Q: I must say the Corvette Z06 that is going to compete in IMSA is still pretty similar to the Corvette C8.R it is replacing. What are the technical and mechanical differences between the Z06 and C8.R? With the Z06 racing in GTD Pro along with GTD, what has been the feedback from drivers in testing, and is GM expecting the car to make the Corvette name become competitive again?
Brandon Karsten
MP: Great questions, which are better served in a feature-length story, not a quick-hitting Mailbag reply. The previous chassis was built to the now-retired GTE regulations, which made for faster cars than the GT3 formula, but lacked some of the driver aids like anti-lock braking. Corvette was planning to build a proper GT3 version of the C8, but didn’t have one ready in time to go with IMSA’s move to all-GT3 regulations in 2022, so the series allowed Corvette to modify the C8.R, retrofit it with things like ABS, and then used Balance of Performance to make it work among the purebred GT3 models.
Corvette won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its class and the GTE-Am title in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, so I’d say the name hasn’t lost its competitiveness. With its move to a proper GT3 car, there’s every reason to believe Corvette’s grand success in IMSA will continue as well.
Q: It seems that for the relationship between CART/IndyCar and NASCAR has been a zero-sum, parasitic relationship where neither series has positioned itself to mutually grow together. I personally believe this does not need to be the case, however I understand that the “I run this town” attitude of the France family the past 75 years has shaped this narrative.
However, I also believe that if there was anybody who can help change this narrative and mend the relationship, it is Roger Penske. NASCAR would have to come to the table also, but do you see this the same way I do — that the relationship between IndyCar and NASCAR needs to change for the long-term betterment of both series? Is there a reality where NASCAR and IndyCar can truly work together in a substantial way and cross-promote?
Additionally, I believe IndyCar has been long out of touch with grassroots racing. As a dirt racing fanatic I would love to see some sort of connection between the “big leagues” and “old school grassroots.” The BC39 is an awesome event, but that’s really the only gesture that Roger Penske has made acknowledging grassroots racing. [ED: The BC39 event predates Penske’s purchase of IMS by a year]. [Indianapolis Motor Speedway president] Doug Boles is a rock star at that event every year (personally greeting every driver and tilling the track in the tractor himself) – why can’t we have more of that?
Eric
MP: Both series would undoubtedly benefit from working together, but that’s just not how competing businesses in a free economy tend to behave, right? I’m sure if Coke and Pepsi worked together, they’d sell more soda, and an alignment between McDonald’s and Burger King would sell more of their food, but these are warring businesses in the same space who are trying to beat the other. IndyCar and NASCAR are the same and always have been, as I’ve seen it.
Like the soda and fast food companies, IndyCar and NASCAR have similar products to sell, but they’re just different enough to attract different audiences, so it’s not like the glaring need for Champ Car and the IndyCar Series to join forces for their mutual betterment.
Former IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard tried to rebuild the roots to short-track racing in the early 2010s and while it was cool to see, it didn’t seem to do much for the series. He was fired before it could be developed into a bigger program. Maybe Kyle Larson’s upcoming Indy 500 debut will bridge the worlds of IndyCar and short-track racing in meaningful ways.
Q: Do GT3 manufacturers turn a profit by selling their race cars? It’s always been interesting to me that some sell many, many cars (Porsche, Ferrari), while others seem content to limit things to a “factory team” feel (Corvette). Is the value purely in the marketing, or is there money to be made as well?
Brad
MP: Sure, some do. Ferrari charges a fortune and sells every GT3 car they make. Porsche doesn’t go silly with pricing, and they definitely operate as a business with their customer racing, rather than as a marketing arm and expense as some of the smaller brands do. All depends on the size of the brand and what they’re trying to achieve with the GT3-based programs.
Q: You have said that you know management at IndyCar read the Mailbag, but I really wonder if they care, because there is no such forum on the IndyCar website. Their website is all feel-good stories about the series. Do you have any sense that they are taking in all the feedback from the Mailbag and formulating a plan that they will announce in the near future that addresses Honda’s and the fans’ concerns? Their silence is deafening.
Dave
MP: One of the things that you can find among a group of like-minded people who’ve been ultra successful in their other businesses is an inward approach to whatever they do with decisions and planning. In other words, if you’ve made billions elsewhere, looking to comments sections and forums on how to run your new business just doesn’t fit the mindset of most business leaders. Titans of industry tend to look in the mirror and see everything they need.
Prior to IndyCar’s sale, when it was run by people who never believed they were the smartest people in the room, it was common for them to look to those comments and forums to get the real pulse of the fans. Now, we get the series talking down to its fans, telling them that negativity is “out.” Because, well, who wants to hear the frustrations of IndyCar’s most invested and passionate fans? Just smile and blindly accept whatever you’re told to do, people…
No one asked. But here’s the 2024 #INDYCAR ins and outs. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/GiUowt8HNQ
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) January 4, 2024