INDYCAR: Miller's Mailbag, 3.25

Hello open wheel types and thanks for all your questions. I intend to answer your questions every week during the season, so just . Don’t feel left out if I didn’t directly respond. I appreciate your interest and passion.

~Robin Miller

Q: Great news about Graham Rahal being full-time again in the ICS! What happened that he is going back to NHL and not the rumored deal with Chip Ganassi? Do you think NHL can get back to the point where they are giving TCGR & Team Penske a challenge? Great interview with Randy Bernard on Wind Tunnel. I hope this guy is what the IRL needs. I like the fact that he brought in an outsider with some brains & balls to chair the new car committee. Do you think retired AF General William Looney will figure out rather quickly that Barnhart needs to go and Cotman needs to be in charge? Lastly, any chance Cleveland gets back on the schedule next year (its not too soon to be thinking 2011)?

Scott St. Clair, Erie, PA

RM: I know that Ganassi was in the picture for Graham but this new sponsor evidently had some previous history with PLN and Carl so that might have swayed the decision. If Martin Pare returns to engineer Rahal's car, hell yes I expect him to take up where he left off in 2009. The General is going to help analyze cars, engines, proposals and rules so I doubt he has any time for personnel. As for Cleveland, it sounds like Mike Lanigan prefers getting Houston back first.

Q: So when now that Rahal found a sponsor to race with NHL, if IZOD or someone else extends RHR to the full season, or if Monster steps up and supports PT to more races, are they Pay drivers? If not why are Milka, Hideki, Morales.... considered pay drivers? I am not equating the skills of the latter to the former, and everyone would agree IndyCar is a better place with PT, RHR and Rahal contesting all year in a competitive ride, yet I think it is time to acknowledge that the economics of Motorsport has changed. When you look at F1 40-50% of the drivers are "sponsored" / Pay drivers, In NASCAR there is a 25-30%+ range who are either sponsored (Menard, Papis, Speed or start and park), it seems to me we need to recognize the new economic realities of motorsport. I hypothesize that marketing savvy, sponsorship relationships are just as critical as on course skills, and that drivers need to be doing both. I too long for the day where the best drivers have the best rides, but that is not the reality anymore.

Jamie, Denver

RM: Yes, technically, those three are all pay drivers because without sponsorship, they're likely on the sidelines (except Graham was hired by Sarah Fisher for two races) and it's a sad commentary on what's happened to racing, especially open wheel. But, unlike IndyCar, the best drivers in F1 and NASCAR don't have to find money and that's a serious flaw.

Q: I think Mr. Bernard is on the right track. But I don't think IndyCar racing is going to grow much without support from the fans that it turned away because of the split. Just my basic observations from being involved on various boards and forums and knowing a bit about business tell me that one thing has to change for many of us former fans to fully accept this sport again. It's a basic business move that happens in many industries when a product is not doing so well: name and logo change. I have sent a letter (attached) to IndyCar and to the IRL marketing department regarding this issue. I have attached a copy to see what you think. Will it ever happen? I don't know. Should it? I think that if the term IRL were done away with, many former fans would accept it as some sort of "mea culpa" from the speedway. I believe that Indy Racing League just stands for way too many bad things for any of us former fans to embrace anything coming out of 16th and Georgetown. I can see that they want to change directions - the hiring of Mr. Bernard shows that much is obvious; but to really move past the Tony George era and win back many fans they have to be willing to dump the last prominent lingering idea of his and that is the name IRL. Ditch that and give us at least some chassis competition and I believe people will start looking at IndyCar racing again.

Erik C., San Antonio, TX

RM: I think you make a good point because I've heard the same thing from a lot of former fans. But, in fairness to the series, it's been using IndyCar the past two years and is not calling itself the IRL or Indy Racing League in press releases. It's the IZOD IndyCar series, as it should be.

Q: "Air Force General to Lead IRL 2012 Car Commissions." No Robin! Tell me this ain't so! What, Dan Gurney or Jackie Stewart weren't available? IRL goes and hires a new leader and his first decision is to act like a Washington politician - when a decision is needed, appoint a commission. Worse he selects a retired Air Force general. Let's look at their track record for a minute. The USAF selected Lockheed-Martin to build the multi-role F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) in 2000. Ten years later it's at least three years behind schedule (meaning it won't be operational until at least 2015) and according to GAO costs twice as much. So here's the IRL's press release on 1 May 2012. The IRL is pleased to announce today that the Next-Generation Car will be ready for the 2015 Indianapolis 500. "We think we have made great progress," said IRL Maximum Leader and former Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, "By applying time-tested Dept. of Defense cost-containment strategies we think the 10 cars Northrop/Lockheed/Boeing Inc. is building should come in at less than $70 million each. They will have some of the features of the DeltaWing cars that are currently running in the competing CART-Now! series but will be somewhat slower for safety reasons," he continued. Gen. Powell also pointed out the advantages of the IRL cars to series sponsor Abu Dhabi. "Our older generation of Honda power not only provides us with well tested reliability but also requires 2 times the amount of Arabian fuel which shows our on-going commitment to our primary sponsor." "In the meantime we feel our dedicated fan base will be happy to see the IRL "Classic" design first introduced in 2003 continue until 2015."

Bob Kozak, Frederick, MD

RM: Great letter Bob but the General isn't going to make any final decisions on which cars or engines are chosen, he's more of a referee and sounding board for lack of better terms.

Q: I feel a lot better about the future of IndyCar after watching your interview of Randy Bernard. I'm not sure how much he's had a hand in it, but getting a long-term title sponsor and getting the races back on DirecTV is a great start to the season. What I was definitely impressed with was that he has a PLAN (plan? IndyCar?) for evaluating the future equipment package direction.

Craig Phillips, Suwanee, GA.

RM: He didn't have anything to do with IZOD or DIRECTV/VERSUS but he does have a lot of really good ideas for the future, which he will probably announce in the next few months, provided things come together as he envisions.

Q: You gotta be kidding me.....General Looney???? Or did I miss April Fools Day??? Hope he doesn't live up to his name.

Mike in Green Bay

RM: I had dinner with the General and I can assure you he's not looney nor is he expected to make any major decisions about the future of IndyCar racing. And I think he's developed some thick skin about his name.

Q: I have been an Indy car fan as long as I can remember, 35years, and spend a lot of my time defending the sport that LOVE to the redneck fans of the Taxi Cab 500's that I know. A wise man once said " Life is much clearer from Mt. Perspective. So if I may please allow me to shed my Perspective on the number of American Drivers in the ICS. For many, many years I have heard from you Mr. Miller, and countless others the frustration of the number of American Drivers in Open Wheel Racing, and honestly I don't get it. I am pretty sure that I have never read a story on the lack of Americans in Major league Baseball, while most teams are loaded with foreign players from places like Japan, Dominican Republic, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. The NBA embraces it's foreign players, The NHL needs it's foreign players, and even pro golf doesn't go around sulking because talented athletes want to come to this great country and try and realize the American Dream. I hate to burst everyone's bubbles that thinks that just because it's an American sport we need mostly Americans to Thrive. COME ON....... GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!! America was established, settled and built by people that were not native to this soil. I know that Baseball needs the Derek Jeters, NBA the Michael Jordan's and golf the Tiger Woods. But they also have made stars out of Mariano Rivera, Yao Ming, Sydney Crosby, Stuart Applebee. How about celebrate the Americans we do have, but then we welcome and promote those that are trying to realize the American Dream instead of wishing we were NASCAR a mostly segregated sport who's ego outweighs it's cars.

Mark Van Voorst, Iowa's Biggest Indy Car Fan

RM: We don't only need Americans but we damn sure need more than a couple. When CART was on top, it was a melting pot of nationalities but we still had 10-12 Yanks among the 28 cars. Alex Zanardi, Juan Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Gil de Ferran, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves all made their fame over here and we embraced them. But without American stars, the crowds, TV ratings and media coverage will remain in the dumpster, I can promise you that.

Q: In your last week's mailbag I liked Canadian Randy Shanklin's idea, that proposed a common chassis for use in the IRL starting in 2012. Knowledgeable race teams, like Penske and Ganassi, or formula car builders would then add suspensions, bodywork, and approved aero packages to finish them out. To keep costs down and maintain driver safety, the IRL could develop this chassis or safety capsule several ways: 1. A coalition of manufacturers, i.e. a Mfrs'. Co-op would fabricate the chassis/safety capsule, enabling everyone to have a stake in the car.....and an on-going revenue stream, or. 2. The IRL chassis/safety capsule's specifications are available to anyone, for a fee of $$XXX, to cover upfront development costs, and insure (thru thorough/extensive examination) that each completed chassis/capsule meets all (100%) of the IRL's required chassis specs. Aside from the chassis/safety capsule, teams and manufacturers would be free to build out the cars as they see fit. For cost containment purposes, I'd strictly limit what could be altered or changed, parts-wise, for a road course vs. a speedway car. Who knows...certain teams might create a wicked car for St. Pete, 'Bama, Long Beach, Watkins Glen, etc., but find they have a lead sled for Indy, Texas, and some of the other circle tracks.

David Huff

RM: I think somehow we've been conned into this thinking that everything is better if it's the same and that's never been true of Indy car racing. Sometimes, a Lola was quicker than a Penske or an Eagle or a Reynard on an oval but they kicked butt on road courses. Same with the engines and tires. I keep hearing people say, "well what if car X is slower than car Y?" Gee, I don't know, try and make it faster?

Q: Randy Shanklin’s (Miller’s Mailbag 3/17/10) idea about having one manufacturer provide the rolling chassis and allowing the teams to provide their own bodywork, etc. was brilliant! You would probably have to place some restrictions on the dimensions of both the chassis and bodywork, but it’s doable. Imagine talented engineers thinking outside the box and creating forward-thinking aero packages. Sure, Penske and Ganassi will still have advantages due to overwhelming coffers, but money doesn’t always equate with innovation. I get giddy just thinking about it.

Tony Parsons, Johns Creek, GA

RM: I'm not smart enough to know if Randy's idea would work but it sure sounds like something IndyCar should look at. Anything to restore creativity is welcome, in my mind.

Q: The first race of the 2010 season was an interesting one. It is a shame that one of the Brazilians didn't get the home win. Having spent the better part of the last year working in Sao Paulo though, I was curious why they chose to create a temporary road course rather than racing at Interlagos. When I heard they had chosen Sao Paulo over Rio de Janerio for the venue, I assumed it was to use Interlagos. Obviously by using the existing track, the drivers would have been able to run their normal weekend schedule. Was it an issue that F1 runs the Brazilian Grand Prix on the circuit? I know that F1 and Champ Cars both ran Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in the same year.

Debbie, Littleton, Colo.

RM: The plan, to my knowledge, was always going to be a street race, regardless of the city, so Interlagos was never considered, not that Bernie would have allowed it. I still think the only reason he let CART/Champ Car into Montreal the first year was because he thought F1's crowd would embarrass what CART drew (and it didn't).

Q: Drinking my fourth cup of coffee Monday morning staring at the TV not really paying attention to it because obviously dreading another week of work and also was fighting off a bachelor party sickness. There it was on ESPN -- the IZOD IndyCar series logo. They were talking about the race. So I turned the volume up. Obviously they showed the big wreck with Marco at the start. Then you would think they would show some race highlights like Briscoe crashing into the tire wall or the pass for the lead. Nope Danica spinning out, a interview talking about her spinning out, a nice graphic of how bad she has been doing this year in all of her races, and very briefly a pic of Power coming to the line. WTF. Now I read that JR is gonna run the 7 car in the Nationwide series so she has guaranteed starting spots for her NASCAR races. What a joke. Maybe instead of going and making another Go Daddy commercial she should go back to racing school and figure out how to drive a car again. I used to be a supporter but it has got beyond ridiculous when a major network celebrates your lack of success. If I was Andretti I would send some of that big Danica money over to RHRs car cause once again he proves my point that he is the best American driver on the grid.

Justin Lindemann, Ixonia Wis.

RM: I guess my response is don't be mad at Danica because ESPN chooses to glorify anything and everything she does in a race car, regardless of whether it's news. She can't control that and ESPN is the guilty party. The worldwide leader in sports can't be bothered to show a couple racing highlights from a series that its parent company pays big money to televise every May? You should be mad, but at ESPN, not DP.

Q: With Lotus/Cosworth joining KV Racing I am left wondering if they know something about future engine/chassis regs or are they just hedging their bets in hopes of becoming a chassis and engine supplier when the new specs are finally announced regarding the formula for the future car?

Paul S., Arizona

RM: Lotus' parent company, Proton, from Malaysia, is trying to grow their performance image here in the States with Lotus. It's a tangled web, as far as I can see. How Sato carries Cosworth stickers on the car while using Honda engines is a puzzle no one can figure out. If he's getting his engines for free as everyone suspects, things could get ugly.

Q: So when Kalkhoven and Forsythe bought Cosworth, they were in the process of being pushed out of F1. Now they're back supplying four teams, how good does this business decision look now? Any chance of seeing the Cosworth name back in IndyCar?

Peter S., Lynnwood, Wash.

RM: Depending on what rules are chosen for 2012 and beyond, I imagine Cosworth could be a last resort or stop gap if suddenly there are no engine manufacturers interested anymore. Would it bid on the Indy engine of the future? I doubt it.

Q: Is there a way the Atlantic cars can race with the Indy Lights cars? Are they similar enough in size and shape where it wouldn't be too much work to get them on the track with each other? It would be pretty cool to see an open wheel race where all the racers aren't in spec cars.

Michael Niemczyk

RM: Considering there are only 14 Lights entries for St. Pete, I'm sure Roger Bailey would love to add 10-12 Atlantics and the horsepower is similar enough. But those cars were all built for road racing and I don't know if they pass the crash tests for ovals. That would likely be the big hang-up.

Q: Just wondering if you've got any insight into whether or not there's any fire to go with the smoke that's come up over the past couple of weeks about a possible return of the USGP to Indy? After a long time with not so much as a mention, suddenly it's been mentioned by both Bernie and the Speedway. Do I dare cross my fingers?

Mike McCue, St. Louis

RM: I think somebody at IMS mis-spoke about on-going dialogue with Bernie and, to be honest, unless the Speedway could find a big, title sponsor, it was a financial loser those last few years. It was also TGeorge's baby and I don't see anybody in the Hulman-George family clamoring to spend more money on that ungrateful little dweeb. Bernie, I mean.

Q: Seeing that you live in Indy maybe you can answer these questions: Did you ever attend the formula one race at Indy...what did you think of the race course itself...was the city really behind the race...were you surprised it left Indy and do you think it will be back?

Ron, San Francisco, Calif.

RM: I went to the first few but the track was terrible for F1 (way too tight) and it was a huge deal the first couple years with Indy and downtown was packed, just like the grandstands. But, as I explained above, by the time you figure in what TG spent to tear up IMS to accommodate F1, the money he had to pay Bernie every year and the dwindling crowds, it was a loser.

Q: While not a road or street race fan the IRL did pretty good considering the weather and the poor track. They have made progress in getting rid of Tony. Barnhart should be the next on the agenda to go. If they want to really get back it needs more oval races. Americans love oval races. Most American drivers don't like street or road racing. Get rid of the pay to drive people. Americans love American drivers. Get rid of the bean counters that don't know squat about racing. Find some old style promoters , like "Aggie" , they knew what the Hot Dog, Potato Salad, and Beer crowd liked. The Wine, Cheese, Straw Hat sit in the grass people usually don't care what is running. To most of them it's just an outing.

Don Betsworth, Torrance, Calif.

RM: Americans do love oval races, provided they're sanctioned by NASCAR. Other than Texas and Iowa, the attendance for IndyCar ovals isn't much to shout about. Maybe if we could restore Milwaukee and Phoenix, in time they could regain a following but road racing is just as popular with American open wheel fans as ovals (and that's not saying much except for Long Beach, Mid-Ohio).

Q: If some people thought Brazil was too bumpy, wait until they get to Baltimore City. I grew up there, I don't think those streets have ever been smooth. Race on I-83 then maybe.

KMort

RM: Bumps can add character to a street course, provided they're not jumps like the one in Vegas in 2007.

Q: I've been watching TV and at track open wheel racing for 40 years. Why are the races getting boring? 1. lack of passing
2. lack of close racing 3. every race is a parade Cause------too much downforce. That's right - too much downforce. The cars don't slow down in the corners enough for any other driver to use racing skill to gain ground. Take away the down force and there will be good racing. Put the drivers back into the game.

Jim E.

RM: No argument here Jim, I'd love to see drivers have to back off for the corners, use their brakes and pick up the throttle with the ass end hanging out. Maybe the new 2012 car will do away with downforce. But don't bet on it.

Q: When did they announce Jonathan Summerton was racing this weekend for Walker Racing in the IPS ranks. He's a pretty good driver. Is this just for this race or a whole season deal?

BSU Darren

RM: Not sure there was an announcement but Jonathan has joined Derrick Walker Racing for the Indy Lights race at St Pete. Jonathan is being sponsored for the race by SiM1GP.com who are launching their new hi tech Digital Racing Service that prepares the driver for high speed wheel to wheel action. Press releases to follow He's also trying to work on an Indy 500 deal.

Q: Glad to hear that Joe Leonard is recovering nicely. I remember him driving the yellow Samsonite car teamed up with the Parnelli Jones Super Team. It seams that his racing career ended early. I remember someone telling me that he never fully recovered from feet and leg injuries he sustained in a racing accident. Can you shed some light on it?

Joe from Muncie

RM: Pelican Joe was a bad ass on two wheels (3-time AMA champ) before becoming a 2-time USAC national champ in Indy cars. He got seriously injured at Ontario in 1974 when a tire blew and his recovery from leg, foot and ankle injuries was long and agonizing. He never drove again.

Q: A few years ago, after watching the 500 on TV, I had not had my fill, so I went to the Internet and listened to Donald Davidson's post-500 radio show. In answering some question, he remarked, "Remember, the 500 used to be pretty much an enduro." That stuck with me. I'm not old enough to remember four- and five- and six-hour 500s, but THOSE were RACES. If you won a 500 in those days, you had DONE something. You NEEDED a bottle of milk. So, the IMS has been casting about for some way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 500. The new car is going to be a year late. What can they do? I'll tell you what they can do -- they can double the length of the race. Make it 1000 miles. Make it a feat of endurance again. If ABC doesn't like it, they can shunt laps 50 through 300 to ESPN. Okay, so the thought of watching spec Dallaras, or even spec Delta Wings, circle the track for six-and-a-half hours doesn't appeal to you. Let's take it up a notch, and go to Plan B: Go back to the roots of the 500, before there were any series or "racing leagues" or season championships. Leave the 500 alone, and add a second race, 1000 miles, with qualifying open to any vehicle that has a footprint not to exceed 175 inches by 75 inches. That'd be the only rule. A one-off enduro, not part of any series. If the car fits in the box, it can have a shot. You'd have diesels with giant fuel tanks that wouldn't make a pit stop, and electric cars that'd come into the pits to swap out the battery pack for a fully-charged one, and methanol-powered tricycles, and who knows what-all. It might attract some manufacturers, and it might attract a lot of dreamer engineers. Sponsors (if any) would be signing up for one race, not a season's campaign. The most important thing, it'd be fun, and interesting. And they'd only have to do it once, and see how it went; nobody would be making any commitments. But if folks liked it, they could hold it every year. Ideas developed for the Indy 1000 could be transferred to the IRL for incorporation into the cars running in that series. This is similar to your "ten feet of wire" idea, except I would not change the IRL to the new open formula, I'd just hold the one race. Probably, the IMS would not want to do it for fear of overshadowing the existing 500, which would suddenly look as exciting as the Lafayette Senior Dartball League. And you probably couldn't hold it at the same time as the 500, anyway, because you'd need twice the garage space. Okay, then, hold it on Labor Day, or Columbus Day, or some other Day.

David Nelson, Seattle

RM: The Indy 500 crowd may a nice little comeback last year so I really don't think we need to add another 500 miles or another race (three is plenty). Not sure our attention span could take it.

Q: I enjoy reading your weekly mailbag even though I always feel down after reading all the doom and gloom. Now I know the Indy Racing League is not up to level of CART prior to 1995, but you know, the IRL is only major Open Wheel Series we have in this country. We should support it. I think the majority of your readers do and write with great passion for open wheel racing and want to see the IRL succeed. I am one of them. I think we do have legitimate complaints with the IRL leadership for some of the ridiculous decisions that have been made over the years and maybe with the new leadership in Mr. Bernard, things will change for the better. Hopefully he will find a good successor for Barnhart once he learns the IRL better. I don’t think trashing the series as some write is a good thing. It is like jumping on a bandwagon hoping for failure. It is unfortunate that the two series came together just as the recession hit. Give it a chance to work., Instead of just venting to you, the fan base should do a CC: to Mr. Bernard as well and express the passions we have for the IRL, maybe he will act on some of our ideas or better yet, we could echo your thoughts since you have been spot on in your rants. NASCAR’s leaders apparently started listening to their fan base when they became vocal. I also think the fans should open their minds a little more when it comes to the new car designs being presented. It is not necessary for the new car to have 700 or more horsepower. Sure we all liked the sounds of the old CART turbos, but I can also remember that the old 4 cyl Offies sounded pretty darn good. I imagine the new engines would be tuned to sound pretty neat. If the Delta Wing can produce 230 MPH with 300 horsepower we should not dismiss it. People say they want something new and different than what is out there now. Don’t just say no because of a picture and a short marketing video. In my opinion; there aren’t many different ways to design a new open wheel car. For open wheel cars, the BAT and the Delta Wing are about as radical as they can get. The other entries look good, but seem like they are similar to what the IRL runs now. I think they should build a couple of each of the ones presented and let them run for the public to see as a prerace event for one or two IRL races down the road. Perhaps the doubters might think differently seeing them in action.

Richard Tornquist

RM: No rants of the week but this is a well written essay on our beloved sport.

~Robin

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.

Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.

In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.