The RACER Mailbag, February 1

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: Is it just me or does every city with an F1 race make it a 150-mile radius dead zone for an IndyCar event? And which shakes are best – Steak 'n' Shake or Dairy Queen?

Janis in Tampa

MARSHALL PRUETT: I wouldn’t so much put a 150-mile radius on things as I’d say street race put on by F1 will always draw a crowd, and COTA was designed with F1 in mind, so it has the hearts and minds of domestic and international fans. IndyCar is known to have some new venues (or returns to familiar ones that previously worked) in mind, so don’t lose hope.

And let’s not be silly, it’s Steak 'n' Shake.

Q: With the much-needed good news of Kyle Larson joining the big race in 2024, what would be some welcomed "good news" you'd like to see from IndyCar in the coming weeks? Do we have anything else to be excited about moving forward that you know of in the works?

Chris Glenn

MP: There’s a cool possibility for another Indy 500 entry this year that I’ve been asked to keep the lid on, and if that happens, IndyCar fans just might like it. The series is working on some calendar additions as I just mentioned, so that’s encouraging. There’s a new biofuel coming this season that’s cool. And the racing is always great. It’s a bit of a rinse-wash-and-repeat in that regard.

As for big new items like a fresh chassis, new engine formula, additional manufacturers signing on, and so on, those fall more in the longer lead-time category. I keep coming back to the one thing that IndyCar does better than any of its rivals in the racing marketplace, and that’s the quality of racing in most of its events.

Q: Driving home the other night I was listening to my NBA favorite Sacramento Kings on the radio. The announcer for the game was Gary Gerould and I have been listening to him for years. I don’t know how it finally happened, but it hit me that Gary and I share two loves –  IndyCar and the Kings – and that this is the same guy that I watched for years on IndyCar broadcasts! How did the G-Man get into IndyCar racing, and is he still involved with IndyCar at all? Light the Beam!

Steve

MP: Gary was involved in broadcasting since he was a kid and I believe was drafted into race broadcasting when he joined NBC. He hasn’t been involved in IndyCar in forever, which is too bad. I always enjoyed his talents and personality; it was great fun catching up with him back in the day when I was on pit lane with whatever Atlantic/Indy Lights/IndyCar team I was on and although I was a nobody, he always made time to talk IndyCar or the NBA — shared passions.

Q: Great to see Takuma Sato and Sting Ray Robb get last two IndyCar seats. Has Sato raced in endurance racing, whether in IMSA or the WEC or elsewhere? As an older driver with Honda backing I am surprised he didn't participate.

C Bailey, Naples, FL

MP: Takuma was possibly going to drive in LMP2 with his former Rick Ware Racing team, but that didn’t happen. I’d be surprised if Acura/Honda doesn’t find some IMSA opportunities for him this year since he has some newfound free time.

Sato might look to sports cars to fill some quiet weekends in 2023. Gavin Baker/Motorsport Images

Q: Simple question for you after looking at Rossi's sexy new Arrow McLaren ride. Do you think he regrets turning down Penske and reupping with Andretti several years ago? I would think that would be a resounding yes, unless there is some water under the bridge I have no idea about.

Also, who would you blame more on the failed partnership – Rossi or Andretti Autosport? I know the deal about bad luck, but let's say for kicks that you can't blame lady luck on this one. Rossi is such a badass racer, but he also comes off as a bit arrogant and aloof. Would you say there's anything to that? Dixon and (to a lesser extent) Newgarden seem so in sync with their teams. I don't get that vibe from Rossi.

Randy from Milwaukee

MP: I wouldn’t pretend to know what makes Rossi tick, but he does strike me as an extremely pragmatic person, so if that’s an accurate assessment, I doubt he spends much time playing the "what if" game with himself. He was the top Andretti driver for a number of years and then Colton Herta showed up and took control. Rossi got back to a closer version of his old self in 2022, but the pecking order didn’t change.

If he’d left for Penske, he’d have a more experienced and complete version of Herta to deal with in Newgarden, so life would have only gotten harder. And then there’s Will Power, the master of the pole position and now a two-time champion. My wife, who is an introvert, tells me she sees the same traits in Rossi, so is it aloofness or just an aversion to all the things that make sense to an extrovert like yours truly?

I know Arrow McLaren boss Zak Brown thinks he’s got a serious new weapon to use in Rossi, and with the esteemed Craig Hampson as his race engineer -- plus a giant budget -- I’m confident saying he’ll have every resource needed to win races and his first championship. There are no excuses for him, or the rest of the team, to be anything less than a major player in how the title is settled.

Q: I love the ideas and passion of both you and the people who submit great ideas and comments about improving IndyCar. Just one question: Is IndyCar listening?

Keep up the good work, and hopefully there will be a time you can proudly say you cover IndyCar again.

Bill Cantwell

MP: I’m just as proud to cover IndyCar as I was a year ago or 10 years ago, Bill. If I didn’t love it and have pride in where I work, I’d find another series to cover. I know a few people at IndyCar read the Mailbag, but the new owners aren’t looking for input from folks like me.

Q: As a retired mechanical engineer, I greatly enjoy the technical side of motorsports across all disciplines. It is a significant part of the attraction for me. Regarding IndyCar, from the Novi to laydown roadsters to the rear engine revolution to turbocharging to ground effects to Penske’s Beast, it has been fascinating to watch it all unfold. But, and it is a big but, I don’t see this thought process returning for two reasons. Given what it costs to field an IndyCar these days, and how difficult it is to get sufficient sponsorship, it would seem to take some major speculative money in order to fund more design work, aero work, power train development and considerably more testing. In today’s environment, this is a big question mark.

Back in the day, there were benefactors such as Chapman Root, Bob Wilke, Lindsey Hopkins and others who weren’t adverse to taking chances on new thinking. That doesn’t seem to exist now. Anyway, not being a futurist or product planner, I don’t see how all this can happen.

The other thing is that I strongly suspect that if it were to happen, the gap in the field between the haves and the have-nots would widen and have implications for the quality of the competition. For the last period of time, one of the current drawing cards for the series is the level of competition. That’s something that we would not want to sacrifice.

Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

MP: Agreed on all fronts, Don.

Q: I enjoyed your IMSA GTP series videos. Do you know what the handheld device that is shown in the picture below used for with IMSA technical inspection?

Scott Thompson

MP: It’s part of IMSA’s new laser scanning system that checks the cars for body shape conformity.

Q: Is it public knowledge as to which team or teams and drivers were involved with the Sebring IndyCar hybrid engine package test?

Oliver Wells.

MP: Public knowledge, no.

Q: Will Peacock continue to not show side-by-side coverage during commercials, or has this been fixed?

Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA

MP: Our first Peacock question of the new year! At least for what I’ve seen so far on Peacock’s Rolex 24 stream, they’ve gone to full commercials during the race. I just sat through nine consecutive commercials on Peacock, so if they’re doing that for IMSA, I’d guess it would be the same for IndyCar.

Q: I’m trying to find answer to following question: What is the difference between the Lotus 38 fielded by Team Lotus in Indy 500 versus the Kuzma/Coyote versions fielded for A.J. Foyt and George Snider in 1966? I have looked in Lotus Racing book and on oldracingcars.com. Any insights?

Greg Huey, Fishers, IN

MP: If I had more time and wasn’t sprinting between the Rolex 24 and Spring Training, I might be able to invest the time to do the research for you, but this will either need to wait for another day, or benefit from the institutional knowledge of our readers to point you in the best direction.

I guarantee that the Mailbag collective will be able to solve reader Greg's Lotus mystery. Dave Friedman/Motorsport Images

Q: I always watch the announcement of the IndyCar TV schedule with interest. I feel that the number of races shown on the main network vs specialty subsidiaries or streaming platforms is indicative of the health of the series. This year’s schedule doesn’t look too bad. Only Toronto is streaming-only (on Peacock), and only three races are shuttled over to USA.

Any insight as to why those four were not afforded network coverage? Do the dates conflict with golf or something? Anyway, as a Canadian, this schedule is pretty decent, as we always get NBC in our basic cable, and one of the Canadian networks will certainly pick up Toronto, leaving only Road America, Mid-Ohio and the second IMS race as races we’ll have to hunt down (U.S. programs might also be shown on Sportsnet, which is a first-tier basic sports channel that most sports watchers buy anyway). Otherwise, they will be uploaded in Spanish or Japanese to YouTube by Monday night, and it’s not like it is hard to avoid IndyCar coverage on sports feeds (there isn’t any), so spoilers are not a thing.

As for the venues… hey, these 14 are willing to host IndyCar, good enough! Would I like to see IndyCar back in Brazil, Australia, Japan? For sure, but not at the expense of the car count, which I’m loving.

Trevor Bohay

MP: When I ask about such things, I tend to get the same answer about a pre-existing date/broadcast for a bigger sporting property on NBC, so I can’t imagine that answer’s changed. There’s another angle to consider, and it’s a merit-based reason to prioritize IndyCar above other sports on NBC and place all races on the big network. IndyCar’s had good ratings, but rarely are those ratings of the size that get NBC Sports executives standing up and clapping for the series. Again, the ratings are good, but not incredible, so if I’m NBC, I’m telling IndyCar it needs to do more things on its own to attract more fans to its series.

I’m writing this on a Saturday night in the Daytona media center, and while here, we’ve just seen the biggest attendance figure of all time (per the track) for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and having been to a lot of these, I have to agree. Why is it newly popular? New hybrid GTP cars, new or higher levels of marketing from those and other IMSA manufacturers, etc. There’s a huge buzz with IMSA because they’ve made decisions and changes to freshen their product and have been rewarded for making those bold moves.

Lots of lessons for IndyCar to learn from IMSA’s actions over the last few years…

Q: Half-sober, half-serious idea to make the combined NASCAR/IndyCar Indy road course much more exciting: Multi-class racing. An American Le Mans redux, but stock cars and open-wheel cars on the course together.

Shawn in MD enjoying Guinness Cold Brew Coffee Stout

MP: Any sane (but not necessarily sober) idea to make the second Indy GP more special is welcome. I get that NASCAR is the big date holder and has the provenance with decades of Brickyard 400s behind it, but Lord, showing up for an IndyCar race, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and seeing the entire field pushed out into the month of May hospitality area as its paddock was just depressing. I’ve been to hundreds of IndyCar races across CART, Champ Car, IRL, and IndyCar Series sanctioning, and this was the first time it felt like we were second-class citizens in our own home. So, yes, let’s also pull 20 cars out of the IMS Museum and drop them into the run-what-ya-brung 500.

Q: What’s the difference between the IMSA and IndyCar LED panels, and why can IMSA get them to work and IndyCar can’t?

Jon

MP: Nothing makes me and IndyCar prez Jay Frye happier than a LED panel question!

Space and frequencies. In the overhead position where they were placed on the left and right sides of the roll hoop fairings, there’s very limited space on the backsides of that bodywork to accept all the electronics that work with the panels. That’s very different than in sports cars where there’s an abundance of space, and therefore, no limitations on space, size, depth, etc.

In IndyCar, on the rollhoops, it called for a smaller, skinnier, tighter solution, and to that end, the last versions, made by Motec, tried to package a lot into a little. And what was found -- totally different than in sports cars -- is the custom IndyCar LED panel application was subjected to some crazy vibrational frequencies (also said to be well outside those encountered in sports car racing) that rattled and broke all kinds of connections in those panels.

All that being said, I do wonder when the next LED tests will happen. Who cares about hybrid engines… gimme panels!

Q: I'm looking forward to Le Mans this year. What is your best guess on lap times of the Hypercars vs the Cadillac GTP cars? And lap times of the GT cars vs the Garage 56 Camaro?

Ken, Lockport, NY

MP: The whole goal of having converged GTP/LMDh and Hypercar formulas race together is to not have a lap time difference between a Cadillac V-LMDh and a Ferrari 499P or the other Hypercars, so if the ACO is doing its job on Balance of Performance, there will be almost no separation. We know the initial stated target was a 3m30s lap time, but I expect the converged Hypercar class to be well faster. No clue on the G56 Camaro ZL1 vs the GTE cars; we’ve yet to see the G56 car run with all of its aero and endurance racing bits attached.

In theory, GTPs and Hypercars should be able to play in the same sandbox. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

Q: IndyCar has a story on its official website indicating 27 full-time entries for 2023. As you are probably aware, Toronto's current pit lane barely holds 24 cars in its current configuration. Many drivers have voiced their displeasure about how tight it is now; some have even ventured to call it dangerous.

I have read and heard rumors that IndyCar has held or will be holding talks with Toronto's promoters about what to do in the future to accommodate larger fields. When Hotel X was constructed, the organizers had no choice but to move the pitlane that was in existence since the race's inception in 1986 to the opposite side of Princes Blvd because the old pitlane sits at their front door. They had their hands tied. Is there a layout change or significant changes to the track coming for 2023 to fit all of these entries?

I know Scott Dixon said there should be more grandstands when he won last year with the crowd being the highest it has been since the late '90s, but where would organizers put all of this? That's the burning question for fans of this race. Drivers have indicated that they want the pits to be on the same side as Hotel X, but that doesn't appear to be an option. Organizers and IndyCar may have to get creative and navigate through what Exhibition Place's board, tenants and City of Toronto want. Hopefully all of them are on the same page.

David Colquitt

MP: When I spoke with Jay Frye about it in August based on my expectation for 27-28 cars turning up, he said there was a plan in place by Green Savoree Race Promotions, the event’s organizers, to make some modifications that would allow for a full field; he said the goal was to not turn away any entries. So, until I catch up with him at Spring Training and get a better idea of how it would be done, that’s what I have to share. They’ve anticipated 27-plus, as has GSRP, and they say they have a plan to make it work.

Q: Setting aside the game-changing big one in May, what do you think the chances are that Arrow McLaren expands to four full-time rides in 2024 if Felix has a strong year with a basket of wins and podiums and solid finish in points? Or is his lame duck status written in stone?

Tim, halfway between Watkins Glen and Richmond, PA

MP: Things could change, obviously, but when I spoke about this with McLaren CEO Zak Brown last year, he said three cars was the perfect size for Arrow McLaren. And with the Leaders Circle payout rules, only three cars are eligible for those million-dollar contracts from the series for each team

Q: Given the spec gearbox/differential of the GTP class and the significantly different engines of the same, did the OEMs or Xtrac design and build the bell housings for each chassis type?

Jonathan and Cleide Morris, Ventura, CA

MP: Each GTP constructor designed and built their own bellhousings to mate with the XTRAC transmissions.

Q: I'm writing concerning Cusick Motorsports and DRR working together for this year's Indy 500. I was so excited when I heard that news! Stefan Wilson is going to have a good car, and team, which he deserves, and it looks like he will have a teammate. Don Cusick is showing tremendous passion for IndyCar, which is great to see in a team owner. I've been a fan of DRR's since 2000, when Robbie Buhl drove that beautiful Purex car and won at Disney World. Dennis Reinbold is a solid, passionate owner as well.

Don Cusick mentioned that he would like to run more races after the 500 with DRR. Have you heard if this has a chance of happening and, if so, which races? I'm guessing/hoping for Iowa and WWTR. The Cusick/DRR relationship certainly seems like a positive to me, and I really hope that it extends beyond this year.

Dan Michaelian, Ontario, CA

MP: Last I heard, they’re waiting to get through Indy before settling on whether to do more, but if they venture out, I’d look for the closing rounds at Portland and Monterey.

Q: I wrote in last year about NBC's coverage of the Daytona 24-hour and mentioned it would be nice if they actually showed the race more during the broadcast. Well, they made it even worse this year! In the first hour alone, between commercial breaks and showing the booth announcers, I swear only about 10 minutes of the race was actually on screen. I literally just gave up even trying to watch it since every time IMSA Radio was saying anything of interest, I couldn't see what they were talking about. NBC does a great job with IndyCar, but a terrible job with IMSA.

Is it just me, or is it backwards that from a viewer standpoint, I can get better coverage of the support series? I was able to watch the VP Challenge and Michelin Pilot Challenge races live with absolutely no commercials. Or, if I lived outside of the U.S., I could watch the top-tier American sports car series also live and without commercials through the world feed on IMSA Radio (I considered paying for a VPN service in order to also watch this feed, but didn't want to go through the hassle). So why do people in the U.S. get a very sub-par delivery of the top product?

It's extremely frustrating, especially since I very much wanted to see how the new GTP cars did, but I am not willing to watch such an incredibly poor broadcast just to do that. I will happily avoid all racing news until the world feed is posted on YouTube instead. But I shouldn't have to, especially considering that I am actually paying for Peacock for this broadcast. Perhaps an option could be added to pay for a subscription to the world feed so that those of us who are watching the race in order to, well, actually watch the race, can do so.

Heather, SF Bay Area

MP: You know it’s bad when the letters complaining about the broadcast outweigh the ones praising the new GTP cars.

Q: I watched the entire Rolex 24 from behind Peacock’s paywall and was subjected to an absurd amount of ads. What am I paying for? Very frustrating. Also, it would be wonderful to watch an IMSA race without being force-fed NASCAR BS.

Lance Quigley, Greensboro, NC

MP: At least we didn’t have a big NASCAR star competing in the top class like we did a few years ago when it turned into the HEY CHASE ELLIOTT’S IN THE Rolex 24 At Daytona broadcast.

Chase Elliott was one of many stock car stars to have brought some "NASCAR BS" (Lance's phrase, not ours) to the Rolex grid when he formed part of the line-up in the No.31 Cadillac DPi in 2021. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images

Q: It seems that the BoP gods got it wrong with respect to the Porches this year. It happens. No reason for the nattering nabobs of negativity to bitch and moan. It’s a stellar show. Kudos to IMSA.

Brian

MP: Quite the opposite. Think of all the Porsche customer teams who invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the brand-new cars, only to have a visibly incorrect BoP applied to their cars for the event and then have the series refuse to make any adjustments. This was the widest miss on Rolex 24 BoP I’ve seen in a while. Makes me think there’s another reason we don’t know about for allowing the big performance gap to stand.

Q: I have a Garage 56 question. Super-excited to see it on track. How did Jenson Button get associated with the project? Jimmie Johnson is possibly the most famous stock car driver and is capable, Rockenfeller being an ace with NASCAR ties, so both are obvious choices. I'm a huge JB fan, but he seems like an interesting pick.

Bernardo, Canyon Lake, TX

MP: Jenson, who’s friends with Jimmie, got introduced to the G56 folks and was quickly invited to join the roster. An overall Le Mans winner, a 7X NASCAR champ, and an F1 champ all bringing a lot of interest to the project. I’d heard Daniel Ricciardo was also approached but he turned it down which, for the life of me, I can’t figure out.

Q: I wish to commend the leadership at A.J. Foyt racing for their sensitivity towards the African American, Jewish and other minority communities of our country. Some of the commenters on the story published at RACER.com seem to feel the car numbers are a fairly trivial matter and just another case of someone finding a reason to be offended by something. Perhaps they haven’t personally felt threatened, but since the massacres at Emanuel AME Church and Tree of Life Synagogue, myself, and other members of these communities with whom I have talked, feel a sense of concern attending events at our places of worship.

Congregations with limited resources have had to spend money on security that would have otherwise gone towards feeding the homeless, etc. Some members have even opted out of attending in person due to fears for their personal safety. Elderly members with walkers sometimes have to negotiate bollards in front of the entrances which protect from vehicles being used in an attack. Simple acts like that taken by Foyt may not seem like much to some people, but they send a powerful message that hate groups don’t have a place in our world, and many of us are very grateful.

Bary Berger

MP: Count me among those who had no clue about the 14/88 thing, Bary, and also count me among those who learned about it as a result of this decision taken by the Foyt team. I can’t think of a single act by the Foyt team that’s told me they’ve made big strides in modernizing their thinking more than this number change.

Q: I’ve watched the Rolex for a few years now, but was more interested this year and it left me with a few questions.

1) When talking about the Porsche GTD cars, I heard the term Balance of Performance (or something like that) used. The commentators were talking about how Porsche basically got this wrong for this race. What does that mean, and what did Porsche do wrong to upset that balance?

2) The LMP2 class all had the same ORECA cars. Why is that? It seems odd that there is a whole class with no competition in manufacturers. And for LMP3 there were only two. And for both classes, I had never heard of these manufacturers, so what is going on there?

3) There was obviously a lot of talk about the new GTP class. What were your takeaways now seeing them in action in a 24-hour race?

Mike R., Michigan

MP: Good old BoP, the three letters I hate most in racing. BoP is a formula used to balance -- "equalize" is a better term -- the cars in a sports car class where a lot of variety is found. So, in the GT Daytona class, there’s tons of different models; Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Lexus, Porsche, and so on, and since a tall and wide Lexus RC F sedan was never meant to race with a Ferrari 296 supercar, BoP was created to speed up the slower models, slow the faster ones, and establish parity so a bunch of cool cars can play together without any one of them having an advantage.

And when a new model like Porsche’s latest 911 GT3 R comes out, IMSA tries to learn about all of its performance capabilities and then cook up a BoP table for it -- picking a minimum weight, engine air restrictor size, RPM or turbo boost limits, etc., it feels will balance its performance limits against the other cars.

At Daytona, that clearly didn’t happen. And that always happens to at least one model each year at the Rolex 24. That’s why I hate BoP. The intent is to take all the shapes and sizes and engine types and whatnot and give them all an equal shot at winning. But it never happens.

LMP2 has four approved chassis suppliers, but it didn’t take long for all those who were getting beaten by ORECA to sell their cars and move to the 07 chassis. Free market, kind of, with four options, and the market spoke by choosing ORECA based on its superior performance. There are plenty of LMP3 constructors as well, but Ligier is the dominant brand. Oddly enough, its comparatively rival Duquesne won the class at Daytona with its sleek D08 chassis.

GTP -- so many takeaways. Phenomenal racing, vastly superior reliability than anyone expected, and immense energy from fans and manufacturers for the class. We were prepared for all the GTP cars to fail, but they delivered big to give IMSA a huge boost.

Q: There were basically three national TV providers in Canada, now down to two. IndyCar says the Canadian fans are important to the series, but if you’re not a customer of Rogers and SN 360 then you can’t get the broadcast -- maybe half of the Canadian audience. Peacock is N/A.

Might you have the opportunity to ask if the race might be available on NBC so that the "valuable" Canadian fans might actually be able to watch their sole home race?

Mike

MP: Not much I can do here, Mike, but I do have Canadian friends who tell me they’re big fans of another network: VPN.

Q: I know he has a test but surely Tom Blomqvist will be driving IndyCar in 2024?

Oliver Wells.

MP: Barring something unforeseen, I have Tom penciled in as one of MSR’s two IndyCar drivers next year.

IndyCar fans might be seeing a lot more of that helmet next year. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images

Q: Marshall, this year's Rolex 24 was a great race before a record crowd, benefiting from an innovative rules package attracting ample manufacturer participation. Any lessons here for IndyCar? Inquiring minds want to know!

Vic Estes, Wake Forest, NC

MP: That people still care about the cars and technology and will root for their favorite brands if they’re given compelling cars and technology to embrace.

Q: General observations on the Rolex 24: Do the teams have any idea how similar-looking their cars look like to the fans in the stands? The new GTP cars all look alike and the liveries don’t help distinguish one car from another. For example, the 02 and 10, the 6, 7, and 31 and many others in the prototype classes all look the same when flashing past at speed. The GT cars aren’t a problem because they are different shapes.

IMSA needs to find a way to identify which driver is in the car. Possibly a three-light system like the old position lights with each driver driver assigned one, two, three or no lights.

Kent

MP: Thanks for writing in, Kent.

Q: So, off the back of a weekend of terrific racing, I had to write in. I won’t nudge you again about Formula E. If it’s not your flavor, that’s all good, but I still think you’re missing out.

However, IMSA GTP at the Rolex. Wow. Exactly what top-class sports car racing needed. Technical variety, visual variety, sonic variety! All of them withing a second of each other. Yeah, the HPD boys got a solid 0.3s-0.4s on everyone, but it was still a bloody epic feast.

I think we need to stop demanding IndyCar create a new car that will accommodate the IMSA engine rules. Just adopt GTP rules outright (except for multiple drivers). You might not get 33 cars first year, but you’ll get all the IMSA boys, plus guaranteed entries from Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot. McLaren will build their own car too. Fenders? Heresy? Hell, yes. If someone’s jimmies are too rustled then call the series Can-Am instead of IndyCar. Plus, the idea of the Indy 500 and Le Mans back-to-back with the same cars and same stars is just too epic an idea to ignore.

The only downside is that Ferrari is running a flatulent turbo V6 when a big block V12 is completely competitive. A real face palm of a moment there.

Duncan, Ottawa

MP: The biggest thing to come from Daytona in my eyes was the big and clear-cut proof that new and modern ideas bring the fans and the manufacturers. I truly hope the leaders at Penske Entertainment left the Rolex 24 with a pit in their stomachs and an urgent need to create the kind of energy and excitement that GTP brought to IMSA like never before (since its return in 2014).

I know we’re also going hybrid next year in IndyCar, but in the same cars and with no new manufacturers. Again, if we’re lucky, IndyCar’s owners flew home from Daytona with a renewed vigor to emulate all they felt and saw going down in Florida because of the new GTP cars.

Q: I was sad to see Pietro Fittipaldi re-sign as the Haas reserve driver. Seems like he’s wasting his talent given they had two open seats recently and chose not to put him in the car. Does he make that much as a reserve driver to watch his prime racing years tick by? I understand he also has a WEC ride, but seems to me he’ll never drive for Haas barring an injury to someone else. Thoughts?

Vincent Martinez , South Pasadena, CA

CHRIS MEDLAND: I wouldn’t say it’s by choice that Pietro isn’t racing elsewhere. He came close to an IndyCar deal for this year and that was his focus, with Haas rating him highly enough that it allowed him to pursue it and see where he landed before then waiting to see if he was still able to be the reserve. Once the IndyCar chance fell through, the WEC and IMSA rides are good racing seats for him alongside the higher-profile role at Haas.

I agree that not putting him in recently shows that he’s in the role the team wants, but he has impressed with his pace at times and it leaves him in position where if he gets another shot to replace an injured/ill driver at any stage and excels, then he could put himself on the radar. (Don’t forget his 2020 appearances, while they weren't remarkable, came when the 2021 seats had already been finalized and Haas was looking beyond just talent). Just look at the Nyck de Vries example as how it can all open up.

Another thing to remember is his relationship with his brother Enzo, who is racing in F2 this year. He’s like a mentor and manager to him and this role allows him to remain present at many of the F1 events that Enzo competes at, too.

He'd probably have had both thumbs up if the IndyCar thing had worked out for this year. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Q: I’m a bit surprised that after two weeks there were no posts about James Vowles moving to Williams. What’s also surprising is that when I posed the question as to who might succeed Jost Capito a while back, there were no suggestions. It would seem that Vowles’ move was among the better-kept secrets in the series. Rarely do we know what ambitions people hold, but it is clear that there would be no place at Mercedes unless Wolff would move, leave or whatever.

But, there is an interesting deal in the background. It used to be that "gardening leave" was pretty much automatic when someone left a team. In recent times, I believe that is the case for Binotto, but not for Vowles, Vasseur or Seidl. What do you make of this shift?

Don Hopings

CM: You’re spot-on about there being no whispers before the announcement -- it was one that caught a lot of people out and was very well-protected. Sometimes that’s easier to do when it’s the winter and the teams lock themselves away in their factories, but still, big deals that are about to be announced often start to leak in some way, shape or form even when they can’t yet be reported on.

Gardening leave is still a big deal when it’s required, but that tends to be when someone is poached for their skills and knowledge by a direct rival that could hurt the team that they’re leaving. In the cases you cite, Vasseur’s replacement Seidl was allowed to replace him immediately, so why hold Fred back? By the same token, McLaren did want to promote Stella if Seidl left and as CEO it’s a different role for him at Sauber, and for Vowles there’s no threat to Mercedes where he’s going. (Plus given Toto Wolff’s links to the team, you can see why he’d be more open to that switch).

The latter two are also promotions that might play a part in what is in their contracts to allow them to move. But most teams now negotiate over gardening leave anyway so they can get someone off their books in a cost cap era – Dan Fallows leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin earlier being one such example.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, 5 February, 2014

Q: Who are in your top 10 racers you have seen in your lifetime? It seems we have some good ones right now. Scott Dixon is a beast. I watch at least one old Indy car race a night on YouTube. Why do you think Bobby Rahal doesn’t get the respect he deserves? He could drive any course fast and smooth, ovals or road courses! He’s got my respect.

Jeff Edwards

ROBIN MILLER: Parnelli, A.J., Mario, Dan Gurney, the Unsers, Johncock, Rutherford, Jackie Stewart, Gary Bettenhausen, Mears, Tom Sneva, Jan Opperman, Pancho Carter, Bubby Jones, Kenny Roberts, Jay Springsteen, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Lee Kunzman, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Michael Andretti, Dario Franchitti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, Tony Stewart, Bryan Clauson, Kyle Larson, and Jeff Gordon. Is that 10? I think everyone does respect Rahal: he was a complete racer and a smart one as well.