Q: I’m sure Thermal is a topic which will dominate this week’s Mailbag. Although personally I didn’t find the race day action to be the most compelling, I appreciate that IndyCar tried something new and different. I also appreciated that I got three days of televised race cars on track, instead of having six weeks of nothing.
I do have one (hopefully) constructive criticism to share, though. A phrase I heard many times leading up to the Thermal event was, “Made for TV event.” From what I saw, something along those lines was even on the event credentials fans were wearing. When I see or hear that phrase, I expect that I will be seeing a broadcast which is different. Special. What I saw on Peacock and NBC this weekend was… standard. It was normal.
I wish IndyCar, IMS Productions (which I understand handles most of the tech for IndyCar broadcasts) and NBC would have worked together to give the viewing audience something they’ve never seen before. Test out new on-screen graphics. Let us hear more real-time race communications from teams, drivers, race officials. Give us new camera locations around the track. Put cameras and mics everywhere in and around the paddock. I would say mount cameras all over the cars, but something tells me that would have required new/updated bodywork from Dallara and that might not have been financially realistic — but you get the idea. Take advantage of this unique event to truly make this TV event something just as unique.
Matt Philpott
MP: I had the same thought about the “Made for TV” angle as well. It was no different than any other race, both in the TV presentation and the on-track product.
If they told you it was a points-paying race and heat races were the new format and there was a decent cash prize for the top five at the end, you’d have watched the broadcast and likely been underwhelmed. Take away the points, keep the heat racing format, and keep the cash prizes and… it still underwhelmed.
What it felt like was a company (Penske Entertainment) that isn’t known for its creativity and has never put on a special event, showed it doesn’t know how to create a special event.
With the thousands of people over the hill in Hollywood who make a living putting on made-for-TV specials, it seems like a call or two could have been made to hire some creative types to make something remarkable.
Call the WWE or AEW. Find the people who produced American Gladiator, Wipeout, and The Floor Is Lava, and get them involved. Otherwise, just make it a normal race and promote it as such.
Q: Just got new ink and wanted to do a tribute piece for Bill Vukovich. I know the number 14 should be in a red circle like it was in 1954, but with the background having red and the wheels themselves being red my artist went with a more golden hue around the number.
Figured you all would like to see an old roadster tattoo every now and then!
Joseph Keleman
MP: We seriously need to do a Mailbag dedicated to photos of the best IndyCar tattoos. Any thoughts on whether I should skip my plans to honor Dennis Vitolo’s humping of the back of Nigel Mansell’s car at Indy with a tattoo?
Q: I read your piece on potential Josef Newgarden moves with great interest. It does prompt some follow-up questions, though. Any driver who goes to the likes of Penske or Ganassi knows that they are going to have teammates who are fast and capable with similar budgets and solid teams. I assume data sharing and cooperation with teammates is non-negotiable. Even understanding that most racers have a competitive urge that would frighten an NFL linebacker, I wonder if the lineup at the new team comes into their thinking at some level?
It also seems to me that IndyCar has largely avoided team play as it exists in F1. True? How has that been achieved?
Jack
MP: F1 teams are largely constructor/manufacturer driven, so it’s Ferrari as a car maker and factory against other brands, so there’s that side of brand-first loyalty. There’s the part that’s even bigger with the money each team/constructor gets paid for where they finish in the constructors’ championships, and that’s a giant amount of money on offer. That’s why we see the team play (with the occasional exceptions) in F1 and do not (with the occasional exceptions) in IndyCar.
On the chemistry side of choosing drivers, yes, for sure it’s a consideration, but with someone like Newgarden, the only team he wouldn’t immediately enrich is Ganassi. And that’s not a dig at Newgarden; Ganassi has the best driver of the 2000s leading the charge with Dixon, and while Newgarden would certainly add some operational ideas and chassis setup concepts to the mix, this is a team that’s won three of the last four championships and isn’t lacking in talent or knowledge.
Where he’d be a no-brainer, regardless of chemistry, is at every other team. At Andretti, he becomes the top dog in an instant and elevates every aspect of how the team goes racing because he’d be arriving from a better team. Same for Arrow McLaren. If I’m Michael Andretti or Zak Brown, I’m pursuing Newgarden with however much money I can afford and whatever enticements — use of the company jet, free cars, Formula 1 testing (that’s more of a McLaren thing), and a post-driving role that keeps serious income coming in — that are needed to get him.
This is my Golden State Warriors going after Kevin Durant to push them over the edge, or the Los Angeles Lakers signing LeBron James to return them to title-contending status. In both cases, championships followed their arrivals, and with Andretti having 2012 as its last title year and McLaren sitting on zero championships and zero Indy 500 wins, I’m confident a Newgarden (or a Dixon) would be the final piece they’re missing to unlock their dreams.
Closing on the chemistry part, things are somewhat frosty for Newgarden with his current teammates. But does that matter if he’s bringing titles and wins at the 500?
Q: The celebration of the “Dream Team” Friends of Laguna Seca finally getting the keys to Laguna Seca Recreation Area had been delayed by the Highway 68 Coalition lawsuit, which just settled to everyone’s satisfaction last week. Is it now time to write the final chapter of “The Bewildering Battle for Laguna Seca”?
That series of articles stirred everything up around here. Back then all parties were angry at the bidding process for the track management contract, but in hindsight, I believe the Board of Supervisors made the right call to keep the management in house with the hiring of Narigi LLC. John Narigi received a lot of resentment, but I had always found him to be a dedicated operator in his role as President of the Monterey Peninsula Hospitality Association. I believe he will also remain in some role with the new contract.
With the likes of Ross Merrill, Bruce Canepa and Gordon McCall at the helm, the future looks bright and donors can now be confident their investment will pay great dividends for the track and the racing world at large. I think it’s now time to outline what that actually looks like and reveal the management team which will now be able to implement their vision for the future.
Paul, Carmel Valley, CA
MP: I hated the process the county created to select Narigi; it was a sham, and from that process, I expected him to be a failure. And I’ve never been more wrong. He’s been exactly what Laguna Seca needed, and with the FLS group now merged with Narigi’s team, we do have the best scenario I could hope for to secure the track’s future.
It wasn’t included in the press release, but I was told afterwards that the kind person who sued over the supposed sound breaches received zero dollars in the “settlement” and, more importantly, is barred from suing again.