The RACER Mailbag, September 7

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s 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 length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.

Q: What do the winning team and driver receive for the 2022 IndyCar championship?

Pete, Ohio

MARSHALL PRUETT: In order: 1) $1 million for the team/driver. 2) A mini Astor Cup trophy. 3) A TAG Heuer watch. 4) A championship ring from Jostens.

Q: In a recent "Bus Bros" episode, Scott McLaughlin said he’d just bought a new car but could not say on camera what kind of car it is. That seems weird to me, but what do I know? Do you know what kind of car he bought?

P.S. Many moons ago I, too, was a Safeway Box Boy, er, Courtesy Clerk.

Steve

MP: I hated every minute of my Safeway stint, but it helped me to save up $200 to buy my first camera and to pay for cable TV, so it was worth it. Not sure what Scott bought; I like the idea of keeping some things private.

Q: It is good to see the IndyCar championship is still up for grabs. Most of the races this year have been excellent, with multiple winners and surprising performances by rookies David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard.

That being said, I’m concerned about the future of IndyCar -- specifically, will we continue to see races, or are they going to be replaced by "events"? At Nashville, the NBC announcers talked about what a huge "event" it was. But while the scenery of the cars speeding across the bridge was impressive the actual race has become an embarrassment. Meanwhile, Detroit is moving its race from Belle Isle to downtown and Graham Rahal is floating the idea of a street race in Pittsburgh, where both will be promoted as big events.

When I went to Mid-Ohio this summer I went to an IndyCar race, not an event. The fans came to see the cars, the drivers, the speed, and the racing and it was the biggest crowd since the CART era. And we didn’t need a rock concert or Ferris wheel to entertain us. Going forward, IndyCar needs to be honest. It needs to decide: is it trying to draw thousands of new people to the series to become actual race fans, or just thousands of people to be entertained at an event?

Rick Schneider, Charlotte

MP: Why can’t it be both things? Look at every photo from the early days of the Indy 500, and the entire crowd is dressed in full suits and dresses like they were going to the opera. Look at photos from the early 1970s and it’s bell-bottom jeans and long hair and full hippie regalia, including all manner of debauchery going on in the Snake Pit.

Crowds evolve, interests evolve, and if "events" are what the current evolution of racing fan has come to expect, why would we ridicule them for wanting more than sitting on a bench all day staring at cars going by? The sport’s aiming for more event-style weekends to try and keep itself alive by attracting new fans. I’ll get behind whatever it takes to grow the sport. Easiest answer for me is, if purists simply want to watch the racing at an "event," then don’t partake in the food, concerts, Ferris wheels, and other offerings.

Damn Ferris wheels. Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images

Q: As I am sure you have heard, NASCAR is going to hold a street race in downtown Chicago next year on the 4th of July weekend. While the visuals might be pretty terrific on TV, the racing is likely going to be pretty awful. Of the 12 turns, only three will not be 90-degree left or right-hand turns and there will be precious little, if any, run-off area anywhere. If you thought the last two Nashville IndyCar races were crashfests, wait until you see this!

So why am I writing to you about NASCAR you ask? Well, because this little coup, if they do pull it off, demonstrates, yet again, the ineptitude -- maybe even the misplaced arrogance -- of the IndyCar marketing department. A street race through the city of Chicago should not be run by taxicabs! It should be run by nimble open-wheel machines that can turn and brake and are driven by people who know how to do that in confined spaces!

Once again, the marketing team at NASCAR has one-upped IndyCar and they managed to do that in the Midwest, the heart of IndyCar country. IndyCar tried to do a race in Chicago in 1981 and failed, in no small measure because they did nothing to get out in front promoting it after it was announced. I know because I lived in (and still live in) downtown Chicago and was an IndyCar official at the time, and all you could hear in the media after the announcement was the sound of crickets.

And if NASCAR having a street race is not bad enough, it is launching a 10-episode "Drive to Survive"-like show titled "Race for the Championship" that will only further promote and highlight not only the series but, more importantly, the drivers who are already more visible than almost any of the IndyCar drivers thanks to the marketing machine of NASCAR.

When is IndyCar going to wake up and smell the coffee?

Steve, Chicago, IL

MP: I feel like the Mailbag has gone full Skynet and become self-aware and is sending questions and commentaries into itself.

We need to acknowledge something here, Steve, and that’s how NASCAR is a much bigger name and far more influential than IndyCar. If IndyCar and NASCAR showed up on the mayor’s doorstep with competing proposals, NASCAR wins every time.

Q: For two years now, all we hear is about how Colton Herta is poised to become the next great American driver overseas in F1. Who is driving this narrative? I see a fast, always on the edge driver with very little results to show on his resume. Often, his mistakes leave most IndyCar fans scratching their heads as to why he did this or didn’t do that in the moment.

Bob, Cleveland, OH

MP: If you’d sent this a year ago I’d have no clue what you were talking about, but yes, his 2022 has been a puzzling one. That said, he’s been in IndyCar since 2019 and through 2021, he did nothing other than impress while winning a bunch of races and learning from the same mistakes every other young driver makes. If all that gets wiped away because he and the off-song Andretti team have had a rough year, I’d say that’s unfair.

Q: Had I won the billion dollar PowerBall and Graham Rahal called me to see if I would cut a check to have a race in Cincinnati, how much would I have to cut a check for to fund a race at A) Kentucky Speedway, B) downtown street course or C) Lunken Airport course (five miles east of downtown?)

Mark in Cincinnati

MP: I’d start by putting a few million away to start and be prepared to double or triple it based on where it’s held, Mark.

Q: Why can't racing teams use battery-powered guns to change tires? It would keep hoses out of the pit stalls and reduce penalties and injuries.

Bob Stanley

MP: I’m sure they’d be using such a thing right now if such a thing existed and was ready to use. Out of curiosity, what injuries do pneumatic guns and hoses bring that an electric gun would prevent?

Q: Apologies if these have been addressed before: What is the purpose of the apparent vents on the side vertical endplates of the current IndyCar road and street car rear spoilers? If they are there to control the overall downforce generated, can the openings be closed off by teams to increase downforce?

What is the cable that is plugged in immediately when an IndyCar stops in the pits during practice and qualifying? My guess is that it transfers data and charges the on-board battery.

Years ago, Jon Beekhuis did a video about efforts to bring power steering to IndyCars. I remember one of the interesting benefits was it reduced or prevented steering kickback during a crash. What happened to it?

What is the connection that is disconnected and reconnected on the road and street course front wing when it is removed and replaced? Why is this connection not connected automatically when the wing is installed, as this would save time during a wing change?

Warbird Willie

MP: The slots in the rear wing end plates help the rear wing to maintain consistent downforce when it’s in yaw -- at an angle when cornering -- and also reduces drag. They are spec and cannot be modified.

Correct on the cable -- it’s called the "umbilical." On power steering, it was an idea that went nowhere.

On the front wing connection, I assume you’re referring to the SWEMS system -- the tethers -- that keeps many components from flying away in a crash.

The vents on Scott McLaughlin's endplates lead a pretty exciting life, by the looks of things. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: So, the question isn't probably a typical one for Mailbag, but who's your championship pick?

Szymon Kunda

MP: Power’s been a vision of consistency and all he needs to do this weekend is to keep being that guy. Newgarden and Dixon aren’t super far back, but they will need to be extraordinary at Monterey and to have Power face some sort of adversity -- a lack of speed, poor qualifying, etc. -- to have decent odds of winning the title. I’d really like to see Power get that second championship because it will elevate him to a higher place of regard. Lots of people win a single title. Getting two says you’re on another level.

Q: When Mark Wick asked last week about narrower tires making drivers manage corner speeds differently, you said, "Turning the cars into dragsters on the straights and turtles in the corners is everything I wouldn’t want to see."

But when I think about the greatest racing there ever was, the original Can-Am, I'm reminded that there was no "stomp-at-the-last-marker-and-get-4Gs-of-deceleration" that we have with carbon brakes now. Those monsters had iron brakes, and it made the drivers slow earlier, therefore opening up a larger amount of track that might afford a better driver to outbrake others and make his way forward. I would support this. It doesn't necessarily make the cars turtles in the corners, either, just opens up braking zones. Your thoughts?

Also, Pocono was designed, like other tracks of its ilk, with an infield road course from the outset. Who remembers (besides you!) that Michigan had a great road course designed by none other than Sir Stirling Moss… and it was used, maybe, just once. Pocono hosts club racing events, etc., like a lot of tracks, but that infield must be pretty beaten up by now, with harsh winters on top of that mountain. I agree, a doubles weekend with NASCAR works better for me at Pocono than Indy, but I still appreciate the cross-pollination, no matter the venue. It’s a plus.

P.S.: I also was at that August 1984 IndyCar race at Pocono. I took my dad. He would always take me to time trials there, but never got to go to a race because the traffic was unbearable in the early ’70s. Full house. At Pocono, IndyCars filled that huuuuuuuuuuuge grandstand in the ’70s. So when I was home from college that year, I insisted on taking him and I would drive... and he absolutely loved it. He looked at me, speechless after the green flag dropped, and his facial expression told me he regretted not going to the race all those years. It was a great moment, and Our Man Mario won. Great day.

Bill Bailey, Fresno, CA

MP: Yes, from all I’ve seen with vintage Can-Am cars being driven by pros, they’re amazing. They’ve also been developed as a complete package, and as power went up, wings and all manner of aero was bolted on to try and compensate -- to create a vehicle that was balanced and working in harmony in every area. I’m not saying that always happened successfully back in the day, but the underlying goal is to have a formula where the entire cars works in unison.

That’s why we don’t see a formula with giant downforce but weak 250hp engines, or a formula with weak engines and giant tires that aren’t really needed, etc. The concepts are to size everything to avoid having a Frankenstein car that performs in a disconnected manner. What worked in Can-Am in the 1960s has, unfortunately, no bearing on today’s cars. Not without going to a full retro technical specification.

I’ve heard the Pocono infield road course was renovated since my last visit, BTW. I’d go there for anything with IndyCar if it was safe and the stands were even half-full.

Q: Your August 31 post on the Linus Lundqvist "problem" has an obvious solution. Ganassi reaches a settlement with McLaren/Alex Palou that includes a stipulation that Palou does not race in IndyCar in 2023. David Malukas moves from Coyne/HMD to fill the open seat in Ganassi's No. 10 car and Lundqvist slots into the open Coyne/HMD seat. Worst-case scenario: Malukas has a meh season at Ganassi, learns a few things, and heads back to Coyne/HMD for ’24 when, theoretically, there are more Honda engines available. Best-case scenario: Malukas excels at Ganassi and they have the Dixon understudy/successor that they thought they had in Palou. Start the rumor.

As an aside, it does not bode well for IndyCar that the engine manufacturers are essentially capping the number of cars in the series.

Bill Carsey, North Olmsted, OH

MP: If only Malukas wasn’t under contract to Coyne next season, Bill…

Since Lotus departed after 2012 and two brands have supported an entire series, yes, their financial limits have been met or exceeded, and while it does suck to have engine suppliers dictating full-season and Indy 500 grid sizes, how much longer does Penske Entertainment wait to commission an engine and make a sweetheart of a badging deal with a manufacturer?

Q: I keep reading about the lack of crowds at Laguna Seca. I have been going to Laguna since 1968, first as a spectator, then as a corner work for about 10 years, and now as a souvenir vendor for 35 years.

To me, the main reason for lack of crowds at Laguna is greed. When I first started in 1968, Motel 6 was $5.95. Last week I stayed at a Wyndham hotel in Salinas… $472 a night. I usually stay five nights when I go to Laguna. Why would a normal person pay that kind of price for a hotel? So now they only come up for one day instead of two or three days. And now the track is charging $10 a day to park, on top of your ticket..

I will be at WeatherTech Raceway next week. Come by my booth (RACEFAN) and say hello.

Roger Mumbower

MP: I hear you, Roger, but Laguna Seca doesn’t set hotel prices in the outlying areas. It’s an old practice in the greater Monterey area, and isn’t necessarily tied to racing events. It’s more than just price gouging. I’ve had a few hotel operators, as I’ve asked over the years as to why I’m paying hundreds of dollars per night for a genuine dump of a room, tell me -- with agriculture being a huge part of the local economy -- it’s to keep the itinerant field workers from piling into the rooms on the weekends.

Granted, it’s like not rooms were cheap when CART packed the house, so the high lodging costs theory has at least one major flaw, and when MotoGP was at Laguna Seca, it was filled to the brim. If it’s popular, people will pay. As for the track charging for parking, that sounds like a cash grab, but I don’t know if other tracks charge as well.

Some people get really excited about finding affordable accommodation around Monterey. Motorsport Images

Q: If we assume that Colton Herta will dominate Laguna Seca once again, Will Power only needs to finish eighth to claim the title.

Furthermore, if Colton dominates but doesn't win the pole and lead the most laps, neither Josef Newgarden nor Scott Dixon can beat Will if he takes eighth or better. If those things happen for Colton, Josef or Scott and Will can only finish ninth, then he would be tied with Josef or Scott and lose the title based on wins.

As a big Power fan, I'm cheering for Colton. I always hope that the champion is the driver with the most wins, but in this case I'm cheering for Will's consistency this year to do the job.

I thought that Will's post-race comments about wanting to win the title for his long-suffering crew was very nice. It has been a surprising year for Will, who has in the past suffered from horrendously bad luck and many poor driving decisions on his part. He really should have more titles and wins than he has.

Could a title this year lead to his retirement? I hope not, but it would be a great accomplishment to retire on.

Doug Mayer

MP: Not a chance on retirement, Doug. He loves driving too much to step away a year before his contract is up. No doubt on the non-Penske/Ganassi Laguna race winner model. Colton winning and Power coming home close behind is no issue for Will. A Colton win is a championship-killer for all those chasing Will, for the most part, because they need the big points haul to overtake Power.

Q: Great talking to you at PIR. If you ask any driver to imagine they’re leading the race at his/her favorite track but on the last corner of the last lap they look into the mirror and say, "Crap. I had this race won," who's in the mirror? Would Romain say Josef; would Power say Dixon, etc.? Don't ask A.J. Foyt; he might punch you in the face.

Steve Coe, Vancouver, WA

MP: Thanks, Steve. For any of the Andretti drivers, I’d say Grosjean. Pagenaud would say Newgarden, as would most of the field. Palou and Johnson would say VeeKay. Malukas would say Kirkwood.

Q: What happens to the old Indy cars? Are they racing anywhere like the old Formula 1 cars? We have Boss GP or Maxx Formula where F1 cars from the ’90s and ’00s are racing. Rinus VeeKay was racing in Boss GP with an updated GP2 car against his father in an old F1 car. Is there anything similar for Indy cars?

Frank Lehmann, Germany

MP: All depends, Frank, since they were owned by someone who raced them and then they chose to keep or sell them, so there’s no single answer. The Vintage Indy Registry series run by my friend Mike Lashmett has an interesting assortment of entrants who bring really old, somewhat old, and vaguely recent Indy cars out to race a few times per year, and sometimes as part of an IndyCar weekend. If I have one major gripe to offer, it’s how Indy cars aren’t included as classes in most vintage racing sanctioning bodies.

Q: I have not seen Kelli Stavast on TV since last season. What happened?

David, Waxhaw, NC

MP: I don’t know; she hasn’t been on the IndyCar side for a while and that’s where I focus my attention.

Q: BMW has been kind of noncommittal regarding who will pilot its GTPs for 2023. That Christian Lundgaard kid is pretty quick. Would Bobby put him in the car for the Rolex 24?

Jonathan Morris

MP: I doubt RLL would have the latitude to drop drivers into a full factory effort like the BMW GTP deal, but I do love the idea. The kid’s a rocket.

Q: I'm sitting and waiting for the start of Portland IndyCar race. Having seen all the junior series races and their troubles in Turn 1, is there a chance of trying a standing start there? Yes I do remember the last standing start at the Indy GP, disastrous and embarrassing, but is the Indy front straight narrower the PIR? Would that make a difference?

Steve Coe, Vancouver, WA

MP: Thanks to the drivers who suggested the early green flag, there’s no need to try a standing start to avoid crashes in Turn 1.

Q: What does Matt Brabham have to do to be in contention for an IndyCar drive besides come up with a huge bag of money? A winner in IndyCar’s feeder categories several years ago, including some pretty dominant performances in Indy Pro 2000 or whatever it was called back then, and a solid run in the Indy 500 a few years ago was not enough to prevent him being consigned to the jumping trucks for a few years.

Now we see him producing great performances in Indy Lights against kids who are supposedly "next big things." Being in the Andretti Autosport arena as their former runner "should" open opportunities for him, but little has been said. The Brabham name doesn’t seem to help much these days, but what Matt has done should be enough to put his name in the 2023 IndyCar silly season mix.

Ken Bright

MP: No argument here, Ken. Poor timing, as we soon learned, as his Andretti Indy Lights team was the dominant outfit in recent years, and in the season he returns, HMD Motorsports asserts itself as the best. I know there’s been some interest expressed in Matty -- I’ve also sent along few team owners’ numbers that he needed -- and there could be an opportunity in Japan if IndyCar is off the table for him next year. Everyone with a seat to offer wants an instant killer, and there just aren’t many on the market. Matty would need a full season to get up to speed and learn before we’d place real expectations in him. Teams with the kind of patience to wait for Year 2 are becoming a rarity, which doesn’t help our boy.

Brabham has the talent, but perhaps not the timing. Which is a bummer. Joe Skibinski/Motorsport Images

Q: With Herta rumored to be heading to AlphaTauri and Alexander Rossi signed to Arrow McLaren SP, it looks like a complete reboot ahead for Andretti Autosport. Ditching Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe for Romain Grosjean and Devlin DeFrancesco has been a disaster in hindsight. Any idea where Andretti turns for a lead driver in 2023? Since contracts seem not so ironclad these days, any hint Rossi may reconsider if Grosjean were to be dropped and Kirkwood take the 28? Doubt Rossi knew Palou was in the mix at McLaren when he signed.

Scott Dixon seems ageless but at some point he'll want to stop. Sans Palou, where does Ganassi look for its future No. 1?

Felix Rosenqvist suddenly looks like he'll have several opportunities to remain in IndyCar even if McLaren gets Palou.

Scott Wallace, Endicott, NY

MP: Yep, as I wrote last week, Felix is in high demand; he’ll be fine. Dixon isn’t ready to stop anytime soon, but keep in mind CGR’s been in business for 32 years and has signed dozens of drivers. Zanardi departed. Montoya departed. Wheldon departed. Franchitti departed. Filling big shoes is hardly something new for the team. And dozens of drivers want to be in the 9 car and the 10 car ASAP.

Specifically for Dixon, the answer will come when CGR knows the timing on his retirement; if it were a few days from now, they’d be screwed because there’s slim pickings on the free agent market -- here or in F1. Next year? Half the paddock is in need of a new contract, including Dixie, so it’s all about timing.

No doubt Andretti’s in rebuilding mode, even with Colton staying next year. They were left behind at most races this year, and like Penske and Ganassi have had to do in the recent past, a competitive overhaul is needed to get back to their former place.

Q: I would like to know your thoughts on the reasons for Romain Grosjean's second season in IndyCar been so mediocre. There were some great highlights during his first IndyCar season with DCR, but since moving to Andretti things have progressively gotten worse and worse, qualifying performances have been poor and race performances have steadily worsened as the season has progressed, reaching rock bottom at Portland. Should Romain have stayed with DCR? Would he have continued to build on his season one performances there?

Charles Taylor, UK

MP: Been a down year for Andretti’s IndyCar team, as evidenced by its single wins by Herta and Rossi and so if you take that, factor in his arrival in a new team -- and his engineer Olivier Boisson getting to know how the Andretti organization works as well -- and the fact that consistency has been a career-long challenge for Romain, and we’ve found a perfect storm of high expectations being countered by modest returns.

We also can’t ignore the fact that at DCR, he had Ed Jones as his teammate and closest rival and ate him alive. Despite Andretti’s struggles, it’s one thing to drive free and easy at a small team with a teammate who isn’t a match for your talent, and another to sit across from Herta and Rossi every day and have those animals to beat.

As I think I wrote in one of my pre-season columns, the question was whether Romain would slot into P2 behind Herta or P3 behind Rossi, assuming Rossi would rediscover his form, which he has. Sunday was a perfect microcosm of Romain’s year: Herta and Rossi make strides in the race and make their way to fifth and sixth while Grosjean gets tangled up in a three-wide squabble on the opening lap, loses a ton of positions, has two trips straight through the Turn 1 chicane, doesn’t follow the rules on how drivers were instructed to go through the inner chicane before returning to the track, and receives two penalties for those infractions, finishes 19th.

The season can’t end soon enough for Romain, who really needs a break. I thought Felix Rosenqvist’s 2021 debut with Arrow McLaren SP was brutal, but Romain and Andretti have moved to P1 on that list.

Q: I’ve been watching IndyCar since Michael Andretti was driving the Kraco car. In all those years, it seems like at least once per season a car has an issue with the fuel hookup. Seems like almost every season we have at least one fire because they can’t connect or disconnect the hose properly.

Why is it that they still cannot get this issue fixed? I know the systems are different, but I don’t seem to recall seeing this constant issue in sports cars, NASCAR or any other series. There was another fire in Portland. This seems like a big safety issue that needs to be addressed

Chris, Florida

MP: I look at it the opposite way, Chris. We tend to have one or two fires per season during refueling. We had 25 cars make three stops (on average) on Sunday, so that’s 75 refuelings. If we use an average of three for the rest of the races (some are two, and the Indy 500 is lots), that’s 17x75, or 1275 refuelings per season. Yes, there are fires in every series each year where refueling happens. In IndyCar, one or two times out of 1275 chances, or 0.16% of the time, is the exact opposite of constant.

Q: I have a question that applies to both NASCAR and IndyCar. It'd be great if both Kelly and Marshall could chime in: Ovals and tires. More precisely, wets. I just got back from Daytona where I sat through what seemed to be 36 hours of rain delay and nearly missed my flight out to catch the last few laps. I know there has been some experimentation with "damps" for NASCAR with the ROVAL and I think it was either Dale Jr or Chocolate Myers I heard talking about trying to get them into partially dry tracks.

Marshall and Kelly: Is there any talk of technology that could allow for racing on a not-so-dry oval that could trim red flags from five hours to say, two or three?

Marshall: How crazy would it be to run primary and alternate slicks on ovals to spice it up a little?

And a follow-up for Kelly: Has NASCAR ever gave thought to running two compounds on street and road courses?

Shawn, MD

MP: I’ve heard the concept floated before, Shawn. Might made some of the less enthralling ovals a bit more fun to watch, that’s for sure.

Michelin once made an intermediate and very soft slick tire that was meant to be used in damp conditions where standing water was not going to cause the tires to aquaplane. This was years ago in the ALMS, and as I recall, they were awesome. Might be worth having NASCAR pop down the hall to its friends at IMSA to see if they can get Michelin on the phone to share some insights…

KELLY CRANDALL: NASCAR and Goodyear have discussed and even tested wet weather tires for short tracks like Martinsville and Richmond, but it seems that idea is still in the planning and process stage, and no firm decision has been made around whether that will come to fruition. But yes, the goal is to get racing back started on tracks where the speeds are lower and the delay could be lessened. That said, wet weather tires will only be used at smaller tracks, as I mentioned, so a place like Daytona or Darlington will not be racing in anything but dry conditions.

If we can make some developmental leaps with rain tires, Denny might be able to leave the umbrella at home. Lesley Ann Miller/Motorsport Images

Q: I hope Kyle Busch goes to RCR and they put him in the No. 3 car. We need another bad boy in that ride. Shame on Toyota and Gibbs to not sign such a champion. With only six Toyotas in Cup, what are they thinking?

CB, Naples, FL

KC: Kyle Busch could end up at RCR, but he could also stay at Toyota. There are a few options in front of him, although Busch isn't elaborating on what they are. However, David Wilson told me last weekend at Daytona that things continue to change almost daily regarding Busch’s future and what Busch is weighing. Don’t count out his staying in the Toyota camp. And as a sidenote, no one is ever going to drive the 3 other than Austin Dillon -- unless Dillon decides his driving days are over and he wants to be on the business side of the family company. As for Toyota only having six cars, they like doing more with less and are very methodical about their teams and numbers. But that will likely change in the future as Denny Hamlin has made it clear he eventually plans to expand with 23XI Racing.

Q: We've heard every Cup driver who's crashed complain about the hit they take in this new car. NASCAR's official position seems to be that the hit isn't near what the driver feels, based on their data. But here's the issue -- doesn't NASCAR still use "black box" data from the car? Anybody who knows anything can tell you the forces on a car in the crash aren't the same forces put on the driver of said car for many reasons. So of course what the drivers feel isn't corroborated by the data from the car.

We all know NASCAR has a long history of being reactive rather than proactive as far as safety goes. I've seen the mouthpiece data recorders they are testing, but this technology already exists. It's been in use in IndyCar for years, by way of an earpiece evolved for CART in 2000. Jeez, even USAC started using them this season in their sprint, midget, and Silver Crown divisions. So why does NASCAR let its pride get in the way and instead of adopting successful technology that already exists, why does it go its own route just for the sake of having its own system, when there's already an off-the-shelf, plug and play system ready to go that just incorporates into the earpiece they already use?

Ethan Donohue

KC: NASCAR does use black boxes and other data recording measures, and every crash is looked into. There are also officials in the garage who take still pictures of cars when they are towed back after an accident and then either taken by NASCAR or returned to the team. The mouthguards and earpieces are something new that NASCAR is trying as it continues to find ways to record data on this new car.

There is no denying the series are rather reactive when it comes to certain things, but in this case, it seems it is just trying to find what works best for stock car racing. And what drivers are comfortable with using. For instance, I believe it was Ryan Blaney who said in the bullpen at Indianapolis that he didn’t want to wear any of that because it was another variable to deal with in the car. Again, it’s a continual process, and we’ll see what they eventually land on and what driver feedback is on what they want -- if anything.

Q: After the massive carnage in both races at Daytona, don’t you think this must be what the leadership at NASCAR wants? Every superspeedway race is a total absurdity. Bump drafting, blocking, and intentional nudges are allowed, and of course lead to gigantic wrecks when 40 cars are racing in a gigantic pack at 200mph.

God forbid this insanity continues until there is a tragedy. If it happens, then NASCAR should be held liable.

Tim B.

KC: I don’t think it’s fair to say NASCAR "wants" the carnage, but it does want the drama and unpredictability we saw in Daytona with the regular season finale. NASCAR officials aren’t the ones driving the cars, and for all the complaining -- even by the drivers -- they will admit they are the ones making those moves and doing things that cause wrecks. Yes, it is also the box they are put in with these cars and the rules package. Superspeedway racing has been like this since the sport started, though, and it will continue as long as they are on the schedule. Or until NASCAR steps in and tries to police every move and eliminate contact -- which, let’s be honest, is never going to happen.

Q: Chris, I won't ask you to speculate on anything involving Yuki Tsunoda possibly helping Max Verstappen. Instead, I'll ask if the driver could hear any instructions from the crew member during that pit stop when they were working on his belts.

Ryan under a tin foil hat

CHRIS MEDLAND: Easy answer to this one, Ryan: it’s extremely unlikely. Between the engine noise and the race going on, they would have to shout very loudly if they wanted to give instructions in that way, and that could then be picked up by microphones.

In my opinion, it was just a massive error on AlphaTauri’s part to not just accept Yuki’s comments once he got back to the pits, and instead send him back out before finally seeing the data that highlighted a problem.

For those speculating, he surely wouldn’t have been told to come back to the pits in the first place if he’d already stopped there (in a very similar spot to where he retired) claiming a loose wheel. Once his belts were loose he could then have said he couldn’t drive back anymore and had to get out.

I’m not even sure it helped Red Bull that much, as it was still under pressure from Mercedes as the top three all stopped. The Bottas retirement definitely helped though.

Q: With all the talk about Colton Herta possibly being given an exemption for a Super License, I was wondering who on the IndyCar grid currently has enough FIA points?

I find it laughable that drivers in such a competitive series, and with the greatest race in the world, are not given more credit.

Many times you hear pundits say F1 has the "best drivers in the world." I challenge that and say the top 10 in IndyCar's current standings would do just fine.

Terry J., Germantown, MD

CM: So I make it Alex Palou, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden as the last three champions, and that’s it in terms of points alone achieved over the past four IndyCar seasons (picking the best three results).

It should also be noted that Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato are eligible as a result of previously having a Super License to race in F1, but only Grosjean raced recently enough to automatically get one. The other three would have to complete 300km during a day of testing first.

Simon Pagenaud could also claim 39 points and then just do one FP1 session to hit 40, while Will Power would hit 40 points if he finishes in the top two this year.

To celebrate the fact that an IndyCar series champion, Indy 500 winner, all-time pole leader and 39-time race winner might be Super License-eligible after Laguna Seca, let's throw back to when Will Power spent half a day in a Minardi in 2004. Motorsport Images

Q: Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso, Fernando Alonso, Marcus Ericsson, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz. What do these successful drivers have in common? Answer: None of them would have had the requirements for a Super License.

So, when I hear F1 fans, F1 media, team principals and ex-drivers speak out against Colton Herta getting a waiver for a super-license I think “I what a bunch of hypocrites.”

Ken, Lockport, NY

The reasoning for the Super License points system was good in the sense of ensuring drivers couldn’t buy an F1 seat out of nowhere but had to have a certain level of results to be able to progress. The problem came from the FIA not giving enough value to IndyCar behind the champion, having prioritized the junior categories in Europe to create a clear ladder.

Now, though, I do get the rock-and-hard-place scenario that Herta presents. Just make the judgment from the outside that he’s good enough and it undermines the whole system. Adjust the points you award retrospectively and you still undermine the system, especially for drivers like Jak Crawford and Logan Sargeant who dedicated their careers to the European ladder as that’s what they were told they had to do.

But then the system as it stands doesn’t give the IndyCar grid the credit it deserves, so it does need changing. The challenge is, how do you do it so that Herta can rightly race in F1 without risking the issues above? Honestly, answers next week please so I can steal the best ones as my own ideas.

Q: It would be great if Logan Sargeant or Jak Crawford made it to Formula 1, but most race fans don’t even know who these guys are. I would love to see Colton Herta make it. Not only would he represent America, but he would represent (my) IndyCar. Show the world there is real talent here.

Obviously Colton will not have enough points for a Super License this year, and the way Andretti looks, I doubt he would have enough next year. Do you think Colton could move to Ganassi or maybe even F2?

In your opinion, what are the chance of Colton getting the exemption? Can he earn enough points through F1 free practice runs and/or off-season runs?

Mark

CM: I’d love to see it too, but I don’t want to see it also ruin Sargeant and Crawford’s hopes after they committed to the established FIA path (as wrong as I think the points weighting is, as mentioned above). Being the first American driver in nearly a decade could be a big selling point for them.

What I really don’t think Colton should do is head to F2 just to try and reach F1. It’s a unique series and it’s a step down for him that he shouldn’t be forced to make. His regular wins in IndyCar should come with a greater value, but you’re right that Andretti has been struggling and Ganassi would help him secure the points he needs. I can’t ever see that switch happening though, because Ganassi won’t want to be a stepping stone and Andretti won’t let him go unless it’s to an F1 team.

Funnily enough, the free practice runs would have been an option earlier in the year -- he’d have needed to do eight of them to hit 40 points (you get one point per FP1 you complete, up to a maximum of 10 points, as long as you log over 100km and don’t pick up a penalty point). There’s only six left after this weekend’s IndyCar finale, so that ship has also sailed for this year.

I honestly rate the exemption chances as 50/50. Red Bull has tried and failed before with Pato O’Ward when he was a rookie, but Colton’s far more established and COVID does open some potential room to argue the point. I just can’t see an obvious argument right now that I’d definitely say Red Bull would win.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, September 6, 2013

Q: I'm starting to be disappointed in watching IndyCar. Not the product, or the races themselves, but the rules, whining, bitching and complaining. I've never heard so much whining from every driver on the grid. It's getting old, and I wonder how these drivers would cope if they were racing in the days of CART in the early 1990s. I'm sorry, but that "avoidable contact" rule needs to be thrown out. Besides, what really constitutes avoidable contact? It's racing, it's going to happen. So what you got punted, isn't that what all the great Indy car drivers of the past are famous for? The Chrome Horn? I'm not just talking Paul Tracy, but Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, these and other "named" drivers have all been guilty of "avoidable contact," and there was never a punishment. (Watch Cleveland 1995 for an example).

I'm still trying to figure out the big deal with Dixon at Sonoma. He hit a pit crew man; you can't do that, it's in the rulebook. Maybe I am old school, but I hardly saw Wally Dallenbach on TV or his name even mentioned in the broadcast when he ran the show in CART. It just seems like there is too much focus on race control than the race itself. Let them settle it on the racetrack. Was Baltimore a fiasco? I'm not so sure. I enjoyed the race. Come on people, it's a street race; you are going to have pile-ups, backups, and a lot of contact in those close quarters. What are people expecting? NASCAR thrives on chaos, and it brings people to the track.

I'm very disappointed that there isn't another race for a month, cause emotions are high, and again IndyCar fails to capitalize on it. IndyCar is a great product, let race control do its job and stop questioning everything. I'd like to see Dixon fined for calling Beaux Barfield an idiot. Wasn't Paul Tracy fined for calling Chris Kneifel an a** clown?  IndyCar and Beaux Barfield need to take control of the show, and if the drivers don't like it, go somewhere else to race, or pull up your panties, climb in the cockpit, shut up and go racing.

Kris Branch, Ocala, FL

ROBIN MILLER: You've hit on all my hot buttons. The bitching and moaning is out of control. Unavoidable contact is the most objectionable and senseless rule in street racing. Street racing is like indoor midget racing -- there's always going to be contact. The greats of the 1960s and '70s didn't use the Chrome Horn because it was way too dangerous, the cars weren't safe, the tracks weren't safe and there was no such thing as a street race. Nobody in the '60s had a clue about who was the USAC chief steward (it wasn't Harlan Fengler, he was Indy only). Dallenbach did a good job and I feel bad for criticizing him unfairly a couple times.

The chief steward's job is thankless and the people screaming for Barfield's head are the same ones who backed Brian Barnhart and then wanted him beheaded. It's just IndyCar's luck that we've got to wait a month before the next race and it sucks. But hey, Little E's going to make The Chase so life's not all bad.