because like it's not going to be

James HinchcliffeHost15:58

a Ganassi because they already have that in Dario Franchi.

James HinchcliffeHost16:02

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost16:03

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost16:03

But they're also not a manufacturer.

James HinchcliffeHost16:04

It's not a brand.

James HinchcliffeHost16:05

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost16:05

It's not like, right.

James HinchcliffeHost16:06

It's just like a role within a team.

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James HinchcliffeHost16:57

So, yeah, if that's true, man, like, I got to be honest, I did not think I'd see the day that Scott Dixon drives for somebody other than Chip Ganassi.

James HinchcliffeHost17:07

And I've heard rumors in the past.

James HinchcliffeHost17:11

I've had conversations with Scott in the past about the idea of, you know, seeing what else is out there and maybe trying somewhere else.

James HinchcliffeHost17:18

But at this point in his career, you sort of, like, thought that he got to the point where he kind of...

James HinchcliffeHost17:22

It's almost like Lewis Hamilton, right? You've got, like, the go.

James HinchcliffeHost17:25

Mm-hmm.

James HinchcliffeHost17:26

Tom Brady.

James HinchcliffeHost17:27

Tom Brady.

James HinchcliffeHost17:28

This is Tom Brady.

James HinchcliffeHost17:30

This is Tom Brady leaving the Patriots, going down to the...

James HinchcliffeHost17:33

Does that mean he's going to win a

Alexander RossiHost17:34

championship with McLaren? Because that would be annoying.

James HinchcliffeHost17:37

If not that, a 500.

Alexander RossiHost17:38

Yeah.

Alexander RossiHost17:39

Yeah.

Alexander RossiHost17:40

I mean...

James HinchcliffeHost17:40

You know? Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost17:42

Either or.

James HinchcliffeHost17:42

Both.

James HinchcliffeHost17:43

Who knows? I mean, he's well capable of it.

James HinchcliffeHost17:46

But, like, also...

James HinchcliffeHost17:47

Man, what a coup for any team that presented a case appealing enough to Scott Dixon for him to leave Chip after 22, 23, whatever it is, years.

James HinchcliffeHost18:00

Unreal.

James HinchcliffeHost18:01

If it happens.

James HinchcliffeHost18:01

Again, we're all still speculating, but like...

James HinchcliffeHost18:04

Again, whether smoke or fire.

James HinchcliffeHost18:05

We know for sure that Felix is leaving MSR, and all the rumors are that he is also going to McLaren.

James HinchcliffeHost18:12

So you've got a guy that's already been to McLaren going back, a guy that's already been teammates with Rosenquist, potentially going to be teammates with him again.

James HinchcliffeHost18:20

I get some of it.

James HinchcliffeHost18:22

It kind of makes sense in a lot of ways.

James HinchcliffeHost18:24

The Felix one's more of a question.

James HinchcliffeHost18:26

So

Alexander RossiHost18:27

here's the...

Alexander RossiHost18:30

Here's the question mark, right? You've got, currently at McLaren, you've got Pato, who's the guy, and you've got Lungard, who is the only guy to not only win a race this year for McLaren, but also the only guy to stand on the podium for McLaren this year.

Alexander RossiHost18:48

And that's two wins, and he's further ahead in points.

Alexander RossiHost18:52

But again,

James HinchcliffeHost18:54

not to say anything bad about Pato,

Alexander RossiHost18:56

This is more of a testament to the job the Christian is doing.

Alexander RossiHost19:00

So how can if you're McLaren, let that guy go? I'm just playing devil's advocate.

Alexander RossiHost19:08

Like where,

James HinchcliffeHost19:09

how does that work? It is a tough one to understand, right? It's a tough one for, like, okay, let me, I'm going to take names out of this and just say, if I was in a position where I was ahead of my two teammates in points and was the only member of my team that had not only won the race, even stood on a podium in the year, and I was being told that my option was not being picked up or my contract was not being renewed, I would be very, I would have a lot of questions.

James HinchcliffeHost19:35

Kerfuffled.

James HinchcliffeHost19:36

I'd have a lot of questions.

James HinchcliffeHost19:37

I'd be very kerfuffled.

James HinchcliffeHost19:38

But yeah, I mean, there's questions on the, I got questions on the Felix stuff too.

James HinchcliffeHost19:42

I don't know.

James HinchcliffeHost19:43

But my

Alexander RossiHost19:44

question is, so there's these rumors, right? And we know that Felix, and it's a bit like, let's just stick to the facts here.

Alexander RossiHost19:51

We know that Felix is not coming back to MSR.

Alexander RossiHost19:53

That was announced by MSR.

Alexander RossiHost19:56

We're pretty sure that this rumor speculation about the Dixon to McLaren thing is true.

Alexander RossiHost20:02

That does not mean that Felix is going to McLaren.

Alexander RossiHost20:05

I think that there's a lot of like...

Alexander RossiHost20:06

I was

James HinchcliffeHost20:06

just saying I'd also heard that rumor.

Alexander RossiHost20:09

Right.

Alexander RossiHost20:09

There's a lot of...

Alexander RossiHost20:11

There's other teams.

Alexander RossiHost20:12

Like, Felix drove for Ganassi in the past.

Alexander RossiHost20:16

Then MSR is the customer team, the B team, to Ganassi.

Alexander RossiHost20:22

Like, is there not a world where Felix just goes to the nine car? No.

Alexander RossiHost20:27

Okay.

James HinchcliffeHost20:27

I only say that because of the team statement from MSR.

James HinchcliffeHost20:31

With their relationship, it seems to me that if there was some move to get Felix from MSR back to CGR...

James HinchcliffeHost20:40

there would be some understanding, some discussion, some whatever, and it would kind of be like a happy-go-lucky joint announcement maybe or something like that.

James HinchcliffeHost20:49

The announcement from MSR, the statement from MSR, though positive and supportive of everything Felix has done with the team and for the team and all that stuff, still sort of had the undertones of like, this is not our doing.

James HinchcliffeHost21:02

This was not our choice.

James HinchcliffeHost21:04

This is not what we wanted.

James HinchcliffeHost21:06

And I just don't feel like that would be the tone if he was going, Just across the street.

Alexander RossiHost21:11

That's a fair point.

Alexander RossiHost21:12

Yeah.

Alexander RossiHost21:13

Okay.

Alexander RossiHost21:14

So then, okay, let's say Lungard is departing.

Alexander RossiHost21:18

Does it not make sense that it's just a straight up swap? Dixon for Lungard? Because like- Well, it could be MSR.

James HinchcliffeHost21:25

It could be Rosenquist for Lungard, right? So

Alexander RossiHost21:27

then who goes in the nine car?

James HinchcliffeHost21:28

You either kind of quote unquote promote Armstrong into the nine car- Or you look at a, you know, so, yeah, okay, fine, that.

James HinchcliffeHost21:37

Or you look at, like, Arenas, who we know we've talked about having had.

James HinchcliffeHost21:42

No.

James HinchcliffeHost21:42

Okay.

James HinchcliffeHost21:43

Then do you look at a young guy like a Collette? Like, Chip's been known in the past.

James HinchcliffeHost21:47

Like, there was a year where Chip ran two Formula 3000 drivers, Berners and Kerr and Nicholas Manassian, right? I mean, he took Palo.

James HinchcliffeHost21:55

Palo?

Alexander RossiHost21:56

from coin who

James HinchcliffeHost21:58

had a coin here right he

Alexander RossiHost21:59

didn't really do anything not saying obviously that had anything to do with him he took ed jones after one year at coin so chip has been known to kind of do some wild things so yeah and and

James HinchcliffeHost22:11

there's a lot of there's a lot of potential there Uh, we've talked about it.

James HinchcliffeHost22:14

I think, I think that's a, that's a great shout.

James HinchcliffeHost22:17

It'd be very interesting.

James HinchcliffeHost22:18

Like, Oh my God, what a coup.

James HinchcliffeHost22:19

How about, how about being Kyle Collette and just being plucked out of, you know, rookie season plucked out and put into the nine car.

James HinchcliffeHost22:27

Like I was fortunate that I had my rookie year and then I got picked up by Andretti.

James HinchcliffeHost22:30

That was massive.

James HinchcliffeHost22:32

But to like go straight into the car that's been occupied by Scott.

James HinchcliffeHost22:37

Mother dixon.

James HinchcliffeHost22:40

for this long like that would be huge but that could be very cool man I'd be excited to see that I don't know about you but I'd be excited to see it

Alexander RossiHost22:47

do you think there's a scenario where and I'm talking about this purely from a fan standpoint not that I could disclose conversations anyways But you don't imagine that Felix would have told MSR no without another option,

James HinchcliffeHost23:03

do you? No, that makes no sense for a driver.

Alexander RossiHost23:06

So then what is the reason why Felix has not disclosed his plans? Because you would imagine that when I made the shift mid-season, or at least the announcement...

Alexander RossiHost23:18

was made for my switch to McLaren.

Alexander RossiHost23:21

That came in after the 500 in Detroit.

Alexander RossiHost23:24

Because as a driver, especially in a contract year, you don't want to be dealing with, it's just, it's an unnecessary conversation that you don't want to be having, right? And so if the deal is done, why would you not announce it? I can, I can then, I can then.

Alexander RossiHost23:40

Okay, go ahead.

James HinchcliffeHost23:42

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost23:44

Well, let's say, for example, let's say he is going to McLaren.

James HinchcliffeHost23:49

Yeah.

James HinchcliffeHost23:50

He's taking pick a car, the six or the seven doesn't matter.

James HinchcliffeHost23:53

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost23:53

OK.

James HinchcliffeHost23:53

If McLaren is not ready to announce that one of those two drivers is not going to be there anymore, then you cannot announce where you're going.

James HinchcliffeHost24:02

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost24:03

Like there's two parties in this.

James HinchcliffeHost24:04

And so maybe maybe wherever Felix is going, the ride he is filling has either not been told or like they just haven't put all their ducks in a row to make that announcement yet.

James HinchcliffeHost24:16

And you can't do one without the other.

James HinchcliffeHost24:18

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost24:18

Like when you made that announcement, we knew who was whose car.

James HinchcliffeHost24:22

No, they were

Alexander RossiHost24:22

they were adding a

James HinchcliffeHost24:23

car or whatever.

James HinchcliffeHost24:24

They knew we knew they were.

James HinchcliffeHost24:26

We knew where you were going to end up.

Alexander RossiHost24:27

Right.

James HinchcliffeHost24:28

It's a bit.

James HinchcliffeHost24:28

I think that's potentially why.

Alexander RossiHost24:30

What would be the motivation or incentive for MSR to issue a press release stating that Felix isn't coming back?

James HinchcliffeHost24:39

I have a theory, but I don't want to get yelled at for it.

James HinchcliffeHost24:43

Then don't say it.

Alexander RossiHost24:43

That's fine.

Alexander RossiHost24:44

We're just having a chat here because we're trying to answer and maybe put out some questions into the universe that people haven't thought of.

Alexander RossiHost24:53

Because all of this is not as simple as it may seem.

James HinchcliffeHost24:56

No, nothing in this business is as simple as it seems, right? I think that the reason that may have happened, and this is purely speculation, and I don't mean anyone, anything ill by it, but I feel like there's a chance that MSR was sort of shocked by this.

James HinchcliffeHost25:13

Felix telling them they were going elsewhere.

James HinchcliffeHost25:17

And it was almost like reactionary from the team.

James HinchcliffeHost25:19

Like, well, we want it out there.

James HinchcliffeHost25:22

We want people to know that you're walking away from the team you just won the 500 with.

James HinchcliffeHost25:28

Maybe.

Alexander RossiHost25:29

I

James HinchcliffeHost25:29

don't know.

Alexander RossiHost25:31

Or maybe they caught wind of potential people becoming available that weren't expected to become available, i.e. the Christian

James HinchcliffeHost25:39

Lungard.

Alexander RossiHost25:41

And

James HinchcliffeHost25:41

wanted people to know that they had a seat available.

Alexander RossiHost25:44

For sure.

Alexander RossiHost25:45

For sure.

Alexander RossiHost25:46

A lot of games, a lot of politicking guys, but very interesting.

Alexander RossiHost25:51

It's a much bigger shakeup, I think, than a lot of people were expecting in some respects, but also a shakeup with the names you weren't expecting.

Alexander RossiHost26:02

Like I think, you know, at the end of last year, beginning of this year, like Joseph was on people's lists of maybe moving.

Alexander RossiHost26:09

Marcus was on, Erickson was on people's lists of maybe moving.

Alexander RossiHost26:12

And we still think those guys are on those lists? No.

Alexander RossiHost26:16

No, I don't think they're going anywhere.

Alexander RossiHost26:18

So there's going to be some shakeups, but people that we thought were kind of just indefinites, like you would have thought Lungard was going to be in McLaren for a long time.

Alexander RossiHost26:27

You obviously would have imagined that Dixon was going to end his career with Chip.

Alexander RossiHost26:31

But it's exciting.

Alexander RossiHost26:32

Sport never ceases to amaze.

Alexander RossiHost26:35

Hey, man, LeBron's

James HinchcliffeHost26:36

leaving the Lakers, right? Well, that's not that interesting.

Alexander RossiHost26:39

He was only there

James HinchcliffeHost26:39

for four years.

James HinchcliffeHost26:40

The

Tim DurhamHost26:40

interesting part is he is signing with CGR.

James HinchcliffeHost26:44

I thought it was D.C.

James HinchcliffeHost26:44

I thought it was going to be Dixon's teammate at Coyne.

Tim DurhamHost26:48

Oh, at Coyne? Yeah.

Tim DurhamHost26:49

We'll find out Saturday of St. Pete weekend.

James HinchcliffeHost26:54

But, yes, to put it, yeah, like we talked about off the top, if this Dixon rumor is true, this is Brady going to the Bucs.

James HinchcliffeHost27:01

Like, this is a huge, huge deal.

James HinchcliffeHost27:05

And it's exciting for the sport, man.

James HinchcliffeHost27:07

Whatever happens, look, I'm happy for Felix.

James HinchcliffeHost27:09

Wherever he ends up, I'm happy for him.

James HinchcliffeHost27:11

I'm happy for Scott, whether he stays or whether he goes.

James HinchcliffeHost27:14

It's cool.

James HinchcliffeHost27:15

It's cool.

James HinchcliffeHost27:15

And, again, we heard all these rumors, and we thought for a time that, like, we were coming up with all these potential scenarios, and it's like there's going to be, like, no move.

James HinchcliffeHost27:22

Maybe one driver will move, and everything else will be exactly the same.

James HinchcliffeHost27:25

That does not appear to be the case.

James HinchcliffeHost27:26

It looks like it is really going to shake up next year.

James HinchcliffeHost27:29

There are still some Indian X drivers that we haven't even brought into the conversation that are doing well, whether it's Nikita Johnson, whether it's Max Taylor, whether it's Josh Pearson.

James HinchcliffeHost27:36

There's a couple of them out there that have some potential and big interest in moving up.

James HinchcliffeHost27:43

So there's a lot of unknowns.

James HinchcliffeHost27:46

I think Kevin Lee on a call the other day was talking about how he did the math and it was something like it was well over half of the field is technically in a contract year, right? And so as pieces start to move, some things that may have kind of been foregone conclusions may no longer be that.

James HinchcliffeHost28:03

So we will continue to wait and see.

James HinchcliffeHost28:06

We know that you're not going anywhere, which is what we care about the most.

James HinchcliffeHost28:11

And it's going to be interesting to see, kind of like I said, how it all shakes out.

James HinchcliffeHost28:16

This has been Off Track with Hinch and Rossi.

James HinchcliffeHost28:18

Off Track is part of the SiriusXM Sports Podcast Network.

James HinchcliffeHost28:22

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, please give a five-star rating and leave a review.

James HinchcliffeHost28:27

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James HinchcliffeHost28:29

We are at AskOffTrack on Twitter and Instagram.

James HinchcliffeHost28:32

And if you want to follow us on Twitter, we're at HinchTown and at Alexander Rossi.

James HinchcliffeHost28:36

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James HinchcliffeHost28:43

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James HinchcliffeHost28:47

OffTrack is produced by Tim Durham, and by that we mean Tim.

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