Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to [email protected]. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.
Q: I know that alternates on the street courses are still an item under development and are definitely a part of the push for sustainability, but they really need a rethink. I like the fact that IndyCar is trying something, but when you see the race start and the majority of the field pitting by lap four to ditch them, it really makes them seem more like a gimmick than pure strategy.
I know that we have had instances like that with the reds a handful of times, but for the most part, the degradation on them hasn’t been as extreme (especially if you’re Scott Dixon and have a sixth sense for making them last with minimal falloff). Plus there is usually a big enough performance delta, and it leads to some very interesting strategies.Alan Bandi, Sarver, PAMARSHALL PRUETT: The good thing is we shouldn’t experience the zero-life alternates again until June at Detroit. The road course alternates last longer, were the preferred tire at Thermal, and I’d suspect they’ll be good at Barber and the Indy GP. After Detroit, the only other zero-life street course left on the schedule is Toronto, so this experiment IndyCar asked for is half over and will only affect two of the 14 remaining races.
With the long production lead times to make racing tires, there’s no option for Firestone to redo its street course alternates ahead of Detroit and Toronto, but I can’t imagine this will continue in the same manner next year.
Q: I was aghast reading the article “Penske Entertainment looking to bring Long Beach vibe to more IndyCar events.” Is it not completely obvious that people like days packed with on-track activity, food trucks, music, entertainment and whatever keeps the vibe going? Have these “promoters” been this clueless all this time?
I could give many examples, but let’s take Texas Motor Speedway. You drove way out of town to the facility where there was nothing going on outside of some merch tents, sat in the heat until the race started, and then went home. Even if the race was incredible, it wasn’t that great of a time. How do you keep kids entertained in that scenario?
We’ve taken our kids to Barber the last few years. One of them loves cars and racing, but you know what they’re all most interested in after about 20 minutes? The bouncy houses, Ferris wheel, and the exhibits where they can put stuff together or try to win something. There’s a car show and a museum. There’s even an Indy NXT race before IndyCar. It’s a fun day! This is why street races are popular – it’s easier to stay entertained all day, and the close quarters make the event feel special and busy. I’m not the expert here, but it’s not rocket science.
Ross Bynum
MP: I hear you. This is the way Long Beach has done it for decades, so it was there for the copying by any promoter who was willing to pay attention.But Bud Denker’s insights on seeing the LBGP for the first time from the inside, from having a new reason to go around and take in all of the unique things about the event, should make for better Penske Entertainment owned/led events elsewhere on the schedule.
No matter how many times you’ve been somewhere, there’s always an opportunity to see things with fresh eyes. Chris Jones/IMS Photo
Q: Doesn’t it seem Colton Herta’s team has an uncanny knack of fumbling race results? Seems like every move is wrong. It’s either pit errors or lousy strategy.
Mark, Buffalo, NY
MP: The interesting thing is teammate Kyle Kirkwood’s been having a similar early season run in terms of potential. Kirk has finishes of fifth, eighth and first. Colton has a fourth and a seventh, but started the year with a couple of pit lane disasters at St. Pete with a tire and then with refueling that left him 16th. They were strong at Thermal, and had a light tire-change delay and an underwhelming race at Long Beach.
They definitely need to tighten things up, but they aren’t in bad shape. A good run at Barber or Indy will get Herta up to where Kirkwood is living today. They were the clear best of Andretti Global in 2024 with two wins and a run to second in the championship, so we know what the 26 car is capable of producing.
Q: Any word on what the specific issue was with Newgarden’s belts?
Joey Selmants
MP: Best guess is Josef was hitting the buckle while turning through the hairpin and released the belts. Your letter came in before we published a story about it — if you missed it, here it is.
Q: Any ideas on how to get the balloon release back at the IMS during the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana”?
David Brown, Birmingham, AL
MP: Best suggestion is to bring your own balloons and helium bottles, because this isn’t coming back.
Q: Some musing while watching the WEC race. F1 has some of the worst-looking and sounding cars. It is expensive to watch in person – the merch costs are insane – and has abandoned us traditional fans, but it is the most popular motorsport ever.
IMSA and WEC have small calendars (IMSA 11 rounds, and WEC eight) and significant gaps between races. However, they are experiencing considerable growth, attracting fans and manufacturers.
Why do I raise this? These are both reasons individuals blame IndyCar for its current predicament. It is true that we need a new car and a better schedule; however, this isn’t the reason why IndyCar is struggling to grow. We need answers to the following: What is the vision for IndyCar? What does success look like?
Dan Mayhew, UK
MP: Mentioned here a few times over the last year that we do not have, nor have we had, an IndyCar State of the Union address from Penske Entertainment that I can think of after the initial purchase, so it’s hard to know its wide-reaching vision for the series, its tracks, and its plan for the future. We get things in bits and pieces as certain people from the company speak on whatever topic, but nothing like what some other sporting leagues do on an annual basis. Maybe that will change with Doug Boles in charge of IndyCar; in theory, there’s no reason that couldn’t happen. If his bosses wanted to do one on the parent company, it would be welcome as well.
Success should be the same as always, which is greater popularity as measured by television audience and live attendance, and prosperity, measured by field size and the financial health of all teams. IndyCar also has the unique need to grow a new and younger fan base, and that metric is also easy to track.
