Robin Miller's Mailbag for September 4

If you have a question about open-wheel racing, send it to MillersMailbag@Racer.com. We can't guarantee your letter will be published, but Robin will always reply.

RM: You've hit on all my hot buttons. The bitching and moaning is out of control. Unavoidable contact is the most objectionable and senseless rule in street racing. Street racing is like indoor midget racing there's always going to be contact. The greats of the 1960s and '70s didn't use the Chrome Horn because it was way too dangerous, the cars weren't safe, the tracks weren't safe and there was no such thing as a street race. Nobody in the '60s had a clue about who was the USAC chief steward (it wasn't Harlan Fengler, he was Indy only). Dallenbach did a good job and I feel bad for criticizing him unfairly a couple times. The chief steward's job is thankless and the people screaming for Barfield's head are the same ones who backed Brian Barnhart and then wanted him beheaded. It's just IndyCar's luck that we've got to wait a month before the next race and it sucks. But hey, Little E's going to make The Chase so life's not all bad

All I can say is that I've covered endless street races where one driver took off and disappeared and the only passes were in the pits and everybody bitched because it was boring. Well, I sure as hell wasn't bored last Sunday and I sure hope IndyCar returns to Baltimore, because it's 3-0 in terms of not being boring.

I don't blame Dixon for being mad about being spun out and then speared. Obviously the last two races have pretty much gutted his chances at the title and he was definitely the victim at Baltimore. But they were racing accidents in my mind and not premeditated like most of Sunday's incidents. I don't think Barfield plays favorites either. TGBB had 15 years of yelling at drivers, waffling on calls, looking the other way and starting an oval race in the rain. This is Beaux's second season so I say let's give the guy with the toughest job a fighting chance. Sure he's made some mistakes and maybe needs to be more consistent about blocking but he's also made some damn good decisions about local yellows, opening and closing the pits and being decisive on a tough call. He ruffled feathers in ALMS, too, yet wasn't treated with such disrespect.

You can't fault Dixon for going for the throat at either place: he's the hunter in this deal and winning is what he's paid to do. I love that he's aggressive and I hated that he brushed the tire and had his race ruined at Sonoma. But it's the rule and the buck stops with the guy who holds the steering wheel. As for Baltimore, Power got a run and pulled out just like Scott and unfortunately they ran out of room. Maybe he should have been running for points and accepted a podium but I like the fact he goes for it.   

It was a suggestion from Ganassi and Penske to Randy Bernard and he opted to give it a try. I'd say it's only made street races 1,000 times more watchable and exciting. Yes, it's difficult for the drivers but so was running Langhorne.

Nobody deserved all the crap that Race Control had to deal with last Sunday but I'm sure one of the experts on Track Forum would have done a much better job. Other than the road race at IMS, next year's schedule will look almost identical to this year's if Brazil and Baltimore return. Too early for driver changes but I know of a couple in the works.  

RM: You just described a NASCAR Cup race Mike. I agree the cautions can bog down a race and a couple seemed too long but I disagree about it being lackluster in the first two-thirds of the race. Bourdais, Servia, Kanaan and Rahal made all kinds of good passes and so did Saavedra.    

Don't think Helio did and he finished ninth with a penalty. Newgarden's first podium was well deserved and a nice boost for Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman. Marco kept jumping the restarts and he was about to get a penalty. If Baltimore returns, the railroad tracks must be paved over and give the drivers a straight shot to Turn 1. Crowd looked down from a year ago and way down from the opener but the 25,000 (my guess) who showed seemed to enjoy it. Yes, I think a new date will hurt.  

Marco drove his butt off at Sonoma and Baltimore with damaged front wings but those two restarts pissed everyone off because he jumped them so badly. Hate was in the air late Sunday afternoon but yeah, by the time we get to Houston they'll be buddies again. Well, except Dario and Will.

I think we all wish there were more ovals but the reality is that promoters aren't interested right now in IndyCar turning left. At least not interested enough to pay a sanction fee and host a race. But I'll argue with you because St. Pete, Brazil, Detroit (race 2) and Baltimore were dramatic and entertaining with lots of overtaking. And, trust me, it takes as much if not more skill to negotiate a concrete jungle in an Indy car as it does to run an oval.

I think everyone hates that chicane and it needs to go away but IndyCar was stuck with it this year and made the best of it. I was told by a safety worker that Dixon's car was too badly damaged to be repaired in 15 laps and that's why it wasn't towed back in. I saw Helio pass some cars that were stacked up and stationary in Turn 1 but that's legal (he did get a drive-thru for hitting a crewman). A lot of people agree with the Sonoma penalty on Dixon because it was the rule. Grand-Am has more beating and banging than anybody. Sorry you didn't like the race.  

RM: Totally agree. I've watched Josef interact with the fans and he's exactly what IndyCar needs at the front of the field. He's also quite good with the media. I think if he had a teammate like Oriol Servia he'd be light years ahead but, like you said, he's got the chops. 

The city doesn't allow those tracks to be paved over for the race so that's why IndyCar went back to the chicane (instead of the launching ramp of a year ago) but it needs to go away and I think Derrick Walker intends to make that happen. Of course some guys figured it out and others struggled. But a straight line with no chicane is the preferred choice.

I guess showing parts of the meeting on NBC's pre-race show when it was pertinent could be requested but, in Dixon's case, the safety team told Race Control the car was too badly damaged to be repaired and they would have had to tow it into the paddock not the pits.

RM: When the electronics went away, the car was stuck in gear. To reboot the system and be able to move the car you must have a charger to activate the software, which none of the safety cars do but they will from now on.

RM: Good job Chip, thanks for recruiting new fans, we need them. I told Kevin Healy of Andretti Promotions that I get lots of letters from fans raving about the access and accommodating conditions at Baltimore.

RM: Derrick Walker is thinking about major changes and we should know more after today's test with Rahal and Briscoe. But I like your thinking about tickets.

I told Miles I'd rail against it until it was finally put on the schedule and then I'd support it with stories and videos on RACER.com. I'd rather see it at the end of the season if it has to happen.

RM: I agree wholeheartedly, Jim. We all fell in love with Indy because of the speed, the danger, the thrill of watching the fastest race in the world. We don't want or need a glorified Formula Ford race. I agree with Mark Miles that doing the same thing since 1996 hasn't worked so try something different. I just don't agree with a road race in May.

RM: The Navy-Ohio State football game and a huge convention will make it impossible for Labor Day in 2014 and 2015. I think they looked at IMS on the road course as a finale but decided it might have a better chance in May. I agree, not much crossover with straight liners and IndyCar fans.

RM: TK once drove Milwaukee with broken ribs so that says it all. I asked A.J. Foyt once if any of today's drivers could have hacked it in the 60s and he said: "Maybe that Kanaan." Pretty big compliment from Super Tex.

RM: I think Bryan Herta really likes Luca Filippi (and who wouldn't?) and I'm positive Briscoe is going to be Panther's new driver but nothing else is set. TK and Hinch are the keys but I doubt if Montoya is serious about coming back to open wheel. I think you'll see a lot of GP2 drivers looking here.

RM: Kidnap Brian France and hold him for ransom (although not sure his sister would pony up anything). I suppose if NBC asked, it could happen but it's a pipe dream. NASCAR doesn't want to run 30mph slower after an IndyCar race at the same oval.

RM: I think a lot of us have told Mark Miles how great the event was at Surfers Paradise and how popular it was even without any local heroes. Now that Dixon, Power and Briscoe are front and center, it could be huge. And putting China or Japan together with Australia makes sense if it can be pulled off

RM: I believe the pit speed limit was a result of a NASCAR crew member being killed at Atlanta in the mid-1980s. I worked on Indy crews for Lloyd Ruby, Bentley Warren, Johnny Parsons and Mike Hiss and there was no speed limit and Rube used to come in at about 140mph and never hit anybody. I also was the vent man and wore only fireproof gloves but never got burned. That was the 1970s so I think the full uniforms came along in the mid-'80s. Formula 1's pit lane speed limit was introduced after the third round of 1994 at Imola with immediate effect when a car lost a wheel in pit lane and it bounced into four mechanics who had to go to hospital.

RM: We all had hopes that Ford would follow GM back into IndyCar racing but I keep hearing Ford may be cutting back in 2014. Dodge would be logical and I know Randy Bernard met with them but nothing came of it. Yet.

RM: Well, obviously the IndyCar grid would be four cars smaller every race and minus-5 at Indianapolis so, yes, Michael is to be commended for fielding cars in the whole ladder system. It would be nice to see IndyCar make a rule that if you run an IndyCar, then you've got to run something in one of those categories. But I'm not sure it could be enforced.

RM: I realize he's got to make a living and NASCAR pays a lot more than IndyCar. But it's just sad an open-wheel guy couldn't come back here full time in 2014.?

RM: I'm thankful that NBC allows us to voice our opinions and not spew the intelligence-insulting company line like they do in NASCAR telecasts (except Kyle Petty). Wally and Townsend were definitely outspoken but that's refreshing and a lot of fans agreed with them and a lot didn't. True, it might have been nice to mention the rulebook but I thought both sides were represented nicely in last week's pre-race show.

Thanks for reading and participating.

RM: I agree. Barfield reviewed the tape, made a call in a very reasonable amount of time and stuck with it.

RM: It's easily the most dangerous job in IndyCar (besides chief steward) and if the pit boxes were the proper size we wouldn't have had this controversy.

RM: Well, A.J., Rutherford, Mario, Parnelli, Gurney, Hurtubise, Bettenhausen, Johncock, Sneva and the Unsers all competed in the Daytona 500 and Cale Yarborough, Lee Roy Yarbrough, Bobby Johns and the Allison brothers came to the Indy 500 back in the '60s. But I guess it's a lot more prestigious to come try Indy than it would be to go run nine hours at Charlotte. But my vote for the double in 2014 is KYLE LARSON! 

RM: I'll ask Donald Davidson to answer those first two questions but I like your very last question the best. I don't know the answer but you always hear Harvick and Johnson talk about growing up Indy 500 fans. I think there was admiration by race fans for both back in the day, but not anymore for some reason.   

RM: Good catch, Rick, my bad.