Welcome to the RACER mailbag. Questions for RACER’s writers can be sent to: mailbag@racer.com. We welcome your comments and opinions, but letters with questions are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3:00 PM EST each Monday will be saved for the following week.
Q: Another ride buyer was chosen instead of an established racer. Connor Daly is head and shoulders above Sting Ray Robb. Rob is one of the worst, if not the worst. of The worst part is the talent in the IndyCar paddock. This series isn’t about fan favorites like Conor Daly, who probably likes moving chicanes. Dave O’Neill should be ashamed of himself!
Muncie Preston Proctor
Marshall Pruett: Rob had an enforceable contract and held the team to that agreement. Desiring to be more competitive, the team attempted to negotiate an early divorce. Hmm.
Juncos Hollinger Racing had a convertible available for Daly or another driver, but chose to cut Conner. It’s a team issue, not a Sting Ray issue.
I’d wager that the departure numbers were too painful for the team to swallow, so they opted to ride out the final season with Sting Ray instead of paying him some (or all) of his rumored $9 million to free up a seat. He wants to be an IndyCar driver and has great backers who support his dream. If he wanted to race in IMSA GTP or LMP2 he would already be there full-time and that may be where Rob’s long-term future lies, but he will be an open wheeler until at least 2026.
If Rob accepts the buyout, he will be out of IndyCar immediately. There’s only one seat left (of Coin) and Dale has other plans for the car, so the second year of his two-year contract is a lifeline to staying in the series. I admire a man who fights so hard to grab what he’s been chasing most of his life.
I have no problem with Stingrays being in IndyCar as long as he is eligible to race and doesn’t degrade himself by constantly crashing or getting in the way of faster drivers. Last season he seemed to fit in pretty well in that regard and that’s all I can hope for.
But I understand. It’s easy to hate the drivers you’re paying to hate, especially the ones that drive toward you.
We can ask IndyCar to remove them from the series, and add in drivers who have never won, and drivers who have won before but won’t win again unless a miracle happens, and we’re left with seven drivers who will qualify in 2025 and a handful remaining who can still get the job done. So will we be cutting bait with the other 17 who can’t reach victory lane like Sting Ray?
Q: Arvid Lindblad was recently announced as the replacement for Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull. Will Buxton then invited Yuki to IndyCar.
I can understand wanting talent in IndyCar, and I don’t mind that that talent is made up of former F1 drivers. I love IndyCar and especially the 500. My great-grandfather raced and became an IMS officer. I have worn the yellow shirt alongside my father and brother for over 30 years. I’m on hook, line, and sinker, but I can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable about the perception that someone who’s been in F1 has been invited to IndyCar. Yes, I know that’s a conflicting perspective.
They won’t be successful in F1 and will never return to F2, but why not give IndyCar a chance? From their point of view, it makes sense.
I want the best racing, but I also feel that IndyCar is the first stop for a retired F1 driver. Is IndyCar and its talent’s reputation diminished by what seems like a constant intake of F1? Of course, not all current drivers are Tier 1, but still…
What do you think?
Dave, Milwaukee Area
MP: That’s been the reality of IndyCar since the 1980s, so I’m somewhat insensitive to the negative connotations of IndyCar being a landing spot for former F1 drivers. Sports cars, long a sanatorium for former IndyCar and F1 drivers, have the same real and perceptual challenges.
Although he wasn’t the first, Emerson Fittipaldi really stood out as a big name in F1 to make the transition to IndyCar and find success. There were many more in similar positions, but with much smaller careers and profiles in F1. Roberto Guerrero. Jan Lammers. Derek Daly.
Some, like Teo Fabi, had experience here in other series before going to F1 and immediately returned for the CART IndyCar opportunity. Danny Sullivan came here and did F1 for a little bit and then went back home to chase IndyCar. That’s just a small sample of the 1980s.
Yuki would be a perfect fit in IndyCar with the right team. At Foyt next to Santino, he’ll have a blast with two of the most outspoken drivers as teammates. I’m more interested in his profile and what it can do for IndyCar.
It was no secret that Mick Schumacher, who signed with RLL, became IndyCar’s most popular driver in terms of social media followers around the world. No disrespect to Mick, but he last raced in F1 in 2022. Yuki has a huge fan base and I want to shine that spotlight on IndyCar.
Has a helmet but can’t travel: Tsunoda says Red Bull is giving him a hard time racing next year. Jace Illman/Getty Images
Q: I hope Penske Entertainment saw the Eddie Cue interview after the Apple F1 rights announcement. He noted that Apple is using iPhone to capture unique camera views during MLB games to create different viewing experiences. In this case, an iPhone was strapped to a foul pole, giving you a whole new viewing angle for foul balls.
In addition, an iPhone was used to obtain special angles for the F1 movie from inside the car. The packaging requirements for an iPhone or its components are very small, giving teams and producers a lot of room for experimentation.
The cost of creating an exciting and special viewing experience is coming down, and IndyCar should be paying attention.
Some of the television production suggestions in Matt’s letter in the December 3 mailbag could be addressed by using off-the-shelf technology in creative ways.
For IndyCar, these opportunities seem like low-hanging fruit that will add new luster to the audience experience in 2026.
Sean, Berwyn, Illinois
MP: All true. This is one of my old rants that gets shared every year or two on IndyCar but never goes anywhere. Open rules for Apple, Google, Samsung and other tech companies to bring their phones/tablets/screens into the cockpit and elsewhere to participate in the series. Get the team to go out and sign a contract.
Let the money-hungry paddock benefit from opening up the electronics side. I have nothing against Cosworth manufacturing data systems and steering wheel displays, but having Cosworth as a spec supplier doesn’t help anyone but IndyCar.
LG, Panasonic, Sony and others could all do business with the series and their teams to introduce existing or new custom technology, rather than selling distribution rights to a single vendor with no commercial profile.
Streaming in-car footage via an iPhone 18 in Palou’s car, and streaming in-car from a Google phone next to Pato O’Ward entering Turn 1… while getting dash information from cool screens provided by both brands. It makes no sense to ban this.
Q: How about a Mount Rushmore of worst-funded drivers? No? Today is a holiday and are we being kind instead of being mean? That’s nice. Foyt, Mario, and Mears all seem obvious, but they all existed before I was born. I find Scott Dixon bland and boring (other than his fuel tank never emptying), but I can’t deny the idea that he probably belongs on IndyCar’s Mount Rushmore. Ask me again about Alex Palou in a few years.
Ryan, West Michigan
MP: Jean-Pierre Frey is the worst Hall of Famer. Dr. Jack, King Hyros, and Mirkas are also there – at least in the modern wing.
If it were a Mount Rushmore of celebrity drivers, I might not include Dixon, but if he retires I’d remove Montoya from No. 4 on the Kiwi list. His work isn’t done, and I still don’t know how to contextualize the sheer greatness of his career, but I’m willing to wait.
And Parow certainly has the runway to earn a spot on the mountain.
Q: I have driven an IH-35W from Fort Worth to Denton regularly since 2010. Back then, there was only Alliance Airport, the Marriott, TMS, and a truck stop along the highway. There are now thousands of McMansions, hundreds of Mcwarehouses (excuse me, distribution centers)…and TMSs.
What made me wonder is that “Auto Club Speedway” was also targeted at the same general audience, but it no longer exists there. Replaced by logistics, warehousing, etc. How long ago did a developer make Speedway Motorsports an offer for TMS that they couldn’t refuse? Keep the condos, build a pond for lakefront living, and level the rest.
What do you say?
Damon Hines
MP: Well, that’s a depressing reality. Last weekend I came across a bunch of old event programs. Among them was TMS’ first IndyCar/Truck track launch program in 1997. It’s a nostalgic memory.
Looking at the current calendar of major events, this gigantic space is minimally used. I’ve been to TMS before there was anything around me, so admittedly, the sheer proliferation of objects encroaching on the premises is hard to ignore. I don’t claim to know what its finances are like, but I imagine it will be torn down for an AI server farm or something once the May cup headline visit and other activities every few months are no longer enough to make a profit. It’s a shame because the days of two races, NASCAR and IndyCar, feel like they existed forever ago.
As long as real estate developers don’t realize how much housing, shopping malls, and data centers they can build there, we’ll be fine. James Gilbert/Getty Images
Q: Reading how many drivers in F1 are happy to be done with ground effects cars, I’ve been thinking about the problems they had in this era of IndyCar. As I recall, the Dallara DW-12 was designed to utilize ground effects to enable close racing. It seems to have worked well and I don’t remember having any problems with porpoises at Dallara. Why didn’t IndyCar have the same problems that F1 had? (a) Dallara generates less downforce from ground effects than F1, (b) IndyCar teams are so limited in what they can do with their cars that they haven’t caused problems with additional aerodynamic bits, (c) something else, or (d) all of the above?
Paul Lewis, Macon, Georgia
MP: For the past 45 years, nearly all IndyCars have utilized ground effects with underwings that generate significant downforce. Porpoises were an issue in the early 1980s when skirts were used to seal the sidepods in CART IndyCar designs, but they were quickly removed by rules.
Porpoises can occur on any car that uses ground effects. open wheels, sports cars, etc. This is a low ride height feature that controls that ride height. If the front ride height is lowered too much, there will be no air under the wing, downforce will be lost, the front of the car will flip up, air will begin to flow under the wing again, it will be pulled down again, no air will be supplied, and the bucking bronco routine will begin. It has nothing to do with how much downforce Dallara has.
Ten teams will build their own F1 cars using ten completely different aerodynamic designs. Its performance is determined by its incredibly low ride height. When the new formula debuted in 2022, many F1 cars had porpoise problems, but some did not. Given time and tremendous amounts of money, these teams solved the aerodynamic problem. Dallara produces a single IndyCar model. Although it will work in lower ride heights, it is not designed to work in small ride height windows on knife edges where porpoises can be a problem.
Q: Was Dale Coyne’s long delay in naming a second driver due to him waiting to confirm Yuki Tsunoda’s status at Red Bull? Can we expect an announcement that Yuki will be appointed to the position? I doubt he has the option of staying in F1. Will Honda influence this decision?
dave
MP: No, Dale was never waiting for Yuki. It was the latest shitty rumor that too many people have allowed to exist on social media. Because who doesn’t like rumors with zero credibility? Tsunoda has been confirmed as Red Bull’s reserve and stated that his contract would never allow him to leave.
Q: Last week, in response to a question from Tsunoda, you said Honda doesn’t intend to spend $8 million to $10 million on a new driver in the final year of the engine contract. Does that imply that Honda will end after 2026, or was it referring to Honda’s final year? the current Engine contract?
bob
MP: Sorry, Bob. I should have opened myself up more fully. The answer had nothing to do with whether Honda would remain after 2026.
Honda has been talking to IndyCar about staying and cutting costs to stay, and spending so much money on sponsoring a driver looks bad and would be a terrible negotiating strategy.
It’s hard to be taken seriously when he spends his free time on unnecessary frivolities, and despite his love for Yuki, he doesn’t feel wanted. If Honda’s driver team is weak, I can understand that the company would want to spend their own money to improve the situation, but Honda finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th (6th out of the top 8) in the drivers’ rankings and escaped with the manufacturers’ title. Throwing money at drivers is common, but not this time.
Q: What thought process goes into pit box selection? I’ve seen some series use loss of pit selection as a penalty. Is there really a big advantage to be gained from pit selection, or is it just a small penalty?
Stephen, Las Cruces, New Mexico
MP: It depends on the series, but yes, in general, it’s beneficial to have a choice of pit stalls. Whether it’s first (closest to the pit exit) and no one in front of you so you can fire right away without having to make sharp turns and lose time to avoid hitting the crew or tires, pitting in an open spot (the first box after the pit wall breaks), or simply being in a position with one of the best teams in the pits (which usually means you’re less likely to be held back by parking mistakes on either side or by crew mistakes), there’s real value. You have a say in where you work in the pit lane.
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There are clear advantages to having a pit stall option. Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
Q: How’s the energy and (more importantly) ticket sales going for the Arlington Grand Prix in four months? Is it likely that I’ll be writing the phrase “Unfortunate Arlington Grand Prix Event” in my column in the next few years? I’m wondering if a fan in the Midwest considering a trip to a new IndyCar race in the western United States might actually choose to travel to Phoenix over Arlington. I lean that way too. What are your expectations for Jerry’s Race at this point?
Mark Founds, Mason, Ohio
MP: I spoke with Bill Miller, president of Arlington GP, last week and he said they plan to sell all 35,000 regular tickets and hope to sell up to 50,000 with all hospitality suite guests.
It’s a new and interesting event, so there’s a lot of energy behind it. I can’t answer the question today whether it will be like the Baltimore Grand Prix, which was a great performance but crashed and burned after three runs. Profit is required through ticket sales and adversarial suite sales. Corporate support should be provided on an ongoing basis, not just in the first year. When these levels decline, you will eventually die.
I am hopeful that the first edition will be excellent and that we will see overwhelmingly positive results. But it was our first date. What matters is whether the energy and passion of the city, the Cowboys, the Rangers, the fans and the sponsors is still there by the third, fourth and fifth installments. There are too many big, new, great venues disappearing. I hope this has some permanence.
Q: I have two quick questions. First, will Will Power attend the Andretti Global Christmas Party or the Team Penske Christmas Party? Second, the longer Honda announces that they will stay, the more worried I become. Do you think there is nothing to announce as the negotiations are still ongoing, or has the decision been made and Honda and IndyCar hoping to announce it by 2026?
Chris F., Charleston, SC
MP: Do you celebrate Christmas with your ex-wife or do you spend the holidays with your new wife? I hope it’s the latter, because if you make that mistake your new wife could become your next ex-wife.
Chevrolet has not yet stated that it will continue beyond 2026, so Chevrolet and Honda will either have to announce whether they will stay or leave, or if they haven’t already done so, they will have to work out a deal to stay.
IndyCar needs Chevrolet and Honda more than IndyCar. A smart business strategy is for one or both parties to continue this situation and try to obtain the most favorable terms. I can’t say if it has anything to do with the wait time, but they have nothing to gain by rushing the signature.
Q: What are the chances of IndyCar returning to Pocono or Kansas? I would really hate to see a low downforce setup used only once a year. Also, what about the possibility of the Freedom 100 coming back?
austin
MP: Freedom 100 is dead to death. blown to pieces. IndyCar has returned to all sorts of places that disappeared from the schedule, so I’m not saying never, but I’ve yet to hear of any plans to return to any of those ovals.
Q: One story that seems to have disappeared is Michael Andretti’s departure from the team that bears his name. The details of what led to his departure seemed to be a closely guarded secret at the time, and only a limited amount of information was leaked to paint a positive picture for everyone involved. It’s hard to believe that Michael left without being pushed.
It’s been a while and there are probably additional leaks leaking out within the paddock area, but could you please provide some insight into what actually happened behind the scenes?
John, Visalia, California
MP: Nothing other than what we all wrote extensively when it happened. As recorded a year ago, Michael left the team shortly after Andretti Global/TWG Motorsports/Cadillac was cleared to enter F1.
Q: I’ve been reading about changes coming to the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. GM is moving forward with plans to move its headquarters to a new Detroit tower on the Hudson. The city also plans to begin demolition of the Renaissance Center’s two towers closest to the river in spring 2027. The current Grand Prix course runs behind these two towers. Does this mean they’ll have to build a new circuit elsewhere downtown for the 2027 race? And is there a chance they’ll return to Belle Isle?
Rick Schneider, Charlotte
MP: I asked you about this a few months ago, and what you said was that before we can give you a hard answer on whether or not it’s going to affect racing, we need to get closer to the reality of it.
Q: If PREMA does not return to full-time IndyCar racing in 2026, do you think the team will bring back part-time entries? Will this happen soon, or will there be only 25 charter entries next season, with part-timers joining in 2027? Will teams try to somehow coordinate to not bring more than two total additional entries into each race other than the Indy 500?
Stephen, Las Cruces, New Mexico
MP: Through its charter program, IndyCar capped the starting field at 27 people for all races except the Indy 500. So, if PREMA disbands, that spot will become vacant. But only if Penske Entertainment wants to keep it vacant. That’s the main question because Penske is known to want a smaller grid, and many teams want smaller grids to try to increase the value of their charters by creating more exclusivity.
Otherwise, if starting positions 26 and 27 are open, I can think of several teams that would want to fill those spots with additional cars.
Q: Is it normal for DCR to announce one driver a month before the first green flag of the season?
Dino, New Hanover, Pennsylvania
MP: I don’t think so. As we have said for some time, Romain Grosjean is thought to take the pole position seat, and there are other players who could also do so. A longer timeline was required to complete several large business items before completing the puzzle with driver announcements.
Q: I would love to see a list of the top 10 active drivers in all forms of motorsports. (Let’s stick to 4 wheels). Come to think of it, I’d love to see yours, Chris and Kelly’s, just to see how much (or little) there is overlap…
Randy, Milwaukee
MP: Kyle Larsson, Alex Palou, Max Verstappen, Nick Tandy, Isaac Hajjar, James Calado, Shane van Gisbergen, Antonio Garcia, Kyle Kirkwood, Oliver Bearman. and i take 11th Including Tony Stewart.
Most of my monsters are versatile, have appeared outside of the main series, and all charge forward. You can’t take your eyes off them.
Chris Medland: We could really spend days debating this, but it looks like you actually have to submit a response to make the mailbag public…
OK, I’m obviously going to lean towards F1, but I hope not completely. I would say: Verstappen, Larsson, Palou, Alonso, Dixon, Norris, Rovanpera, Leclerc, Hamilton. Van Gisbergen.
It’s really hard to order it, but for most people, it’s the versatility that gets them here, not just what they do in the main series, but the fact that they show what they can do elsewhere. And many of these include first-time/full-time non-category wins and highly competitive running.
To be honest, Verstappen is clearly at the top of the list in my book (I’d love to see him compete against non-F1 names in that category), but there are so many quality drivers now beyond the first three on this list that it feels very replaceable.
The fact that I didn’t include Hamilton here speaks volumes about the season he had, and I might not include him in six months. But I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that it’s a temporary decline in a new environment and not a decline.
Kelly Crandall: My list is in no particular order: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Scott Dixon, Max Verstappen, Austin Pulock, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Palou, Doug Kalitta, Christopher Bell, Connor Girish.
(ED: For those keeping tabs, Verstappen, Larsson, Palou and Van Gisbergen got 3 votes each, Dixon got 2 votes and the majority of single vote getters)
Q: Full disclosure: I’ve never been a fan of Sir Louis, but after his one sprint race win for the Scuderia this year, I think his shelf life has expired. Maybe it’s time to let your young bear man try it out?
Yanni Pollier
CM: I think Bearman is doing all the right things to be a future Ferrari driver, but I also think 2026 is too early for that. It has been a very difficult season for Hamilton, but he has shown some good form in the middle of the season that suggests what is possible when he and Ferrari work together.
The biggest problem for Ferrari is that Hamilton’s victory in the China Sprint was his only P1 finish this season, giving him zero Grand Prix wins. If next year is a bad year for both parties, then Hamilton could leave at the end of the year, or it could be a strong car that doesn’t really perform well, but if the car is still competitive, I expect him to do well.
It would be good for Bearman to get another year of development at Haas. Although he has had some great performances at times this season, he still made some mistakes and had an unusually slow weekend. Ideally, you should iron out any wrinkles before stepping up to your Ferrari.
Q: Given that Toyota Gazoo Racing has acquired Haas title sponsorship, is Toyota gaining team ownership or are they happy with the brand exposure they are getting? (Not that they need it).
M.J.W.
CM: I can say that Toyota is gaining team ownership, but that doesn’t mean it’s definitely going to happen. Greater involvement and investment will help them understand what it takes to become a full constructor team again in the future, and put Gene Haas in pole position (pun intended) to discuss such a move if he wants to sell.
However, Gene has never said he wants to sell, rather the opposite, and Toyota may think that a title sponsor is the best place to be. To become a full constructor, a power unit would be required, and it would be strange for Toyota to install a Ferrari engine otherwise, so I think it’s still a long way off before it’s actually seriously considered.
Toyota may be interested in an acquisition, but Gene Haas doesn’t seem interested in a sale. Andy Horn/Getty Images
Q: I’ve been writing about the F1 Apple TV deal, and I don’t think I’ve seen enough recognition in any publication when analyzing how good or bad this deal is. And fair warning: I’m firmly in the bad camp on this issue.
But I’d like to start by acknowledging the obvious advantages. If you used F1 TV to watch F1, this is a great deal for you, whether you already have an Apple TV or not. Apple TV subscriptions (as of this writing, I don’t think they’ll stay that way for long) cost the same $12.99 per month as F1 TV Basic, but you get F1 TV Premium for that price.
The problem is ESPN’s audience. Yes, even TV service over the Internet is much more expensive than Apple TV, but what isn’t talked about, and what Liberty definitely doesn’t want us to think, is that very few people bought cable, satellite, or TV service over the Internet just for F1 on ESPN/ABC. The vast majority of TV viewers aren’t willing to abandon the service and everything else they enjoy on TV just to jump on Apple TV just for F1. Even fewer people will want to add the cost to their existing TV/streaming package.
The big problem is that Apple TV has the fewest subscribers of any mainstream streaming service available in the U.S., with an estimated 10 million fewer subscribers than Hulu, which offers TV options over the Internet.
And to be clear, “By “mainstream” we mean those that offer a wide range of programming that potentially appeals to the masses, as opposed to very narrow or single-focused, niche streaming services like FloRacing or Crunchyroll.
Additionally, Apple had a hard time getting people to sign up for Apple TV when it offered it for free on Apple devices. Additionally, viewership (and transparency) concerns led MLS to resolve early termination of its Apple TV contract.
Not only is it a really great deal for F1 TV users, but when you look at everything about this deal, it’s very hard to find a reason to rate it positively. My brother already has an F1 TV Pro and an Apple TV, so he’s taking full advantage of this, but even he can’t get excited about it because he’s seeing the same problems I’m having. I strongly suspect that he is the only one who notices this and benefits from it. In his words, “All their momentum went into the wall at full throttle, and they forgot to put on the tire barrier.”
I may be more of an IndyCar fan than F1, but I have a lot of love for F1 and it would be really sad to see F1 abandon everything after finally cracking the code to growing F1 in America.
formula fox
CM: Overall I agree with you. Another aspect is that F1 won’t be broadcast randomly in a cafe or bar that has ESPN but no Apple TV. Therefore, there will be no secondary/passive audience there.
But the coverage itself can level up with more investment, and unlike an MLS contract, there are no additional costs to watch F1 on Apple TV, so there are some other benefits as well. I’m also hopeful that this partnership will be leveraged far beyond the broadcast (on apps, Apple devices, etc.), but I have to admit that I doubt it will outweigh the viewership lost from ESPN.
As I’ve written before, one of my other complaints with both the ESPN deal and this Apple deal is the lack of bespoke coverage tailored to the market. Quality reporting deserves proper investment, and we hope that happens in 2027.
Q: Stefano Domenicali talked about increasing sprints in the future. It made me wonder…couldn’t they have done quite a bit of damage to F1? The standard in F1 is dominant cars/drivers, not close championships. What happens if you keep your dominant combo going again for five years while still racing more?
I understand his point and even agree with him. But F1 could be seriously damaged by the extra races unless it gets closer grids more often. The DTS transformation of F1 brought in celebrities and made the drivers famous. However, it was not a close battle. F1 should be more careful about this kind of thinking.
F1’s numbers have clearly increased since the end of the season. But when not… 23 years felt like a really long time with 24 rounds and 6 sprints…
I’ve been watching since 1995. If a car sounds and looks good, it can survive a boring season (but there hasn’t been a good-looking car since 2009, a good-sounding car since 2014, and the season was short). But my concern is with the momentum of 26 years. After almost just Mercedes and Ferrari, we now have one more team and manufacturer. As an F1 fan, I’m very happy. And I’m also worried that it won’t last long. We know that to maintain this momentum, close games will have to become the norm. But what can F1 do to achieve that?
One idea that would fit into F1’s development wars would be to adapt the ’21 development token. These are called upgrade tokens. Starting in the third or fifth round, teams start getting them for each race. The further back you go, the more tokens you receive. All championship based. To add upgrades, spend tokens. That way, the team will continue to work on the car all year round anyway.
So ATR is already doing that and giving a lot of benefits to the teams at the back. But it doesn’t work that well. DRS (and MOM in ’26) work similarly, giving their successors some advantage. Why not extend it?
The grid is definitely closer. But whether it’s the race or the end of the year, it’s still the same old history. F1 needs to do more. Especially if they put themselves out there more in the races.
William Mazzeo
CM: William, I agree with you that you don’t really want sprints, but I’m not worried about losing future momentum. A big reason why more manufacturers and teams want to participate is because they now get a return on their investment, unlike before. With a cost cap, the team is profitable and worth billions of dollars. And, as you say, we still have performance cars to match.
Also, I think the signs are what we already have. At the time the 2022 car was developed, the cost cap wasn’t fully in play (it had already started, but it was very new and smaller teams still had plenty of infrastructure to invest in). Therefore, the impact will be even greater in 2026, and furthermore, ATR will definitely help prevent the gap from widening during the season.
My expectation is that we’ll have a closer field than usual when regulations start next year. Not the whole field, but at least near the front, and it should get even better from there.
Are there too many sprints? Kim Ilman/Getty Images
Q: In hindsight, McLaren’s decision to swap Oscar and Lando’s positions at Monza because of a bad pit stop cost them the world championship. Although controversial at the time, it now looks like the best-case scenario. Do you think McLaren will consider that for Oscar next season?
JC Dave
CM: I don’t think McLaren is considering that beyond the fact that it’s been vindicated, and we’re going to stick with that approach. Both drivers have an equal chance to win the title again (assuming it’s a title-contending car), and Norris doesn’t get priority just because he’s the defending champion.
However, I’m glad you flagged this. It shows how close he was to getting away from McLaren, but it also shows that so many moments add up that they can’t all be summed up into one incident. Kimi’s mistake in Qatar got a lot of attention, but it wouldn’t have mattered if McLaren hadn’t changed drivers at Monza, if they hadn’t made a mistake in strategy early in the race in Qatar, if they hadn’t won the double DSQ in Las Vegas, or if Max hadn’t run into George in Spain… you get my drift!
Q: “Hamlin and Jenkins testified that it costs $20 million to put one car on the track for all 38 races. That number does not include overhead, operating costs, or driver salaries.”
$20 million / 38 races equates to an average cost of $526,317 to enter a car in a race. Is there a breakdown of this number somewhere? What is included in the overhead and operating cost budget?
phil thomas
KC: I don’t think you’ve seen a complete breakdown, but of all the numbers that were shown the other day, I don’t see anything beyond what you’ve already mentioned. For example, I shared how much I lost in a year. The team has reiterated the $20 million figure to emphasize how expensive the car is. I’m wondering if I can get that number somewhere on the way here. But let me just say that race team budgets don’t really exist, or at least aren’t set. Every team decides how much they want or can spend to be competitive.
last word
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, December 11, 2013
Q: So I think Brian Clauson’s foray into IndyCar was all one race. He’s the type of driver this sport desperately needs. (This is when he explains that he lacks enough road racing ability to catch up in the current IndyCar world, which is true, but leaning so heavily towards the road/street racing side could also be an indication that your sport is fatally flawed to begin with).
Clauson is young, very talented and very skilled. He has won multiple championships against other extremely high-level racing talent and raced in front of real American open-wheel racing fans, many of whom live within driving distance of IMS. At Indy two years ago, he received a huge response from paying customers (which tells you that Randy Bernard’s idea is right and that there is a hunger for people to root for someone like this). And for some strange reason, that kid actually still races in IndyCar and aspires to make it a destination series.
We don’t have room for someone like Brian, and the fact that no one in the AOW oval genre seems to have any interest at all is sad, pathetic, and extremely stupid. Isn’t there room for a few AOW Oval alumni in the world’s biggest AOW Oval race? Think about how stupid that sounds. We are ignoring the real talent and we are also ignoring the real tradition in this sport. And most real Americans are tired of it, have moved on and are not coming back. The people running this sport (CEOs, owners, and engine manufacturers, not necessarily in that order) aren’t smart enough to understand that this is the main reason so few people are still paying attention or having an interest. This sport and the Indy 500 were not built on F1 dropouts and wannabes. It was built on top-level American oval racers, top-level American road racers, and a handful of top-level foreign-born drivers. Now that situation has been completely reversed and messed up (and it’s debatable how many of the current drivers are “top tier” in the first place…).
There’s more to the race product than just how many cars are on the lead lap at Indy, how many different winners there are, and how entertaining the races are. And sadly, it seems like no one in the IndyCar world is savvy enough to figure that out. And even if they are, they don’t care at all. I want to see Conor Daly battle Brian Clawson on an IndyCar track. Just like I want to see Austin Dillon fight Kyle Larson in a cup match. These are the drivers and potential rivalries that fans and Americans could keep an eye on. Typically, one sport provides what Americans want and are interested in. One sport is ignorant and has been for a long time.
Bill, Maplewood, Indiana
Robin Miller: When I took Randy Bernard to his first USAC sprint race in 2010, he wondered why there weren’t any drivers at the Indy 500 who could master 900 horsepower. He explained that that used to be the case, but everything changed with the USAC and CART wars. I told him it was criminal that some of the best oval track racers in the country couldn’t even compete in Indianapolis, and he immediately started working on the USAC/IndyCar effort that sent Brian to IMS in 2012.
Think about this. Clauson, who was running Sarah Fisher’s second car, finished in the top 10 several times in practice and had a great run in qualifying, but crashed on the final lap. Since there were only 33 cars, he returned to his repaired car and did as he was told, driving modestly for the rest of the month. What if he qualified in the middle of the fourth row (that’s where he was headed for lap four) and ran well in the race? Perhaps an owner or two might believe the USAC champions still belong and give him a chance.
In fact, Bernard was fired and Clawson and his comrades were once again forgotten. “The transition is too big” was a consistent comment. However, Daly crashed during practice in May of this year, and it was considered a rookie mistake that did not significantly damage him. Nor should you. My only observation is that a good night during Indiana Sprint Week might draw a crowd of 3,000, which would dwarf a practice day at IMS. Would many of them want to see Clawson play against Daley or Newgarden, and would they come to No. 16 & Georgetown? we never know.
