Q: Can you explain how drivers’ motorhomes are handled? Are they owned by the teams, or do many drivers buy their own? Is this a significant contract perk? Who drives them to the next race? Do all drivers have a motorhome, or do some stay in hotels?
I’ve seen so much more of drivers, families, and the motorhomes on 100 Days to Indy and realized I’ve never read about them.
Pat
MP: Another “how long is a piece of string” question. Some are owned, some are leased, some are rented. If it’s a team owner’s bus, it’s probably owned/leased/rented by the team and listed as a business expense or asset. Same for drivers, but through their LLC or S-Corp. Some have family or friends who drive them, others hire dedicated drivers, and sometimes team members do the driving. No, they do not all have buses, but many do. The veterans tend to be the ones with families who want that mobile base and comfort. The younger drivers, who often make less money, can take a little while before forking out all of that money.
Q: What was the difference between Chevy and Honda this year? Was it horsepower, gearing, luck, drivers or what? Chevy had a dominant month. Also, I thought Peacock’s coverage all week was top notch. For anyone who’s never been to the race, I suggest going once. There’s no describing 300k fans in one place.
Finally, and this is nothing against Larson, but drivers should forget the double. It’s a fantasy that doesn’t ever work at anything other than pre-race publicity.
Pete, Ohio
MP: Chevy won with better power and reliability. Honda seemed to have a slight fuel economy edge, but it’s hard to say if that was a true advantage or if it was making less peak power and therefore burning slightly less fuel.
I know a lot of folks hate NBC, but I’m a fan and have been for a good while. We went 10 years between drivers attempting the double. That feels like a nice interval.
Q: I watched with interest as Helio Castroneves had been running in the top 10 six to eight seconds behind the leader prior to the last round of pit stops. He then fell off the radar and ended up finishing 20th. Could you shed some light on what happened to him?
I also am curious about Scotty Mac, who was right there with Newgarden most of the race and then following that last stop just didn’t have anything for him. Being the only one in the Penske stable who had never won the 500, we were all pulling for him.
James Herbert Harrison, Overland Park, KS
MP: Scotty lost the balance on his car, and according to Helio: “We were a little on and off today. But unfortunately the gears we had on the car really ended up hurting us on the restarts. It was not a very typical race with how the clouds and shadows came in. And I had a mistake on the last pit stop — we just locked up the rear and went a little long, unfortunately. I don’t think we had a car to win, to be honest, but we had a shot to be to be in the top 10, for sure. But great job this month for the whole MSR team, I’m focused on next year and being back here again!”
Q: A few questions regarding IndyCar 2025. First, the status of the TV negotiations. I have heard that FOX is a serious bidder. Two, I know you recently commented that you haven’t heard much on the schedule for 2025, but is Richmond a realistic option.? Third, any silly season rumors? Thanks.
Dale “The Old Codger,” Chesterfield, VA
MP: The codger! FOX is still interested, according to Penske’s Mark Miles. We did a story on the state of negotiations among our Indy coverage that might be worth reading. I’ve not heard a thing about Richmond. I’d love to go back, though. Lots of silly season stuff. I hope to have an update out this week before I fly to Road America.
Q: Curious with so much being read about Josef’s Indy payout, is that prize money paid directly to the driver or split somehow among the team and car owner? Also, does that vary from track to track?
Bob Frankish, Cleveland, OH
MP: This is the piece-of-string-iest Mailbag in quite some time. All depends on how a driver or their manager/lawyer negotiates their contract. Josef’s lawyer is someone who hopefully captured a nice percentage for his client, and it’s not uncommon for it to be a 50-50 split between the team and driver. Crew tend to get year-end bonuses with a season’s worth of prize money given at once. It’s usually a fraction of a percent. Not sure how to answer the last question.
Q: Any updates you can share on the status of IMSA’s next TV deal? I’ve seen next to nothing written on IMSA’s next TV deal, which to my understanding was also expiring after this season?
John, Chicago, IL
MP: No deep insights to offer other than I expect IMSA to stay on NBC and to take a more prominent place in NBC’s coverage. Provided IndyCar does head to FOX, that would open up some nice network slots for IMSA to fill.
Q: This story at Ars Technica got me thinking about remotely piloted race cars. Now they are talking about AI-driven cars, but my question is this: If we took the driver out of the cockpit of an open-wheel car and it was remotely piloted (using an augmented reality helmet, etc.), how fast of a lap time and average lap speed could we achieve at Indianapolis before the car spins off the track, like when your 4-year-old sees how fast their Hot Wheels can take a plastic track turn?
Doug, Stafford, VA
MP: Hard to answer a theoretical question about something that has never happened at Indy (I’m aware of the autonomous Indy Lights cars race that neither went impressively fast nor captured the imagination of fans).
I’d imagine the speeds would be similar-ish, but you’d have steaming piles of Dallara DW12s landing in the IndyCar administration office parking lot across the street from Turn 1.
Q: Very interested in carrying on the positive vibe from last weekend, but have confirmed that the Detroit race broadcast is not available in Canada. I have attended and supported the series at every Toronto race since the inaugural in 1986. Would very much like to receive a logical answer as to why I should continue to invest in the series, as it is evident that the series is not interested in supporting the Canadian fan base?
Sadly, and expectedly, this year’s race will be my last.
Mike
MP: It has been a while since we got a letter from Canada saying the person felt like they were loved, seen, and heard by IndyCar. I’m sorry for that, Mike.
Q: What are your early thoughts on Kyffin Simpson? He certainly hasn’t been the dumpster fire many thought he would be. How do the other drivers feel about him? Does he have a future in IndyCar if the family funding runs out?
Tobey Taylor
MP: The Simpsons could buy Penske Entertainment, and probably all of Roger’s businesses, and not notice the expenditure, so there’s no risk of coming up short on funding.
He’s just what I thought and said he would be: A kid who’s short on open-wheel mileage, but extremely experienced in big and fast prototypes and in forever-long endurance races, which would make him better than all of the naysayers predicted. He still spins at least once a weekend, usually in practice, but in the races, he’s been solid. Not blazingly fast and daring at all times, but solid. This is a rookie season where his team is focusing on teaching him how to walk in IndyCar. Next year, it will be about learning how to run. The year after, it will be about learning how to sprint.
He’s a nice, quiet kid. I haven’t heard other drivers bring him up in the course of our conversations, and compared to some other rookies in recent years who were often being called out for dumb or ignorant on-track behavior, I figure having nothing said about Kyffin’s a really good thing at this point in the season.