Q: I don’t have cable and IndyCar no longer races in the part of the country where I live, so I follow the series exclusively through Peacock. I enjoy the production value and especially the price of the service. With that being said, the amount of commercials during a race is exhausting. I would be willing to spend more for a commercial-free experience. I can use the extra money I have since I don’t need to buy tickets anymore. Is there any chance I will have that option next season under the new tv/streaming contract?
Jared, Reading, PA
MP: I don’t know, but I do know that if a no-commercials option was available, a lot of people who’ve said they’d pay for it will have their dreams come true.
Q: There’s a lot of negativity around the Indy GP, but my wife and I really enjoy it. I think there was a good turnout on Saturday and even more importantly, the crowd looked like a lot of kids and younger people. The tickets are a bargain and you can sit in amazing seats most could never get for the 500. Also, whoever came up with the idea to let the fans walk the track after the race deserves recognition. What a great move. I never thought I would be able to kiss the yard of bricks. An amazing moment for us as fans.
Brian, Joliet, IL
MP: That’s awesome to hear, Brian.
Q: I absorbed all your commentary and videos from IMSA’s Laguna Seca race, and as always, nicely done. At the same time, an IndyCar race is on Saturday in Indianapolis. How do you determine which race to attend when there are conflicting dates? I actually thought you might do Indy on Saturday and then hightail it to Laguna Seca for Sunday. Do you ever do that, and who pays the bill?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: Thanks for asking, Jeff. My editor and I tend to have a “what races do you expect to attend” conversation in January and then we adjust as necessary from there since I also cover IMSA and historic racing. I was originally scheduled to head to Indy for my usual GP-through-the-500 coverage, but there was a request to head to Laguna Seca for the IMSA race instead of the GP due to an advertising opportunity that arose. Similar situation for June’s Laguna Seca IndyCar race; I’ll be in Watkins Glen for the 6 Hour.
Q: Thank you for being direct and forceful in your interview with Roger Penske with regard to the push to pass debacle. I appreciate your also intertwining the IMSA and NASCAR incidents of the past year, and with that I have two questions:
Has Mr. Penske become too removed from his teams to be fully aware of the day-to-day activities given all the series he participates in and coupled with the IndyCar/IMS ownership?
Can we really believe, and I am a fan of his, that Newgarden really didn’t “understand” how the PTP works? Race car drivers develop small muscle memory and subconscious/automatic reactions to driving their car. After 200 IndyCar races I find it hard to believe that he magically relearned the process with which he activates the PTP.
Tom Patrick, Baja California
MP: I’m told Roger was unaware Penske Entertainment had been warned on multiple occasions by Honda that it was looking for major changes to cut costs from the current engine formula, and do not doubt that Roger was clueless when it came to the P2P stuff.
I’ve had many people, from former Penske drivers to former Penske crew chiefs, tell me what we all knew, which was for most of his time in the sport, no decisions were made without them passing through Roger’s hands. Those same people, citing that longstanding practice of hyper-micromanagement, have said they can’t believe Roger was out of the loop on P2P, but I do think times have changed and do believe he was caught by surprise with this ordeal, just as he was caught by surprise with Honda.
As I wrote to open the Mailbag a week or two ago, Newgarden’s explanation, and the subsequent backing of that explanation by Penske’s internal review, is pure nonsense.
Q: Thanks for the interview with Roger Penske. Your questions were fair yet probing, and you brought up one key point: independent investigation. It seems like the additional penalties Team Penske leveled were to somehow prove to competitors and fans alike they took the breaking of rules seriously and are a separate entity from IndyCar. So if they’re trying to clear the air on conflict of interest, why would they not involve a third party investigator? Quite frankly, the penalties from Penske look more like trying to sweep the matter under the rug than anything else.
I’m not sure that termination is the appropriate penalty, but the fact that all four suspended parties can partake in after-action meetings during May is a joke. Why suspend them if they are able to work anyway?
Lastly, I think many fans (myself included) harbor anger toward this situation because of how Penske and his organization want to present themselves “above” their competitors when it comes to rule following. Whether the team intentionally tried to cheat or not, they have distanced themselves from ownership of the situation. Newgarden’s “I thought the rule changed” and Penske’s “I was in Europe” excuses are merely pointing fingers at others. Not only that, as you pointed out, this is the most recent of three infractions across multiple series in the last year. Roger’s response? “Completely unrelated.” That doesn’t sound like Penske Perfect to me, and it makes it hard to believe this was merely a code oversight.
Kyle, Westfield, IN
MP: Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kyle.
Q: After seeing the article about Larson and his potential back-up driver for the 500, I’ll suggest an alternative strategy. Zak Brown needs to put TK in the No. 6 and use Illott as Kyle’s bullpen driver. Just makes so much more sense plus it gives the fans the proper TK/Helio send-off.
Skip Ranfone, Summerfield, FL
MP: I swear Tony had a proper sendoff last year. I put together a farewell dinner for him the night before practice started, which makes me feel confident about 2023 being his last, but I could be wrong!
The only way Helio bids farewell is if he wins his fifth.