This Indycar Experiment was AWFUL... | IndyCar 2024 Million Dollar Challenge The Comedy Review

Last week, Indycar attempted something different... except it really didn't go to plan... Here's my takes on the entire weekend...

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[MrSniperfox]

Indycar not heeding what F1 had learned a long time ago. If you have tyres that won't last at speed, the teams will simply go slower rather than "fighting" on bad tyres.

[Dubious.Bovine]

Me: Hey watch indycar this year, it's heaps more exciting than F1.

The first two races of indycar 2024...

[MrSparkefrostie]

They could've avoided the slower cars by eliminating the slowest car of the lap, every lap or second lap, I mean it's a gimmick but somehow with the rules of this race I am sure a gimmick isn't a problem

[fsxlandings]

I think this was Roger Penske's project, to entertain his rich snob friends that reside in Thermal club. I'm sure they enjoyed the champagne and caviar, though, this event was absolutely not held for Indycar/motorsport fans.

[mm]

The million bucks was actually for Roman if he could get through a weekend with hitting anyone 😂😂

[dominicbarden]

The best bit for me was easily the three McLarens fighting each other in the early stages of the second heat, and Rossi and Herta managed to liven up the second half of the final, but other than that, this weekend wasn't great. Thermal seems like a decent track for hotlapping, but for producing lots of wheel-to-wheel racing, I'm not so sure.
I think the heats were slightly too short and the final should've just been one whole race rather than one race split in half.

[ivpluoq]

Even Liberty MEDIA couldn't have scripted this debacle.

[CruelYeti]

Long time indycar fan: this was an embarrassment. This could have worked as a preseason event not replacing a points race.

[wpbarchitect]

Whoever thought of this really needs to be fired, and I'm not speaking in hyperbole. IndyCar being used as an infomercial for a private racing circuit community (with multimillion $ homes and a mandatory $200K membership fee) via a 'dash-for-cash' race for already wealthy people in an era where buying a stick of deodorant can cause sticker shock was in really poor taste. Oh, and it's IMPOSSIBLE TO PASS on said circuit. Add the hypemasters known as the NBC broadcast team endlessly pushing this pig with garish lipstick on us like it's SO EXCITING....please fellas. Unbearable. A huge PR disaster for a series that has a great product but just can't ever get things right. Only upside is we get a great Will takedown of this farce.

[ecliptix]

Seems like the teams did the same kind of backhanded FU to the idiots in charge with the tyre situation here as a few years ago when F1 kept fkn with quali format so the teams just held the cars and half of Q2 was an empty track. So in that respect, for having the testicular fortitude to maliciously yet creatively comply with idiotic rules, I rate this an A-.

[thelaborpeasant]

No need for apologies
Im an Indianapolis native and have loved and followed indycar all my life but that Thermal race was just hilariously awful. Roger Penske told the indycar teams to go out there and tear up their cars just to show off his toys to his rich friends in their back yard. The teams spent money for nothing, the fans were completely neglected, and the results were embarassing. This cannot be the way forward for indycar

[Michael-pips]

Can someone explain why you need mid season testing on a 15 YEAR OLD chassis?

If teams don’t understand the car by now they’ll never understand it

[patrickracer]

When it comes to the tire wear, it's like Indycar saw how the extreme tire wear made the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway an exciting event and asked if Firestone could bring a tire that wears like that tire Goodyear brought to Bristol (Roger Penske showed the tire data from Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and the Wood Brothers car of Harrison Burton), then Firestone tried to bring a similar tire to Thermal but no one told them that the teams wouldn't be allowed to change tires... For some reason

[richards]

Thermal itself is not a bad location, I think it’s the format and the expectations that sealed its fate as an underwhelming event. I’m sure that there is a more traditional format that could make this thermal test weekend work in a way that’s satisfactory for the fans and the teams.

[jacekatalakis]

bring back the late 80s/early 90s Marlboro Challenge All Star format.

seriously. That was simple, effective and worked well and was on the Laguna weekend so season finale all star time (or the Tamiami Park weekend too come to think of it)

[T_Mo]

The concept of the event was stupid. The execution of the event was pathetic. I hope to never see such a thing again.

[Federalwaywebbs]

I consider Indycar more competitive than F1 and NASCAR. The Thermo thing was a bust.

[TheCrystalChassis]

Aa an F1 fanatic I've tried several times to get into Indycar, but something about the racing just doesn't interest me. I keep watching races and losing interest within 15 minutes. Maybe it's the american monday night football-esque commentary. I usually end up just watching old F1 seasons.

[MattMajcan]

why do these cars have those silly looking windshields and then the top of the car is still open? Lol. just make it a normal closed cockpit and be done with it

[GuyverUSA]

— The track surface looks horrendous .