Robin Miller's Mailbag for March 20, presented by Honda Racing / HPD

Your questions for Robin should 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: My last IndyCar race was at Kansas in 2006, but I just bought tickets to the COTA race! Your Mailbag has been a great resource as I got back into the series the last two years. As a first-time caller, I have to let you know that Cleveland would love its race back, Milwaukee would be awesome, and we’re all thrilled you’re healthy again. The momentum behind IndyCar and IMSA is fantastic.

A friend and I went to Mid-Ohio for the IMSA race last year. Let me tell you, those cars and fans are the real deal. We both left the weekend hooked and ready for more racing. Any readers who haven’t checked out the sports cars would have a blast at Petit Le Mans. St. Pete, Road Atlanta, and COTA would be a great start to our season. Is there any chance IndyCar can add that awesome track to the schedule with Michelin investing in the facility? I’d been on the fence about making the seven-hour drive to COTA for months, but the weather looks great and ticket prices are still reasonable. I’ll be in the top row of the Turn 15 grandstand Saturday and Sunday. The track is claiming Paddock Passes are sold out. Is there anything I can do besides call back and hope their story changes?

David, Oklahoma and Ohio

P.S. NBC Gold is worth the $50 and then some. Practice and the extra features are great, but they add the race commercial-free immediately after the broadcast for the real value.

RM: Road Atlanta needs work before IndyCar could run there (so we’ve been told for the past 15 years) so it’s doubtful. COTA sold 1,000 pit passes and shut them off, but had such a demand they reportedly sold another 500 and that was it. With F1 they obviously weren’t use to selling pit passes, so maybe you can try again when you get to the track. But I’ve never heard of paddock passes being sold out.

Q: As I watched the season-opening race from St. Petersburg I couldn’t help but notice the speed of the rookies and the experienced guys that have come in from other series. I also noticed after the race how happy and enthusiastic these same drivers were during their interviews – something that is never seen in F 1. And Rosenqvist’s comments were spot-on when he said, ‘I’ve never driver a car like this, it’s very hard to drive, and I’m worn out.’ I think the series is right on track with having a car that is hard to drive, races well, and gives everyone a chance to compete and win.

Rick Schneider, Charlotte

RM: Speaking with Marcus Ericsson after Friday’s first practice period, he was understandably happy to be in the top five, but thrilled to be in a competitive environment again after five years of slogging around in F1 just racing his teammate. It’s a field with a nice blend of young talent and veteran front-runners.

Q: Reading the intro to your last Mailbag, I could feel your pain. Here's a suggestion that might work: a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. Canadians subscribe to a VPN and chose a U.S. server to connect through. I use PIA VPN, and I think it's $39.99 a year and it covers five simultaneous connections a single subscription. This can be any mix of routers, computers, or mobile devices. So for $90 ($40 VPN, $50 NBC Gold) a year, Canadians have all the IndyCar they want, plus the peace of mind of having encrypted internet connections on all their devices; especially important on public wifi. I live in the U.S. and have used a VPN from Asia, connecting thorough a U.S. server and was able to watch Youtube, Amazon Prime, and my PlayStation Vue subscription including my DVR. I'm no techie and can't guarantee it, but it's super-easy to set up and I believe it will work. Just a suggestion that they could research further.

Scott D.

RM: Well, that’s all way over my head Scott, but I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and hopefully some Canadian fans can take advantage of your VPN suggestion.

It's not a lack of talent that's keeping Derani from the IndyCar grid. Image by Dole/LAT

Q: You may have answered this question in the past, but just wondering if any IndyCar team has tested Pipo Derani? He was lightning fast the past couple of years racing in IMSA for Tequila Patron, and is fast this year in the DPi Cadillac. Your thoughts on his prospects? Yes, it probably takes some sponsors to come on board for him to move up to IndyCar.

Paul Richins, Northern California

RM: Marshall Pruett reports: “Arrow SPM tested Pipo two or three years ago at Sebring, and were pleased with his performance. At the time, the team was only interested in paying drivers for its second car, and as a driver for the Patron-sponsored ESM IMSA Prototype team, it looked like Patron was going to fund some IndyCar racing for Pipo, but that fell through. Along with Colin Braun and Felipe Nasr, Derani needs to be on a lot of short lists when seats open up and pros are needed to be hired.”

Q: So we all know Dixon is great, yeah? Except when partnered with Franchitti, Dario outperformed him week after week, winning three Indy 500s and four championships. But his came within, effectively, four years, and one car. When we take a look at Dixon’s five championships closer, you notice something: 2003: Panoz G-Force, 2008: IR-05 Dallara, 2013: DW12, 2016: aero kit-era DW12, 2018: universal aero kit. I know the last three were in the same chassis, but the dynamic of the car was changed so much, I think it warrants being called a different car each of those years. Five championships in five different cars. Trying to remember the last time someone won the title in two different chassis… it must have been back in days when people showed up with their own machines. It's just unreal to think just how talented you have to be to master so many cars on completely different ends of the spectrum.

And finally, it was heartbreaking to hear about Father O'Connor. As someone who has followed the INDYCAR Ministry for a while, and will be a confirmed Catholic a couple of weeks after Barber, I was really looking forward to meeting him. It really must take a true passion for this sport to do what he did for so long. God bless him. And God bless you for all your profanity-filled rants and tirades over the years! See you in Barber!

Jesse Vincent

RM: Dario and Dixie did a nice job of pushing each other, but it wasn’t quite as one-sided as you portray it. Yes, Franchitti did capture three championships and three Indy 500s, but Scott won more races (16-13) during that 2009-2013 span as teammates. And his versatility has never been questioned. Sebastien Bourdais was the last to take titles in two different chassis (2006 with a Lola and 2007 with a Panoz). The Rev Glenn was not your ordinary man of the cloth, but truly a man of the people who loved racing and did lots of nice things for lots of people. I hardly cuss anymore other than when I’m awake. See you at Rusty’s.

Q: My question is in regards to Meyer Shank Racing's commitment to the 2019 season, competing in 10 events this year including the first six races. Jack Harvey and the MSR team put in what I thought was a great performance all weekend in St. Petersburg, capped off with a top 10 finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. I am not trying to jump the gun here, but I wonder, if MSR (with Arrow Schmidt Peterson) were to continue with results like this throughout the early part of the season, is there a chance that we could see MSR run the entire season? And the same inquiry would be asked of Arrow Schmidt Peterson and the support/resources it is providing to MSR.

Jamie Doellinger, Wrightsville, PA

RM: Harvey is a good racer and that was a strong debut, and you would expect him to keep improving since he’ll have six races in a row instead of running one month, sitting out a few weeks and then coming back. I suppose if he won a race that might get Jack some more starts, but it’s usually all about budget, so unless Mike Shank hits tonight’s lottery, doubt if Sam is going to add any races.

Q: With the TV ratings coming out, do those numbers include streaming or just TV? I’m guessing the numbers may be down also because availability to our Australian/Canadian friends, or are those just U.S. viewership numbers? RC Enerson amazed us years ago, and backed it up with a great test with Carlin. After Pato’s announcement, will we see RC in a car? Finally, does IndyCar have a sponsorship issue? Four cars in St. Pete were unsponsored. Firestone sponsors two races, Honda/Acura four, Chevy two and four are unsponsored – two of which are new circuits. Four sponsors also sponsor teams, one sponsor is not affiliated with a team, tire company or a manufacturer, and we have a new title sponsor… which also sponsors a team. Is that alarming?

Ryley Weir

RM: TV ratings are for USA only and last year’s opener was on network, which is always going to outdraw cable, but it was NBCSN's best rating for an opener in a decade. Have no idea if RC has any money, so that will determine his opportunity. Sponsorship is tough to find in all of motorsports, but I think IndyCar is in pretty decent shape all things considered. And four cars might not have had signage, but they were all paid for, trust me.

It wasn't just Bourdais who was frustrated by how qualifying played out at St Pete. Image by Abbott/LAT

Q: Watched IndyCar qualifying, and I have to say I was very disappointed. I don't know if the rules are different this year but I don't recall ever seeing that many penalties and so many cars with no time. What's the rush? When you are at a race weekend there are two things you get excited about; qualifying and the race itself. Why limit the sessions to 10 minutes? Bourdais said it best: don't we owe it to the fans and sponsors to let the cars be seen? The red flag penalty is two laps? Cars didn't even get two laps. Twenty minutes should be the minimum per session. More action on the track, more bang for the buck.

Mark, San Diego

RM: Couldn’t agree more, we’ve got too many rules and I think Jay Frye is going to take a long look at some of them. The sessions were shortened because everybody just sat in their pit until the final five minutes, and it still happens sometimes even though there’s only 10 minutes in total. There is also a time consideration for television. But paying customers got robbed, as did our TV audience. I’d like to see everyone guaranteed at least one hot lap.

Q: Wow, Robin, where do I start? That was the most enjoyable IndyCar debut race in a long time. I couldn't get to St. Petersburg for medical reasons, so I figured, what the heck, and spent the money on a Gold Pass. Couldn't have enjoyed it more. Great value for the money. BTW, I understand that if you want to watch F1 in Europe it will cost you in the area of $800 for the season, so I don't want to hear any more complaining about the price of Gold. Anyway, a couple of questions/observations. 

In qualifying, shouldn't Herta's team have informed him that Kimball was closing so he could avoid impeding him? I think Colton got screwed. Then he got a great result in the race. I just wish he had been able to start in the proper end of the field, and the race would have been even more compelling. Also, why no yellow for Dixie's spin? Looked like a spin to this former flagger. Also, happy to see one of my countrymen (Felix) in the position of rising star. I think this race will have the veteran drivers really watching over their collective shoulders. Can't wait for COTA.

Svenskdude in Florida

RM: Other than Turn 1 there are few places for a spotter at St. Pete, so I guess you’re at the mercy of the track map. Colton took the blame afterwards, but again, all these rules about what is impeding and what isn’t just confuses things. Everyone slows down to get a clear track, so it’s all a judgment call. IndyCar said all the traffic was on its out-lap so no penalty for Dixie. Believe me, everyone already has their eye on Felix.

Q: I am responding after reading the first post on your March 13th Mailbag about having to pay extra for an NBC Sports channel. The radio broadcast on the IndyCar Radio Network can be accessed online for free, correct? I know I'm weird, but if a race is on a channel that I don't have, or can't get at the moment, I will pull up the radio feed and listen to the action! Not trying to make anyone mad, but there are other options to following the action live, but without having to have those channels if you don't want to pay extra for it. And if I am correct, the IndyCar Radio Network is an option!

Kevin, North Carolina

RM: You are spot-on Kevin, the IMS radio network covers practice, qualifying and every race, and does a nice job. It’s certainly an option, although listening to IndyCars on the radio is kinda like listening to golf – it requires some visual imagination.

Q: I’ve had a great experience so far with the NBC Gold Pass for IndyCar. Bought the pass for all my traveling race fans as a gift, but unfortunately I couldn’t provide it to my friends in Windsor, Canada. It’s a real good value, however they advertised it as commercial-free, and that’s true for all sessions except for the full same-day race replays. We don’t have to actually watch commercials, we just get the standard "coverage will return shortly," whereas in practice and qualifying they stay live at the race site even as NBC Sports goes to commercial. We should have that privilege for the full race replays also, but hey, I have to complain about something, right? I’m a race fan! Hertamania Version 2.0 has returned! That kid was the highlight of my and my friends’ weekend! We knew Rosenqvist would be fast because we've followed him a long time. We were missing O'Ward, though.

Shawn Connelly

RM: Glad you like Gold, and NBC is considering having P.T. sing during commercial breaks but nothing has been decided yet. Colton was mighty impressive, and Felix delivered like we expected. Pato will be back this week at COTA.

Q: I was surprised to see Honda engines blowing up at St. Pete. Is this something that you think we may see more of? Have you heard if this was a Honda issue, or a driver error that caused the problems?

Brian Martin, Monroeville, IND

RM: Based on the past 15 years I’d say it was more of an anomaly, because Honda and Chevy don’t have many failures, and it wasn’t driver error.

Rossi's Team Penske gear stays at home during IndyCar race weekends. Image by Levitt/LAT

Q: Went to Sebring and saw Alexander Rossi driving again for Penske, as he did at the Daytona 24. I say when his Andretti contract is up, he is in at Penske and Pagenaud is the odd man out. Your take?

Jeff, Florida

RM: I think The Captain has had his eye on Rossi for a couple years and he’ll make a run at him, but I think Alex is loyal to Honda and Honda loves him, so unless R.P. changes manufacturers, I don’t think he’ll be leaving Andretti.

Q: I went to the St. Pete GP for the first time and had a blast all three days. One thing that stuck out to me while I was there was the Harding-Steinbrenner garage. While many of the other teams had their cars hidden in the back while being worked on (understandably so), the HSR car was placed front and center. There was a consistent crowd hanging around outside the garage taking pictures. I don't think there should be any rules made to force teams to put their cars in front of the fans, I just wanted to give HSR credit for helping engage the fans.

I have an affinity for the Road to Indy, and while I was at St. Pete, made sure to visit as many Lights, Indy Pro and USF2000 teams and drivers as I could. One question that unfortunately didn't occur to me at the time was about this season's finale. This is the first season in my memory that both IndyCar and the RTI will share the same venue and weekend for their season-ending races – and at the much-hyped return of Laguna Seca, no less. Would this new schedule arrangement sweeten the deal for anyone thinking about running a car in those series?

Victor, New Haven, CT

RM: The Harding/Steinbrenner team was kinda out in the middle of the paddock while everyone else was bunched together, but it’s always nice to hear how a team interacted with the fans. I really don’t think one race, regardless of the venue (except maybe IMS) and the fact it’s packaged with the IndyCar finale would be enough to sway somebody into being a Lights owner.

Q: Is there any news on the possibility of a third engine manufacturer joining the series for 2021? I read an article a few months ago that said Cosworth had been approached by multiple OEMs, but nothing has come of that yet. Is there still time for another manufacturer to develop and build a competitive engine, or would they be at an immediate disadvantage like Lotus was in 2012 after joining late?

Tom, Newark, NY

RM: No news right now. Jay Frye has jetted all over the world meeting with potential OEMs but nothing yet, and Cosworth would badge if that was desired. You would imagine any new manufacturer would be behind Honda and Chevrolet, but Lotus was doomed from the start because it had no budget.

Q: After watching in-car cameras at St. Pete, I was again reminded of just how physical IndyCars are to drive. With no power steering or traction control, IndyCars, at least on street and road courses, are the beasts of open-wheel racing. Over the years, I have often thought that the physical factor is the reason Danica Patrick and the other women who race IndyCars never fare so well on the street and road courses. As talented as they are, they are simply no match for the men when it comes to muscling these cars around a circuit. Your thoughts?

Carlton Higginbotham, Jacksonville, FL

RM: No doubt it affected Danica, and remember when they tried power steering at Mid-Ohio and she qualified on the front row? As you heard Felix Rosenqvist say after St. Pete, it’s the most physically-demanding car he’s ever driven. But Simona de Silvestro could handle it on a road/street course (she battled TK for third at St. Pete), and Katherine Legge also showed savvy at places like Road America.

Q: Is Kurt Busch the only driver to have driven for Ganassi, Penske, and Andretti?

Rick Lewis. Indianapolis

RM: Montoya and Ryan Briscoe drove for Chip and RP but not Michael, and Dario, Herta, Wheldon and T.K. drove for Andretti and Ganassi but not Penske. And if you count sports cars, Rossi has driven for Andretti and Penske. But Kurt may be the lone ranger.

Q: Had another great in-person experience at St. Pete with my 6-year old. He is hooked, so hopefully it’s not all doom and gloom for the future of motorsports in coming generations. Found Stefan Johansson’s “How to save F1” white paper very interesting. Pretty much sums up the lessons (and hopefully direction…) of IndyCar, and the requests from the Mailbag loyal: strip off 70% of aerodynamic downforce; reduce costs with ‘spec’ universal tub, gearbox and wings; more rubber/mechanical grip; 1200bhp; push-to-pass; blistering top speeds but longer braking zones, and more emphasis on driver car control. Make the cars beasts, make the drivers dragon-slaying heroes. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? The question is, who will get there first…

Scott B., Gainesville, FL

RM: I think IndyCar is going to get there by 2021, in terms of more HP and less downforce and more of a Beast mode. Glad your son had a good time, and Johansson has written some good stuff for RACER in the past couple years. Very sharp fellow with some good insight.

Q: The weekend of the last Sonoma race, there was a crew filming Mario at his winery in the tasting room, and out in the vineyards. Do you happen to know if this was a NBC crew, or perhaps IMS? And when we might be treated to watching?

Peter Carey, San Bruno, Ca.

RM: I would imagine it was the NBC crew for his upcoming documentary, although IMS has also been shooting some stuff to celebrate his 50-year anniversary.

Q: What I am curious about is what do the guys who come to IndyCar from F1 think of the cold tires, ie. no tire warmers? My opinion is that it adds some interest as well as driving skills to the strategy mix. It creates some interesting racing, and you see some drivers are much better on the cold tires than others. I've seen interviewers ask about the lack of power steering and other differences between the series, but have never heard comments about tire warmers. Personally, I would remove them from F1 if I had the choice to spice things up.

Phil Stoll

RM: I’ll ask Ericsson this weekend, but I know Montoya enjoyed cold tires because he was so damn good with them.

Pau (pictured in 2014) is spectacular, but it might be a bit of a squeeze for IndyCars – even if someone stumped up the money for them to race there. Image by XPB/LAT

Q: While I was watching the Pau Grand Prix, which is part of the Euro F3 series, it occurred to me that there are a bunch of cool street courses in Europe that are part of existing events that could be cool IndyCar events. Take Pau, for instance – it’s a temporary street course that’s really cool. It has elevation and turns with camber! Now I know an event has to “make sense” (whatever that means), but as an idea, IndyCar could have one race per year in Europe and rotate among some of those tracks taking advantage of events that already occur, and have lower ladder open-wheel events (but not F1), elevating exposure to IndyCar around Europe. Of course the organizers of those events would have to be interested, but I bet management of those events probably have never even considered pairing an IndyCar event with their event. It would bring more tickets! IndyCar could reduce or eliminate the sanction fee for those races (consider it a marketing activity). Is it a worthy idea?

Doug, Stafford, VA

RM: Any country, city or track that’s interested in hosting IndyCar would be worth exploring, but it’s not like there’s a big line right now that could afford the expenses. That could be the deal-breaker in Australia. But Pau seems awfully tight and tiny for IndyCars, so I imagine there are better options.

Q: I have been a huge fan of IndyCar and USAC Sprints/Champs my whole life. I'm almost 50 now, and like others, I can sense the beginnings of what could be a major resurgence of open-wheel racing. What are the chances of the USAC Silver Crown cars racing before the Indy Lights at the smaller ovals like Gateway? Seems like it would be a great way to get both the fan bases excited.

Bob, Lebanon, IN

RM: Gateway’s Chris Blair owns a Silver Crown car and is a big advocate, and I know he wants to bring them back if possible. And Iowa ran USAC shows in prior years that were damn entertaining. I remember standing on somebody’s motor home with Justin Wilson watching a USAC midget race at Iowa, and he was blown away with the slicing and dicing and car control.

Q: You looked great on TV at St. Pete. I’ve been praying for your cancer to go remission (John Andretti’s, too) and hope your road to recovery is going well. Only time I tried to get in touch with you was via phone on a Wind Tunnel many years back when I wanted to let you and Dave know the acronym for USF1: LIAR! Sure miss Wind Tunnel and Dave; hope he is having a great retirement. I never missed an episode. Why on WindTunnel when you were interviewing A.J. did he say he would talk to you when you hosted, but would not talk with Dave? And what drivers did NOT bring any type of funding to their team at the St. Pete opener? I am sure the list is way smaller than those who had to bring some funding to their team. Look forward to staying hi to you at the RRDC evening with David Hobbs dinner at Long Beach. Take care, and will continue to pray for you and John Andretti. Thanks for Mailbag!

Steve Webb, Riverside, CA

RM: Thanks for you kind thoughts and reading the Mailbag. A.J. had it in his mind he didn’t like Dave, and we’re pretty sure they have never met. Tex is pretty stubborn so nothing I could do would change his mind, and then Dave went on a motorcycle trip and suggested I invited A.J. on when I hosted WT that Sunday. So Tex agreed and had some fun (held up the I Hate Robin Miller T-shirt) and Despain was happy with finally got him on. Dave is doing well in retirement but I wish I could talk him into doing a monthly WindTunnel podcast. Dixie, Felix, Seb, Power, JoNew, Pagenaud, T.K., RHR, Rossi, Pigot and Hinch didn’t bring any, while Rahal always helps his dad find sponsorships, and Marco now owns half his team.

Q: IndyCar needs to have a "Drive to Survive" season on Netflix. Had so many non-racing friends hit me up asking if I watch it. Editing and production was top-notch, and it really gave an insight into the life of a driver. Perfect for casual person to get into.

Kevin, Long Beach

RM: Not familiar with it, but anything showcasing a racing series for the casual fan would be valuable.

Q: In doing some research the other day, I came across USAC's original 1980 schedule, which included some interesting track choices.  Of the 10 races, there were events scheduled for Charlotte, Road Atlanta, and to my surprise, a 500-mile race at Talladega (all of which were later cancelled when CART & USAC briefly got together to co-sanction). Now, knowing a bit about USAC's ill-fated attempt at Daytona in 1959, it honestly shocks me that they would have even considered running at a high-speed superspeedway such as Talladega again. Do you have any recollection concerning this race? Who on earth thought this would be a good idea?

Vincent Michael, Williamsport, PA

RM: Hmmm, let’s see who thought it would be a good idea? How about the same clowns that took the dirt cars out of the USAC Championship Trail? There were some crazy ideas being thrown around back then, but I don’t think anybody ever took Talladega seriously. Jim Hurtubise ran 191 mph in his Mallard roadster at Daytona in 1968, but the lone Indy car pass came in 1974 when A.J. Foyt ran 217.854 mph in his Coyote.

Q: Thanks for all you do for motorsports, especially IndyCar. Couldn’t NASCAR require all cars in the final 12 to post a time or be relegated to the back of the pack for the race on Sunday? Not seeing drivers race for a qualifying time was really disappointing. If that continues to be a possibility, why tune in? Hope to see you in Long Beach in April.

Randy Truax

RM: I think NASCAR was pretty embarrassed by last week’s qualifying at Fontana,,but what can they do? Everyone waited too long. I don’t think you can make them go out, but you felt bad for the fans in the stands.