The RACER Mailbag, February 18

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: What do you know about the IndyCar manufacturer charters? Will only Chevrolet and Honda be eligible for them, or would a manufacturer entering at a later date also receive one?

How is Mick Schumacher's car being funded?

Kristopher Strebe, Seattle, WA

MARSHALL PRUETT: I posed that first question to IndyCar President Doug Boles on Thursday, and he didn’t have an answer, other than saying a MFG charter would be considered for a new supplier.

Schumacher’s car is being funded by sponsorship. Its main associate sponsor should be on the car at the Phoenix test and its primary is being finalized.

Q: The article about Honda and Chevy sticking around included a note about each manufacturer being granted a charter. I found that confusing at first, but then I wondered if Honda would be able to contract Ganassi to run their chartered entry? Teams are limited to three charters. If this allowed the manufacturer to give their favorite team effectively a fourth chartered entry, it might make a little more sense.  Either way, what do you make of that bit of the news?

Ryan, West Michigan

MP: We had a MFG explainer story follow the main one, so if you caught that piece, you know the charter rules will only allow a MFG to place its entry with a two-car team, if it elects to use an existing team.

I think it’s a brilliant move by Penske Entertainment, which also acknowledges the leverage manufacturers had over the series. Penske needed what they had, and had to give something of value back to manufacturers, which has never been the case in racing. I bet other manufacturers will start asking for similar things from other series. 

Q: The announcement that Honda and Chevy have single-car charters available had a provision that said that they can’t use them with teams that already have three cars. Is there anything about small teams have big team support not being allowed to use the charters? The rule seems pointless if Chevy can run its charter at Foyt and the car has a Penske setup and dampers

Will

MP: Assuming the technical alliance still stands when we get to 2028, yes, this is possible. Same for Honda with Meyer Shank Racing, and based on how those two have spoken about it, it sounds like a done deal. And MSR receives dampers and engineering support from Chip Ganassi Racing… So same thing; assuming their alliance is still in place, you will have a Penske+Foyt+Chevy if Chevy picks Foyt and Ganassi+Meyer Shank+Honda on the other side. 

IndyCar manufacturers will not be able to use their charters to have a car run by an existing three-car team. But a two-car team that has an alliance with a three-car team, like Meyer Shank and Ganassi, is fair game. Chris Owens

Q: I'm a loyal IndyCar fan and it's been years since Jon Beekhuis reported from the pits. What is he up to these days?

Mark McKinley, Floyds Knobs, IN

MP: Jon’s awesome. Last saw him on pit lane two years ago at the Laguna Seca IndyCar race and I believe he said he was mostly retired.

Q: Hearing that Chevrolet and Honda will be sticking around for a while is certainly huge news for the series and keeps the positive momentum going. I was curious what you are hearing about a possible third OEM? What would you put the odds of a third engine manufacturer at and who might be interested? 

Brian, Wheaton, IL

MP: I haven’t heard anything to make me think we’ll have more than Chevy and Honda in 2028. I asked IndyCar Prresident Doug Boles about this last week and he indicated there wasn’t much to talk about right now.

Q: The announcement about manufacturer charters brings up a few questions. 

If a manufacturer leaves the series, does their charter simply revert back to Penske Entertainment, or can that manufacturer sell the charter to another supplier, similar to how the team charters can be sold between teams?

If a current three-car team decides to downsize in order to entice a manufacturer to use its charter with them, what happens to that team's third charter? Are they required to sell it, or do they simply put it in their back pocket for future use?

Is the allure of having a factory car enough that a three-car team would intentionally downsize to two cars?

Jeff, Idaho Falls

MP: Goes back to Penske. Charters are all owned and issued by Penske Entertainment. If one isn’t being used, it goes back to Penske. There’s no pocketing of a charter. With Penske’s approval, a team can sell the charter and pocket most of the profits, but it can’t  hold onto it like an heirloom.

Honda’s already aligned with Meyer Shank’s two-car team, so that leaves Chevy. With the whole conflict of interest thing, I don’t think the paddock would take kindly to Roger Penske cutting a car and replacing it with a factory Chevy entry, since he owns IndyCar, and co-founded and co-owns Ilmor, which makes the Chevy engines.

But if I was Arrow McLaren, I’d definitely think about it unless it is able to sign a monster to drive its third car in 2027 and beyond. If it’s an uncompelling driver/entry, hell yes, a long-term deal with Chevy to run its car as the third entry would be really smart.

The other play, which everyone has mentioned, is aligning with AJ Foyt Racing. If those alliances are all still in position, Meyer Shank and Ganassi would be the equivalent of a six-car factory machine. With Chevy at Foyt, Penske would be a six-car factory machine.

Not sure how that would be different operationally from a direct deal with Penske, but the optics would be slightly better. Slightly.