Yahoo Autos The RACER Mailbag, June 7
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.
ED’s NOTE: Chris Medland was on leave when this week’s Mailbag was in production, so we’ve saved the F1 questions for next week.
Q: Currently, the IndyCar series is a spec series. Using the RLL team which won the 2020 Indy 500 as an example, what is the main differentiating factor that caused the poor qualification? Yes, cars can change slightly. But the core DNA has not, so there should not be an issue for a team like RLL.
Steve
MARSHALL PRUETT: Easiest answer to start is, if the rest of the field were using their 2020 Indy 500 setups and all the ideas/tech developments from 2020, RLL would be in an advantageous position. But since every team works like mad on an annual basis to come up with better ideas to find more speed and more efficiency for their Indy 500 cars, an RLL can make great speedway development choices and maintain their place, or make poor choices and go backwards.
Or, as often happens, a team like RLL can come up with some fantastic speedway R&D ideas while their main rivals come up with even better ideas, and in an instant, RLL goes backwards without having done anything wrong. So, I’m not saying they did nothing wrong in May; that was obvious. But every team’s Indy downturn isn’t necessarily a result of swinging and missing; sometimes, the other teams hit home runs when you’re delivering a double.
Q: I’m a fan of the Rahals, David Letterman, and Mike Lanigan (heck, he was a Champ Car owner), so I hate to pile on, but wondering if there is any more insight into their rapid decline at the Speedway?
I read your story about RLL triggering their recovery plan. Obviously there are myriad factors that impact qualifying speed, such as track temperature, wind speed and direction, tire compounds, but with spec cars, an old chassis and engine formula, and aero kits that are locked in, I’m surprised RLL dropped out of contention so quickly over the past few years.
Trevor Bohay
MP: The team has gone through an engineering change or three in the last year, hired a new technical director whose first oval race experience came this year at Texas, and when compared to a rock-solid engineering structure at a Penske or Ganassi, this is a team in transition. The team was slow at the April Open Test and slow again in May. The lack of progress from the test to the start of practice is what stood out; whatever fixes stood out and were tried clearly did not make much of a difference. Teams get things wrong in every session — from the best team to the worst — so that’s not unique. But what is unique is a team’s ability to recognize where it’s coming up short and craft a plan to fix it for their next outing. Again, that didn’t really happen for RLL, so it tells you there are some greater issues to work out internally.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan is on a mission to rediscover its oval mojo. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
Q: Just for perspective, I am a 21-year-old college student studying Mechanical Engineering at a tech school, so I think I fit into IndyCar’s new target demographic. I haven’t seen much input from the mailbag from people my age (been reading for years now) and although it’s my opinion, I think my opinions can hold value since I am the type of person IndyCar wants to have watching its races. I am an interesting case because I have been following motorsports for probably 10 years now, started out with sports cars and F1 because that’s what was on TV, got frustrated with F1 and started watching IndyCar more regularly a handful of years ago and I’m about to go to my first IndyCar race since they left the Glen, in Toronto with a friend, who is new to the series.
I would say IndyCar is having a tough time marketing itself to younger people because it isn’t investing in the right areas. A lot of my friends have gotten into racing recently because of F1 and DTS. F1 has done a great job marketing itself through social media, whether that be Twitter, Reddit or YouTube through content creators (which IndyCar has very few of). However, while I do think IndyCar needs to invest in those platforms, I feel that a lot of the current new fans of F1 will get bored in a few years when they realize the racing isn’t too exciting. IndyCar needs to capitalize on these people and advertise an exciting product. I think it has that. What it doesn’t have is the “cool factor.”
A lot of my friends have been getting into IMSA recently because while the on-track product isn’t edge-of-your-seat exciting, the cars are freaking cool. It’s so cool to see race versions of sports cars from esteemed brands battling it out on track (a lot of these people were street car enthusiasts before they got into racing) and the prototypes are awesome pieces of machinery. They got into F1 because of the team branding and the clout and personality the drivers have. If IndyCar wants to capitalize on the younger fanbase — which is there — it needs to do two things.
1. Capitalize on the drivers and their personalities through newer media channels. As great as the new show on The CW is, nobody my age watches The CW. The reason Drive To Survive is successful is because it’s on Netflix, which pretty much everyone my age has. Either post the full episodes (and races!) on YouTube like IMSA does (and gets 1m+ views on) or make them available on common streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Max (or now just MAX), Paramount, etc. That way more younger people can see the excitement and personality the series has.
2. Make the races accessible to attend. I can guarantee you will get a fan for life if you get them to a race. The issue with IndyCar races is they are expensive for people my age. They would rather spend $100 on a football game or other sports game than a race. I have gotten many of my friends hooked on IMSA and sports car racing because they can buy a weekend teen pass for the 6 Hours of the Glen for $20 and have an amazing time. I’m not saying IndyCar should offer $20 tickets (if it wants to, I’m not protesting), but a youth or student discount to races would definitely encourage more younger folk (<25yr) to come fill the stands.
I apologize for the essay, but I feel that this is important insight that the older fanbase is missing out on. (No offense to you guys).
Dan, Rochester, NY
MP: Always great to hear from young fans like yourself, Dan. Please keep writing in.
Q: Who do you predict is driving at MSR in IndyCar next season?
Geoff Branagh
MP: Tom Blomqvist and either Pagenaud or Rosenqvist.
Q: In response to John Becker’s question about IndyCar never having had a restart without a warmup, the IRL did at the Infinity Pro Series 2005 Freedom 100. After a late race caution, the drivers received a yellow and white at the flag stand. When the cars reached the middle of Turn 3, the green flag was thrown. By the time the cars got to the start/finish line, the checkered was in the air. Not everyone got the word of what was going to happen so there was nearly a big pileup in Turn 1.
Something I have not seen a comment about on the last red flag and restart at Indy is, how safe was it for the pace car to lead the field through a carbon shard debris field and then go green with no warm up to for the drivers to feel out a puncture? Or if there was going to be a red flag and restart, why not divert the pace car down pit road to avoid the debris?
Walt, Dolan Springs, AZ
MP: I did wonder why the field wasn’t sent down pit lane with broken cars strewn across the front straight, Walt.
Q: I get Detroit’s alt start/restart line being on the main straight before the hairpin. It makes sense. Why not also just make that the finish line? Is there something in the rule book that says the finish line must be parallel to pit lane? (Seriously)
Ryan T
MP: I’d need to understand why IndyCar would need to move the finish line, since there was no issue I can think of for where it was placed.
Q: I just finished watching the Detroit race. It was a better race than I thought it would be after watching qualifying, etc. It was hard to gauge the crowd size, but looked like full stands around the track. Do you think this is a better track/location over Belle Isle? I would cast my vote for Belle Isle but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.
John Furnis, Austin, TX
MP: I think Belle Isle was tapped out in terms of commercial growth, which the move to downtown solved in a big way. I agree. The race was much better than expected, and I loved Scott Dixon’s comments afterwards about it being extremely difficult — more so than most IndyCar tracks — and that’s the way it should be.
I was embarrassed for Penske Entertainment to unveil a new circuit design with the worst surface conditions of any venue on the calendar. Only Sebring’s Turn 17 has worse undulations, and somehow, a brand-new event went live with an entire circuit comprised of Sebring Turn 17s. All of that aside, the drivers who didn’t crash or hit each other were rewarded, as Dixon noted, and while the surface obviously needs a ton of attention, I think there’s something to build upon.
As for crowds, it looked decent, but we didn’t get to see much of the grandstand sections and the 50-percent free viewing areas during the broadcasts that the promoters touted.
Q: Doesn’t it seem as if former and wannabe F1 drivers don’t deserve to be in IndyCar this season?
Grant, Indianapolis
MP: Alex Palou (P1 in the championship), Marcus Ericsson (P2), Pato O’Ward (P5), and Alexander Rossi (P6) would like to know more about this theory.
Q: Back in the day, drivers would get roughly 40 to 50 percent of their team earnings for the Indy 500. What percentage, if any, of their team earnings do drivers currently get for Indy?
Joe, Malvern, PA
MP: 33 drivers, Joe, and 33 different answers.
Q: What in the world has happened to Colton Herta? He seems to be the third-best Andretti driver every week.
Paul, Indianapolis
MP: Of late, he was running strong at Indy until the pit stop miscue. He was going well at Detroit until Canapino blocked and broke his right-front wing. Not sure I’d say he’s P3, but I would say that I haven’t seen the Colton Herta that scared the crap out of everyone from 2019-21 on a regular basis for far too long. The kid who wanted to destroy everything in front of him is still in there. I’ve been wondering when he’s going to rediscover the way to tap into that guy and make sure he never leaves.
Herta hasn’t been as bad as his results suggest this year – but nor has he been the same sort of threat he was a couple of years ago. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Q: As a very longtime follower of motorsports, I suspect I’m one of the very few who found the Indy 500 disturbing. IndyCar dodged at least three major bullets: Ms. Legge hit no personnel in the pit lane; neither did Palou/VeeKay. If Kirkwood’s shunt had happened yards earlier we’d have seen a repeat of Le Mans 1955…
The dragon move (weaving, in my book) is downright dangerous, especially using the pit entry lane. I really hope intelligent minds are concentrating on what might have happened and not on congratulating themselves.
David F.
MP: We share the same hopes, David.
Q: Not a fan of pack racing at Indy. It degrades the 500 and decreases safety for everyone at the track. “Rack ’em and wreck em” is not sustainable. Keep doing it, and we will soon be debating if 1973 was a good race by comparison.
Does IndyCar agree with me, or is the progression to pack racing viewed as acceptable?
Jon, Ann Arbor, MI
MP: Pack racing wasn’t the reason for losing a third of the field this year. It was too many drivers losing control on their own, running into each other, and behaving like they were in a video game where you can hit the reset button. This was an episode of Drivers Gone Wild that needs to be cancelled after one show.
Q: It’s well past time for IndyCar to take the gray areas out of red flags and white lines.
The last 16 laps of the 500 consisted of three red flags, 14 yellow flag laps, and two green flag laps. If the powers that be insist on “suspending on-track activities” under 7.1.4 of their rulebook, then no laps should be counted until the race goes green again, or as described in the rulebook 7.2.1c, “(the) race has… restarted.”
The first two red flags were sandwiched by yellow flags, the last one wasn’t. When the red flag/red condition is withdrawn, give the drivers two warm-up laps, then restart the race, and the lap count, with a green flag.
Additionally, section 7.3.3.5: “At Oval Events except for the Indianapolis 500, drivers must not place any of the four wheels of the car below the solid boundary line at any time.” Isn’t IMS an oval? Ericsson was far off the racing surface on the backstretch, Newgarden went well over the pit-in boundary line on the frontstretch.
John Hardaway, Orange, VA
MP: The series governed as it chose, which is within their right — whether we like it or not — and they told the drivers that using the pit-in lane to “dragon”as Newgarden did would be permitted.
Q: I was wondering if you spoke to Santino Ferrucci after the 500 and how you would describe his emotions?
Greasy Goblin
MP: Yes, we even posted an interview with his face as the main image of the video:
Q: Given the earlier restart wave-off for O’Ward, if Ericsson had seriously jumped the restart, or have gone too slow (like O’Ward), would IndyCar have waved off the start, thus allowing Ericsson to win since it was the last lap?
Norcal Rob
MP: I thought about that as well, and while I don’t think they’d have waved it off, Ericsson could have been penalized and moved behind Newgarden in the final results if he’d taken off super early.
Q: It seemed to my untrained eye that O’Ward’s banzai move on Ericsson at Indy had zero chance of success unless Ericsson backed out of the throttle. His front wheels were not even midway and he left Ericsson no room to complete his arc. When interviewed, Pato put all the blame on Ericsson and made a veiled threat of retaliation. Help me understand if Pato has a valid point or if he just got caught up in the emotion of the moment?
Steve O
MP: Pato forced the issue and when you do that, you place your fate in the hands of the person who’s leading into the corner. At opposite ends of the track, and 11 years later, this wasn’t too far removed from Sato firing it down the inside of Dario Franchitti and praying he was given ample room to make it out the other side. In Taku’s case, of course you try — it was for the win if it worked — but when you make a last-lap-style move as Pato did at the Indy 480 instead of the Indy 497.5 like Sato, you’re just inviting a bad result.
Q: I know this will sound a bit catty, but I mean no malice. Dreyer and Reinbold had to come out of pocket, I’m guessing high six digits if not more, to pay Ryan Hunter-Reay to drive an under-sponsored car to finish about as good as Sage did when he drove it. I’m assuming Sage paid for that ride. What’s the story behind that?
Bernardo, Canyon Lake, TX
MP: I love Sage as much as anybody, but it would take a serious suspension of reality to suggest he and RHR are on the same level. What DRR got for its money at the 500 was a veteran who kept a car that was often diabolical out of the wall and got it to the finish line in 11th. Presented with the same challenges, I’m not sure we’re saying the same about young Mr. Karam who’s finished less than half of his Indy 500s. The kid’s a blast to watch, no doubt, but there’s no scenario where he’s thought of in the same way as RHR.
“We had one of those days where everything went wrong,” RHR told me after the race.
The team missed the starting setup on the car and RHR dealt with the same kind of vibrations that ruined Scott Dixon’s opening stint and sent him rearwards. Then the front wing adjuster broke, so there was a massive aero imbalance and inability to add downforce and the only option, at a time when you would have wanted to raise downforce, was to decrease rear downforce to match the front, which left RHR slipping and sliding for the rest of the race as big understeer kept trying to introduce the front of his car to the walls.
But he didn’t let that happen, and didn’t trail around at the back all day like some other drivers in larger teams with similar problems, and nearly cracked the top 10. I’d say RHR has a ride for life there, provided he isn’t snapped up by a bigger team next year.
it still feels weird to see Hunter-Reay in black instead of yellow and red, but we might have more opportunities to get used to it if Dreyer & Reinbold gets its way. Motorsport Images
Q: I noticed during Kyle Kirkwood’s huge wreck at the Indianapolis 500 that he lifted his visor as the car was sliding across the track with sparks flying. Is there a reason why?
CQ from PA
MP: You bet—read this.
Q: After watching this year’s Indy 500 with its three red flags, I wondered if it that was the most red flags in history of the race? I Googled “most red flags in Indy 500 history” but found no results.
Do you know if this year’s race had the most red flags, or were there other 500s with more?
PDE, Palm Coast, FL
MP: If it isn’t, I can’t think of one that had more in a continuous manner, discarding multiple days of rain delays and whatnot.
Q: I found it interesting on the last lap restart at Indy that while Ericsson was accelerating and snaking down the front straight, Newgarden remained on a committed line high on the straight. As Ericsson came back up the track, by definition, could that be considered blocking since the lead car committed low but the trailing car committed high? Curious how this would be viewed and ruled on in review.
This is more of an observation for safety, but exiting Turn 4, Newgarden snaked low and crossed over the pit lane blend line. I recall that there are no track limits considering the dashed line along pit entry, but it does get concerning when the pit lane attenuator is just ahead. Doesn’t crossing that line promote an unsafe practice that could result in the attenuator being a pick to the tune of a huge accident?.
Jamie Doellinger, York, PA
MP: You’re one of many people to highlight the potential risks of playing chicken with the pit lane entry attenuator, Jamie, and for good reason. If the driver weaving over there doesn’t hit it, all it takes is for another driver to fill that space on the weaver’s right and block their return to the front straight, and in that scenario, we have someone forced to turn left and fire down pit lane at 225mph and put themselves and others at risk as they violate the speed limit and try to shed a ridiculous amount of speed to get down to the limit. If IndyCar doesn’t end the weave-to-your-heart’s-desire deal before the next 500, it might be time for some personnel changes.
Ericsson’s folly on the one-lap dash was killing his accelerative momentum by weaving from Turn 4 to Turn 1 because it let Newgarden accelerate without scrubbing his tires/covering all that extra distance and then draw closer than he would have if he’d done the same amount of weaving. There’s a reason IndyCar gives drivers two laps to wind up to speed before taking the green in qualifying — they need that second lap to get all the way up to maximum velocity. You won’t get it in one lap, which is why robbing yourself of small amounts of acceleration while the guy behind you does not is how Indy 500 leads turn into second-place finishes.
For the umpteenth time, kill the weaving with fire and let’s get back to sane driving standards. If it’s allowed at Indy, should we look for weaving down Shoreline Drive at Long Beach or all the long straights at Road America or back and forth across the Nashville bridge to be accepted by IndyCar?
Q: IndyCar needs to set some rules for the red flag: When the red is warranted? How late is too late to restart? I’m happy with what we saw, but it seemed odd (and arbitrary) to throw red to preserve one lap.
Chris Schaffner, Concord, MA
MP: As plenty of folks have already suggested, setting a threshold of having at least two green laps left to run as the go/no go for triggering a red sure seems like a good idea. And who’s to say the outcome would have changed in any way if that were the case? Josef or Santino appeared to have a tiny bit more than Marcus, so who know, with two laps, maybe Ericsson comes home in third. Or maybe he wins. Again, who knows, but at least we aren’t into two consecutive weeks of passionate IndyCar fans feeling like something wrong or unsporting was enacted to dictate the outcome of the Indy 500. With at least two laps of green to settle the score, I don’t think anybody — the drivers included — take issue with the results.
Q: In years past the Indy 500 purse always paid a minimum of $200,000 just to start. After looking at this year’s payout, Legge got paid $102,000. Not to sound greedy, but that is not enough money to risk your life for. All Mr. Penske did was skim from the bottom and increase the Leaders Circle payouts. Not right. There needs to be more then 22 Leaders Circle entries if Mr. Penske wants to see the series to continue to grow. This year’s payout is a slap in the face for one-off teams.
AE, Danville, IN
MP: Think of that prize money like a bonus to a base salary in this case. Legge was hand-picked for the opportunity, which means she wasn’t driving to take home a share of the prize money as her only pay day or incentive. Also, as a non-Leaders Circle entry, the easy way to get the big Indy 500 dollars is to field a full-time entry and earn one of those 22 contracts based on quality performances. If I’m Ganassi, Andretti, etc., I’m making damn sure the person who shows up for one race isn’t being treated as a financial equal to those who invest in being there for all 17. Also, I just sided with the primary team owners… what the hell is wrong with me?
Q: Indy was another bad day for the Andrettis, but they came away with some decent finishes because of all the crashing. A lot of people were saying Herta was held in the pits and left while he was being held — I’ve watched frame by frame and he was being held but the right-rear tire changer waves up and then reaches down for the tire as Grosjean comes in. Herta was still in the pit box when he waved up. That was not on Herta, it was on the wheel changer, what do you think?
CAM in LA
MP: Agreed. I was wrong in my post-race video when I said Colton took off on his own. There was an initial hand up to hold him, but the signal to go followed before Romain had cleared the front of Herta’s car. It happens to the best of teams, and Colton’s crew is damn good.
Q: I’m a lifelong NASCAR/Hendrick Motorsports fan, dating back to my childhood as a diehard fan of Jeff Gordon. What could be the odds that something like the Larson Indy 500 deal for next year leads to Hendrick Motorsports branching out from just NASCAR, and maybe fielding a full-season IndyCar entry?
Kevin, Arizona
MP: I like where you’re going with this. Rick Hendrick loves racing. He might be best known for NASCAR, but he’s not a stock car guy who dabbles in other series; when he’s gone sports car racing like he did with a factory Corvette GTP team in IMSA in the mid-1980s, it was a fully blown effort. Same with the Garage 56 program he’s running at Le Mans — I’m typing while an hour into my flight to France where I’ll be working with the G56 team — where he’s all-in and adding another giant race to his resume. Can’t say if Hendrick is headed to full-time in IndyCar, but it doesn’t seem like a complete fantasy.
Who knows, maybe Hendrick Motosports caps will be regular Indy 500 fixture in the future. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Q: Wondering if Santino Ferrucci is on a multi-year deal? Any idea if he will be on the radar for another team?
Pistol Pete
MP: Most deals, even if it’s a one-year, come with a team-based option for a second or third. I don’t know what he’s got with Foyt, but he’s good for them and I’d imagine he’ll be welcome there as long as they’re able to surround the 14 car with sponsors. As for other teams’ interest, he’s not a name I’ve heard mentioned so far. RLL has Juri Vips in their family so he might be the first choice if they part with Harvey, but man, he sure was fast when he drove for them in 2021. After that, we might have some other openings where he’d get a look, but they aren’t with teams that are drastically better than Foyt.
Q: Does IndyCar have clear and objective rules on minimum speed through Turns 3 & 4 at Indy on restarts, or on red flags? We all love seeing drivers to race to the finish; however, it’s not much of a competition when the race leader is a sitting duck with one lap to go.
Shashi, Houston, TX
MP: This was more of a one-to-go thing that favored the second-place car than anything else.
Q: I may be in the minority among purists, but I completely support race control’s decision to throw those first two red flags at Indy. Race control’s decision to throw that third… I see both sides of this debate, and I’m going to propose a solution that clarifies the rules, avoids green-white checker, enhances the action, maintains the purity of the race as I see it, and hopefully obviates much of the bitching endemic to this amazing sport.
Here goes:
1) Any on-track incident resulting in a yellow will be upgraded to a red flag with 5-19 laps to go.
2) If a yellow or red is thrown with under five laps to go, the race will not return to green.
3) At four to go, race control throws a double green flag to indicate this is the final green stint.
This is still a 500-mile race. Red flags will not feel more forced/artificial at the very end than they already may. We still get a shootout if the field isn’t spread out. The guarantee of an exciting finish comes from a change of perspective: At four to go, the race may effectively end at any moment, and the announcing should reflect that. It encourages the climactic racing we’ve seen in recent years while also making everybody a sitting duck at the end. It also gets rid of the will-they/won’t-they on throwing a late red.
A related question. You said in your race recap video that throwing that third red made Marcus a sitting duck. He faced the same situation last year and managed to hold off Pato’s lap 199 and lap 200 pass attempts. Did the changes to the aero configuration or the ambient conditions make him more of a sitting duck this year? Is there something else I’m missing?
Ben I., Indianapolis
MP: Thanks for the thoughts, Ben. What made Ericsson’s deal this year different is the single-lap dynamics which I went through in an earlier answer.
Q: The April 12 Mailbag had a response saying that the 2023 Toronto IndyCar event will squeeze 27 cars into the same overcrowded pit lane location as used in 2022. Do you think a full or partial dual pit lane arrangement like Detroit will be done there? It would appear to be a workable solution, and though he may not have used that specific term, Jay Frye apparently mentioned it last year. I have noticed that the part of the track that runs beside the pit lane has recently been repaved and maybe widened slightly, but the pit lane area would still need some work in the next few weeks.
Keith Baxter, Toronto
MP: Changes will certainly be needed if we go beyond 27 full-timers. When I last spoke to Jay about longer-term solutions, he said there were a few to pick from but nothing had been finalized. I’ll try to learn more about it over some beer and cheese curds in Wisconsin.
Q: What was going on with all the vibration problems several cars were having early on in the Indy 500?
Kent, Brazil, IN
MP: The drivers I spoke with pointed to their tires as the culprit. Was it a tire balancing issue? Construction irregularities? There were enough drivers complaining of the same thing at a wide array of teams to take it seriously. They all sign non-disparagement clauses so there’s only so much they’re allowed to say.
Q: This was my eighth visit to the 500, and the traffic leaving was the worst I’ve ever seen. It took over two hours just to leave our parking lot (and we didn’t get to our car until an hour after the race itself ended). There was no organization at the lot itself and the lone trooper directing traffic didn’t bother actually letting traffic out of our lot until nearly two hours after the race was over. Please let Roger know that there were a lot of fans who came away upset about the parking situation. It needs to be addressed for ’24 or I can see a lot of new fans not coming back.
David Z., Delaware
MP: I’ll share this with IMS prez Doug Boles, but without info on which parking lot, it’s hard for action to be taken.
Q: Many of us Indy 500 race rans are getting up in years, and the pilgrimage to IMS is getting increasingly difficult. Do you think NBC/Peacock will ever broadcast the race live in central Indiana for an event fee? I would pay $50 to the race live on TV.
If they can geofence us out, maybe they can geofence us in. We support IMS (and the town of Speedway), year-round, not just a few days a year. It would be nice to have a little payback for years of unwavering support. Nothing can compare to being at IMS on race day — you can’t put a value on that. But access to a race, supported by thousands over generations, would seem fair.
Mike, Avon, IN
MP: I hear you. But I sure do see a lot — and I mean a lot — of fans who are over 70 at the 500, and at its core, IMS makes its money to then support IndyCar and its other properties with ticket sales, concession sales, merchandise sales, and all the other things a concert hall, arena, stadium, or racetrack uses to generate its primary profits. Building new traditions for folks to come and watch live is what Penske Entertainment needs, along with welcoming its existing fans. Giving folks of all ages an out to skip being there live in favor of paying to watch it remotely is just not in the best interest of the track or series.
The idea of creating a special program for its oldest fans who might want or need an expedited concierge type of experience where they’re met in a dedicated parking area and brought into the track in a bus or golf cart to an easily accessible viewing area would be amazing, if it doesn’t already exist.
There are always opportunities to enhance the experience for fans of any age. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
Q: The 500 had its excitements, its chargers, hard luck stories, it’s dramas. None of them included Marco Andretti. His presence in the race was barely noticed. Why does he bother, even once a year? He does no credit to the family name, team nor to himself.
Anthony Jenkins, Brockville, Ontario
MP: Hard to ignore how his last six Indy 500s have been race-day disappointments. He continues to enjoy driving, has the same dream as his dad of winning the race, and he has the talent to make it happen. It’s just been a while since his team was capable of giving him a car that was good enough for such things. I’d also suggest that among his various businesses, there’s a decent profit to be made each May that nobody with a pulse would turn down. But I did ask myself after the 107th running if the yearly struggles might be killing the fun; he’d be amazing in IMSA or whatever else he might want to do.
Q: Would IndyCar consider adding a red flag rule to the rulebook to remove the present subjective nature of it? For example, for the 500 it could state something like, “A red flag shall be displayed on lap 196 for any caution that begins prior to and overlaps with that lap. Two laps of caution will follow with a restart on lap 199. For a caution on lap 197, a red flag will be displayed with a restart on lap 200.” This would allow single, two-lap shot at the finish instead of three red flags starting in the 180s. I don’t hate (but don’t love) what they did, but having something in the rulebook removes the subjective nature of it at present would better serve everyone.
Mark Schneider
MP: They certainly could. But even if they do, they’ll always give themselves the latitude — as most sporting regulations do — to make on-the-fly decisions if they feel it’s in the best interest of the race. IndyCar has been extremely clear with its teams and drivers about doing all they can to end a race under green instead of yellow. Despite the awkward means of going green on an out lap, the series did adhere to its green-first policy.
Q: I have thoughts and a question about Pato O’Ward. First, he divebombs Dixon at Long Beach and takes him out without apology. Then, he divebombs Ericsson in Turn 3 at Indy and takes himself out and almost takes out Ericsson. He then blames Ericsson and states afterward that “next time I’ll bring him with me.” I think it’s time for them to bring him in for a long sitdown with Rick Mears or someone with the same knowledge and wisdom of the do’s and don’ts at Indy before he hurts and/or kills himself or someone else. What is wrong with him?
Steve, Chicago
MP: I got some texts from a champ and 500 winner who said they’d love nothing more than to work with Pato to root out the high-risk/low-reward instincts that remind me way too much of a young Paul Tracy. Minus the youthful overexuberance, PT’s probably a two- or three-time IndyCar champion, instead of a one-timer. There was never any doubt about PT having the talent to own CART and Champ Car for most of his career. It was his hyper-aggressive ways that too often shed wings and wheels from his cars and left points on the table that his rivals happily grabbed. Pato has the same level of ridiculous talent, but needs to start patterning himself after Scott Dixon or Josef Newgarden if he wants to reach his full potential.
Q: Another year, another 500, and another round of hyperbolic complaints about the ads. Let’s take a look at how much was lost to ads. Using the Peacock broadcast, which does not give us any picture-in-picture coverage during certain ad breaks, cutting out all ad breaks, and removing the stuff before the green and after the checkered, we got a total time of broadcast of 2h35m31s.
According to the official results, the race took 2h58m21.9611s to complete. That means we lost 22m50s. The unofficial industry standard over the past several decades has been a maximum of 10 minutes of ads per 30 minutes of broadcast window, meaning they cut out less than half of this de facto standard.
No, the ads are not “getting worse” as we’re frequently told by internet experts who don’t bother to actually look into things.
FormulaFox
MP: This kind of research-based submission really isn’t appreciated. Please rant about bringing back front-engine cars or IndyCar being doomed if we don’t go back to Cleveland so the Mailbag feels normal. (Kidding aside, thanks for the counterbalance.)
Q: Indy in qualifying trim is flat-out, trimmed-out. No racetrack, Indy or anywhere else, should be flat. With more power and less tire, engineers won’t be able to trim off aero downforce and drivers won’t be able to flat-foot the turns. Use tires similar to the sizes used in the roadster era. I can hear the crying now.
The essence in racing is that the best driver gets more speed from their power, tire, aero combination than does their competitors. The turns encountered must be such that a real throttle lift, if not braking, will be necessary for the car to negotiate the turn at the maximum of power, tire and aero for the turn. Driver actions with throttle, steering and brakes needs to be the defining factors in getting the most speed out of the cars.
Chuck McAbee
MP: We might be confusing “flat” with “easy,” and that’s not what the fast or slow drivers are reporting. Drivers are by no means flat in the race for extended periods, and all of the actions you list are the very same they perform with greater skill from first to 33rd than we’ve ever seen at Indy. Yes, it would be amazing to have cars again that are more powerful than their aero will cover in the corners. But the fact that we don’t doesn’t mean today’s best are any less great than the legends from other eras.
Q: You’re going to hate this one but I haven’t had a “c’mon man” from you for a few months, so here goes. Paint NASCAR-style lanes down the main straight at Indy. Once you exit Turn 4 and choose a lane, you get one move to an adjacent lane (assuming there are three) and that’s it. After that, if you switch lanes again with intentions to impede, you’re black-flagged. Enforce it for the last 10 laps of the race.
Andy, Brighton, MI
MP: How about we just fit the drivers with shock collars and let race control give the offending drivers a few zaps to keep them in line?
Q: Should Ericsson have let Newgarden past immediately after the last restart at Indy so he could have pulled off a back-straight pass?
Mike Talarico, Charlotte
MP: I mentioned in last week’s Mailbag that it was a strategy that might have offered a glimpse of hope, but since then, I’ve had drivers tell me he would have hosed himself because Ferrucci wasn’t going to let him slot in behind Josef, which means Marcus likely would have crossed the yard of bricks in third, if not lower, and been super-screwed.
Sounds like sacrificing P1 to Newgarden after the last restart at Indy in the hope of repassing him on the final lap would not have been a smart move by Ericsson. Motorsport Images
Q: In junior high, I used to ride my bike from Fontana to Ontario in hopes of seeing the first 200mph lap. Watching the great Indy coverage on Peacock, I was reminded of how big that track was. Were there two speed transmissions then, and when did they change? It seemed to take at least a lap to get up to speed.
Terry in Fontucky
MP: High gear and low gear were the norm. Yes, indeed, it was a proper winding-up process, but we’re also talking about the era of 1000-plus horsepower Offenhauser engines, so there was staggering torque and top-end power on tap that we don’t have today. Wish I was old enough and close enough to join you on those bike rides, Terry.
Q: Do you think IndyCar will get a third engine manufacturer any time soon? With auto companies going fully electric, are any companies even interested in building an IndyCar engine? It seems like all the companies are going into Formula 1.
Cory, Pennsylvania
MP: I do not. Penske Entertainment came close with Toyota, going as far to offer them help with supplying major components from Ilmor Engineering, which Penske co-founded and co-owns and makes/supplies Chevy’s IndyCar engines, but the timing didn’t work out. Provided PE is willing to make similar offers to other manufacturers, it’s a big help in terms of saving costs on ground-up development and time to bring those engines to reality. And while there are always conversations taking place between the series and manufacturers, I’ve heard nothing to suggest a third is on the way.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, June 3, 2015
Q: There is often discussion about increasing the personal profile of the drivers. I’ve often felt that the drivers should lose the sunglasses when being interviewed on television. I’m sure that they are paid to wear them, I get it. Face time is important to people trying to raise their profile. Helio: wearing the damned headphones out of Gasoline Alley. I guess his wife and daughter didn’t have anything to say to him. Need I even mention the GoPros on the baseball caps? Really?
Brian Bristo, London, Ontario
ROBIN MILLER: You are spot-on. It’s hard enough to recognize an Indy driver WITHOUT the sunglasses and it’s half-assed offensive as well. My only explanation for headphones is that these guys watch too much pre-game NBA basketball.
