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INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag: 1.24
Always genuine, never lite: It's Miller time. Here's the latest Q&A from SPEED.com's IndyCar guru.
Robin Miller  |  Posted January 24, 2012  
With pre-season testing just getting under way, Mailbag readers want to see and hear more about the new cars. (Paul Webb/LAT)
Hello open-wheel types and thanks for all your questions. I intend to answer your questions every week during the season, so just email me at . Don’t feel left out if I didn’t directly respond. I appreciate your interest and passion.

~Robin Miller

Q: I just read Marshall Pruett's article about a potential shortage of engines to fill the grid. He brought up a lot of good points, including how Chevy, Honda, & even Lotus are living up to their end of the agreement, based on the grid size estimated when the deals were brokered. Now that the grid size may exceed the earlier estimate, the possibility exists that teams not already signed might have to pay $300K more than the $690K that Penske, Ganassi and Andretti. I know it's supply & demand, but some of the have-nots have been trying for some time to sign a deal. Not so worried about the latecomers, but why should Sarah Fisher have to pay 40% more than The Captain? First off, in hindsight, the number of engines required should have been tied to the number of DW12's manufactured and sold. Teething pains for the DW12 aside, the performance really suffers without a powerplant. For a series that has struggled mightily as of late, the idea of turning away entries is mind-boggling. That having been said, and without trying to turn socialist, how about if Randy B got together with the teams and said "Hey guys, let's discuss a change to the lease deals where these other teams get a chance to compete, deliver more sponsors and fans, without getting soaked for an engine deal?" Maybe Roger, Chip, and Mike agree to an extra $100K per lease, the small guys agree to the extra $100K, and the cost of the engines is leveled out. The field overall is strengthened, the drivers have rides, and life gets better. MLB & the NFL have revenue-sharing to help small-market teams compete with the Yankees, etc., so the concept is hardly new. Do you think that this could work for INDYCAR and do you think enough owners would agree to the concept?

Racing Dave, Vero Beach, FL

RM: First off, it sounds like everyone with a car will have an engine by the end of this week and not being able to supply a team with a motor would be a PR nightmare. Having said that, it’s not fair that Sarah or Ed spend more money than the Big 3 and that’s why a lottery would have been more fair but the manufacturers didn’t want one. On the flip side, GM, Honda and Lotus are investing big money in INDYCAR and probably deserve to pick and choose. It sucked when only a chosen few could get an Ilmor or special Cosworth in the CART days but nothing about racing has ever been fair. I like your suggestion about revenue sharing but obviously you’ve never met Chip or Roger.

Q: I'm laughing at the complete lack of historical knowledge on display by the comments and reactions to the engine supply snafu...allow me to elaborate. My guesstimation is that 80-85% of entries for Indy car races from 1972-1978 had Offy engines. And, from 1979-1988, 90-95% of entries had Cosworth engines. Engines built by companies that were only in business to build racing engines. No manufacturer involvement...or very little...during that entire period of Indy car racing. I know the 70s was a struggle but the Indy 500 kept a predominately oval series alive just long enough for the owners to form their own series. And yes as dysfunctional as CART became, those first 9-10 years saw tremendous growth in terms of paying fans, television viewership, and sponsorship deals. And that was because they had a kick ass product on track and because the series diversified the schedule. We witnessed the fantastic chassis battles throughout this period and saw the creation of that wonderful mix of ovals, street and road courses that defined Indy car in that short peak period leading up to the split. Amazingly enough this all happened during a period when there was NO MANUFACTURER INVOLVEMENT! So essentially for 17 years there was a spec racing engine. And yet this spec racing engine era produced the bulk number of wins for drivers like Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Rick Mears, Tom Sneva, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, etc...it was the prime era for all the greats that we hold on pedestals. And it was a period that saw the series develop into the pinnacle of racing worldwide. So why does everybody think that engine manufacturer involvement is part of IndyCar’s salvation?

Chris M., Long Beach, CA

RM: CART’s heydays were in the ‘90s when Honda, Toyota, Mercedes and Ford were all throwing money at the teams and the series. It’s great to have manufacturers but the trick is to not let them call the shots, like they eventually did in CART and then the IRL. But, when everybody bails, Honda has equity as well as leverage and it’s hard to tell them no. In this economy, INDYCAR needs General Motors, Honda and Lotus to sell them cheap engines and also help with marketing. I hear what you’re saying but manufacturers can be a valuable asset when properly managed.

Q: Of course with Oriol Servia getting signed many fans have breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seems INDYCAR doesn't do much with silly season. Where is Takuma Sato going to land? How about Alex Lloyd? Bruno Junqueira? Buddy Rice? Ana Beatriz? How about the AFS #17? Are Saavedra and Conquest coming back full, part, or not at all? These drivers all seem left out in the cold (or maybe I was when they announced their plans?).

Man with Many Questions

RM: This silly season has been a strange one. Earlier this month I wrote the story on Justin Wilson going back to Dale Coyne a few days before writing that Servia was signing with Dreyer & Reinbold but we’re still waiting on JWill’s announcement. Is Paul Tracy going to be his teammate with Honda engines? We think Sato is going to Bobby Rahal but no word on the other drivers you mentioned. Eric Bachelart is going sports car racing, for sure, but not scheduled to be at INDYCAR spring training in Sebring.

Q: I remember during the CART days there were always comments and complaints about boost limits and popoff valves. So far, I haven’t heard anything like that this time around. Are the engine controls sophisticated enough now that those problems are behind us? As for positioning the popoff valves, I’m sure Mr. Foyt would be glad to give his advice on where to place them.

Mike, Overland Park, KS

RM: Well we had different boost for different engines at Indy back then and sometimes those USAC officials got a little confused as I recall. Too early to say what might happen this May but I imagine if there was a huge disparity, the INDYCAR might look at evening things up.

Q: Good God Miller, it’s the end of January, are we ever going to get a schedule? I don't even hear an anticipated date of it coming soon?? Surely they realize that corporate America puts next year's budgets together in Sept and Oct??? What are we waiting for???

Michael C. Flynn, Irvine, CA

RM: Working on Milwaukee and maybe one more venue to get to 17 races.

Q: I’ve been reading a lot of comments about the lack of ovals, but in the 2012 schedule there are only three natural terrain tracks. Being open minded and considering Mid-Ohio the only one of them properly suitable for Indy cars, Sonoma and Alabama are more of a bike kind of tracks. Not ranting here, but what are the real possibilities to try some permanent tracks other than the obvious (Road America, Montreal, Watkins Glen) but Portland, Laguna, Mosport, Road Atlanta or even Mexico City?

Alan Perea, Monterrey, Mexico.

RM: Let’s face it, all the road courses in the USA are old and Mid-Ohio and Sonoma are looking at ways to improve the racing for today’s cars and tires. Love to see Mosport and Road Atlanta and, naturally, Elkhart Lake and The Glen but it all boils down to being financially viable.

Q: I've been an open wheel oval track fan since 1964 when I saw my first Indy 500 at the age of five. A member of my family has been at the race every year since 1946 when my dad bought tickets in Grandstand E for the first race after WWII and the beginning of the Hulman era. Circle tracks, dirt and paved, are in my family's blood, from the local fairground to Salem and Terre Haute to Indy. Road racing is OK until the second or third turn of the first lap, then it's like watching a circus parade until the last lap when, once in a great while, there are two cars within sight of each other at the finish. Since 2002 I have been at every race held at Kentucky Speedway, including last year when Ed Carpenter won by a few feet. The racing has always been close and exciting from the green to the checkers with some wild finishes. With the exception of Justin Priestley's practice crash in the Lights series, there have been no crashes resulting in serious injury to a driver, crew member or spectator. Attendance has always been, while not a sellout, better than decent. That said, what was the reasoning behind IRL's dropping Kentucky from the schedule? Now the only race within an affordable, reasonable driving distance for us working stiffs in the area is Indy.

Mark McKee

RM: The crowds were pretty good the first few years but have really fallen off the past three and it was sparse last fall. If it made money I’m sure Bruton Smith would have wanted to stay on the schedule but the NASCSAR race and date put a hurt on the Indy car weekend. Just get ready to go back to Milwaukee.

Q: It seems that over the last several weeks whenever the issue of additional ovals comes up, I hear some comments about Rockingham Speedway. Is this just some wishful thinking, or is there something to it? It would seem to have a lot going for it - the one-mile size, a fair amount of infrastructure in place, an enlightened independent owner in Andy Hillenburg, and a location in the South in close proximity to a large, knowledgeable fan base who is still chafing from being abandoned by NASCAR when it decided to expand from its regional roots. Yes, the track is in the "boonies", but so is Newton, Iowa and Watkins Glen. Knowing that INDYCAR will probably never return here to Charlotte, this would be our best opportunity to see the open wheel cars in our area.

Fred Hunter, Charlotte, NC

RM: I mentioned it a few weeks ago when Rockingham installed safer barriers. It’s a racy little joint with only 35,000 seats which would be perfect and Andy is a former USAC driver who loves Indy cars. But right now it’s just conversation in this column, although I got Andy’s phone number for Randy Bernard so hopefully they can discuss the possibilities.

Q: You correctly said that Milwaukee was always packed the week after the 500 before the split. Ah, the good old days. The place was electric. After, there was little to no connection between who was racing in the 500 and who was racing at The Mile. I'd love to see the race come back to The Mile next year (even though I'm out of state). I was one of those who actually paid to go the race last year, not one of the folks whining and complaining about the event and not showing up. But here's the deal: It cannot happen on Father's Day weekend again! There are always plenty of things going on in Beertown on any given weekend, but race weekend last year had Father's Day and other big events going against it. I was lucky enough to have an understanding wife and a son who wanted to go the race with me. But that day is one of the big family get-together holidays of the year. So even if IndyCar has all the race-day logistic wrinkles ironed out (and there were a lot of wrinkles), then the race will still be fatally challenged if held on Father's Day.

Dave, Wichita, KS
RM: Milwaukee was the only track that ever drew consistently for qualifying and being the week after Indy carried that natural buzz. You are correct, no Father’s Day and no 4 pm starts. But I think you’ll like what is likely going to happen this June. Stay tuned.

Q: I'd like to piggyback on Edwin from Portland OR about Indy cars in the NW. Being from Washington, I enjoyed Vancouver and Portland and I know why both folded. It wasn't the split, divine intervention or global warming. The greedy B!!!!!!'s who ran CART priced the product out of the range of most fans. Ticket packages increased 200% in three years and the body politic that was CART didn't help. Then when CART folded you could feel vacuum created by the loss all the way up Mt. Rainier. So here we are in the "new" economy with INDYCAR fighting for survival and no professional open wheel racing in the NW. I know any Indy car race up here could draw 20,000 to 30,000 RABID fans and be promoted to death. How do I know this? Because local TV, Internet and print promo's the heck out of our only Pro Series to make it up here, the NHRA. And at the local tracks all we SCCA nuts ever talk about is the return someday of great open wheel racing.

A.J. Stettner, Gearhead, Long Beach WA

RM: The promoters control the ticket prices, not CART, but the large sanction fee might have been the reason for the increases. I’d never heard that before but we both know when the Rose Festival and GI Joe’s were involved, Portland was a hit. I think Mike Neeley tried as hard as possible to keep it afloat but didn’t get much local support.

Q: Roads races are boring, we need more ovals. Understand that a "good" driver should be good at both. Why aren't ovals profitable?

Stephen Aldridge

RM: Basically just a lack of paying customers. If you pay $1-2 million sanction fee and then only sell 15,000 tickets (after spending X amount on promoting), it’s a huge loser – with or without a title sponsor.

Q: I was actually encouraged by Miller’s Mailbag of 1/11/2012 for two reasons. First that, in addition to the usual bitching and moaning, there seemed to be some actual realization that we are going into the new season with serious, capable leadership in place (Bernard in charge with Cotman, Philips and Barfield in positions of authority) and the promise of a full field of qualified drivers signed up for a full season for a change. Second, and most notably, several fans were actually suggesting a way forward. (My favorite: “My question is how would you suggest the local fan base get involved with this grassroots effort?”) In light of the issues that the promoters have struggled with mostly regarding ovals I think it would be a great idea for Randy to reach out to the fans in the various regions around the US and Canada to get their ideas and input on what would bring more fans to the tracks. Hire a tavern for a night, open the bar, set up a video connection to Indianapolis and invite a group of interested fans to show up with five ideas to improve the visibility of IICS in their area. Sure, a lot of the ideas from these ``focus groups” would be out-of-reach at this point but there are probably some gems out there that IICS could act on at current or future venues and drive up interest and enthusiasm for both the series and it’s events. I know that most of your Mailbag audience is already obsessed with IICS but they are also in-touch with the region that they live in and probably have some good ideas on what works and what doesn’t work in their communities. And, with the diversity present in Indy car racing these days, there are an awful lot of great storylines to pursue to bring in new fans, especially women.

Royal M. Richardson, Chester, NH

RM: I like your idea and CART used to have a Town Hall meeting or something like that which was popular. If the fans have a voice and IndyCar listens, it’s good for both.
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