2024 IndyCar News/Misc.

Eh, I think I only used it when I had to. My local internet provider has their own app that mirrors their cable service, so I stream NBC from that. I prefer it because it doesn't skip over the side-by-side commercials.

Peacock's great when the local NBC station is on air with severe storm coverage. It's nice to have the option to flip over to that.

The Fox Sports app is absolutely terrible. I've tried to use it because of 4K coverage, but it just doesn't work at all most of the time.
 
Every race confirmed to be on FOX. All P&Q on FS1/FS2. NXT races also on FS1/FS2, mostly on FS1.

Full ‘25 schedule release as well, finale is at Nashville Superspeedway on Labor Day weekend.

 
Given that every single race broadcast + Indy 500 quals will be on big FOX it’s hard to be too upset about this deal. NXT being back on linear TV is pretty big as well. Just don’t give FOX the production reins.

Though it looks like they’re clashing with the LM24 next year and that does piss me off.
 
Given that every single race broadcast + Indy 500 quals will be on big FOX it’s hard to be too upset about this deal. NXT being back on linear TV is pretty big as well. Just don’t give FOX the production reins.

Though it looks like they’re clashing with the LM24 next year and that does piss me off.

From my understanding, IMS Productions is going to handle much of it. So, aside from the commentators and possibly losing side-by-side commercial breaks, there might not be much of a change.
 
IndyCar/Roger really need to figure out a way to get an oval race in April before the 500 and I wouldnt be sad if the Indy Roadie disappeared for another oval as well. But that schedule is compressed, they're racing pretty much the whole month of July next year. I'm not going to complain about Fox buying the rights, I think its great the Series is going to be on network TV every time they race and could even be a boon to the series to gain popularity. I wonder what that booth will look like, a few real good possibilities out there for PbP and Analyst. I hope IndyCar got the bag from this deal, they are legit my favorite North American racing series and I really want them to prosper off of this deal.
 
I miss the talks of an indycar/NASCAR doubleheader from 5ish years ago. Indycar running on a Saturday of a Cup weekend would be perfect. I get that a lot of ISC/SMI tracks don't want Indycar because it can be a money losing proposition getting the track ready/opened up just to get a very small crowd. If they run in conjunction with a NASCAR weekend then the track and facilities will already be opened up and I'm 100% positive a Saturday Indycar race supporting a Sunday Cup race would get more fans than a stand alone Indycar event at the same venue.

Indycar the past couple years reminds me of NASCAR in the early/mid 2010s. Indycar is fixing things that didn't need to be fixed simply for the sake of change to appease the fanbase... while the things fans do want changed aren't changing.
 
IndyCar/Roger really need to figure out a way to get an oval race in April before the 500 and I wouldnt be sad if the Indy Roadie disappeared for another oval as well. But that schedule is compressed, they're racing pretty much the whole month of July next year. I'm not going to complain about Fox buying the rights, I think its great the Series is going to be on network TV every time they race and could even be a boon to the series to gain popularity. I wonder what that booth will look like, a few real good possibilities out there for PbP and Analyst. I hope IndyCar got the bag from this deal, they are legit my favorite North American racing series and I really want them to prosper off of this deal.
Three races total before May is still far too few for sure, even with Thermal becoming a points race. Not sure what the financial details are, but everyone seems to say it pays a decent amount more, so hopefully this lets the series promote some more events on their own or take a discount on sanctioning fee to make a prospective event at a NASCAR or SMI track work. The team owners are also really happy today, which is a major breath of fresh air compared to much of the rest of the past year or so. NBC has been a good TV partner, and a big upgrade over the previous ABC/NBCSN arrangement, but this year in particular has a critical stretch coming up where there are just too many races on USA and Peacock and there’s such a big dropoff there.
 
At face value this move sucks, but we’ve yet to see what the network splits will be, as well as what the financial terms are. Most recent rumor was that FOX had responded to NBC’s latest counteroffer with a full OTA slate of their own. TBA whether that’s true. Obviously, it would also be more palatable if this takes the series from $20M/year to something more like $80M. If it winds up being closer to $30M or $40M…ehh.

I think the production quality should actually be okay as long as IMS Productions retains control over most aspects of the broadcast, but that’s the key factor. Either Adam Alexander or bringing Kevin Lee over would make for competent PxP guys. I think you have to bring Hinch over as well, and I could take or leave T-Bell.

I agree with Andy - hopefully this also allows for more linear/OTA opportunities for IMSA. And I would expect to see even more Diffey there than what he already does.

Alan Bestwick does the Indy 500 PA, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them give him a call. Agree with Andy though, absolutely love the broadcast team for Indy
 
I miss the talks of an indycar/NASCAR doubleheader from 5ish years ago. Indycar running on a Saturday of a Cup weekend would be perfect. I get that a lot of ISC/SMI tracks don't want Indycar because it can be a money losing proposition getting the track ready/opened up just to get a very small crowd. If they run in conjunction with a NASCAR weekend then the track and facilities will already be opened up and I'm 100% positive a Saturday Indycar race supporting a Sunday Cup race would get more fans than a stand alone Indycar event at the same venue.

Indycar the past couple years reminds me of NASCAR in the early/mid 2010s. Indycar is fixing things that didn't need to be fixed simply for the sake of change to appease the fanbase... while the things fans do want changed aren't changing.
I'm disappointed the Charlotte Roval never came to fruition with an Indycar. I was there when Newgarden did the test on the track, was awesome to see. I think you'd need to remove that final chicane though for Indy to run there.
 


Ok what’s the hype around this Siegel guy?

It feels like all the hype from almost making the 500 is what has landed him all sorts of praise and now a sweet full time deal.

Pourchaire got done extremely dirty here. Please tell me Nolan Siegel is coming off multiple championships to merit the crazy turnaround fortunes.
 
Ok what’s the hype around this Siegel guy?

It feels like all the hype from almost making the 500 is what has landed him all sorts of praise and now a sweet full time deal.

Pourchaire got done extremely dirty here. Please tell me Nolan Siegel is coming off multiple championships to merit the crazy turnaround fortunes.
He finished 3rd in NXT as a rookie last year and would be sitting 3rd again right now if he hadn’t withdrawn at Road America. Also, he was just a part of a class-winning entry at Le Mans for the sports car team Zak Brown co-owns. He’s a good driver with a good potential but you can’t say with any certainty he’s better than Pourchaire. There are some rumors swirling around about Arrow’s future with the team and the possibility that Siegel’s dad may have bought into the team but nothing substantiated yet.

I agree it’s really poor form either way…Pourchaire gave up his Super Formula seat in Japan he had for this year and has now been dropped pretty unceremoniously. This has pretty quickly become a major part of McLaren’s M.O. and it really sucks. I don’t think Theo’s talents have gone unnoticed though, and it sounds like three teams have already inquired for his contact information.
 
He finished 3rd in NXT as a rookie last year and would be sitting 3rd again right now if he hadn’t withdrawn at Road America. Also, he was just a part of a class-winning entry at Le Mans for the sports car team Zak Brown co-owns. He’s a good driver with a good potential but you can’t say with any certainty he’s better than Pourchaire. There are some rumors swirling around about Arrow’s future with the team and the possibility that Siegel’s dad may have bought into the team but nothing substantiated yet.

I agree it’s really poor form either way…Pourchaire gave up his Super Formula seat in Japan he had for this year and has now been dropped pretty unceremoniously. This has pretty quickly become a major part of McLaren’s M.O. and it really sucks. I don’t think Theo’s talents have gone unnoticed though, and it sounds like three teams have already inquired for his contact information.
It does come as a surprise. McLaren seemed to like Théo.
Maybe he indicated to them he wouldn't be available for 2025 because he's moving to Sauber full-time and they're testing/preparing Siegel for a full-time ride next year.
 
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Doesn't look like he saw it coming. As FL said, you dont drop your plans or leave a guaranteed seat overseas if you knew you were about to get cut.
 
Teddy will probably be ok. I wouldn't be surprised to see him pick up a P2 drive for the rest of the year.
 
As far as the TV deal is concerned, more money and all the the races being on broadcast television is a huge win for the series and the increased exposure for NXT is great as well.
Not sure what to think about the schedule, it's great that the final continues to be on an oval, still haven't made up my mind about the Thermal Club but at least it's not another street course. What sucks is that TMS is gone for good. Motorsport.com quoted Miles saying that they're considering a return to Texas but if it happens it's gonna be a street course.
 
What about qualifying? Is that still going to be covered? Really enjoyed watching it on Peacock.
 
What about qualifying? Is that still going to be covered? Really enjoyed watching it on Peacock.
All P&Q will be on FS1/FS2. Same with the NXT races.

Not having a supplemental streaming component is the only real miss in this deal, but given how much of the rest of it has been elevated I think it’s more than an okay trade off.
 
What sucks is that TMS is gone for good. Motorsport.com quoted Miles saying that they're considering a return to Texas but if it happens it's gonna be a street course.
MP mentioned in his mailbag today that IndyCar was keen to return to Texas but that the other side needs to want it as well. It’s apparent that the new management is all-in on NASCAR and making sure that spring date is as successful as possible given that it’s their only Cup weekend now. Unfortunately, this is kinda what people had feared when Eddie Gossage (RIP) retired a few years ago. He was the most ardent supporter of IndyCar racing at Texas even if it came as somewhat of a financial detriment to the track.

Texas is far too big of a market not to have a presence in. There’s been some smoke around building a street event in either Arlington, near AT&T Stadium, or down in San Antonio.
 
It’s apparent that the new management is all-in on NASCAR and making sure that spring date is as successful as possible given that it’s their only Cup weekend now.
I don't get why it would have to be a spring date. I'd think the track would like a fall weekend with a major series. Maybe they think they'll get a second Cup weekend again and they want to keep all possible dates open, just in case? :blink:

My feelings on street courses are well-known here. Those last TMS races will be difficult to live up to.
 
I don't get why it would have to be a spring date. I'd think the track would like a fall weekend with a major series. Maybe they think they'll get a second Cup weekend again and they want to keep all possible dates open, just in case? :blink:

My feelings on street courses are well-known here. Those last TMS races will be difficult to live up to.
The spring weather is quite a bit fairer and they’d run into conflicts with Cowboys and Rangers home games in the late summer/fall dates, which ate into attendance. Supposedly for 2023 the track offered a September date, not really in good faith since the series already had Milwaukee and Nashville booked and it’d just run into the exact same issues they’d had with hosting the NASCAR weekend.
 
hey’d run into conflicts with Cowboys and Rangers home games in the late summer/fall dates, which ate into attendance.
I guess that makes sense, although I find it hard to believe there are only a couple of hundred thousand ticket-buying sports fans in the metropolitan area. The Indy audience is smaller than NASCAR, though.
 
IndyCar socials are saying Rossi might be out at McLaren and Lundgard in with HyVee coming along


Donahue is very hit or miss. He correctly called the Siegel move to McLaren a day before it actually happened, but also said that was in part because Arrow was moving on and that Siegel’s dad was swooping in to buy a stake of the team. None of that was corroborated and Nathan Brown reported that Arrow aren’t even in the last year of their deal, nor is there any reason to think they will depart early.

Parting ways with Rossi at this point, when he’s clearly been rejuvenated and performing at a high level each week, is kinda wild, but I guess par for the course for McLaren if it comes to fruition. Lundgaard deserves a top tier ride though, and Rossi will probably get a healthy salary to be the lead driver at Prema. That squad is supposedly ready to pay very healthy money to both drivers and personnel right out of the gate.
 
IndyCar socials are saying Rossi might be out at McLaren and Lundgard in with HyVee coming along


Yep, the move is legit. Sounds like McLaren didn’t want to pay Rossi the veteran salary he wanted while they can get a young Lundgaard, who needs to move on from RLL to realize his potential, to sign at a discount.

“We talked for months,” Pieter Rossi told AP. “We just, quite simply, couldn’t come to terms on a lot of the bits, and that’s OK.”
“The No. 7 crew is fantastic, and I’ve built a lot of long-lasting friendships with the team,” Rossi added, noting he had multiple conversations with team leaders over the past several months. “The mutual decision to part ways is amicable. I’m very confident with current discussions in the paddock to land a new spot. I’ll have good news to follow soon, and meanwhile I’m focused on a top-five finish in the 2024 championship and a strong conclusion to my time in papaya.”

 
Donahue is very hit or miss. He correctly called the Siegel move to McLaren a day before it actually happened, but also said that was in part because Arrow was moving on and that Siegel’s dad was swooping in to buy a stake of the team. None of that was corroborated and Nathan Brown reported that Arrow aren’t even in the last year of their deal, nor is there any reason to think they will depart early.

Parting ways with Rossi at this point, when he’s clearly been rejuvenated and performing at a high level each week, is kinda wild, but I guess par for the course for McLaren if it comes to fruition. Lundgaard deserves a top tier ride though, and Rossi will probably get a healthy salary to be the lead driver at Prema. That squad is supposedly ready to pay very healthy money to both drivers and personnel right out of the gate.
Rossi and Sargeant?
 
Rossi and Sargeant?
Lots of interest from the paddock in Sargeant for sure, and reestablishing that relationship with Prema from his F3 season a few years ago might make the most sense of all. I think the team were also said to want one veteran and one young driver. Would be a great fit, imo.
 
Lots of interest from the paddock in Sargeant for sure, and reestablishing that relationship with Prema from his F3 season a few years ago might make the most sense of all. I think the team were also said to want one veteran and one young driver. Would be a great fit, imo.
I'd say Askew should be in the running as he's also working behind the scenes with GM on the IndyCar side.
 
Similar to what is going on with the NHL right now. Changes being made and I'm getting dizzy trying to make sense of it all.
 
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