The RACER Mailbag, February 25

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: As the Indy 500 draws closer you often get the question about other things to do while visiting for the race. This will be the third Indy 500 for my 19-year-old son and I, and I thought your readers may enjoy some of the events we have attended, or perhaps add some of their own.

On Friday, we arrived at the 3:00pm opening of the Indy Memorabilia show at the Embassy Suites Event Center in Plainfield, Ind. The show runs Thursday to Saturday. You can get everything there from model cars and posters to driving suits and signed books.

Following the show, we headed to Indianapolis Raceway Park for the Carb Night Classic USAC Silver Crown Series, Midgets, and Road to Indy races. We purchased advanced reserved tickets and parking, none of which was necessary. There are plenty of seats.

On Saturday we had a reservation for the Speedway Museum. We arrived at the track early and walked the garage area and checked out views from various grandstands. Some of the garages for the historic cars were open, and it was great day to go souvenir shopping before Sunday's crowds.

When we emerged from the museum, we found that the track was doing a complete run through of the open ceremonies, including the flyover (if my memory serves me correctly). We were told the track was closed by that time, but no one told us to leave. So we, with hundreds of others, continued to enjoy the atmosphere (though all vendor services had closed).

Following a recommendation from Friday night, on Saturday evening we visited Lincoln Park Speedway for dirt modifieds. This was a rustic, very enjoyable track down a dirt road seemingly in the middle of the woods.

On Monday, during our drive back to Long Island we stopped at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio, about an hour east of Indianapolis. What racing fan isn't fascinated by airplanes? This place is huge, with beautiful aviation exhibits from every era.

This year we plan to go to the parade, and I'd love to find some more area dirt track racing. Maybe you have a recommendation for dirt sprints or other short track racing in the area?

People often comment that IndyCar should be involved with various short track races. It would be nice if the Speedway's website would collaborate with some of the local tracks and give the fans a list of area events taking place leading up to the 500.

Rich Deremer, Huntington, Long Island

MARSHALL PRUETT: Sounds like you’re getting a lifetime of memories packed into a few days, Rich. I’ll rely on locals to offer more insights on short tracks to visit. You might spend some time just off of Turn 1 on Main St. in Speedway where Dallara hosts tours at its U.S. factory, which sits across from Foyt’s Wine Bar – also well worth a visit – and if you’re keen to see the legend himself, Charlie Brown’s at the end of the street is where Super Tex sightings have happened forever at breakfast time.

Can’t say if their tours will be up and running by May, but Arrow McLaren will be opening its doors to fans for inside looks at their new home. And don’t show up too early to the memorabilia show… I’d hate to miss out on anything!  

No shortage of stuff to do in Indy during race week. Dana Garrett/Penske Entertainment

Q: Do you have any insights on when the Freedom 250 street course design will be made public?

Dale, Cedarburg, WI   

MP: None. The President’s executive order called for the layout to be designated within 14 days of Mr. Trump’s signing, and that deadline passed about two weeks ago.         

Q: Connor Zilisch looks to be one of the best prospects to come around in quite a while. Was he ever on anyone’s radar in IndyCar? Or was he already tied to Red Bull and NASCAR?

Wally, Eden Prairie, MN

MP: I haven’t heard his name mentioned in relation to IndyCar. He’s an amazing kid with wild talent. But without a baseline for how he’d perform in upper-tier open-wheel racing, you were not going to get IndyCar team owners clamoring to sign him before he was locked into a NASCAR future. Given how things went for IMSA GTP champions Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist during their IndyCar adventures, team owners aren’t willing to automatically associate LMP2/GTP/Cup excellence with being able to get the most out of a Dallara DW12.

Q: I am wondering about the new IndyCar tire regs stating they must use two sets of alternates during the street races. For the first practice session are we as spectators now going to sit there in the grandstands and watch an install lap, and then a whole bunch of nothing because they are trying to conserve tires?

I will be at Long Beach on Friday and I am now thinking this may happen. What do you think?

Colorado Dan

MP: I’d love to tell you otherwise, but yes, be prepared to be bored for long stretches of the single Friday street course practice sessions as teams get super conservative with their tire sets.

Rookies get an extra set, so they’ll continue to be the track sweepers who go out early. They have to use that set and return it at the end of practice, so there’s no conservation to consider, but it’s three rookies with those sets, and then a handful of other drivers who aren’t likely to win that tend to venture out.

From an entertainment standpoint, it’s a problem. Imagine your favorite band coming to town for a three-day run, and on the opening day, they perform a 60-minute set, but open it playing an unpopular song, then put their instruments down and stand and stare at you and the rest of the audience for 20 minutes.

That’s not too far from what happens during the lone Friday afternoon IndyCar sessions, and it’s why I always feel bad for fans who’ve taken the day off work or make whatever arrangements are necessary to come and see their favorite series and drivers on the opening day of action… and get a single session where a couple of rookies and a few dumpster divers pound around the track while the stars sit for long stretches to avoid using tires. If I was a fan, I’d be pissed.