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 embrace a query usually tend to be printed. Questions acquired after 3pm ET every Monday shall be saved for the next week.
Q: I observed whereas watching the 1990 and 1991 CART races that Al Unser Jr would run a vent off the cockpit right into a hose that went into his go well with. I assume that is for cooling. May this be a possibility at this time in IndyCar together with the helmet vent?
Tom Harleman, Carmel, IN
MARSHALL PRUETT: That’s what the brand new ducting atop the aeroscreen is supposed to do. From a rules standpoint, groups can’t do no matter they need, but when it’s an inexpensive request, I’d think about it could be entertained. On this occasion, there have been no guidelines to cease a crew from including vents to no matter was desired.
Q: Aaron Telitz deserves a shot at IndyCar. He dominated open-wheel within the Highway to Indy, defeating Kyle Kirkwood, Colton Herta, and the remaining. His drawback was not expertise . It was funds. He’s constantly quickest in his IMSA seat. Somebody give him a possibility!
Joe Weiss
MP: Sounds lots like our dialog in Milwaukee. Aaron gained the 2016 Professional Mazda championship, at this time’s Indy Professional 2000 collection, however by no means competed towards Herta or Kirkwood that season. He didn’t dominate Colton within the first yr of Indy Lights they did collectively; Herta was Rookie of the Yr taking third whereas Telitz was sixth, and the following yr Colton was second behind Pato O’Ward. I’m an enormous fan of Aaron and rooted for him at each step, however let’s not make up a historical past that by no means occurred.
Aaron was a rocket within the Lexus for more often than not, however the crew didn’t really feel that was proven in 2023 so he was shifted to a part-time function final season. I hope he will get again to his finest kind and a full-time seat within the WeatherTech Championship. At 33, and having final raced an open-wheel automobile in 2019, I can’t discover an angle to recommend he deserves a shot in IndyCar earlier than a bunch of drivers who’re combating to get in or combating to get a shot.
Q: So, for those who go on the IndyCar app, as you scroll down there are driver biographies. So there I used to be, scrolling and clicking and simply studying all of them as a result of I’m a fan and luxuriate in every part about racing. If reminiscence serves me accurately, the drivers are so as of how they completed within the factors. I obtained to the final driver, who’s Marco Andretti. His bio says he’s the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. I learn it quite a lot of instances, considering someway they meant that he was the primary automobile to complete second, however nope, they make the declare that he’s in reality the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Just a little ticky tack, however incorrect nonetheless. I’m unsure the right way to get it corrected and provides the precise winner his recognition. Any options?
Deliver again the Cleveland Grand Prix.
Steve, Lorain OH
MP: Of all of the issues that may hold Sam Hornish awake at evening, idiocy in a bio on an app isn’t considered one of them. And agreed, deliver again Cleveland!
Q: What would be the influence on IndyCar in 2026 and past as a consequence of the Honda/Nissan merger?
Gordon, Dallas
MP: Exhausting to reply because it hasn’t occurred but. Want to attend for the merger to really occur earlier than we will speak about what may or won’t change.
Ah, so now we all know what he does for the remainder of the yr. Sam Cobb/Motorsport Photos
Q: Who would be the rookies within the 2025 IndyCar Sequence?
Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY
MP: RLL’s Louis Foster, PREMA’s Robert Schwartzman, and presumably one or two drivers from Dale Coyne.
Q: Within the 12/18 Mailbag anyone requested about utilizing the present Tremendous System chassis as a foundation for the 2027 IndyCar, and the reply was no due to security.
Oval crashes are inherently going to be extra violent on common than street course crashes simply due to pace and wall proximity, however are they tougher to the purpose that IndyCar wants a massively totally different chassis? Not too long ago, Tremendous System had a crash at 130R at Suzuka, and F1 had a number of crashes that have been reported at +50G power this yr.
Does the FIA, Dallara, IndyCar, or anyone else hold a database of crash knowledge that might be helpful for evaluating the influence/violence between collection?
Will, Indy
MP: Sure to all three. As IndyCar is its personal sanctioning physique, it wouldn’t report its findings to the FIA. However within the case of our crashes, IndyCar, it’s security crew, and Dallara descend on broken vehicles as soon as the autos are returned to their garages or transporters and ADRs — accident knowledge recorders — get downloaded, which give forces and speeds and different information. In addition they take photographs of the crashed automobile and numerous bits to doc the harm and draw insights that go into their reviews.
Q: I do know everybody hates System E (besides, in fact, the followers who’re making the collection develop yearly ) however their automobile does look extra twenty first century than an IndyCar. Do you assume a brand new automobile that took styling cues from FE and as bonus made much less downforce whereas on the identical time making loads of noise and burning copious quantities of fossil gasoline would make any sense?
Pete, Tucson
MP: It’s attainable, however why would IndyCar must make their automobile look something like what’s present in one other collection? That’s by no means been the case. In case your favourite band hadn’t put out new music in a decade, would you need them to return with songs that sound like no matter at this time’s pattern occurs to be, or with an up to date model of their signature sound? I’ll go along with the latter.
Additionally, there’s a fallacy about lowering downforce equates to creating higher racing. Avoiding an extreme quantity of downforce is an efficient factor, however for those who slash downforce, you get drivers who aren’t in a position to be aggressive with the throttle aside from within the slower corners.
