Q: An inexpensive way to promote IndyCar would be an “Firemen calendar.” Josef shirtless, Helio and the Mayor of Hinchtown dancing, Scotty in a Bus Bro costume, Blue Suit in hip boots, a ponytail crew member, owners, etc. A free calendar at sponsor outlets could entice new fans. I would love to get one from my PNC Bank.
Lew
MP: Never change, Lew.
Q: I was also having issues with Peacock. Not the same as Mike from Charlotte in the 9/13 Mailbag, but I was having problems with it constantly buffering. I have a new Roku and I deleted and re-installed the Peacock app. It’s been working fine since. So maybe that is what is needed — do a delete and a reinstall.
John
MP: Thanks, John!
Q: As Scott Dixon and his team are so much ahead of almost everyone else in altering and adjusting in race strategy, why would it not be wise for some, especially, those teams not at the lead, to just do exactly what Dixon does?
Jim Riddle. Highlands, NC
MP: It would, but that’s also a bit like asking someone to throw touchdowns like Tom Brady. I know one team tried to do just that, and their young driver objected, saying, “I’m not Scott Dixon” when he was asked to do crazy fuel saving. If only it was as easy as copying the six-timer…
Q: With the exception of the COVID championship year it seems like Dixon always has a huge late-season surge. What is your take on that? What happens that slows the beginning of the season and then seems to click with him?
Geoff
MP: He and Michael Cannon — new race engineer in 2020 — clicked right away because they’re both 20-plus-year veterans. He and Cannon worked well throughout the midway point of 2022, but things tapered off prior to the change, and from there, Dixon had his former-former race engineer Chris Simmons back on the timing stand, and that’s where the two wins and surge was produced. He’s had a new race engineer in Ross Bunnell this year and it took some time to get the wins, but they were super consistent with top sixes for most of the year before the wins arrived.
Dixon was strong throughout his 2015 and 2018 title years, so I’d look to the late-season stuff as more situational than something I’d see as an issue from the man himself.
Q: Am I the only one who expected Palou to announce he was going to McLaren during his championship celebration after the race?
And regarding the Thermal event, I’m psyched IndyCar’s adding anything at all to the calendar, so thank you IndyCar! But are we expected to be excited about multi-millionaire members getting a chance to win another half a million dollars? Or like ticket sales, was this just a requirement to appease the members of the club?
Nick Howard, Noblesville, IN
MP: Yes, you might have been the only one, Nick. We told you he was planning to stay with Ganassi on the Friday of the Brickyard weekend in August, McLaren followed up later in the day saying Palou informed them he wouldn’t be driving for them, and that’s been the reality since.
IndyCar is hoping to get more owners into the series. Holding a race at a private circuit where super successful people who love racing might be the best ownership recruitment opportunity of all time.
Q: Any chance that Carolyn and Don Cusick might go for the big prize at The Thermal Club? Hopefully with Stefan Wilson who has probably turned more laps (in a Porsche) there than anyone else. Maybe Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will enter two events in 2024!
Probably just wishful thinking, but it’s possible that a number of teams might decline to enter unless it is made mandatory under the Leaders Circle rules or such like. Any news please on Stefan?
Oliver Wells
MP: I’d look for an expectation for every full-time team to participate in the non-points race. It’s being aired on NBC, as the series told me, so that’s not a thing to keep from your sponsors.
Stef says he should be ready to drive again by the end of the year, so in theory, he’ll be fit to race. According to Don, he wants to have a car in the race. Hard not to appreciate that guy.
Q: What are the factors that determine where each IndyCar team is positioned along pit row? Is not the first position off the race course the most desirable, or does it not make a significant difference to the driver whether pitting first or last off the course?
Ed Galligan, Vancouver, WA
MP: That order is set by qualifying for the previous event.
Q: Following up on Rick’s great research last week, here’s some info I found for USAC at Mosport in the 1970s.
In 1978 it was Danny Ongais who captured the pole position. He set a new qualifying record of 1m12.57s, which bettered Bobby Unser’s lap record set the previous year of 1m15.44s.
Marty, Toronto Ontario
MP: Thanks, Marty!
Q: Why was isn’t a big deal being made over Devlin De Francesco ‘s inability to make one more lap, which would have made him Leaders Circle eligible? It cost Andretti over a million dollars.
Mike
MP: We wrote about it, but at the same time, Devlin was unable to run a competitive speed due to the car problems he was having, so if IndyCar is going to ignore that, there’s no reason for the series to have rules or officials.
Also, race control isn’t keeping track of Leaders Circle points in order to make in-race decisions, so the timing sucked for Andretti, no doubt, but if the car or speed or driver is unsafe, I’m good with hitting the stop button. And finally, Andretti Global would love to have that $910,000 for the Leaders Circle, but of all the teams where not having it makes zero difference to their ability to compete next season, they’re the one.