I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We are just past the halfway point to the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. I have just a couple of notes, and I wanted to do an update on the grid for 2024. After a very busy off season, the grid seems to be stalled with three seats remaining.

Norris McDonald

Sad news today about the death of the dean of Canadian motorsports journalism Norris McDonald. McDonald, 81, was automotive editor of the Toronto Star. I never had the honor of meeting him, but I always enjoyed his writing and passion for motor racing.

I may not have always liked what he wrote, but it was hard to disagree with him. I know how much mu Canadian journalism friends are hurting today. Condolences to them and McDonald’s family.

Sebastian Wheldon Wins Skip Barber Series

On a happier note, Sebastian Wheldon won the Skip Barber Racing Series last week. Wheldon won six races during the season, but he needed strong finishes in the double header final weekend. Wheldon had a win and a fifth place result to clinch the championship.

The 14-year-old son of the late two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon and his brother Oliver have a development contract with Andretti Global.

The Grid- Close to Finished

Twenty four of the 27 full time seats are set for the 2024 Indycar grid. The only openings are two at Dale Coyne Racing and one at A. J. Foyt Racing.

At Foyt the number 14 car is still a question mark. Santino Ferrucci, I think, will drive the ovals at least, but who will take the wheel for the road and street circuits is still up for debate.

At Coyne I am totally in the dark. Enzo Fittipaldi was mentioned as a possibility, but today it appears as if he might be slated for a seat in F2.

Could Coyne be where Callum Ilott lands? I think Ilott would thrive there. Coyne can produce some decent results, and Ilott could deliver for this team.

The confirmed lineup:

Ganassi– Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong, Kyffin Simpson, Linus Lundqvist

Penske– Josef Newgarden, Scott Mclaughlin, Will Power

Andretti– Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson

Arrow McLaren- Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, David Malukas

Rahal Letterman Lanigan– Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, Pietro Fittipaldi

Meyer Shank– Felix Rosenqvist, Tom Blomqvist

Juncos Hollinger– Romain Grosjean, Agustin Canapino

Carpenter– Rinus Veekay, *Christian Rasmussen (road/street) Ed Carpenter (ovals)

Foyt– Benjamin Pedersen

*shared ride- car 20