Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.
ED’S NOTE: The Mailbag is taking a two-week summer vacation starting from next week. Feel free to continue sending questions to the usual address, and we’ll save them for when the Mailbag returns on July 12.
Q: You are going to have to get us the details on what went wrong for Colton Herta. From the TV broadcast, it looks like the biggest bad strategy call of the year. Like, a “lose your job” kind of bad call. My family was discussing it after the race, and we wonder if there is more to it than the bad call. Did they not get enough fuel in? Release a second too early in the last stop? Did a bad calculation cause them to think they had more fuel than they thought?
John
MARSHALL PRUETT: I think the worst strategy call of the year would go to Ganassi for leaving Marcus Armstrong out while everyone pitted under yellow, which destroyed his chances of earning a career-best result. Made zero sense since he only had a few laps of fuel left in the tank and was running seventh when those in front and behind him pitted under caution. His race went downhill from there…
As I understand things, Herta had enough fuel and tires left to go one more lap, but the team chose to call him in one lap before his rivals. I’ve also heard they had significant radio issues during the race, so that could have been a factor in conveying thoughts and plans in both directions.
So, yes, stopping one lap early was going to require fuel saving at a 4.0-mile track, but I’ve also learned that Herta’s No. 26 Honda did not receive a full tank of fuel on that final stop, which compounded his problems and sent him into extreme fuel saving just to make it to the finish. If it was only a case of saving to make up for that extra lap of fuel, I don’t think Herta falls to fifth. But with a short tank and an extra lap of running to do, he became a sitting duck.
Q: I would like to know how much Colton Herta is biting his tongue this week. Even I was saying pit with 14 to go. Yes, there was a slim risk of being caught out by a yellow, but IndyCar does its best to minimize the impact if that happens, especially on road course. Pitting with 15 to go was more of a strategy to not lose as opposed to being aggressive and trying to win. Feel bad for him, he was controlling the race all day.
Jeff, State College, PA
MP: Just as he’s lost the team some races from mistakes made behind the steering wheel, we’ve seen the maturity of Herta being demonstrated by not throwing the team under the bus in this instance. They win and lose as a team, as the saying goes.
Q: I know everyone believes Alex Palou is headed to McLaren at the end of the year. Is there a chance Ganassi steps up and finds a way to keep him there? Is the any interest at all from Alex to stay? I know it always comes down to money, but how much deeper are McLaren’s IndyCar pockets than Ganassi’s? It seems it would be in Chip’s best interest to try to keep as many of his current drives as he can considering the team is currently functioning and an extremely high level. Is the F1 carrot so great that Palou would overlook the situation he is currently in?
Joey, Florida
MP: You might enjoy this silly season update, Joey. And the short answer is yes, between the two teams, Palou sees a bigger and brighter future with Arrow McLaren.
Q: I think the ACO/FIA may aid the Le Mans results with BoP. It seems odd to me that the Ford GT won on its historical return to the race, and now the same thing has happened with Ferrari. Am I looking for a conspiracy where there is none, or not?
Bruce Kerr
MP: Same thing when Danica magically earned pole in her first Daytona 500. It’s not a surprise when a big, new (or returning) name does something big to attract more eyeballs or ticket sales ahead of the marquee race. The shocker, which couldn’t be adjusted through a favorable BOP, was that both Ferraris maintained front-running pace and finished, with the No. 51 499P taking the win.
Among all of the pre-race talks of who’d fall out first, I said Ferrari every time and was 100-percent wrong. Can’t pin the Scuderia’s success at Le Mans on the rule makers. It was all on the team.
Q: I was wondering if there was any update to the story you wrote last September about Milwaukee possibly returning to the IndyCar schedule in 2024? Also, what are the odds of a race in Argentina?
Brian, Joliet, Illinois
MP: At the time of writing, no, but I’m hoping to get an update, ASAP. I was told by a few people that Roger Penske was at The Mile on Sunday morning ahead of the ARCA race, so that can’t be a bad thing. I’ve heard the promoters on the Argentina side are only interested in supporting it if it’s a full round of the championship, not a post-season non-points event.
Q: It is encouraging to see the improvements at Laguna Seca – the repaving, new pedestrian bridge, sponsor agreements, county funding, etc. I remember all the negative comments when Monterey County was negotiating with John Narigi to replace SCRAMP. I attended my third Rolex Reunion last year and was impressed with track management; I will be there this year for the Rennsport Reunion. I’m curious about your perspective on the management and operation of Laguna Seca since 2020? It seems John Narigi and his team have done as well as anyone else could have and have surpassed expectations.
Rick, Florida
MP: I was never a fan of the sham selection process where the head of the board of supervisors and the county’s chief administrator allegedly hand-picked Narigi as a “candidate” who then, magically, won the vote to take over and run Laguna Seca. That process aside, I’ve only been impressed by what he and his team have achieved, and yet, I continue to hear about background efforts to replace him… We’ll see if sanity or dysfunction reigns.