The RACER Mailbag, January 8

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.

Q: Will we ever see an IndyCar series race on the Chicago Street Course at Grant Park? The same street course that NASCAR races on in the summer?

Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY

MARSHALL PRUETT: No, not unless the city ditches NASCAR or vice versa, and the city chooses to engage IndyCar.

Q: I love the low, sleek, missile-like look of the Lolas and Reynards from the late 1990s and early 2000s. They just looked fast, even when standing still. The current DW12 lacks some of that look, as its side profile looks taller in the center. The tall center visually shortens the car and takes away much of the sleekness.

Part of that is due to the aeroscreen, which I would never dream of suggesting eliminating. However, for me, the biggest part of the tall center appearance is due to the camera pod atop the roll hoop. From the side profile, it looks a little like a snorkel and takes away any low, long, sleek car presence. The camera in the pod is great for the TV product and provides excellent shots of both the side-by-side racing action and cockpit activity, however, I would love to see that camera pod removed in favor of cameras integrated into the car's lines. Maybe in the center of the roll hoop and/or within the top ring of the aeroscreen halo.

Have you heard any discussion or suggestion about integrated camera placement in the new car design?

Tim Hubbel, Gypsy, OK

MP: I haven’t, but I’ll ask.

Q: I read the Mailbag every week and it seems I am not the only one disappointed about the lack of IndyCar’s presence in video game form. I, like many of your readers, are casual gamers (been playing some sort of console racing game since I was 6, playing the Al Unser Jr racing game on the original NES). Through the years I have played many games, most currently Forza Motorsport on Xbox X.

Currently, IndyCar is not part of the Forza platform (or any other) but it used to be, along with the Long Beach street circuit. Bi-monthly, Forza issues a new track to go with its current selection of tracks. How great would it be if we could get IndyCar and Forza Motorsport to get together and get back into the gaming world? LBGP could be released just prior to the April race with the crapwagon DW12 gen-whatever-we’re-on-now, but it would be a great start. It would be a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race and seems almost too smart an idea to pass up.

They could even have a ‘beat the lap’-type challenge where gamers try to best a current drivers lap. Additionally, Forza already has a lot of the current tracks (IMS, Road America, Laguna, Mid-Ohio) so you could have an IndyCar mini-series.

Tom, Blue Bell, PA

MP: Yep, all kinds of things they could do. As Penske’s Mark Miles told me towards the end of the season, there’s nothing imminent. Hopefully that changes.

NASCAR's going to be the only series that races past bars that serve Malort for the foreseeable future. Motorsport Images

Q: What is the status of Honda's future in IndyCar? With Nissan and Honda joining together, will Honda leave Indy and have Nissan take its place?

David Tucker

MP: Honda’s supply contract runs through 2026. It will decide on whether it wants to stay within the next year. A planned merger with Nissan has been announced, which is different from an actual merger having taken place. It’s got to happen before they can make decisions on such things, if it’s even a consideration.

Q: In the previous Mailbag, you suggested allowing manufacturers to create styling options so that the cars were visually distinct.

How would what you're proposing be different from the aero kits from the mid 2010s? Those brought visual differentiation between manufacturers. They were supposed to attract Boeing and other aerospace companies, but failed to do so.

I think the pitch sounds good now, but I also thought it sounded good then. No one seemed to like the aero kits then, and no one was sad when they went away.

Kyle

MP: That’s not true. I was sad when they went away. The 2015-2017 aero kits did offer some visual differentiation, but the rules were written to allow great freedom with downforce, which led to crazy explosions of wings upon wings, and in speedway form, super tiny wings. What didn’t happen was the creation of aero rules that were focused on styling variety, as I don’t think of crazy numbers of wings as being about styling.

Right now, there are two manufacturers, not five or 10, so it’s not an overly complex thing to create. Come up with between three-four styling options for manufacturers to choose from, but make those options a set package with items that are unique.

For example, if adding a shark fin to the engine cover is allowed, it can only be used by one manufacturer. And if they all want it, flip cons, or arm wrestle for it. But don’t let all of them use a shark fin because then we’re back to the same problem of all the cars looking alike.

The nose of an open-wheel car sets the tone for the rest of its looks. Create three or four options. Sidepods do the same from the side. Do the same there. And so on. This isn’t about performance. It’s about making a Chevy stand out from a Honda and a ??????? to stand out from a Chevy and Honda.

And like IMSA does with its GTP cars, take them to a wind tunnel, benchmark their downforce and drag and center of pressure and ride height figures and sensitivities, and make adjustments to make them as equal as possible.

Q: Like the DW12 before it, the prospective new IndyCar chassis appears to be suffering the same identity crisis of having to be all things to all people. If the design goal starts and remains stuck in a sea of generalities, I doubt the car will be able to please anyone. In discussions with current IndyCar team owners and personnel, are there any specific design features, whether technical or aesthetic, that have been mentioned? Is anyone with skin in the game saying, ‘Dear Dallara, here is something concrete I really want to have in the new car’?

Also, do you know if there will be another evolution of the aeroscreen with the new chassis? Improved aesthetic integration of the aeroscreen is one of the vagaries we've heard on the public wish list, but what does that look like? Where the aeroscreen was bolted to the existing DW12, will the DW27 just be bolted to the existing aeroscreen?

I'd like to see smoother vertical contours – something closer to the windshields on sports car prototypes. From a head-on view, the aeroscreen is so boxy and, when outfitted with the ventless superspeedway glass, looks a bit unfinished where it's truncated at the top.

Pete, Rochester, NY

MP: Teams aren’t communicating with Dallara to express their styling desires. That feedback, after seeing the 2027 renderings, was given to the series. But the series already had a wind tunnel model being built with Dallara, so I don’t know how much input they were actually seeking.

I’ll add the aeroscreen 3.0 question to the list.

Q: Is Marcus Ericsson entering his final year on his contract with Andretti? I would have thought he’d made sure to sign up for longer than only two years. Is there any reason to worry about his contract not being extended after the end on this season?

Fabian Blåder

MP: Yes, we posted a story last week that explains his contract situation that you might have missed. Yes, he’s under threat of not being retained if he doesn’t run with his teammates. You can only sign a contract for as many years as the team offering the contract wants to give you. Most fixed-year contracts have a team option for at least one more year, so if Marcus performs, there’s no reason for Andretti to look elsewhere.

Racing's a result-based business. Joe Skibinski/IMS Photo

Q: I didn’t know you had a CEO's mindset strategy for how IndyCar should bring about new chassis, how to open up the parts, and overall IndyCar racing requirements for the car in a most creative way in your answer to Greg K's question in last week's Mailbag.

I think your answer should serve as a blueprint for IndyCar on how to move forward and introduce diversity between teams in terms of parts, procurement vendors and in turn, sponsorship that could come out of it.

I hope the current Penske Entertainment management could read it and take note of ideas you've put forth. What I don’t understand is, there are so many IndyCar fans that are rooting for IndyCar to be at a higher level of success than where it is and so many people are out there wanting their favorite series to be followed by more fans, sponsored by more companies, be visible than most other racing series, and wish for it be the most popular racing series out there.

However, the management of IndyCar is so indifferent to what fans are clamoring for and this is the only company that doesn’t seek feedback, nor does it provide information that could be consumed by fans and create excitement. Fans expect so much from their favorite series, and all it does is provide them with bread crumbs for excitement. I don’t understand how Penske being so successful in the business world can run this company like it’s a hobby ( that is my perception) when it requires total ‘in your face’-type marketing, in all aspects of the series including tracks, races, technology, drivers, sponsors, teams and so on. The reality is quite contrary to all that is required of the series.

Shyam

MP: I’d written all of that many times before, but it had been a few years, so it seemed like a perfect time to say it again. I’ll always hold out hope for our friends at Penske Entertainment on the marketing and promotions and general excitement side. But we can’t be surprised when Penske Corporation, which has never had to come up with grand and ground-breaking marketing/promotions/excitement truck rentals and whatnot, buys IndyCar and applies its same private-company approach and sensibilities.

Almost everything is kept under wraps. It doesn’t like to talk about anything in detail, unless it’s when they want to talk about it and on its own terms. An example: When I called in November while starting to put the ‘Team owners get first look at 2027 car renderings’ story, and told them I’d spoken to a few owners who described the car to me, they declined to acknowledge renderings existed.

Makes sense for the CIA, and privately-owned businesses, but for a public sporting league? About whether renderings of a future car exist? While it’s trying to gain traction? Very much of a closed society, which makes covering the series properly a constant challenge.

Q: Big Possum was indulging in a bottle of mezcal to celebrate New Years, and as loyal Mailbag readers are aware, if you eat the worm in a mezcal bottle you will have visions.

Well, Big Possum was up for a New Years vision so he ate the worm in one big bite (after drinking the bottle dry). His vision was on the much awaited and much discussed new car for IndyCar. Some of the vision was a little fuzzy, but here it is:

The new IndyCar will be a Kurtis/Watson roadster copy with a Meyer Drake 270 CI naturally-aspirated four-cylinder. Lap speeds at Indy are expected to decline to around 150 mph; 80-plus cars expected to attempt to qualify for the 500. Don Kenyon will be preparing two cars for the series, Mel Kenyon will be building engines for multiple teams since he apparently is the only one left that has the special tools and experience required with these motors. Best of all, Linda Vaughn and the balloons will be back, and since no one said “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” better that Tony Hulman, his recorded voice will give the command. Interestingly, no mention was made of Jim Nabors.

Happy New Year to all, and remember, when the green flag drops, the bull**** stops!

Big Possum

MP: I drank a single can of 3 Sheep’s Wolf beer, and while it didn’t send me on the trip you experienced, it did help me to imagine the next car as versions of Bobby Unser’s 1000hp turbo 1972 All American Racers Eagle-Offy.

Q: As a follow-up to the article last month regarding the next-generation IndyCar, I think too much is being made of the chassis as being the reason the series business is stagnant. I would note that dirt sprint cars haven't changed that much during my entire lifetime other than placing a gaudy wing on top of the driver. That doesn't appear to have hurt their business.

I believe the current IndyCar chassis is generally the best-looking car since CART. IndyCar really took a step backward when the IRL went to the G-Force, which looked like a naturally-aspirated CART car that took a year off from visiting the health club (and sounded like passing gas).

Then there was a period between 2012 and 2018 when the cars looked like oversized kiddie go-karts, and some of the street course configurations with the myriad small wings looked like insects.

Whatever the next IndyCar chassis turns out to be, it is my sincere hope that it is still an open-wheel series. Please, no big fenders!

James Herbert Harrison, Overland Park, KS

MP: Sprint cars, while awesome, are super niche, so we can’t compare them to the second most popular form of domestic racing series in the U.S., which boasts the world’s largest single day sporting event. Good news is, the next car won’t have fenders.

Q: With the buyout of Schmidt & Peterson complete, I am curious if this was always the plan when McLaren joined their team. Or was buying out their remaining ownership stake more strong-arming as opposed to a mutual desired transaction?

Matt Dallas, TX

MP: Could be wrong, but I’ve always been under the impression that this is where it was headed; McLaren isn’t the type of company to own a portion of a team for years on end. I’d heard it bought the entire team back in 2021, but it was positioned as a three-quarters buy to give them an easier transitional runway with longtime sponsors/partners who were there as a result of Sam and/or Ric.

Q: In the spirit of Robin Miller, I am giving you $100 in chips to bet. What drivers who are not in IndyCar yet would you place money on to win the Indy 500? How much of your $100 would you bet on them? Just curious about who the names are for us to watch for.

Mark, Cincinnati

MP: Kyle Larson isn’t in IndyCar, except for one race in May, so he’s my first choice and all $100 would be on him. Lots of potential in Indy NXT, but none of the 2025 class have done anything to demonstrate that they’re the next Colton/Pato/Kirkwood. I hope that changes, of course.

If I had to go into uncharted territory, I’d say Ross Chastain, because he’s working with epic car control skills, and teenage sports car/stock car phenom Conor Zilisch, who looks like he’s 10 years old, but drives with the kind of speed and maturity that makes champions.

Q: Will Ferrari-backed IMSA GTD class team Risi Competizione lure Ferrari factory driver Lewis Hamilton for 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona, joining the likes of Alessandro Pier Guidi etc?

Therius Oktavio

MP: Ferrari has a factory Le Mans Hypercar program that’s won Le Mans the last two years. If Lewis is going to make his sports car racing debut, I’d aim towards Le Mans in the top class.

Q: To cure my racing jones this offseason, I found myself watching bits of some 2002 American Le Mans Series races, which included a race at Trois Rivieres. It looks like a short course but challenging, with the bumps that you would see at most street circuits.

It got me thinking about what would be a suitable second Canadian track for IMSA. Perhaps the Trois Rivieres circuit, if the NASCAR Canada Series is willing to share? But I would like to see the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. It would be cool to see the speed of the GTP cars going down the straight after the hairpin.

Has either IMSA or IndyCar considered adding a second Canadian venue to their schedules? Assuming scheduling, promotion and logistics are good, what Canadian track would you like to see on a future IMSA or IndyCar schedule?

Brandon Karsten

MP: Mont-Tremblant. All day, every day.

Mont-Tremblant. Let's do it. Mark Taylor, Motorsport Images

Q: Any chance that Schmidt Peterson partners with Dale Coyne Racing? I would love to see them remain in IndyCar!

Tim, Germantown, TN

MP: Anything is possible.

Q: The FBI investigation of Rahal’s team for alleged theft of data from Andretti Global was a big story several months ago.

I recall it involved an employee who left AG and went over to Rahal. There was speculation it had something to do with Michael Andretti basically leaving his namesake company.

The story then faded to obscurity, with little or no mention of it since. The story spurred conjecture that a bitter feud was created between Michael and Bobby, which as a purist, I would hate to see exist. What has ever happened there?

James Herbert Harrison, Overland Park, KS

MP: I’ve never known Bobby and Michael to be close, so I wouldn’t put this ordeal down as something that unwound a deep friendship. Neither side is talking to the media due to this being an active FBI investigation, so there’s no clarity to offer.

Q: Whoever it is at RACER that keeps coming up with the Jarno Trulli pictures... please take a bow. The latest 'Jarno Trulli looking at a boat' is the best yet!

Ed Kelly

MARK GLENDENNING: I'm honestly amazed that I'm still finding new ones. Jarno ended up in a lot of weird photos for some reason.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, January 8, 2014

David Sutton

ROBIN MILLER: Yeah, it’s a shame USAC wasn’t smart enough to embrace Andy instead of trying to run him off or Indy car racing would still be light years ahead of NASCAR today. Long before it was fashionable, he understood the power of public relations and promotion.