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.
Note: Kelly Crandall is on vacation, but your NASCAR questions will be answered when she returns.
Q: Announcement of new Independent Board of Directors (IOB) in IndyCarI would like to know if this new board has the authority to make race calls? Specifically, will the IOB be the host of the Indy 500 and decide when it is appropriate to red flag the race? What I want to know is whether the new IOB will be responsible for race red flags like the one that led to the final lap shootout between Ericsson and Newgarden at the end of the 2023 Indy 500.
Kevin P., Los Angeles, California
Marshall Pruett: That’s a great question. No, the IOB will not be located at race control or to call balls or strikes when the Indy 500 or any other IndyCar race is being held. This is what IndyCar president Doug Bolles told us several months ago, and we haven’t heard anything to refute that detail.
IOB is a new management layer that will replace Penske Entertainment as the boss of those who organize IndyCar events. Barring some surprising development that I’m not aware of, this is the same as bringing in new leadership from IOB and relieving executives from Penske Entertainment.
Yes, the IOB is responsible for all aspects of IndyCar race management, from operational and compliance capabilities. If you like calls from race control, credit IndyCar Officiating, Inc., the new non-profit parent company created by Penske Entertainment to house IOI, IOB, Managing Director of Officiating (MDO), and all IndyCar officials. If you don’t like the phone calls, then IOI, MDO, and if that person is hired, IOB members will be blamed.
It remains to be seen who will be in charge of race control, but I wouldn’t be surprised if longtime race director Kyle Novak remains in the job. The same goes for driver stewards. Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis have provided that solution for years, but as I recall, Novak is not acting as judge. If Driver A hits Driver B against the barrier, it’s up to Allie and Max to decide whether to give Novak and the rest of the refereeing team a penalty.
The question I need to answer is how does the IOB decide what to call a race? Penske Entertainment has said that the IOB follows the rules created by IndyCar, which makes sense, but that a secondary part of race officiating is penalty guidelines that stewards use to deal with most situations that arise. While the rule book is often referred to as the “letter of the law,” the penalty guidelines are more like the “spirit of the law.”
Here, I expect IOB and MDO members to have a presence and have a spiritual aspect of the officiating. and in the tone of their referees rather than instructing race control how to adjudicate each case. As is common in stick-and-ball sports, some umpires are overzealous from the first seconds of a game, bashing players for the smallest things, while others are more lenient, blowing the whistle only for egregious fouls.
There is a new expectation from new bosses that their “spirit of the law” views will be infused into race management, just as old bosses had been.
Q: Why exactly did IndyCar decide to cut Jay Frye? He was a very dedicated guy and seemed to put a lot of effort into improving the series, which can be seen by the growth of the team shortly after his introduction. It makes no sense at all for them to cut someone who was active in the field and involved in the operation.
Austin Blaney, Texarkana, AR
MP: He was given no explanation and Penske Entertainment has only said on the record that they wanted to appoint Doug Bolles, who they felt had greater strength in several areas. What we did know in the paddock was that Frye had disagreements with Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles on various issues and repeatedly clashed with them.
Frye served as president of IndyCar for five years under owner Halman George, but when he sold the car to Penske, the owners of the new series wanted things to go their way, and Frye was said to have stuck to his guns and pushed back many times. It doesn’t matter whether he was right to draw the line or not. If the company you work for is acquired and the new owners want to do things differently, you can either go along with it, fight back and hope that the owners will see your way as the best way, or leave the company. Fry tried the second option, and although his two or three years there were miserable, he remained incredibly loyal and never quit.
In retrospect, I’m glad he was fired for his own sake. Because he is much happier in all aspects of his life. Boles also seems to be settling into his new role well.
Since the shake-up in IndyCar’s leadership, Frye and Bolles both seem to be in a happy place. Walt Kuhn/Penske Entertainment
Q: Exciting and encouraging developments happening with the IR28 chassis. Thanks for putting together the first two updates. Given our current reality, the unfolding situation feels both understandable and exciting.
One development possibility that I would be disappointed to see realized is to move the remaining driver adjustment tools to the steering wheel. One of the more enjoyable aspects of the dashcam view is that you can watch the driver make adjustments using side-mounted tools. Effectively and captivatingly highlight areas where drivers are making a difference.
Moving these tools to the steering wheel greatly reduces their sight.
Christopher Strive. Seattle, Washington
MP: Early in my career as a race car mechanic, around 1989 or 1990, I wanted to devise a semi-automatic anti-roll bar adjustment system for the junior open-wheel cars I worked on. Most ARBs had five adjustment positions where you pushed or pulled a lever to lock the adjuster cable in place. My idea, and this was before digital dashboards and hydraulic/electrical/pneumatic actuation were commonplace, was that there were five buttons to press, the first being the softest ARB setting, and the hardest button being the fifth and final button, pressed on a panel mounted to the front of the cockpit above the steering wheel.
This concept had nothing to do with safety or taking levers out of the cockpit. It was to provide a quick and easy way for drivers to swap front and rear ARBs to provide optimal handling in different types of corners. If you want something soft and supple coming out of a bobby pin, you can get it instantly with the click of a button. Do you have a fast corner in front of you and need a hard platform? Press the button and more. Fishing and rowing the adjuster handle was too time consuming and not always accurate.
Well, 35 years ago I didn’t know how to use a push-button ARB change system to optimize corner-by-corner handling, but if IndyCar’s Mark Scibra’s idea comes to fruition, my old idea could be realized through the steering wheel. Just like using a fast-acting weight jacker to quickly collapse and expand the jacker to channel downforce down the straights at the Indy 500 and return the car to its original position. The approach to Turns 1 and 3 maximizes cornering potential.
The team places a potentiometer on the ARB so that the team and driver always know the settings. Maybe that’s something IndyCar and FOX Sports will incorporate into their broadcasts.
Q: Great coverage of the upcoming IR28. I have some random questions.
Aerodynamics and DRS: Wouldn’t the IndyCar side be interested in having a flexible wing on the road course package to reduce drag and weight and increase top speed? In my narrow mind, I think flexible means lighter weight, but that may be an oversimplification on my part.
Hybrid/Powertrain: The 2.4 engine is the spec and is there any consideration about opening up the MGU to development? Or you could keep the 2.4 open for the first few years and keep the hybrid spec, and eventually open that up as well. Honda seems to want open development on the MGU side rather than the engine.
Are there any parts of this car that could be opened up for development without spending a lot of money and would have a positive effect on everyone?
Perry, Georgia, Derek M.
MP: Flexible Wings – Since IndyCar drivers tend to have a lot of driver-to-driver contact, I think robust wing structures are here to stay in favor of thinner, lighter, flexible wing elements that will be trash by the time street racing is over.
Engine/Hybrid – There has been a lot of discussion about going mostly or full spec on the internal combustion side to open up the energy recovery side for play and personal expression (this will be a focus in several upcoming IndyCar 2028 articles). The final decision overturned that notion. It is unclear whether ERS will open in the future.
I’ve spent many hours thinking about it in order to continue to develop and launch unique solutions that enable measurable differentiation for manufacturers and teams. Open shocks are no longer necessary due to cost. Open aerodynamics was attempted from 2015 to 2017, and the manufacturer wasted a large amount of cash while producing no meaningful growth for the series in TV ratings or ticket sales, and with no known increase in vehicle sales. Therefore, it only brings bad memories financially. The wheels are specs. Aero is spec. The engine is a 2.4 liter V6. ERS is a specification. Gearbox is spec. Electronic equipment is subject to specifications.
I’m not sure what else to consider to not be fixed as a spec and leave it open to bring real personality and difference without a huge price tag. Maybe a Mailbag reader can help me with some ideas I’m missing.
Q: Indy car pit reporter Mt. Rushmore. I have to go with John Beekhouse, Gary Gerard, Calvin Fish, and Kevin Lee. What do you think?
Ed, Jersey
MP: That’s a strong vote. But it would be incomplete without Jacques Alto.
Q: I think the chances of Penske Entertainment doing this are slim to none, but I’ve been a proponent for some time of allowing “special” entries into the Indy 500, along the lines of the general idea of Garage 56 for the Le Mans 24 race, as a way to allow innovation in a very controlled way.
Years ago, this would have been a fun and practical way to explore the delta wing concept (without having to build an entire fleet). In the current case, IMS would notify JR Hildebrand ( Blackbird 66Mk.1 ) and Laura (DGR-Roller FE car) If you can find a way to build a concept car, you’re welcome to enter the Indy 500 as a “special” entry, provided, of course, that you qualify as one of the fastest 33 cars squarely.
This will give us a chance to qualify this weekend Really This is interesting for the wider motorsport world as well (who wouldn’t want to see a 66Mk.1-wrapping IMS sprinting at full speed on a warm day in May? Or how a super-modified FE car would do to qualify for Indy?)
It also allows for a glimpse of innovation while preventing an air arms race where current NTT IndyCar Series teams build and modify their own chassis. It also has the built-in excuse that if one of these Garage 56-esque entries performed exceptionally well against the established IndyCar Dallara formula, they were a “special” entry that was allowed to play outside the rules.
Is there a possibility that IMS and IndyCar will allow non-concept cars to be shown at events?
Nick, Wisconsin
MP: You have to start with the “things that everyone would complain about” part and work backwards towards the answer. This doesn’t require much to reach a conclusion. Every team owner and engine supplier would lose their mind thinking that a “gasoline alley 34” entry would lap faster than their car or engine, display the sponsors paying the most money or the bulk of the season, and/or attract more media attention than seen at Indy, even if the special entry wasn’t faster over the course of a single lap.
That’s a 100 percent downside for the teams and everyone on the competition side (this is thinking from the series side) unless the GA34 machines choke and get sucked in and bring embarrassment to the event.
The spirit of innovation and trying to beat each other with different and better cars has long since disappeared among most IndyCar team owners. Everyone was scared of not being equal, and once that fear was removed by specifying almost everything, there was never any chance of going back to the old ways of competing different chassis models with different engines and different tire brands.
33 It would be a lot of fun to see a Blackbird 66 Mk.1 in the field, but it would also be very unrealistic. Image by Patrick Fallwetter
Q: I have been lurking for many years, but this is my first time calling. For all the talk surrounding full-time entry into the 2026 IndyCar season (and neighbors and only one seat left open), little has been said about additional Indy 500 entries. Any news from DRR (who was very successful last year) or teams that may make additional entries?
Dave Lundin, Woodridge, Illinois
MP: DRR will be two cars again. The only question is who will replace Ryan Hunter-Reay. Daley is an obvious name to get back there and try to win. We know Andretti has an extra car and Arrow McLaren has an RHR. Last time I asked, Ganassi had no intention of building any additional cars, and Foyt was reluctant to do so while partnered with Penske. Carpenter will return as a 500 entry, with Castroneves also returning along with Meyer Shank. Sato will return to RLL. There are several other names I’ve heard of as potential 500 participants, but PREMA is leading the charge due to engine availability.
If they were participating, the entry list would reflect what was in May, and we have only heard that they are participating. But if not, it could be interesting.
Q: Do manufacturers participating in IMSA pay a fee to compete and will they receive more coverage via the Internet? I don’t have internet access, so I missed most of the IMSA coverage last year. Which is a shame because I think it’s the best series in America right now.
rob
MP: At the beginning of the DPi era in 2017, annual marketing and promotion fees were mandatory, but I am not aware of any changes since then. The annual minimum per manufacturer is rumored to be $1 million.
Yes, every race series is getting more and more coverage via the internet. I also just realized that I have no idea how this was sent or what the response looks like if I don’t have internet access.
Q: Imagine the next great open-wheel racer suddenly grows up. All of a sudden, they’re 6’10” tall. Will they fit in an IndyCar or F1 cockpit? Will the cars suddenly become longer and taller drivers have to go elsewhere?
Isaac, Fruitport, Michigan
MP: Sizing is easy. For those who lived in apartments and homes from the 1920s and 1930s, trying to navigate hallways or slip through doorframes is a reminder of how small the average was compared to us today. So do many classic race cars. If most drivers were to be NBA size, there would be a change as there is currently no place for them in any series.
Q: Based only on intuition and hearsay. As NASCAR’s case continues, what are the chances we’ll hear that IndyCar’s restrictions on oval racing are part of NASCAR’s antitrust efforts?
Sean, Maryland
MP: I don’t know if a lawsuit is necessary to answer this question.
NASCAR has long kept IndyCar off the oval, with some exceptions. We ended up paying IndyCar to rent Iowa Speedway, which had just finished. WWTR/Gateway is privately owned by Curtis Francois. The Milwaukee Mile is owned and operated by Wisconsin State Fair Parks. Nashville Speedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports. IndyCar’s return to Phoenix Raceway, a NASCAR-owned track that will be the only circuit of its kind in the series in 2026, will be conducted through FOX Sports, facilitating quick in and out Friday through Saturday Cup weekends.
I covered the Grand Am race many years ago during the NASCAR Cup summer race at Daytona. IndyCar won’t have to deal with that issue in Phoenix, as Cup and other series competed on ovals during the same event, and Guam used rovals, a strange turn of events, but the feeling of being an irrelevant member of the race weekend has always existed on Guam. I was in and out until Saturday and no one cared. And Guam is back to headline its own event. Let’s see how IndyCar fares on the NASCAR Phoenix undercard in March…
Q: I know they are waiting for another engine supplier to join IndyCar with hybrid technology, but will Honda join or will they leave? Toyota currently sponsors Haas in F1 without supplying a powerplant, DRS has been scrapped, and the PTP version now has more battery power. When are you going to stop this nonsense?
I’m all for ways to slow or stop global warming, but we’re talking about the most advanced racing cars in the world. Watch YouTube and go back to IndyCar and F1 racing in the ’90s, close your eyes and listen to the sounds of V10s and turbo V8s screaming on the track. This is what racing is all about.
We need to get this back somehow, and the sooner the better. The hollowed-out lands of Indianapolis and Monza need to hear this voice, not the noise of Singer’s sewing machine buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing.
Joe, LA
MP: I like the idea of breaking Honda news in a mailbag. If I get an answer, I will share it.
No need to heavily rehash what I’ve written many times, but yes, I’d like to see and hear something bigger and better, provided IndyCar’s engine suppliers don’t require hybrids or small-displacement turbo V6s as a condition of participation.
At best, Chevrolet gives the impression of being uninterested in hybridizing IndyCar, and we know Bowtie likes naturally aspirated motors. Honda is known for its love of small turbos and hybrids. No one knows what the new manufacturer will want.
But if a third installment comes along and supports what Chevrolet may want, Penske Entertainment could change direction without risking becoming a single-manufacturer series.
Q: It has been reported several times that IndyCar leaders want to reduce participation to 25 cars if PREMA is disbanded. Any explanation as to why? 25 vs. 27 vehicles doesn’t seem to dramatically change the operating costs of the series.
I also think Sting Ray Rob gets a lot of unfair treatment from IndyCar fans. His performance was essentially the same as Louis Foster and Nolan Siegel, both of whom had much better cars than him. Sting Ray was only 80 points behind the much more experienced Daley (the same point difference that was between Herta and Dixon this year). Rob is probably not a future champion, but neither should he be the face of paid drivers in IndyCar.
Will, Indy
MP: There are many motivations for downsizing the field. In conversations with team owners, Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles puts the number at 22, driven in theory by seeking higher quality entries and more value/exclusivity with fewer entries. Some team owners are seeking it to increase the value of their charters.
Stingray, come on, come on. He has outperformed other paid drivers such as Benjamin Pedersen and Jacob Abel in three seasons, but is the only paid driver to achieve a 20th place finish.th The ranking was lower than that for all three years. If Pedersen, Abel and Devlin DeFrancesco had the same three-year tenure, I can understand the argument that one of them would be the face of the paid driver, but he’s the only constant throughout that period. Siegel was fair game as far as similarities, but the mention of Foster beats me.
Q: Will the NASCAR settlement affect IndyCar regarding the charter system?
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, California
MP: That’s a great question. Nothing for now, but IndyCar team owners will be thinking a lot about the future.
last word
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, December 17, 2014
Q: If you could have an exclusive 20-minute interview with Bernie Ecclestone, what would you ask him?
Mark, Orange County, California
Robin Miller: I think I called him at his house in the middle of the night in 1979 and asked him if he remembered waking him up and asking him questions about Porsches, but he refused to answer and hung up on me. Then I would ask him (although he had to use a polygraph) how much he was afraid of CART when Old Man Nige defected in 1993.
