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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag, 2.8
Always genuine, never lite: It's Miller time. Here's the latest Q&A from SPEED.com's IndyCar guru.
IndyCar fans, to some degree, are starting to get accustomed to the looks of the Dallara DW12. (Photo: LAT/Phil Abbott)
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: Like just about everybody else I watched the Super Bowl (although it was hardly super without the Steelers) and saw all the commercials. Assuming the price of $3.5 million per 30 seconds I heard was correct and ignoring the production costs of the commercials, it seems to me that for a minute's worth of air time on the Super Bowl a company could sponsor a very solid INDYCAR team for an entire season and develop a solid brand identification with a personable driver that could have very good long range implications. It also sort of undermines "the state of the economy" as an excuse for not sponsoring a car. Has anybody in the INDYCAR marketing field bothered to do some sort of presentation about the relative value of a lot of people seeing one commercial versus (no pun intended) a considerably smaller number (of probably more loyal fans) seeing and hearing the name for an entire season?
Jim Malloy
RM: It would seem more cost effective to go all over North America for six months with a personable driver promoting your brand but it’s a tough argument when 111 million people are watching. And most of the companies that advertised last Sunday (besides Coke and Pepsi which are already affiliated with NASCAR) don’t seem applicable for open wheel racing.
Q: When can we expect to hear an official announcement on events at Milwaukee and/or Ft. Lauderdale? It seems to be foregone conclusions (as long as sponsorship is found) that races will take place there, but I would assume that Randy Bernard would have to make the announcement before the season starts. Also, with only a few cockpits left to be filled, I'm honestly somewhat surprised Buddy Rice's name hasn't been brought up. Sure, his heyday was during the all-oval days and that doesn't mesh with this year's calendar, but the guy's a competitor. I'm sure he'll get considered for an Indy seat, but why not more than that?
Pete, Steubenville, OH
RM: I think you’ll probably hear the Milwaukee details next week but it doesn’t sound like Fort Lauderdale will be on the 2012 schedule. I was hoping with Buddy’s feel for a car he would be snapped up by a new team but it didn’t happen and I don’t understand why. He’s a good racer on ovals and road courses.
Q: For all those folks complaining about how ugly the new Dallara is I have two words for them: Ferrari F2012. I thought I had seen some ugly backyard, home-built super-modifieds over the years, but this is right up there in that category. I gotta think that Adrian Newey is having a good laugh at this execution of aerodynamics. BTW, after looking at the Sebring test videos, I think I'm actually getting used to the “rear fenders.”’ On some of the cars, after the paint is on them, they are practically invisible (check out Power's Verizon paint job). By the same token, Castroneves' Shell paint scheme seems to actually accentuate them even more. But who cares if they do what they are supposed to do when a rear-end collision takes place? Hopefully my fellow OWR fans can put all of this complaining about the Dallara behind them and we all can just take some pleasure in finally seeing new cars on-track and the return of the cool sound of three different kinds of turbo motors. Kudos to Messrs. Bernard, Cotman and Phillips for getting us here at last. Oh, and I sure hope that when Barrichello thinks it through that he decides to sign-up for a year. He's a class-act and would bring a lot to the series as he winds down his career in the cockpit.
Royal M. Richardson, Chester, NH
RM: Agreed, some of those new F1 cars are butt ugly and they make the Dallara palatable. There’s been a lot of teething problems and nobody can be sure if the oval-track fixes work until they test again but the engine distribution system concerns me more than the car.
Q: I've held my tongue through all of this new chassis/engine nonsense but I just saw a photo in Marshall Pruitt's column on the Sebring Indy Car test which made me shake my head in total disgust and want to fire off this email to you and Randy Bernard. It shows a crewman putting "smaller" numbers on the rear wing of the car to show Mr. Bernard all the extra space which could be had for sponsors on it and my immediate reaction was: "Are these people HIGH???" To Mr. Bernard: DON'T LISTEN TO THESE MORONS! So the new huge sidepods aren't enough to show off the sponsors, we need to make it even HARDER to see the numbers on the cars? No, no, NO! Have these folks ever watched a race on TV? I just don't get it. Why do these people keep coming up with new ways to shoot themselves in the foot? Arrrgh!
Phil Kaiser, Castleton
RM: One of the main complaints from people ATTENDING the races is that they can’t see the numbers so it’s probably worse on television. It’s important to give sponsors proper display but not at the expense of the viewer.
Q: I've just read another great article by Marshall Pruett detailing the problems encountered by the engine manufacturers at Sebring, and I just wanted to ask: am I the only one excited to see an engine blow up this year? For years, we have become accustomed to some of the most reliable engines running around the track. But how dramatic was it when a driver would have a half lap lead, and his engine would blow! No matter how far of a lead you had, you weren't ever quite safe, and I think that added bit of drama is something that has been missing.
Alex, Ohio
RM: Judging by testing, I wish I had an oil dry franchise because it’s been hand grenade city and, yes, I think engine reliability will be a key storyline in 2012.
Q: Why don't you or someone ask Rubens Barrichello for his thoughts on the new Indy car? I am tired of reading all of the complaints and we need a professional opinion. Rubens has driven some of the best equipment in F1. A new car was needed. F1 changes every year. In the world today you must keep moving ahead. It was fun when Grant King built his own Indy car and school bus engines were built but like everything today time moves on. Get a report from an expert on this car.
Bob "The Old Man" Lauman, Lawrenceville, Ga.
RM: If Rubens decides to run with INDYCAR this season, I can assure you his opinion will be in demand by the media and valued by the series. We might even talk to him next week if he signs.
Q: My understanding is that we now have carbon brakes. The performance advantage will make the cars faster and a bit more spectacular to watch on their own, but has anyone thought about what that does to braking zones? Shorter zones usually mean less overtaking, might this be an issue this year? Are the suspension arms carbon? They look to be at a glance, but I can't tell if there are merely carbon shrouds to make them more aerodynamic. Full carbon arms could make a mess on the ovals.
Michael, Portland, OR
RM: I’ve heard the drivers rave about the brakes and, yes, they’ve said the same thing you asked. The suspension is steel A-arms with carbon covers.
~Robin Miller
Q: Like just about everybody else I watched the Super Bowl (although it was hardly super without the Steelers) and saw all the commercials. Assuming the price of $3.5 million per 30 seconds I heard was correct and ignoring the production costs of the commercials, it seems to me that for a minute's worth of air time on the Super Bowl a company could sponsor a very solid INDYCAR team for an entire season and develop a solid brand identification with a personable driver that could have very good long range implications. It also sort of undermines "the state of the economy" as an excuse for not sponsoring a car. Has anybody in the INDYCAR marketing field bothered to do some sort of presentation about the relative value of a lot of people seeing one commercial versus (no pun intended) a considerably smaller number (of probably more loyal fans) seeing and hearing the name for an entire season?
Jim Malloy
RM: It would seem more cost effective to go all over North America for six months with a personable driver promoting your brand but it’s a tough argument when 111 million people are watching. And most of the companies that advertised last Sunday (besides Coke and Pepsi which are already affiliated with NASCAR) don’t seem applicable for open wheel racing.
Q: When can we expect to hear an official announcement on events at Milwaukee and/or Ft. Lauderdale? It seems to be foregone conclusions (as long as sponsorship is found) that races will take place there, but I would assume that Randy Bernard would have to make the announcement before the season starts. Also, with only a few cockpits left to be filled, I'm honestly somewhat surprised Buddy Rice's name hasn't been brought up. Sure, his heyday was during the all-oval days and that doesn't mesh with this year's calendar, but the guy's a competitor. I'm sure he'll get considered for an Indy seat, but why not more than that?
Pete, Steubenville, OH
RM: I think you’ll probably hear the Milwaukee details next week but it doesn’t sound like Fort Lauderdale will be on the 2012 schedule. I was hoping with Buddy’s feel for a car he would be snapped up by a new team but it didn’t happen and I don’t understand why. He’s a good racer on ovals and road courses.
Q: For all those folks complaining about how ugly the new Dallara is I have two words for them: Ferrari F2012. I thought I had seen some ugly backyard, home-built super-modifieds over the years, but this is right up there in that category. I gotta think that Adrian Newey is having a good laugh at this execution of aerodynamics. BTW, after looking at the Sebring test videos, I think I'm actually getting used to the “rear fenders.”’ On some of the cars, after the paint is on them, they are practically invisible (check out Power's Verizon paint job). By the same token, Castroneves' Shell paint scheme seems to actually accentuate them even more. But who cares if they do what they are supposed to do when a rear-end collision takes place? Hopefully my fellow OWR fans can put all of this complaining about the Dallara behind them and we all can just take some pleasure in finally seeing new cars on-track and the return of the cool sound of three different kinds of turbo motors. Kudos to Messrs. Bernard, Cotman and Phillips for getting us here at last. Oh, and I sure hope that when Barrichello thinks it through that he decides to sign-up for a year. He's a class-act and would bring a lot to the series as he winds down his career in the cockpit.
Royal M. Richardson, Chester, NH
RM: Agreed, some of those new F1 cars are butt ugly and they make the Dallara palatable. There’s been a lot of teething problems and nobody can be sure if the oval-track fixes work until they test again but the engine distribution system concerns me more than the car.
Q: I've held my tongue through all of this new chassis/engine nonsense but I just saw a photo in Marshall Pruitt's column on the Sebring Indy Car test which made me shake my head in total disgust and want to fire off this email to you and Randy Bernard. It shows a crewman putting "smaller" numbers on the rear wing of the car to show Mr. Bernard all the extra space which could be had for sponsors on it and my immediate reaction was: "Are these people HIGH???" To Mr. Bernard: DON'T LISTEN TO THESE MORONS! So the new huge sidepods aren't enough to show off the sponsors, we need to make it even HARDER to see the numbers on the cars? No, no, NO! Have these folks ever watched a race on TV? I just don't get it. Why do these people keep coming up with new ways to shoot themselves in the foot? Arrrgh!
Phil Kaiser, Castleton
RM: One of the main complaints from people ATTENDING the races is that they can’t see the numbers so it’s probably worse on television. It’s important to give sponsors proper display but not at the expense of the viewer.
Q: I've just read another great article by Marshall Pruett detailing the problems encountered by the engine manufacturers at Sebring, and I just wanted to ask: am I the only one excited to see an engine blow up this year? For years, we have become accustomed to some of the most reliable engines running around the track. But how dramatic was it when a driver would have a half lap lead, and his engine would blow! No matter how far of a lead you had, you weren't ever quite safe, and I think that added bit of drama is something that has been missing.
Alex, Ohio
RM: Judging by testing, I wish I had an oil dry franchise because it’s been hand grenade city and, yes, I think engine reliability will be a key storyline in 2012.
Q: Why don't you or someone ask Rubens Barrichello for his thoughts on the new Indy car? I am tired of reading all of the complaints and we need a professional opinion. Rubens has driven some of the best equipment in F1. A new car was needed. F1 changes every year. In the world today you must keep moving ahead. It was fun when Grant King built his own Indy car and school bus engines were built but like everything today time moves on. Get a report from an expert on this car.
Bob "The Old Man" Lauman, Lawrenceville, Ga.
RM: If Rubens decides to run with INDYCAR this season, I can assure you his opinion will be in demand by the media and valued by the series. We might even talk to him next week if he signs.
Q: My understanding is that we now have carbon brakes. The performance advantage will make the cars faster and a bit more spectacular to watch on their own, but has anyone thought about what that does to braking zones? Shorter zones usually mean less overtaking, might this be an issue this year? Are the suspension arms carbon? They look to be at a glance, but I can't tell if there are merely carbon shrouds to make them more aerodynamic. Full carbon arms could make a mess on the ovals.
Michael, Portland, OR
RM: I’ve heard the drivers rave about the brakes and, yes, they’ve said the same thing you asked. The suspension is steel A-arms with carbon covers.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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