The RACER Mailbag, July 23

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: Why is Kyle Kirkwood never mentioned in the conversation for a Penske or Chip Ganassi seat? He seems to have the most upside as far as young American drivers go.

Dave from JC

MARSHALL PRUETT: Because he’s under contract with Andretti through 2026, which is well known in the paddock. If he was a free agent, and had no interest in returning to Andretti, I’m sure he’d be driving for Penske next season. Unless Dixon decides to retire, I don’t believe there’s anything available at Ganassi, with the possible exception of being farmed out to the second Meyer Shank Racing entry, and while that would be great for MSR, I’d need to run Kirkwood through concussion protocol if he wanted to leave Andretti – where he’s the top driver and one of only three race winners this year – to become the second driver at Ganassi’s technical affiliate.

If Dixon’s retiring at the end of 2026, hell yes. Sign Kirkwood immediately and have a killer combo with Palou for the next 15 years. We know Power’s out of contract at the end of 2025, so there’s no fit for Kirkwood with Penske at the moment.

It still comes back to positioning and whether the best move is to leave the team where you’ve established yourself as the top dog, which is a rarity, or to leave and join teams where it has entrenched champions and Indy 500 winners like Newgarden and Power, and McLaughlin, who’s won seven races since going full-time in 2021? Teammate Colton Herta is a big problem to solve most of the time, so it’s not like life is easy at Andretti, but that’s a home he knows and is thriving within, so it’s hard to find the upside in leaving it behind.

I’d also look at the pockets of all three teams and can’t fathom how Andretti would be outbid on Kirkwood’s services. It’s not that Ganassi or Penske lack wealth, but new-era Andretti under Mark Walter and Dan Towriss has the deepest pockets in the series. Sometimes the best move is to make no move. 

Q: What is the general vibe in the paddock now considering the TV numbers outside of the 500 are flat to slightly up (mainly due to airing on more advantageous channel), a ghost town at Iowa, another delay regarding a new chassis/ engine, one make/driver domination and growing unrest / apathy within the fanbase?

Any team owners willing to put Penske Entertainment on blast? Any news on Liberty Media trying to make a run to buy the series, or having someone not affiliated with 16th and Georgetown step in to correct course? 

It’s very apparent that the sport needs fresh eyes and personnel not from Indiana to run turn things around. Doug Boles isn’t the answer 

A concerned fan

MP: Can’t buy what isn’t for sale, so no on Liberty. If that were to change, let’s hope Liberty is first in line. No, there’s been a concerted ‘let’s all close ranks and not speak out against Roger/Penske Entertainment’ message from the series to its team owners in May after the attenuator deal blew up, and all appear to have fallen in line. I do hear complaints – that’s only natural – but those are almost never said for public consumption.

As of today, Doug has held the job of IndyCar president for 23 weeks and one day. There’s no need to take the Red Bull approach and pull a Liam Lawson on the guy. Maybe we wait until he has a full year on the job, and can actually take part in pre-season brainstorming and planning, before proclaiming he is or isn’t the answer.

Kirkwood’s not in the silly season conversaton because he’s not available to sign. Joe Skibinski/IMS

Q: IndyCar seems to be chasing last year’s or last decade’s methods of entertainment delivery. Last year everyone seemed delighted that races would be on over-the-air network television. As a cable-cutter living in an area with no over-the-air FOX outlet, I was less than enthusiastic. The partial season viewing numbers for FOX are not overwhelming.

In a New York Times article about CBS’s cancellation of its Late Night show, there is this interesting bit: “Last month (May), streaming overtook broadcast and cable as the leading distribution method for video entertainment for the first time.” F1 is negotiating for a new U.S. media contract and, though ESPN is in the mix, F1 isn’t clamoring to get its races on ABC. Rather, F1 is considering Netflix, Amazon and Apple as potential partners.

Isn’t the fealty to network television a symptom of the same thinking that gives us races before empty stands in Iowa? Maybe looking to the future (or even the present) is a better avenue for promotion both in the media and at the venue.

P.S. While Shabral’s courage and resilience make me inclined to trust her judgment, I like the opossum shirt.

Tom Hinshaw, Santa Barbara, CA

MP: I think the possum shirt needs to go on a tour and get mailed from mailbagger to mailbagger to wear for a week, pose and post photos with it, and then get sent to the next person.

I read something similar about a week ago and it was an eye opener: Broadcast Falls Below 20 Percent of TV Use for the First Time.

NASCAR’s solid ratings run on Amazon Prime spoke to the future. The average was down about a half-million viewers per race, from 2.6 on linear to 2.1 on streaming, but its audience was much younger, which was important. I thought the average would be lower than 2.1 million (I had no idea how many people use Amazon Prime; we’ve used it for at least a decade, but I thought it was more niche than it was, and then I learned it has 22 percent of the U.S. market, ahead of Netflix, and I felt stupid), so there’s a lot for IndyCar and FOX to think about.

FOX has its new FOX-only streaming service due out in the coming months, which is great for those who love FOX or love IndyCar or love both, but it’s a niche for-pay service like Peacock was for NBC. And a FOX+ doesn’t come with a wide audience to reach like a general streamer in the vein of a Netflix or Apple+ or Amazon Prime and its estimated 200-250 million global subscribers. This is purely about reach and putting up the biggest streaming numbers possible. If it isn’t a far-reaching general streamer, there is no reach.

Network is still the way to go to connect with older viewers, but if IndyCar really wants to grow, it will need to find a general streamer with a vast audience to carry its product for its newest fans. 

Q: Again, the replay of Practice 1 from Toronto is not on the FOX Sports app on my Roku TV. Do you have any contacts at FOX?  It just seems off that it’s not available, as that is more eyeballs on all the commercials. Peacock would put the replay up an hour after the original broadcast.

Jim Doyle, Hoboken, NJ

MP: Let’s hope the folks from FOX will take note.

Q: I’ve become a big fan of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports at the Indy 500. I wish they would run more races, and go full time, but I’m sure the new charter system plays a part in that not taking place. Do you know if they will be together again next year at the 500?

Also, I read in another publication that Don Cusick is hoping to expand his program, which could include Indy NXT, partnering with another team next May, and/or possibly partnering with another team full-time in 2026 or 2027. Have you by chance spoken with Don to find out his future plans? He’s a passionate owner that belongs in IndyCar! Thanks very much for any insight.

Ted Yezman, Sonoma, CA

MP: Don’s at that big pivot point where he either branches out and spends a ton of money to fund racing programs, buy or lease equipment, and so on, or continue to partner with DRR where there isn’t a big financial demand and avoid that sizable commitment of time and budget. One is fun and doesn’t place great drags on your time and savings. The other feels like a full-time job because it always becomes a full-time job, and I don’t know if that’s what he wants after retiring not so long ago.

He told me about the same plans back in Thermal that you’ve read about, so that has remained consistent. I do need to catch up and see where things have or haven’t gone in recent months. 

Sometimes, turning a hobby into a job is a good thing. Sometimes it’s not. James Black/IMS

Q: Where do things stand with the Palou/McLaren litigation? Do you think Palou’s dominance this season has any impact on any settlement negotiations, assuming they are still ongoing?

Steve, Danville, CA

MP: Last I heard, informally, it was indeed headed towards a conclusion, and the estimated loss to McLaren of $20 million or more that was sought by the team could end up being anything from zero to a few million. Feels like this has become old news. Even if it’s $5-10 million, I don’t know if that causes a crater in Palou’s life or enriches McLaren in any significant way. If it was that $20 million-plus, that’s a different deal altogether.

But since the lawsuit is about money, and not the enforcement of a contract, McLaren doesn’t get Palou when it’s over. Other than exacting some financial pain which might bring some joy, it’s not getting the big payday with the series’ most dominant driver, so ultimately, it’s about millionaires fighting over a dollar amount to soothe egos or embarrassment, which makes me yawn.

Q: Last week you had a lengthy letter from Jah in ATL, who talked about IndyCar’s image and history, pointing out how it’s much older than F1, and is the only series that can claim to crown a true national champion.

It seemed like your answer sort of blew him off, and then in your reply to the very next letter, you said that with FOX, we see where IndyCar lives in terms of national awareness and interest.

I agree with Jah that IndyCar should do everything possible to play up the fact that they’re awarding the Astor Cup, which dates back to 1915. Maximize the earned significance, such as it is. You can’t buy historical provenance. IndyCar needs all the help it can get – hopefully someone at Penske Entertainment read that letter. I know they did, they read the Mailbag. Kinda spooky, but not as spooky as that Big Possum shirt.

Bill Bailey, Fresno, CA

MP: The people who know about IndyCar’s history and its crowning of national champions are either current fans, likely longstanding ones, or former fans. If I thought the playing up of the national champion angle would make the slightest difference in attracting new fans and widening its audience, I’d have reacted accordingly.

Provenance is important, no doubt. But it’s not the hook that gets the average person involved in sports, is it? It’s seeing amazing people do amazing things with bats and balls and steering wheels and whatever else piques our interest. The layers to the sports, with the histories and legends who built the leagues, and the strands that connect the past to the present aren’t the frontline items. Not in my life experience. It’s secondary, or thirdondary (made that one up), which is why I don’t see the premise of championing the national title as more than a delightful footnote. As always, I could be completely wrong.

Q: Did McLaughlin’s left-rear wheel nut fail, or was it simply not attached? From the replay it looked like there were two pieces of material that flung off the car. Couldn’t tell if the nut had broken into multiple pieces.

Joey

MP: Spoke with the team and it was an error, not a failure. They thought the nut was secure, but it wasn’t, obviously.  

Q: Anything to report on Power or VeeKay for contracts for next year? Personally, I like how VeeKay and Coyne are gelling and would like to see them together next year with more sponsorship.

John Balestrieri, Waukesha, WI

MP: I can’t think of a team, other than Meyer Shank with its second car that sits seventh with Armstrong, that has a better seat open than the one Rinus currently occupies at Coyne. The Power seat at Penske is obviously great, but that team isn’t looking outside its current employees in Power and Malukas as solutions.

VeeKay’s manager has spoken with everyone in the paddock, and those few with paying seats to offer would be silly to ignore him, but he’s currently beating all but MSR with Coyne and race engineer Michael Cannon. There aren’t a lot of amazing opportunities for 2026, so I’d suggest holding station and exploring the market 12 months from now when a wider range of front-running teams will have something better to offer.

As for Power, he’s got plenty of interest. If Penske lets him go, he’ll be unemployed for however long it takes to fly from Charlotte to Indy and sign a new contract and take part in the press conference.

If Power were to become available for next year, the flood of incoming calls would be a heck of a stress test for Verizon’s cell services in NC. Joe Skibinski/IMS

Q: Question about IndyCar and yellows. Last weekend after Alexander Rossi crashed and Pato O’Ward was in the pits, the pits stayed closed for a bit of time – seemingly to help Pato. Yet last week at Iowa, Josef Newgarden pitted and it went yellow. It seemed the pits opened ASAP and hosed Josef.

Yes? No? Or am I overreacting to the events?

Kim 

MP: I guess we can put the “Penske tips the officiating scales in his drivers’ favor” thing to bed. I didn’t see either of those decisions as being intentionally done in ways that helped or hosed either driver. 

Q: Nice to see Linus Lundqvist in the papaya colors this weekend. I hope he does find a more permanent drive for 2026. Is McLaren keeping him on as a reserve driver for the rest of the season, or was this a one-off? 

Handsome Jo 

MP: One-off. But yes, Linus has drawn new interest since the McLaren outreach. He needs to be in the series. 

Q: Why is the New Hampshire mile not suitable for IndyCars? 

John Sedlak, Venice, FL

MP: I wasn’t aware Loudon had stopped being suitable. IndyCar raced there as recently as 2011, which gave us the all-time great meme of Will Power flipping race control the double birds. It’s owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc, which also owns Nashville Speedway, which Penske Entertainment rents from SMI to host its season finale. I’d assume Penske has the number for SMI president Marcus Smith to discuss IndyCar’s oval options at the range of tracks Smith oversees. He’s a sharp guy, and if there’s money to be made, I can’t see why he wouldn’t welcome IndyCar to more of SMI’s tracks unless it would place undue stress on the company’s relationship with NASCAR.

 

Q: Your comments were right on regarding the LBGP. The 2025 event was my 46th year attending the race. 

I think the biggest reason for the event’s continuing success is that on Friday and Saturday, from 7:45 in the morning until 8:00 at night there is some form of racing going on at the track. Then there are rock concerts on Friday and Saturday nights.

For a while I missed Indy Lights that was dropped several years ago. But then they added Historic Formula 1 cars, and I am in heaven.

Ed Kelly, Los Angeles, CA

MP: Great to hear, Ed. I understand that Indy NXT is a possibility for 2026. 

Q: Another successful Toronto Indy weekend is in the books. A couple questions for you as follow-up, though:

In last week’s Mailbag you mentioned that Toronto is likely coming back. As an annual attendee and proud resident, this comes as a shock to me. The World Cup is occurring at BMO Field in the middle of the track from June 12 to July 2. The city has been abundantly clear that no track set-up can occur until after this time. It usually takes three to four weeks. It also has to be taken down by mid-August for the CNE. Are we looking at a late July race as a possibility in a schedule shuffle, or would we be looking at skipping 2026 and coming back for 2027? The attendance this year looked to be the highest I have ever seen!

My other questions are about rules. In regard to the use of full course yellows and their timings, on ovals obviously the yellow comes out immediately. On road courses, they give the driver time to drive off. Why were they so quick to throw yellows on Sunday? Some were obvious needs for medical attention or blocked track, but the Rossi incident, for example, was a wall kiss. Why did that need to be an immediate yellow? It completely changed the results of the race (and maybe the championship), too. For a minor incident, wouldn’t it make more sense to hold off for everyone to have a chance to pit like NASCAR does? I have no issue with the luck of yellows, that’s racing, but that felt a bit extreme and avoidable.

Finally, late-race yellows. Sometimes we red-flag it, sometimes we let it go to the end. On Sunday it was too late for a red, but is there an unwritten rule about when they would throw a red or let it go? And if not, should there be? Or should we add the option of a red flag followed by an extra lap or two to pit, and get a lap or two to finish under green (or try to)? Just a thought. Not the complete randomness of race distance like NASCAR does but at least have a chance to finish under green.

Maybe if there are four to 10 laps to go on ovals or four to seven on road and street, we red-flag it instead of yellow and set up for a restart. If there are three to go, red flag and add a lap. If two to go, red flag and add two. If it’s on white flag lap, we’re done.

Ben, Toronto 

MP: IndyCar president Doug Boles told us he expects Toronto, Portland and Laguna Seca to return. If that wasn’t the case, he’d have declined to answer the question – I led with asking about Toronto – which would have been revealing. Now, things could change, of course, but the arrival of the World Cup is by no means a new conflict to consider, so yes, I’d assume a return to Toronto would involve steering clear of the other form of football. And if the race goes away for 2026, I’d assume it will be back in 2027 because it’s a cool and popular staple dating back to 1986.

Why did the Rossi crash with all kinds of car parts exploding off the car and littering the racing line need an immediate caution? I’d hope the answer is obvious. You occasionally see judgment calls made when race control feels a full-course caution is the right decision, but it’s for something that isn’t exactly urgent or scary – a car sitting dead in the middle of the road versus one that’s parked 50 feet off course – and so the flow of the race is taken into consideration as to avoid killing the leader’s day. Doesn’t happen every time, and that’s why it’s a judgement thing.

You’re right on the race ending under caution. That’s become a unicorn in IndyCar. It was once a somewhat normal and unremarkable way for a race to end. But because it happens so few times these days, I guess there’s a feeling that a formal process or structured chart on when it should or shouldn’t be allowed, and when a red flag should be introduced comes to mind as a thing to do. I don’t. I’d rather let race control read the situation and make a judgment call.

Doesn’t mean I’ll love all of their decisions, but I don’t want them locked into some mandatory matrix to follow. Sometimes the game ends with the quarterback taking a knee and running out the clock.

No arguing the need for a yellow after Rossi’s crash. Joe Skibinksi/IMS

Q: I wonder what Mailbag readers would think of this radical idea: No tire changes during yellow flags. You can come in and refuel but unless you have a puncture, you change that tire and that’s it.

I think most fans don’t like when their favorite driver gets snookered by a badly timed yellow flag. I’m curious to know what others think.

Jim Doyle, Hoboken, NJ

MP: I just pictured the big teams having drones warmed and ready to fly over the circuit under caution, wait for their cars to veer to one side of the track, and have the drone drop a bunch of small nails to puncture their tires and get the free passes to pit lane. 

Q: What is the deal with Newgarden lately?  Bad seasons do happen, but it seems like he has not been his normal self this year of taking adversity with grace. The handful of times when he has given interviews have been very short and, for lack of better words, seem very un-Penske like. I’m not saying that he is (to quote Seinfeld) not Penske material, but, wow.  I fear that the Newgarden of the past that we all loved is gone, and we are left with whom seems like a lost soul.  I’m sure many people will agree that we all miss the fun and jovial “Who is Josef Newgarden” version from the SFHR days.

Alan Bandi, Sarver, PA

MP: Tell me you didn’t read last week’s 99-percent-Newgarden-questions Mailbag without telling me you didn’t read the Mailbag.

The playful kid who drove for Sarah and Ed, and Roger the first few years, is all grown up and treats life in whatever way he chooses, compared to trying to please people as he did for the first half of his career. He appeared on camera last weekend when everything went wrong, again, and while he didn’t have much to say, it sure seemed like someone at Penske sent the message that talking to FOX was no longer optional. 

Q: We’re currently jetting towards race 14 of the 17-race IndyCar season and there has yet to be a single (non-Indy only) replacement driver entered into an event. For those of us who thrive on driver-change paddock-chaos rumors, that’s perilously quiet – and perhaps unprecedented in the modern IndyCar series. I went back to 2010 and every year there had been at least one driver change earlier than this. (Who can forget Giorgio Pantano’s one-off for CGR in 2012?)

Please tell me there’s going to be one fill-in by the end of the season? Or that Silly Season hasn’t been cancelled entirely yet?

PP

MP: To my knowledge, all of the paying drivers are meeting their payment schedules. That leaves drivers who are being paid, or bring a partial budget, and the schedule is actually the biggest barrier to making late-season changes. It was easier when the championship ended with runs from Portland to Laguna Seca, two road courses where plugging in a Felipe Drugovich or Dennis Hauger would make sense.

But not when the year closes at Milwaukee and Nashville where an embattled veteran would give the team and its sponsors a much greater chance of delivering a strong result. So, sorry Giorgio.

Q: I attended the Toronto IndyCar Grand Prix this past weekend and am glad I did. I hadn’t been back to this race since 1994, and a lot has changed. The race weekend was fun, and the gr andstands were full, which got me wondering how many fans attended the race? Doing a few quick calculations based on my Turn 11 grandstand (directly opposite Alex Palou’s pit box), I came up with a rough figure of about 18,500 seats, including the premium seating along pit lane, and at pit out. That figure does not include general admission ticket holders.

Do you know how many fans attended the Toronto Grand Prix?  Is that number, or a close estimate, published? The reason I ask is that we saw at Iowa estimates of 6,000 fans per race over the two-race weekend. It dawned on me that 18,500 fans is not a large figure for a major sporting event, even if it was sold out. Of course it didn’t help that the Toronto Blue Jays were in town on both Saturday and Sunday at the same time.

Kevin P., Los Angeles, CA

MP: I do not. Most basketball arenas hold around 18,000 seats, so if that’s what a motor race gets, and nobody is mad at the Knicks or Fever when they have sellouts at MSG or Gainbridge, maybe the math tracks at Toronto. I’d assume the Iowa figure was 3k on Saturday and 3k on Sunday. If you take both Iowa races and add Thermal, it has been a rough one for events with record lows in attendance.

Torontonians showed up in force. Chris Owens/IMS

Q: In my opinion, it’s time for IndyCar to quit chasing ovals and quit worrying about having a certain amount on the schedule. Time after time, they are generally failures in today’s racing world. There are two or three exceptions not including the 500. It seems the street courses and road courses are far better business decisions these days. People show up for those in the six figures for a weekend. It’s time to add a few more of those to the schedule and build the series and brand that way.

Yes, there is a hard core of fans that want ovals and more ovals, and I am mostly in that camp, but that business model just does not work. Be in the major cities, be at road courses and stay away from tracks owned by NASCAR. The 30-year-old vision has not worked and shows no signs of ever working.

As I like to say, there is right, wrong, and the way it is, and the way it is does not include a balanced schedule of ovals. If and when IndyCar builds up its brand and demand, then the ovals can come to them. 

Mark, Milford, OH

MP: I listened to an influential team owner today who told me to expect Iowa 2.0 at Nashville Speedway to close the season after Big Machine departed as its promoter. I hope that isn’t the case, but to your point, we’ll see what the Penske-promoted ovals at Milwaukee and Nashville generate for grandstand ticket sales.

Hy-Vee unplugged itself from Iowa and the results were as expected. Milwaukee was better than expected on its doubleheader return in 2024, so I have to believe Penske and the folks at the Fairgrounds can fill the stands for the single race next month. I know Big Machine spent a ton and went really hard to promote the return to the speedway, and the crowd was larger than anything I anticipated while leaving a decent amount of room for improvement. Like Hy-Vee, we’ll soon find out how the loss of Big Machine will impact the turnout for IndyCar’s season finale.

Q:  Andretti’s right-front failures must be setup related. I realize no one is going to show you their setup sheets, but I’d like your thoughts on a couple of observations:  

From your article I understand IndyCar mandated a maximum tire pressure for Iowa.  Do they mandate a minimum pressure as well? What about maximum negative camber? Are there specs on that?

I’ve noticed from in-car cameras a significant difference in steering wheel position on the straights of oval races from team to team, especially at IMS. Some setups result in a fair amount of “right hand down,” whereas other team’s steering wheels seem more neutral, like a road course setup. My guess this is from different caster leads settings. Do you think this has anything to do with excessive right-front tire wear?

Ron, Lakeland, MN

MP: Yes, there’s no way a single team had the same failure on all three cars without it being a common root cause. Caster is an important suspension setting, more so for some drivers than others, but at a short oval like Iowa with banking and constant turning, I’d be surprised if anyone was going hard on caster.

Firestone provides recommended pressure and camber ranges, but IndyCar isn’t like some series that dictate fixed numbers that must be followed or risk being penalized.  

Q: Doug Boles has proven to be an excellent promoter of IMS and its events (not that they need that much promotion), but as series president, do you know how much he intends to work with the other tracks and promoters to make their race promotions better? It seems Penske Entertainment has, for all practical purposes, kept its distance from the other venues. When you hear fans who live in the cities where races are held talk about the lack of awareness and promotion surrounding an event, it makes you wonder who’s responsible for what.

Scott C., Greenwood, IN

MP: They sign agreements to pay to host races at venues and handle all promotions (like Iowa) and are paid to put on a show at venues like St. Petersburg or Barber where the promoters are responsible for such things.

The evolution we’re seeing more of with Penske Entertainment is exactly what you’ve described by taking a more active role, wherever possible, in the shared promotional efforts at events where the promoters welcome the assistance or input. It’s not a thing at every event, but it’s growing. 

Q: Regarding Tim’s query a few weeks ago where he asked if anyone tried a mid-engine car on dirt during the USAC Championship era. Yes, a few times. Al Unser Sr. DNQ’d the Eisert for two dirt races in 1965. George Morris put the obscure Taylor into the field at DuQuoin in 1965, and Bill Sullivan DNQ’d the same car at Sacramento a month later.

In 1966, Ronnie Duman qualified the Eisert for the Springfield race, but the most notable “mid engine” was Lloyd Ruby in a Mongoose in 1968. Ruby qualified fifth at Nazareth (which was dirt then. More trivia – it was the first night race). His crew chief John Laux was quoted in Competition Press & Autoweek: “We changed the steering, slowing it down a bit, jacked up the suspension and put a dirt guard on the nose. The rest was all Ruby.”

The race, with Ruby experiencing turbo lag, and being seated much lower on a dusty track, didn’t go as well. Ruby clipped the wall on lap 13 and retired. Ruby and Laux tried, but failed, to qualify for two further dirt races on the schedule (Springfield and the Hoosier Hundred). Also keep in mind the standard starting field for the mile dirt ovals was 18.

Jim Thurman, Mojave Desert, CA

MP: Thanks, Jim. 

Q: What ever happened with the DeltaWing project? There were talks of that being the IndyCar of the future. 

Kev-o, Sartell, MN

MP: It raced at Le Mans in 2012 as the original Garage 56 invite and went on to race in the American Le Mans Series and then IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship through 2016. 

Maybe it still is the IndyCar of the future. Brian Cleary/Getty Images

Q: I wanted to back up the letter you published last week from Mike in Cincinnati re the issue he is experiencing with the audio during the race. I am experiencing exactly the same issue where the engine noise is too loud, and the commentary is blocked to a large extent. Interestingly, it means I now listen to the radio commentary whilst watching the times on the IndyCar site and have turned the volume to zero on the TV.

This was not an issue last week as I attended the Iowa doubleheader. Coming over from the UK, I always go to the doubleheader for obvious reasons, so please can we always have one on the schedule?

Oliver Wells

MP: Do as Oliver says, FOX and IndyCar. 

Q: I have attended Iowa in the past when the tickets were $20 each and kids got in free. I even ate the cost the first year of the concerts, but it was 100 degrees and I missed the Saturday race to avoid heat stroke. Watching on TV this year my son (now 12) asked if we could go back next year. My response was, “maybe.” The current ticket prices and the mid-July heat are not on my to-do list. I could live with one of those two problems, but not both.

FOX has a national MLB game of the week on Saturday nights at 7pm. Use that as a lead into an actual Saturday night race that starts at 10pm eastern, 9pm local. Turn on the lights and let’s rip. For fans at the track, you’ve got NXT and maybe one other lead-in and it’s a good day of racing. What do you think? Plausible?

Ryan in West Michigan

MP: I wouldn’t change a thing.  

Q: I keep reading how IndyCar teams insist that they don’t have enough financial resources to invest in a totally new car and engine formula, and yet they all seem to have enough money to build new factory/garage facilities around the Indianapolis area. As they say on Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the other.” What do you attribute this to?

Steve Summers, Ann Arbor, MI

MP: Yeah, it’s one of those easy things to spot that sounds like a gotcha moment, but it doesn’t take much to understand they are not like each other.

Funding a large brick-and-mortar building project: Not hard for a well-established team/business to get loans and use bank funding to make happen. Or for a major new investor to partially or completely fund, knowing it’s an asset they will own that has sustained value.

Funding the purchase of new cars at an estimated $1.2 million apiece: Not something most banks will provide loans to make happen, which means teams need to draw from cash reserves, investors, or profits – if slim profits are made – to pay for between four and 10 new cars.

Funding each IndyCar entry for a season to the tune of $8-11 million apiece: Not easy because no bank will loan you that money, so it requires constant chasing of multiple sponsors to contribute slices of the budgetary pie, or finding a paying driver to cover anywhere from 25-100 percent of the budget.

Except for the handful of truly wealthy entrants, the rest of the teams operate on tight budgets where summoning $5 million-plus to get new cars will involve pain.

Q: I have some news for you that maybe you are or aren’t aware of. My last message was New Year’s Day, to which you posted my thoughts about video game presence… very kind of you. What I’m not sure you’re aware of is that IndyCar has been very quietly released back into the Forza Motorsports portfolio.