Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.
Q: Michael Andretti is continuing to pursue his quest to get U.S. drivers into Formula 1. With the new venture into establishing a new European open-wheel series, I would rather see Michael to take over a struggling series that has less than 14 entries on the field. What are the chances of Michael taking control of the Euro Formula Open Series rather than starting one from scratch?
Juan Solano
MP: I think we’re confusing Michael telling me he planned on entering cars in European open-wheel series if he gets into F1 for what I’ve never heard him say, which is he’s starting a European racing series.
Q: Regarding the aeroscreen 2.0, it doesn’t sound like it will be any safer than the present aeroscreen. Yes, it may be lighter, but so will the wallets of the owners after they (must) purchase it. So what’s the benefit? Every car will be lighter by the same amount. Will the racing be better? Not likely. I can understand incorporating it into a completely new car, but why the retrofit? Spend the money on better race promotion, etc.
Rick, Lisle, IL
MP: Less mass in a crash is a good thing. The aeroscreen 2.0 will offset some of the weight being added with the energy recovery system, and therefore, reduce the mass/energy in crashes. That’s why it’s a good thing. It’s already a marvel of safety, so there’s no real room to improve in that area that comes to mind. If the argument is “why try to improve something on a race car,” I fear we might fail to understand the basic premise of the sport.
Q: Another DNF for Grosjean, this time at Indy. He has race-winning potential, but how much more time does Michael Andretti give him?
Rob, Rochester, NY
MP: His season has gone pear-shaped of late, hasn’t it? The one thing Romain’s struggled with throughout his career is consistency; lots of highs and lows, and while the lows haven’t always been his fault, it’s hard to ignore how he’s crashed on his own at both ovals this year. After six rounds, he has two podiums and four finishes outside the top 10. I hope the warm and fuzzy feelings Michael had after Long Beach haven’t soured since they were supposedly going to get a contract extension worked out this May.
Q: I watched the entire Indy 500 from the pre-race show through to the final interview. First of all the race was 500 miles and there were at least 500 commercials. And second. I have never heard of Jewel, I don’t know anything about Jewel, and I don’t care if I ever hear the name Jewel again. But I thought her “version” of the anthem was different but not the worst I have ever heard. Most of the time for these big events they bring out someone who sounds like they are experiencing stomach cramps while they are singing and I turn the sound off. But I was not offended by Jewel and was more offended that they no longer have the balloon spectacle due to “ global warming “ or whatever the reason they used.
Don, Grand Rapids, MI
MP: Usually when I don’t know about someone or care about someone, I don’t take time to write a letter that is mostly about that person, but that’s me. I don’t think Jewel did a poor job with the technical aspect of singing the song; I took issue with it being the most low-energy rendition I’ve ever heard at a major sporting event.
Great song to raise spirits, raise anticipation for what’s the come, and send the crowd into a volley of cheers right before a race. Felt more like she was singing at a funeral, which makes me think IndyCar would be wise to consult with those who might sing the anthem to find out if they’re leaning toward putting 300,000 people to sleep or not.
Maybe they can bring Jewel back next year and have her release some balloons? (Kidding)
Q: The Indy 500 just finished. Worst NASCAR-style decision I’ve ever seen in Champ Car/IndyCar since I started watching in 1985. No one wants a race to end under caution, but sometimes it happens. A red flag with two laps to go is gimmicky BS.
Between that and the Nothing But Commercials broadcast that only showed about 180 of the 500 miles between commercials, really makes it hard for me to ever watch another race. I can’t help but feel that this red/white/green finish was either manufactured by NBC to get more commercials, or by Roger’s team to get Josef a 500 win.
Michael
MP: Let’s start by nipping the conspiracy theory BS in the bud. It became apparent to me around the halfway point of the race that Newgarden was onto something special as he was among the only mid-pack qualifiers to march forward — and consistently so — during the race.
Starting P17, he was P12 on lap 25. He was P9 on lap 50. Lap 100 and he was P5. Lap 150 and he was P2. But the race was fixed, right. GTFOH.
I get it, you didn’t like the finish, but making up nonsense about the last red flag being manufactured to air more commercials or the race being a fix is just lame.
Q: The whole last-lap shootout came about because of how mediocre the cars raced this year. And it happens every year — when IndyCar’s aero souffle won’t rise, and desperation to pass kicks in, the race turns into a late-race bloodbath. It was a great race, but in the drama department, and maybe less so in the racing department.
IndyCar tried to avoid conspiracy, I think. The question of “who the hell was ahead when the light was on” a la 2002 would be more damaging than F1-esque one-lap shootout. The decision to throw the red might have been influenced by Ferrucci seemingly challenging the position, and the A.J. Foyt factor. All of the 33 should probably internalize that the white-flag lap at Indy means all rules are out, and just how deep one can get into the pit lane entry breaking the draft is your own responsibility, at least until someone crashes. I think that’s better than IndyCar’s version of the yellow-lane rule — that would be a conspiracy fodder!
But I doubt anyone can reasonably claim the fix was in. Newgarden is in the history books now, and forever will be.
Filip, Maastricht, The Netherlands
MP: Significant aero changes are on the way for the race next year, and I really hope IndyCar enlists one car from every team to participate in a few days of aero testing at the Speedway to do whatever’s needed to establish an awesome package
Q: I think the “dragon move” needs to be outlawed next year. Crossing over the pit entry line is playing a dangerous game with the pit wall attenuator looming large. An accident of that type would be horrible.
Do you think that move will be cracked down on next year?
Joe
MP: I hope. But IndyCar seems to like a less-restrictive approach to the 500 and they welcome what we saw, so I wouldn’t bet on it.
Q: First, I am relieved that the rogue tire didn’t hurt anyone. Second, congratulations to Josef on a hard-fought win. He kept his head down and avoided most of the trouble. But I was not as happy with the win. I felt like IndyCar ditched a lot of protocol to set up a last-lap shootout.
What are your thoughts of how the red flags at the end played out? For me, the win didn’t feel authentic.
Stefan Johansson (Not the 1997 Le Mans winner)
MP: You do an excellent job of managing drivers, BTW. I’ll return to the point of how the win would have been problematic for some whether it was Marcus or Josef. Finishes under yellow after going red twice — on lap 185 and 193 — but not 198, and Ericsson wins? Folks leave asking why a third red wasn’t used and why Josef was robbed of a chance to fight for the win and Josef being upset and quoted saying he didn’t think staying yellow was the right choice.
Or, we get the red, Newgarden uses P2 to his full advantage, wins, and we get Marcus being quoted saying we should have stayed yellow and shouldn’t have gone red. It was just one of those years where unhappiness was going to be the response, red or yellow.