The RACER Mailbag, September 30

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: How do you think Palou and Lundgaard will relate?

Jose

MARSHALL PRUETT: It’s all guesswork until they spend real time together as teammates. But the answer definitely lies in how Christian chooses to interact with Alex. It’s Alex’s team in the same way Arrow McLaren was Pato’s team while he was there.

At the end of Alex’s first test with Ganassi in November of 2020, I shared one piece of advice with him at the start of his new journey, and that was to be as accommodating and respectful and as kind as possible with Scott Dixon. It was Scott’s team, and Dixie had just won his sixth championship two months prior. Palou arrived there as a kind and humble character, so he didn’t have to change his demeanor, nor did he need me to tell him obvious things which he was going to do on his own.

But the advice was simply meant to reinforce the fact that if he paid the rightful respect to Dixon that he’d earned in the series and as the team’s unquestioned leader, he’d give himself the best chance of having Scott embrace open his arms and share the many things that would take Alex to the next level.

That’s what Palou did, and that’s what Dixon did in kind.

My advice to Lundgaard would be identical. If he wants to become the best version of himself, he’ll treat Alex – even though they’re far closer in age and tenure in IndyCar – in a kind and respectful manner and reap the rewards that come from being the best teammate possible.

And if that doesn’t happen, which driver do you think Ganassi will jettison? Chip’s five-time champ or the other guy?

Q: I was re-watching the IndyCar season finale at Laguna to get my IndyCar fix. I was wonder, with a new car coming in 2028, how much money and resources will be put towards the 2027 season? I’m guessing it would be less than if they were using the same car. Is this an advantage for a team like Ganassi and the DHL squad since they have it dialed in so well? 

Brad Heuer, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

MP: Definitely less if purchasing and testing new cars weren’t part of the budget. One thing we know for sure is teams won’t be spending less right now and through the halfway point of next season on DW12 engineering R&D, but there will come a point where some teams will downshift in that area as the car moves into its final month(s) of life. If you’re buried in 25th and have no realistic hope of cracking the top 22 and earning a Leaders Circle contract, would it make sense to keep burning cash on trying to make your DW12 faster if it’s headed for a listing on Facebook Marketplace?

A dominant team like Ganassi is always at risk of losing a key person and falling back, or taking a wrong R&D turn, or being caught by other teams who’ve added the right person or found the right R&D turn. It happened to Penske after it won championships in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019; it’s taken just one since, which means it can happen to any of the elite organizations.  

Q: F1 reporter Joe Saward recently mentioned that NASCAR lost Lightning McQueen to F1. He then went on to explain to people that criticize Mickey Mouse or the like at a racetracks because they aren't there for old people. They are there for the kids.

This had me thinking about how IndyCar could raise its profile among children. Fox owns the Bento Box animation studio. Why not make an IndyCar cartoon movie, or even better, a weekly series? From bringing cartoon mascots to the track, to toys, etc., this could raise a new generation on IndyCar. 

Ericglo

MP: I’m writing this the day before flying to Road Atlanta for IMSA’s season finale at Petit Le Mans where the most popular car among the 50-plus entered – and it’s not even close – is a green Porsche wrapped to look like a cartoon dinosaur. AO Racing’s ‘Rexy’ is so popular, the team created a kid’s club to handle the demand that continues to grow. If a child is at an IMSA event, there’s a 100-percent chance they know Rexy, love Rexy, and interact with the team and its mascots. How and why teams in other series haven’t tried to do something in the same vein – since we live in a copycat world – is a surprise, and yes, building a better connection between a sport and the kids who might like the sport sure seems like a worthwhile thing to consider.

Fans with long enough memories might recall when IndyCar had an LA office and a partnership with DreamWorks. And if you don't remember, grab some popcorn, go to your favorite streaming platform and watch a snail take on the Indy 500 in 'Turbo'. Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Q: I think Firestone had a few joint tire tests with CART and IRL teams testing at the same track on the same day. Did Firestone make tires that were CART and IRL specific or were the tires the same for both series?

While on the subject of tires, was Gil de Ferran's Reynard-Honda that Tony Kanaan drove at Laguna Seca on current Firestones?  Would that Reynard go faster with the current black or red Firestones, or are those tires too tailored for the Dallara? What did Zak Brown think of the car's handling at Laguna Seca with the speedway aero?  Were lap times recorded even though they were just demonstration runs?

Reginald

MP: I don’t recall those joint test days; all of the ones I was part of were not. Different cars, different weights, different aerodynamics, so I’d be surprised if the tires were the same. If there were, my brain has forgotten that fact.

One set of new Firestone primes were made available. I’ve heard CART-era drivers who raced the DW12 wax on about the extreme grip and quality of the CART Firestones, so based on their assessment, if sounds like the original tires in 2001 would have been the hot ticket. Zak was careful to avoid hurting his new pride and joy, so he was never going to get aggressive with the car and its speedway aero.

Yes, I have lap times for every run, but Zak, nor Tony were able to do any proper runs since they were given rough speed limits in the 125mph to keep the car under. Other than blasting down the straights, or charging a couple of corners on one lap, and then a couple of different ones on the next, we never got a single flying lap from either of them due to the track’s guidelines.

Kanaan’s best was a 1m18s lap which reflects the limits he was told to honor.