Q: Now that you’ve had some time to digest and talk to people around the IndyCar paddock, what are your feelings around the FOX deal starting next year? I think the main thing we all point to is the fact that all races will be on the FOX mothership. I don’t think people realize you can still buy an antenna and get broadcast channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, MyTV, etc.) for no additional subscription fee. You just have to be close enough to the broadcast towers, which is a challenge in rural communities. But overall, this is a great way to increase viewership.
I do have concerns about not having a streaming service linked to the IndyCar broadcasts. Even though Peacock garnered a lot of criticism from fans (much of it deserved), you could still subscribe to Peacock for a relatively low cost, get IndyCar plus EPL, Motocross, IMSA, NBC NFL broadcasts, Tour de France, and all a ton of NBC/Universal content. I know FOX is working on a joint venture with Disney, Warner and some others to get a sports streaming platform, but it hasn’t come to fruition yet. Broadcast is currently the biggest way to get viewers, but the streaming-only audience is only increasing.
I also wonder if you’ve been able to get any info on how FOX is approaching this new venture? Are they gearing up to promote and really take ownership as a broadcast partner? Having the races on FOX is great, but limits growth if FOX does it half-a**ed.
Tom, Greenwood, SC
MP: Owners continue to rave over the 17 races next year on network; I had one tell me last weekend that we in the media weren’t doing enough to draw attention to this fact, and I didn’t disagree.
We’re still waiting to see what gets announced for the streaming price with the VENU super-sports bundle that will include FOX. There’s been a ton of change already on the FOX Sports side with a lot of folks being released at the end of June, so I can’t say if and how FOX Sports will take IndyCar to the next level, but its CEO is a massive fan of IndyCar, and pursued the deal harder than any other broadcaster, and got the contract, so I’d look at that as an indicator of how serious they are about doing big things with its new racing property.
Q: A few things I was hoping you could clear up. Are IndyCar parts shortages still occurring? Also, I heard rumblings about a possible new IndyCar chassis around the end of the decade? I heard Lola is making open-wheel cars again!
Rob, Rochester, NY
MP: Yes, but not as bad as they were leading into the Indy 500. IndyCar has told its teams a new car is coming in 2027, but when I asked Penske’s Mark Miles about it a month or two ago, it was modified to happening as early as 2027. Lola is back, and ramping up. I hope it’s ready to bid for the project, but I have zero expectations for anyone other than Dallara to get another exclusive contract from the series. Dallara has been an excellent partner for IndyCar, dating back to its first model, the IR97, which I worked on back in the day and found its engineering and design and track support team to be an impressive bunch.
Q: What on earth is happening with Josef Newgarden this year? His performances seems to be really bad (apart from Indy 500), and he couldn’t even qualify in the top 10 in Iowa — a place where he can be dominant. Any insider info on what may be causing that? Honestly, I’m worried, especially now as he renewed his contract. Maybe a team change would do him good?
Szymon Kunda
MP: It has been a strange one. It’s also not uncommon for stars and champions alike to have an off year or two in the middle of their careers. Life gets more complicated, marriage happens, divorce happens, fatherhood happens, starting businesses happens, new teammates come in, the crew around you changes, and so on, and the years of being single and everything being simple and 100-percent focused on racing is gone.
Some of that is likely part of what Josef is processing and adapting to, and I can’t think of any top-tier driver who hasn’t taken a step back at some point and needed to figure out the way to get back to having most or all of that 100-percent focus back in their new and more complicated lives.
Unless it was a switch to Ganassi, he’d do himself harm by leaving Penske, which just won both Iowa races and took four of the six available podium spots.
Q: Since 2022, Formula 1 and NASCAR’s Cup Series have elected to switch to 18-inch wheels, but the IndyCar Series will follow the trend in 2027 that coincide with an all-new chassis. Would 18-inch wheel rims change IndyCar for the better because of road relevance?
When will be the unveiling of Dallara’s new IR-27 IndyCar chassis from 2027 onwards? Will the all-new Dallara IR-27 car also featuring hydraulic power-steering and standard dampers from Penske?
Therius Oktavio
MP: Anything is possible. But the last time a wheel-size change was proposed, teams said no because they have huge inventories of the current wheels and it would be another vast expense they would need to absorb.
Q: This is more of a journalism question than a racing question. The words “icon,””legend” and “superstar” seem to be thrown around a lot lately. One recent example was prefacing Kenny Wallace with “NASCAR legend.” Mr. Wallace is a charming and engaging racer… but “legend”? What are your criteria for attaching these superlatives to any racer, past, present and future? Not everyone needs or deserves a label, do they?
Mike, Avon, IN
MP: I would hope it was presented in a sarcastic way. Those terms, if they’re being used seriously, are reserved for those who do not need to have a debate held to answer whether they’re an icon, legend, all-time great, and so on. Parnelli Jones is a perfect example. If we’re talking Indy 500s, he “only” won once. Takuma Sato is a two-time winner, so on the sliding scale of greatness and legends, Sato must be ahead of Parnelli, right? Not a chance. And that’s no disrespect to Taku.
But there’s also another component of being hailed as legendary, truly great, etc., and that’s time. Time in a few ways. There’s the time in years after your main achievements, which is where Sato might be regarded as a legends with more distance between his two wins and a point in the future where that added time has placed him in a different context.
There’s also the time side where if someone does something for a long time, the duration itself is used to hail them as a great, legends, etc. And then there’s the element of time where things that happened a long time ago is often regarded as being harder, tougher, and done by people who were better, somehow, because of when they did their thing.
And there can be some truth to that, but there’s also a lot of romanticism involved. As a photographer, I have some shooters from back in the day who are my heroes. Absolute legends, and that’s based on the artistry and creativity of their work. But there’s also a group of others, who shot in that same 1960s and ’70s period, who are lauded as legends and their work was less artistic and less creative. But because they were there and took in-focus shots of Porsche 917s or Eagle Indy cars, they, too, get the same Wallace-esque accolades.
So, just being there, for a long time, and failing to stand out among your peers, is a disqualifier for me when it comes to using 100-dollar words of praise.