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: I’m happy with the agreement from Fox. With the help of Fox, my hope is finally to get a fast (free, ad-supported streaming TV) channel. In my opinion, indie car racing, past and present, and anything sponsored in front of fans and people of interest is all positive.
We hope this buy-in brings new manufacturers for the 2027 season, keeps Honda in place and commits Honda to a new formula in 2028. Chevrolet vs. Cadillac vs. Buick. I know it’s not a real competition for brands, but it’s a competition for GM’s ads and audiences.
Diana
Marshall Pruett: My wife and I think we spend 50% of our viewing time on high-speed channels (SNL Vault is our charm. The F1 channel has attracted a lot of attention along with midsemer murder, glorious kickboxing, and the Transformers channel… OK… Most of them are mine…).
I often think about the same thing – I want to see the fast channels in IndyCar and IMSA – Because there is a chance that you will be 100% viewing.
Buy-in is the cause of optimism, but this new marriage is just that – A new marriage. We need time to develop development and, if possible, become a great nation for unions. But that’s not today, and not tomorrow from the return on investment. For Indycar to become a more valuable sports entertainment league, it will need to post numbers to support that concept, but that’s not for a while, but for a few years. If a seasonal audience averages 1.4 million today to 2.8 million in 2027, that’s a transformational event.
Manufacturers and large corporation sponsors deal with serious numbers. If we exclude 7 million Indy 500 viewers from the average, we settle for a much lower average figure. For all races, raise the non-indie numbers quite a bit. That’s where prosperity comes.
Q: Aside from recent TV reviews, as someone who has boots on the ground, how was your attendance this year’s race weekend? Iowa is clearly a disaster, and thermals have massive capacity limitations, but most of what I have read and heard feels like attendees elsewhere are worse than flats.
I would rather attend, at least there are products that can exist and advertise. We are looking for proactiveness with great attention to evaluations. This is just part of the puzzle surrounding the series’ interest.
I’m going to race in Milwaukee again and look forward to it. I was there last year, and like the Mini State Fair, the new setup was 100 times better than the previous year. I’m nervous that last year’s long weekend doubleheaders are the reason they exceeded expectations.
Jim, Milwaukee
MP: I can’t speak to most of them as I missed most of the July race after the end of June cancer screening had some unwelcome surprises, but my comprehensive observation was a pleasant surprise as St. Pete, Barber, Long Beach and more were busy. Road America had been looking down a bit from the previous year, probably due to the ongoing heat wave at the time, but Laguna Seca, As I wrote right after the eventIt was a real surprise. It was sad for many years, but only a few surprising stubborns had grown up, but from day one I felt much busier. Friday looked like a part of Sunday in recent years. I really didn’t expect that.
I’m crossing Portland’s fingers this weekend because I need a Laguna-like collision. I’m worried about seeing what a second year return to Milwaukee and Nashville will look like. Both exceeded my expectations in 2024, but both clearly needed a large crowd. If they’re not better than last year’s show, I’d be worried.
Q: On a Thursday afternoon before the Laguna Seca Race weekend, I was monitoring the flight tracking website. I’ve noticed one after another Boeing 737 charters from Indianapolisland at Monterey Airport. I think these flights were IndyCar related. These two planes have around 300 people. Who are there for those flights and how are they paid?
Bob Gray, Kalos Park, California
MP: It has been used for many years by the same charter flight team and IndyCar-related people. They are paid by people/teams/organizations in flight.
It’s safe to assume that they’re cheap seats. Jonathan Ferry/Getty Images
Q: As the British might say, I was Gobsmacked when I heard that the Captain sold a third of the series and sold 16th & Georgetown to Fox. And while $130 million isn’t a change to Chump, I think Brickyard is there with Churchill Downs and Augusta National (i.e., if you have to ask for the price, you can’t afford it).
But the practical aspects look like a shark tank. You give up a lot of fairness to those you don’t make money and gain a partner with all the skills you lack. A great movement on Pensuke’s side. If this doesn’t move the needle in the next few years, we all need to acknowledge that Indycar is not important to the public.
Fox knows the media and exposure, and there’s no longer any “opposite” resistance that will likely disappear from the NFL, golf, or scared promoters, and IndyCar remembers a big set of Kojon when beer and big cigarettes were made for the best race on the planet.
I hope to come across you when next year begins.
Big Bird, St. Pete
MP: Of the many things we want to evolve in the near future, it’s on the schedule side, clever, but also limited in IndyCar’s growth, freeing us from a must-see approach at all costs.
NASCAR is big enough to race Sundays during the NFL season and produce a solid audience. In the case of IndyCar, it hasn’t been the case for decades, so it’s wise to stop early every year. However, as Fox is the new co-owner, as they enter September and beyond, IndyCar doesn’t have to be bothered by traditional Sunday runtimes.
If your team is willing to fit the experiment, you can see how weekday slots and other creative ways to push IndyCar into the final quarter of the year without stomping straight with the NFL.
The Cup and Formula 1 race from November to early December, so this is the period when race fans continue to tune. If IndyCar gets dark after August 31 this year, the series is silent and will be forgotten for two to three months while fans are locked up elsewhere. IMSA will run in the second week of October. It all refers to a cool opportunity for IndyCar’s new co-owner to use the network to perform a series of calendar jailbreaks.
Q: I really loved my journey to IMSA this year. It was a cracking race in Road America. But why does the yellow flag take so long?
Anyway, it’s good to see RLL win after losing BMW contracts like next season, but it’s sad to see where Tom Bromqvist and Nick Tandy ended.
I’m glad I discovered IMSA/WEC. It was a replacement for F1.
and Mayhew
MP: Races with all four classes are a long track, such as Road America, Daytona, Sebring, and many things to absorb when the time it takes to complete a yellow lap is important, and if you are frequently paid full course attention.
Therefore, you get a long lap to start with the speed of the pace car, and it is a complete pit cycle process that increases the time carefully. First, it is a prototype class that gets top priority, and after they’ve been completed, the pits of the GT class are open. And there is the inevitable setting for a correct restart order, as some cars are out of position or the 40 or more cars behind the pace car are not in the correct sequence. So you can add wraps to make corrections.
Thankfully, there is a rule that triggers a “short notice” when a complete class of pit cycles is complete, and there is no need to deal with the same extended procedural routine. It takes time to resolve crashes, cleanups, etc., but it takes place as soon as possible and returns to the race.
I wish I could say this is new, but that’s not the case. I’d like to see some ideas on how to cut the extended attention in half of the long procedure.
Q: I don’t remember seeing sweepers dispatched during the yellow flag lap at Laguna Seca Race. After 64 laps of 95, I realized that my top three positions remained the same. I think this is because so much marble had accumulated, making it extremely difficult to pass through.
Did they have a street vacuum cleaner in Laguna Seca? If not, why?
In my view, marble accumulation (which effectively reduces the reduction of many IndyCar circuits to a single lane before the half-baked points of many races) is the number one factor that undermines the entertainment value of IndyCar races.
Kevin P., Los Angeles, California
MP: I don’t remember the sweeper in Laguna Seca.
There’s not a sweeper right in front of me. Paul Harley/IMS
Q: It’s great to see Road America save a healthy crowd again. I grew up around IMSA and am a lifelong fan who is quite dedicated. It’s fun to see the current level of interest and momentum.
With that in mind, Imsa feels like he’s pushing his luck with how much unnecessary time he accepts under the yellow fan before he finds anything else. Rather than simply venting frustration, I would like to ask you to be clear about what the logic is about how they handle yellow. Is the change to the current procedure a talk?
I attended the Watkins Glenn round. The warning period was very troublesome there. I watched Road America at home, gave up and went to the highlights of the YouTube race. I think that if I’m more than a casual fan and throwing a towel in exchange for watching a shortened recording instead, that should be the source of concern.
George, Albuquerque
MP: Later in the race, after non-stop warning filled Opening Hour Plus, I realized that the penalties for unacceptable driving were extremely severe. What would be a 50/50 call if everything was going well seems to be amplified into the drive-thru, at least, perhaps, at the very least.
The severity of the second half of Road America felt like a big message was being sent to everyone to calm Ephe. My takeaway was that this was a new standard until respect was back into the decision-making process in too many cars.
It’s great to go hardcore after people like you, or someone who’s turned off with constant attention to being there and paying for it and being off, but I’d love to see the advance penalties announced at driver meetings being so serious and act like crime prevention. It’s one thing to catch someone and convict them. I would like to see the problematic behavior halted before they are considered.
Are you paying attention to contact? After returning to the green, join the pit lane for two laps. Would you like to participate in the second case? Go ahead and go back to the carrier and go home.
I don’t care if it’s the biggest factory team or the smallest and latest GT program. IMSA has some great products to protect. If people can’t bother behave in a way that respects the series, its fans, and its corporate partners, it’s time for the team to bring corrective actions they don’t want to suffer.
Q: It’s hard to deny Indycar actually going up and revival, especially with the announcement of Fox Investment.
That brings me to the question: What is Dale Coyne Racing going on? For 30 years, DCR has long been a sloppy team for future baying drivers to give up their table seating for drivers who cannot find spots elsewhere. In 2025, Rinus Veekay was impressive and there’s no doubt Mike Cannon is working to give his team stability.
That said, will Dale stop treating his team like this crude little start-up and stopping him from being promoted to status that actually advances his team to a real contender? It costs money to bring success in a similarly paired series, but he doesn’t seem interested in selling.
It’s fair enough, but under the charter system, why doesn’t Dale seek funded partners like Ted Geroff or ECR? There is no doubt that external investments and sponsor activation are the success of the ECR and series, and that Java House/Splenda ads and activations are really upping the game.
Why can’t DCR find similar partners? Have you heard any evidence that this is something?
I’m pleased that DCR has been around for so long, but isn’t it time to stop investing in resources and talent and acting as happy to create a show?
Ed, Westfield
MP: Dale is a successful business owner, pouring millions of dollars into his team each year. As long as he was in business, he was like that. He continues to seek investors. We wrote about it with him, but you have to assume a transaction that was offered that doesn’t meet his expectations.
And for the “making a show and happy” team, they’re sitting on 11th In the championship with Linus, he is ahead of all cars on all four complete teams and two drivers, Team Pensuke. The team was a long time ago, along with Sebastien Bourdais and, prior to that, Justin Wilson. When money is there and talent is there – both are necessary to do well, so you have a season like 2025 where ECR, JHR, RLL, and others are handled by Coyne.
The above observation seems to have been perfect for 2024, and this has been the worst for the team forever, but I don’t know how criticism fits this season.
Dale looks quite content from here. Travis Hinkle/IMS
Q: Thank you to Ted Horn and Pedro and Scott for the interesting history of 1946. I don’t understand why IndyCar statisticians argue that many races in 1946 did not occur as part of the national championship or were not official when historians proved their objection.
However, Indycar always seems to be behind or hesitate to embrace its early history. NASCAR and F1 proudly have anniversaries and other celebrations to celebrate their beginnings and early champions, but there is a vague sense from IndyCar that “Well, the Indianapolis 500 was first won by Ray Harone in 1911.” It’s a shame.
If Fox and the series at least recognize Horn’s accomplishments as the first consecutive champion (Palou matches), and it’s nice to mention that while Horn holds a true record of victory in the season, only X numbers are running considering Indycar regulations.
Trying to ignore it all makes you seem lazy and missed the opportunity to attract people with interesting topics from the past. Just my thoughts.
Jason, Muncie, Indiana
MP: There is no reason why Donald Davidson doesn’t have the same motivation to capture and publish Indycar’s history as a book on the living history of Speedway, and to the same extent as when Randy Bernard was president of the series. The series will be renewed annually, but we don’t know if the same comprehensive ownership of Indycar’s history (the level seen in Bernard’s era) exists today.
Q: Since Fox owns a third of IndyCar (and this may need to be reviewed), will the sponsorship target model at the time be a model that could work at the series level? In this case, if you want to improve your location in your store or network, you will be sponsoring the Target IndyCar team and the Fox IndyCar series in this case. Or drip it into your car sponsorship. thought?
Mark, Milford, Ohio
MP: Anything is possible, but I don’t know if Fox Sports will undertake INDYCAR-specific event sales and add staff to expanding to team fundraising via revenue. This is a series-level transaction. So I think it’s going to be harder to make IndyCar bigger, with twice or triple audience size. I love ideas. It feels like a lot to try outside of some of the already big items on your to-do list.
Q: Do you think Fox’s purchase of a third of both the IndyCar series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the most important move since the merger of Champion Car and IndyCar? Also, will Fox promote at local racing events and help boost attendance like Iowa next season?
Alistair, Springfield, MO
MP: People live for its implementation, so I first introduced Aeroscreen. Penske bought the IndyCar/IMS second. Fox All-Network is third. I don’t know if I’ll see “merger” in the same light. While IndyCar was getting stronger, the Champion Car failed. IndyCar has improved as a result of some teams and drivers coming in, but that transition would have occurred with or without mergers. That was important as the Halman George family helped the champion car teams to access the car and facilitate the transition, but overall, the Old Indy Racing League was driving the car along with the biggest team and the biggest names when the champion cars ended.
The second question is a great question that we can answer in the next few days.
Q: For the long-time reader, first time… mailbagger? Anyway, I wanted to talk about the 2027 race in Denver. I know that we mentioned the area around Mile High Stadium as a possible location, but have you heard anything about other new locations they may be considering? The city has seen many aggressive redevelopment over the past decade, including a clear possibility that the Broncos will move to new stadiums in the coming years.
(For those wondering, the old Ball Arena circuit is about to be built by Croens, and the area around the 1990s Civic Center Park Truck is all built with museums, office buildings and more.
Also, given that two Colorado-based companies (rhymes with “Sparrow” and the other is the current race sponsor) have already dumped a lot of money on IndyCar, how likely is there already a potential sponsor for the races that are already lined up? Or is it something they are likely to launch once the place settles down?
Brian S., Denver, co.
MP: The main thing I’m hearing is that Rob Walton (Walmart) is involved and the surrounding Broncos Stadiums are involved. I’ll continue digging.
It was when Indycar returned to Denver. Getty Images
Q: I don’t think we need to answer the question of who has IndyCar’s TV rights for a foreseeable future. I certainly consider Fox’s trading to be net positive, what do you think? How does this affect your schedule? Also, which tracks are involved? Does this generate more interest when it comes to OEMs and sponsorships?
Brian, Joliet, Illinois
MP: Very positive. What has made everyone angry for decades? Indycar is treated like a child among adults on a broadcast station that was before Fox. With Fox, IndyCar is not buried as the fifth or sixth most important sport property. It won’t surpass the NFL, but you’ll see that IndyCar will receive a higher priority level with this new alignment. And of course it makes sense.
Although Indycar doesn’t always see it covered with all Fox channels, this deal takes the series from external clients to assets. It’s huge.
Fox is highly responsible for its shareholders to maximize the value of IndyCar. Like the original programming in the main network and other channels, IndyCar is expected to become part of the ownership portfolio, with this property being a revenue generator. I like the pressure that Fox took on.
Q: Since BMW Motorsport announced its split with RLL, did you wonder what will happen to all of the RLL BMW vehicles and equipment?
Dave: “Take Glenn home”
MP: After split, the car returns to the manufacturer, and some are unique to the car, such as spare hybrid units. However, the remaining support equipment, transporters, and the rest are the assets of the team. It is not uncommon for the current team to hand over the car to a new team after they perform a checkered flag in the final race.
Q: I think the best way to explain my relationship with IndyCar is like a standard, non-dependent relationship that is not necessarily toxic, but does not consistently address what I want. I have perspectives with other new exciting partners (F1, IMSA, WEC), but every time I present myself as a new ownership (new ownership, new chassis/engine, new truck, new broadcaster), I continue to go back to my ex (IndyCar). My friends and family all see obvious possibilities of relationships, but it seems like they never fulfill their promises. And the cycle continues.
I’m not optimistic about new Fox deals, but Moreso hopefully is skeptical. Being a fan of IndyCar is exhausting. We all know what the series is, but it seems they are succumbing to hell to throw banana peels before itself. I’ve missed a few here and there about catching races over the years. The season feels more like a recurrence of the previous year than something you can’t miss. I was sad to see the empty stands and angry when the makers screamed out other series that rethinked themselves, whilst the makers have only changed clothes a few times in the last 15 years.
All of this is eager to see something change with this new deal. I’m not raising expectations, but hopefully this will trigger a series of offensive and inspired changes, turning the sport into something everyone in the racing world knows.
Michael, Halifax, Canada
MP: Michael, I can hear you. We don’t seem to have done anything if it’s a car or video game, hybrid, engine or any other standard storyline, and nothing is done late after the delay. There is no vision, no movement, no growth.
And last year, things began to change. In addition to the many moves that are the highlight of the Fox contract, the development of Arlington Races has come together, including the purchase of Long Beach to keep it in IndyCar Races and more.
It’s years of work, so the timeline won’t have a major calendar change in 2026, but Fox Sports is very serious about creating new events for IndyCar/i.e. street racing festivals. It’s a huge shift from feeling stuck with some dogs on a schedule.
Indycar may need to continue going to some of the weaker performers for a year or two before Louisville GPs and Greenville GPs can be made live (these are just suggestions). However, for a long time, IndyCar may not need to solve the problem with the limited options that had to be introduced to the car.
They don’t suffer from a wealth of tracks and promoters who want to pay for the series to come out and race. As a motivated new partner who wants to create an original IndyCar event, this could be a proverb game changer.
Fox trading could mean the dawn of a new era for IndyCar. Matt Fraver/IMS
Q: After reading the article about Penske, I sold a third of the series and Speedway. Wow, talk about Christmas in July. After reading your article, I really can’t see the flaws. Do you think my question is?
John Furniss
MP: Only potential drawbacks are streaming. The obvious need that has not been resolved is to find a big, common streamer that brings IndyCar to the world. Netflix or Amazon Prime, etc.
Fox is working on a new Fox One streaming service, and is estimated to cost between $25 and $35 a month. This is how fans get IndyCar races from the source. There are other ways to do it on YouTube TV and some external plans, but for anyone who has offered to get IndyCar by Peacock Subscription NBC, Fox One is a future version of the Host Broadcaster subscription.
My concern here isn’t about the sudden cost of $25-$35 a month, but where Fox lives in the market. Anecdotes, half of the country loves everything Fox has to offer, consumes hell from providing cable and networks, and is willing to pay for new services. The other half has nothing to do with Fox. You won’t spend pennies on Fox’s stuff. And that’s not the kind of barrier I would like to have in the series.
There’s no doubt that Fox will be a huge success. It has the most loyal audience of any US broadcaster. That’s not a concern. It’s whether IndyCar’s streaming reach is limited to the same people who are already consuming Fox’s channels, and the series’ audience may not grow much. If Fox is open to such a thing, adding a big streamer to carry the IndyCar race is where the real change will be possible.
Q: I’m sure he had Intel for Indycar/Fox transactions that were made. It’s difficult to keep it on a wrap. We can expect positive things in the future, but without knowing how this will unfold.
However, once the announcement is released, you can hear it play on Xanadu, the Rush song. Listen to the first, and it is the fox suggesting an idea. In the third gong, Pensuke’s Entertainment loved it. The transaction is then sent to an attorney and closes the transaction when everything starts playing.
Technically, there was one rhetorical question there.
Dave, from Lowell, Indiana, drank paradise milk (or Miller High Life)
MP: I only had a part of it.
Q: With the exciting news that Fox is buying from Indycar and the amazing article you wrote with a more detailed ironing, it really makes me feel good to be a fan of the series and know that there is a big investment in the marketing and growth of the series. No, I’m not a fan of racing on most street courses, but this creates an opportunity to completely immerse new fans in the series.
But my question is, this is how it will help you return to ISC-owned trucks. Fox is NASCAR’s biggest media partner and it’s no doubt Fox is their biggest race. Does this create an opportunity for IndyCar to leverage it through Fox to negotiate returns to trucks such as Watkins Glen, Chicagoland, Michigan, and more?
Does this open up opportunities for IndyCar coverage that leads to NASCAR coverage, or vice versa (it seemed like a winner for both Indycar and NASCAR)?
And finally, will this create the opportunity for both series to spend a doubleheader weekend early in the season? The future is bright and I’m completely given where the series goes!
Alan Bundy, Salvar, Pennsylvania
MP: I look at this from a different perspective. Fox was NASCAR’s best friend. Or at least that was something that felt to me, and last year, a new media deal for NASCAR announced that Fox lost its race, Cup season ended early on the channel, new players were prioritized and part of the date was given.
Fast forward to IndyCar on the announcement of Fox, the 100% time arrangement of IndyCar on the network, and now a third purchase by Fox Corp.
This reads to me as Fox Corp/Fox Sports responded to changes in the relationship on the cup side as they went all-in with IndyCar and took IndyCar to new heights to its home series (an in-house racing product that cannot be taken away).
Rather than seeing how they interact with Indycar and NASCAR, I’m sure Fox thinks Indycar will build a real rival to join the cup, as there is no other reason to buy it for the product. Since IndyCar does not generate any meaningful benefits in its position, it makes sense to me to turn it into a much larger asset and enjoy the benefits of increasing value.
I could be wrong. However, I do not assume that Fox is a relationship builder between series. Fox thinks it has a meaningful interest in the series it loves, but there’s no risk of losing to other broadcasters.
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Fox’s investment suggests major plans to boost the series in the future. Chris Owens/IMS
Q: It’s fine for Fox to buy a third of Penske Entertainment. My concern is that Indianapolis Motor Speedway is part of its purchase. I hope IMS has split. Is there some caveats in the contract that prohibits Fox from selling all or part of the third?
Joe Marines
MP: I’ll report in my email bag as soon as Roger shows me his contract for beer!
Q: I suggested this, but I’ll expand it a little.
If you need a full course, throw a yellow flag immediately. Give the driver 3 seconds (or something reasonable) to guide the pit lane speed limiter. Close the pit until the leader arrives and give the leader your first chance to pit. When a leader enters or is handed over, the pit is open to everyone.
This maintains a relative gap up to the pit cycle. Pacekers picked up the pit-out leader and the rest of the field, whether they pitted or not.
This will quickly slow the field and prevent the driver from being exposed and leaving the driver that is on or off track/stop/spinning. It prevents drivers from being hosted in yellow as the leader has the first choice to pit. The pit lane is safer for the crew as the car is not in and they leave everything at once. The system implementing this procedure already exists inside the vehicle, besides race control monitoring. It is consistent and predictable.
This solution seems obvious and completely viable, but to my knowledge it has not been used. That means I’m probably missing something. What’s missing?
Tim Havel, Gypsy, OK
MP: Nothing missing, Tim. You need motivation to try out the series.
Testing on the IMS road course “I’m going to provide lots of host ideas,” and with all the marshalling panels and technology in place, it seems like a great thing to consider during the offseason. Invite one car per team and spend the day running through the scenario as suggested. Report at this point, make adjustments, take feedback, try again with the revision to see how it works.
Veterans invite some new driver blends and give several kids easy mileage with IndyCar, dropping some NXT drivers into the car and gaining a truly new perspective.
Q: My knee-deep response to Fox’s purchase of IndyCar and Speedway’s massive bets is that it’s not a good idea for media companies to own a sports “league.” With zero institutional respect for IndyCar’s tradition and history, Fox seeks to get all the reviews in an attempt to change the sport that negatively affects the purity of the rules of racing and competition. For example, gimmick competition rules, car changes, stupid AI video effects, etc.
thought?
Andy R, Detroit
MP: I don’t share your fears. If the debate is to keep IndyCar intact and stay in the shadows, then yes, Fox is a threat to everything that remains the same. I don’t know what the changes will be, but in line with IndyCar’s peak popularity in the era of the Cart IndyCar series, it’s simply the best version of IndyCar experienced in amazing cars and events.
Almost everything about cart was different from what we have today. A lot of changes have happened to take us to today’s approach to cars, events and racing. I’m not afraid to see more changes as the biggest and best versions of IndyCar were so different from the current product.
Q: When the IndyCar driver appeared in an oval like Iowa, it was basically a ghost town, so what do they think? Are they worried about the shortage of people, or the condition of oval racing in IndyCar?
Jerry, Houston
MP: For those who consider themselves part of the solution, yes, of course, they are sad to see them playing in front of empty seats. I’m sure the same reaction among the actors when a big film debuts in theaters and turns out to be a box office failure.
Q: Two questions this week. One of them isn’t surprising to Fox News.
First of all, do you think Indycar is in a good place for now, with all of this in mind?
Secondly, I’m Swedish and slightly biased, so if you’re a bettor, would you bet on Linas, who is riding an IndyCar in 2026?
John A
MP: I spoke with the team owner last week. They said they were planning a follow-up meeting with Linus in upcoming races.
Yes, I think Indycar is in a good place. Although not related to all the latest news, the key item that needs to be addressed is reducing costs and continuous growth in annual budgets. It creates a lot of anxiety.
There are many reasons for optimism in the IndyCar paddock, but the budget rise remains ongoing concern. Chris Owens/IMS
Q: The day before Fox’s announcement, I was sent rumors from a normally reliable source. Fox said he was sniffing Flok’s contents. I didn’t stock much in it, but I think there’s more to the news of a partial acquisition of IndyCar.
Fox Getting Indycar and USAC are big deals in a historical sense, but USAC is in the best position to set up something to deal with what I have always felt.
So I resort to you: Have you heard anything about this? Is there even the most distant possibility that this is true? Maybe this was something Fox had seen before partial purchases of Pensuke Entertainment became possible? That’s at least an interesting “how to do it.”
FormulaFox
MP: That’s news for me. We agreed to the need for more/better oval schedule content. There is a lot to improve and explore there.
Q: I noticed the wonderful Genesis G80 in the parking lot of Bobby Lahar’s Laguna Seca. Are there any words about Genesis working on the current IDLE RLL IMSA operations in 2027?
Buildings, burnt corn, al
MP: We talk with all kinds of manufacturers. There is no transaction with Genesis.
Q: I just had my first experience with Laguna Seca and wanted to share some of my thoughts about the dynamics of IndyCar marketing.
The weekend was absolutely incredible – perfect weather (if the clouds are cleared), stunning environments, and what a truck! However, I couldn’t help but notice McLaren’s totally overwhelming presence compared to all the other teams. We are a large hospitality suite, IndyCar merchandise tents, which are actually cleaned from McLaren Gear (though no other teams touched) and come with dedicated Patooward products. McLaren fans twice as many times as other teams.
The sign line told the same story. The pat line grew twice as long as the others. I’m talking about getting a shorter cue on established stars like New Garden and Dixon.
This is what baffles me: Pensuke owns the series, but it was barely visible in terms of marketing. Ganassi was a well-dominant team, but they looked visibly hidden. Andretti has name recognition, but it’s still relatively quiet in terms of marketing.
The existence of McLaren is purely an organic “pato effect” that is particularly strong in this California market.
And if it’s the latter, why wouldn’t other major teams step up their game? Is it a budget issue, a lack of interest in fan engagement, or is it something else entirely? As a follow-up, shouldn’t Zack Brown talk about the marketing strategy for the entire series? The guy clearly knows how to build a brand presence.
Paul, Tucson,
MP: Pataw and McLaren/Zack have blush and credibility and have done a great job amplifying their kids and their brand. It’s interesting to see how Andretti, the longtime king of driver marketing in the series, fell off the map. At the moment, there’s no pat or anything. There was Roman Grosjean, but his stardom was drafted from Formula 1. Pat’s extensive stardom is also due to F1, but he is only a visitor there, and the only accessible F1-level star for fans to support and get closer via IndyCar.
Penske Entertainment said it established a marketing committee last year and Zak was appointed to that committee. Zach then was asked about it and said no one had mentioned it to him… and this year, when he was asked, he said no meetings were being held. Yes, he should be consulted heavily, but his efforts up until now have been words instead of action.
Q: This will be a crazy series of moves, is this possible?
The first Domino is David Marcus, who replaces Willpower in Team Pensuke’s No. 12. Power then moves to Aroma Claren, replacing Nolan Siegel on No. 6. Siegel will then be loaned to Juncos Hollinger in a technical partnership with Arrow Mclaren. Finally, Linus Lundqvist will fill No. 4 with AJ Foyt Racing.
My other scenarios are based on the Speed Street podcasts of Conor Daly and Rinus Veekay. ECR appears to have administrative issues with how teams are executed. Can ECR hire Tim Cindric or Ron Ruzewski to run the organization after the season ends?
John, Grand Rapids, Michigan
MP: That would certainly be crazy. ECR can do a lot. I’m sure if Tim or Ron wants to be hired by ECR, they’ll entertain the made offer.
As for Cindric’s next move, one guess is as good as another. Chris Owens/IMS
Q: On this side of the Atlantic, my three main contacts with the series I worship are IndyCar Radio, Your Good Self as a Racer, and the adorable madman on the IndyCar Reddit page. You can see repeated calls for more ovals on the schedule, and repeated cries of “Where were you?” When the crowd is sparse despite the action on the track.
I fully agree with Dave on moving all the oval lace bar indy indie indie indie indie indie indie indie indie indie indie indie last week in the week. I don’t want to roast in the open bleachers with one or two races. As for the overall experience, it doesn’t seem to give much in return.
Whether it’s a local club event or a delusional fool who goes to that dump in Silverstone to see F1, you’ll go to a meeting in the UK. I’m totally hoping to race the day at the ticket price. Our biggest domestic racing series, the British Tour Car Championship, is one of Alan Gow’s best promoters, so IndyCar should study. Pay and you’ll get the full Sunday of the race, from around 10:30am to the normal noise curfew at 6pm. Not only BTCC races, but also the complete TOCA support package for Mini (BTCC’s Indy NXT), Porsche Super Cup, and/or Cayman, UK F4, and sometimes invited to the bill. Everything is shown live on network television, but there is a ton of attendance tracksides in each round.
What I’m saying is that from afar, going to an oval event on an IndyCar schedule seems to be very low value for money. At least they’ll have to mandate Indy NXT and USAC Silver Crown Races in all oval rounds, and have Davey Hamilton cut his peers off the super fix as well. Would you like to add the USF Pro series? After all, back in the 1980s with a cart and wasn’t a Super Vee race in Michigan, let alone Milwaukee and Phoenix?
I know you need to find a promoter and sponsor with deep pockets and willingness to promote events, and now they are very little among IndyCar on many of their tracks. But if you are asking people to spend cash on travelling to some of these remote areas, you think you should give them the best value you can. The egg is the heart and soul of IndyCar, and it would be a tragedy if all we had was Indy itself.
Peter Kerr, Hamilton, Scotland
MP: People are looking forward to more in their investments of time and money. It makes perfect sense. Take advantage of the long beaches that go to Iowa or Milwaukee or Nashville, non-stop from 8am to 8pm. In 2025, Indycar or NXT is the only source of track action. If you prefer slow pace and a lot of time between sessions, it’s actually perfect. However, if you want to feel the festival in an event, it’s difficult to compare it to street racing or event road courses where you can get a USF Championship Series or some form of single-make sports car.
Q: I’ve read all the MailBag suggestions that require replacing the recent inadequate races with my personal favorite track. Unless you’re in 500, Long Beach, or Road America, IndyCar does nothing more to attract fans on the track on the race weekend.
In my opinion, the lack of experience and activity from fans is the illness that the series carries from truck to truck, which is the cause of death in many events. Unless that changes, why should we expect Watkins Glenn to not look like Iowa? Apart from going to Indy, the last race I attended was at the 2017 stop in Glen. I realized it was a last minute exchange venue that year, but the infield was dead. It was the day and night difference with the lively Cleveland races I remember attending as a child.
When Indycar comes to town, it appears that they are thousands of disgusting hosts (good day). It’s like having a host invite to a party sitting in the corner reading a book. My hope is that the atmosphere of the festival has been consciously revived at all venues now and in the future, as the impression aggravates my attitude about traveling for anything other than Indianapolis.
Another note is, have you heard more about the next chassis rendering?
Pete of Rochester, New York
MP: I heard that the rendering was well received.
There are no new IndyCar renders. So there’s Jarno Trulli with a giant rubber band stuck to his head. Getty Images
Q: After my recent trip to Iowa and WWTR, I have been rolling a lot of hands around attending Ovals. First, question: 15,000 appear in Texas on race day, 15,000 appear on the street course, each person theoretically spends the same amount of money on tickets, food, souvenirs, etc. I also think setting up a temporary course costs more than the tracks already present.
That being said, I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: it’s all about the vibe. The atmosphere of 15,000 packed into small clusters of city streets creates the atmosphere. I feel busy. It feels like an event. On the other hand, we feel that there are 15,000 oval-shaped people built to empty tens of thousands more. Usually you will need to drive outside of town. As you can see the entire infield, it creates the feeling of an empty stadium. It takes more people to make the oval race look and feel like an extraordinary event.
The Indy 500 can still have all the dignity, circumstances and history, but if 30,000 people appear, regardless of the quality of the race, it cannot be felt and looks lame. It is the feeling of packed space that creates that special feeling.
I don’t know that they’re financially unaware of breakdowns between street courses and the oval, so I think IndyCar and fans will need to adjust how they talk about attendance in the egg if they want to survive.
Ross Bynum
MP: How fans talk about oval attendance doesn’t kill eggs. The oval with an embarrassingly empty grandstand is seen directly by the sponsor. The sponsors question why they pay for having a name or product that no one sees, but they are the first murderer. The second is through visuals that have been broadcast to the world via television cameras. This cultivates a sad but accurate story that the racing series has not been successful.
In my brain, I think of this like a hotel. If you build a hotel with 150 rooms, a certain number of staff in the 150 hotels would need, and a high level of occupancy is required to cover operational costs and make a profit. Therefore, if you regularly fill 100-125 rooms per night, you are in great condition.
If you build a 1500-room hotel and size up to support its huge fortune and book 100-125 people per night, the business is about to fail.
No matter the size, if you have a small oval with 500 seats, or over 10,000 in Milwaukee or Nashville, there will be infrastructure and operating costs to suit the venue size. If half of the seats are empty or only 25% full, it is directed towards serious revenue issues, terrible optics for sponsors to watch, brutal visuals for over 700,000 TV viewers to observe, for truck owners or series to stay in business, and for maintaining the relationship between the truck and series and the series.
A large Texas-like oval with a few seats with 20,000 people in the stands has a look of failure. This hotel has 1500 rooms and has a minimal occupancy. With 20,000 seats and 15,000 fans, the street course is as comfortable as a 150-room hotel with 100-125 residents.
It’s not a problem to say there are fewer big ones. It’s a visual message of failure that needs to be put into words at all.
Q: Recently, Indy NXT driver Ricardo Escott said goodbye to Andretti Cape for the rest of the season. Has the project retreated as his son left Indy NXT? Or is Mexico still heading towards its 2026 schedule?
Arturo, Arizona
MP: There is no connection between the two I know, Arturo. This was an economic dispute between his father and his team. IndyCar is taking the initiative to make Mexico City’s Grand Prix come true.
Q: It seems there’s “Why didn’t they throw a full yellow faster?” Every time Indycar races on the road course, someone spins, and Laguna’s Marcus Ericsson is the latest example.
The FIA/F1 system for local yellow, VSC, and full safety/pace cars appears to be working well from a safety standpoint, with most IndyCar drivers racing under the FIA/F1 system of F2/F3 in junior carriers.
IndyCar already uses FIA guidelines for truck safety certification. Is there a reason why IndyCar can’t switch to the road course FIA system and continue using the current system with eggs?
Will, Indy
MP: IndyCar is self-certified, so change in moderation can bring desire. Most tracks that play hosts in major racing series must have some form of safety certification for insurance purposes and for series that are eligible to compete on these tracks, for series that connect to the FIA. However, Indycar is not an FIA, so no, I don’t expect a self-certified series to waive its sovereignty and copy the practices of another sanctioned body. I hope it comes up with its own plan and acts on them no matter what they are.
Indycar creates its own rules. Karl Zemlin/IMS
Q: Did they recreate Turn 2 with the Laguna Seca, or is it an optical fantasy with a new paved pit lane running away, with curbs and paint?
Where do you think Paloo will go in his career, assuming he can stay competitive or improve as “they” say he will? F1 is clearly unlikely, so I haven’t seen him move to a sports car as a step up. NASCAR? Also, is it unlikely? Or not because you have the money (and obviously a lot more road racing hell than before), or he’s going to stick… because of the lack of better terminology, “Dixon IT” but perhaps more than Dixon did?
In relation to the question “Kubica to Indycar” I imagine that the lack of power steering in the IndyCar brings it closer to him with the right hand limit. This year, I loved watching him win along with the Ferrari private team that is beating the factory efforts! Plus, the car looks just right with a lovely modern yellow.
Abraham Jimross
MP: They didn’t. The new generation of most successful IndyCar drivers remain IndyCar drivers. He saw F1. F1 looked back. He is an IndyCar driver. At the pinnacle of his sport. It seems to be where someone wants to stay.
When will Josh Allen leave the NFL to play in the CFL? When will Judge Aaron move from the Yankees to play in Japan? We hope we reach a time when the idea that the top IndyCar drivers are leaving the top IndyCar drivers is considered more than enough.
Q: Is the appeal of creating a new street circuit summarised into something close to people? Is the cost of maintaining or upgrading a road course to a commercial FIA grade much greater than building a street circuit?
I would rather have added existing permanent road circuits to a particular series calendar than to a new street circuit. I also think there’s arguing that it would be easier to stage the feeling of a “festival” on the road course, as the land area is usually there/less spatial constraints.
I want to hear from all three perspectives!
Atilla Veysal
MP: There’s an obvious answer to the first question, right?
The permanent road course is where racing fans go to see their favorite sports. They are existing fans.
Those who have no real knowledge of racing or passion for sports will not drive, buy or watch Midohio, the Barber or Watkins Glen. It’s too strange and too niche for it to happen. Indy 500 or Daytona 500? Another story. If you’re a huge bucket list event for people to watch at least once and don’t know about races, do you know that both events have a reputation as tournaments and who doesn’t love a good party?
These two events are outliers. The rest is the input.
So adding a more permanent track will only soothe your current fan base, and as we know, the goal is to double or triple the fan base of Indycar. So that doesn’t happen by adding tracks that only existing fans go. IndyCar needs a wave of fans that don’t exist now.
And they don’t know that IndyCar exists, so they’re not going to go on a permanent truck. So you bring it to their front door. It’s doordash indycar.
Think of Indycar as a small energy drink brand that is only sold in select stores. The answer to uploading your drink profile and selling more products is not to find more niche stores to carry things. It’s about more people looking at it for the first time and hopefully more people trying to fall in love with it try to drink at a bigger store. Street racing is the equivalent of bringing products to larger stores and introducing them to larger new audiences.
Chris Medland: From a Formula 1 perspective, it is a combination of existing transportation infrastructure for mass events, attracting fans to cities with accommodation options and appealing to sponsors and promoters.
As Liberty Media took over, one of the priorities they outlined was their desire to add more races to “destination cities” such as Miami, Las Vegas and Madrid. Local governments and businesses are considered likely to invest in races if there is sufficient potential for secondary spending (accommodation, food, other attractions) in the city, and these locations already have hotel capacity.
It actually only minor changes from many venues, but it uses hanger rings as an example. This is a permanent truck outside Budapest. While most of the attendees need to stay in town (this is an amazing city to visit), then they go out and return every day, taxis and shuttle lines can become a real problem. The organizers will do their best they can, but if the weekend attendance is 300,000, that’s not easy.
Las Vegas is clearly the central track location of the new city venue I gave, but in Miami and Madrid, circuits are being built around Hard Rock Stadium and Ifumama Exhibition Center, respectively.
You lose the atmosphere of the festival in some of such kinds of places, but you are the right Atilla (Singapore is a bit of an outlier and there is a great lineup of music in daily nights and night races). But I think there’s a balance to get hit when there are a lot of different kinds of races to accommodate as many people as possible.
At the upgrade costs you mentioned, it is definitely cheaper to hold street racing after the first year, with the initial investment being made, then the street simply reverting to its original use and building and dismantling the circuit infrastructure. Permanent tracks need to generate income all year round to work as a viable business, not just one big weekend, so many street venues can.
Kelly Crandall: There are two motivations to run NASCAR’s street course events. The first is that it got caught up in their current philosophy of doing something different, and the Cup Series had not previously raced on street courses. So, as they follow, in Ben Kennedy’s words, street course events fall into that category to find ways to be different and bold. The second point is that NASCAR races can be brought directly to people. Chicago was the biggest example of this as he began attending Chicago Land Speedway (Joliet) over the years. NASCAR wants to race where people are. Because it could be exposed to people who may not travel to see it or have never seen it before.
Regardless of the series, street racing is about bringing sports to people. Logan Reelee/Getty Images
Q: I loved the grid walk with Martin, who I paired with Nico Rosberg at the Belgian Grand Prix last week. Martin acted herself and let Nico go right for her throat. A particularly high mark for chasing Jos Verstappen. According to ValtteRi Bottas’s PokerFace We must believe he has a contract with Cadillac. Everyone loved that. Let’s do it again.
Bob Anderson
CM: I rarely know what’s going on with Sky/ESPN Grid Walk Bob. That’s because I do it myself on SiriusXM or sometimes F1 TV at the time. But I saw it was Nico with Martin in Belgium (obviously Martin was waiting for me to talk to Laurent Mekies as I was interviewing him).
After the spa, I saw so many clips of Martin and Nico working fine, and as you say, it was just in Joss, as you say, it was so funny. As far as I know, Valtteri hasn’t signed anywhere yet, but it was a good attempt to ask him questions and show him what the response was.
My wife Jess is one of the senior producers who actually fought Martin, Nico and thousands of umbrellas on the spa grid, so I’m lucky enough to be able to pass your feedback directly to Skye. So I’ll let her know that you want to see it again!
Q: We’Re often told the team would do a lot of work on the simulator overnight over the weekend. How will the team handle it?‘A fast guy, for example Verstappen, if others can use it, do you like most setups?
Jack
CM: During the two Friday practice sessions of the race weekend, race drivers used a setup that was identified as the perfect baseline to start with prep work before the race weekend. It’s a SIM race driver for some of its prep work before the race, so they already had their hands to set the direction they think is the best.
So giving feedback on Friday evening after FP2 addresses the points raised by both drivers as well as one, with the various setup options that the simulator driver runs overnight. That overnight session is designed to further test direction based on the track conditions seen in FP1 and FP2, so in many ways it’s an extension of what race drivers have already done.
If your team is really struggling, there are a number of fundamentally different setups that can be tested, but in general, they are trying to resolve which direction it is best to head, so they try to improve the vehicle by making more informed setup decisions before the FP3. Not only was there one suggested for race drivers, but it appeared that multiple options were displayed in the order of which they provided the best performance in the simulator using data collected on Friday.
Remember that the simulator driver is not one of the two race drivers at that stage of the weekend. So we are just giving the two race drivers as much feedback as possible to provide more information to work on when making FP3 and qualifying changes.
If you are giving, Max Verstappen might use that information a little differently for Yuki Tsunoda, but it’s likely that it’s the same for all teams, as each driver has its own style and you’ll know which aspects of the simulator data are most relevant to them.
In a perfect world, an overnight simulator session will help your team identify the ideal setup, and even down to the race drivers, you will be able to adapt as much as possible or tweak them slightly to make them more comfortable.
Q: I’ve seen six women racing in IRP in the Arca Menards series race. Can we see multiple women again in the NASCAR Cup Series race?
Do you think NASCAR did the right thing by stopping Austin Hill to destroy Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
Chris Fygler, Latham, New York
KC: We think we’ll do that, but for now there’s no one in the pipeline to who is ready, so we don’t know when that will happen. Jade Avedisian is prepared to become a Toyota star, but if the Cup Series race is in her future, she still has a way to go. Haley Deagan was in NASCAR, but now it’s not. She doesn’t hide the fact that funds are a problem. And, as you pointed out, there are a lot of women at the grassroots level right now, but it takes more money and resources to keep moving.
That was the right call for Austin Hill being suspended. Hill is going to say he didn’t do it on purpose, and frankly, he has to do it to protect himself from punishment. But his actions did not pass the eye test of what we all saw and how it looked intentional. Plus, he wore white gloves, which certainly made it worse when he left.
The chances of Catherine Reguet moving the wheels alongside another female racer in the Cup Series are small for now. James Gilbert/Getty Images
Q: I’m always happy to hear about new races and although I like NASCAR, I’d like to know how they plan to get people to the coronado of Naval Bases.
I went to the Naval Airlines 100 Year Air Show in 2011 and missed most of the air shows as it took me a few hours to get to the base. Is there a word like how they manage this?
John Haljo
KC: Honestly, it’s TBD. Previously in MailBag, we were told how NASCAR would open the event to the public, but that’s all they said. Many of these plans have been announced, and NASCAR will begin working on logistics. So there’s not much to say right now, as they don’t share much other than announcing that the event is happening.
Q: What are the three tapes on top of the NASCAR steering wheel for?
Because of its value, Baba Wallace was not the first African American to win the NASCAR race (IMS). It was Wendel Scott in December 1963. It was on a half-mile dirt track at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Initially, the winner of the race was Buddy Baker. It was two hours later that NASCAR scored and timing was won by Wendell Scott and he realized he had passed the entire field twice. He was declared a winner, but his family was not given the trophy until 2021! Wendell Scott passed away in 1990.
Jerry, Houston
KC: The tape is there for the driver to know that the wheels are in the center and are straight. If you see the driver pulling out the pit road before the start of the race and then stopping while the field continues, that’s because you’re indexing the wheels to make sure it’s what you need. Also, the tape is useful after the driver is involved in the crash or has any kind of contact. This allows you to measure how far the wheels are.
As for Bubba Wallace, he’s right in that he wasn’t the first black driver to win a Cup Series race. After IMS, he was the first black driver to win a massive race at the Indianapolis Oval.
Q: Do you have any explanations about what happened to Eric Jones’ car in Indianapolis? I saw the tires come off the wheel after the tires contracted. I’ve seen the tire/wheel combination fall out of the car when the nuts aren’t tight, but I’ve never seen the car leave the car and stay in the car. How does that happen?
Walt, Dolan Springs,
KC: The 43 team had problems on pit road during a pit stop, but the wheels fell off when Eric Jones returned to the race. Jones then said he could feel it, and he knew they had problems on Pit Road. Looking at camera footage inside the car, it is clear that the wheels were not properly tightened and that the changer was trying to fix this. But we had to jack up the car, but that didn’t happen. This makes it difficult to actually tell if the rug is tight or not. Obviously, in this case it wasn’t. We saw how Indianapolis’ load and speed removed the wheels in a way that we’ve never seen before. But it all came back to the same reason: the rug wasn’t tight.
Q: When the New Garden/Palou/O’ward commercial first aired, it was complaining from Nascar-Land about the perceived favorites from Fox to Indycar. Since Fox is the owner of some of the series, we should assume that IndyCar’s promotion will only increase. Can you expect Fox/NASCAR to drop out at some point? At the very least, NASCAR cannot be excited by the change in this event.
Kevin, Fishers, Indiana
KC: I’ve never heard of any whispers or complaints about NASCAR being unhappy about what Fox is doing with other properties. But this is the feeling I was given. I think Fox Sports was a bit postponed by NASCAR’s new media rights deal. They paid a lot and lost content this year with practices and qualifying being prime. So, publicly, everyone is working on their business and they don’t say the word of illness, but you may not know how someone really feels.
The final words
August 7, 2019, from Robin Miller’s mail bag
Q: If that is allowed, can IndyCar compete in a 12-hour or 24-hour endurance race? What tweaks do they need to make it last longer? If they can hold on long enough, it would be great to see.
Eric of London, Ohio
Robin Miller: I think it’s possible with today’s reliable engines, but no one knows who wants to see the long-lasting IndyCar race. We want to watch hard races fast, so to reduce eggs to the 150s or 125 twins. Let the sports car do the Enderos.
