Q: I’ve got a bunch of questions on my mind after reading your latest story on the upcoming IndyCar ERS.
First, why is IndyCar using only 60hp, out of the 150 potentially available? What is preventing it from using all the power? Is it all about reliability and making sure the system works as intended, before feeling confident in its ability to be cranked up? And are we eventually going to see the full potential? If so, when? And what would be the difference, design-wise, between a 60hp ERS and a 150 one?
Second, is the late addition of the old turbocharger push-to-pass a temporary solution, or is IndyCar planning on keeping it, even once the ERS reaches its full potential?
Third, you wrote: “IndyCar drivers will accelerate harder and reach top speeds faster with the ERS unit activated […]”. And Kyle Kirkwood said: “It’s not like the hybrid system can hold enough juice to run an entire straight flat out; that would just require too big of a battery.” So, is the extra horsepower only going to provide a boost in acceleration? Which means, top speeds will basically remain the same, right?
If so, I’m finding this a little disappointing to get all this extra horsepower but have top speeds still stuck at 180mph, which is what they typically reach at Long Beach or Mid-Ohio. If IndyCar belongs to the pinnacle of motorsport, shouldn’t these cars have brutal top speeds? Wouldn’t you love to see these hit the 200mph mark also on road and street courses? If F1 cars and Hypercars do, why should IndyCar be content with only 180?
Finally, could you provide a more specific definition of a “short burst” (wink)? Seriously though, how long would this be? Two seconds? Five? Also, and following up on Kirkwood’s statement, isn’t it a little misleading to say that these cars will have 800+ hp when it will only be for a period of time that isn’t much longer than a cough? And is there any chance we get bigger batteries/capacitors, in order to get longer burst?
Xavier
MP: Great questions. On the first, yes, not wanting to go nuts with power output in Year 1 is the motivation behind running at a lower level while ironing out the kinks.
On the second, turbo P2P is here to stay until, most likely, but not for certain sure, the ERS units are cranking out enough power to no longer need the added turbo boost to make up the speed and performance deficit. When the ERS can do over 100hp on its own, I’d look for turbo P2P to be retired.
Yep, I’d love to see Indy cars perform like they once did, but with the sizable jump in vehicle weight, and the heavy downforce levels that are used at most races, giant top speeds outside of the Indy 500 are not realistic. The beloved CART Indy cars weighed less, made more power, and had less downforce, so they were indeed missiles at most of the tracks they visited.
And no, it’s not misleading to say a fact is a fact, and in the story, I wrote multiple times, including the opening paragraph, that it was for short burst, to make sure nobody thought otherwise. There was no exact period of deployment time to share when the article was written, but afterwards, 4.5 seconds was shared as the anticipated period of maximum energy burn.
As this is something that could happen multiple times per lap at some tracks, it should account for some badass acceleration that fans at different corners can see firsthand each lap. If this is something to complain about, I’m not sure what to say.
Q: So the big news has finally broken: IndyCar trading cards! Is there anyone under 60 in the marketing department?
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA
MP: I think it’s a fun development that takes what the series learned at no cost while observing how big the reaction was the Ganassi reigniting the trading card trend last year. And as I’m told by “the yoots,” cards have been a much bigger deal to those who are much younger than grandpa and grandma for a little while now, so until it proves otherwise, it looks like a smart move.
Here’s something the older generations of fans might like: I keep hearing to look out for IndyCar and the Speedway to take a page (like the trading cards, the folks at Penske Entertainment are really good at copying things) from the NFL Hall of Fame and The Masters by hosting a ceremony in May at Indy to bestow Indy 500 winners with the series’ version of a HoF/Masters jacket.
Now, if we get trading cards of Indy 500 winners in their new jackets…BOOM. Crossover jackpot.
Q: Why isn’t the Indianapolis 500 entry list as big as it used to be in the 1960s and ’70s when there would be from 60 to 80 cars entered in the great race?
Kurt Perleberg
MP: Because the Indy 500 wasn’t restricted to entries using official engine leases from a small pool of engine manufacturers. Calling Drake (not the Canadian rapper) and ordering a turbocharged Offy, or ringing Cosworth or Ilmor or Judd to get a solid turbo V8, or dialing up Honda and getting a spec naturally-aspirated V8, or walking into Speedway Engines and buying three ready-to-go Oldsmobile V8s from Rick Long, are not an option.
When you could buy and run motors you owned, or readily lease an engine that could contend for wins, the entry lists were huge. Once that changed, and after the dreadful Lotus engine supply experiment died after one season, we’ve asked Chevy and Honda to supply 16-18 entries apiece at Indy, and for both, it stretches their finances and their personnel to the limit. Get a third manufacturer in the series, and that changes. Add a fourth, and we could see 40-plus entries at the 500.
Q: I was very happy to see that Cusick Motorsports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing are teaming up again for the Indy 500, but I was upset that one of my favorite drivers, Stefan Wilson, won’t be driving for them. Such an absolute shame that he won’t race in the 500 after what happened to him at IMS last year.
I’m sure that was a tough decision for Don Cusick, since I believe it was Stefan who helped get Don into IndyCar racing. However, having Conor Daly and Ryan Hunter-Reay as drivers is pretty solid!
A couple questions. With Cusick and DRR together again, do you know if they plan to run any more races this year? Also, both Don Cusick and Dennis Reinbold have talked in the past about hopefully going full-time in IndyCar. With them teaming up, do you think there is a chance that Cusick/DRR goes full-time next year? Dennis has the crew, the cars, the experience, and I’m sure some good financial backing, and Don is a passionate team owner who also appears to have solid sponsors and money. I would love to see this team full-time next year with at least one car!
Scott Freeman, Bloomington, IN
MP: I haven’t heard of the team doing more races after Indy. For a part-time team, facing the move to hybridization soon after Indy, they’ve known that the full-time teams will take priority by all the vendors involved. If Don and Dennis can spool up the sponsors to underwrite a full-time campaign in 2025, I’d bet they’d love to do it, but it’s a far cry from rounding up an Indy 500 budget to banking $7 million or more to put one car on track at every race.