[USACMan]

Originally Posted by jdull99 Ideally to get him laps in the car...I imagine they have a plan with indycar to get him licensed...(thats one of the problems...you can't just jump in these anymore...but it happens to their own...Colton Herta can't get licensed for F-1...)

All he has to do is pass rookie orientation for the 500, which is a test that has existed for a long time. The issue with F1 is the super license which is set up to protectnl that ladder. IIRC, had it not been for the covid period that wreaked havoc on the IC ladder, Herta would have had enough super license points. Not going this year has much more to do with no open seats. Kanaan is already filling that 4th ride, I don't think there is anything open among McLaren, Penske, CGR, and Penske. He could come over right now an run a full season with no problem if he had a seat and funding.

[USACMan]

Originally Posted by Grocery Guy Totally agree with you. Be nice if the Indy Car owners could try to figure out how to make more ovals profitable. Milwaukee seems to be off the table because of Road America. Michigan won't work because of the Detroit street race. What's left? As you say and according to some friends, the Iowa Indy Car ticket prices have drastically gone up in price for 2023. Seem the concerts are a bigger deal than the races. Sadly, it should be the other way around.

Take NASCAR out of the track owning part of it and half the battle has been won. That puts a long uphill battle for IC to climb from the promotion side of the equation before an event has even started, never mind the fact that thy screwed up a number of those track on both the SMI and ISC side by reconfiguring tracks and slathering that PJ1 goop on them. If you need a perfectly good oval screwed up there is no better partner than those two at the moment.

[jdull99]

Originally Posted by MassiveRaceFan There were plenty of ovals until around 2009-2011 Indycar voluntarily removed like half of them from the schedule. Gateway and Iowa have lots of fans, and I don't buy the attendance claims when some of the road races on the schedule don't do well yet still are on the schedule. And my interest in Indycar is rapidly declining, I was considering not bothering to watch this year, but decided to. If the next year or two doesn't bring big changes, I will quit watching Indycar.

NOBODY races (much at all) at two of those 2009 tracks...(Chicago & KY)...and Milwaukee is on a comeback (lets hope a promoter takes on an Indycar race again...). Richmond was close before the response to the virus; so maybe there will be something there eventually (paging Roger, Andretti or heck maybe Zach Brown...) - so thats four of them idt Indycar voluntarily removed...that leaves Japan (I did like that one, as it ran later at night over here) and Homestead...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_IndyCar_Series

[jdull99]

Originally Posted by USACMan All he has to do is pass rookie orientation for the 500, which is a test that has existed for a long time. The issue with F1 is the super license which is set up to protectnl that ladder. IIRC, had it not been for the covid period that wreaked havoc on the IC ladder, Herta would have had enough super license points. Not going this year has much more to do with no open seats. Kanaan is already filling that 4th ride, I don't think there is anything open among McLaren, Penske, CGR, and Penske. He could come over right now an run a full season with no problem if he had a seat and funding.

Older article (posted below), so perhaps there are some updates (imagine they did not do anything easier for anyone to get in tho); but, yes, you were right, as a full-time NASCAR driver he does get a license...(I woulda hoped, but nothing racing series do surprise me...). I would certainly think he would have to have that license BEFORE the rookie test though...its kind of the whole point of the License right? But ya, the sad part about this system is there seems to be nothing for front engine open-wheel race winners and champions...

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indy...ensing-system/

I do still think/hope they will get him as many tests in the car as they can under the current testing rules (I'm not researching those...) before spring of 2024. I really wished there was an oval race in 2023 that he could run OR if there was ONE added in before the 500 next year ; that would be great in every manner...


The way I read this article (much more current than one posted above), Herta coulda got the 40 points he needed to get an f1 license if he won the indycar champ either last year or once in that time period? -

https://apnews.com/article/sports-au...031e33fe3cbdc6

...Indycar still ran during the response to the virus, so I do not exactly understand how that effected him though? (just asking, I may be missing smthn).


PS - I think the whole License deal is stupid, so I'm not defending it, it just is what it is. I would like it better if a guy could just show up, pass the Rookie test and qualifying...

[USACMan]

Originally Posted by jdull99 ...Indycar still ran during the response to the virus, so I do not exactly understand how that effected him though? (just asking, I may be missing smthn).

That's right, he ran his first race in 2018. It wasn't COVID. For some reason there was a discussion in field sizes in Lights impacting those SL points and I got that mixed uo. I think I remember now what it is. IC doesn't pay out the SL points that F2 does which is dumb. If they did, he would have the need 40 points based on his 3rd and 5th place finish in point in 2020 and 2021.

[miledirt]

I have a gut feeling that Larson won't be the only NASCAR to come to Indy in 24

[BrentTFunk]

Originally Posted by MassiveRaceFan Yes, Indycar on an oval is as good as it gets, but unfortunately they've had very few ovals the last several years, trying to emulate F1.

If you look at who owns most of the ovals, it makes sense why they don't run more. I saw IndyCar races at Chicagoland and Kentucky that were as good as any racing I have ever seen. Not a lot of fans were there either. When the IRL first started there were several short trackers that had chances, and no one showed up to watch.
I actually don't mind road racing. I will take that over fenders on a dirt track any day.

[MassiveRaceFan]

Originally Posted by BrentTFunk If you look at who owns most of the ovals, it makes sense why they don't run more. I saw IndyCar races at Chicagoland and Kentucky that were as good as any racing I have ever seen. Not a lot of fans were there either. When the IRL first started there were several short trackers that had chances, and no one showed up to watch. I actually don't mind road racing. I will take that over fenders on a dirt track any day.

Indycar had plenty of tracks owned by them in the past, no reason they can't now. If attendance is really an issue, then Indycar should drop tracks like Laguna Seca and Portland which are also poorly attended.

Don't know why you hate fendered cars on dirt.

I like road racing as well, but Indycar's road racing is often very boring compared to the road racing in other series.

[Jonr]

Originally Posted by BrentTFunk If you look at who owns most of the ovals, it makes sense why they don't run more. I saw IndyCar races at Chicagoland and Kentucky that were as good as any racing I have ever seen. Not a lot of fans were there either. When the IRL first started there were several short trackers that had chances, and no one showed up to watch. I actually don't mind road racing. I will take that over fenders on a dirt track any day.

If ovals were profitable, they would race at them more. It does not matter who owns them. I guarantee that all tracks are looking for more inventory to sell. It is hard to make a business run if you only have 1 or 2 profit making days on the entire calendar.

I lived in DFW during Eddie Gossage' hey day and I am convinced that there was not an idea, he did not at least consider. Concerts, Football games, pig races, he was for anything that put buts in seats.

[jdull99]

https://racer.com/2023/01/13/larson-...t-to-good-use/