robin_miller's avatar
Author:
Robin Miller
Login For More
Rate this article:
  • 0/5 Stars
  • Related Photos
SPEEDtv.com Store
Grand National:America's Golden Age of Motorcycle Racing, by Joe Scalzo
Joe Scalzo’s book captures the spirit of the Golden Age of motorcycle racing.
Our Price: $39.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Man-Made Thunder
The book examines the sport of stock car racing through the eyes and ears of the men behind the wheel and the wrenches.
Our Price: $49.00
Visit Button
Buy Button
Unisex Sandwich Cap
Unisex Velcro back hat with SPEED logo on front. PINKS logo embroidered on left and PAO logo on right. One size fits all.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Speedway T-shirt
Men's 6 oz. 100% Cotton Jersey Short Sleeve Tee. SPEED logo imprinted on the front center chest.
Our Price: $24.99
Visit Button
Buy Button
Ferrari Red Classic Hat
100% cotton twill. Ferrari shield embroidered on front, piping on the peak and Ferrari logo embroidered on back strap adjuster.
Our Price: $30.00 ($27.00 Member)
Visit Button
Buy Button
Footer Bg
  • Zoom More Photos Button
  • Camera Icon
INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag For 5/30
Written by: Robin Miller   
05/30/2009
Indianapolis, IN
 
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.

We'll alternate Mailbag weeks, doing Live Chats one week, and Mailbags the next. That way you'll get a good mix of written and real-time exchanges, gang.

~Robin Miller


Q: I understand via an Internet message from a friend that Tony George was voted out as CEO of IMS at a board meeting Tuesday. The story said the family (board members) thought he was spending too much money on the IRL and his Vision racing team. Also they did not care for some of the changes made to the IMS facility. It was expected he would continue as CEO of the IRL. However, I wonder if this will affect the IRL.

Curious Tom
It has been a busy week for Tony George. (LAT) ยป More Photos
RM: That was my story on SPEEDtv.com and, yes, you have the gist of it but please go to my latest commentary and I think it will answer most of your questions. Robin.

Q: You have converted me! I was sitting in my seat high above the NW Vista watching the last 20 laps unfold Sunday in the 500. I was watching carefully waiting to see some fireworks like the days of old. It never happened all were running flat out with only Helio in the clean air managing to pull out a little lead each lap. Then it was over. I started thinking about your rants on Wind Tunnel and in your written pieces. I did not always agree that the IRL needed giant step changes right away. I am now with you, time for different tubs, a mix of engines, and aero changes to allow some passing. Then I had to watch the race car officials try to stop Helio from getting out and climbing on the fence. They were booing in the Northwest Vista. God save us! Too bad that we were not back about 20 years. AJ wins and wants to stop and get out of his car on the front straightaway. They tried to stop him and we would have seen three Indy officials get laid out. You are right. Let’s change things or open wheel racing is going nowhere.

Bob Lauman, Lawrenceville, Ga.

RM: The logic (I assume) of having spec cars and engines is that everyone will be equal and the qualifying grid will be closer than ever (it was) but as we've seen lately, it doesn't make for very good racing. If different chassis and engine manufacturers were allowed to come in and play, and the prices were greatly reduced, you know there would be the good, bad and mediocre but that's how it always was in the days of ingenuity. Different cars, engines and even tire companies made for more interest and wider gaps in the competition. Indy was founded on free thinking and that's what it needs right now. That and big price reductions.

Q: The situation with Indycars nowadays is pathetic -- all because of an OWR war that was won by NOBODY. For the first time I was unable to stay glued watching the Indy 500. It was boring to watch a procession of cars going around and around. The cars have too much down force and the engine lacks real power. The cars were only accelerating about 15 mph from corner to corner. Because of the spec cars and engine there are no manufacturer rivalries. Add insult to injury, there are no driver rivalries. Where did the philosophy of using a set of rules open to all manufacturers, use of production based engine, oval only racing, and promoting American drivers go? I've come to realize the only way this is going to get corrected is that the IRL has to die and a new series, hopefully, flourish back up. What do you think? Don't you think that maybe OWR might have to rise from the ashes like a phoenix?

Rodolfo Lopez, Puerto Rico

RM: The concept of having the Indy 500 as the series cornerstone with the Indy Racing League calls the shots makes perfect sense -- providing you have smart people running the show, which hasn't been the case. Leadership is lacking, just like it was in Triple A, USAC and CART, and Tony George's original concept failed so he's tried to copy CART's blueprint (which also failed financially in the end). We don't need to dig up Champ Car, just try to reduce the costs of competing to a sensible number like it had in 2007 and then hire a guy like Humpy Wheeler to run the show and put Tony Cotman in charge of racing and rules.

Q: I just returned from my 28th “500” and like you, I was extremely disappointed with the quality of the racing. The fans in Turn 1 at least saw some passing on restarts but us fans in turn three saw almost nothing. Last night I watched the first 100 laps of the race and I constantly monitored the standings across the top of the screen. Not counting passes in the pits or on a restart I noticed just two passes among the top five drivers. I imagine the second half of the race won’t be much different. By comparison, the Indy Lights “Freedom 100” ran only 40 laps and the racing was terrific: nine lead changes, side-by-side through the turns, drafting, cars coming from the back to the front … it was what racing is all about. So here’s a radical idea: Scrap the current formula and adopt the Indy Lights formula. The cost of running these cars is a small fraction of what it costs to run an IndyCar so that should make racing affordable to a lot more teams.
Ron Bobulski, Rolling Meadows, Ill.

RM: Today's Indy cars are really glorified Indy Lights and Indy cars need to be the biggest, baddest boys in North America as far as horsepower goes. If an Indy car had 900 horsepower instead of 650, and maybe some more downforce, several drivers think the racing would be much better.

Q: Was it just me or did this race, (at least as it looked on TV), have the least amount of racing and passing ever? What was that all about? If the race is going to be decided strictly in the pits then just have a 7 or 8 pit stop competition and save everybody a lot of time and money. It was, however, cool to see the man who whipped the IRS win the race.

Jim Patton, Lindale, Texas

RM: It was a snoozer in terms of passing and rhythm, although Castroneves did blow past Scott Dixon on a Lap 142 restart for the lead which ultimately was the winning pass. And Franchitti and Dixon each took the lead on restart passes earlier but it was follow the leader up front for the last 35 laps.

Q: Why won't the IRL bring back the old speedway wing which allowed for better passing? After a decade with these Dallara tubs, you would think there would be enough data
to know how to change the aero package to create the ability to pass. The race this year was Belle Isle in disguise, just follow the leader and hope your pit stops are good. On another note, the Danica Broadcasting Network (oops, I mean ABC) really showed how Versus is doing a much better job with the racing coverage. Danica was literally the subject of at least 25% of the race, although she didn't back into 3d place this time.

Ken in St. Pete

RM: There was a theory that after Kenny Brack's crash at Texas, the IRL went to great lengths to break up the pack racing and that's fine by me because those places are insane. But, as I've said above, some drivers want more mechanical grip and others want more aero grip but they all agree more grip makes better racing.

Q: The second start of the Indy 500 was just as bad if not worse than the first. Helio definitely punched it going in Turn 4 and IndyCar just tosses out the green flag. Where was the penalty? I guarantee that back in the day A.J. and the boys would have been all over that after the race. Beyond the boring cars and poor race control there is absolutely no backbone in any of these drivers and owners to speak up to such a farce. Keep speakin’ your mind because you are the only one with the guts to do so!

Ted Fischer

RM: I agree with that assessment on the second start and if Castroneves had been threatened with a $100,000 fine or being sent to the rear of the field, he would have complied. But when the chief steward says he wants the pole sitter leading into Turn 1, maybe he was just making sure.

Q: I do not like races decided by who has the fastest pit stop. Can the IRL have a rule where you cannot lose a place when you pit under caution? Franchitti and Dixon should have been 1 and 2. The fastest cars should win the race!

Chris, Miami, Fla.

RM: Naw, that kinda defeats the purpose of pit stops, although I do hate to see any race decided in the pits. Thankfully, this one wasn't because Helio did overtake leader Dixon on a restart in what proved to be the winning move. But the fastest cars seldom win the race: ask Mario and Michael Andretti, Tony Kanaan or look at the late Lloyd Ruby's record at IMS.

Q: Just got home from 19th trip to corner of 16th and Georgetown and was reading your column on speedtv.com and agree with about everything you said but I had a couple question one from the column and one from Wind Tunnel, first what do you mean by Do you think NASCAR wonders if Helio got "The Call?" and second when you were talking about NASCAR drivers running Indy and you said they should move to Saturday or Monday do you think that if they moved back the start time that NASCAR drivers would do the double?

Jimmy Wiseman

RM: I was just kidding because we're always speculating about how NASCAR gives certain drivers "The Call" to make sure it's some kind of fairytale winner: like Helio. Of course it wasn't fixed, you can't fix a race that lasts three and a half hours with 33 cars. I think if Indy moved to Saturday or Monday, maybe you could get Stewart, Johnson, Kahne, R. Gordon and one of the Busch brothers -- but not on the same day. Besides, not many of those owners besides Stew would allow their drivers to come here but it's nice to daydream.

Q: I think this 500 was Danica's best race to date, by far. I was more impressed with this 3rd place finish than any other race including her win at Motegi. She did a nice job of finessing the fuel to win at Motegi, she beat them fair and square, but this one was EARNED the hard way. She made at least seven passes on track based on my amateur review of the lap charts, and passed PT twice, no mean feat - PT does "not" like being passed. She is a Race driver this year. I sure hope she stays with the IRL. If she is going anyplace else, I'd like to see her with Peter's F1 team - I know the F1 drivers are on an entirely different level than the IRL drivers, but I still think she'd have more of a chance F1 than in NASCAR.

Fitch Williams, Carlisle, PA

RM: I think she's always raced hard but she always runs good at Indy and it seems to suit her style because you have to be smooth and patient. I hope she stays in IndyCar but I don't think she wants F1 and I don't think Windsor’s team wants her.

Q: I've read your comments about Barnhart and I completely agree with them, except with one thing. Fining Helio $50,000 for jumping the start isn't harsh enough. I think they should have a rule where the pole sitter gets two chances to start the race right, if he can't start the race correctly on the second try, he goes to the REAR. I think what should be done to keep the field in its rows of three is to paint a white line on the main straight (or a orange cone on the fence, something!) to where its just at the point to where all the cars are on the straight and not in turn 4. Once they get to that point, green flag and let them figure out how they're going to make it into turn one. These are professionals, right? And oh yeah, if you can't stay in formation before the green, it should be a black flag and a drive through penalty. I do have a question about Harlan Fengler. Why did people talk so much smack about him? I've heard people weren't happy with his starts and that he wouldn't wave them off. From what I've seen, most of those starts from back then looked pretty good. And Harlan was the first chief steward to wave off a start, that was in 1958.

Lance, Bedford, Tx

RM: I do think a large fine, or worse, being sent to the back would stop any more of those runaway starts except when the chief steward promotes spreading out and falling in line on the first lap, kinda defeats the purpose of qualifying doesn't it? If you look at the videos of the starts in the '50s, '60s, '70s, there were 33 cars within a couple hundred yards of each other with the power down and they were spectacular. Harlan couldn't even find fault with them. The start in 1958 was a mess because the cars started from the pits and the front row got separated from the rest of the field and the scramble resulted in the first-lap accident that killed Pat O'Connor.

Q: I know it's a longshot but do you think TG and Brian Barnhart could see the light enough to make Tony Cotman the chief steward and let Humpy Wheeler promote the race and help write the rules? Then the 500 would be worth watching again and not just another Memorial Day Parade.

Bob Hendrickson, Englishtown NJ

RM: I like Cotman running race control and making the rules while Humpy does his thing and promotes. But I don't have a seat on the IMS board at the moment.

Page 1 of 3
Next Page »
1 2 3 >
View All Comments