The RACER Mailbag, July 1

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 12pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.

Q: The 6 Hours of Demolition Derby at the Glen leaves me wondering about the quality of the "pro" drivers. Many of the incidents involved the pro drivers in the cars. Catsburg seems to be getting a reputation of dirty driving based on the past couple of races.

I wonder if, instead of just drive-through penalties, IMSA do something similar to F1 with penalty points for drivers? If a driver gets 12 penalty points, they sit out a race. Maybe that can clean up the rise in incidents at races, with the endurance race at Road America coming up.

Frank, Mooresville, NC

MARSHALL PRUETT: I love this idea. And owing to the annual calamities in the Turn 2/Turn 3 section, it seems like something more needs to be done to inform drivers entering Turn 2 of crashing taking place in Turn 3, and of slow downs/crashing happening around Turn 3 for those entering Turn 3. Is it a large video board at the base of the turns to show what’s happening up top, and a second board on approach to the top of the hill that shows what’s going on at the peak and around the bend? Whatever it is, a solution is warranted.

Q: After seeing Grasscrete in action at Road America, do you think it’s an effective track limit self-policing tool that could be used at other tracks and in other series?

Ed Joras

MP: I didn’t view it as a limiting tool. It did the opposite by giving drivers more unencumbered track width to exploit.

Q: When I look back at the Indy cars from the 1980s and then look at today's cars, I must say safety has come a long way. Moving the driver's feet from behind the front axle has greatly reduced the amount of foot and leg injuries in frontal impacts. Rick Mears definitely comes to mind with his crash at Sanair in 1984.  

But with the foot injuries Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden suffered at Indy this year, I wonder if there's more that can be done to protect the feet? I understand if there's nothing that can be done about either a pedal kicking back or a foot smacking a pedal during a crash. What is IndyCar doing in preventing foot injuries – if anything can be done about it? 

Brandon Karsten

MP: Josef had one of the hardest nose-first crashes I’ve seen in a good while at Indy. Yes, of course there’s more that can be done, but there comes a point where we should be marveling at the fact that Newgarden walked away, and same with Rossi. Crashing at an otherworldly speed is going to come with a physical consequence. Doesn’t mean injuries in those crashes will be accepted, but it’s unrealistic to expect meetings with walls at 200mph or more to leave no marks on the driver.

You can mitigate the effects of physics, but there are situations where you can't completely outrun them. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images

Q: In last week's Mailbag, J. Moeller wrote: "I do recall in the dark USAC days when AAR lost position for daring to question the ability of Hoosier housewives to count to 200 via an imaginary fuel sharing penalty."

While there were many dark USAC days officiating wise, if this is referencing Jerry Grant in the 1972 500, that was legitimate. Late in the race, second-placed Grant was refueled in teammate Bobby Unser's pit, from their fueling rig, which was a clear violation. Third-place finisher Al Unser's team filed the protest). It had nothing to do with Hoosier housewives, or USAC officials, counting abilities.

Speaking of Grant, in a recent Reddit thread, wonderfully titled, "Who is the worst ever indycar driver?" (sic), someone nominated Jerry Grant! To quote Saul Goodman: "I weep for the future."

Jim Thurman, Mojave Desert, CA  

MP: Preach, Mr. Goodman.

Q: A comment and a question. I went to Road America for the race and the crowd seemed much bigger than last year. The National Park of Speed is a great tagline! 

On to my question. How did David Malukas get the nickname “Little Dave”? 

Andy, can’t wait to go to the Milwaukee Mile.

MP: David gave it to himself. I think it was in his second season with Dale Coyne.   

Q: Any word of IndyCar doing another pre-season test or media event like Thermal but at Flatrock Motor Club in Tennessee? Flatrock’s website is impressive and the track looks pretty interesting. Do you know if that club could be used for testing purposes or driver evaluations? 

Tulsa IndyCar Fan

MP: I’m sure IndyCar will do another pre-season test like it did in February at Phoenix Raceway.

Flatrock is an FIA Grade 2 facility, so it would be possible for IndyCar to test or race there. It's more a question of whether it would be in the series' best interest. It did pre-season testing at The Thermal Club as part of a proof-of-concept that eventually led to a demonstration race and a full championship race. And it was a complete failure in terms of making an impact and growing the sport. If anything, IndyCar was derided for using a country club track where the smallest audiences on record were entertained.

I'd say the inescapable shortcomings from Thermal would probably limit the series from doing the same thing, but in Tennessee, at a gorgeous facility that has limited prospects for a large fan turnout.

If a deal to race at Flatrock was in the works, then yes, holding Spring Training there could make sense. Otherwise, it would be a stretch. It's about two hours east of Nashville, almost an hour west of Knoxville, and might not register with IndyCar as the best place to introduce its new season.