IndyCar can cope with the problem of its pit lanes becoming increasingly cramped when its grid grows again next year, says president Jay Frye.
However he admitted the series may have to introduce a cap on the number of entries if its full time grid continues to grow.
The arrival of Prema next year will increase the total number of regular entries from 27 to 29. While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can accommodate the 33 cars which start the Indy 500, other venues IndyCar visits have much shorter pit lanes.
However Frye is confident the series can cope with the logistical challenge. “We’ve talked about it before,” he said. “There’s problems now with some of the places we go to, right?
“It’s something we’ve got to evaluate, look at going forward. Certainly a problem, but a really good problem to have, and something we’ll sort out.”
The series’ most cramped pit lanes include those at the Mid-Ohio road course and its street circuits in Toronto and Detroit. The latter, which the series used for the first time last year, features a novel two-lane pit configuration (pictured).
The arrival of Prema is also expected to increase competition for staff among IndyCar teams. “Like… the car count, it’s a problem, but it’s a great problem to have,” Frye acknowledged.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“We have tried to do things like last year we set up a job portal to help the teams do [recruitment]. There have been a lot of teams that actually used that portal.
“We are collectively, as a group, working with the paddock to recruit new and young talent coming into the sport. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of young people right now to come into the sport at a time when it’s growing rapidly.
“Again, it’s a problem, it’s a good problem, one we’re all addressing together. I think we’ll get through it.”
The arrival of Prema, which has won many championships in series such as Formula 2 and Formula 3, shows the attractiveness of IndyCar to new competitors, said Frye.
“It’s amazing. You think about the rolling five-year plan we implemented in 2017. One of the goals was to recruit new and elite race teams and owners, that type of thing. Obviously [Prema have] 80 championships in 40 years, that’s pretty elite.
“We’re certainly thrilled to have them. We’ve been talking with them for the last six,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…