The last time Indycar racing tried airing their races outside of a mainstream network was when ChampCar partnered with Spike!...and we know how well that went. (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 me .
Don’t feel left out if I didn’t directly respond. I appreciate your interest and passion.
~Robin Miller
Q: I know most people are against the Versus deal and we all remember Chump Car's failure on Spike, but the UFC seems to be very successful on Spike. I have attached the recent ratings for the spike UFC broadcast on February 21, 2009 and I wanted to ask you how these ratings stack up to Indy cars on ABC/ESPN and Chump Car when they were on Spike? If these ratings are pretty good, was it Chump Cars failure to advertise and deliver a good product on Spike that lead to the failure rather than Spike itself which gives hope for the IRL on Versus???? Lastly, the WEC is falling apart on Versus and it looks like that is helping the IRL get more programming as the WEC was Versus's big baby for a while and maybe now the IRL will move into that role. (The Feb. 21 Spike TV broadcast of "UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson," which aired this past Saturday on Spike TV, peaked with three million viewers. UFC 95 netted a 1.6 household rating and averaged 2.4 million viewers.)
Mark
RM: I don't have the Champ Car numbers from SPIKE but I can assure you that a 1.6 would have represented about three or four races added together. There were more people at Long Beach than watched it that year. Last year, the IRL's best (besides Indy at 4.6) was a 1.3 at Mid-Ohio and a 1.1 at Iowa (both on ABC). The best ESPN race was a .7 (748,000 homes) while ESPN's top show was a 1.0 at Texas (924,000 homes). If Comcast (which owns Versus) promotes the IRL heavily on other channels it might be able to approach the ESPN numbers in 2009 and Versus claims it wants to be an alternative to ESPN with racing, NHL, Tour de France, etc.
Q: We all know what the formation of the IRL and the split did to open wheel racing. I’d argue the more devastating move to the future of open wheel racing was Roger Penske selling his tracks to ISC (the France family). They can unify open wheel, maybe even get some money back in it, but they’ll never ever get those premium dates and ticket packages again at Michigan, Fontana, and Phoenix. I mentioned this to Jack Arute once and he ran away from me saying he wasn’t going to touch that question. Robin, why does Penske get a pass for this?
Steve Foster
RM: That's an interesting theory because we all know that France encouraged Tony George to do his own thing and his caveat was that he could deliver oval tracks to be the IRL's "partner" in the whole deal. Of course we all know now that NASCAR did little if any promotion for those IRL races and had Indy cars playing second fiddle just like they wanted. Recently, when the IRL wanted to go back to Phoenix it was given the option of a Thursday night show. Gee thanks. Penske sold his tracks to ISC in 2000 while he was still supposedly gung ho on CART, although he may have already decided he was IRL bound and this was all part of a master plan.
Q: How realistic do you think it is that USF1 will make the call for the 2010 season? They have no shop, no chassis, no engine, and no driver. They have a lot of talk, and I think they're throwing around names in hopes of getting sponsorship and seeing who might be interested. I would think 2011 would be a safer bet for them, and as Graham Rahal said on Wind Tunnel with no USGP it's going to be a tough sell for sponsors.
David Meeks, Beaverton, OR
RM: I believe the key is Bernie and Max. If they get behind this project financially (Bernie offered to help fund the ex-Honda team last week) and a US Grand Prix returns in 2010, it could become a reality. I think we're all skeptical because of the amount of money we think it takes and the logistics and location. But Peter Windsor sounds very convincing so maybe he knows something we don't.
Q: During the press conference for US-F1, someone—I don’t recall who—made mention of Ken Anderson’s involvement in the IRL Falcon Indy 01 - A chassis. My disdain for Tony George and the IRL at the time kept me from following the league back then, but was it the exclusive deal with Dallara that killed this chassis? I did a Google search of the car and I’ll be damned if it isn’t hands down a better looking chassis than the ugly duckling Dallara. Why kill off an American made chassis that actually looked good for an Italian one that not even a mother could love?
John Wertz, Zionsville
RM: I really don't remember why nobody bought it or tried it but I do know that ex-Ford domo Michael Kranefuss was a partner in the deal and it wasn't a bad looking car. With G-Force (Panoz) and Riley/Scott building a car, it looked like there could be four chassis.
Q: A really lovely piece that you wrote on the Speed website. You also write along with my old mate Gordon Kirby for MotorSport, how about a proposal to them to do some US versions of Simon Taylor's "Lunch with........." series. You know a lot of great characters/legends and I'm sure with your sense of humor you could do a fabulous job. Having first bellied up to the spectator rail at Brands Hatch in 1955, I was fortunate to be involved in N.American motor racing throughout the 70s and 80s on the 'inside' with a weekly radio racing program called 'The Sound of Wheels'. Now an armchair enthusiast, I only go to Vintage events and Empire Super Sprint races. Keep telling it like it is. I have no time for political correctness and any racing driver that you have to go through a PR person to speak with. Guys like you GK and Nigel Roebuck are too few and far between.
David M-K, Ottawa Canada
RM: Thanks for the kind words David, it's an honor to write for Motorsport and, in May, you will see my story on team lunch with the old boys of Indy. Every Monday and Friday, I have lunch with Bill Vukovich, Gary Bettenhausen, Johnny Parsons, Lee Kunzman, Larry Rice, Jerry Sneva, Steve Chassey and Bubby Jones and Motorsport was kind enough to allow me 3,000 words on this two-hour marathon of lying, cussing, storytelling and laughing.
Q: I am looking forward to getting the 2009 IndyCar season running. Dario is back, does he come out swinging? I see Dario holding another Indy 500 check as well as the title, or am I just dreaming a little too vividly?
Franchitti Fan
RM: Well, he should certainly contend for both with his team, talent and experience but I think Dixon and Briscoe have to be the favorites. Will it take Dario a while to get out of his stock car habits on ovals? We'll see, but probably not. And he's always quick on street circuits and road courses.
Q: At Speed Weeks, A.J. Foyt said that the open wheel drivers who entered NASCAR were not necessarily the best open wheel drivers, and that Gordon, Stewart, and Newman had made it. That brought two questions to my mind. First, which open wheelers did he mean? Sam Hornish struggled the first time I watched Indycars (2007) and he struggles now, and Patrick Carpentier never won a lot. Otherwise, they were a good group, I thought. Second, was Jeff Gordon really a good Open Wheel driver? I have always heard so, but I wanted to know from someone who was there.
Dylan Tillbury
RM: Not really sure what A.J. meant. Obviously, Dario and Sam were champions and winners and Allmendinger kicked butt in 2006 in Champ Car. Obviously, Dixon, Kanaan and Castroneves never got to NASCAR so maybe he means them. As for Gordon, he was a prodigy of USAC's Thursday Night Thunder and excelled in midgets and sprints, dirt or pavement, although he was really good on the high banks and places like IRP. That's why we always wanted to see him run the Indy 500 at least once. And don't forget he impressed everyone when he drove Montoya's F1 car at IMS.
Q: Any chance of AJ IV getting sponsor money from Indy Colts with his new connection ?
L.J. Benchoff, Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.
RM: I think a lot of people assume that because he's engaged to the owner of the Colts' daughter that would be a natural partnership and it could happen for May only when IV drives for his grandfather.
Q: Now that J.J. Yeley isn't participating in the weekly NASCAR circus what's the chances of him getting an Indy 500 ride? Possibly a second car with AJ? It would be awesome to see a great open wheel guy driving for the greatest open wheel guy.
Jay H., Joliet, Ill.
RM: I agree, it's where J.J. belongs and it's certainly a possibility for the second weekend. But, like I said the question above, IV is going to drive for big A.J. in May and I don't see them running three cars unless TGeorge needs them and helps out.
Q: Let's say Helio is able to drive at Indy this year. That leaves Penske with three drivers and two cars. With The Captain's past history of running only 2 cars in Penske colors, is it possible that Gil De Ferran will field "leased" car with a "borrowed" driver- Will Power? Or could we see a second Luzco/Dragon entry with "leased" equipment and a borrowed driver? After seeing pictures of Stan Fox's crash at Indy, I was wondering if he ever got in a car again?
Michael Cowan
RM: Tim Cindric said they would look at running three cars if that scenario presents itself and R.P. has fielded three before (they had the front row in 1988). Depending on the car count by then and the available funds, it's not out of the question. Foxy never raced competitively again and, for those of us who knew him well, he was never the same after his accident. He made a miraculous recovery and he always vowed he'd race again but never did. He died on a highway accident in Australia and, after going to lunch with him several times, I can truthfully say he probably shouldn't have been driving a passenger car.
Q: Which IndyCar teams have confirmed sponsors for 2009, and which teams are still looking for sponsors?
Van, Colorado Springs, CO
RM: AGR, Penske, Ganassi, Panther. Newman/Haas/Lanigan, KV Racing, HVM, Vision and Foyt have full-time sponsors. Luczo/Dragaon and 3G appear to have backing for '09 while Dreyer & Reinbold has some sponsorship from Mike Conway. Conquest and Coyne are working on it. Sarah Fisher has enough for four races.
