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: My friend Rob and I were discussing the new F1 cars that will be hitting the tracks early next year. Rob thought it was worth considering a hybrid four-wheel drive setup with an electric power unit (EPU) at the front and an ICU driving the rear axle.
The 2026 F1 design is set, but could a four-wheel system still be considered for Dallara’s next specification IndyCar? The front EPU is one or two spec units (one for each wheel) from one or up to two vendors that can harvest energy. The rear ICU will continue to be Chevrolet, Honda, and hopefully a third automatic manufacturer.
The four-wheel drive system is innovative, improving the vehicle’s weight distribution and increasing traction, especially in wet weather.
I’d be interested to know what you and other mailbaggers think about this idea.
david, pittsburgh
Marshall Pruett: This was the drive layout for most of the great WEC LMP1 hybrids that blew our minds in the 2010s. A powerful gasoline or diesel engine develops 500-600 horsepower in the rear, and a large motor-generator unit in the front develops 500-700 horsepower, making the P1 Hybrid all-wheel drive. Watching them explode out of corners at Le Mans was a religious experience.
However, the MGU and axle that extended outboard of the front wheel were housed in a prototype chassis that was probably two to three times as wide as the one that came with the Dallara DW12 or IR28. Great idea, but it was the wrong type of car. Adding over 100 pounds of AWD weight to your next car is another issue that can’t be ignored, even if there is a way to make it fit.
Q: Can you give me some technical insight as to why IndyCar stopped staggered driving? I’m too old to remember.
Abraham Zimroth, Staten Island, New York
MP: The stagger is still in use. Firestone oval tires, especially the Indy 500, have staggers designed to help the car roll. The difference from the old days is that the wobble is fixed. Decades ago, old tire manufacturing methods allowed teams to overinflate oval tires and stretch and stretch the rubber on the right side to increase diameter or make them staggered, but modern materials and manufacturing techniques have changed that. You can inflate today’s tires like balloons, leave them in the hot sun for hours to inflate them, come back, measure their diameter, and be completely disappointed with the results.
Q: What are the current prospects for Prema Racing to return to IndyCar in the 2026 season?
Tom Fitzgerald, Las Vegas, Nevada
MP: That’s confusing. And getting old.
PREMA Racing CEO Piers Phillips recently spoke to our acquaintances about the new investment being accepted and the team continuing into 2026. If that’s accurate, it would seem like something worth sharing. No matter how many times I called, no answer. I checked with IndyCar leadership and they said they have not received any communication from the team about answering the bell in St. Petersburg on March 1st. Chevrolet is believed to have engines ready and waiting, and PREMA is listed as a participant in two large group tests in February.
Unless I’ve missed it, I don’t think PREMA has used their social channels to post anything about their top global program with IndyCar since the season finale to conclude August, but December 31st is fast approaching. If you think that’s an effective communication strategy, you’ll have to hit me over the head to understand it.
Meanwhile, every other team has stumbled in their own efforts to maintain the interest of their fans and IndyCar’s broader fan base during a brutally long six-month offseason. IndyCar media days, in which all full-time drivers must appear, are set for January 27th and 28th. Prema’s complete absence from IndyCar will either be resolved in advance in a positive way, or it won’t be.
They were a different and slightly more isolated addition to the paddock last season, with a heavy European/Italian vibe mixed with familiar IndyCar veterans. Robert Schwartzman’s Indy 500 pole win was one of the biggest moments of the year. Rumor has it that $40 million to $50 million was spent getting ready and completing 21.cent and 24th in the championship.
I’d love to have them back because it would be the best thing for IndyCar and would show that new teams don’t tend to collapse or disappear after one season, but I’ve seen dozens of teams come and go over the years. If they’re in it, they’re in it, and if they’re not, we’re still going to keep the event going and celebrate those who are participating and keeping the show going.
Q: Who will be the new IndyCar driver in 2026?
Chris Fiegler, Latham, New York
MP: Caio Colletto, 2025 Indy NXT runner-up at Foyt. Coin Indy NXT Champion Dennis Hauger. Mick Schumacher (RLL) was an F2 champion and a Haas F1 driver for two years. Watch as Coyne lands in car number 2, the last empty seat in the series. We’ve heard for quite some time that Romain Grosjean might be back, but it’s been so long and unconfirmed that we’re no longer sure it’s a certainty.
IndyCar fans have a strong rookie division to look forward to in 2026. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Q: I’ve been an IndyCar fan of all eras (except IRL) for decades, but unlike many other fans, I like this one from 2012 to 2025 the best. It would have been perfect if they had raced different spec CART cars.
My question is related to the announcement of the IR28 car, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the wheels and suspension are the same. I was hoping for a move towards improving the car’s mechanical grip as one of the options to make the car faster in corners, but I’m interested in your opinion on why these chassis parts weren’t changed?
Would a new suspension with larger wheels increase costs beyond an acceptable level? Were the wheel dimensions specified by Firestone?
marigold, croatia
MP: Having the hybrid reduced the cornering speed because of its weight and its effect on weight distribution and tire usage, but I don’t know. The DW12’s road and street course lap times are measured by cornering speed, not big, bold speeds on the straights. This car has plenty of mechanical grip. There is certainly potential for improvement, but when it comes to how current cars generate pace, to understand where the DW12’s speed is generated, you have to look at the corner entry/apex/corner off sequence. These cars were fast on the straights, but they weren’t like the CART-era missiles that wowed us, and they weren’t always able to maintain and use that speed once they got to the corners.
Hitting a target with IR28 reduces weight by 80 to 100 pounds and increases horsepower by 100. According to the series, downforce should be similar. The first two items help make the car faster on straights and corners, but the latter doesn’t help maintain that speed once you turn the steering wheel.
Q: Read INDYCAR 2028 ENGINE ARTICLE And there were some interesting points from the comments that got me interested in a few things…
By 2028, Honda will have a 2.4-liter V6 engine in IMSA, which will be the equivalent of almost 10 seasons in IndyCar (one season in IndyCar is almost two seasons, right?). So if new OEMs won’t join the 2.2 liter formula because of their experience with Honda and Chevrolet engines, why would they join the 2.4 liter formula?Honda will be miles ahead of Chevrolet. So why does IndyCar insist on this method?
From the December 17th mailbag:
“Chevrolet gives the impression of being uninterested in IndyCar hybridization at best, but we know Bowtie loves naturally aspirated motors. Honda is known for its love of small turbos and hybrids. You never know what the emerging manufacturer will want.”
But if a third installment comes along and supports what I think Chevrolet would want, Penske Entertainment could change direction without risking becoming a single-manufacturer series. ”
What is Chevrolet aiming for?
This response made me wonder…couldn’t IndyCar just roll back to the beginning of the current rule cycle when they allowed different engines?I mean, it’s been 25 years now, so we should know more than we knew back in 10 years when the regulations were planned. Could we convince Toyota and Nissan to bring their GT500 engines to ICS with fuel flow and torque limits to keep the current engines at 650 horsepower? Fits small open wheel cars (I think it’s an inline 4 cylinder). Well, it would take a very good salesman to convince Nissan to come on board in its current financial situation, but Nissan has that engine.
It’s not a huge IMSA engine. Current IndyCar rules originally allowed that. So why not?
William Mazzeo
MP: It’s all very interesting. I’ve heard that the nearly completed 2028 engine regulations will not simply be a continuation of the regulations under which Honda/Acura made the 2.4 TTV6 used in IMSA GTP. I expect it to be close to that in many ways, but as I’ve characterized it, the 2028 2.4 will require an all-new design and all-new manufacturing.
If things change and it becomes a case of Honda Racing Corporation US and Team Chevy/Ilmor making some tweaks to the existing 2.4 they stock, then certainly there will be obvious concerns about HRC having a huge knowledge base as an advantage. But IndyCar and Chevrolet also know that and don’t want it to become a reality, so that’s where the plans for the all-new motor come from.
The rest of the things you brought up are what I hope Penske Entertainment is asking itself at this very moment. If you have a chevrolet and Honda is ready to bring back and support the hybrid 2.4 TTV6 formula, and that’s what the series needs to follow as long as at least one of these two requests it.
But as I wrote last week, if it’s just Chevrolet, and we know they’ll be racing small turbo V6 hybrids in F1 starting in 2026 (under the Cadillac banner, using leased Ferrari engines until their own motors are perfected), we’re months away from IndyCar becoming GM’s second, much smaller open-wheel series to compete with the small TTV6. In other words, in 2026, IndyCar’s engine formula, and its planned engine formula in 2028, will no longer be unique to GM.
Looking elsewhere, GM is sticking with non-turbo V8s across two classes in NASCAR and IMSA: the GTP and hybrid Cadillac V-Series.R and the Chevrolet Corvette’s GTD. Hybrid GTPs and Corvettes also race worldwide in the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To put it all together, GM’s unique identity covers all of the promotional bases on display in NASCAR, domestic and international sports car racing, and international open-wheel racing, which has three very popular races in the United States and five races on a slightly larger regional scale, including F1 races in Canada and Mexico.
It seems to me that GM’s gradual version change from a hybrid 2.2 TTV6 to a hybrid 2.4 TTV6 in its local open-wheel series could get lost in marketing discussion. There is no doubt that IndyCar is at a crossroads in deciding what it wants to do with the auto industry. No manufacturer seems to be waiting to start development on 2.4, so I’m not sure it’s in the best interest to stick with that plan.
No one will like it, but the IR28 is designed to accept a 2.2 in the engine bay. I would be surprised if the first tests of the IR28 were not done with current motors. So even if IndyCar chooses to rethink its next-generation engine formula and delay bringing them online until 2029 or 2030, that won’t prevent the new cars from coming into production.
If I’m called to go a different route, one that’s more exciting to the ears and will garner real interest from the auto industry, I’ll be happy to wait until I’m ready to do that.
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If needed, today’s engines could fit right into a 2028 car. Matt Flavor/Penske Entertainment
Q: I wrote to you about a year ago asking if IndyCar had any plans to sell diecasts and merchandise at big box stores, given that F1 and IMSA/WEC have a good presence in my local Target and Walmart. As IndyCar begins to roll out plans for its 2028 car, I’m once again wondering if major retailers are part of the plan to sell the new formula. Has there been any progress in this regard? I imagine it might be even harder to get a deal with Hot Wheels now that they’re so deeply entrenched in F1, but a partnership like this would be a really good way to introduce the series to a younger audience that’s already interested in cars.
Pat M
MP: I’ll ask next time I talk to the series, but I haven’t heard anything significant along the way.
Q: Season’s greetings and thank you to all the RACER staff. Thank you very much for your efforts. The Mailbag is the first article I read every Wednesday morning. I admire its candor and love the fact that Miller is still remembered.
We hope you all have a fun vacation with your family and friends.
Tom Patrick, Baja California
MP: Tom, thank you for sending it to me. Most weeks, Mailbag receives 5-10 stories’ worth of words and responses. It takes a tremendous amount of time for contributors and editors to edit, but it’s always a source of motivation to see Old Man Miller looking up at us and flipping two birds.
I hope you enjoy your holidays too.
Question: Answer Recent Newsweek Articles (September 28) features Brad Keselowski on how OEM involvement is holding back NASCAR competition. Is there a similar feeling within IndyCar and the team?Keselowski has suggested adding more manufacturers, but IndyCar is having a hard time attracting new manufacturers. With engine development largely stagnant for over a decade and no new OEMs coming on board, how certain do you think IndyCar will end engine competition, as was the reported case with dampers?The current series formula appears to be fundamentally flawed. The idea of increasing competition by tightening regulations and reducing competition for development seems at odds with the health of the sport. What do you think?
Craig, Newport Beach
MP: There are no plans to abolish engine competition. That’s IndyCar’s biggest fear. Roger Penske is one of the world’s largest car dealers and has more ties to the entire auto industry than any other person I can think of on the planet.
It would be a huge shame for his series to be rejected by the industry, or lose the competition with only one manufacturer supplying the engines. Keselowski makes some interesting points, but they are very specific to NASCAR. I didn’t see many similarities with IndyCar in this article.
We’ve already touched on this once or twice, but the most important topic here is about the auto industry and whether any car company finds the IndyCar Series enough to be an attractive place to spend a lot of money on racing, sell a lot of cars as a result, burnish a reputation, achieve certain marketing goals, or all of the above. The question is about the engine and formula, but that’s secondary to the larger topic.
When the Indy Racing League transformed into the IndyCar Series in 2005 and added road/street racing to the former all-oval calendar, Chevrolet, Honda, and Toyota were involved as official and major partners/suppliers. In 2006, Chevrolet and Toyota disappeared, leaving Honda as the sole supplier of 3.0-liter non-turbo V8 purebred racing engines.
From 2006 to 2011 it was a spec series run by Honda, and in Champ Car, the former CART IndyCar series lost several manufacturers and ran as a spec series run by Cosworth with a Ford badge from 2003 to 2006, and held a farewell season in 2007 with Cosworth without a badge.
The new 2.2-liter TTV6 IndyCar Formula arrived in 2012, with Chevrolet going back to Honda with Lotus, who hired the Judd family for a penny to build the engine.
Lotus left after one season and from 2013 onwards it was all Chevrolet and Honda. When the 2026 season begins, it will reach 14 seasons.th As the season for IndyCar’s two-brand engine supply becomes a reality, we need to take an honest look at what the story has been for domestic and foreign car companies this century.
CART had three brands until 2002, then reverted to one brand and remained firmly involved until its demise later in the decade. IRL/IndyCar was held three times until 2005, once until 2011, and three times in 2012, twice over almost a decade and a half.
These motors have the roar of a 2.65-liter turbo V8, the whine of a non-turbo V8, or whatever you call the sound of today’s 2.2 TTV6. They come in different sizes, different numbers of cylinders, different types of air introduction, and more recently have become hybrids. Furthermore, the average number of participants in the global automobile industry has remained between one and two brands for the longest period since the beginning of this century.
Given this variety and the very limited presence of brands other than Chevrolet and Honda, I don’t think the size and type of motor matters. Creating more attractive products that more brands believe will allow them to differentiate themselves in the sport, improve their reputation and increase value through vehicle sales is where the first fix is needed.
GM/Cadillac isn’t heading to F1 to try racing small turbo V6 hybrids. That’s old news. It’s everything else that brings GM and the crazy budget to F1. Meanwhile, Chevrolet does not have a deal to remain in IndyCar beyond 2026. It’s not just the engine, it’s the entire value the series offers.
Q: Sorry if I missed it with all the different articles about the new IndyCar engine formula, but has it been decided whether the push-to-pass system on road and street courses will still be in effect in 2028?
Don, Indianapolis, Indiana
MP: No worries. it is. The question is, is it P2P with additional turbo boost, hybrid electric boost, both, or just hybrid?
IndyCar steering wheels will continue to feature push-to-pass buttons starting in 2028, but how that system will work has yet to be determined. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Q: Would Chevrolet and Honda really leave if the 2028 model year had a non-hybrid V8 turbo? – And should we care?
When you go on YouTube and see videos about sports cars or pre-2000 Indy cars or F1 cars, what are they discussing? Well, sounds and visceral experiences. Whether it’s the Cosworth Turbo V8, F1 V10, Jaguar XJR16, Mazda 787, or the new Corvette Z06, the sound is sure to turn heads.
If IndyCar focused only on product, manufacturers would come to join them. Instead, they let the dog wag its tail and always end up on the back foot. On the other hand, a fully-specified vehicle, like a tractor with an electric motor, will be built, no one will ever see or experience it, and in a few years it will be completely meaningless.
The next formula is still V6, so now is the perfect time to step up in F1. I’d really like to see manufacturers step in and be part of an experience where fans come closer to the fence to see things they don’t normally get to experience.
Loss in the short term, gain in the long term.
brandon
MP: Well, if you don’t want to build and race an engine you don’t like or doesn’t suit your promotional needs, you’ll quit either. As for whether we should be concerned about it, it’s a question of whether we want more or less IndyCar. Manufacturers pay for many of the races held through the millions of dollars they receive from the series, sponsoring events and supporting the development of cars, safety equipment, drivers and teams through a variety of financial means.
Make sure you fully understand the passionate position you are speaking from. we share the same opinion. But from a business perspective, most brands don’t decide where to race or what to race based on what satisfies their fans. Brand I’m sure they should, but they’re in business to make money and achieve the goals they set to meet their financial projections.
Subaru, whose car ads feature dogs, may be the only brand where DGAF is doing more than selling cars by creating smiles. However, they do not exist in F1/IMSA/IndyCar/NASCAR, where race programs attract attention.
Want a reason to fall in love with the sound and speed of IndyCars like you used to, or when you saw Colton Herta angrily drive his father’s 1999 Raynard Ford/Cosworth Kart IndyCar? We also hope that those sentiments will drive engine formula decisions within IndyCar today and encourage more car companies to join the series and make everyone happy.
Q: A few things: First, about Marshall. please say that‘That’s right. IndyCar’s BoP? Regardless of how much it goes against IndyCar’s history, how can you do that without politics and controversy? Has everyone forgotten about the CART era pop-off valve and spacer controversy? Or is there strong pressure from the team to discontinue the aero kit?
Furthermore, considering the ROI;‘Isn’t this system almost self-limiting? IndyCar has had an unprecedented 20-year balance of power, with Chevrolet and Honda competing almost evenly, because neither was prepared to spend huge sums of money to gain a huge advantage. That’s nice‘More worryingly, since neither team has a contract beyond next season, will they be unable to find an engine supplier at all? that‘It remains to be seen what the plans for 2027 will be.
Second, Chris, I’m sure there’s a lot to say as a post-mortem about the return of the ground effects formula, but there’s one thing that still keeps bothering me. At the start of the Formula, Ferrari and Mercedes broke from the consensus design approach and tried their own way. It failed. And more importantly, the two teams never caught up. How did this happen? A side effect of the cost cap? As a side effect of the longer season, design work was postponed to the following year.‘Did his car have to start in the middle of this season? You can always blame Ferrari’s revolving-door engineering department for its woes, but it wasn’t that kind of instability that plagued Mercedes. With massive changes in store in 2026, should we fear a repeat?
Al, Boston
MP: Chevy and Honda have spent a ton of money trying to gain an edge, so let me first dispel the idea that they haven’t. The idea of using BoP to bring underperforming engines to competitive status is part of efforts to win contracts for both brands and others. Instead of spending big bucks on R&D to get things out of the way, adding an extra turbo boost or performance-enhancing allowance could save a lot of money and keep the brand competitive.
If you think back to the pop-off valves that tuned turbo engines back in the CART IndyCar Series days, BoP is exactly what the series used, it just didn’t have the BoP name on it, to take power away or boost different brands when they were doing really well or struggling. At the time, measurements were in inches of mercury, and cars like Buick, Chevrolet, Judd, and Ford/Cosworth throttled or released power through series-defined pop-off valve settings.
After Roger Penske wowed everyone with his 209c.i. at the 1994 Indy 500, the Ilmor Turbo V8, the motor’s turbo boost, was cut back in 1995 and he withdrew from the engine program. It’s 100% BoP and that’s gone now that “The Beast” is balanced and no longer competitive. And it happened.
The spirit of what is being considered for 2028 is to adjust the balance upward, if and only if necessary, to make the series more affordable for car companies that are seriously concerned about the state of the industry and have the benefit and reason to continue spending on their racing programs. If this cost-saving BoP application helps ease their fears, I’m all for it.
And if the auto industry were flush with cash and didn’t have to worry about receiving all the money they needed to play in IndyCar, I would yell at IndyCar for even considering something like this. But that’s not the reality we live in.
Chris Medland: I don’t think it’s about these two teams, it’s about the fact that all teams still face the same limitations and which one has best circumvented them. Look at Red Bull, for example. Although it boasted absolute superiority in 2023 and the first half of 2024, it reached its limit with floor design and vehicle height concept.
Previously, Red Bull was able to get performance from a higher ride height, but other manufacturers struggled to bounce back, but as rivals, namely McLaren, started looking for ways to get performance from the floor with a lower ride height, Red Bull was caught up. It wasn’t until we adapted later this year that we were truly competitive again.
Ferrari had a good concept at the beginning of 2022 and outperformed Red Bull (and others) in the second half of the season in 2024, but they had the suspension concept wrong last season and were trying to come back.
Without major regulation changes, I think we would have seen Mercedes catch up more, but while Red Bull could identify a way to make big profits in 2025, given next year’s power unit situation they only had a realistic chance of winning the title for a few more seasons, while Mercedes and Ferrari were so far behind McLaren at the start of the year that they couldn’t justify the development investment so close to a new car.
I’m not afraid of the same thing happening in 2026, but I’m still leaning towards a McLaren with the same power unit likely outperforming a Mercedes given its recent shape. But I think Mercedes will be closer to McLaren.
The gap that McLaren built early in the season helped several other teams slow down their development during the season and switch their focus to the 2026 regulations. Sam Bagnall/Getty Images
Q: I’m a little curious as to why F1 uses batteries for its hybrid system instead of using capacitors like IndyCar? I think capacitors are much lighter, take up less space, and are easier to package than batteries. Any thoughts?
john
CM: I admit this is just an opinion. I think I haven’t had this explained to me at all, but I’m sure it’s related to something more relevant to manufacturers and technology that might be adopted in road vehicles. I also believe that for F1 to get the kind of performance they want from a hybrid system, the capacitors will actually take up more space. Even if power is delivered quickly, capacitors cannot hold as much energy as batteries. The regulations encourage manufacturers to pursue improvements in battery technology to provide faster bursts of energy with smaller, lighter batteries.
Q: The 2026 F1 regulations have been announced. Like DRS, the new registry only requires a 1 second gap. Therefore, you may be able to gain additional power on each lap. indy car‘■ Push-to-pass requires strategy. These new F1 registrations are‘t. I was also hoping that F1 had recently moved the qualifying timing line to before the pits in response to constant complaints from drivers about being bus-stopped by slower cars during qualifying, allowing drivers to pit right away and not having to do a slow lap and hold others back.
moreover,‘Would splitting Q1 and Q2 into two groups significantly reduce balks and shorten the session as there would be fewer cars on the track? The Q1 groups were two groups of 11 people, of which 7 passed. So Q2 with 7 machines in each group and 5 passing from each group. Seems perfectly reasonable to me, but that’s exactly why the FIA won‘It doesn’t. can‘I can’t imagine what Monaco qualifying will be like with 22 cars.‘t.
Mike Talarico, Charlotte
CM: Yes, the regulations are complicated, but there is also a push-to-pass style power option called Boost Mode. This is exactly the same as the previous ERS deployment, available to drivers separately from the overtaking mode (similar to DRS, as rightly pointed out). So you effectively get both a DRS style power boost and a Push to Pass style power boost.
In fact, there are relatively few penalties for obstruction this season, but drivers complain all the time. There may be problems at certain circuits (for example traffic jams in Monaco on narrow circuits, Budapest and Brazil with short laps, and Monza where slipstream is very important), but overall I don’t think the two extra cars will be a big problem.
In 2010-12, the current format had 24 cars on the grid and fewer rules regarding maximum lap times, such as safer speed differences, than before. This means there is likely to be an even longer delay in Q1 as each car emerges from the pits. There will be 22 cars participating, and 6 cars each will be eliminated in Q1 and Q2, so by Q2 there will only be one more car than usual, and Q3 will be the usual top 10.
Nevertheless, I agree that they would like to see the timing line moved to reduce the possibility of traffic problems and speed the cars back to the pits for their next run.
Q: Have you ever had an accident or collision with a car where the DRS did not close?
My question is with the moving bits on a new car and what happens if the front wing doesn’t return to the desired position at the end of the straight line. What will happen?
Jim Doyle, Hoboken, New Jersey
CM: Yes, but the most recent example I remember was a driver error. Jack Doohan entered Turn 1 at Suzuka this year flat. In other words, he wasn’t lifting at all, so the DRS didn’t close automatically and he had a big accident. He reportedly had no trouble doing it in the simulator, but either manually closed the DRS or needed a lift to activate it.
Marcus Ericsson also suffered a serious crash in 2018 when his DRS did not close when he stepped on the brakes on the way into Turn 1 at Monza. It was not an Ericsson issue, it was a mechanical/component failure.
Next year, it is both wings that can be opened to reduce drag on certain straights, so both must be closed at the same time. If that did not happen, the car’s braking performance would be significantly reduced as downforce would be significantly reduced, but the balance should be slightly better since it is both the front and rear wings that are affected. That might reduce the chance of the car spinning out or flying away instantly (which is a DRS issue, since there’s much less downforce in the rear and a normal amount of downforce in the front), but it means that too much speed is needed to take the corner.
last word
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, December 24, 2014
Q: I’ve been a long-time reader and a big fan. It seems like everyone and their dog has an idea on how to better market IndyCar. Isn’t at least part of the problem that they spend so little time racing, that most of the drivers are unknown even among race fans? Old-fashioned people filled their calendars with as many events and official events as possible, not just to hone their skills, but because they really liked it. They were heroes, and much of their acclaim was due to this versatility.
There’s no shortage of talent among the newcomers, but aside from the odd sports car race, there’s no sense of adventure. If you follow their social feeds, you’ll see that they spend tons of time in everything but their cars. Is it really that hard for them to reach out to more World of Outlaws, Midget, SCCA, Late Model, and more TUSCC owners, get seat time in IndyCar, and get noticed?
man morning
Robin Miller: That’s a great point. I saw Jim Hartubiz, Parnelli, and AJ at Terre Haute, Salem, Indiana State Fairgrounds, IRP, and IMS. Not only were they front and center from April to September, they raced 40-50 times, so they were very sharp and versatile. Today’s IndyCar drivers want to run more, but where do they go other than some sports car racing? Plus, most of the paid ones have binding contracts. You can’t even get Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon to play in the Chili Bowl.
