Q: I know that half the Mailbag is usually complaints from passionate fans, so help me out with some perspective. I’ve been to every race in Northern California since 2015, every Baltimore race, many years of both Long Beach and Milwaukee (including Milwaukee in the ’90s when it was absolutely packed), and the first year back at Pocono, so I’ve seen a decent amount of race day traffic.
Robin once described the Laguna Seca traffic as so bad that he needed to leave his hotel by 7am to get to the track in time for the race. There were no problems getting to the track — the gate staff were a well-oiled machine. But getting out… whoa. Leaving general admission parking, there was a good half-hour where no car in sight was moving. I don’t mean that we were moving slowly — I mean that we were not moving at all. It took over an hour to get out of the parking area.
There are a ton of reasons why — they didn’t have anybody managing traffic in the lot, they were forcing almost every car in the lot to cross the major pedestrian path back up the hill, and literally the only person managing traffic was right at South Boundary Road and so she couldn’t see anything that was happening outside of just that intersection. After we were off the grounds, it was smooth sailing, so it’s not like we were overwhelming the local streets.
I don’t mean to rag on our home track, and it’s awesome to see all the investment that the county and the operator have put into the track. But that exit left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I’m questioning whether to come back.
Is this what it was like in the ’90s? Is it the neighbors’ fault that we can only exit along one road? Whatever it is, it could be a lot better, I hope that the operators make adjustments before next June.
Chris, San Francisco, CA
MP: Getting in and out was a nightmare in the 1990s, but it was due to popularity, not traffic mismanagement. In ’95 or ’96, I remember waking up late, racing to the track Sunday morning, and it taking 45 minutes to an hour just to move the last mile to turn into the track. With about 100 feet to go, I saw a car speeding along the side of the road and its occupants clearly believed they were too important to wait in the single-lane road to get into Laguna Seca. There was a slight gap I left to the car in front of me and I watched in my side mirror as these two, in a Lincoln Town Car or similar, try to bypass everyone and cut in front of me. I gassed it and filled that gap to kill that notion, which pissed them off, and they managed to slot in behind me. I looked in my rearview mirror and it was Carl Haas in the driver’s seat and Paul Newman sitting next to him! I felt bad, for a moment, knowing that they too were late and needed to get into the track, but hey, if we could wait, they could wait…
All of that aside, it’s clear the track needs to do a much better job on managing the egress. I’ll pass this on to the right folks.
Q: To increase manufacturer participation, why doesn’t IndyCar use Formula 1 engine specs? Manufacturers could produce the same engines to race in both series, saving money and increasing their exposure.
Michael Holigan
MP: F1’s engine formula would quintuple the annual IndyCar team budgets, so they aren’t used because they’d kill the series.
Q: What are your way-too-early thoughts for the championship next year? An observation I have is Scott Dixon’s ability to adapt quicker than the others to the changes in formula. In 2015 with the manufacturers aerokits, he won the title. In 2018, the current iteration of the DW12, he won the title. In 2020 the aeroscreen was introduced; Dixon again wins the title. With dawn of the hybrid systems, could we see number seven in 2024?
Joey, Florida
MP: I love your observation here, Joey. If Chevy and Honda are equal-ish next year, I’d have to go with Palou, Dixon, and Newgarden as the main contenders, and in addition to Dixie being quick to adapt, I also think he and his race engineer Ross Bunnell have found an amazing groove after one season and three wins. It’s scary to think what they can do with a year of experience to draw from.
Q: I think Foyt racing should keep Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14.
First, there is no one in IndyCar that has a better chance of winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500 that Ferrucci. He is definitely one of next year’s favorites as of now and there is no one Foyt could replace him with who be as good as he is in that race.
Second, when given a decent car this year (that has not always been the case) he has shown he can run with the leaders on road courses. He would have had a few top 10s if bad luck not struck.
Third, he is a good representative for Foyt and could provide the long term stability that they need to develop their team.
He does not bring money, but unless Larry needs money to keep the doors open, he should stay with Ferrucci at least for one more year.
Your thoughts on Foyt re-signing him?
Pedersen had the tough year you predicted, plus that bad luck of being taken out from behind four times. I would keep him over De Francesco if the money was the same. Do you agree?
Bill Cantwell
MP: I’ve said all the same things about Santino and agree with all of your points. The only new wrinkle I’ll add, which is offered with a season of hindsight to offer, is I don’t know if Santino established himself as a strong and vocal leader within the team in the same way a Newgarden, Dixon, O’Ward, or similar stepped up however many years ago to really take their teams forward.
Ferrucci can drive the wheels off the No. 14 Chevy, but with a more positive direction for the Foyt team to follow, do they need a lead driver who is a bigger and more involved leader in every sense of the word? Maybe he is that guy, or maybe he can be that guy, and one thing stands out: If Foyt’s going to become better and more consistent, it needs a driver who can take them there with their skills and actions, who pushes every person in every department to be better and can help them to reach higher.
I just don’t know if there are any drivers who fit that bill who would want to drive for Foyt, so maybe that means a second year with Santino is their best bet.