MILLER: Robin's Indycar Mailbag for February 17th

IndyCar

MILLER: Robin’s Indycar Mailbag for February 17th

We've got a fever, and the only thing that'll satisfy it is More Mailbag. Here's 29 questions and answers from the best Indycar scribe on the planet.

Robin Miller | Posted February 18, 2009 Indianapolis, IN

Speaking of the displaced Justin Wilson, the rapid Brit appears to be sideline bound in 2009. Fairness, it seems, has no place in motorsports when sponsorship dollars are short. (LAT)

Hello open wheel types and thanks for all your questions. I intend to answer your questions every week during the season, so just e-mail them to openwheelmailbag@gmail.com. Don’t feel left out if I didn’t directly respond. I appreciate your interest and passion.

~Robin Miller

Q: It's been basically one year since the deal went down and the open-wheel unification happened. Given all that has transpired within the last 12 months, my question is two-fold. First, can you honestly say the better series/product emerged from the unification? It seems a lot of the same things, i.e. the ugly car, lack of competition, bad management/business plans and a no-name rotating driver lineup, that were railed against in Champ Car are once again cropping up in IndyCar. Do you really believe, with everything you've said over the years, that an open-wheel series under Tony George and his staff's leadership can ever recapture even a fraction of the heights that USAC and then CART did from the '70s through '90s? Especially when twice already, plans for competition amongst manufacturers have been pushed back? Also, to what degree do you feel the all-too-few media members played into the perception of the situation in Champ Car? Did they have as much to do with its demise as internal mismanagement and a lack of finances when in hindsight, things may not have been as bad on that side as they were perceived? A year later with the IRL all that's left and everyone is still griping about the same things and lack of ACTION in changing the course/direction of the series. With the IRL, isn't it insanity to suggest that the same struggling if not failing product the last 12-13 years will ever produce different results?

Tony DiZinno, Milwaukee, WI

RM: I can say there was a better product on the track last year than the previous 12 seasons because even though it wasn't level footing, everyone was under one roof and there was a depth of talent that surfaced on the road courses and street races. Having said that, a year later we have less cars, less stars and much less to be positive about. And, yes, I do see a similar pattern of confusion, incompetence and dis-organization in the IRL. It's obvious TGeorge doesn't want to be THE MAN and it's obvious to me that Brian Barnhart is not the answer and there doesn't seem to be anything resembling a plan. As for Champ Car, it's demise was simple: the two guys spending all the money made some very poor hires, listened to Paul Gentilozzi way too much and, in the end, one of them realized he was throwing away millions with no chance for a return on his investment. Kinda like TGeorge and the IRL.

Q: I watched the twin 150s at Daytona and they got me thinking. With all of the economic impact on some of the larger teams, a quite large crop of small start-up teams emerged, led by Tommy Baldwin Racing and Jeremy Mayfield Motorsports, who each made the 500 with teams barely a month old. Why are there seemingly no similar teams knocking at the door of IndyCar and the Indy 500? Is it just because the Daytona 500 comes at the start of the season? The purses are somewhat similar at the back of the field, so why aren't there some enterprising guys scraping together IndyCar teams? Is it just as simple as "TG and the guys ruined IndyCar so nobody is interested?" Theoretically, IndyCar being down should have created opportunities just like NASCAR has experienced.

JJD, Seattle

RM: Right now, Greg Beck's 3G Racing (with Stanton Barrett) kind of fits that profile as does the Jim Frudenburg/Jason Priestly/Pacific Coast Racing group. There are a couple other start-up possibilities who have emailed me their intentions but, so far, nothing has developed. The real problem in starting up a new IndyCar program compared to NASCAR is the bottom line: the IRL purses are pathetic while the 35th place car in NASCAR can bring in $3 million to help keep the doors open. And you need a $6 million (minimum) sponsor to be competitive in IRL but its TV package/ratings doesn't come close to justifying that kind of money and NASCAR is still the big dog on TV (after the NFL).

Q: Now that A.J. Allmendinger finally has some decent equipment to drive, he looks like he has turned the corner in Sprint Cup. With that said, is there any way that you see A.J. running some IndyCar events in the future, namely a one-off at 16th and Georgetown? If not, have you heard of any one-off drivers that have already committed to running the 500 this May?

Jay Matheny, Fancy Farm, KY

RM: No, because logistically it's impossible with Indy not starting until 1 p.m. and there's no interest or time to do any other races. I guess the best possibility for Indy only rides would be Paul Tracy, Oriol Servia, Darren Manning, Justin Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Anthony Foyt.

Q: How does the USF1 team plan to run on a 64 million dollar budget? Hendrick Motorsports has a $360 million dollar budget, and that’s only like a midpack F1 team. To get a serious F1 team, the Big 3 auto makers need to pool their resources, get Hendrick, Ganassi, Childress, Penske, and Roush on board to develop the cars and fund them. Then, maybe you could compete for wins. I am also disappointed by the American A1GP team. AGR is supposedly the top American Open Wheel team, and Marco the best American open wheel driver, so why can't they at least contend for wins.

Dylan

RM: I spoke with Peter Windsor the other night and he's confident they'll have the proper budget in these economic times to pull it off. When you think about Ferrari and McLaren and $500 million budgets, it's hard to imagine a team with a fifth of that being within five seconds. But the Big 3 have other fish to fry in NASCAR and F1 isn't on their radar. As for AGR's A1GP effort, it's a strange car on strange tracks with a kid who is still learning his road racing craft. I don't think anybody expected them to contend for wins.

Q: How long is Danica's contract with AGR? I know this sounds crazy but do you think she could have a shot with USF1? Granted she is not the best on road courses but I would imagine she could attract huge sponsorship dollars. (Representing the United States, first female in F1, etc…) Also can you imagine if F1 did a doubleheader weekend at the Glen
with NASCAR? I think you could attract 500,000 people to the event.

Chris

RM: Obviously, when Ken Anderson told the AP reporter he was considering Danica, he knows her popularity and sponsor appeal so I'm sure if she could find them big money, it's a possibility. But in speaking with Peter Windsor, I think Jonathan Summerton, Connor Daly, Scott Speed and Josef Newgarden are the serious candidates. There have been women in F1 before, just no American women and I can't see NASCAR and F1 as partners anywhere on this planet.

Q: I hear all this talk about Marco to F1 and Marco being the up and coming star, etc. I was at the Chicago Auto Show on Sunday and he was there signing autographs. I walked by that area a few times and there were no lines, no autograph seekers. Does anyone realize that he is irrelevant at this point? I think his poor attitude and poor driving the past few years have made many fans realize he isn't worth their time and energy. I am thinking the kid should head back to college. What are your thoughts on his future?

Quinn

RM: First off, not sure college is going to advance his driving career but the real thing that needs to be pointed out is that Marco probably gets too much credit (one sportswriter labeled him a superstar last year) and too much criticism. He's only 21 years old and, sure he was disappointing on the road races last year, but he also led a lot of laps and had some good runs (should have won Indy). His last name is both a benefit and a curse and I think running A1GP will enhance his skills and he'll do better in 2009. He certainly doesn't have his grandfather's charisma or personality but he seemed to be better with the fans last year.

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Robin Miller

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