2019 IndyCar Miscellaneous

https://www.indystar.com/story/spor...esses-guaranteed-entries-indy-500/3507127002/

Mark Miles' comments here. He pays lip service to all perspectives involved and makes valid points. However, FWIW it chaps my hide how lackadaisical all of these figures sound about the traditions of event they all revere more than any other. They are playing with fire here (again) and don't get it. Not with the casual fans that don't know or care how the field was set when they tune in, but with the core fan base. Maybe they should have a chat with Steve Phelps about his realizations about NASCAR having disregarded longtime fan interests in pursuit of something else.
 
I'm just glad that Tony Stewart or Kyle Larson aren't going to convince or even try to convince the Knoxville Nationals that full-time WoO teams deserve a guaranteed spot in the main event so that they can survive and grow the sport, or that Keith Kunz won't convince Emmett Hahn and the Chili Bowl of the same.

And those races are actually damn hard to make.
 
What's the point of watching Indy speedweeks if we're gonna have locked in cars? Don't make the same mistake as NASCAR has done with stupid change after stupid change. Looks like they may do that though with 85% not wanting this, so they'll do this anyway and lose fans for qualifying.

Boo hoo, you miss 1 race a season. I'm sorry, why are they ruining this after finally getting some more entries? If they make a change like this my interest in the 500 is lowered significantly.

gnomesayin said:
I'm just glad that Tony Stewart or Kyle Larson aren't going to convince or even try to convince the Knoxville Nationals that full-time WoO teams deserve a guaranteed spot in the main event so that they can survive and grow the sport, or that Keith Kunz won't convince Emmett Hahn and the Chili Bowl of the same.

And those races are actually damn hard to make.
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Gee, wonder why these are such popular events and why is dirt track growing so much? :rolleyes:
 
NASCAR found there was nothing sacred about a 43-car field. Maybe it's time the IRL reached the same conclusion about a 33-car field, especially for a single race. But we all know how I feel about doing something just because of tradition.
 
gnomesayin said:
I'm just glad that Tony Stewart or Kyle Larson aren't going to convince or even try to convince the Knoxville Nationals that full-time WoO teams deserve a guaranteed spot in the main event so that they can survive and grow the sport, or that Keith Kunz won't convince Emmett Hahn and the Chili Bowl of the same.

And those races are actually damn hard to make.
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There are also three or four times as many WoO events as IndyCar.
 
Admittedly, when I heard one of the potential OEMs for the new engine formula was German, Porsche was not the one that crossed my mind first. Huge deal if true.

 
FLRacingFan said:
Admittedly, when I heard one of the potential OEMs for the new engine formula was German, Porsche was not the one that crossed my mind first. Huge deal if true.

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Porsche injecting big money into IndyCar? Yes please. Maybe they are wanting a bigger presence in the states, especially after building the huge Porsche museum in downtown Atlanta. Very cool to see, I'd still like to see this happen to take some pressure off of Honda and Chevy.
 
I don't think the auto bids for the 500 happen. Seeing this comment from Mike Hull, and some insight from the Marshall Pruett Podcast earlier in the week, a lot of this stems from the new format for this year where there is only one full day of qualifying and then only a single attempt in the 'Last Row Shootout' on Sunday. I agree that this is more likely to generate a fluke result than if there was a true bumping session where they compete against the clock - Hinchcliffe, for instance, only got to run on Saturday last year. Sunday was a rather pointless re-qualifying from the locked-in drivers for the 10-33 positions, followed by the Fast Nine. Given some more assurance by a more predictable qualifying format in 2020, the desire for auto bids likely drops.

That said, I think it should still be noted that Arrow and SPM were commended for how they handled the affair last year, got a ton of exposure, and Arrow subsequently re-upped their investment by becoming title sponsor of the team and branding the #7 entry in addition to Hinchcliffe's for this year.

 
Kiante said:
Porsche injecting big money into IndyCar? Yes please. Maybe they are wanting a bigger presence in the states, especially after building the huge Porsche museum in downtown Atlanta. Very cool to see, I'd still like to see this happen to take some pressure off of Honda and Chevy.
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The LMP1 program did what it was supposed to - show off new tech while simultaneously rebuilding the overall Le Mans back up over Audi. That was a huge expense for Porsche - reportedly at least $200M annually. Now that that program has gone away, and they've gotten the Formula E project up off the ground, they surely must have resources available for an IndyCar project. And as fun as GT racing is, there's probably only so many times their factory GT effort can win at places like Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans before returns diminish. Considering their previous forays into Indy car racing, Indianapolis and IndyCar must seem like unfinished business for the brand - maybe the last arena of motorsport (that fits the brand) Porsche has yet to conquer besides F1, which, as we all know, is wildly expensive.
 
Cool to see someone put a firm number out there instead of a range. I'd expect closer to $8M or $9M for a full-time drive in a Ganassi/Penske/Andretti car. Probably some economies of scale going on there with Andretti's loaded roster, but this seems cheaper than I imagined.



I have to say, big fan of the liveries unveiled this week as well. The Verizon car should always be black...not a fan of the chrome they've run the past few years.



 
That was fun for a few hours.

RACER has learned, however, that a decision, made around the Long Beach Grand Prix event, to forego an IndyCar engine program was delivered. Although there is adequate time for Porsche, or any other marque, to enter the 2021 season with a new motor, the owners of 17 overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are not currently expected to rejoin IndyCar, where it last raced in 1990.
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https://racer.com/2019/04/26/porsche-cooling-on-indycar-interest/

Not sure they can get another OEM to join for 2021 or 2022 unless they alter the new engine formula to have some sort of hybrid/electrification component. That seems to be the sticking point more often than not and the new rules are supposed to go through 2026, so that's a big commitment to something with only a twin-turbo engine.
 
I would like IndyCar to continue to follow the classic formula, but adding more "road relevancy" would help attract more manufacters. Its ridiculous because they should be a primary selling point for makers. NOT having to make a hybrid system should be good, but considering its inevitable... Man this ****** sucks, please some manufacter step up please... I'm really banking on Hyundai/Kia to make a move... Something needs to happen sooner than later.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
NASCAR found there was nothing sacred about a 43-car field. Maybe it's time the IRL reached the same conclusion about a 33-car field, especially for a single race. But we all know how I feel about doing something just because of tradition.
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Well NASCAR's ratings and attendance have been in freefall and they're just barely digging out on the TV aspect after going from 43 to 36-40 cars a race.

I'd be very careful to cut the Indy 500 field from 33.
 
gnomesayin said:
Power's black Verizon car does look very sharp. I'm questioning whether if that had been the norm, the silver would look good for a change too.
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I probably wouldn't mind if it were around for a few races. I was partial to the old black and white Verizon livery prior to that one though. The all-matte black is pretty stealthy.

Kiante said:
I would like IndyCar to continue to follow the classic formula, but adding more "road relevancy" would help attract more manufacters. Its ridiculous because they should be a primary selling point for makers. NOT having to make a hybrid system should be good, but considering its inevitable... Man this ******* sucks, please some manufacter step up please... I'm really banking on Hyundai/Kia to make a move... Something needs to happen sooner than later.
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My bet would be the 2021 (maybe moved to 2022) engine regulations are changed a bit to accomodate something more relevant to the road. With IMSA going to some sort of hybrid powertrain, with a likely off-the-shelf hybrid component, for DPi 2.0 in 2022 there's really no reason IndyCar shouldn't be doing the same. HPD, with their Acura brand, are already in support of the new hybrid DPi regs so I assume they would be welcoming of something like that in IndyCar. I don't remember seeing anything direct from GM on the Cadillac program but there seems to be a consensus that hybrid is the way to go in IMSA...I'd imagine they would also welcome a change in IndyCar. In hindsight, it's actually a little surprising they committed to another TTV6 through 2026.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
There are also three or four times as many WoO events as IndyCar.
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More than five times as many, making it a harder series to follow. I'm still glad for any prestigious marquee race that wouldn't succumb to locking teams in and closing off competition.

Charlie Spencer said:
NASCAR found there was nothing sacred about a 43-car field. Maybe it's time the IRL reached the same conclusion about a 33-car field, especially for a single race. But we all know how I feel about doing something just because of tradition.
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Well, to be blunt, NASCAR has no tradition that can match those of the Indianapolis 500. Still, are you suggesting they should expand the field? Because that's all that would happen given the current surplus of entries. I'm not as against that as most. I think fixating on 33 instead of the general tradition of true open qualification for the race is worrying about the trees and not the forest.
 
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gnomesayin said:
... Well, to be blunt, NASCAR has no tradition that can match those of the Indianapolis 500. Still, are you suggesting they should expand the field? Because that's all that would happen given the current surplus of entries. I'm not as against that as most. I think fixating on 33 instead of the general tradition of true open qualification for the race is worrying about the trees and not the forest.
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I'm not saying IMS should expand the field. I'm only saying there's nothing written in stone regarding 43, 33, or any other starting field size. Tradition alone is a questionable reason to continue doing something, especially if the last half-dozen are paid field-fillers, start-and-parks, etc.
 
I do like that NBC is just straight up referring to the 500 as the "biggest race of the year" in their promos, NASCAR partnership be damned. Whether it is or isn't, they are trying to make it so right now.
 
Allmendinger was a guest announcer for NBCSN on today's Supercross race, and he was fan-freaking-tastic. Even a lot of the motocross guys who hate NASCAR had to admit it. They should put him in the IndyCar booth if he'd do it. I'd say NASCAR, but being on that mess would ruin anyone.
 
I wasn't sure how this would play at the box office with the IMSA and IndyCar events being one week apart, but so far the track seems to be pleased. Camping selling out already and hospitality selling very well are probably the most important parts anyways.

Laguna encouraged by early IndyCar ticket sales
https://racer.com/2019/04/29/laguna-encouraged-by-early-indycar-ticket-sales/
 
FLRacingFan said:
I wasn't sure how this would play at the box office with the IMSA and IndyCar events being one week apart, but so far the track seems to be pleased. Camping selling out already and hospitality selling very well are probably the most important parts anyways.

Laguna encouraged by early IndyCar ticket sales
https://racer.com/2019/04/29/laguna-encouraged-by-early-indycar-ticket-sales/
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I love Laguna Seca, but Monterrey is just too damn out of the way from San Jose Airport and too many other racing events around that time of the year for me.
 
Rick f'ing Mears, everyone. :)
“I don’t know how many times we’ve discussed this – I’ve said it to you, said it to Jay, said it to anyone who’ll listen to an old guy who forgets things! – but to make a car that is demanding to drive well but also great to watch from trackside and on TV, you need to make sure it has more power than the driver can realistically get to the ground. That’s the best tool you can have as a driver, because it’s going to separate you from the guy who’s not so good.

“And then everything else naturally follows. Now you have a car that’s going to reward a driver’s speed, reflexes, and also his judgment with his right foot. The best guys are gonna learn how to apply the power right up to that point of not quite having the rear wheels spinning up and burning off tires over a stint. If we could only do away with the fuel-mixture switch, that would be another tool for the smarter drivers when it came to throttle control.

“So more power than grip is the way to go, and whether you do that by stripping away downforce or adding more horsepower – preferably both – that’s the direction to go in. IndyCar made one of those steps last year, because they took advantage of the fact that we were back to spec aero, so they cut downforce a lot and made the underside work harder.

“That helped the racing. Now they’re aiming for around 900hp with the 2.4-liter engines. OK, when they first come [in 2021], they’re not going to have that much, but they should have the potential for it within a couple of years. And that’s good.
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https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/...ndycar/4380196/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
 
gnomesayin said:
Rick f'ing Mears, everyone. :)


https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/...ndycar/4380196/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
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I agree with everything he said in that article.
A little nostalgia here. Picture I took in 1983 at Indy in backup car.
3OjSFrv.jpg
 
rd45usa said:
Marshall Pruett with more info on Porsche and other OEMs on entering Indycar: Porsche story (starts at 8m28s)
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-me6ze-afd26d
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I listened on the way home from work yesterday. For one, I'm surprised talks got as far along as they did despite hybrid pretty clearly not being a part of the initial regulations unveiled last year. The suggestion that it may also have been more of a Porsche North America program rather than something thought up over in Weissach or Stuttgart also is a little interesting - makes me wonder if the GTLM program might be going away and they want something else to do? Anyways, it's hard not to be discouraged by this, as it's pretty evident the regulations as they're written now probably aren't going to be a big appeal to OEMs. It makes me wonder if the series even took their ideas to market before they were published to get some feedback on how attractive they might be. I'd call it a stretch to say they get one to hop on board - makes me wonder what Chevy and Honda found so appealing about this as well. I guess neither is really terribly forward-thinking compared to a lot of the European marques to begin with.
 
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