Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.
The Mailbag will be taking a break to sip colorful drinks and get sunburned by the pool next week, but keep sending your questions in as normal and they’ll be answered in the June 18 edition
Q: I was at 2025 Indy 500 qualifying, Carb Day and of course the race. The only event that was clean was the Oscar Meyer Wiener Race, which I am attributing to the Wiener mobiles not having hybrid units. When will they get rid of this failed experiment at least at speedways? There are better (read “safer”) technologies.
Nana Katie, St. Louis, MO
MARSHALL PRUETT: Not sure what you’re talking about. I was in charge of tech inspection for the Wienermobiles and they all passed.
Q: Do you think the inspectors that penalized cars 27, 28 and 90 after the Indy 500 were tipped off by someone disgruntled about the Team Penske penalties earlier in the month?
Donald Deaton
MP: I do not. But I like the idea of a 1-800-Indy-CHTR hotline for teams to snitch on each other. Who would be on 24-hour standby to take those calls? Maybe that’s the penalty for drivers who bring out red flags in practice and qualifying.
“Hi, this is FRO and this call is being recorded for training purposes. Who are you calling about, and is this a scrutineering emergency?”
Q: It seems as though the modifications to the EMS on the Nos. 27 and 28 are something that should have been caught in pre-race tech inspection. If that’s correct, how much of a black eye is it that it wasn’t caught by the inspection team? And if it had been caught, would Andretti been able to remediate the issue and race within spec? What would have happened there, given that the nature of the infraction seems more purposeful than simply being too low or having a measurement be off?
Mark Founds, Mason, OH
MP: It’s an interesting one. Thinking in a general approach to pre-qualifying or pre-race tech, across a few different series, I’ve known the mindset to be one of confirming the basics are legal, but not to the level of completing a forensic investigation. Make sure the weights and heights and widths are correct, and be sure the bodywork complies, but there’s no painstaking effort made to inspect every nut and bolt before the big session.
Coming out of it, the best performers – pole and race winners – and the top five or 10, plus a few random cars, get the deep teardown. And that’s where the illegalities are often caught. So this is an interesting one because that general approach is one where the onus is on the competitor to make sure they have presented a 100-percent legal car for qualifying or the race, and it’s the inspectors’ jobs to ensure the cars that did big things in qualifying or the race were 100-percent legal while doing what they did.
So it’s a question of whether you think that’s the right approach – one the teams on the front end and on the inspectors on the back end. If Andretti had the illegal covers and mounting modifications found before the race, yes, I’d assume IndyCar would have given them the Penske treatment with fines/points/suspensions and moved them to start at the back after the illegal parts were replaced.
With the ripples from Pole Day through the race, every team has turned into their own tech inspectors and have cleaned up whatever they felt needed fixing or removal on their cars because tech inspection just scared the living poop out of everybody in the paddock.
Q: I was at the Detroit Grand Prix on Friday and got to watch tech inspection for a bit. Very interesting, as I’m more interested in how the cars go fast than how fast the cars go. I was amazed at all the templates and fixtures used. They even have one for the side mirror location. In light of the infractions at Indy, was tech taking longer this week than in the past, or was it about the same?
Are the teams assigned an inspection time, or is it first come, first served? There was quite a traffic jam with several cars in line and a bunch of other cars still being worked on at their paddock spots. I imagine once a car passes inspection the team isn’t supposed to work on it, but how is it policed?
I also saw a new Honda engine in the shipping crate being wheeled through the paddock. On top of the crate was a tag that read CGR CAR 9. So obviously this was for Dixon’s car. Do the engines stay with the cars between races, or do the teams have to pull them and reinstall every race? Seems like that would be a ton of extra work.
Kevin Kovach, Allen Park, MI
MP: Can’t say on the first question. Depends on the second, but the smartest thing to do moving forward is to schedule all pre-qualifying and pre-race tech appointments, and move any who miss their slots, for whatever reason, to the back of the remaining queue. Also depends on the engine mileage; if the engine in a car from Detroit has enough mileage left, it will stay in and go with the teams back to their shops. If it’s done, and time permits, a change at the track isn’t uncommon.
It’s not too unusual to see an engine being changed at the track. Joe Skibinski/IMS Photo
Q: So are we now going to see every single rule violation result in the car/s being sent to the rear of the field or finishing order along with a hefty fine? Are they just picking on items that they/tech can visibly see, or are they going to start stripping cars down to the bare tub to see if everything is compliant?
If they’re going off the things they can see, then why isn’t it being found before the races instead of putting another black eye on the series at its only big race of the year after it has been completed? What if Andretti Global were to pay a protest fee and have the winning car stripped down to the tub, and if any bolt, nut or washer is out of compliance then that car should be sent to the tail as well, and on down the line until they find even one car that actually is compliant in every regard. Is that really where we need to go with this?
If not, and they’re only going to pick on things they can see, then do your freakin’ job before the race instead looking for some sort of gotcha moment afterwards and hoping your boss is going to give you some big atta-boy sticker at the end of the day.
I must say that while watching the banquet, R.P. didn’t look too happy, and rightfully so.
TK
MP: I still don’t know why May 18, 2025, on Pole Day at the Indy 500 became IndyCar tech inspection’s FAFO (F Around and Find Out) birthday, but something or someone triggered a full FAFO approach to tech that wasn’t at that level beforehand. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, especially if it leads to the most legal and compliant cars in the DW12 era.
Q: You wrote twice in the last Mailbag that Eric Leichtle was JN’s 2023 Indy-winning engineer. However, Eric left Team Penske at the end of the 2022 season.
R, Ohio
MP: I did. And it was because I’m an idiot. I finally got it right in a story that went up the night before the race, which is lame and embarrassing. Luke Mason won as his engineer in 2023. Sorry for being a moron, Luke!
Q: By what mechanical means are driver adjustments made to impact the diff? Is the driver’s choice simply one of how open the diff is set, or are there further options/complexities?
Is there interplay between the diff & brake harvesting settings?
Jack
MP: Teams remove the differentials, make modifications, and reinstall them. Drivers who’ve been in series where diff changes are common tend to be good at making suggestions to their race engineers to consider adjusting the ramps or preload to affect rotating the car, etc., instead of relying on the normal suspension tuning options. Same for veteran engineers who have a lof of diff knowledge. You wouldn’t have the diff changes called out by the driver. The ERS is activated under braking or while accelerating; the input shaft is how the MGU spins and it’s always spinning, so there’s no specific link between it and the diff.
Q: As I’m sure you will be getting thoughts from others regarding Kyle Larson’s second double attempt, I wish under the current format, that Kyle gives it up. Even with all the advantages that the Hendrick and McLaren organizations afford, how devoted is Larson committed to the Indy race in his head?
Larson is a talented driver for sure, but I would have more respect for him if he stated that he wanted to win the Indy 500, period. Devoted his effort to that race. Passed up on the 600 and focused on Indy for one year.
The double under the current schedule requires unrealistic expectations and wastefulness. Realistically, the best anyone could expect is a driver completing both races and that’s about it. Money and resources spent for what?
Both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 should be respected for the challenges that they are about and not regulated to carnival events. Run the races on separate days, and have a solid commitment by drivers, crews, and owners. A driver could make both races in a better state of mind and better prepared. Maybe we’d get a better show. and if so, good for both IndyCar and NASCAR.
Ron Hampton
MP: Having Kyle here the last two years has been really cool. But being half in one world and half in the other hasn’t seen him at his best in either.
It’s the Indy Freaking 500. Dates back to 1911. Any other race that runs on the last Sunday in May is welcome to change. Only thing that comes close in size or importance is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and thankfully, that’s a mid-June slot.
If we’re thinking outside the box, why doesn’t Larson ditch the Indy/Charlotte double and do Detroit and Nashville on the same day instead? Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Q: I know the flying three-abreast formation is an important 500 tradition, but is there a precedent for implementing it after the race has technically started? I can’t remember one. I think everyone but Marco Andretti appreciated it.
Also curious about your thoughts on who the race winner would have been if an earlier yellow in the closing laps had moved the RLL cars out of the way of the leaders. Imagine the mess if Ericsson won and then failed inspection.
In searching for more post-race commentary, I stumbled upon Conor Daly’s Speed Street podcast/video. It’s great! Couldn’t help but think of the social media presence, reach and advice from Bryson DeChambeau, who was at the Speedway on Saturday, and is killing it in that space. I know a couple other drivers have podcasts, but what other drivers are “activating” effectively? Is this being emphasized, encouraged and/or assisted by IndyCar? Seems like it’s area that’s ripe for a lot more development – especially given the personalities of these drivers.
John, Virginia
MP: The race never took the green, but it technically started since the final pace lap was completed so the end of the yellow, which is how the lap count began, transitioned into the first green, which was the standard start. I think. Strange, I know. But then Will Power intentionally drives into and under Kirkwood for 200 feet in practice at Detroit, and it’s treated in an unserious manner. But race tech, which is part of the same race administration canopy, isn’t letting a single thing pass.
Hard to say on the RLL drivers. Palou clearly had a fast car. So did Ericsson. If Marcus drank the milk, I don’t see IndyCar taking away the win.
IndyCar designated Conor’s podcast as the one they officially sanction and use. Others have come and gone. Hinch and Rossi are the most enduring among drivers, and the rest do personal content – vlogs – instead of actual audio or video podcasts.
Q: We would love the Freedom 100 for Indy NXT back on Carb Day. Under what conditions would Penske Entertainment be willing to bring it back?
If it is off the table, why not run it at IRP same night as the other Road To Indy oval events and give another oval’s worth of experience for Indy NXT drivers?
Gordon Martinez
MP: Roger killed it. Ain’t coming back. Great idea on IRP, but I don’t know if today’s IndyCar wants to send its tech truck and officials to IRP with the Indy 500 about to happen, which is why the Freedom 100, on home soil, was such a perfect fit.
Q: Forgive my ignorance, but can you explain, or provide a picture of, the EMS covers? I just finished reading your interview with Doug Boles and I’m still not clear on exactly what they are.
I kinda call BS on Boles statement that there hasn’t been a problem in the past: “And for me, I hope that going forward… we haven’t really had this problem at other events. It’s the Indianapolis 500 and everybody’s doing everything they can to be as fast as they can. I think some of these supplied-as rule (violations), hopefully we don’t see these at other events. We’ve gotten through all the other events up to now.” According to your article the attenuator issue was noticed at Barber by Chip and nothing was done.
John Furnis
MP: Chip didn’t spot the attenuators at Barber; a member of his team did and alerted tech inspection. The EMS covers, which is a really stupid and misleading name, are the carbon fiber shrouds that encase the steel suspension A-arms. The cover the wheel tethers and prevent the tethers from being hit by debris and possibly being damaged or severed. If your arms are the suspension, the EMS covers are their jackets.
Doug’s past is three months long as IndyCar president. I wouldn’t expect him to have institutional knowledge of tech violations.
Someone spied something on the Penske cars at Barber, but it wasn’t Chip. Chris Owens/IMS Photo
Q: I’d like to propose a modification to the Detroit street track, in case anyone at IndyCar is reading this. Instead of taking T8, my idea is to keep heading down Atwater Street for another half mile before turning left into Riopelle Street. Then, go left again, into either Franklin Street or Woodbridge Street; and finally right, into Rivard Street, which brings you back on the current layout. The start/finish straight would be located on Atwater street, making the left-hander into Riopelle Street the new T1 and the current T7 the new last corner; and the pit lane would stay in the same place.
Even though I thought last Sunday’s Detroit IndyCar Grand Prix was still plenty entertaining, I also remembered this episode of “Off Track with Hinch and Rossi” released last year in which Alex pointed out that there’s only one passing zone on the track (i.e. the current T3). Therefore, the idea behind my proposal is to add another one (at the new T1). Do you think this could be feasible?
Unrelated to that, I also noticed that during the broadcast, the hybrid SOC display on Fox’s HUD (represented with a battery and the percentage of remaining energy) was absent this time. Since it first appeared at Indy at the spot that showed the remaining push-to-pass duration in the previous races, I assumed this was going to become a permanent feature, but it doesn’t look like it.
Also last year, the IndyCar App offered a similar feature when you were following a driver through their onboard camera; but it looks to be gone there too, now. It almost seems like IndyCar had decided to ditch Harry the hybrid after Pato O’Ward ranted about it last week, but I guess it wouldn’t do that, right :)?
Anyways, is FOX going to show the Hybrid SOC only on ovals or will they eventually upgrade the HUD to show it at all times, just like the P2P? And how about the IndyCar App?
Xavier
MP: No clue. Hybrids and FOX Sports are an on-again, off-again relationship that seemingly changes from race to race. We had passing into Turn 4. And Turn 5. And Turn 8.
Q: So, Callum Illot’s car is penalized at Indy because a wing endplate is out of place. Kirkwood wins a race with a front wing clearly not in place and there’s no penalty. (Although kudos to Kirkwood for his win.) What am I missing?
Has the cause of Foster’s front suspension failure been determined?
John V, Ohioville, PA
MP: I thought this was generally understood. Kirk’s wing was broken. Wasn’t working as well as it could because of the damage. It was shaving away the end plate throughout the laps. The rules of scrutineering aren’t applied here. Something failed on the lower wishbone; not sure if it was at the chassis pickup point or the upright.
Q: On the back of the rules infractions by Penske, PREMA and Andretti, I was wondering how do the drivers deal with each other in general around the issues that might be raised in the paddock about who knew what and when?
For example, does O Ward march up to Newgarden and say, “Hey man, you must have known about the rules being pushed to the limits”? Or maybe Alexander Rossi bumps into Will Power and asks what he knew and when he knew it?
I ask because I think McLaughlin and Power do come across as decent chaps whom I am happy to root for, but how much would any given driver get to know about the one-percenters that the teams try to find that gain 0.005s in a lap?
Rob Bridgman, Waterlooville, Hampshire, England
MP: Maybe between drivers who are super close, but in general, I can’t think of a driver or owner or similar who’d have the balls to do that directly. I tend to hear what other teams are doing from drivers, all while positioning themselves as second only to Jesus in purity of heart and mind.
Q: Do you know why Power was not penalized for pushing Kirkwood in practice? It seems like that’s the definition of “unsportsman-like conduct.”
Robert Keith
MP: I do not. The things that seems to be really simple and easy to call as balls and strikes rarely seem to be handled that way in IndyCar. Nothing new in that regard.
Q: The forklifting of Kyle Kirkwood’s Honda by Will Power in FP1 at Detroit is unacceptable and creates a dangerous precedent. As a fan, I never want to see this kind of s*** again! The independent governing body cannot come soon enough. I am beyond disgusted. These are one man’s thoughts, but am I off-base here?
As of 9pm ET following the race, did we seriously just get through the whole weekend without any further probing or examination as to why nothing came of this? Help me make sense of this!
Rob, Rochester, NY
MP: Not sure what “probing” there is to do. The people in charge of policing the on-track action didn’t feel it warranted a penalty. That’s a question of judgment. Getting to the root of why something so obviously wrong did not land with the series’ police as being wrong and needing action is the greater issue, and that’s a much bigger issue.
Q: Andretti fan here. Very happy with the Detroit race. That being said, it’s not complete without the leader, Michael Andretti! Love him or hate him, he is good for our sport! I wish him well in retirement, but we need him leading the team! That rivalry with Penske helped build our sport!
I started watching CART/IndyCar because of Newman/Haas and Michael’s in-car camera leading wire to wire on street and road courses and the signature black and white liveries! This is like Ganassi without Chip and Penske without Roger. TV broadcasts were always talking to him! Where is Towriss?
Dan, Celina, OH
MP: Towriss is there, but he’s not Michael. There is Mario, however. The IndyCar team is in a better place without him. Wish that wasn’t the case, but all the people I know who I’ve asked say the change was for the better and the results supports the notion.
A lot of readers still need to get used to Michael’s absence from the team that bears his name, but Michael himself looks pretty relaxed about it. James Black/IMS Photo
Q: Why has there been no mention on the FOX broadcast about the hybrid unit? The last time we saw any graphics was for Indy 500 qualifying. We’ve not seen any deployment or harvesting, along with the different strategies that the teams may be using.
Bernie Myers, Morris, IL
MP: Because they don’t want to. That’s my best guess, because if someone wants to do something, they tend to do it. So since I’m confident they didn’t forget hybrids exist, it must be by choice. Maybe it’s their way of sending a message to IndyCar.
Q: After the camera lingered at the end of Kevin Lee’s pre-race interview with Scott McLaughlin before the Indy 500 on FOX, I noticed he gave the classic number one salute to someone. I happened to hit the pause button and saw this, otherwise it’s not very noticeable. Is this something that happens behind the scenes as drivers or crew members joke around? Any funny on-camera or just off-camera event that you can share from your career?
Randy, California
MP: I haven’t made the time to edit it, but I have at least four or five – maybe six – great middle fingers from the cockpit since 2023 from Scott while I’ve been filming on pit lane. Power flipped the bird at me walking down pit lane before the start of Carb Day, which is nothing new. My favorite was at a Grand-Am race moons ago where Dario and Dixie were in a second car at Laguna Seca when I got a double bird from them. If you live a life where drivers don’t want to flip you off, I reckon you’ve failed.
I was pleased to learn old friend and teammate Matt Swan, Helio’s Indy 500 crew chief, was called “Sweet Cheeks” by his crew after I called him that a few weeks prior. Anything involving embarrassment or belittlement is what makes the days a bit brighter on most pit crews.
Q: What do you think The Captain, or anybody else for that matter, sees in Malukas that he doesn’t see in Ferrucci? I love watching Ferrucci and I think he’s got game.
Lance Q., Greensboro, NC
MP: He doesn’t see a rebel in Malukas. There are no rebels in Roger’s house. Power is the wildest thing he has.
Q: With Honda’s dominance in this NTT IndyCar Series season are they still going to stay in IndyCar after 2026?
Kurt Perleberg
MP: No answer there. But Honda’s desire to stay has never been tied to wins or losses. It’s the reduction in costs, better return on investment, and removal of conflicts of interest, with the latter being the big ticket item to resolve.
Q: I open by saying I am an IndyCar fan that does have a favorite team that is not Penske or Ganassi. I do not root against Penske or CGR, or for them.
With that being said, what I saw in Indy gave me something to think about. Looking at the details made me realize something about Palou. You never hear him panic or complaining on the radio. He won the race, parked his car, and ran to the team. He drank the milk and instead of pouring it on himself for the camera, he passed the milk around so his team could taste the victory. I have never seen a team that is molded into one unit like that team is. It was enjoyable watching him in the truck going around the track after the race showing his appreciation to the fans.
Palou was totally immersed in the moment while Chip was holding on to his ankle with a firm grip while he was standing on the top of the moving truck. Truly a class act in today’s self-centered sporting world. It is actually hard to not support them. I will continue to cheer my team on, but will also enjoy watching what the No. 10 team does. Cheers to Dale Coyne again for finding and helping another talented driver start his journey in IndyCar.
Also, with IndyCar being a spec series, I think it is foolish to use the word “cheaters.” These are people that have to push the limits of everything they do to be competitive, and this happens in every series of racing. My biggest problem with all penalties is the tech department. If you are going to hand out those kind of penalties and ruin people’s race and impose severe economic penalties, then you need to have a tech department that doesn’t miss so many infractions. How does the tech department have integrity when the winning car from 2024 in the museum has the same part as the two Penske cars on the track this year?
Looking at it now, I am not sure the Penske penalties were justifiable. I am sure the Andretti cars did not install those parts after it went through tech. The money was spent, people fired, sponsors embarrassed, and the tech department stays silent with no accountability for poor performance in doing their job. How many times during the month of May did those cars go through tech and they get penalized for items tech missed for the month or longer? I think IndyCar needs to review the tech department and hold themselves as accountable as the teams are expected to hold themselves.
Jerry M., Topeka, KS
MP: Could be a case of semantics, but when I think of cheating, I think of an intentional act that breaks the rules. Not an oops like a setup pad error where a piece of bodywork is 1mm too low or a car was under weight by 0.1 lb. That’s playing super close to the edge, but among my mechanic and crew chief friends, those kinds of things usually aren’t viewed in a critical light because every team has been in the 1mm/0.1lb situation before.
But in a series like IndyCar that is highly spec, that intentional act of modifying something that you shouldn’t – especially when others aren’t doing the same mods – tends to have some form of advantage.
My father and I spent countless hours each week talking about racing and all aspects of the sport. He passed before spec racing really took off here, but I do sometimes think about how he’d react to some of this nonsense today. “You’ve got to be s******’ me” would probably be his response to every attenuator, suspension cover, and endplate violation that’s come down in recent weeks.
Makes no sense to those who’ve been around since the freer days of old, and I grew up in that time, but this is what racing has become and it isn’t going away unless Roger Penske decides the days of spec need to end in IndyCar.
Spec is here to stay. Probably. Paul Hurley/IMS Photo
Q: This year’s Indy 500 prize payments were interesting. Essentially all the finishers after the winner that are part of the Leaders Circle received between $600,000 to $670,000 no matter where they finished, except O’Ward,who won $951,000 and Rosenqvist, who won $769,000. It seems to me the payouts at least through the top 10 used to be tiered more based on finishing position.
The drivers say finishing second is like finishing last, and from the car owner’s standpoint that is definitely true. Do you know when this changed? Was it something the Penske organization changed?
Don, Indianapolis, IN
MP: Yeah, the Leaders Circle is a healthy bump at the Indy 500 for the 22 with contracts. I’m still trying to get IndyCar to tell me what exactly Andretti did with the illegal covers (answering this at 5:45pm Friday night), so the bump timeline is going to have to wait.
Q: Please find out if Andretti was the team that alerted the IndyCar inspectors about the Penske attenuators, because if they were, these Andretti penalties are payback. IndyCar definitely needs a separate officiating entity with no ties to the Penske organization.
Q: IndyCar must be breathing a sigh of relief that Alex Palou wasn’t disqualified or that Marcus Ericsson didn’t win the race and get disqualified post-race. Either result would have been a very bad look for the series. And it’s a shame Louis Foster and Delvin DeFrancesco weren’t running for the lead at the end, they must have passed one another 10 times in the last 15 laps.
Dave, JC
MP: Had one driver suggest that if Ericsson had won, drank the milk and was celebrated as the winner into Monday, that IndyCar would not dare take the win away. Who knows if that’s what would have happened. The RLL Cage Match with those two was just weird.
Q: After the post-race disqualifications, are we seeing that Penske wasn’t all that special and that there seems to have been a probably years-long issue with the series, tech and enforcement? If so, what does this mean?
Also, without singling anyone out, would you say there are issues with the tech personnel, or are they being made to look bad by something far deeper in the series management? Finally, is there an over reliance on being cleared by pre-event inspection?
Abraham Zimroth, Staten Island, NY
MP: I’ll refer back to the newfound FAFO spirit in tech. There are excellent people there. I think of them no differently than I do referees in other games. The head of the officiating crew can hold them all to blow the whistle on everything they see or to save the whistle for only the most egregious infractions. Same with race control and driving penalties. There’s no automatic approach to both areas of policing. It’s all about a person, or people, deciding how hard to police.
You’d think the super-tight officiating in tech would always be the case in every series, but it’s not. It’s all about setting the tone, the level of expectations, and if it’s impossibly high, the team will strive to find everything the can. If it’s slightly lower, you’ll get less, and so on.
I like the idea of knowing the winners of races have done so with cars that meet the rules, so no, there’s no over-reliance, just normal reliance.
Q: The only way forward for Penske to lead the IndyCar Series is to dissolve Team Penske.
Bob Merlin
MP: It isn’t. Dismantling the Lakers or Yankees, regardless of the reason or potential justification, does nothing but extreme damage to the sport. Last thing I want to see is Ganassi, McLaren and Andretti having an easier time each season due to the most successful IndyCar team of all time being shuttered. They’re the historical benchmark for every team today to try and measure themselves against and beat. Wouldn’t want to lose that. Hate the sin, love the sinners.
Q: I’m pretty good at spending other people’s money, so I think I have a hare-brained idea that’ll blow through a lot of it. In a century, when the DW12 is gone and IndyCar has a replacement chassis, all of the existing DW12s will need a home. Where, then? A museum? Some collector or rich guy’s garage? Nay, for these reliable racers I propose a different solution.
What’s the most growing class of car in the world today? GT3, undoubtedly. Seems every other day that there’s another GT3 championship out there. Why? Well, because they’re reliable, the regs hardly change, and they’re fun to drive. Sound like any other class of car? Well, I propose that the DW12 formula (as it’s known to produce good racing as is) be exported. Maybe a recreation of the Aurora Series in Britain would do well, they’ve clearly got the drivers and even teams like West Surrey and Rodin. If one can find enough ready circuits, perhaps the Aussies can get in on it. Perhaps even set up a South American championship, like TCR has.
Just spit-balling. And while we’re at it, bring back Kentucky Speedway. No reason why, just do it.
Bruiser, Kentucky
MP: Please report to 16th & Georgetown. Look for the truly bizarre headquarters for the IndyCar Series, which is located in what looks like a former strip mall (not kidding). Tell the security guard you’re there to start at IndyCar’s new CEO. These are the ideas we need.
It’s only a photo of Kentucky Speedway and not the real thing, but it’s a start. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Q: The tremors rumbling just northeast of 16th and Georgetown have really been disturbing.
I believe it was you, Marshall, who indicated Ganassi informed IndyCar there was an issue with the Penske attenuators during the Barber weekend. Unfortunately, you didn’t indicate who from the Ganassi team reported the issue to IndyCar and who at IndyCar discussed it with the Ganassi team.
If IndyCar did learn of the issue when they were in Alabama, why wasn’t it addressed at the first inspection at Indy? They could have addressed the issue, levied a fine and probably not had all the high blood pressure.
Doug Boles is in tight spot; if a member of his staff didn’t relay this information to him, you would have to question that employee’s devotion to IndyCar.
If the information had been given to Doug or Rocket then we have an issue bigger beyond the scope of the Mailbag.
PS. Do you still have the disco light on your desk in the media center?
Bill Cremering
MP: The disco ball fell over and broke a few years ago. It was a fitting addition when it was me and Miller there together laughing most of the day, but the fun and playful side of the 500 has been missing a bit for me since he died, so I haven’t replaced it.
Q: Please explain the Indy 500 prize money voodoo calculations such that O’Ward gets so much more than Malukas. And the money doesn’t really drop when you get disqualified to the last row.
Joe, St. Charles, IL
MP: The entry David’s in didn’t qualify for a Leaders Circle contract after Sting Ray Robb was outside the top 22 in the 2024 entrants’ championship. Pato’s ride was well inside the top 22, got a contract that spreads the approximate $1.1 million over multiple payments, and that’s where the Indy hike for one and absence for the other comes from.
Q: Is there any realistic possibility that the current hybrid is removed until the new chassis debuts, or would that lame duck non-hybrid period be a deathblow for keeping Honda around?
Joe
MP: It’s not in the current plan, but just as the hybrid was added to a pre-existing bellhousing, and seeing how the same bellhousing is meant to be used in the new car, that hybrid can be taken out if Roger Penske decides it should go. If you love the hybrid, tell Roger to make sure it stays. And if you hate it, plead to him for it to go. No person other than Roger has the power to make the call to keep or kill hybridization.
Q: Should NTT IndyCar Series evaluate a Saturday Sprint race and Sunday Main race reverse grid for road and street tracks for next season to level the playing field?
Therius Oktavio
MP: No. The field is at the exact angle it should be.
Q: I have been to 32 500s and this was one of the worst in the last 10 years. Fans want to see passing, not single-file racing like the Brickyard 400. Please drop this hybrid stuff and make it a great race to watch and enjoy.
Pat Petro, Louisville, OH
MP: Pat Petro agrees with Pato!
Q: Last week’s Mailbag had a question about Goodyear’s presence around the 2025 Indy 500; I also took notice of all the Goodyear ads and found it interesting. It was a savvy move to appear at the biggest motorsports event on the planet, using historic footage from the times Goodyear did race at the Speedway to convey a racing brand identity – all without having to do the legwork of series tire supplier Firestone to put on the show. (Outside of a quick interview with one of Firestone’s lead engineers on the broadcast, I’m actually having trouble recalling any Firestone ads this year.)
Does Firestone have any exclusivity clauses with respect to on-car advertisements? Could a blue and gold Goodyear wrapped IndyCar shod with Firestones take the track? In the Moto2 championship, KTM ran title sponsorship on Kalex bikes with Ohlins suspensions after withdrawing their own chassis with in-house WP forks and shocks, so the practice is not recently unprecedented. I wonder if a similar branding scheme – and maybe with other components beyond tires – could be seen in IndyCar if not contractually barred.
Pete, Rochester, NY
MP: I’d need to have someone show me Firestone’s contract to answer this one, right? Because they don’t talk about what’s in their contract. Feels safe, though, that Firestone probably isn’t mounting tires for an entry sponsored by Goodyear, and Chevy’s engines aren’t going into a car sponsored by Ford.
Guessing those green stickers on the left don’t mean guayule. Tim Heidman/Getty Images
Q: I just realized how close we came to a repeat of the 1981 Indy 500 race winner fiasco. Imagine if Ericsson had held the lead and took the checkered flag. All the post-race ceremonies and interviews. Then the next day, he was moved to the back of the field. I think that would have been a really bad look for IndyCar.
I think I saw that only the top 12 finishers were teched post-race. I wonder how many more infractions there might have been if all had been checked?
Did the infractions occur before pre-race tech and just not caught, or were changes made after tech? I realize that there are probably hundreds of possible illegal modifications that can be made. Do team members have to check with team leaders before making these changes or are they just done on their own?
Jim, MA
MP: There’s many teams, so there’s no single answer for what crew members do or don’t have to do at their respective teams. We saw some pre-qualifying penalties doled out, so I’d think the post-race penalties mean they weren’t seen before the race.
Pre-session tech is like being quickly patted down by the TSA before a flight. Post-session is like being escorted to a side room with no windows and having TSA pass around a box of latex gloves. If that level of checking was done before qualifying or before the races, the process would need to start Friday at midnight for quali and Saturday at midnight for the race.
Q: Like many, I have opinions about the Indy 500. First, on the TV coverage, what I was disappointed in was the completely dropped coverage of anyone not in contention for the win. When Ryan Hunter-Reay stalled the car, it’s like he fell off the face of the earth. Did he ever get the car refired? No pit reporter to ask the team what happened and why it wouldn’t restart right away? When Conor Daly dived into the pits with dead tires, it’s like he fell off the face of the earth as well. And who crashed on the last lap? I had to read RACER.com to find out who. And have yet to see footage of what happened with that car.
Second, Will Buxton. He was better on Sunday. He has an annoying habit of stressing every second or third word, and an annoying habit of making everything he says a profound pronunciation.
Third, three cars DQed after the race. Two cars DQed during quali. Really? You made a comment that Ganassi brought the attenuator to tech’s attention at the beginning of the month. It took until halfway through second day qualifying tech inspection of the second race in May to have a question? What the hell?
Then, the aero covers have shims? That’s never happened before? It’s not a common occurrence? I worked in Dimensional Control in the auto industry for 20 years. I helped develop the technology, processes and procedures. On this subject, I am an expert. Parts vary, especially plastic ones. It’s very hard to make plastic parts, carbon fiber parts, and molded parts, be identical part-to-part-to-part. The actual part profile cutting through the air might be different from the design profile of the part cutting through the air. Thus one shims the part to be in the design configuration.
Was the team shimming the covers to be in the correct design configuration, or optimizing beyond the design configuration? Having restored many cars from the muscle car era, I can tell you that shimming panels to fit properly was common, because parts were all over the map.
If I’m a team and I’m getting crappy parts from the vendor, how many do I have to buy and inspect before I get one that’s the way it’s designed to be?
Now, with these DQs, is a DQ appropriate? Is the penalty commensurate with the infraction? Sure, I can see a penalty somewhat greater than the infraction, but a DQ?
With PREMA, sounds like in-race damage, even if stepped on by a crew member inadvertently. The same thing happened to Bourdais at Sebring, where there was excessive wear on the barge board due to a broken shock mount.
If a car gets damaged during the race, is a DQ appropriate? If so, I recall a race that Palou won when his front spoiler was hanging on by a thread and way out of position. That passed tech after the race?
Curt Larson
MP: A “spoiler” is a curved piece of material. These cars have wings, FWIW. Somewhere in here, above or below, and I don’t remember which, the damage question is answered.
Q: With so much attention, time, and money invested into the primary Indy 500 cars, why don’t big teams “Speedway-optimize” every car in their inventory?
With the importance of the Indy 500, a crash of the primary car is almost a write off-of the event for some teams. In recent years, I can point to the struggles Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson and Fernando Alonso had in qualifying and the race after wrecking their primary car.
It had been mentioned that Ganassi didn’t use their primary cars for the open test in April, and when Kyffin Simpson wrecked his primary they prepared the car he used in the test. That car seemed to be “Speedway-optimized” and he didn’t miss a beat with qualifying. I’d assume Penske also did something similar with Scott McLaughlin’s car as well.
I can see why the teams with a shoestring budget can’t/won’t do this to every car they have, but it would seem logical for the larger teams to do it. Surely the work done on airflow, body fitment, and drag reduction would be somewhat beneficial at a road/street course as well.
Robert Cucchiaro
MP: Yes, it would, but to a much lesser degree due to the constant turning, starting, and stopping, and undulations on the road or with curbs. Indy, being super long, with constant and consistent interactions with the air, is why the great effort and expense is made to be aerodynamically optimized for the constant and consistent interactions. That’s not the case when you’re doing a bunch of rapid-fire squirts between 90-degree corners in Detroit in second or third gear. There would be a tinier benefit, but not one the biggest and wealthiest teams have found to be worth the money and labor.
IMS levels of car optimization don’t return the same benefits at twisty tracks. Or even short ovals. Paul Hurley/IMS Photo
Q: I’m traditionally a road racing guy but have always loved Indy and it is one of the few races I watch flag to flag. I did enjoy the race this year but was disappointed in the lack of passing. I thought with the cooler weather perhaps the padding would be better.
The first year the DW car was ran at the 500 the passing was amazing! Perhaps they need to review to see if they can get closer to that configuration to improve the racing?
Mike, Greenville, S.C.
MP: Without a doubt.
Q: After Shwartzman won the pole for the 500, I realized I was not following him on Instagram. I go to his page and see the guy has 1.6 million followers on Instagram! I also noticed quite a few comments on various Instagram posts that a lot of people knew of Shwartzman from career/management mode in a previous F1 console game. Now, I know that F1 and the F2/F3/etc. series have global reach which increases the pool of potential followers. However, it led me to looking at how other IndyCar drivers stack up.
O’Ward, the series most popular driver, has 868K…little more than half of Schwartzman’s count. Three-time champion and Indy 500 winner Alex Palou… only 126K followers. For comparison, Indy NXT championship leader Dennis Hauger, who previously finished 10th, 8th, and 11th in the F2 championship… has 174K followers…So about 50K more than a three-time champion and 500 winner. Newgarden? 153K. The legendary Castroneves? 147K. Young, marketable, race-winning Americans Kirkwood and Herta? 28.7K and 83.2K respectively. Dismal in comparison. The IndyCar Series account? 753K.
Lots to take away from that, but I think Shwartzman on pole had a much larger social media impact, particularly internationally, than we think. Whether than translated into viewership numbers, who knows.
It’s also interesting to note that his popularity, judging from comments, is in part due to people playing a video game. Meanwhile, American winners and American talent have a significantly smaller social media presence than even a mid-level F2 guy that’s leading the IndyCar feeder series championship. Think of it this way: A single Instagram post from a rookie in 23rd place in the championship almost has more impact and reach than entire rest of the field combined.
Ross Bynum
MP: And Pato’s big jump in followers first happened when he was plugged into McLaren’s F1 testing program and has gotten bumps each time he’s returned to the F1 universe with McLaren. The international appeal is massive with F1, so Robert, being F1-adjacent with his Ferrari test/reserve ties as well, certainly hasn’t hurt.
Q: Were there any rumblings at Indy about the next IndyCar? Thought there would have been some hints or renderings but it was not to be. With all the media attention and eyes on the event I personally would’ve thought it would have been a great opportunity to showcase what the future of the sport could look like.
MA, Boston
MP: Zero. The series chose to not use its biggest annual event with the largest media presence to talk about the next car.
Q: I don’t know if you ever attended a race at Westwood near Vancouver, BC but I thought you might enjoy this short video about its history.
I personally saw Keke Rosberg, Gilles Villeneuve, Bobby Rahal, Tom Klausler and Price Cobb race there in Formula Atlantic. I missed the races that Greg Moore and Michael Andretti ran in.
Doug Mayer
MP: Thanks, Doug. I did not. First trip to Canada was 1990 for the inaugural Vancouver IndyCar race.
Q: This was my 50th 500 so I’ve seen a lot since my first race in 1971. Has Team Penske figured out what went suddenly wrong for the No. 2 car at Indy? Newgarden was driving a great race, avoiding trouble and was in about the same position as he was in ‘23 and ‘24 when he won. I thought he might actually have a shot at a three-peat.
Jim Bryan
MP: Congratulations on the half-century! Fuel pump issue, I was told. Something about bolts backing out from the housing.
Q: After the last round of pit stops at Indy the foreboding music from “Jaws” kept playing in my head. You knew the shark (Palou) was gonna bite, you just didn’t know when. Conventional wisdom would have you believe that a pass for the lead would come with less than five laps to go, yet he made the move with about 13-14 laps left.
Was this a call from Barry Wanser or did Alex catch Marcus Ericsson off-guard and bite?
One last question, will we see Alex back in the Acura for Petit Le Mans?
Jonathan and Cleide Morris, Ventura, CA
MP: Unlike every racing movie ever made would have you believe, including my favorite worst racing movie of all-time, “Driven,” no person other than the driver decides when to pass someone. Just like no quarterback holds the ball and waits for the coach to tell them when to throw it. Alex passed Marcus when he thought the time was right. If Acura asks him to be at Petit, he’ll be there.
Q: On a Facebook Indy 500 page a person posted that he thought when Nolan Siegel crashed the race should have stayed green until Palou crossed the line. I mentioned that the procedure at any race is a yellow is called immediately at contact no matter where the cars are on track. He mentioned that at the public drivers meeting the race director would want the race to end under green for fans, but at that point the race would have been over. Plus the 10-lap window was over since it was lap 200 at the line.
Do you think it was a good call by IndyCar to throw the yellow?
Michael, Glen Jean, WV
MP: Yes. There were drivers behind Nolan who’d probably like to know they shouldn’t go barreling through a crash site at 220mph.
We likely would have had the same winner regardless of whether the finish was yellow or green. But the caution made things a lot safer for those at the other end of the track. James Gilbert/Getty Images
Q: I’m behind on my Mailbags, so if you have already covered this please ignore it: Two pretty unrelated questions, but in the end I think they are connected:
First, your thoughts on the Indy ratings? Numbers have been lackluster all year and then Drunk Uncle Indy 500 shows up and they have the best ratings in years.
Second, it feels dumb to say that Kyle Larson’s double attempt didn’t draw eyeballs. I’m not a NASCAR fan but I was invested in Larson’s success. My parents don’t care about Indy, but were asking me for updates on Larson. With the success that has brought in attention, are there any other likely candidates? You would think Team Penske would be a no-brainer since it would benefit the team and the series that the boss man owns, I mean, Newgarden would be a phenomenal story.
I feel like with Santino’s oval prowess, he would be interesting. Plus, the AJ Foyt history. Obviously Conor, Katherine, and Marco have gone that route, but I don’t think they move the needle at this point. Supercar Scotty Mac can drive the wheels off anything. I’d love to hear your personal thoughts instead of my random redneck ramblings. The NASCAR provisional rule they made for Helio makes it more easily attainable.
Kyle
MP: Rating was phenomenal. Despite disappointments at some previous races, this was a home run.
Kyle McLean Kirkwood is the perfect choice in IndyCar, by a mile. While the Palous and Newgardens and Dixons and Rosenqvists have been driving prototypes in recent years, Kirk has been a regular – a champion, even – in IMSA GT machinery with the Vasser Sullivan Lexus program. Big, brawler of a V8, lots of rolling and unsettled movement, and he’s an animal in the thing.
That’s the guy with the best like-for-like experience I can think of who’d climb into a next-gen Cup car and not feel like he was in a radically different machine to his Lexus. Road course or oval, I think Kirk’s the perfect guy – and he’s a gamer, too, who loves challenges – to do an Andretti/Spire double.
Q: Another 500 done, another mass of complaining about ads, and… surprisingly it’s been a lot quieter than usual this year. There’s been plenty of complaints about it for the series as a whole this year, but the 500 was strangely lacking compared to previous years. Well, that’s not going to stop me from my annual tradition of demonstrating that ads are not taking over the 500 the way the complaints always want us to believe.
And this year, in addition to the total, I’m going to break down how much was lost to solid ad breaks and how much we got to see via side-by-side.
Here’s the breakdown, There is no legal, or official, standard for how much broadcast time can be dedicated to advertising, but if you look at common programming, a de facto standard of not exceeding 10 minutes out of every 30 minutes of broadcast time becomes apparent (in other words, 20 minutes of content, 10 minutes of ads). While it is not 100% adhered to, it is followed for pretty much everything created to fit within a 30- 60-minute programming block, and in fact most programs do not actually have a full 10 minutes of ads in a 30-minute block. Historically, the Indy 500 broadcasts have been well within this de facto standard, therefore if our ad time falls within it, then the myth that the Indy 500 is increasingly being overrun with ad breaks continues to be just that.
Total race time: 2h57m38s – nearly a minute shorter than last year.
Full ad break time: 19m46s
Side-by-side ad break time: 20m24s
Total ad time: 40m10s
Total race broadcast seen on TV: 2h17m28s
So, as we can see, once again the ad breaks are well within the de facto standard. The ad time is up from last year, in which we lost 30-some minutes, but the standard has not been broken, and thus the complaints, as usual, are overstated.
It is interesting that there is less than a minute difference between how much time was lost to full ad breaks and how much was covered in side-by-side, but the funny thing I also noticed is that while the full ad breaks varied in their exact timing, every side-by-side segment timed out to exactly 2m33s. FOX has the side-by-side down to a science, but normal ad breaks less so.
FormulaFox
MP: Brilliant. Thank you for your service, FormulaFox. You get five free curse words and three extended rants in the comments section with no fear of moderator intrusion.
Q: When I listen to my scanner at the 500, I always love the chatter in the booth by the broadcast team during the commercials. They usually are hilarious, but also tip me off to things happening in the race. This time it was silence all race long. I’ve been using a scanner since ‘93 and have never experienced that.
Is FOX more guarded about this type of thing and killed the microphones? Just curious.
Matt, Lansing
MP: Sometimes I wonder how folks expect me to know these things. If not-FOX was less guarded and had its commentators’ comments go out during commercials for folks to potentially hear on their scanners, and FOX did not have its commentators’ comments go out during commercials, then yes, I would probably draw the conclusion that the commentators were either more guarded or had their microphones killed.
I need a beer.
What’s said off-air, stays off-air. Sam Bloxham/Getty Images
Q: Has Little Dave finally arrived in IndyCar? I wonder what Zak Brown was thinking watching David Malukas out-drive not just one of his many replacements, but also McLaren’s superstar team leader? David also comes across as a really nice guy and a genuine character as well. Both David and Santino were on top form, keeping the Foyt cars up front all day.
As a former crewman yourself, you must have appreciated so much the fantastic job done by the Dreyer Reinbold Cusick mechanics in not only putting a car together for Ryan Hunter-Reay overnight just to be in the race, but to be legitimate late race contenders as well. For me they were the absolute heroes of this year’s 500, despite the misfortune that befell them in the pits. What would it take for this stalwart team of the old IRL to be back full-time in the series where they belong?
Peter Kerr, Hamilton, Scotland
MP: I live for the DRR/Cusick stories and the amazing repairs led by Nick Allen with Colton’s backup car getting built and qualified in record time. Give me those all day.
Between Dennis Reinbold, the DeBoard family, Don Cusick, and Jack Harvey, I’m confident they could find enough funding to go full-time. But DRR wasn’t included in the charter program where 25 charters went to the 10 full-time teams, which also caps entries at each race other than Indy at 27, so DRR/Cusick would need to fight with PREMA Racing to earn the 26th or 27th spots. And that’s where sponsors and investors say no thanks. Not when you’re at risk of missing every race.
Q: I’ve noticed what I think is a growing divide between PU expectations between the fan base and whomever is championing the hybrid PU configs that have become common in F1 and now IndyCar. The fans seem to want to return to the spectacle, the noise and palpable character to the different manufacturers. Despite this feedback, the series continue to move toward what I assume to be technical relevance toward some sort of road car development program to justify the spend – ultimately watering down the show, in my personal opinion.
Is it fair to say the divide between fans and manufacturer expectations of what they want out of the PU are seeing a larger divide? And, from a promoter’s standpoint, shouldn’t the goal be to give fans as much as what they want to get the largest following possible? At the current budgets, lack of additional manufacturers that find value in playing in the sandbox, why not indulge the V10 mindset a bit and just put the best dang show on possible? Could there be some logic to common GTP/Indycar PU?
Matt Busby
MP: Probably explained here at least 20 times why a common GTP/IndyCar engine formula won’t work, so I’ll skip doing it a 21st. The auto industry was telling IndyCar that for them to come and play in IndyCar, some form of electrification would be needed to get sign-off. Honda also wanted it. Chevy did not. So IndyCar offered it and it was accepted happily by one and begrudgingly by the other. And then none of the others who said they’d need it to show up decided to show up.
The question here is, where does hybridization fit as a need of the industry in 2027 or 2030? It feels like it’s becoming less of a standard piece of tech in showrooms and more of a fading trend. Some fans like it in IndyCar, but most of what I hear is of the negative variety from fans. It hasn’t made the racing better. It hasn’t moved the needle with manufacturers since hybridization was announced in 2019.
So if Roger is taking a 10,000-foot view of what hybridization was intended to bring and what it’s actually brought, I think an honest answer that matches Pato O’Ward’s unsolicited take – it brings nothing – is where he’d land. But as usual, I could be entirely wrong.
You can tell he’s looking at a hybrid just by how annoyed his expression is. Aaron Skillman/IMS Photo
Q: There may well, and understandably, be a moratorium on attenuator talk by the time you get this but after ingesting so much of the coverage I’m troubled by the way it has been portrayed by most.
I am no Penske apologist but it needs to be highlighted that Cindric and the others were not trying to hide anything, and if they weren’t trying to hide anything, they weren’t trying to cheat. As you have said, all the teams have micro improvements they apply to their cars, particularly at the 500. Like Rob MacDonald expressed in last week’s Mailbag, this aero tweak was in plain sight. It wasn’t a hidden 1/2 gallon of fuel cell for example. It was a nicely executed detail that they openly subjected to tech scrutineering and it was accepted, until it wasn’t – at the most inopportune time.
Tech – why wait until nowto say you have a problem with this? Frankly, the Nos. 2 and 12 teams should be angry about that and justifiably should have been allowed to switch the standard attenuator mounting without penalty. Why isn’t more of this responsibility (and a situational technical standard) being shouldered by IndyCar itself and their tech procedure/process?
Roger was of course forced to do something in the face of public perception, and it was good for the race as a whole, but three individuals fell on their swords for it.
As we approach Detroit, I’m really hoping FOX has something in store to improve how this event presents on TV. We talk about how sad it is to go from a strong event like St. Pete, then disappoint the newfound fans with something bush league like Thermal and then watch viewership ratings falter.
Going from Indy to the downtown Detroit venue is more similar to this than not. Quality of racing aside, television production can do a lot to engage an audience by how they shoot the cars on track and engage viewers by better conveying the spectacle of an IndyCar at speed. Do you hear any talk of improvements or new strategies here?
Lastly, the Driver’s Eye cameras were great but seemed to be shown very little during the 500 telecast. Have you heard why?
George, Albuquerque, NM
MP: I spent most of my waking hours since returning from Indy focusing on the ongoing penalties, a Mailbag that was over 11,000 words, other stories, and trying to be a husband for the first time in two weeks. Asking FOX about Driver’s Eye usage was, sadly, not within a mile of my main priorities, so I’ve failed on that one.
I thought the presentation of Detroit’s race was solid. The race itself was far better than last year’s destruction derby.
Team Penske should be upset at the timing of when its illegally modified parts were deemed illegal? That’s a new one. The timing is odd and has been odd, but I’m shaking my head at the thought of tech being the bad guys here. A Penske Entertainment employee in charge of tech said the parts weren’t legal and failed the two cars going through pre-qualifying tech.
The team chose to take the cars to pit lane, instead of to their garages to either install unmodified attenuators or, if they only had modified attenuators, to sit in the garages, avoid public embarrassment for themselves, the series, and their boss who owns the cars, team, and series, and pay the price for the situation by not turning qualifying laps and starting 11th and 12th in the race, per IndyCar’s rules.
This entire thing could have been avoided if decisions were made to remedy the failures in tech, if they could, or park the cars, if they couldn’t, and give the live FOX broadcast no footage of grinding on attenuators, pulling cars off of pit lane, and wheeling them back to Gasoline Alley in a manner that looked like a giant shitshow. But the tech team is somehow responsible for this nonsense?
Again, no doubt this should have been addressed by tech long before we got to qualifying. That’s a different matter. But we’re not hanging the bad decision after bad decision made by the team’s leadership from the moment the 2 and the 12 rolled off of the tech pad to all that was captured live on national television afterwards.
Q: I would love to stand corrected, but I think it would be difficult to find any other individual who raised the motor racing profile of his nation as much as Adrian Campos. Despite a modest racing career of his, since creating Campos Racing in 1997 he managed to boost the careers of Marc Gene (he was working for PwC in England when he was given another shot at single-seaters in 1998!), Fernando Alonso and Antonio García (who were bound to become karting pros rather than being able to step up to open wheel racing) and finally Alex Palou, none of them coming from particularly wealthy backgrounds.
So, we are talking about the main culprit of Spain having F1 titles, Le Mans, Sebring and Rolex 24 wins and now multiple IndyCar titles and now the Indy 500! He even brought Alejandro Agag to motor racing. He will be sorely missed and one can only hope Adri Campos Jr. and Antonio García, now in charge to the team, will be able to live up to his legacy.
Narciso Umarraga
MP: What an excellent point, Narciso. I only knew of Campos the F3000 and Minardi F1 driver, and then saw his influence grow and grow as a team owner. What an amazing legacy.
Giant of the sport. Andrew Ferraro/Getty Images
Q: The other day I stumbled across the final email that Robin Miller sent me…dated August 1, 2021. I would in no way, shape or form consider myself even an acquaintance, just someone whom he regularly entertained by responding to my often-stupid questions. In this case it was something very simple…that I hadn’t heard much from him lately and I hoped he was doing well and to always keep fighting. And his response was something equally as simple… “thanks, Brad, I appreciate that.” I had no way of knowing he was three weeks out. Wasn’t any of my business, anyhow. But I hope that as he’s sitting around upstairs enjoying a beverage of choice with Herk, Uncle Bobby, Rufus and whomever else will allow him in the room, his spirit knows how much he’s missed.
Brad, Seattle
MP: Yep. It’s a Pepsi, and probably too warm, because he somehow broke the ice machine. I was chatting with Dario Franchitti in May and we both managed to get depressed while mentioning too many of the big characters we loved like Robin, Justin Wilson, Dan Wheldon, Parnelli, the Big Eagle, Uncle Bobby and too many others who made things so fun. The line about “the older you get, the more life takes things from you,” has been playing with greater frequency in my head each May.
Q: I was shocked to read an article from a local Indy TV station that volunteers from local Indianapolis groups descend upon the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the day after the race to pick up trash, cans, food, broken lawn chairs, etc. This apparently is a tradition. I can see it maybe going back to the early old timey days when the Speedway made no money. But, now, the IMS is a money-making venture. Why on earth are volunteers cleaning up a for-profit venture, with a record (over) $20 million dollar purse, and a multi-billionaire owner with 239 foot yacht and a fleet of Gulfstream jets?
Roger is probably sitting on his yacht toasting a job well done, while schoolchildren clean up his enterprise. Don’t get me wrong, I love IndyCar, but this is pretty disgusting.
John, Ann Arbor, MI
MP: I did see a group of about 20 people from a distance in what looked like orange prison uniforms (not kidding) being led to start picking up trash just outside the Hulman Suites the day after the 500. They were 200 feet away, so what I was probably seeing from afar were some of the volunteers you’re mentioning.
I made the mistake of saying some of IndyCar’s tech inspectors were volunteers (I’d been told that for years) to Doug Boles in the press conference where he announced the Team Penske penalties, and he snapped at me pretty good, saying they’re for-profit and couldn’t have volunteers working without pay. That was IndyCar. I wonder if the same thing applies to IMS.
Q: Any idea when HRC’s decision to stay or leave will be made? If they were to leave, do you think the hybrid goes with them? Does waiting on HRC’s decision hold up IndyCar’s plans for a new design?
Chad B., West Salem, WI
MP: I’d guess in the coming weeks, since the need to make different engines for a new car in 2027 requires about 18 months, according to HRC president David Salters in a February interview we did at the Sebring IndyCar test. If Honda leaves, yes, I believe the team owners tell Roger to get rid of it – get rid of the unnecessary expense they incur with the annual leases and service agreements – and a spec Ilmor/Chevy is the new solution. No hold-up; the new engine will have the same attachment points to the chassis, so look for the current motor to be used in testing.
Q: After the P2P issues with Team Penske, Michael Andretti said, “All I can say is if that would happen on our team, (Andretti chief operating officer) Rob Edwards would have been let go immediately, if something was going on that I didn’t know about.”
I know Michael is not there anymore, so has Dan Towriss lowered the standards at Andretti and allows such things, or will the top three at Andretti meet their fate? Everyone was pretty loud the last year and in May about Penske and loosely tossing around the team “cheating” and what should happen. Now that the cheating scandal has landed in Fishers, Indiana, and it’s not the first one, when will Andretti “walk the walk”? Or is the fake outrage different when it’s not Penske?
Mark, Milford, OH
MP: Couple of important differences here. Roger fired the top three after the second instance, and in both cases, I’m confident the illegalities caught him by surprise. When it comes to business, Roger doesn’t like surprises. This is the first for Andretti under its new, non-Michael leadership. (I don’t count the missing of one of two anti-intrusion plates on the lower rear front A-arm on one side of Herta’s car at Thermal as anything more than an assembly error. Pretending otherwise is stupid.)
The modified EMS covers and mounts are indeed the first big illegal items in the Towriss and Mark Walter era, and I did wonder if Rob would be suspended internally, but that hasn’t been the case. I’d also suggest that between the two teams, Penske is loaded with managerial and support staff from other programs to process this storm while searching for the three replacements. Andretti isn’t built the same way. Not after the ownership change. One team was capable of handling big firings and continuing on without being massively destabilized, and I just don’t see Andretti as being filled with the same depth to handle losing Edwards, Freund, Harcus, etc., if a copycat move was made by Towriss.
How a team chooses to handle a penalty internally is up to them. Karl Zemlin/IMS Photo
Q: I think the Indy 500 winner’s wreath is one of the coolest trophies in motorsports. Do you know if the winning team/driver does anything to preserve the wreath, or do they commission an artificial version to be made?
PS: If readers were unaware, you can see some of the old USGP winner’s wreaths behind the bar at the Seneca Lodge at Watkins Glen.
Joey
MP: I think they just take it and keep it. Haven’t heard of replicas or preservation. I’ll see those Seneca wreaths in a few weeks.
Q: Rockingham Speedway is for sale. Should IndyCar, or one the team owners, buy it?
Tim Davis, Detroit, MI
MP: If we’re spending other people’s money, then yes, absolutely.
Q: Is the DHL Pride Livery a victim of today’s political climate? Or is there a chance we might be seeing it at another race?
How much should I be worried that we are going to lose Laguna Seca from the schedule? And would that mean no Bay Area race going forward? Would hate to see it, but also recognize there is no local awareness of the race so I’m not surprised attendance is so low, especially with this being one of the pricier races on the calendar. Any thoughts for IndyCar to make any investment to raise awareness about the series here locally? Can Nolan’s dad start a “Nolan Siegel Grandstand”?
Deb
MP: I believe so. IndyCar at Laguna is all about the county’s ongoing willingness to pay the series $1.5 million to show up each year. If they’re paying, IndyCar’s appearing.
Q: IndyCar has three-person tech inspection team. This seems small. How does this compare to F1, NASCAR and IMSA? (MP – I’ll give this to KC and CM as well)
Isaac W. Stephenson
MP: No, it doesn’t. It has three full-time people, with many more who come in for the races.
CHRIS MEDLAND: F1’s pretty big on this front, as you’d expect given the differences in cars. The FIA technical scrutineering team is a group of around 25 who travel to each race, and then that is added to by another 30 local scrutineers at each event who supervise the cars at all times and note down any work done.
KELLY CRANDALL: NASCAR takes 22-24 inspectors to most races, and that goes up to 27-28 for superspeedways.
Q: I don’t think that there’s anything necessarily wrong with the Monaco race, but if F1 wants to get rid of the “drive around slowly” strategy, I think the answer is to split the field into two heats post qualifying, and then do the final results based on total time.
Will, Indy
CM: I actually agree with you, Will. Not that the race is usually very exciting or entertaining to watch, but the whole event is so cool watching drivers push the limits round there up to Saturday, and qualifying is 99% of the job but that’s the only place where it’s that important. Plus every now and then something does spice the race up, so it’s not always rubbish, just most of the time.
But smaller cars are the fix for me, and that’s going to take time. I think it’s a direction F1 should be trying to head in anyway, not just for Monaco, so hopefully the reduction in size in 2026 will be the first step in the right direction. 2026 alone won’t be enough, but you actually don’t need to make the cars that much smaller than some might think, because when that reduction is spread across two cars fighting it will have a bigger effect.
Your idea definitely has a chance to avoid the drive around slowly strategy as long as it’s one car from each team in each heat. Ideally it would not a pair of teammates at the front of each heat either, because then they have total control of the pace and race time they’re driving to, but I guess that still would have been the case anyway if they’d locked the front row out!
Q: Did you ever hear from race control if they deemed it necessary for Verstappen to concede the place to Russell? I know cars going off and gaining an advantage was pretty consistently called, but it felt a little different that time.
On a related note, why on earth was intentionally running into another car a 10-second penalty? That wasn’t small contact. I look forward to the race Red Bull has to run without Max to see if both drivers are miles from the lead. It isn’t if he hits too many penalty points – it’s never his fault so it’s a matter of when.
For maximum chaos hopefully it is a week IndyCar has off and they just call Palou up.
Ryan, West Michigan
CM: Yes, we did in the end – the stewards decided no further action was necessary because Russell had not been in full control of his car when trying to make the overtake. So in that sense, Verstappen was right to be telling his team he didn’t think he should be giving the position up.
I honestly don’t know on the second front. Many rival team members in the paddock asked the same question, but the overriding feeling was it’s dangerous for the stewards to assume intent when making a decision during a race.
The fact that Sebastian Vettel got a 10-second stop/go in Baku in 2017 for hitting Lewis Hamilton under the safety car should have been a precedent in my opinion, but the stewards went with the standard causing a collision penalty.
It would be interesting to see what Red Bull would do, but it would almost certainly be Isack Hadjar getting a promotion for a weekend and another option being used at Racing Bulls, but the team’s lead talent in F2 – Arvid Lindblad – hasn’t turned 18 to get his Super License yet so would need special dispensation prior to August.
Verstappen’s at risk until late October, though, as he only loses two penalty points between now and then.
Max has to be on his best behavior. Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Q: I, like many, found Prime’s “Earnhardt” doc to be insightful and moving. I saw the royal family of stock car racing. Having amassed more wins, championships, money and fame than most people could ever dream of much less achieve, nothing could replace a father’s love. Dads, hug your kids. Encourage, don’t discourage. Tell them you love them and how proud you are.
Anon
KC: “Earnhardt” was tremendous work and an excellent way for Prime Video to show what else it can do with NASCAR content. And it’s my understanding that there will be more since NASCAR’s Brian Herbst told me when the media rights deal with Amazon was put together that “one of the bolt-on options we contemplated was more original content and programming,” as you saw with the Dale Earnhardt documentary that is already released. Plus, the Garage 56 documentary comes out later this month. Spoiler alert: it’s just as good, if not better, than the Earnhardt one and something that I believe might be among the best content we’ve seen on NASCAR in recent years.
Q: RACER did a great job redesigning the website. JPEG XL is the newest picture format and far superior to original JPEG. With a renewed emphasis on photography, have you and the staff been following the adoption of JPEG XL? Is there a roadmap to implement this new format eventually?
Ericglo
MARK GLENDENNING: The short answer is “not right now,” but for a better answer, here’s RACER’s Chief Technology Officer Bryan Conzone:
“Thanks for the note and for noticing the photo emphasis on the new site. JXL is a really interesting format that can deliver great quality at smaller file sizes. We’re especially interested in its support for things like HDR and wider color ranges. That said, browser support is still pretty limited unless you make manual changes, and our current tools and CMS don’t support it natively. We’re also not receiving images in this format from photographers or partners, so we’d have to handle all the conversion ourselves. For now, it’s not something that would benefit most users without a good amount of custom work, but we’re closely watching the project, vendor support, and community forums to see how adoption expands.”
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, June 6, 2018
Q: I go back a way, Robin. (I was a co-worker at Goodyear with Dick Ralstin and Bob Renner in the ’60s). I’m not so sure about the response you got about high rpm engine noise. Let’s face it, NASCAR thunder is at relatively low rpm. The muffled sounds of the turbo Offy and Cosworth engines were kinda neat. The sound of the Porsche 930 turbo in the Can-Am series was very distinctive among all those American V8s. The woosh of the turbines might have been too quiet. Maybe PJ’s, Joe Leonard’s and Graham Hill’s should have had some noise-making exhaust systems attached. My point is that the distinctive noises of different engines would be a bonus. It would be a differentiator in an otherwise almost spec-engine racing series.
Bob Stockton, McCormick, SC
ROBIN MILLER: I remember Dick and Bob worked at the Indy News when I started at The Star – both good guys. The first time my dad took me to IMS, I heard the Novi coming down the straightaway and I was hooked! I think a lot of people became race fans because of the sound first, the cars second and the racing third. We need louder and more powerful. Robby Gordon’s truck series is a hit with the fans because they make noise! And they’ve got grunt. Takuma Sato said last year when we standing in the pits at Sonoma that F1 hooked him because of the engine noise and he thinks IndyCar needs to be louder. I would agree 100 percent.
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