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 revealed. Questions acquired after 3pm ET every Monday will seem the next week.
Q: I’m amazed on the continued backup of vehicles making an attempt to be the final automotive in line for the ultimate run of IndyCar qualifying. A easy answer is to make use of the oval qualifying format on avenue circuits and the shorter-distance street programs. No draw for the qualifying order; final positioned automotive within the standings goes first. Depart the pits, and first time by you’re inexperienced. One lap or two laps, as determined by the sequence, and positions decided by quickest lap or common of the 2. The argument could be the air time, nonetheless with the present format I don’t envision that a lot of a distinction in time. Loopy concept, or not?
Susan Bournoville
MARSHALL PRUETT: I’ve nice reminiscences of being a younger race automotive mechanic and sneaking away to look at IMSA GTP qualifying (when the varied vehicles we ran have been within the help sequence) the place single-car runs have been finished. Granted, we’re speaking about 10-15 vehicles, at most, fairly than 27, but it surely made for spectacular theater as soon as the higher vehicles and drivers have been on deck to do their single warmup laps and clock their finest one-lap runs.
The yr 1990 involves thoughts as one the place the single-car routine was notably wonderful. Future Andrea Moda F1 driver Perry McCarthy, additionally the longer term Stig, threw his privateer Spice-Chevy on the pole at Sears Level, breaking the lap report as nicely, in opposition to the manufacturing unit Nissans and Jaguars and Toyotas and the remainder. It created one of many greatest cheers throughout the monitor that I’ve ever heard. Pel the large killer.
One all-out lap, driver by driver, no excuses for visitors or inadequate rubber being put down on the time of whoever’s run. I’m all for giving it a strive, Susan.
Since most the whole lot about how race weekends are run is made up, I’d like to see it used to begin the season at St. Petersburg. Perhaps it’s avenue race factor, solely. Quick tracks, fast laps, and if you happen to ship the second qualifier out 25 p.c of the way in which by way of the primary driver’s flying lap, you possibly can minimize down on wasted time and have every warmup lap largely finished and have the primary driver pit on the finish of their flying lap — utilizing the alternate begin/end line previous to the ultimate nook — to clear the monitor for the second driver, and so forth. That may tighten up the period, give commentators sufficient time to opine concerning the run that simply ended and transfer into the brand new run.
Solely factor I haven’t found out is the qualifying order. We may go off of championship factors or the outcomes of the primary apply session, or a blind draw. What I wouldn’t need is one the place we begin with the slowest and work all the way down to the quickest as a result of, no disrespect to the slower groups and drivers, however the backside half of the sector isn’t liable for pleasure in qualifying. Shake the order up, after which folks would have a purpose to look at the whole factor as a substitute of ready till the highest half runs.
Q: I’ve two fast questions for you, which can or might not have been answered by you earlier than. In the event that they have been, I will need to have missed them:
Why don’t IndyCars have energy steering? To make them more durable to drive or as a result of it could be too difficult so as to add energy steering, or one thing else?
Second, I’ve observed a little bit shark fin on the highest of the precise sidepods of the vehicles. Is that protecting up some kind of radiator temperature sensor, or one thing else? I have to know, and haven’t been capable of finding out in my web searches.
Snappy Gary, Mondovi, WI
MP: Except it was a extremely very long time in the past when the photographs and movies have been in black and white, I can’t consider energy steering being utilized in my lifetime in IndyCar. It’s simply not a factor right here. Plus, the present chassis, the 13-year-old Dallara DW12, was by no means designed to hold energy steering, and doing a bolt-on retrofit isn’t an choice. If the sequence and its drivers need energy steering within the subsequent automotive, I’m positive it’s going to occur. However, culturally, having to combat by way of downforce and excessive Gs to show the automotive is a decades-old norm in IndyCar.
Perry McCarthy wheeling the Spice SE90P Chevrolet on the New Orleans avenue circuit in 1991. No phrase on whether or not a younger Marshall Pruett is hiding behind one of many boundaries to look at when he’s speculated to be working. (He’s placing an terrible lot of religion within the boundaries if he’s — they don’t look able to defending somebody from a T-shirt cannon, by no means thoughts a race automotive). William Murenbeeld/Motorsport Photos
Q: There’s been some rumors floating about Andretti presumably switching to Chevy energy as quickly as 2025. Is there any substance to those rumors? IndyCar groups have tended to have partnerships with totally different auto makers throughout totally different racing classes, nonetheless wouldn’t it make sense for Andretti to be in search of to be allied with GM throughout all its racing ventures?
Fabian Blåder
MP: Certainly. This has been an expectation since we instructed people Andretti was transferring from Acura to GM/Cadillac in IMSA subsequent yr, which is the second GM alignment after its desired F1 program. And the rumor of finishing the trifecta with a Honda-to-Chevy IndyCar swap has been a well-liked certainly one of late.
I requested Andretti COO Rob Edwards about it final week, and he mentioned no, there aren’t any plans to depart Honda. Unconfirmed, but it surely’s believed Andretti’s Honda contract runs by way of 2025, so supplied nothing adjustments, the crew and producer have another yr collectively earlier than a proper resolution is made on what occurs subsequent.
On the provision aspect in 2025, Chevy’s been telling events that it’s full after including two new vehicles from PREMA, so tacking three extra from Andretti on prime of the pile looks as if math that ain’t mathing. However what this appears to be like like in 2026 might be altogether totally different.
Q: Whereas racing on the Brickyard 400 was higher than I anticipated, I used to be not shocked to see so many followers disguised as empty seats. It needed to be embarrassing for NASCAR. After the novelty of NASCAR racing at IMS wore off, the followers have stayed away in droves. Why does NASCAR preserve going again?
As for IndyCar at Toronto, give us all a break. As a lifelong IndyCar fan — I’m 75 — I perceive the advertising and marketing attract of avenue tracks. Nonetheless, Toronto is pathetic. It’s a Mickey Mouse monitor the place passing is uncommon and too many yellows are inevitable. The races there do the general attraction of IndyCar a disservice.
Bob Isabella, Mentor, OH
MP: Conform to disagree. Toronto tends to current quite a bit passing and a few crashes, which retains it from being a snoozefest. We had each.
