Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Unfortunately, it was a somber end to the year with the passings of Gil de Ferran and Cale Yarborough. The Dubai 24 Hour was delayed two weeks and now conflicts with the 24 Hours of Daytona. DragonSpeed will now be at the 24 Hours of Daytona in LMP2. The Supercross season opener is only a few days away. The Dakar Rally is even closer to beginning. Somebody got a Truck Series ride. DHL is now a Chip Ganassi Racing sponsor. Andretti Autosport is now officially Andretti Global. However, IndyCar's end to 2023 is still on my mind.
This is Where We Start
The final month of 2023 likely did not go the way IndyCar was hoping it would.
IndyCar announced it was delaying the introduction of the hybrid system until after the Indianapolis 500 in 2024, the exact debut date remains uncertain. Not long after that, Honda issued a statement saying it was considering exiting IndyCar once its contract expires after the 2026 season unless costs were reduced. Honda's suggestion was a spec engine.
It was not a great way to end the year. No one wants to end on bad news. No one wants to end with doom and gloom. It cannot be ignored when it is dower news and going in the opposite direction of where IndyCar hopes to be going. IndyCar spent such a long time with spec engines that returning to them is not what anyone is hoping for, nor does anyone believe it is the magic bullet to increase the number of manufacturers in the series. At best, spec engines keep Honda around and everything remains status quo.
Again, it is not great. However, it is not the end of the world.
Nobody is glad IndyCar finds itself in such a precarious situation, especially when it is keen to the health of the series. As difficult as it is at the moment, there are positives to find within IndyCar.
The DW12 may be entering its 13th season of competition, but it remains a competitive chassis. Road course and street course races can have a few hundred passes and it doesn't phase us. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing can go from having a car missing the Indianapolis 500 to winning a race and competing for victories in multiple other events. With a few adjustments to the aero kit, it turned Texas from a pedestrian race into a thrilling affair, and ten of 12 Indianapolis 500s during that span have had 30 lead changes or more after none of the first 95 Indianapolis 500s had more than 29.
The grid will still have north of two-dozen full-time cars and be closer to 30 entries. It wasn't that long ago IndyCar had 22 full-time cars. McLaren is on the grid, a name that was unfathomable not long ago. The competition is rather stout as the series has attracted champions from Supercars, NASCAR, Formula One, sports cars, and junior series drivers from all-around the globe see it as a viable series to make a career.
There are concerns, and IndyCar must do something different to assure long-term health and success. As good as the DW12 chassis has been, it is time to figure out a new chassis. The DW12 has had a good life. It will be a cost to the teams to buy something new, but series around the world figure out how to introduce new cars much more frequently than IndyCar does and those series manage not to run teams out of business or cause the grid to shrink by 45% simply by upgrading the machinery.
Japan's Super Formula introduced its third new chassis in the last ten years in 2023, and all three models Dallara constructed. Formula Two has a new car coming in 2024, and the outgoing chassis debuted in 2018. Oh, and Dallara is the chassis supplier in Formula Two as well. I think it is time.
If Honda is saying it will not renew when its contract is up, IndyCar must find a way to increase return on investment for the manufacturers and make the series more attractive to other brands.
As celebrated as IndyCar is and how lauded the Indianapolis 500 is as the greatest race in the world, since 2013, only two manufacturers have participated in the race. Outside of Lotus' floundering two-car effort in 2012, the last new manufacturer to make its Indianapolis 500 debut was Toyota in 2003. If the race was as prestigious as we say it is, wouldn't more manufacturers try to win it? Wouldn't there be a constant flow of manufacturers in and out of the series in pursuit of this allegedly magnificent, motorsports triumph?
The saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
IndyCar isn't looking for invention, but it is faced with adaptation, and with Honda looking for the door, it is necessary to do something different. The series must adapt to insure Honda stays, insure Honda stays and attracts another make, or attract another manufacturer or two even if Honda is leaving. New regulations, new business model, something must be done.
Honda has been around since 1994. Nothing lasts forever. Offenhauser hasn't been in the Indianapolis 500 since 1980. Cosworth hasn't had an engine in the race since 1996 and no Cosworth engine has powered an IndyCar since 2008. It isn't a matter of Honda leaving that will hurt the series but the series not being prepared for such a time to come.
It isn't impossible, but it will require patience, communication and dedication to a plan. Global pandemic and supply chain issues be damned, it is time to stick to a deadline and get the job done.
Effectively, IndyCar has been given a deadline. It could be a lofty task to retain Honda. It could be downright wishful, but Honda has made it clear something must different heading into 2027 to continue participation. The next 12 to 18 months is when the changes must be laid out and announced, and there must be a commitment to those changes and that deadline.
Honda isn't going to go into September 2026 on the fence on whether or not it will return or not. Honda will likely know by the end of this year, and almost certainly by the middle of 2025 if it is going to continue. The clock is ticking on IndyCar for a new game plan and improving the economics of competing in the series.
The series knows this. They will work to assure IndyCar remains afloat and does not face hardship in the not-too-distant future. It might not keep Honda, but an attempt will be made, and if it doesn't keep Honda, it must attract someone else.
This is where we start. It is January 1, 2024. It is clear as day where IndyCar stands and what must be done. The quiet part has been said out-loud and it is no secret that a manufacturer supporting of over half the grids, three of its races and has been one of the most successful makes in IndyCar history is ready to call it time on competing in the series.
What is going to be done to change the mood, keep a familiar partner involved and draw more into the party?
We will wait and see where we end.
Winners While We Were Away
In case you are wondering what is going on in the Andros Trophy, the ice racing championship out of France, Nathanaël Berthon and Dorian Boccolacci split the first round from Val Thorens. Aurélien Panis and Christophe Ferrier split the second round from Andorra. Panis leads the championship with 236 points, 13 points ahed of Yann Ehrlacher and 23 points clear of six-time champion Jean-Baptiste Dubourg with three rounds remaining.
Coming Up This Weekend
Supercross season opener from Anaheim.
Dakar Rally begins on Saturday.
