Indycar News & Rumors.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Teretonga

2.5 hours? I have three tracks within two hours of my home, one is 50 minutes, one and hour 40min, the other is two hours away. A fourth is 4 hours away. Shortest is 1.7 miles. The others between 2 to 3 miles long, two up to FIA grade 2.

Okay. So it's a good thing?

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Okay. So it's a good thing?

I don't think it's a bad thing unless they deliberately step on each other's toes.
If they schedule competing events close together that is stupid.
If they are wise and space events out being cognizant that their schedules should be complimentary of each other's events that will be a strength for the sport in the region.
Example: You wouldn't run two pro events on consecutive weekends like an IMSA evert at one track and an Indycar event at the other circuit a week apart, nor two Indycar or IMSA events on consecutive weekends, one at each track.
You would rather have one track earlier in the season and the other some months later.

[broadrun96]

Or you have Laguna who multiple times ran back to back at their own track for IMSA and Indy

And keep in mind the track overview has at least 5 layouts in the there

[bjohnsonsmith]

NTT are leaving Chip Ganassi Racing for Arrows McLaren SP. As the Racer article says, it is believed Alex Palou was to have been included in the original plan.

https://racer.com/2022/11/01/cgr-no-...ntt-departure/

NTT DATA will be sponsoring the No. 6 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, driven by Felix Rosenqvist. When Rosenqvist drove for Chip Ganassi Racing, his car was sponsored by NTT DATA. He joined AMSP for the 2021 season.

More here.

https://www.indycar.com/news/2022/11/11-1-ntt-amsp

[joeb]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

NTT are leaving Chip Ganassi Racing for Arrows McLaren SP. As the Racer article says, it is believed Alex Palou was to have been included in the original plan.

https://racer.com/2022/11/01/cgr-no-...ntt-departure/

NTT DATA will be sponsoring the No. 6 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, driven by Felix Rosenqvist. When Rosenqvist drove for Chip Ganassi Racing, his car was sponsored by NTT DATA. He joined AMSP for the 2021 season.

More here.

https://www.indycar.com/news/2022/11/11-1-ntt-amsp

I get the feeling the management teams at McLaren and Ganassi won't be exchanging Christmas cards for some time.

[broadrun96]

I think a couple crew members also left Ganassi for AMSP as well. Hire good people and half your work is done, although I notice few ever get hired away from Penske

[bjohnsonsmith]

History was made on Sunday, when Team Penske became the first team to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season.


https://www.indycar.com/news/2022/11...-penske-double

[bjohnsonsmith]

Renovation work has started at Laguna Seca and about time.



https://racer.com/2022/11/09/laguna-...h-anniversary/

[joeb]

Some safety upgrades for the coming season to the front of the Dallara

https://racer.com/2022/11/28/indycar...uator-in-2023/

[broadrun96]

That's only the front for Jimmie sir

[broadrun96]

Well it appears having 4 touring concerts in one weekend might have been as expensive as you would think.

https://racer.com/2022/11/30/pruett-...assive-gamble/

Iowa pricing up to triple and kids aren't free any more. Expect empty seats galore at Iowa in 2023

[joeb]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Well it appears having 4 touring concerts in one weekend might have been as expensive as you would think.

https://racer.com/2022/11/30/pruett-...assive-gamble/

Iowa pricing up to triple and kids aren't free any more. Expect empty seats galore at Iowa in 2023

At least for the race, not for the concert!

but this is the real issue i guess, instead of having other activities at a race weekend, they now have a race at a concert festival weekend?

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by joeb

At least for the race, not for the concert!

but this is the real issue i guess, instead of having other activities at a race weekend, they now have a race at a concert festival weekend?

Bingo. There are a HELL of a lot of fans who would pay $hundreds to see either Ed Sheeran or Kenny Chesney play for 90 minutes, or even Carrie Underwood or the Zac Brown Band for an hour. These prices may seem stupid high for a racing event but like it or not, compared to current concert ticket prices they're a bargain for that amount of star power on stage. Depending where you get to watch from, I guess.

Is this a good thing? Er... jury's out I think. I bet there are not an insignificant number of people who will pay the $ for the concerts and ignore the racing entirely. Does that help the series? Um... who knows?

[TheMightyM]

Big bombshell today: IndyCar is abandoning plans to go to a 2.4L engine in 2024 and will stick with the existing engines for the foreseeable future.

Racer news story here, A key quote:

Although IndyCar did not provide a reason for the parking of its new engine formula, RACER has learned one of the primary areas involved the extreme costs of developing the new internal combustion engines, coupled with a new and unanticipated need to help the series redevelop and mass-produce the ERS units, left both brands with the budget to support one or the other, but not both.

Analysis, from Marshall Pruett is available here. Lots to digest, but another issue is the inability to find a third engine manufacturer. The existing engines are money-losers for Chevy and Honda; the new engines will cost them more, so they're only (initially?) willing to supply engines for fewer cars.

[broadrun96]

Well and they're funding the hybrid and development not Indy. It's either hybrid or new engines, and hybrid is far cheaper.

And it sounds more and more like neither manufacturer wants to continue losing money on Indy at the rate they are. Any bets on Chevy being the we only want to support 8 cars. Hell they haven't even built up the engine yet, HPD at least had one to test a bit