Q: Is it just me, or is there more uncertainty about the 2025 season than there usually is at the end of the previous season? The Sunday broadcast was the last time IndyCar teams and drivers could share news about their futures in front of their fans.
Is it because the drivers and teams don’t know what’s up for 2025, or is it that they know but they don’t want anyone else to know, which seems silly. Or is it all down to signatures on the charter paperwork? Which also seems silly.
You have referred to Marcus Armstrong knowing where he is going. Why not make it public at the final weekend? Any announcement between now and St. Pete is just not going to make as big a splash. Same for the driver of the No. 66 car, and the driver of the No. 8.
Not to mention the status of Honda and Chevy. It’s about time to talk about re-upping for the 2027 season, isn’t it?
I can’t believe FOX does not know at least some of the announcing crew for 2025. And what of the new event(s) for 2026?
I am sure I am missing other open secrets. My point is that these kinds of announcements made at Nashville would have garnered more attention than the same announcement in December or January. Seems like missed opportunities.
Ed in KC
MP: Teams prefer to coordinate announcements with their sponsors, so giving the news away on the broadcast does nothing for them, nor does it include their sponsors to create team-focused news. Also, it’s a long off-season and teams are looking for opportunities to remind the world they exist during five months of nothingness.
IndyCar needs to decide what it’s doing with its next engine/hybrid formula, which could be ready for 2027, before manufacturers will want to agree to sign supply agreements. Gotta know what you’re supplying first…
No, people would hopefully be focused on the championship, not a bunch of random and hurried announcements.
Q: I just finished reading your article regarding Zak Brown’s state of IndyCar. I try to keep in mind that owners are probably pretty cautious sharing anything with the press, but I thought Zak’s ideas were a very honest look at the sport. I think some of his ideas come from someone with very deep pockets, but still very doable.
I really liked his thoughts about embracing F1. I’m not talking copying F1 – more like Zak mentions, just get the fans to take a look at IndyCar.
What are your thoughts, and do you think Roger Penske and company will even consider any of this free advice?
John Furnis
MP: I agree — lots of great ideas and criticisms, but to your point, there’s a giant difference between the budget Formula 1 has to work with each season and what IndyCar has at its disposal. Roger’s wealth isn’t IndyCar’s wealth, so for some of the more ambitious F1-inspired upgrades, a huge infusion of cash would be required. And who says that couldn’t happen? If Penske were to sell a stake of the series to an investor or multiple investors, the strict financial limitations IndyCar has worked from could be relieved.
I hope Penske listens and acts upon Brown’s advice, and Michael Andretti’s advice, and Chip Ganassi’s advice, and what other team owners constantly suggest to the series’ executive leadership branch to consider.
Q: If the silly season discussions are to be believed, Honda is dropping down to 13 for 2025 from 15 in 2024, while Chevy is moving up to 14 in 2025 from 12 in 2024.
This is the first time in a while that I recall Chevy having more full-time cars than Honda. How much strain does it add on those companies to add or drop two engines, more or less? Will there be a benefit to Honda performance/reliability? And will this kind of change stress Ilmor a bit more?
Ed Joras
MP: Yes to all the above. We haven’t seen Chevy/Ilmor with this many leases to support, so it’s hard to answer on strain since we need to see how the stresses and strains do or don’t manifest before an answer can be derived.
Q: First, what a fortunate backup track the Nashville oval proved to be. Secondly, after the season of what could have been, it was great to see the growth from Colton Herta. Alex Palou earned the championship, but Herta seemed to have a more mature/patient mindset after the mistakes at Indy and Detroit, which ultimately cost him the championship. As a member of the “Anybody but Penske or Ganassi Fan Club,” I’ve got high hopes for an Indy win or championship win in 2025.
JG, Tennessee
MP: It took a while, but the Andretti team really started to make its presence felt late in the season, to the point where the normal Ganassi-Penske-dominate-everything was joined consistently by Andretti with Herta. If the team can hold onto its steady performances, Herta should be a real title contender next year. The only wild card to consider is, Andretti will no longer have the chassis setup/feedback contributions from Meyer Shank Racing and specifically, Felix Rosenqvist, so sharpen themselves on the technical side. How might that affect them in 2025? A dip in performance? No change at all? We’ll be watching.
Q: With the dust settling on FOX taking over from NBC in the U.S. next year, have you heard anything regarding Sky continuing their UK coverage next year and beyond? The current contract expires 2024 as I understand it.
JK, Derby UK
MP: Heard nothing about FOX’s international plans, JK. But with the season over, we’re on the clock to learn many things about FOX’s personnel and initiatives.
Q: The recent announcement that Firestone was bringing two compounds of tires to the Nashville finale led me to wonder how these decisions are made within the IndyCar organization, and specifically, how Team Penske is kept from learning of competition discussions and decisions prior to the other teams in the series? It seems there could be competitive advantages gained by knowing of specific technical decisions for race events prior to the other competitors. e.g. simulation time, engineering planning, etc.
Andy R, Detroit area
MP: That’s a competition decision rather than an executive decision, so Jay Frye’s team would make the call and manage all information to keep all teams in isolation until being alerted at the same time.