Herta's Locked In

 To no one's surprise, it was announced that Colton Herta had signed a contract extension with Andretti Autosport.

Probably a big surprise is the length -- it runs through 2027 -- and the price tag, as Marshall Pruett reported that it most likely made the 22-year-old the highest paid driver in IndyCar. By a pretty steep margin it appears. 

Since coming to AA and IndyCar full-time in 2019, Herta has proven to be the real deal. In four seasons he already has seven wins and 11 podiums as he has finished as high as third in the season standings. This past season, his only win came on the Indy road course at the beginning of May, but overall had a disappointing campaign as he ended up 10th in points.

In the end, Herta gets what he wants: he's getting paid, has job security, becomes the leader among the drivers in the AA stable (with the departure of Alexander Rossi to Arrow McLaren SP), gets to continue working with his dad, Bryan, and still has a window of opportunity for Formula 1.

I think the final two points I made are the most important. I really think he enjoys working with his dad, and why not? They've had a great amount of success together, and, despite some of their interactions on the radio that gets replayed on TV, they get each other and I think his dad has had a lot to do with the success he's had.

Plus, the F1 thing. Herta has made it clear that racing in F1 is something that is important to him if the opportunity presents itself. Between his tests with McLaren and the ongoing potential of Michael Andretti and his partners securing a F1 team, it is a possibility. And, like Herta says, he's 22...he could go overseas for a few years and could come back and still have a long IndyCar career ahead of him.

Frankly, I don't blame any driver for wanting to test the waters in F1. Love it or hate the idea, F1 is considered worldwide as the pinnacle of the sport. You become a global name, brand and commodity, and lots of financial opportunities come along with that. Think about when you were 22 -- wouldn't that have been crazy appealing?

I mean, it would for me. Hell, I'm 53 and that would appeal to me right now!

Of course, much of the F1 hopes hinge on Herta earning enough points for a Superlicense, as Nathan Brown describes in detail here. The target number is 40 points, and Herta has 32. A great 2023 might give him enough points to make him eligible, but contractually he now can't move to F1 until after the 2025 season.

Plus, the even bigger question: given Andretti Autosport's recent form, can he have enough points when he needs them?

For the record, I hate the Superlicense criteria. I get why it is in place, and I also understand that it is weighted towards F2 and F3 for a reason: to encourage drivers to follow a European ladder system. But the fact that it is difficult to get there through IndyCar is BS. You can say anything you want about F2 and F3, but neither of those series compare to the competition and talent level that exists in IndyCar.

You mean to tell me that winning an F2 title is tougher than beating Scott Dixon, Will Power, Joef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou and the rest of the field in IndyCar? Don't come at me with that. As Palou showed in FP1 the USGP in Austin last weekend, IndyCar drivers can run with anyone.

The fact is, Herta is good enough to run in F1. Whether or not he gets that opportunity is where the debate exists.

I'm not unearthing anything amazing by saying this, but in order for that to happen, Andretti Autosport needs to get its stuff figured out. All we've seen from this team over the last couple of years is poor form, bad pitstops and badly prepared cars. I truly believe that Rossi and Herta are two of the, at worst, 20 best open wheel drivers on the planet. But the last three years absolutely were three wasted, and lost, years of Rossi's career. All of the sudden, Rossi is 31, and while he has a lot of career left, it's right now shorter than it once was.

Rossi has had enough, which is why he moved to AMSP, and I think immediately becomes a championship contender again. As of right now, AMSP has replaced AA in the Big 3 in the IndyCar paddock with Penske and Ganassi.

The one thing I think Herta has on his side is his youth. Even if F1 doesn't work out, and even if AA doesn't get its stuff together -- which is highly doubtful -- Herta will only be 27 when this contract ends, leaving him free to move to Penske or Ganassi if the opportunity is there.

While the IndyCar is in great hands for the future with all of the young talent in the series, the fact is that five years from now, it will have a completely different identity. Many of the older drivers will have probably retired, and the young guys will be the faces of the series. Herta will be one of them.

So while on the surface, there are some questions concerning his signing, Herta is exactly where he wants (and needs) to be. 

Ranking The Contenders

In boxing back in the day, the last three rounds of a 15-round fight were called the "championship rounds". Beaten, exhausted and probably questioning why they got into this line of work in the first place, the final rounds where when fighters dug deep within themselves and found the mental toughness to finish the fight.

The bell to the final round has five drivers answering it. They have all reached this point in different ways, but, as always, the IndyCar season always delivers multiple drivers with championship hopes at the end of the season. Wait, how does this always happen? Oh yeah, it's the best racing series on the planet.

So who will be holding the Astor Challenge Cup later on today at Laguna Seca? Let's look at the contenders:

Will Power (503 points): I'm going to admit this straight out that I want to see Power win his second championship. As I argued a few weeks ago, this is the best overall season in his long open wheel career, and it should end that way. Though he has just one win on the year, and has only led 318 of the possible 2173 laps this year, he has been consistent, completing every lap this season while picking up 11 Top 5 finishes. His pole yesterday was the 68th of his career, breaking a tie with Mario Andretti for the most ever, and it also gives him a free run from the start while the other contenders are back in the field.

Josef Newgarden (482 points, 21 points behind): I think Power will be the champion, but Newgarden is the Driver of the Year, with five wins, 7 Top 5 and 11 Top 10 finishes. Most seasons would find him running away with the points, but he's had several bogeys as well, finishing P25 at the Indianapolis 500 and crashing out (not his fault) while leading in Race 2 at Iowa and finishing P24. He's got the biggest hill to climb today, as a spin in qualifying relegates him to the 26th starting position.

Scott Dixon (482, -21): Who's surprised to see Dixon still in the hunt and looking for his seventh IndyCar title? I don't see any hands in the air, so let's continue. His season has been crazy consistent as well, as he has only one finish outside of the Top 10 this year. But that one was a biggie, as it was P21 at the Indy 500, which on a double-points day cost him dearly. What's crazy is that he was the car to beat that day until he was penalized with 25 laps to go for a pit speed violation. He actually scored one more point than Power did that day (33-32), but even a Top 5 finish would've garnered him 37 more points, which would have him in the driver's seat today. Like Newgarden, he has some work starting P13, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the podium later this afternoon.

Marcus Ericsson (484, -39): You can argue all you want about double points at the 500, because here's why it matters: in winning his first Indy 500, Ericsson scored a whopping 109 points, which represents 22.5 percent of all the points he scored this year. Other than a P22 finish at Long Beach, his season has been very respectable, but his two podiums and five total Top 5 finishes falls below the marks of the rest of the guys on this list. But hey, when you win the 500, it's been a helluva season.

Scott McLaughlin (482, -41): Amongst the other contenders, McLaughlin has the best look at Power at the start, as he goes off P8 on the grid. He also has the most work to do. In order for McLaughlin to be standing at the final bell, he needs to win the race while the rest of the event goes totally off the rails. Still, what an incredible season: three wins, seven podiums and three pole positions. What cost him was a bad run between the Indy road course and Detroit, where he finished P20, P29 and P19. It was great to see that he was rewarded with a long-term contract from Team Penske as the result of his first two years in the series. Looking at all of the young talent in IndyCar, people have wondered who was going to be the next superstar out of that group. Turns out it's probably going to be a 29-year-old Kiwi who is also the Australian Supercars GOAT. Dude is great, and he's only getting better.

So that's how it lines up today at Laguna Seca. Have a great race everybody!

Winners and Losers -- Gateway Edition

 Wow, was that a weird evening or what?

Saturday night's race at WWT Raceway was like a play with more than a few acts. The first act was a bit boring as the track was still hot and passing was difficult. Then, with rain coming, several drivers went off-sequence, leading to a lot of crazy passes because of different tire degradation due to cars being on different strategies.

Lightning and rain followed with 43 laps to go, which led to some Rain Delay Theater, taking the remainder of the race under the lights were a clean, cool track led to several cars coming alive. And of course, the final 43 laps where while only one pass took place up front, down in the field there was some type of craziness that included one young driver making a charge to the front.

So who were the winners and losers Saturday?

Winners

Josef Newgarden: It was certainly a Penske Party up front as its three drivers led 218 of the 260 laps, with Newgarden leading 78 on his way to a fifth win of the season. He also tightened the championship and is now just three points behind teammate Will Power at the top of the standings with two races left. The win was also the 25th of his career, tying Gordon Johncock on the all-time wins list and putting him within striking distance of Rodger Ward (26), Johnny Rutherford (27) and Rick Mears (29). Pretty impressive when you consider he is in his age 31 season. But how does he compare with the best in IndyCar history after their age 31 seasons? Check this out:

AJ Foyt -- 32 wins

Scott Dixon -- 26

Mario Andretti -- 30

Michael Andretti -- 29

Of course, all of the drivers listed competed under different circumstances. For instance, Mario didn't begin racing in IndyCar until he was 25, and Michael lost a year in Formula 1. But, the numbers are the numbers, and if Newgarden stays with Penske the rest of his career (duh!) he will finish his career in the Top 5 on the wins list. 

David Malukas: No doubt the absolute driver of the day. Malukas won twice last year at Gateway and looked just as comfortable on Saturday night, leading four laps and charging through the field in the final stint, which culminated in a pass on Scott McLaughlin in Turn 2 on the final lap of the race. That pass, using the high line and showing no regard for his own personal safety (kidding, it was an incredible pass) was highlight material. Malukas has certainly raced his way into a better ride next year if he wants it.

Scott McLaughlin: Remember last year when Scotty was pretty much racing in the midfield, and, by his own admission, having confidence issues? I don't either, because in Year 2 he has shown what made Team Penske sign him in the first place. We all knew he was a successful, smart, and clean racer thanks to his massive success in Supercars, but for a while it was a concern that it might not have transferred to open wheel machines. Forget that, he's the real deal, and the only thing that might keep him from a bunch of wins and a title may be his own teammate, who is just as good.

Scott Dixon: Look who's back...back again. While Dixon finished P8 in Saturday's race, he's still third in points and just 14 in arrears of Newgarden. As usual, he's gained momentum as the season has progressed. In his last eight races since the Indianapolis 500, he has two wins, five total Top 5 finishes and has never finished out of the Top 10. This is just what the guy does.

Losers

Will Power: I'm probably being a bit hard on Will, especially the way he dominated the race by leading 128 laps in the early going. But, with his P6 finish he came back to the championship field a little bit, and while he is still the leader -- and my odds-on pick to win the championship -- things are really, really tight as four drivers are within 17 points and anything can happen in the next two races. Power could make it easy on himself and just win the final two races, which he is capable of doing, but at worst he has to podium in both races to grab the Astor Cup.

Alex Palou: His P9 finish probably closed any chance he had to defend his championship, as he sits in fifth and is 43 points behind Power. That's a workable deficit with a little luck, but to win the championship he would need Power, Newgarden, Dixon and Marcus Ericsson to all falter. That's not gonna happen.

Pato O'Ward: A guy finishes P4 and he makes the losers list? Unfortunately, yeah. He really did drive a great race and was solid all night, but he really needed to either win the race to make up some ground. As it stands, he's now 68 points behind and time has pretty much ran out. After his awesome, P2-P1 weekend at Iowa, his P12 at the IMS road course and P24 in Nashville did a ton of damage.

As the season winds down, who ya got for the championship? Follow me on Twitter @15daysinmay and let me know! 

Will Power's Career Year

Yep, I'm saying it.

You're probably asking, "wait a minute? Will Power? The guy with 41 wins, 66 poles, a championship and an Indy 500 win? That Will Power?".

Yep again.

As we head to the final four races of the IndyCar season, Power sits in a familiar spot -- on top of the points standings. And if he keeps doing what he's been doing, I think he will still be sitting there when the checkered flag falls at Laguna Seca in six weeks.

There's no doubt that Power is one of the best drivers of his generation, in fact, if Scott Dixon weren't around he would arguably be the best. He's been dominant since he began racing full-time with Team Penske in 2010, and in his first five years with Penske, he finished, P2, P2, P2 and P4 before finally winning his first (and only) IndyCar title in 2014. In fact, other than last year, when he finished ninth in points, he had never had a season where he finished lower than fifth.

It's some pretty consistent stuff -- at least in the points standings. But many of his most successful seasons featured some brilliant driving, and some stinkers too. 

Take 2011, when he won six times and notched a total of eight podiums. He lost the title, though, mainly because he had three finishes of P19 or worse, to go along with two P14 finishes. Dario Franchitti, on the other hand, only had four wins, and while he had a P20 finish at New Hampshire, he only finished outside of the Top 10 one other time that year. 

The next season was the same, as he won three times and had six podiums. But he lost the championship to Ryan Hunter-Reay by just three points thanks to three finishes of 23rd or worse, including crashing out of the final race at Fontana and finishing 24th. Hunter-Reay won that race, and the title as a result.

I'm not going to go season-by-season, of course, but you get the idea. He's won a race in every season since 2007, and has scored a ton of points along the way. But whether it was mistakes or just plain bad luck, he's missed the one thing that is important: consistent, race-to-race consistency.

Maybe last year's 9th-place finish in points was a motivator, but at age 41 Power is putting up the consistency that he's lacked in previous seasons.

Though he only has one win (Detroit), he has a total of seven podiums, plus three 4th-place finishes. Sure, he has two P15s at the 500 and Toronto, and a P19 at Road America, but the consistency he's shown in the other 10 races has been outstanding as he heads to Nashville with and average finish of 6.1 on the year.

For reference, in his title year of 2014 he had an average finish of 6.4.

It hasn't been easy at times, either. While he is no doubt the greatest qualifier in history, and and three poles this year to give him 66 on his career -- one short of Mario Andretti -- he's also had weekends where things didn't go so well.

At Mid-Ohio, Power started 21st and still came back to finish third. In his win at Detroit he started 16th, and at Barber he started 19th and finished fourth. In all three of those races he passed cars and methodically moved his way up the field.

And, despite only leading 188 laps, which without doing the research I'm guessing is a career low, he's completed all 1,723 laps of competition this year. Power has been smooth and he's been fast, and he's putting together the types of seasons Franchitti did when he was winning four championships in a five-year span.

With four races to go on the schedule, if Power wants to win the title, he has to keep up this kind of consistency, because there is really no room for error. He's just nine points ahead of Marcus Ericsson, and 32 in front of Josef Newgarden, with four other drivers within 81 points.

Power has talked a lot about thinking about the "big picture", and how that has helped him be more patient. If he wants to win his second championship, that and his super consistency is what is going to take him there.

Say it isn't so, Alex. Say it isn't so!

I'm going to start this off by saying that Alex Palou is my favorite IndyCar driver. I'll expound on more about that in a minute.

I wanted to get that bias out of the way first, because I want you to know where I'm coming from. Because I'm going to say some nice and some not-so-nice things in the coming paragraphs and full disclosure is only the right thing to do.

Despite still writing an 11-year-old blog on an even older platform, I'm still a professional.

So we all know what is going on, and if you don't, I'll give a nod to the boys at the Indy Star, who are all over this mess. Nathan Brown is doing stellar work and Gregg Doyel has even weighed in.

In fact, Gregg inspired this post, so check his column here.

Quick recap: on July 12, Chip Ganassi Racing announced on his socials that they had picked up the option on Palou's contract for 2023. Hours later, Palou fired back with his statement, saying that due to "personal reasons", he would not be back in the No. 10 car next season.

Hours after THAT, McLaren Racing (not the IndyCar team, the umbrella organization) announced that Palou had signed a contract with them for 2023 and beyond. This whole fiasco reached its peak yesterday when Chip Ganassi Racing v. Alex Palou became an entry on a court docket.

It's all just a crapshow by now, and yet, somehow, Palou and CGR will have to soldier on this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and, according to a CGR release, the rest of the season. Which, in my opinion, for Palou, the season is already over. If what we saw at Iowa over the weekend was any indication, the 2021 IndyCar champ has no chance in hell to repeat.

I wasn't in Iowa but from what I watched during the races, I came to the conclusion that his team is going through the motions for him, and that's it. 

I'm not going to comment on contracts, who's right or wrong, or the fact that my reading the tea leaves makes me think this is about his management team trying to strike when the iron is hot and getting him to McLaren so he can replace Daniel Ricciardo on its Formula 1 team next year. What I will say is that Palou has more than outperformed his contract and deserves more money, and if he wants to spend more time in Spain, that should be accommodated.

There.

What I'm going to comment on is about Alex Palou himself, and the underbelly of the racing world.

First about Alex. During the pandemic in 2020, it was a podcaster's dream. Nothing was going on and IndyCar PR people were lining up their drivers for exposure in any way they could. I couldn't believe the interviews that I was scoring, even after the season started back up. 

Now, those same PR people won't even reply to emails. Que sera, sera, though, I'm not bitter because it was a great run. As my therapist reminds me about things I've experineced: even if it never happens again, it was pretty freaking cool that it did.

(Editor's note: The two exceptions to this are Brie Rentz, PR person for Ed Carpenter Racing, and Tom Blattler, PR guy for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. Both are awesome people and always accommodate me as best they can.)

But anyway, I was given access to Alex, and he quickly became a favorite subject of mine. Sweet, kind, positive, funny and unassuming, he was so much fun to talk to, so much so that I featured him several times on my pod.

Now, the way these interviews worked was the PR reps would set up a call, and the drivers would call me. That meant I had their phone numbers. After I got off the phone I would create a contact in my phone and everything, because, really, how cool is it to have IndyCar drivers in your contacts?

Ultimately, I would delete them, because I respected their privacy. I wasn't on any sort of a beat, it was something fun and was a great distraction during the pandemic. If I needed anything else I'd just go back to the reps, because that's what they do.

I kept one number in my contacts, though: Alex Palou's. During our second conversation Alex told me that I could call or text him anytime.

So I did. I started texting him on race weekends, wishing him luck before the weekend started and congratulating him on a great run -- or condolences on a bad weekend. No big deal, I still respected his privacy, and it was fun to have an IndyCar driver as a "text friend".

His replies were never all that detailed, usually a thumbs-up emoji, or a thank you, or if things went great I got a "Yeah!!!!". That was the reply I got after he clinched his title at Long Beach. It was also the last reply I ever received from him.

I reached out a few more times, but in the end I figured that he belonged to the world now, and that was OK. (I think that was in a movie somewhere) It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but I figured he either had a new phone or CGR PR or his management team told him to narrow himself down a bit. 

(Editor's note No. 2: If I were still with a popular podcast or on the IndyCar beat in some form or function, I would never have done this. That would be a compromise and a no-no in my book.)

I settled into the season, bought some merch, and then rooted for him all season long. In fact, I still do, and I'll tell you why.

Whatever is going on, this isn't Palou. Somewhere along the line he got some bad advice and is struggling to tread water. 

Am I covering for someone I like and respect? Probably. Am I also speaking from experience?

Absolutely.

Here's my story. Well, the short version:

Back in 2016, bored and frustrated by my IT job, I made the decision to work in racing. In whatever capacity, I didn't care. 

What you can probably guess is that I'm not the only one. There are thousands of peeps like me who have the same dream, which was certainly a wake-up call for me. After tons of no's or no answers I got my first hit, from John Cummiskey, owner of John Cummiskey Racing in the USF2000 series.

After a conversation with him, he invited me to come up to the Road America weekend, and I worked for the team all the way through to May, 2017, when JCR was unable to continue due to funding issues.

In hindsight, maybe I should've stopped there. John Cummiskey is everything that is right with racing. Like many he started at the bottom, but eventually spent the 1990s with Team Penske and enjoyed all of the successes that went with that team. Later, he spent time with other teams in different capacities. While JCR had limited success in the USF2000 series, John had the reputation of always putting together well-prepared cars and putting his drivers in the best positions to succeed.

What I liked about John -- and still do -- is that he is someone of honesty and integrity. I won't gush much more about John because he'd hate it, but he's just at his core a very good man.

Moving on from John, I discovered that not everyone in the racing world is the same. There are a lot of smarmy people who promise you tons of things that they can't deliver.

In a two-year span, here's what I was promised or told: I was going to be given charge of sponsorship for a team for the next year's Indy 500, I was going to be made rich, I was the new PR guy for a junior formula team. That one was fun, I even set up accounts for them and everything, then come to find out the person who told me I had the gig had never actually talked about it with the team.

I was once promised a role with someone, a person I really trusted, and when I couldn't make it to a race weekend because of a previous commitment, they handed the job to someone else. I remember once being told that a driver was confirmed for a ride in a couple of IndyCar races, and I was going to be the one presenting the press conference. I could go on.

I spent thousand of dollars of my own money going all over the country chasing dreams and promises, and they all came up empty. People I thought were my friends -- people I had worked with and formed incredible relationships with -- dropped me for no reason, or tried to tell me what to do, despite never paying me a dime. Too bad for them, I've won awards since then.

It goes on and on. I knew what was going on, but I went with it, because I figured once completed my Andy Dufresne-like gauntlet run through a quarter-mile of crap, I'd have a career. 

Back when I graduated high school, I got a job with a consumer loan company. I was the trainee and I got the crappy stuff to do, like calling people on the phone for late payments, knocking on their doors demanding money, and even once repossessing a car. (It was a 1977 Firebird, it was kind of fun to drive away.)

I figured I'd do the crappy stuff for a couple of years, then move into management and have other people do that stuff. I'm old school, that's how it used to work.

It doesn't work that way any longer.

I know some might say I'm bitter, because things in the end didn't work out. I'm frustrated, sure, because I feel I have a lot to offer, but not bitter. After all, for each one of those things that happened, I had a hundred great experiences that cancelled each of them out.

This also isn't an indictment of racing, either. People like that exist in every industry in the world. Just the same, for every smarmy person there are tons of great people that have an immense passion for the sport and for competition. I love the IndyCar paddock and hope it might still work out for me someday.

But back to Palou. With all of that in mind, I did shoot my shot with Alex, in fact, probably around a year ago today. After finally finishing my degree -- what I had hoped was the final piece of the puzzle to find a job -- I had put out a bunch of emails and LinkedIn connects but had come out dry.

So with the encouragement of my amazing wife Darcy, who is beside me in everything I do, I asked Alex if I could help him with his social media. I thought his could use some more magic, which I will provide someone someday, and I offered to pay my own way and do the August races for free. After that, we could talk.

Because he is one of the sweetest people alive, he very politely declined, saying he had someone doing it for him. Cool, I wasn't offended. I mean, doesn't Michael Scott have a quote about shooting shots?

So I moved on. But in the time I've been familiar with Alex Palou, one thing is certain, he is a super kind person who it seems can easily be taken advantage of by others. Gregg Doyel called him naïve, and I agree. He wants to drive the car and everything involved in it and let everyone else take care of the details.

There's nothing wrong with that. Imagine being in his shoes: one year you are driving in near worldwide obscurity in Japan, and two years later you are an IndyCar champion and superstar. That happened quickly, and remember, Palou is a first-generation racer, and at 24 years old, did he really have the life experience for this?

Which leads me to my dénouement: this isn't Alex, this is poor management and poor advice heaped on someone who wasn't ready for it. And sadly, as we get into the race weekend at IMS, it's continuing. 

It's sad that he's in the middle of this, but I truly believe that he was promised a lot by his new management agency, Monaco Increase Management, who shot their shot with him, and they drilled it from downtown.

I'm only speculating, like you and everyone else. But if you go to their website, they manage just three drivers. It seems like they have a competent group of people working in their firm, many with impressive racing credentials. They say that their goal is quality over quantity, and to treat drivers as if they are their own start-up company.

It sounds good, right? But what have they really done for Alex? His social media is still just average, his race coverage on the website is sub-par, and now he is embroiled in this.

I feel like there is a "kill 'em all and let the lawyers sort it out" mentality at work on all sides, but for my money, I'm with Chip Ganassi. Love him or hate him personally, he has run a solid shop for more than 30 years and that longevity puts me on his side.

As far as Zak Brown goes, I think he was just an innocent bystander in this. (Editor's note: He wasn't. In fact he seems like kind of a snake.) Team Principals, especially one who runs an iconic brand like McLaren, have a lot on their shoulders. They delegate lots of things, and people like Brown and Ganassi are smart enough to know what they don't know. 

Ganassi has a degree in finance, and by my best research I'm not sure Brown even has one at all. Which also means, they may be the best in the world at what they do, but they aren't lawyers, and lawyers are the people who handle this kind of stuff.

So when Brown says he didn't know about Palou's option year, I believe him. The rivalry between Brown and Ganassi aside, I see both of their points of view: they have a contract with Alex Palou for 2023 and expect him to honor that agreement.

I'm not a lawyer either, but unless Alex's option was mutual, Ganassi holds the upper hand here. He had the first right of refusal for a driver who he currently has under contract. That's just common sense.

It's only going to get darker from here, but what happens next? It's hard to say. It looks like this case is going to arbitration, so it will be hashed out by a third party. In my personal opinion, it's either Palou drives for Ganassi next year or he doesn't drive at all, and in the latter case, he will probably be on the hook for damages.

And if you want to take it all the way to the Seventh Circle of Hell, he drives for neither team and eventually becomes a free agent, going onto the market as damaged product. Or as they say in TV and movies: "back to one".

I think the worst thing that will happen, though, is the hit to Palou's reputation. For everything going on here, he's the one taking the hit, to his reputation and his integrity. It may not be his fault, but he's the face of this -- the face of, shall we say, the "start-up company" -- and he will be the one taking the grenades.

Whether any of this involved any input from him personally or not, how in the world does he rebuild any sort of trust when the IndyCar paddock is laughing at him? Can he even come back from this?

That's up to him. He needs to begin rebuilding those relationships himself, and he is the one that fixes it, because at the end of the day it's his reputation that is on the line.

Have you ever seen the movie The Fighter? I'm reminded of a scene in there where Micky Ward's camp is arguing heatedly during a training session. Finally, Micky, played by Mark Wahlberg, looks at them and says, "I'm the one who is fighting. Not you, not you, and not you."

If Alex Palou wants to fix this, he needs to be the fighter. Once the lawyers have their pound of flesh and billable hours, he needs to step up like a man and fix what's fixable by himself. Not his management, not his team owner, his PR, his family, or Zak Brown.

This is certainly a teachable moment in the life of Alex Palou, and I hope he's going to school, not only for himself, but the people who care about him.

What can I say? I'm selfish. When it all comes down to it, I love the guy and don't want him to go away.

Winners and Losers: Toronto

It was so great to finally see cars on track (or the streets) in Toronto for the first time since 2019. I'd love to rehash some of my posts from them, but alas, they are in an internet void somewhere, never to be seen again.

Advice to young writers: always keep backup copies, you never know when your stuff will be wiped from existence because...well, I won't go there. But I am kind of bitter.

Anyway, I was in Toronto back in 2019 and loved the way the community supported the race, and it was good to see that the fans were back in earnest. Toronto has been and IndyCar staple for a long, long time, and hopefully it stays that way for years to come.

Last week sure as hell was dramatic, wasn't it? Silly Season spiraled out of control, some championship contenders are just happy to be getting out of town, and Scott Dixon once again showed he is the best IndyCar driver of all time.

I present to you, winners and losers from Up North:

Winners

Scott Dixon: His dominant performance proved two things, 1) he is still the best driver in the sport and 2) don't count him out of the championship just yet. Sunday's win was No. 52 for the Kiwi, tying him with Mario Andretti for second in all-time IndyCar wins, and while I still consider Mario the best all-around driver who has ever lived, if you go just by IndyCar, how can you argue against Scott Dixon? He's got it all: wins, championships, an Indy 500...it goes on and on. Dixon has always said that he doesn't worry about the championship until he is 100 points behind, so a deficit of 44 points to teammate Marcus Ericsson heading into a doubleheader weekend is nothing to stress about.

Colton Herta: Herta definitely had a big week, testing a McLaren F1 car early, then coming to Canada and winning the pole and finishing just behind Dixon on track. Despite the dysfunction that is Andretti Autosport right now, I still think Herta is still in championship contention, despite being in eighth place and 97 points in arrears of Ericsson. Momentum is always important, and to get this kind of result heading into five races in five weeks is a good thing.

Marcus Ericcson: The Indy 500 champ just keeps chugging along. He gained points on some of his closest competitors this past weekend, and is doing what he needs to do to win a championship. I didn't have "Ericcson will be leading the points as we head into late July", on my pre-season IndyCar bingo card, but I kind of like it. 

Graham Rahal: There has been a ton of talk about what's wrong with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing lately, and it's pretty valid given the lack of results for anyone on the team. Rahal finally put it together and picked up a season-best P4. Qualifying has been an effort for RLL all season, so if he brings it all together one weekend we may see his first win since 2017 in the cards.

Losers

Alex Palou: I hate having to put my favorite driver in this category, but a great drive on Sunday, where he went from P22 to finish sixth, doesn't really cover up the shitshow that had accompanied his week. He really killed a lot of goodwill he's tried to establish over the last three years in the span of a couple of days, and has set up an uncertain future for himself. I think in the end Zak Brown will write a check and he will be in a McLaren car next year, but he and his team could've handled all of this a lot better. 

Pato O'Ward: Speaking of McLaren, Pato was out of the loop from the jump this weekend, failing to get out of the first round of qualifying and eventually finishing P11. Since finishing second in the 500 and fifth at Detroit, he's gone P26, P24 and P11 in his last three events. It's possible to have a mulligan, and maybe even two, during the season and still win the championship, but he's out of mulligans and will really have to push hard the rest of the season to even think about getting seriously back into the hunt.

Romain Grosjean: A year ago, he was the most popular driver in the series. Now? Are you kidding me? I think it's safe to say the honeymoon is over. Not only is he hitting everything but the pace car, but his ranting over the radio adds to his legend, but not in a good way. He's 15th in points and has finished P16 or worse in five of his last six races. I wonder if Michael Andretti misses Ryan Hunter-Reay yet.

To paraphrase Future in the movie 8 Mile: I can't stress how important this coming weekend at Iowa is for many of the drivers. Two races, both during the day, both during extreme heat, it could be crazy times the power of 10. I expect some fireworks and a lot of changes in the championship standings.

Can I digress for a second? Why is it that the races are in the heat of the day and the concerts aren't? I'm excited to see what this weekend holds in store as far as fan activation, and it's exciting to be back at the bullring in Newton, but is this weekend about racing or about concerts? 

Personally, I think it's about racing, and I think the schedule of events are horribly screwed up. Fortunately Iowa always puts on a great show, but next year, let's think of the drivers and teams first.

Have a great week! I won't be at Iowa this weekend -- bummer -- but I hope to see a great show!

Winners and Losers: Mid-Ohio

 Happy 4th everyone!

Racing on (or around) Independence Day is an American tradition, and IndyCar continued with that tradition Sunday with the Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio.

While there wasn't a lot of action at the front of the pack, with Scott McLaughlin dominating on his way to his second win on the season, there was a lot of it further back, which included a lot of drama. Who were the winners and losers as the IndyCar series officially crossed the halfway point of the season?

Winners

Scott McLaughlin: After a hot start to the season where he won at St. Pete and finished second at Texas, the Kiwi went through a rough patch with three finishes of P19 or worse between the Indy GP and Detroit. While he rebounded with a P7 at Road America, this was a great bounce back weekend for him. The 29-year-old Kiwi moved up two places in the standings to P7 and sits just four points out of P5. 

Will Power: One of the greatest qualifiers in IndyCar history, qualifying has been an issue for Power as of late. No problem, as he has done a great job moving up through the field. Sunday added an even bigger challenge. Starting P21, he was punted on the first lap and dropped all the way back to the tail end of the field in 27th before driving his way to a third-place finish. Power has been amazingly consistent this year, as this was his seventh Top 5 in nine races. He's now P2 in points, just 20 behind Marcus Ericsson.

Rinus "Rooster" VeeKay: Other than a P3 finish at Barber, VeeKay's season has been a disaster, with five finishes of P16 or worse, including a last-place finish at the Indy 500. It's been a tough stretch of races for VeeKay dating back to last year, but he finally got a much-needed good result.

Simona De Silvestro/Paretta Autosport: Let's just bask in their P18 finish for a minute, and then admire Simona and PA on a pretty solid accomplishment. What this team is doing isn't easy. Simona is back in an IndyCar for non-500 races for the first time in seven years, and PA is building a team from the very ground up. In the last two races, the team has finished both on the lead lap, and the P18 is Simona's best finish in IndyCar since New Orleans in 2015. 

Losers

Andretti Autosport: Not mincing words, but that organization is a shitshow right now. Mistakes, drivers crashing into each other, drivers not liking each other, poor finishes. It's really a miracle that they have two drivers (Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta) in the Top 10 in points. They all took turns hitting each other Sunday, and, surprisingly enough, rookie Devlin DeFrancesco didn't hit anyone, but was it by a teammate. Seriously, what in the world is going on there? When AA was one of the best teams in the paddock, they were somehow able to manage massaging egos and keeping everyone pointed in the right direction. That's not happening any longer. I have my opinions, which I'll share last week, but the entire team needs an attitude adjustment right now.

Pato O'Ward: With Ericsson and Josef Newgarden having ho-hum weekends finishing in P6 and P7, respectively, O'Ward, starting from the pole, had a chance to tighten things up with at lease a podium finish. That didn't happen, as a mechanical issue ruined his day, as well as the day of teammate Felix Rosenqvist. While it wasn't a horrible weekend as O'Ward is still P5 and just 65 points in arrears, to win a championship you have to pounce when your opponents give you that opportunity.

Felix Rosenqvist: Rosenqvist suffered similar mechanical issues as O'Ward, his teammate, and ended the day DFL in 27th place. While not a serious contender for the championship, he lost a ton of points and is now P11 in the standings. With O'Ward winning the pole and Rosenqvist starting fourth, it looked like Arrow McLaren was going to have a pretty good day. Didn't work out that way.

Daniel Ricciardo: No, not an IndyCar driver -- at least not yet -- but since we are piling on McLaren today (which pains me), let's add Danny Ric to the mix. He's 15th in the points in F1 and hasn't had a podium since winning at Monza last year. With teammate Lando Norris having much better results and sitting seventh in points, it's obvious he isn't getting it done, and at 33 who is going to give him another chance in F1? Looks a little bleak right now.

The Podcast

I had a blast doing a crossover podcast with Abby from Fast Cars Fast Girls this week, and you can listen to it here.