The RACER Mailbag, October 29

On Oct 30, 2025

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.

Q: Is VeeKay’s seat at JHR the upgrade from Coyne everyone was saying hr was headed to before the dominos started to fall?

Steve, Ohio

MARSHALL PRUETT: It is not, which is why the JHR team went after VeeKay to try and use his talents to transform the team into a better version of itself. He was mightily impressive at Dale Coyne Racing and that clearly caught the attention of Brad Hollinger, who co-owns and funds JHR, and Ricardo Juncos, who was integral in developing VeeKay on the open-wheel ladder prior to Hollinger’s arrival in 2021.

It will be interesting to see how VeeKay fares at JHR without savant race engineer/technical director Michael Cannon, who was the other half of the equation at Coyne. Congrats to Michael, BTW, on being inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Q: Thank you for answering last week’s question from Jerry in Houston about drivers’ pay. Specifically, how paying drivers get paid while paying to be in a seat.

Several years ago I helped fund an up-and-coming driver in what was Pro 2000 at the time. I have learned a lot about the behind the scenes going-ons of which you detailed in your well-described answer. I’m not really asking a question here, but reiterating your answer and pointing out the ignorance or naïvety (not insulting anyone, just pointing out the general lack of understanding) of many negative online chats stating some drivers are only there because of “daddy’s” or family money.

While this money part is true for some, (and these drivers are in fact talented), others must endure all the scenarios you describe. For the less than super-wealthy families, they generally get to a point that if the kid is good enough, they have already mortgaged the house climbing the ladder. If parents and kid manage to find the needed money to continue, and one or all the situations you describe happen to them, the consequences will generally have a huge impact on your season, as your team is forced to cut back, you’re out scrambling to find new funding to keep the seat, etc. Add to this that drivers not in the very wealthy family category are typically on the smaller teams in greater need of resources than the big teams.

Bottom line is it makes it that much tougher to be competitive in a highly competitive series where 0.010 of a second matter, and anything above mid-pack, 15th or better, (above the paid driver group) is a goal. Reality in the end is money/resources, long term, is what builds a leading team. The smaller younger teams are fighting the tougher battle not only on race day, but each year to maintain, and try to build their programs. Needless to say while every other team, big and small, are doing exactly the same thing. The more you learn, the deeper your appreciation.

Lastly, thank you RACER for Robin’s Final Word. We all need a “slap in the face”, (or two), now and then!

Zenith

MP: As I was coming up the racing ladder as a mechanic, I mostly worked with paying drivers, which is the norm. We love the kids firing up through the USF Championships and Indy NXT, but 99 percent of them are driving cars paid for by friends and family through personal wealth, the proceeds from a business their parents or friends of the family own, or some other method devised to pay teams the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed at the USF2000 level to more than a million per season required for NXT.

Only in the rarest of scenarios will you find a kid in a pre-IndyCar seat that’s funded by the team, which means the ‘daddy’s money’ tag is or has been worn at some point by just about every driver we know today in IndyCar, NASCAR, F1, and so on. The difference here, though, in the IndyCar example, is when some of those paying drivers graduate by buying a seat, run at the back of the field, and become viewed as little more than a walking paycheck.

They hold value in an economic sense, and thanks to them, teams that are unskilled at finding full sponsorship to fund all of their cars can rely on the partial or complete budgets brought to them by a paying driver. Those teams are able to employ 12-20 people who are attached to that driver’s entry, and that’s often the most important contribution brought by the majority of paying drivers.

Dozens of people feed their families and put their kids through school as a result of the income delivered by those drivers. I was in that situation once when I was a crew member in IndyCar, and it kills the soul, but also, hopefully, inspires you to do better, aim higher, or look outside of the sport for something more fulfilling.

But there’s no denying how strange and ill-fitting it is to look at 27 individual IndyCar entries – call them teams – and consider that at least two or three of those 27 drivers are only in the series because of their ability to buy their way into the game. And by that, I mean they would be out of the series in an instant if their funding disappeared.

Could you imagine two or three of the 32 NFL teams putting quarterbacks on the field who are only there because they pay millions to play the game? It’s an absurd concept in stick-and-ball sports, but not in professional racing. It’s nothing new here, of course, but, as IndyCar had in 2025, when the three drivers who finished at the bottom of the championship were paying drivers, I can understand why some folks aren’t loving the look.

This could be you! (For a price). Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

Q: It has been written that Will Power is still under contract to Penske until January. What are his restrictions and limitations regarding any type of involvement and interaction with the Andretti organization?

Can he have any interaction with his new team?

Steve, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

MP: Since Will hasn’t sent me his Penske contract to review, I can only go off of generalisms. He’s got a non-compete clause, which means he can’t engage with a new employer until that agreed-upon window of exclusivity to Penske expires. No planning with Andretti. No simulator time or testing with Andretti/Honda. No data or setup reviews with Andretti. No hanging out at Andretti’s shop and fellowshipping with the crew, etc. All of those things are forbidden, by contract, until the non-compete expires.

But all of those things are adhered to on the honor system, right? When I’ve read of previous non-competes, the question I always ask is how a team with a driver, engineer, or manager under a non-compete would be able to monitor the communications of the person who’s meant to be immobilized during the blackout period.

In a world where VPNs and burner phones are commonplace, how exactly would Team X be able to prevent Team Y from doing all-day Zooms with Driver Z if they made an effort to go incognito? We know racing teams and manufacturers spend money every year on what would be lightly referred to as espionage; at a minimum, they hire people to photograph and film each other’s cars to compare and contrast chassis setup choices with their own cars.

Would it be so strange to suggest that since teams invest in spying on each other at the track, some might also invest in countermeasures to hide and protect their communications away from the track? These are the things I wonder about during the offseason…

Q: Is there anything to be read into the liveries on cars at tests? For example, Malukas testing a generically Penske-wrapped No.12 car with no sponsors, or Palou testing an all-black No.10 car? I will say Palou was wearing his traditional DHL racesuit. Do the liveries used in testing tell us anything?

Joey, FL

MP: Nothing at all. This is the time of year where teams are searching for sponsors, planning with the ones they have, and working through which sponsors will be on the cars at specific events in 2026. Since almost none of the 27 entries have a single, yearlong sponsor, it’s rare to see the cars during post-season tests with the same liveries and logos that were just on display to close the championship.

Q: Why do you think Conor Daly has struggled to maintain a steady ride throughout his career? He clearly has lots of talent and always seems to be a threat at Indy yet here he is again – a proven driver at age 33 without a ride.

In your opinion, what is/are the reason(s)?

Looking back, what is/are the past opportunities (if any) which, in retrospect, should’ve/could’ve/might’ve delivered him better career stability?

Tom, Lake Forest

MP: He didn’t have the best reputation earlier in his career and was better known for having late-night fun than obsessively living in the gym or at the shop like many of his contemporaries. Whether it was or wasn’t fully accurate or deserved is immaterial; that was the perception of Daly that stuck with too many team owners, and it definitely impacted his options to drive for the best teams.

On track, he’s driven mostly for midfield outfits and that comes with midfield results, with exception for the ovals. He’s viewed as an oval specialist, which is inaccurate in terms of his full complement of skills, but ovals are where his best results have been generated so that’s another reputation he’s received. Same with JR Hildebrand.

Conor and JR made their names prior to IndyCar with outstanding road racing output, but what stood out for both upon reaching IndyCar was on the ovals and they were duly relegated to ‘oval specialist’ status and saw their opportunities shrink.

The JHR team was sufficiently bad on the 11 roads and streets last season, but featured on the six ovals with Conor. I’ve seen Daly impress on IndyCar road and streets in the past, and his JHR predecessor Romain Grosjean did well on a number of roads and streets in 2024, so as the team underwent a pair of driver changes and significant changes to its engineering group, I wasn’t surprised to see JHR take a step back in that category. Placing the team’s underwhelming road/street output on Conor would be silly.

VeeKay will have the same group, now in its second season together, to work with and they should be stronger across the board after applying what they learned from the hits and misses of 2025.

The Snake Pit is fun and all, but Daly would tell you the real party happens in the race car. Aaron Skillman/Penske Entertainment

Q: With more and more IndyCar teams becoming officially involved in Indy NXT next season, with the recent news of AJ Foyt and Ed Carpenter Racing announcing programs/team affiliations for 2026, in addition to Andretti’s, Ganassi’s and (possibly) Juncos Hollinger’s already existing participation in the series, what are the chances this will increase the likelihood of a possible return in the Month of May schedule for the Freedom 100 race?

It was always such a fan favorite and had provided some of the most exciting finishes in IMS history – it would be great to have this flagship race reinstated.

Giuseppe, London, UK

MP: Zero percent. Roger Penske deleted the Freedom 100 due to fears of driver injury, and the risk of any such injuries casting a pall over the Indy 500. Unless his future successor changes Penske Entertainment’s stance on the matter, it’s gone for good.

Q: Did I miss something? It seems like the only person who has said Sting Ray Robb is driving for JHR next year is his manager, but people talk about the seat like it’s definitely filled. Has there been confirmation from anyone else, or is it just him trying to will it into existence for his client?

Glenn in Houston

MP: According to his manager Pieter Rossi in a text from September, SRR is “locked in” for 2026 and his contract “was always a two-year deal.” And I don’t doubt it.

In a follow-up call, Rossi said there are no performance clauses in the contract and they are up to date on their payments to the team. He said with those two things in mind, there’s no breach or other mechanism for JHR to use to part ways.

But what I do question, and have questioned for months (which inspired Rossi’s outreach) was whether the team wanted to continue with SRR or seek some form of amicable split. SRR’s side has been playing offense (or defense, depending on how you look at it) to make sure everybody knows he’s got a deal for 2026. And what has JHR said? It has been consistently silent on the matter.

JHR shifted its business model for 2025 to take paying drivers for the first time in IndyCar, and I’ve heard there’s a desire to go back to the former model in hiring two elite pros, hence the question about making a change.

Unless I missed it, the social media comments from SRR about being excited for Year 2 at JHR had no likes, comments, or shares from the team. Usually, if a driver says or does anything related to their team on social media, the team interacts and co-signs on social media. If they don’t, it’s odd.

Also, with the recent confirming of Rinus VeeKay as JHR’s “lead driver” (their words), there was no mention of SRR in the release. It’s a two-car team, and if SRR’s “locked in,” there would be every reason to say so in the release, to note that the team’s lineup is complete, to get a quote from the new driver saying he’s excited to work with the existing driver, from the existing driver welcoming the new driver, and so on. Standard stuff. And if they don’t, it’s odd.

As well, if SRR’s in the second car, there would be no need to explicitly state that VeeKay is the “lead driver.” That’s painfully obvious, right? SRR’s three seasons in IndyCar have come with championship finishes of 23rd, 20th, and 25th. In those three seasons, he was six spots behind David Malukas at Coyne, 11 spots behind Santino Ferrucci at Foyt, and seven spots behind Conor Daly at JHR. VeeKay, at Coyne in 2025, was 11 spots ahead of SRR. Those are the facts.

So why would JHR list its lead driver as Rinus when not even SRR would be confused about where he ranks in the pecking order? One more oddity to process.

And then there was a quote from JHR’s team principal in the Rinus release, which seemed to suggest more changes are on the way: “Rinus will be a key part of a refreshed driver lineup that reflects our ambitions and long-term vision. We’re working hard to assemble the right mix of talent to elevate our competitiveness, and we’re confident that Rinus will play a central role in that progress.”

If something is simple and straightforward, you’d expect it to be simple and straightforward. If Rinus and SRR are driving together, that’s an easy thing to state. When there’s no mention of SRR, and VeeKay is positioned as ‘a key part of a refreshed driver lineup,’ and listed as the ‘lead driver,’ my brain wants to untangle the message behind whatever isn’t being said.

Next, IndyCar held a Zoom press conference with VeeKay right after the announcement and in it, which the series controlled (instead of the team controlling the messaging like in the press release), he was asked about SRR as his teammate.

‘Q. You’re going to be obviously joining a new team with a new teammate in Sting Ray Robb. Can you talk about the relationship for your teammate and how important that is to you coming to a new team?

RINUS VEEKAY: “Yeah, I’ve known Sting Ray for a while. He’s a great guy. I’ve heard no bad stories about him. I’ve never raced with him in cars, I think, but no, he’s a great guy. Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed seeing him around.”’

I read that three times and here’s what I learned: He’s know him. He’s a great guy. Heard nothing bad. Hasn’t raced with him. He’s a great guy. Always enjoys seeing him.

If you can find anything there that’s close to “Can’t wait to get started on 2026 with him,” or, “I’ll be leaning on him to learn some things about the team,” or a dozen other answers would that indicate “He’ll be my teammate,” please point it out among the non-answer answers.

And if we were to eventually learn of a change in marital status between JHR and SRR, I’ll think of the most recent examples where it happened between contract-wielding drivers and their teams.

Zach Veach, who brought Gainbridge to Andretti Global, had a valid multi-year contract but the team wanted to move on late in 2020 and ended their time together before the contract ran its course by inserting James Hinchcliffe into the car. Veach accepted the buyout terms and said farewell to IndyCar.

Jack Harvey had a two-year deal with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing that ran through 2023, but following a disastrous 2022 season and a 2023 that didn’t improve, they split after 14 of 17 races. He agreed to the terms and has done Indy 500 deals and joined FOX Sports as a broadcaster.

Despite having an iron-clad contract, if a team wants to stop working with you, you can fight it, and likely win in court, but at what cost to your future? I wouldn’t pretend to know what all went down between Benjamin Pedersen and the Foyt team, but his arrival in 2023 was hailed as a multi-year engagement by the team but he got the boot at the end of the season, which made way for Robb to take his place in 2024. Pedersen sued Foyt and hasn’t been seen in an IndyCar since.

SRR’s been to and departed Coyne. He’s been to and departed Foyt. If JHR does want to make a change, do you try and delay the inevitable and force the second year of the contract, go legal and run the risk of closing every other door in IndyCar, or seek an early exit payout and turn the page towards LMP2?

So, maybe SRR will indeed be back and race next to Rinus. Until the team says otherwise, I’ll ignore the oddities and go with Rossi’s “locked in” report.

You’ll definitely maybe see Robb next year. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

Q: I know it’s the off-season, but isn’t a little odd that Andretti Global has not updated its IndyCar driver section to include Will Power? Hard to sell new Will Power swag when he has yet to be added to their website.

Mike, Avon, IN

MP: Brother, this is the wealthiest team in the series. Its owner does things like buy the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion to add it to his portfolio of other major sports teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cadillac F1 and so on. They give zero poops about the pennies Will Power swag will deliver. Also, since he’s signed to start work for the team a few months from now, and he’s currently under Penske’s umbrella, there’s no rush to do anything formal with Power until the divorce is complete.

Q: For me, F1 can often be more entertaining between the races than during the actual events. I love a good Telenovela (Spanish for soap opera). Christian Horner, Flavio, Toto and Zak Brown have all keep this season interesting, but nothing has piqued my interest more than watching McLaren race without assigning a number one driver.

Being a good accountant, I just put together a spreadsheet showing the points to date, by race. After Canada Piastri had a 22 point lead. Over the following four races McLaren went 1-2, with Norris winning three of the four, but only by a slim margin difference between P1 and P2, and while both had substantial leads over P3.

Had Piastri been assigned number one status by then he would have 21 more points, and I believe he would be the world champion at this point – or at least have a much larger lead for Max to overcome.

If Max wins out, including the sprint races and fastest laps, he’ll be world champion.

So, what the hell is going on at McLaren? How mad is Oscar and how foolish does Zak feel? It’s simple math, Zak and something no one ever had to tell Enzo.

Tom Patrick, Baja California

CHRIS MEDLAND: I appreciate this question came in before the Mexico City Grand Prix and Lando Norris’ dominant win, but in terms of the global picture that was a race weekend that saw Max Verstappen go from 40 points away from the championship lead to 36 points, so it still appears a valid one.

I’m firmly in the camp of praising McLaren and Zak Brown for its approach, because he has two drivers who are so closely matched that I think it would be hugely unfair to either of them to prevent them from going for the title when it’s been so close all season.

If one had pulled comfortably clear at this point and it was a one-on-one fight with Max, then yes, I would agree that the lead driver should be backed. But what we’re getting is a brave call to let them keep fighting it out to prove they are a worthy champion, even amid the threat from Verstappen.

To me, that’s pure racing, giving the drivers the machinery but telling them to go and earn it. The latest twist gives Norris a marginal advantage, but I think Piastri proved earlier this season just how good he is and is clearly capable of hitting back in Brazil.

One aside, too – there are no points for fastest laps anymore, so if Max wins all four grands prix and the two Sprints, that still won’t be enough to overhaul the deficit he has to either McLaren driver if the same driver finishes second each time (or even third on a couple of occasions).

Speaking to Piastri’s team, they know there’s a long way to go in this title race and they’re not mad. Both McLaren drivers know that if they are to become champion this season, they will have really deserved it.

Q: Is that true that you have to pay a subscription to see F1 races beginning in 2026?

Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY

CM: Yes, but then if you view your cable cost to receive ESPN channels as a subscription, that’s also always been the case.

There are winners and losers for subscribers either way, depending on how you viewed F1 before. If you only watched on ESPN, then you’re going to have to pay for a new service and subscribe to Apple TV. If you were an F1 TV subscriber, then you’re going to be in a similar position as before.

F1 TV will only be available via Apple TV, but the premium package will be completely included with a standard Apple TV subscription. If you used to pay for F1 TV Premium, then you’re actually saving money next year by getting it through Apple TV instead, but if you had F1 TV Pro, then it’s slightly more expensive.

I’m hoping Apple will produce its own shoulder programming – and ideally own coverage eventually – to give the audience here in the States something that is bespoke and fully tailored to you, as I think that will help justify the cost. But as it stands, the plans for 2026’s coverage have yet to be confirmed.

Q: Why does Sky Sports F1 employ Danica Patrick? Can’t they find a former F1 driver that has more experience as an F1 pundit than Danica? Or has more insider information about F1 than her?

Jerry, Houston

CM: This is a tough one for me to answer, Jerry, because I don’t get to watch Sky’s coverage as I’m working during a race weekend (and sometimes rivaling it!). But they do have plenty of former F1 driver pundits aside from Danica – Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, for example – and there just isn’t a huge pool of top-level single-seater female drivers to help give a wider range of views.

Whether you’re a fan of Danica’s punditry or not, it’s hard to argue against her record as one of the most successful women to race at the highest level in the U.S. in recent years, and she does bring an American perspective to the coverage.

One reader is done-ica with Danica. Kym Illman/Getty Images

Q: What happens to the winner-autographed champagne bottle after the race?

LBKTOM

CM: The winner gets to keep the jeroboam themselves, but they are asked if they want to dedicate it to anyone when they sign it. For example, Oscar Piastri dedicated one to his sister and one to his granddad earlier this year, so it can make for a pretty cool gift to a family member of friend.

Q: Can you make a prediction for the top three in the drivers’ and two-four in the constructors’?

Will, Indy

CM: I can, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be right! I’m going to stick with my pre-season prediction and go with Max Verstappen winning the title from Lando Norris with Oscar Piastri in third, and for the constructors’ I’ll back Ferrari to just beat Mercedes to second place, with Red Bull fourth.

The fact that Red Bull is in that fight with just Max is remarkable to be honest, but I think the lack of strong points from the second car will cost it.

Q: Regarding the response to David’s question last night week about the sprint format, wouldn’t it be better to have a compressed format on a Friday for the sprint – 30 min practice, single lap qualifying and sprint race all in the afternoon?

It ensures there is competitive action each day, and could be branded as ‘who gets up to speed quickest’. We value the likes of Max and Alonso who are on it straight away rather than the drivers that need the data to dial themselves in.

Speaking of sprints, is there any discussion on shelving the partially reversed grid sprints in F2 and F3? We’ve had them for 20 years now in F2/GP2, and they’ve added nothing but random and unremarkable winners. Like my F1 suggestion, they could set a sprint race grid by the first flying laps in qualifying?

Paul, Glasgow, Scotland

CM: That’s quite a cool solution Paul, although one-lap qualifying actually takes a long time if you’re giving each car the track to themselves. It would be a long day for teams and mechanics, but it could be fun to try to do a short early practice session and then Sprint qualifying and the Sprint all in one day, and then have a full hour’s practice on Saturday before qualifying (like a normal Saturday of FP3 and qualifying), though.

I can’t say I’ve heard any discussion on that front when it comes to changing the reverse grid format at junior levels. You’ve got to remember that the priority for those championships is developing talents for the future, and the argument for reverse grids is they’re seen as a way of improving race craft by having the drivers that qualify at the front starting one race in the pack.

Q: We hear occasionally that Honda is sniffing around NASCAR, and I am interested in the conversation about the engines they would theoretically run.

I heard the suggestion they want to run a turbo V6, which seems a ghastly idea. NASCAR is one of the last bastions of the rowdy straight-pipe atmo combustion engine. Dropping that seems unlikely.