Musings From the Weekend: Winter Slog

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Carlos Sainz became the oldest Dakar Rally winner at 61 years old, winning in the car class. American Ricky Brabec won in the bike class for the second time. The final stage did not go everyone's way. The #31 Whelen Cadillac will be on pole position for the 24 Hours of Daytona as Pipo Derani broke the track record with a lap of 92.656 seconds. There was a ceremony in Charlotte. It rained in San Diego. MotoGP teams are unveiling liveries. A lot of small things are on my mind. 

Winter Slog

There is not much to speak about in January. It is rather dull. Most series are still in hibernation. I could force some evergreen topic into the conversation because there is nothing going on, but I am going to save those for a later date. There were a few things that happened in the last few days that are worth our attention.

Opening the Gates

You shouldn't get credit for what you are supposed to do. That is the case with NASCAR after what was another needless mental lapse by the sanctioning body. With the release of the format for this year's Clash at the Coliseum, we learned the heat races would move to Saturday evening while the last chance qualifier and main event would remain on Sunday. What we also learned was he Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum would not be opened to spectators on Saturday. 

This immediately was met with backlash and, before the week was over, not only did NASCAR announce it would reverse its decision but it decided Saturday would be free admission. 

I don't know why or how NASCAR thought holding a televised event behind closed doors would be a good thing. I cannot fathom how that was the strategy from the start. Moving the heat races to Saturday created a two-day show, and NASCAR’s first thought was it shouldn't open the gates for the first day of it. 

It is nonsensical. NASCAR spends a few million dollars to turn the Coliseum into a racetrack. If it is using the track, it should be seeking to draw a crowd. It is another chance to reap some return on its investment. It is staggering when NASCAR first decided to make the Clash a two-day show, it didn't just make general admission $20 for Saturday. 

The Saturday would be a better way to engage spectators coming out. It could be a chance to hold a large autograph session or Q&A session or give people a chance to meet the drivers and see the cars up close. The place isn't going to be filled, but if 10,000 people come out and receive a pleasant experience watching races and meeting drivers, it is worth it. 

NASCAR doesn't get any credit for doing something that should have been done from the start. The gates should have always been open and we shouldn't be having this conversation to begin with. NASCAR failing to capitalize on the additional day of action at the Coliseum is a colossal failure.

At Least One Thing is Consistent

The response to NASCAR allowing spectators on Saturday was overwhelmingly positive. There was a thread of the Internet (Twitter) that still found a negative in what NASCAR was doing. Again, NASCAR doesn't deserve any credit and should be rightfully criticized, however, the ridiculous reasons people constructed why opening up Saturday was a bad thing was absurd. 

Some people are never going to be happy. However, it wasn't only NASCAR fans expressing unreasonable displeasure. 

On Saturday afternoon, when Supercross was sharing photos of a muddy track as rain fell ahead of the San Diego round, most bemoaned the conditions, dreading another muddy race after the conditions in San Francisco showcased survival skills more than sheer racing ability. The experts, of course, had a number of suggestions. Starting the season outside California, only racing in domes, etc. 

People know the Supercross officials cannot control the weather, right? Supercross has been spending January in California for 50 years. Sometimes it will rain, sometimes it will not, most of the time it will not rain. This year, Supercross caught two consecutive wet weekends. San Diego turned out to be not nearly as bad as San Francisco, but the weather is a part of Supercross racing, the same way the weather is a part of all forms of motorsports.

The mud might slow down a race, but it is a great equalizer. It is a different condition a rider must master. It can be tricky and frustrating to watch, but it is part of it, and it isn't every weekend. There might be two or three wet weekends each seasons. Something like San Francisco only happens once every few seasons. It is ok. We will all live. 

However, if there is one thing we can count it is people being irrational on social media.

Let's Make a Deal

Every year we joke about how basically the entire IndyCar grid is at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and that is even closer to being accurate this year.

Fourteen of the 25 announced IndyCar regulars for the 2024 season are entered in the 24 Hours of Daytona. I have written about this before, and it is worth mentioning again, IndyCar should figure out how to schedule its season opener at Daytona alongside the 24 Hours of Daytona. 

It obviously would not work during the 24 Hours of Daytona race weekend, but this weekend during the Roar Before the 24 test is practical. 

One, most of the drivers are there. Two, it is a test for IMSA, they can make time. Three, they can find space for the paddock. Four, there is an opening in the schedule for this race.

It has been over four months since an IndyCar race, and the next one is still just under 50 days away. IndyCar should be desperate to get on track. This is IMSA's weekend, and there are many IMSA series competing, but adding IndyCar isn't going overboard.

IndyCar could use the entire week to get ready. The Wednesday and Thursday could be the final IndyCar test. There could be an IndyCar practice session Friday among the IMSA activities, qualifying could be early Saturday, and then IndyCar could race at noon on Sunday. 

That would be a full weekend for Daytona. The Roar already gets a good crowd, and the chance to see IndyCar race at Daytona would only bring more people out. Daytona could bring out people for multiple weekends and also draw people who are not going to the 24 hours, but will come out for an IndyCar race. 

Along with getting a race early in the year, IndyCar would get to race somewhere notable and compete on a track that has long thought to be an impractical location. It would be a big win for IndyCar, and a chance to stand out a month before NASCAR starts. 

The Roar weekend can be maneuvered to make this work. Qualifying for the 24 Hours of Daytona can return to the Thursday before the race. Nobody is interested in qualifying being six days before the race. Let it be a test with no consequences. IMSA can get the bulk of Friday and Saturday. There is plenty of time for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races. The big series and Michelin Pilot Challenge can get track time. Come Sunday, finish up the testing, tie in the IndyCar race and have it be the big send off before coming back for the endurance race. 

For IndyCar, this Sunday is a sneaky good time to get a race in. Football season is still in swing, but with the NFL Divisional Round games starting at 3:05 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. ET, there is a window in the early afternoon open for a race. IndyCar could start at noon and be done by 2:00 p.m. and not interfere with any football.

NBC took advantage of the window this year and showed women's basketball with Caitlin Clark and Iowa facing Ohio State. That led into NBC showing the Tampa Bay vs. Detroit playoff game. It doesn't always work out that NBC has the 3:05 p.m. Sunday game during the Divisional Round, but regardless if NBC is showing it, the noon window is there for IndyCar. It could put its foot in the ground and decide that is when it is going to start its season. If it can do it at Daytona, a notable track, even better. That is a promotable event. People know what Daytona is and a race there is a big deal. 

It gets IndyCar back into action after months away. It springboards IndyCar into running races earlier in the year and making the most of ending before summer is even over. This is what IndyCar should want, and Roger Penske should not be afraid to negotiate with IMSA and Daytona to make this happen. IndyCar has nothing to lose. The drivers are already there. Why not have them show off doing their regular jobs?

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Carlos Sainz and Ricky Brabec, but did you know...

Other Dakar Rally Winners:

Cristiana Gutiérrez won in the Challenger (T3) class after American Mitch Guthrie lost over 41 minutes on the final stage.

Xavier de Soultrait won in SSV (T4) by two minutes and 25 seconds over Jéróme de Sadeleer.

Manuel Andújar won in the Quad class, Andújar's second Dakar victory, by seven minutes and 59 seconds over Alexandre Giroud.

Martin Macík won in the Truck class, his first Dakar victory.

Aaron Plessinger won the Supercross race from San Diego, his first career 450cc victory. Nate Thrasher won in the 250 class.

Coming Up This Weekend

24 Hours of Daytona

Formula E's doubleheader in Diriyah.

Supercross returns to Anaheim, the first triple crown event.

Rallye Monte-Carlo

2024 IndyCar Team Preview: Ed Carpenter Racing

And now we are down to 51 days until the 2024 IndyCar Series season opener from St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg has not been kind to the Ed Carpenter Racing organization. ECR has never finished better than sixth in the race. In 12 years visiting St. Petersburg, ECR has failed to have a top ten finisher in nine of those trips. It might not be where ECR wants to open the season, but it will the team's first chance, as with everyone else in IndyCar, to start the year on a positive note. There is always an opportunity to turn fortunes around.

At First Glance... Again, this is fine... it isn't, but it is fine

It is an IndyCar team lineup. Two cars, a veteran entering his fifth year while being paired with a rookie competing in a vast majority of the season. It is not unheard of, and for Ed Carpenter Racing, it is rather common. But it lacks excitement for a team that has not had much to be excited about in recent seasons. 

ECR feels stale and it is reverting to stale decisions. After two seasons with Ed Carpenter running all the ovals in a third ECR entry, the team is returning to Carpenter running the oval races in the #20 Chevrolet while another driver will run the road and street courses. In 2024, it will be Christian Rasmussen, the reigning Indy Lights champion who also won titles in Indy Pro 2000 and U.S. F2000.

Rasmussen doesn't need the kiddy glove treatment. He doesn't need to be babied into oval races. With two seasons of Indy Lights and a notable improvement from year one to year two, Rasmussen is deserving of a full-time role. The road/street course driver at ECR is beneath him. He will get the Indianapolis 500, but the Dane deserves a full season. 

This is ECR's decision, and a backward one at that. For eight seasons, Carpenter was sharing the #20 Chevrolet with someone. Outside of the first year in 2014, when it produced three race victory with Carpenter and Mike Conway and the #20 entry ended up eighth in the entrants' championship, it has not been a smashing success for the team. It has limited the organization. The team feels stunted when at one time it felt on the verge of breaking into the upper tier of IndyCar.

ECR hasn't had a top ten championship driver in seven seasons. Its only championship top ten driver has been Josef Newgarden. Rinus VeeKay felt like a driver with great potential. The Dutchman is on the verge of stalling out. VeeKay has finished 14th, 12th, 12th and 14th in the championship in four seasons. Last year was the first time he has failed to have a podium finish and failed to have a top five finish. 

There is no reason to believe ECR will be better than it was in 2023. Rasmussen could have a few flashy days, but rhythm will be broken at some point. In the Chevrolet camp, Team Penske is still Team Penske. McLaren isn't going to fall off. A.J. Foyt Racing now has a technical partnership with Team Penske. This isn't even taking into consideration Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Autosport and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, three teams that all won in 2024. 

At best, ECR is placed sixth out of the ten IndyCar teams, but ECR should be more concerned about those behind than thinking it can catch those ahead.

2023 Ed Carpenter Racing Review

Wins: 0

Best Finish: 6th (Portland)

Poles: 0

Best Start: 2nd (Indianapolis)

Championship Finishes: 14th (Rinus VeeKay), 25th (Conor Daly), 26th (Ryan Hunter-Reay), 30th (Ed Carpenter)

Christian Rasmussen - #20 GuyCare Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

5.3214: Average finish in 28 Indy Lights starts

15.5: Average field size in Rasmussen's 28 Indy Lights starts

39.9: Average number of IndyCar starts for the last 20 Indy Lights champions

What does a championship season look like for him?

In the last four seasons, all of which did not have double points in the season finale, and last season did not have double points for the Indianapolis 500, the average points total for the champion has been 575.5 points. 

For Rasmussen to reach that total over 12 starts, he will have to average 47.958 points per start. Essentially, Rasmussen would have to win every one of his starts to win the championship. I think if he started hot and won the first five races to open the season, which would include the Indianapolis 500. ECR would have a re-think and have Rasmussen in the car full-time to ease his championship chance. 

It is worth pondering how good would Rasmussen have to be to start his season for ECR to call an audible and keep him full-time. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Considering Marcus Armstrong won Rookie of the Year last year with a near-identical schedule, it is possible, but it is not likely as the 2024 rookie class includes Linus Lundqvist. Second best among the rookies is possible for Rasmussen, but it will be difficult to manage. 

Any top ten finishes would be appreciated, but the goal should be three or four top ten results. That is a quarter to a third of his results. It would be a massive improvement on where this car was the prior two seasons. With enough good results, he could challenge for top twenty in the championship, but that will likely require him being close to flawless over his 12 starts. 

It is ECR. Rasmussen will have off days, whether he likes it or not. There will be a day or two where he makes a mistake. If he is ahead of any of the full-time rookies it will be a good season. 

Ed Carpenter - #20 GuyCare Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

14.0555: Average finish in 54 starts since the start of the 2014 season

14.4: Average championship finish in oval points since the 2014 season

11: Consecutive starts without a top ten finish, Carpenter's longest drought since the final three races of 2004 and the first eight races of 2005.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Running only the oval races is not going to win Carpenter the drivers' championship, but what must Carpenter do to have the #20 Chevrolet win the entrants' championship? The best the #20 Chevrolet has finished in the entrants' championship was eighth in 2014, the first year of the experiment. The best Carpenter has finished in oval points since 2014 is sixth. 

Sixth obviously isn't going to be good enough. 

It will likely require the best season of Carpenter's career. At least two victories, at least four podium finishes and every finish in the top five. If Carpenter can score 238 points in his six starts, he would need Rasmussen to average around 28.125 points per race, which would be right around a sixth-place finish. That is likely asking too much for Rasmussen to accomplish. 

What is a feasible number for Rasmussen to achieve? It pays 19 points for 11th. That isn't great, but more practical than the Dane finishing sixth every start. Eleven times finishing 11th with no bonus points would net Rasmussen 209 points. If Carpenter was to win all six of his starts with the maximum points, including the extra bonus points for Indianapolis 500 qualifying, combined with Rasmussen's 209 points, the #20 Chevrolet would have 544 points. That could be enough to win the entrants' championship. It could also finish just short. It would likely put the #20 Chevrolet no worse than third.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

When we arrive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, we will be pushing three years since Ed Carpenter's most recent top ten finish. In the years he does well, he is sixth or seventh in oval points. No seriously, that is where he finishes, sixth in 2014, 2018-19 and seventh in 2021.

As for the other six years, 19th (2015), 21st (2016), 11th (2017), 23rd (2020), 20th (2022), and 25th (2023).

You cannot sugarcoat any of those years as good (ok, maybe 2017). For a guy that is pegged as an oval ringer, he is either feast or famine, and it is usually a devastating famine. I don't see Carpenter ending up with three top ten finishes and a top five mixed in there. The struggle is going to continue to get top ten finishes. 

He is terrible at Iowa. He is even more dreadful at Gateway where he has an average finish of 18th, and he has finished 20th or worse in six of eight starts, including in five consecutive races. His average finish at Milwaukee is 12.636 and he has never finished in the top five there. Five of the six oval races take place at those tracks. 

If Carpenter is lucky, he is in the top fifteen in oval points. Maybe he has one great oval race that boosts his numbers, but that's the only hope. 

Rinus VeeKay - #21 RiskOn International Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

14.706: Average finishing position in 2023, the worst of his IndyCar career

15.353: Average starting position in 2023, the worst of his IndyCar career

15: Races finished in 2023, the most of his IndyCar career

What does a championship season look like for him?

VeeKay repeating the first seven races of his 2021 season, a victory, two podium finishes, six top ten finishes, but instead of falling off the map as he does every season when we enter the summer, VeeKay does not drop off.

He does pick up more top five finishes as we get into July. Iowa is a big weekend as ECR comes out strong, VeeKay wins one of the races and finishes in the top five in the other, and he leaves with the most points scored from the weekend. 

After a respectable Toronto, the team does not fall off due to the Olympic break. VeeKay is on the podium in all three races between Gateway and Milwaukee, using the ovals to his favor, and at least one of those is a victory. He caps off the season on the podium and that is enough to win the championship.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

The previous four seasons tells us what to expect: 12th or 14th. I guess 13th is in play as well. 

VeeKay has shown speed every year at Indianapolis. He doesn't quite close out the races. Some of that is on him. He has made some bad mistakes at Indianapolis. If he can avoid that one mistake, it should allow him to be in contention come the closing laps. But problems exist away from the Speedway.

He hasn't had a top ten finish on a street course since he was sixth at St. Petersburg in 2022. He has never had a top ten finish at Laguna Seca, Nashville, Toronto, Road America and Long Beach. He hasn't had a top ten finish at Gateway since his rookie season in 2020. His average finish in six Iowa starts is 15.8333. 

VeeKay doesn't have a top ten finish in a third of the tracks on the schedule and at seven of the tracks, he has a combined three top ten finishes. 

That isn't good. VeeKay has also been in IndyCar for four years. This isn't one or two bad years thing. This is a pattern. 

We shouldn't think he can get eight to ten top ten finishes because we know that isn't realistic based on the form he has shown. Adding Milwaukee likely isn't advantageous for VeeKay. It will likely be another place where he will struggle. 

At some point, you no longer are mediocre. At some point, it will be worse. This is setting up to be the toughest season yet for ECR.

The first round of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Coverage will begin at noon on NBC and Peacock.

2024 IndyCar Team Preview: Meyer Shank Racing

Fifty-three days separate us from the IndyCar season opener from St. Petersburg. Some teams want to start the season to pick up where they left off. Other teams will want to start the season to change perceptions. Meyer Shank Racing falls in the latter group. MSR has been on a slump for over a year and a half. After hitting it big in May 2021, it has been all downhill since. A championship winning team in sports cars, MSR can't buy a top ten finish in IndyCar. With the sports car program on hiatus in 2024, all attention will be on IndyCar, and there is a need to succeed.

At First Glance... Meyer Shank Racing is in need of a leader, and it doesn't have one

Meyer Shank Racing is coming off a season where it had an average starting position of 18.617 and an average finish of 18.647. When the 2024 season begins, it will have been 343 days since its most recent top ten finish, the longest drought in IndyCar; 666 days since its most recent top five finish, the longest drought in IndyCar; and 1,015 days since its first and so far only victory, not the longest drought in IndyCar but long enough to feel like eternity. 

After such results, it is understandable that a team would make a change, looking for new life and hope in new drivers. What a team needs is a leader, and it doesn't feel like MSR even has that. 

That isn't meant as any disrespect to Felix Rosenqvist, a veteran of five IndyCar seasons, a past rookie of the year with a race victory to his name, but in his first 79 IndyCar starts he has only one victory, which came 58 starts ago. He stood on the podium twice last year, but he has only six trips to the rostrum in his career. He has 15 top five finishes and his top ten finish percentage is at 44.3% despite having driven for Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren. 

Rosenqvist has always been a number two driver in IndyCar, understandably so when he first joined Ganassi with Scott Dixon leading the way and the same is true when he moved to McLaren, which had found its number one driver with Patricio O'Ward. At Meyer Shank Racing, all eyes will turn to Rosenqvist for first word about setup and feel and directions on where they should go. In IndyCar, it is a position he has yet to be in.

It is a position where MSR must be sure it is being led in the right direction. The team must turnaround results and return to a more consistent state of competitiveness. It cannot afford to toil around at the back of the grid anymore. A veteran driver with pedigree is what MSR needed after the last season and a half. Rosenqvist has experience, but he has yet to establish if he is someone who can score surefire results. He will have to be it in 2024.

Whom MSR could have used was Simon Pagenaud. Pagenaud fit the description in 2022 when MSR expanded to two cars. Pagenaud was struggling prior to his Mid-Ohio accident last year, which has left the Frenchman out of competition indefinitely. What cannot be ignored is the start of Pagenaud's run at MSR. In his first ten starts he had a podium, six top ten finishes, his average finish was 10.1, he was tenth in the championship and had been as high as eighth. 

It is unclear what happened in July 2022, but MSR fell off the planet returning from Toronto that year. 

This could be the breakout chance Rosenqvist was waiting for and likely needed. Pushed into the number one role, it could be a chance for the Swede to take charge after always being at least second in line in his first two stops. MSR can be his team and the attention could allow him to flourish. He is really MSR's only choice. 

As much love as Tom Blomqvist has been given and for all his success in the sports car world, some of which came driving for MSR, this is a mighty jump up for him in a program that is uncertain about its competitiveness. Blomqvist's cameo appearances in 2023 did not go well, not all of that was Blomqvist's fault, but he is a driver pushing a decade since he last drove an internal combustion powered single-seater. Not everyone is Robert Wickens and can pick it up like riding a bicycle, nor is everyone Scott McLaughlin and take to IndyCar like a duck to water after a lifetime in tintops. Jimmie Johnson won seven NASCAR Cup championships and yet Johnson struggled to just remain on the lead lap in IndyCar. 

For Blomqvist, he will be treading water. For Rosenqvist, he must carry the weight and prove himself in a new role.

2023 Meyer Shank Racing Review

Wins: 0

Best Finish: 10th (Texas)

Poles: 0

Best Start: 8th (Detroit, Iowa II)

Championship Finishes: 18th (Hélio Castroneves), 28th (Simon Pagenaud), 31st (Linus Lundqvist), 34th (Tom Blomqvist)

Felix Rosenqvist - #60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda

Numbers to Remember:

21: Times Rosenqvist has been the top finisher within an intra-team battle over his first 79 starts

8.7647: Average starting position in 2023, fifth best in IndyCar

14.471: Average finishing position in 2023, 13th best in IndyCar

What does a championship season look like for him?

It starts with Rosenqvist showing off the street course form he was long celebrated for prior to his arrival in IndyCar. It starts with a head-turning St. Petersburg victory followed by another impressive Long Beach victory. Two races, two victories, over 100 points just like that. 

Off the back of that start, Rosenqvist drives smart, bringing the car home in the top ten, getting a top five result occasionally when the car isn't quite at that level. He doesn't have an accident in the Indianapolis 500, but he does get a top ten finish. Though he is in the top ten, it doesn't feel like he is a threat, until he wins at Detroit and has three victories in seven races. 

It is all about running respectably everywhere else and taking top ten finishes when he can get them. What happens at Toronto? He wins. He will lose points elsewhere, but not in devastating totals. He is able to hold serve with good results. How is the championship season capped off? With a victory in Nashville, naturally.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Rosenqvist could bring MSR back into the top fifteen in the championship. Top ten is a stretch. Rosenqvist's longest streak of consecutive top ten finishes is four. He is not a driver that has ever gone on long runs of good results. At best, we are looking at three races on, one race off. At that rate, Rosenqvist could do something special and perform well above expectations. No one envisions him getting 12 top ten finishes this season. 

It is more likely Rosenqvist ends up with six to eight top ten finish, at best. This team had one top ten finish all 2023. Expecting a six-fold improvement is asking for a lot. The bad days should remain and considering Rosenqvist's oval track record, we will not see the Swede contending at Iowa, Gateway and Milwaukee. Any finish in the top half of the field would be a good day. 

There will be stretches where MSR is not mentioned. It will have its rough patches, but Rosenqvist could have a few breakthrough days.

Tom Blomqvist - #66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda

Numbers to Remember:

3: Average finish in 19 starts in DPi/GTP competition in IMSA

15.2: Average finish in 23 Formula E starts

83: Formula Three races Blomqvist and Rosenqvist competed in against one another between 2012 and 2014

What does a championship season look like for him?

In a late reversal of its decision to delay the introduction of the hybrid system to IndyCar, the series decides the hybrid system is pertinent for the 2024 season, so it decides to adopt the tried and trusted LMDh cars and IndyCar becomes a series of 15 Acura ARX-06s and 12 Cadillac V-Series.Rs. 

This late change plays directly in Blomqvist's favor and with a year's worth of experience in the Acura, he thrashes the championship. Everyone is playing catchup. Blomqvist ends up winning ten of 17 races and takes one of the most lopsided championships in IndyCar history.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Many races where Blomqvist is struggling to crack the top twenty. He should be more comfortable after an offseason adjusting to the car and have a few competitive sessions, but MSR's shortcomings will be rather difficult to overcome. There will be races where he cannot quite find the pace and be trudging along at the back. 

Top ten results feel out of reach. It will require many things going into Blomqvist's favor. Pure pace alone will not be enough. If there are a few races where he is around the top fifteen on speed, it gets him in the ballpark to crack the top ten through strategy or attrition. That will be his best hope this season. 

The ovals will be eye-opening. The good news is Indianapolis is the only big oval. He will not have to experience Texas where he is fighting to catch his breath and losing chunks of time. It will still be exhausting at Iowa, and the tire wear will make that the longest weekend of his season. He can mostly stay out of the way at Gateway and Milwaukee while running in the final third of the field. 

A few top fifteen finishes would be a good season, somewhere around three to five would be a good start. It will be a battle for Blomqvist to finish third out of the four rookie drivers, keeping in mind Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen is contesting only 12 of 17 races.

The first round of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Coverage will begin at noon on NBC and Peacock.

Musings From the Weekend: An Uphill Battle For The Little Guys

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

And now we wait on Dale Coyne Racing to announce its IndyCar lineup. Some drivers went to dinner. Some drivers did not. Patricio O'Ward spoke up. There will be one fewer Porsche in the 24 Hours of Daytona. There will be one more Toyota and three more NASCAR drivers competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge season opener. Guenther Steiner was fired and Gene Haas is tired of being humiliated. Kyle Larson did show up at the Chili Bowl, but he didn't make it pass his preliminary night as Logan Seavey won for the second consecutive year. Mahindra's Formula E started the season being stupid. The Dakar Rally had a marathon stage, and a rest day. However, it is a series that will not be competing, and one that might be, that are on my mind.

An Uphill Battle For The Little Guys

Last week ended with the stunning news that the Superstars Racing Experience would be postponing its upcoming season, though five of six races had been announced for the fourth year of SRX competition. In the press release, SRX stated the reason for the decision as "market factors that have proven to be too much to overcome." 

SRX has not closed its doors entirely. The 2024 season has only been postponed, and the series did state it was actively exploring strategic options for its long-term potential. 

The uphill battles for SRX had been well-known. Any startup faces a wealth of problems right off the bat. They might have enough momentum to get off the ground, but that hard part is staying in the air. It was almost a running gag each week about how tight the series was on spare parts and replacements. An abundance of accidents in one race strained the series and risked the level of competition at succeeding weeks. 

Though there were those concerns, SRX did complete three full seasons, each consisting of six races, without any significant shortage leading to a decrease in quality on the racetrack. At no point did the series scale back from the usual 12 drivers starting down to nine or ten because it did not have enough cars ready for the following week. 

It was a series run under a tight budget, but it was still able to make the races happen at short tracks across the country, and attract quality guest drivers in the process. Not only did it put on races, but it drew viewers as well. In its first two seasons on CBS, it was averaging around a million viewers each Saturday night, nothing staggering, but respectable compared to IndyCar and even Formula One in the United States, and better than IMSA. The move to ESPN and Thursday nights was always going to see a decline, switching from network to cable, but it had its own time on its own date. It revived "Thursday Night Thunder," and everyone bought into the nostalgia. 

It might have been only 12 cars and six weekends, but it costs pretty penny to organize any motorsports series. It still requires sponsorship dollars and television dollars, and a lot of them. For all that SRX had going in its favor, it had plenty of hangups. 

For all the pomp of an all-star series, the series never said why it mattered. While there were always seven or eight full-time drivers, the attention was always on the drivers dropping in for a night or two. Nothing wrong with that, until it was time for the finale. What did these six races mean? Why did they matter? Why should we care? Every year, the championship, the crescendo, fell on deaf ears. The champion was mostly forgotten, even though he had been around for all six weeks. 

Year four could have been the chance to show people why to stick with the championship, give it meaning from beginning to end. We will never know. 

Oh, there is a chance SRX returns, but the 21st century is not meant for a series like that. 

Heck, even Robby Gordon's Stadium Super Truck series has gone mostly dormant though it is widely praised for its action. Stadium Super Trucks ran only two events in 2023, supporting the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the IndyCar race from Nashville.

You may have hope, because in the days prior to SRX's announcement, it became public that Ray Evernham and Rob Kauffman had purchased the brand rights to IROC, the International Race of Championship, which contested 30 seasons from 1974 to 2006. Evernham said the plan is to run a vintage type race sometime in 2024. 

You should be easy with that hope because in all likelihood we will not see IROC as we knew it from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. This isn't going to be a four-race championship run in companion with NASCAR and IndyCar weekends. What Evernham has done is bought control; the ability to promote vintage IROC races at historic race weekends while also able to cash in on printing vintage t-shirts for the attendees. A new series, an IROC revival, is not going to be what you expect. For starters, Evernham doesn’t even have any cars, which are kind of important to an automobile racing series. 

There is too much competition and not enough money for an all-star series to work in the 21st century. 

It is what killed the original IROC the first time. When Crown Royal went away, the series went away. There were better options out there to sell products. Four weekends is nothing when spending millions of dollars. Exposure was limited, and could easily be missed when races are spread over many weeks. In the final years of IROC, it was many months. There was no desire to be apart of that when the same company could spend just as much and be on a NASCAR Cup race 12 times a year or sponsor a full-time sports car program. It also made it more difficult to attract drivers. 

With Crown Royal plastered all over the vehicles, drivers with the other alcoholic beverage sponsors were not going to participate. The same conflict of interest exists today. It is difficult to sell as a race of champions if champions cannot compete due to sponsorship. 

SRX had the right model. It had a fairly neutral title sponsor in Camping World, a company that had already sponsored a major series for over a decade, but instead of having every car donning Camping World on the hood and side, SRX allowed other companies to sponsor guest drivers.

Denny Hamlin could race SRX with FedEx on his car. Chase Elliott could compete with Napa Auto Parts. Ryan Blaney had BodyArmor blazed across his hood. Flexibility is key for participation at this time. 

It is hard to call SRX a failure though it is taking a pause. It filled short tracks across the country and generated a genuine buzz everywhere it went. It did gather a following each summer, and we were excited for what 2024 had in store. What might be SRX's downfall is the lack of a visionary in charge.

Evernham was a founding member of SRX and a crucial member through its building year in 2020, and its first season in 2021. Once he left, Tony Stewart was the undisputed face of the series, another founding member and competitor at that. However, Stewart has many projects, from a NASCAR Cup team, to a sprint car series and team, to a foray into drag racing that will be expanding to more in 2024. 

All apologies to Don Hawk, who did a good job running SRX as CEO, but SRX needed someone who lived and breathed the series. The series got the nickname "Tony Stewart and friends" for a reason. It needed a face who was going to make sure SRX was going to see 2024. 

Considering the lack of IROC for nearly two decades, an all-star series has a place in 2024. A generation of fans don't know what it is like to have IndyCar drivers flying to Michigan or Darlington or NASCAR drivers flying to Cleveland or Mid-Ohio during the middle of a busy race weekend to compete in something else. We have become quite stale with little variation to look forward to each year. An SRX or IROC at least mixed it up and provided something different. 

But for any SRX, IROC or whatever to exist requires buy-in. There is nothing stopping NASCAR and IndyCar from supporting an all-star series that brings its best together. A television partner stepping up would help. A manufacturer getting involved would be even better. But that is not in the cards, and the little guys remain at the bottom of the hill.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Logan Seavey, but did you know...

Pascal Wehrlein won the Mexico City ePrix.

Chase Sexton won the Supercross race from San Francisco. Jordon Smith won in the 250cc West class.

Dakar Rally Update (through stage seven):

Cars: Carlos Sainz leads in his Audi by exactly 19 minutes over Sébastien Loeb with Lucas Moraes an hour and 35 seconds back in third.

Bikes: Ricky Brabec holds a one-second lead over Ross Branch. José Ignacio Cornejo is third, six minutes and 48 seconds back. Adrien Van Beveren is 14 minutes and 39 seconds behind and Kevin Benavides rounds out the top five, 24 minutes and 39 seconds off Brabec.

Quads: Manuel Andújar has a six-minute and 20-second lead over Alexandre Giroud. There is over two hours and 27 minutes between Andújar and Juraj Varga in third.

T3: Mitch Guthrie leads Cristian Gutiérrez by 33 minutes and 36 seconds. Francesco López is 40 minutes and 16 seconds back in third with Austin Jones just over an hour and 16 minutes back in fourth. 

SSV: Xavier de Soultrait has a seven-minute and 30-second lead over Yasir Seaidan with Sara Price seven minutes and 38 seconds back. João Ferreira is 11 minutes and 24 seconds back in fourth. Jérôme de Sadeleer rounds out the top five, 22 minutes and 43 seconds off de Soultrait.

Trucks: Martin Macík has an hour and 36-minute advantage over Aleš Loprais.

Coming Up This Weekend

The conclusion of the Dakar Rally as seven stages remain.

Round three for Supercross in San Diego.

2024 IndyCar Team Preview: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

We are down to 58 days until the IndyCar season opener from St. Petersburg. We turn our attention in the build up to the season toward Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. This organization really saw it all in 2023. The agony of failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and uncompetitiveness at multiple races to the thrill of victory and competing at the top with multiple pole positions. The team had a driver solidly in the championship top ten and it fired a driver before the season concluded. In 2024, RLLR definitely hopes to repeat the good while eliminating all that was unpleasant the year before.

At First Glance... It is hard to envision great improvement

That is not to say RLLR will not improve in 2024, but it is unlikely the team will be in that upper echelon.

Until we see RLLR competitive on ovals, we cannot believe it has erased that deficit and can possibly contend for a championship. There isn't anything the team could do in the offseason that could really tell us it has solved the problem. It will take more than a magic bullet. No one hire or change will alater our perception after last season. RLLR is close, but so far. 

For all the issues RLLR had last year, the team was able to fight for victories, and did win. The team could produce the speed, just not on a consistent enough basis. It did something Arrow McLaren did not do in 2023, and that is win. RLLR should have won more than it did in 2023. The team likely should have had two victories, which would have been even with Andretti Autosport. 

In the changing makeup of IndyCar, RLLR is somewhere leading the middle and butting up on the top level. It has the pieces. Christian Lundgaard performed better than the car he had under him. For all the struggles the organization had, it didn't stop Lundgaard from spending 11 of 17 races inside the championship top ten and finishing eighth. Graham Rahal had his worst season since 2014, but he still has finished in the championship top ten in seven of the last nine seasons.

As a three-car team, RLLR is still looking to get that third piece to click. Two seasons with Jack Harvey did not produce the desired results. Enter Pietro Fittipaldi, a driver who turned a few heads in his first IndyCar foray, but that is going on six years ago. It has been three years since Fittipaldi's second IndyCar stint. He hasn't raced an open-wheel car on a road course since the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, substituting for a burned Romain Grosjean. 

The team can improve from its 2023, but improvement could be its drivers finishing eighth, 11th and 15th in the championship with two victories for the team and the three drivers combining for four top ten finishes on ovals with a car advancing to the second round of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 and the other two cars starting in the top twenty. That would be an improvement, but would not change RLLR's standing in the greater hierarchy of IndyCar.

However, if RLLR does figure out its problems on ovals, the championship top five is not out of the question, especially with Lundgaard's results. It could even sneak into the title conversation if everything goes right. I don't think we will see that in 2024, but it is not impossible.

2023 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Review

Wins: 1 (Toronto)

Poles: 3 (Both IMS road course races and Portland)

Championship Finishes: 8th (Christian Lundgaard), 15th (Graham Rahal), 24th (Jack Harvey), 33rd (Jüri Vips)

Graham Rahal - #15 United Rentals/Hendrickson Honda

Numbers to Remember:

22.8: Average finish on ovals in 2023.

13.4: Average finish on street courses in 2023.

12.285: Average finish on road courses in 2023.

What does a championship season look like for him?

The start of the season is nearly opposite from 2023. 

Keep the sixth at St. Petersburg, but the woes of finishing no better than tenth in a seven-race stretch are replaced with six top ten finishes in the seven races following the opener. That includes the comeback story of the year, qualifying on the front row for the Indianapolis 500 and taking an emotional victory that fills the team with the belief it can achieve something greater in 2024.

With seven top ten finishes in the first eight races, Rahal takes the championship lead with a victory in the ninth race of the season from Mid-Ohio, and the championship push is in full effect. With a major test in Iowa following, Rahal pulls out a top five and another top ten finish to clear the first hurdle, but with three oval races remaining in the final six races. 

The end of the season will be tense as all eyes and expectations will be on the fairy tale ending with a slide on the ovals. Rahal doesn't overdrive the car at Gateway nor Milwaukee, points racing but limiting the loss as title rivals claw back some points. He enters the Nashville season finale with a scant championship lead, but the team executes despite pressure throughout the weekend and relief settles over Rahal and the entire organization.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Better than 2023. 

When Rahal was on it, he had respectable days. When he was off, he just couldn't go forward like he had accomplished in previous seasons. He should do better than seven finishes of 20th or worse. 

It will be difficult to reclaim the spot as the best RLLR driver. Rahal will be competing for second best in the organization, but the speed should be there for Rahal to put make it two RLLR drivers in the top ten of the championship.

We are approaching seven years since Rahal's most recent victory. During that timespan, Rahal should probably have three or four victories. He likely should have won once in 2023. Life is a number's game, and if it is a number's game, Rahal should have one race go his way and end in victory sooner rather than later. RLLR has the cars to put him in that position. 

A few more top five finishes and finishing in the top ten in half the races is achievable. Doing that should take him further up the championship order and possibly in the top ten. 

Pietro Fittipaldi - #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

Numbers to Remember:

19.5: Average finish in six career oval starts in IndyCar.

0: Street course starts in IndyCar.

16: Average finish in three career road course starts in IndyCar.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Absolutely stunning everyone in IndyCar. 

Fittipaldi takes the spot as top RLLR driver from the jump, but if he does that it also means Lundgaard is close. We see races where Fittipaldi is sixth and Lundgaard is seventh. Fittipaldi is third and Lundgaard is sixth. Both drivers are excelling, but Fittipaldi keeps getting the edge. 

The first victory feels inevitable and it comes quickly, before the Indianapolis 500. Everyone is impressed and are wondering if Fittipaldi can keep it up, but most believe he will come down to earth shortly. It looks like that is the case at the Indianapolis 500. It isn't a bad day, but it is the first race where he isn't being mentioned at a frequent basis. His final result is outside the top ten, but he avoids trouble and completes all the laps. 

Just when it appears Fittipaldi is forgotten, he wins at Detroit and regains all of our attention. As the summer begins, he keeps finishing at the front and maintaining a championship lead. As we get into the oval-heavy second-half of the season, everyone will be expecting this is where Fittipaldi will falter and see someone else climb into the top spot. 

This is where a Fittipaldi championship season looks identical to a Graham Rahal championship season. Fittipaldi manages to get results and limit the damage on ovals, but it means he hold a slim championship lead or be a few points off the top spot entering the finale. Nashville will require Fittipaldi beating his rivals and having a complete weekend to take what was unthinkable at the start of the season.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Top fifteen in the championship should be the goal. It isn't great, but it is better than where the #30 Honda has run over the previous two seasons. It means there are strong days where he could be contending for top five finishes, but it also accounts for races where the speed isn't quite there and Fittipaldi isn't a threat. There will be a few of those days in 2024. 

Fittipaldi is neither a rookie nor new to IndyCar, but for all intended purposes he is inexperienced. There are tracks that will be quizzical to him. Street courses are where he will likely have some teething problems. If he gets a handle on them quickly, he could be fighting for top ten finishes, but those are not guarantees. 

If everything clicks early for Fittipaldi, he could be second in the RLLR team order, and that could see him be a surprise top ten championship driver. 

Christian Lundgaard - #45 Hy-Vee Honda

Numbers to Remember:

17.6: Average finish on ovals in 2023.

9.8: Average finish on street courses in 2023.

6: Average finish on road courses in 2023.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Honestly, doing everything he did right in 2023 and then ovals seeing a massive improvement. 

Lundgaard has most of the pieces of a championship driver. It will require more top five finishes, and those come early. St. Petersburg and Long Beach are favorable results for him. That sixth-place average finish on road courses continues into 2024, and he is in the top ten at Barber Motorsports Park and he wins the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. 

Off the back of those results, he has his best Indianapolis 500 finish, which is ninth and it is a rather unremarkable ninth-place finish. He spends most of the race in the middle of the field, but the team doesn't make mistakes in the closing stages and Lundgaard has confidence in the car over the closing miles, allowing him to sneak into the top ten.  

With Indianapolis behind him, he makes a statement with a victory in Detroit with top five finishes following at Road America and Laguna Seca, and his has everyone wondering if Lundgaard's championship hopes are valid. He claims the home victory for RLLR at Mid-Ohio, which is crucial with Iowa, Gateway and Milwaukee ahead of him. 

The ovals are a little harsher for Lundgaard. He cannot crack the top ten at Iowa, but he is on the podium in Toronto. He isn't in the top ten at Gateway, but he is on the podium at Portland. He has finishes of ninth and tenth at Milwaukee, but he claws for those results. The championship lead is not his entering the finale, but he is close. Lundgaard is within a dozen points entering the finale, where he has a dream weekend. Pole position, most laps led, victory and he snags the title by an eyelash.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Considering his road and street course results in 2023, if Lundgaard were to repeat that form in 2024, any marginal improvement on ovals could lift him into the top five of the championship. 

He was 89 points outside the top five in the championship in 2023. His average points per oval race was 12.4. If he could somehow average an eighth-place finish on ovals, which pays 24 points per race, that is nearly 60 more points to his points total. If he does that and avoid some of the off days that he had on road and street courses, the top five in the championship is practical. 

Last year's victory at Toronto wasn't a fluke. RLLR has proven it can compete for victories on a yearly basis. The problem is the team rarely wins multiple times in a season. It isn't inconceivable that Lundgaard could break that trend. Ovals will still be a rough spot for him and the team, but he should remain in the top ten of the championship. Repeating 2023 and finishing eighth in the championship would not be results to be ashamed about. 

The first round of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Coverage will begin at noon on NBC and Peacock.

2024 Formula E Season Preview

History is upon us as in less than a week, Formula E will commence its tenth season of competition. After 116 races, Formula E is still around and it is about to start another season where it will visit ten countries on four different continents. Twenty-two drivers competing for 11 teams with seven different powertrains are set for this campaign. A few drivers have been in the series since the first race in Beijing. Others have been around for quite some time. Some are new and others are just starting their Formula E careers.

Seven drivers won a race last year and there are 15 past winners on the grid. A past champion is returning, making it seven of the eight Formula E champions contracted for this season. There have been five different champions in the last five Formula E seasons.

Schedule

The 2024 calendar will again be 16 races, but this time over ten rounds, as there are six doubleheader weekends scheduled, including four consecutive to end the season.

The opening round is a single-day affair. Mexico City remains the season opener and will take place on January 13. Jake Dennis used victory in last year's Mexico City season opener to springboard his championship run, and there have been six different winners in seven Mexico City races. 

Two weeks later will be the first doubleheader of the season, from Riyadh on January 26-27. This is the fifth consecutive time the Saudi Arabian city hosts a Formula E doubleheader. Pascal Wehrlein swept the races last year, and Wehrlein, Sam Bird and Nyck de Vries have combined to win two-thirds of the nine Riyadh races run since its 2018 debut.

There will be a six-week break between Riyadh and the fourth race of the season, São Paulo on March 16. In last year's debut event, Mitch Evans won on the Sambadrome ahead of fellow New Zealander Nick Cassidy by 0.284 seconds with Sam Bird in third, 0.507 seconds back as Jaguar powertrains swept the podium. 

After São Paulo will be a pair of new rounds. On March 30, Formula E makes its first trip to Tokyo. The 1.604-mile circuit will take place around Tokyo Big Sight, the exhibition center located on Tokyo Bay, and the circuit will include 18 turns. Two weeks after Tokyo, Formula E will race at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the home of MotoGP's San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix, on April 13-14. The Misano circuit layout still remains to be confirmed.

Monaco marks the halfway point of the season on April 27. This will be the fourth year Formula E has used the full Monaco Grand Prix circuit. Nick Cassidy won last year's race ahead of Evans and Dennis.

After Monaco will begin the stretch of four consecutive doubleheaders to close the season. The traditional Berlin Tempelhof Airport round will be on May 11-12. This will be the ninth time the Tempelhof Airport has hosted Formula E, and it will be the sixth time the round has at least been a doubleheader. There have been 11 different winners in the last 11 races from Berlin. In 18 Berlin races, the most victories for a driver is two, a record Sébastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa share. Buemi won the only Berlin round held on the Karl-Marx-Allee Circuit in 2016.

Formula E returns to China for the first time since Sanya in 2019 with a doubleheader at the Shanghai International Circuit on May 25-26. The circuit configuration has yet to be confirmed. 

After a month break, Formula E will return to Portland over June 29-30. Last year's Portland race had a record 403 passes. Cassidy won from tenth on the grid ahead of Dennis while da Costa rounded out the podium. The top ten finishers were covered by 4.3 seconds. 

For the second consecutive season, and fourth time overall, London hosts the Formula E season finale, a doubleheader taking place over July 20-21. The only repeat winner in six races on the ExCel London circuit is Jake Dennis. 

Teams:

Andretti Global

Jake Dennis: #1 Porsche 99X Electric

What did he do last season: Dennis won the championship with two race victories, 11 podium finishes and 12 top five finishes in 14 races. He started on pole position twice and he scored a total of 229 points.

What to expect in this season: A slight return to Earth after how Dennis won the championship last season. The Briton was methodical to take the 2023 championship, but that form will be difficult to duplicate for a second consecutive year. It does not help that in the Valencia test in October the Porsche powertrain cars were off from the top times. It was not a massive gap, and the Valencia test was over two months before the first round of the season, but Andretti was not the hands down best team last year. Porsche was good, but not the clear favorite. It should be a good year, a fight for the championship top five, but a drop from the top.

Norman Nato: #17 Porsche 99X Electric

What did he do last season: Driving for Nissan, Nato ended up tenth in the championship on 63 points. After having only two finishes in the points in the first ten races with his best result being seventh, Nato ended with six consecutive points finishes, including a runner-up finish in the second Rome race and he had three top five finishes.

What to expect in this season: Nato made great strides in 2023 with a Nissan program that is still trying to find its footing. He should continue to make progress this season, but he will find it hard to top his teammate Dennis. On the right day, victory is possible, but it will not be expected. Nato should have more frequent days in the points and be comfortably in the championship top ten. 

Envision Racing

Robin Frijns: #4 Jaguar I-Type 6

What did he do last season: At ABT CUPRA, Frijns fractured his wrist in the first race at Mexico City and missed the next four races. He scored points in only two races, a ninth in the first Jakarta race and a tenth in Portland after Sam Bird was issued a five-second penalty. He did win pole position for the second Berlin race, giving him six points on the season, 22nd in the championship and the final driver with points.

What to expect in this season: Frijns should be more competitive than he was last season at ABT CUPRA. The Jaguar powertrain is undoubtedly one of the best if not THE best powertrain on the Formula E grid, something Frijns has not experienced for some time in his Formula E career. In 2018-19, while with Envision Virgin Racing, Frijns was fourth in the championship with an Audi powertrain. A spat of poor results canceled out a pair of victories and a host of top five finishes, leaving him fifth in the championship. Victory is not out of the question, but between his teammate and the factory Jaguar team, it will be a daunting task to come out on top. 

Sébastien Buemi: #16 Jaguar I-Type 6

What did he do last season: Buemi scored points in 12 of 16 races, but he only stood on the podium once, a third in the penultimate race of the season in London. The Swiss driver had six top five finishes and two pole positions. His 105 points placed him sixth in the championship, more than double the 50 combined points he had from the previous two seasons.

What to expect in this season: Last season showed Buemi had not lost it. His FIA World Endurance Championship results are enough to tell us that, but he was lurking last year in many races. It has been nearly four and a half years since the joint all-time leader in Formula E victories has won a race. The car is there for Buemi to retake the top spot all on his own. Is it enough for him to return to championship form? It isn't out of the question, but it will require being flawless considering the camp he is in.

Jaguar TCS Racing

Mitch Evans: #9 Jaguar I-Type 6

What did he do last season: Ending up tied for most victories in the 2023 season with four, Evans was third in the championship on 197 points as he had nine top five finishes in the final 11 races after having not finished better than seventh in the first five races of the season. He did retire from three races, including at the unfortunate time of the antepenultimate race in Rome.

What to expect in this season: One of the four Jaguar-powered cars should win the championship. The factory team might be the best driver pairing we have ever seen in Formula E. Evans has ten Formula E victories. Last season, he did everything right to win a championship. The speed is there and Evans is a capable driver. The goal will be to get that last bit to claim the trophy. He has what it takes, but stiff competition from within as well.

Nick Cassidy: #37 Jaguar I-Type 6

What did he do last season: Ending up tied for most victories in the 2023 season with four, Cassidy was second in the championship on 199 points driving for Envision Racing. Cassidy had eight podium finishes. His only retirement was at the unfortunate time of the penultimate race in London.

What to expect in this season: Between Evans and Cassidy, the Jaguar team has a combined 15 Formula E victories. Cassidy and Evans will be each other's big hurdles this season. If they both trip over one another it will allow someone else through. These drivers were near-identical in 2023. They should be near-identical again in 2024. The hope for Jaguar is they are the two battling for the championship and have left the field in the dust, difficult to do but not improbable. 

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

António Félix da Costa: #13 Porsche 99X Electric

What did he do last season: While he won the Cape Town round, da Costa had three podium finishes all season, and he failed to score a point in the final four races and he did not finish in the points in half of the 16 races in 2023. Da Costa was ninth in the championship on 93 points.

What to expect in this season: With da Costa focused on Formula E and not competing in any sports car championship regularly, he should be leading the Porsche contingent. Last year was a disappointment for the factory Porsche effort as a customer car won the championship despite the factory's fast start. I do not expect the same kind of struggles and da Costa to piece together a complete season while making a title push.

Pascal Wehrlein: #94 Porsche 99X Electric

What did he do last season: Opened the season like gangbusters with a second, first, first and fourth, but despite regularly scoring points, he scored in 15 of 16 races, Wehrlein was fourth in the championship on 149 points. The German had one top five finish in the final nine races of the season, a victory at Jakarta. 

What to expect in this season: Somehow Wehrlein could have equal results to his 2023 season, feel better about how he runs but finish worse in the championship. His 2023 results are so funky they could not be repeated no matter how hard one tries. That lack of oomph in the final 75% of the season is a concern, and if he starts any worse than he did in 2023, he will not come close to finishing fourth in the championship. The championship top ten is still rather practical, but considering Wehrlein's past track record, he isn't going to be clutching silverware come the summertime.

DS Penske

Stoffel Vandoorne: #2 DS E-TENSE FE23

What did he do last season: A year after winning the Formula E championship, Vandoorne did not even get on the podium let alone win a race in 2023, as the Belgian had two top five finishes all season. He failed to finish in the points six times and dropped to 11th in the championship on 56 points.

What to expect in this season: Neither DS Penske car was in the top ten of the Valencia test, which is a little concerning. Again, much time has past from the test to the eve of the season opener. DS did have a drive in the top five mix last season, however, I do not senses this team is trending upward at the same rate as others. Vandoorne could get on the podium once or twice but see fewer points finishes in total.

Jean-Éric Vergne: #25 DS E-TENSE FE23

What did he do last season: After nearly two years without a victory, Vergne won in Hyderabad, but he finished outside the point in seven of 16 races. Somehow his lack of points finishes and only three total podium finishes still earned Vergne fifth in the championship on 107 points.

What to expect in this season: Vergne was good last season, but this could be a year for a step back considering the pace of the Jaguar and Porsche cars. There were also a number of other teams that appeared to make up ground. Vergne should still remain competitive, he has finished in the championship top five in six of the past 11 seasons, but a slight slide backward would not be surprising.

Maserati MSG Racing

Maximilian Günther: #7 Maserati Tipo Folgore

What did he do last season: Günther failed to score points in the first six races of the season. He ended up with four point finishes, including a victory in the second Jakarta race, and finished seventh in the championship on 101 points.

What to expect in this season: Günther does bounce all over the place when it comes to the Formula E standing. His late flourish earned him seventh in the championship but that was after going 16th and 19th in the previous two seasons. Before that, he was ninth but his only three points finishes were two victories and a second. I don't buy the speed. He can have a few good days, but not a great season. We will hear his name but for good and bad reasons. 

Jehan Daruvala: #18 Maserati Tipo Folgore

What did he do last season: Daruvala spent his fourth season in Formula Two. Unfortunately, his Formula Two career came full circle. After finishing 12th as a rookie in 2020 with consecutive seasons in seventh after that, Daruvala was 12th again in 2023, but this time, he scored 13 points fewer than in 2020 and did not win a race after winning four over his first three seasons in the series.

What to expect in this season: Rookies do not splash into Formula E and make great waves. The championship sees experienced drivers in this discipline regularly run the front as others need two or three years to really get into the mix. Daruvala will follow the same path at best. He could end up on the podium, but there will be days he is not in the mix because this is a new experience for him. 

Nissan Formula E Team

Oliver Rowland: #22 Nissan e-4ORCE 04

What did he do last season: Rowland's best finish of the season was sixth at Hyderabad, but he left Mahindra after nine races last season. His only other points finish was tenth in the first Berlin round. 

What to expect in this season: Outside of the 2019-20 season, Rowland does not have an outstanding  Formula E track record. He is more known for having two or three brilliant day and then not much else during a season. After a two-year dip, Nissan did better in 2023, but has a ways to go to get back to where the team once was when branded as Renault. Rowland's season will look like many that he has had before.

Sacha Fenestraz: #23 Nissan e-4ORCE 04

What did he do last season: With only four finishes in the points and a pole position at Cape Town, Fenestraz was 16th in the championship on 32 points. He was fourth at Monaco and in the second Jakarta race. 

What to expect in this season: Competition has remained high in the Nissan camp for Fenestraz as Rowland returns. While Rowland was tenth in the Valencia test, Fenestraz was 20th. I think these two drivers could be close to equal, but get to the same total two different ways. Fenestraz could end up finishing in the points more but Rowland has more big points days. It will be a fight for either to crack the championship top ten.

NEOM McLaren Formula E Team

Jake Hughes: #5 Nissan e-4ORCE 04

What did he do last season: After starting the season with three top five finishes, seven top ten finishes and two pole positions in the first ten races of the 2023 season, Hughes closed with only one top ten finish in the final six races, a tenth in the penultimate race from London. Combined with fastest lap in that London race, Hughes scored two points in the final six races, leaving him 12th on 48 points.

What to expect in this season: McLaren's Formula E effort almost had a reverse of McLaren's Formula One effort in 2023. Instead of struggles early and scoring late, McLaren's maiden year in Formula E saw it score early and suffer through the back half of the season. Hughes was just behind Rowland for tenth in the test, placing the top two Nissan-powered cars next to one another. McLaren should have a more settled season compared to last year, but that likely means it will solidly be in the middle.

Sam Bird: #8 Nissan e-4ORCE 04

What did he do last season: After no podium positions in 2022, Bird was on the podium four times with Jaguar in 2023. Bird nearly doubled his points total, going from 51 points to 95 points, placing the Briton eighth in the championship. He did miss two races, which likely cost him a few points. Though things were better, Bird did go winless for a second consecutive season.

What to expect in this season: The McLarens were close in testing. Bird was three spots behind Hughes in testing. Bird should get the better of Hughes. There could be a few days Bird gets more out of the car and might end up on the podium, it could result in a surprise victory, but McLaren should be right around where it was last year.

ERT Formula E Team

Sérgio Sette Câmara: #3 ERT X24

What did he do last season: Câmara was fifth in the Hyderabad race, but his only other finish in the points was eighth in the first Rome race. He was disqualified from a fifth-place finish in the first London race after not following instructions from the officials. The Brazilian was 20th on 14 points.

What to expect in this season: Though NIO has left and the team has a new name and investors, and this organization is coming off its best season in five seasons, do not expect another leap forward. ERT had the slowest two times in testing. Sure, Câmara could have another two or three brilliant results and it could gift him 16th in the championship, but that is his best hope. Points will not be a regular thing.

Dan Ticktum: #33 ERT X24

What did he do last season: Though he never finished better than sixth, Ticktum did score points seven races and ended up 17th in the championship on 27 points. It was the most points for a NIO driver since Oliver Turvey scored 45 points in 2017-18.

What to expect in this season: Similar to Câmara. Ticktum could steal a fifth on a fortunate day, but he will not be finishing in the point nine times in 2024. It would be a great season if either driver broke 15 points. It isn't impossible, but if they get there, it will still mean likely finishing outside the top fifteen in the championship.

Mahindra Racing

Nyck de Vries: #21 Mahindra M9Electro

What did he do last season: The 2021 Formula E champion started with AlphaTauri in Formula One after he finished ninth on his Formula One debut in the 2022 Italian Grand Prix substituting for an appendix-less Alexander Albon. De Vries struggled with AlphaTauri, removed from the car after ten races where his best finish was 12th at Monaco. 

What to expect in this season: After a taste of Formula One, de Vries is back in Formula E and he is not with a powerhouse. Mahindra has been stuck at the bottom for the last four years. Testing was inconclusive. Three of the four Mahindra-powered cars were 17th, 18th and 19th in testing. De Vries was 18th. Mahindra has been on the podium in each of the last three seasons, but those are more flukes than form. De Vries isn't going to be picking up where he left off in 2022. Points will be tough to come by.

Edoardo Mortara: #48 Mahindra M9Electro

What did he do last season: At Maserati, Mortara retired from five of the first eight races with finishes of ninth, tenth and ninth sprinkled in. He had three more retirements over the final eight races. A pair of top five finishes in the final three races did lift Mortara to 39 points and 14th in the championship.

What to expect in this season: While three Mahindras were nowhere to be seen, Mortara was sixth in testing. Yet, Mortara has a way of teasing us. He was 14th in the championship last year. In his first three seasons, he was 13th, 14th and 14th. Prior to 2023, he was second and third in the championship for Venturi, what is now Maserati. I think we are more likely to see Mortara repeat 2018-19 where he had a three-race stretch of fourth, third and first early in the season before ending the year with eight finishes outside the points, six of which were retirements, than seeing Mortara end up winning four times and finishing in the points in 11 of 16 races like he did in 2021-22.

ABT CUPRA Formula E Team

Lucas di Grassi: #11 Mahindra M9Electro

What did he do last season: Di Grassi was third from pole position in the Mexico City season opener, earning him 18 points. He scored 14 points over the final 15 races, a seventh in Portland and a sixth in the first London race. About 43.9% of Mahindra's points scored in the 2023 season came from di Grassi's season opener.

What to expect in this season: A few days where di Grassi is surprising us and has an encouraging finish, but mostly difficult days where he isn't competitive or close to points. It is tough to see how it will be better, and it looks like matching 2023 will require another podium finish that does not fit in with the rest of his season.

Nico Müller: #51 Mahindra M9Electro

What did he do last season: Müller scored points in only four races, but scored in three of the final four to end on 15 points and 19th in the championship. 

What to expect in this season: Müller has never been great in Formula E. It has not helped that he has been with some sluggish teams in his first three seasons participating. If he can score 15 points again it will be a successful season. If he beats di Grassi in the championship, it will be a successful season. It will be tough for Müller to have a successful season.

The Mexico City ePrix weekend begins with a practice session on Friday January 12 at 5:25 p.m. ET. A second practice will be held at 8:25 a.m ET on Saturday January 13 with qualifying scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET. The Mexico City ePrix opens the 2024 Formula E season at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Musings From the Weekend: Ten Years Late

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

The Dakar Rally began, and a few notable names are already out. Formula E has confirmed it will not be returning to Hyderabad in 2024 as it is less than a week from the season opener. Formula One teams are announcing dates for announcements. Williams will be in New York. It has been a rather quiet opening week of the year in the motorsports world. Jett Lawrence made some noise, winning the Supercross season opener on debut from Anaheim, and Supercross is where we will continue...

Ten Years Late

If you were enjoying the Supercross season opener this weekend from Anaheim, you may have notice something different. You may have felt it Sunday morning. There might have been a little more spring in your step, less weight on your shoulders and in your face. A more relaxed feeling. 

It is probably because you were not up until the early hours of Sunday morning for the 450cc main event. Instead of reading 1:00 am as you dropped into bed, it was 11:00 pm, a little late but not terribly late for a Saturday night, and you could easily slide under the sheets and into a slumber. 

Though the race was in Anaheim, it began at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 5:00 p.m. local. This is the new normal for Supercross in 2024 as the latest start time will be 8:30 p.m. Eastern. My only question is what took so long? 

Over a decade ago, before Formula One was booming in the United States, NASCAR was starting to slip, American sports car racing was still split and IndyCar was still desperate for anything good, everyone looked at Supercross and Rallycross as future series to boom. The reasons? The races were short, accommodating to shortening attention spans, and they could be held in urban surroundings, easily fitting into a football or baseball stadium, places people regularly visit and can contain 40,000 to 70,000 people. Supercross and Rallycross were sold as geared to Millennials, a group that was in its teen years and the eldest were in their 20s

Last decade, Supercross was praised for its potential, and rightfully so. Supercross was having no issues filling venues while NASCAR and IndyCar notably saw fewer spectators coming through their turnstiles and many tracks removed seats. A race window wasn't a three-hour marathon, but a segmented experience building to a finale. There were consequences with the heat races and last chance qualifiers, and only 22 riders, a fraction that started the night, would compete for the victory. Not to mention, there was variety between the 250cc and 450cc classes. It was two for the price of one. 

Supercross has made minor adjustments to how it does things but it has not shedded its identity. The races might now go to a time limit and semifinal races might be gone from a evening's program, but Supercross is the same. It has not increased gimmicks or tweaked the championship in hopes of increasing attention. Creating a championship that combines Supercross and Motocross seasons actually feels like something that should have been done a long time ago, the same with shifting start times.

The earlier start didn't seem to keep people away at the gate. Anaheim was full as it normally is, and I have a feeling other West Coast venues form San Francisco to San Diego, Seattle to Glendale, Arizona will not see a drop in attendance. 

It does feel like this move came ten years late. 

Over the last decade, I wondered why Supercross kept starting at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, especially when races were on Saturdays. These weren't Tuesday races like a Los Angeles Lakers game meant for the locals. This is a national series looking for a national audience and a fair number of its races were buried late at night. And Supercross consistently started at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Even the season finales, whether it be from Las Vegas or Salt Lake City started that late. The championship was decided at 1:00 a.m. Eastern on a Sunday morning, lost to the night, and easily forgotten.

This is a prime time of the year for Supercross. It is the only motorsports in town in the United States, and it has two months to get everyone's attention. There is the 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of the month and the Daytona 500 isn't until the middle of February. Supercross has owned this window for decades, and it has always had the television coverage, whether it be on ESPN2, Speed, FS1, NBCSN, USA or Peacock. It does a good job, but it has left something on the table. 

It should be bigger, not overwhelmingly bigger, but bigger. For as much as we talk about Supercross and praise it, it doesn't even have the attention of the motorsports crowd. Look at how rare it is to see Supercross on Racer Magazine's website. It has no presence on Motorsport.com. For a brief moment, The Athletic's Jeff Gluck was giving it serious attention, but that has since subsided. 

The lack of attention isn't because of lack of action or lack of fans. It is just somehow forgotten though acknowledged for everything Supercross does right and as the only thing around in the early days of winter. 

Though Supercross hasn't made this move until now, the series is doing fine. This hasn't been a bad decision that has put the series in a dire position. It has a following. It fills stadiums. The racing is good. Sponsorship is not lacking, but it could be better.

In 2024, Supercross has finally made the move to maximize viewership across the United States. It is a different time. The series is now mainly on a streaming service, Peacock to be specific, and while streaming is the future, there is still a more reliably audience on network television and cable. The prime position was a decade ago when it was on a cable sports network every Saturday night and could have become a destination. Competition has only increased. Supercross is still going up against the NFL playoffs, and we will see more basketball, NBA and college, over the airwaves as we wait for spring to arrive.

This move should have been done a long time ago, but hopefully this takes Supercross up a level. Those Millennials are getting older. The 15-year olds are now 25, hopefully out of college and making a living with some change to spend on live events. The 30-year olds are now 40, and might have a few kids of their own, developing their own interests and passions. Favorable start times is one less hurdle in the way for viewership. After many years of waiting, Supercross could finally be positioned for an upward bump.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Jett Lawrence, but did you know...

RJ Hampshire won the 250cc season opener from Anaheim.

Dakar Rally Stage Winners: 

Cars

Prologue: Mattias Ekström

Stage 1: Guillaume De Mévius

Stage 2: Stéphane Peterhansel

Bikes

Prologue: Tosha Schareina

Stage 1: Ross Branch

Stage 2: José Ignacio Cornejo

UTV

Prologue: Xavier De Soultrait

Stage 1: Rodrigo Varela

Stage 2: Gerard Farrés

Light Proto

Prologue: Eryk Goczał

Stage 1: Eryk Goczał

Stage 2: Eryk Goczał

Quad

Prologue: Francisco Moreno Flores

Stage 1: Marcelo Medeiros

Stage 2: Marcelo Medeiros

Truck

Prologue: Janus van Kasteren

Stage 1: Janus van Kasteren

Stage 2: Janus van Kasteren

Coming Up This Weekend

The Dakar Rally continues.

Supercross heads north to San Francisco.

Formula E starts its new season in 2024.

The Chili Bowl.