2020 IndyCar Miscellaneous

FLRacingFan said:
One foot up on the death bed. Huge loss of money for the series and the Speedway. Probably would’ve folded entirely if the Hulman-George family were still in charge, so there’s that at least.

It’s the right call though.
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No it's not.
 
According to Robin Miller, this was Roger's decision. I personally don't understand the backtracking, the speedway just released its 88 page plan a few days ago. It seemed like local government was content and the plan seemed to me to be pretty aggressive as far as Covid precautions go. If NASCAR can have fans, im really surprised the 500 isn't going to.

racer.com

"It killed us, but it was the right thing to do" – Penske

Roger Penske said it was one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to make. “It’s certainly at the top,” said the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to RACER on Tues…
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Full disclosure, I live in Indiana and had tickets to go. So I'm probably too close to the situation to be objective.
 
Look, we have been lied to so many times by just about everyone that there is no way to know what is really going on. I think the media has had a field day generating hysteria, but we're still playing it careful here. The consequences of getting it wrong are too heavy. Maybe that's Roger's take too.

Sure, we're all disappointed that the 500 didn't run in May. We're all disappointed this year's race won't have the same buzz. However, with hundreds of thousands of people dying, and raping, rioting, looting, burning and murdering going on in the streets every day, the 500 isn't at the top of the list of concerning things. The whole country is pretty much getting it's ass kicked, so I'm willing to trust Roger, and don't have a choice anyway.

In the big context, it's just one race. Either live or on TV, I've seen 55 Indianapolis 500s, so if one of them runs without spectators it's not going to make much difference to me. I'm still going to get to see the Indy 500, as well as the rest of you will. For you young guys who want to attend, it's just one race you're going to miss out of a whole lifetime.

Seems like a big deal now, but ask yourself how much difference it's going to make next May? Hell, that's only 9 months away! We get two 500s in 9 month's time! Sounds like a good deal to me.

The legacy of the 500 isn't going to be tarnished and the traditions are going to be destroyed. Remember, the 500 didn't run during either world war. It's never before run in August. It hasn't always run on memorial day, or even the Sunday before. There hadn't been a red flag before 1964, or a rain postponement until 1967. It wasn't even on TV until 1965, or even on live TV until 1986, and then it was a full week later because of a rainout. Hell, we didn't even have any women until 1977. Point is, all we think would always be the same with the 500 is always changing. I think the best way to stay happy is change along with it.

About the season in general, I'm not disappointed at all. By the time we are done, we will have had three races at Indianapolis, and double headers at Road America, Iowa and Gateway. The races we aren't having this year weren't my favorites anyway, and the way everyone's schedule is condensed we're having F1, IndyCar, and IMSA almost every weekend. Add to that Nascar running mid week events, the races are coming so hard and fast that I can hardly watch all of them.

It's actually not a bad time to be a race fan.
 
Tim_Richmond_Fan said:
According to Robin Miller, this was Roger's decision. I personally don't understand the backtracking, the speedway just released its 88 page plan a few days ago. It seemed like local government was content and the plan seemed to me to be pretty aggressive as far as Covid precautions go. If NASCAR can have fans, im really surprised the 500 isn't going to.

racer.com

"It killed us, but it was the right thing to do" – Penske

Roger Penske said it was one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to make. “It’s certainly at the top,” said the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to RACER on Tues…
racer.com racer.com

Full disclosure, I live in Indiana and had tickets to go. So I'm probably too close to the situation to be objective.
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Seems like the metrics in Indiana and Marion County weren’t trending the way they wanted to and another attendance cut after going to 50% and then 25% probably wasn’t feasible. Probably didn’t want to rework the whole ticket allocation again if they still had 70,000 people committed when they dropped to 25%.
 
This is a warning shot from Honda IMO. They are willing to help another manufacturer, which is all well and good. However, this shows how much of a crunch this really is atm to back all of these teams. IndyCar needs another manufacturer sooner than later, I just wonder outside of the Ferrari rumors is there anyone else who really wants to do this? Plenty of manufacturers who would be interested, but everything has to align before making this move.

I really, really would like to see another auto-maker no matter the brand.

racer.com

Honda would offer tech help to a third IndyCar engine manufacturer

Honda and its racing department at Honda Performance Development are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to help the NTT IndyCar Series secure a new engine supplier. With IndyCar’s planned shift…
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Kiante said:
This is a warning shot from Honda IMO. They are willing to help another manufacturer, which is all well and good. However, this shows how much of a crunch this really is atm to back all of these teams. IndyCar needs another manufacturer sooner than later, I just wonder outside of the Ferrari rumors is there anyone else who really wants to do this? Plenty of manufacturers who would be interested, but everything has to align before making this move.

I really, really would like to see another auto-maker no matter the brand.

racer.com

Honda would offer tech help to a third IndyCar engine manufacturer

Honda and its racing department at Honda Performance Development are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to help the NTT IndyCar Series secure a new engine supplier. With IndyCar’s planned shift…
racer.com racer.com
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Second time in a few weeks they’ve gone public about the engines and all. A couple of weeks ago they said they have a running prototype of the next ICE and want them to debut in 2022 as a full package with the hybrid, no multi-phase introduction process. No more delays.

Doubt anyone else is really interested though. Especially right now.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Second time in a few weeks they’ve gone public about the engines and all. A couple of weeks ago they said they have a running prototype of the next ICE and want them to debut in 2022 as a full package with the hybrid, no multi-phase introduction process. No more delays.

Doubt anyone else is really interested though. Especially right now.
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I don't blame them, I still think they need to aim for Hyundai/Kia.

The fandom of the brand has grown and I think it would be a hit for IndyCar.

Honda's patience is growing thin though, I wonder if Penske and Miles are going to just do one major release and not slowly release components? I'm with Honda though, go ahead and put everything out on the table instead of nickel and diming it.
 
Kiante said:
I don't blame them, I still think they need to aim for Hyundai/Kia.

The fandom of the brand has grown and I think it would be a hit for IndyCar.

Honda's patience is growing thin though, I wonder if Penske and Miles are going to just do one major release and not slowly release components? I'm with Honda though, go ahead and put everything out on the table instead of nickel and diming it.
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The new engine is supposed to have the same mounting points as the current so I think they can find a way to introduce the power unit separate from a new chassis. I’ve read they’re considering introducing chassis upgrades on a year-to-year basis but I really don’t know the viability of that. Honda obviously want to get on with it and I can’t blame them. The current engines were never supposed to last this long.

A lot of the timing on this has been unfortunate though. Remember when Porsche were interested but wanted a hybrid component and Indy didn’t have plans for that at the time? Then Porsche moved on, Indy re-wrote the rules and began looking again, Ferrari expressed interest and a global pandemic hit, all while IMSA and WEC introduced their own own cost-friendly hybrid regulations that Indy probably is competing against now. The market is brutal right now. Even NASCAR is looking to go hybrid and lower cost.
 
Purse money for the Indy 500 has been halved.
racer.com

Indy 500 purse halved as pandemic forces austerity

In a shocking but understandable head slap of reality, the 2020 Indianapolis 500 purse has been cut in half. Roger Penske told the car owners earlier this week that instead of $15 million, the Aug.…
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Charlie Spencer said:
I tripped over an article a couple of days ago that running F1 is eating Ferrari's shorts to the tune of the high 8 figures this year. Sorry, I can't remember where.
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Years ago, Sauber principle Monisha Kaltenborn said it cost $95 million per car to run a season of F1. That was back when Sauber couldn't even score any points at all. If it costs $95 mil to run at the back, imagine what it costs to win!

The budget cap is a good idea, but you know everyone is going to cheat it, and the big teams will cheat it even more than the little ones.
 
DragonSpeed is back for the 500:
racer.com

DragonSpeed confirms Indy 500 entry

The No. 81 DragonSpeed Chevy will complete the Indianapolis 500’s legendary field of 33. The team owned by former open-wheel and sports car driver Elton Julian completed the deal after a late rally…
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That makes 33 entries for the 500.
 
Kiante said:
DragonSpeed is back for the 500:
racer.com

DragonSpeed confirms Indy 500 entry

The No. 81 DragonSpeed Chevy will complete the Indianapolis 500’s legendary field of 33. The team owned by former open-wheel and sports car driver Elton Julian completed the deal after a late rally…
racer.com racer.com
That makes 33 entries for the 500.
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I wonder if they will cancel the last row shootout if there aren't any more entries.
 
Snappy D said:
Holy wow never thought I’d see this
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Makes sense. COTA’s probably gonna die sooner rather than later and Indy is still the only other Grade 1 track in the U.S.

I think this fits into the second Indy GP event Roger wants. The first keeps it May date leading into the 500 activities, the second joins the F1 US GP bill on a summer date.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Makes sense. COTA’s probably gonna die sooner rather than later and Indy is still the only other Grade 1 track in the U.S.

I think this fits into the second Indy GP event Roger wants. The first keeps it May date leading into the 500 activities, the second joins the F1 US GP bill on a summer date.
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Tbh I don't want to see COTA rot away, it would be a shame to see it just go away like that. The track still has plenty to offer and I hope it stays around. I do like watching WEC going around the track and IndyCar put on a solid show there.
 
Snappy D said:
Would they be racing at NASHVILLE Super Speedway?
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I think they wanted a street course around Nashville.

That would be a badass doubleheader, but would require a lot of work in terms of logistics if they do a road course one day and move to the oval the next.

Here is the original tweet @Snappy D :
 
Kiante said:
Tbh I don't want to see COTA rot away, it would be a shame to see it just go away like that. The track still has plenty to offer and I hope it stays around. I do like watching WEC going around the track and IndyCar put on a solid show there.
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Not a bad track, just not very well off financially. They lost everything this year, lost over $20M for missing the human trafficking plan filing deadline a couple of years ago, not a big racing area, generally poor attendance outside of F1 and MotoGP. It’s a shame because some series do manage to put on a good show there.
 
I hope this is appropriate to post here.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We sat down with some <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indy500?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#Indy500</a> winners.<br><br>We didn&#39;t ask any questions. We simply played video of their victories. <a href="https://twitter.com/IMS?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@IMS</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/IndyCar?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@IndyCar</a> // August 23 on NBC <a href="https://t.co/yhGwt2Uj8v">pic.twitter.com/yhGwt2Uj8v</a></p>&mdash; IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) <a href="">August 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Helio was on a mission at the Road America IMSA race. From the moves he was making it's obvious he still has the skill and drive. I think Roger probably see that too and my guess will either have or arrange something for Helio as long as he wants to continue. If nothing else he will probably have a place in the team alongside Mears.

Lost in all of this is what's going to happen with Montoya? He's out of a job too, but there's no talk at all about his plans, not even rumors. Hell, no one is even talking about it at all. Juan turned down a few Indy rides so he could stay with Penske in IMSA, but that's gone now. He's free to make a deal. In fact, Penske told them both to explore their options. Not impossible to believe he's talked to Chip a time or two.
 
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