Welcome to the racer’s mail bag. Any questions from the racer writer are: mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters containing questions are likely to be published. Any questions received every Monday after 3pm will be saved the following week.
Q: So if there is one consistent theme on IndyCar, Social Media, MailBag, fans are handrails for spec cars, spec tires and two engine suppliers. Of course, there is a reason why that is the way it is. It’s not enough to generate interest/money for the series and team sponsors, whether it’s impressive gaze on TV, seat bats, or social media talk.
So let’s assume that all current trends are caring and that motorsports in this country are increasing rather than increasing (or steady) lessening (or steadily increasing). How many eyes do all media platforms (not only broadcast television) and seat bats have to generate sponsors and return to the more freewheeling open rulebook? What do sponsors want today (except for a huge audience) that they won’t return to their glory days?
Mike Z, Breckenridge, co
Marshall Pruett: Great question, Mike. Returning to Indycar may be as easy as saying it is a big box store or brand home like it was in the cart era, and when major cart teams switch to the IndyRacing League, it may be as easy as saying it sends a strong signal to the world of sports, entertainment and business, the powerful beings that IndyCar will engage in for a while.
Taking many of the most famous tobacco brands, beer companies and most popular retailers, they were all found in carts, spent rough time buying and distributing huge blocks of tickets, matching activations of epic events with national television and print ads pointing to the kart racing program. The average US person likely knew Cart/Indycar, and not necessarily because they liked it and followed it, but because the huge brands put so much effort into transporting their carts to 30-second commercials on television and ads in newspapers and magazines that people read.
That’s what I think of today’s topic of “back” to where IndyCar was once on the National Recognition Register. Not because there were two or four unique chassis vendors with tire suppliers, but the race was great. The cars were amazing and undoubtedly blew your mind if you could see them live. But it wasn’t a measure of success or popularity. It was sponsorship and activation – the array of engine suppliers also went far into promotion – they brought cart/indycar to the public in the comfort of a living room, bathroom or work break room. Once you get back to that point, the money will flow like a river through the paddock.
One of the volatile reality of carts in the late 1990s was that the stands were often full, but TV ratings were not necessarily insane. In my brain, I think that 5 million people often keep tuning, but that wasn’t the case.
The 1999 season spread across the ABC network, with ESPN on cable averaged 1,130,000 viewers per race during the 20 race season. Fox closed its debut season for all networks, averaging 1,362,000 in 17 races.
On the surface, it suggests that the 1999 rating was soft, but it is also worth noting that in 1999 Kurt did not have an Indy 500 on his calendar. It belonged to the IRL. Kurt was not like 500, but rather averaged ratings like Fox, but many races produced an audience in the 700,000 range, with Indy bringing 7.8 million.
Nevertheless, the average for new foxes is strong. It should intrigue the interest of more sponsors. The new quest is to keep the non-indie races rising. The cart around 1999 wasn’t that bad. All it had was nothing but Inzie, its average, network and cable split was over a million viewers per race. If Fox can reach that point with all its network plans and offer a big indie number, the series and its teams have something meaningful to sell to sponsors at a higher price.
Q: Have you heard that in 2026 Pre-Marklee members landed on other teams? And in your opinion, if Linus is not driving, will the star sign Linus Vekai again in the 2026 season and Dale Coyne can sign him again? Dale wanted him and the business to be business.
Oliver Wells
MP: Some, yes, but not a lot. I said I’d heard that the whole team was on sale (the asking price ranged from $2,000 to $25 million), but when I asked if Prema had contacted me to buy the team, they said no.th For teams, teamth It was certainly on sale.
Anything is possible. As for where Rinus is heading, it’s hard to find an upgrade as we know that what’s left of Coyne is not just Michael Cannon, but also a technical alliance with Andretti Global. If Linus is on the market and you’re interested in returning, Dale is wise enough to see the big picture. Justin Wilson drove Dale and left for Drayer and Reinbold, returning two years later. The same is true for Sebastien Bourdais, who did two stints at Dale, so there is a precedent.
As I understood the situation, Veekay saw the end of 2026 and a great opportunity became available. So, whether you were staying at Coyne in 2026 or have been relocating to JHR for a year, Andretti, Arrow Mclaren, and others with front and rear seats that could open a year from now are at the heart of the strategy.
Veekay has a long-term view, but is it causing short-term pain? James Black/Penceke Entertainment
Q: I plan to go to one street race next year. I’ve been to oval or road courses. Would you recommend something given a priority to track views and fan experiences?
Indy’s Ken
MP: Long Beach.
Q: What happened to IndyCar streaming with our dedicated Fox Sports streaming service? If I remember correctly, Fox told me at the beginning of the season that something would come out by the end of the year. That was what they said to the fans, so are we trying to stop annoying them about it?
Max Camposano
MP: from August 22nd.
Q: Please forgive me if this is covered. But when the 2026 IndyCar schedule was released, was there a statement indicating that all the races would air again on Big Fox instead of FS1? Was that confirmed or is there a possibility that some events could slide backwards into FS1? If all of them were to compete on network television again, I feel that when the schedule was released it was important and a big topic, but I don’t think it is.
Mark Founds, Mason, oh
MP: This was the closing price for the second paragraph of the schedule story I wrote. “As the continuation from 2025, all races will air on the Fox network.”
Q: Your reaction to David from last week’s PA was weak. If IMSA has local yellow as you say, they have an interesting way to show it! Like, when have they used local yellow?
If 25-50% of the race time is FCY, that’s not a small problem. Road America is my home track. It’s 4 miles. If you cannot use local yellow there, then IMSA do not have There is a local yellow flag.
Does IMSA care about “race”? Or will we all be part of the story of the new clothing of the modern emperor, saying “lace” is great? If so, sports will die. Don’t be that final mise party.
Steve Rozan, King of Lower Elswasia (self-appointed)
MP: A question was asked and answered. But it’s weak, apparently. That means strong, right, or something, so I’ll definitely answer with every cap going forward. (I think so.)
Understood. I don’t like the overly long stretches of full course yellow that consume too much of some IMSA races. Who will do it?
Can we use a bit of logic and a set of assumptions mentioned, as Dean Wormer eloquently suggested, stating that the number of IMSA fans who love eternal warnings is zero point zero?
If your IMSA driver has a problem and can extract itself from the problem in a timely manner, you get local yellow. It happens on a daily basis without fanfare. For example, someone takes herself, sets the grass everywhere, and wins a torundle back to the surface of the race a few seconds later. Local yellow appears while the driver is handling the business and then withdrawn.
It’s when the solution isn’t quick or when something needs on-site assistance.
IMSA has heard complaints multiple times. As these hundreds or thousands have said, IMSA should adopt WEC’s virtual safe vehicle technology and use slow zones instead of full course attention.
vaguely related, I have no reason to regularly bark former IMSA president, President Scott Atherton, but one example that stands out is where I came across the end of poor driving standards at Sebring in 2014 and the eternally long warning frustration that followed (this is really nothing new).
In the 12-hour race, there were 12 warnings totaling 4h57m, and one red flag in 6m49. It left a six-hour green race for the country’s most prestigious endurance race. This was cut in almost half by an incompetent driver that should not be licensed. A loose approach to applying control to those drivers in the series’ stewards, and a broken car, recovering broken cars, repairing barriers, repeatedly stopping the field, and repairing broken cars.
Of these 12 cautions, only three required omissions of less than 20 minutes. If you think Road America is bad, Sebring has covered it.
Preventing is the reason for pausing the entire race. When that happens, the rules trigger one of two layers of the pit stop procedure. If it’s not a quick routine that feels like rarity, it’s a long procedure that allows all cars to pit in two separate stages of the prototype first, then the GTS.
It takes forever on long trucks like Daytona, Sebring and Road America. And once it’s done, a detailed effort to sort the fields across all four classes kicks in. It also seems to take forever. It tends to require exceptional time. This tends to take longer than the cleanup on the site in question.
By going to WEC’s VSC and slow zone routines, it will greatly improve the quality of the race, and in theory, it will greatly improve. However, the quality of the race at WEC is my biggest complaint, especially in the 24 hours of Le Mans, which often removes reboots and memorable passes opportunities in the VSC/slow zone process. Of course, there are exceptions, but my biggest problem with WEC racing is the difference in caution/pit lane procedures. Despite its clear drawbacks at times, I’m a huge fan of IMSA procedures.
So, we welcome suggestions on how to solve the problem, not only add it to the list of complaints that have already been complaining about for at least 10 years.
Thank you for writing, King.
There are no related photos of IMSA and flags. But I have pictures of Galno Truli, Pedro de la Rosa and Giancarlo Fisciella dressed in flag clothes, so let’s try it out. Steve Etherington/Getty Images
Q: 2026 Phoenix Indycar races are listed on the Phoenix Raceway website, but do not mention qualifying. Certainly, “NASCAR Championship Weekend” has at least some practice sessions and qualifying, right?
The Indycar website lists events taking place on March 7th and 8th (Friday and Saturday). The Phoenix Raceway website only sells tickets on March 8th and 9th. If a cool car runs on Friday the 7th (I assume I’m practicing or qualified), will the truck be open to the public?
When Indycar charged the best on this track, the race was 250 laps long. Is this the most likely chance that the series will serve as a accommodation device for NASCAR’s B series?
The insight helped my decision to buy tickets, and then the whole effort reminded me of a recent interview with a guitar player at Dribbin and Crane when I said, “I didn’t want to open it for the Ramones.” Indycar hopes to be treated with more respect by the headliner audience and promoters than Drivin n Cryin did.
CC
MP: IndyCar will be holding a full-length race in Phoenix. I asked the series for details on Friday questions and was told that the schedule was still together, but yes, IndyCar’s action is expected on Friday and is expected to look for future communications from the series about what they are planning.
Q: I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the battle on the bricks. IMSA raced pretty good and I’m always grateful for the open paddock and grid walk before the race. Walking through the paddock, I saw young racers with talent, such as Brock Feeney, Hunter McKellea and Toby Sowley. Feeney has had a great season in supercars, but I remember McElrea and Sowery in the race at the Indycar Ladder System.
You’ve probably heard rumors about Feeney for a race either in the NASCAR or IndyCar. For me, McElrea and Sowery seem to be at the point of their careers where they are leaning towards sports cars, but when the right opportunity appears, the doors are still open to IndyCar. What are your predictions about the future of these three drivers I mentioned?
Brandon Karsten
MP: A great opportunity for Feeney to make his IMSA debut with Oussie team owner/driver Kenny Habul. I don’t think he’ll have as much advantage as driving a T8 in a supercar, but outstanding GT stars like him are pretty appealing in the GTD and GTD Pro ranks. It’s not that great in the prototype where Hunter and Toby compete.
McElrea hasn’t given up on IndyCar, but as I suggested to him, the IndyCar market wants one of two things today and in the near future, so getting all in on a sports car needs to be focused on him.
I have no doubts about his talent. And if there’s a team that doesn’t want immediate results from a proven veteran or needs cash gobs, he’s going to be a great candidate. But we weren’t alive at the time. Eventually, there will be less paths for him to reach IndyCar.
By introducing charters to Indycar, you can strip the team of their ability to drive extra cars outside Indy without fear of losing their qualifications, and pressure some team owners to reduce the size of the field.
SOWERY’s exact thing. Other than the Indy 500, there are no teams actively searching for drivers who drive in extra cars at other events. Unless you give Coyne or Foyt $9 million, you can’t hurry and find a way for Toby or Hunter to become IndyCar drivers.
Talent aside, teams that need drivers in 2026 will first need money from drivers. In either case, I don’t realize that these two meet financial standards, but I personally support them.
Q: Alpine just won a great race at Fuji, so now both Best Sound (Cadillac) and Best Track (Alpine) hypercars have won the race this year. yay!
But my question is not the case for either car. My question is whether Honda is close to taking the ARX-06 to a party. The two at IMSA are not enough. Do you have any hope of seeing them on WEC?
Duncan, Ottawa
MP: Honda/HRC is actively evaluating the bigger plan to race at IndyCar, NASCAR, or both here, or not just one of those two, so I think we need to get an answer about where the company is heading before planning to commission the WEC program.
It’s not a question mark as it appears to be committed to IMSA. We know that HRC is passionate about endurance racing. While not like people who have no passion for other forms of racing, the competition for GTP/hypercars is particularly well-respected.
The main point for me is how expensive Indycar and NASCAR are, and how expensive NASCAR is, and what is more expensive of the two. If Honda stayed at IndyCar and skipped NASCAR, I could see the faint hope of WEC’s hope. If that goes into NASCAR, I don’t know where the budget will come from.
Q: With Ruzewski being appointed Team Principal at Andretti Global, do you feel anything about whether this is shuffling loyal soldiers like Rob Edwards into another position in their family and building a path to getting better? It’s consistently lacking because Andretti Global has all the money and seems to always be in the small details that separate teams from the world, like Andretti Global and Team Penkes and CGRS.
I like Rob, but at some point, when the cartoon anvil always appears to fall into your car, you have to make a change.
Jeff Smith, Penn State University
MP: I was hoping that Ron would join the team in a leadership role as a complement to Rob. I didn’t expect Ron to lead the IndyCar team without a Rob.
This move shows that TWG is taking a new approach with the IndyCar program, which is clear, but I think we are looking at Dan Touris’ pursuit of success in leadership change after taking a small step in 2024. All the best team owners/leaders behave that way. If Chip or Roger or Kanaan believes change will strengthen the program, they will make a change. Sometimes it’s a cold decision, but they’re DGAF.
The two most powerful teams at IndyCar last season have top-level managers. We’ve lost sight of the number of team managers (or people with similar titles or roles) in Ganassi and Arrow Mclaren. That’s not what Rob had last season. It also hopes that for him he will recruit more help than Rob had, carry the weight of expectations and make the team better in all departments, as it is not something that Ron is waiting for him when he arrives.
Q: Rookie is missing from your list of Penske rookie drivers from your article.”The time for Big Dave is here‘ – Gonzalo Rodriguez. RIP.
Bob, Glendora, California
MP: Gonzalo drove a partial season of the team in 1999. From the story: “Except Tracy, and a few other Pensukes tried in 1999 when the team was at the lowest point, but the acquisition of Marcus doesn’t fit the old practice of recruiting Pensuke’s IndyCar race winners and veteran champions from other disciplines.”
Q: I know we had a talk with Denver about a potentially new street course race at Mile High Stadium in 2027 or 2028. Has the Broncos’ announcement that they are building a new stadium influenced those debates at all? I think there is a desire to improve capital to host races on older sites.
Daniel, Denver
MP: Yes, definitely.
Q: I am a child/young teen TV writer working with Disney and Nickelodeon. I am currently developing comedy-choice kids TV shows, focusing on cart racing. This is something you need when working up the ladder and heading towards IndyCar races. I want Indycar and Fox to be involved in the show. Would you recommend who to talk to at both companies?
mark
MP: Yes. Sent it to your email bag via Pitch/Ask in Email and the editor will forward it to me. I’ll hand it over to the series.
Q: Are you wondering if you’ve heard of Will Power sponsorship news in 2026? I’m a big Willpower fan and get mad that Pensuke didn’t offer him a contract for over a year. He hopes he will race a lot with Andretti to prove Pensuke wrong.
Barry, Pennsylvania
MP. yes. He drives TWG Global under Andretti Global Brand, led by Dan Towriss, who leads TWG financial services company Gainbridge. Gainbridge is a sponsor of 26 Honda and has yet to hear about changes to the TWG-owned Gainbridge being removed from the car. If you have a question, it’s what the company decorates the other two cars.
Q: In the heyday of Indycar/Cart, what opportunities or feedback existed to improve and grow the series? I ask because Zak’s State of the Series reflected me, and not living to witness the heyday.
PS: I hope Roger Pensuke wrote the state of the series himself.
WIS, West Allis, Atilla Veyssal
MP: Kurt was a championship auto racing team and was a leading entity created and led by team owners. They appoint CEOs to run the business, but the owners voted for major policy changes. The cart was created to free the owner from the authoritarian treatment of the authorized body. The Indy Racing League was created by the Halman George Family and is led by the family rather than the team’s owner, and its tradition continues today under the ownership of Penske Entertainment and Fox Corporation, which have no ownership or voting power to the team.
However, in positive developments, Pensuke and Fox understand how important it is to have team owners engaged in guidance and advice.
Q: With Ford choosing to run its own GTP program, where does that leave Ganassi’s efforts to return to sports car racing?
Joey
MP: I don’t know anything, but I’m double the size of the Indy NXT program.
Ganasi’s next sports car move? Look at this space. Jake Garstad/IMSA
Q: Power said he had a contract with Penske until the end of 2025, but did you not know after reading the article about Malukas, whether Malukas worked for Penske or whether his contract with Penske was always a contractual issue?
If so, why wouldn’t Pensuke release power from his contract anytime soon? It seems like it’s a bit of a f*** to power it. Or are you looking for a controversy that doesn’t exist?
Jim Doyle, Hoboken, New Jersey
MP: When it comes to handling power, it hit me with gratitude or respect, so I don’t think it will change after a divorce. Pensuke is fully aware of how much power Andretti can improve and helps him improve, and it makes sense that he is on the team and giving Andretti the maximum time to prepare for 2026.
Ultimately, Penske’s authority is to beat all other teams. Whether it’s a power, an engineer, or a mechanic, I do the same in the name of competition.
Q: I hope we can provide you with insights on this. This is what I’ve been thinking since the beginning of Pirelli, bringing three sets of different combined dry tires along with the F1 Sustainability Quest.
Why is the FIA or FOM not mandatory for the use of all three compounds in dry lace after this year’s experiment in Monaco, where teams required a second pit stop?
Or why not go to a single soft, dry compound? Does anyone need to deal with it? And obviously, I’m not talking about the tire change rules that took place in 2005.
Karun Chandhok has been discussing this (all three combined orders) during the air two years ago, something he’s been thinking about since 2019. In fact, I thought it would cooperate with Pirelli’s decision.
This is a simple way to introduce complications via pit stop errors. It offers competitive advantages and disadvantages during the race. This is something that F1 people have been trying to manipulate for a long time.
I’ve been reading racer magazines for decades and have been reading F1 fans for nearly 50 years. I wondered why they thought they couldn’t see the forest because of the trees.
Joey Genitempo
Chris Medland: This has been discussed many times, and Joey, but I understand that I’ve spoken to Pirelli in the past, but the concern here is that in reality, everyone is often heading towards the same strategy. As everyone needs to have all three available to keep the same tires on Sunday, the more likely you remove and prescribe the greater variance, the more you will see one best solution.
Also, after the first stop, there is a second stage at one stage and knows which tires will switch, so you know that other teams will dig deeper into the race. There are several benefits to the idea of soft tires you have, but it always suits a particular car than the other cars, but the team can now bias their strategy towards the happiest compound on the race weekend.
The dream of Pirelli and Formula 1 is that both one and two stops are very similar race times, and borderline races that are possible but not easy to pass. This means you get a strategic difference and a race that will appear in Crescendo at the end, like the 2024 Spa.
The sustainability angle is something I fully agree with you, but on that front I feel that improvements are needed in that tires can be reused in future races, even if they are recycled when they are unused.
Q: At the end of every qualification or race session, the F1 driver will be weighed and then handed over a paper slip.
What does the driver do in his paper? Do they have pockets in their fire suits? What happens if the driver loses the paper? fine? The whole process seems stunning.
Edited
CM: It’s very old-fashioned. But it’s a solid record of weight at the moment, so the team can refer to it if an overall weight problem occurs along the car. Paper slips are usually passed to the driver’s trainer or physiotherapist (has a pocket!). It also allows you to see how much weight your driver has lost compared to before the race, allowing you to rehydrate and plan for recovery.
This was an important item in places like Singapore and Qatar in 2023, with drivers losing a significant amount of liquid in the race. It means that teams and drivers will know instantly what they need to restock, allowing them to get ahead of the drivers who feel unwell later.
Essentially, it ensures that drivers don’t need to remember the number given when they just get out of the car, and they can’t tamper with anything after the session.
It’s science. Zak Mauger/Getty Images
Q: F1 knows that even when these series are performing F1 in terms of fan engagement, they still hate making suggestions from other series. After a series of races determined by qualifying, there are very few real car-to-car races, let alone passes, and perhaps F1 will have to watch the series in many real on-track action, WEC and IMSA sports car racing.
The final car design of F1 was supposed to allow F1 cars to follow closely together, and could even challenge leads based on the aerodynamic implementation of ground effects. Unfortunately, the rule retained a large front and rear wing, so if it continued closely, we found that loss of front downforce, understeer and front brakes would be lost.
Hyper cars and LMDH sports cars have a large ground effect and a limited rear, but the front aerodynamics are based on nose and body shape, making F1 cars less sensitive to dirty air flooded. This allows for the close and intense races we saw this year at IMSA and WEC, especially at SPA, a race of age.
These same series offer another way to boost competition without leading to gimmicks like reverse grids. Hyper cars and LMDH cars share trucks with GT3 cars and sometimes LMP2 cars. Both of these are slower on the lap than hypercars, but they compete directly with hypercars in some regions. These other cars create challenges for the fastest cars as the truck essentially changes each lap as slow cars encounter in different areas. Hypercar/LMDH drivers are separated by people who can navigate continuous traffic in the best way.
So, the easy solution to boring and passless racing in F1 is to combine F1 main races with F2 functional races. The F2 is slower than F1 and has more variety in driver skills than F1, but the car is still faster and requires skill, and F2 speed is close enough to pass an F1 driver. Organizers can even give F2 vehicles a 1.5 lap head start to promote challenging passes.
Of course, this kind of approach is never implemented. Instead, get the rules for 2026 with active aerodynamics and extreme hybrids. The classic example of central planning is that there is no solution to the dirty air problem that makes real racing impossible, and also offers additional issues of power deployment, unpredictable handling, and reduced driver input.
Blues
CM: I’m going to agree with you here and disagree with you, Bruce! WEC and IMSA will not outperform F1 in terms of fan engagement, whether they watch it through their social media followers or television audiences. But I don’t think it’s actually so related to your fair complaints.
But the question regarding that is the fact that we have such a close field. There’s a reason why Carlos Sainz finishes third for Baku and Liam Lawson can go fifth. Because their car’s performance deficits are much smaller than in the past, and often covers the entire second quarter grid, despite this not a spec series.
Nor does it have a BOP trying to get the race closer between very different cars, as does WEC and IMSA. These benefit from having cars with very different advantages and disadvantages, and getting closer to the lap in a certain way.
However, I also proposed your idea as the left field. Maybe not in all races, but sometimes, or on certain tracks, it’s a fun variable to be there. I’m sure there are a lot of people who say that sports car racing is where there should be a multi-class grid rather than F1, but I’m getting that too, but it’s an art form for drivers to have to show a wider skill set and dealing with traffic and other car categories.
I’m not sure if it actually works or if the F2 driver is a bit rough potentially trying to prove itself, but the concept is cool stuff that I’m really interested in seeing as at least one-off.
I think it’s fair to say that the 2026 rules are too influenced by the demands of power units, but drivers are still turning their heads and I don’t think anyone will complain if they create a good race. However, as always, as permitted to develop cars, advances have made shorter lap times, shorter braking zones and higher cornering speeds organized.
Q: This year’s World Endurance Championship has been hit with a lot due to the BOP controversy at the top. Some BOP dramas are natural, but we often get it at IMSA – I still don’t understand if they’re doing that wrong?
For example, after winning the constructor title last year, Toyota is not found on the podium this year. Plus, even finishing back in almost every race, I don’t think they’ve ever been run in the fastest configuration available per BOP. Certainly, they may need to develop new cars and upgrades, but it doesn’t seem that simple.
What made it all wrong? I don’t mind balancing costs so they don’t become insane, but I can’t “equalize” all the performances of different cars. It feels as if they were trying to do micromanagement and broke the entire system.
Thank you for your time and insights!
Derrick
Stephen Kilbey: That’s a good question and a really hard question to answer. In my opinion, the 2025 system sets the BOP for non-Le Mans races by using data collected from rotation averages across multiple races, taking into account both the 10 fastest laps of the car and the fastest 60% average of the race laps, but is a step up from the field’s micromassional perspective.
The biggest problem is that it takes too long for a particular vehicle on site to find a natural balance. For cars like the Ferrari or Porsche, it’s a big part of the season. In Fuji races, we saw that every manufacturer, Bar Ferrari, or a pace of that era, or that we were there at a long-term pace, but it takes too long to reach this point. The BOP table is gently tweaked during the race.
However, it should be noted that this new system was introduced because the rules maker felt that the previous system was being gamed. The other thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is that Toyota (the oldest car on the field) and Aston Martin (the latest car) are the only two manufacturers that have not finished on this year’s podium.
For me, it felt like the Qatar to Le Mans run essentially acted as the perfect storm for Ferrari. After enjoying a season-opening bop, the 499PS stayed just as fast as they were in Spa and Imola with two car suits on track. Then came Le Mans. It featured a BOP table set on its own. The midpack was often balanced, but it took five races to get the Ferrari unwind. By then, it was almost too late for the championship conditions.
As for Toyota, its main dip can be owed to the BOP value GR010 received this year, but only partially. Earlier in the season, both cars failed to score the podium, but they finished consistently on points, with No. 8 finishing in the top five in the first three races. Other factors need to be noted. The GR010 is aging, and the mood within the team rarely goes downbeats that much, and mistakes are beginning to creep up when all the factories around it have improved significantly over the past two years.
Also taking this into consideration, the GR010 is believed to have received a major aero update in 2026, and in a recent vote that voted between hypercar makers on whether or not the BOP should be scrapped in the future, all but one manufacturer favored it to keep it, and the outlier was Toyota. There are indications that this season’s struggle cannot be entirely attributed to the BOP.
Is it just us, or was it competition so intense when Toyotas wasn’t painted black? Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images
Q: Praise to you while logging in to the road! It’s a long season. Who are you choosing for the championship?
Michigan
Kelly Krandoall: Needless to say, choosing a champion, there’s still a long way to go before we get closer to ideas about who will be taking part in Championship 4. However, if the trends over the past five years continue as well with regard to Phoenix Raceway, they will become favorites if Team Pensuke or Hendrick Motorsport drivers reach Championship 4.
Q: Does NASCAR really have a gimmick issue? We’ve seen graphics that have declined since their peak ratings. Fans blame the gimmick. But for me it fits with drop motorsports all over the world, including F1. Even F1 was saved by the pandemic rather than drive to survive.
For me, the main issue with NASCAR is the combination of historically unpopular products known as endurance, something that has been declining over the years, and the fact that it is an oval lace. For the race series, they are saturated products. They’ve already reduced the distance in some races, so perhaps they know that.
They can even return to the full season points system. But it should come with major changes such as smaller schedules and shorter races (except classics like the Daytona 500). But as it is now, if you remove the playoffs, I think they’ll sink violently if these changes (shortier schedules/races) are needed sooner or later. NASCAR fans are simply dying, and there are not enough young people to join to replace them.
The praise for NASCAR wants to prevent bigger drops to keep it interesting with every gimmick they’ve added. (I recognize that the current playoff model has gone too far). Without them, they believe they are under IndyCar about popularity. But they need to be very careful about what they do now.
William Mazeo
KC: I think it depends on what you define as a gimmick. Certainly, there have been a lot of changes in sports over the last 10-15-20 years, partly due to the fact that they cannot continue to stagnate. However, not all changes have been beneficial or well-received. However, numbers should be wary for NASCAR, and we don’t know if we can pinpoint one exact reason. The fan base appears to resist change and is made up of older fans.
Changes to playoff formats will be important as they have been such a topic of conversation over the last few years. As someone who’s on the playoff committee where NASCAR has entered the season, I have a really great conversation about change and I can prove that the people involved care about the rights of the direction and form of the sport. But in the end, it will be a NASCAR decision. The committee was not given the opportunity to present a unanimous format or vote for one. So we’ll see what NASCAR comes up with. Personally, I advocated something along the first chase format line from 200,4, which was the top 10 or 12 drivers of points. I didn’t win. You are there. For me, it puts the driver in the championship fight. 10 or 12 in points). And I removed the elimination and let the final 10 weeks of filming, despite TV likes them.
Q: Please explain to NASCAR why the mild spin from Hocevar with eight laps remaining makes the race take so long to work overtime. Perhaps this is what they want? But it’s very frustrating to see fans moving these on the track like molasses or pace cars and continuing to cycle for no obvious reason…and of course, this will ultimately affect the outcome.
You need to wonder why Hamlin tries to move Gibbs with Baba (see Gibbs preventing teammates from joining the playoffs). Hamlin is so self-centered that he would rather win the race than see the car he owns make the next round? can’t believe it. He got his customs, but I’m sure Toyota wasn’t excited. Maybe he, Hamlin, really deserves a boo!
Ch, Virginia
Kelly Krandoall: The warning period appears to be forever taken at certain racetracks, but I can admit it too. I think I said the same thing about the Joseval guy on Sunday. But to play the Devil’s Advocate, many moving parts need to be considered, such as opening a pit road, pitting a lap car, pitting a lap down car, wave around, and when to line up field backups. The best suggestion I can offer is to listen to NASCAR’s podcast, Hauler Talk. Because they have dealt with such issues and have previously described what makes them feel like a long period of attention. The episode drops on Wednesday and we’d like to know if Hocevar’s attention is something they’ll deal with.
We covered it in this week’s column about how Hamlin approached his final lap in Kansas. Yes, he is self-centered as he has teams and sponsors that are there to win the race.
The final words
October 4th, 2017, from Robin Miller’s mail bag
Q: My dad took me to Ontario Motor Speedway when I was a kid, so I was a USAC-CART-CHAMP CAR-OWRL/CCWS-IRL-Indycar fan. He was rooted in AJ Foyt and Swede Savage and was excited to meet Al Unser and get his autograph. How can a man drive so fast, face death, and casually shoot bulls with fans after a few minutes? Superhuman. He walked Richard Petty as a teenage cook after qualifying at Betsy Roth Restaurant in Upland, California. I made the best burgers and fries of my career that night. I asked the waitress to tell me I’m a huge fan and see if he liked his food. He said, “It was really good to the chef.” Cool guy.
I respect fast and successful drivers, but I have found a driver who supports and is rooted in the paddock kids who are friendly and polite. My Hall of Fame of Ceremony has been named to Gil de Pherran, Rick Mears, Joseph Newgarden (just added this year), Dale Earnhardt Jr., P.J. Jones and the great Emerson Fittipaldi after him. Who is in your similar hall of fame?
Marwood Stout in Camarillo, California
Robin Miller: I’ve never seen Mario refuse to sign or pose for a photo.
