Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 912 is my conversation with Sting Ray Robb, a professional NTT IndyCar Series driver for AJ Foyt Racing who also happens to be an avid hunter and fisherman from Payette, Idaho. You might think there are no similarities between hunting, fishing, and IndyCar, but there are more than you would expect, and we get into them. We talk about how a kid from Idaho ends up in IndyCar, the Road to Indy junior ladder, coaching young drivers back home, and how he keeps the outdoors in his life.
Listen now: Megaphone · YouTube.
Sting Ray Robb is a professional racing driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving for AJ Foyt Racing. He grew up in Payette, Idaho, where his passion for cars came from parents who loved Corvettes, and he worked his way up through karting and the junior open-wheel ranks. He is also an avid hunter and fisherman who returns to Idaho each fall to hunt and coach young drivers.
Sting Ray explains that he came up through karting, racing in Florida in the winters because of the weather, then climbed the Road to Indy ladder, the junior open-wheel series that runs single-A, double-A, and triple-A levels before IndyCar. Those junior series race on the same weekends and with many of the same teams, so experience and knowledge trickle down, giving young drivers a clear path to the top tier.
Yes. Sting Ray grew up hunting and fishing in Idaho and remains an avid outdoorsman, including backcountry elk hunting. He returns home every fall, in part for the Spud Cup regional karting championship and to spend time in the outdoors, and he draws real parallels between the focus and craft of motorsport and the discipline of hunting.
Sting Ray and Tom dig into how both pursuits demand preparation, patience, mechanical understanding, and the ability to read changing conditions and adapt. Skills like feeling small adjustments, staying focused under pressure, and learning from people ahead of you carry over from the racetrack to the backcountry.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 912 with Sting Ray Robb is available on Megaphone, Spotify, YouTube, and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I wanted Sting Ray on because he lives in two worlds I find fascinating, the top tier of American open-wheel racing and the backcountry of Idaho. He told me before we started that he does a lot of interviews, but rarely about fishing and hunting, which is exactly why I wanted to have this conversation. He is proof that the lessons in one pursuit carry into another, and I wanted listeners to hear how a kid from Payette, Idaho built a path all the way to IndyCar while keeping the outdoors at the center of who he is.
Press play in the player above to hear it.
Sting Ray says it felt like perfect timing every step of the way, from parents who loved Corvettes to racing in Florida in the winters. He walks through the long climb from local karting to the top tier. Hear how it happened in the episode.
Sting Ray breaks down the junior open-wheel system, the single-A, double-A, and triple-A levels that feed IndyCar, and why racing on the same weekends with the same teams matters so much for a young driver. Listen to that section of the conversation.
Karting season and the best time in the outdoors often overlap, and Sting Ray talks about the trade-offs, including a world championship that pulled him away from home. He explains how he protects his time outside. Press play in the YouTube player above.
Sting Ray returns to Idaho for the Spud Cup and to coach kids in the karting ranks, passing on the global perspective he gained traveling the world. He explains why being a little frog in a big pond changed everything for him. Worth hearing in full.
Listen to the full conversation: Megaphone · YouTube.
What stays with me about Sting Ray is how seriously he takes giving back. He could just chase the next race, but he goes home every fall to coach young drivers and remind them that the world is bigger than their local track.
The parallels he draws between racing and the outdoors are the kind of thing you do not forget. Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 912 on Megaphone or Spotify.
Sting Ray Robb · AJ Foyt Racing · NTT IndyCar Series · Road to Indy · Spud Cup · Payette, Idaho · Tom Rowland (host)
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Sting Ray Robb is a professional racing driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, competing for AJ Foyt Racing. Raised in Payette, Idaho, he developed his passion for motorsport through karting and climbed the Road to Indy junior open-wheel ladder to reach the top tier of American racing. An avid hunter and fisherman, he returns to Idaho each fall to spend time in the backcountry and to coach young karting drivers, sharing the global racing experience he has gained around the world.
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