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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag, 1.4
The first Miller's Mailbag of 2012 has arrived.
Poor income and crowds figures have reduced the number of oval IndyCar events for 2012. (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: Can you please explain to those complaining about the lack of ovals on the 2012 schedule the reason why there are only four on the schedule? They obviously aren't paying attention. Let’s explain it again. Indy Car WANTS TO GO TO OVALS. In fact, their ideal schedule is half oval, half street/road courses. The reason why there are only 4 on the schedule is because of FINANCIAL REASONS ONLY. They can't sell enough tickets and sponsorship to these ovals. IndyCar and the tracks they race on are businesses. The tracks are not going to host races that they lose money on. There is no conspiracy to ruin the series or purposely tick off their fans. Sorry Robin!! Guess I explained it for you. Listen, I want more ovals on the schedule too as I hate the road/street courses, but I get it why there are only 4 ovals on the schedule.
Steve Hallee
RM: Thanks for making my job easier Steve.
Q: Just read about Baltimore and the promoter. It points out how correct you are about how hard it is to put on a street race. Given INDYCAR and ALMS both want their fees and the city gets its share, I'll bet $5 million isn't enough to be successful. What do you think the chances are that the city will find that kind of money out there? Could Baltimore end up being a one off?
John Boltik
RM: There have been 21 street races during the past four decades and only two, Long Beach and Toronto, have managed to survive so it’s definitely possible that Baltimore could be one and done. But considering the market and the attendance, it might behoove INDYCAR to become the promoter.
Q: Longtime mailbag reader from the UK - Do you think there's any chance that at some point in the near future INDYCAR could return to the Rockingham oval? I remember seeing decent crowds and there is a strong following over here for both Indy car and oval racing in general. Did the event just not make enough to justify returning? I for one am incredibly annoyed that I didn't manage to go to either of the races and experience those cars on the oval in person - The Brands Hatch Champ Car event was fun but the cars really couldn't stretch their legs on the Indy layout and the race was a procession. It pisses me off every time I watch racing at Rockingham on the God-awful Mickey Mouse infield layout to see the oval sitting there and gathering dust. I know I speak for a lot of UK fans when I say I would love to see INDYCAR back over here on the oval, even if the DW12 does look bloody terrible.
Chris Minch, London, UK
RM: I attended the Rockingham races and the crowds were decent and certainly passionate (and understanding with that first year weeper fiasco) but as I recall they were financial disasters because of the large sanction fees. Could it be restored to the schedule? I’m sure it could if somebody is willing to spend a lot of money.
Q: With the report being Texas is going back to its dull 550km, one race format, does that open the door for a Saturday night/ Sunday afternoon twin 200 lap races at Iowa? Maybe twin races at a TBA oval?
Ray Hando
RM: Randy Bernard pitched an Iowa doubleheader like you suggested to the owners but they didn’t like it so I would doubt there’s any interest anywhere else.
Q: Is Portland ever going to be considered back on the INDYCAR schedule? I saw my first Indy car race there back in 84’ when Little Al got his first win. I went to every race until around 96’ and the place was always packed. With such a large population within five hours of the track it makes a lot of sense to me. I live in northern Idaho and there is no big time racing in the northwest. I would not walk across the street to watch NASCAR, but I would drive all night to watch Indy cars tearing down the front stretch of PIR.
Brad Heuer, Coeurd’Alene Idaho.
RM: It was a big event for many years with the Rose Festival but attendance began to slide in Champ Car and the promoter got creamed. So, again, unless somebody can find a major title sponsor, I don’t see it happening. But it would be nice to go back and race in the Pacific Northwest.
Q: Not a huge oval racing fan! I've been reading people's questions... It appears there's a lot out there still! Although I go to every race being a mechanic for a Indy car team, I don't see any of these fans in the flesh! Here’s an idea for a few ovals that people would show up to: Euro Speedway in Germany, Rockingham in England, and the Twin Ring in Motegi in Japan! All these ovals have moderate banking which would solve your pack racing problem. They are about as far away from your NASCAR rivals as you can get. People in Europe like open wheel racing.
Nick Cooper, Lincolnshire, Ill.
RM: The racing was great in Germany and England and attendance was pretty fair but, as I mentioned above, the promoters lose their butt because they paid massive sanction fees. Or they were supposed to. Motegi could probably return if Honda wants it to and its crowds were great the past two years with Takuma Sato.
Q: I don’t get the outrage from fans towards Randy and INDYCAR about the lack of ovals on the upcoming schedule. We know everyone wants more ovals. Randy wants more ovals, INDYCAR wants more ovals but the oval tracks DO NOT WANT INDYCAR. You can only race where you’re invited and right now the oval tracks do not want Indy cars. It’s not like Randy is saying no to oval racing. Randy needs to focus on increasing the brand awareness of INDYCAR and if he is successful, the oval tracks will follow. But until then, we can only dance with the girl who invited us.
Jason, Champaign, IL
RM: To quote my pal A.J., ``This is quite true.” Other than Texas and Iowa, no other oval tracks have been able to draw and INDYCAR cannot suddenly promote 4-5 races to get a balance on the schedule.
Q: In regards to a mailbag question about Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway's status, you are right about its location being on the wrong side of Colorado and difficult to get to even though it is right on I-25. I went to two IRL races with USAC and it was difficult to leave the track. Otherwise it was a great track, better seating than the Milwaukee Mile. When ISC sold the track they put the new owners under obligation to hold events that entertain no more than 7,000 tickets. ISC also removed some 30,000 seats and relocated them to another facility. ISC's plan was to build another oval track somewhere east or north of Denver, but obviously those plans have not been realized. I posed this question of return to Randy through an INDYCAR Weekly Q & A, to which Randy replied there was absolutely no way IICS would return to PPIR. It is a shame that such a good racing facility is relegating to club racing and can't even host a Trucks race.
Jim Duszynski, Colorado Springs, CO
RM: Thanks for the update Jim. I covered a couple IRL races there and the racing was decent but a pain to get to from Denver.
Q: There it is again, the constant whine of ovals. No! Not the cars, but the fans who bemoan the lack of ovals on the schedule. It is getting very tedious reading it every week in the mailbag. Solution: If you want to see more ovals next year, get out and support the ones they hold this year. If you already do go to them, then take a few friends along for the experience as well. I went to one CART race, the last one in Vancouver, when I still lived almost 800 miles away. Now my closest race is Las Vegas, a thousand miles away, and we know how that turned out and why it is no longer on the schedule. I have to be content with TSN's feed from Versus. If you really want oval races, support them to the fullest and next year there might be more. Then the only constant whine we hear will be turbocharged engines.
Keith, Pitt Meadows, BC Canada
RM: It may be that 4-5 ovals is the max for a few years because this isn’t about history or passion, it’s all about the bottom line.
Q: As a fan that goes to the races, we need more ovals. The street course/street fair events do not bring in the race car fans. I have been to the Long Beach Grand Prix for over 12 years and I hardly ever see any one with race gear on. You have to go to Indy to see that. A lot of people will go to a street fair and walk around look at the displays go to the concert. Me and my friends have wondered over the years if the cars left and we had car noise that came out speakers would any one notice? The good thing about the oval racing that it is American as apple pie, you can see the whole race and the cars go fast. The best thing about Indy car a few years back were the close finishes they would have on an oval. Sitting on the edge of your seat stuff. I am a fan of Dan Weldon he told me at Long Beach if you want to see fans with gear on go to INDY. And Saturday night before the race in Vegas he told me the Indy cars need to drive flat out when I asked about the new car.
Shaun Dale, Yucaipa, CA
RM: I always see a lot of Indy car T-shirts at Long Beach and Toronto and I think there are many diehards at Edmonton as well. There’s no doubt that a new place like Baltimore isn’t packed with people who live and breathe INDYCAR but I ran into a lot of old school Pocono and Trenton fans there so I’d say it was a good mix. INDYCAR needs to remain as diverse as possible but only if they can find ovals that draw and give the promoter a fighting chance. If it’s 15-5, so be it.
Q: Hello Beaux Barfield, Welcome to INDYCAR. Please don’t take this personal, but I don’t want to know what you look like so please do not be on my TV every race weekend. Do not tell every qualifier for the Indy 500 to give you 4 good ones, and watch some videos of Indy 500 starts from the 1960’s and 1970’s like I have to see what a traditional start for the Indianapolis 500 looks like. In fact, watch the whole race, AJ, Gordy, Rutherford, and the Unsers were all good at blocking back then. I don’t want to hear you screaming at the drivers in my scanner headphones either. Please let the drivers police themselves much like Wally Dallenbach did, and get rid of some of those absurd blocking rules. In fact, if I were you, I’d get some advice from ol’ Wally. We very rarely saw him on the TV and he was great at his job.
P.S. The pole sitter does not deserve to lead the first lap cause he earned it either.
Kris Branch, Ocala, Fla.
RM: I think Barfield will do a very professional job and was a good choice.
~Robin Miller
Q: Can you please explain to those complaining about the lack of ovals on the 2012 schedule the reason why there are only four on the schedule? They obviously aren't paying attention. Let’s explain it again. Indy Car WANTS TO GO TO OVALS. In fact, their ideal schedule is half oval, half street/road courses. The reason why there are only 4 on the schedule is because of FINANCIAL REASONS ONLY. They can't sell enough tickets and sponsorship to these ovals. IndyCar and the tracks they race on are businesses. The tracks are not going to host races that they lose money on. There is no conspiracy to ruin the series or purposely tick off their fans. Sorry Robin!! Guess I explained it for you. Listen, I want more ovals on the schedule too as I hate the road/street courses, but I get it why there are only 4 ovals on the schedule.
Steve Hallee
RM: Thanks for making my job easier Steve.
Q: Just read about Baltimore and the promoter. It points out how correct you are about how hard it is to put on a street race. Given INDYCAR and ALMS both want their fees and the city gets its share, I'll bet $5 million isn't enough to be successful. What do you think the chances are that the city will find that kind of money out there? Could Baltimore end up being a one off?
John Boltik
RM: There have been 21 street races during the past four decades and only two, Long Beach and Toronto, have managed to survive so it’s definitely possible that Baltimore could be one and done. But considering the market and the attendance, it might behoove INDYCAR to become the promoter.
Q: Longtime mailbag reader from the UK - Do you think there's any chance that at some point in the near future INDYCAR could return to the Rockingham oval? I remember seeing decent crowds and there is a strong following over here for both Indy car and oval racing in general. Did the event just not make enough to justify returning? I for one am incredibly annoyed that I didn't manage to go to either of the races and experience those cars on the oval in person - The Brands Hatch Champ Car event was fun but the cars really couldn't stretch their legs on the Indy layout and the race was a procession. It pisses me off every time I watch racing at Rockingham on the God-awful Mickey Mouse infield layout to see the oval sitting there and gathering dust. I know I speak for a lot of UK fans when I say I would love to see INDYCAR back over here on the oval, even if the DW12 does look bloody terrible.
Chris Minch, London, UK
RM: I attended the Rockingham races and the crowds were decent and certainly passionate (and understanding with that first year weeper fiasco) but as I recall they were financial disasters because of the large sanction fees. Could it be restored to the schedule? I’m sure it could if somebody is willing to spend a lot of money.
Q: With the report being Texas is going back to its dull 550km, one race format, does that open the door for a Saturday night/ Sunday afternoon twin 200 lap races at Iowa? Maybe twin races at a TBA oval?
Ray Hando
RM: Randy Bernard pitched an Iowa doubleheader like you suggested to the owners but they didn’t like it so I would doubt there’s any interest anywhere else.
Q: Is Portland ever going to be considered back on the INDYCAR schedule? I saw my first Indy car race there back in 84’ when Little Al got his first win. I went to every race until around 96’ and the place was always packed. With such a large population within five hours of the track it makes a lot of sense to me. I live in northern Idaho and there is no big time racing in the northwest. I would not walk across the street to watch NASCAR, but I would drive all night to watch Indy cars tearing down the front stretch of PIR.
Brad Heuer, Coeurd’Alene Idaho.
RM: It was a big event for many years with the Rose Festival but attendance began to slide in Champ Car and the promoter got creamed. So, again, unless somebody can find a major title sponsor, I don’t see it happening. But it would be nice to go back and race in the Pacific Northwest.
Q: Not a huge oval racing fan! I've been reading people's questions... It appears there's a lot out there still! Although I go to every race being a mechanic for a Indy car team, I don't see any of these fans in the flesh! Here’s an idea for a few ovals that people would show up to: Euro Speedway in Germany, Rockingham in England, and the Twin Ring in Motegi in Japan! All these ovals have moderate banking which would solve your pack racing problem. They are about as far away from your NASCAR rivals as you can get. People in Europe like open wheel racing.
Nick Cooper, Lincolnshire, Ill.
RM: The racing was great in Germany and England and attendance was pretty fair but, as I mentioned above, the promoters lose their butt because they paid massive sanction fees. Or they were supposed to. Motegi could probably return if Honda wants it to and its crowds were great the past two years with Takuma Sato.
Q: I don’t get the outrage from fans towards Randy and INDYCAR about the lack of ovals on the upcoming schedule. We know everyone wants more ovals. Randy wants more ovals, INDYCAR wants more ovals but the oval tracks DO NOT WANT INDYCAR. You can only race where you’re invited and right now the oval tracks do not want Indy cars. It’s not like Randy is saying no to oval racing. Randy needs to focus on increasing the brand awareness of INDYCAR and if he is successful, the oval tracks will follow. But until then, we can only dance with the girl who invited us.
Jason, Champaign, IL
RM: To quote my pal A.J., ``This is quite true.” Other than Texas and Iowa, no other oval tracks have been able to draw and INDYCAR cannot suddenly promote 4-5 races to get a balance on the schedule.
Q: In regards to a mailbag question about Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway's status, you are right about its location being on the wrong side of Colorado and difficult to get to even though it is right on I-25. I went to two IRL races with USAC and it was difficult to leave the track. Otherwise it was a great track, better seating than the Milwaukee Mile. When ISC sold the track they put the new owners under obligation to hold events that entertain no more than 7,000 tickets. ISC also removed some 30,000 seats and relocated them to another facility. ISC's plan was to build another oval track somewhere east or north of Denver, but obviously those plans have not been realized. I posed this question of return to Randy through an INDYCAR Weekly Q & A, to which Randy replied there was absolutely no way IICS would return to PPIR. It is a shame that such a good racing facility is relegating to club racing and can't even host a Trucks race.
Jim Duszynski, Colorado Springs, CO
RM: Thanks for the update Jim. I covered a couple IRL races there and the racing was decent but a pain to get to from Denver.
Q: There it is again, the constant whine of ovals. No! Not the cars, but the fans who bemoan the lack of ovals on the schedule. It is getting very tedious reading it every week in the mailbag. Solution: If you want to see more ovals next year, get out and support the ones they hold this year. If you already do go to them, then take a few friends along for the experience as well. I went to one CART race, the last one in Vancouver, when I still lived almost 800 miles away. Now my closest race is Las Vegas, a thousand miles away, and we know how that turned out and why it is no longer on the schedule. I have to be content with TSN's feed from Versus. If you really want oval races, support them to the fullest and next year there might be more. Then the only constant whine we hear will be turbocharged engines.
Keith, Pitt Meadows, BC Canada
RM: It may be that 4-5 ovals is the max for a few years because this isn’t about history or passion, it’s all about the bottom line.
Q: As a fan that goes to the races, we need more ovals. The street course/street fair events do not bring in the race car fans. I have been to the Long Beach Grand Prix for over 12 years and I hardly ever see any one with race gear on. You have to go to Indy to see that. A lot of people will go to a street fair and walk around look at the displays go to the concert. Me and my friends have wondered over the years if the cars left and we had car noise that came out speakers would any one notice? The good thing about the oval racing that it is American as apple pie, you can see the whole race and the cars go fast. The best thing about Indy car a few years back were the close finishes they would have on an oval. Sitting on the edge of your seat stuff. I am a fan of Dan Weldon he told me at Long Beach if you want to see fans with gear on go to INDY. And Saturday night before the race in Vegas he told me the Indy cars need to drive flat out when I asked about the new car.
Shaun Dale, Yucaipa, CA
RM: I always see a lot of Indy car T-shirts at Long Beach and Toronto and I think there are many diehards at Edmonton as well. There’s no doubt that a new place like Baltimore isn’t packed with people who live and breathe INDYCAR but I ran into a lot of old school Pocono and Trenton fans there so I’d say it was a good mix. INDYCAR needs to remain as diverse as possible but only if they can find ovals that draw and give the promoter a fighting chance. If it’s 15-5, so be it.
Q: Hello Beaux Barfield, Welcome to INDYCAR. Please don’t take this personal, but I don’t want to know what you look like so please do not be on my TV every race weekend. Do not tell every qualifier for the Indy 500 to give you 4 good ones, and watch some videos of Indy 500 starts from the 1960’s and 1970’s like I have to see what a traditional start for the Indianapolis 500 looks like. In fact, watch the whole race, AJ, Gordy, Rutherford, and the Unsers were all good at blocking back then. I don’t want to hear you screaming at the drivers in my scanner headphones either. Please let the drivers police themselves much like Wally Dallenbach did, and get rid of some of those absurd blocking rules. In fact, if I were you, I’d get some advice from ol’ Wally. We very rarely saw him on the TV and he was great at his job.
P.S. The pole sitter does not deserve to lead the first lap cause he earned it either.
Kris Branch, Ocala, Fla.
RM: I think Barfield will do a very professional job and was a good choice.
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