RACER to launch "Marshall Pruett's Racing Tech Mailbag" next week

RACER.com will launch a new regular feature next week that will bring the same Q&A format found in Robin Miller's weekly Mailbag to the technical side of motor racing.Marshall Pruett's Racing Tech Mailbag will open a dialogue with open-wheel and sports car racing fans to look beneath the bodywork and bring answers to your questions about the technology found in some of your favorite cars, race engineering, and some of the strategy and rules that shape the sport.

Pruett made the transition to writing and reporting after spending more than 20 years working as a mechanic, engineer and manager in Indy car racing, IMSA, Grand-Am, and many of their feeder series, and brings that experience to his work at RACER.

"The technology in our sport has always been a particular source of interest and passion," said Pruett, who started out as a racecar mechanic while in high school. "I've followed Formula 1 and charted its changes since the 1980s while Indy cars and sports cars are second nature to me because I've spent so much of my life around them, Rallying is a passion, and I try to stay current on anything else that has four wheels and does more than go around in circles."

A dedicated e-mail address has been created for the Racing Tech Mailbag, PruettsTechMailbag@Racer.com, and Marshall is looking forward to kicking off RACER's latest feature.

"Whether it's the new efficiency-driven P1 regulations or the all-electric Formula E series or even the performance balancing in the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship, the technology, the engineering and even the thought processes involved today deserve a forum where fans can learn more about their favorite series," he added. "We get more and more questions every day about the inner workings of the racing cars featured on RACER.com, and while I can claim to know a lot about most of them, I have a pretty decent network of friends and colleagues who can answer the questions I can't.

"If you're looking for insights on optimal ride heights for Albanian F3 cars, we might not be able to help you, but if it's in the general field of road racing, we should be able to have some fun."

Send your questions to PruettsTechMailbag@Racer.com and help get the conversation started.