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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag 6.21
Always genuine, never lite: It's Miller time. Here's the latest Q&A from SPEED.com's IndyCar guru.
Mailbag readers have plenty of positive things to say about the Milwaukee IndyFest. (Photo: 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've followed Ryan Hunter-Reay's career since he was in Champ Cars and have always thought that he's one of the better drivers, but has not really had the best equipment (i.e. the disastrous Rocketsports team in 2005). Between Ryan, Marco & Graham, I've always felt like the media has always treated RHR like a step-son and never really embraced him when he wins races like they do with Marco & Graham, probably due to Ryan not have a famous last name. I've become a little impatient with Graham and Marco taking that next step to win or fight for wins on a regular basis so I'm just glad that we have a talented American driver who can compete with the top guys week to week even if his last name is not a Rahal or Andretti. Hope Ryan wins more races this year and changes the media's perception.
Wa Vang
RM: You’re probably right in that RHR doesn’t elicit the media response of those two but personally I began beating the drum for him when he was in Atlantics. He’s good with the fans and media and, obviously, a very talented racer who is right in the fight for the title.
Q: I like the races run on Saturday. It gives the opportunity for someone like me to travel to the race and make it to work Monday morning - no problem.
Mark Gresock
RM: Then you will be glad to hear that it sounds like Michael wants to come back to Milwaukee next year on a Saturday.
Q: Enjoyed the Milwaukee race and tracks like it need to be on the schedule. Congrats to the Andretti gang. The attendance was announced on the SPEED website as 22,000. Is that enough to get the series back there again? It looked like the stands were only about half full during the parade laps. One thing I noticed is that the cars didn't seem very fast. Out of curiosity I went on YouTube and watched the 1997 CART race at Milwaukee. Were they ever fast back then. Paul Tracy qualified on the pole at 184.3 mph. Fifteen years later Dario is on pole at 168.7 mph. What happened to all that speed? Are the cars that much slower or has the track changed enough to cause the speeds to drop over 15 mph? A combination of the two I'm betting. Take away even more aero grip and give the cars another 200 HP! Please! That 1997 race was way more entertaining to watch. I tried to find IRL speeds for Milwaukee when they first ran there but no luck with that. All I could find is the last two IndyCar speeds. Dario was on the pole last year as well and was actually a little bit faster last year at 169.5 mph. Don't get me wrong, it was still an entertaining race and I like the direction IndyCar is going but the cars seem slow.
Doug Mayer
RM: It was good enough because Michael announced before the race he would be promoting again in 2013. I said 22,000 and so did Dave Kallman of the Milwaukee Journal so that wasn’t bad for a Saturday afternoon show put together in four months. Those old CART races featured 900 horsepower and now they’re running 625-650 – that’s where the speed went but I don’t mind because slower was better in the race at Indy and Texas and Milwaukee was alright as well.
Q: This year I’ve been to Long Beach and Milwaukee and I loved them both. But Milwaukee was an amazing experience and one that now will be an annual event for me. The track itself was incredible ... good seats, clean, good location, easy to get out of, parking was great, cheap tickets, hotels nearby with great prices and what Andretti did as a promoter was incredible. I had the best racing experience outside of Indy of my whole life and I’ve been to a lot of races. Milwaukee and Andretti should be congratulated on what they did. I hope to see the stands full next year and I’ll be there in them.
Tom Harleman, Carmel, IN
RM: Michael got a nice ovation Saturday and deservedly so because he insisted on making tickets affordable and giving you fans more than just a race. Keith Healy and his staff did a great job in a short amount of time and now they’ve got a year to promote.
Q: I'd like to give Michael Andretti a great big THANKS for staging a great weekend at Milwaukee. I'm lucky to live near the Mile, and its races are always highlighted on my calendar. I'm also a fan of other motorsports, and my rant today has to do with the scheduling for the weekend of June 23-24 near me. IndyCar at Iowa, NASCAR and Grand-Am at Road America, and NHRA at Joliet. All within a reasonable drive, but I have to miss at least two. Don't these venues and series look at each other when picking dates? On top of that conflict, IndyCar continues to schedule Iowa a week after Milwaukee. I wish those two events could be at least a few weeks apart in order to let my bank account recuperate after a weekend at the track. The Chicagoland race was always two or three months after Milwaukee when they each had a race on the schedule, and that was ideal.
Todd Shannon, Pleasant Prairie, WI
RM: It is pretty crowded this weekend but Iowa always draws well and Elkhart Lake had a monster crowd a year ago so I don’t think they consider it a negative conflict. I understand your situation but everyone in the Midwest wants a race in good weather away from football season.
Q: To be completely honest I forgot all about Indy Car on Saturday. I had intended to flip between IndyCar and Le Mans, but got hooked on Le Mans. The reason I mention this is because I only saw the stands after the rain delay. How were ticket sales? Can this weekend be considered successful? Is there a better date for this race the week before or the week after? IndyCar hates competing against NASCAR for viewers. I get that. Competing against Le Mans for viewers is probably not a good idea either. There are five races on the schedule each year that a race fan has to watch: the Daytona 500, Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Bathurst.
Ryan in West Michigan
RM: I think it was a success (estimated 22,000) and I said on SPEED I thought Michael might want to reinstate the Sunday after Indy as next year’s date but it sounds like he might stay on the same weekend.
Q: The racing at Belle Isle, Texas, and Milwaukee has been great – I’m loving the new way the tires fall off in a stint, and drivers really have to handle the cars. But what does Firestone think of this new development? It has to be against their DNA to not want to improve the compound, and take away one of the aspects that we have been waiting so long to see.
Mark Suska, Lexington, OH
RM: Firestone seems to be genuinely pleased with the racing and its contribution. It’s not like the tires are blowing or blistering and the drivers have complimented the tires for being great, then going off and making for great racing.
Q: Just wanted to say that I am even more impressed with Randy B. after what I saw on Saturday. Saw him walking around the Indy Fan Zone by himself on Saturday before the race, checking things out and mingling with the fans (who recognized him). I thought it was a class act. Next time you see Randy make sure to tell him thanks for being transparent and accessible. The fans appreciate it.
Ryan McNallie
RM: He also moved around in the grandstands at Indy to hear what people were saying and he truly does care what the paying customer wants.
Q: Just read the article on Beaux Barfield apologizing for a mistaken call at the IndyCar race on Sunday. HOW REFRESHING. Finally a management of IndyCar that is human and publicly admits they make mistakes. Would never have happened with the former management. ALL IndyCar fans need to give Beaux and Randy a big pat on the back (but not all at once).
Ralph, Ontario, Canada
RM: I think Beaux took the bullet like he should as Race Director and he’ll make sure that problem gets fixed. Doesn’t help Scott Dixon but it was definitely the right thing to do.
~Robin Miller
Q: I've followed Ryan Hunter-Reay's career since he was in Champ Cars and have always thought that he's one of the better drivers, but has not really had the best equipment (i.e. the disastrous Rocketsports team in 2005). Between Ryan, Marco & Graham, I've always felt like the media has always treated RHR like a step-son and never really embraced him when he wins races like they do with Marco & Graham, probably due to Ryan not have a famous last name. I've become a little impatient with Graham and Marco taking that next step to win or fight for wins on a regular basis so I'm just glad that we have a talented American driver who can compete with the top guys week to week even if his last name is not a Rahal or Andretti. Hope Ryan wins more races this year and changes the media's perception.
Wa Vang
RM: You’re probably right in that RHR doesn’t elicit the media response of those two but personally I began beating the drum for him when he was in Atlantics. He’s good with the fans and media and, obviously, a very talented racer who is right in the fight for the title.
Q: I like the races run on Saturday. It gives the opportunity for someone like me to travel to the race and make it to work Monday morning - no problem.
Mark Gresock
RM: Then you will be glad to hear that it sounds like Michael wants to come back to Milwaukee next year on a Saturday.
Q: Enjoyed the Milwaukee race and tracks like it need to be on the schedule. Congrats to the Andretti gang. The attendance was announced on the SPEED website as 22,000. Is that enough to get the series back there again? It looked like the stands were only about half full during the parade laps. One thing I noticed is that the cars didn't seem very fast. Out of curiosity I went on YouTube and watched the 1997 CART race at Milwaukee. Were they ever fast back then. Paul Tracy qualified on the pole at 184.3 mph. Fifteen years later Dario is on pole at 168.7 mph. What happened to all that speed? Are the cars that much slower or has the track changed enough to cause the speeds to drop over 15 mph? A combination of the two I'm betting. Take away even more aero grip and give the cars another 200 HP! Please! That 1997 race was way more entertaining to watch. I tried to find IRL speeds for Milwaukee when they first ran there but no luck with that. All I could find is the last two IndyCar speeds. Dario was on the pole last year as well and was actually a little bit faster last year at 169.5 mph. Don't get me wrong, it was still an entertaining race and I like the direction IndyCar is going but the cars seem slow.
Doug Mayer
RM: It was good enough because Michael announced before the race he would be promoting again in 2013. I said 22,000 and so did Dave Kallman of the Milwaukee Journal so that wasn’t bad for a Saturday afternoon show put together in four months. Those old CART races featured 900 horsepower and now they’re running 625-650 – that’s where the speed went but I don’t mind because slower was better in the race at Indy and Texas and Milwaukee was alright as well.
Q: This year I’ve been to Long Beach and Milwaukee and I loved them both. But Milwaukee was an amazing experience and one that now will be an annual event for me. The track itself was incredible ... good seats, clean, good location, easy to get out of, parking was great, cheap tickets, hotels nearby with great prices and what Andretti did as a promoter was incredible. I had the best racing experience outside of Indy of my whole life and I’ve been to a lot of races. Milwaukee and Andretti should be congratulated on what they did. I hope to see the stands full next year and I’ll be there in them.
Tom Harleman, Carmel, IN
RM: Michael got a nice ovation Saturday and deservedly so because he insisted on making tickets affordable and giving you fans more than just a race. Keith Healy and his staff did a great job in a short amount of time and now they’ve got a year to promote.
Q: I'd like to give Michael Andretti a great big THANKS for staging a great weekend at Milwaukee. I'm lucky to live near the Mile, and its races are always highlighted on my calendar. I'm also a fan of other motorsports, and my rant today has to do with the scheduling for the weekend of June 23-24 near me. IndyCar at Iowa, NASCAR and Grand-Am at Road America, and NHRA at Joliet. All within a reasonable drive, but I have to miss at least two. Don't these venues and series look at each other when picking dates? On top of that conflict, IndyCar continues to schedule Iowa a week after Milwaukee. I wish those two events could be at least a few weeks apart in order to let my bank account recuperate after a weekend at the track. The Chicagoland race was always two or three months after Milwaukee when they each had a race on the schedule, and that was ideal.
Todd Shannon, Pleasant Prairie, WI
RM: It is pretty crowded this weekend but Iowa always draws well and Elkhart Lake had a monster crowd a year ago so I don’t think they consider it a negative conflict. I understand your situation but everyone in the Midwest wants a race in good weather away from football season.
Q: To be completely honest I forgot all about Indy Car on Saturday. I had intended to flip between IndyCar and Le Mans, but got hooked on Le Mans. The reason I mention this is because I only saw the stands after the rain delay. How were ticket sales? Can this weekend be considered successful? Is there a better date for this race the week before or the week after? IndyCar hates competing against NASCAR for viewers. I get that. Competing against Le Mans for viewers is probably not a good idea either. There are five races on the schedule each year that a race fan has to watch: the Daytona 500, Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Bathurst.
Ryan in West Michigan
RM: I think it was a success (estimated 22,000) and I said on SPEED I thought Michael might want to reinstate the Sunday after Indy as next year’s date but it sounds like he might stay on the same weekend.
Q: The racing at Belle Isle, Texas, and Milwaukee has been great – I’m loving the new way the tires fall off in a stint, and drivers really have to handle the cars. But what does Firestone think of this new development? It has to be against their DNA to not want to improve the compound, and take away one of the aspects that we have been waiting so long to see.
Mark Suska, Lexington, OH
RM: Firestone seems to be genuinely pleased with the racing and its contribution. It’s not like the tires are blowing or blistering and the drivers have complimented the tires for being great, then going off and making for great racing.
Q: Just wanted to say that I am even more impressed with Randy B. after what I saw on Saturday. Saw him walking around the Indy Fan Zone by himself on Saturday before the race, checking things out and mingling with the fans (who recognized him). I thought it was a class act. Next time you see Randy make sure to tell him thanks for being transparent and accessible. The fans appreciate it.
Ryan McNallie
RM: He also moved around in the grandstands at Indy to hear what people were saying and he truly does care what the paying customer wants.
Q: Just read the article on Beaux Barfield apologizing for a mistaken call at the IndyCar race on Sunday. HOW REFRESHING. Finally a management of IndyCar that is human and publicly admits they make mistakes. Would never have happened with the former management. ALL IndyCar fans need to give Beaux and Randy a big pat on the back (but not all at once).
Ralph, Ontario, Canada
RM: I think Beaux took the bullet like he should as Race Director and he’ll make sure that problem gets fixed. Doesn’t help Scott Dixon but it was definitely the right thing to do.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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