INDIANAPOLIS — Stephanie Beatriz had just wrapped a two-seater IndyCar ride around Indianapolis Motor Speedway when she sat down inside the famed Pagoda for an interview with The Athletic.

“Incredible,” she said of her full-speed laps around the 2 1/2-mile track. “I never wanted it to end. The last (time) around, I was so sad it was over. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And I think for many people it is, but I hope it’s not for me. I hope I get to do it again.”

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Beatriz, who played Rosa in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and starred as Mirabel in Disney’s “Encanto,” looked out at the empty grandstands and racetrack, which will be filled by 300,000 people and 33 cars during Sunday’s Indy 500. Beatriz is the grand marshal and will give the command to order drivers to their cars just before the engines are fired.

“I’m just waiting to take in the energy of this,” she said. “The energy of everyone who has come from far and wide to watch these incredible athletes do this. The amount of training they’ve done and the amount of preparation everyone has gone through to make this happen — everyone from security to the very top, top drivers. Everyone is waiting to see: ‘Are they going to win?’”

Below, Beatriz answers questions about racing, being a Cleveland sports fan and playing Mirabel on the stage and big screen.

Note: This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

You were at the Daytona 500 earlier this year and now the Indy 500. What do you like about racing?

There’s a couple elements I think are really magical. It’s this mix of man and machine — and I say “man” like human, right? But it’s this mix of human beings doing this really incredible thing and pushing their limits. Every few years, these cars change and they get faster. I was reading about the history of Indy — there was a year when the engine moved places in the car (the rear-engine cars of the 1960s), and it changed the sport completely. And watching it with people live is incredible.

The history behind these races, too, is really special. I have a friend whose family has been coming to Indy for 68 years straight; her grandfather never missed a race. I’ve met friends since I’ve been here who grew up listening to the race on the radio because they couldn’t go, but that was their way in.

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It’s something I’m excited to start being a part of. I’ve never really been into sports until I got married. My husband (Brad Hoss) is a straight White guy, and he really likes sports. I wanted to sort of support all of his loves, and this is one of them. And I’m really getting into it myself.

I understand he’s a Cleveland sports fan. On the one hand, it’s good you’re getting into sports, but on the other hand, I feel like he’s doomed you to a lifetime of suffering, perhaps. So is this good or bad you’ve gotten into Cleveland teams?

A lifetime of suffering — you nailed it. The Cleveland fans will tell you that themselves. And they’ve had some wins! But they’ve also had some losses, which I think speaks to the loyalty of Cleveland fans. There’s no other fans like them in the world. They are behind those teams 100 percent. Even if the season isn’t a good one, even if the dreams get dashed, it’s much more about being from “The Land.”

Is there a Cleveland team you like more than the others or are particularly passionate about?

I love the Guardians. I think they’re great. We’re a Browns house. So yeah, that’s hard to watch sometimes. But I just support Brad’s love of sports. I always know, though, it’s going to be a hard day when they’re playing because of his emotional reaction to the game since it’s tough.

Sometimes in those two-seater ridealongs, the helmet doesn’t fit right or your neck gets strained a little. Did you experience any of that?

I felt like it fit me like a glove, which is maybe a weird thing to say. But I had a great time. From the second I slid into the seat, I was like, “Oh, I belong.” It was amazing.

You’ve been doing some driving for your new Peacock show, “Twisted Metal.” Do you think that’s why you’re so comfortable in the car?

I think so. It’s myself and Anthony Mackie that are starring in “Twisted Metal,” and it’s based off of the Sony (PlayStation) video game that’s very, very popular and has a lot of fans online. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are the executive producers, so it’s very much that sort of speedy, wild, really funny world they’ve created many times before in “Deadpool” and “Zombieland.”

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But it’s me and Anthony driving these cars. Anthony Mackie is an incredible driver. He’s really, really gifted. And he’s studied. Our stunt coordinators also really helped me feel much more comfortable behind the wheel. But yeah, once you start going fast, you get kind of bit by the bug.

What were the nerves like strapping into that car to do this ridealong versus preparing to sing in front of a sold-out Hollywood Bowl (which Beatriz did as Mirabel in the live version of “Encanto” on Disney+)?

In some ways, they were very much the same. The Hollywood Bowl performance, although it seemed like it was a full, almost Broadway production, I only had four days of rehearsal for that. So in a lot of ways, I was not unprepared, but it was more like you just do what you can do, and then it’s go time.

The nerves are different only because I never experienced anything like the ridealong before — I didn’t know exactly what to expect. But I have performed live for audiences before; I used to do theater before I started doing TV and film. So I knew what that was going to feel like.

But in a weird way, it’s kind of the same. Once the show began at the Bowl and the audience let loose, it was the same feeling I had when the car took off. It’s like, “Oh, right. I belong right in the seat. I’m in the right place at the right time.”

I’m a parent of two, and I know you’re a parent (of Roz, who turns 2 in August). When I talk to drivers, some of them don’t want to acknowledge it, but I think it changes how they drive a little bit. Obviously, you’re not going to do something crazy, but how has being a parent changed how you look at your career or what roles you take?

That’s an interesting question. I don’t think anyone has asked me that yet. I don’t know the answer completely. I’m sure it has an effect because it has an effect on everything else. There’s no way it couldn’t.

I do think it’s changed the way I try to think about myself in terms of what I’m capable of. Because when I look at my kid, I think, “Well, I want you to think that you’re capable of anything.” That’s probably what my parents wanted for me. So I’m trying to set things up in a way for her that she sees the way that I talk to myself and talk about myself. That sort of sets her up for greatness, if that makes sense.

Sometimes it’s a real adjustment to go, “Wow, I’ve been really kind of crappy to myself for all these years.” And it took having a kid to make me understand I don’t have to do it that way.

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She’s almost 2, so do you think she’s starting to realize, “That’s Mom on the screen” or “That’s Mom’s voice coming out of the TV?”

I think she knows. She watched “Encanto” in the Hollywood Bowl live both nights we were there. She was there, and she stayed up for the whole thing and had a great time. So she knows it’s Mama when she watches the Hollywood Bowl (version). When she watches the animated version, I don’t know if she knows it’s Mama.

Weirdly, she does have a Mirabel doll. Sometimes she knows, and sometimes she doesn’t. It’ll be interesting to have to explain it to her at some point. It’s strange — it’s every parent’s dream to have your kid want a doll of you. But also, is this an ego moment? Like, “What’s happening?! This is very weird.” So I’m hoping it doesn’t traumatize her and it’s not something she has to unpack in therapy.

Speaking of “Encanto,” I always wondered how long it took you to master the rap/fast-speaking part of “The Family Madrigal.” How long did that take you to practice and learn?

Such a good question. Well, we shot the film for a long time. And that song actually developed and changed as we went. But I’m not sure. I mean, a lot of recording that was like a fever dream. We also tried to do manageable chunks of recording.

I remember when we got the news that maybe we were going to do it live at the Hollywood Bowl, Lin(-Manuel Miranda) laughed and said, “Well, that’s impossible. I didn’t write it to be sung live. You can’t sing it live. It’s not possible.” And I was like, “Watch this.” And I did it, but it’s a struggle.

I do think you’re right: It’s a rap song. There’s rap in it, and it’s fast. And Lin loves to write very intense, fast lyrics. So I take that as a compliment. Thank you.

And then you had enough energy to turn around and run off the stage after you’d expended all your breath!

One of my friends was like, “Why didn’t you dance in the song?” And I was like, “Girl! Come on! Dance, too? I barely made it through the dang song.” It’s tough.

Any final thoughts on the Indy 500 or what you’re doing with the new show?

There’s something about watching people drive that fast that is absolutely thrilling. That’s kind of why I wanted to do “Twisted Metal” in the first place. Reading it on the page, I could imagine what it was going to be like. And then seeing the final cuts of it, people are going to be shocked. Michael (Jonathan Smith), our showrunner, said, “What I want is to create the feeling you get when you’re playing video games, which is this intense, thrilling (feeling), and you just don’t want it to end.” And I think we’ve captured that in “Twisted Metal.” So I’m excited for people to see it.

(Top photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)