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 appear the following week.
Q: I’m hoping this is the most esoteric IndyCar hybrid question you’ll get. If the clutch paddle is now used for regen above approximately 50 mph, is there a way to override that in case a driver really does want to clutch in?
Of course this is very rare, but the situation that comes to mind is Rossi’s “clutch and coast” on the last lap of the 2016 Indy 500.
I also remember an F1 situation about 15 years ago when the seamless shift broke on Alonso’s Ferrari, and he had to clutch in to shift gears.
Brendan
MARSHALL PRUETT: Yes, drivers are able to override the system and use the clutch paddles as clutch paddles, rather than regen paddles, while on track.
Q: Can anything be done to make the racing at Iowa better? If you were IndyCar czar, what would you do, if anything, to change the racing?
Kyle
MP: Yes. More exhaustive testing of tire compounds and constructions to regain the right balance of degradation on the new high-grip track surface. That ratio was off last weekend, with the tires barely having any drop-off, and as a result, folks ran around single-file for most all of the laps after the first three or four laps on the start and restarts.
Q: There were several reports of people seeing Hailie Deegan at Iowa hanging around the Andretti NXT team. Was she just there as a fan, or is there interest in her joining the series? Hailie was touted as the next rising star in NASCAR but things didn’t work out. If IndyCar could steal her from NASCAR, it would help validate the appeal of NXT. What have you heard, or have you talked to Hailie or anyone at Andretti Global?
Dave W.
MP: Having Deegan in NXT would indeed be a big draw of attention to the series. The team told RACER, “We think she’s a great talent and look forward to seeing what opportunities could be ahead for her career.”
Most of her career has been oval-centric, which would place her at a big disadvantage in NXT where ovals are a minor part of the calendar, but Andretti is among the best in the country in developing young talent, so if they work something out, she’d be in the perfect farm system if NXT, compared to doing something in Andretti’s burgeoning presence in NASCAR, is where the relationship heads.
Q: Why Rossi was so off-speed that Robb ran over him? I didn’t hear anything about a problem with Rossi, and if there was an issue should he have gotten to the inside and out of the fast lane. Your take?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: From Rossi: “I’m not sure what exactly happened with the fuel load, but we had to go into a pretty crazy save mode there at the end. I think we were going to get there, but unfortunately there was an incident when I was beginning to lose fuel out of Turn 2 and it ended our day. It was very unfortunate, and I feel like we let two really good results get away from us. The cars were good, and I am just hoping Sting Ray is OK at this point.”
Race 2 winner Will Power’s last four laps on Sunday were 19.5s, 19.5s, 19.3s, and 19.5s
Rossi’s last five, in big fuel-saving mode, were 20.0s, 21.0s, 20.5, 22.1s, and 22.4s.
So, Rossi was definitely running slower, especially for the last two laps, but he was three seconds off of the leader, not crazy-slow at five or 10 seconds off the pace where other drivers were tripping over him.
What he was doing on the last lap was no different than what he’d done on the previous four, so if I put myself in his position, a change of behavior in exiting Turn 2 on the last lap wouldn’t have stood out as an urgent need.
As I understand it, and as he alluded, he ran out of fuel, which caused the sudden slowing, and with Sting Ray following at full speed directly behind, the slowing plus the close proximity of Robb created a really bad outcome before he could start steering to the left to get out of the way when his motor sputtered.
Q: Decades ago, Richard Childress, having had no real success behind the wheel, stopped racing and focused on ownership, resulting in major successes. Roger Penske was successful as driver, stopped racing and conquered the racing world. I think Ed Carpenter needs to do the same — his race results are disastrous, and business-wise his team is lacking sponsorship. What say you?
Jim Davis
MP: Ed told me last week that he will continue racing on the ovals next year, so it won’t happen in 2025. Having seen and enjoyed him as a threat for many years at every oval, it has been hard to watch the latest string of years where we often forget he’s in the race.
But if he’s finding joy or fulfillment from the outings, or if there’s a business need for some sponsors for him to be in the car, he wouldn’t be the first driver to continue in IndyCar beyond their prime. I watched it with Foyt, Rutherford and others, and while they were in a different league, it was their prerogative to keep racing after they lost the ability to win. Ed spends most of the season not racing, so I don’t see how retiring would make a meaningful change to the team’s finances.
Q: The left-turning nature of oval racing in the U.S. is commonly referenced in pop culture, social media, jokes, etc… Have there been any significant oval races run with right turns (clockwise)? Is there a historical reason why oval racing in the U.S. makes left turns (runs counter-clockwise)?
Adam
MP: Not sure if they’re as famous as Indy or Daytona, but ovals Down Under run clockwise. This is what the first item in a Google search tells us. [ED’s note: The information in the link is sort of correct, but a little out of date. The mighty Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne did indeed run clockwise back in the day, but has not hosted racing events in many years. Most of the track configurations at AIR (Adelaide International Raceway) run clockwise but as I understand it the half-mile ‘Speedway Super Bowl’ layout does not – MG.]