Yahoo Autos The RACER Mailbag, August 16
Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.
Q: Saw this device handed to Scott McLaughlin after winning pole at Nashville. What is this?
Also, although you print so many complaints about Peacock, I love it. At the start of each season I subscribe to Peacock — commercial-free. IndyCar, NXT, IMSA, Supercross, Tour de France… all with no commercials.
Ed
MARSHALL PRUETT: Per Penske’s Ron Ruzewski, it’s an electronics cooling device. We’re on the same page with Peacock, Ed. Whether it’s the racing content or the other pieces of entertainment, it gets used quite a bit between my wife and I.
Q: I wonder if there’s any chance to see Hemelgarn Racing again at the Indy 500, as the team still competes in USAC Silver Crown series? Or are there any other potential old or new teams for IndyCar in the next two to three years?
Frank Lehmann, Germany
MP: I’ve heard Vasser Sullivan mentioned a few times of late, but that’s about it. It would be amazing to see Ron and the Hemelgarn team back in IndyCar, but I wouldn’t associate their efforts in USAC with anything that’s brewing for the 500.
Q: Just reading that Alex Palou won’t honor his signed 2024 contract with McLaren. His Monaco Management people parted ways with him. Zak Brown is on receiving end of losing a driver this time. Court with Ganassi last year, and now this news. Alex sure doesn’t seem to have any integrity or character. I hope his career tanks.
Craig, Naples, FL
MP: Of all the things I never thought I’d write, there’s a strong James Harden vibe with Palou. Harden, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, is trying to force his third trade in three years, all despite signing multi-year deals with Houston, Brooklyn and now the 76ers. He’s disliked the situations he’s been in and pushed until he got what he wanted, regardless of what his contracts required him to do.
He recently opted into a $35.6 million deal for next season to guarantee he gets paid, but doesn’t want his current team to be the one to pay him that money, so he’s raising hell and attempting to engineer his way out of Philly.
The best reaction I saw to the latest Palou drama was on Twitter, where someone posted a meme that read, “Honey, if they’re willing to cheat with you, they’re willing to cheat on you,” in response to Brown’s aggrieved email to the Arrow McLaren team. We’ve got a lot of Palou letters to cover, so I’ll move onto the next…
No doubt there will be other opportunities to run photos of Alex Palou before this week’s Mailbag is done, so instead, here’s a shot of compatriot Oriol Servia jumping a fence at Mont-Tremblant in 2007. Fun fact: According to the Wikipedia list of IndyCar drivers by nationality, only two Spaniards have started an IndyCar race — Servia, and… Fernando Alonso. Motorsport Images
Q: I realize this is probably the 47,000th Palou email, but mine requires a little bit of a tin foil hat.
He realized the McLaren path was DOA. Smart bet would be Chip backing up the Brinks truck. But no. Michael is buying Alpine, Alex runs in Andretti IndyCar next year. Then the Andretti-GM-Renault F1 team in 2025.
Shawn, MD
MP: As I said in my pre-race silly season video on Saturday, I have it on good account that within the last few weeks, Andretti thought it was getting Palou, but I then heard he signed to stay — and for a long while — with Chip.
Q: I may be getting ahead of the game, but it could be a confusing driver lineup at MSR next year — one driver named Blomqvist and the other named Lundqvist. What about a third car for Rosenqvist?
From your reporting, Andretti/WTR is fielding two cars in GTP next year. Is the second Acura for Andretti/WTR the leased MSR chassis? If Acura drops MSR, will they return in GTD, GTP or LMP2? Will Colin Braun be given the opportunity to sign with another team, or will MSR retain his services?
Jonathan and Cleide Morris, Ventura, CA
MP: If the No. 60 MSR Acura isn’t rolled down to WTRAA after the checkered flag waves over Petit Le Mans, I’ll be very surprised. I’ve asked Acura, which doesn’t want to talk, and the same goes for MSR. The moment the Daytona penalties were announced, I had a feeling it would be a dealbreaker for the manufacturer, so we’ll see what happens here in the next two months.
Shank said on Friday that he’ll know if his team can continue in IMSA in the coming weeks, which isn’t the answer you’d give if everything was continuing as planned with the manufacturer you’ve represented for years and won a championship for in 2022. If they don’t, or assuming they change manufacturers, I hope WTRAA pulls Colin Braun over because he’s been a rocket alongside Blomqvist.
If MSR is going to race in IMSA, it would be as a paid team, most likely aligned with a manufacturer.
As for Linus, he just delivered MSR’s best result of the season with the No. 60 Honda with his run to 12th on Saturday, and in the greater Andretti/MSR universe, Lundqvist was second only to Kyle Kirkwood, who finished ninth. I think he’s given them a lot to consider for next season, and MSR isn’t expanding to three full-time cars, so if Rosenqvist is going to drive for MSR, it would need to be in the No. 60 car.
Q: Too bad 100 Days To Indy isn’t season-long to capture all this soap opera drama! Couple of things:
1) McLaren has been a positive to IndyCar, adding a worldwide team name, plenty of money, and added competition. However, they always have seemed to be in the midst of some shady contractual dealings which started with the Hinch ousting, the Askew skewering, the not so subtle almost sidelining of Rosenqvist, etc. It is a bad look.
2) My tea leaves assessment seems like Palou thought he was getting, at a minimum, a quality for quality ride swap heading to McLaren, probably an increase in pay, and some type of opportunity in F1. My guess is the F1 stuff evaporated and with the domination at Ganassi… he simply thought better of leaving. That said, despite the talent, now both teams have been burned by Palou’s hot/cold decision making, and his management team has left him. He’s mega talented, but if I were either team I’m not exactly sure I’d want or trust a driver who has crawfished on his contracts multiple times now. It’s kinda like dating someone that one minute is in love with you and the next wants their ex. I think both teams should cut him loose.
Ross
MP: I’m the son of a man born in Arkansas in the 1940s and thought I’d heard every Southern colloquialism, so I give you props for the use of “crawfished,” which is new to me.
The problem here is that Palou is too good behind the wheel to jettison. There’s a reason McLaren fought to hard to get him, CGR fought so hard to keep him, and held onto him once he decided McLaren was no longer the place he wanted to be.
Ganassi is like an elephant; he forgets nothing, but he’s also as pure of a racer as you’ll find. He gives zero ***** about the drama and nonsense and just wants to win and stomp Penske, Brown, Andretti, and the rest. If the weapon to do that — along with Scott Dixon — is Palou, he’ll live with the TMZ nonsense that comes as an added price for dominating CGR’s opposition.
Q: I think the safety team for IndyCar does a great job. That said, just a single lap into the Gallagher Grand Prix, they failed to get Newgarden’s car freed and restarted before he lost a lap.
I suppose they weren’t in on the conspiracy to get him wins and the championship that keeps getting discussed in the comments. (Of course, as big of a fan of him as I am, he could have qualified better to avoid that mess.)
Also, what a move by DeFrancesco to take the lead!
So what’s your take on this supposed conspiracy to always help Newgarden that keeps getting mentioned in the comments?
Mark, PA
MP: When I hear folks mention conspiracies to help Newgarden, I stop listening. Devlin’s incredible move around the outside is an easy P1 on the Best Passes of 2023 highlight reel. And then, as usual, his day went in the dumpster.
The smile suggests this was taken very early in the Gallagher GP weekend. Joe Sibinski/Motorsport Images
Q: Ganassi has obviously upset and underpaid his drivers. His last Indy 500 winner openly criticized his pay. For Palou to purportedly take advance 2024 money from McLaren and then not honor a signed contract is sleazy and wrong. Not a good way for an F1 prospect to gain favor and make an impression. He is toast now with F1 teams. Ganassi may have competitive cars, but his driver treatment and treatment of his professional colleagues is deplorable. Penske would never get involved in such a legal can of worms. Strangely silent is Dixon, who soldiers on. He had a great Indy road course win. Hopefully O’Ward or one of the other Arrow McLaren drivers will get more F1 consideration.
Zak Brown also didn’t impress when he poached Piastri, who clearly was under an Alpine contract. Hard to cheer for such dastardly teams with unprofessional owners. Let the lawyers handle it. Robin Miller would not be impressed. In old Indy days, a handshake and a man’s word meant everything. Many a veteran driver would jump in an unproven competitor’s car to try and get a fellow driver up to Indy 500 qualifying speed. This was at considerable risk. Bravo to the old timers who had integrity and not greed. They would help out colleagues and not screw them or the team owners or mechanics.
Craig B, Naples, FL
MP: Oddly, Dixon has been approached by McLaren multiple times, including this year, and each time, Dixon — who isn’t cheap — chose to sign new deals with Chip. Robin would be laughing like a hyena. We haven’t lived in a handshake world in decades, so while everything you’ve said is true, it hasn’t been relevant for quite some time. Alpine failed to sign Piastri, as F1’s Contracts Recognition Board found, which allowed Zak to make him a McLaren driver. It was one of many embarrassing moments for now-former Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer.
Q: Is there any truth to IndyCar going back to Milwaukee?
Jeff
MP: They’re trying, but I haven’t heard about anything being done for 2024.
Q: Please can you tell me if at all possible is IndyCar looking at ways to stop cars getting “entangled,” for lack of a better word, with each other each other in future chassis updates like what happened with Newgarden and Armstrong on the opening lap at Indy
Leo Capella, London, England
MP: Nothing that comes to mind, Leo. Not with fenderless cars. Even cars with fenders end up on top of each other from time to time.
Q: Man, what a great race on Saturday! For me, it was easily one of the best on the road course I’ve seen. Good battles and interesting strategy calls throughout. I was disappointed Rahal couldn’t get the win, but Dixon displayed again why he’s the best of his generation. I’m a guy who’s been into IndyCar racing since the ’70s, and I have a question: Is seeing IndyCar play opening act to NASCAR at IMS of all places as bitter a pill for you to swallow as it is for me?
Rod, Houston
MP: I’ve said this every time I’ve been to the Brickyard event: It feels wrong being at the track that named us and made us while serving as the opening act to NASCAR’s opening act on Saturday, and gone from the facility before the Cup headliners take over on Sunday. I hate everything about IndyCar looking small and unimportant at its birthplace.
Q: Palou is undeniably a talented driver, and seems to be a genuinely nice person. But it is time for him to grow up and stop this wishy-washy contract nonsense. It would be a real shame if his lack of commitment overshadowed his talent, and teams started to avoid him.
Bill, Cleveland, OH
MP: It would be nice, wouldn’t it? Imagine all of the wasted hours we’d get back if he just did what he agreed to do. But, that’s not what he’s done and so here we are with a Mailbag that might be 10,000 words by the time we’re done. I wish I got paid by the word.
Q: Does Palou sign his contracts and letters of intent with disappearing ink? His lack of maturity and judgment outside or a race car is baffling. The lawyers on both sides of this mess must be thrilled at the prospect of a cornucopia of billable hours.
Bill Branagh
MP: When you have his kind of talent, using it as a tool to get what you want is an option. It’s also an option for the others in his upper echelon of talent, but most don’t wield it in such a divisive or destructive manner.
Q: I don’t know about you, but there is a hard valuable lesson for up-and-coming athletes and entertainers — they need should always read the contract before signing it. I don’t want to point fingers at Alex Palou over the McLaren-Ganassi drama over the last two years.
Perhaps his advisers told him that if he did sign the contract, it would lead to a Formula 1 ride. Well, Oscar Piastri also signed the contract with McLaren F1 after he was pulled away from Alpine Racing. I do hope Alex ends up in Formula 1 because I think he’s one of the most talented drivers to race in IndyCar and is the type of driver that, if given a chance like Red Bull, would give Max Verstappen a run for his money. But he and his handlers should have read the contract to make sure it was a guarantee that he was going to drive for McLaren in F1.
Alistair
MP: I doubt we’re dealing with a failure to read the fine print here. If a superstar doesn’t want to play for his current team, contracts be damned, they either give in and play or get released. The I-don’t-want-to-drive-for-you game Palou played with Chip in 2022 is the same he’s playing with Zak in 2023, and if we assume he’ll be driving for Chip for years to come, we’ll also be on the lookout for another I-don’t-want-to-drive-for-you move if he gets bored or thinks he can drive something else for someone else.
As for Max, I don’t think the Dutchman would lose a moment of sleep if Alex was his teammate.
OK there’s your Palou shot. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Q: I took my son to the Brickyard because I had heard last year kids were able to get paddock access and that it was an open area (the IndyCar area, that is). I didn’t do my due diligence to see what the plan was for this year, and was surprised that it was gated off. OK, no big deal, I’m sure paddock passes are for sale. I went to the credentials office and they told me you had to be 18 or older to get one. This is not like IndyCar at all. I waited in line with my son to get autographs from the Team Penske drivers. We talked to people around us, and without my prompting they complained about kids not being able to get paddock access as well.
I know the credential came with pit access and you probably don’t want kids on pit lane. In May, the garage area is restricted to an expensive bronze badge. (Expensive if you don’t live in the area to use it, but a bargain if you’re in the area). It would be great if we could find a way to open up the paddock/garage to kids at some point during the year for the road course weekend(s).
Ryan, West Michigan
MP: That sounds like a perfectly reasonable request, Ryan.
Q: With Palou seemingly not going to McLaren anymore, and Rosenqvist in discussions with other teams, is there a possibility that he doesn’t return to the team next year regardless of Palou’s plans? If so, have you heard anything on anybody else McLaren might be scouting?
Tom
MP: Felix had yet another good run going and was felled by a gearbox problem, which felt like the perfect summation of his time at Arrow McLaren. Minus Palou, I’d assume the team will make him an offer to stay, but I hope he doesn’t take it. Rosenqvist has the look of someone who needs to start over somewhere else.
I’ve heard McLaren thinks highly of Callum Ilott, as do other teams with seats to offer.
Q: For those of us who may not have been paying close enough attention, can you give us a Reader’s Digest-type synopsis on the Palou contract saga? Is there an obvious good guy or bad guy? Is this just a typical (albeit high-profile) contract negotiation that, unfortunately, got disclosed? Will there ultimately be long-term animosity?
Rick, Lisle, IL
MP: Alex wanted to renegotiate his contract with Chip that paid very little money after winning the title in 2021, and Chip said no. Some form of outreach was made to McLaren by Palou or his former management team with the belief that Alex could be signed, and while there was an interest held in Palou by McLaren, he wasn’t someone they would go to the end of the world to hold onto. Alex signed a deal with McLaren while under contract to Ganassi, which wasn’t appreciated, so Ganassi sued Palou. McLaren backed Palou and covered the lawyer fees, and Palou countersued Ganassi for things I don’t fully understand.
Chip was willing to play the long game here and in the final stages of the season, as the lawyer bills started piling up and it became clear Ganassi wasn’t going to back down, McLaren stepped back. Without McLaren’s backing, Palou abandoned the idea of fighting Chip on his own and opted to sign a one-year extension which had a concession in it from Chip that would allow Palou to leave, if he chose to, after the 2023 season.
In that contract, Palou was given a non-compete/non-negotiation date of September 1, 2023, which made the revelation from McLaren last week that it was already paying Palou to race for them in 2024 a bit of a shocker. We’ll see where this goes and if McLaren will sue Palou to try and enforce a contract that may or may not be valid, if Ganassi will sue McLaren for what may or may not be tortious interference with its driver, and so on.
Q: Do you know if/where IndyCar posts its owners points or points by car number? I can’t find any listing of points by car online to check who’s in the top 22 for the Leaders Circle bonus. With Palou having the championship all but wrapped up, following who isn’t going to get the LC bonus will be interesting to track over the remaining races.
Kyle, San Diego, CA
MP: For the public, this is a good resource, although it can take a few days for entrants’ updates to land.
Q: I will defer to everyone else regarding who’s wearing white and black hats among Palou, Ganassi, and McLaren, and ask instead about the role of agents in IndyCar.
All right, that’s a lie. I think that no matter how messy, it is good for IndyCar and Palou that he stays put at Ganassi.
But what about Monaco Increase Management’s role? I cannot escape the impression that it whispered sweet F1 dreams in Palou’s ears, then dropped him the moment he decided to pass on all this. Raising the obvious question as to whether the agent was working in the client’s best interest or its own?
Agents are high visibility in F1, and it seems there is a mixed record there. For every Mark Webber, who, despite criticism, maneuvered Oscar Piastri away from Alpine to McLaren, there’s a Craig Pollock, who both helped engineer Jacques Villeneuve’s stunning rise and his equally stunning fall.
So, what’s the story on agents in IndyCar: success stories? Epic fails?
Al, Boston, MA
MP: There aren’t many, but most have been around for a while. Stefan Johansson. Adrian Sussman. Pieter Rossi, etc. We aren’t talking about crazy sums like in F1, so we don’t get similar levels of drama; Palou has been the wild card, and FWIW, his now-former managers were a mystery to the paddock until things blew up last year.
Q: I’m sitting in a sports bar watching Little League baseball on ESPN (main channel!) and I think, “What racing needs is go-karts on ESPN!” We need to involve the kids and give them kid racing heroes.
Bruce Merchant
MP: I’d love to see karting on a mainstream outlet.
Q: Just returned from IMSA at Road America. Tough Sunday for RLL and Connor Di Philippi in particular. Being there brought up a question: are there more paid drivers anywhere in motorsports than IMSA?
Keith Conroy
MP: You might be onto something, Keith. There’s also more paying drivers, across all of the IMSA-sanctioned series, than any other organization.
Q: With your rumor of Alex Palou maybe going to Williams, do you think there’s a possibility of Logan Sargeant (re)exploring the possibility of IndyCar? This would make sense for him to sign Andretti, giving Andretti another driver option if he were to get his F1 team. [Ed’s note: This letter arrived before Palou’s latest contract excitement kicked off last week]
Ken, Lockport, NY
MP: It could be a case of my ears failing, but I haven’t heard Sargeant mentioned once by teams or free agents as someone who’s in the mix for 2024.
Sargeant’s probably the only person who hasn’t featured in IndyCar’s silly season so far this year. Michael Potts/Motorsport Images
Q: After watching Nashville and previously Detroit, it seems IndyCar had made terrible track selections. Certainly Belle Isle was a far better track for views and passing. Nashville was a joke, with no places to pass and way too narrow. From Cleveland to Portland to Laguna Seca to Sonoma to Watkins Glen, there are choices. Milwaukee and Michigan and other ovals have heritage also. I just don’t see what Penske and IndyCar are thinking — poor management of the series, and they’re not advancing like NASCAR, IMSA, WEC and Formula 1. The cars are old, but fortunately some there are great talents coming through as drivers. They don’t shine on crappy tracks. IndyCar deserves a big rethink.
CB, Naples, FL
MP: Thanks for writing in, CB.
Q: The bizarre wing failure on David Malukas’s car happened right in front of our grandstand. Do IndyCar officials meet the car in the paddock to try to determine what caused the failure? Also, if a tub is damaged, does it have to be sent to IndyCar headquarters after being repaired to be certified for use, or is it inspected at the next race where it’s used?
I had a great time at Nashville but the Big Machine Twitter site could have been better at updating fans about the weather on Friday and Saturday. I missed a lot of practice sessions for other series because of slow — or no — updates. Other than that, a solid 10 weekend.
Mark
MP: Yes, IndyCar’s safety/technical team meets the crashed cars when they’re returned to the paddock and photograph everything as it is, and if a deeper investigation into something is required, they’ll ask for the component to conduct an inspection.
Tub damage is inspected and acted upon by each team; it’s their property, and if repairs are required, there are resources in Indianapolis that can handle almost anything. Glad to hear you enjoyed Nashville.
Q: Something needs to be done about the marbles. I am a huge IndyCar fan but I slept through two-thirds of the Nashville race. No one dared to pull out of line and attempt to pass for fear of ending up in the wall. What if IndyCar went to a competition yellow at the midway point? Take 10 minutes to allow teams to service their cars and make any legal adjustments they might want to make. While this is going on, have two trucks with rolling brushes on the front make a lap around the track and push the marbles off to the side, nearer to the walls.
I am also getting frustrated with so many teams constantly going into fuel saving mode. Maybe if they had more room to attempt passing, there would be less fuel saving.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think IndyCar racing is the best racing in the world. It just needs a couple of adjustments to make it even better.
Bob Linn
MP: Agreed on the track cleaning, if necessary; I think I suggested the same in-race pause to do so last week.
Q: In last week’s Mailbag, you wrote that Conor Daly “has been exceptional in the right team and circumstances.” You’ve been a long-time supporter of his. I guess my question is, what am I missing? Daly’s made more than 100 starts, with some good teams, and I can barely remember him being in the race at most of them. With other young drivers, I can think of “wow” moments — Linus Lundqvist at Nashville, Christian Lundgaard at Toronto, Rinus VeeKay on the Indy road course, David Malukas at Gateway, Carlos Munoz in his Indy 500 debut — but I’m struggling to come up with much for Conor. I don’t have anything against him; just don’t understand the years of hype. Can you let me in on the secret?
Andrew, Sacramento, CA
MP: He was strong on a number of occasions in 2015 and 2016 with midfield teams and seemed to thrive in the high-downforce aero kit era with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing with five runs in the top six. From there, he’s had a lot of forgettable outings with teams that were quite bad, and on rare occasion, he’d put in a 10th with Andretti at the 500 or take pole and a sixth with Carlin.
He’s evolved into more of an oval specialist of late and has been really effective at Indy. There’s no hype involved here. If you’ve been watching, his capabilities in teams that aren’t plumbing the depths of mediocrity have been noteworthy. Unfortunately, he’s usually been with teams that are miles from the real contenders.
Q: You didn’t come right out and say it, but doesn’t it stand to reason that Simon Pagenaud, if he returns to full health, would be exactly what the Meyer Shank team needs for at least one more season while a rookie driver breaks into the team and series? He still knows what it takes to win, and I think Simon is still a threat to win the 500 again. I’m just not sure why the consternation on bringing him back for another season.
Andy R., Brighton, MI
MP: I’d love to say yes, but not with the season he was having prior to the crash. MSR’s drivers were 20th (Helio) and 24th (Simon) entering Mid-Ohio where the crash took place. Said another way, MSR’s pair of entries have been drastically underperforming all season, and they to turn both cars into proper contenders. Tom Blomqvist is the first step in doing so by taking over from Helio, and based on Simon being in the midst of his worst season of results since he debuted in 2007, I can’t see MSR or any other team paying millions to drive unless he’s able to show he’s back to his previous standard.
There are lots of drivers who know what it takes to win, and as we often see, their days of winning are mostly in the past. It’s the ones who can either keep winning, or have their team in the top six on a regular basis, who get contract extensions. With a pressing need to get better with both cars, the nostalgic hiring of a beloved driver just isn’t how a team makes real progress. There needs to be proof that a Pagenaud or any other driver can do big things tomorrow, not in yesteryear. And that’s why everyone’s rooting for Simon to get back out this season and show he’s healthy and fast in order to get more contract offers.
Looking forward to Team Pagenaud having something to cheer about again sometime soon. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
Q: Last week Shyam wrote to the Mailbag about standing starts in IndyCar. Having watched the start of the Long Beach race four times from the hairpin prior to the start/finish on Shoreline Drive, I can only agree.
One of the interesting attributes IndyCar has is the three disciplines of street courses, road courses and ovals, which tests the drivers’ abilities. If the series had rolling starts and standing starts, this would further enhance the series as a test of driver skill, and at some tracks, improve the racing.
