Q: Am I missing something, or would IndyCar be completely insane to pass up NBC’s alleged network-only TV deal? I obviously am not privy to the details of the proposed FOX deal, but NBC seems to be giving the series exactly what they’ve been asking for. This gives me flashbacks to the Motorsport Games fiasco.
PS: Are new speedway front wings still scheduled to debut in 2025?
Joe
MP: NBC stayed on air for nine hours and 20 minutes during the rain-delayed Indy 500. Let that sink in. How many broadcast partners would do that with their flagship network channel? If that doesn’t say that NBC is bending over backward to help IndyCar, I don’t know what will.
I keep hearing maybe on the new speedway wings.
Q: I am a long time IndyCar fan that has attended 39 Indy 500s and multiple Road America, WWTR and Iowa races. I watch most of Peacock’s Indy coverage. (Practices, qualifying and Carb Day). What happens to all that coverage if FOX gets the new TV contract?
Steve, Dwight, IL
MP: I’d assume the big new sports streaming bundle coming in 2025 that includes ESPN and its variations, FOX Sports and its variations, TNT, TBS, and so on, will cover that off.
Q: After watching last week’s IndyCar race in downtown Detroit I started wondering why IndyCar hasn’t returned to Michigan International Speedway? As I recall, the last time IndyCar was there the attendance – which understandably is most important when staging an event – was disappointing. But last time the series was at MIS it probably didn’t have the competitive depth and reliability it now delivers each weekend, and grid is absolutely packed with talent from the drivers to engineers as well as pit crews and sponsors. This racing package IndyCar has produced will put on a hell of show on the high banks.
Get a title sponsor, have Penske Entertainment do the promotion and make the Michigan 500 a highlight on the racing calendar. Iowa has done a fantastic job, with the Hy-Vee formula delivering two races and four concerts for the weekend entertainment. Why not MIS? IndyCar has the most reliable equipment, the best racing and the most talented drivers. Use this great facility before it no longer exists. One superspeedway race a year isn’t enough.
Tim Little
MP: Same classic case of a promoter needs to approach the series, since Penske Entertainment doesn’t own the track, and pitch a race and pay them for turning up. I’d love to go back, no doubt, but you first need an invitation to come to somebody’s house.
Q: I see quite a lot of negativity on here from IndyCar fans and a lot of it is highly justified. However, I think it is important to focus on the positives, and for me that is that IndyCars produce the most entertaining single-seater racing in the world! Even the extended car crash at Detroit was silly fun in its own way, whilst this year’s Indy 500 was sensational.
As a massive IndyCar fan in the UK, I’ve persuaded my dad and uncle to splash out on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to come with me all the way to Portland at the end of August. Are there any recommendations you have for in-circuit entertainment etc, and any places we should check out in the city for eating and drinking in the evenings?
Paul Collins, Binfield, Berkshire, UK
MP: No doubt, Paul. Unfortunately, most folks don’t think to write in when they’re happy to tell the rest of us that they’re happy. It tends to be questions about the cars/drivers/sport, or venting. If more people wrote in to share the ways they’re happy about IndyCar, the Mailbag would be shorter and I’d get more sleep.
Let me know when you’re here — I’d love to show you around the paddock and introduce you and your family to some teams and drivers (the offer extends to everybody at whatever races I’m covering; been doing it for years).
Not sure on in-circuit fun as I attend the Portland GP for work, but there’s a great and funky little district about a mile down the road from the final corner. Stellar soul food at Po’ Shines Café De La Soul. Another restaurant named Casa Zoraya, which serves Peruvian-themed dishes, was the find of the 2021 race as Bourdais and I were trying to find something new, and he found this place and it was among the best meals — and the cocktails were insane — I’ve had in a decade.
Q: Can you tell me which two of Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar’s are not eligible for the Leaders Circle this year?
I feel sad for Tom Blomqvist. How is a rookie supposed to evolve as a driver if He’s not given adequate seat time? I’m happy for David Malukas, though. MSR has implied that Blomqvist was largely parked due to the No. 66’s position in the Leader Circle standings, which I understand is important to every team. Yet Dale Coyne seems to be able to raise the necessary budget each year. And teams surely cannot count upon receiving the Leader Circle money each season.
Is this just more of the reflection of MSR as an organization that it does not have both cars in Leader Circle contention than it is of Blomqvist’s potential?
Tom Harader, Florence, OR
MP: If Penske Entertainment sticks to its charter plans, CGR’s No. 11 car didn’t qualify for a Leader Circle in last year’s Entrants’ championship because only three cars per team — except for Andretti’s grandfathered fourth car — are eligible, and the No. 11 was the lowest placing of CGR’s four cars. And the new No. 4 entry, which obviously wasn’t part of the championship in 2023.
True on Tom, but if Shank saw something that made him believe there were significantly better days ahead, he wouldn’t have parked him. Mike’s an old school guy; he’s seen in all and knows what a confident driver looks like. That was missing here. Costs have climbed about 30 percent for most teams in recent years, so yes, getting that $1 million LC contract is really important to complete an entry’s funding puzzle. Crashing on the first lap of the Indy 500 with a pretty serious driving error was the end in IndyCar, but Tom will be back in the saddle of a MSR car next year in GTP.