Q: I have three random thoughts that I have been chewing on for a few weeks.
1. As I watched Roger Penske celebrate the Daytona 24-hour win with Porsche, I had a vision. I saw Roger celebrating another Indy 500 win, this time with Porsche. Mr. Penske has a long, happy history with Porsche, from his first race drives to the Can-Am 917Ks, through the Porsche Spider in the ALMS and the Riley in Grand Am to the new GTPs. Could he convince them to redirect their technology and efforts to provide an engine for IndyCar? It might use elements of the stillborn 2026 F1 engine, or be a badge-engineered Ilmor. Porsche would bring huge attention to IndyCar, and it would be competing in the top-level open-wheel series in its largest market. It would be Big News.
2. IndyCar should put a bright strobe light on the rollbar of the Dallara, which would flash when the driver activates the electric “push to pass” of the hybrid powerplant. It would be obviously visible to fans both at the track and on TV, and would allow fans to appreciate the drivers’ strategic use of the power boost. And it would be a very visible demonstration of IndyCar’s use of hybrid technology, which is not very visible in other racing series like IMSA GTP or F1.
3. When Honda joins Aston Martin as an F1 power plant supplier, it could/should/will take Alex Palou along. He has a Super License and is a super race driver.
I wish RACER magazine had an archive. I somehow missed your coverage of the Daytona 24-hour race and wish I could go back and find it.
Bruce
MP: Thanks, Bruce. In reverse order, just go to the categories atop the home page and follow the IMSA link, which has everything we produced waiting for your perusal.
3: Alex is indeed super. If he’s no longer under contract to Chip Ganassi, and assuming he hasn’t tried to bail on that contract by then, he’d be an interesting candidate for Honda to consider.
2: It should. I’ve said the same thing to the series about a dozen times. I don’t expect it to happen in 2024.
1: Porsche looked at IndyCar just prior to Penske’s purchase of the series and wasn’t compelled to move forward. I hear what you’re saying, but since then, Porsche has commissioned a big hybrid racing program that started in the U.S. in 2023 with the 963 GTP that also races internationally in the WEC and at Le Mans, so the brand is getting all it needs from hybrid racing promotions here, plus it has its factory Porsche Formula E team, so there’s no obvious reason for it to spend a fortune on doing yet another hybrid racing program. The F1 engine rules are nothing like what we have in IndyCar, so unfortunately, there’s nothing to borrow from that side to make IndyCar motors. Great idea, but no reasoning or fit for them at the moment.
Q: Can you please explain to me how the whole Andretti-WTR thing works and the Jarett Andretti IMSA car? It is very confusing to me.
David
MP: Two separate teams from within the same house. Andretti Global bought most (or all, depending on who’s talking) of WTR and gained a factory GTP program overnight with Acura, and it supports Jarett’s IMSA racing in whatever class or car he chooses out of love for the late John Andretti, Michael’s cousin and Jarett’s father.
Q: I have attended Detroit and Long Beach (obtained Lauda’s autograph ) F1 events back in the day. If Andretti Cadillac want global attention, WEC/Le Mans/IMSA would be a better choice. The F1 car parade will get old quick with U.S. fans.
Mark, Springfield, OH
MP: Agreed. Michael has been open about his interest in taking the team to Le Mans, so I’d expect to see it happen as soon as 2025.
Q: As the offseason drags on and IndyCar fans continue to fret over the aging of the venerable Dallara chassis, but no one can agree on a way forward, I wondered if the answer might be a carefully modified version of “how it used to be.” (I know, that’s a dangerous statement!). The core of this concept would be to allow new chassis but keep the current chassis eligible.
The framework of rules for building a new chassis would be:
- Must fit either of the current power plants (so not an engine-specific chassis)
- Must use the current stock Dallara front and rear wings (eliminates both a huge cost in development and lessens potential for differing aero turbulence)
- Must have at least five cars available for purchase by customers in year one, at a cost limit to be predetermined by series management
- Must have at least 10 cars available in year two, and so on
- Obvious rules: must have a safety cell that can pass the same FIA impact tests as the current car, must accommodate the standard aeroscreen, etc.
By stating these are the conditions, then the series can openly allow for new chassis without forcing the entire field to buy new cars all at once, which seems to be the central fear holding back an update. Maybe no one will bite, but I’d wager someone gives it a go. It would not require anyone to build anything, but it at least allows for dreaming: ORECA building a challenger to Dallara, McLaren or Andretti constructing their own IndyCar weapon, or dreaming of attracting (insert favorite F1 or WEC manufacturer) by allowing them to build their own chassis.
And if their car happens to be superior? Well then, mission accomplished, as long as the cost limits and customer availability are upheld by the series.
Also, it allows the fallback that if, say, Penske builds a new IndyCar but it turns out to be woefully insufficient, then they and their customers can fall back on their current Dallara tubs without suffering all season long.
Your thoughts? Holes in my logic?
Nick
MP: Your passion for this is remarkable, Nick! Couple of takes:
The issues that plagued the DW12 in its early years where it missed most of its performance targets came from it being designed by committee. So many people wanted it to be some many things that it was damn near impossible for Dallara to hit most of the competing targets.
Making a new chassis supplier use wings or other items from the old car is how we repeat that committee mistake and miss targets. If a new chassis is going to come to life, it needs to do so as a brand-new concept born in 2024 or whenever, not rooted in whatever Dallara did from 2012-2023.
If IndyCar is going to do a new car, it can’t compromise on it. It needs to be a clean start.