Another Christmas is upon as eggnog is the drink of choice and there are enough cookies in my house for me to start a bakery. Presents have been wrapped for friends and family but it is now time to look at what those in and around motorsports should be asking for this Christmas.
Let's start with IndyCar:
A few more international races, preferably one in Australia and at least one in Europe and maybe an oval.
An opening weekend the weekend after the Super Bowl.
The courage to end the season in the middle of October.
With that said, at least three or four races to fill between Labor Day and the season finale (which would be at Fontana).
Independent aero kit manufactures such as ORECA, McLaren, Riley, heck even Penske or a few other IndyCar teams producing their own aero kits would do.
Stadium Super Tracks filling the bill pre-race at Texas, Fontana and Pocono.
For Formula One:
Cost-savings measures to save teams.
A YouTube channel to become a hub of content promoting the series, drivers and where fans can find streams of interviews from the press room.
Fan-friendly ticket packages so fans don't have to sacrifice an arm and a leg to go to a race.
For IndyCar and Formula One to share:
The ability to put aside their differences and run doubleheaders at Montreal and Austin the weekends of the Canadian and United States Grands Prix with IndyCar head lining Saturday and Formula One head lining Sunday.
For IndyCar and Super Formula to share:
Technical regulations that would allow teams to run in either series on any track with the same car and would hopefully form a partnership that would see 40-plus cars attempt the Indianapolis 500 as well as a return to Japan for IndyCar.
For NASCAR:
The ability to get attention for what occurs on track and not for the actions of drivers and crew members after a race in the garage or on the pit lane.
Having the stones to limit Cup drivers from moonlighting in the Grand National and Truck series.
For Formula E:
Three more races. One on the streets of Durban or Cape Town the first weekend of January to revive what Formula One did in the 1960s. At least one more race in December and one in February.
A team partnered with Tesla.
For IMSA:
A driver ranking system that doesn't screw drivers out of rides.
A better balance of performance.
A return to Mid-Ohio.
For FIA World Endurance Championship:
Better coverage in the United States.
A full-time factory Corvette GTE-Pro effort.
For MotoGP:
A return to Laguna Seca.
For Pirelli World Challenge:
A doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the weekend of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Now that we have handed out gifts to series as a whole; let's give some gifts out to individual drivers and personnel.
To Ed Carpenter: IndyCar races at Phoenix, Richmond, Michigan, New Hampshire and Darlington.
To Kevin Magnussen: A ride in IndyCar to fill his time as McLaren reserve driver with a McLaren aero kit on his car.
To Conor Daly: A paying ride. Any series will do.
To Alexander Rossi: A paying ride. Any series will do.
To Will Power: Penske giving him rides in the NASCAR Cup and Grand National Series road course races.
To Fernando Alonso: A ride in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes: A ride in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To André Lotterer: A fair shake at Formula One.
To A.J. Allmendinger: A shot at The Double.
To Brad Keselowski: Patience
To Motorsports fans from the United States: A GT3-endurance race. Let's make it 16 hours to be unique and it could be at any one of the many great tracks in this great country. Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas, Road America, Watkins Glen, which ever you want.
To Robby Gordon: An Indianapolis 500 one-off because he still has it.
To Michael Andretti: A team on the GP3 grid because he has teams in almost every other form of single-seater racing and Formula One is way too expensive and GP2 is expensive but not as expensive as Formula One and an Andretti Autosport GP3 team could provide opportunities for North American drivers with aspirations of making it to Formula One.
To Gene Haas: A liferaft because he is going to need it if his team ever does race in Formula One.
To NBCSN: A weekly show that covers all forms of motorsports except NASCAR because you already have a NASCAR-centric show.
To ESPN/ABC: A new color commentator to replace Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear. His name is Dario Franchitti. I think you will like him.
To A.J. Foyt and Brian Vickers: Full recovery from their recent surgeries and for Foyt to be back on the pit stand at every IndyCar race and for Vickers to be behind the wheel of a car for every NASCAR Cup race.
Most importantly I want to wish everyone a Happy and Merry Christmas. Enjoy these next few days with loved ones. Put all your motorsports interests aside for some quality time with family and friends. On Boxing Day, there will be a set of predictions for 2015 ready for you to read but until then step away from the computer, put down the video games and spend these next few days to make precious memories with those around you.
Merry Christmas from For the Love of Indy.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
