Q: Why is anybody surprised with the Penske penalties? Anybody remember the acid-dipped Camaro in Trans Am circa (late 1960s)?
Second, IndyCar is losing out to the IMSA and WEC in interest and technology. IndyCar was always the series that lead technology, but not anymore. F1 fans, please no comments — only one winning team per year.
Last, it would be awesome if IMSA and WEC could come together and end their season with a race for GTP and Hypercars only. Don’t care which track or continent. Eleven GTPs and 19 Hypercars would be awesome. Your take?
Rick Schutte
MP: I miss the days when prototypes were so numerous, we had GTP/GTP-Lights races that were separate from IMSA GTO/GTU races. Same for the 24 Hours of Le Mans being filled with only Group C/C2 cars. An all-GTP/Hypercar jam would make me so happy. Road America. Eight hours. Let’s do it.
Q: Double question: The cheating scandal has to muck-up Josef Newgarden’s free agency chances, no? And will we ever see Sage Karam back at the 500? McLaren is my favorite team, they could use a 500 driver.
Shawn, MD
MP: Doubtful on Josef; as we wrote right after the penalties were announced, the team was working on an extension for him. Prior to that, I’d heard Arrow McLaren, the main team that had an interest in him other than Penske, was informed he was no longer on the market, which led to asking Team Penske about the situation and team president Tim Cindric telling us they were putting a new deal together to keep him.
Hopefully that works out for them because he could be a contender for championships and Indy 500 wins for at least another decade. Also, and no disrespect to any of the other free agents, but there’s not a single person available Penske could hire to replace Newgarden who is better than Newgarden. Not keeping him would make the team weaker, simple as that.
Q: I would like to have this question answered by the powers to be as it will mean a great deal to me to decide (not that the recent demise helps me decide) whether to keep supporting what we call IndyCar.
I am a 58-year-old previous Indiana resident whose family has supported CART, IRL and IndyCar since around 1970. Our family has also supported the Indianapolis 500 by renewing 12 seats in the Northwest Vista Row NN & PP since 1972.
Will IndyCar promise that the fishtail (blocking) racing at the end of the 500 will not continue? This is not only dangerous, but flat-out blocking the drivers behind. The excuse of breaking the draft is sickening. It abandons the one-move rule in racing and I can guarantee this behavior would not be allowed on the first lap, so why the last laps? I have not, and I will not support this type of racing considering the investment I personally put into supporting this series.
During the COVID years I watched this race on TV with family members that normally attend this race and it was very enjoyable and much easier than attending. With the way that the ticket renewal system works for the 500, I want assurances that this kind of racing does not continue. I have been around enough for the decades of “Penske yellows,” and now we have “Penske PTPgate.”’ Get rid of the red flags for persuasion, and be sensible like Anton “Tony” Hulman Jr. wanted the 500 to be… The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Not to “Let’s change the outcome for our benefit.” Last year’s beneficiary: Shell Oil.
PS: Could you imagine Anton standing on the platform with fishtailing cars coming for the checkered flag? No, he was a sensible businessman. Please Roger, become another one of those sensible businessmen.
Jeff, 45 minutes from Mid-Ohio
MP: Thanks, Jeff. The “powers that be” aren’t under contract to the Mailbag, so they won’t be responding.
The series had a note in its pre-season discussion topics with its drivers about ceasing the “dragon” move as it has been dubbed, but it didn’t transition into an actionable item it will police. So, if that’s a condition to continue following the Indy 500, you will be disappointed with the results.
I hated the move the first time I saw it and want it gone immediately as well, but IndyCar isn’t bowing to my wishes, or yours.
Q: To Jeff in Colorado in the Feb. 21 Mailbag asking how to obtain a ringtone: I took the video and extracted it to an M4A and MP3 file (attached here and here). My phone, which is not a smart phone, works off MP3 files but I researched that AAC or M4A files may be used for smartphones.
Jeff
MP: Let me know where to collect my royalties.
Q: Do you know what drivers drink during the race? Will Power’s tube looked red, that was my favorite Kool-Aid.
Bob
MP: Many things. Usually water as the base and whatever supplement powders they prefer.
Q: Congratulations! Mr. Penske, in his infinite wisdom, has appointed you head of the ICONIC 2027 Committee! It is your job to create the next generation’s engine regulations and chassis specifications. What’s your move and your mandates? Secondly, would a design based off Dallara’s conceptual IR-01 (alive only on iRacing) be a viable option for the next gen IndyCar chassis?
Jah From Stankonia
MP: Hello to you and your fellow ATLiens. This fantasy world of yours is amazing.
I ring Red Bull and ask to borrow the X1. I bring it to Dallara, since that’s who’ll make the next IndyCar, and tell them it’s too tame and they need to take the concept and make something more futuristic. On the engine regs, I’d give manufacturers three ICE solutions to pick from with a naturally-aspirated V12, inline-5 turbo, or 4-rotor with a peak power target of 750hp, and let them cook up an energy recovery system that can contribute 250hp.
We’d have the craziest looking and sounding open-wheel formula of all time. And it would probably crash the series’ financial ecosystem, but wow, it would be glorious for the one season it would last. That’s my fantasy answer. Based on what I expect to happen, the real answer would bore you to death.