Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers might be despatched to mailbag@racer.com. We love listening to your feedback and opinions, however letters that embrace a query usually tend to be printed. Questions obtained after 3pm ET every Monday might be saved for the next week.
Q: Why did Sebastien Bourdais not signal with Meyer Shank for IMSA like his Cadillac teammate Renger van der Zande? Was he signed elsewhere in the beginning was finalized with Acura? Was there just one seat? Politics of racing?
Kim
MARSHALL PRUETT: Seb was retained by GM/Cadillac to race within the WEC. He and Renger went to/stayed the place they had been wished most.
Q: I’ve been finding out this 12 months’s oval races and have a number of observations.
After a number of years of oval domination, Josef Newgarden had a tricky time this 12 months. Whereas he did win the Indy 500 and the race at WWTR, his different oval outcomes needed to be disappointing to him after the dominance of the earlier years.
In the meantime, his Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin established himself as a drive to be reckoned with on ovals. Scott had two wins a second and a 3rd, certified on the pole 4 occasions and second twice. He led by far essentially the most oval laps at 554, greater than double that of second-placed Will Energy with 240 and nearly one third of the entire oval laps (1666).
Group Penske continued its oval domination. The three drivers led a complete of 895 of the 1666 laps, or 53.7%. They led extra laps than all the opposite groups mixed. As well as, the workforce had a document of 5 wins, two seconds and three thirds from the seven oval races. In addition they had 5 poles and 5 different entrance row begins, together with a whole shutout of the entrance row on the Indy 500.
Regardless of this dominance they didn’t win the championship, which helps the notion that one of the best all-around workforce that finishes nicely in all disciplines would be the doubtless champion, as seen by Alex Palou’s third title in solely 4 years with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Lastly, I’ve to present an enormous shoutout to Colton Herta. After 5 years of disappointing oval outcomes, a fourth, two fifths and two sixths, he certified nicely in 2024 and received a win and a 3rd. Maybe these oval performances will proceed and put him within the higher echelon of title contenders.
I can’t wait till subsequent 12 months to see how issues unfold. Regardless of the doom and gloom championed by lots of the Mailbag readers, IndyCar is one of the best racing on the planet.
Doug Mayer
MP: Agreed, Doug. Regardless of its many issues and shortcoming, most of these gadgets don’t detract from the on-track product. Necessary 12 months forward for Penske. Its driver trio is just wonderful. Full cease. It’s the streaky nature of their amazingness that has stored them arising simply shy within the championship runs since 2020 whereas Ganassi’ has taken 4 of the final 5.
McLaughlin seems poised to have a breakthrough in that regard. He doesn’t must hit residence runs in each race. A few dingers and a gentle food regimen of doubles and triples will make him an IndyCar champion; it’s the precise components Palou has used to stifle Penske’s gaudy stats.
The 2025 grid isn’t even full but, however you’ll be able to already depend McLaughlin among the many title contenders. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Photos
Q: With Roger Penske shopping for GPLBA and the unique proper to stage races at Lengthy Seashore till 2028, is Inexperienced Savoree subsequent firm he’s pondering of shopping for? They personal 4 tracks, and three of them want far more consideration and funding. The St Pete GP is just one that appears OK, but it surely nonetheless might use having the IMSA WeatherTech Collection added on to make it a correct big-time occasion – an east coast Lengthy Seashore.
I do hope Roger doesn’t mess what Jim Michaelian and his workforce have executed for LBGP for 50 years. If something they want few extra TV screens, higher audio system and a greater reserving agent to draw higher acts, particularly for a metropolis like Lengthy Seashore that has nice native unique music scene.
The opposite foremost query is, can Roger persuade the Lengthy Seashore council to re-up the following contract? Or Will Liberty Media with Chris Pook or NASCAR bid for the following contract?
Dale Gribble, Arlen, TX
MP: Inexperienced Savoree would have to be on the market for that to occur. Forsythe was all in favour of promoting to the best purchaser. I miss the times of St. Pete being an IndyCar/ALMS occasion. Penske’s monitor document is one among taking management of or beginning occasions and investing or making vital enhancements, and if I’m the town council, that’s one thing to financial institution on.
Q: I can’t say sufficient how completely happy I’m to see the present constructive vibe of sportscar racing each in IMSA and WEC. That is all due to permitting LMDH and Hypercar options to be out there for potential producers to make the most of! GTP might be all of the richer for it, and my yearly Rolex 24 journey since 2016 might be much more thrilling with Aston Martin’s beautiful Valkyrie becoming a member of the lineup of superior machines from the present OEMs.
Individuals argue about what resolution is healthier, however each are wonderful. With LMDH, huge makes like GM, Porsche or Honda can get entangled utilizing their powertrain tech and design language in addition to different tips of the commerce growing a automobile that may be very a lot their very own with out having to start out from scratch with a customized monocoque and different bespoke elements.
For Hypercar, a big producer that desires to construct from scratch and take up the duty of growing every part for the problem, or to supply a automobile out there for buy equivalent to Toyota or Ferrari, can accomplish that too. What’s extra, a smaller producer that doesn’t make its personal engines can nonetheless construct their very own automobile and characterize themselves accordingly, like Glickenhaus did.
This logical method has given us so many cool automobiles to get pleasure from on monitor and wonderful racing. I hope this momentum continues to hold on. Despite the fact that it’s years away, the hydrogen idea racecars Alpine, Hyundai, and Toyota have proven off have me feeling constructive concerning the future for sportscar racing! Cheers to that and a little bit of positivity for the Mailbag.
Derrick Fonseca
MP: There’s no actual debate to have; each formulation are wonderful and supply producers with the choice that most closely fits their needs and monetary capabilities. I don’t know what to do with all of this Mailbag heat and kindness!
