Q: Since the IndyCar event at Thermal is a non-championship exhibition, let’s have some fun with this and really go nuts. I propose having the teams dust off some ’90s-era CART monsters for a one-off methanol-fueled million dollar showdown in the desert. Please?
Rob, Rochester, NY
MP: I will pour 10w40 oil on my knees to get them working to perfection and gladly jump over the wall to change tires or try and remember how to engineer a car. But since it would be a challenge to find almost 30 race-ready CART cars to use, my vote is to bring in the Global MX-5 Cup Mazdas and let IndyCar’s finest go wild in their favorite support series. They’d be retrieving MX-5s from trees, mountains, and rivers after that race.
Q: Will Indy NXT be the only series that Force Indy will run for 2024? Do you have any information on what Ernie Francis Jr.’s plans are for 2024, and any thoughts about where things went sour for him for 2022-’23?
I assume that Jamie Chadwick will be back with Andretti for 2024. I did expect that she would be a bit higher than 12th for the final points total. Any thoughts about what happened there?
There hasn’t been any noise about a third engine supplier for a while in IndyCar. Is it safe to say that nothing is on the horizon?
Is Mario a partner in Andretti Autosport, now Andretti Global?
What can IndyCar do about all of the hate mail and threats leveled at Callum Ilott? Not sure if they can do anything really effective, but this certainly reminds me of what happened to Timo Glock in 2008 and Nicholas Latifi in 2021. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of loose cannons out there that call themselves fans.
Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA
MP: Force Indy is only scheduled for NXT in 2024. I don’t know where Ernie will land, but hope it isn’t Trans Am. He has nothing left to prove there; IMSA is where he needs to be. The Andretti team is working to retain Jamie. She readily admitted from the first test that the heavy physical demands of the NXT car pushed her to — and beyond — her limit, and duly spent the rest of the year working to increase her muscle mass and muscle endurance to suit the car.
I don’t know on Mario. Thanks to free will and the intent to be terrible, there’s nothing IndyCar can do to stop such things, but it can be a loud and proactive and consistent voice to parry each instance of such abuse when it happens.
Q: I attended the Battle On The Bricks race and was really excited for there to finally be an IMSA race in my hometown after traveling to Daytona for the past five consecutive years. I am disappointed in a couple of key things from this event, however.
What was with the big price for tickets? $100+ for two days in GA is more than a full weekend at Petit ($95) or even D24 tickets ($75). Saturday felt like almost a ghost town for the Michelin Pilot Challenge race, which would probably have benefited with more spectators if it was $50 to watch.
Why not just allow anyone to sit wherever they want in the grandstands like they do for every other IMSA race? My favorite part about IMSA races is being able to explore the venue and find some really fun viewing areas that typically I wouldn’t have the chance to. Daytona will let you sit literally anywhere in the grandstands other than the suites.
Daniel, Beech Grove, IN
MP: We are talking about Indy, though, Daniel, which has a very strict and specific pattern of behavior and isn’t likely to change anytime soon. My guess is the track didn’t expect an overwhelming response for the first IMSA weekend since 2014, and set the costs higher because it knew diehard fans wouldn’t stay away. Pricing was the one consistent complaint I heard about the Battle event, and that extended to the costs for camping, which is probably what led to a bunch of unused plots.
Q: I see a lot of people expressing discontent at the loss of Texas on the 2024 IndyCar schedule. Since it happened at the last minute and was caused by NASCAR, I think IndyCar did a decent job of making sure we had 17 points paying events. IndyCar did what they had to do given the last-second Texas debacle.
Teams need a schedule so they can plan their sponsor events and lock in their sponsor promotions. That takes a lot of planning with all the food vendors, tent vendors, etc. I view it as IndyCar doing the best it could given the issues with the Olympics and the last second Texas problems not of its making. I’m going to stay positive. But then, I live close to the Milwaukee track and will likely be there. Even put it on the shared family calendar. My kid will either have to get back to college on their own or move in early.
John
MP: It wasn’t NASCAR’s fault. The track, according to my sources, was the central point of negotiations. Glad you’ve got your kid sorted and aware where they fall in terms of importance.