INDYCAR: Miller's Mailbag, 11.30

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag, 11.30

Always genuine, never lite: It's Miller time. Here's the latest Q&A from SPEED.com's IndyCar guru.

Robin Miller | Posted November 30, 2011

Improving the Dallara DW12 has been the primary focus of INDYCAR, Dallara and the engine manufacturers that are currently testing the chassis in Speedway configuration. (IndyCar Series/Steve Shunck)

(With the Brian Barnhart management change taking place just after this week's Mailbag was completed, be sure email Robin at to share your thoughts and have your questions answered in the next edition.)

Q: I just read Marshall's excellent story on the new car. So, let's say the new car isn't what everyone expected. It's not nimble, it's underpowered and difficult to drive...Could this be the beginning of the end of IndyCar? To me, the whole reason for this is the mamby-pamby-land demeanor of the ICONIC committee. They wanted everyone to have the perfect car at the perfect price, while they shoved their faces with cake. Now the car is here and it's a borderline disaster for the reasons Marshall pointed out. We all know the old adage: "Racing is expensive, how fast do you want to go?" Why did ICONIC think they could trump that? What do you think about giving the cars to the teams and opening up the rules? Let the team engineers figure it out.

Paul, Salem OR

RM: I don't think it's the end of IndyCar but it's certainly creating some chaos and maybe the blame should be shared by Dallara and the ICONIC committee. There was nothing wrong with trying to cut costs; it's cutting corners that might have bit them in the butt. Marshall's story was an excellent examination of what ails this car but his summation said it best: If Will Phillips had been around from the start of the project, IndyCar probably wouldn't be in this mess.

Q: Be honest. Just how bad is the 2012 car? I just read Marshall Pruett's piece about the DW12's troubles and it left me with a feeling of impending dread. Will 2012 be just a big R&D experiment full of mediocre and unpredictable performance? Please, to quote my wife, "Give me a reason to be excited."

Jeff, Kansas City, MO

RM: It's more evil than bad right now and that's why Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe are testing some of the initial updates from Dallara today at Fontana. I guess my perspective is that if the cars are cantankerous and all three engines perform at different levels, then maybe we'll have some surprises in victory lane in 2012.

Q: A few weeks back, on your SPEED Mailbag, a fan mentioned the need to go back to making the 500 an open race. I liked the idea, in spirit, but not in practice because I'm a huge fan of the IndyCar series and though the 500 is wonderful, to me it is just a highlight race of the season. But I wondered about a compromise. What if the 500 allowed both the IndyCar spec and prototype cars in the same race? Say allow 1/3rd of the field to be any car, with 2/3rds being the specs. The absolute positions only offer a cash prize while the IndyCar points would be awarded based on finishing order of the spec cars directly. Sort of like ALMS, I suppose. I really like the idea, although I do think it would devalue the IndyCar Series a bit and would put drivers in a bind which makes such an idea unlikely. But I am curious as to your thoughts?

Tim S.

RM: As long as Indy can have a strong field with some real bumping there's no reason to change the format (that 25/8 thing never really worked out did it?). I think a lot of us would love to see the rules opened up for May but not sure there's enough money or interest in that right now. Then again, maybe teams or manufacturers from F1 and Le Mans would look at Indianapolis if their engines were allowed or they could draw up a concept car.

Q: With so many people suggesting that Indy cars should have lots more horsepower coupled with less downforce, is this issue even on the table with regard to the 2012 car? Or perhaps future versions of the car?

Don Lee, Chicago, IL

RM: That's what most of the drivers want to see but right now INDYCAR is simply trying to get a handle on the new car and it's problems and the engine manufacturers are talking 650, not 850, in terms of horsepower so we may have to wait a year or so.

Q: Maybe IndyCar and Dallara should have read these articles before unveiling the 2012 car...funny that CART was battling the exact opposite issues that IndyCar is currently facing today. Personally, I'd rather have been in CART's shoes where the HP was too high for high speed ovals, but everyone felt it was perfect everywhere else. Same issues with the aerodynamics. I think the answer is to avoid hi-banked ovals all-together. Go back to MIS, as well as many short or flat ovals as possible. At Fontana and MIS, limit the boost to almost nil so the engines make about 650-750 HP to keep the speeds reasonable (but still fast enough to blow fans socks off) and run the type of aero setup that Dr. Hanford suggests in the first article below (low downforce, low drag, Handford device, small underwing). At road and street courses, full boost pressure to push the HP up to the 1,000 range. And again, use Hanford's suggested setup (High downforce, high drag, big (adjustable) conventional wing, big underwing). Finally, the short and medium (flat) ovals. Full or near full boost pressure (750-900 HP) and this Hanford-suggested setup: Reduced downforce, medium drag, very small but "dirty" wing device, big underwing.

Had CART listened to Hanford, they might still be around, and life would be good. Just food for thought...

Gray Gibson

RM: I brought up the Handford Device on WIND TUNNEL a couple times but I was more or less told the new cars don't have the HP to make it work and some people were against it because it made the racing artificial. And that may be true but all that passing at MIS made for good TV and the paying customers sure seemed to enjoy it. But Handford couldn't have saved CART from the owners.

Q: Despite everything with Dan (we miss you) and the fallout from the Vegas race, there seems to be more positivity surrounding this off-season than I can remember. Teams talking testing schedules, differences in engines (light vs. powerful), some legit silly season drama... It's hugely refreshing after years of the same cars and mostly bad news about sponsorship, teams and drivers disappearing. We have new teams coming, some legitimate young drivers and what feels like real momentum for a change. Now it's time to bring back the horsepower (please Randy), the open rulebook (pretty please Randy) and more real ovals (Milwaukee) and road courses (Road America). Quick question: what's the word on Josef Newgarden and Bryan Clauson? Here's hoping they get with good teams and good teammates that will guide their careers instead of rushing them into the fray.

Justin, New York City

RM: If you don't listen to the news about the new cars and engines, yes, there is quite a bit of anticipation for 2012 and the curiosity about which engine will be supreme or which team might be able to challenge Ganassi and Penske. There may be a new team out of Tennessee that could bring Josef to INDYCAR but nothing concrete at the moment. Clauson could be in the road racing side of Indy Lights in 2012 since he was the overall USAC champion again.

Q: I read the mailbag every week, first time writing. Am I the only one surprised at the momentum the series has for 2012 in spite of the horrible events at Las Vegas and the untimely passing of Dan Wheldon? Even using my most conservative counts I am having tough time seeing a full season car count below 30, surely I must be smoking something... Lotus has come out the past week and is finally making the kind of noise one would expect from a manufacturer entering the series. We all can read the press releases so we know who will be on the grid and assuming Dale Coyne, Newman Haas, and Dragon answer the bell along with the 14 (!) other confirmed teams, we could be in for a bumper crop of cars next year. My main questions are: Will there be a bump day at Indy? What will the average car count be for the rest of the season? Looking to 2013, do you think the body kits will actually happen? Any more noises regarding new engine manufacturers? Do you think we may finally see a tire war again? This could be the CART glory days all over again in couple of years, and I for one am rubbing my hands.

Jason Hay, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

RM: Whoa, slow down son, let's get through 2012 first. I believe more than 50 new cars have been ordered and we should see some bumping at Indy. As for an average car count, maybe 24-26. Not sure about other engine manufacturers but INDYCAR is talking with another major tire company.

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Robin Miller

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