Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers will be despatched to mailbag@racer.com. We love listening to your feedback and opinions, however letters that embody a query usually tend to be revealed. Questions obtained after 3pm ET every Monday might be saved for the next week.
Q: What’s the newest concerning Jamie Chadwick in 2025? The Andretti International web site exhibits a roster of drivers for his or her NXT program, however no Jamie. She lately examined at Barber. A step up subsequent yr? Would possibly Andretti subject 4 full-time vehicles?
Michael Andretti appeared to play a major mentor function 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 girl, and the shortage of alternatives to go IndyCar racing with Andretti have been recognized for some time; she’s been centered on charting her personal path, along 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 major 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 wish to do yet another yr of NXT, develop into a real title contender, and use that output to attract larger curiosity from IndyCar groups that is perhaps prepared to run her at a decreased value.
Inserting 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 cut price charge to drive for them. So, it’s a have to put collectively a robust funds, and quick, since there are many consumers for the very best drives.
Q: Curious you probably have heard something concerning our 2024 Rookie of the Yr? I do know Kyffin Simpson is to be positioned within the No.8 automobile 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 the moment testing in Europe along with his race engineer, based on 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 notably within the Dreyer & Reinbold group. I certain hope that DRR once more will get one other shot. They’ve been devoted to the race for 25+ years.
Talking of DRR… have you learnt if Cusick Motorsports will once more group up with them subsequent Could? It seems to be a strong partnership, particularly for a ‘small group’. 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 whats up to him. He stated whats up, and he got here out to speak with me and my associates. He even allow us to go within the storage and have our image taken subsequent to Ryan Hunter-Reay’s automobile! I couldn’t imagine that. We spoke for an excellent 10 minutes after that.
Don is such a pleasant man, and he actually appears to like IndyCar, and the five hundred. Plenty of ardour. Although I learn a rumor that he could also be shopping for into Juncos Hollinger, I hope that Don and his group 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 just a few months in the past, being excluded from the constitution might be the factor that leads DRR to depart 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 items 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 every other group or entrant.
I texted Don on Monday evening and he says sure, he’ll be again with DRR and bulletins are forthcoming.
Q: I’m actually trying 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 yr? 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 which means does life maintain? I wish to see Newgarden and Pato attempt to recreate the end to the Indy 500 throughout the complete 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 very best vehicles in NASCAR, it appeared. Tony Stewart had her racing in his SRX sequence and she or he held her personal with the equally-prepared race vehicles and a few superb drivers. I’d like to see her racing dash vehicles or midgets on filth in superb gear.
Pete Pfankuch, Wisconsin
MP: In her first-ever laps within the Dallara IL15-AER Indy NXT automobile, she ended the session 6.0s off of the quickest driver on the IMS street course after 23 excursions of the joint. With a break and a while to digest the automobile 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 must be carved to one thing nearer to 2.0s by the top of the offseason. Seven-time Trans Am champion Ernie Francis Jr went by an almost similar studying curve when he turned from a lifetime of piloting massive and boxy sports activities vehicles to open-wheel.
He was out of contact to begin, frequently 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.
