Q: I am anxiously awaiting the release of “Lionheart” on HBO Max. Any idea when it will be available for streaming?
Melly, Ohio
MP: Last I heard, it was late this year or early next.
Q: I’m troubled by IndyCar president Jay Frye’s explanation in his Guest Mailbag that “we don’t have overtime. We don’t do that.”
IndyCar is trying to get the benefit of NASCAR’s overtime without implementing NASCAR’s procedure. I was never a fan of the NASCAR overtime, but it’s hard to deny that one or two attempts; it works.
When IndyCar tries to reverse-engineer — on the fly — a green-flag finish, it appears to most level-headed sports fans that they are making it up as they go along. ‘Hey, we may go red (at a time no other series would); we may close the pits for 10 laps (?!).
What’s next, one car is facing the wrong way so just have every car drive in reverse? Don’t say they wouldn’t do that, because I never thought they would just, you know, not open the pits for a while, or restart from pit lane.
Luke
MP: Even if it doesn’t seem like it, the procedures used at Iowa came from IndyCar’s rule book.
Q: Can’t say that Pocono was my favorite facility to attend, but I generally enjoyed the races on TV. For IndyCar however, it’s associated with much trauma and heartache. Is there just something inherently wrong with the track’s design or build that makes it so dangerous for open-wheelers?
Shawn, MD
MP: I bet IndyCar would put on an incredible race with today’s version of the DW12. NASCAR just packed the place, which is encouraging. The crash that killed Justin Wilson was a fluke. Could have happened in any previous era with any other Indy cars. The crash that sent Wickens into the fence and did so much damage led to some improvements as well that go beyond the aeroscreen, but it was, as you mentioned, the two severe crashes in a short span of time at Pocono, along with the jarring looks of the fence repairs, that left the paddock with no appetite to return.
There’s nothing inherent to the track’s design that I can think of that makes it dangerous. I’ve seen deaths and major physical trauma at slower tracks, so I don’t think the track layout itself is the issue.
Q: Regardless of the date, do you have knowledge about if the County of Monterey and IndyCar have an agreement on the sanction fee for the 2024 Monterey Grand Prix, or is that now under the purview of the new operator Friends of Laguna Seca?
Paul, Carmel Valley, CA
MP: The county is still in charge, so the new management amendment that includes the FLS working with A&D Narigi has a direct and extremely healthy relationship with the county at the center of everything. I don’t know what the sanction fee is or will be because I haven’t looked into it, but there’s a date on the next IndyCar schedule with Monterey on it early in the year, so we can assume all of the required parties plan to keep the event going with a new contract.
Q: I think IndyCar is missing the boat when Jay Frye says he’s happy with “just the 100 Days To Indy” format versus an entire season format for a docuseries. F1 gained a huge following by documenting its entire season on “Drive To Survive.” It gave viewers a chance to gain insight into many drivers and team personnel. “100 Days” was great, but basically only featured a few drivers and left viewers wondering what’s happens after the Indy 500. I think featuring an entire season would encourage people to follow the races all year instead of for two months.
Joe Weiss, Spooner, WI
MP: The party line within IndyCar has been that it likes and wants to stick with the 100 Days format, so I wouldn’t expect Jay to break ranks on it. The underlying reality is if there was a major network or streamer that wanted to do a season-long docuseries, the 100 Days format would not exist.
Said another way, if Netflix rang tomorrow and said it wanted to do a full season of Drive To Survive: IndyCar, the series wouldn’t turn it down unless it was limited to March through May. It would say yes, please, and thank you.
Q: Why is RC Enerson’s name not in the conversation for a sub role for Simon Pagenaud, or any of the possible openings for silly season next year? It seems he can do a lot with a little and is impressive.
David, Texas
MP: That’s a great point, and I’m guilty as well because his name never came to mind as a sub. I’d assume he reached out to MSR, but I’d also say that familiarity is a powerful thing. I doubt RC and Shank know each other very well, whereas Shank’s been around Daly at every event for many years, and Conor was full-time with ECR through Detroit, so he’d stand out as someone who’s fresh and in the groove in a way that RC would not.
Shank has plans for Tom Blomqvist, so Toronto made sense to get a sneak peek with him. Daly at Iowa was a no-brainer, but if he wasn’t available, a JR Hildebrand would have been a strong pair of oval hands to employ. Hiring RC off one IndyCar oval race would not have been the obvious move.
MSR also met with Linus Lundqvist during the off-season — Lundqvist traveled to the shop in Ohio, I believe — and has kept in constant touch regarding opportunities for 2024. He’s been chasing MSR, and a few other teams, quite hard, and his persistence has been rewarded. When Simon was advised by IndyCar to skip Nashville, Shank and Jim Meyer saw an opportunity to use the event as a no-risk chance to work with Lundqvist.
I don’t know if RC has been as persistent with MSR for the better part of a year in the same way like Linus, but if it’s a road course and Pagenaud’s still sidelined, it’s hard to argue against Enerson as being worthy of consideration.