Q: As of the time I write this, no sponsors for RHR. If Sage was back in that car, would it be the same situation?
Shawn, MD
MP: I’d believe so. Dennis Reinbold is covering the costs out of pocket, which speaks to how much he wants RHR in the car. I’m aware of three primaries they were close to landing, and all three are names we know in the sport. Being able to pitch major sponsors on an Indy 500 winner is always preferable, but we’re seeing the limitations of a Indy-only team trying to complete for dollars and attention against full-timers, which is obviously hard.
Q: What do you suppose is going on with Scott Dixon so far this year? It seems as though Ericsson and Palou have huge performance advantages over him. Compared to those two, his car seems incapable of running up front, which is odd given his spectacular career.
I was listening to Trackside recently and even those guys acknowledged Dixon has just “kind of been around.”
What’s your take on things at Ganassi as they relate to his and his car’s performance?
Steve, Blanchardville, WI
MP: Dixie’s seven points out of fourth in the championship after five races, all spent with a brand-new race engineer who’s young and getting his first big shot at a big team. This is exactly what I expected. The surprise will be if we get to Toronto and find Dixie and Ross Bunnell in the same spot.
Q: Watching Enerson about to enter the track on Wednesday, I am curious to know what the engineers are working with on the right side of the tub? Not fuel, but it was not explained on Peacock. See attached photo (below).
Pongo from SoCal
MP: They’re refueling the car from the quick-connect ports on the right side of the fuel cell.
Q: I have been an IndyCar fan almost all my life — ’90s and on. However I can only name a few crew chiefs/managers/directors over the years (Tim Cindric, Mike Hull, Craig Hampson). On the flipside I probably remember most of the technical directors and team principals in F1 over the years. It doesn’t hurt that at times they become the center of attention from building the cars, team management, and F1’s Netflix series. Is IndyCar purposeful in being driver and team owner focused?
Paul Hirsch, Westlake, OH
MP: I wouldn’t pretend to know what IndyCar is focused on, but I can say that as an old race car mechanic and engineer, it’s only natural for me to name the crew chiefs and engineers whenever possible because they’re vital to a team’s success or failure in significant ways. Of course the other team members are super important as well; that’s not up for debate. But at least in IndyCar, the quality of the car prep and pit stops the crew chief produces and the quality of the chassis setups and in-race chassis tuning calls made by the race engineer have a massive impact on a driver’s results. Throw in the race strategist, and these are our NFL head coaches and offensive and defensive coordinators.
Q: Since the introduction of the aeroscreen, it’s seemed more drivers like Scott McLaughlin and Agustin Canapino who thrive in this car despite lacking open-wheel experience. Is it due to how heavy the DW12 has become with each upgrades and add-on safety features? It seems that touring, stock car and GT sports car drivers would struggle to adapt in the pre-aeroscreen era. Not to take away from Scott or Agustin’s talents as they dominated in their respective careers prior the open-wheel switch.
If the DW24 came out and made the car closer to the previous weight of the IR07/DP01/early DW12 era, would Agustin and Scotty struggle as their experience is more with heavy cars then light and nimble proper open-wheel cars?
Kevin, SoFlo
MP: The aeroscreen adds 58 pounds to the car, so no, it has nothing to do with their results. They’re two phenoms, plain and simple. Great talent usually transfers. Getting the maximum out of a CART/Champ Car chassis might take more time for them to master since the speed and limits were higher, but I don’t question whether they’d produce similar, if not identical things.
Q: Does IndyCar have a minimum tire pressure for racing? Is IndyCar closely monitoring MSR to make sure it doesn’t try to cheat again at another marquee event? Makes you question if Helio’s recent Indy 500 win didn’t have any shenanigans. Will Honda/HPD end his partnership on the IndyCar side due to what happened? It would seem that he lost his Acura ARX-06 to WTR/AA for 2024. What’s Mike’s relationship with Michael Andretti, since he cheated him out of Daytona 24-hour win? Do you think that technical alliance ends after this season? Do you think he be with Chevy for 2024 season onwards?
Bill Hicks, Arizona Bay (I see what you did there – Ed.)
MP: No, but Firestone polices this on their own. Doubtful. Shank pays Andretti seven figures a year for technical support and both teams are fully integrated in briefs and debriefs. If it were to end, I think it would be by choice, not because of Daytona. I’d be surprised if Shank went to Chevy.
Q: In your recent IndyCar podcast you said that you believe Marcus Ericsson would be moved to the 10 car as he wants to be a paid driver and not the paying driver that he currently is. I just don’t see it. As history shown, once you’re a driver that brings a check, you always are. Chip has the upper hand and uses his 10 car sponsors to hire his next young talent, and he will tell Marcus to pay for the privilege or bounce. And Marcus will have to take it or leave it.
And most likely he will pay, as beside Team Penske, he doesn’t have much options. Even if AA offers him a salary, he’s not going to have the same level of consistency that Ganassi offers. McLaren is already full and has plenty of killers it can hire. Also, it’s a risk for Marcus to leave Ganassi, as he may only been able to perform amazingly because he has great car and team. Let’s say he goes to AA and struggles — it would hurt his credibility and stock regardless of the Indy 500 win. Which leads to only Indy 500 rides, as he can always sell to mid-level or backmarker teams that need Indy500 winner to attract funding.
Mark Corrigan, Croydon, England
MP: I said it made the most sense if Chip wants to keep him as it’s the only funded seat they have that will be vacant at the end of the season. As for the rest, I always enjoy reading how folks think things will play out.
Q: Please share with your readers how pit lane (Indy 500) positions are determined. Are pit locations the same for both practice and the race? How and when are they selected?
Fred, Ashland, Oregon
MP: I think it’s initially set on entrants’ oval points standings, and after that, it’s based on qualifying positions. I’m also answering this at 12:01am Sunday morning after being up for 18 hours following Day 1 of qualifying, so I’m likely half asleep and wrong.