This week on New Track Record Podcast, we took a shot at creating our own top ten lists for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway/IndyCar after Roger Penske, who recently bought the race track and series, said he would have a top ten list of priorities to get to following his purchase.

There was some crossover, including a higher purse for the Indianapolis 500, more money per car for the Leaders Circle for full-time IndyCar team entrants, finally pursuing and signing a third engine manufacturer for the series and a title sponsor for the Indy 500 to pay for a lot of these upgrades.

However, we also had some ideas for change elsewhere. One is the ever-controversial topic of guaranteed spots for full-time entries for the Indy 500. Another is eliminating double points for the Indy 500 and IndyCar season finale. Plus, some other thoughts on what do to with NASCAR and the Brickyard 400 at the speedway after years of declining attendance.

We also go into some discussion on the IndyCar silly season. Rinus VeeKay, a rookie from the Netherlands, joins Ed Carpenter Racing full-time in 2020, replacing Spencer Pigot. While the VeeKay news was long expected, the question still remains on who could be the driver of the road/street course spot for the No. 20 car with Ed Carpenter driving the ovals again. Maybe some of the usual names thrown around are off the mark and Ed could go with something unexpected. Also, James Hinchcliffe is working on a full-time ride after he was dropped very late in the game by McLaren. We discuss an Adam Stern tweet offering a sense of hope for fans looking to see Hinch in IndyCar full-time in 2020.

The show will return after the Thanksgiving break as the IndyCar off-season rolls along moving closer to 2020 and more driver announcements coming through.

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