Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers could 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 obtained after 3pm ET every Monday can be saved for the next week.
Q: I used to be listening to Marshall’s Week in IndyCar podcast and had a light-weight bulb go on. For the reason that house owners didn’t pay for his or her charters, why not have a possibility for different groups to enter by booting the automobile that finishes twenty seventh within the standing and permitting a brand new entry? The brand new group pays a one-time entry charge to enter the sequence. Not less than this creates a possibility for brand new blood.
Vincent Martinez, South Pasadena, CA
MARSHALL PRUETT: There was an analogous idea floated by Penske Leisure, whereby the final constitution entry or two within the entrants’ championship may very well be taken — bought at a hard and fast worth — if these worst-performing constitution entries have been overwhelmed within the entrants’ standings by non-charter groups, however that concept was shot down some time in the past. Sadly, IndyCar’s constitution has completely nothing to do with fostering new entries; it’s all about defending and rewarding those that are already right here and competing as full-timers.
Q: I’ve all the time been a fan of American open-wheel racing since I can recall, it has all the time been my favourite sport and I’m in my 60s. I want the sequence was nonetheless open to any and all engine manufactures, however that’s a day lengthy gone. I used to be an enormous fan of Teo Fabi and his transfer from F1 to IndyCar, primarily with Porsche. Do you have got any Teo tales of curiosity?
Mark McKinley, Floyds Knobs, IN
MP: I want I did, however I used to be simply coming into IndyCar as a crew member from Formulation Atlantic and Indy Lights when his profession was winding down. Acquired to see loads of his drives and all the time appreciated how such a small individual might wield such huge automobiles with nice pace. His helmet livery, a tribute to the late Peter Revson’s helmet design, was amongst my favorites from again within the day.
Solely remorse whereas placing collectively this brief documentary on Porsche’s first and solely IndyCar win was being unable to attach with Fabi.
Q: Have you ever seen the Honda business “Unstoppable Desires,” that includes numerous blips of racing crashes the place Honda is concerned, particularly F1, off-road and grime bikes? Noticeably absent is any IndyCar footage. Is that this a delicate trace of it being absent from IndyCar completely within the close to future?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: I’ve; pleasant advert. However it’s additionally not the primary time Honda has chosen F1 over IndyCar in its nationwide campaigns.
Purely a guess, however Honda has two open-wheel sequence to contemplate to make use of in its huge adverts to try to promote automobiles, and contemplating the booming U.S. recognition of F1 lately, I can’t think about a situation the place Honda’s advertising executives would approve the much less standard sequence for the adverts.
Additionally, why would Honda use an advert to trace at something? It instructed IndyCar round this time final 12 months, right here on RACER.com, that the sequence wanted to up its recreation and enhance the worth it receives or threat shedding Honda as an engine provider, occasion sponsor, and benefactor to the sequence.
Q: Numerous speak about IndyCar and a race in Mexico. I attended the Champ Automobile race in 2007. Each Mario Dominguez and David Martinez have been flying the flag for Mexican followers. The circuit was packed, and from that have I imagine a race organizer would be capable to get greater than 60,000 spectators if Pato O’Ward is on the grid. No one anticipated both Mario or David to win. With Pato, the proposition can be very totally different. I really feel all of the substances are there for a profitable IndyCar race in 2026. Right here is hoping others agree.
PS: Convey again the Peraltada!
Oliver Wells
MP: Fully agree on the previous last flip at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez; the Peraltada was scary-fast.
Nelson Piquet’s Williams FW11 appeared fairly properly planted by the Peraltada in 1986 – which was simply as properly when you think about how little runoff was obtainable if one thing went mistaken… Motorsport Photos
Q: I’ve been listening to rumors concerning the Iron Dames switching to Porsche for WEC and IMSA subsequent 12 months, and with Michelle Gatting and Celia Martin sampling a Mathey Porsche within the Bahrain rookie take a look at, it looks like these rumors are fairly robust. Nonetheless, with their affiliation with Iron Lynx and due to this fact Lamborghini (because the group that runs the Lambo GTP), would there be any pushback there from Lamborghini towards them switching? Is the Iron Dames undertaking affiliated/funded/supported by extra than simply Iron Lynx?
They’ve way more success with the Porsche in ELMS, and as an Iron Dames fan, I might like to see them swap.
Lucas, Cincinnati OH
MP: Iron Dames is a privately funded effort by Deborah Mayer, and to that finish, they use no matter marque and mannequin they like. I’ve heard the identical factor a couple of full-time swap to Porsche.
The Iron Lynx web site is in a manufacturing facility association with Lamborghini, with PREMA Racing serving because the operational layer, and if they continue to be underneath contract, I’d anticipate to see GT3 and GTP automobiles from the Italian model underneath their tent. However I’ve been listening to for just a few months that, at the very least on the GTP aspect, there are questions as as to whether that relationship will proceed.
Q: You’ve talked about this one in a current Mailbag, however is the Nashville avenue race ever going to return again on the IndyCar schedule? If that’s the case, would the superspeedway race be at risk? Might IndyCar hold each and perhaps make it a twin occasion on back-to-back weekends? By the best way, how profitable was the latter, by way of attendance? Do you assume it has a future past 2025? And if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be potential to take away or attempt to scrape off the bump between Turns 3 and 4 that induced Nolan Siegel to crash?
Additionally in a current Mailbag, you wrote that Laguna Seca, Portland and Detroit have “abysmal attendances” and WWTR “has been in a gentle decline.” I used to be shocked by this, since these are all comparatively new additions to the schedule. However most of all, this jogs my memory of the TMS scenario, particularly WWTR. So, right here once more, do you assume these venues have a future with IndyCar? Which do you assume may very well be ditched and at what level?
Lastly, shortly after the F1 Mexican Grand Prix, the information broke that IndyCar and Mexico have re-engaged discussions for a potential 2026 race. Will these discussions be particularly concerning the Mexico Metropolis monitor? Might there be different candidates, comparable to Puebla or Monterrey? Perhaps I’m the one one who thinks like that, however I simply hate what Hermann Tilke did to the previous, which is why I hope for the 2 latter. My choose can be Puebla as a result of it’s an oval; however Monterrey is Pato’s hometown, in order that one can be an immediate sellout. Which one can be your choose and which do you assume is the probably to occur?
Xavier
MP: The promoter and Nashville Speedway signed a multi-year deal, so IndyCar’s season finale can be held on the oval, not the streets of Nashville, for the foreseeable future. If the return to the speedway in 2025 is simply pretty much as good or higher than what we had in September, I feel the talks of returning to the streets can be forgotten. Plus, all the groups and drivers I spoke with in Nashville liked ending the season on an oval, and that isn’t prone to change.
On the second level, remember that at virtually each occasion on the IndyCar calendar (excluding those owned/promoted by Penske Leisure, or the place Penske co-promotes, or rents the power to placed on a race), the sequence’ proprietor will get paid $1 million or extra to seem on the Laguna Secas and Portlands, which is a big revenue generator.
Meaning Penske is usually in a quagmire over whether or not to prioritize revenue over look whereas wanting weak at poorly attended occasions like Laguna and Portland, or to jettison a few of the weak occasions and attempt to improve viewers measurement and revenue by going to Texas in 2026 for the Arlington Grand Prix.
The largest canine on the calendar by way of viewers measurement is both Laguna or the Indy GP, and all I hear from the paddock annually is how a lot they hate Portland, so my guess is without doubt one of the West Coast stops can be trimmed if a sacrifice was required. WWTR’s shrinking viewers isn’t nice, however IndyCar isn’t trying to shed any ovals.
On the final level, the talks have been with the Mexico Metropolis GP promoter, so I’d assume it will be concerning the GP circuit. However I’d moderately see IndyCar go to someplace that’s distinctive to IndyCar. How a couple of Mexico Metropolis avenue race?
