Robin Miller's Mailbag for October 16

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: Dale Earnhardt Jr. had been the face of the National Guard in NASCAR and it makes sense an American would be desired for IndyCar. But Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira, Oriol Servia and Ryan Briscoe were all popular with the Guard so maybe that wasn't as important as performance (zero wins in six years). However, I understand the Guard wasn't real happy after Hildebrand was let go after Indy, so maybe your theory is correct.

RM: I think if Graham is voting he'd definitely pick Justin because they had a good relationship at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. And Honda is also a big fan of JWil, if that carries any weight.

RM: Well, you have to figure that for that kind of money The Guard expected some results and I'll save my Wheldon and Meira stories for another day. But The Guard loved the way John Barnes treated its soldiers and heroes at the track. And I understand he's appealing to try and retain his sponsorship.

RM: Don't forget A.J. Allmendinger. Why do you think he's being called into action this week? The Captain is trying to do everything possible to help and so will Will. The outrage in NASCAR was that comical spin that bit Mikey Waltrip in the butt " as it should have.

RM: No entry for him this week but Andretti is working on running him full-time in 2014.

RM: Simona's always had the respect of the paddock because they all know how hard she drives and how tough it is to wrestle an Indy car on a rough street course. TK was one of the first people to congratulate her when she got out of the car. I keep hearing she may end up with Dale Coyne for 2014, but Marshall Pruett is going to update the silly season stories this weekend in Fontana, here on RACER.com.

RM: For all the labor pains and sweltering temperatures, I thought they were both damn good races. And, considering it's football season in Texas, I thought Sunday's turnout was very good.

RM: Seat location is up to the promoter and IndyCar's responsibility is to make suggestions and make things as safe as possible for competitors and fans. What happened at Houston could have easily taken place on Shoreline Drive at Long Beach during the past 30 years but it hasn't. Having said that, I do believe those grandstands will be moved to the inside of that corner for 2014 because Mike Lanigan and IndyCar are in agreement.

RM: I think your analysis has merit and it's probably surprising there aren't more big accidents considering the speeds, parity and depth of competition. But, while the fan does assume some amount of risk, what happened at Houston requires an immediate solution and it will get one before 2014.

RM: Fans like to be close to the action and a promoter wants to try and provide the best experience and viewing points possible " not an easy task at a street race. In hindsight, those Turn 5 stands were probably dangerous and will likely be moved for next year. The Nation's Cup was a CART thing so, naturally, it died along with CART. And by the way, with Dixon, Power and Briscoe around, I think the list needs to have the Antipodes in there, too?

RM: It was done because the track was so rough at a couple key places. And thanks for your support. RACER.com is site for coverage of American open-wheel and sports car racing, and a U.S. perspective on Formula 1 and its feeder categories. Thanks for joining us.

RM: At a place like Fontana last year (103 degrees at race time) and, to a lesser degree at Houston this year (94 degrees with 97 percent humidity on the Saturday), it's almost a necessity to race at night. The crowd at Houston (both days) was a hell of a lot more than I expected (although Sunday was perfect weather) and the fact there were more than 15,000 people at Fontana a year ago was a miracle considering the conditions. Nobody comes to qualifying at ovals so the promoter isn't losing anything and, until the last couple years, a place like Texas flourished with a night race. I think most tracks count on the race making their nut " not practice and qualifying.

RM: Simple economics " supply and demand. If the races don't draw, the promoter isn't going to book them. The Glen really tried to make it work by moving the date around trying to find one that worked while Kentucky started out pretty good and then attendance kept getting worse and worse. Ditto for Mexico City (you must have a star Mexican driver) and Laguna and Elkhart Lake. Vancouver's track was eaten up the Winter Olympics while Australia always had great crowds but got dropped during the unification for some insane reason. Bottom line? IndyCar needs a sanction fee and, unless the promoter scores a nice title sponsor, it's damn near impossible to break even.

RM: A nice blend would be 7-7-7 (ovals, road courses and street circuits, like in CART's heyday) but, as I stated in the letter above, that's not reality anymore. Fontana and Pocono are trying to reconnect with the fans but it's tough sledding for any oval right now and places like Portland need a lot of work to even be considered. Street circuits give IndyCar its best chance at drawing decent crowds and, while they're not the roots of open-wheel, they've staged some damn entertaining races the past two years.

RM: Lack of fans, sponsors and TV ratings (compared to NASCAR) make 20 races a challenge and IndyCar's new leaders don't want to compete with football. Next year, the schedule will be compacted and over by Labor Day.

RM: There were some huge sanction fees ($7-8-9 million) for CART during the '90s but they were backed down in Champ Car's run from 2003-'07 and I know for a fact that Road America had a GREAT deal. But I think Mark Miles is willing to work with Elkhart Lake and make it fair so IndyCar can return in 2015 (with sports cars on the same weekend, if track president George Bruggenthies can pull it off). Long Beach has also had a sweetheart deal since 2008 but I imagine that will be renegotiated for 2015.

RM: Logic says Michael would rather be the big dog with Honda than a mutt with Chevrolet and I imagine he'll make that jump. But, with or without him, Honda will be extra motivated to beat Ganassi.

RM: I'm almost certain IndyCar would relish a double-header with F1 but I don't think Bernie Baby wants (or needs) any part of it. And the promoter pays big bucks to get F1 so I would think IndyCar's best chance (like at Austin) is a standalone or twin bill with sports cars.

RM: I like it a lot better than ?I Am Indy.?

RM: Yes, that's what I was told regarding standing starts and it seems crazy since Champ Car didn't have those issues in 2007. But those were all Cosworth engines with the same software so maybe that's why. But it needs to be fixed because SSs aren't going away in 2014.

RM: The equipment was the same but I think Hinch is better with chassis setup and a lot more aggressive. Danica excelled at Indy and most big, fast ovals but struggled with the physicality of road racing. Unlike Simona. And Hinch turned out to be a sleeper.

RM: It's going to take myself and Steve Shunck winning PowerBall because we will start a 3-car Indy team with JWil, S-E-R-V-I-A and Kyle Larson (whose contract I will buy from Ganassi). I've always been perplexed why The Captain never gave Justin a shot but I don't think Dario is retiring and, if he did, I imagine Hinch would get The Call from Chip.

RM: Well, first off, it wasn't Dario's fault. Sato got sideways as Franchitti was pulling around to pass him and became the victim. As for Taku, he was always fast in F1 but crashed a lot and that was pretty much his M.O. here until this season when he got with Don Halliday and the Foyts. He finally won and seemed much calmer but, lately, seems to have regressed to some old habits. He's brave and fast and a nice guy " but seems to lose focus.

RM: There is something to be said from going to The Glen, Road America and Mexico City to a parking lot or a street course circuit but it really speaks volumes about what's transpired since 1996. Your comparison is tough to argue with.

RM: Fair enough but he's got no Aussie accent at the moment.

RM: I don't have any numbers but, clearly, the on-board starters need to become operational ASAP. I'm told Honda and GM haven't spent the time on them but will step things up for 2014. Some of the longer cautions are to sweep marbles and while that's frustrating and boring, it usually helps the racing. And gives TV a break for commercials. But I agree, it makes it tough to keep your audience.

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RM: It's good to know that oval, dirt racing can still draw big crowds and Pennsylvania has always been one of the best. I can remember working for on Open Wheel Wednesdays and John Kernan expounding on ?Fast Freddie Rahmer.? Good way to go out. But I can imagine Scott Dixon saying that very thing if he wins the title this Saturday night.

RM: Honda does have a plan to get a USAC champion to the Indy 500 and hopefully it can be sustained. I think little O'Gara just keeps getting better and drives whatever he can with four wheels.

RM: Last year there were reports a GP2 team was defecting to IndyCar but, obviously, it never happened and I haven't heard anything since. But I believe Luca Filippi will be in IndyCar full time next year. Don't think we'll have more than 28 full-timers but some ovals could accommodate 30 " just not many road courses or street circuits.

RM: Yep, they sounded like beasts and took your breath away as they screamed past you. I think we all agree with your wish.

RM: It's true that many of us want more powerful cars that look different and push technology. But are there enough of those people out there to really make a difference in attendance or TV ratings? And I think IndyCar needs some assurance from Ford or Dodge or Audi that they want to come play with a clean sheet of paper. Until then, why mess with the only thing you've got right now " good competition? Maybe just open up the rules for the Indy 500 but, again, will that get you teams from sports cars, NASCAR or F1?

RM: First of all, thanks for spreading the word and being such a good marketing agent for IndyCar. Would you like a job on West 16th Street? It's a great letter and illustrates how far off the radar IndyCar is with most people. I think the NASCAR fans who used to have to buy Indy car tickets at Chicago or Kansas were always blown away by the close racing and speed so it's a matter of exposing people to it. But they still preferred Cup to IndyCar because of their favorite driver, so it's going to take a lot of passionate fans like yourself and word of mouth to ever make a difference.