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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag, 12.17
We've got a fever, and the only thing that'll satisfy it is More Mailbag. Here's the latest batch of Q&A items from the best Indycar scribe on the planet.
Robin Miller  |  Posted December 17, 2009   Indianapolis, IN
One readers asks why IndyCar teams don't get behind young talent to groom them up the open-wheel ladder, just as McLaren did with Lewis Hamilton. (LAT)
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: I understand the thought process, if you cut back on days at the track and compress qualifying to one weekend, ticket sales may increase and there is a huge financial savings to the teams but I have a couple of quick questions regarding the new Indy 500 schedule.

1. Since quite a lot of track time has been cut back, this is central Indiana, what happens if it rains during the only week of practice and the one weekend of qualifications?
2. With the speedway open for a total of 11 days of practice, qualifying and racing, does this mean that there is only one Honda engine contract for the month of May? Or, do they charge smaller teams and one off Indy 500 only teams by the RPM's turned on the engine they lease from Honda?

Tony Piergallini, Steubenville, Ohio

RM: Bobby Unser and I were discussing that scenario yesterday and, no doubt, the weather could play a major role in the new-look schedule. But we've qualified on Mondays before at Indy and it doesn't require much time to qualify 35 cars. As for Honda, too early to tell but I suppose they could look at a reduced miles lease. I just hope the Speedway does away with the insanity of 12 attempts per car.

Q: For once they listen to you at the speedway. Fill the field on Saturday, having bumping on Sunday, saves the teams money. Now if they only listen to us about moving the race back to 11 AM.

Ray Hando

RM: Not sure anybody listened to me but what they did makes good cents/sense. As far as going back to 11 a.m., I think ABC prefers that time.

Q: I think I have an idea to make qualifying for the "500" more exciting. Award championship points. Maybe not full race points, or 50% of normal race points, but something like 20-12-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 or something like that for the top 10. This way if a car, especially from a championship caliber team, is sitting 4th, or something like that, they would be way more likely to risk a crash and go for the pole. Do you see Kanaan, Franchitti, Dixon, or another other driver with championship aspirations sitting out with points for the taking in "500" qualifying? I don't. The teams are already there for three weekends, and the "500" is worth the same amount of points as any other race, and knowing those two facts, I can see no downside to it. It cost nothing (assuming no one crashes going for it), adds excitement, and would give the press more to talk about in the days leading up to qualifying.

Mark Schneider, Columbus, Indiana

RM: That's an interesting suggestion and it would truly reward a performance like Graham Rahal's last May (withdrew his speed, which I believe was sixth or seventh, and went back to take the fourth slot). But I'd really like to see the pole pay $1 million and then give the first couple rows a decent check as well. Points and money would be a nice combo.

Q: I usually try to have an insightful or intelligent comment. This week I just feel like a good rant. After your article last week, I thought we could put Danica to rest until the season started. Until she gets on the track and proves herself, why can’t hold off on the incessant articles and comments? Some of the stories seem to give her godlike powers behind the wheel. And I almost punched my monitor when I saw a gripping story about the looming Danica/Milka stock car rivalry. Yes, Danica can run in the top half of the pack in Indy Cars, but she's almost never a threat to win. I will concede equipment issues this year since the only two teams had any real chance to win, but she’s had competitive cars in the past. A recent article called her inspirational. Inspirational seems more like Mark Martin proving you can still win races at 50 than a woman who can run midpack in an Indy Car. I think women are capable of more than that (crossing fingers for Simona de Silvestro). It's akin to Jackie Robinson. Sure he was the first black player in the pros, but how well would we remember him if he wasn't also a terrific player? Would he still celebrated if he wasn't a 6 time All-Star? I'm not going to say Danica can't be a success in NASCAR, or Indy for that matter, but she, like any other driver, needs to get on the track and prove she can. At that point, the media may write as many volumes of praise as they like.

Andrew Nier, Los Angeles

RM: I've written and stated on SPEED that it's the NASCAR media that's all agog over DP coming to stock cars and maybe that shows how starved they are for a fresh storyline. Her trying tin toppers is newsworthy and will be a big story all season. But I think she's improved every season (especially this year on the road courses) and finishing fifth in the standings was an accomplishment. Nobody who covers her on a regular basis is saying Danica is a world beater but she is a racer. And a threat to win. She's proved that.

Q: The thing about Danica that I don't understand is that people actually expect her to be competitive when she has no technical knowledge or on track experience in stock cars. And besides that, I think the Go Daddy guy looks like a pimp not to mention his sleazy commercials. The media is milking this Danica cow. Also, I don't care what you think about Milka Duno. She makes Danica look like a stray dog.

RM: I would hope people cut her some slack as she tries to adapt to a 3,500-pound car with virtually no downforce that she's never driven. As for GO DADDY, I like the commercials and I think they're fairly popular among men but I've also heard guys say they thought they were too sleazy. All I know is that GO DADDY's money is helping keep her in a good Indy car and get started in NASCAR. And if Danica looks like a stray dog, then I'm heading for the kennel.

Q: Lest there be any doubt about the impact of Danica Patrick on the American conscience, this morning NPR's Morning Edition - (NPR, for cryin' out loud!!) ran a story on Danica Patrick's part-time deal in the Nationwide series. Like her or not, if NPR, of all places, is reporting this story it gives us a clear picture of how important she is to the visibility of the motorsports in general in the U.S.

Bill Watkins, Rogers, Ark.

RM: Thanks for sharing this because it further illustrates DP's draw. It's not her fault that newspapers, magazines, television and even NPR consider her newsworthy but, unlike Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian, Danica actually has a talent and competes well on the national platform against men -- that doesn't happen in baseball, basketball or football. SPEED is sending me to Daytona for live shots of her test on Friday and Saturday because a lot of folks are curious and/or interested.

Q: Last week you wrote an article giving us a peak into a few of the details surrounding one of the 2012 Indy Car design possibilities. It was a nice article that made me feel like the new car might have some promise IF the series survives the next couple of years with the current dog. It left me wanting more though. A few weeks ago in your mailbag you said we'd be hearing something about the new car by the end of the year (at least that's what I think you said...could be wrong though). Was this recent article what you were referring to? Or could we still expect to see something from series officials regarding the design sometime this year? If not this year, have you been given an approximate time line for when the series expects initial wind tunnel testing to be finished to determine if this concept is a go? Just wondering when we might get more than just a peak of the path forward for the new car.

Nick, St. Louis

RM: First off all, we need to clarify that IndyCar isn't pushing this new design/engine package -- it's the car owners. And I think they want to have a press conference to unveil all the details as soon as the full-scale mockup is built so I would look for something in early January. I know Ben Bowlby wants to have the prototype on the track by June or July at the latest.

Q: Finally some good news…I think we fans can wait two years if it is for a radical change. I for one can’t wait to see the pictures of the mock-ups of this proposed new car, and I applaud the IRL for going in a different direction. You look at an OW car today and the casual observer can’t tell the difference between a Dallara IRL, Panoz DP-1, 90’s Lola, Superleague or even an F1 car (as evidenced by the fact that the worst racing movie ever; Driven, used cars from four formulas and no-one but Mailbag readers likely noticed). Why? Same reason all mid-size sedans look alike, if you stick all the same parameters into a computer model, it’s gonna spit out the same design. Yeah, some cars are ‘sexier’ than their ugly cousins, but they aren’t much different. It looks like the IRL will mandate a concept and smart engineers will be able to do with it what they can. Look at the Penske chassis of the 90’s, mostly it was awesome. One year they got it badly wrong. That’s what made it exciting. Now all we hear are teams in the bottom echelon bitching that they can’t match Penske’s shock program, well 2012 is their chance! Smart engineers love rules changes, look at Newey and RedBull! Now let’s hope they keep it fresh, maybe by 2020, we’ll be bitching about how we are sick of the Delta car. Hopefully not! Also kudos for a race engine that gets decent mileage, in a formula (4 cyl-turbo) that is relevant to new fans. Finally, they can relate to something which may be similar to an engine in a car they may actually drive.

Trevor Bohay, Kamloops, BC

RM: As I stated in the previous email, let's not be patting the IRL on the back because the new car/new engine concept isn't theirs and my information is that Brian Barnhart is against it. But I do give the owners credit for trying to do something radical and economical and relevant and hopefully it can work out. When you hear Ben Bowlby's logic, which hopefully will be in a couple weeks, it certainly sounds impressive and smart but it still has to fly. And then be approved.

Q: It’s exciting news to hear about a possible new car for 2012. Do you know when the rest of us will get a chance to see the drawings? And you made reference to different chassis manufacturers possibly being involved. Does that mean that the IRL has changed its view on having just a sole supplier?
Ron Bobulski, Rolling Meadows, Illinois

RM: All we know at the moment is that Dallara is lobbying Barnhart heavily to stay in the game and that Swift is interested in playing as well. Obviously, IndyCar needs to see Ben Bowlby's design go around a corner, hit a wall and prove it can operate efficiently. He says he wants all the manufacturers to help build his car but I don't know if Dallara, Panoz and Swift are interested in that role. Some big decisions about a new car have to be made by early this summer for 2012.






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