2024 Bommarito Automotive 500 @ Gateway

Scotty Mac's reaction and body language to Josef being on the top step is something else.

It's not all Unicorns and Rainbows at Penske.
On one hand I’m glad they’re all competitive with each other and don’t roll over for one other. On the other, if they were all smarter with how they raced each other this year they’d all be much closer to Palou in the championship. This is at least the third time this season they’ve had some sort of late-race meltdown affecting one of the other’s races.

And that’s all after the relationship between Josef and Scotty became more business-like than friendly over the past offseason. At the time it sounded like Josef wanted to refocus his off-track priorities and simplify his life, and that was one consequence.
 

I haven’t thought highly of Kyle Novak and Max Papis in race control since before Penske entered the equation, but it’s apparent there’s an increasing subconscious bias when it comes to adjudicating bang-bang plays. No matter who’s up in the tower, the name printed on their checks are going to be the same as those on Team Penske’s and I’m not sure you can ever fully get around that.
 
I've never really felt like IndyCar needs a Villain the way that NASCAR does.

So it would be nice if Newgarden would stop acting like one. We just finally got rid of Can of Beans.
 
Race was highly entertaining even if it devolved a bit at the end. Gateway is like a lot of super speedways: the comparisons to the old multiuse stadiums for the 90s tracks feels more true to me as I attend more races at tracks of this era as they often have nothing permanent in terms of fan amenities or services beyond the suite towers. Track, stands, restrooms - that's the whole package being offered. A lot of people got themselves lathered up in how bad of a race it was gonna be for the sake of having something else to complain about, and then when the race was anything but processional, it had to shift to something else being terrible and bad. Just tiresome dialogue.
 
Will Power is also going to be looking at being 45 then. I don't know that he's planning to be in the car for another 4-5 years.
I think he and Dixon both have more than just one more year left in them. It's quite remarkable how they're able to perform well into their mid-40s.

If Power is looking to remain on the grid beyond 2025, I'm sure he'd be able to find another ride.
 
I'm sure Power and Dixon could find other rides. Unless they're going to swap seats, wouldn't anything else be a step down for them?
Helio got forced out from Penske and wound up winning a fourth Indy 500 with MSR a few years later. Admittedly, the rest of that tenure didn’t go nearly as well, but that win alone is more than worth it.
 
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