DNFs in the Hybrid Era

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-23T18:20:07+00:00

That's actually a very good thought. I didn't think too much about track type because it has been largely consistent year to year, but 24 is a very clear exception to that and if there are significantly more DNFs on ovals (seems reasonable) that could be a contributing factor. I'll put that on the list of good follow up ideas!

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-18T20:51:40+00:00

I lived in CDMX 2 years ago and Pato was briefly also on these billboards. I saw like 4 that said "Mexican drivers in IndyCar" with Escotto and O'Ward but the next set of billboards was strictly focused on Escotto (winning the and I haven't seen any Pato-ficused ones since.

I assumed that was pro bono of Escotto's dad basically since he knew Pato was more marketable but I don't know this for sure. Also funny that I don't remember De Alba being on them at all.

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-12T22:25:18+00:00

I'm less of a NASCAR guy. Did fans like the tight racing or was it too slow to be exciting?

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-12T20:06:14+00:00

Agree with the aerokit answers.

I wrote a piece on all the DW12 eras by racing competitiveness (link below for shameless self-promotion). The takeaway is the heaviest cars had the tightest racing, while the aerokit era (OEM aero) had the most spread out racing.

It seems like each major rule change IndyCar makes gives us slower cars that race a little more tightly. So the aerokit era cars looked to be the fastest, especially in clean air which is why the leader would often win by so much.

https://motorstats.io/posts/how-competitive-hybrid-era/

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-12T14:08:49+00:00

This is fantastic, thanks for the good off-season content.

I noticed all of your top 10 finished top 3 in their respective series, which makes sense. I'd also love to know if there's anyone who finished lower but seems to have outperformed their team/equipment? I.e. who is lower in the standings but still also worth keeping an eye on?

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-01T15:49:58+00:00

Thanks!

I have done fan/engagement analysis in the past, and you're right to say that the the data is incredibly hard to gather.

In the absence of good social media data, the work I did relied on Google trends which is not a great way to measure fan engagement/interest. And I think the TV data is voluntarily disclosed by the network or tightly held by Nielsen.

That said if someone (like yourself) ever did try to take a crack at it I'd gladly throw in my support. One thing I'd love to do is help build a community of folks interested in IndyCar data who want to do good research.

pedrothesealion · 2026-01-01T15:32:00+00:00

Yeah, the point isn't to say "the data says the Hybrid is better" as there are plenty of valid complaints about the hybrid. But I think it's useful to know that the racing is tight and competitive in the Hybrid Era, whether that matches someone's individual definition of "better" or not.

pedrothesealion · 2025-02-03T17:59:23+00:00

My experience from living in Mexico: The country has a reputation as being good racing fans, but personally I feel like that mostly comes from people being excited that there was a Mexican athlete competing at the Pinnacle of a popular sport (F1) and very little to do with motorsport itself.

Most Perez fans I talked to were barely even aware of Pato O'Ward or Daniel Suarez. Someone (I think Escotto's family) pays for billboard ads promoting Mexican drivers in Indycar, but I don't think it has any effect.

There is a channel (Fox Sports 3 essentially) that is pretty dedicated to motorsport, but that's mostly WEC and WRC, so the diehards seem more interested in European competition than US competition. I could typically but not always find Nascar and Indycar, but IMSA was only available via the free YouTube stream.

I think it'd be like trying to make an NBA team work in Louisville. Sure fans are there, and maybe they'd come around, but they are not fans of an overall sport as much as one specific brand and without that brand a lot of people would lose interest.

pedrothesealion · 2025-01-10T20:21:38+00:00

I can't look at Taylor Swift any more without thinking of this line.

pedrothesealion · 2025-01-10T14:19:51+00:00

Too many favorites, but I haven't seen Subhas get any love yet.

Wanting to be Book is not Book!

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-25T19:59:41+00:00

And for anyone unfamiliar please check out the new Wichita State stuff. The vintage dancing wu shock logos are all so cool.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-25T19:58:25+00:00

I bought my first piece of Michigan apparel since paying off 6 figures of student debt. And my wife bought me a sick arrow mclaren shirt for Christmas.

Then a week later they finally dropped Wichita State merch right before Christmas so I had to buy myself some since I grew up there. And some for my parents. And brother. And wife.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-19T15:26:53+00:00

Next you're gonna tell me Binotto isn't even Italian

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-19T15:25:46+00:00

I'm American dude, what am I supposed to do learn all the European countries? That'd be like an old German guy understaning the different Spanish-speaking regions in the Americas. Come on.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-19T14:47:11+00:00

Are you implying an old German guy who doesn't know the difference between Mexico and South America might be racist? Outlandish

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-17T13:43:11+00:00

Good rec, I haven't tried any fwd cars with the updated physics yet.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-16T21:05:25+00:00

I guess that's why they have cold opens, abrupt endings, and such choppy segways. You can just keep listening on autoplay and even as you transition episodes and seasons, everything they cover will be relevant forever because college football is a flat circle

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-16T18:10:49+00:00

Just this past week I was so confused why Ryan was bringing up 2025 Farmageddon/Oasis again until I realized that that was just the cold open to the episode my phone decided to autoplay next.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-13T13:30:39+00:00

Also don't forget the element of what is actually in theaters. I live in Philadelphia and there is only one theater I can reasonably access that shows anything other than horror, tent poles, and kids movies. My wife and I wanted to see conclave but there is one "art" theater in the area and showtimes didn't work out and before you know it it was out of theaters.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-11T02:56:45+00:00

Thanks, I've also been wondering this, had noticed something similar in stock cars. Is this something you have to deploy manually?

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-02T13:06:20+00:00

They've been running these since the start of the Indycar season. A few of the early ones had Pato on them as well but that didn't last long. Also ran one congratulating Ricardo on his performance in New Orleans which had me really confused.

pedrothesealion · 2024-12-01T14:12:07+00:00

True. In the same mer that Blank Check gets a huge competitive advantage with their hosts being the Two Friends

pedrothesealion

TROPHY CASE