Yahoo Autos The RACER Mailbag, September 20
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 know I will not be the only one disgusted not only by the hate being sent to Callum Ilott by “fans” of Augustin Canapino, but also the complete public silence from JHR and Canapino himself. It was not helped by Ricardo Juncos himself in an interview he gave, insinuating that Ilott was to blame for the incident and questioning his place in the team. It makes me wonder if Juncos’s view of Ilott may be one of the reasons the rumored alliance between McLaren and the No. 77 are now seemingly not going ahead?
Chris Donati, Bristol, UK
MARSHALL PRUETT: I have a ton of respect for Ricardo Juncos, but the way his team handled the April attack on Ilott, now with the new one on Ilott added in, was pathetic. When you wait more than 24 hours to post a response, and that response is weak as hell, the actions speak to a team’s intent.
Here’s the greater issue: If Canapino returns, he’ll tangle with someone at another race, and maybe it will be a Colton Herta, or Josef Newgarden, or Scott Dixon. If this is the snap response Agustin’s most passionate followers are ready to uncork whenever they perceive the other driver to be at fault, IndyCar has a big problem to deal with. So far, all the hate and threats have been fired at Callum, but this blowtorch could just as easily be turned on any driver in the series.
IndyCar needs to take control of the matter, meet with the Juncos Hollinger team, and put an action plan together if Canapino will be back in 2024. The team has shown it either lacks the skill or interest in handling such things swiftly and credibly, so the series needs to intervene and create an emergency plan that it enacts and manages for its next appearance.
Q: Talk to me about online abuse. Callum Ilott is again receiving threats and abuse from Argentinian fans. So much, in fact, he has privatized his accounts. What concrete steps has IndyCar taken to protect Ilott? What concrete steps has Juncos-Hollinger taken to protect their driver?
We have a bland statement from Juncos-Hollinger which in no way, explicitly or specifically, condemns the behavior of Argentine fans towards Ilott. Canapino has liked Tweets making fun of the situation. This is unacceptable. Ilott’s partner is afraid of visiting Argentina. Why should others feel safe?
Kristopher, Seattle, WA
MP: Let’s not limit this to people from Argentina, because you don’t have to be Argentinian to be a fan of Canapino and you don’t have to be Argentinian to make vile threats online.
IndyCar was motivated to push back in April, but I didn’t see anything similar this time around. The team clearly feels Callum is to blame and clearly doesn’t take the hostilities aimed at him as something to worry about. It is unacceptable, and this seems to me like the perfect scenario for IndyCar to step in and handle the situation moving forward.
As for the last question, you’d need to leave the U.S. if you feel unsafe when social media threats are made. You might need to leave Earth, for that matter, so let’s not be precious here and do the fear-mongering thing on an entire country because some people said nasty things on Twitter and IG.
Just make everyone use phones like this one. Social media toxicity problem solved. Motorsport Images
Q: Why can’t IndyCar grow? Why does the series have to live off a decade-old car, one TV partner, one race (Indianapolis 500) and one city (Indianapolis)?
Kurt Perleberg
MP: To be fair, it is growing, but at a slow rate. NBC’s TV ratings report last week was a perfect example: there’s been growth, but the year-to-year increase in viewership was two percent. We’d rather see 12 than two, but it’s not zero, so that’s good. In 2022, we had 24 full-time entries. In 2023, we had 27, and had a new entrant in Abel Motorsports make its debut at Indy.
But to your point, if IndyCar wants to pursue bigger ratings and bigger audiences, trying something new would be the way to go. Otherwise, this march of small, incremental gains will continue.
Q: Has IndyCar ever considered using the GT500/Super Formula engines? If they could get Honda, Nissan and Toyota to agree and then convince Chevy to build one, it’d be great for the series. Even without Chevy, three is better than two, isn’t it?
William Mazeo
MP: The “why doesn’t IndyCar use someone else’s engine formula” debate never ends, but the one place it doesn’t happen is inside IndyCar’s offices. Nissan and Toyota have had the green light to join this new formula since 2012 but they have passed. If they want to be here, they can. IndyCar doesn’t need to change its formula to make it match another series; doing that might drive Chevrolet and Honda others away, and there’s no guarantee Nissan and Toyota would jump in.
Q: Thank you for answering my question in a recent RACER Mailbag. I had wanted to know what to do when you can’t send an SASE for driver autographs if not from the U.S. You mentioned that one squad pays $90 for belts and surely teams could afford postage and need to keep international fans. In the response to my query, you mentioned that you wanted to wait and see if any teams or IndyCar reach out about this.
It may be early, but I am wondering if any have on your end? I realize the season just ended and it’s musical chairs with drivers and teams right now, but I was hoping we could get their overall stance on international fans. Keeping that policy for the U.S. only makes a heck of a lot more sense to me when other countries don’t have access to outgoing U.S. stamps.
David Colquitt
MP: Hi, David. I heard from zero teams about this. Sorry, man.
Q: Is it possible that Andretti pulled back on Grosjean’s contract because they found out they’re losing DHL? Or is there something else sinister within their relationship that hasn’t been heard yet?
Bill, Fresno, CA
MP: The team is rumored to have received $250,000,000 in funding from its new partners in 2022. Money ain’t the issue.
Q: My question stems from the IMSA radio broadcast. Do you think the repeated questioning about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being able to handle multi-class racing is warranted? I get there was a lot of chaos in the first hour or so of the race, but it seemed once everyone settled in, things calmed down a ton. I may be biased because I am from Indianapolis, but I felt there was a lot of great racing and a longer endurance race there is great for not only IMS, but endurance racing as a whole.
Tyler, Indianapolis, IN
MP: As I have done for many years at IMSA events, I pulled up Peacock and listened to NBC’s broadcast of the race so I have no insight into what was or wasn’t said elsewhere. The race had a bit more carnage than I expected, but any suggestion that the IMS road course isn’t suitable for multi-class endurance racing is one I’d ignore.
Q: Just returned from a great weekend at the IMSA Battle on the Bricks at IMS. This was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see the GTP cars in person, and the technology is even cooler once experienced up close. Seeing the cars bump start after pitting, and in some cases returning to the paddock under electric power, was honestly more impressive than I expected.
It’s clear that the cars are treated with an abundance of caution due to the electrical energy stored within. With green lights alerting drivers and crews when the cars are in a safe state, special high voltage safety areas on the grounds, and even drivers jumping off the cars from time to time to avoid completing a circuit, there’s obviously a risk involved. I also have to assume this is at least part of the reason the GTP cars are roped off during grid walks.
My question is this, what makes the GTP, Hypercar, or even F1 cars so much more dangerous than a road-going hybrid consumer vehicle with an MGU and on-board battery storage? I don’t see Porsche 918 or McLaren P1 drivers awaiting a green light to exit, or jumping off their cars after backing into the garage.
John, NW Indiana
MP: First thing that stands out is the massive safety features built into road-going hybrids and EVs that are many levels above what you’ll find in lightweight, tightly packaged hybrid and EV race cars. There’s nothing inherently dangerous with a hybrid GTP car or F1 car, but since those electrified systems aren’t buried and hidden away like in road cars, there’s an extreme level of caution applied for the sake of safety. And with the nature of racing being one where high heat and vibration and poundings taken by the chassis are normal, there’s also a reason to be more watchful for ways the hybrid/EV system could be compromised in some capacity that would place the racer(s) at risk.
Having been around hybrid GTPs all year, and IndyCar’s new hybrid car when it tested at Sebring, I’ve never felt worried about getting close to them, putting my hands on them, etc., unless the light was red on the GTP cars, and when that has happened, it’s just been a case of waiting for the green to flash.
Q: Is Kyffin Simpson being “graduated” a year early to give CGR five cars worth of testing data on the new hybrids?
Ken Roscher, Gurnee, IL
MP: No. If the team was wanting more useful hybrid data, it wouldn’t move a winless NXT driver to IndyCar for that purpose. It would hire a Matty Brabham or Oliver Askew or Ryan Hunter-Reay or Conor Daly to deliver high-caliber feedback. I’m sure Kyffin will expand that side of his tools, but not while drinking from a firehose as a rookie.
Simpson will get the chance to prove his value at Chip Ganassi Racing, but probably not in the area of IndyCar hybrid integration. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertaiment
Q: Having seen several weather-related delays during the past season, I’m wondering how much information gets to the teams, media, and on-site fans during a delay? Peacock has taken several approaches in their streams: providing track video without sound, with a repeating theme, and most helpful, trackside PA. But that’s pretty much it.
I find it hard to believe IndyCar doesn’t provide more information on-site, but even its website and social media accounts leave at-home fans mostly in the dark. Sometimes the first update we’ve received is seeing the teams tow the cars out to pit row, but I can’t imagine that’s the first notice the media gets.
Don’t want to be another Peacock-basher, but I’m wondering why couldn’t they put a crawl across the bottom with occasional updates for their paying customers?
John, Madison, WI
MP: It’s a good question. IndyCar’s account on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (I struggle to call it X) is a good one to follow because that’s where the first public notification of delays tends to go out.
Q: I am very positive about IndyCar and do not often look at the negative of the series. However, I think the optics of the Rookie of the Year are quite bad. A driver won by competing in only 12 of 17 races — that is a 40% difference. I think that makes the series look bad. It highlights the difference between a top team like CGR and the bottom teams like Foyt and Juncos. People are always talking about parity, but this clearly shows otherwise.
And it wasn’t like Armstrong was some magical unicorn world-beater like a 1993 Nigel Mansell, or in a no-go rookie year like 2007 Ryan Hunter-Reay. Armstrong was a middle-of-the-road F2 guy who couldn’t seem to figure that series out over multiple years. Meanwhile, Canapino was a successful driver, albeit in a small national series, and Robb was fairly successful in the Road to Indy ladder and was with a historically decent team.
No way a guy running two-thirds of the races should easily beat multiple full-time entries. Am I wrong, or are the optics of the Rookie of the Year… sub-optimal?
Ron, Baltimore, MD
MP: I hear you, Ron, and I think it’s a difference of 29 percent. But let’s look at the rookie field:
Agustin Canapino, with no open-wheel experience and no knowledge of the tracks, driving for a team that’s trying to run two cars for the first time and is usually found in the middle of the pack or worse.
Benjamin Pedersen, winner of one NXT race, driving for a rebuilding team that is usually at the back of the field, who needed more seasoning before going to IndyCar.
Sting Ray Robb, also a winner of one NXT race, driving for a midfield team, who needed more seasoning before going to IndyCar.
Marcus Armstrong, a winner of multiple Formula 2 races who was part of Ferrari’s Formula 1 driver academy, who’s driving for one of the two best teams in the series, and only had to focus on applying his expertise to road and street courses.
Ganassi was the deciding factor here, and while Armstrong didn’t have a bunch of amazing results, the ones he had were good enough to outshine the others. The optics might not be awesome, but other than Armstrong and Canapino, there wasn’t much in the way of competition — due to inexperience or driving for a team that wasn’t ready to place their driver in a position to contend — for that title.
Q: Andretti missed out on the last Leaders Circle spot for 2024. If they go to three cars in 2024, and the expand back to four in later years, is the fourth entry still grandfathered in for Leaders Circle eligibility?
Bill Carsey, North Olmsted, OH
MP: The fourth Andretti is known to be grandfathered in for special eligibility with the LC, so I’d imagine so, but if you decide to run less than four, I’m not sure if there’s a clause that kills the fourth’s eligibility. All LC-related matters are under NDAs and more than a touchy subject with Penske Entertainment.
Q: Does it seem to you that the six-place grid penalty for a new engine (beyond the number allowed) is a bit light? It seems like every driver who has a new motor for a race has enough of an advantage over others to warrant maybe an eight- or even 10-place penalty.
Mark K, Camas, WA
MP: You raise a great point. We saw the grid penalties pose no meaningful issues for the quality drivers and teams, so if there’s meant to be a real deterrent, six needs to be 12 on the roads and streets and nine needs to be 18 on ovals. Otherwise, it’s a penalty with no teeth, so either dial it up, or kill it altogether.
Q: Are you able to speak about what’s going on at JHR and within IndyCar with regard to the rampant hatred spewed on social media towards Illott? So far, social media is quite vocal about the total silence from JHR and IndyCar. A number of people are advocating for ending any event in Argentina if the fans are going to react this way out of concern for the safety of the drivers, families, and crews, should anyone do anything that involves Canapino and sets off his fans.
John
MP: Covered off most of this in the responses above, John. The one new point to cover is on Ilott, who is the team’s best driver, and would be a gift to other teams if JHR would let him go. There’s just nothing good I can find about them continuing, and since the team has shown it will back Canapino first and with great conviction instead of Ilott, that’s just not a relationship that will work in the long run. Sever ties now, let him move to a Carpenter or Foyt or wherever, since there aren’t any race-winning seats left, and JHR can start fresh with someone who will never try to race with or pass Canapino.
If Ilott remains, he’ll race Canapino as hard as ever; that’s what hardcore racers do, and this will likely happen again, and the same grenade will go off, again.
JHR appears to be sending strong signals about which of its entries it will back whenever forced to choose. Brett Farmer/Motorsport Images
Q: There’s been a lot of discussion around the timing of yellow flags and IndyCar race control’s consistency, or lack thereof. During the last broadcast the NBC team noted that the difference between a delayed yellow (as for Canapino at Portland) vs an immediate yellow (as for the Malukas/De Francesco incident at Laguna Seca) has consistently been car-to-car contact.
I genuinely do not understand why that would be the deciding factor. The end result in both of those incidents was the same: one car stranded and in need of assistance, in a potentially dangerous position if the track were to remain green. Does it really matter whether it was car-to-car contact or an independent spin that got us there? Is this addressed in the rulebook at all?
Jess Chezrony, St. Louis, MO
MP: If Canapino goes firing through the final corners at Portland and breaks the nose off the car and it’s left sitting in the middle of the road as he comes to a stop just off the side of the track, I’m guessing we go yellow right away, from no car-to-car contact.
Last weekend at Indy, a friend who knows a lot about directing races said something along these lines: Is it race control’s job to try and prevent chance and bad timing from affecting a race by opening and closing the pits? Or should they let chance and bad timing happen however it happens and not try to get in the middle of it?
I lean towards the latter. I think of ill-timed yellows like injuries in a football game. You might be leading by two touchdowns and cruising to a win, but if your quarterback or star receiver gets hurt early in the third quarter, you’re probably not going to hold onto that lead. If you’ve got a comfy lead and a yellow comes out that puts you in a bad way on race strategy, you’ve been dealt a misfortune that will make winning a real challenge. Should IndyCar’s referees change how they officiate to protect the team that’s leading? Not in my mind. It wouldn’t fly in any other sport.
Q: I think The Thermal Club exhibition race is an elitist joke. I’m sure you disagree, which is OK. Where is the million dollars coming from? Is IndyCar going to steal it from the 2024 Leaders Circle money like it did in 2023 for the marketing fund?
Bill Carsey, North Olmsted, OH
MP: More positivity, I see. The purse is coming from the money found beneath the seat cushions on the couch in Thermal’s One Percent Clubhouse.
Q: I know that half the Mailbag is usually complaints from passionate fans, so help me out with some perspective. I’ve been to every race in Northern California since 2015, every Baltimore race, many years of both Long Beach and Milwaukee (including Milwaukee in the ’90s when it was absolutely packed), and the first year back at Pocono, so I’ve seen a decent amount of race day traffic.
Robin once described the Laguna Seca traffic as so bad that he needed to leave his hotel by 7am to get to the track in time for the race. There were no problems getting to the track — the gate staff were a well-oiled machine. But getting out… whoa. Leaving general admission parking, there was a good half-hour where no car in sight was moving. I don’t mean that we were moving slowly — I mean that we were not moving at all. It took over an hour to get out of the parking area.
There are a ton of reasons why — they didn’t have anybody managing traffic in the lot, they were forcing almost every car in the lot to cross the major pedestrian path back up the hill, and literally the only person managing traffic was right at South Boundary Road and so she couldn’t see anything that was happening outside of just that intersection. After we were off the grounds, it was smooth sailing, so it’s not like we were overwhelming the local streets.
I don’t mean to rag on our home track, and it’s awesome to see all the investment that the county and the operator have put into the track. But that exit left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I’m questioning whether to come back.
Is this what it was like in the ’90s? Is it the neighbors’ fault that we can only exit along one road? Whatever it is, it could be a lot better, I hope that the operators make adjustments before next June.
Chris, San Francisco, CA
MP: Getting in and out was a nightmare in the 1990s, but it was due to popularity, not traffic mismanagement. In ’95 or ’96, I remember waking up late, racing to the track Sunday morning, and it taking 45 minutes to an hour just to move the last mile to turn into the track. With about 100 feet to go, I saw a car speeding along the side of the road and its occupants clearly believed they were too important to wait in the single-lane road to get into Laguna Seca. There was a slight gap I left to the car in front of me and I watched in my side mirror as these two, in a Lincoln Town Car or similar, try to bypass everyone and cut in front of me. I gassed it and filled that gap to kill that notion, which pissed them off, and they managed to slot in behind me. I looked in my rearview mirror and it was Carl Haas in the driver’s seat and Paul Newman sitting next to him! I felt bad, for a moment, knowing that they too were late and needed to get into the track, but hey, if we could wait, they could wait…
All of that aside, it’s clear the track needs to do a much better job on managing the egress. I’ll pass this on to the right folks.
Q: To increase manufacturer participation, why doesn’t IndyCar use Formula 1 engine specs? Manufacturers could produce the same engines to race in both series, saving money and increasing their exposure.
Michael Holigan
MP: F1’s engine formula would quintuple the annual IndyCar team budgets, so they aren’t used because they’d kill the series.
Q: What are your way-too-early thoughts for the championship next year? An observation I have is Scott Dixon’s ability to adapt quicker than the others to the changes in formula. In 2015 with the manufacturers aerokits, he won the title. In 2018, the current iteration of the DW12, he won the title. In 2020 the aeroscreen was introduced; Dixon again wins the title. With dawn of the hybrid systems, could we see number seven in 2024?
Joey, Florida
MP: I love your observation here, Joey. If Chevy and Honda are equal-ish next year, I’d have to go with Palou, Dixon, and Newgarden as the main contenders, and in addition to Dixie being quick to adapt, I also think he and his race engineer Ross Bunnell have found an amazing groove after one season and three wins. It’s scary to think what they can do with a year of experience to draw from.
Is this the 2024 IndyCar champion? Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images
Q: I think Foyt racing should keep Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14.
First, there is no one in IndyCar that has a better chance of winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500 that Ferrucci. He is definitely one of next year’s favorites as of now and there is no one Foyt could replace him with who be as good as he is in that race.
Second, when given a decent car this year (that has not always been the case) he has shown he can run with the leaders on road courses. He would have had a few top 10s if bad luck not struck.
Third, he is a good representative for Foyt and could provide the long term stability that they need to develop their team.
He does not bring money, but unless Larry needs money to keep the doors open, he should stay with Ferrucci at least for one more year.
Your thoughts on Foyt re-signing him?
Pedersen had the tough year you predicted, plus that bad luck of being taken out from behind four times. I would keep him over De Francesco if the money was the same. Do you agree?
Bill Cantwell
MP: I’ve said all the same things about Santino and agree with all of your points. The only new wrinkle I’ll add, which is offered with a season of hindsight to offer, is I don’t know if Santino established himself as a strong and vocal leader within the team in the same way a Newgarden, Dixon, O’Ward, or similar stepped up however many years ago to really take their teams forward.
Ferrucci can drive the wheels off the No. 14 Chevy, but with a more positive direction for the Foyt team to follow, do they need a lead driver who is a bigger and more involved leader in every sense of the word? Maybe he is that guy, or maybe he can be that guy, and one thing stands out: If Foyt’s going to become better and more consistent, it needs a driver who can take them there with their skills and actions, who pushes every person in every department to be better and can help them to reach higher.
I just don’t know if there are any drivers who fit that bill who would want to drive for Foyt, so maybe that means a second year with Santino is their best bet.
Q: So as a non-points, participation required, huge payout race, is there any chance or talk about non-IndyCar drivers making an appearance at Thermal Club behind the wheel? Unlikely as I feel it is, it’d be awesome to see the likes of Kyle Larson and Lando Norris make an appearance. Especially if you’re trying to draw in a certain (hella rich) group to IndyCar, it couldn’t hurt to at least have some major names that somewhat have ties to the sport wandering the pits.
Michael, Brownsburg, IN
MP: We’re in the early days of this $1 million deal, so I haven’t heard anything yet on super star guest drivers, but there’s plenty of time. Lando would be amazing. Larson would get destroyed.
Q: Really enjoyed Canapino’s rookie season, very happy for his results and the interest his presence generated for the series. He looks like he belongs in IndyCar. But he also looked petered-out and in need of a nap after every race. His contemporaries don’t look like that after a race. If he plans on sticking around, JHR needs to highly encourage a very serious workout regimen for him in the off season to prepare for 2024. Just sharing an observation.
Tulsa Indycar Fan
MP: Being depleted at the end of a race doesn’t mean a driver lacks a serious workout regimen. Some drivers climb out looking fresh while the driver who finished in front or right behind might look exhausted. And yet, they all raced hard and ran strong, so if there was a lack of fitness, it would show during the race, which isn’t the case here with Canapino.
Q: So my desk failed to survive the resultant impact from my head which was induced by the reactions to the announcement of the non-points race at Thermal Club. On top of people actually finding a way to be upset at more racing, it was also very apparent that many of the commentators didn’t even read all the details, as many weren’t even aware that there is a sizeable payday attached to it. The IndyCar fan base has fallen to levels that go beyond belief — people wonder why the series is hesitant to listen to them? This is why!
Even when they give us something that is, at worst, going to cause zero harm, a sizeable portion of the fanbase still whines about it. Mark Glendenning’s subsequent piece on this issue put it all very well, but it’s incredibly sad that it even needed to be said.
Yes, IndyCar has problems. But dwelling on them to the point of drowning out the good is only harming the series that they claim to love. We’re past needing a deep well of negativity to force the powers that be to fix the problems. I have lost count of how many potential fans I have seen give the series a chance, like what they saw on track, only to be driven away by a fan base that acts like it’s the worst thing in the world.
If IndyCar dies, it won’t be Roger Penske’s fault. The blame will lie squarely on the fan base.
FormulaFox
MP: It’s just a culture thing that can’t die fast enough. I interact with a ton of fans at every race — IndyCar, IMSA, and vintage events — and the raw passion on display is beautiful. Some folks have criticisms to offer, and they’re welcome, but for the most part, the people I come across who attend motor races tend to bring a lot of love for the sport with them and focus on supporting it and bringing friends and family to the party to help with its growth. Those people are part of my tribe.
The decisions made or not made by Penske Entertainment can just as easily kill IndyCar, so I would not agree with the last sentences.
A lot of fans have been quick to wave the red flag on IndyCar’s planned non-points race at Thermal Club next year. Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
Q: A really good article by Mark Glendenning, with a great title.
For me and my friends, who grew up in Southern California with easy access to Riverside, Ontario, Fontana and the Long Beach Grand Prix, I can see why some people would be a bit perturbed to find that they cannot attend the Thermal race. On the surface it seems like a play for the wealthy at the expense of the little guy. I admit it bugged me at first. After all, isn’t it the little guy, the average race fan who builds the sport?
But, after reading your article, I’m willing to step over the “poop” and say that this seems to be an outside-the-box style event, and if it brings in more sponsors or owners, more wealthy people who would like to invest in our sport, then I, as your average working stiff, applaud it! It sounds like a great idea, and yes, I will be watching it on TV.
Lord knows American open-wheeled racing needs help in the way of money and exposure for its growth. Maybe a TV executive will be there and want to do a deal for a great IndyCar “Drive To Survive” style show. Maybe an owner of XYZ company will decide to do another Hy-Vee style event at an IndyCar track. Maybe the next Helio or Dixon or Mears will be inspired to start a racing career. Or… maybe the next promoter of IndyCar racing will be there and buy the Fontana speedway and promote the hell out of the next 500-mile event (from my mouth to God’s ears).
Let’s just go with it and see what happens. How could it hurt our sport? Step over the poop and start looking for unicorns.
Sean
MP: I’m all for calling out idiocy and bad ideas. This Thermal event doesn’t warrant the nuclear bomb treatment. ‘Nuff said.
Q: I read with interest the various championship points scoring permutations that your statistician friend Scott Richard showed us last week and the differing results.
As we know when points systems change in a series, comparing like for like is not always accurate.
This highlighted my firm belief that the champion should always be driver scoring the most wins in a season. When drivers tie then it goes back to the most seconds or thirds etc.
Palou correctly is still the winner in 2023 as he won the most races!
Oliver Wells
MP: As Scott often tells me, he uses the CART points from 1983 as the cutoff point when doing comparisons between today’s IndyCar points and the back-in-the-day stuff since it’s the closest to the structure we have now. As much as I appreciated Power’s consistency that delivered the 2022 title, the one-win champion scenario, or Marco Andretti’s zero-win SRX crowning, doesn’t sit well with me.
Q: What do IndyCar teams do immediately after the season is over? Are teams downsized until the upcoming preseason?
Grant, Alabama
MP: They were, years ago, but with the lack of skilled crew members on the open market, today’s full-time teams employ their people on a year-round basis. Teams do complete overhauls of their cars, equipment, transporters, and so on. Sometimes new things among those three areas are purchased or fabricated, and they need building or polishing.
Growth has been a steady thing of late, so expanding buildings, moving into new shops, and similar things like that are common. And then there’s the rest part for the teams. There’s a ton of work to do during the offseason, but by late November, you can start to shorten the shop days and let folks enjoy a bit of freedom.
But — and this isn’t fun for weary crews — there’s a lot of hybrid testing taking place right now and there’s a lot of changes to each chassis that will be required, so this will be an uncommonly busy stretch from now until early 2024.
Q: I realize teams try to keep secrets about this, but being that it’s one of the few areas open for teams to do their own R&D and also a major factor in lap times, could you share what you know about the past and present damper programs of each of the IndyCar teams?
Steve, MN
MP: That’s a lot of teams, a ton of research, and a long period of time to cover, which makes this something that’s better presented in a feature story instead of a rapid-fire weekly mailbag. I’ll add this to my list of offseason stories to consider.
Q: I want to make a correction to Dan’s letter last week that speaks of Indy, Long Beach and Road America always being a total sellout. Road America is never a total sellout — yes, numerically they draw large crowds each year, but there are always more general admission tickets available. Because of the size of the facility, there is plenty of room for the large crowds and the general admission tickets allow you to go just about anywhere including the paddock/pits. I wanted to clear this up so nobody ever misses out on this great experience.
Craig, Slinger, WI
MP: Thanks, Craig.
Don’t let all the sellou’ talk put you off planning a trip to Road America next year. Motorsport Images
Q: Now that the dust is settling on the IndyCar season and the silly season is about to wrap up, we can move on to things that might enhance next year’s race fan viewing? Specifically, can the broadcast introduce closed captioning when there is a radio conversation that NBC is listening in on, or when the booth dials up a driver on the pace lap for a few comments?
I’m an old man with hearing aids and the sound quality is not the best when listening in on driver/pit/booth conversations. It would be nice to read it, and no doubt a word may have to be bleeped here and there tempers flare. So, is it doable?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: No clue, but now the idea has been presented here for IndyCar and NBC to consider, Jeff.
Q: I can’t help but notice there are no SAFER barriers at Thermal Club. Will this be rectified before the “race”?
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA
MP: IndyCar went to Thermal for its preseason testing because the track received FIA Grade 2 certification, which is the minimum standard it sets for itself, so on the surface, there’s no requirement for SAFER barriers in order to race there. But I’m sure it is something the series will be thinking about and seeking input from drivers on where added cushioning would be beneficial.
Q: Just wanted to write in and thank Mark G for his article on Thermal Club and the fan reaction. I’m just an idiot trying to make his way through this world while dealing with an addiction to motorsports, so my opinion probably isn’t worth much. But I believe the Thermal event or whatever it’s being called is a good thing. It’s more laps for the teams and drivers with the new hybrid units. More importantly, it’s laps and time with the new hybrid units during race conditions with money on the line, but not points. That new hybrid unit will have a learning curve for drivers and teams. This aspect alone is a big positive to me.
Mark brought up the money aspect in regards to possible investors and such. It’s a very valid point as Thermal is a private club so it’s people with money who love cars and racing. The potential implications for the future of IndyCar should be clear.
Last, I know people have talked about a race at Thermal and the issues with infrastructure it lacks to host significant crowds. Well, this is also a great opportunity to see how receptive the members would be to hosting a race at Thermal before significant sums of money are spent on infrastructure improvements. I honestly don’t see it going this way. But continuing to have a one off, non-points race prior to the season that also adds the opportunity to inject some cash to the teams since they are already there for testing is a good idea. Plus, we, the fans, get another televised event at a point in the year when a significant portion of the country is at high risk for snow and ice.
John
MP: Thanks for finding the positives in the positives, John. We know others have the “finding the negatives in the positives” handled.
Q: An inexpensive way to promote IndyCar would be an “Firemen calendar.” Josef shirtless, Helio and the Mayor of Hinchtown dancing, Scotty in a Bus Bro costume, Blue Suit in hip boots, a ponytail crew member, owners, etc. A free calendar at sponsor outlets could entice new fans. I would love to get one from my PNC Bank.
Lew
MP: Never change, Lew.
Q: I was also having issues with Peacock. Not the same as Mike from Charlotte in the 9/13 Mailbag, but I was having problems with it constantly buffering. I have a new Roku and I deleted and re-installed the Peacock app. It’s been working fine since. So maybe that is what is needed — do a delete and a reinstall.
John
MP: Thanks, John!
Q: As Scott Dixon and his team are so much ahead of almost everyone else in altering and adjusting in race strategy, why would it not be wise for some, especially, those teams not at the lead, to just do exactly what Dixon does?
Jim Riddle. Highlands, NC
MP: It would, but that’s also a bit like asking someone to throw touchdowns like Tom Brady. I know one team tried to do just that, and their young driver objected, saying, “I’m not Scott Dixon” when he was asked to do crazy fuel saving. If only it was as easy as copying the six-timer…
Q: With the exception of the COVID championship year it seems like Dixon always has a huge late-season surge. What is your take on that? What happens that slows the beginning of the season and then seems to click with him?
Geoff
MP: He and Michael Cannon — new race engineer in 2020 — clicked right away because they’re both 20-plus-year veterans. He and Cannon worked well throughout the midway point of 2022, but things tapered off prior to the change, and from there, Dixon had his former-former race engineer Chris Simmons back on the timing stand, and that’s where the two wins and surge was produced. He’s had a new race engineer in Ross Bunnell this year and it took some time to get the wins, but they were super consistent with top sixes for most of the year before the wins arrived.
Dixon was strong throughout his 2015 and 2018 title years, so I’d look to the late-season stuff as more situational than something I’d see as an issue from the man himself.
Q: Am I the only one who expected Palou to announce he was going to McLaren during his championship celebration after the race?
And regarding the Thermal event, I’m psyched IndyCar’s adding anything at all to the calendar, so thank you IndyCar! But are we expected to be excited about multi-millionaire members getting a chance to win another half a million dollars? Or like ticket sales, was this just a requirement to appease the members of the club?
Nick Howard, Noblesville, IN
MP: Yes, you might have been the only one, Nick. We told you he was planning to stay with Ganassi on the Friday of the Brickyard weekend in August, McLaren followed up later in the day saying Palou informed them he wouldn’t be driving for them, and that’s been the reality since.
IndyCar is hoping to get more owners into the series. Holding a race at a private circuit where super successful people who love racing might be the best ownership recruitment opportunity of all time.
To be fair to reader Nick, many fans probably wouldn’t have been surprised by anything Palou might have announced after the way the last 18 months have gone. Gavin Baker/Motorsport Images
Q: Any chance that Carolyn and Don Cusick might go for the big prize at The Thermal Club? Hopefully with Stefan Wilson who has probably turned more laps (in a Porsche) there than anyone else. Maybe Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will enter two events in 2024!
Probably just wishful thinking, but it’s possible that a number of teams might decline to enter unless it is made mandatory under the Leaders Circle rules or such like. Any news please on Stefan?
Oliver Wells
MP: I’d look for an expectation for every full-time team to participate in the non-points race. It’s being aired on NBC, as the series told me, so that’s not a thing to keep from your sponsors.
Stef says he should be ready to drive again by the end of the year, so in theory, he’ll be fit to race. According to Don, he wants to have a car in the race. Hard not to appreciate that guy.
Q: What are the factors that determine where each IndyCar team is positioned along pit row? Is not the first position off the race course the most desirable, or does it not make a significant difference to the driver whether pitting first or last off the course?
Ed Galligan, Vancouver, WA
MP: That order is set by qualifying for the previous event.
Q: Following up on Rick’s great research last week, here’s some info I found for USAC at Mosport in the 1970s.
In 1978 it was Danny Ongais who captured the pole position. He set a new qualifying record of 1m12.57s, which bettered Bobby Unser’s lap record set the previous year of 1m15.44s.
Marty, Toronto Ontario
MP: Thanks, Marty!
Q: Why was isn’t a big deal being made over Devlin De Francesco ‘s inability to make one more lap, which would have made him Leaders Circle eligible? It cost Andretti over a million dollars.
Mike
MP: We wrote about it, but at the same time, Devlin was unable to run a competitive speed due to the car problems he was having, so if IndyCar is going to ignore that, there’s no reason for the series to have rules or officials.
Also, race control isn’t keeping track of Leaders Circle points in order to make in-race decisions, so the timing sucked for Andretti, no doubt, but if the car or speed or driver is unsafe, I’m good with hitting the stop button. And finally, Andretti Global would love to have that $910,000 for the Leaders Circle, but of all the teams where not having it makes zero difference to their ability to compete next season, they’re the one.
Q: Following the silly season news, I can’t help but feel that Oliver Askew has been receiving a pretty raw deal. True, he didn’t set Formula E on fire during his rookie season, but there are probably less impressive drivers who might still secure rides for next year. Andretti’s choice of Norman Nato (and Andre Lotterer before him) makes me wonder… why not Askew all along? I genuinely hope he’ll resurface in IndyCar for a career reboot. Oliver was on par with Pato in Indy Lights, and had a similar early career trajectory to his friend Kyle Kirkwood. By now, his concussion should be fully cured. He could be a hidden gem, poised for a strong comeback if given another opportunity. Do you guys have any information that suggests there’s hope he might return to IndyCar?
Cheers from Florida,
Maximilian
MP: He’ll get a shot to test with Ed Carpenter Racing later this month alongside Christian Rasmussen, so all is not lost for the 2019 Indy Lights champion.
He and ECR’s Rinus VeeKay ran 1-2 that season and raced each other hard and fair. I love the sound of them reuniting, but as teammates. Rasmussen should be of interest to more than ECR, so if Oliver does get the nod, I’d just hope it wouldn’t be at Christian’s expense to be on the grid.
Q: First, in last week’s Mailbag, Janis from Tampa asked about if there is enough fuel if the whole race is green. I read that comment as, “even with refueling, teams have XX gallons they can use in the race. If the entire race is green, is that enough?” I would expect the answer is still yes, even at full burn.
Second, I know the challenge that’s always stated is “can’t go up against football and win” for why the season ends when it does. OK, so don’t. MLB has games during the week, and my Brewers still can draw 30k+ fans for a weeknight game. Do you think the likes of Gateway, and other lighted tracks could potentially do an evening/night race, during the week with a 7pm local start for expanding the season into the fall? I don’t see why not. The issue would probably be track workers. I do think having a race during opening week of the NFL is a bad idea if it’s on Sunday. But why not try Friday night?
Otherwise do a race over Labor Day, skip a week for NFL opening weekend, and run in mid-September. What are your thoughts, and how would you potentially schedule a few fall races that would expand the season while still drawing decent TV numbers and decent attendance? Or do you feel that is a fool’s errand? I also think a 10am CST start time on Sunday could work and finish before noon games kickoff. F1 gets 1m+ for 8am starts.
Tyler, 3 miles from the Milwaukee Mile
MP: It’s entirely likely that I misunderstood the question, so hopefully Janis will forgive me. That’s an interesting thought on the Friday Night IndyCar Specials. F1’s U.S. fan base is accustomed to getting up early and enjoy their races from the comfort of a bed our couch or café for races that start in the afternoon or evening; I don’t see IndyCar fans rocking up for a breakfast start time.
We’re just a long way from IndyCar being popular enough to risk running when the NFL takes over television.
Q: F1 does not allow refueling in races (and it took me playing their official F1 team management game for me to realize that). Will IndyCar’s switch to hybrid engines put a stop refueling in IndyCar races? I wonder how the Iceman would adapt if fuel savings wasn’t a tactical option!
LA Open Wheel Fan
MP: There will be no changes in refueling practices. Fuel saving, and now energy recovery and usage, is another differentiator of skill.
Refueling will remain the same with the arrival of the hybrids. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Q: Whatever happened to the independent driver/field filler/start and park drivers in NASCAR? That used to make a race so special because you would have teams with few if any full-time employees, scuffed tires, hand-me-down cars and aging drivers just trying to make a race!
Kurt Perleberg
KELLY CRANDALL: It doesn’t make financial sense for that to happen anymore. With the charter system, if you are an open car that qualifies for a race, the payday is going to be significantly less. So with the high expense of a race and the purse not being worth it, so to speak, we’ve seen that practice fall by the wayside.
Q: What happened to Ross Chastain? He was consistently top 10 first in half the season, then besides Nashville, he’s been a nobody. Was it his dressing-down from Hendrick?
Shawn, MD
KC: I do believe it’s a combination of Chastain continuing to evolve, by his own admission, and the rest of the field catching up to Trackhouse Racing. The incident at Darlington Raceway between Chastain and Larson was very public and very ugly for Chastain, and it did make him look in the mirror about needing to be smarter. Even last year, there were plenty of times when it came down to what he could have done differently behind the wheel. But it’s also as simple as the rest of the competition catching up, and whatever advantage or procedures that were working well for Trackhouse Racing haven’t been the same, and they haven’t had the same speed they did in the past. Daniel Suarez is a good example — you can look at how well he ran last year versus what’s gone on with that 99 team this year.
Q: I just don’t have it in me anymore to waste too many words on the abject lack of post-accident safety standards in F1.
At the end of Q2, over two minutes elapsed from the time that Stroll made contact with the TecPro barrier to the time he was first met by anyone with the ability to evaluate him for injuries. There is no serious circuit racing series in the world that should consider a two-minute response time anything but an abject failure after such a serious accident. It was a failure when I saw it myself with Ralf Schumacher at Indy in 2004, and it is a failure now.
As a comparison, the first safety truck worker was evaluating Simon Pagenaud 40 seconds after his car left the racing surface at Mid-Ohio, and his car was located a football field away from the track and from where the first safety truck had to stop in order to not get beached itself in the gravel trap. Six other EMT/firefighters arrived in the next five seconds to stabilize the car and assist in getting Simon out.
If the drivers won’t demand better safety standards and the owners and series aren’t voluntarily dipping into their pockets to fund it, that leaves voices like yours to start demand it, and I challenge you to begin to amplify the need for a better accident response before F1 has to bury a driver because to the shameful current system.
Eric Lawrence
CHRIS MEDLAND: I think the important point you make there Eric is “if the drivers won’t demand it.” Because it’s about what the drivers want and are comfortable with, and I have yet to hear of a single complaint from drivers about response times. In fact it’s been quite the opposite — they have been more upset with other vehicles or marshals on track that pose a greater danger of incidents.
There are so many sensors on the cars and the drivers’ safety equipment that race control and the team will have been evaluating Stroll from the instant he crashed (there’s also a helmet-facing high speed camera to help analyze potential head injuries), and on a very basic level within a matter of seconds Stroll had confirmed to his team that he was OK via team radio.
The fact that he could jump out of such a massive accident without any injuries other than some muscle soreness is testament to the brilliant safety levels in F1.
All that said, on your behalf I’ll certainly do some canvassing of drivers in the paddock in Suzuka to see if the handling of Stroll’s crash raised any concerns for them and report back to you next week. But in the meantime, I did ask Marcus Ericsson his thoughts after having raced in both categories, and he said: “From my experience, both are top-class. Bonus points to IndyCar’s new medical unit that goes to all the races.”
Q: Will Sophia Floresch ever make it to Formula 1? I would love to see a woman driver compete and win in the pinnacle of motorsport. Also, does F1 need “Drive To Survive” anymore?
Kurt Perleberg
CM: I’d say it’s unlikely, but Sophia has been doing a good job in Formula 3 this year and definitely has the potential to go higher. She’s driving for an uncompetitive team — her six points were the only points the whole Charouz team scored — but any driver who hasn’t won a number of races in F3 is hard to really back as a future F1 driver at that point of their career. She certainly could be the next female into F2, though.
And I’d say no on DTS, but then what harm is it doing having it anyway? Each new series will likely put the show back on the radar for people who have never watched it, and if they start at Season 1 they might be hooked just like so many others were.
F2 could be on Floersch’s horizon, but F1 might be out of reach. Motorsport Images
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, September 18, 2013
Q: Based on the Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR fix at Richmond, what is the worst IndyCar fix that you have witnessed? Before the 1996 Indy 500 during a very private team meeting, I heard one new co-owner of a team who had multiple cars entered was discussing a plan to bring out a yellow by one of his backmarkers when the primary drivers made an early last pit. By causing a yellow while a very early last pit stop was made, they were figuring that would gain a significant advantage. I was appalled at this guy’s plan and was glad that it never materialized. This was the same guy who had spent time in jail for insider trading. And I’m glad that he was not around Indy cars very long.
Scott Thompson
ROBIN MILLER: To say a race has ever been fixed is impossible because of all the dynamics and cars. Clint Bowyer’s intentional spin only brought out the caution and slowed Ryan Newman’s apparent victory, which he then lost in the pits. Bryan Herta’s “spin” at Sonoma in 2006 enabled teammate Marco Andretti to have enough fuel to finish, but he still had to win the race. I know George Bignotti ran Johnny Parsons out of fuel on purpose in 1977 to try and help Gordon Johncock with a caution, and Mario once asked if Michael “needed a yellow,” so this kind of gamesmanship isn’t new. But Bowyer’s move set off a chain reaction that decided a race and The Chase.
