Q: Sounds like the 2024 IndyCar schedule is a wild card because of the Olympics, but what do you think of this idea for getting Milwaukee back on the schedule after that? I know Penske has been inflexible with the Detroit date for the week after Indy, but how about moving Detroit up three weeks to replace the Indy GP? We don’t need two races on the Indy road course, and the summer date is probably the better option anyway.
That still keeps Detroit in the 500 window and gives them the option to promote themselves as the lead-in race for the big one. Put Milwaukee back on the schedule in its “traditional” date. That gets IndyCar a much-needed traditional oval on a date that can succeed and probably sacrifices nothing in terms of Detroit success. The only downside I see is the loss of the first speedway practice day because of travel from Detroit. I’m an old-school Robin Miller Indy fan. I think this is a winner. What say you?
Alan, Orlando, FL
MP: Tearing up half the field at Detroit and starting practice for the Indy 500 two days later with a pit lane filled with people who haven’t slept is a giant hell no. Nobody loves the Indy GP, except for the flow of the event that allows teams to load into Gasoline Alley and have a smooth warming-up process leading into the 500. Trashing cars at Detroit and turning that process upside down is exactly what the teams don’t need, so let’s just trade the second Indy GP date for Milwaukee and spare the crew members in May.
Q: Watching the 6 Hours of the Glen I had to ask, what is race control thinking? That incident at the start with the disabled BMW GTP in Turn 1 and throwing the green to start the GT field was absolutely a head-scratcher. And it confused the corner workers who were throwing a local yellow, then a green, and back to yellow in a few seconds time. It’s not often something leaves Townsend Bell speechless, and that incident did for sure!
Chris Howe, Upper Sandusky, OH
MP: That was just blatantly bad, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t expect to see the same decision made if such a thing happens again.
Q: I have two questions, and the first is about the No. 7 car. Poor showing late in the race for at Elkhart, but if I flip though the season, they’ve consistently been in the top eight for the majority of races. They were the lead Chevy in Long Beach before a DNF, and strong at Texas. Is there any talk of where they are at/what they need to get Alex Rossi back to form like he was in 2018 and ’19?
Second, Helio. I’ve been to every 500 since he won in ’01 and can’t imagine heading to the Speedway without him in the lineup. I’m assuming that Shank is making changes in the form of Blomqvist or Braun. That being said, what are Helio’s options for a seat in the 500?
Heliofor5
MP: Rossi’s been strong while adapting to a new team, new engine manufacturer and the different response/performance characteristics it offers, a new race engineer, and an all-new pit crew. The fact that he entered Mid-Ohio holding P7 in the championship, just 30 points Pato O’Ward and his well-oiled sister entry, is what we should focus on going forward.
Rossi’s sneaky-good, and yes, we haven’t seen a breakout run from him — yet — this year where that scary guy from 2018-19 was in our presence, but I can’t wait to see how he closes out the season and, specifically, how he returns in 2024 with a full year of Arrow McLaren experience to build upon. Does he beat Pato O’Ward in a battle for poles or going wheel-to-wheel for the win? Maybe not, but can he be the best McLaren driver over 17 races and get them a championship? I believe so.
Helio’s got eight races left as a full-time driver, at least with MSR, and if no other team signs him to be their full-timer, I’d have to believe a third MSR Indy 500 entry is his to drive.
Q: If I can go on a bit of a rant about IMSA:
What in the world was race control doing at the 6 Hours? You have a wrecked BMW GTP sitting right in the middle of the track immediately after Turn 1 and you release 29 GTD cars to battle each other at the start of their race, and then you call the yellow only after they clear the wreck? Absolute gross negligence from the race director. If I was sitting in that BMW, I would be demanding some answers as to why I was put directly in harm’s way for absolutely no reason.
Then about 40 minutes later, we have an LMP2 car in the wall on a blind corner, only for race control to do nothing about it until he finds reverse directly into the path of the field on a blind turn. What in the world are we doing here? Are we trying to put on a demolition derby or are we trying to have a proper endurance race?
For all the flack Americans love to give FIA for the way they run their races, there needs to be some soul searching done by the likes of NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA for some of these clown shows we’ve seen this year.
As for NBC and Peacock: how do you expect me to pay for a service that goes to commercial with eight minutes to go and the battle for the overall lead happening right in front of our face? Townsend Bell was literally commentating as they cut away. So of course we missed the pass for the lead, but hey, at least we get to see a car flip upside down and a couple parade laps under yellow to the finish.
And we wonder why American motorsports aren’t growing in popularity.
OK, rant over. Glad I got that off my chest.
Troy from Troy
MP: The Mailbag couch is always open for our free therapy sessions, Troy.