Q: Are you privy to the character of the discussions taking place between IndyCar/Penske, Track Enterprises and the Wisconsin State Fair Board? Does it seem that provided the ARCA/Trucks event is a decent success, and provided that the track commits to having a few more safety improvements made over the off-season, that Milwaukee would return in 2024? Or are we looking at 2025?
I lived in Milwaukee until a few years ago. I really had no clue the Mile existed, although at that time I did not follow racing. Only in the past year or so have I learned of this quite historic track. I think with smart and directed promotion, the event would draw a respectable crowd. A good chunk of people who are into IndyCar now were not on the radar a decade or so ago when the event last ran.
There was recently some discussion online about making the event a “throwback” week. The consensus was that such events, when mandated, have grown a bit stale. Yet there was a desire for acknowledgement of the long history of the track. One thing I learned is that the race at Milwaukee had a pretty badass sounding name — The Rex Mays Classic — for many decades. Mays was a driver from the 1940s and ’50s who, aside from being a multi-time champion, was a safety advocate. He once pulled over while leading at Milwaukee to help a stricken driver.
Having the title sponsor present a Rex Mays Classic, a badass old-school trophy, a few old cars, and perhaps some unofficial encouragement for a few teams to run vintage liveries, would, I feel, provide plenty of room for a cool sense of nostalgia, while not turning the event into a history lecture. What do you think? Whatever ends up happening, if there is a race, we will be there.
KS, King County, WA
MP: I was told Milwaukee is looking really good for next year while at WWTR last weekend. I love the idea of MKE becoming a throwback event, but not to start. Too many years have passed since we were last there, and we have tons of new fans who’ve started following since 2015, so IndyCar needs to start something cool and new at the track before going too hard into retromania that might only connect with half the audience.
Q: I was thinking about all the cars sitting overnight in the paddock. Do teams have someone who sits all night with them to make sure no one touches them?
Craig
MP: They all get loaded into their transporters and locked up overnight.
Q: I never cease to be dismayed by Graham Rahal’s lack of performance, especially on ovals. I was beginning to think the RLL team had made progress after the Indy road course. But on Sunday, the commentary from the on-air personalities said “Just 25 laps, and not a happy lap,” then Mr. Rahal commented that the crossweight was wrong and they would have to duplicate their teammate’s setup.
Wow, does this indicate a complete lack of communication between the crew and Mr. Rahal, Mr. Rahal forgetting how to drive ovals, or something else structurally wrong with the team?
Russ
MP: Before we put it all on Graham, the team sucked last weekend when compared to their performance two week’s prior at the Brickyard. As a whole, RLL was out to lunch at WWTR. Graham was the worst of the three, though, and I spent most of the lone practice session in his pits as they tried a number of changes to try and make things better and nothing worked. Rahal’s won at Fontana and Texas and been on the podium at every other oval, I believe, including two thirds at the Indy 500, so his oval skills are solid. But it doesn’t help when Conor Daly shows up for his first race and leads RLL in qualifying and the race, so there’s that.
The team has made a ton of improvement on the engineering side in recent months, but it still needs a major overhaul. We know where Ganassi and Penske cars will run every weekend, but we never know where RLL will end up. Even Lundgaard, RLL’s golden child, was made to look ordinary for once by Rahal at the Brickyard, and he had no answer for Daly at WWTR. If and when they can become better on a consistent basis, we’ll have less to wonder about with its drivers and their potential.
Q: Over the weekend, I was watching racing history videos on YouTube. The diehard NASCAR fan in me was watching the new NASCAR Classics page. But I stumbled onto a short video produced by a YouTuber that talked about the history of NASCAR’s very short-lived “Speedway Division,” which was NASCAR’s version of IndyCar in its efforts to dabble at open-wheel racing in the 1950s. Obviously whatever hopes at a legit open-wheel league that NASCAR ever had have long been dead. But just what if NASCAR actually succeeded in having a legit open-wheel division? What might you have envisioned?
Kevin P.
MP: Indianapolis had already captured our imagination in the 1950s, so I doubt it would have made much of an impact on what happened then or what follow in the ’60s where the Indy 500 and related events were the biggest thing in American racing. The combo of production cars being raced on southern ovals was perfect, so I think history played out just as it was meant to be.
Q: Regarding Scott Dixon’s fuel saving, can you put some sort of mpg, or per lap or percentage over others? I’m sure exact numbers are secret. I know he’s great; question is, how numerically great.
Isaac, Fruitport, MI
MP: This is the type of thing where, upon Dixon’s retirement, I’d bet the team would share some numbers. But not while they’re beating everyone with his superpower.