Q: With Chip Ganassi Racing downsizing to three cars in 2025, Linus Lundqvist looks set to leave the team after only one season. I have a hard time trying to find any possibilities for him to stay on the full-time IndyCar grid next year, especially since he doesn’t have any economic backing. He was announced as a multi-year signing for Ganassi — could CGR still help him find a seat, or have they parted ways completely? Even without the help of Ganassi, could he be a serious option for any team? If Linus doesn’t land an IndyCar seat, could he be on the radar for some GTP teams in IMSA instead? It would be a shame to see him on the sidelines again like in 2023.
Fabian Blåder
MP: Linus has nothing at the moment and his options aren’t encouraging. I spoke with him for about 20 minutes on seats and series and options on Friday night at Milwaukee — he was driving out just as I was getting to my rental car — and shared all the intel I had on where he might pick up paying work as a driver. He’s too good to be overlooked, but didn’t do enough to make paying IndyCar team owners place him ahead of one or two others on the market.
Q: With the changing weather contributing, IMSA put on a great show in Indianapolis. However, I wish they could use more of the oval section after Turn 11 to finish the lap. My question is whether there is any chance of removing the last chicane (Turns 12 and 13) in the future? The GTPs are made for high-speed corners, and I feel that is what is missing from the current layout.
Dimitrios, Greece
MP: I’d love to see this happen. But it ain’t happening.
Q: I attended my second consecutive BOTB and thoroughly enjoyed the drama the weather brought us (especially since unlike in 2012, the windows of my car were up for the deluge, and I stayed completely dry despite no poncho). Well done on the fan experience to IMSA, IMS and the hundreds of people who help put this event on.
In the race, the No. 7 Penske Porsche stopped just past the yard of bricks to power cycle, if the report was correct. Why on earth were they thinking that was good spot to do that? Why wasn’t there some sort of penalty assessed? The No. 40 Acura narrowly missed the No. 7.
Grant Stouder
MP: I hear you, Grant. Having Nasr drive down into Indy Turn 4’s runoff (road course Turn 1) would have been the preferred solution. Do series normally assess penalties for stopping on course? If so, I can’t recall when and where.
Q: Sounds like the charter system has some pluses, but PREMA is in an odd spot. Barring anybody getting out of the sport and selling a charter, is Prema out of luck until 2031? Any idea about how PREMA feels about this situation?
Is this also the final nail in Pratt Miller’s IndyCar interest?
Jim
MP: We spoke at length with PREMA about this in April. Pratt Miller did the same in May.
Q: Folks would say when the Cup race is on Saturday night, the local track would suffer. With this year’s low amount of Saturday night races, are local tracks doing better with attendance?
Nitro Bob, Boston
KELLY CRANDALL: I can’t give you that answer off the top of my head. I don’t cover the local tracks, or who is releasing attendance numbers. That would be something that you’d have to dig in with those tracks around the country that you’re particularly interested in.
Q: Here’s an idea to make F1 races more interesting: After qualifying, someone (track can select) spins a giant wheel. 70% of it says, “Normal order” and 30% of it says, “Inverted order’ (or choose your %). So if it stops in the 30% area, the starting order is inverted and we get to see Verstappen and Norris and Hamilton come from the back, and some drivers get a chance to be up front whom we’ve never seen there. What do you think?
Lloyd Parker
CHRIS MEDLAND: I’ll start off with saying I think a reverse grid would be great in the Sprint races, just to differentiate them and give drivers a need to showcase a different type of skill. But the right tracks would need to be used for that, because the field is so close these days that I doubt there would actually be much progress through the field made at some venues otherwise.
I think doing it in a Sprint gives a chance for those normally at the back to race at the front for a spell and have more chance of holding on, but all while not handing out massive points for reverse orders.
Now, I know Singapore wasn’t a classic (first time without a safety car ever – everyone kept it remarkably clean), but with the way the season is going and a lot of the races we have had this year, do we really need to try and mix up the main race on a Sunday? I don’t think so.
Forty percent of the teams have won multiple races this year, so I feel like it is mixed up enough race to race, even if individually some of them have brought dominant performances from either Max Verstappen or Lando Norris. I prefer where we’re heading, which does seem to be a more level playing field and a grid that is closing up front to back.