Q: The 500 is over, the long hot summer is upon us, it’s now silly season in IndyCar. Just between us, lower the “cone of silence” and tell us what’s going on with Meyer-Shank, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Arrow McLaren, etc., etc.
Dave, Gahanna, OH
MP: Hoping my next installment of silliness will be out by the time you read this, Dave. One snippet to share is I thought Christian Lundgaard was going to have a bidding war for his services by bigger teams. That could still come to pass, but it’s currently looking like RLL might be the best option for him.
Q: From Indy to Detroit, from the sublime to the ridiculous. I fully understand the need for IndyCar to race in Michigan but man, there’s an iconic superspeedway purpose-built for IndyCar there lying dormant, and they race on this joke circuit instead?
Anyway, on to happier stuff. How do you think Louis Foster and Jamie Chadwick are coming along in Indy NXT? I well remember Jamie becoming a British GT champion at 16 [ED: in the GT4 class] and Louis tearing up Ginetta Junior and British F4 on the BTCC support bill, marking them out as youngsters to look out for in the future. They’ve got some fabulous young talents in Jacob Abel, Myles Rowe and Nolan Siegel to judge themselves against. Like many I was so impressed with Nolan at Indy and the attitude and potential he showed, but this is one top-quality junior class.
Budgets allowing, what chance of Louis making his IndyCar racing debut either this season or next, and does Jamie just need that extra season in NXT before she jumps up to the big league? I’m so glad she followed Pippa Mann and Katherine Legge to America and is building a professional racing career rather than being some patronizing tick-box exercise with a token Friday practice appearance in F1 once every year or two. Susie Wolff, look at Jamie. That’s what you should’ve done! Looking forward to seeing how Taylor Ferns gets on as well when she flies the flag for the USAC brigade on the ovals. Hope she does them and herself proud!
Peter Kerr, Hamilton, Scotland
MP: I keep waiting for a NXT driver to take charge of the championship, and with his recent form, Foster is looking like the one to do it. If I had to take an NXT driver today and drop them into an IndyCar seat this weekend, it would be Louis.
Jamie’s been my favorite story of the NXT season. She’s fighting at the front and that’s where she belongs. Chadwick, Foster, Jacob Abel and Nolan Siegel (and any others) face a serious shortage of open IndyCar seats to take next year, so I wouldn’t be mad if she did one more season of NXT.
Q: With all the technical advances, car reliability, driver fitness and features; is a 500- or 600-mile race as grueling as it once was? Minded, I couldn’t do a five-mile race, but how dumb is an Indy 650 or Coke 800?
Adam, Missouri
MP: Can’t say for Cup, but Indy isn’t the depleting ordeal it was before aerodynamics and tire technology made the cars less physical to wrangle. If we’re going to extend the 500, let’s do it for real with the 24 Hours of Indy.
Q: Why isn’t there a podium celebration for first through third after Indy? I’m not a believer in the “second place is first loser” business. Second place at the 500 is a pretty good day and should be acknowledged.
Keith Conroy, Minooka, IL
MP: Because nobody wants to see two miserable SOBs crying into their milk while the driver in the middle goes wild. Second and third get acknowledged with a lot of money and a lot of commiseration for losing the biggest race. I’m good with using a single spotlight on the winner.
Q: I am wondering if you gathered any further information regarding NBC’s potential renewal during the 500? For what it’s worth, I hope IndyCar chooses to renew with them. Would Kevin Lee replace Leigh Diffey in the booth?
Separately, are there any further updates on the A.J. Foyt biography? I’ve recently finished recently published books about the Bergdoll brothers and Cheryl Glass. I’m eager for another new title to read.
Kristopher Strebe, Seattle, WA
MP: Leigh is a longtime NBC employee, so I’m not sure why he’d be replaced if NBC continues with IndyCar. Leading into and coming out of Detroit, I’ve only heard that IndyCar is headed to FOX, so if that proves to be true, I’m sure FOX would do like many other networks have done and see if some of the former broadcaster’s talent would want to come along. Last I heard, the Foyt book should be available before Christmas.
Q: I have read reports about the possibility of Mick Schumacher coming to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing. Is this true? What are you hearing?
Second, does something like this, with his name recognition, help get Mercedes or Volkswagen to IndyCar?
David Tucker
MP: I know Dale asked for help with phone numbers for a few F1/F1-adjacent drivers last year, but don’t recall if Mick was among them. Considering how ex-F1 drivers like Justin Wilson and Romain Grosjean (among others) have driven for Dale, it wouldn’t be out of the norm, but since the team is visibly underfunded this year, I’d think a high-salary guy like Mick would be a bad fit unless he somehow has a major sponsor to bring. Since Meyer Shank Racing has a vacancy, and it’s a paying car, that stands out as a better fit.
Would a German driver who can’t get an F1 drive lead a German auto manufacturer to spend tens of millions of dollars on an IndyCar engine supply program just because he got a drive in IndyCar? I love the idea of it, but that seems like a longshot.
Q: With all of the screens/transponders/technology available, why did race control take so long to get back to green after the McLaughlin/rain caution on Sunday?
Yellow flag periods seem to drag on too long in general. What needs to happen to shorten them up? The series appears unprofessional in these moments.
Gordon, Dallas, TX
MP: Was that the one where race control said it needed extra time to sort out the order of the cars? I got lost on which caution did what after the third or fourth one. We rarely get to see the entire cleanup process for most cautions, so it’s hard to say in a general way.