Q: Five days after the announcement about Katherine Legge and Gradient’s split, we haven’t heard much more about it. Katherine is a strong racer, a personality and so good for the sport, so the story’s surrounding circumstances like the Indy 500, Elf’s strong support, the wreck at Sebring, being let go right after she’s inducted into the Long Beach Motorsport Walk of Fame, not finishing the last two races, and possible responsibility conflicts between her teams (Gradient and Coyne) are too interesting for me to ignore.

With Elf on board, is it possible that she is getting a full-time IndyCar ride? Is she moving to a more competitive IMSA team after the 500? Is she out of a drive for the rest of the season? I hope you can bring some light to the story.

Cris Band, Knoxville, TN

MP: I’m sure there’s plenty of drama to unearth here for someone who wants to spend the time. Of the things I’ve read, her Indy 500 sponsor was involved in her 2023 program at RLL, so it’s an existing relationship that has led the sponsor to confirm a single event so far at Indy. There was a vacancy in Coyne’s No. 51 Honda this weekend for Long Beach, but Coyne opted to put Jack Harvey in the car, so it suggests Legge’s sponsor isn’t looking to put her in the No. 51 for the rest of the year, unless it’s meant to start later in the season.

The only IMSA teams that come to mind that might have a seat to offer or sell after the first three races have been held would not be considered more competitive than Gradient.

Q: I cannot believe that IndyCar’s marketing group cannot find one sponsor for a race between St. Pete and the LBGP. We have available Watkins Glen, VIR, Sebring (if they test there they can race there), NOLA, Richmond, Kentucky, Texas, COTA, Thermal, Sonoma and Willow Springs. I believe that the marketing group is not that interested in finding a sponsor. Why can’t Roger Penske, for the betterment of IndyCar, pony up the cash for just one race? He can figure out how to make it a tax loss.

Second, when you write about hybrid racing and start talking about the “regen” zones, kilojoules required for this and that, capacitors, battery storage and design my eyes just glaze over. I have no interest in this hybridization of IndyCar. Why is it that the “elite” teams get to test it and the “lesser” teams do not? Another bad management decision by IndyCar. Oh, wait, Penske’s team gets the chance to test it. Never mind.

I am happy that Penske was not able to buy an interest in the LBGP. With his bad management decisions regarding how IndyCar is run, there’s no telling what would have happened to this great race if he had purchased a controlling stake. Perhaps sell out to NASCAR?

Finally, why does IndyCar have to have a guy walking around in a Firestone Firehawk costume? Total nonsense. Another gimmick that needs to be put to pasture.

Jerry, Houston

MP: I’m fairly confident it’s Firestone that has someone walking around in a Firehawk costume. I’ll let you be the one to tell the countless number of kids who run to pose with that mascot at every race that it needs to stop.

Not sure the Firestone Firehawk is a bird you want to mess with, Jerry from Houston. Chris Jones/IMS Photo

Q: Did you see the interview where Larson referenced a data system he has in NASCAR that allows him to review laps, and it is not available in  IndyCar? Do you know what he was talking about?

Gray Fowler

MP: I didn’t fully grasp what he was saying, but he’s wrong if he said IndyCar’s in the dark. NASCAR is brand-new to onboard data. IndyCar has had it since the 1980s. IndyCar teams have also had the ability for many years to pull data from the collective feed to the broadcast that they use on the screen and compare their info against their rivals.

Q: It is very rough for Andretti Global after losing its bid to enter Formula 1 and get North American talent into the premier open-wheel series in the world. But it bothered me when Colton Herta returned back in the States to compete in Indy Lights (now NXT). I can forget those events when he competed in the Euro Formula Open which is the weakest series in Europe. I was disappointed that a GP3 team invited Colton to test out a car. By any chance were there any GP3 teams that had interest in testing him? And what was Bryan Herta and Michael Andretti’s take on bringing Colton back onto the U.S. ladder series?

JLS, Chicago, IL

MP: I have no clue on which GP3 teams might have had an interest in Colton nearly a decade ago.

Colton wasn’t an Andretti driver when he was in Europe, so Michael was not involved in where he raced before Indy Lights. The Hertas paid for Colton to race outside the U.S. and spent what they could afford. Funding a full FIA Formula 3 season, which is where they wanted to place him since GP3 was fading, was not something the Hertas could afford, so he was brought home.

It was in that return where the business relationship with the Steinbrenner family, and subsequently with Andretti, where Colton was able to continue. All of this was re-affirmed or further explained in a call today with Bryan.

Q: How is Mike Shank? I heard that he was pulling back a bit from the stand and strategy, and the last couple of times I saw him on TV he looked a bit thinner.

I have a lot a respect for Shank, based on where he came from and what he has accomplished. I hope he is OK.

BTW My opinion (for what it’s worth) is that the greatest need that IndyCar has is promotion. Maybe “Sulli” and Jim Meyer and some of the other professionals/team co-owners could push for that, and pony up some cash or equivalents  — production of shows, etc.

Bruce

MP: Shank’s his same old self. Yes, as his demands are changing with more time needed to run the team, he’s doing less on the on-track side during the sessions. Jim Meyer is super smart and knows a lot of people who could help. James Sullivan’s been out of IndyCar for many years and is focusing on his championship-winning IMSA program with Lexus.