Q: Towards the end of the Detroit race, Scott Dixon ran into Will Power. Shortly after, as they were turning, Power turned into Dixon. To me, it was clear from the in car that Power’s move was intentional. I understand that a “no harm, no foul” type of logic is employed there by race control, but is something like that even addressed at all? It seems goofy to me that allowing guys to purposefully play rough is the rule. By the way, yes, I am completely biased in this question as Power is my least favorite driver!
DJ Odom, Anderson, IN
MP: I didn’t see a thing that Power did wrong, nor was it intentional. Dixie carried a bit too much speed into the corner and nerfed Power from behind with his nose. Dixon wouldn’t do it intentionally because it comes with a risk of wing damage, and Power wouldn’t intentionally drive over someone’s nose/wings due to the risk of puncturing a tire. Total nothingburger here.
Q: I had a great time at the Detroit Grand Prix. With all the attention on Flava Flav, it has me wondering if the following celebrities are still involved in IndyCar racing: Vince Neil (who I heard is friends with some drivers), Patrick Dempsey, Frankie Muniz, Jason Priestly, Joe Montana? I left off Gene Simmons and Aerosmith because those seemed to be more financial deals, but you could tell the other celebrities certainly love the sport.
Bob in Detroit
MP: I caught up with Patrick briefly at Le Mans; hadn’t seen him in a few years. He continues to co-own the Dempsey-Proton WEC Porsche GT team, but is no longer driving. Muniz is impressing in ARCA. I’ve interviewed Neil and Montana in recent years, but none of the rest remain in racing. Neil will, however, play during the Nashville weekend.
Q: I am wondering if you are aware of any plans for Newgarden and his team to visit the White House at some point, in celebration of his victory?
K.S., King County, WA
MP: Less than a month out from the win, no, there’s been no mention such a thing being scheduled. With his close friend Mr. Trump in office, Roger Penske/his team made multiple visits to the White House, and I’d hope they’d be just as welcome with Josef with the current administration.
Q: First, Detroit raced better than I thought it would. Watching the first practice on Peacock, I would’ve bet the race was going to be an utter disaster. Kudos to the drivers for fewer messes than I thought, and a decent race.
Second, I’m all for the series making moves to make more money, accommodate more fans, help support promoter finances, and generally strengthen the series from a financial standpoint. If the demand for the race outstripped what Belle Isle could support, then the right move was to move the race.
However, aesthetically, the Detroit race was jarring compared to Belle Isle. At Belle Isle I’d think, “Well look at that nice, pretty park in Detroit!” Then you’d get a nice city skyline shot, and the takeaway was that the city might be better than you hear. But, wow… the track (roads) were what I would expect for a post-industrial Midwestern downtown. There were parts where it looked like the track was running around a prison, although I think it was a parking garage that had people peering out of narrow slits in the building.
The only nice shots were pit lane with the Ren Center looming in the background. But when you compare the track to staples like Long Beach and St. Pete, or F1 racing somewhere like Miami, it was extremely jarring.
Ross Bynum
MP: I hope to see it up close next year and form firsthand opinions, but if we’re going by what was presented on TV, we share the same opinion. I figured GM’s global HQ would factor as a major visual component of the imagery captured by the cameras, but this could have been Anytown USA with a track stuffed deep into the recesses of an anonymous downtown area. I’ve always loved Detroit and came away from the Peacock sessions and race feeling sad for the absolute lack of unique visuals.
The graphics could have said it was Sacramento, Des Moines, or Jacksonville, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.
Q: What would be the upside and downside if IndyCar made The Beast engine the standard engine — sell them to the teams, the teams could do their own maintenance/ rebuild if they wanted or send them to Ilmor for service. It concerns me that if Chevrolet or Honda pull out or continue to go down the electric hybrid rabbit hole then IndyCar is in a bind. IndyCar is about racing, entertainment, and showbusiness, not about a proving ground for flawed technologies from the manufacturers.
Big Possum, Michigan
MP: It’s not a case of Chevy or Honda going down the hybrid/electric route. The entire auto industry is headed in that direction, so as we do in racing, we adapt and incorporate turbocharging or direct injection or renewable fuel. Being the series that disconnects from the auto industry to adopt a four-decade-old spec engine is where IndyCar dies.
Q: How do Indy drivers maximize launch on a green-flag start? Do they just roll up in second gear and mash the accelerator, or is there some combination of accelerator, brake and clutch needed to optimize RPM’s/ turbo boost and minimize wheel spin?
Steve in NH
MP: They’ll be in the specific gear to match pace car speed and switch to settings that maximize power without putting the rear tires. The stuff that goes on with ECU settings is the most closely guarded in the series.
Q: I was watching your videos from Le Mans and had a question. I was watching the one about the parade where Jimmie Johnson was talking about moving the car back and forth for the celebrations. After the teams run the car in the parade and other things like that, I am curious how the teams ensure the engine is still good for the race. Do they do a teardown of the engine? What is the inspection process like? Did they switch the engine before the race?
Mike, Northern Utah
MP: They used chassis. No 1 for the parade; chassis No. 2 was the race chassis. A fresh motor was installed in No. 2 after the first day or practice and qualifying; it was planned and that was the race motor which had no issues whatsoever. There was a gearbox problem that cropped up Sunday morning — I was standing out at Arnage as Jenson Button crept by with something crunchy happening in the transmission — which was quickly resolved.