Robin Miller's Mailbag for August 17, 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.

For example I keep getting emails about this Pennsylvania Wing Festival last weekend (Aug. 13). When I did some quick research, I read that they previously held it at a ski resort located near the track but it no longer was feasible at the previous location due to its size. They supposedly brought in around 5,000 people for it. I imagine that there is little fan overlap with IndyCar, and that something like the wings or a craft beer festival may cannibalize some of the track vendors, but maybe this is a way to draw in new fans and become a leader in how food is sold at a track? I know that I would be able to convince a few friends to go if they had something like good craft beer and and such at a reasonable price.

Justin Lee

RM: I think it's a perfect place to have an IndyCar show car, and maybe discount tickets or some kind of a deal where if you show your Wing Fest stub you get $10 off the IndyCar race. As far as serving the track, doubtful since most tracks have vendors that wouldn't take kindly to competition. But trying to bring in new fans is exactly what all IndyCar ovals need.

Q: My wife and I are attending the Pocono 500 and I pulled up the weekend schedule. Other than IndyCar and Vintage IndyCar, it looks like a snooze fest. With Pocono extended for two more years, is Iggy or Indycar looking to do more for the weekend? Maybe have the ladder series run the road course and if the Lights count goes up, a 100-miler on the Triangle?

Dino from New Hanover, Pa.

RM: There is no doubt all the ovals need to revamp how they do business and get rid of all the downtime. The Pocono race starts at 3 pm, and you can't expect people to show up and sit around for three or four hours just watching a few vintage cars or the two-seater.

But allow Dan Andersen to address why his Ladder System cut back on ovals for all three classes:

"I must deal with several realities. It is important for our series to bring a show to each event for the promoter and fans. Oval racing is fantastic, but kids (and their parents) don't fully understand them and some fear them. Foreign drivers particularly shy away. We can say all day long that drivers should be forced to run them, but that's ignoring a reality: they have other options. I decided to do a progression, one oval on the first step, two on the second and three on the third. Our first step drivers are as young as 14; more than one won't work. When I cut Lights from five [ovals] to three, interest improved dramatically. Some day when things are a bit more solid, we can certainly consider more. I'd like to return to Pocono; it could happen sooner than later." 

Q: Great news about Pocono, but one has to wonder if the track has sold a fair amount of tickets this year, or if IndyCar dropped its sanctioning fee significantly?

Justin

RM: I have no idea what the sanction fee is, but I know we were all shocked that Pocono re-upped for two more years because it's been such a struggle since IndyCar returned. But I don't think they're expecting any more people this weekend than last year.

Q: Indy and a couple of notable exceptions aside, are the drivers and team owners alarmed or embarrassed by all those empty seats in the grandstands? Or worse, are the sponsors?

Anthony Jenkins

RM: I'd say it's a combination of both, but we have to be realistic and consider 25,000 a good oval-track crowd nowadays. What I like most is that despite only having a couple thousand people in the grandstand last year at Fontana, the drivers put on one of the greatest races ever. But there is a reason most teams take potential sponsors to Long Beach or Mid-Ohio or Barber (and now Elkhart Lake) and not Texas or Iowa or Pocono.

Q: I know that a while ago Mark Miles was hoping to release the 2017 and 2018 IndyCar schedules simultaneously in August. Do you think this is still a realistic timeline? Of the events on the 2016 schedule, have you heard of any that are on the ropes? Worse, are there any that in your mind are outright doomed?

In a more positive light, I really enjoyed Toronto this year and felt the new CEO Jeff Atkinson and team really stepped up the promotion, making it more fan-friendly and accessible. With the indoor paddock for IndyCar and closer views than before, the event was far better organized and executed than in years past, and the best since Green-Savoree took over in 2009. I hope they get a 2017-'18 date to build on this upward momentum. I agree we need another two Canadian races as one is not enough, especially with Hinch in the series.

Geoff Roberts, Unionville, Canada

RM: I think the 2017 schedule will be out for sure by The Glen, and possibly 2018 as well with a couple of TBAs. The only race I thought was in trouble was Pocono and obviously it's around for two more years, and everything else seems stable. Or as stable as can be expected. We also need Scott Hargrove in an IndyCar some day.

Q: I had to wait a week before I could compose this email. I'm heart-broken, angry, confused – all at the same time – over Bryan Clauson. I've seen the only video, that I'm aware of, that shows most of the crash via a cell phone camera. The barrel rolls always look wicked and most of the time drivers just pop right out uninjured. It appears to me the field really hadn't slowed down, and the devastating hit was another driver running into Bryan's roll cage. I'm not trying to lay blame, but has there been any scuttlebutt regarding how fast or slow the flagman, spotters, track officials, etc., reacted to slow the field? My condolences to his fiancee, parents, family, friends and fans.

Troy V. Riedel, Toano, VA

RM: No, Belleville is so fast, it's kinda dark and the irony was that B.C. did the same thing the night before when he hit a car stopped in the middle of the track. He survives the flip, no problem, but getting hit in the cage at that speed was just savage. Had his car landed a foot or two at a different angle, he'd have survived.

Q: In the wake of Bryan Clauson's accident, a lot of people who have no clue about dirt track racing have been talking about how unsafe it is and how they need to make massive improvements. To them I say, take a look back 20, 30, 40 years. Sprint car racing has come along just as far as any other series has safety-wise, and if something sticks out the sanctioning bodies will handle it properly.

My question is, is there anything that can be done to non-winged sprint cars to help in an accident like this? The only thing that pops into my head would be something like an Earnhardt bar that would close down over the top of the car after the driver climbs in, but that presents its own issues. What do you think the death of Bryan Clauson means for Dale Coyne and Conor Daly's sponsorship with the Byrd family? And finally, a general question: Do you think IndyCar is setting itself up for a good future? 

Kite from San Antonio.

Q: Perhaps it is to early to ask this question, but the Byrd family publically stated that they want to have a USAC champion in the Indy 500. The obvious and most deserving driver was Clauson. With his untimely death, do you see the Byrd family fielding a USAC champ at the Indy 500 in 2017 and beyond? If so, who?

Matt Converset, Decatur, IN

RM: It's too early, but I'd say Rico Abreu would be a good candidate if his NASCAR schedule allowed it, or maybe Cody or Tanner Swanson. The Byrd family is loyal to USAC but they were extremely fond of B.C.. so we'll see how this tragedy affects them going forward. It's some cruel irony than Jonathan Byrd sponsored Rich Vogler in USAC and took him to the Indy 500 several times before he lost his life at Salem while leading a USAC sprint race.

Q: Over the last couple of years we have lost D.W., BadAss and now B.C., which is terribly sad. In the aftermath of Dan and Justin's passing it was quite amazing to see Graham Rahal take the lead, and the racing world step forward to raise funds for the family. Sadly, I have not seen the same level of concern for Bryan's family. Now obviously I have no idea of the personal finances of each of these drivers and their families, but I think it is fair to say that Clauson's family would need more help that the two-time winner of the Indy 500. And I bet there are a number of deaths at the local level that we never hear about.

But all these drivers, regardless of their level of success, belong to the greater "driver family." How about pulling some strings, and have the Indy, F1 and NASCAR drivers set up an annual fundraising so that these lesser-known families are taken care of in an appropriate way. We can only hope to build a huge fund that is never needed.

Philip V.

RM: Oh, I have. Tony Stewart bought one of B.C.'s helmets for $32,000 in an auction at Knoxville and gave the money and helmet to Bryan's fiancée, Lauren. The fan that won the 50/50 raffle at Knoxville gave all $20,000 to the Clauson family. And there have been other contributors. I imagine the USAC Benevolent Fund will also step up to help but, unlike Justin or Dan, B.C. didn't have any children. Graham rallying everyone and coming up with $750,000 for Julia Wilson and the two girls was phenomenal – and needed. Susie Wheldon told people early on that she was fine financially and didn't need any help.

 

Q: If you were Vegas, what odds would you give for 2017 Carlin/Sato/Honda? It wouldn't be the first time that trio raced together (ABOVE, in F3 at Macau in 2000). Also, I say Foyt will have TK and Daly next year.

Andy Brumbaugh

RM: I think Sato is staying with A.J., but I like one of those two guys you mentioned heading to Houston. But I could never bet, it's against the law.

Q: I've been an American open-wheel fan since I was a child and, as a Canadian, I grew up with at least two and often three Canadian races on the schedule – some combination of Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and my hometown Vancouver. I've heard much about the possibility of Calgary joining Toronto on the calendar in the coming years, which would be a welcome addition to those of us in western Canada.

But my question is this: Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, Canada was spoiled with talented open-wheel drivers, while today we are pretty much left throwing all our hopes behind James Hinchcliffe. That's no slight on Hinch, but it's hard to promote an entire country on your own. So would the influx of other Canadian IndyCar drivers lead to the sport returning to places like Montreal or Vancouver? Or is the correlation between more Canadian drivers equaling a better chance at more Canadian races something I'm just making up in my head?

Darian, Victoria, BC

RM: The Player's driver development program gave us Jacques Villeneuve, Claude Bourbonnais, Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier, David Empringham, Alex Tagliani and Lee Bentham. Molson gave the Canadian races great sponsorship and promotion. When those two entities went away, Canada lost its open-wheel mojo and never regained it. I would have loved to see Robert Wiggins in an IndyCar and Scott Hargrove has the chops, just no support. But we need more than Hinch, and more races than just Toronto. So to answer your question, more Canadian races aren't necessarily going to gain us more Canadian drivers, but it certainly couldn't hurt – and maybe Hargrove finds money in Calgary or Montreal.

Q: I am planning to attend the IndyCar race at The Glen in a few weeks. What is your opinion on a few good places to watch the race from either in the stands or infield?

Jim, Indianapolis

RM: Put on your hiking boots and just roam, because it's some of best viewing in racing. I'd head for The Boot or The Bus Stop and just marvel at the video game.

Q: We already know how funny this Leader's Circle stuff is, but lets go over it a little bit. I've attached the race results and "winnings" from the Indy GP back in May. Cutting to the chase, if you're in the Leader Circle, then that's fantastic! And if you are not, you're fighting over $23,000, $15,000, and $10,000. And apparently, if you're fourth-best of the non-Leaders Circle entries, you get nothing but a pat on the back for being there? At least Pigot getting that $23,000 covered his tire bill!

So, that leads me to wonder: how lovely is the Indy Lights/Pro Mazda/USF2000 prize money? Do they make up their tire bill with it? Do the drivers get paid anything? Or do they just keep praying that their sponsor check clears next month? I know my post is a lousy attempt at sarcasm, but seriously, what does the Road to Indy Series pay?

Justin Brockwell, Richmond, VA

RM: IndyCar purses are a joke and that includes the Indy 500 and, along with prices, are one of the main deterrents from enticing any new teams. Why would you go IndyCar racing unless you were a gazillionaire? As for the Mazda Road to Indy, let's have owner Dan Andersen explain:

"At our level of racing, it is absolutely true that drivers must raise funding to bring to teams. It is difficult to earn a living at the development level. That said, we do offer prize money for all three MRTI championships, thanks to strong support from Mazda and Cooper Tires. Here are the summaries:

"USF2000: $519,225 total on offer ($88,825 for race prizes, $430,400 for year-end prizes). Pro Mazda: $926,400 total on offer ($256,200 for race prizes, $670,200 for year-end prizes). Indy Lights: $1,989,660 total on offer ($718,800 for race prizes, $1,270,860 for year-end prizes).

"When you understand that European championships offer zero prize money, sure, we'd love to be able to do more, but I am not ashamed of our offerings whatsoever."

Of course the other caveat that Andersen didn't mention is the Lights champion is guaranteed three IndyCar races and gets his foot in a door that would be closed without millions.

Q: What happened to the oval, street and natural road course points and championships in IndyCar? I think they named the oval trophy for Foyt and the road course trophy for Andretti. It only lasted a short time and was never promoted very well or explained to the fans.

The series blew this one. I always thought that this was a great idea and added more intrigue to the season. Guys like Carpenter had a chance to win a title. It could have provided more opportunities to bring in title sponsors for each division. It could have increased driver purses, and we know how badly that is needed. It could have developed more fan interest. And it illustrated how diverse IndyCar drivers are compared other series.

And you are right, there should be at least three races in Canada. And, one or even two in Mexico around St. Pete (and Surfers) to kick off the season. So what gives? It really seems like this concept is a no-brainer. But it needs to be done right. And promote it!

Jim, Indy

RM: It went away with Randy Bernard, but those titles didn't mean anything because there wasn't enough promotion or money behind them. Sure, if you got $1 million for being the oval champ, $1 million for the road course and $2 million if you swept, it would be fantastic. But that's not going to happen. I think I'd prefer a three-race (Long Beach, Indy, Road America) championship for $1 million that promotes diversity as well as having good attendance at all three. The Marlboro Challenge was good because it was funded and promoted.

 

Q: Is Simona De Silvestro destined to go the way of Vitor Meira and Alex Lloyd and countless others – winless in the big cars despite great effort? I'd rather see her in Lights than in Australia Supercars, or whatever they are called now.
Can she find happiness in racing again, maybe as a part-timer with ECR or Rahal? Or, is the career arc nearing its end?

Pat, VA

RM: I'm afraid the Swiss Miss (ABOVE, at Bathurst in 2015) is done with open-wheel, which is a pity since she's the best female road racer we're ever seen and a damn good racer, period. Unless one of us hits the lottery. And she's probably better off going to Supercars so she can drive full-time again.

Q: I've been a huge fan of F1 and Indy cars since 1966, so I'm an old fart like you Robin. I have had this complaint about IndyCar since long before The Split. Why can't they get a proper start? It's so simple to have everybody lined up evenly and start when the green flag drops. If anyone jumps, send them to the back.

Those acceleration-cone sections are a joke; whose idea was that anyway? On road courses with a slow/tight final turn, like Long Beach, have the start further down the straight. Or better, all road/street races have standing starts. Heck, even my grandma could start from a standstill with a clutch. My wife and kids are tired of hearing me yell at Race Control on every start.

Steve, Petaluma, CA

RM: I thought Mid-Ohio was the worst of the season, and I've always thought that if you send one polesitter to the rear after he jumps the start, it would cease forever. Not sure who instituted the cones, but the start is the best part of the race at some circuits and you are entirely right – standing starts for all street races.

Q: I just got done watching the NASCAR race at The Glen. I can't stand what NASCAR and F1 have done to road course racing. Way too much asphalt. If there is no consequence to going off track, what's the point?

I keep hearing rumors of Road America becoming a "Chase" race. I really hope that does not happen. But, I could see the France family being vindictive and going there just to ruin IndyCar momentum. Thoughts?

Jeff Loveland (30 minutes from Road America)

RM: The crowds at Sonoma and Watkins Glen should tell NASCAR that Cup needs to be at Road America as well (not mention on the IMS road course because, if you hadn't noticed, road racing in NASCAR is much more entertaining than most ovals). But, based on what we saw in June, I don't think it would have much affect on the IndyCar turnout. It was a great crowd and a helluva race and George Bruggenthies hit a home run with his date and starting time.

Q: It's probably a good thing that IndyCar is scrapping the aero kits. While I favored the move as a way for the series to fight the perception that they were a second-tier spec series compared to F1, the hallmark of a good leader is having the courage to admit they are wrong. When I got into watching open-wheel racing in the '90s, I really liked being able to tell the Lolas from the Reynards at a glance.

I awaited these new aero kits with anticipation and was so disappointed when I first saw those ghastly front wings with all of their ridiculous winglets – the Honda in particular was straining under its own weight.

Of course aerodynamic concepts on racecars are often ugly, and in comparison to the 2008 Honda F1 car or the additional wings that Arrows and Jordan trotted out at Monaco in 2001, the Honda IndyCar aerokits are mild. One only has to look at the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 to understand that innovation is not always conventional – nor does it always work.

The worst part about the aero kits is that they created too much disparity in the field. I still place the aero kit debacle squarely at the feet of Nick Wirth. While the series wanted to distance itself from spec racing, the Honda kits and let's face it, the Honda engines were not on par with the Bow-Tie brigade's offerings.

The bitching in the paddock was loud and long, and the series, trapped in a homologation-induced nightmare had the unenviable task of finding a solution, yet saving face. Now the aero kits are scrapped to lure in new engine manufacturers. Great! But wait a minute, how short are everyone's memories? Does Lotus 2012 ring a bell? Unlikely; because IndyCar management has been a never-ending game of musical chairs.

Let's hope the series gets a revised engine program right, striking a balance between cost, innovation and performance, because you know that whoever is saddled with the powerplant that makes five HP less than the leading package will be beating a path to IndyCar's front office crying crocodile tears.

Miller, I know car owners are a whiney lot, but since the old interwebs were much less prevalent in the '90s, or because my memory is shady, I'll ask you: was the complaining as prevalent when Toyota joined CART, or when Gurney brought back an Eagle chassis, lamentably, with a Toyota? Or did people just shut up and race?

Trevor Bohay, Kamloops, BC, Canada

RM: People just shut up and raced – except in the case of Andy Granatelli's turbines, which they legislated off the track. Or Gurney's Eagle in the early '80s, which they feared and neutered in the rulebook. Or the carbon fiber Porsche, which was outlawed and then, miraculously, appeared as a Lola the next year. Roger Penske showed up with the Mercedes in 1994 and waxed everyone with the USAC rulebook. so there was a lot of bitching but no tampering (for a change).

In the '90s if you bought a Reynard and Lola was the car of choice, you either worked on your Reynard or bought a Lola. If your engine sucked (and you had a free deal like most teams) you had to grin and bear it. Ditto for the Goodyear runners when Firestone was clearly superior. At some point we lost sight of why people raced: to get an advantage and beat everyone – not to make everything equal. But now we've got spec racing and it's damn good racing, so I don't see IndyCar ever going back to much innovation. We hope the aero kits might draw some interest from F1 or sports cars or Audi or Ferrari or McLaren, but all we got was a lame Lotus.

Q: I hate the television coverage we get. I'm not picking on the announcers, but rather, why the networks break into the action for commercials. This doesn't happen in other sports. Can you imagine the coverage at a baseball game going something like this: "It's the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded and the batter faces a full count. The pitcher is winding up...and we'll be right back after these messages." Or, how about a football game going like this: "It's third and long, the quarterback drops back into the shotgun, he's got three targets downfield ... and you won't miss any of the action as we go side by side."

How come soccer games can go a full 45 minutes per half with no commercial interruptions? Why do the networks interrupt races, and think they're doing us a favor shrinking the screen down to a postage stamp size? I know how important advertising is to get these races on television in the first place. But I'll bet that interrupting the action like this actually hurts the ratings. And after watching the same ads again and again for a couple of hours, I go numb. Can't advertisers use a crawl, or electronically impose a logo on the track that would get them more impressions? There's got to be a better way.

John McElroy, Northville, MI

RM: FOX and NBC/NBCSN spent a fortune for NASCAR so that's the only way to recoup some of the investment, and also a reason both networks go to the split screen box so often. But, to your point, I know a lot of people that DVR every race and never see a commercial, so that's how more and more people are combating all the commercials. And I do think all the commercials have to hurt ratings at some point.

Q: In anticipation of the Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial at Salem last weekend, I did some reading and stumbled across the name of Ed Elisian. Talk about in the middle of everything: tried to get to Vuky in '55 after his fatal crash at Indy, dueling with Sweikert in '56 at Salem when he died, blamed for causing crash in '58 that killed O'Connor at Indy, then he dies at Milwaukee in '59 after spinning in A.J.'s oil. What's the story on this guy?

Mike D., Louisville, Ky.

RM: I never met him, but my dad's first job at Indiana Bell was to go try and collect an overdue phone bill from Eddie Boy, and he got the door slammed in his face. By all accounts he wasn't a bad driver, but between drinking, gambling and passing bad checks, he was always sideways with somebody. And getting sideways at the start of the 1958 Indy 500 from the middle of Row 1 trying to beat Dick Rathmann into Turn 3 triggered the massive pile-up that claimed Pat O'Connor. USAC suspended him, and the rumor was that he had to lead the first lap to pay off a gambling debt.

He tangled with Jim Davis later that season in a sprint car race at New Bremen and Davis died from his injuries, but Elisian was exonerated. USAC then suspended him again for passing bad checks. He died at Milwaukee in 1959 after flipping and catching fire. Bill Vukovich said Ed idolized his father and the newsreel shows him stopping his car and running across the backstretch after Vuky flipped in 1955. It might have been the last popular thing he ever did in racing.

Q: Over the last year I just completed reading the following books: The Limit, The Beast and Black Noon. All three of these books portray very vividly what those days were like. I struggle to find other books that depict other time periods. Can you offer an opinion why there are a lot of motorsports books but so few good ones?

Steve S.

RM: The Beast covered the last real year of surprise and innovation at Indy, and Black Noon took us all back to the greatest, deadliest and most popular era in IndyCar history. Those books are great because the authors talked to all the right people and both hit popular subjects. It's not that there aren't other good racing books, but many biographies are just full of stats and sugar-coated quotes because nobody wants to make anybody mad. Against Death & Time by Brock Yates is outstanding, and I like Foyt-Andretti-Petty by Bones Bourcier, Fast Company by Jerry Miller, Vukovich by Bob Gates and Second to None by Gordon Kirby. But Dan Gurney's biography is forthcoming, and Kirby is writing a book on the history of open-wheel racing that should be a great read.

Q: Indy needs to get Honda to build several Accords for the track, then invite any old Indy drivers or NASCAR drivers who want to race the ovals. Get someone to sponsor, put up a purse, and have a point system. Name the ovals that will run them. They would be the supporting race. If you could draw some names, it would be interesting. You have a chance to get some old NASCAR fans to come. The race would be run straight up; no green-and-white checkered, etc. Winner-take-all.

Many of us remember the old IROC races before several Indy programs back in the day. They got the fans' attention. You know better that me, but I am willing to bet there are several old drivers that would like to match wits again. Throw in a few old sprinters for some action. At least you get something to watch rather than just the one event.

Bob "The Old Man" Lauman, Lawrenceville, GA

RM: I'm afraid that ship has sailed, Bobby. All the heroes people would want to pay to see are too old or too blind to drive, and it would cost a fortune to get a series like that up and running.