Q: My question stems from the IMSA radio broadcast. Do you think the repeated questioning about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being able to handle multi-class racing is warranted? I get there was a lot of chaos in the first hour or so of the race, but it seemed once everyone settled in, things calmed down a ton. I may be biased because I am from Indianapolis, but I felt there was a lot of great racing and a longer endurance race there is great for not only IMS, but endurance racing as a whole.
Tyler, Indianapolis, IN
MP: As I have done for many years at IMSA events, I pulled up Peacock and listened to NBC’s broadcast of the race so I have no insight into what was or wasn’t said elsewhere. The race had a bit more carnage than I expected, but any suggestion that the IMS road course isn’t suitable for multi-class endurance racing is one I’d ignore.
Q: Just returned from a great weekend at the IMSA Battle on the Bricks at IMS. This was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see the GTP cars in person, and the technology is even cooler once experienced up close. Seeing the cars bump start after pitting, and in some cases returning to the paddock under electric power, was honestly more impressive than I expected.
It’s clear that the cars are treated with an abundance of caution due to the electrical energy stored within. With green lights alerting drivers and crews when the cars are in a safe state, special high voltage safety areas on the grounds, and even drivers jumping off the cars from time to time to avoid completing a circuit, there’s obviously a risk involved. I also have to assume this is at least part of the reason the GTP cars are roped off during grid walks.
My question is this, what makes the GTP, Hypercar, or even F1 cars so much more dangerous than a road-going hybrid consumer vehicle with an MGU and on-board battery storage? I don’t see Porsche 918 or McLaren P1 drivers awaiting a green light to exit, or jumping off their cars after backing into the garage.
John, NW Indiana
MP: First thing that stands out is the massive safety features built into road-going hybrids and EVs that are many levels above what you’ll find in lightweight, tightly packaged hybrid and EV race cars. There’s nothing inherently dangerous with a hybrid GTP car or F1 car, but since those electrified systems aren’t buried and hidden away like in road cars, there’s an extreme level of caution applied for the sake of safety. And with the nature of racing being one where high heat and vibration and poundings taken by the chassis are normal, there’s also a reason to be more watchful for ways the hybrid/EV system could be compromised in some capacity that would place the racer(s) at risk.
Having been around hybrid GTPs all year, and IndyCar’s new hybrid car when it tested at Sebring, I’ve never felt worried about getting close to them, putting my hands on them, etc., unless the light was red on the GTP cars, and when that has happened, it’s just been a case of waiting for the green to flash.
Q: Is Kyffin Simpson being “graduated” a year early to give CGR five cars worth of testing data on the new hybrids?
Ken Roscher, Gurnee, IL
MP: No. If the team was wanting more useful hybrid data, it wouldn’t move a winless NXT driver to IndyCar for that purpose. It would hire a Matty Brabham or Oliver Askew or Ryan Hunter-Reay or Conor Daly to deliver high-caliber feedback. I’m sure Kyffin will expand that side of his tools, but not while drinking from a firehose as a rookie.
Q: Having seen several weather-related delays during the past season, I’m wondering how much information gets to the teams, media, and on-site fans during a delay? Peacock has taken several approaches in their streams: providing track video without sound, with a repeating theme, and most helpful, trackside PA. But that’s pretty much it.
I find it hard to believe IndyCar doesn’t provide more information on-site, but even its website and social media accounts leave at-home fans mostly in the dark. Sometimes the first update we’ve received is seeing the teams tow the cars out to pit row, but I can’t imagine that’s the first notice the media gets.
Don’t want to be another Peacock-basher, but I’m wondering why couldn’t they put a crawl across the bottom with occasional updates for their paying customers?
John, Madison, WI
MP: It’s a good question. IndyCar’s account on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (I struggle to call it X) is a good one to follow because that’s where the first public notification of delays tends to go out.
Q: I am very positive about IndyCar and do not often look at the negative of the series. However, I think the optics of the Rookie of the Year are quite bad. A driver won by competing in only 12 of 17 races — that is a 40% difference. I think that makes the series look bad. It highlights the difference between a top team like CGR and the bottom teams like Foyt and Juncos. People are always talking about parity, but this clearly shows otherwise.
And it wasn’t like Armstrong was some magical unicorn world-beater like a 1993 Nigel Mansell, or in a no-go rookie year like 2007 Ryan Hunter-Reay. Armstrong was a middle-of-the-road F2 guy who couldn’t seem to figure that series out over multiple years. Meanwhile, Canapino was a successful driver, albeit in a small national series, and Robb was fairly successful in the Road to Indy ladder and was with a historically decent team.
No way a guy running two-thirds of the races should easily beat multiple full-time entries. Am I wrong, or are the optics of the Rookie of the Year… sub-optimal?
Ron, Baltimore, MD
MP: I hear you, Ron, and I think it’s a difference of 29 percent. But let’s look at the rookie field:
Agustin Canapino, with no open-wheel experience and no knowledge of the tracks, driving for a team that’s trying to run two cars for the first time and is usually found in the middle of the pack or worse.
Benjamin Pedersen, winner of one NXT race, driving for a rebuilding team that is usually at the back of the field, who needed more seasoning before going to IndyCar.
Sting Ray Robb, also a winner of one NXT race, driving for a midfield team, who needed more seasoning before going to IndyCar.
Marcus Armstrong, a winner of multiple Formula 2 races who was part of Ferrari’s Formula 1 driver academy, who’s driving for one of the two best teams in the series, and only had to focus on applying his expertise to road and street courses.
Ganassi was the deciding factor here, and while Armstrong didn’t have a bunch of amazing results, the ones he had were good enough to outshine the others. The optics might not be awesome, but other than Armstrong and Canapino, there wasn’t much in the way of competition — due to inexperience or driving for a team that wasn’t ready to place their driver in a position to contend — for that title.