Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.
Q: So much is made of IndyCar driver and sponsor moves. Can you do a piece or expound here on some of the silly season related to the engineering side? With a spec series and so many years with this chassis, we know engineers can make a huge difference. Of course the relationship between the driver and engineer, along with the overall chemistry and philosophy of the team, can make some engineers look like rock stars while others who thrived in one setting suddenly struggle at others.
What is lacking at RLL to make the engineering side gel together or make a difference? I know in this series if you miss it badly one year you are going to really be on your back foot for at least two years playing catch-up while everybody pulls away. Also, who are the junior engineers or Indy NXT engineers ready for that promotion that will make a difference?
Doug Elmore
MP: Think of the car and driver like the quarterback and football, and the race engineer as the head coach and offensive coordinator calling the plays.
We went into depth on what RLL needs in all areas in the last two Mailbags — if you missed them, they’re here and here.
The next assistant or performance race engineer to get the bump to race engineer is Kate Gundlach at Arrow McLaren. NXT race engineers have too much to learn in their first IndyCar seasons to be hailed as difference-makers in waiting. One who made the transition who has impressed me is Andretti’s Ron Barhorst, who was moved up to Devlin DeFrancesco’s IndyCar program in 2023 and over to Meyer Shank Racing in 2024.
Arrow McLaren’s Gundlach is next in line for a pit stand promotion. Joe Skibinski/IMS Photo
Q: Since it’s a long off-season, here are some of my bold predictions:
PREMA convinces Roger Penske to sell them three charters. We already know that Callum Ilott has a well-deserved seat. The other two will be filled by Danny Riccardo and Logan Sargeant, who will both be paid $7 million each and not run ovals.
N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy announces the return of the Marlboro Grand Prix of the Meadowlands in 2027, despite a ban on tobacco advertising and the fact that the area is nothing like it was in 1988. The race will erroneously be advertised as happening in New York City. Drivers’ social media explodes with trips to the American Dream Mall, its indoor ski slope, and water park. Regular mall-goers will exclaim “Pato who?” Bruce Springsteen will be the grand marshal. N.J. native and former Atlantic driver Frankie Muniz gives the command to start engines.
Every oval track IndyCar has ever run on wants back on the calendar. For free. Yes, including Trenton.
FOX announces Greg Gutfeld will be IndyCar color commentator.
Alexander Rossi joins FOX in the booth, though his career is brought to a quick end by pummeling Gutfeld on a live broadcast.
Paul Tracy replaces Rossi and the booth becomes a lovefest for the rest of the season.
Santino Ferrucci becomes Penske Perfect, shaves every day and maintains a buzz cut.
Zak Brown suggests that Dallara create a modern Champ Car DP-01 to replace the current car. Every single driver loudly and forcefully endorses this. In response, Roger tells Scotty Mac no golf for two weeks. Will Power gets docked 10 championship points. Josef Newgarden takes full responsibility for the entire field’s reaction, including those of Sebastien Bourdais, Nelson Philippe and Bruno Junqueira.
Dale Coyne Racing partners with OpenAI and has ChatGPT create two drivers who don’t need salaries: Elf and Sonny. Elf freaks out at its first oval practice and is replaced by Katherine Legge on ovals, which makes switching the livery easy.
Ryan Eversley and Sean Heckman interview Roger for Dinner with Racers. Penske Entertainment bans its release. Sean says many unrepeatable words and never eats another chicken sandwich.
L’il Dave Malukas learns from last off-season’s mistakes and doesn’t exercise at all. A.J. Foyt endorses his decision. A few people at St. Pete call him L’il Bigger Dave.
Ed, Jersey
MP: I can confirm nine of the 11 as being true. Also:
Roger actually merged his outfit with theirs. Welcome, Team PREMA.
The return of the Meadowlands GP will also feature the return of New York’s Dennis Vitolo, who will try to set a record by vaulting over the back of every car.
After the checkered flag waves at The Thermal Club, IndyCar will drive southwest to the former site of the El Cajon Speedway and hold a non-points oval race on the 0.375-mile bullring.
That being Gutfeld with co-host Titus. San Mateo, California’s most famous son: Tom Brady. Second on the list: Dennis Haysbert. Third on the list: Gutfeld. No. 9,453,103: Yours Truly.
Rossi does seem like there’s been a big outburst brewing for at least a decade, right? If he retires without throwing a proper wobbly, his entire career will have been in vain.
PT also replaces Gutfeld on his own FOX show, which is renamed I WUZ HACKED with the Thrill from West Hill. It lasts one episode.
Ferrucci also adds to his sleeve of tattoos by going full Post Malone and becomes the first Penske driver with face and neck tattoos, Penske threatens to fire him, Ferrucci counters with a wager that if he wins the Indy 500, he gets a lifetime contract, keeps the tats, and Roger has to get a “Santucchi” tattoo on his forehead. Ferrucci hires former teammate Sting Ray Robb to engage all of his followers on PRAY.com to ask the Lord to let him win.
Speedy Dan Clarke, Andrew Ranger, and Cedric the Entertainer, former co-owner of the unfortunately-named CTE Racing Champ Car team, blast Newgarden as being fake.
Coyne goes one step further, hiring Sonny Hayes to drive, then learns he’s actually hired an in-character Brad Pitt, who contests the full season. IndyCar’s popularity triples.
Upset by the blunt nature of the questions, Penske gets loud and abruptly ends the interview, then tries to get DwR’s partners to drop Heckman and Eversley. Having failed, he buys the property, renames it Dinner with Roger, but it takes years for anything new or original to be produced. Longtime DwR fans ask if it would have been better to leave Heckman and Eversley in charge and implore him to sell the beloved show to Liberty Media.
Malukas is eventually banned from dining at Charlie Browns after his new nickname is replaced with Lil Chungus.
