2024 IndyCar News/Misc.

in the biggest upgrade to the Speedway’s safety systems, brand-new SAFER foam has been installed in all pre-existing spots around the 2.5-mile oval.
Maybe I'm misreading this but that sounds like they upgraded the existing barriers, not that SAFER is all the way around yet.
 
Maybe I'm misreading this but that sounds like they upgraded the existing barriers, not that SAFER is all the way around yet.
“The first change is found on the inside of Turn 3, where 1700 feet of new catchfence has been installed behind the barrier, which is an addition to the corner. Continuing around the track, the inside of Turn 4 has 800 feet of new SAFER barriers, which is another first-time addition to the circuit in that area.

Between Turns 3 and 4 on the inside of the short chute, 85 feet of guardrail has been replaced by a new SAFER barrier section, and in the biggest upgrade to the Speedway’s safety systems, brand-new SAFER foam has been installed in all pre-existing spots around the 2.5-mile oval.”
 
Interesting, sounds like Coyne will have a rotating cast in the 51 this year. Hopefully Colin gets a shot at a few races, I’ve wanted to see him try out open wheel for a while after all of his prototype success.

 
Interesting, sounds like Coyne will have a rotating cast in the 51 this year. Hopefully Colin gets a shot at a few races, I’ve wanted to see him try out open wheel for a while after all of his prototype success.

Fan favorite kinda squad, I like it.
 
It’s not often you get to see driver salaries released to the public anymore. Pretty healthy pay for Pato.

 

They got there in a kind of goofy way, but there were five oval races in 2022 and seven this year. They reiterated today that NSS will be the championship race for the foreseeable future. Hy-Vee is also going to back the Milwaukee weekend. Otherwise they’ve found it pretty difficult to add much more without serious obstacles from NASCAR.

After reading the article, I think it’s more likely some of the existing road courses will be falling off for street courses. Portland is the track most at risk right now and that would make the most sense to make way for the Denver street event.
 
They got there in a kind of goofy way, but there were five oval races in 2022 and seven this year. They reiterated today that NSS will be the championship race for the foreseeable future. Hy-Vee is also going to back the Milwaukee weekend. Otherwise they’ve found it pretty difficult to add much more without serious obstacles from NASCAR.

After reading the article, I think it’s more likely some of the existing road courses will be falling off for street courses. Portland is the track most at risk right now and that would make the most sense to make way for the Denver street event.
I wish they could pull something together for Brainard. Feels like that's such an untapped market and yet a natural extension of where they already are. I don't know what the capacity is there but given that it is Indycar, they might not need room for 50,000 in year one.
 
I wish they could pull something together for Brainard. Feels like that's such an untapped market and yet a natural extension of where they already are. I don't know what the capacity is there but given that it is Indycar, they might not need room for 50,000 in year one.
In Minnesota? I’m not too familiar with that one really.
 
A new car??? :eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2:
I have my doubts it’ll happen by then, as with many things IndyCar, but it’s good they’ve finally started to make plans because last year it seemed Penske wanted to keep running these things into the 2030s. So much stuff has just been tacked onto the chassis since it debuted; there’ve got to be ways to build a new car that’s lighter and better-integrated from the ground up.

Also, glad to hear they’re likely moving ahead with a spec ICE. I think at this point that’s the way to retain and attract manufacturer involvement.
 
Harvey (14 races), Siegel (4 races) in the 18
Braun to start with St. Pete and Thermal in the 51

Ilott in for Malukas at St. Pete.

Let’s roll.



 
Harvey (14 races), Siegel (4 races) in the 18
Braun to start with St. Pete and Thermal in the 51

Ilott in for Malukas at St. Pete.

Let’s roll.




I'm rather skeptical about Coyne's lineup. The fact that none of the drivers will be full-time is probably money-related.
Jack was downright terrible at RLL. Of course a resurgence is always possible but I don't have high hopes.
Siegel is an interesting prospect but he wasn't exactly setting the world on fire in the Road to Indy Series. I do think he has potential though.
Braun hasn't raced open-wheel cars for almost 20 years.
 
I'm rather skeptical about Coyne's lineup. The fact that none of the drivers will be full-time is probably money-related.
Jack was downright terrible at RLL. Of course a resurgence is always possible but I don't have high hopes.
Siegel is an interesting prospect but he wasn't exactly setting the world on fire in the Road to Indy Series. I do think he has potential though.
Braun hasn't raced open-wheel cars for almost 20 years.
I hope Jack regains his form this year but I do think he hasn’t been the same since his Texas crash a couple of years ago. I like that he got a second chance at least, but I don’t have big expectations for him either.

Siegel had a good first half in his rookie NXT season last year and had some tough luck the rest of the way. I think he could be a solid IndyCar driver in the future and it’s probably a good way for him to get his feet wet ahead of maybe being full time with DCR in 2025.

Braun’s testing times make me think he could at least be competent with enough seat time. St. Pete, or any street course, is a tough place to debut but maybe he can shine at Thermal. It’ll also probably take some time to get acclimated to the physicality of Indy cars. But comparatively he at least has more experience in downforce cars than a Canapino, Jimmie, or Scottie Mac did.

I don’t think they’ll light it on fire by any means but they have an interesting crop of drivers and I’ll be rooting for them.
 
I hope Jack regains his form this year but I do think he hasn’t been the same since his Texas crash a couple of years ago.

Jack wouldn't be the first to take years to recover (or even be forced to retire) from a bad concussion. The flip side is Hakkinen's accident was so bad it cracked his skull and put him in a coma, but he came back to win two world championships. It seems all the racing concussions we see are different from each other in symptoms, severity, and especially recovery time. I'm pretty sure even the best neurosurgeons don't completely understand head injuries.

Simon still hasn't announced any plans for 2024, and we've only seen one update on his condition.

I like that he got a second chance at least, but I don’t have big expectations for him either.
Maybe the atmosphere at Coyne is what he needs. Coyne gets the best out of some of his drivers and maybe he can help Jack get his mojo back.
 
This is pretty comfortably the strongest statement any team owner has made about Penske’s ownership of the series thus far. I would say his purchase happened at just the right time to keep the series afloat during COVID when it probably would’ve floundered under the Hulman-George family, and incremental gains since then have been okay. But it is hard not to look around much of the rest of the Motorsport world right now and want even more, and it seems an increasing contingent within the paddock and feels the same.



 
I mean a million a team is still a lot less than Michael was trying to spend...
 
I mean a million a team is still a lot less than Michael was trying to spend...
Michael wasn’t the only team owner to express concerns or grievances, although he certainly did it in the strongest manner. A whole group of team owners went to Penske with concerns before last race weekend.

IndyCar on the competition side is pretty strong, with as deep and as talented as a grid as there’s been possibly ever. The teams themselves have invested a lot of money in new facilities and personnel. The racing is usually entertaining, last weekend notwithstanding. But the business side at Penske Entertainment has left some on the table and there’s not a whole lot of clarity in what the direction and identity of the series is supposed to be.

 
Well Netflix is only carrying season 1 (last year) of 100 days. CW will be doing season 2 starting late April.
 
Well Netflix is only carrying season 1 (last year) of 100 days. CW will be doing season 2 starting late April.
Right. Would’ve been more optimal if they had Netflix distribution on debut, but this way it still comes out in the lead up to season 2. I had a lot of doubts they’d manage to get on there at all, so I’m pleasantly surprised.
 
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