Q: With the new charter program coming in, are there any measures in place to make sure the charters don’t turn into a “money will always win” situation?
Second, the last couple seasons seems like Penske drivers have gained advantages. Has there been any talk about hiring an outside group to run the races while Penske can run the business? A group approved by all the owners should remove that perception.
Third, it seems, on TV anyway, that the stands at most of the races are empty. I have some ideas that might not work for IndyCar; however, I wanted your take in these.
At 11:00am, have 20- to 50-lap sprint with the starting grid chosen by draw. At 2pm, reverse the starting order from race one. Then at 7pm take the average finish positions to determine starting grid for the race. I find qualifying boring, so how about having the sessions be sprint races of five to 10 laps? Half of the first sessions/race moves on. Half the second sessions moves on. Half the third sessions moves on. The final session/race determines the starting grid.
I really like the doubleheader weekends. However, I think it would add to the weekend if qualifying was done a little differently. The first race can be normal qualifying. The second race starting grid should be determined by the fastest lap run in the first race. Teams that got caught out by a yellow could then change focus and try to get a better starting position in the second race.
Fourth, teams and team orders. The commentators are always mentioning team orders and teammates helping each other. This is something that needs to somehow be banned from IndyCar. The team stuff is one of the worst parts of F1.
Last, more tracks and less time between races. After the opening weekend IndyCar loses all momentum by not having a race within two weeks. Seems like it would be better to keep IndyCar in the public eye. More tracks have been mentioned by a lot of other people; I think it is necessary to go to as many tracks as possible.
Craig B, Muncie, IN
MP: It’s a long off-season ahead, Craig. No need to pack everything into the first week. Answering in order:
Money always wins.
When I asked Roger about letting non-Penske people get involved, he damn near erupted.
Your new race structure would lead to a 99-percent aneurysm rate from people trying to follow what’s going on.
For a guy who doesn’t like qualifying, you’ve come up with a fun idea.
Commentators are not always mentioning team orders in IndyCar. It gets mentioned in the last race or two when the championship is on the line.
Sure, but half the teams are barely able to cover their bills with 17 races. Going to more means more costs, which means people lose their jobs as their teams collapse.
Q: I’m writing this just after getting home from Nashville Superspeedway. Man, what a race! The on-track action was fantastic with plenty of passing and a mix of strategies. Plus, the fans turned out and we had a great crowd on hand.
I just want to point out that Nashville Superspeedway has come in clutch yet again. After being left dormant for years and nearly demolished, the track has defied expectations and has come roaring back. Not only has it found a spot on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar as a premier event (despite heavy skepticism from some within the sport), but it has “showed up and showed out” for IndyCar as well.
While there was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth when the Nashville street circuit went the way of the dodo, I’ve got to say that what I witnessed today is 100x more entertaining than any of the clown shows that the street circuit put on.
I know the series misses the downtown location of the street circuit, but I can tell you that from this fan’s perspective, Nashville Superspeedway is my preferred venue 10 times out of 10.
Garrick, Alabama
MP: I’m in total agreement, Garrick. I do wish we got to see the revised downtown layout run at least once so we’d know if it was better than the stadium layout, but since the speedway worked quite well thanks to Scott Borchetta’s investments, I hope the next installments pack the house.
Q: I feel as though not enough attention is being paid to Will Power’s belt situation. He seemed to take too long to get into the pits once he realized he had a problem and I believe he stated there was another belt problem later in the race. He should not have been back on the track and the team needs to face consequences for allowing him to continue in such a dangerous manner.
Does IndyCar have rules to address this? I know it rarely happens, but it seems leaving this up to the teams and drivers is not satisfactory.
Don Anderson, Oak Park, IL
MP: The problem here is there’s no way for the series to know if the buckle is disconnected unless the driver or team says so over the radio. To involve the series, sensors would need to be installed in the buckle to indicate all belts are connected/disconnected.
Q: The top riders of MotoGP have been referred to favorably as “aliens” in the past. If we were to apply this term to the current selection of IndyCar drivers, it would apply to (in no particular order) Palou, Dixon, Newgarden, McLaughlin, Power, Herta and O’Ward. Thoughts?
Jordan, Warwick, UK
MP: Strong list. Only adds would be Ferrucci and Kirkwood.
Q: I must confess that I was initially dismayed when I learned that the Music City GP was moving to the oval out in Lebanon. After all, downtown is where all of the excitement is, right? Nobody wants to go way out in the country to a track to see an oval race, right? After attending my first IndyCar race at the Superspeedway since 2005, I stand corrected. The stands were full. People seemed to really be enjoying themselves. The weather was perfect. The racing was fantastic! To top it all off, I have never experienced and easier ingress and egress from a sporting event. Free parking is definitely better than $40 downtown.
Major kudos to Scott Borchetta and the team to make this last-minute change of venue (with a lot of financial risk involved) and lay a very solid foundation to build on in the future!
Chad I. Pearman
MP: Agreed. On the ingress and egress, I probably shouldn’t say this, but it was so easy to get in, nobody stopped me and asked to see my credentials.