Q: If there are lots of other people like me who are missing IndyCar and can’t wait for the next season to start next March, I have a suggestion. If you have not done so already, go on YouTube and watch all the Indy 500s from 1951 thru 1969. This was when Indy, the World Series, the Rose Bowl and Elvis all ruled. But it is great to watch these races and not sit through endless silly commercials. And this is when the guys would get dirt and grease on their face during the race and not dress like they were going up on Apollo 13. I love watching these old 500s and encourage people to enjoy them if you have not watched them yet.
Don, in very maize and blue Michigan
MP: Thanks, Don. The amount of great racing content on YouTube — old and new — could fill the rest of our lives if we stopped and tried to consume it all.
Q: I think you will find answers to your brick paving questions at this link. It mentions Mr. Blackburn from our city of Paris, Illinois.
Patrick, Paris, IL
MP: Thanks, Patrick.
Q: Since we are in the racing doldrums at the moment and that includes F1, here is a little something to help fill the Mailbag: Celebrities that I got to see race at Sebring over the years. Wished I’d have seen Steve McQueen with Peter Revson in the Porsche 908/02 finish second to Mario Andretti in the Ferrari 512S in 1970, but alas, I missed it.
Here goes:
Dick Smothers 1971/72 with John Greenwood in the No. 48 Corvette
Paul Newman 1977 with Bill Freeman in the No. 2 Porsche 911S
James Brolin 1982 with Jim Busby and Doc Bundy in the No. 58 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR
Gene Hackman 1984 with Whitney Ganz in the No.55 Mazda RX-7
Craig T Nelson 1997 with Darren Brassfield and Dan Clark in the No. 2 Riley & Scott MK III
Patrick Dempsey 2014 with Andrew Davis, Norbert Siedler and Joe Foster in the No. 27 Porsche 991 GT
McQueen with his “Le Mans” movie, Newman with his “Winning” movie and years running SCCA, and Dempsey with his Le Mans documentary and Ferrari movie casting were much more passionate and were involved in the sport more long-term than the others.
Ever run into any of these folks while you were working the race?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: What a fun list, Jeff. Saw Paul Newman race many times in IMSA and Trans Am. Same with Craig T. Nelson in the ACRL Sports 2000 series and then IMSA. Tons with Patrick Dempsey. Others that come to mind: Walter Payton, Vince Neil, Lorenzo Lamas, Michael Fassbender, Frankie Muniz, Paul Walker. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few.
Q: I read a report on X that Iowa Speedway is being repaved in spring 2024. Do you know if this is accurate? If so, I’m extremely curious to see how it will affect the IndyCar doubleheader and the racing we see.
Jeremy, Iowa
MP: I asked the series and it was unaware of a repaving taking place prior to the IndyCar event.
Q: I recently booked a condo for the Nashville weekend with some of my iRacing IndyCar friends (again, shoutout IndyCar for sadly ruining that community). After doing a bit of research, every support series that has been there the last two years has excluded Nashville from its 2024 calendars. Trans Am, GT America, Toyota GR, etc as well as possible series like IMSA support, Porsche Sprint, etc.
With most series having their schedules out already and seemingly none but IndyCar and Indy NXT having Nashville on it, is there any concern about having a full (and high quality) slate of on-track action across that weekend next year?
Caleb Benci, Stow, OH
MP: I texted the event’s leader and he did not respond, so I don’t have much of an answer for you, Caleb. If we’re fortunate, we’ll get the jumpy trucks and who knows what else. Maybe the first appearance of GridLife at the event? A celebrity race? Nashville is the last place where fun and creative support acts should be in short supply.
Q: OK, now I’ve lost it, Now I can’t watch the full NASCAR season on live TV. I have to have a smart TV and pay extra for races. Total BS. IndyCar is trending the same way. Hey networks, wake up! Most of both of your series’ fans are old school — I attended my first IndyCar race in Phoenix in April of 1966.
If these stupid exces continue to press us old guys into watching races on the web, it won’t happen. We’re old school and the passion we all share for watching racing will be gone. We won’t pass it on. SoCal was home to over 10 drag strips, Riverside, Ontario, Fontana and now nothing other than Long Beach — which is better to watch on TV — still exist. So where will you build your fan base, you dummies? F1 and ESPN now have huge fan base because of promotion, exposure and driver stories through Drive To Survive. Hey IndyCar and NASCAR: Wake up! Do stuff to increase ratings! If you continue to limit your live coverage on major networks, the old guys like me and others won’t teach the young and your viewership will be dead and gone
Joe Greenway
MP: The best way to kill an old product is to solely focus on the old demographic, Joe. Streaming is taking over, and has been for many years. When I worked at Fox/SPEED from 2006-2013, we took our first steps to offer streaming for select American Le Mans Series qualifying sessions around 2009 or 2010, led by our passionate head of digital, Kevin Annison, and even then, it was considered as being way ahead of its time here in the U.S.
Most of the younger viewers I knew, and that’s largely fans who are under 40, do not schedule their lives around sitting on a couch to watch racing delivered on network channels. If having to make some adjustments to watch a few of your favorite races via streaming is the price of a series trying to appeal to a newer audience, it sounds like they’re doing what you’re imploring them to do.