UDPB: Ed Carpenter on the state of IndyCar after Iowa doubleheader
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- IndyCar team owner Ed Carpenter says he would be in favor of ditching the hybrid for the rest of the #IndyCar season.
"We're spending a lot of money to make our racing worse."
More here on OEM's in the series, the racing at Iowa, the repave and more.
Good to hear a lower tier Owner/Driver’s honest perspective on the current status of the Hybrid. His passion for the sport stands out.
Well said. A perfect comment.
We Love ECR..!
“We’re spending a lot of money to make our racing worse” truer words couldn’t be said!!! Props to Ed for speaking the truth.
As an owner and a driver, he knows what he is talking about.
Wow! What a great interview. Ed is the MAN for saying what needs to be said. Our favorite series spent a lot of $$ to show how "green" they are and bow to the whims of a lot of folks who don't give a hoot about auto racing. Indycar showed they can do it so ditch the hybrid, make the changes to the car that Ed suggests and cater to our fans and the best interests of the teams that make our product. Auto racing can never be "green" enough to satisfy the eco-nazis so we should just do our best to put together the best series we can and enjoy it. Ed just said what we'll never hear from the Penske/Andretti/McLaren folks. Thanks, Ed, for the honesty.
It isn't about being green honda needs more relevance to make cost worth it to them and losing homda will be huge blow
Not sure I would group Andretti in that "we'll never hear from" dept. Michael has never feared sharing his thoughts
I love Ed. Hopefully this doesn't make him want to retire.
Glad to hear honest opinions from Ed
new car asap , 200kg lighter and at least 900hp . we were supposed to get 950 with the 2.4l upgrade + the new hybrid . we get more weight , no 2.4 and a 60hp hybrid that makes no difference its so minor . oh year and it cost the teams 400k per car to do it .
Nothing is ever perfect right away. NASCAR with the car of tomorrow and this current car. F1 with every car bouncing with this current car. They will make adjustments, it’s not a big deal. People overreact because for some reason, I’m a world where nothing is perfect, people expect perfection.
@@patrickwhite4449 the bouncing in F1 is mostly gone.
I don't think you can make the car much lighter, the whole chassis is already made out of carbon fiber.
@@ThatwasJuliAnd to get rid of the porpoising it took two years and several technical directives.
@@kylegoodman5196 which is fine imo. That’s the challenge of designing an F1 car. I rather have this than running the same chassis since a decade :)
Colton Herta won the pole(race one), and 4th on the grid(race 2) with the hybrid not working, showing how useless it is! Ed is absolutely correct, spent a lot of money to make an already overweight car even worse. Lest we forget the windscreen added a bunch of weight to a car not designed for it. IMO a new lightweight non-hybrid car needs to come sooner rather than later. If Chevy and Honda don't want to play, F'em, go to a spec engine. Did anyone watch the Indy-Nxt race, it had more action and an actual pass for the lead, what a concept!
Going out on a limb and thinking Ed doesn’t like where Indycar is at. I’d be pissed too as an owner that crashed in both races through no real fault of his own. Add in the poor racing, and I get the frustration.
Talk that talk, Ed!
This season has honestly been bad. I cannot recall the last time IndyCar had a bad season, but 2024 has been such a bad year with endless amount of constant bad news, declined ratings, Thermal Club, mid and bad racing (except Barber, Indy 500, and Road America), NBC not treating IndyCar equal, Canapino fans death threats, Detroit, the management being crap, I can go on.
There has been a few positives, but there's just been way too many bad stuff going on this year.
Such a nightmare season.
Hybrids have added nothing but extra weight. Pointless
I'm interested to see where they go with the tech, but it does seem rushed and ill-thought out so far. It's basically a more confusing push to pass.
They've added an onboard starter. Anything else is just a bonus.
@@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534 Agreed but when a owner/driver expresses concerns that the rest of the races on the schedule this year are going to be parades with no passing, it might be worth reevaluating the plan and adjust accordingly.
@@danielhenderson8316that hasn’t worked, didn’t work at all at Iowa
@@RacingWithChuck27 No one stalled at Iowa, and because of the hybrid we had a tense fight the last 15 laps at Mid Ohio that would have ended under yellow if Grosjean couldn't restart his engine.
Iowa was a complete disaster full stop between the half ass repave and Firestone bringing tires too hard for IndyCar and downright dangerous for IndyNXT.
Completely agree with Mr. Carpenter, very impressive interview! I don't think series will abandon the hybrid project, but hopefully a compromise can happen soon. I propose they only use the hybrid at street races with no push to pass. The advantages of the hybrid starting and reversing could be a huge benefit at street courses. In addition street courses are well known for punishing cars, so it makes sense to tune and test the hybrid at those tracks only.
I agree with Ed. Shitcan the hybrid
I belive Honda was going to drop out of the sport if Indycar doesn't introduce a hybrid-system.
Maybe true. Honda's a great racing company and has been for decades but the interests of Indycar have to prevail. We nearly have a spec engine already.
@@w.peterroberts9624 I think Indycar needs more engine suppliers to get attention to Indycar itself. It‘s already hard enough to stand out as a driver / team, so I don’t think more standardised components would help with that at all.
The most expensive 100lbs I’ve ever bolted on my race car.
I agree the hybrid is not good but honestly I don’t think IOWA or ovals in general outside of INDY are that good anymore in indycar because of the dirty air.
No one agrees
Everyone commenting agrees about the hybrid
Do not agree some of the most exciting races have come from Texas and Iowa and on occasion gateway these past 5 years.
The big ovals are fine again after they added downforce last year. The last three speedway races (texas, indy, indy) have all been incredible
The aeroscreen ruined the racing at the flat tracks though. Iowa and gateway used to alwags be great, but starting in 2020 when they added the heavg titanium aeroscreen the flat ovals have very bad racing now.
@@MrJohansen im pretty sure Stingray Rob isn't complaining about the aeroscreen
He really needs to stop driving but in one story he complained about the hybrid system causing issues... OTHERS (including drivers) said it was what was done for NASCAR races at the Iowa track. The LATTER sounds far more likely than the former. But someone winning from 22nd on BOTH races (if I remember correctly) is really astounding. It is rare and there have been really good races this year. Hybrids are going to be around for awhile - both consumer AND racing. People has been whining about the old cars and engines and when something is done - boom - nothing but crap on it.
Indy was already a renewable series...the hybrid units are just adding capacitors made with materials mined with horrible processes
Wow I've never seen Ed Carpenter sound so frustrated. But he's right. This has been a messy year. From the Star Wars Trench Run that was Detroit to now facing ovals to finish the season where no one can pass, I think it is okay to pull the hybrids for the rest of the season and figure it out for next year.
We need a new car that is actually BUILT for the windscreen (which has shown to be a lifesaver), and BUILT for the hybrid system, but with better downforce. And I think Indycar needs to hold the tracks accountable. Obviously that won't happen in the offseason but they should have started the process of building a car with the aeroscreen designed into it the moment the aeroscreen was a proven tech (which it is).
Finally, if the host tracks won't manage the surface in a way that benefits Indycar (and not just Nascar), then Indycar should find other ovals. Maybe back to Texas Motor Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi, or Pikes Peak International Raceway.
Nascar goo added to Texas caused the same problem and is probably why we don't go there anymore, It's a challenging problem, the car is old and covered with bandaids. Where does that make sense?
@@raleighsexton7734 To be fair the attendance at TMS was terrible even when the races were great. They should have always done a night race at TMS.
I agree 1000% with him, my sons and I went to Mid-Ohio, we left with 20 to go because there was no passing on the track, seriously it looked like a stock car race . All single file after lap 10
I'd have to guess that if it were up to owners, the hybrid would have never materialized. This is a series push to show they can be in step with other series. For what though? Is it making the sport better, or changing technology to make your cars more efficient or safer? I think not. I originally thought this would be a play for added fuel efficiency, but that hasn't proven to be so.
The hybrid unit is set very conservatively at the moment. I'm sure it will change.
Why bother with the hybrid at all? We watch to see racing and the opinions of those who would have us use hybrids don't really matter. Ed's a hero for speaking out.
The purpose of the hybrid is to attract a new manufacturer. Same as F1, IMSA, nad WEC. New manufacturers dont want to join racing unless they can pretend to be green and eco by using hybrid batteries that ironically pollute the environment a lot just to create. Ironically hybrid cars are much more hurtful to the environment than standard ICE cars
Do you all really not understand that Chevy and Honda will walk without hybrid engines?
@@w.peterroberts9624 Ed is not a hero. He's a mediocre oval specialist.
On the radio broadcast after the race, Ed used the word shitty a few times when talking about the racing.
I think he’s kinda a shit
3 races in, each worse then the previous
The hybrid era not looking good
Both track are impossible to overtake...
Ed knows
I feel bad for these drivers having to stand around in the heat answering so many questions from so many “reporters” over and over again.
Part of the job
After being in the car, standing in the paddock feels like Alaska.
Thank your step Dad Tony for putting the sport where it is now.
"Making our product worse"
Man, not like short oval racing has ever been good anyway
"Show me Honda leaving"
Welll, they are leaving. They may stay if ICS goes ahead with the engine changes that is something I've been saying for a while.
"Show me the 3rd OEM"
Idk how people expected a hybrid system that is a spec part to attract new manufacturers if the whole spending would still be in the V6 not only to catch up with Honda and Chevy, but a new OEM would still need to keep spending a lot to find minimal gains just like those 2 are doing now. So all in all it's not worth joining if things are like this.
The 2.4l formula had nothing that would guarantee this wouldn't happen either. Manufacturers aren't willing to spend endless money to find power anymore, except in F1. I guess the average fan and IndyCar team owner aren't smart enough to realize this.
Do like other series, bring a fuel flow and torque control based regulation and they'll come. Make it a reasonable power on the ICE, not crazy 900hp, nobody cares about it and it never helped to create good racing. You can achieve something like that with hybrid to give you faster acceleration (550~600hp ICE + 300~350 from a spec hybrid limited to max speed for deployment to focus on more aceleration) but too much end power always creates a poor product and it's expensive to do.
Of course the series needs a new car to achieve all that.
See LMH/GTP manufacturers aren't dropping a ton of money on engines anymore, they don't need to. You see a few work here and there to increase reliability (specially Alpine getting mecachromed) but that's it. They still spend a lot on developing the other parts of the car tho. I think IMSA/WEC should put a stop on it before it's too late.
Actually it was good. Iowa was great until the added the aeroscreen. But the aeroscreen killed oval racing in indycar
At least they added downforce to the superspeedway package last year so at least the superspeedways are good again. But flat tracks are still suffering because of how heavy the aeroscreen is
@@MrJohansen nah, outside of some 500s, the oval package has been a struggle since 2017.
I think we know what car Rossi is driving next year...
The most expensive 100 pounds I have ever bolted on my race cars... #truewords
This depressing to hear and no wonder why I have not felt compelled to purchase a race ticket for the Nashville finale and I live like 30 minutes to it.
I believe Ed. Something just isn't right.
Remember these guys raced go karts when kids and if you were having an issue with your kart you immediately lifted your arm up in the air. These guys all of a sudden have forgotten to quickly get out of the way when their car is having a problem.
Since the split, Indycar has done a great job on messing up the sport. They start moving in the right direction and once again, take a step backwards.
During the supposed "network outage" in Saturday's race, does anyone have any info on that? How long did it last? Were all affected, or were some not? Also, how did Armstrong's rear wing caution lights come on under green, when the driver has no ability to activate them? Appreciate any real info!
Network outage? Im unaware of an outage but the race was on CNBC because big NBC was covering the [i cant say what it was because youtube will delete my comment] that happened hours before the race.
As for the armstrong lights im not sure if we ever got an answer to that
Network outage? Im unaware of an outage but the race was on CNBC if thats what youre talking about, it was because big NBC was covering the tragedy that took place earlier in the day.
As for the armstrong lights im not sure if we ever got an answer to that
@@MrJohansen it was "reported" that the hybrid system on the racecars during the race experienced a software (network) outage, making the boost system unavailable. But my question is, was everyone affected?
@@phillycheese933who reported that?
@The52car By the broadcasters in Sunday's pre-race coverage. I believe it was L Diffey who actually said it. He just mentioned it very briefly with no details. We only know that it was out for a while before being resolved.
I’m assuming Indycar wants to go hybrid just to satisfy the engine manufacturers or possibly entice another manufacturer to come on board. If it’s the latter then I get it.
But if it’s more about trying to expand the fanbase then going hybrid isn’t the way to do that imo. They would need to expand the schedule and locations abroad. Go to Mexico, Brazil, Australia; they have Argentinas most known driver right now, Argentina would be great, but for whatever reason Indycar just refuses to do that right now. I know it’s costly to go abroad, but those races would also return revenue, the hybrid engine doesn’t and it’s still expensive between the parts and testing and now it’s affecting the ovals.
And after listening to Ed I’m even more convinced a new car and aero package is needed.
The 2nd race crowd was kind of embarrassing nobody in the stands. The night race was good but didn't get to see any of it because of NBC and politics. TMS was like that as well, could be a great race and nobody there to see it. Maybe if all the ovals besides Indy were night races they would do better. Wouldn't mind a Mexico oval race or Vancouver BC couldn't cost that much to do those 2 markets even brasil stay in the Americas somehow when you go oversees that is probably the big cost crunch but I imagine New Zealand and Australia would love it. Still want to see some of the smaller teams get wins besides Penske and Gnassi.
@@bartsullivan4866 yeah I agree. I was a bit disappointed with the crowd yesterday but then again it supposedly was super hot, so ticket sales may have actually been better than the actual attendance.
Indycar has raced every single one of those markets in the past except Argentina to my knowledge and with the internet today, there’s no reason to not be able to market properly and stream the races. I understand F1 has a much bigger budget, but it’s not a problem for them. It is a cost crunch at first, but I feel going abroad will drastically increase viewership which can only help the sport in the long run. Especially once race fans that aren’t familiar with Indycar see how much closer the racing is.
But going hybrid just to go hybrid isn’t the way to attract more Viewership imo. However I do hope going hybrid helps to keep Honda onboard and even attract another manufacturer.
Save your breath, you were right in your first paragraph.
When the ir18 first came out the oval product was awful i wast at 2018 indy 500 it was follow the leader the onky time you could pass was restarts and on pit road. 2019 only the top cars could pass and you had thrilling battle between pagenaud and rossi. 2020 product better same in 2021. 2022 good race. 2023 good race did not like nascar style ending but racing was good and then 2024 most passing ive ever seen since dw12 car which needed to be changed the racing was insane but someone was gonna killed if we kept that pack racing era going. We have had two weekends with the hybrid at two very different tracks.
You can’t pass unless you’re Ferrucci and also newgarden on Saturday. Overall I agree, waste of money, no fuel savings, non-performance gain, heavy, poor balance = no value
hope they figure it out before May 2025
17 races in a season (why so little) and they have to have double header weekends? I’m not a huge Indy fan but I think there’s another one also? Is Detroit a double header or California? Is the sport not popular enough to have more races? F1 is up to 24 and NASCAR Cup is 36 and NASCAR Xfinity is 33. Indy should just be on road courses, no ovals.
The hybrid as its done in IRL right now is a gimmick. They really needed an entirely new car design to incorporate it properly. You cant just jam it in there on top of the already existing format. I guess this was done to appease Honda.
Dump that hybrid crap!
No disrespect to Ed, but he just wrecked twice in one weekend and his response is controled by his emotions.
Heavier IndyCars arent the problem - stock cars weight significantly more and they dont struggle to follow behind one another. Aero dependence is what has hurt IndyCar oval racing. As long as those wings are making so much downforce, you're always gling to struggle with dirty air in the corners.
No proof that this is due to the hybrid. Mid Ohio never produced thrilling racing in its entire history. Iowa sucked because of the repave. Yet suddenly we want to blame the hybrid? Honda and GM already are pretty annoyed that INDYCAR is a money sinkhole that they get nothing out of, the hybrid system is important to keep those partners in the sport and possibly attract more. Ed Carpenter isn't seeing the bigger picture, but I'm not really surprised.
I agree. It's too early to conclude the hybrid is bad. They're interviewing a guy that wasted one of his infrequent opportunities to drive on an abysmal weekend that racked up a huge parts bill. Plus it's on top of a short turnaround for the next week. It's gotta be stressful and I get why he's frustrated.
Also, I'm baffled at how infrequently these guys are using the hybrid system. If you think it's an expensive boat anchor, you might as well use it for extra power or for fuel saving on critical fuel saving stints.
If the racing sucks , you won't have Indy car series to watch....
My problem with this hybrid is it’s meant as a gateway hybrid that leads to a poorer racing product and a consumer product no one wants nor are they buying now. Ridiculous.
@@mikecrockett3669 First off, there isn't clear evidence that this leads to a poorer racing product. Three races on two very bad tracks is not a big enough sample size. Second, sure hybrids aren't a big seller at the moment, but the whole point of racing is for development of future innovations that trickle down into consumer cars. That's why so many OEMs want to have hybrid systems in their racing series. Honda has already threatened to pull out of the series for the most part, the hybrid system is probably one of the only things still keeping them in the sport. I would rather have slightly worse racing (again, no evidence that it really is the hybrid's fault imo) rather than have one manufacturer in the sport.
Bold assessment. Have you been to Mid-Ohio (in person for it's entire history) and Iowa?
Please,, I want one of those Ed Carpenter shirts.. Blue like that.. sz. Med.
Well we can thank the France family for ruining the tracks but the hybrid system not being a “game changer” like it was advertised is a massive failure. IMSA should not be more technologically advanced than Indycar
Formula 2 and Super Formula are more advanced than IndyCar. This series is going down the toilet without a new chassis soon.
@@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044 you’re 100% correct and both of those cars are on an even playing field and sometimes much faster. They also need more manufacturers and make the teams buy the engines not lease them. With it being a spec series with a low entry point for teams it’s a double edged sword, but it feels like a split or the series shutting down is imminent. He needs to sell a majority of the shares, bring in a new manufacturer, new chassis because you can race on in historics, and let the teams buy into the series and make decisions
You don't like the hybrids but you want IndyCar to be more technical than IMSA?
Pick one...
@@The52car I like the hybrid but’s just like ed said, it’s a gimmick to appeal and the most expensive 100lbs he’s put on a racecar. Imsa hybrids are at least a notable difference in racing and really are a game changer.
@@StalinsPurge how exactly does it change IMSA racing? IndyCar fans (and teams!) would be livid if the hybrids shook up the standing in the middle of a championship season.
Consumers by and large want nothing to do with hybrids or EV’s. I certainly don’t want them associated with racing.
Hybrid sales have actually been going up the past few years and haven’t hit the pit falls the ev’s have. So hey go look up actual data before making broad statements.
@@rexthewolf3149 buddy I work in the automotive industry, I’m telling you they ain’t selling where I’m at. They may be selling in the cities but not where people actually work for living.
@@stellingbanjodude So do I “Buddy” And your point it’s what exactly? Most of the American population lives in the city and they drive more often that those in country. So yeah the city is the prime market.
@Michael-pi8ps Actually Tesla has also had a drop in sales this year. Hybrid sales have been been steadily growing past couple years especially with the Japanese and Korean manufacturers.
@Michael-pi8ps Oh really? How many products does Tesla make that aren't electric? And BTW all EV car sales are down, so saying its a legacy manufacturer problem is lame.
IndyCar in 2026 has the chance to become the fastest single seater in the world seeing the routh taken by F1...
Couldn't agree more with Ed Carpenter. The hybrid stuff is nonsense. It improves nothing. Makes the car heavier at the rear making the balance difficult. They won't brake as well or handle as well. They are not faster, but they are a lot more complex for the team and the driver. What is the fricking point? They should shit can them and go back to the fantastic engines they had in CART. It has taken years for me to begin watching this series following the destruction of CART, which was in my estimation, the greatest racing series the World. The leadership in this series must have their heads up their asses. They keep going in this direction they will lose me for good!
No one is interested in building 2.65 liter turbo V8s anymore.
He bought two hybrid engines and doesn’t know how much they cost?
The hybrid is not the engine.
This Hybrid business is terrible. Hybrids have already ruined F1.
No more than glorified go-karts just droning around at the same speed. Ridiculous speeds in the corners make it dangerous for the fans, (I wouldn't want to watch on the outside of a turn) Put some driver skill into the equation by having to slow down and even BRAKE for the corners.
In short Indycar is a mess and it falls 100% on RP, the show product is not good. They are running venues that nobody wants nor are they profitable. Detroit was a disaster, there are three venues, Long Beach, Indy and Toronto and the rest don't matter and are losing money for a variety of reasons. The racing is survival WWF style at most tracks and its embarrassing to most in the motorsports- RP needs to sell his team and the series to someone like Liberty Media that made an immediate and massive impact on F1 and it was not because of netflix! All of the teams are now profitable, highly profitable guessing none of the teams in Indycar are?
Indycar failure to implement a new chassis for 12 years and attempt to remain 2010 technically relevant. Car doesn’t work with the added weight. Roger better have this added weight at his Speedway or he his a fraud. That show will be as bad as this was was on both days
Hybrid! More foolishness!
My God Ed Can't you see they're saving the world......lol
Hybrid sucks. C'mon Indy car.
Love the honesty, but these are all millionaires and billionaires crying about costs. Now that’s funny.
Work out the kinks and race.
Like everything else. Indy Car going "woke".
I fail to see the required GirlBoss that is better than everyone else just because she's a girl. It's a key definition for "woke."
Stick to what you know, which is nepotism and running in the back.
Race ? What race ? Follow the leader ; ovals are boring ; go to proper tracks , street tracks , road tracks .😅
You don't know history of Indycar or F1 saying this.
Ovals are the best and most entertaining tracks
Iowa used to have great racing until they added the heavy aeroscreen in 2020
The last 3 speedway races have been some of the best auto races of all time (Texas 2023, Indy 2023, Indy 2024)
The typical indycar oval race is far better than even the best f1 "race" in f1 history.
The short tracks suck now because indycar blew it with the aeroscreen, but the speedways still make for the best racing on earth.
@@MrJohansen Do you think they should have gone more of an F1 route with the halo instead of the screen? I think they are both kind of ugly but get it safety wise. I agree with you that the oval racing can be thrilling and very exciting just go a few years back to 2018 some great races.
Hard to take a part time racer seriously.
Kind of a rude statement. Ed plays by the rules and participates where he can and contributes to the sport. His observations are at least as valid as any participants.
I know, right? But if we are truthful to that rule, it's hard to take a keyboard commenter seriously who has never raced an indy car or owned several teams. I'm sure you agree about your own comment.
Ed Carpenter's done enough races and been a team owner long enough to speak his mind. You make him sound like Luca Ghiotto. 😆
Bruh aint now way youre this ignorant