Q: During the broadcast of the Detroit race, I heard numerous references to drivers using simulators prior to the new race. How a simulator would be configured for a new street circuit when there would be no data available?
Doug Sharp
MP: Those streets are available for driving and scanning well prior to the race; certain resource-rich teams and the manufacturers will make the effort to do such things at almost every new race these days, no matter which series.
Q: As I write this not much is known about the changes at ECR. Maybe Conor Daly and his sponsor are going to NASCAR. Maybe ECR determined the best way forward for the team was with someone else. It started a conversation and I wondered if you would weigh in.
In Team Penske equipment, does Daly finish in the top 10 in the championship? He could finish behind three CGR cars, two Penske cars, three Arrow McLaren cars and one Andretti car to achieve that.
Ryan, West Michigan
MP: Conor going and his sponsor staying is one heck of a thing. It’s a sponsored driver’s worst fear, and Daly’s just the latest example. You had two things going on, with the team being underwhelming since 2022 and Daly being the one to struggle the most during that time. And then you have the rumblings that were heard in May of relationships being frayed. Take the two, and drastic measures were taken.
What we don’t know is what specifically went wrong to cause the immediate change. The net effect, even if Conor wasn’t the heart of the team’s problems, is he takes a huge reputational hit. Getting dropped, forced out, or whatever we should call it, especially after having a terrible start to the season, is the kind of thing that makes quality teams turn their backs. Unless a driver can bring tons of money.
In a leading car, I do think Daly’s career is altogether different. Problem is, he’s been driving ****boxes for most of his career, so he’s not sitting on a decade of driving for the best programs, having found the best in himself at every turn, thrived with mentoring from a Franchitti or Mears, and leveled up with the influence of a Dixon or Power to learn from in the engineering room. The core talent that was put to great use in junior open-wheel racing is still there, so it’s not too late for him. But who opens the door to a top sear, or opens the bank to make it happen going forward?
Everything about the situation for Conor sucks.
Q: In 1996, when Arie Luyendyk set the all-time qualifying records at IMS, his speeds went up with each lap. In fact, all four laps set new track records (picture Tom Carnegie saying that four times in a row in your head). However, modern qualifying is the exact opposite. The norm, with few exceptions, is that each lap of the run will be slower than the previous lap. Why is that?
Oh, and bring back the old Indy five bicycle race that used to be run on one of the cars’ off-days. Two laps around the IMS. I’d love to see Kanaan and Castroneves duke it out on the back stretch.
Lee Jackson, Garland, TX
MP: Heavier cars, light downforce, and tires that degrade as a result. Also, keep in mind that are had more power and made more of his lap speed on the straights while today’s cars aren’t a straightline match, but do big things with corner speed, which is where tires are worn at a rapid rate.
Q: With the transition to the hybrid power units coming and the commitment by Chevy and Honda, any chance Ford is looking past its beef with the Tony George era and considering stepping into Indy cars again?
Ron Hampton
MP: That would be a big no.
Q: I was in the Meyer Shank IMSA paddock at Long Beach and I’ve watched a number of your videos on IMSA/IndyCar. I’ve noticed that the halfshafts for both have a copper-like appearance to them. Is this a surface treatment, or the actual color of the alloy? I can think of a number of reasons why this might be the case, but I thought I would ask an expert.
Jonathan and Cleide Morris, Ventura, CA
MP: I believe it’s anodizing.
Q: I read the comment about traffic going out of Indy this year and taking around two hours to get out of the lot, an hour after the race. We have parked in the main gate lot for years and this is the first year we have taken the designated (or suggested) route into the 500. My God, it took us almost three hours to get in the main gate lot, leaving the overpriced hotel at 7:15am. This remined me of the 1980s (I am not sure if that is good or bad). We typically leave with 20 laps to go and beat the traffic out, but this year it took us almost an hour to get to I-65 after leaving with 20 to go. I do not know what they did differently, but I am to the point of not attending and watching it on TV. A Normal Joe cannot afford another night at the overpriced hotels based on the time it takes to get out of the speedway and the 5.5 hour drive home.
DJ
MP: I leave the hotel at 4-4:30am each year, park, and go back to sleep, all to avoid the rush of traffic. I’m also there for many hours after the race, which means I miss the traffic leaving. It’s the biggest sporting event in the world at a facility with nothing but one- or two-lane streets to get in and out; I’ve always expected it to be a pain for ingress and egress. Might be worth planning to catch a nap on your way in and out and avoid the frustrations.