Indycar 2023-24: Push to Penske

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > Indycar 2023-24: Push to Penske

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

Dudley posted:

And yet he has their best finish of the year and isn't exactly a million miles behind Veekay.

It kinda feels there's something else here, especially if they keep his personal sponsor...

There was, FYI.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2023 22:18

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# ¿ May 13, 2024 21:38

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

Good race. Love being there even if it isn�t the best track.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2023 01:41

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

Dudley posted:

1st, 4th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd.

That's the kind of record that would have Lewis Hamilton claiming his domination is ruining the sport.

I do also love that Big John has two 2nd places and zero (0) other top 10s.

It�s very early Sato-esque.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2023 15:37

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

I think Brown and MiM share some (most) of the blame.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2023 19:47

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

Bentai posted:

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1696238203634585952
The comments are about as expected, plenty of "who care drive fast" bigot defenders.

That�s just the thing though - people forget he wasn�t particularly fast in F2 either.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2023 17:27

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

iospace posted:

That graphic they showed of results through 62 starts was super loving telling. With maybe the exception of Michael Andretti, those are names you want to be mentioned with.

Holy poo poo Palou is insane.

Michael Andretti was one of the best drivers CART produced.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2023 04:32

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

CodFishBalls posted:

My take is this isn't HPD, this is Honda Japan/HRC going "you're wasting how much money for what return?!"

They aren�t exactly pleased about the 2.4L engine being cancelled (reading between the lines the Chevy engine was not up to par.) and the fact that they had to re-engineer Mahle�s Hybrid system.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2023 02:35

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# ¿ May 13, 2024 21:38

Frond: Mar 12, 2018

IOwnCalculus posted:

Pretty much, yes. Marshall Pruett did a bunch of videos last year of the then-brand-new LMDh cars and the Acura with the should've-been-shared engine had a dramatically smaller powertrain than everyone else. Ignoring MSR's tire fuckery, having a drivetrain that small in a car with that much room in a series where you'll get BoP adjustments anyway, isn't inherently an advantage. So everyone else went with much larger engines, both in terms of displacement and overall packaging.

The DW12's engine bay is small. The current engines fit inside a very small and tightly constrained volume. I don't think there are any rule allowances for a different engine cowling, and even if there were, the drag penalty for an engine without a power gain would be an absolute non-starter for teams today. Penske didn't mind running a bigger cowling over the Beast because they had 100hp+ on the field to offset it.

Then the last of it is down to just surviving Indy. It's the only 500-mile race and it's the only true superspeedway race. Even at Texas they're lifting more than at Indy; Indy is as close to 500 miles of wide open throttle as it gets. Yet we've been blessed with an obscenely reliable era in Indycar with the current engine formula.

Personally, if it comes down to losing engine suppliers, I think the Super Formula option is an intriguing one. They make 550hp on 102 octane gasoline. I vote the series figures out a way to greenwash methanol as carbon capture, and run Super Formula specs with no boost limit. Drivers should have the option to risk sending a piston into low earth orbit to win the 500.

edit: and also that, Indycar's steadfast refusal to do anything more than The Bare loving Minimum means they are trying to court fans, owners, and engine suppliers who all have conflicting interests.

Irrespective of that though the Acura was very competitive.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2023 03:25

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > Indycar 2023-24: Push to Penske