The television coverage for the Month of May festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will kick-off on Saturday, May 14 with NBC set to debut “Pennzoil presents The Club,” a documentary announced by NBC Sports and Penske Entertainment featuring an exclusive conversation with the only four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500.
The show will air at 2 p.m. ET and lead into the next hour where live coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series race, the GMR Grand Prix, takes place on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The latest to join the exclusive group is Helio Castroneves, who accomplished the feat after winning “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May 30. This year, he has sights set on a record-breaking fifth victory at this year’s 106th Indy 500 on Sunday, May 29 (live coverage at 11 a.m. ET on NBC)
“This is a truly once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch and discuss sports history,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “For fans around the globe, it’s an epic way to start the Month of May on NBC before tuning in to the GMR Grand Prix and Helio’s historic ‘drive for five’ on Indy 500 Race Day.”
Following Castroneves’ win last year, he was part of a secret meeting – called on by Boles – with fellow four-time winners, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. The gathering took place on July 21, 2021, with Penske Entertainment on hand to record “a conversation 110 years in the making,” according to the press release.
The documentary shares insight on the impact of winning the Indy 500 four times, with historic race footage showcased for the sit-down conversation in downtown Indianapolis. Tthe four drivers will also have a “winner’s meeting at the world-famous Yard of Bricks with the Borg-Warner Trophy.”
The show will additionally feature interviews from Mario Andretti, Tony Stewart, Scott Dixon, Roger Penske and veteran motorsports writer Curt Cavin as “Pennzoil presents The Club” is the only recorded conversation among Castroneves, Foyt, Mears and Unser.
The documentary also includes a dedication to the memory of Unser, who passed away Dec. 9, 2021.
“It’s still hard for me to believe that I am a part of this group of drivers – these are drivers that I have looked up to and watched all my life and to now be standing on the same level as them is incredible. My best memories have come from winning the Indianapolis 500, there is no other race in history that has that same feeling; the feeling of a month’s long hard work all coming to an end in the best way possible,” said Castroneves. “I will forever be grateful for the people who have helped me achieve such a monumental accomplishment because it was not just me, it was a team effort each of those four years.”
(Video courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
