Yahoo Autos The RACER Mailbag, July 19
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: Have you heard of any teams that would be interested in Romain Grosjean if he does not sign an extension with Andretti Autosport?
Josh, Havertown, PA
MARSHALL PRUETT: I haven’t. Romain’s a fan favorite, no doubt, but that fandom doesn’t necessarily extend throughout every corner of the paddock. The question to ask is, what would be of interest for Andretti to hold onto or for other teams to pursue? And I don’t say that be mean — I’m just looking at the scenario objectively.
If he was winning races, it’s a different conversation altogether. But being 2.5 years and 40 races into his IndyCar career — following 10-plus years in F1 — and having zero wins to market is an issue. Especially since he’s one of the highest-profile drivers in the series and is said to command a healthy salary. Due to that profile and salary, much is expected, and instead of things getting better, they’re getting worse with the last six races featuring six finishes outside the top 10 and a lot of wrecked machinery.
He’s been at Andretti for 1.5 years and has seen all his teammates, barring Devlin DeFrancesco, score a win over that period. This certainly makes it more challenging to market his services. Going deeper, just as teams do when they’re evaluating free agents, he placed third among Andretti’s four drivers in last year’s championship and he’s third again in 2023.
Granted, he could easily win this weekend in Iowa or at Nashville, or the Indy road course, etc., and turn things around, but the weight of his name and big expectations and cost are the things through all Grosjean’s output is filtered by potential employers. Beating only DeFrancesco, so far, isn’t driving value upward, and with the routine crashing and tantrums seen and heard by other teams, he’s become a hard product to sell.
Hopefully, his results and fortunes improve because he’s important to a lot of IndyCar fans.
Q: My wife saw Zach Veach in Arrow McLaren team kit, walking with Arrow McLaren team personnel, at the Toronto race. What’s Zach’s status with the team?
Peter Brevett, New York, NY
MP: He’s been heavily utilized as a simulator driver for Arrow McLaren when there’s time available on the Chevy driver-in-the-loop sim in North Carolina, and spotting for Felix Rosenqvist on the road courses.
Grosjean remains a big hit with fans, but he needs to keep his stock high in the paddock, too. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Q: I read the Pratt Miller article about a possible IndyCar entry with great interest. This is huge. Would they develop their own engine, or run presumably a Chevy?
Oliver Wells
MP: Only way to run their own engine is if they were paid to do so by an auto manufacturer who signed a major deal with the series, and since Pratt Miller doesn’t create engines, I’d lean towards a no on this one. They’ve been a factory client/partner for GM since the 1990s, so Chevy is where I’d place my expectations.
Q: Can IndyCar teams see real-time tire temperatures?
Craig
MP: They can, and real-time pressures. And so can Firestone, who will pay a visit to a team if they see a tire or tires are being run below the minimum recommended pressure for the event. Here’s a video I did on the topic last year.
Q: This isn’t really a question. It is a hope, or maybe a plea. My unapologetic, selfish hope is that Simon Pagenaud is either made to sit out the remainder of the season, or is hopefully reading this and decides to take care of himself.
I am someone who experienced a traumatic brain injury as a child, and seemingly went on to recover to 100% through my early childhood to the point where everyone, even myself, totally forgot about the whole ordeal. Fast-forward 50 years to 2019, when the gift that keeps on giving — COVID — attacked something in my brain that basically spiraled me down into the state my head was in 50 years earlier.
Obviously, the medical protocols for a TBI in the late 1960s and early ’70s were not what they are today, and Simon and all of our athletes are in a much better place than I was in terms of treatment and medical knowledge. But even today when dealing with my new team of neurologists, it’s clear we don’t have anywhere near a total understanding of what happens to our melons during the healing process.
My personal opinion is Simon should sit the rest of the season and play it safe, and come back 100% next season. By the way, it bothers me to hear the first question out of everyone’s mouth when a driver crashes badly is if they can get right back in the car. How about putting no pressure on the driver after a crash like that and giving them the space they need to recover properly?
Bob Fay, Seymour, CT
MP: I hear you, Bob, and in a perfect world, or at least a world where he was under contract with MSR through 2024, he’d be able to do as you suggest. But on the heels of his worst IndyCar season ever, and that was prior to the brake failure and crash, sitting out isn’t an option if he’s able to drive because he needs to defend his seat. Missing his third and fourth races coming up in Iowa is just brutal for Simon, and the team, which wants him back in the car immediately, would rather have him in the seat than on the sidelines.
The truth is, this is a business built on hard competition, and since he’s paid to drive, there’s a race-by-race judgment going on for him and every other driver, by which his team forms an opinion as to whether drivers should remain employed beyond their current contract. Simon was 24th in the championship going into Mid-Ohio, and what sucks most is he and the team felt like they’d turned a page the race before at Road America and were on the cusp of giving everyone hell at Mid-Ohio and beyond. The timing of the crash and concussion could not have been worse.
So, with non-compelling results prior to Mid-Ohio to use in contract negotiations, he does need to go out and drive and put up the kind of qualifying and race performances that will keep him in the No. 60 MSR Honda. I’m one of many who are rooting for the Pagenaud of old to make a comeback ASAP.
Q: Prior to race in Toronto, Peacock showed Palou’s car and I am curious to know what these devices are on the front end?
Pongo in SoCal
MP: Those are protectors that prevent mischievous fans and members from other teams from making front-wing adjustments on the grid. They’re used by almost every team. If someone can mess with something or steal something, they will, so teams do their best to prevent such things from happening when they aren’t in complete control of their surroundings on the grid.
Q: Andretti’s IndyCar team does not have the most rigorous thought process as far as strategy goes. If it can’t improve, how can we expect it to be remotely competitive in Formula 1?
Isaac Stephenson
MP: If we’re using recent events to form an opinion, things went sideways at Road America with its lead driver, Colton Herta, then the team made a change in strategist to Rob Edwards and Herta was on the way to a great result in their first race together until there was an issue engaging the pit lane speed limiter. Can’t blame that on strategy. In their second race together, Herta earned his first podium of the year at Toronto with Edwards calling strategy. So that’s going well.
I can’t find an ongoing strategy-related issue with Grosjean’s car. Same goes with Kyle Kirkwood.
I’m not saying the team hasn’t fumbled strategy more than once this year, but if we’re talking about where they’re at today, its deficiencies on the timing stand from earlier races seems to have been adequately addressed.
Q: With David Malukas leaving Dale Coyne Racing at the end of the year, how does a team owner like Dale Coyne feel in that scenario when a young talented racer jumps ship to a better deal? Is there even a little sadness or frustration thinking this might be the one that got away, and who, with enough time, could take a mid-pack team to another level of success?
Brandon Karsten
MP: With Coyne, specifically, I’d imagine he’s somewhat sensitive to it because it happens on a regular basis with drivers (Alex Palou comes to mind) and engineers who level up at his team (Scott Dixon’s new engineer Ross Bunnell).
But it’s also the way things usually work in sports, right? A talented kid in the NBA/NFL/MLB/NHL gets drafted by the crappy team that finished at the bottom of the standings, plays through their rookie contract, and if they’re good, bigger and better teams come calling. Malukas is no different. And in some instances, a young player will decide to stick their first team for whatever reasons — it’s local, comfortable, or they get to be a big fish in a small pond — and we respect their decision but also wonder why they continued with a losing situation.
I’d guess Malukas looked at DCR and felt he could do better in a bigger team, and I can’t fault his line of thinking, provided we’re talking about Andretti, Ganassi, McLaren, or Rahal. If it’s a team in need of an overhaul, it would be a bad call.
Malukas is on plenty of IndyCar team radars for 2024. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
Q: I shot you an email last week about the refueling process for the Acura NSX at Mosport. At the time it was being pitted, Katherine Legge was in the car and it appeared to me that they had two fuel hoses attached to the car. One on each side. This was quite odd. Perhaps one was a vent?
As a follow up, here is a YouTube link to the race. The incident I am referring to happened with 57m26s left in the race. It is at the 1h50m13s mark of the video.
Yes, I was drinking beer while watching the race. However, I have proof that my eyes were not playing tricks on me. I have never noticed a double fill-type incident on pit road before with these cars.
Mike Desmet, Stevensville, MI
MP: No worries. It’s an older style of decoupled fuel and vent hoses. Instead of having them right next to each other on the fill plate, or incorporated into a larger single probe, the NSX has fuel going in one side and the overflow/vent on the other. The moment the vent person sees fuel splash into the hose, they pull and the refueler reacts by doing the same and the car goes on its way.
I hope it was good beer.
Q: Shout out to the Peacock crew for really making Toronto an exciting race to watch from start to finish! All the talks of strategy through the field are so interesting. They even pointed out how that one pass back in the pack could have ended up being for the win. Really great stuff!
My question is, do Honda and Chevy have to follow the exact same set of rules or is there anything at all done for competition’s sake?
John Shellhamer
MP: Agreed on the increasing quality of the broadcasts when it comes to laying out the strategies in play. My only sorrow related to Peacock is RLL and Lundgaard scored a huge and meaningful win in front of IndyCar’s smallest TV audience with the lowest ratings of the year.
All engine manufacturers must comply with the same rules.
Q: So I heard there was a race this weekend. I saw on YouTube there was an early crash. In the evening, I checked YouTube and watched the highlights. Really, not even USA Network or anything without a pay wall…. sorry I know we it’s only around $5 per month or whatever, but I watched NHRA in Denver instead of that. IndyCar in Canada isn’t even on cable now? Really? Is this going to be the new norm now — if no Peacock, then you are out of luck?
Jerry Daniels, Denver, CO
MP: IndyCar and NBC did this for the first time last year at Toronto and it was carried over to this year’s Toronto race. It’s been a good while since IndyCar’s on-track activity, with exception for the races, has been aired exclusively on Peacock. The TO event is the only one where every session from practice through the race is on Peacock, so that’s one out of 17 races, which would make me lean towards saying no, it’s not the new norm. Not by a mile.
Q: Are IndyCar’s Canadian races considered “international”? Even if they take place in the English-speaking part of the country, such as the Toronto Grand Prix?
What do you think are the odds that a second one could be added on the schedule in the near future? If it were happening, which venues do you think are the most likely to be chosen: Mosport, Mont Tremblant, Montreal, Edmonton, or Vancouver? And which of these would be your personal favorite?
Lastly, you previously mentioned that Mosport would need some major safety upgrades if it were to host an IndyCar race. What kind of upgrades are you thinking about, exactly? Is it all just about runoff areas, barriers and catching fences, or do you have something more specific in mind?
Xavier
MP: I do chuckle at the notion that crossing a southern or northern border is presented as international. Granted, with how things are today, passports or visas are required for such things. I barely got into Vancouver for the 1999 CART race when I worked for Hogan Racing because I forgot both and had to do a lot of begging and pleading, all while our team manager was waiting impatiently on the other side of the border control exit.
I’ve heard about desires to race twice in Canada, but nothing that leads me to think there’s something imminent or actionable. Mont Tremblant is a thrill ride. Give me that road course with today’s cars and it would be wild.
IndyCar would want the hills pushed back 50-100 feet, at least, and all manner of SAFER barriers. As I wrote, I wouldn’t want to see the glory of Mosport lost just to welcome one series.
Q: I’ve noticed in practice the teams don’t fuel the car like they do in a race. They use the buckeye on the track side of the car instead on the wall side. Can you explain why?
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA
MP: Teams are constantly doing two things in each session prior to the race: Checking fuel mileage/consumption and making runs with specific amounts of fuel in the car’s tank. The best way to do that is by accurately measuring how much fuel goes into the tank, and that’s accomplished by using the quick-disconnect fixtures on that opposite buckeye port and sending fuel into the tank through a hose with a fuel-flow meter that works just like the one on the display at a local gas station. Only difference here is the flow meter is on the hose right next to where it goes into the tank so the team’s refueler can hit the exact amount called for by the race engineer.
The team will also pump the tank out after the session to reconcile how much fuel the data says should be in the bladder versus how much emerges. There’s almost always a tiny discrepancy there, and once you’ve pumped out a few times during an event, you’ll have a solid correction factor to plug into the software so the number coming across telemetry on how much fuel is left during a stint is accurate. And based on what the run plan is for the session, an engineer might ask for a light fuel load of X total gallons in the tank if they’re doing a qualifying simulation, or a half-tank or more if they’re working on race setups. That silly little digital meter is the key to giving the engineer what they want.
These guys nailed the fuel consumption math last weekend. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Q: I think we can all agree Christian Lundgaard put on a show last weekend in Toronto. Just dominant. Has there been any chatter post-race about his ability to go fast and make fuel? He had the same deck of cards as Power and many others, yet he drove away from the field. I watch lap times in the IndyCar app. I also distinctly remember when they did go in-car on him on the last stint as he came to end of back stretch; a lift and big coast. So he was definitely saving fuel, but oh so fast. It was, dare I say, Dixon-esque.
Also, how firm is his contract extension with RLL? Lots of articles about 2023 and beyond, but as is typical, no specificity. I can see him vaulting to the top of the list of a lot of teams in the paddock.
Lastly, while his wing held on by a wing and a prayer, Palou once again demonstrated how he is really the class of the field now. Tough race and starting deep… still came home a comfortable second.
Jeff Smith, State College, PA
MP: Lundgaard was indeed impressive in his ability to make speed and conserve fuel. But I wouldn’t put too much of an emphasis on this since the drivers he was chasing in Alex Palou and right behind him in Colton Herta stopped five laps earlier and had to do extreme fuel saving to make it to the finish.
That shouldn’t diminish what Christian did — Will Power and Marcus Ericsson stopped on the same lap as him and both came up one lap short and had to kill their races by pitting for splashes of fuel — because he made great speed and mileage they did not. But he also had Palou and Herta in positions where they couldn’t push as hard without ending up like Power and Ericsson.
As I’ve understood for a good while and written accordingly, he has another year on his RLL deal, and if I’m RLL, I’m making a long extension offer ASAP — if they haven’t already — because the kid is exactly what the championship contenders want to drive their cars.
I can’t think of a total race performance from Palou like what he did in Toronto. He really has become the best driver in IndyCar in his 3.5 seasons.
Q: Did they have a chance to test the new rain rails/guides(?) in Toronto and did they work? Also, how’s your wife? Semper Fi!
Terry, Lexington, KY
MP: They did and I didn’t hear any complaints about them, so that’s encouraging. She’s continuing to make great strides; we “celebrated” on Saturday, which marked four years since she underwent a six-hour surgery to deal with the major damage cancer did to her back. We spent a good while talking about all of the crazy things she/we dealt with, the recovery, the huge mobility hurdles, and everything that’s followed. We aren’t out of the woods yet, but my Marine is living proof that miracles exist. Thank you for asking, Terry.
Q: Three cheers for rain and the little intangibles of racing. It was great to see Lundgaard and RLL in taking the checkered flag on Sunday. That’s a great boost for that team. Lost in that was Graham climbing from 27th to ninth. We will never know what would have happened without the chaos of rain at the end of Q1. Man, I love rain in road racing.
Chat boards and such love to dog on drivers and teams that are down. It’s a spec series, so it has to be the driver, right? I’m a firm believer in it being the little things, the intangibles. Scott Dixon hasn’t forgotten how to drive. But it takes time for a pairing of driver and engineer to synch up, and it sometimes never does. Graham hasn’t forgotten how to drive. We saw that at Mid-Ohio, and again on Sunday. It’s the little things that have helped RLL out.
You would know better than me, but it’s getting the right people in place and trusting them to do their job. After the 500 debacle, it sounds like some changes were made and certain people were allowed to do their job to the best of their abilities and it’s showing.
Why is Palou so dominant? The little intangibles that together get you that extra 0.2s over the competition.
John
MP: I find myself frequently preaching exactly what you’ve said, John. Have too many “lifers” on the team who are good but not great at their job and do just enough to keep a steady paycheck coming in, or stack too many stars on a team — could be drivers or crew — without thinking first about chemistry and how they’ll all play together, or put people in the wrong positions, and you get inconsistent performances that lead to mediocre results.
RLL’s done a stellar job so far — and there’s still a long way to go — in prioritizing chemistry and culture over throwing wads of cash at big names in the hope they’ll be an instant savior.
Palou’s found things within himself that he was lacking such as elite single-lap qualifying speed and has quieted any of the doubts in his head that often distract young drivers. He’s fully matured after going through a ton of turbulence in 2022, knows his future is secure in the sport, and he’s discovered a new gear — along with his race engineer Julian Robertson — that makes him the strongest driver in the series.
His mental fortitude is off the charts, and with killer pit stops from his crew and race strategist Barry Wanser on the top of his game, we’re seeing a breakthrough that hasn’t been witnessed since Scott Dixon’s title rise in 2003 with Ganassi and Josef Newgarden’s mollywhopping of the field on debut at Penske in 2017.
You’d be smiling too if you were leading the IndyCar standings by about a million points. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Q: In last week’s Mailbag in response to a question as to where you see Malukas landing, you said: “He isn’t the first or second choice on the free agent market.”
It would be interesting if you were to let us know your thoughts as to the pecking order (due to budget or talent).
Oliver Wells
MP: You bet: Marcus Ericsson is the one being chased first and foremost, with every team that has a paying seat pursuing his signature on a contract. Felix Rosenqvist is the big mover in that regard in recent months; he’s a solid second on that list thanks to being a solid and known performer. Callum Ilott’s still generating interest, but not as much as he was after the first few rounds.
Malukas, who would like to be paid, but also has the ability to bring some funding if necessary, is said to be in the running for many of the same seats, but not before the two Swedes who present zero questions about what they can deliver. There’s a solid belief that Malukas can win races and whatnot, but the bigger teams — the ones with realistic chances of winning a championship next year — tend to lean towards proven commodities when they have multiple options to choose from. For those who want to win now and score big points when they can’t, veterans tend to get the nod. For those who have veterans and are able to give Malukas some room to grow, he’d be a great choice.
Q: Every word the Bobster wrote about the Glen in October is correct. The weather could be chancy, but the crowds were there. Problem was, Bernie had other ideas about what crowd he wanted to cater to.
I attended all four IndyCar races at the Glen and I hate to say it, but they did not draw flies for a lot of reasons on both sides. As CART boomed, the powers that be at the Glen studiously avoided hosting another event. They were all about NASCAR.
I reasoned with them by mail. Frustrated, I questioned their fandom and maybe their parentage as the years went on. I pestered them by email for years. Zip! I have given up. I understand the crowd track record is poor and a bad bet. I welcome the Bobster to take up my quest. Or anyone!
The Glen and IndyCar missed their moment in the ’80 and ’90s, and the absence of IndyCar in the Northeast for so long does not help. The success of the GP was a fragile thing. Bernie threatened the race for a couple of years, and fans could not count on the weekend.
If I had a suggestion — which I have pestered Pocono about — it would be for Pocono to rebuild a qualified infield track in place of the Mickey Mouse thing there, and run an IndyCar event there. With NASCAR’s new road racing push, I think it would fly. Open the infield to campers and spectators. It would give Pocono two different NASCAR events, and open it to maybe IMSA, too.
Good luck to Bobster or IndyCar.
David Fahey
MP: Thanks for writing in, David.
Q: I just wanted to get an idea out to you I have been thinking about. I know this is usually a subject where you, and Miller before you, deferred to the status quo when asked about IndyCar shopping for an additional tire manufacturer.
Firestone has developed safe, reliable tires for the series to shine on. And with the financial climate being what it’s been in racing for the past decade, you guys were right to say adding another tire manufacturer wouldn’t have been in anyone’s best interest. The racing, though, still has provided a better tire to the public from lessons learned on the racetrack either way.
Every now and again, we get bits and pieces of the new stuff Firestone currently has in development on the track, and I enjoy the hell out of watching development of consumer products like this, and I’m sure many others do as well. As such, I do believe that with the current bright atmosphere swirling around the series with an influx of new teams, sponsors, and money that maybe it is time for the series to get another tire competitor.
I can only see upsides as I’m not a team owner, but the team owners should remember that changes continually have to be made in everything in life to make and keep people interested. And Firestone should chew on the fact that the fans would most definitely enjoy the competition, and then hopefully would get more transparency on the tire development side on the track between suppliers and the consumer with the benefits of this kind of competition rolling over to their passenger cars. Kinda like what racing was doing before money ruined everything, remember?
Has your opinion changed at all?
Bob Fay, Seymour, CT
MP: I’d absolutely love to see tire competition again, Bob. I just can’t think of a proven tire manufacturer with top-tier racing experience that isn’t already engaged in the sport in a big or bigger series. And that’s the criteria here. Goodyear is tied to NASCAR, which gets far more coverage and offers a much greater return on investment than IndyCar.
Michelin is tied to IMSA, the FIA WEC, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and gets everything it needs from them in coverage and ROI. And Pirelli is tied to F1 and has all of their needs met by the world’s most popular form of racing. So with Firestone/Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, and Pirelli off the board, we’re left with brands that are awesome in their own right, but do we see Yokohama, Kuhmo, Continental, or whomever going all-in with a huge budget to try and beat Firestone at their own game?
That’s where we hit a stopping point. Only workaround I can think of is if one of those major brands wants to use one of its other tire properties to take on Firestone, like Michelin’s BFGoodrich, Goodyear’s Cooper, or similar.
Q: I am a veteran of 47 consecutive Indy 500s. My seats are just north of the Pagoda, three quarters of the way up in the stands in the Tower Terrace. So I always have a pretty good view of the start when they come down for the green. For me, seeing who would jump into the lead from the front row and lead into Turn 1 was always an exciting moment. However in the last five years or so, I have noticed that the front row will come down three abreast as called for out of Turn 4, but as soon as the green is thrown, the pole car accelerates with the second-position car falling in directly behind it. And this year, the third-position car just fell in behind the second. Though I may doubt IndyCar would possibly confess to this, is the start being done this way for safety reasons to possibly avoid any kind of accident? I could possibly see this as the reason, but it sure has taken the excitement out of seeing who will lead the race going into Turn 1.
Rick Owens, Fort Wayne, IN
MP: I bet you’ve seen some incredible things across those 47, Rick. The cars no longer have giant power to do a three-wide drag race starting in a low gear, so that’s made aerodynamics and the benefit of tucking in behind the leader and using that draft to try and go by into Turn 1 or Turn 3 the new routine. This is just a function of what’s best for success, not a double-secret thing they’ve been told to do by the series.
These days, it’s all about aero. Motorsport Images
Q: I was watching Super GT, which I consider the best top-level road racing series even if IndyCar is my favorite, and seeing how easily those GT500 cars go side by side made me wonder about Class 1 aero and why nobody else is trying to use it. Then seeing that G56 Camaro made me think… is that car too distant from C1? Why isn’t NASCAR investing in something like that for the road courses?
Give it an even bigger spoiler to create more drag and it looks like it’d make some amazing races at NASCAR tracks, especially COTA. Sure, dirty air becomes a thing, but if the cars have too much grip and gets easier to drive, drivers would be closer for more time rather than only for the first five laps after a yellow flag.
Does NASCAR have any plan for that car? Would be possible for you to inquire about this with anyone involved in the Cup Series?
On the IndyCar side… as it feels like F1 will reject a new team, isn’t time for IndyCar to take some bets and grow on the points F1 is failing? A chassis that has more grip than a Super Formula car and more drag as well (so we can have good racing without DRS and maybe even without relying so much on push to pass) and that can use these GTP/LMH powerplants would go well if they managed to convince Porsche and Ferrari to join. (I guess Alpine would follow, given their U.S. plans).
Looking at F1 now and all the complaints about Red Bull domination, it doesn’t seem like people are that worried about teams building their own chassis. Of course, those of us watching F1 for long enough are used to it. But there seems to be a window for IndyCar in all this. Probably easier said than done.
William Mazeo
MP: Unless it’s a new chassis that looks like something from outer space, or from 100 years into the future, that makes everybody who sees it gasp and rave about how it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever seen, IndyCar will gain very little in the sports entertainment market by going to a new chassis.
And I say that as someone who’s been begging for a new car for the last five or six years.
As for adopting GTP/Hypercar engines, Acura’s motor was meant for IndyCar and has been purposed for IMSA, but the rest are eighter big, or heavy, or big and heavy, and that’s how an IndyCar becomes a glorified turtle with all of that weight and tall mass ruining every aspect of its performance.
Also, if BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari, and others wanted to participate in IndyCar, they’ve had an open invitation since 2012 to take on Chevy and Honda. IMSA going hybrid a year before IndyCar made choices easier for some of the aforementioned, so like that futuristic chassis I mentioned, IndyCar would also help itself if it found the thing manufacturers want but can’t get in F1, NASCAR, and sports cars, and see if a new engine formula based around whatever that technology might be would bring a few of them into our world.
KELLY CRANDALL: I’m not too familiar with Super GT and Class 1 aero, so I reached out to an experienced individual in both sports cars and NASCAR. The summation that I got was:
“Class 1-based cars are significantly distant from NASCAR Cup cars, and it’s not quite possible to just copy and paste aero components from GT500 cars to a Cup car. It also wouldn’t be possible to directly use a Class 1 type chassis as the basis for a NASCAR cup car without significant changes to allow it to be able to crash on a superspeedway.”
What I can tell you about Garage 56 is that there is a belief that elements of that car will eventually make their way to the Cup Series garage.
Q: It has become somewhat painful to observe the ongoing struggle of the Haas F1 team to climb out of the F1 cellar.
Has there, could there, or will there ever be discussions concerning a cooperation or shared ownership agreement between Haas and Andretti to combine resources, sponsors and maybe the promised GMC involvement?
It seems like a no-brainer, but could it be more complicated than that? If so, why? There has always been talk by the balking F1 teams that Andretti should buy into (or outright) an existing team. To me, such a deal would solve a lot if the current barriers facing both Haas and Andretti. What do you think?
Wiscowerner
CHRIS MEDLAND: I don’t see it at this stage, because just look how competitive F1 is right now (OK, Red Bull aside) and Haas is one of those teams. The sport is growing, and Gene Haas owns a team to promote his automation business around the world, so it is doing the job he wants it to do. Guenther Steiner is also a big asset to the team as some sponsors want to be associated with him, which wouldn’t work for Andretti given how its attempt to by Sauber fell through due to a disagreement over control.
As far as I understand, Andretti has tried speaking to Haas (and all of the other teams, as he said recently) about a potential purchase but Gene isn’t keen on selling right now. As an existing team the time to sell would be after there was no room for another team to come in — either by declining new teams and removing the entry point, or filling the grid with new teams — because then your price skyrockets if the only way into the sport is to buy one of the existing constructors. As it stands, Andretti, Hitech et al have the ability to try and take one of the vacant entries.
And let’s be fair to Haas, this is a team with a top-seven finish this year (and two top sixes last season) and a huge number of Q3 appearances. It’s also a stable platform to build from and maybe expand as a team in future, compared to the new teams that preceded it who all went under.
Andretti needs Haas more than Haas needs Andretti. Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Q: With the announcement of De Vries being dropped coming before the summer break, does that set up Alex Palou to AlphaTauri next year? I remember reading that he could get out of his McLaren contract if he found a ride before August….
Emily, Pittsburgh PA
CM: I don’t think the situation around Nyck changes anything, but that could well be something that Helmut Marko was already considering. If Daniel Ricciardo performs, then it might spell the end for Yuki Tsunoda, and there would be a vacancy. If Ricciardo doesn’t perform, he’s unlikely to get a huge amount of time, and there would likely be a vacancy in that scenario too. In fact, there could be two if Tsunoda was also dropped now that Red Bull doesn’t need to keep Honda happy.
My gut tells me that Liam Lawson is earning himself a chance with his Super Formula efforts and could well get the nod if only one seat needs filling in 2024, but Palou will certainly be on Marko’s radar and it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if he opted for the Spaniard instead, or alongside Lawson.
But I feel like all of that was playing out anyway even if de Vries wasn’t replaced, because there was almost certainly going to be at least one spot available in 2024 at AlphaTauri.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, July 17, 2019
Q: Just wanted to share two thoughts from the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Kentucky Speedway. One — The more I watch Christopher Bell, the more I wonder, what if? This guy is good. He came in second, but as always he led a bunch of laps. You can tell he just has a pure talent for driving. What if he’d stayed open-wheel and went from USAC to Indy? I really think this kid could have been the answer us USAC guys needed for a competitive Indy 500 USAC graduate. I really think he could be a contender at Indy (Larson too).
Two — I know there have been some rumblings about a IndyCar return to Kentucky Speedway. I have to say, sitting in the Turn 1 grandstand and looking into a narrow Turn 1 corner, that to me looks very tight for Indy cars. Maybe four car-widths? I can see some wheels touching and some hard hits. Really looking forward to a possible return to Richmond if that materializes.
Andy, St. Marys, OH
ROBIN MILLER: I was at the Chili Bowl a few years ago talking with Keith Kunz, who brought Kyle Larson onto our radar and into the big time. There was a fresh-faced kid standing next to one of Keith’s midgets and I asked about him. “That’s Christopher Bell,” said Kunz, “and he may be better than Larson.” That was hard to fathom back then, but today you can understand the logic, because Bell is a badass on pavement in a stock car and on dirt in a midget or sprinter.
He should be in Cup right now, and I imagine Joe Gibbs just re-signed him for that purpose. I said last week in the Mailbag that I asked Chris about running the Indy 500 and that IndyCar was willing to help, and he wanted to do it but I imagine Joe would put the kibosh on it. But nobody in IndyCar or its ladder system made any move to sign him up back in 2015 and Kyle Busch did, so it was off to stock cars.
As for Kentucky, I recall IndyCar putting on some good races (Ed Carpenter edging Dario for Sarah Fisher’s first win), and now that it’s been repaved I think it would be fine. Looked like a decent crowd last Saturday night as well.
