The RACER Mailbag, April 10
Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.
Q: In 1996, Penske said in reference to the 25/8 IRL rule, “at the end of the day, we want to go on a level playing field.” Meaning he felt the fastest cars should be in the field. Fast-forward to today, and Penske wanted to guarantee teams into races. So he only likes the rule when it works to his advantage?
Nothing in racing is guaranteed, nor should it. The word “qualifying” means to see if you qualify for the race. If you are not fast enough, then you are not qualified for that race! Plain and simple. As a kart racer who battles against factory teams, I understand this is a factor. However I get extreme joy in overcoming their advantage, and have so far been on the podium three times this year alone. Nothing in racing should be guaranteed. If you’re not good enough, then you get to watch everyone else race. That’s racing.
Tom Harleman, Carmel, IN
MARSHALL PRUETT: It’s a strange fear to be driven by, isn’t it? In the 50-plus years Penske’s turned up to try and qualify for the 500, he’s failed once that I can recall. I’ll take those odds all day long. But what if you could improve those odds to the point of where it was impossible to fail?
I’d understand if the biggest teams were bumped from Indy on a regular basis; that would be a justifiable reason to be driven by fear and wanting to be protected from failure. But when it almost never happens? It makes no sense. I hope this misplaced fear doesn’t lead to an epically stupid decision to guarantee entries at Indy, or any other race, but I have no faith that the right decision will be made.
Q: Dear Sirs,
Your “Thermal Club $1,000,000 (-500,000) Challenge Creative Director” job sounds interesting. I would like to apply.
I am prepared to travel and have long experience with a number of prominent circuses and deserts.
I drive the clown car, and in that role marshal the other clowns (fit them in, basically), am tasked with the group distracting fans pre-show with as much makeup, tinsel and horn-blowing razzle-dazzle as 20 clowns can muster, and of course, I am charged with keeping a keen eye on tire-management of the clown car.
My wife’s second cousin’s sister-in-law’s is the hairdresser who looks after Roger Penske’s wife.
What is the salary range and expectations and is a (spec) clown car for personal use provided?
Your Sincerely,
Chuckles Valvolive-Jones, Fantasyland, FL
MP: The salary is amazing, but after telling you what it is, it will be cut in half. Also, I’m hoping Thermal becomes the Mailbag’s new “Cleveland” where submissions on the topic come in on a weekly basis. OK, actually I don’t. Forget I said that. Moving on…
Q: Any word on what the Nashville race distance will be? When they first announced that it was moved to the Nashville Superspeedway, the IndyCar schedule said that it would be 200 laps, but that’s since been taken down.
Aeren Maxfield, Westminster, CA
MP: I’m told 200-225 laps is what’s being considered.
Q: I read your story on the latest iteration of IndyCar’s proposed charter system, and have two questions.
What is Kyle Kaiser doing now? And will the possibility of Roger Penske re-introducing the nebulous 25/8 rule prevent one-off teams and new entrants from doing what Kaiser and Juncos Racing did in 2019, when they bumped one of motor racing’s biggest stars from qualifying for the Indianapolis 500?
Tom Harader, Florence, OR
MP: I saw Kyle at St. Petersburg but didn’t get a chance to do more than say hello in passing. He’s working as a financial analyst.
Yes, re-introducing the 25/8 rule could have a negative effect on part-time/one-off/non-charter entries from taking a chance on making the Indy 500. Especially when those teams with the 25 protected entries are likely to pad the entry list with additional cars. It’s one thing for a one-off from Juncos for Kaiser to knock off a one-off from McLaren for Alonso to snatch the 33rd and final spot. It’s another when, regardless of charters, the Indy entry list could start at 29 full-time cars with PREMA factored in.
That leaves four cars to get to 33, and between Foyt, Arrow McLaren, Andretti, Carpenter, Meyer Shank, and Rahal, we could easily reach 34-35 cars from IndyCar’s mainstays. In theory, we could have bumping among the season-long teams at IndyCar, and if Dreyer & Reinbold show up, that’s two more veteran cars.
One of the greatest Indy 500 storylines has been when new and small teams decide to take on the establishment and try to make the show. I hope the direction taken with the charter program doesn’t kill the spirit for those small and new teams to continue trying.
I hope Kaiser has a photo like this as his screensaver at work. IMS Photo
Q: I recently read that USF2000 and USF Pro 2000 both competed at NOLA. When is IndyCar going to swallow its pride and ask for a race date? This big gap in the schedule is a big joke.
Yes, the first NOLA was a big failure, but that was a long time ago, and IndyCar is a different series now. And NOLA would be a nice stop on the way to Long Beach.
AE Danville, IN
MP: Not sure about the swallowing of pride; it was a **** show, put on by Andretti’s former promotions business. If a new promoter had the gumption to try and host another IndyCar race at NOLA, I’m sure IndyCar would be open to hear their thoughts, but putting in the effort to try and do it on their own…doesn’t sound like something IndyCar would do.
Q: I’ve got some more questions after your latest story about the IndyCar ERS.
Pietro Fittipaldi said that the energy storage system capacity could be about 150 kJ (kilojoules). By way of comparison, an F1 car battery capacity is 4MJ (Megajoules), hence about 26 times more that of an IndyCar. Is the reason for this small capacity simply because everything had to fit into the bellhousing, which could only offer a small amount of space? And/or because the electric motor is taking most of this space?
Let’s assume IndyCar keeps the ESS capacity the same next year, while simultaneously allowing the ERS to deliver up to the promised 150hp. Let’s do some simple math: 150hp is 112kW (kilowatts) and 150 kJ is 150kWs (kilowatt-seconds), so 150kWs divided by 112kW makes 1,34 seconds, which would be the amount of time drivers would be able to use the ERS at full capacity. If so, and if this ERS is supposed to eventually replace the turbo-based P2P, then this isn’t really enough time to complete a passing maneuver, is it?
Does it really make sense to only be able to use a power boost for such a short period? Wouldn’t it be better to have less peak power, but be able to use it for longer? Unless IndyCar also plans to increase the ESS capacity, but if the bellhousing inner volume is the limit, how are they going to do this?
Lastly, do we now have a more specific number for the ERS total weight and maybe the individual weights of the ESS and the motor? In the videos you made last year with Jay Frye, David Salters (from HPD) and Mark Stielow (from GM), it was said that Honda and Chevy managed to bring the weight down to 60 lbs. However, I think you recently mentioned it would be more around 100 lbs. Did I miss something? Or did they have to bring that weight back up for some reason?
Xavier
MP: Lots of great questions that I’m struggling to get exact answer for while testing is going on. A recent estimation I received suggests the complete ERS package adds 100-130 pounds to the car. “Estimate” is the operative word. I keep hearing 60hp is where the ERS boost will start in 2024 and could move towards 100hp in 2025. “Could” is the word to gravitate towards…
Yes, the tiny space available in the bellhousing is the limiting factor. ERS is being used as a torque-fill device off the corners and wherever else some added punch is needed. P2P will be active in the races, so when combined, a driver could have just over 100hp to use for passing or defending a pass.
Q: I got to looking at various news outlets and clicking on the sports page and then the motorsports section, and what pops up but an overwhelming amount of F1 and NASCAR news, which got me looking at each series’ schedules.
From the first IndyCar race at St. Pete and extending out to the end of the day on April 21, IndyCar will have run two races. I’m not counting the Thermal circus here. F1 ran a race prior to St. Pete and will have run five by April 21. NASCAR ran three prior to St. Pete, and will have run 10 by April 21.
This is not how you draw in new fans. Any enthusiasm from the St. Pete race is dried up. We need two races in that six-week drought. Opening day for baseball was March 28. Imagine not playing again until May 9.
Your thoughts?
Jeff, Colorado
MP: I hear you, and can’t argue, but I don’t recall this being such a steady point of derision for IndyCar last year or the years before this Olympic break-related calendar came to pass. Bit of a broken record here, but the 2024 schedule is full of compromises. If it continues next year, we have a serious issue to raise with IndyCar, but with the known problems caused by the Olympics blackout, we have what we have.
Q: Just so I understand: IndyCar held the Thermal race in part to parade the series in front of the rich with hopes they will invest in a team, start a team, or sponsor a team to help grow the series.
Meanwhile, IndyCar is attempting to create a charter system which would effectively cap the number of entries per team and put a high hurdle in place for any new teams wanting to join the series unless they replace and existing team (no growth, net neutral).
Additionally, IndyCar would limit field size at races to around 27 outside of the 500, which would potentially send new, fully-funded teams home as 25 cars from existing teams would be locked in with only two additional spots open on the grid. However, they want to buck tradition and lock people into the 500 to avoid fully-funded teams missing the race. At the same time, the chassis is old enough to start middle school, one of the two engine manufacturers has threatened to leave, TV ratings are essentially stagnated (single digit increases on small numbers is virtually meaningless), and F1 has basically eclipsed IndyCar in its own backyard since 2020… to name a few things.
Start calling Miles and crew Nero because they are fiddling while Rome burns.
Ross Bynum
MP: An official “Everything Is Awesome” RACER t-shirt is one its way to you. (If we can find the box from when they were last made in 2015).
Q: Worst IRL driver? It’s clearly Milka Duno for the win. Dr. Jack may not have been awesome, but he was not close to being in Milka’s wheelhouse. It’s like this employee I have that was going on last week about how the shark is the apex predator. Then at lunch, we found a video of an orca snacking on a great white shark. When it comes to being bad, Milka is the apex whatever.
John
MP: The only amusing story I have for Milka was back in her ALMS days when she was racing a prototype in the early 2000s. She and I were headed towards the door of the same business at whatever track we were at and she got there a few moments before I did. I could see she had stopped and stood in place just on the other side of the door. I walked up, opened the door, took about three steps in, found myself gasping for air, and turned around and fired back outside to fill my lungs with oxygen.
I’ve known some men who feel the unfortunate need to spray half a bottle of cologne on themselves, but I’d yet to experience the same thing with a woman using perfume. If you told me someone dumped a gallon of perfume on her as a joke, I wouldn’t argue, because it had the effect of polluting the air around her to the point to where I simply couldn’t breathe in her presence.
The “apex whatever.” Perry Nelson/Motorsport Images
Q: Has IMSA considered adopting the Code 60 rules seen in the WEC? IMSA’s current full-course caution rules can create extremely lengthy yellow periods.
Joey Selmants
MP: Considered? Yes. Taken action to implement them? No.
Q: Do you have any insight into IndyCar’s channel on SiriusXM? Having been named after A.J. Foyt, you could almost say that I was an IndyCar fan since before I was born some 53 years ago, so I definitely understand where our series currently stands against the behemoth that is NASCAR. I wouldn’t say that I am a NASCAR fan, but I do turn to that series when my other favorites are not in action.
One thing that I have noticed since this year’s racing season began is that the NASCAR channel on Sirius always seems to be in operation throughout the week. Race recaps, driver and team interviews and more. Sure, some of the content may be repeats, but there’s still something there. And of course I also realize that NASCAR has been running weekly since its own season began.
However, throughout the year, other than during actual on-track running, the IndyCar channel is nothing but a recording/advertisement for what is currently happening on other channels. Is IndyCar so unpopular now that no content other than practice, quali and races can be made available to fans? If so, I am surprised that the IndyCar channel even continues to exist on the platform.
Tony G.
MP: I’ve had the IndyCar channel on SiriusXM saved as a favorite in our car for a few years, and do find the same generic sports read-outs being played there and some of the other specialty sports channels we have saved as well, so I’d assume it’s a standard deal where those infrequently used channels go live when there’s something there’s something to air and then default back to the read-outs. I believe Hinch and Rossi have their show that gets played on the channel and Tony Kanaan and Jack Arute have one as well.
NASCAR is a ton more popular, and it races twice as often as IndyCar, so it makes sense for its channel to be busy all the time. Meyer Shank Racing co-owner Jim Meyer was the CEO of SiriusXM when he joined the team; we’re fortunate to have whatever we get on the station because of him.
Q: As I work through the day I like to watch (listen) to past Indy 500s. Today I sampled the 1993 500. About three-quarters of the way through the race, Jeff Andretti backed it into the wall after having contact with Roberto Guerrero in Turn 3. When he was released and interviewed, one could see how much trouble he still had walking due to his injuries from the ’92 wreck.
My main question is, what is he up to now? I had heard he was a driver instructor/coach, is that correct? Does he have any involvement with Andretti Global?
Tony, Utah
MP: I communicate with Jeff on occasion on Facebook, so I reached out to him and this is what he shared: “I’m doing well and I am co-owner of a nonprofit doing STEAM education programs. We are currently redoing the site but the name of the nonprofit is Team Steam Nation.”
Q: Thermal vs Sebring. Both tracks are FIA Grade 2. I read after the first IndyCar test in 2023 that Thermal would need to spent millions on safety upgrades before IndyCar could race there. After watching the race last month, there were no catch fences, only guardrails to chew up IndyCars. Thankfully a wheel-to-wheel accident never happened, or we just might have had a car land in a home.
As for Sebring, it’s no different than Thermal. It’s actually better and safer. That would give IndyCar another track in the south to have a race at. No more excuses Mark Miles and Roger Penske, you are on the verge of having a 30+ car full-time field; you must have more then 17 races. Bring back the second road course race at IMS. That is a big fan draw.
AE, Danville, IN
MP: I harbored the same concern about a car hitting a house. Sebring’s short course is the only one that would work due to the extreme bumps towards the end of the big circuit.
Q: My question is about two legends of the sport: A.J. and Mario. How are they both doing? I know A.J. has had a series of health issues and hasn’t attended a race in a while. On a similar note, we used to regularly see Mario either on-camera or in the background at the Andretti timing stand, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as much anymore. Do you see or talk to either A.J. or Mario often?
Jeff Olson
MP: I haven’t seen or spoken to A.J. in a good while. I asked both of their PR reps for updates and on the Foyt side, I’m told he’s doing well, despite losing his wife Lucy one year ago last Friday. A.J. will be at all of the Indy-related activities, including the Open Test going on right now, the GP, and the 500.
I missed Mario at St. Pete. He was a regular presence while his grandson Marco was full-time, and kept busy driving the two-seater while at the races, but since Marco stepped back, Mario did as well. I’m told we’ll see the GOAT at Long Beach and in May, so I’ll be sure to say hello and catch up.
I’m also told Mario penned the forward to an upcoming A.J. book, which is awesome.
It would have been nice if the photographer hadn’t cut the front off A.J. Foyt and Ronnie Bucknam’s Holman & Moody Ford Mk II at Sebring in 1966, but A.J. won’t care because the shot shows him leading Mario Andretti in the battle-scarred NART Ferrari 365 P2 that he shared with Pedro Rodriguez. (Neither had much reason to be happy at the end of the race, though – A.J. finished 12th and Mario DNF’d). Motorsport Images
Q: How many differentials do IndyCar teams have to choose from? What are the major differences among them?
Red
MP: Limited-slip is the only type of differential that is used for road races. The other is a spool, but it’s not a differential, since it doesn’t actually function in that manner, but it does replace the LSD in the gearbox to connect the left and right axles into a solid unit on the speedways.
Q: I feel you blew me off two weeks ago, so I will try again from a different direction. The media, mostly the TV guys, can help emphasize the aero options today’s IndyCars have available. Drawing from your April 2023 article, I believe all these options are visible walking around the car…
• Barge boards
• Side wickers
• Full or short length side walls in the back
• Gurney flaps on the end of the diffusers
None of these can be changed during the race. Unless you tell me come start of the Indy 500 all teams wind up with exactly the same setup, I think the differences would be an interesting storyline, and show that even spec cars have their differences. If TV needs a senior mechanical engineering major to walk the grid, I can find you one.
Mike H, Dallas, TX
MP: The Mailbag is meant to be a rapid-fire exchange of weekly questions and answers, not a place where a week of work would be required to answer a single submission. What you’ve sent here fits the format.
I’ve done videos and posts about the differences found with the items mentioned, so yes, it is an area of interest which I’ve covered for many years across many formulas. The last time I was on a Peacock broadcast at Indianapolis, I spent most of the time pointing out many of the interesting technical items for the viewers.
Q: Please provide some insight into the design and production schedule for new F1 cars. It seems as if nearly every team enters the season with planned updates already in the works. My thought is that they arrive at the first race with an update schedule already in mind. This seems a bit odd to me.
Many of teams, at least in years without major rule changes, are essentially developing last year’s car as opposed to starting afresh. They possess great CFD, wind tunnel and simulation capabilities. They are generally familiar with the courses on which they will run and strive for continuity in drivers, designers and race engineers. So how is it that so many ideas about incremental improvements are found too late to be included in the original package and tried in the real world?
Jack
CHRIS MEDLAND: You’re correct that they have an upgrade plan in place, but it’s because of manufacturing schedules. Items such as the chassis (the survival cell that they sit in and all of the suspension mounting points are housed, etc.) need to be released for manufacturer no later than October due to the time it takes to create (up to three months at the start of the process) and crash test.
Main aerodynamic items are signed off around the middle of December and into January, but because you’re constantly analyzing different solutions or configurations, you’re never just stopping and saying that’s as good as something will ever be. You wait as late as you can to release components for manufacture, but continue developing them with CFD and in the wind tunnel. (Don’t forget, teams are limited on their aerodynamic development time each month.)
Lots of developments are being evaluated in conjunction with their impact on other parts of the car — hence why teams often bring major update packages featuring multiple components — and over the months between first signing off on many parts of the car and it being made, built and run at testing there can be significant advances in understanding or technology, too.
As an example: A team might be really happy with its floor and diffuser but less so with how the front wing feeds it. But it eventually needs to build that front wing at some point for it to be ready for the first test, knowing it’s an area it wants to keep focusing development. Perhaps a new CFD model or better wind tunnel data will then help evolve that front wing to deliver better performance to the rest of the car, but also having a knock-on impact on the floor and diffuser that would then need tweaking.
But teams need to see the original car run on track to know how that correlates with the design they did in the virtual world, and only then can they commit to some of the developments that they have in the pipeline, or in other cases, change their plans because the car’s not doing as they expected.
Q: I was just reading the article on Friday after Logan Sargeant crashed in FP1 and Alpine said it doesn’t have a spare chassis in Japan. Is this the F1 cost cap causing teams to try to save money by not building spares? I think it is hard to argue an additional entry wouldn’t be competitive when established current teams aren’t able to participate in races because of practice crashes.
Will from Indy
CM: No, it’s not a money-saving exercise under the cost cap, but a by-product of this season being two years out from new regulations. Teams will want to put as much resource as possible into the 2026 rules once they are published later this year, so 2024 was the last chance to radically change your car, with the aim of it being a step forward but also with big development potential that means it can just be constantly evolved throughout 2024 and 2025 (rather than again developing a completely new design for next year when you want to be focused on 2026). It’s about the level of investment being for two years’ return rather than one.
But in doing that, some teams pushed it too late with certain aspects of the car being finalized and manufactured. That is where the cost cap comes in, as they’re trying to get as much value out of the chassis design as possible by leaving at as late as they can to release for manufacture, as they can’t afford to update it later in the year.
Williams had a whole new process and it took far longer than it expected to make the chassis and build the car, so it only just made it to pre-season testing. Alpine’s situation was slightly different in that it failed crash tests and kept having to revise its design, so was problem-solving right up to the launch of its car.
From that point both teams were making the decision to still focus manufacturing capabilities on new parts and upgrades (as well as spares such as extra floors and front wings that take less time to make but still many weeks) rather than on a chassis that can take months. Then with each incident Williams has had, that takes away manufacturing capacity from working on the spare chassis and instead fixing broken parts to just run the two cars it has.
In F1, getting your car towed is expensive if you’re light on spares. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
Q: I thought I read that Williams was so late with its 2024 car that it contemplated starting the new season with last year’s car. While likely not as competitive, why wouldn’t Williams (or Alpine, since they don’t yet have a spare chassis either yet) bring a ’23 chassis to use as a backup until they have a proper spare ready?
Marc Hamann, Columbia, MD
CM: It’s not quite as simple as that, as the 2023 chassis would be totally different to the 2024 one in the way that the suspension is mounted and power unit and gearbox attach. That means you’d need the entire 2023 car available, and teams don’t have the spare parts for the 2023 car anymore. You stop manufacturing them because you’re building the 2024 car and trying to build up spares for that one instead, so to choose to run the 2023 car would mean switching the whole process to rebuilding all the components for the 2023 car, too.
That’s a huge task, as molds are different (that they bake the carbon fiber components in) from one car to the other, and if you put all of your focus on remaking the previous car, then you essentially write off the new car for six months or more.
You’ve seen how long it is taking to make a spare chassis alongside fixing broken components and producing spares for the current car. Imagine trying to do all of that, plus the same for an entirely different car. It’s just not feasible, and under a cost cap it would set you back for both this season and next.
As Alpine has shown, it doesn’t actually become an issue as long as you don’t damage a chassis early in a race weekend. It has been treading the same tightrope as Williams through the first four races, but avoided that worst-case scenario and should have its spare chassis ready for the next race in China because it hasn’t had to repair and remake as many components as Williams.
Q: There’s been lot of discussion about F1 teams having no spare chassis (Williams) or only one (other teams). I define “chassis” as the carbon fiber tub the driver sits in and goes to where the engine ultimately gets bolted to it. From my rudimentary knowledge the tub is made from carbon fiber layers that get autoclaved in an oven. Seems pretty straightforward, and easy to create multiple copies of (say, one extra per car). What am I missing with these teams struggling to have spares? Is it purely a cost cap issue, or is there some technical reason I am missing as to why they can’t easily make more copies for spares?
Jeff Smith, State College, PA
CM: It’s pretty much covered off above here, Jeff, but it’s not just the engine — the suspension mounting points are there, and there are major aerodynamic influences, too. The chassis is actually made up of thousands of components, with the tub being the central part but it’s not just one component baked at once. With the crash test requirements too, they take a huge amount of time to layer up and create.
James Vowles actually covered the direct timeline off really well in Japan, saying, “If you put all of your resource, everything you possibly had within the organization on it, you could be eight, 10 weeks that you pretty much get a chassis done, from freezer to something actually built and out there. And that’s by the time you get to sort of the third chassis. It takes longer for the first ones as you get used to the process.”
Teams generally build four chassis for a season and start the year with three while the fourth is still being made, and that means you are allocating manufacturing resource to it for a spell, but then diverting that to other components at later points. It’s not a 24/7 chassis manufacturing facility you operate, but a carbon fiber facility that works on different parts.
So if you slip behind with your chassis development you are then impacting your ability to make other components, both to race with and spares to have in case of accidents. Add in upgrades, and you want to have as much capacity as possible to just build parts of the car, which leads to a decision to not prioritize the spare chassis in order to have as competitive a car as possible racing, and then hope you don’t have a big crash before you have the spare ready.
Q: Why doesn’t F1 invest in some formula that would deactivate the DRS automatically when that formula shows the speed difference is enough to put the cars side by side? That way it wouldn’t work as a free pass ticket with cars overtaking each other like multiclass racing (even when they have the same pace on track) and we’d watch some more real overtake attempts instead. On tracks where DRS doesn’t work or when they are stuck in a DRS train, nothing would change.
Or maybe that would be something for IndyCar to use to replace the push to pass.
William Mazeo
CM: I’m glad you flagged IndyCar’s push to pass there, William, as it does remind people that such high-performance, aerodynamically sensitive cars are always going to create difficulties in terms of following. It’s the nature of wanting such incredible machines that are so fast and tough to drive.
It’s a good idea, actually, but in many ways I guess that’s what’s being looked at for 2026 with active aero. It would adapt to each situation a bit more, so that cars are able to lose less performance in turbulent air or when racing another car, and then there’s less of a reliance on DRS that way.
The aim has always been to eventually get rid of DRS, but I’m not sure if that’s realistic — you have to have performance differentiation of some kind for passing to be possible.
DRS might be a necessary evil as long as the cars are so aero-dependent. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Q: I’ve heard F1 teams have signed some young European drivers to a development contact at a very early age. Do Formula 1 team have scouts looking for talent in the American open-wheel feeder ranks?
The reason I ask is, there is currently a 15-year-old up and comer (Nikita Johnson) in USF Pro 2000 that looks like the next big thing. Would a Formula 1 team even know who he is? Just curious.
Ken, Lockport, NY
CM: Teams will be looking, but the European single-seater ladder is still seen as by far the best preparation for F1.
McLaren’s signing of young American karting talent Ugo Ugochukwu back in 2020 when he was just 13 is a sign of that. He caught the eye racing karts in Europe after moving from the States after just one year in karts (another area where F1 teams say the U.S. scene doesn’t yet provide the same level of competition (I spoke with one team member about that very topic a few days ago, actually), and McLaren is then guiding him through the single-seater ranks of British, Italian and German F4 so far, with FRECA and GB3 his current program.
The reasoning is the tracks are many of what they’ll race on in F1, the tires as they get to higher levels are Pirellis to help prepare for F1, and racing in Europe allows them to be based at each team’s headquarters. Imagine racing in the U.S. but needing to travel to Europe for your sim sessions, driver coaching, fitness regime, etc. Logistically, it’s not the best solution.
Nikita’s a good example, because he’s coming to race in the GB3 Championship once he turns 16 at the end of May. That will certainly put him on the radar for F1 teams, and I imagine plenty are keeping tabs on him already but it’s what he does in GB3 that will be crucial, and anyone who signs him will almost certainly then take him through European championships.
Nikita already has good representation, as he’s working with Infinity Sports Management in the UK and Europe, who have helped both George Russell and Logan Sargeant reach F1.
Q: I understand Team Penske has an alliance with Front Row Motorsports in NASCAR. Did the alliance with Wood Brothers Racing go away?
Ralph, Indianapolis, IN
KELLY CRANDALL: The alliance with Team Penske hasn’t gone away. Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is built out of the Penske race shop.
Q: I can’t decide which is worse — the new pavement already coming up at Sonoma after a club event, or Marcus Smith and Denny Hamlin childishly squabbling about it, and other things, on social media. Memo to Marcus and Denny: Most people who live and work in the real world learn better than to do that kind of stuff about 30 days into their first job out of college. What possible good do either of them project will result from this?
Aside from that, props to NASCAR for significantly improved TV ratings this year, and a somewhat improved product on the track. Also, let’s give a shout out to IndyCar for having the enviable problem of more cars than pit space on the horizon, and props (I guess?) to F1 and Williams for getting 20 cars on the grid at Suzuka.
Mike, Marietta, GA
KC: I was really surprised how personal the interaction between Marcus Smith and Denny Hamlin got, and it quickly escalated. But there is an underlying frustration there from Hamlin about how Speedway Motorsports approaches its racetracks and it all came out during that exchange. It’ll be interesting to hear from Speedway Motorsports when they get to the issue as to why the pavement came up.
As for the TV numbers, I would think NASCAR has been pretty happy, but they always want more. It’s good, though, that it’s been mostly positive early this season instead of the other direction. The product has also been decent as the car continues to evolve in its third year. And yet the work continues on short tracks and road courses because those have dipped in action while intermediates have been good.
Q: What an incredible performance by the whole HMS organization at Martinsville on Sunday! Not only three cars on the podium, but all four cars in the top 10. And aside from William Byron looking as if he is picking up from last season, it’s nice to see Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott start to build their positive momentum as well. Here’s to hoping both the 9 and 48 find victory lane again this season!
Kevin, Arizona
KC: I’ve said it before and it bears repeating that William Byron is the whole package and the No. 24 team is full of talented people. I expect nothing but more of what we’ve seen from them the last two years. As for Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott, it’s been slow growth for those teams since both returned from their respective injuries last season and the last few weeks the potential and growth has been evident.
As anniversary gifts go, Martinsville is going to be tough to top for the Hendrick organization. John Harrelson/Motorsport Images
Q: I never see any questions regarding NHRA drag racing in your Mailbag, so here’s one for you. I read that at the Virginia race in June, they’re going to run all three sessions of qualifying on Saturday, instead of the usual one on Friday and two on Saturday. Why the change?
Scott
KC: It’s an interesting and unique concept as far as NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing is concerned by putting all the professional categories in one day as far as qualifying. By condensing the schedule, it makes for a jam-packed two-day show that seems to be something that was done with the fan experience in mind, and trying something new. In addition to the pro categories, there is also going to be plenty of Sportsman activity that weekend as well.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, April 9, 2014
Q: In several of your recent columns, you mentioned that you raced midgets at one time. Back when I was a much younger lad without thinning hair and an expanding waistline, my cousin and I would get up early on a Saturday and stand outside Mel Kenyon’s garage and watch him and his brother build the midget cars that Mel raced. We would stand there for what seemed like hours just watching those who work on the car. They never shooed us away and would always answer any question we might have asked.
I was just wondering if you ever raced against Mel or perhaps had an opportunity to interview him? He truly was and still remains one of the nicest guys a person could ever meet, both inside or outside of racing. I wrote a small letter to Mel a couple of years back to thank him for not only all he contributed to the sport, but also for letting two rug rats hang around his garage all those years ago.
I know Mel has had some health issues over the years, but he’s still in good spirits even though he has to be around 80 years old now. I was at the Indy 500 the year he hit an oil slick coming into Turn 3, hit the wall and had to duck back into his seat to avoid a flying car. He escaped without too much damage but there were tire tracks on his helmet from that airborne car! I’m sure of lot of the new, younger fans don’t remember Mel, but to us old-timers, he was a heck of a guy. The auto-racing community owes a lot to him.
Jerry Laake, Davenport, IA
ROBIN MILLER: Some of my early stories at The Indianapolis Star were about Miraculous Mel at Indy or running midgets at IRP or the State Fairgrounds. He and brother Don were a force of nature for 30 years in USAC as his 111 wins and seven championships would bear. His comeback from burns and subsequent success was very inspiring.
And that was Gordy Johncock he dodged in 1971 in Turn 3. One of my big thrills running USAC midgets from 1975-’82 came in 1977 when I passed Mel on the outside during hot laps at Erie, Colorado (half-mile dirt track) but, of course, that was about the only time I can recall me passing him. I also crashed into him once and nearly gave him a concussion. Sorry Mel. But he’s good people and was a helluva racer. By the way, good guess regarding his age: Mel is 80 right now but turns 81 next Tuesday. [ED: And as we revisit this Mailbag letter in 2024, Kenyon is a a week away from celebrating his 91st birthday].
