Scott Dixon ran the second fastest Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt ever and the fastest Indianapolis 500 pole position qualifying average ever. Jimmie Johnson was respectable. Andretti Autosport is all over the place. Stefan Wilson never completed a qualifying run. Penske is bailing on the World Endurance Championship after Le Mans. Elsewhere, people still do not like Texas Motor Speedway, and NASCAR made another moronic officiating decision. Portugal was popping with great finishes. It was hot in Barcelona and mechanical failures have snuck into the Italian camp. NOLA Motorsports Park had another flooded weekend. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Improving Indianapolis 500 Supply Chain
Only 33 cars entered this year's Indianapolis 500, and it was a circus getting the 33rd materialized.
There were a litany of reasons why the 33rd entry took as long as it did to organize. For starters, funding; some had it but didn't have a car or engine program. Some didn't have it but had a chassis. Some teams had a chassis but weren't going to loan them out. Some weren't able to get an engine as Honda was near capacity quickly. The other issue was teams and available crew members. Every organization is stretched and there aren't as many available crew members as in the past.
We finally got the 33rd car, a Cusick Motorsports funded program with driver Stefan Wilson, thanks to DragonSpeed stepping up to man a car, which A.J. Foyt Racing provided, while an arrangement of equipment is coming from Andretti Autosport, Juncos Hollinger Racing and Team Penske. The entry should be called the "Spirit of IndyCar." If it wins, half the grid will get to claim a piece of it.
This is the 11th year with the DW12 chassis, and we are still having 2013 problems. Chassis are still hard to come by. This isn't like the previous chassis where you could turn around and find a half-dozen hiding behind a stack of newspapers. We got nearly ten years in on the Dallara IR05/IR07 chassis and teams were coming out of the woodwork. There were 40 entries for the 2011 Indianapolis 500. During that 2011 season there were one-off entries on a regular basis, partially because of the number of chassis available and that it was a lame-duck car. Teams ran it while they could.
The DW12 chassis is not dead, at least not yet, but we are coming to the final days of this chassis. When is it replaced? It is going to be sooner rather than later. Originally, IndyCar hoped to have the new chassis and engine formula for 2021. It is 2022 and neither are here. We are thinking 2024 is when the new hybrid engine package will debut. Teams have been testing the new package. It is still undecided whether or not the new engine and new chassis will debut simultaneously or at least a year apart.
It was initially thought IndyCar would extend the life of the DW12 chassis for the first season or two of the new engine formula and retrofit it to the current chassis. The belief was it would spread the cost around and instead of teams having to adapt to new engines and new chassis at once, they could spend on the engines and get a break before having purchase the new chassis.
Some believe the engine and chassis should be introduced in tandem. Whether the teams are spending money to adapt the new engines to the DW12 or purchasing the next generation of chassis, they are still spending money.
When the DW12 chassis was first introduced there were a few lean years. It wasn't possible to have 35 or 36 Indianapolis 500 entries. They were scraping to get 33 entries like we are today except there was a limit on chassis and spare parts then. Today, the limit is more about control. Either way, it isn't as simple as previous years to run a one-off program. See everything it took to get the DragonSpeed/Cusick program off the ground.
The same issues IndyCar had at the beginning of the DW12-era will repeat with this new car and in turn we will struggle to find 33 entries come the month of May.
However, if IndyCar is going to retrofit the DW12 chassis for the hybrid engine, to alleviate the supply chain issues when the new chassis is available, it would make sense for the DW12 chassis to be grandfathered for a few years for the Indianapolis 500. If the cars are going to be converted to take the new engines then they mind as well be available for one-off programs for multiple years down the line.
These chassis are getting older, but the DW12 has been a safe car. The one complaint with the DW12 hasn't been the car is getting less safe. It is safer than ever, especially with the aeroscreen, and as we saw in qualifying this past weekend, it is faster than ever. It is unlikely the DW12 will be unable to keep up with the new car. It might not win pole position, but it could make the field and possibly be a contender in the right pair of hands.
IndyCar has been smart the last few years under Jay Frye's leadership, and while it is still struggling to make the move to its next generation of car, I have confidence it will make the right decisions, but when it comes to Indianapolis it should be a little more open and make it easier for one-off programs. With the new car, there will still be 24 of them or more. The Leader Circle entrants would likely be required to run those. There will be one-offs that will want the new car, but there will likely also be some programs that would take the DW12, believe they can make the field and have a competitive race.
Indianapolis was known for the underdog taking an older machine and making the race against the odds. Grandfathering the DW12 chassis might not mean 50 or 60 entries, but it should make it easier to get to 33 and make it more likely we would see 36 or 37 or maybe even 40 entries. It could open the door to teams that otherwise wouldn't consider it.
The Indianapolis 500 hasn't had an issue with interest. For the last decade it has felt like on a regular basis we have had 36 to 40 drivers a year saying they were working on something for Indianapolis but not everyone could get a ride. This year alone we had Paretta Autosport sidelined due to a combination of issues. Allowing the DW12 to run with the new chassis wouldn't solve every problem for one-off entries, but it would at least take care of one key area.
Thinking about where IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 stands in 2022, it must accentuate what makes its standout. Bumping is a dramatic difference IndyCar has from basically every series in existence today. Formula One doesn't have cars miss the race. Everyone races at Le Mans. No one misses a NASCAR Cup race anymore. NASCAR hasn't been sending five cars or more home at each race for a while. The Daytona 500 might have three or four cars miss, but 36 cars are locked in. You had six guys competing for four spots this year.
No one is locked in for Indianapolis.
Each year there is bumping, someone unexpected in the mix. James Hinchcliffe and Fernando Alonso each missed the race. Will Power made it by the skin of his teeth. IndyCar needs bumping to build up the Indianapolis 500.
It is the wrinkle to IndyCar's major event, but IndyCar isn't big enough to consistently ensure bumping. Since the introduction of the DW12 chassis, we have brief periods of bumping and then periods of no bumping. IndyCar must embrace this aspect of the Indianapolis 500. If allowing the DW12 chassis to run for a few extra years means more one-offs and more underdog stories, IndyCar shouldn't hesitate in attempting to increase competition.
After the difficulties teams have been going through this year and considering what it was like in the early days of the DW12 chassis, it would be smart of IndyCar to make sure there are plenty of cars available for the month of May for the better of the series and for the better of its most important race.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Scott Dixon, but did you know...
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, his third consecutive victory and fourth victory of the season.
Felipe Drugovich swept the Formula Two races from Barcelona. David Vidales and Victor Martins split the Formula Three races.
Ryan Blaney wn the NASCAR All-Star Race from Texas. Tyler Reddick won the Grand National Series race, his first victory in the series since 2019. Stewart Friesen won the Truck race, his first victory since 2019.
Sheldon van der Linde swept the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Lausitzring.
Cameron Waters won the bookend Supercars races from Winton Motor Raceway while Shane van Gisbergen won the middle race.
Álvaro Bautista won the first World Superbike race from Estoril while Jonathan Rea won the second two races. Dominique Aergerter swept the World Supersport races and now has five consecutive victories.
Kalle Rovanperä won Rally de Portugal, his third consecutive victory.
Ryō Hirakawa won the Super Formula race from Autopolis, his second victory of the season.
The #1 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta swept the GT World Challenge America races from NOLA Motorsports Park. The #18 RS1 Porsche of Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer swept the GT4 America races.
Coming Up This Weekend
106th Indianapolis 500
79th Monaco Grand Prix
63rd Coca-Cola 600
50th Nürburgring 24 Hours
73rd Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
Super GT has a 300-kilometer race at Suzuka.
World Touring Car Cup will also be on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
