Q: Thinking about the Foyt/Penske technical partnership: A few years ago, I was able to spend some time with a top engineer from one of the IndyCar teams. He told me that dampers were the key to finding performance due to how tightly most other aspects of the engine/chassis are regulated. His team spends significant time and money developing their dampers. Then their improved damper performance allows them to unlock other aspects in the set-up that standard dampers would not.
Does Penske actually provide its dampers to Foyt? Do they have them sealed or controlled in such a way that the Foyt people could not figure out their secrets?
Ed Kelly
MP: Yes. Think of the Penske dampers as four little bank vaults where the contents are guarded under lock and key. It’s the same thing for Andretti Global with Meyer Shank Racing.
Related to this, I remember being at Sonoma Raceway in 2018 for the test day right before the race weekend started where Andretti Indy Lights champion Pato O’Ward and runner-up teammate Colton Herta made their first IndyCar starts with the former Harding Racing team.
It was early — before 8am — and the two Harding cars were sitting in the garages, up on stands, minus dampers, as the crew waited for the Andretti Technologies designee to wheel over the Pelican case with the two sets to put on the cars. I believe I recall those dampers being removed and placed back into the case at the end of the day and being wheeled back to the Andretti trailers. Leaving the dampers on the cars overnight and creating the opportunity for teams to open up the shocks and document all of the trick components and build specifications is exactly what the Penskes and Andrettis are preventing because that’s the source of the speed and secrets they use to win and make money.
Q: A while back there was a letter asserting that the Astor Cup does not include the name of Barney Oldfield and his 1905 AAA National Championship because the championship was then discontinued for several years.
Are you able to ask anyone at IMS or the Speedway Museum for a photograph of the base and some comments about if the assertion is true? Oldfield was among America’s first racing superstars, and its very first on ovals. His 1905 AAA championship (an all-oval championship) is one of the early pieces of the lineage leading to the construction of IMS, the creation of the Astor Cup, and by a small extension, to IndyCar ending its season on oval tracks.
If this guy’s name is not on the trophy I guess it is just another example of the slow-footedness and unpreparedness of the stewards of IndyCar.
Jason, Muncie, IN
MP: Busy week with the matters of today and the season finale that’s upon us, but feel free to ask again in the off-season.
Q: Two-part question if I may: Can you tell us what is up with Andretti Global seemingly not being affiliated with WTR when it goes to Cadillac next year? Also, can you provide any info on why I haven’t seen Jarett Andretti and his team in the recent IMSA races? I know they weren’t doing fighting for wins, but I was a major fan of his dad so I’ll always root for his family. Is he going to be racing anything else?
John
MP: We wrote about the name change in the main story about the switch to Cadillac, and Jarett’s doing the five enduros, which is why he hasn’t been racing in the non-enduros.
Q: I can’t believe IndyCar is wasting time and energy on an international series. When someone asks, “Why don’t we go back to Surfers Paradise?” or, “Why don’t we have a race earlier in the season in a warm climate?”, all hear is, “Who’s going to pay for it?”
If they think some super-sponsor is going to come in and pay for this thing, why don’t they focus on getting a super-sponsor for races during the season? Meanwhile, NASCAR once again tops IndyCar by going to Mexico. Besides Sergio Perez, IndyCar has the best-known Mexican driver on the planet. Pony up the money and go to Mexico. With the fan base Pato O’Ward has, it will pay for itself.
Joe Mullins
MP: Swipe that credit card, IndyCar.
Q: Saw this in a X post last week from Jay Frye:
“A new lighter chassis is in works but the current @DallaraGroup chassis needs to be celebrated — our drivers continue to walk away from +100G hits as well as breaking venue speed/passing venue records- fast/loud/authentic/safe- MSH/GSD”
Is this really happening, or has Jay’s account been hacked for a cruel joke? If this is real, will it have the higher-voltage hybrid that has been discussed in dark corners of the Interwebs?
Or should I not get my hopes up?
Ed Joras
MP: It’s happening-ish, whenever Penske Entertainment decides it’s happening. They’re aiming for 2027, but it could be 2028. Here’s a story I wrote in May that answers the rest.
Q: Will the new, lighter chassis be an evolution of the current chassis, or will it be a new chassis from the ground up to accommodate a larger battery slot?
Jimbo
MP: It would be a brand-new tub, at minimum, and there’s no space for a battery in the current car, so that would be a major addition to the design for IndyCar.
Q: I’m not going to say dumpster fire; but in the second to last race of the season; senioritis was on full display. Drivers, the series, the cars; all of them were melting down on Sunday. I’d love to see a 20-race schedule, especially one in Mexico — even with an unknown such as Pato O’Ward or whoever that is on the grid. Not sure though they can keep their collective **** together that long…
Shawn, MD
MP: We haven’t had that many reliability issues in a long while, which I loved. See you in Mexico!
Q: Just back from Milwaukee and all I can say is, that was awesome! The whole vibe of the weekend was great, with the coordination among the event, IndyCar, and the State Fair seemingly ironed out to perfection. Concessions were plentiful, diverse, well-run, and tasty. The weather couldn’t have been better. But most importantly, the drivers and teams put on a hell of a show. There was great racing with difficult but executable passing all over the track, and the strategies were varied and interesting. I went with a lot of uncertainty, half expecting a parade both days, but we got anything but that.
Did you have the sense in the paddock that the drivers, teams, and league were pleased with the event? Is there as much momentum among them as there seemed to be among the fans during the weekend?
Bert C. Reiser
MP: It had the same special feeling as Road America and Indy; love flowed in from fans to the series and from the series back to fans. I haven’t felt that kind of a vibe at a new IndyCar event in a really long time.
I’d rather go to MKE twice a year and kill one of the duds on the calendar.
Q: Given the successful return of the series to Milwaukee last weekend, and the evident momentum at Road America, what are the odds of a return to Cleveland and/or Watkins Glen? Yes, the series needs more ovals, but the 1990s schedule formula clearly resonates with this generation and this sport. I know events are always sponsor-dependent and the Midwest is saturated, but both are far enough east to check the box for the void in the Northeast market — and both tracks have similarities to Milwaukee and Road America, particularly as it relates to authentic and deep history with IndyCar.
I’m probably preaching to the choir, but I wanted to ask the question.
Ben Hartford
MP: Well, as Mark Miles said to another outlet, the series doesn’t want to go back to old venues like Watkins Glen. I also believe he gave that interview while sitting in the infield in Milwaukee, so thankfully, irony isn’t a thing.
IMSA saw a rise in ticket sales for June’s race at The Glen, so I’ve got to believe a decent crowd would welcome a return. Cleveland’s race hasn’t existed for a long time and does not have a promoter, so a lot would need to happen before a return could be discussed.