The RACER Mailbag, August 9

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: I live 40 minutes from Meyer Shank Racing, and am a fan. If they lose HPD/Acura in IMSA, will they also lose HPD in IndyCar?

Mark Crellin, Springfield, OH

MARSHALL PRUETT: I’ve asked and been told MSR will have Honda power in IndyCar next year and beyond.

Q: Perhaps you can ask someone in charge at IndyCar why the invocation almost always has an evangelical message? For a series that is trying to promote diversity and inclusiveness, this shows, at best, a severe lack of awareness, or at worst, an intentional effort on behalf of the ministers to promote their own beliefs. NASCAR does a better job, in general, of having an inclusive invocation. If Darrell Waltrip can give an heartfelt, meaningful invocation that doesn’t exclude any faith, so can IndyCar Ministries or anyone else.

Bary

MP: IndyCar Ministry, which has been an active member of the open-wheel community for many decades, is a Christian-based organization, and based on my highly scientific research (a three-second Google search), more than half of the country is Christian. So if we’re talking numbers, the concept of a Jesus-centric invocation would be well received by a lot of folks at the event and watching at home, but not all, and that’s the societal change you’re referring to. If IndyCar is indeed espousing greater inclusiveness through its Race For Equality & Change initiative, this is certainly one to consider.

Q: It has always confused me why NBC and Peacock never shows the in-car’s current position in the field during coverage (below -Ed.)? This would be a great help so we don’t have to search though the list on the left side of the screen. It seems it would be a simple addition that adds value…

Pongo in SoCal

MP: Is this something that other series do when they’re showing in-car footage? I ask because I’m struggling to recall seeing such a thing elsewhere. It’s a good idea, but I’m not going to single out IndyCar when it’s not a standard practice throughout the industry.

Q: I’m writing this as the Nashville race is ongoing, but I’m confused about NBCs decision to not show the first restart following the Malukas crash. NBC didn’t go side by side during the yellow (which makes sense) but by the time they came back from commercial, the leaders were in Turn 4 and we had missed all the Colton Herta drama. Can you reach out to someone from NBC or try to find out why in the world NBC missed that restart? It was incredibly annoying.

Ben from Chicago

MP: It was not great, but I’d put it down to a mistake. There’s no reason for NBC to have done it on purpose.

There are some unanswered questions about Meyer Shank’s IndyCar program next year, but the identity of the manufacturer responsible for the bit that makes all the noise is not one of them. Gavin Baker/Motorsport Images

Q: Well, I have officially renamed “Crashville” back to Nashville! I really expected this to be another crashfest, but the drivers actually showed their skill and professionalism. Of course, late-race restarts usually results in crashes farther back in the pack, and I’m really happy there was only one of those.

My hat is off to the amazing rookie Linus Lunqvist! He really showed he is qualified to run full-time in IndyCar. Palou continues to extend his points lead. I have a slim hope that he doesn’t move to F1, since I see him as his generation’s Scott Dixon. What say you, Marshall?

Dan, Arizona

MP: The rumor I’ve heard a few times now is Palou’s headed to McLaren, but with Norris and Piastri in position for at least another year, Zak Brown is willing to loan Palou to Williams where he’d gain experience and be ready to take one of McLaren race seats if Norris does leave in the near future or if Piastri does not develop into what the team is looking for by the end of 2024. That’s a lof of ifs and buts, but that’s what you get with rumors.

Lundqvist was a revelation, but for those who watched him mollywhop everybody in Indy Lights last year, it was evident that he was special. I’d guess we’ve had a few teams with paying seats available reach out to Linus on Monday and talk in more serious terms about the future. It’s only one race, but he was damn strong and looked like a veteran until that late mistake.

Q: I can’t believe it. IndyCar powers that be throw the red when it’s 1000 degrees in the cockpit. Stop worrying about the show and let the race end the way it ends!

Jack

MP: Yeah, but the part where three cars were jammed into each other and blocking half of the track at the second narrowest part of the track is where the call to stop the show and clear the course fell in line with previous decisions to go red. I’m good with how that was handled.

The part that could use some improvement was the stopping and massive heatsoaking from the 200-plus-degree radiators located on both sides of the cockpit. If IndyCar is going to mandate the use of air scoops to try and help with driver cooling, it needs to allow its teams to have hardcore driver cooling options at the ready if the field is stopped under red.

Whether it’s buckets of ice, ice blankets, or something to enclose the top of the car and pump chilled air into the cockpit so it’s mostly sealed, I’d rather see a greater emphasis on preventing heat stroke than having them circulate behind the pace car at slow speeds that bakes them without access to the extra cooling devices.

Q: After watching the last couple of IndyCar races it is obvious that the biggest detriment to competitive racing is marbles from tire degradation. Since this series forces all competitors to use the same tire, wouldn’t it be prudent to ask Firestone to minimize the amount of marbles produced? A reduction of traction would affect all drivers equally, so competition would not be sacrificed. The real racing would be incredible.

Jerry, Michigan

MP: We’ve had marbles forever, so I’m not sure what’s new here. Also, lots of drivers made passes in the last couple of races. Yes, Firestone could make tires that are so hard that they do not shed much rubber, but then we’d have the worst competition imaginable because the cars would light up the tires under acceleration, would corner like turtles, and would brake early and forever due to the lack of grip. The racing would be terrible, my friend.

If there’s liquid on the court during an NBA game, the refs stop the game until it’s removed. I’d rather see IndyCar take a harder look at the state of its tracks as the races are going on and decide to pause the action and bring the course up to par.

Q: All in favor of no passing until the crossing of the start/finish line raise your hand! When the red flag comes out at the end of a race then it is time to change the channel. So boring.

Jake

MP: OK.

Q: What a great weekend for Linus Lundqvist despite the late collision with the wall and lack of practice. If I were MSR I would get pen and paper ASAP, because Linus is the real deal.

Stefan Johansson

MP: I have no doubt that a few teams who had the ability to sign Lundqvist during the offseason, but chose to stick with drivers who’ve continued to underwhelm are kicking themselves at the moment. If Linus isn’t a full-timer for someone next year, IndyCar will need to suspend all of its team owners under the Incitation of Rampant Stupidity clause in the rulebook. Also, thank you for submitting something that wasn’t a complaint.

Q: Has there been any determination as to what caused David Malukas’ wing failure? What about what looked like a fire in the engine compartment after he stopped in the runoff?

How about for Linus Lundqvist and his cockpit air scoop?  How did that become loose?

Rene Chavez, Warren, NJ

MP: According to the team, a fire in the engine bay was the cause of all the problems, but as of Monday afternoon, I was unable to get a formal answer to the root cause as HPD was still investigating. The team said the fire caused the left-rear wing pillar to fail, and I’ve heard a lot of wiring was melted, which likely caused Malukas’s inability to shift. David told me he went to brake and felt something was off, then he looked in the sideview mirror and noticed there was something missing…

I saw a piece of tape or something similar fly off of the scoop on Lundqvist’s car on the warmup laps — going over the bridge, I believe — and from there, it appeared to break free from its mounts.

He definitely earned that fist bump. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: I am interested to know if Nashville threw any monkeys into the proverbial wrench? Specifically, the performance of one Linus Lundqvist. I am so happy for him. Meyer Shank gave him an opportunity and he grabbed that bull by both horns and went for it. I don’t knock him much for the crash because he was off the racing line by what looked like 12-18 inches. The marbles were horrible at the end. But for most of the race, he stated his case to be hired full-time, and did it well. So, from what you are hearing after the race, did Linus add another storyline to the IndyCar silly season?

My second question, unfortunately, is about young Herta. A lot has changed in his life and team since last year, and things just are not going well for him. Is it a combination of new people, missing the structure he had before with his move to Nashville, and having his dad moved to Kirkwood? He hasn’t lost his ability to drive, and some of his issues can be attributed to the inconsistency of the Andretti team. But this year is so down compared to his past performances, it has people wondering.

Finally, Grosjean has managed to finish three races in a row. Is that helping him at all?

John

MP: The Market for L. Lundqvist, Race Car Driver, just went from mild interest to rampant intrigue. I’d heard he was going to replace one driver before the end of the season, but if Simon Pagenaud is unable to return this season, I’d bet MSR will keep asking him back to drive the No. 60 Honda, which would waylay those replacement plans elsewhere in the paddock. If I’m Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Bobby Rahal, and anyone else looking to hire, Lundqvist just gave them a reason to ask whether some of the main options they’ve been considering have the same upside as Linus.

If he can deliver another solid weekend at the Brickyard, they’ll have real considerations to make. Take Ericsson out of the equation, and most of the other free agents have either a single IndyCar win or no wins, and that could play to Lundqvist’s favor.

I’d like to put Colton’s mystifying season down to bad luck, and a few too many mistakes — either on setup, strategy, or behind the wheel — that have him positioned 10th in the championship, but that’s exactly what we had last year where he finished…10th in the championship. The first few years at Andretti looked really easy for Herta, but that ease has been missing, and now he has a fellow young rocket in Kirkwood to contend with. I wish I had the answer — he does, too — because this doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Grosjean has done a nice job of bringing the car home, and doing so in good shape at the last few races. His ongoing challenge is to prove he’s able to get wins and be Andretti’s top driver on many days, and that’s where he needs to have an immediate breakthrough. If he and Herta and Kirkwood all have unencumbered races, it’s been a rarity for Grosjean to be P1 among Andretti’s lead trio, so out-running those two is where he’d help himself a ton.

One other factor to consider is his value to Andretti’s sponsors. If he represents a bigger marketing value to them than whatever his finishing positions might be, he could be safe, no matter how he runs. But if the team owners are going strictly by results, he’s got four races to show them something new and different.

Q: I watched the Road America round of the IMSA series yesterday. Will the record crowds this season, which I think are directly attributed to the new hybrid era, put any additional pressure on IndyCar to step up its new powertrain upgrades schedule? Given the complexities of the system, I think it was appropriate for IMSA to mandate a common system from Bosch. That is a good way to get started and still leaves the door open to bespoke systems later on. Looks like IMSA is off to a very good start!

Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

MP: I don’t think so, Don, and for one reason: The popularity of the hybrid GTP cars is driven by their looks and their new technology. IndyCar will have cool new tech, but the cars will look the same, so the visual pop will be missing. Now, if IndyCar can offer something unique for manufacturers to play with and develop with hybrid in its series, we might see some respond with wanting to join, but overall, there’s going to be a lot of efforts involved with getting people to know and care about the changes hidden beneath the bodywork.

Q: The low ratings that not just IndyCar but all racing gets on TV here in the U.S. continues to amaze me. There are 300 or more million people here and IndyCar gets excited when they have more than 1 million watching, and NASCAR is not much better.

I defy anyone to watch an IndyCar race and a NASCAR race side by side and tell me that the NASCAR race is more exciting. Why would more people watch the NASCAR race? It does not make sense. That is like saying someone would rather watch a slow pitch softball game instead of watching a MLB baseball game.

Don, Grand Rapids, MI

MP: And those same NASCAR-loving fans would say that your favorite open-wheel series uses vintage race cars and is filled with nobodies. And let’s not lie to ourselves; IndyCar would drive straight to the crossroads and sell its soul to get NASCAR’s ratings.

Q: IndyCar and IndyCar’s support system (ecosystem, media) never take something and make it better. There is a certain amount of traditionalists that exist in this crowd that will not ever change for the betterment of the sport. Instead, there are excuses for why something shouldn’t be done and we never get better.

My gripe is about the startline and the rolling starts. You can’t have a well-aligned group of cars that is going at 40mph until the startline and then suddenly unleash them into a frenzied race with barely any gap between them before the start. Guess what happens at Turn 1 — they are all too close to each other, and sure enough, mayhem happens through first few turns.

The other side of this is the start of the race. IndyCar goes on forever before the start of the race. I’m not sure why we need three parade laps and then they get waived off for incorrect alignment and then it’s another two laps before a race start happens. A rolling start can never be perfect due to the nature of drivers wanting to race and the dynamic nature of the cars rolling. So to smooth out the process, how about we do one parade lap and then go for a start?

Scott McLaughlin was frustrated at how these starts happened and how it affected racing at the back, and how backmarkers dive bomb and how it breeds more yellows. I agree that the last apex should be the point where they go on a restart.

Otherwise, the good old standing starts need to be brought in, and don’t tell me it’s not possible with the current engine. This is where we need to look forward and make the daring changes needed for the betterment of the sport. If we could make an aeroscreen for safety, a standing start and/or a better rolling start procedure is not too complicated to be brought to reality.

Shyam

MP: I hear you, and hear what Scott was saying, but I always ask myself if the complaint is situational. As in, if McLaughlin won on Sunday, do we hear the same impassioned criticism about restarts being a joke and the need to change policies, or is he smiling wide like Kirkwood and leaving Nashville without a care in the world? Or if the roles were reversed, would Kirkwood be barking at IndyCar if he led a lot of the race from pole, had his team make a strategy call that returned him to the track in a cluster of slower cars, and was powerless to respond when McLaughlin drove away on restarts to win the race? Maybe.

I’m not saying Scott doesn’t have a solid point to make, but if the point wouldn’t have been made if he’d won the race, I temper my reaction to whatever’s being said. I’m also not big on something happening at one race being treated like the sky is falling and saying the entire starting/restarting procedure must be thrown out and replaced with standing starts or whatever. This was a Nashville-specific compromise, made to mitigate the crashfests that ruined the first two events there. If the drivers or series want to look at restart protocols being altered, I’m game, but Nashville’s layout from 2021-2023 can’t be the primary motivation behind it.

As for the rest, how many F1 drivers pit at the end of the first lap, provided their car(s) can continue, for a new nose, tire, etc.? Throwing IndyCar’s tradition of rolling starts aside for F1’s system is by no means a magic solution, so I’d rather hear ideas for improving the current and longstanding system than a call to run away and try something else that is far from contact-free.

I won’t tell you it’s not possible with the current engine because if you were around in 2013, you’d have seen IndyCar doing standing starts on street circuits. And it went so well, rolling starts soon returned…

IndyCar standing start, Toronto, 2013. This feels like a billion years ago. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: My brother and I are big fans of Stefan Wilson. It was terrible to see what happened to him in May, but I’m sure he’s working hard to get back for next year’s Indy 500. Do you have any update on how he is doing? Also, I really like his team owner, Don Cusick. He seems to have a love for IndyCar and the 500 that is refreshing to see. There had been talk of them running more races, and possibly going full-time. Have you heard anymore concerning this? If not next year, maybe in ’25? Cusick Motorsports and Dreyer & Reinbold seem to be a great fit. I’d really love to see that team grow.

Danny Michaelain, Panama City Beach, FL

MP: Stef’s making great progress and while he isn’t back on track yet, it’s not too far away. He recently traveled to Sonoma Raceway to coach a client in the Ferrari Challenge series, and he and Don have been very active in trying to lock down their plans for next year’s Indy 500.

I know they’d love to continue with DRR, but if that doesn’t pan out, I wonder if fellow good guy Bill Abel and the Abel Motorsports team might be an option? IndyCar’s keeping the Dallara DW12 chassis for another 50 years, so it would be in Don’s best interest to have his own car and take more control over his future.

Hiring a team to provide everything for Indy is becoming harder every season, so if Cusick Motorsports wants to be in the game in a real way, it can’t be susceptible to being turned down by those who have all the assets — equipment and people — to parachute into and out of on demand. If it’s Cusick and Beth Paretta and whomever else all chasing the same one or two entry points into the Indy 500, someone loses.

Q: One could draw similarities between Sage Karam and Paul Tracy. Tough, buff and ready to fight; along with an aggressive driving style. (For the record, big fan of both). Smoke kicks PT out of SRX for being himself. If you don’t want to hear “Sweet Home Alabama,” don’t hire the Skynyrd cover band, right? Sage not only looked good in the Xfinity car, but he must have married a PR guru. He got more ai time and name mentions than almost anyone else during the broadcast, and was talked about on Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media. Thoughts?

Shawn, MD

MP: I’d never put Sage in the same conversation with Paul in terms of talent or being the black hat, but I understand what you’re saying. The SRX thing is just stupid. Hire the bad guy, who does bad guy things, and then indefinitely suspend the bad guy for being the bad guy? Brilliant.

Sage is extremely good, and in the absence of great opportunities in IndyCar or IMSA, I’m glad he’s showing his skills in an arena where it’s appreciated. I also hope he gets more chances because he’s far more than a road racer; he’s good at everything.

Q: Is having the Music City GP on the doorstep making any impression on Nissan? If it doesn’t want to lay out the commitment to be the third OEM alone, it could always split the cost with Renault and bring Renault (Alpine) into the series ahead of its U.S. launch. The engine would be the same, of course, with different badging. Maybe Toyota could go in with the same model and one of their good friends Subaru or Mazda?

I would feel some shame about this kind of armchair corporate deal-making, but we’ve just been waiting a few years too long :(

Jaret, Rockville, MD

MP: It would be one heck of a leap for Nissan to sponsor an NFL stadium and decide it needs to spend $50 million or more to supply bespoke engines for a racing series that plays next to the stadium for three days per year.

Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and every automaker that isn’t in the series has had a green light to join since 2012, but have chosen not to. We all dream of a day when that will change.

Q: The CW just signed a $115 million per year deal with NASCAR’s Xfinity Series. That’s pretty crazy. A cursory look (I may be wrong) through RACER ratings updates shows that IndyCar and Xfinity are roughly similar in terms of total viewers. Maybe a better question: At a time when sports properties are at their most valuable, what is IndyCar doing to maximize that value?

Justin

MP: There are rumors about the money IndyCar receives from NBC, but the series has never made such things public under Penske Entertainment’s ownership. How’s this: If it was a big CW/Xfinity-like number, we’d expect to see the Leaders Circle contracts increase, rather than decrease, but that hasn’t happened so far.

If we’re looking for items to attach to increased value, you’d expect to hear things like the large car count, larger audiences — both trackside and TV — and the shift to a more modern and sustainable fuel and hybrid engine as the talking points from the series. The NFL has done little that comes to mind to improve its value, and the same goes for the NBA, but both are thriving, with record contracts being paid to their stars, and that only happens when the TV contracts, sponsorship deals, and event sales are booming.

I wouldn’t say IndyCar is booming, but it’s improving incrementally.

The ratings are slowly creeping in the right direction, but the love between NBC and IndyCar is real. Bonus points for the Robin cameo in this pic. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: As much as it pains me to say it, thank you for setting the record straight regarding a return to Pocono.

That track is wide and vicious-fast for the Indy cars. It is also a significant challenge because as I heard it, the cars could be set up to handle for T1 or T3 but not both. And while Pocono does have SAFER barriers, the fencing is, at best, a bad joke.

In the six or so times the Indy cars raced there recently, I can think of at least three occasions that cars got high enough to put holes in the fence. And I’m not sure, but I think it was the aftermath of the Sato accident, the track crew tie-wrapped a garden-variety chain link gate over the hole. As a retired radiological emergency planner with a strong background in industrial safety culture, I cringed when I saw that. And as I remember, Bourdais was very vocal in his disapproval of that “repair.”

It is a shame to admit but Pocono is a white elephant, always has been, always will be. A superspeedway in the middle of nowhere, two-lanes in-and-out, a lack of nearby accommodations, etc.

And unfortunately, Pocono is family-owned and therein lies the problem: money for improvements and promotion are subject to penny-pinching and infighting among family members. Maybe this is unfair, but I have to believe that if Mr. Penske owned that track, plans to replace the fencing would have been drafted before the sale paperwork was even signed.

While it is true that Indy cars don’t belong in the fence, and Mr. Wickens stuck the nose of his car under Hunter-Reay in a place within the corner that was ill advised to say the least, the fact is the speed of the cars, the width of the track, and the setup/handling of the cars leads to some pretty vicious high-speed accidents.

The last thing our sport needs is an IndyCar through the fence, or God forbid, through the fence and into the stands in a manner similar to the horrific Tony Renna testing accident at Indy in the early 2000s.

I guess the best hope for northeast IndyCar fanatics remains The Glen, Richmond, or perhaps Will Power’s favorite place: New Hampshire.

Harrison

MP: Thanks for writing in, Harrison.

Q: I just read the article “IndyCar silly season update: the Nashville edition.” Great overview.

Other than the reference that Conor Daly vacated the No. 20 car in the Ed Carpenter section, there was no mention of him. Not even as an Indy 500-only driver.

I really like Conor, his personality, his passion for the sport, and his support for the series. But what are his realistic chances to secure another full-time ride? Or an Indy 500 seat?

He has the talent, though Lady Luck has never followed him too closely. He’s always shown the speed at the 500. Where does he go now?

I’m glad he’s branching out in other series, and it would be cool to see him in IMSA.

Terry J. Germantown, MD

MP: Thanks, Terry. Of the rumors I’ve heard since that story went up (and more than half of it was written weeks ago, FWIW), Daly pursuing the No. 30 RLL seat has been mentioned, and if BitNile were to get behind him, I’m sure more teams who are in need of sponsorship would roll out the red carpet.

Without a major sponsor, Conor’s in a tough position if we’re talking about full-time chances. And it’s not because he doesn’t have the talent to warrant another opportunity. Of the available seats, they’re either destined to receive bigger names on the market — think of Marcus Ericsson — or they’ll be filled by one of many kids in IndyCar, Indy NXT or Formula 2 who are super wealthy.

There isn’t much of a middle ground for a Daly, who has been exceptional in the right team and circumstances, to get the nod over an Indy 500 winner or a younger driver who can commit an eight-figure sum to a team on a multi-year deal. The days of “he’s a trusted pair of hands, let’s put him in the car” are gone, so without a big chunk of money to entice a team owner, some of our favorite drivers are struggling to maintain their hold on IndyCar seats.

Q: I’m adding my complaint about the excessive commercials on NBC. It spoils the IndyCar experience for the viewer. At Iowa, I’m not certain we witnessed more racing than commercials. IndyCar needs to attract a broader audience through a cutting-edge viewing experience. I find watching races painful due to the number of commercials and lack of continuity. It is my understanding that this is driven by NBC, but Roger Penske signed the deal. IndyCar, in my opinion, is finally gaining traction while F1 is running away with fans. Now is not the time to dilute our gains with pushing fans to the side due to excessive commercialization. Let’s watch a race.

JLA

MP: I hear you, but the argument is based on throwing out the American television industry’s financial system where advertising is sold to offset the costs of production. So, yes, the non-American system where sports are aired without commercials is indeed awesome, and F1’s move to dang near give its product away a few years ago to ESPN so it could go commercial-free was a genius move. But that’s not a reality for all the other major series aired here.

It’s also created unending complaints about why IndyCar (and NASCAR, etc.) won’t do the same commercial-free thing like F1. Well, it was a marketing investment by F1, and only F1 could afford to do it.

I really do hope IndyCar and NBC can negotiate a special ad-free stream that people can buy, because a lot of people say they’d pay for it if it was available. But then we’d get just as many complaints about it being on Peacock instead of on cable or network.

Q: I have become a big fan of sprint car racing. NASCAR is boring with way too many commercials, so I DVR the races and watch them at four-times speed, except for the stage finishes and the last 10 laps or so with the sound muted. Everything I need to know is displayed on the screen.  If I like who wins I watch the interviews with sound. I call it NASCAR in less than an hour. I watch all three series this way.

Sprint car racing is way more interesting with qualifying, heat races, dashes, passing points, multiple mains sometimes before the A Main. The 1/3 mile and shorter tracks are ideal for watching live racing.  FloRacing (streaming) has many races on it fairly inexpensive although their audio level issues are bad. Midget racing is awesome too, with a similar race format.

The Eldora Million race was awesome, as are the High Limit races. Sprint cars have the Knoxville Nationals and Midgets have the Chili Bowl. Race fans should enjoy open-wheel racing at its best with huge entries typical for both events. What are you waiting for?

Pete Pfankuch, Wisconsin

MP: A friend pointed me to the FloRacing site last week and I love their offerings. Great call, Pete.

Couldn’t think of any good pictures to go with the letters on this page, so here’s a look at what was going in in the spectator area at the Watkins Glen Can-Am race in 1972 instead. Rainer Schlegelmilch/Motorsport Images

Q: First, regarding the IndyCar schedule issue, many fans (including myself) want the series to be long enough rather than finish the season on mid-September and needs to wait another six months before the next season starts. So is that anything The Captain can do to make sure the season can be ended by at least end of October?

Second, about the Leaders Circle, since the prize money is being decreased, is there any subsidiary to let the whole teams can be benefit such as create some kind of team championship (similar with Indy NXT) which the team can get the extra bonus according to the team’s final standing?

Third, about the Super License quota. The FIA doesn’t respect IndyCar at all. The top three in F2 can get the Super License, while only the IndyCar champion will get the full 40 Super License points in a single season. Is there anything that Jay Frye and Roger himself can do to negotiate with the FIA about this?

Darren, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

MP: IndyCar has avoided competing against the NFL since it paid the Boston Consulting Group to analyze its strengths and weaknesses, so if Roger can convince the NFL to open its season in November, your plan has a chance.

The Leaders Circle is paid for by Penske Entertainment, so since Penske Entertainment chose to take money away from its teams in the name of spending the saving on increased marketing, the Leaders Circle is paid to those who finish in the top 22 in the Entrants’ championship, and Entrants is another name for Teams.

There are many things IndyCar can try to do to get the FIA to award more points to its drivers. But the FIA must want to give more points, and be willing to give more points, so until the FIA wants to and is willing to, it’s unclear what Jay and Roger would be able to do.

Q: A quick question about full-course cautions. When did it change from cars being ordered to circulate at a controlled speed, like the Virtual Safety Car situation you have now in Formula E, to the pace car coming out and the field forming up behind it? Or have I got my old IndyCar history wrong?

I know full-course yellows were something that caught out Jim Clark at first when Team Lotus crossed the great divide, and I can only imagine the likes of A.J. Foyt and Bobby Unser trying all sorts of shenanigans to gain just a tiny advantage. Was there a specific event that caused the changeover to the pace car rules we have today?

Peter Kerr, Hamilton, Scotland

MP: I have no idea, Peter. I love racing history, but the history of pace car usage isn’t part of that passion, and I’m sure I could do a Google search to research the topic, but it would return the same results for you, my friend.

Q: How do they choose who carries the in-car cameras?  My guess is that it’s some combination of a request to the drivers and who NBC decides are the best candidates? One thing I noticed is that aside from Indy, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou rarely have one. Again, I’m guessing here, but that seems like it is Scott and Alex’s choice. Have they ever mentioned to you why they or the team chooses this? Is it something that comes from Ganassi and not wanting to show their hand? Is it something that comes from themselves?

Joey, Florida

MP: They are placed in cars where the team has paid for them to be installed, usually as a result of a sponsor paying for it to happen. On rare occasions, NBC will choose to put one in a car when they think there’s value in having that camera angle at its disposal. Ganassi has indeed been an infrequent user of in-car cameras, and funnily enough, Chip’s longstanding refusal to place his drivers names on his cars changed with the series’ installation of new overhead cameras — non-broadcast cameras — on all cars where the series wants to be able to easily identify which in-car footage they’re viewing.

Q: What plan does IndyCar have if/when the Tennessee Titans have a home game? I’d assume the logistics were worked out, but I’m curious about the details. The NFL preseason will already be underway before the track starts its construction prior to the event. Go Bills!

Rob, Rochester, NY

MP: I’d like to think the city, which is spending a ton to make the new stadium possible, would be able to ask the NFL to book an away game on September 15, 2024, as not to clog the area while it’s hosting IndyCar.

Q: Wanted to comment on the new Nashville track layout for 2024. I hope this is only a temporary layout for next year due to new stadium construction, otherwise this, I think, would be the lamest layout ever for any series, let alone for IndyCar. It is essentially a rectangle with long straightaways and U-turn on the other end.

IndyCar never thinks big. My original lament was that it didn’t include a lot of streets and avenues on the southside along with the Nissan Stadium complex which would have been a perfect way to pull off a big time event both from racing point of view and the impact to the city in terms of show, value and economy. Now we have the Broadway and 1st Avenue parts and we have lost the Stadium complex.

What I’d like to see is that they add in the stadium portion of the circuit to this layout and I think then it will be a decent circuit for racing, you’ll have some high-speed straights and low-speed turns and corners. What is your understanding of this layout for future? Do you think they would bring back the stadium complex once it’s finished? Then we’ll have two halves to form a nice big-time city street racetrack.

Shyam

MP: If the city approves layout changes once the new stadium is finished, anything is possible. For now, we have The Bent Dipper.

Q: One week from today Parnelli Jones will turn 90 years old, and this great warrior was a factor every time he put a helmet on and went to war. We cannot do him justice, but we will give it a real try.

The first time I saw Parnelli was on May 29, 1960 at The Little 500 at Anderson, Indiana — the only time that our hero competed in this event. After spinning in some water on the frontstretch, he recovered to second place and nearly won from Ronnie Duman. The next time I saw Parnellli was in late October as I waited on him going home to California after the season was over. Since he was buying his ticket from me, I asked him if it would be cash or check, to which he explained that he had not been home for so long that his checking account was depleted and paid in cash. It hit me right then that Parnelli Jones was not full of himself, and I became the unofficial president of the Parnelli Jones Fan Club of Indiana.

I will give you a couple of examples of who Parnelli Jones really is in my eyes. In 1962 Parnelli had checked out of the Indy 500 when he had brake failure, but he will tell you that he also lost his brains because he kept going on and on by running over tires and his crew trying to stop him by holding on and dragging the car to a stop. He finished seventh, and that is one heck of a race car driver.

In 1970, while winning the Trans Am championship with a Mustang, in the final race of the season he got nailed around mid-race. Left with damaged steering, turn the only way he could make the car turn was bouncing the car off the curbs — and he won.

In 1967 with the turbine, I do not believe that Parnelli was sandbagging, as he was accused of doing. I cannot believe that he even knows how to sandbag. It is not in his DNA, period. Parnelli will tell you that the four-wheel drive was one of the biggest assets of the turbine he came so close to winning with 1967.

While we are at it, he coulda-shoulda-woulda been a five-time Indy 500 winner.

I cannot close without proof, which came to Parnelli in the form of a letter from Mario Andretti which was displayed in Parnelli’s attic, telling him that Parnelli was the greatest race car driver of his era. I am humbled that I was able to be able to have a half-dozen conversations with someone who is more than than just a racer, and who accomplished so much throughout his career. Happy birthday my friend; you are very special in our favorite sport.

Glenn Timmis

MP: I’ve had the fortune to spend time at dinner with Rufus and many times at the track, and the esteem in which he is held ranks above almost every other person in the sport I’ve seen or met. The main thing I’ve appreciated about Parnelli is he’s never fully understood what the fuss was all about, and that’s a character trait I’ve seen in racing’s greatest drivers. He doesn’t think of himself as a god; he just does the thing that comes naturally to him, all while failing to properly grasp that for the rest of us on the outside, and even to his closest rivals like Mario and Uncle Bobby and so on, he was all by himself on their Mount Rushmores. Gordy — Gordon Johncock — turned 87 as well, and our man Steve Shunck makes sure both of our heroes are loved and celebrated.

Q: This seems to be the Year of Midseason Changes!

• ECR and Daly and RHR

• Dr. Marko and de Vries and Ricciardo

• Whoever at Renault/Alpine and Szafnauer and Permane and Fry

• Ferrari/AlphaTauri with Mekies and Ioverno

I go back many years across a great number of disciplines and I don’t remember so many changes in the upper reaches of the sport. It just feels unprecedented. Is there something in the water?

Given how quickly Fry has made a deal with Williams, might he have been contemplating a move before this reshuffling? Also, might Szafnauer and Permane be a good fit for Andretti F1?

I would guess that Andretti is aligned with Wayne Taylor Racing in order to gain experience with hybrid systems. I can’t speak to the chronology of how deals came together, but would it have made more sense for Andretti to be aligned with a Cadillac team? Probably not Ganassi, but perhaps Whelen? Is WTR thinking about expanding into IndyCar?

The involvement of Brown and McLaren in IndyCar always struck me as a bit odd as there doesn’t seem to be much synergy. But, is this a poor man’s version of the Red Bull/AlphaTauri setup?

Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

MP: Are we talking about the same Andretti team that’s been in the all-electric Formula E series since its inception and just won the championship and has more experience with electrified racing than all of the IndyCar teams combined? I’d think Andretti’s interest in joining forces with WTR was to jump into the top class at IMSA with a factory relationship.

McLaren, through Zak, wanted to be in IndyCar, identified the best midfield team that was in need of funding to do better and was receptive to taking on a major partner, and got it with Schmidt and Peterson. McLaren had a solid background in IndyCar a long time ago, and Zak’s big on racing history. Not sure why there’s a negative take here or where the “poor man’s approach” is coming from.

CHRIS MEDLAND: While driver changes — especially at Red Bull’s junior team — are not uncommon mid-season, I think the team personnel ones are partly a knock-on effect of all the changes in that area over the winter. Four teams changed bosses then, and that has led to other opportunities opening up since then. 

Fry had definitely already done a deal long before all the Alpine changes. James Vowles sounded him out as soon as he started with Williams in February but Fry said he was happy where he was. Then by April — around the time things were getting tense behind the scenes ahead of Laurent Rossi’s outburst in Miami — he had agreed to move. Both Williams and Alpine knew he was leaving three months before announcing it.

Former Renault technical director Nick Chester is working with Andretti so Permane certainly could be a good fit to help the team get up and running if it gets an entry approved, but I’m not sure if Michael would rather have a crack at being team principal than put someone else such as Szafnauer in that position. Otmar has good experience if he did want to go down that route though.

And as for McLaren in IndyCar, it’s because of the different reach in the U.S. market it provides compared to F1. The F1 presence is still growing but is only a few times a year, compared to the much more consistent visibility IndyCar provides, and that’s filling a gap for McLaren in a huge market for its road cars. 

If you need a visual representation of how comfortable Andretti is with electrical power, Jake Dennis’s trophy haul from the just-completed Formula E season should do the job. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images

Q: Chris, welcome to your summer break. In order to heat things up when the season resumes, I propose a new rule. Once the championship is clinched, the champion goes on holiday. Red Bull must fill his seat with non-F1 drivers to see if they, too, can dominate in a Red Bull. Start with all Super License-eligible IndyCar and Super Formula drivers. There should be at least seven or eight races left in the season for this, right?

Let’s throw some ideas at the wall and see what sticks. What have you got?

Ryan

CM: I like it! Although seven or eight might be asking a bit much even of Max — I think he’s most likely to win it around Qatar or Austin (if my math is correct, the earliest he can win it is in Japan by winning every race with the fastest lap between now and then, and Sergio Perez failing to score in any of the next three). So we’re looking at four or five races in that case.

Maybe we should start with the IndyCar and Super Formula champions and give them a couple of races each? Just so they have half a chance of showing what they can do!

I also think that by winning the F1 championship more than two races early, we should make the champion have to race in either the Indy 500 or Le Mans 24 Hours the following year (which would likely mean missing a couple of races — whoever performs best out of the IndyCar and SF runners could step in…).

I know it’s been touted before, but one single throwback weekend where teams run a retro livery should be introduced. And one race at the venue that can host it where everyone runs three cars and has to put a rookie in, with them qualifying for their own championship but not scoring points towards the constructors’.

Oh, and a team principal’s race in single-make normal road cars to end the season.

THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, August 12, 2015

Q: In reference to who should replace Derrick Walker as president of IndyCar, I think I have the answer to the question. Someone with balls, who doesn’t care what others think! I hereby nominate Uncle Bobby or AJ. Either would be great. The thought of AJ bitch-slapping whiney drivers, or Mark Miles, would make for great TV. Or if Uncle Bobby gets the nod, let’s have Sam Posey as his assistant. Who could miss an episode!

Curt Cyliax, Doylestown, PA

ROBIN MILLER: Not sure there would be any owners or drivers left after a couple of races, but it sure would be entertaining for a few weeks.

Story originally appeared on Racer