The RACER Mailbag, December 13

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. 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.

NOTE: Chris Medland is on a well-deserved vacation, but feel free to continue sending F1 questions in and he’ll answer them when he returns for the December 20 Mailbag. 

Q: I normally don't get angry at IndyCar, but with the news of the hybrid unit being delayed until after the 500 I just have to ask: Was Roger Penske’s purchase of the series the right one? At first, I was excited about R.P. taking charge, now I am not. No new chassis, no new OEM, 2.4L engine fell through and now the hybrid delay.

At this point I would welcome the series being sold to Liberty Media.

Not that Stefan Johansson

MARSHALL PRUETT: It can be the right one. Thanks to Penske’s incredible record of winning in business and sport, he has a long line of credit with IndyCar’s team owners. But that credit line isn’t infinite. He’s directly responsible for keeping the series and the Speedway alive during COVID, and recognition for that will never diminish.

But there will come a point where resting on that huge hit from 2020-21 won’t sustain the series forever. Penske Entertainment will need to follow it up with another monster hit to infuse its most loyal supporters -- the teams -- and its wider audience -- the fans -- with energy.

I fear the delay in going hybrid, the second such delay under Penske’s ownership, might have robbed the energy it could have offered since its marquee event, the Indy 500 where the biggest audience is drawn, won’t have the hybrids in the race. Missing that month of May target is painful.

So, as a lover of technology, I really hope the ERS units, which are amazing, pique the interest of fans and the media and the auto industry. But if that falls through, Penske will be left to find something else to make his series stand above its rivals in the sports entertainment marketplace.

Like you, there was a widespread expectation for Penske to turn the series into a raging success. But that hasn’t happened so far. It’s safe and stable, which only Penske could have done during COVID, and car counts are up and the racing is great. We’ve also had high car counts in the past, and the racing has almost always been great. So IndyCar is stuck in this weird and familiar place of having a lot of cars and wonderful racing that is almost a secret to most of our country.

What’s next? We don’t know, but since Penske refuses to sell the series, we will keep waiting and hoping for a game-changing move.

We have a lot of letters about the slow walk-out of new technologies in the Mailbag this week, so it feels right to look in the other direction and start with a photo of a technological breakthrough. This computer was used to interpret the data acquired from a test at Paul Ricard by the Tyrrell F1 team in 1979. The data logging system, devised by Karl Kempf, was one of the first examples of telemetry and computers being used in F1. Motorsport Images

Q: The Honda news is a symptom of a larger issue. IndyCar seems to be dying on the vine, with an aging demographic as its core fan base. From the outside it appears there is no urgency from IndyCar’s C-suite to fix it; it’s as if there is a single-minded focus on cost containment at the expense of growth. Any insight from your sources on if there is any sort of near-term and long-term plan beyond “our racing is amazing” with no material changes? I find it hard to believe that Roger Penske of all people is simply relying on hope to fix the issues here by doing more of the same.

Matt

MP: After hybridization is rolled out, I’m unaware of any substantial plans or changes to the current status quo that are in the works.

I feel like I am saying this at an increasing frequency, but prior to Penske Entertainment’s purchase of the series, Jay Frye (president) and Mark Miles (CEO) were the decision makers, with the majority falling to Frye. A lot of big decisions were set in motion prior to 2020. Since the series was purchased, that big decision-making power was taken away by the new ownership team.

If folks are pissed at the current state of IndyCar, calling for Frye or Miles to be fired is like trying to take down Ronald McDonald if your Big Mac sucked… best of luck, but he ain’t the one cooking up or responsible for that mess.

Q: Probably a lot people asking you about Honda maybe quitting after 2026. What are your thoughts about that?

Guillermo Calvillo

MP: A new wrinkle to add is how IMSA’s sweeping success with its new hybrid GTP cars must have given Acura/Honda/HPD a big wake-up call on what it’s spending to try and go hybrid racing in IndyCar and how all of the big love for GTP delivered a heavy compare-and-contrast that it didn’t have prior to 2023.

And it’s not like I predicted this, but I did wonder how going hybrid with GTP at the outset of the 2023 season -- a full year before IndyCar got there -- might lead Acura/Honda/HPD and Cadillac/Chevy Racing to view and evaluate its plans to race on two hybrid fronts in 2024.

Faced with two big annual hybrid racing budgets to commit, and after getting a feel for the costs and value GTP returned in 2023, I absolutely think it had an influence on Honda/HPD as it looks to the future. It’s committed to GTP for the long haul; now it wants IndyCar to pull the costs for it to compete down to a lower level to justify its future presence.

As for my thoughts, I’d say that Honda’s probably spent half a billion dollars on IndyCar, if not more, since it founded HPD in 1993. Anyone who questions its commitment or love for IndyCar is an idiot. Time for the series to pay serious attention to Honda’s needs and determine if it wants to make changes and keep them, or ignore them and take IndyCar in a new direction with a single supplier or an all-new formula to possibly attract a replacement for Honda that will still keep Chevy in the game.

Q: Several people have pointed to IMSA's GTP as a lead IndyCar should be following when it comes to attracting OEMs. But I'm not sure how many of those lessons are applicable to IndyCar. Every GTP car in 2023 had a multipurpose engine: BMW reused its DTM engine, Porsche reused its 918 engine, Honda reused the 2.4L V6 designed for IndyCar. Cadillac's engine, while technically new, is arguably just a refinement of GM's small-block V8 designs dating to the ’50s.

If IndyCar were to open up its engine regulations, even with a new chassis, is there any engine design in production that would be suitable? I imagine all of the GTP V8s would be too large for an open-wheeler. And if IndyCar has trouble attracting a third manufacturer to make a bespoke 2.2L or 2.4L V6, I imagine they would have the same trouble attracting one to make a bespoke engine of any other size. I don't see a good solution here.

On the other hand, I have to roll my eyes at the "vintage series" comments whenever they come up. I think you can have valid reasons to want IndyCar to adopt a new chassis, like weight reduction or fitting a wider variety of engines. But in my eyes, age alone is not a problem to be solved. Pointing to other series that have introduced a new car recently, the biggest motivating factor for most of them was lower downforce to improve the racing, which IndyCar already implemented with the UAK.

Pato O'Ward's recent comments make it sound like his top priority is that he wants a refresh to the aesthetics, so we have a new-looking car. I think the current cars look nothing like the original DW12, so at most we have six years on the current design. But more importantly I'm not sure a new chassis would bring in new fans. I've physically brought two friends to races. Both of them thought the cars looked cool, neither of them thought they looked old, but neither of them became racing fans. They'll watch a race with me, but don't seek it out on their own. I don't know how to change that, but I don't think a new chassis would be the extra kick needed to get them invested.

Mike, California

MP: All interesting points, Mike. A thing I know: The "vintage series" comments might not resonate, but I also can’t think of any positive angles to promote by having the oldest chassis in use among any professional racing series. Not while that series also has the oldest fan base in all of North American sports.

To a fan who found IndyCar in 2021, the DW12 in its UAK18 bodywork is just as you noted -- looks new and cool. To those who’ve been around a while longer, 2024 will mark Year 7 of the UAK18, so it’s probably not as fresh to the eyes for those folks. But the two most popular series in the world have new-ish cars. I get why we’re hearing more calls from fans and drivers to follow suit. Even if it’s the equivalent of keeping up with the Joneses, it’s an issue that deserves acknowledgement.

I’ll come back to a central theme: There are some series that have a real buzz around what they’re doing with new cars or new events. IndyCar has none of that buzz. And it pains me to say that, but it’s true. Pato’s comments come from a place of care and concern. He, like everybody I know who is infected with a passion for IndyCar, wants the series to be cool, and popular, and the place where tickets are sold out and the TV ratings are massive and name-brand sponsors are paying top dollar to be involved.

We just aren’t there right now, and since we don’t know where the series is headed, but do see it getting beaten up by its closest rivals, we want to know IndyCar has a plan to fight back and become better than what it is. And it’s OK to want that, and to be disappointed if it isn’t happening, and to speak out and hope that the concerns are received and properly considered by those who hold the power to make change happen.

So, we award some points for the Dan Wheldon tribute livery and the cameo by Randy Bernard, who makes a few appearances in this week's Mailbag. Aside from that though, it's hard not to argue that the DW12 has been through a massive visual evolution since it was first rolled out, even if the bones of it remain the same today. Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images

Q: Regarding the need and desire for a long-overdue chassis and Mark Miles' comments last week, why not get creative and do something in between what we have and entirely new car as an interim step?

Consider the differences between the current car and their Batmobile predecessors that also use the DW12 chassis. From a viewer’s perspective they may as well be different cars/chassis. I can hear the line now from team owners about not wanting to invest in an outgoing chassis but it's been a so-called outgoing chassis for years now and the comments from Miles suggest it's going to be around at least a little while longer, so do something.

And please, owners -- it is not, or doesn't have to be, that big of a deal to change the parameters in a spec class. It's not as if every team has to develop their own designs and get in a wind tunnel. The aeroscreens (and same for the halo, to be fair) still look like tacked-on afterthoughts. If nothing more was done other than better integrating these with the rear cowl, revising the pods in front of the rear wheels and changing the profile of the wing endplates, the cars could refresh dramatically.

George, Albuquerque, NM

MP: The beautification initiative IndyCar president Jay Frye led heading into 2018 took the cars to about as good of a place I can hope for, George. Killing the overhead airboxes and tall engine covers in favor of the low-line look most people loved from the CART and Champ Car eras was smart, and the new sidepod profiles also add to the improved looks.

But if a truly new look is going to be achieved, a fresh start is needed. This old house has been remodeled to death.

Q: How are the $2000 tickets selling?

Bill Johnson, San Marcos, TX

MP: I rang Thermal to ask and didn’t get a response, Bill.

Q: It has become apparent to this fan that Penske Entertainment may even been more incompetent and tone deaf than Hulman and Co.

How far away are we from Liberty looking at the chaos and incompetence by Mark Miles and Co and saying, "Hey we can do this better" and starting their own open-wheel series with a badass chassis, engine regs that attract OEMs, and schedule that piggybacks off the western hemisphere F1 dates plus some standalone street races that are scaled-down Vegas/Miami GPs in major cities? Maybe Road America, Barber, and Portland as well?

Think of it as Liberty bringing these huge events to the masses and giving a good percentage of the U.S. population a proper grand prix experience within a few hours’ drive: F1 for the masses.

Obviously the month of May would be left open to allow these teams/drivers to still be able to compete in the 500...

The series could piggyback off Liberty's existing relationship with ESPN for a decent TV deal and teams with money like Andretti Global, Ganassi, McLaren, etc., would most likely be able to afford the new chassis.

Drivers would include top IndyCar talent, plus elite "F1 rejects" and F1 alumni (since there would be no ovals).

Basically the USAC/CART split but in the 2020s with F1's marketing and organizational juggernaut finally helping American open-wheel racing reach its full potential.

Jah in the Atlanta Suburb of Buckhead

MP: Almost every IndyCar team owner/leader I’ve spoken with wants Penske Entertainment to succeed. If I could snap my fingers and make huge amounts of people here care about IndyCar in the same new ways they do today for F1, and continue to do for NASCAR, I’d be snapping all day long. I’d have done that snapping five years ago, and 10, and 15, and 20 years ago as well. Same series, same problem. Based on the quality of its racing product, IndyCar should dwarf F1 and NASCAR.

But blind faith doesn’t work, nor does pretending that everything’s awesome when it isn’t, or thinking that inching along with tiny annual gains in viewership and reach is going to get us to the promised land before we’re all on the wrong side of the grass. So you hope the people who are heavily invested in the series -- on all sides -- make bold steps to pull it out of the deepening shadows cast by F1 and Cup.

We love IndyCar. We want it to kick ass and be celebrated by the masses like it once was. Wanting those things, and waiting for decades for it to happen, while placing exceptional faith in the series’ owners, is the long-standing IndyCar fan’s story.

Q: I know at the outset IndyCar was supposed to originally launch a new chassis with their new hybrids. Then the series decided to mate the hybrids to the DW12 and then a new chassis will come later. Now recently Mark Miles gave a "wait and see" type answer to this question. Either a new car is coming, or is it not. What's the plan?

Rob, Rochester, NY

MP: I don’t recall IndyCar saying a new chassis would be paired with the shift to hybridization, but there have been so many adjustments to the plans since 2018, it’s possible I’ve forgotten.

There is no plan to introduce a new car. Said another way, there is no date on a future calendar for the next Dallara chassis to be designed, completed, or tested. That could change tomorrow, but so far, the series has not told me or its teams that in the year 20XX, a new car will be ready for order.

Trust the plan. Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment

Q: I love the new GTP cars, but why do they have the open holes in the bodywork over the front wheels? Is it to keep the cars from getting airborne, and if so, would making it more of a vent instead of it being so open have the same effect?

Another question I have is, with so many people wanting a new IndyCar, couldn't Dallara design essentially a new car around the current tub?

Sean, Colorado

MP: The vents are to reduce an accumulation of high pressure, specifically in yaw -- when broadsliding -- to prevent lift and flipping due to a spike in aerodynamic forces pulling the car skyward. Dozens, if not hundreds of versions are usually tried in software simulations before a final specification is locked in, which is helpful in knowing why professional aerodynamicists arrived at the choice in question.

The tub is the limiting factor. Yes, a "new" car could be created around it, but it would probably look identical. Also, large portions of the car you see today has been redesigned around that original tub, so it’s basically been done.

I’d bet the smart and talented folks at Dallara, who’ve built all manner of open-wheel and prototype cars since the DW12 debuted, would love to incorporate a ton of more modern concepts into a new tub, in both materials and construction techniques, and suspension and systems layouts as well.

Q: Is such a thing as a temporary oval course possible?

Isaac W. Stephenson, Fruitport, MI

MP: I believe that’s what IMS did inside Turn 3 when it was launching the Bryan Clauson 39 short dirt oval race, so yes, absolutely.

Q: I know I am not the demographic IndyCar is going after. I've been a fan since I was a kid in the early 1980s. I survived the split via the CART side, and I am still around. But things are starting to get old. I usually attend three-four races a year. Now, I understand the idea behind the hybrid motor. I get evolution in racing. However, we now have yet another hiccup. Add this to the video game fiasco, and chassis that are, what, 12 years old next year? And we are like a million miles away from a third OEM at this point.

Yet at 16th and Georgetown, everything is fine. Thermal is nice, and it's great that Milwaukee is back, but I am starting to lose interest in this series. I am more excited about IMSA next year. I went to Indianapolis and man, those cars are as sweet as you can get. Let's not forget the difference in sound between a Cadillac, Porsche and BMW, as well as the Acura in GTP alone. Now Lamborghini has thrown its hat into the ring. All I'm saying is, hey IndyCar, I'm slowly slipping away to another series where the racing is also exciting, and there are multiple chassis and more than two engine manufacturers. I can't be the only one that feels this way. So I leave it up to you, IndyCar. What are you going to do to keep me around?

Kris, Kokomo, IN

MP: The racing is great and has been great in IndyCar for a long time. There’s also a reason most sports leagues keep the visuals fresh every couple of years with different jersey colors or designs so fans don’t feel like they’re rooting for a team or series that’s old and out of touch.

So, offering "great racing" as the big draw is no longer a rare item. Watch a USF2000 race; they’re amazing. Or MX-5 Cup -- even more amazing. Or a Michelin Pilot Challenge race. You’ll lose your voice and drain the adrenaline from your body by the checkered flag. Catch a Trans Am race, or Aussie Supercars, or karting, or a dozen other series, and you’ll have the best time.

It’s when one of those series starts to look and feel stale where trumpeting the "great racing" comes across as an excuse for failing to do things to remain relevant. Is it possible that IndyCar is reaching the crossover point where a rising number of its fans want to have something newer to look at and be inspired by?

Q: Your reply to Shawn in MD last week about Blaney and Newgarden doing "the double" makes sense for Penske. However, since Penske bought IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, shouldn't they have become his main priority, as to what's good for them, and his race team becomes secondary?

Jim, Ontario, Canada

MP: I hear you, but Roger has owned IndyCar and IMS since 2020. He entered his first Indy 500 with Penske Racing in 1969, so if I had to guess where priorities fall, it’s on the side of the racing team he’s owned and run for 50-plus years. It’s clear that between the series and the speedway, he’s gone all-in on improving the track and its grounds. That’s an easy, but not inexpensive, endeavor for someone with a lifetime of developing brick-and-mortar businesses.

Q: Can you give context comparing current audience size/viewership between F1, IndyCar and NASCAR in the U.S.?

This is obviously anecdotal, but outside of May (I’m in my mid 20s and live in Indianapolis) it feels like F1 has a larger audience than IndyCar, and I don’t know anyone that talks about NASCAR. Reading the Mailbag, it seems like the audience size NASCAR, IndyCar, then F1 in descending order.

Will, Indy

MP: You’re onto something with the first item, Will.

IndyCar and NASCAR have something that F1 does not in terms of races that heavily skew its annual viewing audience size and averages upwards with the Indy 500 and Daytona 500. F1’s big event is Monaco, but it’s not a giant ratings outlier like Indy and Daytona, so what you get for F1 with per-event and annual averages lacks any skewing. It’s worth noting that for IndyCar, its one streamed race -- the Honda Indy Toronto, which has a tiny audience -- isn’t counted in its averages, which does skew things to where only 16 of its 17 races are calculated in its averages.

IndyCar and NASCAR are both on NBC, so we have NBC’s reporting to use, and ESPN did the same for F1, so the answers are below.

INDYCAR: NBC Sports’ 2023 coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series delivered the most-watched IndyCar season in 12 years (since 2011, NBC Sports’ most-watched season on record, and the most-streamed season ever.

The 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, headlined by Alex Palou’s second career series championship and Josef Newgarden’s Indy 500 victory, averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.32 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms. This ranks as the most-watched season for the IndyCar Series since 2011 (1.39 million viewers, NBCSN/ABC) and the best in NBC Sports history, up 2% vs. last year’s then-record viewership (1.30 million viewers, NBC/USA Network/NBC Sports Digital). TAD is based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

Half of the season’s 16 races on television delivered a TAD of more than 1 million viewers, tying last year for the highest mark since 2008. NBC’s 13 races posted a TAD of 1.47 million viewers, up 4% vs. last year’s coverage on NBC (1.42 million, 14 races).

Overall viewership was led by the Indianapolis 500, which delivered a TAD of 4.93 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. The race also had a 13 share (percentage of homes watching television at the time of the race), its best in 15 years (2008; 13 share).

CUP: The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series on NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital delivered a Total Audience Delivery of 2.47 million viewers across 20 races, up vs. comparable coverage in 2022 (2.45 million viewers), according to data provided by the Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics.

Viewership gains were driven by NBC Sports’ coverage of the inaugural Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago on NBC and Peacock, which delivered a TAD of 4.79 million viewers to rank as NBC Sports’ most-watched NASCAR race in six years and the second-most watched race of the season behind the Daytona 500 on Fox.

Overall, NASCAR Cup Series viewership on the NBC broadcast network was up 3% vs. 2022, including last Sunday’s championship race won by Ryan Blaney, which averaged a TAD of 3.03 million viewers.

Additional Cup Series viewership highlights:

16 of 20 Cup Series races averaged a TAD of at least two million viewers, up from 15 of 20 races in 2022.

F1: The 2023 Formula 1 world championship season on ESPN platforms was the second most-viewed F1 season ever on U.S. television.

An average of 1.11 million viewers watched the 22 race telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC during the season, second only to last year’s record-setting average of 1.21 million. Last year’s average included the 2.6 million average viewership for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the largest live audience ever for a Formula 1 race on U.S. television.

The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Nov. 26 attracted an average audience of 927,000 viewers, including the race telecast on ESPN and the F1 Kids alternate telecast on ESPNU.

The 2023 season included numerous superlatives:

Three of the four largest live American TV audiences on record for races: (Miami, 1.96M; Monaco, 1.79M; Canada, 1.76M).

The Monaco Grand Prix aired live on ABC for the first time and attracted its largest live audience on record (1.79M for the race).

Eight races set U.S. television viewership records: (Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Mexico).

The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 19 attracted an average audience of 1.3M despite a 1am ET starting time.

The growth of Formula 1 television audiences in the United States since the championship returned to ESPN platforms in 2018 remains a sports success story. Average viewership has essentially doubled from 554K in 2018 to 1.11 million in 2023, a total increase of nearly 100 percent and an average increase of 15 percent per year.

There were a lot of statistics in that answer. Here's another one: At least six racing fans could simultaneously make use of the public electric shaving stations at Le Mans in 1956. Motorsport Images

Q: I read that you feel that streaming is the way to go for lots of sporting events. I’ll have to disagree somewhat. Look at what is happening to the Regional Sports Networks (RSN). Bally/Diamond went bankrupt last March. They likely won’t be around after MLB next year. It appears the stuff that was on the RSN’s are headed to over the air and streaming. Broadcast channels second, third and fourth channels are perfect for this.

The RSNs were losing lots of what was easy money as folks cut the cords. The cord-cutters were not buying the RSN streaming services either, it seems. As a long-time worker in the broadcast sports business, it seems headed full circle. When I started in the business there was only over the air broadcast TV for sports, mostly on weekends. Stations only had a single channel, so putting on a sporting event often meant not running a lucrative network show. Then along came super stations including Regional Sports Networks like ESPN which all ended up on cable and satellite TV.

The TV viewing world changed quickly. It is changing again. Eventually the internet and streaming will be overloaded like the cell phone world is starting to experience. People would be wise to get a good outside HD antenna for now and then. I have had mine for a couple of years.

Pete Pfankuch, Wisconsin

MP: Not sure I have "feelings" on streaming. More of recognizing where we’re at and where it’s going. It’s been here for a while and only continues to grow; this genie isn’t going back into the bottle. If that somehow changes in the future, we’ll adapt, but with NBC doubling IndyCar’s streamed races for 2024 and NASCAR entering the streaming-only party for the first time with some of its Cup races next year, that’s what we have: More, not less.

Q: It seems like Pato has been having quite the offseason and his importance to the McLaren organization has grown. If Palou had made the switch to McLaren, do you think it would’ve still been the case, or would it have been Palou doing all the activities Pato has been? I can’t help but wonder if Palou is a little bit jealous of all the great things Pato has been able to do with McLaren. Sure, winning the IndyCar championship is great and all, but Pato probably got more media and fan exposure being named as an F1 reserve driver than Palou did from winning the IndyCar championship.

Ross Bynum

MP: Everything you say is true, but Arrow McLaren just went 0-for-17 in 2023 and has zero IndyCar champions on its roster and zero IndyCar championships to its credit. Palou, after his latest title run, has earned more IndyCar wins than Arrow McLaren as a whole since its inception as Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2001.

That could change next season, but in the purest of competition terms, I’d say the real loser here is Arrow McLaren, not Palou, because he’d bring things to the team that it simply does not have entering 2024. Drop Palou into the mix, and that team jumps straight into title contention because he’s a proven champion, two times over.

Leaving the team outlook behind, Palou has never struck me as the jealous type. You know how some drivers are seemingly everywhere, posting dozens of things each day on social media, on every podcast and video, and chasing every spotlight they can find? That’s never been Palou, so I don’t think the loss of fandom/stardom/social clout has any meaning to him.

The loss of testing and maybe, one day, if everything magically aligned, to race in F1? That’s the thing he’s missing. That’s the sorrow, the dream he realized would not happen with McLaren, which led to the current mess he’s in. The thing that fulfills drivers is success. Pato would trade all of those new followers and the F1 reserve driver role for one of Palou’s championships in a heartbeat.

And since he remains Arrow McLaren’s top driver, the runway is clear for Pato to prove he’s a champion and take the team to new heights. I have no doubts that he’s capable of doing it, and we’ll find out of he and the team can take down the Ganassis and Penskes and Andrettis to stand atop the series and turn potential into reality.

Q: I've been a racing fan since high school and started following IndyCar regularly around four years ago. Toward the beginning, my wife said something along the lines of, ‘Are Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly in this race? I just watched them on The Amazing Race’" She had never watched IndyCar but immediately had two guys to root for.

Seeing drivers on other programming is fun for us fans and gives casual Indy 500 viewers someone to follow. I say this jokingly, but can you imagine CGR vs Arrow McLaren on Family Feud? Or even better and even more unrealistic... on Survivor?

By the way, I'd recommend a Paramount+ free trial just to watch Alexander and Conor in Season 30 of The Amazing Race. They do quite well (not giving any spoilers) and are a hoot to watch.

Tom, Ohio

MP: I was just thinking about those two knuckleheads on The Amazing Race last week when my wife and I started watching the latest season of The Challenge on Paramount+. I should go find and watch it; great idea. We did have a meeting of Nomex and silicone in 2015 on Family Feud. Sad to think that only one -- DJ Willy P -- is still a full-timer in the series.

There are some big shiny reasons to stay with Ganassi right there. Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images

Q: On hybrids next season: Looking back on the 2014 F1 season when they switched over to a new hybrid powertrain, one manufacturer got it right, the others not so much. Do you foresee a possibly large gap between Honda and Chevy? Also, given what's said about buying the first model year of a new car; will there be significant amount of DNF/DNS due to mechanical failures?

Shawn, MD

MP: No big gaps that I can think of, Shawn. It’s a spec unit, so we’re looking at the same differentiators with increases in power, torque, and fuel economy with the Chevy and Honda internal combustion engines as the areas where one brand would put a beating on the other.

How teams use the energy recovery systems in competition -- the strategy side -- is where we might see some new wrinkles that create separation.

With the extra time IndyCar thankfully gave itself to ready the ERS units, I’d think the series would not take them live until the reliability was seriously impressive. The last thing IndyCar needs is for half the field to be parked and smoldering on the side of the road during its first hybrid races.

Q: I read your last emails where you hammered Penske Entertainment and Roger Penske, who probably saved the Speedway and the 500 during the pandemic. First, for years, I had to read time and time again the venom that Robin Miller spewed toward Tony George. And please don’t try to deny that. Then, Miller once said that Mark Miles was doing this job with IndyCar until the next thing came along. False! Now we’re blasting Penske and praising Miles. See a trend here? And I just love watching the same driver win every race like in F1, the series you praise.

Come on, Marshall, you’re losing credibility. I realize this won’t make the Mailbag, but I love IndyCar and the Indy 500 and your criticisms are just unfair. But since your followers are downers as well, they’ll hang onto every slanted comment you make about IndyCar and Roger Penske. I will be attending my 60th Indy 500 in May. And no one, including you, will put a dampener on that.

Gary, Crawfordsville, IN

MP: Just as I don’t let IndyCar’s problems dampen my love for the series, I’m glad to hear you won’t let anything spoil your next Indy 500. And just like Robin, I say happy things when things are happy and the opposite when they aren’t. That’s the job. We also live in a time where more and more people only want to read or watch or hear the things they agree with, and rail against those who don’t fit into that silo. Not much I can do to help with that.

I wish RACER still made the "Everything is Awesome" t-shirts from seven or eight years ago, which were created in response to IndyCar attempting to clamp down on its drivers when they began to complain more frequently and in louder voices about problems they saw with the series.

Q: Just saw your story about the hybrid delay and it sure disappointed me. IndyCar doesn’t know how to run a series. F1, IMSA, NASCAR Cup all have new cars and rules and recent engine technology upgrades. IndyCar can’t get TV deal straight, or even the video game people straight with product and promotion. Old cars, lots of promises of bigger motors (possible additional engine suppliers), hybrids and now another letdown. Other than getting Kyle Larson next year there’s nothing to get excited about. Penske doesn’t even encourage the double with Blaney.

Penske was a risk-taker and a racer in the past (even did F1 and built cars in Europe) but he can’t get his act together with IndyCar. You can’t even go to the museum right now. The 1994 Mercedes monster secret motor guy now can’t get a hybrid with tons of lead time off the ground. Just a spec series with zero innovation. Let’s at least get Stefan Wilson a ride and another 500 chance. One positive story this week.

Time the Captain was put out to pasture. Miller would not approve.

Craig, Leland, NC

MP: Don’t lose hope, Craig.

Q: I have a great deal of respect for Roger Penske. Without Roger I'm not sure what IndyCar would look like today. However, either Roger or the people he hired (inherited?) have failed miserably and changes must be made. What a disappointment.

Ryan

MP: Don’t lose hope, Ryan.

Q: I was shocked to read about the delay on the hybrid engine for IndyCar. All the reports and video interviews about its development were positive from the engineers, drivers and media. What happened? Were all these people not being transparent about the program? Can you give specifics about the particular problems that are still being addressed? This is embarrassing for IndyCar and all its management. It is bad enough that we retain an old chassis and we can't get a third engine supplier, but now we can't even supply an engine technology that other series are already using.

Dave Wells

MP: As we wrote last week, there were lots of big gains being made with the system’s development, but there were also lingering issues that made completing the development phase and going into the mass production phase a tenuous situation in regards to time.

The hope was for the testing that started in the middle of August to be completed by early November -- completed in the sense that reliability had been achieved -- but those ongoing issues kept moving the production start to later and later dates.

I’d heard the early November outing at Homestead-Miami was especially problematic, and from there, it was a cascading issue where applying fixes, testing those fixes on the dyno, testing and validating those fixes on the track, and then manufacturing 40-50 of them, was pushed back and back and back. By the time the series was ready to smash the throttle, a production delay with at least one component is said to have reared its head and forced the post-Indy delay.

Also, I’ve heard that mass producing at least one of the non-ERS items that’s part of the hybrid package is way behind, so that’s said to be a contributing factor with the call to delay the launch of the hybrid era.

Most people have held off on airing their concerns in public out of love for the series and a great hope that everything would come together and meet the go-live deadline.

There have been strong concerns about the series going hybrid to open the 2024 season for years. Having grown tired of asking who’d be making the ERS units since hybridization was announced in May of 2019, I went and found the answers on my own and revealed in December of 2021 that MAHLE was the company chosen by the series.

I’d also heard from many strong sources that fears of failing to go hybrid were held by the series’ owner, which is why the series refused to name MAHLE. Finally, a year later on December 19, 2022, IndyCar confirmed MAHLE, and before long, MAHLE was gone from the conversation as Chevy and Honda took full control of the ERS project. Simply put, there have been big bumps along this road since the start, and only recently have things taken turns towards the positive -- even if another delay has occurred.

Maybe this is the solution. The Renault Twizy F1 extreme electric car, fitted with KERS technology and being demonstrated here by Nicholas Prost in 2014, had almost 1000hp on tap. Plus it has a sponsor-friendly rear wing, and already has the aeroscreen integrated. No idea what the range is though, so Indy could potentially become a 25-stopper. Motorsport Images

Q: I typically get my coffee, sit down at my laptop and open up RACER to see what's new. Wow! Friday morning’s top three stories were certainly newsworthy. I put them into the blender of my mind and pressed go. Here's what I came up with...

How about if we let IMSA apply its BoP (where everyone gets a trophy) to F1, that way Haas could possibly win a race. And since they are now winning races, Gene should get his NASCAR partner Tony Stewart to drive. And Tony could pull along Kyle Larson for the second seat. And then Kyle could try to do the Memorial Day Triple. Both Tony and Kyle know where to get sprint car engines so they could provide them to IndyCar and solve the embarrassing engine problem. (They have gobs of horsepower and sound so good.)

Realizing that a question is required in this forum, here it is: How soon can you make this happen?

I think I've had too much caffeine.

Rick, Lisle, IL  (A former owner/driver of a Tiga FFA-79 who remembers when a FF hot-shoe named Mike Hull had a monthly column in Sports Car magazine)

MP: You had me at "Tiga Formula Ford," Rick. I briefly co-owned and raced a 1980 Tiga FF. I miss it every day. As this weekly Mailbag has proven, I have no influence to make the slightest changes in motor racing, so I’m a terrible choice.

You, though, have the kind of ideas the racing world needs. NASCARFIAINDYIMSA is waiting for your call.

Q: Surprised to see how many comments on Facebook don’t want the hybrid system. I suggest turning up the qualifying boost for the actual race. Let’s chase some speed records again. We were close with Indy 500 qualifying last year. Without bigger displacements or hybrids, why not just raise the turbo boost for the entire month? Give the fans something to get excited about. Allow them the additional fuel, also. With slightly lighter cars we could have something interesting. And go back to double points to give the teams incentive.

Craig B, Leland, NC

MP: The cars will be lighter in May -- minus the ERS units -- so in similar weather to qualifying last May, a qualifying track record should be possible.

Q: Why did Randy Bernard get so much crap and why was he terminated? He got a third manufacturer, did chassis stuff and actually tried new ideas.

Steve

MP: He was the shiny new toy with big ideas, and IndyCar was in a similar place as it is today with old cars, spec engines, and sitting a distant second to NASCAR in popularity and sponsorship income. Randy tried a bunch of things, and they weren’t all of the winning variety, and before long, some team owners/leaders felt they would be better off without him, thought a less creative approach to running the series was needed, and engineered his ouster.

Q: Excuse my ignorance, but what is it financially that IMSA is doing differently to IndyCar that attracts so many engine suppliers?

Oliver Wells

MP: It’s the little acronym ROI, or return on investment. The answer here isn’t that IMSA GTP or GT racing is cheap, because it’s not. But as we’ve seen, manufacturers, including Acura/Honda and Cadillac/Corvette/Chevy, spend huge sums to go racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and do so at an annual price, which is over $20,000,000 per year in GTP according to a solid source, because they see the marketing data and view the cost-vs-return ratio as being favorable.

Whether it’s in the amount of cars they sell as a result of fans being trackside or watching at home and being swayed to go buy a model from one of IMSA’s many partner brands, or in the money a brand spends to alter its perception -- Cadillac, and Lexus are prime examples -- from being slow or lame to fast and sporty, there’s all kinds of ways a manufacturer might judge ROI and decide if the costs to play are giving back something that can be measured as a worthwhile investment.

So, it’s not like a season of funding a pair of factory GTP hybrids comes with some sort of deep discount; it requires a ton of cash. But take Honda’s warning shot to IndyCar as a message that the series needs to bring down the costs to supply engines so the ROI makes sense, because as the brand told us, the ROI is out of balance -- at least for them -- to the point of saying the hard and uncomfortable part out loud.

Easiest way to understand the IMSA/OEM dynamic if you're an IndyCar fan is that ROI makes manufacturers happy; BoP makes them grumpy. (Or happy, depending which end of it they're on).  Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: It’s been about six months since Alex Palou’s spurning of McLaren. The question is, why?  I know there is litigation, but that doesn’t mean no speculation.

Do people know? If they do, can they say? I can’t believe the money was greater from Chip to stay. Is that wrong?  Did he see Pato as the only one getting a true shot at F1 there? (My theory.)

Fans of Alex, fans in general and nosy people want to know. I’m all three.

Mike DeQuardo, MKE and Elkhart Lake

MP: It’s good to know who you are, Mike.

When Alex was keen to leave Ganassi in the summer of 2022, he was amid a long winless streak as the follow-up to his first IndyCar title, feeling ultra aggrieved by the tiny salary he agreed to drive for, saw Team Penske was rolling strong, and had Arrow McLaren dangling lots of dollars and validation in front of him through the offer of a well-paid IndyCar drive and the chance to do his first-ever F1 tests. And, just maybe, if things fell through with McLaren’s F1 drivers, an F1 seat would open up.

He signed with McLaren for 2024 and took advance monies from the team, according to McLaren, all while signing to remain with/driving for Ganassi in 2023 at a greatly improved salary figure. In May, I heard Ganassi made a bigger offer for him to stay in 2024 and beyond, but also heard he asked Ganassi if staying was an option in light of the full expectation by everyone in the paddock -- including his own team -- to leave for Arrow McLaren.

I wouldn’t pretend to know exactly how it went down on the "will you stay/can I stay" situation with Ganassi, but one thing was obvious well before that happened: McLaren had two F1 drivers who weren’t leaving anytime soon, and that meant his F1 dreams were going to be dashed if he went to McLaren.

Factor in the four wins from five races from the Indy GP in mid-May through Mid-Ohio at the start of June, not to mention the pole and strong Indy 500 run, while Arrow McLaren was winless, and you have the two-fer on why Palou pulled the plug -- as I’ve understood it -- on joining the other team.

Q: I am not surprised that IndyCar is caught up in the circumstances of its feckless decisions. No new chassis because they are working on a new 2.4l engine… scrap the new engine because the manufacturers want a new hybrid system to become more relevant (to themselves) and potentially draw in more manufacturers… scrap or put on hold the new semi-hybrid (joke) system because it is quirky and has proven to be unreliable... now Honda is talking about leaving IndyCar because of the cost. You can't make this stuff up.

I really don't have any ideas on how to address the chassis situation, but as to the engines, IndyCar should issue the 2.2l blocks to any engine builder that is interested and let them do any modifications that they choose, with the only stipulations being that they will have to use the IndyCar-issued fuel and pop-off valve for the turbo. I know it does sound familiar, but it is less restrictive than the previous attempt at this idea.

Notice that I did not use the term "approved engine builder." Let’s go back to some innovation and real racing.

Matt, Michigan

MP: Only note here is IndyCar doesn’t have 2.2L blocks to supply, but it could if Penske decided to have the company he co-owns/co-founded, Ilmor Engineering, produce Chevy’s ass-kicking 2.2L blocks and whatever else for purchase or lease by all interested parties.

Q: First, I want to say how much I miss Randy Bernard. There is a guy who put fans of the series first and the team owners second. I’m sure that is what led to his demise. My question is: what is the possibility of an ownership group coming in who cares about the fans and operates IndyCar in that manner?

I think it’s time we stop caring about close racing and car count and care about innovation and competition. Give me 18-22 cars that compete at the highest level over 27-28 just to achieve a number any day. The teams that cannot compete at the highest level should be in Indy Lights (I refuse to call it the name of a wrestling promotion) if they want to compete. Also, the lower car counts would help out the engine manufacturers since no other company wants to be involved in the foreseeable future  -- with good reason.

A future former IndyCar fan

Joliet, IL

MP: You’ve struck upon a great point that can’t be ignored on the quantity vs. quality argument. Yes, IndyCar had 27 full-timers last season, but within that 27, there were some four or five drivers/entries circling the drain who were locked in a death match for who could more last than the others.

Granted, we also know that for some of the teams at the back half of the field, they need the dollars being spent by some of the less-skilled drivers to both keep their teams afloat and, critically, to offset the running costs for the better driver. So, we could trim the weak ones in the herd, but that might jeopardize entire families. Putting 100-plus Americans and other racing crew who hail from the world out of work by imposing an artificial car count based on striving for higher quality isn’t the tradeoff I’d vote for.

I’d rather see IndyCar introduce a Saturday afternoon series where qualifying is held shortly after lunch and the bottom six qualifiers are booted to a race of their own, along with the Indy NXT drivers, and go like hell for 45 minutes for our entertainment. The winner (among IndyCar drivers) gets to stay and start last in Sunday’s IndyCar feature. If a star crashes in qualifying and doesn’t transfer, it should be easy to win the Saturday race and get back into the big show. And if it’s just the six slowest, the best of the six will get to carry on the next day. And it will give the NXT drivers a chance to deal with the speeds and craziness they say they want in IndyCar as those six driver rip around them on Saturday while giving them a podium of their own to earn.

I thought IMSA was crazy when their paired LMP3 cars with the slower GT4 cars in the same series, but it has worked and been rather entertaining. Why not go for multi-class open-wheel racing? I’m serious. I think.

Who's up for a multi-class Indy NXT/IndyCar race? Image via Penske Entertainment

Q: I appreciate all your reporting and opinions regarding IndyCar. With the announcement the introduction of the hybrid powerplants is being delayed (a bad, bad look) and now the possible exit of Honda it seems management is unprepared. IMSA was able to keep to its timetable and implement hybrids; IndyCar cannot do the same?

The search for a third manufacturer continues, yet IMSA and F1 have attracted new ones so it cannot simply be a lack of interest in racing by manufacturers. IndyCar has a problem, and do Penske folks even recognize it? Everything recently seems to be reactive instead of proactive, with no future planning. Sorry, good racing is not enough.

I now wonder if Penske was only interested in the Speedway and the series was just part of the deal? Is any of this serving as a wake-up call to IndyCar leadership? It really does seem the series would be better off under Liberty or even (shudder) NASCAR.

Rick, Miami, FL

MP: There’s actually a huge difference between the IndyCar and IMSA hybrid solutions. In IMSA, it was close to an off-the-shelf solution, where the GTP cars are big and have all the room in the world to fit a giant battery in the passenger seat of the cockpits. That’s not the case in IndyCar, and in the absence of a brand-new chassis, everyone had to come up with a design that was tiny and original.

As for the rest of your concerns, haven’t you heard? Everything is awesome! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Q: I follow IndyCar closely. It’s my favorite series for many reasons.  I may be factually off on some things, but perception is pretty much what matters to a race fan -- especially to the casual observer the series is trying to attract.

Shelving of the 2.4L. Delay of what appears (perception) to be a Mickey Mouse hybrid system. Shelving of an IndyCar video game after F1 has had one forever. 100 Days To Indy five years after Drive To Survive on Netflix. Mark Miles talking about a big marquee event in 2025, which will mark Vegas’ third year and Miami’s fifth year. Detroit visually on TV looking like they were racing down alleyways behind old warehouses compared to Vegas. Toronto also not translating well to TV, either. All my opinions, and I’m a pretty die-hard fan. If I were an engine manufacturer or a sponsor, I’d be very reluctant.

Seems like this series is trying to diminish itself at every turn. It’s a debacle.

John Dowling, Ann Arbor, MI

MP: The overwhelming majority of the people who wake up early and go to work at IndyCar, IMS, the teams, and the main vendors, are doing all they can to make the series as great as they are allowed to make it. Last week was a bad week for IndyCar, but the sky isn’t falling. I promise.

Q: A long, long time ago in racing terms, you wrote at least one article about a "Global Racing Engine" (GRE) concept. While that idea might have died then, I am asking, especially in light of Honda's intentional "shouting" engine supply pronouncement last week, if Honda and Chevy can, or are willing to, allow the GRE concept to be applied using their engine blocks and whatever other parts could be shared? For the purposes of example, Kawasaki and Suzuki did, for a while, build enduro bikes using shared resources, and there are many auto industry examples of course.

As it relates to engine manufacturers in other fields, I also once asked you in a long ago chat you hosted if any motorcycle brands have ever been invited to consider involvement in IndyCar, i.e. Triumph, Harley-Davidson, Ducati -- which, I know, is related to a plethora of iconic automotive brand names (some of which have been rumored to have been approached). Outside of cars and bikes, I am aware of Pratt and Whitney, I think, through your writing. Have there been others? (Outside of traditional manufacturers.)

Finally, I do not understand why IndyCar still calls itself that name. Let the fans call it that. To try to attract new customers, and to help broadcast interests, why not brand the series with the best-known name, the Indy 500? The 500 is not just another race, it is a major league, worldwide brand that still gets attention and needs to be used to gain more attention for the series' other events.

Plenty of others, yourself included as you have stated in this Mailbag, have not been listened to regarding many areas, so I do not expect feedback or inclusion, but the Mailbag still offers hope (and, sadly, non-democratic related despair).

Come to think of it, IndyCar might consider creating an FAQ page on its site regarding FAQs submitted here (FAQ2RM -- Frequently Asked Questions to RACER.com's Mailbag). That acronym bit might have been funny in Robin's days.

Pat, VA

MP: The GRE concept might be the hot ticket as we move forward. I’m unaware of non-automotive brands wanting to join on the engine side, but do recall in the early years of the aero kit being considered, introducing ORECA to IndyCar and sat in on that brief meeting in Sebring. I also remember there were hopes that other industries might take an interest in making aero kits, like a Boeing, for example, to showcase the company’s aerodynamic prowess and use its participation in IndyCar and the Indy 500 as a marketing tool to earn development contracts from within the auto and racing sectors.

If there’s an old story of Husqvarna exploring an IndyCar engine program, we’ll need Mailbag readers to share those tales.

A number of kind and misguided folks from the series and paddock continue to ask my thoughts on an array of things -- usually items that are spoken of in private like opinions on a driver, or a ruling, or a policy -- but that’s where the outreaches end.

FAQ U RM would be perfect.

Benetton had an engine branded by fashion brand Playlife between 1998 and 2000, so the sky's the limit when it comes to sticking logos onto powerplants. (For those wondering, the Playlife was a rebranded Mecachrome, which in turn was a rebranded batch of old Renaults). Motorsport Images

Q: When Roger Penske bought IndyCar and IMS, at his initial press conference he kept referencing the "IRL." Robin Miller had to inform him later that using IRL was very detrimental and negative. Since that time, in my opinion, he has been a good owner of IMS but a poor owner of the series. We now have a 13-year-old chassis that Pato O’Ward said needed to be replaced, and then Hinch, Rossi and Conor Daly all said the same thing on their podcasts last week.

Will all of them get a negative letter from R.P., and is R.P. so arrogant or just not thinking well enough to recognize the advice of people who know what the series need? To me, his ownership of the series is hurting it by not going forward.

Paul, Indianapolis

MP: Yes. Speak a truth that isn’t Penske Entertainment’s, and you get hammered, which I’ve mentioned many times here. What’s interesting to observe is how more drivers are speaking their truths -- in conflict with the big bosses -- while fully aware of the hammers headed their way.

I can’t speak to arrogance or the taking of advice, but most of the super successful and wealthy people I know have 1000-percent belief in their views and their ways, and limited interest in listening to those who aren’t as successful or wealthy tell them how to do better.

Q: I don’t ever see IndyCar racing at Watkins Glen unless they hook up with IMSA during the race weekend. I have heard Mark Miles wanting a race at in the Northeast. Here’s a suggestion: They should look at racing at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where they have two different layouts. Another option is to have the race at Bader Airfield, which that was supposed to be an F1 track but for some reason is on hold.

Alistair, Springfield, MO

MP: Last time I was at NJMP, Grand-Am drivers were being lifted out of Daytona Prototypes and given fluids via IVs. Interesting track, but depending on the time of year, we might bake our IndyCar drivers. Only other issue is I can’t recall a crowd there for a professional race that had more than a few thousand people. But if the time of year was right, and NJMP could draw a big crowd with IndyCar, and make a profit after paying IndyCar its sanction fee, I’d be all for it.

Q: First, a big thanks to you and RACER for all you do to promote IndyCar. I view the website daily, read the Mailbag weekly and in the past reached out just once to Robin. I have gone to the 500 numerous times and introduced people to the race. I have watched every IndyCar race since the IRL was founded, and consider IndyCar my favorite sport.

I laughed at the mail Robin would get, and that he said an IndyCar fan is always complaining, but I am finally there. Every other major series is bringing on more manufacturers. We cannot find a third one, and Honda lets it be known it may be out in a few years. This is only reflective of what I think is a long line of absurd failures by IndyCar, which includes Penske.

Old cars, horrible social media presence, Motorsport Games, stagnant schedule, downtown Detroit, how Thermal was rolled out, etc...  Where is the splash that I hoped would come with Penske? And please, if I hear about how good the paint looks at IMS… as if that moves the fan needle.  The hybrid piece is just the latest fumbled item by IndyCar and I am shocked that Honda and Chevy have held in place for as long as they have. IndyCar grew due to innovation and risk-taking by courageous drivers, owners, mechanics and manufacturers.

Sorry to rant, but I am just keeping my eyes out for any serious leader with vision to make an appearance before we lose Chevy as well (though I was already concerned, with Andretti aiming for F1, if IndyCar would be in the rearview mirror).

Mike, Fishers, IN

MP: Thanks, Mike. Since I’m trying to come up with new things to say after receiving the same basic email about 20 times in this installment, social media was a big winner for IndyCar in 2023. Seriously. Great year-to-year gains.

Robin saw the sport navigate all sorts of turbulence over the years. But he also always knew how to find the cookie tray amid the chaos. Phil Abbott, Motorsport Images

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, December 16, 2014

Q: There seems to be an age-old belief in the Mailbag that putting USAC-raised Americans in IndyCars will somehow magically save IndyCar since fans have been "following their careers" right to the top. The consensus in the Mailbags also seems to be that all these guys that have recently hit the ceiling on the F1 ladder won’t move the needle and nobody cares about them. Nobody, of course, wants the traditional ride-buyer either who has excelled in no series, but brings a personal sponsor.

I have been a hard-core IndyCar fan since 1994 through all the crap of the last 20 years. Let’s be realistic. If Americans Hunter-Reay, Newgarden, Rahal and Andretti haven’t made people (those who aren’t already fans) care about IndyCar, then why do we think Daly or Rossi will? Because they win? RHR wins -- he won Indy. Let’s say there are as many people following some of the young USAC drivers as there are IndyCar fans today. Zero (relative to NASCAR and F1’s popularity) times zero is still zero. Nobody who is not already a fan is going to tune in for the first time just to see how some guy who dominated GP2 or USAC does in IndyCar. The Mailbags are filled with letters from fans trying to figure out how to make non-fans care. They don’t care about the same stuff as us.

Personally, I just want funded cars and shootouts for the best available (paid) driver regardless of nationality or background. Obviously that ain’t happening anytime soon, nor do I think for a second that’s going to make all the middle-aged ladies at work who discuss Johnson, Gordon, and Keselowski’s performance every Monday morning start debating the performance of Power, RHR, Rossi, or Vergne. Those are the fans that made NASCAR a monster, not us. None of the solutions in Mailbag make these people IndyCar fans. Obviously, I don’t have the answers. But we keep fooling ourselves and wasting our time in heated debates about solutions which solve nothing.

Paul Clopton

ROBIN MILLER: Sadly, you make an excellent argument. The USAC connection and watching heroes matriculate to Indy via Terre Haute and Winchester is never coming back. If Dave Darland got a ride at Indy, most of Howard County and all the HARF members would buy a ticket this May but that represents a couple thousand people. And even a popular, young American winner like Bryan Clauson has little or no effect on attendance or TV ratings. Nor will Rossi or Daly. Hell, 75 percent of the public couldn’t tell you Ryan Hunter-Reay won last year’s Indianapolis 500.

Having said that, Sage Karam, Daly or Rossi will generate more American media coverage than Sam Bird or Jean-Eric Vergne. If they turn out to be Zanardi or Montoya, sure, that kind of winner captures the public’s attention but IndyCar needs little victories to try and get back on the map. Had Karam run Pocono last summer, there would have been 5,000 more paying customers -- all from Nazareth. But let’s be honest. NASCAR built its heroes through continuity, television saturation, promotion and marketing while IndyCar lost its identity after The Split. Good example? I followed Scott Dixon down the hallway last week at the PRI Show and not one person stopped him to say hello, take a photo or shake his hand. But Rusty Wallace couldn’t walk 10 feet without being stopped.