Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers will be despatched to mailbag@racer.com. We love listening to your feedback and opinions, however letters that embody a query usually tend to be revealed. Questions obtained after 3pm ET every Monday shall be saved for the next week.
Q: I observed whereas watching the 1990 and 1991 CART races that Al Unser Jr would run a vent off the cockpit right into a hose that went into his swimsuit. I assume that is for cooling. May this be a possibility immediately in IndyCar at the side of the helmet vent?
Tom Harleman, Carmel, IN
MARSHALL PRUETT: That’s what the brand new ducting atop the aeroscreen is supposed to do. From a rules standpoint, groups can’t do no matter they need, but when it’s an affordable request, I’d think about it could be entertained. On this occasion, there have been no guidelines to cease a staff from including vents to no matter was desired.
Q: Aaron Telitz deserves a shot at IndyCar. He dominated open-wheel within the Highway to Indy, defeating Kyle Kirkwood, Colton Herta, and the remainder. His downside was not expertise . It was price range. He’s persistently quickest in his IMSA seat. Somebody give him a chance!
Joe Weiss
MP: Sounds loads like our dialog in Milwaukee. Aaron gained the 2016 Professional Mazda championship, immediately’s Indy Professional 2000 sequence, however by no means competed towards Herta or Kirkwood that season. He didn’t dominate Colton within the first yr of Indy Lights they did collectively; Herta was Rookie of the Yr taking third whereas Telitz was sixth, and the following yr Colton was second behind Pato O’Ward. I’m an enormous fan of Aaron and rooted for him at each step, however let’s not make up a historical past that by no means occurred.
Aaron was a rocket within the Lexus for more often than not, however the staff didn’t really feel that was proven in 2023 so he was shifted to a part-time position final season. I hope he will get again to his finest kind and a full-time seat within the WeatherTech Championship. At 33, and having final raced an open-wheel automobile in 2019, I can’t discover an angle to recommend he deserves a shot in IndyCar earlier than a bunch of drivers who’re combating to get in or combating to get a shot.
Q: So, if you happen to go on the IndyCar app, as you scroll down there are driver biographies. So there I used to be, scrolling and clicking and simply studying all of them as a result of I’m a fan and revel in all the pieces about racing. If reminiscence serves me appropriately, the drivers are so as of how they completed within the factors. I acquired to the final driver, who’s Marco Andretti. His bio says he’s the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. I learn it quite a few occasions, pondering in some way they meant that he was the primary automobile to complete second, however nope, they make the declare that he’s actually the winner of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Somewhat ticky tack, however incorrect nonetheless. I’m unsure how you can get it corrected and provides the precise winner his recognition. Any solutions?
Deliver again the Cleveland Grand Prix.
Steve, Lorain OH
MP: Of all of the issues that may hold Sam Hornish awake at evening, idiocy in a bio on an app isn’t certainly one of them. And agreed, deliver again Cleveland!
Q: What would be the affect on IndyCar in 2026 and past as a consequence of the Honda/Nissan merger?
Gordon, Dallas
MP: Arduous to reply because it hasn’t occurred but. Want to attend for the merger to truly occur earlier than we are able to discuss what may or won’t change.
Ah, so now we all know what he does for the remainder of the yr. Sam Cobb/Motorsport Pictures
Q: Who would be the rookies within the 2025 IndyCar Collection?
Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY
MP: RLL’s Louis Foster, PREMA’s Robert Schwartzman, and probably one or two drivers from Dale Coyne.
Q: Within the 12/18 Mailbag anyone requested about utilizing the present Tremendous Components chassis as a foundation for the 2027 IndyCar, and the reply was no due to security.
Oval crashes are inherently going to be extra violent on common than street course crashes simply due to pace and wall proximity, however are they tougher to the purpose that IndyCar wants a massively completely different chassis? Lately, Tremendous Components had a crash at 130R at Suzuka, and F1 had a number of crashes that had been reported at +50G drive this yr.
Does the FIA, Dallara, IndyCar, or anyone else hold a database of crash information that will be helpful for evaluating the affect/violence between sequence?
Will, Indy
MP: Sure to all three. As IndyCar is its personal sanctioning physique, it wouldn’t report its findings to the FIA. However within the case of our crashes, IndyCar, it’s security staff, and Dallara descend on broken automobiles as soon as the automobiles are returned to their garages or transporters and ADRs — accident information recorders — get downloaded, which offer forces and speeds and different information. In addition they take photographs of the crashed automobile and numerous bits to doc the injury and draw insights that go into their studies.
Q: I do know everybody hates Components E (besides, in fact, the followers who’re making the sequence develop yearly ) however their automobile does look extra twenty first century than an IndyCar. Do you suppose a brand new automobile that took styling cues from FE and as bonus made much less downforce whereas on the similar time making a variety of noise and burning copious quantities of fossil gas would make any sense?
Pete, Tucson
MP: It’s potential, however why would IndyCar have to make their automobile look something like what’s present in one other sequence? That’s by no means been the case. In case your favourite band hadn’t put out new music in a decade, would you need them to return with songs that sound like no matter immediately’s pattern occurs to be, or with an up to date model of their signature sound? I’ll go together with the latter.
Additionally, there’s a fallacy about lowering downforce equates to creating higher racing. Avoiding an extreme quantity of downforce is an effective factor, however if you happen to slash downforce, you get drivers who aren’t capable of be aggressive with the throttle aside from within the slower corners.
