Q: A local radio station here in Grand Rapids let people call in and give their opinion on what is the most exciting moment in sports. As you might expect, the usual ones came up like the Super Bowl, a game-winning home run in Game 7 of the World Series, the winning goal in the Stanley Cup, a heavyweight championship fight, etc. I called in and said that final pace lap at the Indy 500 in front of 300,000-plus people all on their feet watching 33 cars all in 11 rows of three going close to 200mph coming out of Turn 4 and waiting for the green flag to be waved.
I can hardly wait for that scene to be here again on May 26. One guy if you can believe it called in after me and said that was not as exciting as scoring the winning goal in a World Cup soccer game. I kid you not, a soccer game.
Don, Grand Rapids, MI
MP: Maybe we need to have all the Indy 500 play-by-play announcers yell “GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL” when the winner crosses the finish line.
Q: Seeing Robby Gordon drive a truck at Long Beach brings back memories of a great era of IndyCar. Any chance we see him getting back involved with series again with his son?
Ben, California
MP: It was fun listening to Robby do his usual schtick at Long Beach after the Saturday Super Stadium Trucks race where he ****s on IndyCar and raves about how SST has more followers on social media, etc. His son Max was with him and was asked about his future racing interests, and he did mention getting to IndyCar as a serious goal. He’s something like 15, so that’s a ways away, and if Robby wants to make it happen, he needs to get him on the USF Championships ladder now.
Q: Is there damage like pitting and scratches to the windscreen from sand and small rocks, or do the tear-offs add enough protection to make the windscreen last the whole season?
J.P., Las Vegas
MP: From an interview I did with IndyCar about the first-gen aeroscreen in December, I was told six screens had been retired among the 60 or so that were made (factoring the extras for spare cars where aeroscreens were fitted) due to wear or damage from hard impacts. The tear-offs do an amazing job, but the PPG laminate screens are also tough as hell.
Q: Should Liberty Media buy the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series? If it does, here is what would happen. Indy NXT would merge into FIA Formula 2. There would be crossover weekends between IndyCar and F1. F1 drivers would compete in IndyCar series races. More constructors would come into IndyCar (Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, Mercedes-Benz). And F1 would return to IMS as well.
Kurt Perleberg
MP: Should they? Yes. Have they tried? Yes. Have they been turned away? Yes.
Q: I know the drivers use in-ear monitors for hearing their team. Where is the microphone so the team can hear them? Is it built into the helmet?
Craig
MP: Helmet specialists install microphone systems in each new helmet and use a flexible mic that is placed right in front of the driver’s mouth. I’ve done many of those installs over the years along with the HANS posts and whatnot for drivers, and on occasion in a helmet or two of my own. I’ve always enjoyed the process.
Q: Why does IndyCar continue to do the prayer before the race? It is the opposite of inclusion and I would hope the series would rather be more open and inclusive rather than close-minded and mandating one religious belief over another.
Bob, Topeka, KS
MP: Because it’s a tradition that nobody within IndyCar has considered ending. I believe it happens at most professional motor races in the U.S.
Q: I’ve realized the direction of IndyCar racing on street and road courses, and it’s reliance on winning by fuel strategies over racing skills. That is not of interest to me nor many others. To watch a driver have to slow his pace to reach a fuel mileage number must be as painful for a driver as well as some fans. This tedium is not nearly as noticeable on ovals, and you can actually witness racing talent instead of driver-less drone-type strategies.
IndyCar has had some spectacular racing finishes when drivers rely on their racecraft rather than fuel consumption. You still can see race drivers and the technology of the car in action, with no holds barred, during qualifying for sure. In that case I’m glad for Peacock’s coverage of practice and qualifying for us IndyCar snobs out here!
Bernie Stapleton, West Milford, NJ
MP: But Newgarden and Herta and others on the same strategy weren’t doing big fuel saving while chasing Dixon, so I’m a bit lost here. Strategy is part of every race and has been for longer than any of us have been alive. Not sure why a race of differing strategies, which was won by the greatest driver of his generation and one of the greatest to ever do it, is being criticized, but I’m probably missing something.
Q: Since it seems IndyCar charters will be a go in some format whether we like it or not, I’ve tried to come up with an idea that may work better. It seems like IndyCar is stuck on 25 charters where you buy in somehow and races are capped at 27 making the field, so there would only two open spots each race. Additionally, with the charters, they want a “buy in and you’re in until you sell the charter”-type deal.
What about this: Take the Leaders Circle and reduce the number that get it down to around 18. Increase the amount of money the 18 get. The 18 in the Leaders Circle are guaranteed a spot in every race the next season, including the Indy 500. Cap the race grid at 27. So, you have nine open spots to qualify for each race. The top 18 are from the previous year’s entry points (not driver). The top-18 spot can be sold by the team to another in the offseason if they want to. And there you go… you have some guaranteed year-over-year, you have more spots open to qualify for at each race, the 500 still has 15 open spots for drivers to qualify for, you haven’t completely eliminated the ability to for new teams to break into the series, and it’s based on performance. Plus, the Indy NXT champion still has a pretty decent shot of making races if they put together a part-time schedule with their NXT winnings.
In this idea, we avoid a situation where a team like A.J. Foyt Racing pays into a charter and until the end of time we see the likes of Robb/Pedersen/Kellett two or three seconds off pace riding around for a decade, while a world-class organization like PREMA shows up every weekend with an all-star driver and sponsor qualifying on-pace but getting sent home every other weekend because they’re competing for only two spots each weekend. Also, the likes of Dreyer & Reinbold aren’t essentially locked out forever since they could race back into the series if they get the funding to go full-time again.
Now, I’m sure this doesn’t make the owners thrilled because it’s not some eternal guarantee forever, but it’s more than they have now. The value should come from your team being good, not from your team simply existing at the right time.
Ross Bynum
MP: I was told last weekend that IndyCar has come to its senses and will not be charging for the charters. I also listened to a fascinating idea on charters from an owner who wasn’t ready for their plan to be shared with the world, that would radically alter the way the series does business, that wasn’t a million miles away from what you’ve presented. But I wouldn’t expect to see anything other than the basic plan of 25 charters with 22 Leaders Circle contracts being solidified to start the deal.