The RACER Mailbag, January 15

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: I just read Paul Pfanner’s article titled "IndyCar 2025: A turning point in the race to what’s next.” Great article, lots of information, except not one mention of the absence of at least one Andretti racing or owning a team in IndyCar for the first time in 60 years. I think Mario missed the Indy 500 in 1979.

I think there are those who are underestimating the loss of Michael Andretti as a team owner and the effect it’s going to have on the sport. I’ve been buying my seats in Paddock Penthouse for the last 27 years from an Andretti fan and just last week he told me he was selling them off since there’s no Andretti presence in IndyCar anymore.

I know Michael will be hanging around showing his face, but it’s not the same. We’ve all seen this already with what happened to Richard Petty.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I think it’s going to more of a big deal as far as attendance and viewer participation goes than people think…

Mel, Arizona

MARSHALL PRUETT: Not sure how much you’re going to see Michael this season. Of the many people there I’ve spoken to, they’ve all said that when he cleared out late last year, he’s been completely gone. He could, of course, show up at some races if he desires to, but I don’t want anyone to get their hopes up that Michael will be a regular presence in the paddock like his dad had been for decades.

Q: I am assembling my list of IndyCar radio frequencies to load into my radios which no longer have the luxury of OTA programming at the track. My wife and I are heading to Long Beach this year for the 50th anniversary race. Do we know what car numbers PREMA will have yet? I figure Malukas will be in the 41 car, correct? And how soon before we know Dale Coyne’s drivers?

Jeff, Colorado

MP: Dale told me middle-to-late January for both, and with Abel now confirmed, I’m keeping my eye out for VeeKay – unless Coyne seeks a paying driver, because Rinus doesn’t bring money.

PREMA will use Charlie Kimball’s old number of 83 for Shwartzman and 90 for Ilott. Heard the Foyt team might be trying to grab the unused No. 4 for Malukas’s car since Kyffin Simpson has been moved into the No. 8.

That looks like something that would pair well with Sonny's BBQ. Motorsport Images

Q: I attend IndyCar races for one main reason: access. I can watch the race on TV and have a much better view of it. I go to a race to see things I cannot on TV.

I have never attended a race that did not have a pit pass available. Looking through all the races for 2025, I have only found St. Pete and Mid-Ohio offering pit passes. Where have they all gone? Close-up access to pit lane is the most intriguing thing to watch during a weekend. I spend as much time as I can there watching these teams work. Guess I will be staying home this year. (Paddock passes are not the same)

Craig

MP: Let’s hope that changes as we get farther into the year and tracks develop more ticket offerings. When I was a kid attending local races where my dad or his business partner were racing, I became an absolute nuisance to the SCCA grid control/pit lane access volunteers. Did everything I could to sneak onto pit lane -- despite being seven or eight -- when all of the cars and crews walked down from grid. You’re right; being where the action’s happening is so much better than peering through a fence in the paddock.

Q: Is Benedetto Vigna the culprit for Ferrari not entering the IndyCar Series? Maybe he is anti-IndyCar?

Therius Oktavio

MP: Without a doubt. I curse his name each morning.

Q: In regards to the new IndyCar design, has there been any discussion about performance targets for the new chassis? The current chassis seems to have been passed by new chassis in other open-wheel series, and also seems to have too much dirty air for road course passing.

Will, Indy

MP: I’m sure they have internally, but nothing has been shared to my knowledge with those of us on the outside. I feel safe in assuming targets to maintain the current level or performance, or to slightly improve, are in play. Road course passes have happened aplenty.

Q: I am starting a petition urging IndyCar to retain Big Possum as Director of Competition (and hydration).

David Spear

MP: I’m convinced our tequila-loving Mailbag contributor Big Possum is actually Mark Miles.

Q: I just watched the IMSA preview show on Peacock and it looks like the field has expanded even more, which is so exciting. The term "golden era" is being thrown around for this current time in IMSA, and there is an obvious rise in coverage and attention (from media and from manufacturers). The technology and development in IMSA seems to be its biggest selling point.

How do you view the growth of North American racing? There seems to be an IMSA series on the rise (and clearly being pushed now by NBC since IndyCar went to FOX), and an IndyCar series stuck with an old chassis and constant engine supplier questions. But the switch to FOX seems like such a big step toward getting more eyes on IndyCar. What do you make of it all and the growth of these two series?

And, what needs to change to show all the new F1 fans (the ones that really only found motorsport through Drive To Survive) that there is better racing right here in their own backyards? Yes sure, the overall F1 season last year was fun to watch the standings battle, but most actual races on track were not particularly competitive. If you could change two or three things to make a meaningful impact here, what would you do?

Mike, Michigan

MP: Many of the new F1 fans who’ve learned about motor racing via DTS that I’ve come across are deeply entrenched in F1, and only F1. The second half of the last F1 season was really good and had a lot of unpredictable outcomes, so if we’re talking about quality of racing, a new F1 fan would have no reason to look elsewhere.

And IndyCar has had some of the best racing on the planet for many, many years. But it’s audience remains much smaller than the quality of its racing deserves. So that tells us great racing is only part of the appeal, and isn’t enough to draw huge crowds because if it played a greater role in attracting new fans, IndyCar would be bigger than NASCAR and bigger than F1. But it isn’t, so it’s clearly lacking in overall appeal.

My favorite band, which has never wavered since I was introduced to them as a kid in the late 1970s, is Rush. I love tons of other bands, but this is the one that remains in P1 after many decades. I’ve often thought of IndyCar after The Split/NASCAR’s rise to P1 and Rush as being the same thing. Great. Amazing. Pioneering. But not exceedingly popular, despite the brilliance of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart (RIP). And there are plenty of folks (new F1 fans, and entrenched NASCAR or IMSA fans) who hate IndyCar with a passion, just as many hate Rush in impressive ways.

For us on the inside of the deep fandom for Rush, or IndyCar, we can’t understand why the rest of the world isn’t deeply in love with them, and then we come back to that central point of clearly lacking overall, mass appeal.

If the quality of racing, or musicianship isn’t enough of a draw to get people hooked, the series or the band need to be honest with themselves and make changes -- assuming they want to be bigger deals (which Rush never cared about) -- to increase their popularity. For IndyCar, doing the same old thing year after year, while making incremental improvements, hasn’t helped in its quest to become a huge hit. It’s Rush, the racing series. Beloved by those who’ve found it, but a mystery to most people.

F1 has positioned itself as young and vibrant and cool, and it’s worked. How has IndyCar positioned itself? It spent the last two seasons trying to drum up interest in its series through a bizarre #DefyEverything marketing campaign. None of the teams understood what it was about, and nobody that I spoke with believed a gimmick was needed to try and get people to watch IndyCar through an odd slogan that held no meaning for the average person.

IndyCar can place itself in almost the same way as F1. Its younger drivers are vibrant and fun and cool, and of course the racing is excellent, but after five years -- a half decade-- its owner has absolutely failed in its mission to make IndyCar a bigger deal. Yes, it has gained in all areas, but IndyCar has been busy gaining inches while F1, and now IMSA, are gaining yards.

F1 has become Taylor Swift/Kendrick Lamar/Morgan Wallen to the average follower. IMSA isn’t there yet, and continues to live in IndyCar’s shadow with TV ratings and the size of its fan base, but the automotive world can’t sign up fast enough to participate in its series, and it’s adding new and much younger fans at an amazing rate.

Left to right: Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Jarno Trulli.

This is why so much hope is being placed in FOX to help fix Penske Entertainment’s inability to grow its own series and start to gain some yardage. Would a new and more exciting car help? Yes. It certainly wouldn’t hurt. Would the hiring of real marketing and promotions gurus help to reposition IndyCar as something other than dad’s favorite old-timey band? Yes. It certainly wouldn’t hurt (and they have hired external firms to help, but the results speak for themselves, so keep searching).

Last thing to share: When I changed careers from being a mechanic/engineer/manager in racing to being a reporter, my first beat was sports cars. It was the American Le Mans Series, and those cars, and the series, were in the midst of a golden era in 2007-08. I also went back to where I came from and covered a little bit of IndyCar during that period, but between the two, the ALMS had all the buzz, all the manufacturers, and was where the energy was found.

That changed as the economy slowed late in 2008, manufacturers exited the ALMS, and as IndyCar went to a new formula in the early 2010s, sports car racing lost that energy here and it went back to IndyCar. (I’m not including NASCAR because I’ve never worked in that paddock.) IndyCar continued to rise, and while the return of IMSA when the ALMS was bought by Grand Am and was relaunched as IMSA, had some cool elements through the end of the decade, IndyCar held its place above IMSA in fan interest and a general feeling of positivity. If anything, IMSA was like double Rush in that regard. Super niche.

And now, as I work in both paddocks, there’s no question that the launch of IMSA’s GTP formula in 2023 and addition of new GT manufacturers in 2024 has taken back that leading energy and buzz and feeling of positivity that had been gone since the ALMS disappeared. I wish that feeling was the same in both series, but other than the FOX deal, IndyCar has been flat. When I talk to drivers, teams, and fans who are engaged in both series, I hear the same comments. There’s something special happening again in sports car racing that isn’t happening in IndyCar, outside of a new TV deal. And that’s a shame. IndyCar should be a raging beast, but it’s not, and I hate it for them.

So, what can IndyCar do to help itself in two or three ways?

1: Create a new car/engine formula that appeals to the auto industry and doesn’t cost a fortune to get involved. IMSA has something like 18 or 19 auto manufacturers across all of its series, and they all, to greater and lesser degrees, use their marketing budgets to drive awareness and interest towards the series. Today, IndyCar has two, and they spend most of their budgets on supplying engines or sponsoring races -- to the point where they have few dollars left to spare for meaningful advertising and activating their involvement in IndyCar. The more manufacturers, the more powerful the marketing and promotions machine.

2: New car. It’s coming, in a few years, but until then, it’s the same old same old.

3: New leadership. As in, add new leadership. All of the people who are the true leaders of IndyCar (at Penske Entertainment) are white-haired gentlemen who are 65 or older. CEO Mark Miles is in his 70s. Owner Roger Penske will be 88 in February, etc. Those aren’t bad things. But when I want to come up with ideas on how to attract the same new and youthful fans that now love F1, my mind doesn’t go to asking my grandparents for solutions. Different people, from different eras, demand different approaches.

When IndyCar’s greatest problem is having the oldest demographic in all of North American racing -- the vast majority are 55 and older, which means it needs to mash the throttle and make new and younger fans to replenish the inevitable loss of fans due to Father Time, I’m not sure youth-oriented shifts in the business are best held for folks who were last considered young in the 1950s, 1960, and 1970s. And have no social media accounts. And have never posted a Tweet, Reel or Story. And probably think of Rush as a new band.

Just as I probably wouldn’t ask a 20-year-old how to set the float in a carburetor, I wouldn’t ask someone in their 70s or 80s how to reshape a racing series to hit with people in their 20s and 30s. This isn’t rocket surgery, right?

For the sake of clarity, I’m not saying IndyCar’s senior leaders -- meaning its leaders are all seniors -- don’t offer immense value, and some more than others, but does IndyCar really want the "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme to be its reality?

How, after five years of ownership, there’s no "IndyCar Next Generation Committee" where young experts, who where born around or just after the turn of the most recent century, are on the payroll and helping the series to become relevant among the exact demographic it needs to survive, is baffling. Unless a fountain of youth is discovered, IndyCar is 10-15 years away from losing most of its fans. It’s scary stuff.

However, as I’ve said a ton of times in recent years, Penske and his leaders do not want input and believe they have everything handled on their own. So I’m not sure how this last one gets started.

Q: The possible Honda/Nissan merger got me thinking. Why not badge half the Honda engines Nissan? Bam -- three "manufacturers." It’s at least a short-term solution. I’d imagine that could be accomplished rather quickly.

Mike Talarico, formerly Riverside, CA, now Charlotte, NC

MP: GM could also badge their Chevy engines as Buicks, Cadillacs, and GMC, and we’d have six manufacturers under the new Honda/Nissan deal…with no relief for Chevy and Honda on costs side, since it would still be two companies making all the motors, and no benefit to the series from a financial perspective. But I do love the creative math. Reminds me of exchanging a $20 bill for 20 singles to make it look like a big wad of cash.

Q: Apparently you were a bit premature in telling me Aaron Telitz was demoted due to his performance. As I mentioned to you before, Telitz’s lap times were consistently the fastest on every team he’s been on including Vasser-Sullivan, and his ride last year in the Michelin Endurance Cup. Vasser-Sullivan has apparently realized that and teamed him up for this year full-time with Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Lexus. Aaron’s talent behind the wheel is undeniable and I, for one, look forward to his charge to the front during this year’s IMSA competition!

Joe Weiss

MP: Apparently not. We spoke at Milwaukee during the last IMSA season while it was active, and while he was demoted. So, not premature. Factual.

Also, and of course you’re welcome to live in whatever altered reality that’s desired, but I won’t join you there and agree with things that are pure fantasy about him always being the fastest wherever he goes. It’s 100 percent false, just as it is for every driver. Senna was never always the fastest. Schumacher was never always the fastest.

Unlike IndyCar or NASCAR or F1, all single-driver series, Aaron’s in a shared environment, hands the baton between teammates, and lap times are just one part of the equation. It’s fuel saving, tire conservation, choices in traffic, the state of the car that gets handed off to teammates, average stint pace, and so on.

Totally different demands, all of which are critical for a pro driver to ace in every category. Nailing all of those areas, including outright pace, weren’t being delivered to the degree that was needed in 2023 and led to the change in 2024. And in 2024, after reviewing the season as a whole, the team saw what they wanted from him and felt a promotion back to full-time was warranted and deserved.

That’s a great thing for one of my favorite drivers. He’s also too good to need fans to fabricate falsehoods about his capabilities.

At least we can all agree that he's fast. Michael Levitt/IMSA

Q: I'm an optimistic person so when people ask me how IndyCar is doing I usually tell them that it's probably doing better than most people would say, admit, or want to know. Saying this, there is one thing that worries me.

As a child it seems as if IndyCar teams were run by millionaires that had the money or the connections to run IndyCar teams as a hobby or out of the love for motorsports. Fast-forward to today, and it seems the image of an IndyCar team is becoming to mirror that of what we see in F1. More and more teams are now owned or backed by large corporations or individuals that seem to see IndyCar more as an investment rather than a sport. McLaren, Group 1001, and individuals like Ted Gelov are making IndyCar look like a billionaire's playground, and the fact that Dale Coyne also seems to be looking for this kind of backing has more worried.

Is this a good look for IndyCar? Obviously it's bringing a lot of money and "stability" into the sport, but the danger is if one of these big names gets out of the sport it can cause a lot of unwanted damage to the team and the series. It was easy to say the sport was in good hands because the teams were run by team owners that loved the sport and wanted to see it grow. Now it seems it's all about business and the love part of it looks like it had disappeared. I hope I'm wrong. What do you think?

Ukyo Tachibana

MP: I’m also an optimistic person, Ukyo. And as I’ve written here, the recent rise in costs to compete on an annual basis has transformed the business foundation of most IndyCar teams.

A.J. Foyt: Has Penske involved with making the second car for David Malukas happen, and before, relied on big cash infusions from paying drivers like Dalton Kellett, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb. Also has an angel investor via Sexton Properties to keep its primary car on track.

Andretti Global: Funded almost entirely by its new parent company, TWG Global, led by Mark Walter. It’s the first IndyCar team I can think of that’s wholly owned by an investment firm. Investment.

Arrow McLaren: Is said to have a big infusion to fund/run Nolan Siegel, which is a change from paying all of its drivers. Investment.

Chip Ganassi Racing: Heavily supported by the family of driver Kyffin Simpson.

Dale Coyne Racing: Relies heavily on Coyne’s personal investment from his various non-racing businesses, has usually taken paying drivers. Seeking a co-owner to make a sizable investment.

Ed Carpenter Racing: Taken on Gelov, as mentioned, as its new co-owner. Investment.

Juncos Hollinger Racing: Took on Brad Hollinger as co-owner in order to return. Converted both cars for 2025 to take money from paying drivers. Investment.

Meyer Shank Racing: Took on Jim Meyer as a co-owner. Also took on Liberty Media as a 30-percent owner. Has converted its second car for 2025 to take money from a paying driver. Investments.

PREMA Racing: Co-owned by Deborah Mayer, the wealthy and benevolent owner of the Iron Dames all-female sports car initiative as well. Investment.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Took on multiple co-owners long ago. Mike Lanigan has been a vital and ongoing investor, but is said to have turned off the financial tap. Converted two of its three cars for 2025 to field paying drivers. Investors.

Team Penske: Pays all three drivers, no known investors.

Except for Penske, it’s hard to find an IndyCar team that hasn’t changed its business model in the last 12 months to take money from drivers, or use the extreme wealth from a driver’s family to underwrite a decent portion of its overall budget, or take on an investor, or continue to rely on the funding or new business relationships created by longstanding investors.

In almost every way, the days of Big Sponsor X, or wealthy owners coming out of pocket to pay for a season of racing for an entire team, are gone. Coyne is the last of his kind, and if he signs an investor, that, too, will disappear.

Q: Less than 20 weeks until the Indy 500! Now that I have that out of me... there are rumors making the rounds that Dodge – yes, Dodge! – will be the third engine manufacturer in IndyCar, and that it will be announced fairly soon. After hearing so many of these rumors over the course of the past few years, is this possible? Have you heard anything along these lines?

Also, a couple months ago, you wrote an article concerning Dreyer & Reinbold's interest in going full-time in IndyCar in 2027. Dennis Reinbold has said this more than once, but it seems to be more feasible now that he has partnered with Don Cusick/Cusick Motorsports. It would be so nice to see this happen! Dennis has been involved with the IRL/IndyCar for quite a while, and Don Cusick appears to be an owner with a passion for IndyCar who could help this program out financially.

I'd love to see these two men as full-time participants. What are your thoughts on this? Would they have to buy a charter, or do you think Penske Entertainment would grant an additional charter for their team? Maybe the beautiful Purex scheme would make another appearance on a car!

Scott Freeman, Bloomington, IN

MP: Penske Entertainment had ample opportunities to earmark DRR for a charter or two, or grandfather them in to receive charters if/once DRR is ready to go full-time, but Penske did not do those things. If Dennis and Don are going to own charters, it will involve buying them from one of the 10 teams who have them and want to sell. At present, I don’t know of any who are looking to sell.

I’ve heard a pitch was made to Stellantis, but I’d expect nothing less, and for pitches to have been made to every auto company. I keep hearing that no definitive rules exist for IndyCar’s next engine formula, so there’s no way Dodge or any other brand would commit to supplying engines when the current formula is about to expire and no new rules are established.

Just as you wouldn’t commit to spending a ton of money on a new house before seeing the blueprints and knowing what you’re signing up for, manufacturers will want to see the regulations and budget forecasts before signing a contract. Let’s hope those regs get finished, distributed, and Stellantis says yes.

Q: I know Penske and Rahal run factory teams for BMW and Porsche. Do they get a say in the drivers they are allowed to use, or is it strictly dictated by the car companies? Is that why Graham Rahal and Will Power don't drive for their car owners in the Rolex 24 At Daytona?

David Tucker

MP: That is why. The teams are service providers for major auto manufacturers, and are well-paid to run those programs. As the client, they run who they’re told to run. Newgarden got a chance to do some racing for Porsche, and Graham was included back in the day, but most factory programs do all of the dictating on drivers today.

Rahal was part of RLL's BMW GTLM line-up at Daytona between 2014 and 2016. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images

Q: I believe that Townsend Bell lives in Pacific Palisades and has been affected by the fires. Just a shout-out to Townsend and his family, along with all the others affected in the LA area. Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers as I know first-hand how horrific this is.

Tom Patrick, Baja California, formally Lake Arrowhead

MP: Just insane to see all of the loss and devastation. Brutal for Townsend and thousands of people in SoCal. We’ve had three family members lose their homes and everything they own. Thankful they got out in time. Such a helpless feeling.

Q: Stock car racing has been unified under one banner, NASCAR. We used to have ARCA and USAC had a stock car series, but now it's all one: NASCAR. Do you see a similar unification for open-wheel racing combining F1 and IndyCar?

Lloyd Parker

MP: I do not. NASCAR absorbed or killed all of its competition where it races, and those are/were smaller, weaker organizations. IndyCar races in North America and has no domestic rival. F1 is an international series that makes a few stops in the U.S. -- highly popular stops -- but there’s nothing similar to the NASCAR/ARCA example because of the vast differences between IndyCar and F1.

If Roger Penske, or his children, were to sell IndyCar to Liberty Media, which he has said will never happen, that’s the only way the two series get blended.

Also, F1 kicks the living crap out of IndyCar in popularity and crowd size and sponsorship sales and TV ratings because it’s the biggest form of racing in the world and IndyCar is the second-most popular form of racing in its home country.

If that were to change, and F1 saw IndyCar as any kind of threat, its actions might change, but for now, while IndyCar is faced with a serious challenge to hold its place as North America’s most popular open-wheel series while new F1 fandom continues to sweep across the country, I can’t see why F1 would want to unify with IndyCar while it’s winning on such a large scale. I wish that wasn’t the case, but an international racing series has indeed taken hold here in ways I’ve never seen before.

Q: I've been reading articles and comments about the shortage of race engineers. Given your background and experience, and with input from those around you, what educational path would you recommend a young man or woman take, from early on through a more advanced formal educational experience, to get to the IndyCar level?

Don B.

MP: My path towards becoming a race car mechanic and engineer was rather typical and might be an option: Started off volunteering with an amateur junior open-wheel team as a teen, and once I’d built up enough trust to do more than clean things and do the dirty work, they let me take the wheels on and off the car and do other basics that allowed me to learn without being overwhelmed. That evolved into being entrusted to use wrenches and sockets to perform nut-and-bolt safety checks on all the mounting points for the suspension, engine, transmission, etc.

It also gave me a chance at the track to see how the flow of race weekends went; the loading and unloading of the trailer and setting up our mobile working space. The schedule that dictated when we were on track and all of the duties needed to be completed before, between, and after those sessions, etc.

I mention all of that because after volunteering for about two years, and having driven up and down the West Coast and Southwest to go to races -- often SCCA regionals and nationals, but also CART IndyCar weekends where the SCCA Super Vee series was part of the event like the USF Championships and Indy NXT are today -- I knew enough to go and seek a full-time, paying job. Hands on, real world training cannot be beat. I learned a lot about engineering along the way from Michael Cannon, Burke Harrison, Mark Weida and others, which helped me to move up from wrenching to engineering.

I have the same answer when I’m asked: If you or your child want to work in racing in whatever team-based capacity, in whatever form of racing, pull up Google Maps, find the local tracks, call and ask which racing series compete at those tracks (or just look it up on the track’s "Events" page), and go to those events. It might require joining the SCCA, or NASA, or whatever organization in order to gain access to the paddock, but go to the place where the cars and teams are found. For club races in the SCCA and NASA, these are your neighbors and co-workers who love racing, bought or built a car, and go race on the weekends. Some won’t want or need help, but some will.

It’s a lot of long nights, after work, in cold garages doing prep on the car, and free weekends doing more prep, but that’s where the knowledge is gained. Go from car to car and get to know the local racers and see if any want some assistance.

A bit of an obvious statement here, but if you want to get involved in baseball, go to the places where baseball is played. Same with racing; go to where the sport takes place to create opportunities to get involved. So if engineering is the thing of interest, there are university programs in the U.S. and abroad where such things can be learned in a regimented, scholastic environment. And many of the younger, newer engineers in the sport have come into the sport through this path. I think it’s a great development; we didn’t have that option decades ago. But it’s also strange to hear about many of the graduates going to the track for the first time to take part in a race after receiving their college education.

Going to university will fast-track oneself to reaching the big leagues, but I would recommend getting out, getting plugged in with a club racing team, and adding the experience and knowledge of proper racing to complement the fixed lessons provided in school.

I’ve heard team owners, team managers, and crew members tell me on a frequent basis about onboarding a new engineer fresh out of university and having to teach them about how to go racing, work within a team environment, and all of the things that can’t be found in a classroom or as an intern with a team for a brief period.

Hands-on learning can go a long way for somebody who wants to work on race cars for a living. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: So, Romain Grosjean has spent four years in IndyCar with mixed results and zero wins. Do you have any insight into why he didn't do better? We keep hearing F1 drivers are the best in the world, but when faced with relatively equal equipment, he did not seem to have what it takes to win.

Jim Doyle, Hoboken, NJ

MP: The top F1 drivers tend to be the most talented in the world, yes, but only an idiot would claim F1 drivers as a whole are superior to the rest. Just like in IndyCar, NASCAR, etc., the ones routinely inside the top 10 are truly elite, but the rest who routinely aren’t fall into a lower tier. There are exceptions, of course, but the best usually migrate to the leading teams due to their exceptional talent.

That said, Romain is wildly talented, but the fit with Andretti went sideways early, and as a blunt, no-nonsense guy, his combative nature wasn’t well-received by the team when things went wrong. And they often went wrong. They made mistakes, he made mistakes, and the relationship devolved over the two-year span. Hard to get the best out of yourself -- to give 100 percent at all times -- as a driver, engineer, crew member and so on, if you’re in a frequent state of misery.

At Coyne, where he had a comfy situation, we saw the best version of Grosjean, and a lot of that vibe returned last season at Juncos Hollinger. If the team hadn’t failed in finding sponsorship, he’d probably still be there, but the team was forced to change its business model into having drivers pay to be in both cars.

Q: This doesn’t sound good:

"After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period."

What’s your take? I count on being able to time shift, and this is not going to be helpful.

Don Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

MP: Spent last week playing phone tag with Penske Entertainment and finally connected over the weekend. It’s not good, but it’s also not their fault. Nonetheless, the only high-profile streaming subscriptions I know of that will deliver FOX/FS1/FS2 are YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, and both start at over $80 a month. I think there’s a Roku option, which I haven’t explored, but none of it is as cheap at Peacock and I don’t anticipate a friendly streaming workaround anytime soon for cord cutters.

If you pay for cable, you’re good and can use the FOX Sports app for free. If cable isn’t your thing, and you aren’t already paying for YouTube/Hulu/whatever at that somewhat steep rate, asking fans to fork out a bunch of money just to stream IndyCar could be a hard ask. Again, this one isn’t on Penske Entertainment. But that doesn’t change the situation for folks who came to appreciate the cheap and easy solution of paying $15 or less per month for Peacock.

Q: Why was Dane Cameron let go from Penske? He is only a multi-IMSA champion and won titles for Penske.

Why doesn't IndyCar allow full-time entries that finish at the bottom more test time in order to catch up? It would help out the lower-level teams catch up with development.

Mike Faulknor

MP: I think Dane was burned out after doing the full WEC season in 2023, and upon his return to IMSA in 2024, he didn’t have that same kill-everything-in-front-of-me look I’d seen since his junior open-wheel days. Still won the championship with Nasr, but there were rumors as early as July -- at least that’s when I first heard them -- about Porsche being unsure about offering a contract extension.

Fairly normal for a veteran who’s been at their peak for a long time to hit a plateau, get burned out, and need a change, which Dane has with leading AO Racing’s LMP2 program, that helps them to rediscover the passion and fire that waned.

On the testing, this assumes the bottom teams are just as good as the top teams and the only thing separating them is more testing time. That might be the case in some situations, but not in most. Lower teams in every racing series are there for a variety of reasons, most involving inferior funding, inferior drivers and inferior crew when pitted against the best. I worked for a lot of smaller teams, and at times, was one of those inferior crew members, so I speak from experience.

Q: With Andretti wanting a stronger General Motors relationship after taking Cadillac engines in Formula 1 and IMSA, will Andretti use Chevrolet engines in IndyCar by 2026, and thus Honda will partner with Ed Carpenter Racing since Chevrolet does not want too many customers?

Ed Carpenter Racing even partnered with Honda in 2011. ECR being with Honda may help ECR become competitive!

Therius Oktavio

MP: ECR didn’t partner with Honda in 2011. It was the only engine available to use. It leased motors just like everyone else. Andretti could return to Chevy if that’s what it wants to do and Chevy is willing to dump an existing team or two to make the accommodation. Right now, Andretti is P2 at Honda behind Ganassi. If it leaves for Chevy, it will be P2, at best, behind Team Penske and maybe P3 behind Arrow McLaren. Not sure if that would be smart.

The real story would have been if Ed wasn't using Honda engines in 2011. Eric Gilbert/Motorsport Images

Q: Compare and contrast what both PREMA Racing and Towriss Andretti Cadillac had to go through to launch new teams in their prospective series. PREMA, a European operation coming to an American-based series vs Towriss Cadillac, an American venture coming to a European series. Include metrics such as timelines and approximate costs and political red tape.

Bob Gray, Canoga Park, CA

MP: Light correction here as it’s The Walter Group -- the TWG Global that owns all things Andretti -- owned by Mark Walter, not Dan Towriss, who is the main figure, I’m told. Towriss is the day-to-day guy reporting to Walter, I’m also told.

Briefly, PREMA faces no red tape. It wanted to enter IndyCar. IndyCar said yes. Chevy said yes. PREMA bought everything it needed, hired people, and here they are. Just as Carlin did years ago. IndyCar is/was an open racing series. Its creation of charters has changed that, but PREMA made it in -- without charters, but as the only approved non-charter team to compete full-time -- before the books were closed.

Andretti Global’s plight has been documented to death from the beginning so there’s no need to rehash it here. But, for those who weren’t aware, did you know RACER broke the story of Andretti looking to enter F1 back in August of 2021? Feels like a lifetime ago.

Q: I just saw the Newgarden commercial on FOX. They hit it out of the park with Brady and Palou! That’s what we need! I loved it!

TJ Spitzmiller

MP: They did!

Q: Following the launch of PREMA, I wanted to ask do you have any additional information regarding their financial backing?

I can’t think of a standalone new IndyCar entry (McLaren doesn’t count), in the past 20 years that appear to be so well funded and professional. Ranging from the size of their HQ, talented drivers who I assume are both being paid, even RoGro as a reserve. Plus the team management and engineering structure. It must cost many, many millions to build a team from scratch. They are serious, and I welcome any quality new entry.

But their cars and drivers appeared with no sponsors. The Rosins, I’m sure, have done well out of PREMA in Europe, but surely are not able to splash millions on a new entity – especially one that won’t make any money for some time, if ever.

Wish them the best of luck, but very intrigued as to how they’ve pulled this off.

John

MP: Separate from the Rosins and Angelina Ertsou, the team owner listed in the team’s press kit is Deborah Mayer. Mayer is amazing, and extremely benevolent. She uses her wealth and ambition to support major racing programs like the Iron Dames sports car initiative, which has an all-female driver line-up. I’d heard she was a driving force behind the team’s expansion to IndyCar, and I’m sure some sponsors will be on the cars, but as I suspected, there’s no PREMA IndyCar without Mayer. IndyCar is lucky to have her.

Q: Since the Venu Sports app was shuttered last week, is IndyCar looking for alternative streaming options for cord-cutters?

Rob, Rochester NY

MP: Not with any urgency. They told me once the season starts and the FOX relationship gets moving, it will likely become a topic of interest.

Q: I saw the new IndyCar promo last night during the Eagles-Packers game featuring Josef Newgarden. I thought it was fun and well done, especially with the Tom Brady cameo. Hope to see more of these with other drivers as we get closer to the season opener. Hopefully if they do a promo with Power, they showcase his penchant for the double-bird.

Steve, St Louis

MP: I need that Power promo. But only three drivers have gotten the promo treatment for 2025: Josef, Palou, and Pato.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, January 15, 2014

Q: Funny, I was reading some stuff recently about Art Pollard and Joe Leonard, and suddenly there’s a question about the latter in your Jan.c8 Mailbag. It struck me that of course you’re the perfect guy to ask: where did Joe Leonard’s nickname “Pelican” come from? And am I right in thinking that George Follmer is one of the greatest yet most overlooked all-rounders of all time? What’s your take on him?

Dave Tremayne

ROBIN MILLER: “Pelican Joe” came from A.J. Foyt who said Leonard was like "a ****ing pelican. He lays back and then dives in and takes over.” Dan Gurney called him “Jose” Leonard and most people called him a “badass” since he was a champion on two and four wheels. Follmer was damn good (won an IndyCar race at Phoenix in a Gilbert chassis with a normally aspirated Chevy) in several disciplines and rated highly by none other than Parnelli Jones.