It seems one of the biggest controversies of the split/post split Indy Car era has returned, with Roger Penske saying guaranteed starting positions for full season teams are back on the table, according to a story in the Indy Star yesterday. (Read the story here -> https://bit.ly/49oHb0m)

Let's get a couple of things out of the way right off the top. There is a difference between liking and understanding. For example, I don't like pit lane speed limits, but I understand them. I don't like cost caps in Formula One, but I understand them. I don't like 30 minute breaks for lightning strikes, but I understand them.

So, just for the for the record, I don't like this idea, but I understand why they are looking at it, why it will likely come to fruition, probably in the next year or two, and I won't be overly upset about it.

In a day and age where the 2nd tier NASCAR series just signed a TV contract worth 5 times the current Indy Car contract, you can't afford the slightest chance of alienating any significant, season long team or sponsor.

A lot of people on Twitter are pontificating a definitive answer about sponsor retention after missing the 500, but the fact is, they don't know.

They aren't in sponsor meetings and have no idea what sponsors are saying to the teams in those meetings.

They have no idea what role missing the Indy 500 plays in a sponsor renewing when their contract it up a year or two later, or if value of the renewal is less because of the 500 miss.

They don't know if teams are teams approaching new sponsors in the year(s) after they miss the race and are being turned down because they missed the biggest event on the calendar.

Nobody knows except the teams and the sponsors, no matter how much they try to insist otherwise.

There was a time when tradition dictated that only Indy Cars raced at the Speedway, and they only raced once a year. Now NASCAR, IMSA and SRO race there, as have F1 and MotoGP in the past. And Indy Car not only races there multiple times a season, they race there twice in the month of May alone. Indy Car is still standing.

Tradition dictated that the entire month of May was dedicated to the Indy 500, and now there is only 2 weeks of practice and qualifying. Indy Car is still standing.

Tradition dictated that the fastest driver on "Pole Day" was the pole sitter for the race, but that all changed in 2014 with the introduction of a 2 day qualifying shoot-out, with the pole sitter decided on the second day. Indy Car is still standing.

Tradition dictated that there were a set of rules drawn up for the race and anyone could build a car and an engine to that set of rules, show up and race it. Now, there is a spec chassis and you have to lease an engine from one of only two approved companies. To me, this is a far greater breach of tradition than guaranteeing 25 or 26 starting spots and having only 7 or 8 spots open to however many cars show up. Indy Car is still standing.

A quick count on Wikipedia shows in the last 10 Indy 500's, there have been 5 years, half the races of the last 10 years, where there has only been 33 cars, so no bumping at all. Twice there have only been 34 cars with one bump, twice 35 cars and two bumps and only once with 36 cars, leaving 3 cars to bump.

It's a far cry from the record 109 entries we saw in 1982 when bumping really meant something. Spec cars and a limited number of engine leases available are quickly turning bump day into a self ending tradition.

To me, these numbers don't justify the slightest possibility of losing a full season entry.

It's also worth noting that the two series Indy Car sees itself competing against, NASCAR and F1, both have a type of franchise or charter system in place, both series are much stronger than Indy Car and their teams have risen in value from essentially nothing to tens of millions for a NASCAR charter and approaching a billion dollars for the top F1 teams.

Meanwhile, an Indy Car team is basically worth the value of it's equipment at auction.

Indy Cars used to be built in small garages all around the country, usually by people that had day jobs. Now, you need a multi million dollar investment in a shop and equipment, and at least a couple of dozen full time specialists to even think of fielding an Indy Car team.

The more money you need to spend, the more guarantees you need on that investment. If guaranteeing that your team makes the biggest race of the season means that you guarantee that team also competes in all the races on the calendar, I think that's probably a positive change for the long term interest in the series, whether we like it or not.

Bumping isn't being eliminated all together and Indy Car isn't becoming a closed shop like Formula One.

Indy Car is not in great shape right now. A case could be made that it has slipped to the fourth most relevant motorsport series in North America. NASCAR has been number one since the split, I think case could be made that international corporations and younger audiences see Formula One as far more relevant and important to them than Indy Car, and riding the success of the new GTP formula I think IMSA is now a serious competitor to Indy Car, having been able to draw a dozen manufacturers to their series, while Indy Car is stuck on two.

If teams feel they need this guarantee to justify their continued investment in Indy Car, or to expand it, then I think it only makes sense, love it or hate, to follow through with it and move on to growing the series outside of the 500.

Love it or hate, I think it's coming.