Q: I saw George Russell’s quote that his salary in his first season with Williams was only in the high five figures. That really surprised me given the top driver salaries you hear about. Is Russell’s experience typical for first year drivers?
Second, over and over you hear about how much time is spent (and how important) doing simulator work is during the season. Do you know much about the simulator rigs of the various teams? Do the rigs at the factory have shaker plates, etc? Also, are there portable rigs taken to every race?
Ed Kelly, Studio City, CA
CM: I wouldn’t say typical in the sense that five figures did seem particularly low. The only wages I ever had firmly was first-year Red Bull juniors in Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri being on €250,000 per year, so around $275,000. But then I would imagine they’re on a pretty solid rookie’s salary given Red Bull’s investment and the other demands on them.
In terms of simulators, teams don’t take portable ones to races — they’re extremely expensive bespoke pieces of equipment that are in huge facilities back at their respective headquarters. We’re talking millions of dollars for something that is a cockpit on a rig and huge wraparound screen. Getting the latency as low as possible and the cues are crucial, but so too is the software that allows as many parameter changes as possible and accurately feeds back their impact to the simulator driver.
In terms of some of the hardware, I don’t think shaker plates are used — at least not in the contemporary sense you and I would see on a rolling road — because there are no wheels on the simulator. I did ask a team about some details and was told they couldn’t tell me anything officially because of the secrecy around the tech, so I’ll have to admit defeat on any specifics for now!
Q: I’m 28 years old. And in my 25 years of being a NASCAR fan, I’ve only had three drivers: Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott (by default, when he began his full-time Cup career by taking the reins of the 24 car), and anybody that drives the 24 car as long as it is a HMS number. (Right now that is William Byron).
I’ve never really had a favorite driver down in the lower levels, but that may change for 2024. Shane van Gisbergen may become the driver that I follow closely in Xfinity, as well as being someone I want to see do well in his Cup starts, especially on road courses. I think SVG will definitely be a threat on road/street courses in both Cup and Xfinity, and with him having good equipment from Kaulig, I believe he can post decent oval results once he gets comfortable in the Xfinity car.
Kevin, Arizona
KELLY CRANDALL: SVG is going to be one of the most watched drivers next season because there is so much intrigue in this transition. There is no reason to believe he would not continue to be competitive on the road/street courses in both series, and potentially compete for a win or two. In the Xfinity Series, it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing him go toe to toe with teammate AJ Allmendinger and some other really good drivers on the road courses. On the ovals, he will certainly get a little more leeway as he gets comfortable and adapts, but given how long a NASCAR season is and how talented he is, there should be some good progress as the year goes on.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, December 23, 2015
Q: This may be a long shot, but I figured you might know. Ever have one of those questions that just stick in your craw and wonder why you can’t get the answer?
As a kid, my dad and I watched A.J. Foyt win the ’64 Indy 500, and as you know, that was the last race won in a front-engined car. In the month lead-up to the race, I remember A.J. practicing in a Joe Huffaker-designed, Offy-powered car, the 1963 Watson driven the previous year by Ebb Rose, and possibly his 1961 Floyd Trevis chassis roadster. So the question is, among the three, what made him decide to use the 1963 Watson? I guess the answer could be as simple as the Watson offered them the best combination of speed and reliability, but I have been curious. What made that car different from the 1961-winning car, assuming it was available?
Peter Lohmar, Lawrenceville, GA
ROBIN MILLER: A.J. tested the Huffaker in March at IMS and practiced in it during the first week in May of 1964 before opting for the Watson roadster. Bob Veith got in the car after A.J. stepped out and qualified 23rd. A.J. also jumped in a Ted Hallibrand rear-engine model called the Shrike and turned some practice laps later in the month. But he and Parnelli both felt more comfortable in their roadsters, which were undoubtedly lighter than the ’61 cars and also running the new low-profile tires.
That was the season Super Tex won the first seven races, tried the Lotus at Milwaukee in Race 9 only to have the gearbox fail, then captured DuQuoin and Indianapolis in his Meskowski dirt car before a DNF at Trenton in his roadster. He won Sacramento for his 10th victory and ended the year in a Hallibrand rear-engine Shrike at Phoenix. Parnelli was on the pole in his Lotus with A.J. alongside but his fabulous season ended with a DNF.
“Anne (Fornoro, his publicist) tells me I spun out at Phoenix but I don’t remember spinning one time that season,” said Foyt to RACER with a chuckle. “And, if I did spin, I’m sure it was because something broke.”