Robin Miller's Mailbag for November 23, 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.

However, the flip side of this coin for me is sheer terror for Conor Daly. I am glad he has a ride but is this the place where careers go to die? Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Kanaan both spoke to Foyt, correct? I realize that Tony has a much better position with Chip but you can't tell me that Juan would lower his contract asking price for a full-time ride if he thought it had any chance in hell of being successful.

Josh R., Salem, OR

RM: It's always refreshing when somebody says what's on his mind instead of the numbing PR-speak and I doubt if it bothered A.J. or Larry Foyt. They know it's far from a well-oiled machine and Tex even admitted last year they hadn't given Jack a fighting chance in 2015. But they did make T.K. a nice, two-year offer that I thought he was going to accept back in early October. JPM vacillated on going to Foyt before opting to just run Indy for The Captain, but he definitely preferred Ganassi or ECR.

Q: My question is about IndyCar's plan for the 2018 spec bodywork. Obviously, so many of us were pleasantly surprised to hear that the cars will eliminate the air box and have Champ Car-based bodywork. The biggest issue that left many in the dark and wondering with the body kits was no images to give us something to look forward to. Obviously this was due to the manufacturers not wanting one another to see what they had developed. Are there plans in place for a potential unavailing in May, much like the 2012 car had? Are there going to be open images to get we the fans excited about 2018? Is there any news on the 2018 bodywork coming soon in the pipeline? Will the return of dependence on ground effects mean the dome skid plate will be a thing of the past in 2018 and qualifying speeds to climb towards the track record at Indy?

Alan Bandi, Butler, PA

RM: From Jay Frye, president of IndyCar competition: "We currently are working many different scenarios including the design, which is a moving target and must meet performance and safety objectives. We appreciate Alan's enthusiasm and hopefully we will have some news before the end of the year."

Q: Jack Hawksworth was very candid in his comments about A.J.'s team. I didn't realize the teams were located in two different cities. How can this be effective in the scheme of things? Both economically and operationally?

John Fulton, Akron, Ohio

RM: This will be the first season with a split team (Carlos Munoz in Houston and Daly in Indy) and the No. 1 reason is to try and improve the team quality of the #41 (now #4) car. It's difficult to get enough good help that wants to live in Houston so it will no doubt be a challenge but also a necessity to upgrade.

Q: I'm happy Jack has landed on his feet in IMSA, I hope he has a lot of success and makes his way back a la Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Briscoe, who were banished to sports cars and made it back bigger and better then ever. I respect the fact that I do not recall Jack ever bitching about Foyt or throwing his team under the bus when the team was the leading cause for his the decline. A lot of drivers should learn from that (Esteban Gutierrez, I'm talking to you). What's the scuttle on what really happened there? Foyt was typically quick off the truck in P1 and dropped down the charts in P2-3 and in qualifying. So did they not have the on-track engineering to adjust to the track the way the other teams did?

Chris Cortez

Q: Realistically, does Sage Karam have any chance for a full-time ride in 2017? I know sponsorship is an issue. Do you think he's looking more for 2018 and later? And do you think he will at least have a ride for the Indy 500 again this year?

Austin Long

RM: Sadly, no. Maybe he can run Ed Carpenter's car on the streets and road courses, but that appears to be his only shot. I know Dennis Reinbold wants him to run Indy again but he needs to be in the series full-time.‬

Q: OK, now that most of the predictable silly season stuff is done with A.J.'s announcement, will there be any surprises in store? I've read that there will be another Chevy team. What is the fate of KVSH or K or VSH? What of the Carlin program? If Rahal adds a second car for Oriol Servia, then the car count is way out of whack. There are only eight confirmed Chevys, but there are 13 or 14 Hondas. Is Chevy going to step up and help to form a new team? With KVSH in limbo that's -3 for Chevy and Honda is +2 or 3. Love the mailbag!

Paul Zajdel, Park Ridge, IL.

Q: Glad to see Foyt hire Munoz and Daly for the 2017 season. In the press release they say Daly's car will be housed out of Indy while Munoz's car will race out of the Houston shop. Funny, prior to the 2016 season I remember Larry Foyt saying Hawksworth's #41 was going to campaign the 2016 season out of the Indy shop. At the time I thought it might be tied to Foyt having just hired Indy-based George Klotz away from Andretti. I guess they never did make the change to race the 41 out of the Indy shop (the A.J. Foyt Wine building). Do you know why?

NTR, Michigan

RM: My best guess is that they couldn't find enough good mechanics to sign up and thus justify splitting up the team. Two members of Jack's pit crew were flown in from England on race weekends last year. But I know Larry and George were in town last week interviewing people, so that's Priority #1 at the moment.

Q: Very excited for the new driver combo at Foyt Racing for next year. I think Carlos Munoz should be able to outperform what Sato has done the last few years, although he did have a few good drives and brought them their first win in many years. I'm a big fan of Conor Daly but am quite concerned with the former #41 team side of things. Jack Hawksworth definitely threw that team under the bus. Is he accurate? Does the change to being an Indy-based team signal a real commitment to improving that program? Has there ever been a modern-era Foyt car #4? Thanks, looking forward to 2017!

Tim B.

RM: Let's be honest, Jack didn't forget how to drive from 2014 to 2015-16 so there was some kind of chemistry/communication problem combined with some mechanical issues. And I do think there is a major commitment to turn things around because ABC Supply re-upped expecting a much better effort. George Snider drove the #4 Calumet Farms entry for Super Tex in 1984 while Joe Leonard wheeled #4 for A.J. in 1967 (finished third behind The Boss).

Q: So crack the code for us here. Foyt is running Munoz out of Texas and Daly out of Indy? What is the deal there? I would think they would want to have everything under the same roof for logistics and cost purposes? Also, two articles say the engine choice is not settled. What gives there, as I thought their announced switch to Chevy was made weeks ago?

Forrester Morgan, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Q: This is a somber day for the Indy Lights series. Just learned that Sam Schmidt closed his doors on their Lights program. I can understand their economical situation such as finding funded drivers. But they had so much to give. Now the grid just got smaller. No matter how many talented drivers that are out there, sponsorship is a factor. We will just wonder how big is the 2017 Indy Lights grid going to be, as is the Pro Mazda series. Time to cross fingers.

JLS, Chicago, IL

RM: No doubt it's a huge blow because Sam's team launched a lot of careers and gave the grid some stability. I do think he's serious about running three full-time IndyCars in 2018 so he made the call to downsize.

Q: With Foyt's signing of Conor Daly, I'm really starting to feel (at least as an outsider) like IndyCar is rekindling some of what used to make it special. Next year will feature eight full-time American drivers with a nice mix of international talent and probably the best schedule since the 2008 merger, with more "traditional" looking cars planned for 2018. The next objectives, in my view, are 1) establish the right balance between cost containment and innovation, 2) allow/promote greater manufacturer competition and 3) put more butts in seats. Broader spectator appeal will drive heightened corporate investment in the series, teams and drivers. Agree? How can I help the cause?

Jeff Castellano, Carmel, NY

RM: I do think progress is being made in that IndyCar only had four full-time Americans in 2009 and now it's been doubled. But they need to add Sage Karam, Spencer Pigot and RC Enerson. If you can't start a team (smile), then just go to Watkins Glen and Pocono and try to watch as many races as possible – and tell your friends.

Q: I've been following IndyCar since 2014 and the one thing I've noticed is that while the competition is the best in racing, there is a problem. All the drivers are worth rooting for! Is there any chance that one could "turn heel" and make it interesting? We the fans deserve a driver to love to hate in 2017! Also, any chance of the series returning to Richmond?

Scott in VA

RM: The few sponsors IndyCar has would shy away from their driver not being liked, so if I was IndyCar I'd fund a full-time ride in a black car, black helmet, black suit for Sage Karam because he's young, cocky, talented, aggressive and easy to love or hate. He's a good kid but he could play the villain and IndyCar needs him in the lineup. I think Richmond is still a long-shot but I'd much rather go there than Chicago or Homestead.

Q: While we wait for the start of the season, a historical question: What's the all-time best-looking Indy car? My vote would be for most versions of the badass Danny Ongais Interscope #25 car (pictured below -Ed.).

Fred Cunningham, Simpsonville, SC

RM: My favorite roadster was Jim Hurtubise's Travelon Trailer Special of 1960. Lloyd Ruby's 1966 Bardahl Eagle was the coolest rear-engine car of the 1960s and Dan Gurney's 1981 Eagle (pictured below), driven by Mike Mosley, was the best-looking rear-engine car of the ground-effects' era.

Q: I see that Ms. Legge has a ride in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Michael Shank Racing for his Acura NSX GT3 factory team. Any chance MSR could go to Indy with a Honda car for Katherine?

Dick Hildebrand

RM: I think Mike would love to but I imagine he's a bit gun shy since he bought an IndyCar in 2012 and couldn't get an engine – so he might need some encouragement and a guarantee. But he's exactly the type of car owner that IndyCar needs to embrace.

Q: Much lamentation in this column on the lack of car/team owners. Whatever happened to Jay Penske – for whom money surely would not be a problem?

Anthony Jenkins, Toronto

RM: Jay runs the Dragon Racing Formula E team in partnership with the Faraday Future electric vehicle company.

Q: Did Newman/Haas really stop Michael Andretti from going back to F1?

Phil, SE Michigan

RM: Not to my knowledge. I think Ron Dennis was the reason.

Q: What ever happened to Jonathan Summerton?

Luke, Iowa

RM: He ran a limited sports car schedule in 2016 and is working on a full-time ride for 2017. But it's another case of a good open-wheel driver with nowhere to go but cars with roofs.

Q: Last week a reader wondered if there had ever been a "square" oval track and there was one – Flemington Speedway in New Jersey. It was dirt but eventually became paved. NASCAR ran there (Trucks) and the Supermodifieds were incredible on the pavement there too. It was frightening as a dirt track. Whether it was dirt or paved, it basically raced like a big circle. For odd-shaped ovals, Nazareth was probably one of the best. What's the chances of Richmond being back on the schedule in the next few years? Any discussion of a return to Homestead? New Hampshire?

One other quick note for Pocono fans: The track has a rain guarantee for 2017. If you buy your tickets in advance for any of their Sunday events and it is pushed to Monday, you can get a full refund on the ticket price. Only valid on tickets purchased in advance of race weekend, but still a really nice offer to the fans.

East Coast Dave

RM: I ran Flemington once (dirt) and it seemed like you were always turning, but Langhorne was the D-shaped monster and probably the closest thing to a square oval. I think Homestead has a better shot than New Hampshire or Richmond, but not sure any more ovals are in the immediate future. Nice gesture by Pocono management. Thanks for sharing.