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IndyCar
MILLER: It’s Not Fair But, It’s Business
If it were up to the vocal members of the IndyCar community, Bruno Junqueira would be starting Sunday’s Indy 500 instead of watching it on television at home.
Happier times for Eric Bachelart and Bruno Junqueira. (LAT)
If it were up to the vocal members of the IndyCar community, Bruno Junqueira would be starting Sunday’s 93rd Indianapolis 500 instead of watching on television at his Miami home.
Two days after he masterfully qualified Eric Bachelart’s second car with virtually no practice only to be put on the sidelines because Bachelart said Alex Tagliani needed to be in the car for sponsor commitments and considerations, the votes are in.
Current drivers, former drivers, owners, team managers, mechanics, the media and fans have emailed, sent texts and phoned with their displeasure over Junky getting jerked.
And it’s understandable since he’s soldiered on the past three years driving for nothing except passion and displaying a moxie few of today’s racers in any series could match.
It always sucks that a driver who made the show gets replaced by a driver who didn’t but it’s certainly nothing new at the Indianapolis 500.
Dick Simon did it to rookie John Mahler in 1971 and Mike Groff had to step aside for Scott Goodyear in 1992. Tim Richmond paid George Snider to let him drive Snider’s car in 1981.
Salt Walther got bumped in 1977 and then tried to slide into teammate Bill Puterbaugh’s seat on his father’s team but there was such a public outcry for the little guy, Walther opted to remain a spectator.
Other than the immediate family in Gasoline Alley, there doesn’t appear to be much of a reaction from the casual observer: a Canadian rookie is taking over for a Brazilian veteran.
That’s because despite his success in American open wheel racing since 2001, Junqueira isn’t very well known and therefore doesn’t elicit much emotion either way. Ditto for Tags, who is a big name north of the border but not so much in the USA.
Both are easy to cheer for because of their determination and these two ex-CART warriors, thrown together this month as teammates, should both be taking the green flag Sunday. Tags had the speed but got left sitting in line after Bachelart gambled his time was safe and then ran out of time.
Blaming Bachelart for this mess is easy enough since the track was obviously getting faster and faster in Sunday’s cooling temps and Tags had run four laps over 221 mph before 5 o’clock. Dale Coyne and Tomas Scheckter weren’t going to let anybody else decide their fate so they withdrew an iffy speed and safely blasted back into the field.
Still, with all their struggles, it was hard to imagine either John Andretti or Ryan Hunter-Reay were a serious threat.
As bad as we all feel for Bruno, it’s no picnic for Bachelart either. His Conquest Racing team is always scrambling to stay on the grid and operates on a shoestring and fumes much of the time.
Nobody, save Coyne, needed two cars in the race more than the Belgium native and that minimum of $500,000-plus in prize money he would have banked could have really helped Tagliani run the rest of 2009.
It’s not fair but, it is business, and the sponsorships Conquest does have (and are pursuing) are built around the 36-year-old veteran from Montreal and it’s his team. Goodyear understands both sides.
“My situation was a little different because Mike (Groff) had qualified the ’92 Lola, I was in an older car and Derrick (Walker) and I had already decided we were swapping cars and starting at the rear because I was going to be in the ’92 car,” said Goodyear, whose sponsor (Mackenzie Financial of Canada) kept the lights on at Walker Racing that season.
“Derrick did the same thing as Eric and tried to put in two cars and I don’t know what their deal was but I’d been with Derrick for two years and I was going to be in that car and in that race.”
Goodyear, who started 33rd and finished second after a frantic finish with Al Unser Jr., was asked if it was awkward seeing Groff following the exchange.
“Not at all, we’re race drivers and we don’t give a **** -- it’s me first and everybody else second,” replied ABC’s Indy 500 color analyst with a chuckle. “Sure, I felt a little bad for Mike but he was paid and he knew the deal going in and he knew we were swapping cars regardless.
“Like I said, I don’t know Bruno’s deal and even though he’s not in the car anymore, he came out of nowhere on Sunday and reminded a lot of people he can still get the job done. He’s got to be at the top of the list if somebody is looking for a driver or somebody gets hurt.”
That is probably of little consolation to the 32-year-old Brazilian because this is the second time this year he’s had the rug pulled out from under him. He did a yeoman job for Coyne in 2007 and 2008 and helped steer engineer Bill Pappas to the team this season only to find out late he wasn’t in the plans.
He handled last Sunday’s sudden ouster with a lot more class than could be expected (although please don’t fall for those press release quotes, Bruno was upset and depressed) and now he’s helping his seven-month pregnant wife prepare for their first child while trying not to fall off the IndyCar radar.
Bachelart is a racer and a survivor and he’ll weather this little PR storm and move on. He just needs to follow through on his promise to compensate Junqueira for being a team player in a selfish, ruthless profession. It will be Bruno’s first paycheck in a long time and he’s certainly earned it. And Tags might want to throw in some diapers and formula.
TRACY IN CANADA
Expect a press release Wednesday announcing that Paul Tracy has acquired a new sponsor with a Canadian flavor for the races in Toronto and Edmonton. Tracy, backed in Sunday’s Indy 500 by GEICO, is still hoping to run the remainder of 2009 for KV Racing, which is working on added sponsorship for the Thrill from West Hill.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.
Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.
Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.
In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
Two days after he masterfully qualified Eric Bachelart’s second car with virtually no practice only to be put on the sidelines because Bachelart said Alex Tagliani needed to be in the car for sponsor commitments and considerations, the votes are in.
Current drivers, former drivers, owners, team managers, mechanics, the media and fans have emailed, sent texts and phoned with their displeasure over Junky getting jerked.
And it’s understandable since he’s soldiered on the past three years driving for nothing except passion and displaying a moxie few of today’s racers in any series could match.
It always sucks that a driver who made the show gets replaced by a driver who didn’t but it’s certainly nothing new at the Indianapolis 500.
Dick Simon did it to rookie John Mahler in 1971 and Mike Groff had to step aside for Scott Goodyear in 1992. Tim Richmond paid George Snider to let him drive Snider’s car in 1981.
Salt Walther got bumped in 1977 and then tried to slide into teammate Bill Puterbaugh’s seat on his father’s team but there was such a public outcry for the little guy, Walther opted to remain a spectator.
Other than the immediate family in Gasoline Alley, there doesn’t appear to be much of a reaction from the casual observer: a Canadian rookie is taking over for a Brazilian veteran.
That’s because despite his success in American open wheel racing since 2001, Junqueira isn’t very well known and therefore doesn’t elicit much emotion either way. Ditto for Tags, who is a big name north of the border but not so much in the USA.
Both are easy to cheer for because of their determination and these two ex-CART warriors, thrown together this month as teammates, should both be taking the green flag Sunday. Tags had the speed but got left sitting in line after Bachelart gambled his time was safe and then ran out of time.
Blaming Bachelart for this mess is easy enough since the track was obviously getting faster and faster in Sunday’s cooling temps and Tags had run four laps over 221 mph before 5 o’clock. Dale Coyne and Tomas Scheckter weren’t going to let anybody else decide their fate so they withdrew an iffy speed and safely blasted back into the field.
Still, with all their struggles, it was hard to imagine either John Andretti or Ryan Hunter-Reay were a serious threat.
As bad as we all feel for Bruno, it’s no picnic for Bachelart either. His Conquest Racing team is always scrambling to stay on the grid and operates on a shoestring and fumes much of the time.
Nobody, save Coyne, needed two cars in the race more than the Belgium native and that minimum of $500,000-plus in prize money he would have banked could have really helped Tagliani run the rest of 2009.
It’s not fair but, it is business, and the sponsorships Conquest does have (and are pursuing) are built around the 36-year-old veteran from Montreal and it’s his team. Goodyear understands both sides.
“My situation was a little different because Mike (Groff) had qualified the ’92 Lola, I was in an older car and Derrick (Walker) and I had already decided we were swapping cars and starting at the rear because I was going to be in the ’92 car,” said Goodyear, whose sponsor (Mackenzie Financial of Canada) kept the lights on at Walker Racing that season.
“Derrick did the same thing as Eric and tried to put in two cars and I don’t know what their deal was but I’d been with Derrick for two years and I was going to be in that car and in that race.”
Goodyear, who started 33rd and finished second after a frantic finish with Al Unser Jr., was asked if it was awkward seeing Groff following the exchange.
“Not at all, we’re race drivers and we don’t give a **** -- it’s me first and everybody else second,” replied ABC’s Indy 500 color analyst with a chuckle. “Sure, I felt a little bad for Mike but he was paid and he knew the deal going in and he knew we were swapping cars regardless.
“Like I said, I don’t know Bruno’s deal and even though he’s not in the car anymore, he came out of nowhere on Sunday and reminded a lot of people he can still get the job done. He’s got to be at the top of the list if somebody is looking for a driver or somebody gets hurt.”
That is probably of little consolation to the 32-year-old Brazilian because this is the second time this year he’s had the rug pulled out from under him. He did a yeoman job for Coyne in 2007 and 2008 and helped steer engineer Bill Pappas to the team this season only to find out late he wasn’t in the plans.
He handled last Sunday’s sudden ouster with a lot more class than could be expected (although please don’t fall for those press release quotes, Bruno was upset and depressed) and now he’s helping his seven-month pregnant wife prepare for their first child while trying not to fall off the IndyCar radar.
Bachelart is a racer and a survivor and he’ll weather this little PR storm and move on. He just needs to follow through on his promise to compensate Junqueira for being a team player in a selfish, ruthless profession. It will be Bruno’s first paycheck in a long time and he’s certainly earned it. And Tags might want to throw in some diapers and formula.
TRACY IN CANADA
Expect a press release Wednesday announcing that Paul Tracy has acquired a new sponsor with a Canadian flavor for the races in Toronto and Edmonton. Tracy, backed in Sunday’s Indy 500 by GEICO, is still hoping to run the remainder of 2009 for KV Racing, which is working on added sponsorship for the Thrill from West Hill.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.
Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.
Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.
In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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