Q: What’s happened to Oliver Askew? Last I saw he was driving for Andretti in Formula E cars. Is his career in IndyCar over?
Jim, Indy
MP: He’s on some short lists for IndyCar seats next year, and has been doing Formula E commentary and driver coaching.
Q: Can you give any updates on the 2024 IndyCar schedule? When might it be announced? I think everyone is wondering whether we’re getting Milwaukee back as a replacement for the second IMS road course race. With NASCAR all but making it official that they will return to the oval at IMS next year, you’ve got to think Milwaukee is in the works. What’s your take?
Paul Cray
MP: I sure hope we’re headed back to Milwaukee, provided a ton of promotional investments are made. We’re getting into the window where a better feel for the next calendar will happen, but that time isn’t today, unfortunately. Stay tuned.
Q: Looks like Meyer Shank has a good chance to get the 60 into the Leaders Circle with the way Lundqvist has been running. They are only three points out of 22nd place. With that in mind, I look at RLL and its third car is in 24th place behind Meyer Shank. Has RLL given up on getting the car into the 22nd spot, or are they taking it seriously? I ask because they are using Daly at WWTR but essentially testing other drivers for the last two races. It just seems a mixed plan compared to Meyer Shank.
John
MP: The Conor move is all about getting the car into the LC; they aren’t looking at him to drive the car next year, so his use is highly specific to the WWTR event. To your point, using Toby Sowery and Juri Vips to close the year is where the LC strategy gets fuzzy. Both are fast and talented kids, make no mistake, but they’ll need to avoid every pitfall — especially in qualifying on alternate tires for the first time with minimal time in a knockout format — and have exceptional races to get that contract for RLL. It’s entirely possible that it could happen, but it won’t be easy, which is obvious.
Q: Can you tell us any info about why Chip Ganassi is against putting the driver’s name on the car? I found that odd, considering he used to be a racer himself. Are there any other teams that won’t put the driver’s name on?
John, Boca Raton, FL
MP: I’ve always been told it’s because they’re his cars — he owns them, not the drivers — so they bear his name, not theirs. That changed a year or so ago with the drivers names being added inside the upper ring of the aeroscreen to more easily identify whose car is being viewed from the in-car cameras.
Q: I am struggling mightily to see what exactly Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — a team which prides itself on its collection of partners — sees in Juri Vips. He doesn’t appear to have been overly impressive results-wise in F2, and I imagine he’d be toxic to sponsors once they do a quick search of his name and see why he was axed from the Red Bull program.
Steve-o in Ontario
MP: That’s the trick, though. Christian Lundgaard wasn’t the third or sixth driver being looked at with interest in F2, and yet, he’s been revealed to be a serious talent whose F2 record, while good, didn’t tell the whole story of his capabilities. Vips, with all of the self-generated nonsense set aside, falls into the same category. I don’t think he’d ever be looked at as a future IndyCar champion, but he has a ton of quality seasons and miles completed within quality European open-wheel teams, so there’s a solid reason for RLL to want to see if he’s a Lundgaard 2.0. And if he isn’t there’s a dozen other skilled kids who will try to get that seat.
Q: Is there any insight into why the caution from lap 1 on the Indy road course lasted until they went back to green on lap 8? I was sitting on the mounds in Turn 7 and the accident was cleared within 10 seconds of the field passing on lap 2. Even going back to the GMR Grand Prix, we were back to green by lap 5 after the lap 2 caution.
Bryant
MP: The usual answer for such things when I ask is extra time was needed to sort through and re-order the field.
Q: I am long-time reader and first-time writer from Germany. Since we went to Nashville last year, we are wondering if the Music City Grand Prix is moving back to the first weekend in August from 2025 and beyond?
Lars Schauer
MP: Unless the 2024 Nashville season finale is an attendance failure, I can’t see it changing from its position as the season-closer.
Q: In reference to the letter from Ryan in West Michigan in last week’s Mailbag: It’s unfortunate that you couldn’t get your son into the paddock at Indy, but not all facilities have the same rules for access. My “home” track, Mid-Ohio — I live 10 miles away — has for years allowed kids 12 and under free gate admission and paddock admission with paid adult passes. The sights and sounds one can experience walking through the paddock can be an unforgettable part of any race weekend. Don’t assume all facilities use the same guidelines for access. If you plan to travel to an event, do your due diligence beforehand and you surely will find a place that will welcome your son to accompany you into a world of wonder.
Dan, Mansfield, OH
MP: Thanks for the insights, Don. I like the idea of IndyCar creating a streamlined access solution for families with kids at every race. It makes no sense to me that Ryan can take his kid and show him the cars up close in the Mid-Ohio paddock — a track Penske doesn’t own — but at the big one he does own on the weekend where IndyCar is the sideshow and isn’t located in Gasoline Alley, kids are forbidden. It’s this kind of short-sighted silliness that drives me mad.