The RACER Mailbag, January 5

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for Marshall Pruett or any of RACER’s other writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for style or clarity.

Q: There was some Twitter discussion going on in regard to the Dallara contract extension and if it could offer an A/B chassis option to teams. (I like the idea, but sure cost is the issue). Someone pointed out that in 1990 March had different chassis for the Alfa Romeo team compared to the Porsche team. I always thought this was due to the engines, especially Porsche as they seemed to be radical with virtually everything! Hoping you can offer some insight (and of course there is a unique link here, as Big Al drove the Alfa and the Porsche! I believe he was the only driver to do both).

Brian Burrell

MARSHALL PRUETT: Great opening question to start the new year. As much as I long for the days of having multiple chassis suppliers, today’s IndyCar team owners aren’t receiving the same level of sponsorship funding to feel comfortable with the risks involved with chassis options. The costs are high enough to make sticking with a single chassis the popular choice.

What that means here is if Dallara offered a Type A and a Type B chassis, you’d have a few things taking place: Team owners would ask why all the best ideas weren’t put into a single chassis, because if there’s two options from the same company, both options will be lacking something.

And after that, as we’ve seen in just about every series where there are chassis options, one will stand out as the best all-round choice and that’s where the entire field will migrate the moment it becomes clear. If it’s Type A, all those with Type Bs will be forced to take big financial hits -- since there won’t be a second-hand market of buyers wanting the less competitive Type Bs. And then they’ll need to buy Type As, which will take a while to arrive and force them to lose more races with the Type Bs.

We’ve seen it in the past as March had the upper hand, then Lola, and as Lola began to dominate CART in the late 1980s, March lost most of the market and was gone by the end of 1990. In the 1990s with customer cars, Lola was king until Reynard arrived in 1994, and by 1996, Reynard was the car to have. Fast forward to the early 2000s, and the tides turned again as Lola made a comeback, Reynard fell to second place, and the Lola was the car to have until Champ Car went to a spec Panoz in 2007. In almost every scenario, the most competitive and financially capable teams migrated back and forth, parking the unfavored chassis to buy whichever model established itself as the best of the bunch.

It’s also not too far removed from the 2012 season where there were three engine suppliers, and only two (Chevy and Honda) were quality options. Those who were saddled with the Lotus engines suffered dire consequences, and even for the lucky few who got out of their contracts and moved to Chevy or Honda, most went out of business or left IndyCar or were forced to merge with a bigger team to stay afloat. All because one option was the wrong choice and as a result, poor finishes were guaranteed and sponsors got nervous.

I continue to hope CART-era dollars return so all of the awesome variety we had can return.

A quick closing note on the 1990 Marchs you referenced: The NTT IndyCar Series has two senior staff members in its technical/engineering department. By chance, one of them, Bill Pappas, was involved with the design of the 1990 March commissioned by Alfa Romeo, and the other, Tino Belli, was involved with the 1990 March that Porsche commissioned.

Feels like 100 years ago, doesn't it? And for the teams affected, 2012 probably felt 100 years long. Camden Thrasher/Motorsport Images

Q: When teams run a one-off Indy 500 project, how much funding, either from the driver or by sponsorship dollars, does it take to obtain a seat for a race?

Phillip Schmitz, Dallas/Fort Worth

MP: A few years ago, I’d hear $500,00-600,000 mentioned as a fairly common number. Over the last year or two, I’ve heard it creep closer to $700,000-$750,000 as a starting point for quality teams, and know of one or two teams with Indy-winning histories who’ve pushed that buy-in number to $1 million or so.

Simply put, the days of drivers walking around in Gasoline Alley with half a budget and drawing the interest of an Indy 500 entrant to work out a deal are long gone. Right now, in the first week of January, I know of one-two seats left that are truly open for the highest bidder to take. With Chevy and Honda holding the keys on how many engines leases are made available for the 500, we’ve had the equivalent of IndyCar eBay for quite a while.

Q: How can you say Max was a deserving champion when Hamilton had his measure all race long until Masi changed the rules? Your bias shows and hurts your credibility.

Tom Strongman

MP: Because the championship is settled over an entire season. If that’s something I’m telling you for the first time, we’ve got bigger problems to fix. If you’d bothered to read or listen to all I offered on the topic, you’d know that I’m no fan of Max and have been a big Lewis fan since his F3 days. And while that’s the case on a personal level, none of that matters when I’m at work.

From the first race of 2021 to the last, Max was better, and when the title decider is a contentious one like we had, I’m not going to blindly throw my support behind my favorite F1 driver who lost, so save the bias/credibility nonsense for someone who cares. I’m not the one.

Q: I just finished watching a rewind of the 2019 Texas Motor Speedway race on IndyCar.com. While this race was not the pack racing that once dominated racing at this track, it was a very competitive race with lots of passing. Probably better than pack racing.

Because I am an IndyCar fan who enjoys the ovals more than street or road courses, I made my first trip to Texas Motor Speedway for the two IndyCar races in 2021. I wanted to see the track and support oval IndyCar racing. I live in Indiana, so the expense to fly to Texas, hotel, ground transportation, tickets etc., is not a small amount of money for most of us race fans.

I was very impressed with the facility, however, due to the compound laid down a couple of years ago for NASCAR, the racing was a big disappointment. It was virtually impossible for two cars to run side by side in the corners.

From what I have read on RACER.com in the past, it is my understanding that some work was done by Firestone and IndyCar to try and address this issue. However previous efforts have failed to make racing at this facility any better. Will anything be different for the 2022 race at Texas? As much as I would like to support IndyCar oval racing, I cannot justify the expense to attend in the future based on last year’s show.

On a positive note, I attended the IndyCar race at Road America this year and was pleasantly surprised. I will be back to Road America in 2022.

Bill Oliver

MP: Texas is an amazing facility, no doubt. The little IRL team I worked for finished eighth at the inaugural IndyCar race there in 1997 with Greg Ray, and I’ve been fortunate to watch a lot of amazing open-wheel events take place at TMS.

Before he retired last year, former track president Eddie Gossage confirmed what we’ve known: NASCAR is top priority at TMS, and as long as the stock car folks demand the application of sticky goo to allow their vehicles to use the second lane, Texas will do as they’re told. NASCAR brings in more money than IndyCar.

Since the goo arrived, our racing has gone to hell and there’s no sound reason to believe it will change until it goes away. Save some money and make the trip to Gateway or Iowa, or both, if you’re able.

As the saying goes, "You are your actions." The actions of TMS tell us IndyCar is treated as a second-tier property. Maybe it’s time for IndyCar to choose tracks where -- in terms of quality racing -- its fans have a valid reason to travel and attend.

Q: My question is about broadcast rights for the upcoming IndyCar season in Canada. I believe the last deal with Sportsnet/Rogers was only for 2021, is that correct? I was not able to find any other information via searches.

If that deal is over, I sincerely hope IndyCar will consider alternatives to Rogers (maybe you could help point that out to someone). DAZN already broadcasts IndyCar in over 60 countries, I subscribe during football season and would instantly buy an annual subscription if it were. It is just too expensive to subscribe to Sportsnet if all I will watch on that service is IndyCar. Sportsnet Now+ streaming service costs $35/month ($40.28 with tax) and is the only way to watch all the races in Canada legally.

I would also gladly pay for Peacock... but alas, not available north of the border.

Sadly, I watched only four races last year. I hadn't missed a single race in over 20 years prior.

Jeff R., Prince Edward Island, Canada

MP: I understand the contract runs through 2022, and there’s an obvious hope that having the majority of its races on NBC this season will make it easier for our Canadian brothers and sisters to catch the events on TV.

Only the best NASCAR goo will do at Texas. Gavin Baker/Motorsport Images

Q: Seeing as I am writing this Xmas morning, it’s time to unbox my thoughts.

I am incredibly disheartened with the final outcome of the F1 season. Being someone who is intimately involved in racing where our team took another track championship this year -- our third at our home track in the northeast U.S. – you come to learn quite a bit about racing and at times its perplexities. One being that certain variables and unknowns will influence the outcome of a race. Good luck, bad luck, superb driving, bonehead driving, Mother Nature who turns bitch on race day, gray areas in the rules, and at times, such as what we saw in Abu Dhabi, even the officiating can influence the outcome.

What is disheartening? Two things. Not the outcome, but the fact that the victor wasn’t able to fully celebrate his achievement the way a true champion should have been able to. And as a note I’m not a Max V fan and I doubt I will ever be. Second, to snub the awards banquet after you have just played one of the lead roles in the greatest, non-scripted racing reality show is beyond me and unforgivable. But there will be times when you really see the true inner core of someone’s persona when they find themselves in difficult times. And as a note, I was a Lewis H fan – with the emphasis on was!

If F1 was trying to mimic a "let’s finish under green" scenario, I don’t understand how if that mindset and protocol has in the past produced outcomes that suck with other sanctioning bodies, what would make F1 think it wouldn’t suck here, if not more, especially with what was at stake? I guess if one was to try to find some light-hearted comfort, well then, they just made Abu-bu. Live and learn!

Finally, regarding Paul’s comments on the NTT IndyCar piece from a previous Mailbag, my take on the wordsmithing and sloganeering:

Intriguing Never Dull Yielding Championship American Racing – This Is INDYCAR!

And in INDYCAR everyone will show up for the year end awards celebration. You can Banquet on it!

Roger Paul S., Middletown, CT via The Bronx

MP: It was the 2000 Indy 500, my girlfriend flew in for race weekend, bought a new dress for to attend the banquet, and after having a truly s*** race with Davey Hamilton and our TeamXtreme GForce-Oldsmobile (and being sick of the team), I drew her rightful wrath when I decided to skip the event. All I can tell you in hindsight is that it was unfair to her in every way, selfish, and was wrong when it comes to being a good teammate, but none of that changes the fact that in that moment, it was the right decision for me. I was miserable, knew that I would be a dark cloud at the banquet, probably would have consumed too much alcohol and made an ass of myself, and figured the smarter play was to skip it and deal with the consequences.

On a related note, all of the uproar over Mercedes and Hamilton not attending the F1 banquet is such a waste of time. Given all they dealt with in how the title was decided, and the fact they felt they were robbed (doesn’t matter if anyone disagrees with that sentiment; it’s what they believed), I can’t see why anyone would expect them to appear. I’d bet most of the population would make the same move if they were asked to attend an event where they felt they were robbed of something.

So, using your words, is it really "unforgivable?" Of all the real problems in the world, and all the real things that might warrant forgiveness in that world, is a racing team not going to a banquet the one that deserves the energy and hardened heart required in never offering forgiveness?

As for Max not getting his flowers in the manner a new championship should be received, can’t argue that point, other than noting the race ended in total confusion and disharmony for most of the field, the race’s results were protested, and it was one of F1’s most acrimonious days in all the decades I’ve followed. So in there, buried in the fog of race control’s blunders, we didn’t exactly have a new champ pulling onto pit lane with nothing else to talk about.

But, Max is world champion, has been celebrated as such, and that will never change. We should all be so fortunate to experience such things.

Q: Loved the podcast that the Mayor of Hinchtown was on. His answer to your question whether he would have done anything different regarding the ESPN body shoot was very interesting. He said his team encouraged him to do it. I’m still royally PO’d at AMSP for this. Exactly which party should I wish ill on? McLaren, Arrow, Ric, or Sam?

Mike DeQuardo

MP: It’s a new year, so I’ll try to be nice here. The team cut bait with its former PR rep, who bore the brunt of the blame from those who told me how the whole thing went down. Since I wasn’t there to witness it, I can only go off what they said.

Q: It seems that the IndyCar Series is becoming more and more popular with young drivers around the world. Do you know if Nick Cassidy (who defeated Alex Palou in Japan) is in the sights of IndyCar teams? Do you also think that like at the end of the '90s, some young drivers after F2 go through IndyCar before F1? Isn't there a risk that Indy Lights will lose some of its reputation since the drivers going through the F2 are globally more efficient than those of the Indy Lights (due to the stronger competition in Europe)?

Yannick

MP: With Nick’s ties to Toyota and recent move to the lucrative world of Formula E, I’m not sure he’d be open to IndyCar at the moment, but he’d be a worthy driver for teams to consider. I’ve not heard his name mentioned with any serious opportunities.

We’ve always had drivers arrive in CART, Champ Car, and IndyCar by following the American and European open-wheel ladders, so no, there’s no risk of Indy Lights losing its reputation; four of the drivers who finished in the top five in the most recent IndyCar championship reached IndyCar through Indy Lights. In 2020, all four of the top four graduated to IndyCar from Indy Lights, etc. Team hiring a few drivers from F2 or similar doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with Indy Lights.

Q: In the December 15th edition of the Mailbag you mentioned that the late '90s/early '00s CART cars/engines would beat the pants off their F1 counterparts (referencing the Reynard 98i Ford XB combo). Was there a specific reason that CART slapped the pop-off valves on the engines to restrict the horsepower? Was reliability, or something else?

Chris Damato

MP: Mechanical pop-off valves cropped up in the 1970s as a way to regulate turbocharger boost, and therefore, maximum power, which continued through the final seasons of CART and Champ Car through electronic control. We do it today through electronic wastegates.

Without limiting maximum boost, we’d have seen insane horsepower numbers in the 1990s and, since those engine suppliers were already spending a fortune each year, their budgets would have spiraled out of control if boost/power was wide open. The extra costs would have come from finding reliability to go along with the 1200-plus horsepower on tap, which would have sunk CART as manufacturers pulled out due to the untenable costs to compete.

The odd turbocharged American Motors Corporation V8 with its mechanical pop-off valve positioned atop the intake plenum, at the 1979 Indy 500. Marshall Pruett Archives

Q: In IndyCar, we all know Dallara is the sole chassis supplier and the engine manufacturer is a competition between Honda and Chevy. However, I have found it is not quite this straightforward. I have discovered there are some areas where teams can source parts and develop advantages over their teammates, such as suspension and anti-roll bars.

In what areas can teams source parts to seek a competitive advantage, or reap savings, against their competitors?

Richard C. Mattingly

MP: I mean… IndyCar publicly announced these things and we wrote about them, so it’s not like we’ve been keeping them a secret. Click here, here and here to see the list from the IndyCar rule book.

Q: I’ve been a race fan for 40+ years. There’s nothing better than attending a race in person. Multiple sensory experience: sight, smell and sound. I fear a complete transition to electric power units minus that beautiful sound. Marshall, do the powers that be think about this? Are my fears unfounded?

Matt, South Bend, IN

MP: I think we’re safe here. They definitely think about it. Every time I speak with IndyCar president Jay Frye on the subject of electrification, he makes a point to say that he cannot imagine a time when we run without internal combustion engines. Will the series’ next president feel the same way? Can’t say, but as long as Jay’s steering the ship, I’m confident pistons and cranks and turbos will be required.

Q: My 21-year-old son tells me that IndyCar lags far behind F1 and NASCAR on social media -- all of the platforms. One reason for the increased interest in F1 is the "Drive To Survive" series. It can’t be the racing in F1. As Robin said, there were more passes in last year’s Indy 500 that the last 10 years of F1.

My son and I are big IndyCar fans and can’t believe that they are so out of touch. He says they need to hire a social media firm headed by 20-somethings to get with it. IndyCar has the best racing on the planet (except of course midgets and sprints) and it is a shame they can’t capitalize on it. Can you please ask the powers that be to tune up social media and get IndyCar where it belongs?

Big Possum, Northern Michigan

MP: Here’s what I found while looking Monday around 1 p.m. ET: @IndyCar posted five items on Dec. 31. IndyCar posted one item on Jan. 1. IndyCar posted zero items on Jan. 2, and as of my 1 p.m. search on Jan. 3, there were zero as well.

I wouldn’t pretend to know what kind of budget and staff is dedicated to IndyCar’s social media effort. I would suggest, however, that we’ve known for the better part of a decade that social media is an important place to feed and build racing fans, so it’s very old news in that regard.

Like mentioning IndyCar needs its own version of F1’s/Netflix’s "Drive To Survive," it feels like saying "IndyCar needs to do more/do better with social media" has been uttered so many times, it’s growing tiresome to repeat.

Q: Hi Marshall. Thanks for your recent silly season update. Correct this if it's wrong, but I thought that Rossi signed a contract with Honda about the same time as he signed the contract with Andretti, but that the Honda contract was for a longer period? If that's the case, then it seems like a move to Penske, which lots of people seem to speculate about, would be unlikely and CGR, as you suggest, would be much more likely if indeed Alex does decide to make a change.

Via email

MP: Thanks for the note. Staying in the Honda family would be easiest, but it depends, of course, on where the best offer is being made.

If it helps, and without opening the can too far, I’m aware of a factory driver signed to the manufacturer you’ve referenced who bought themselves out of their contract to join a different manufacturer in 2022. Whether the driver or new manufacturer paid the exit bill is up for debate.

Q: Robin always did a nice job of keeping the old-timers in the spotlight and we all enjoyed that. Since you came up through the crew member ranks I'm wondering if you could tell me whatever happened to Owen Snider and Jim Prescott? Jim's story was pretty cool, going from a bricklayer to an accomplished mechanic.

John, Seville, Ohio

MP: Owen has been with Dallara for a while now, and I last saw Jim in August at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion running BMW’s vintage racing fleet for Bobby Rahal.

Q: The IRL must have made a deal with the AIS participants. Several of the teams were entered in the first IRL race at Disney World and maybe some of the other races that year. I think the idea was to increase car count, etc. Don't think any of the AIS cars were actually in the first race. They were underfunded amateur teams with older equipment. Having them in the race would have been similar to when USAC had some Silver Crown cars in the 1981 IndyCar race at Pocono.

Mike Crane

MP: Thanks, Mike.

Q: Since Jimmie Johnson is racing in the IndyCar Series full-time, do you think that he will race in the NASCAR race either in the Xfinity Series race or the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course since there's an IndyCar Series race at the same track that weekend?

Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY

MP: Considering how Jimmie has done 19,403 NASCAR races and is embarking upon his first (and maybe his only) full season in IndyCar, I would be shocked to hear of his adding a distraction to his IndyCar effort on the same weekend in Cup, Xfinity, or any other series.

Jimmie Johnson raced the Brickyard 400 19 times during his Cup career. It's possible that the 'drive a stock car at Indy' fire still burns within him. It's also possible that it doesn't. Matt Thacker/Motorsport Images

Q: With Chip Ganassi having sold his entire NASCAR operations to Trackhouse Racing, will the sponsor Clover join Ganassi in IndyCar, or will it stay with Trackhouse? I remember that in 2019, Clover sponsored Felix Rosenqvist at Mid-Ohio and he finished second behind teammate Scott Dixon. It might’ve been a one-race deal, but I think Clover looked good on the car.

Aaron Cylinder, Media, PA

MP: If Clover’s interest is/was NASCAR, I’d think they’d look to stay in NASCAR.

Q: The letter about the Indy 500 closed circuit broadcasts brought back some memories. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio and the venue was a large auditorium. I was there for the ’64 and ’65 races. I was in high school at the time, and obviously ’64 made a major impression on me: the pomp and circumstance before the race, the fatal crash involving MacDonald and Sachs, and the fact that I had seen fourth-place finisher, Johnny White, run a super modified many times at my hometown track, Toledo Speedway. Sadly he suffered career-ending injuries during a sprint car race later that summer. On balance, it was quite an experience after several years of barricading myself in my room with a transistor radio and listening to Sid Collins and crew. Couldn’t believe that I was actually watching this live! I agree that the photo wasn’t early '60s. There’s a ’64 Chevy parked in front of the theater, so the photo was taken sometime after that.

Sorry to hear about Jesse Alexander. His "At Speed" was the first motorsports book that I bought in ’73 or ’74. Given how his books have appreciated, it is an indication of what people think about his work.

Finally, sometime back I posed this question to Robin Miller: One of the things that set Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton apart is the ability to find that unexpected extra tenth or two in qualifying. Bobby Unser was another one who could do that. So, the question was if anyone else came to mind who could do that. Robin said that on dirt it was Don Branson. Does anyone stand out for you?

Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

MP: How cool, Don; I’m definitely jealous of the theater viewing experience.

Hamilton and qualifying haven’t been best of friends since Verstappen arrived on the scene and Bottas joined him in the other Mercedes. I know he owns the all-time record by a mile, but it’s the one key part of the game that seems to have diminished of late.

On our side in the modern era, most definitely Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden. They’ve been monsters for many, many years, with Power leading the group. Among the three in the last few years, Newgarden stands out as the "need" guy among the three. When one of them really needs the pole, the two-time champ has an uncanny ability to produce that missing tenth or two.

Of the next-generation talent, I’m stating the obvious here with Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward. Those two attack on an average pole run like the world will end if they leave 0.001s on the table.

The thing to look for this season and beyond is how some of the older stars like Power and Dixon are (or aren’t) able to deal with the crazy intensity the young guns bring at all times. It’s harder to drum up the same ferocity for your 300th qualifying session than it is for your 30th. But part of what makes our elder champs so good and so relevant is their ability to find the will at 40 and beyond to fight the Coltons and Patos. Bring on Saturday at St. Pete and what should be another high-stakes assault on P1.

Q: In a recent Mailbag, it was mentioned that an F1 gearbox costs about the same as a complete IndyCar. Why the exorbitant cost, and what makes it different/better than an Xtrac P1011 other than two extra gears?

Steve in NH

MP: It’s not uncommon for F1 teams to partner with an Xtrac (or similar) for the internals, but each team builds (or buys) their own custom gearboxes each season using composites and exotic metals, and they feature extensive uses of electronics; all three areas that differ from IndyCar.

Q: I thought I had read that Josef Newgarden and Will Power were going to race in the SKUSA Karting event recently held in Las Vegas. I was following the event and watched online, but I never saw either of their names come up. Do you know if they attended? If so, what was their reaction to the event, and how did they do?

Tom Corso, Rancho Mirage, CA

MP: They did, and we even have photographic proof, courtesy of Dream Digital, Newgarden’s media company. Josef’s first Supernats, I’m told, left him wanting to return and have a better time. Power, who fared better, reached the LCQ round, but did not advance. Somewhere in there, we might have the reason why both drivers, and IndyCar, made no effort to publicize the results…

Q: This is now twice that a potential U.S. talent almost moved to IndyCar. If it was not for Williams, Logan Sargeant would have been part of A.J. Foyt Racing, forcing Kyle Kirkwood to look elsewhere. It reminded me of the moment Alexander Rossi almost got snatched by Dale Coyne Racing back in 2015. Campos played it smart and wanted to give an American talent a chance to enter Formula 1. But as far as it goes, Coyne let a talent slip away. Now that Rossi has IndyCar commitments, what was Coyne's reactions when Rossi turned down a potential ride that would have placed DCR along the IndyCar titans? I knew it was heartbreaking.

JLS, Chicago, IL

MP: Keep in mind that Alexander didn’t arrive at Dale’s shop with millions in his pockets to spend on IndyCar, and since Coyne does not fund his cars entirely on his own, there wasn’t much to let slip. If Alexander had $3 million and Dale wasn’t interested in signing him, that would have been a mistake. But since that wasn’t the case...

Granted, Dale did get a four-time Champ Car title winner who brought serious engineering talent and co-entrants with funding, so I’m not sure I see the big loss of opportunity here.

I’m pleased to see all that’s developed for Logan, and I’m thankful he didn’t land with Foyt. He would have been the least-developed rookie on the grid, way out of his depth, and those are two things a rebuilding team can’t afford to have. He should, with all that’s coming together via Williams, be able to sharpen his skills and grow in bigger cars in Europe.

Q: I've seen on the RACER website that the TrackPass service is over at the end of the year, and I am aware that it's converting to the Peacock Network. They are not publishing any specifics about how it going to be handled on Peacock -- hopefully, it is the same. They added the Peacock Network to my Xfinity cable package for free, so I already have the network. I went looking for the races and they had some segments, but the races looked incomplete.

IMSA TrackPass was the best $20 bargain in racing: all the races beginning to end and no commercials. How can you beat that? Please tell me that NBC and Peacock are going to keep the package exactly the same, even if I have to pay the extra $5 a month to get rid of the commercials. The Peacock Network interface is not exactly a work of art and efficiency, but I can live with it if I get my IMSA racing.

Tom, Northeast PA

MP: The Peacock interface is a giant turd. It has this weird shading that covers up half the screen anytime you move the cursor or touch something with your finger.

Best suggestion is to give them time to back-fill their IMSA race catalog. I have no clue what to expect when cars start rolling at Daytona in a few weeks. Can’t wait to hear the feedback.

I contacted NBC about the rest, and here's the reply:"The viewing experience shouldn’t change – all should be as it was before on TrackPass, now just on Peacock."

Q: Great article on driver salaries. What I have often wondered is about medical insurance for drivers. How does that work? Does the team or series supply it, or is each driver on his/her own? With some of the very bad accidents we have seen in the past such as Hinch, Bourdais, Wickens and the cost of today’s medical care, how is the insurance structured?

Gary, Anza, CA

MP: Most are independent contractors across IMSA and IndyCar, so most pay for their own medical and racing/accident insurance. The lucky ones are straight team employees or earn enough to warrant having an S-Corp or LLC that receives the payments and handles the business expense side of things separate from the income the driver draws as an individual.

Q: Now that IMSA and WEC have a bunch of new and different classes, is there any place for the Ford GT?

Chris Doutre

MP: Just the WEC and its GTE class. The rumored technical support price from Ford, however, has kept this from becoming a reality among all the owners who’ve bought the ex-factory cars. Like… you could almost fund a half-season of IMSA DPi racing with the cost of that support…

The Ford GT is still cool as hell, but has reportedly been priced into oblivion for any team hoping to add some spice to its WEC GTE program. JEP/Motorsport Images

Q: There was a recent Mailbag question about John Menard and the IRS in regards to motorsports sponsorships being legitimate advertising/business expenses. I can't testify as to Menard's involvement, but the true landmark case against the IRS actually came in 1963. George Simon owned the U.S. Equipment Company, and also raced Unlimited hydroplanes under the "Miss U.S." moniker. Simon claimed it was a business expense. The IRS claimed it was a hobby. "Papa" George Walther, who fielded both unlimited hydroplanes and Indy cars for his son David "Salt" Walther, was a key witness supporting Simon's claims with his own Dayton-Walther expenses.

The IRS in that situation upheld Simon's contention that Unlimited racing was a legitimate business expense (within specified guidelines) and thereby tax deductible. Simon introduced records which demonstrated that his company's volume of business had increased substantially during the years that Simon had been involved in racing, and with no other change in normal business promotion. Walther testified how he had met Simon at an Unlimited race in the 1950s. They became friends. And Walther eventually became Simon's customer. This decision is what laid the groundwork for the last 60 years’ worth of motorsports sponsorships and how the IRS looks at them.

Click here to learn more.

Brad in Seattle

MP: One of the cool things about the Mailbag is that our readers – certainly not the idiot typing the responses -- make us smarter. An old friend, ace PR man John Love, was centrally involved in offshore racing and sent this along -- unprompted -- to add to your submission, Brad:

"Regarding the tax question in last week’s Mailbag, I believe that the first successful case regarding sponsorship was in the late 1950s or early 1960s with the U. S. Equipment Company sponsored Unlimited Hydroplane.

George Simon showed that his Detroit based company, which bought, refurbished, and sold production machinery, had gained contacts and substantial business with new customers like Kaiser-Jeep and Dayton Walther and others through its hydroplane team.

"In 1962 the Rolls Royce Merlin powered Miss U.S. set the world water speed record at 200.419 mph, a record that stood for 38 years. The company also sponsored Johnny Rutherford at Indianapolis in 1963. Simon’s 23-year long quest to win the APBA Gold Cup came to a successful end in 1976.

A noted philanthropist, Simon was one of the first board members and later chairman of St Jude Children’s Hospital. His sons, George Jr. and Paul have also served as St. Jude Chairmen."

INDYCAR UNIVERSITY

ED’s note: A few weeks back, reader Jack Cook sent the Mailbag a letter explaining that he is new to IndyCar and trying to learn about the series. Marshall invited him to send further questions, and Jack responded this week with no fewer than 10 in one email. Rather than taking over the entire Mailbag by hitting them all at once, we’re going to answer one per week for the next 10 weeks. By the time the 2022 field assembles in St. Pete, Jack, and any other new fans, will be primed and ready. (We’ll know we’ve really done our jobs if they’ve also taken sides in The Split, and staked out a position with regard to the 2002 Indy 500).

Q: What is the next big change in the sport? I know there is a new engine regulation coming up. Is there anything else? How will it affect the sport?

Cook family, MI

MP: Indeed, for the first time in 100-plus years of IndyCar racing, we’ll introduce electric propulsion in 2023. Just as it took 50-plus years to incorporate turbocharging and, for the most part, we haven’t looked back -- going hybrid is something that I expect to become part of our identity. Where I expect to see the real effects is after a few years of hybridization and, if the current automotive trends continue, to see the series start to rely more heavily on electric horsepower. Not to the point of going all-electric in the near future, but by reducing internal combustion engine power and dialing up the electric ponies.

The only other major shift that needs to happen quickly is a move to synthetic fuel. Can’t tell you which year it will happen, but just know that auto manufacturers are on a path where being heavily associated with racing series that burn fossil fuels will be met with worrisome opposition by the folks in charge of major brands.

Q: The first F1 circuit to use the SAFER Barrier was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was installed in 2002 before the F1 race that happen in September. Also, remember when Ralf Schumacher had his big accident in 2007, he missed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 13 (Turn 1 oval)

Terry Buschmann

CHRIS MEDLAND: Ah, that's a good point! I guess that was a two-pronged reason given the need for them at IMS for IndyCar, but it's interesting now to see bespoke F1 circuits turning towards SAFER barriers a bit more regularly.

Q: To Chris Medland: I was a huge Miller fan and traded a few emails with him. Saw your response to my letter a couple of weeks ago. Regarding my comment about Abu Dhabi being decided "per the rules," I based my opinion on what I read in RACER quoting F1 sporting regulations that "any lapped cars" behind leader could retain lead lap... but (later) "subject to stewards’ discretion." What did I miss? Also, if Toto called Max, as you report, I stand corrected. We can agree in our current must-needed distractions and frustrations. Great work, and thanks!

David Schneider

CHRIS MEDLAND: Good to have you on board with the new Mailbag, David! It's not the same without Robin, but I'm hoping we can keep it going in the same spirit for him. I'm not sure where the "subject to stewards’ discretion" part will have come from (I don't recall an exact article I've written it in but there have been a lot on this topic!), but that may well be between the regulations that state how lapped cars will be allowed to overtake and when none will be allowed to overtake. "Any" in the context above is clearly intended to mean "all," but as it doesn't specifically say "all" it seemed to create a gray area for argument. The sad part is, nobody wins -- Merc and Lewis can rightly feel cheated out of the title, but Red Bull and Max just followed what the race director said to do and aren't at fault either. Perhaps the simple answer in future would be to clearly state the Race Director has the power to do whatever they want, but I'm not sure that would lead to any fewer controversies…

We've arbitrarily extended the ban on Masi photos in the Mailbag to cover any photo from the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, and decided instead to look for the oldest shot we could find of Max Verstappen. And this is what we came up with: three-year-old Max at the Nurburgring in 2000 telling dad Jos that the Arrows A21 is great in a straight line but a dumpster fire as soon as it needs to turn a corner. Motorsport Images

Q: Hey Chris. Just read your article "Seriously, what is wrong with some people." It’s sad people react and comment on things the way they do. I wanted to wait before I wrote this to gain a bit of clarity and to see if my opinion changed. It hasn’t, so here goes…

The finale was a perfect example of just how screwy racing can be. If the incident happens a lap either way, there’s no controversy. A lap earlier then there is time to do the unlapping procedure correctly. A lap later, the race ends under yellow. Masi isn’t put in the pressure-packed situation of making a call. He wanted to let them race, which is great, but obviously he made a huge mistake in the way he did it. That said, I truly believe people would scream about Masi favoring Hamilton if he didn’t let lap cars go by even though that would have been the correct call.

I read an article where Toto Wolff says the lobbying needs to stop. I agree. It’s ridiculous. There should be an intermediary in the pit lane but no direct link to the race director. I think Masi deserves another shot. What are the odds he gets or even wants another year?

Eric Z, Lancaster, NY

CM: Hey Eric, thanks for the message. At the very least, it's nice people are reading my stuff! But I think you're right, there was no way the race wasn't going to be controversial -- even the lap one incident would have been the big talking point without the finish we had -- but it's the way it played out that annoyed so many. I agree that the lobbying needs to stop, too. It was interesting to hear this year, but it's like encouraging players to remonstrate with the referee, and that isn't cool in any sport. It will stop next year and that's a good move. But I think the only way Masi gets to continue (as you say, if he wants to) it's if there was a clear, acknowledged pressure on him to do what he did. If it was solely his choice to adjust the rules in the way he did, even though I also agree he was trying to encourage racing, I think it's too big an error to come back from.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, January 7, 2015

Q: Really enjoy your videos on RACER.com. Didn’t Lee Kunzman drive that car that got the nickname “the penalty box” a couple of times? It was the tube-framed car with a full roll cage at Indy in 1970 originally driven by Bruce Walkup. It was built by a well-known drag racer at the time, but age keeps me from remembering his name. At Indy, it was owned by Leonard Faas, who was either an unpleasant human being or a person having trouble at Indy trying to overcome the nervousness of the whole scene. Your memories?

Ft. Worth Dan

ROBIN MILLER: The car you are speaking of was called a Wolverine and it was built by Don Edmunds, the 1957 Rookie of the Year at Indianapolis whose design revolutionized midget racing in the 1970s. That yellow “Penalty Box” was originally assigned to Bill Vukovich Jr., who wisely passed it on to teammate Walkup. It never made the race, Walkup qualified the Mongoose chassis and Faas owned both cars in 1971. I didn’t know Leonard but he could be a little gruff at the track and the “Penalty Box” might have had something to do with that. Kunzman never had to drive that particular penalty box but related a bad experience with another s***box:

“A guy named Jack Fox brought this car and I was running at the Speedway when the rear wing exploded going down the backstretch. It scattered styrofoam all over the track because they had used styrofoam instead of metal spars inside the wing. Clarence Cagle [IMS track superintendent] was so pissed off he threw us out of Gasoline Alley and probably saved my life. Danny Jones took over the car and found out the geometry was all messed up so he fixed it and we ran it in the California 500 at Ontario. I think I was only 10 laps down.”