Michael Evans Baleen, welcome back to Young Hollywood. It's so great to see you and I see a little Indie 500 signage behind you. I don't even have to ask where we're doing this interview from. one. We are uh at IMS Speedway and uh, yes, Indie 500 is in full swing. About to be in full swing, excuse me. Thank you for having me back. I'm happy to be here. Good to see you. Now, walk me through the feeling, the vibe, the energy where you are right now. Let me tell you, whenever I I was pulling up to the stadium, uh, and I've I've seen this stadium countless times, especially over the last just five years, right? I get chills. I got chills. I I talked to my driver. I was like, yo, do you still get chills when you pull up to this place? Like because I just got chills. He was like, yeah, I mean, I see this place more often than you do, but uh it it still just kind of sends a chill down your spine, excuse me. Um, it's just a really it's electric whenever I get to come here and I get to like just see the the the the stadium and and see the track and you know. I'm very, very excited for tomorrow to be able to you know, to hear the the the starting of your engines and then you know, you hear the the ground rumbles underneath you and uh the cars start flying and it's just boogity boogity boogity. Tomorrow is the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Now, you are an Indiana native. So talk to me about growing up in the state that is Indycar, really. I mean, you live it, you breathe it. Absolutely. Um, I was fortunate enough to, as a kid, probably go to the race three or four times. I'm not I I don't remember a lot of it and you know, I can remember hearing it and I can remember feeling it. But um as a young adult, I've been able to come a couple more times and it definitely feels just more a part of me now. You know, getting to getting to come home, getting to see my friends and family and create the relationships with wonderful people at IMS. Um and then just to be able to like I said, be here and and and witness a magical race. You know, the Super Bowl of racing if you will. Um, and so I feel very, very fortunate to be from here and to have these roots within me. Um and to be able to come back and just enjoy it with people. Since you've been there before, obviously, take me back to some of your fondest memories being at this race. I have a couple. I have a couple. One of them whenever I was really young, um it was me, my dad, my brother, both of my brothers and it was just Indiana May, muggy, hot. We were sitting not in the shade and uh let me tell you, we were all just sweating and we did, you know, all of our shirts were were if they were light, they were dark by the end of the day. You know what I'm saying? And you know, just dump the water bottles on us. uh as kids, you know. Um and so that was a lot of fun just to be able to, you know, have that experience with my siblings and my dad. Um and then the last time I was here in 2021, the 105th running. Um, me and my dad were actually up uh above the suites and we we we we got to see uh Elio Castroneves kind of make the final move to to to end up winning his fourth Indie 500. you know, to join an elite group of people. Now, Elio is one of my favorites. Uh there's I have I have a list. Who are some of your favorite drivers in the series? Definitely Elio. Um, Jack Harvey's up there. Graham Rahal, which I'm excited. I know the circumstances recently uh he wasn't going to be able to race and then, you know, unfortunately something happened with another driver, he's able to come back in to race. So I'm excited for him. You're quite famous and well-known. So when you're walking around, do you feel like a rock star uh in that setting or you're just a spectator watching the cars and the drivers? I I I'm a fish out of water. I I am just you know, I I am watching them do their thing and and and and really, really killing it and really enjoying it and I love it. I love to kind of let me sit back here with my hat and my glasses on, you know, and just enjoy the show. Well, something I know about you also and I have to probably maybe say that it has to be a favorite memory of yours. Something I've done and it's something uh that has freaked me out, I'd never do it again. Let's talk about your two-seater rides. Okay. Because I've done a two-seater with Mario Andretti. Uh, they asked, do you want to do it? And I said, well, of course. I was a little nervous. I did it. I I I vowed I would never do it again. I was nervous. And then it came around again and they're like, do you want to do it again? And you can't say no, so I did it twice. Talk about your experience being in that car. because you it lives with you. I've I've been fortunate to do it three times. I actually just three times. I just completed my third time before before joining you here today. Um, it it just hits every single time. I was telling these guys I said, I get out of the car and I'm just like, ah, there's nothing like it. There's no roller coaster will ever will ever match that type of energy, the speed, whatever it may be. Um you just feel free, you know, because you have to relinquish control. They're they're driving, they're going 180 miles an hour, however fast you might be going. And uh whatever happens happens at the end of the day. But you know, you got to trust the driver, trust the situation and it's just it's an extreme amount of adrenaline that kind of comes to you, which I'm sure that you know. Um, but it's a lot of fun and I can't wait until they one day give me the keys to a car so I can get around the track and and you know, have some fun. Do you think it's fun? I I I I would never use that word. It's just insanity. It is insanity. And and and you know what it is? I think it it allows allows you, allows me to be able to appreciate the sport even more. Because if you think about, I'm not sure if you went at to Indie 500 or where you where you did your your uh your two-seater? Long Beach twice, yeah. Long Beach. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I've done it four times. I'm sorry, I forgot about Long Beach. Um, wait, which tracks have you done it? Speak. I did twice at the Indie 500. Long Beach, fastest seat in sports, which is great. And then we did the thermal, which is like the the practice track in Palm Springs. And every single time it hits. I've been able to ride with Mario um a couple of times and he's he's a great, great, great man. Um, but it's a lot of fun. And for instance, a lot of my castmates, they got to do it, right? They they got to do this uh two-seater ride. And Greta Onieogou, she was like, never again. Samantha Logan was more so, let's do it again, cuz she's kind of a thrill junkie uh like myself. Um, so just, I don't know. A lot of energy and I love it. So Michael, give me your top Indycar moment. It has to be 2021. 105th running. Elio Castroneves. Um, making the move to to win his fourth Indianapolis 500 and to join that very elite group of people. Now, the big question, have you uh seen the trophy? Have you kissed the trophy? Have you held the trophy? I've seen the trophy, I've held the trophy. I cannot say that I've gotten to first base with the trophy. There's still a chance. There's still a chance. Listen, you're next. Perhaps, perhaps. We'll see we'll see how the year goes.