Q: Got into a discussion regarding available drivers for the Coyne seats, and Simon Pagenaud came up. The question was raised as to if Simon has been cleared to race, or if he is still suffering from the concussion? On one hand, it would be a shame to no longer see Simon race. On the other hand, he has a family and if retirement is needed to avoid a permanent debilitating brain injury, then racing is no longer a good thing. Simon has a family and that needs to come first.
So, I guess that leads to several questions that can best be summed up with: What is Simon’s status? His health? His contract status with Meyer Shank?
John
MP: Simon’s contract with MSR reached its end after the 2023 season. When I asked IndyCar about his status in December, since the series’ medical department is responsible for evaluating and clearing/not clearing drivers, I was told he has not been to Indy recently in order to go through that process.
So, that means he isn’t cleared because he hasn’t tried to get cleared. As for how he’s doing, that’s not a topic he wants to broach — and that’s not a sign of something being wrong — which is his right.
Q: Here is a simple solution to increase Honda’s ROI on its large investment in IndyCar. Have races outside the U.S. market! (OK, there is one in Canada.)
Mexico. Brazil. Europe. Japan. Antarctica.
While IndyCar has said races outside the U.S. must pay for themselves, perhaps it would be the price of keeping Honda?
Rick Smith, San Diego, CA
P.S. Would love to see 900hp on slicks on ice!
MP: So you’re a fan of non-stop wheelspin, I see… If going to those five new venues brought the TV ratings and crowds and market activations — car sales, primarily — for Chevy and Honda to feel the warm embrace of exceptional ROI, count me in.
Q: Great to see Ferrucci signed up to compete with Foyt this year. He’s got to be in my top three drivers most likely to take their first Indy 500 win in 2024, along with Palou and O’Ward.
Do you think that’s a fair top three? Who would you put in your top five, and who would be most annoyed at being left out of the top five?
Paul, Edinburgh, UK
MP: Palou’s the best I’ve seen at Indy among the new crop of drivers; he could easily have two wins already. Dixon is one I’d love to see get his second trip to victory lane; he could have four wins by now, easily. Pato’s got the speed; this is the year of speed and temperament for him. It has to be.
Newgarden’s always a threat on ovals and could go back-to-back, for sure. Scott McLaughlin is ripe for his first oval win, so why not Indy? Marcus Ericsson is a ringer around the speedway. Kyle Kirkwood is my sleeper pick for the 500. Santino is in that Palou/Ericsson vein where we see his best each May.
I like your top three. My top five would be Palou/Dixon/Ericsson/Newgarden/O’Ward, and if being left off my top-five list is a thing that would make a driver mad, they’d need to seriously reconsider what’s most important to them because my opinion isn’t worth a moment of anger.
Q: I caught the Mark Miles interview on YouTube and he said some interesting things that I would like your comments on.
He was referencing venues “that want us back” outside North America. Is Surfers Paradise ever being discussed? I think the mention of time zones is much overstated in this era of media streaming. Miles also implied that races being considered after the finale in September would be non-championship events. Why would IndyCar degrade any IndyCar race weekend and tag it as a non-championship points race?
Lastly, Miles seemed to wax enthusiasm that the move from Belle Isle to downtown Detroit was such a positive. I can’t speak as an attending fan, but from a purely TV standpoint, I thought the Belle Isle race was much more scenic, as much of the new Detroit race appeared to be in an industrial area. I don’t recall the old Detroit circuit that F1 and CART ran on as being that way.
Denny Jones, Kansas
MP: I’d love to go back to Surfers, but I’m not aware of a sponsor or the local government wanting to spend a fortune to make it happen.
We’re already doing a non-points event on home soil with the $1 Million Challenge at the Thermal Club in Southern California, so any internal concerns about degrading the series were obviously satisfied. The original downtown Detroit F1 layout that CART briefly used afterwards was a grand thing, wasn’t it?
Q: I was interested in your Race Industry Week interview with Mark Miles. Did I hear him right that they may entertain some late-year races in the southern hemisphere?
I think the whole idea of IndyCar being a North American series may have worked fine 50 years ago when the USA was its own huge economy and international commerce wasn’t so prevalent. They are competing with intercontinental companies now, and the USA is much more international itself than it was in the past..
I get The Athletic daily sports newsletter which features articles about Formula 1 and NASCAR — nothing about IndyCar. This is too common now. Miles never mentioned anything about IndyCar looking for a marketing manager. I think one is direly needed.
It seems like every week we are losing another icon. I recall Cale Yarborough running IndyCars for a couple seasons back in the day. One must wonder how a man like him would do today when all of the equipment is the same. Whether it’s print interviews, YouTube, or anything else, I believe we should enjoy our heroes like A.J., Mario, or Johnny. Same for Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.
James Herbert Harrison
MP: Yes, IndyCar has said it’s interested in racing in Argentina for more than a year. Most of the sponsors found on the cars that allow IndyCar teams to compete and remain in business are based in and primarily market and sell to a North American audience. I’d be all for expanding to do two or three truly international races per year, but until those trips have value for the teams who put on the show, it’s a dead topic because most have struggled to sell sponsorships and fund themselves when we go abroad.
Even the annual trip to Canada poses some challenges; I always hear from a few team owners/managers prior to the Honda Indy Toronto who say they’re looking for sponsors to cover the events, and will take sweetheart deals, because their primary sponsor isn’t interested in paying for that round.