Q: Lime Rock Park would seem to satisfy the geographical needs of an IndyCar race in the Northeast. It’s halfway between Boston and New York. I keep hearing the “not suitable for IndyCars” spiel. Why is it exactly that these cars can’t get around this racetrack as safely as any other race car? There is an elevation change of 75 feet — well under the 180 of Laguna Seca. That can’t be it. This is a track that undulates with the terrain like Laguna, Mid-Ohio. Barber, etc. They race there. Is it the runoff areas? Is it that Lime Rock is not interested? Please explain in words of one syllable.
Jeff, Colorado
MP: No. Too narrow in some places, Too abruptly steep in another. Insufficient runoff in some places for the speed the cars would carry. IMSA pulled its prototypes from Lime Rock for the same reasons IndyCar isn’t an option for racing there.
Q: I know that with the 500 imminent that this qualifies as old business but why haven’t we heard from any team sponsors on the Penske cheating event? Seems to me if I paid millions to put my name on a car, I’d be plenty upset to know I’m not playing on a level field. I would want to at least voice my feelings publicly.
John, Seville, OH
MP: For the same reason most of the paddock, from team owners (excluding Michael Andretti) to drivers (excluding Pato O’Ward), tow the strict corporate line and do not speak out against Penske or Penske Entertainment. Penske stopped speaking to Andretti after his comments to the media in St. Pete, and Andretti spends no money with Penske, so if a guy with no business ties gets ghosted, what would happen if a company that has closer ties to Penske pipes up and criticizes him in public? Ain’t happening.
Q: Moving past Penske’s obviously intentional cheating, is there any reason why Push to Pass couldn’t have unlimited usage? P2P doesn’t seem to be that useful of a passing aid, especially compared to DRS.
One thing I think hasn’t been mentioned when discussing ratings is how much worse IndyCar broadcasts are in comparison to F1. The analogy I would make is F1 feels like watching a movie on Netflix, and IndyCar feels like watching a movie on cable. I understand that IndyCar can’t go to the European model of no commercials, but I think how comparably bad IndyCar broadcasts are is limiting growth with casual and new fans. Does IndyCar do any sort of fan survey asking about this?
To Scott’s question in last week’s Mailbag about why there’s no IndyCar running in the first weekend of May: On the first Saturday of May (May 4 this year), the 500 Festival puts on a half marathon that had about 20,000 participants this year. You run a lap around the track as part of the race.
Will, Indy
MP: Firing unlimited P2P and the 50-100hp it brings through the engines would make them pop on a more frequent basis. Yes, P2P doesn’t provide the cartoonishly easy ability to pass like DRS, for which I am thankful.
The money available to broadcast F1 races is in another universe compared to IndyCar. If NBC/IndyCar had the kind of advertising/funding at their disposal that F1 broadcasters have, there would be no difference in their products.
Q: The entry list for the 500 shows Arrow McLaren as the entrant for the Nos. 5, 6, and 7 cars. Are S and P no longer part-owners?
David, Waxhaw, NC
MP: Been that way for a year or two, I believe. Yes, Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson are still involved, but no longer have their name on the team since McLaren took controlling interest.
Q: Here I go again. We tell the world the Indy 500 is our most important race. IndyCar gets furious when F1 mentions anything “spectacle”related, yet when it’s time for a reality show, all of a sudden we only care about the last 100 days before the race?
Isn’t “100 days to Indy” only an Indianapolis thing? Teams prepare year-round. Deals get done, or not. Cars get prepped. Driver drama. If IndyCar is serious about showcasing their most important event, then the first episode of the year should be the last two laps of the previous year’s race end and then go from there. 365 Days to Indy.
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA
MP: Thanks for writing in, Vincent.
Q: Got a chuckle out of your balls-to-the-wall crazy and financially devastating idea for the next gen IndyCar. How about I balance it with something more realistic but which still has a crazy twist?
For starters, we all know a more properly integrated hybrid system is a must. But on the engine side, I would lean towards retaining the current Ilmor/Chevy and Honda engines — but not exclusively. It’d mainly be to get the new car up and running at minimal new expense to the teams, but if someone else wanted to make, say, a 2.6L V8 producing similar power, they’d be allowed to (though bringing in the old Cosworths would not be allowed, we’re looking for new tech here, not old). Of course the chassis would be able to take larger engines without issue.
How big? Well, anything up to the size of the new “Ford Indy V8” — an Indy 500 exclusive powerplant for one-off entries based on the 5.0L Ford Coyote engine. And as a little nod to history, cars running this engine would be required to paint the wing endplates (if applicable, more on that shortly) and rollhoops in classic Coyote Red.
As for the chassis side… Well, I am sadly not permitted to share images, but I have been privy to a CFD experiment where someone has created a design that looks like a classic IndyCar, but has modern aerodynamic performance. It makes the main body a very smooth wedge design, bolts on ground effect heavy sidepods with a top profile that smooths the airflow over the rear wheels, and places a cowling on the front end that gives it the look of a classic front-radiator car, but is in actuality an aerodynamic duct that serves as the point where the front end aero grip is adjusted, while the rear end uses a blade spoiler with endplates for rear aerodynamic adjustability.
The efforts were not using industrial-level CFD computers/software, so its designer does acknowledge it might not actually be as good as it appears (something he notes up front is that the front aero cowling might not allow for as much adjustability as hoped, so some small stubby front wings may be necessary), but for it to have come out this way means there must be at least some validity to the concept. Even if in the end it can’t come out to IndyCar levels of effectiveness, he suspects it could at least be used as the basis for something of Indy NXT-tier performance, so the goal of this project is more to make something for SCCA Formula Atlantic, but I think the idea should really be looked into for IndyCar’s next-gen car, as it would definitely make the series stand out. The design, while drawing inspiration from the classics, looks thoroughly modern rather than being a throwback.
Moreover, this chassis design is by far and away the most beautiful racing machine i have ever laid eyes on, and that is no exaggeration. It saddens me that I cannot provide images of the model, but I may dust off my old half-baked kitbashing skills to make a rough model of the design to share if people want to see it.
FormulaFox
PS: The concept also used really fat tires to add some more mechanical grip to the equation.
MP: We need to see this.