Q: I just read that in the future there may be 25 cars on the IndyCar grid rather than 27. What’s this obsession with fewer cars? I don’t want to hear this crap about wanting quality entries. There is nothing that is not better with more cars, in every aspect possible. Why not let more cars race? I would love a real answer on this.
Also, you seem to have a beef with the Indy GP, and that is weird. Yeah, less races would be awesome… said no one ever. I go to that race. It has absolutely gotten busier every year. Don’t cherry-pick photos of the grandstands — we all know that most people sit on the spectator mounds. It gets harder every year to get good seats on the mounds. To whoever from Penske reads the Mailbag, my whole family loves going to that race. It’s a great event. Doug Boles came out of the Pagoda after the race and he gave my daughter a pin right out of his suit pocket and made her a fan. She always talks about it still. Don’t listen to the haters. We want more races!
AJ, Indiana
MP: The weird thing about rejecting facts is there’s no “real answer” to provide other than the one you already listed. The series has expressed interest in trimming to 25 to its team owners, with quality over quantity being the driver here. The only way to resolve this is for all teams to be of the same high quality, which is impossible and does not exist in any racing series.
Also, in another case of correcting meandering reality, I have no “beef”
with the Indy GP. But I do love that I’m now a “hater” because my opinion of the event differs from yours.
Q: Last year, ticket renewals for Iowa went out Sept 23. As of today, nothing for the 2025 race? I know it’s on the schedule and I know Hy-Vee, while reducing its IndyCar spend, is still sponsoring the weekend, but is there something afoot? Changes to the big-name entertainment format? Less Hy-Vee involvement…
Chris Cortez
MP: An answer for you from the event organizers: “Over the last few years, ticket renewals for existing customers, followed by public ticket sales for Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend, have begun at different times on the calendar. With the event transitioning to a new ticketing system for next year, ticket sales are expected to begin early in 2025.
“We are excited that the 2025 Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend, scheduled for July 11-13 at Iowa Speedway, will once again feature an NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader weekend with races on both Saturday and Sunday, along with Indy NXT by Firestone competing on Saturday. The concert lineup for next summer’s event weekend is still being finalized and we look forward to working with our partners at Hy-Vee to announce the 2025 entertainment lineup in the weeks ahead.”
They also encourage fans to reach out directly via this email address with such questions.
Q: I made “The Final Word” last week. Started reading it and thought is sounded familiar and it was me, and made me have a big grin and maybe a little tear thinking about Robin. Well, Frankie Muniz came back and is running trucks, and Patrick Dempsey just announced he is back. So, who do you know from acting who is waiting in the background just itching to become a racer? Who is racing that we just don’t hear about?
Tom, Waco
MP: We just had avid motorcyclist Keanu Reeves participate in his first race at Indy in the Toyota GR Cup. He wasn’t good, but that’s OK. Most of us aren’t. That’s the only one who comes to mind as new-new. Michael Fassbender was racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup through 2023; I was walking out of the paddock at Le Mans that year and saw someone flash by me who looked familiar, and then I realized I’d forgotten Magneto was competing.
Q: Just wondering if you have heard anything about Dan Gurney’s biography? I know that Dan’s widow was working on pictures for it. Do you have any idea when it will be published?
Lenny, Fairview Park, OH
MP: I was emailing with Evi Gurney over Thanksgiving and forgot to ask, but Justin Gurney, who runs AAR, tells me the goal is to have it finished ahead of the next Eagle celebration at Road America in the summer of 2026.
Q: Have you asked or heard from any of the drivers that that they have had to alter their driving style or preferred car setup due to the hybrid?
Shawn, MD
MP: Indeed. Every driver has made adjustments since the energy recovery system behaves like a brake-assist device, which requires a different approach to braking, then trail braking (on roads and streets), and accelerating once harvesting is complete and the ERS power is deployed.
With zero electronics involved on the braking side like the IMSA GTP cars have, it’s all up to the driver to modulate the brakes and move brake bias forward or backward by hand to compensate for the braking effects brought on with rear harvesting.
And while chassis setups haven’t massively changed, there are changes to accommodate the high ERS weight at the back of the car, so yes, across the board, changes in every aspect of tuning and driving the hybrid IndyCars has happened.
Q: In the Nov. 27 Mailbag, it really was hard to believe that someone was complaining about the promo on FOX about Michael Strahan driving the pace car for the 2025 Indianapolis 500 and believing it was all about Mr. Penske and his team. I was just delighted to see FOX promoting not just the Indianapolis 500, but IndyCar itself, so I don’t care who’s car they had on the show. Looking forward to my 45th and the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Brian, West Lafayette, IN
MP: You find it hard to believe that someone in IndyCar was complaining about something in IndyCar?
Q: I’m hoping you can solve a couple of mysteries for me. First, I believe it was the first Detroit Grand Prix after CART took over from F1. It’ s late in the race and Al Unser Jr. is leading with Emerson Fittipaldi close behind. Their cars were racing on Larned Street approaching the left turn onto Woodward Avenue when Emmo’s car hit something. It flew into the air and landed in front of Little Al’s car. Emmo went on to win the race. My question is: What exactly happened here? The broadcast didn’t seem to review it, and I know I didn’t imagine it.
Second, living on the Canadian border allowed me to see coverage of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. It’s the late 1980s and each year I would see this man standing in the area of pit out. I believe the man had a beard and he stood there unprotected. It looked like the cars might pass close enough that he could reach out and touch them. It always amazed me when I saw that. Who was that man, and why was he there?
Tim Davis, Detroit, MI
MP: I would have been 12 when the first race took place, and I’m not sure any of my books from that year are readily available. Hopefully Mailbag readers can help in your quest.