Q: Do you know if Linus Lundqvist has a manager in the USA? It seems like he mostly manages himself, together with his family. But some reports mention a manager — “John Caponigro” or something like that. Do you know more?
Tomas Gustafsson
MP: He does, John Caponigro of the Sports Management Network, who also looks after the Andrettis, Scott McLaughlin, Kyle Kirkwood and a few other drivers.
Q: I’m a big fan of Ernie Francis Jr. After killin’ it in Trans Am, he seems to be struggling in Indy NXT. Can you update us on how he’s doing and the outlook for next season?
Lee Robie, Loveland, OH
MP: He’s doing well in trying to learn the hardest form of racing he’s ever tried, but he’s also going up against drivers who are life-long open-wheelers, so he’s way behind in mileage and experience. He’s 10th in the championship in his second season, and I hope he gets one more because he’s running about as high as I’d expect while facing those hardcore open-wheelers. If he’s got the goods to reach IndyCar, a third season will tell us everything, but I don’t know if Penske Entertainment is planning on funding it.
I do expect Myles Rowe, the breakaway USF Pro 2000 championship leader, to be in Indy NXT next year with Force Indy/Penske Entertainment, so that’s the only concern I have for Ernie. If Penske’s willing to bankroll two NXT cars with HMD, I can see Ernie continuing. If not, there’s no scenario where Ernie gets the seat in place of Myles.
Q: I’m watching a very entertaining NASCAR Xfinity race at Watkins Glen and all I can think is that IndyCar needs to be racing there again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the history. But apparently Roger Penske is going to let NASCAR back on the oval at IMS, so he should be in a strong bargaining position to insist on an IndyCar doubleheader with NASCAR at the Glen.
I don’t necessarily like seeing IndyCar being the opening act, but this arrangement would put a lot of eyeballs on the series racing on what is arguably the premier road course in the country. Why would Penske and IndyCar not be pursuing this as a top scheduling priority?
Alan, Orlando, FL
MP: It didn’t succeed the last time IndyCar was there, which Roger saw firsthand as an owner, so that might be a reason why it’s not his top priority. Also, IndyCar isn’t lacking road and street courses on the schedule, so I’m looking to ovals, first, and then new markets, and then former markets. I’ve openly and recently said I want IndyCar to go back to WGI in a hurry, but I can’t say it would be P1 on the calendar to-do list for the series.
Q: The 2023 IndyCar season has 27-28 full-time entries at every race, not counting the Indy 500, and it sounds like 2024 will be no different. At what point will Roger Penske/IndyCar increase the Leaders Circle from the top 22 to at the very least 24? There has to be some incentive for teams to field cars. The purse payout per race is not much, and with Arrow McLaren looking at expanding to a four-car team in 2025, IndyCar needs to advance with the growth of the series.
AE, Danville, IN
MP: No doubt about it. It’s one thing when the LC offered 22 contracts to a field of 24 full-timers. At 27, that’s a lot more have-nots than before, which isn’t how you endear yourselves to teams on the brink.
Q: While watching this year’s Indy 500, I got curious about what tire strategies teams use when it comes to ovals. Are teams given enough tires where they are putting a fresh set at every pit stop, or could they put on a scuffed set every once in a while? While on the subject, how do you think the use of alternate tires for the upcoming Gateway race will affect the action on-track?
Brandon Karsten
MP: It’s rare for a team to have nothing but new tires to use in an oval race, so yes, used tires are common solutions. We posted a story late yesterday afternoon about the debut of alternate tires on Tuesday with help from Bryan Herta and Conor Daly — you can find it here.
Q: IMSA’s 2024 schedule was announced on a Friday afternoon — not exactly prime time. Perhaps they were not eager to shout from the rooftops the “hiatus”of Lime Rock and the deletion of their top class from CTMP to make room for Detroit?
On the latter point: There are some intriguing elements to the change. Specifically, the common themes between the Detroit IndyCar weekend, the Toronto IndyCar race, and the announced date change of the IMSA race to a week later (which is the same weekend that the Honda Indy Toronto occupied this year).
If I were prone to seeing conspiracies, I might think this was an attempt to kill off the popular CTMP race competitor for the Honda Indy Toronto.
Either way, this move is a bitter blow for Canadian sports car fans and anyone else who wants to see the new GTP era run on the premier circuits in North America, as opposed to street courses that garnered mixed reviews at best.
Alex, Toronto
MP: IMSA has announced next year’s schedules on the same Friday at Road America for a long time, so no, there was nothing other than revealing it at the same time, on the same day, at the same event. If IMSA wanted to kill its CTMP visit, it could have dropped the event altogether, but it didn’t, so that would seem to silence any conspiracies, I’d hope. Losing the GTP cars is not what anybody wants and I know the series wants to fix this ASAP.