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INDYCAR: Miller’s Mailbag, 9.9
We've got a fever, and the only thing that'll satisfy it is More Mailbag. Here's the latest batch of Q&A items from the best Indycar scribe on the planet.
Robin Miller  |  Posted September 09, 2010  
The popularity of Ed Carpenter grew heavily last weekend at Kentucky, as 'the underdog' almost toppled the mighty Penske and Ganassi organizations. (LAT)
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.

~Robin Miller

Q: I nearly emailed you Saturday night but decided to wait until after the race. I realized how boring the IICS has become when Ed Carpenter winning the pole was the highlight of the season so far for me. I like Ed, don't get me wrong, but his pole was truly the highlight of the season so far. I can't watch, so I listened on the Internet, to the race. And by watching timing and scoring at the same time I can get a pretty good idea of what's happening. On his first stop Ed lost 10 positions in the pits. Next time he gained 1. Next time lost 3. That's 12 positions lost in the pit. Yet, at the end he was out in front of all the cars that had to make stops. I feel the same way about Helio winning on fuel strategy as I do about Danica or anybody; I don't like it but that's just racing. But poor Ed. Tough, tough break all the way abound. Somebody other than The Big 3 on his way to the winner's circle. Part time driver. American. In theory, I agree with the reader who said last week he just wants to see the best drivers from anywhere. But that's just in theory. In reality, like I've said twice already, Ed winning the pole was the highlight of the season and winning would have put it through the roof.

Jim Patton, Lindale, TX

RM: It's funny, some people were saying IndyCar looked like NASCAR, having Tony George's stepson get the pole for the 200th race but Ed damn near won the race in 2009 and Wheldon obviously was strong so it wasn't that surprising. You are correct, his win would have been a great story, far better than a fuel mileage victory.

Q: Aside from the late race treachery by the ever crafty Penske gang which stole a win from Ed Carpenter that had to be without a doubt the best race of the year. It was flat out oval racing but without the massive and incredibly dangerous packs we saw at Chicagoland. Cars were able to pass each other with relative ease and even gap slower cars. So with that said i have a couple questions; first is Kentucky going to stay on the schedule since it seems to be about the only 1.5 mile track that allows a better car setup/driver to have an advantage. And did those 2nd and 3rd place runs for Carpenter and Wheldon respectively do anything to help their chances for a full time gig next year?

Zach Gardner

RM: I enjoyed Kentucky a lot more than Chicago for the reason you stated and, yes, Kentucky will be back but it will be in October. As for Wheldon, he may be hard pressed to find a good ride that pays him the kind of money he's use to while Carpenter simply needs to find money to secure a good ride for all the ovals.

Q: In the post race interview with Dan Wheldon, they were saying how hard he raced and showing him a video. He then mentioned how he needed to do it for a job next year. Is it safe to say that he will NOT be with Panther next year? If so is his agent in talks with other teams?

Sam, Wentzville, MO

RM: Wheldon is mad at me because I've said he was an "endangered specie" for 2011 but it's the truth. Dan is damn good on the ovals but has really struggled on street and road courses the past few years (why did Ganassi get rid of him?) so I think that hurts his chances of landing a good ride (and there aren't many seats open anyway). He and Panther have been on the outs for more than a year so it's no surprise he's not coming back.

Q: Being a Formula 1 fan for many years, and watching Takuma Sato destroy literally a ton of carbon fiber, is there any inkling that the powers at be at KV Racing are getting tired of him destroying their cars, or is Honda "influencing" his seat retention like they did for him for so long in F1?

Zack S.,Waco, TX

RM: Oh, trust me, they're getting real tired of fixing cars at KV but I guess that's the consequences of taking money instead of being able to hire talent. Sato was also fast in F1 but he also crashed a lot so I can't see that anyone is shocked.

Q: Hey, RM. I have held my tongue all season, but no more. E.J. Viso, Mario Moraes and Vitor Meira must have all attended the same Myopia Racing School somewhere in South America. Either that or they are the 3 largest stockholders in Dallara. So much noise about pylons out there and keep it to the bottom- what about test pilots in good equipment who come blasting into a braking zone looking for room that does not (or very shortly will not) exist? MegaloMeira's job on Simona at KY was the breaking point for me. These three maniacs make Dan Clarke's driving look sedate. Will overly aggressive driving ever be addressed in this series?
Glen (Edmonton)

RM: You forgot Sato. Anyway, despite the blathering of that moron Mike King on the PA system and IMS radio network, Simona's accident was more Meira's fault than hers. She's pretty low going into Turn 3 and then gives Briscoe some room and Vitor dives in and hits her in the LEFT REAR. You heard Briscoe say he winched when he saw Meira's move.
Barnhart hasn't addressed the cheaters in Chicago yet so don't expect miracles.

Q: With all the incidents for KV Racing drivers, I was trying to come up with a good name for the team. After Sato's first lap unassisted appointment with the wall at Kentucky it finally came to me: KV Racing = Krash Vehicle Racing.

Re: Chicagoland, I love the 215mph pack racing. It is truly a spectacle and you have to admire the guts of the drivers to hang in there. I recognize however how stressful and difficult it is for them. Although racing can bring forth the qualities of superior strategies and deftness of driving skill, I think sheer guts is just as important. That's what separates it from golf. And I hate watching golf.

Terry Cumming, Newmarket, Ontario

RM: Places like Chicago are more about balls and aero packages than skill and I realize it's great theatre for television and the folks in the grandstands but it's like restrictor plate racing for me: just wait until the crash while everyone runs in place. Give me Milwaukee, Loudon, even Kentucky.

Q: I watched the post-Chicagoland interviews after reading your last Mailbag. If I were the television reporter covering the event, instead of giggling a lot when TK expressed his clear discontent with the evening, I would have asked him something along the lines of, "It sounds like you think some things fundamentally need to be changed about the racing. Where would you start? Do you think most of the drivers would agree?" How do you think he (or the other drivers) would answer? I think their input should matter in all this discussion as well.

Ryan from Austin

RM: The old guard like TK and Dario understand it's Russian Roulette at 215 mph and IndyCar has simply been lucky that the Kenny Brack accident has never happened on the main straightaway where the fans sit at Texas or Chicago or KC (and I use the term fans loosely in the last two cases). The rules and cars force the drivers to drive like wild men and women and I don't consider it racing.

Q: Is it wrong of me to have enjoyed the Chicagoland race as much as I did? When I watch auto racing I want to say that's something that I could never do and Chicagoland delivered. It was like have at it boys but with the drivers having total respect for one another. I do however think a whole series of that type of racing is too much, maybe Indy and another track like Chicagoland in a season. No one wants to see anybody get hurt but it’s that possibility that makes auto racing what it is. Sometimes when I watch NASCAR I think I could take my Mazda out there and run with those guys. Maybe it was too much TK looked scared and so did Weldon who in my opinion has bigger balls then anyone in motor sport. I would like to know what AJ thinks of that type of racing. Anyway I read other peoples comments and I thought there might be something wrong with me.

John Jeffrey

RM: No, it's certainly understandable because it is super close, nerve-racking and the top tier of open wheel racing in this country is supposed to be dangerous and edgy. But Salem and Winchester also have those elements, it's just that the driver can make more of a difference. Those mile and a halfs were built for stock cars, not Indy cars, and the consequences are much more severe for the latter group.

Q: Over the years I’ve heard the saying “There are two types of oval drivers: Those who have hit the wall and those who are going to.” Is this true? I suppose the law of averages says it ought to happen sooner or later, but has anybody avoided the concrete clutches of the wall for any significant period of time? What’s the longest stretch a driver has gone before hitting the wall for the first time? Or the longest period of time between wall hits? Are there records for such things?

Chris Bonk, Chicago

RM: It's a fact that if you race on an oval long enough, you're going to hit a wall and while there are no official records, Rick Mears ran Indianapolis from 1977 to 1992 and never made contact until '91 when he flipped after hitting the wall when fluids got on his rear tires and sent him out of control. Not sure anybody can top that. And my pal Jerry Sneva holds the mark for the fastest accidents. He crashed at 5:58 on Tuesday night and 11:03 on Wednesday morning. Then went right to the Speedway Motel bar.

Q: Indy car has said they would like to come race at the Milwaukee Mile in 2011, please work something out with them. This is the first year since 2000 that I have not been to a race at the Mile and I miss it. Last year you had 29,000 of us there with little promotion, ask the league for help and I bet you get 5000 fans from Chicago (at least) which would bring you to a full grandstand.

John Guion, Racine WI

RM: Randy Bernard is doing something about it and I believe he'll be in Milwaukee on Friday to make an announcement we all want to hear.

Q: I think it is time for the Indycar bigwigs to contact Hizzoner da Mayor to get a race on the streets of Chicago. Now that would be an event!

Chicago City Girl

RM: Gerry Forsythe looked into a street race around the park during the Taste of Chicago but it proved to be too political and CART once looked at running around Mig Field but never pulled the trigger. It would be great but the logistics of closing streets in Chitown appears way too crazy.

Q: Will the Glen ever see Indycar again? What is your opinion on the track losing the 2011 date?

Keith Huggins

RM: I love The Glen and the crowd was decent this year but it's part of the ISC family and Randy Bernard has wisely abandoned places that aren't promoted to a partnership with Bruton Smith. I doubt we'll be back at WG for a long time.

Q: I watched the Chicago race on TV, and the driver who really impressed me was a guy who didn't win -- Will Power. I'm beginning to think that in Power, we're seeing the development of a driver in the A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Juan Fangio and Michael Schumacher class. Franchitti and Dixon are very good, very professional drivers, and Franchitti may yet win the 2010 championship, but Power is looking more and more like he's in a class by himself in the Indy Car field. And the neat thing is, he doesn't seem to yet realize just how good he is, based on the interviews of him that I've seen (I haven't yet talked to him in person) -- he's kind of like Jim Clark in that respect. I'd say that Power is very, very, likable (unlike some other current drivers that I could mention). What's your opinion of Mr. Power?

John in California

RM: Will is a RACER who is always thinking about the car, the track, the next race and he's a good humble kid from the outback of Australia. He was always fast in Champ Car but he's developed into a complete package the past couple years.


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