The RACER Mailbag, October 5

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: Regarding the upcoming ERS, did IndyCar set any requirements as for the maximum amounts of energy to be a) recovered during a lap and b) stored in the batteries? We already know that the provided power boost will be +100HP, but since I've heard F1 cars will move from the current +160HP and 2MJ per lap to +470HP and 9MJ par lap in 2026, with a battery storing up to 4MJ in both cases, I've also been wondering about the megajoule numbers.

The point of my question is: what is the intention behind the addition of the ERS? Is it meant to be an overall performance booster (added to the engine, just like the 2026 F1 cars), or strictly as an overtake assist (just like the current Push-to-Pass system)?

Xavier

MARSHALL PRUETT: Yes, no, probably, and maybe, Xavier. We’re a good while away from having any decisions on exactly what IndyCar will do with all aspects of its MAHLE ERS units, but I’ve only heard the systems described as P2P solutions when the cars are on track. I’ll also mention for the umpteenth time that so far, after RACER broke the news of MAHLE being selected as IndyCar’s ERS vendor in February, the series has yet to publicly name MAHLE, which is weird.

Assuming that’s what they end up going with, it would be different than, say, what IMSA and the WEC have in mind for the new LMDh/GTP hybrid prototypes where the 40hp electric boost is always available and works in a useful way by doing things like ‘torque fill,’ where the ERS helps with initial acceleration low in the rev range where the combustion engine is at its least powerful stage.

BMW GTP driver Connor De Phillippi, who some folks might remember as a strong young American talent on the Road To Indy before switching to sports cars, told us in a recent video how the ERS unit has helped to reduce the effects of turbo lag by applying electric horsepower to propel the car while the revs build and the turbos spool up — all but eliminating that dead zone in acceleration.

But so far, I haven’t heard of IndyCar allowing its manufacturers to go that route with always-on ERS. More details to follow in the coming months.

Q: Who is at the top of Chip's list to fill Jimmie Johnson's seat?

Jonathan and Cleide Morris, Ventura, CA

MP: The most competitive driver who’s able to foot the bill is the overarching answer. In a perfect world, Chip would have a fully sponsored car so he could go and hire the best available driver, but that isn’t the case here.

I’ve heard a few names, but none that jump out as the right fit financially or competitively. I have reconfirmed, twice, since Jimmie’s announcement (which was shared internally about a week prior) that the team will field the No. 48 car (or whatever number it might have) next year. The sponsorship package for the No. 48 was known to be significant, so I do wonder if there are more who could afford to do road and street courses than pay for all 17 races. That’s why the search will continue this month and maybe into November if the right blend of funding and speed proves to be elusive.

Q: David Malukas takes J.J.'s seat. Your thoughts?

Jeff, Florida

MP: As soon as Ganassi buys out the second year of Malukas's contract with Dale Coyne, sure. How many times has Coyne let a super-talented driver who was being pursued by a bigger rival go? So far, zero.

It's been almost a month since Ganassi was embroiled in a messy and expensive driver contract fight, so maybe the time is ripe to do it again. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: After two years, the J.J. experiment is over. Was it his idea, or did the sponsorship/team decide not to go forward?

Now that he's got more free time, do you know if he's back to 'personalizing' his clothes as shown in the Carvana commercials? Sorry, but those commercials were just plain stupid but that's what you do when someone puts up the big bucks.

Tom Patrick, Baja California

MP: Hi Tom—might be worth reading the story we wrote about it to answer the first question.

Collectively, we complain about the lack of IndyCar-related national advertising and promotional campaigns, and then when we finally get the rare chance to have those national campaigns, we piss and moan about them. This is where I’d insert a facepalm emoji.

Q: ‘IndyCar’s close relationship with NBC Sports is also highlighted in the new calendar as 13 of the 17 races are scheduled for the NBC network, plus both days of qualifying for the Indy 500. Three rounds, led by Road America, Mid-Ohio, and the second Indy GP, will be aired on the USA Network. For the second consecutive year, Toronto will be aired exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform.’

Above is from your article on September 27. Sooooo does that mean that practice and qualifying will only be on Peacock ?

You did not address this.

Peter in Phoenix

MP: Well, you caught me, Peter. I confess to my sins. Yes, just as all practices and qualifying sessions were aired exclusively on Peacock last season (Indy 500 qualifying being the exception, with broadcast coverage added on), it will continue unchanged next season, as I understand. We tend to do the full IndyCar TV explanation when the series’ TV partner — NBC, in recent years — publishes its broadcast times for the new season, which has yet to happen.

Q: Laguna Seca was lengthened in the late ‘80s to prevent it from being dropped from the FIM calendar, because it was too short. I think the FIM required a minimum course length of 3.5 km to remain on the calendar. Losing the FIM sanctioned races would have seriously reduced the money the track would make.

Gilbert K. Arnold

MP: Yes, thanks, Gilbert, apparently I missed the second question in that submission on why it was changed. It wasn’t done exclusively for MotoGP; there were talks in the late '80s of trying to attract F1 to Laguna Seca as well, and beyond meeting the minimum circuit length for FIM when they arrived in 1988, there was an overarching approach taken where adding the infield and pushing the track length out to 2.2 miles would open up a range of FIA-sanctioned event hosting going forward.

Q: When IndyCar released its 2023 schedule, you had a new article on the site within hours titled "IndyCar exploring options for new venues."

Let the speculation begin!

Milwaukee Mile: Dave Kallman of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is pessimistic that an IndyCar return to the Mile can be successful. A late August date with the NASCAR Trucks is the best hope for a reincarnation. I cannot see Penske and Detroit relinquishing its date after Indy.

Mexico: Fundidora Park in Monterrey is the best bet. There is some construction going on there and it is the hometown of Pato O'Ward. And Monterrey is much closer to the border than Mexico City.

Denver: I thought the Ball Arena (former Pepsi Center) street circuit used from 2002-06 was decent. But, Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the Nuggets, Avalanche, and Ball Arena, has plans to develop the Ball Arena parking lot for retail, housing, and green space. Perhaps a race in Denver will have to be somewhere other than around Ball Arena.

Richmond: The attendance was good there for the first few years. Towards the end the racing turned processional. I recall then-teammates Dixon and Franchitti apologizing for a processional race at Richmond. Give Richmond another try?

Pittsburgh: I think a Pittsburgh street race is a Rahal pipe dream at this point.

Unspecified road course out west: Could it be a return to Sonoma? Maybe Utah Motorsports Campus? I cannot see it being Las Vegas.

Ken C, Thunder Bay, ON

MP: Speculation keeps us entertained, especially in the offseason!

Kallman’s a smart guy with all the local insights, so I wouldn’t argue against him. I would add, though, that IndyCar is genuinely motivated to take another shot at making Milwaukee work, and if they maintain that energy, good things can happen.

Q: I really enjoyed camping at Mid-Ohio on the first weekend of October last year for the finale of the Road to Indy series. By contrast, this year's RTI categories finished with a rush of three high stakes races at Portland International Raceway. With the chaotic starts of those races under dubious and vacillating rules which resulted in a significant shuffle in the final standing, might Andersen Promotions and Penske Entertainment opt to go back to Mid-Ohio for a more stable and equitable finale to the Road to Indy season?

Don Davis, Chardon, OH

MP: It’s a great point, Don. Asking a bunch of kids towards the bottom tier of the Road To Indy — the USF2000 class, in particular, where they have so much left to learn — to navigate the crash-happy Turn 1 chicane without taking each other out might be asking too much. As we saw, big mistakes made across all three USF2000 race starts changed the championship in significant ways, and that’s a shame.

But, the other way to look at it is a bunch of kids learned some huge lessons, mostly on the ‘what not to do’ side, and those who were able to steer clear of contact were duly rewarded. Best suggestion is to use what the IndyCar drivers lobbied for, which was to get an early start coming out of the final corner so there was more separation by the time they got to Turn 1. It worked to perfection.

Q: Congrats to the Meyer Shank team on its DPi championship! It has been great to see them slowly grow bigger and better. In 2019, I took my young nephew to the IndyCar race at Barber, and we stayed at the same hotel as MSR. At breakfast, the mechanics and engineers were super cool and allowed the boy to ask them a bunch of questions; Mike convinced the staff to feed him mimosas. Hope they never change!

Regards, Kyle

MP: MSR is the closest thing you’ll find to a group of fishing buddies who’ve decided to go and win the 24 Hours of Daytona, Indy 500, and three IMSA championships between beer runs and fish fries. The most real and relatable team I’ve come across in pro racing. Now it’s time to get the IndyCar program in order.

Shank's amassing one heck of a trophy collection. Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images

Q: New name ideas for the series and ladder:

Top Tier: Astor Cup (Astor Cup presented by..., or NTT Indy Car Astor Cup Series)

Second Tier: Vanderbilt Cup (Vanderbilt Cup presented by..., or PPG IndyCar Vanderbilt Cup Series)

It would be nice to have a stable name associated with the series and trophy and then add and change sponsors and presenters. Changing the name of the trophy name every time the sponsorships change, as is done in other series, is cheesy. The two IndyCar trophies (along with the Borg Warner) are iconic and timeless.

A couple weeks ago there was a question about using old IndyCars for the second tier series. Could we gather up all the DP01s and put old Judd V10 F1 engines in them for the junior series? There was one running around at M1 this past weekend in Pontiac, MI and it sounded really cool.

Eric Gackenbach, Dearborn, MI

MP: By gather, you mean paying a lot of money to the private owners of 15-year-old vintage Indy cars and then pay tons for coveted and limited-supply Judd V10s... to use as the cars at the top step of the junior open-wheel ladder... which would likely be faster than the current DW12s. I love it!

As for names, It’s been the IndyCar Series since 2005, with various sponsor names added up front. Is it really that unstable?

Q: Did Chip cover his DPi crash damage costs by selling tickets to the reaming he surely gave the two drivers? Odds of either returning next year?

Doug Farrow, Plymouth, MN

MP: As one Ganassi staffer told me, if they were able to sort out the Palou situation and keep him in place, they can keep Earl ‘The Hammer’ Bamber and Renger ‘The Anvil’ van der Zande in their Cadillacs in 2023.

Q: An odd comment for me since my interest tends to wane with the seasonal shifting of Mailbag percentage away from IndyCar, but I really enjoyed the video link in last week's Mailbag to the 1971 team principals’ race at Brands Hatch. I would like to see Toto Wolff and Christian Horner included in the field with Chip and Zak in spec cars, but open-wheel cars, not tin-tops. Maybe non-winged sprint cars on dirt.

My question is, should I be relieved that the 2023 IndyCar schedule is unchanged from last year, or disappointed that it is not?

Gary E, Dwight, IL

MP: I think Zak wins that one. He was pretty good back in the day when he was on the 1990s version of the Road To Indy, and he’s also the only one among those you mentioned who regularly races or tests vintage GTP, CART, and F1 cars.

My take on the schedule is that after two years of COVID-affected calendars and shortened seasons, I like the idea of year-to-year consistency. But I wouldn’t feel the same way a year from now. Not when F1’s expanding and doing new and interesting things, including barnstorming America with three raced. Not when NASCAR, at least with its Coliseum opener and addition of a Chicago street race and a greater shift towards road racing, is making an impact by trying to do new and interesting things.

I like the schedule steadiness for IndyCar because it allows teams to save and prepare for a new and more expensive engine formula and the related chassis and aero updates coming in 2024, and it also speaks to the series having stability where it was recently lacking, but it can’t afford to get left behind by its bigger rivals by giving fans, sponsors, and manufacturers the same old calendar in 2024.

Q: Has RACER thought of doing a series of interviews with track promoters? It would be interesting to get their insights on plans for the physical facility, the value of having an IndyCar race, and their thoughts for future events, including undercard races and other promotions. Selfishly, I think it would be great to start with John Narigi or someone in the Laguna management. I know you have a lot on your plate, so I just put this out there for thought.

Tom Hinshaw, Santa Barbara, CA

MP: Thanks, Tom. RACER.com editor Mark Glendenning wrote a feature similar to what you're asking for a couple of years ago, but I’m sure it will be worth revisiting with some of the new events/promoters in the near future.

Q: Having had the pleasure to attend the last two IndyCar races this year, it seems testing worked for the winning teams at both venues. Penske at Portland, and Ganassi at Laguna Seca, recently tested prior to both and it was to the detriment of the actual races. Both races were not the most exciting. Are teams free to test during the season? If limiting testing is the case, when are the teams required to announce when and where they will be doing so?

David B.

MP: We filed a story or two in August and September on IndyCar’s testing regimen and rules for 2023. Might be worth searching for those. Teams aren’t required to announce their testing plans to other teams, but they must seek approval from IndyCar beforehand, and once approved, it goes onto an internal testing schedule that is accessible by teams.

More importantly, since track rental costs tend to be extremely high, teams will either reach out and invite a few others to share the day and costs, or have teams that see one has reserved Track X on a date that works for them reach out and ask if they can join in.

Q: Great article on Swift in RACER magazine. I have always been curious about Hiro Matsushita but have never seen him interviewed. Did you reach out to him for the article? Is he around? Do you know him? I think a serious interview with him about his entire career would be fascinating.

David Turner, Las Vegas, NV

MP: Hi David, no, I did not reach out to him because outside of commissioning the project, which the car’s designer David Bruns described in the opening to the piece, there wasn’t anything I needed him to cover off in the story, which already featured four voices.

He appears on occasion at the Indy 500 and has been on my deep-dive podcast interview list for a few years, along with 100 other drivers and racers that interest me.

Q: Have you heard of a possible return to IndyCar in 2023 for Oliver Askew? I think he would be an interesting driver for Juncos Racing or Ganassi. He probably learned a lot during his year in Formula E, where he was the rookie of the year.

Yannick from France

MP: Heard his name mentioned as a possibility for the second car at Foyt, but the team faces the same need for the ride to be funded, which isn’t Askew’s deal. I’d really love to see it happen for him — he’s matured a ton since his IndyCar debut in 2020 — but there’s nothing jumping out at the moment with a paid seat for the 2019 Indy Lights champion.

Askew learned plenty during his stint in Formula E; now he needs to find somewhere to put those skills to use. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

Q: Most IndyCar drivers have to secure millions of dollars and a sponsor to land a ride on just about any team save for the Big Three. How does a driver make any money or have a salary? Who's writing them a check? After all, these guys are risking their lives on high speed ovals, let alone road and street courses. Are IndyCar drivers the millionaires people may perceive them to be, or are they receiving peanuts? The owners are obviously billionaires but they aren't the ones cheating death at 220mph lap after lap.

David Colquitt

MP: All depends on the age and talent of the driver, David. The veterans who’ve won championships and/or Indy 500s are millionaires, and in select instances, the ones who’ve been at the front of the series for a decade or more have been high earners for a long time and had the ability to save, invest, and grow their wealth. Think of someone like Dixon, who’s commanded a healthy salary forever, and isn’t the type to fill his driveway with the latest Lamborghinis and throw money away on private jets and whatnot to turn his annual salary into pennies.

But for most of the pros who are being paid for their talents, they’re making at least $1 million per year which, after taxes, can take it down to not much more than $500,000. That’s not a small sum of money by any means, but it also isn’t enough to spend wildly or to build generational wealth at a fast rate.

One good thing, however, is we’ve had an appreciable rise in driver salaries over the last year or so to expand the pool of those who are around or over $2 million per year. Being over $2 million was once the rarified air for all but the best of the best — those big-name championship and 500 winners — but that has changed to include more of the young title contenders like Herta and Palou, etc.

Q: Seeing that no manufacturer is very interested in plucking down millions to build an engine for IndyCar, I have to ask: did IndyCar, Honda and Chevy miss the mark on the new engine specs? Are the upcoming specs not an enticing/relevant power unit? Manufacturers seem to be flocking to the new GTP; what makes that so enticing?

Steve

MP: I don’t think they missed the mark for one main reason, Steve: This is the formula Honda wanted in order to stay in the series. And I’ve heard that while Chevy was resistant to the notion of going hybrid for many years, they obviously changed their minds. Keep in mind that both brands also opted into IMSA’s new hybrid formula, so that’s two major series with commitments from Acura/Honda and GM/Chevy/Cadillac where hybridization is the key new aspect of the engine formula.

So, if IndyCar stuck to its non-hybrid formula, I think we’d have reverted back to being a truly spec series, with Chevy/Ilmor handling the entire field. By going hybrid, we’ve preserved the two manufacturers that were in play.

Two other quick things to consider: If you were in charge of a manufacturer’s budget, would you commit it to a hybrid IndyCar engine program while the series continues to face delays in testing the ERS units on track and doesn’t want to name the ERS manufacturer in case there’s a need to delay things again? And there’s no truly clear picture as to when new cars will be arriving? These are the kinds of things that would lead me, if I were that manufacturer rep, to sit and wait until IndyCar gets its house in order.

As for why IMSA has so many manufacturers, it’s always been easier to get a manufacturer of road cars to spend money on racing series that feature vehicles that come from their production lines and are modified for competition or, in the case of GTP, look like fantasy versions of the road cars they sell which feature road-to-race body styling cues that link the prototypes’ styling in ways that connect back to what they sell.

Always been that way. Manufacturers who choose IndyCar have a tougher time justifying the expense to the same boards of directors who have a sports car option to consider that offers things they’re more familiar with in the sport.

The real issue here is IMSA announced it was going hybrid with its prototypes when IndyCar was still playing around with its new formula being non-hybrid. So, two major American racing series, with one offering manufacturers a chance to go hybrid in their preferred arena of sports cars…IMSA was always going to win that decision-making battle with IndyCar.

Q: Keeping Andretti out of F1 is bad math. Splitting the purse 11 ways vs 10 ways is a 1% difference. Does no one believe that with next year's

schedule, the possibility of adding an American team with possibly one or two American drivers will not increase revenue by far more than 1%?

Gary in Dayton

CHRIS MEDLAND: Really sorry to burst your bubble on this one Gary, but splitting the purse 11 ways vs 10 ways is very nearly a 10% drop for each team. I'm not sure you'll ever be able to directly correlate a percentage increase in revenue to allowing a specific team in anyway, but what the other teams say is, why should they give up their income to another team? Their argument is that if F1 believes it will increase the revenue enough, then the owners should be the ones giving up some of their own profits for long-term gain.

Q: Can you tell me why no one seems interested in Mick Schumacher? He is a proven winner, an F2 and F3 champion and he has done a decent job for Haas. I know that he had a couple of big crashes earlier this season, but he has scored some good points and had other opportunities for points lost by car failures and poor strategy. I have never heard of him being difficult to work with or there being other personality issues. The fact that Haas is looking at Giovinazzi is a surprise. I mean, he didn't set the world on fire when he was at Alfa and he tended to crash a lot. So tell me, why don't they like Mick?

Mark Bartholomew

CM: From what I gather, it's actually the point you make about being difficult to work with, but not necessarily the driver himself. It's partly the team around him too, with certain relationships and approaches making it challenging for Haas to operate in the way its wants when it comes to Mick. It's a relatively small thing, but it means Mick needs to be performing consistently at a high level and avoid the expensive mistakes to offset that inconvenience, and over the balance of the year it appears Haas feels he hasn't done that. I could be proven wrong, but I don't think Haas is seriously looking at Giovinazzi, but more doing Ferrari a favor by giving him some experience in a 2022 car in return for doing its own thing with its 2023 line-up.

Mick is becoming an awkward fit for Haas. Andy Hone/Motorsport Images

Q: What's the point of Pirelli producing full wet tires if the FIA won't let the drivers race with them on? I understand safety is important and some races back in the day were held in ridiculous weather, but for me the pendulum has swung too far the other way, to the point that we are scared to see drivers race in the rain. Why is this?

Jordan, Warwickshire, UK

CM: Firstly, greetings from this side of the pond, Jordan! I agree that the pendulum sometimes goes too far the other way, but the main issue is Pirelli doesn't produce a particularly good full wet tire, but does make a very good intermediate, so teams always want to use that even when it's still very wet. And you can use the inter in most conditions F1 races in, because whenever the full wet would definitely be needed, the amount of standing water it now has to clear creates too much spray for the FIA to deem a start safe. When you have all of the cars running together in a pack on the opening lap the lack of visibility can be really dangerous, so they tend to wait that bit longer for it to be possible to do a standing start and just race rather than run around behind the Safety Car.

It's generally the right approach, in my opinion. I'd rather wait an extra 10 minutes to start the race properly than go a bit earlier behind a Safety Car with a strung out field, but there are some times we could get going earlier. So the full wet basically now exists for practice and qualifying situations, as well as potentially when it rains during a race and reaches a point that the inter isn't working.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, October 8, 2014

Q: What is the real story of what happened to AJ Foyt IV? He seemed to have talent and some real success in Indy Lights but his IndyCar career just fizzled. He walked away from the sport after a few Indy 500 qualification and race mishaps and never returned. There was never a press release in regard to his retirement. I know he is working for the Colts and good for him, but what happened to racing?

Tony Matracia

ROBIN MILLER: No underlying plot: he and grandpa tangled a lot, the IRL went away and road racing wasn’t AJ IV’s forte. Not sure how dedicated he was, either. But he’s doing just fine, married one of Jim Irsay’s daughters, plays a lot of golf and looks happy flying first class whenever I see him. Good guy, too.