Robin Miller's Mailbag for December 16, presented by Honda Racing / HPD

Your questions for Robin should continue to be sent to millersmailbag@racer.com We cannot guarantee we’ll publish all your questions and answers, but Robin will reply to you. And if you have a question about the technology side of racing, Robin will pass these on to Marshall Pruett and he will also answer here.

Q: There IS a Santa Claus! I had almost given up hope that Conor Daly would get a ride for the 2016 season and was just a bit skeptical when I read last Monday that he would go to Coyne for the entire season. But now I am a believer! Three cheers for Byrd's and Dale Coyne for putting this deal together and believing in Conor's talents! The joy on his face and the enthusiasm in his voice during your interview at PRI said it all.

And of course you know I am pleased when Bryan Clauson receives recognition and gets a ride for the Indy 500. I appreciate your continued support of Fontana and its efforts, on which you again commented in the Mailbag last week. I am going to miss not attending my home oval next year.

Thank you for the PRI interviews, which I always enjoy. Like being a fly on the wall. Somebody commented that he saw you interview Uncle Bobby, so I am looking forward to the posting of that one.

The Deb, Los Angeles

RM: You're not alone. I figured since Smithfield didn't get much of a reception last May and the car broke down on the pace lap that Conor's destiny was as an Indy only driver except for the Honda two-seater. The Byrd sponsorship was a shocking but pleasant surprise and to have a couple of talented, young American racers on the same team for the 100th Indy 500 is fabulous. I told the Byrd brothers there aren't many secrets in racing but their announcement was a stunner. And I think engineer Mike Cannon will be good for both of them.

It sucks the race that got IndyCar its most viewers last season is gone but I don't blame Dave Allen for sticking to his guns about an October date for Fontana. I did a series of interviews with Unser for our 100th Indy 500 preview so they'll run sometime in 2016 prior to May. He talks about Parnelli making him ask Granatelli for money to drive the Novi in 1963, how he beat the turbines in 1968 and why he raced in the greatest era.

Q: There will be plenty of happy Americans with the announcement that Coyne is fielding Daly full time next year. What are the odds he can finish in the top 10 in points? I'll give him better odds than most, but unless Honda is a dog again I don't see any of the four Penske or three Ganassi cars finishing outside the Top 10. Then you've got the Andretti cars, Rahal, and Newgarden to surpass as well. I'd say he does finish on the podium at least once though.

Ryan in West Michigan

RM: Well, Dale has been fielding cars since 1984 and his team has gone from field filler to contender in recent history – thanks mostly to the late Justin Wilson, Bill Pappas, Mike Cannon, Todd Phillips and a much-improved crew and pit stops. JWill finished sixth in the points in 2013 and ninth in 2009 when he delivered DC's initial victory at the Glen. It's an outside shot but Conor has a top-10 chance if Honda made some gains because he showed everyone last year at Long Beach and Detroit that he's got some serious chops in street racing and road courses should be more of the same. Cannon will be very beneficial for CD on ovals and having a hungry, aggressive, kid will be good for this team.

Q: Really stoked to hear the news that Dale Coyne has signed CD for next year. Conor is such a humble and classy kid, he's always trying so hard, and he rarely tears up equipment. Thank God he won't be in that damn two-seater next year.

A couple of questions: Is he eligible for series Rookie of the Year? Is Smithfield a possibility to be back on his car for the 500? Go Conor!

Lee Robie, Cincinnati

RM: Yes he'll be eligible for the IndyCar rookie award because he only started five races in 2015. And, despite not receiving anything resembling a warm welcome from IndyCar or IMS last May, I do think Smithfield likes Conor enough to come back and help again.

Q: Reading the mailbag last week and of course Marshall's story on silly season wrapping up, I have to wonder why Honda hasn't dictated to Coyne who is in both cars? I know Marshall was saying that could be a possibility for at least one seat but my question is why does Honda not just step up and fund both DCR cars? If Daly and Karam both landed in DCR seats it would seem Honda would be able to offset the advantage Chevy has in driver lineups. And it would really have added benefits to have the young guys in Hondas in the next five years as guys like TK, Castroneves and Montoya retire.

Caleb Hartman

RM: Obviously, this letter was submitted before Daly was confirmed at Coyne and I do think Honda strongly "suggested" it wanted an upgrade in drivers but it's not going to fund anyone. After talking to Sage it sounds like he's hanging as long as possible to see if Ganassi can find him anything but you would hope Penske has to be eying Rahal or Newgarden or Daly for 2017.

Q: Did Dale Coyne just say four cars at Indy for himself! Am I right in thinking we may have drama and heartbreak in qualifying this year or are we still looking at being just on the number?

John, Newcastle, Australia

RM: You heard right and I imagine Pippa Mann and possibly Jack Harvey could be in those other two seats. Honda and Chevy are each committed to 18 engines so there could be actual bumping but I still think it's going to be a lot of work to field 33 cars.

Q: Just read your mailbag and two things you mentioned got me thinking, no easy task. First you mentioned the hold "elder" drivers have on seats. Is that a function of the better safety of the cars and tracks that allow drivers to convince loved ones and themselves to continue to race and blocking new talent?

Second, if there is no money to be made in IndyCar why/how do drivers come and stay? Does the lure of competition and actually winning a race appeal to drivers? Or is it that owners want known commodities likely to bring back the car on four wheels and not the flatbed with budget-draining repairs? It is not that they bring money but what drives them?

One more thing: With F1 and NASCAR running deep into the fall, why does IndyCar want to shorten the season rather than piggyback on those two series?

David Fahey

RM: The advancements over the past 40 years have made cars and tracks safer and that's increased an IndyCar driver's life and career longevity. In the 1960s so many men lost their lives that if you made it to 30 you were a veteran, and the mortality rate also opened up many rides. But, unlike some of our Indy-winning heroes that hung on too long back in the day, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Juan Montoya are still winning and running up front at age 40, so that limits the opportunities for the new kids.

As for why a Newgarden or Karam or Daly chooses open-wheel instead of stock cars, it's their path and passion and Josef said last year he'd rather be in a series where he always had a chance to win than go to NASCAR and make more money to probably run 15th. Some IndyCar drivers make a good salary but it's nothing like it was in CART's heyday and even somebody as decorated as T.K. still has to bring some sponsorship. Mark Miles made it clear he doesn't want to compete with football, hence the compacted schedule that keeps IndyCar off the radar for six months.

Q: When will the Boston race be official and tickets go on sale? I've convinced my wife to make trip to Boston to see the race and tour New England after the race. I'm pumped to see my first IndyCar street race and wife New England vacation. My problem is she keeps asking when do we get tickets and wants to make travel plans and she has good point – when are they finally going to make decision they will have a race or not! I'll be at 100th Indy 500 but sure would like to know soon if I'm going to Boston.

James Thomas

RM: Go to the Grand Prix of Boston website and sign up for tickets because I could not find a phone number. But the race got some good news in the past few weeks with the opposing groups backing off and backing the Labor Day weekend event. It sounds like the race is a go.

Q: How come your Xmas lists didn't include tickets for the Boston Grand Prix? I'm on a "waiting list" right now.

Paul T. White, Dennis, MA

Q: So Sam Hornish lost his Sprint Cup ride (again). I do remember the days when Hornish was the only bright spot in the IRL. But I've come to the realization that maybe...just maybe...he wasn't all that good? When he was winning in the IRL, the driver talent there was mediocre at best. Once Penske moved over, he started to slip, and in four years at Penske, he only managed one championship and one Indy 500 win. And in NASCAR? It's been pathetic. No Cup wins and only three in Nationwide. These are not the stats of a champion racer.

Now there have been plenty of IndyCar drivers who moved to NASCAR and failed miserably, but Sam should have been different. He should have been able to pull a Tony Stewart and start winning, especially with a Penske ride. But he didn't and spent a decade in mediocrity. I get the feeling if he did make the jump back to IndyCar, he'd still be lost. There are too many road courses and the driver talent is much better.

I think time is starting to show that Hornish was a pretty good driver who got into the right series at the right time. Do you think this is correct? Is Hornish overrated? Or do you think a change of scenery would bring back his mojo like it did for JPM? I'm not necessarily saying IndyCar, but maybe WOO or hell even Rallycross or Stadium Trucks. NASCAR very obviously isn't for him and he's not getting any younger. I think it's time he makes another move, but if he did, would it make a difference? I get the impression that it wouldn't, especially in a spec or near spec series.

David Zipf, Lexington, KY

RM: Fair question with a few observations. The all-oval IRL with lots of pack racing and Sam were the perfect marriage because he figured it out early on and was damn good at it. Running with Team Penske from 2004-'07 produced eight wins, which may have seemed like under-achieving but, other than Newman/Haas and Forsythe, the IRL sported a much tougher lineup those years. And those evil road and street course races became part of the IRL, which were not Sam's strength. But I gave him a lot of credit for becoming a much better road racer as time went on with The Captain and he even made the Fast Six a few times.

I think he went to NASCAR because RP asked him and he'd conquered everything in open-wheel so it made a lot of sense. He always ran better in the Nationwide cars than Cup cars but, like many IndyCar vets, just struggled with the heavier stockers and lack of downforce. Not sure how motivated he still is to race at age 36 but I imagine he'd do just fine at IMS if he got a decent ride. Can't see him going to Rallycross or trucks or WoO.

Q: Sam Hornish is done at RPM, does this mean he's done as a NASCAR driver? I'd be interested in your thoughts on assessing his move from IndyCar to NASCAR overall. I imagine that he's made much more money than he would have made in IndyCar but clearly, he had nowhere near the level of success. From your point of view, was it worth it? Glad to hear about Conor Daly. It's going to be great for him to have a full season ride, and show what he can do.

Jim Doyle

RM: As I said in the question above yours, he'd won everything in IRL and if The Captain asks you to do something, you usually do it. Sure it was a risk going from your comfort zone to the unknown but that's what racing used to be about – taking a chance. I'm sure it was worth it financially if tough on the ego, but Sam always seemed even-keeled. Sammy Swindell once said in order to be good at stock car racing you've got to learn to slow down and Hornish never seemed comfortable except in Nationwide. I imagine it was worth it financially but probably not professionally.

Q: Any update on Sam Hornish Jr.? I know he pretty much indicated he was done with his IndyCar career a couple years ago but from every indication his NASCAR career is done, too. Be a real shame to see him in a Start and Park in NASCAR even though he pretty much did that last year. Be neat to see him at least do Indy again. Heard he also turned down the #10 after Dario retired, any truth to that rumor?

Todd, Iowa

RM: No updates but I can't imagine anyone giving Sam a ride in NASCAR unless he brings a bag of money. As for replacing Dario, here's what Mike Hull had to say:

"Hello Todd in Iowa: first, we really enjoy racing in your state. The fans are amazing and deeply into IndyCar racing. Yes, we did reach out to see if Sam would have an interest in a full-time return to open-wheel racing. He's an amazing talent with tremendous passion combined with that intangible thing that champions possess. He wanted to continue in NASCAR. Everything happens for a reason. At those moments you have to use clarity with perspective when the door doesn't open as expected. We made a terrific and right choice for our 10-car."
Mike Hull, Managing Director, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.

Q: Will the February test at Phoenix be open to the public?

Scott, Bargersville IN

RM: Yes and IndyCar is working on driver autograph sessions as well.

Q: While we are in the midst of this long off-season, I've been having some thoughts that I thought I wanted to share with you as well as others who read your mailbag. There were three things that I wanted to write about:

1) I'm very excited that IndyCar is going to be returning to PIR in April. I was planning on going to the race and would like your recommendation on a good location to get seats.

2) With the upcoming 100th running of the 500, I thought it would be cool if all of the cars or as many as possible could have throwback liveries. I was thinking maybe Dixon running in the 2000 Target colors, Marco running in the '69 Mario Andretti colors (near right, ABOVE -Ed.), Graham running in the Bobby Rahal 1986 colors, Matthew Brabham running in his grandfathers colors. I would also love to see the Foyt team run Sato in Coyote Red and maybe Hawksworth in the Eagle colors. I know sponsorship makes an exact duplication impossible but I would love to see how creative they could get.

3) I have also come to a change in my perspective on speed as being the greatest allure of qualifying at Indianapolis. I never saw the era of anyone breaking the 150mph or 200mph barrier. I started watching qualifying in the early '90s and it seemed that the record was broken every year and therefore it wasn't that big of a deal. The real drama to me was seeing who's going to actually be able to qualify. Nothing demonstrated to me how big a deal the race was then the fact that there were years when Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet could NOT qualify for the race. What do you think can be done to lure new owners and thus new drivers into the sport?

Arvind M., Peoria, AZ

RM: I would sit as high as possible in Turn 1 or Turn 4 so see the action, of which there should be plenty. I like your idea of retro paint schemes and I thought it worked really well for NASCAR at Darlington this year. But I'd go after some of those old sponsors for the 100th Indy 500 to really make it accurate. Bump Day was the cruelest and most fascinating day in sports before The Split but, sadly, now it's just a struggle to field 33 cars and calling them "bumps" is insulting. The only thing to lure new owners is to open up the rules, do away with the Leader's Circle and pump up the purses. I asked Richard Childress once why he didn't run a car at the Indy 500 and he said why would he want to spend $1 million to run for $200,000? Made a lot of sense. If Indy paid $1 to start next May and $10 million to win, there might be 50 legit entries from every walk of racing.

Q: Hope you're keeping busy during the offseason. I've been dealing with the long offseason via the good people uploading old CART/ChampCar/IndyCar races to YouTube. Two races that caught my attention were the 2001 and 2003 events at Eurospeedway, in Germany. Both events seemed to be well attended, with the 2003 race of particular note when you consider that season experienced considerable manufacture, driver, and team turnover.

My question is: Has IndyCar looked at returning to Eurospeedway? It would add another oval to the schedule, and if run in September, you wouldn't have to worry about the live broadcast running against the NFL.

Victor in Toronto

RM: Not to my knowledge but the racing was phenomenal, especially considering ovals were all but gone in CART by 2003 (only Milwaukee and Germany). And the attendance was damn good as well but I always heard the promoters lost a fortune and could no longer afford Champ Car.

Kevin, Arlington Hts. IL

RM: I was at the Gurney house last summer and I saw about 600 pages of the book ready for editing so I think Evi plans on a 2016 debut.

Q: As I have written many times in the past, what the series is highly lacking is the presence of major beer and automotive sponsorship. Back in the mid-1990s it was Budweiser, Miller, Valvoline, Castrol, Delphi, Pennzoil and other companies like that which had a huge presence in sponsoring. Has anyone in IndyCar's marketing group been talking to any companies like those and asking what kind of terms in scheduling, exposure, etc., it would take to bring them back and put them on the sidepod of a car for multiple races?

Alan Bandi, Butler, PA

RM: I posed your question to Jay Frye, the former CFO of Hulman Motorsports who know runs the competition side of the Verizon IndyCar series. Jay said:

"We work and reach out to these groups all the time but you have to remember that a lot of consolidation in all those industries has happened since the '90s. That's part of it: Shell/Pennzoil/Quaker State. Molson/Miller/Coors as examples have all merged at some point, so the basic landscape has changed. All those companies individually sponsored cars back in the day."

Q: The long off-season has me reading lots of books about the racers of the past. After talking to retired drivers and reading about them, I get a sense that there are contradicting recollections of racing and qualifying at Indy, which is only natural to have varying points of view. You've talked to way more drivers and I'm sure you read more books on Indy than I ever will. Who would you say are the racers, owners, or mechanics that may not be great storytellers but what they have to say about the past you can take to the bank?

Gerry Courtney, San Francisco, CA

RM: I'm not sure which drivers you might be referring to in terms of recollections but I can assure you that A.J., Parnelli, Dan Gurney, J.R., Mario and the Unsers have very good recall when it comes to Indy – what tires, what setup and what circumstances they faced. Those guys are my favorite storytellers because that's when I cared the most about Indy. Does Uncle Bobby exaggerate on occasion? Absolutely, that's why he's so entertaining. But he always shoots from the hip and you're going to like his three-part interview coming to RACER.com in 2016.

Q: Robin, one of the things that I believe sets Sierra Jackson apart from other race drivers is her patience and ability to save the tires. If you watch the Irwindale video you can see her just stay in touch with the leaders, be extremely smooth with the car and then with about 8-10 laps left she runs them down and passes them on the inside. She does this all the time! Bobby Santos said that he thought he was the best there was at saving tires, until he raced against Sierra. Anyhow, have a great X-mas & New Year!

Don Holmquist

RM: Thanks Don for keeping us up to date on Sierra but when a pavement racer as good as Santos compliments Ms. Jackson, that's high praise. A few people were talking about her talent last week at PRI so let's win the lottery and get her a seat at Indy.