Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers might be despatched to mailbag@racer.com. We love listening to your feedback and opinions, however letters that embody a query usually tend to be printed. Questions acquired after 3pm ET every Monday will likely be saved for the next week.
Q: What’s the newest relating to Jamie Chadwick in 2025? The Andretti International web site reveals a roster of drivers for his or her NXT program, however no Jamie. She just lately examined at Barber. A step up subsequent 12 months? Would possibly Andretti subject 4 full-time automobiles?
Michael Andretti appeared to play a big mentor position for her. Does his current departure from day-to-day actions have a bearing on her standing?
Terry J., Maryland
MARSHALL PRUETT: Jamie is her personal lady, and the dearth of alternatives to go IndyCar racing with Andretti have been identified for some time; she’s been centered on charting her personal path, together with her personal sponsors, so no, Michael’s ouster hasn’t been associated to the place Jamie’s profession is headed.
Her objective is IndyCar, as our F1 reporter Chris Medland wrote yesterday, and the problems she faces embody buying a big funds to curiosity one of many few groups with seats left to promote, and the few seats which are obtainable.
She was distinctive in Indy NXT, however removed from dominant as Louis Foster and Jacob Abel, and Caio Collet, routinely outran her. That’s why I hoped she’d need to do yet another 12 months of NXT, grow to be a real title contender, and use that output to attract better curiosity from IndyCar groups that is likely to be keen to run her at a lowered value.
Putting seventh within the NXT standings with one win and one pole wasn’t sufficient to get a Dale Coyne Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, or Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to supply a discount charge to drive for them. So, it’s a have to put collectively a robust funds, and quick, since there are many patrons for the most effective drives.
Q: Curious if in case you have heard something relating to our 2024 Rookie of the 12 months? I do know Kyffin Simpson is to be positioned within the No.8 automotive however I really feel that ought to have been introduced by now. Is there any hope of Linus Lundqvist retaining the No.8 in spite of everything? Or is he destined for the sidelines once more?
Good-looking Jo
MP: Kyffin is at present testing in Europe along with his race engineer, in response to two sources on Monday, and that wouldn’t be the case if he wasn’t headed again to IndyCar with Ganassi. Linus is among the many high contenders for the one or two paying seats left within the sequence, however isn’t racing for Ganassi in IndyCar.
Simpson’s Ganassi journey (or ‘Journie’, apparently) is simply getting began. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Photos
Q: You might have addressed this earlier than and, in that case, I apologize. My query is, with the brand new Constitution system in place now at IndyCar, is that this going to have an effect on the one-off groups for the Indy 500? I’m significantly within the Dreyer & Reinbold staff. I positive hope that DRR once more will get one other shot. They’ve been devoted to the race for 25+ years.
Talking of DRR… are you aware if Cusick Motorsports will once more staff up with them subsequent Could? It seems to be a strong partnership, particularly for a ‘small staff’. On Carb Day this previous Could, I used to be strolling by the DRR garages. I noticed Don Cusick within the storage, and I yelled a howdy to him. He mentioned howdy, and he got here out to speak with me and my mates. He even allow us to go within the storage and have our image taken subsequent to Ryan Hunter-Reay’s automotive! I couldn’t consider that. We spoke for 10 minutes after that.
Don is such a pleasant man, and he actually appears to like IndyCar, and the five hundred. A lot of ardour. Although I learn a rumor that he could also be shopping for into Juncos Hollinger, I hope that Don and his staff are again with DRR once more in Could. The Indy 500 wants groups like theirs within the race.
Ted Yezman, Sonoma, CA
MP: As Dennis Reinbold advised us in a narrative a number of months in the past, being excluded from the constitution might be the factor that leads DRR to go away the sequence within the close to future. We’ll see if that was simply his frustration speaking or if there’s true intent behind it.
Don Cusick has been one of many nice presents to IndyCar followers. I’ve heard extra tales about Don and his spouse welcoming followers into the DRR storage, or into one thing at Thermal, or sending crew shirts or different memorabilia as fundraising or giveaway gadgets for charity, than I’ve of another staff or entrant.
I texted Don on Monday night time and he says sure, he’ll be again with DRR and bulletins are forthcoming.
Q: I’m actually wanting ahead to this weekend’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race. What number of visitor drivers will there be? Will we see Parker or the Mayor? How about subsequent 12 months? Who would you prefer to see within the sequence as a visitor? I’d prefer to see a visitor driver each weekend.
Steve
MP: I haven’t seen the entry checklist, but when Dale Jr isn’t racing, what that means does life maintain? I need to see Newgarden and Pato attempt to recreate the end to the Indy 500 throughout all the race.
Q: I learn the query about Hailie Deegan in final week’s Mailbag, and your reply. I’ve adopted her profession. Hailie didn’t appear to ever be getting the most effective automobiles in NASCAR, it appeared. Tony Stewart had her racing in his SRX sequence and he or she held her personal with the equally-prepared race automobiles and a few excellent drivers. I’d like to see her racing dash automobiles or midgets on grime in excellent tools.
Pete Pfankuch, Wisconsin
MP: In her first-ever laps within the Dallara IL15-AER Indy NXT automotive, she ended the session 6.0s off of the quickest driver on the IMS highway course after 23 excursions of the joint. With a break and a while to digest the automotive and the monitor, she returned for the second session, did 44 extra laps, and lower her deficit to the quickest driver to three.8s.
A niche like 3.8s is huge, in fact, however contemplating her progress and brutally tall studying curve, this hole needs to be carved to one thing nearer to 2.0s by the top of the offseason. Seven-time Trans Am champion Ernie Francis Jr went via an almost equivalent studying curve when he turned from a lifetime of piloting massive and boxy sports activities automobiles to open-wheel.
He was out of contact to start out, regularly improved, and was respectably inside the highest 10 by the top of his second and closing NXT season in 2023. She’ll have each alternative to comply with Ernie’s arc at HMD Motorsports.
