Q: Do you know if/where IndyCar posts its owners points or points by car number? I can’t find any listing of points by car online to check who’s in the top 22 for the Leaders Circle bonus. With Palou having the championship all but wrapped up, following who isn’t going to get the LC bonus will be interesting to track over the remaining races.
Kyle, San Diego, CA
MP: For the public, this is a good resource, although it can take a few days for entrants’ updates to land.
Q: I will defer to everyone else regarding who’s wearing white and black hats among Palou, Ganassi, and McLaren, and ask instead about the role of agents in IndyCar.
All right, that’s a lie. I think that no matter how messy, it is good for IndyCar and Palou that he stays put at Ganassi.
But what about Monaco Increase Management’s role? I cannot escape the impression that it whispered sweet F1 dreams in Palou’s ears, then dropped him the moment he decided to pass on all this. Raising the obvious question as to whether the agent was working in the client’s best interest or its own?
Agents are high visibility in F1, and it seems there is a mixed record there. For every Mark Webber, who, despite criticism, maneuvered Oscar Piastri away from Alpine to McLaren, there’s a Craig Pollock, who both helped engineer Jacques Villeneuve’s stunning rise and his equally stunning fall.
So, what’s the story on agents in IndyCar: success stories? Epic fails?
Al, Boston, MA
MP: There aren’t many, but most have been around for a while. Stefan Johansson. Adrian Sussman. Pieter Rossi, etc. We aren’t talking about crazy sums like in F1, so we don’t get similar levels of drama; Palou has been the wild card, and FWIW, his now-former managers were a mystery to the paddock until things blew up last year.
Q: I’m sitting in a sports bar watching Little League baseball on ESPN (main channel!) and I think, “What racing needs is go-karts on ESPN!” We need to involve the kids and give them kid racing heroes.
Bruce Merchant
MP: I’d love to see karting on a mainstream outlet.
Q: Just returned from IMSA at Road America. Tough Sunday for RLL and Connor Di Philippi in particular. Being there brought up a question: are there more paid drivers anywhere in motorsports than IMSA?
Keith Conroy
MP: You might be onto something, Keith. There’s also more paying drivers, across all of the IMSA-sanctioned series, than any other organization.
Q: With your rumor of Alex Palou maybe going to Williams, do you think there’s a possibility of Logan Sargeant (re)exploring the possibility of IndyCar? This would make sense for him to sign Andretti, giving Andretti another driver option if he were to get his F1 team. [Ed’s note: This letter arrived before Palou’s latest contract excitement kicked off last week]
Ken, Lockport, NY
MP: It could be a case of my ears failing, but I haven’t heard Sargeant mentioned once by teams or free agents as someone who’s in the mix for 2024.
Q: After watching Nashville and previously Detroit, it seems IndyCar had made terrible track selections. Certainly Belle Isle was a far better track for views and passing. Nashville was a joke, with no places to pass and way too narrow. From Cleveland to Portland to Laguna Seca to Sonoma to Watkins Glen, there are choices. Milwaukee and Michigan and other ovals have heritage also. I just don’t see what Penske and IndyCar are thinking — poor management of the series, and they’re not advancing like NASCAR, IMSA, WEC and Formula 1. The cars are old, but fortunately some there are great talents coming through as drivers. They don’t shine on crappy tracks. IndyCar deserves a big rethink.
CB, Naples, FL
MP: Thanks for writing in, CB.
Q: The bizarre wing failure on David Malukas’s car happened right in front of our grandstand. Do IndyCar officials meet the car in the paddock to try to determine what caused the failure? Also, if a tub is damaged, does it have to be sent to IndyCar headquarters after being repaired to be certified for use, or is it inspected at the next race where it’s used?
I had a great time at Nashville but the Big Machine Twitter site could have been better at updating fans about the weather on Friday and Saturday. I missed a lot of practice sessions for other series because of slow — or no — updates. Other than that, a solid 10 weekend.
Mark
MP: Yes, IndyCar’s safety/technical team meets the crashed cars when they’re returned to the paddock and photograph everything as it is, and if a deeper investigation into something is required, they’ll ask for the component to conduct an inspection.
Tub damage is inspected and acted upon by each team; it’s their property, and if repairs are required, there are resources in Indianapolis that can handle almost anything. Glad to hear you enjoyed Nashville.
Q: Something needs to be done about the marbles. I am a huge IndyCar fan but I slept through two-thirds of the Nashville race. No one dared to pull out of line and attempt to pass for fear of ending up in the wall. What if IndyCar went to a competition yellow at the midway point? Take 10 minutes to allow teams to service their cars and make any legal adjustments they might want to make. While this is going on, have two trucks with rolling brushes on the front make a lap around the track and push the marbles off to the side, nearer to the walls.
I am also getting frustrated with so many teams constantly going into fuel saving mode. Maybe if they had more room to attempt passing, there would be less fuel saving.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think IndyCar racing is the best racing in the world. It just needs a couple of adjustments to make it even better.
Bob Linn
MP: Agreed on the track cleaning, if necessary; I think I suggested the same in-race pause to do so last week.