Robin Miller's Mailbag for January 1, 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: Ride-buying is a subject often talked about here and other forums. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of drivers in NASCAR, IndyCar, F1 and other top tier series (take your pick) have personal sponsors/investors that have helped the drivers realize their dream. I understand the difference between a corporate sponsor and personal sponsors/investors. Corporations need a ROI for their name to grace the sidepods and wings. They receive access to races and entertain customers at hospitality events with appearances from the "paid" drivers; i.e. Rahal at golf outings and dinners with United Rentals, Daly at recruiting offices and at AF bases, Hunter-Reay at DHL events, and on and on...

A certain amount of driver pay is derived from the corporations that will spend their advertising budget on racing. Daly bringing USAF to ECR, Rahal brings UR, Hunter-Reay maintains DHL... these guys work their ass off behind the scenes to maintain these relationships. I get corporate ROI. Question is, all these guys (and ladies) have personal investors also since being in karts or quarter midgets at an early age. How are these contracts written with personal investors, and what is the ROI for the personal investors, and do these investors ask for or receive a percentage of driver’s compensation/pay throughout their careers?

Dan, Zionsville, IN

RM: Justin Wilson had investors that he paid back as he made his way up the open-wheel ladder and so does Alexander Rossi, so that’s probably the most popular and modern way. Tony Kanaan has been personally supported by Bryant Heating & Cooling and 7/11 for as long as I can remember, and they are displayed on his uniform, helmet and he does many personal appearances. Might they step up and be on the side of his car for his farewell tour with A.J. this year? We’ll see. Santino Ferrucci has had a longtime backer (Cly-Del) that brought him to IndyCar. As for receiving any compensation, most of the drivers bringing money don’t make enough to share with anyone.

Q: With Honda and Acura being owned by the same company and James Hinchcliffe having suitcases of money from the Canadian arm of Honda, is there a chance with his qualifications that he could end up on a factory team in open-wheel or sedan/coupe type racing with Honda or Acura since he is a good road racer?

Matthew Marks

RM: Not sure where you got “suitcases of money”, because I think Hinch has a nice personal service deal with Honda of Canada but it’s not enough to fund an IndyCar. Penske is the factory Acura team in IMSA and its line-up is full – just like the Honda teams in IndyCar. But maybe a one-off at Daytona or Sebring or Indy for somebody.

Q: Robin, hold on! Your Dec 25th Mailbag – quoting you – "James Hinchcliffe has an offer from a Honda team on the table." That's it? RRL? Full season? More details! We understand if you cannot. Do you have an over/under on how many cars go for the 33 spots in May?

Ron, Toronto

RM: I believe the line was “he’s got one good option remaining with a Honda team.” But it’s part-time, and I’ll let him break the news if it ever happens. Thirty-six going for 33.

Q: We’ve seen some very serious injuries in IndyCar over the last several years – Bourdais, Hinch, Wickens. Do the drivers carry their own medical insurance, or does IndyCar offer a blanket policy for them. Does the team supply insurance as part of the driver contract? With medical costs being what they are today, it would seem that insurance costs would be through the roof for these folks.

Gary, Anza, CA

RM: IndyCar has insurance and the drivers have individual policies. Can you imagine what Robert Wickens’ bill must be? I asked him last year if we could start a GoFundMe Page or have some kind of auction to raise money, and replied he had the best coverage available and was OK. I sure hope so, because he’s worked his butt off and deserves to walk again. His PitFit videos continue to inspire.

Top-level drivers' insurance allows Wickens to focus on his recovery. Image by Galstad/LAT

Q: Reading the article "IndyCar tightens COTA track limits" I have to say, I'm not a fan. This is the part I do not agree with at any track: "It's believed IndyCar's race control team will void any qualifying laps at COTA where the Turn 19 timing line is missed. In the race, violations and unique circumstances, such as drivers going side-by-side where the outside driver is forced into the runoff area, will be reviewed before some form of penalty is assessed."

Let’s create another gray area. This is where IndyCar always steps in it.  Ninety-nine percent of the race will be black and white, but I guarantee you that gray area will be exposed at the most critical point of the race. Then the entire post race will be about "the call" or "the lack of a call." This is the stuff that annoys me as a fan. If uou don't want cars going wide, add a big rumble strip. Do something that naturally penalizes a driver for going wide. Then it is pretty easy to penalize the guy that shoves the other guy into no-man’s land. Actually, in most cases this happens anyhow through the guy braking or crashing. Most people will read this and say ‘no big deal’, but what is next? The best officiating staff is the one no one ever hears about. Sadly, we have a bunch of whiners just looking for an opportunity to cry. Let them race.

JR in Indiana

RM: I asked IndyCar for an explanation and haven’t received one yet, but other than one incident in the race last year it seemed like that corner made for some wild racing. If it’s easy to police and everyone understands the parameters, then complaining should be limited to the usual suspects like blocking. And you know how much everyone in racing loves to bitch.

Q: Happy New Year, Robin! Hope all the gossip and hearsay finds its way to your ears to filter out for us fans in 2020! It seems every week there are major controversial calls made in football games – missing penalties, penalties where there weren't any, etc. What are some of your "favorite" horrible penalties made during IndyCar races over the past 40 years or so? Mine was Helio Castroneves in Edmonton 2010 – his infamous "block" by driving in a straight line down the inside of the straight into Turn 1. Ignoring the stop-and-go penalty was all he could do in protest. His almost comical grabbing of the very patient head of security (!) after getting out of the car was understandable.

Matt Woellert, Twinsburg, OH

RM: You’ve got to understand that racers ruled themselves back in the good old days, so there were very few penalties until USAC got uppity in the '60s. Like suspending Paul Goldsmith from Champ Car competition for a year because he drove an outlaw stock car race, or fining drivers in May for “exceeding” the ridiculous speed limits posted by Harlan Fengler. The 1981 Indy 500 controversy would have never happened had ABC not pointed things out to Tom Binford after seeing the replay, because USAC certainly didn’t call it a penalty. But Helio’s was certainly one of the worst, and he had every right to go crazy.

Q: With the Push to Pass changes for 2020 announced last week, I was wondering: 1. Why does IndyCar allow any monitoring of P2P data for competitors? Teams don’t have direct access to other teams’ engine telemetry/suspension setup, etc; why would this be any different? While giving updates only at the end of each lap is a step in the right direction, seems like it should be obscured completely. 2. Will NBC broadcast and viewers still have access to real-time P2P activation? I would assume not, as teams would simply monitor the broadcast (or maybe that should not be allowed either). 3. Has there ever been discussion of limiting P2P activation in a similar manner to F1 DRS?  Allowing push to defend really reduces the value of P2P. I’m not much of an F1 fan, but it seems like its implementation of this rule is better than IndyCar’s.

Greg, St. Louis

RM: Good question, so let's ask IndyCar race director Kyle Novak:

“Hi Greg -  Thank you for your question.  The main impetus for eliminating instantaneous P2P updates was to put more of the decision to utilize the extra available horsepower back into the driver’s hands as part of racecraft.  Fans and teams alike will have identical information of P2P time remaining that will update at the conclusion of every lap as each car reaches the S/F line. 

"We have found in the past that it is impossible to completely obscure P2P information from the teams, yet still provide it live to the fans, because teams would simply have an extra team member monitor the broadcast to obtain the information. We feel that updating P2P at the end of each lap achieves a suitable balance of keeping the fans updated, while putting more emphasis on racecraft.

"With regard to your last question, we do not feel that allowing a trailing car to utilize P2P is the right solution for IndyCar at this time, because in any position battle, the trailing car gains a HP advantage over the leading car by virtue of being behind, and we do not feel that a car should be at a HP disadvantage simply for being ahead.”

Q: When will we see an IndyCar and NASCAR Cup Series and maybe NASCAR Xfinity Series on the same weekend at the same speedway?

Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY

RM: Love to see it happen by 2021, but that might be a bit optimistic.

Q: A longtime Indiana boy and fan, and I love your telecasts and commentaries. In your biography it said you were anti-Tony George. I was too for many years. The question is, have you changed your mind on him? I feel like I have because NASCAR got away from its roots and is dead (dead). IndyCar maintained open wheel interest in the Midwest and at least within the state is a big event. Had IndyCar gone the CART route would it not have died as well? So are you still anti-Tony George or did you flip (or do you know more than I do, which admittedly is only what I’ve written here).

Nick C.

RM: Tony and I had a decent relationship prior to the morning in April 1995 when he informed me that he’d just warned his mother that most of the teams at next month’s race likely wouldn’t be here in 1996 because he was changing the qualifying format to 25/8. I never had anything personally against TG, I just couldn’t believe he was going to wreck the month of May to try and prove a point. And I went on the attack in The Star, on Channel 13 and WIBC for the next few years until they all fired me. Your sentence is amusing about IndyCar going the CART route – what do you think the IRL became? CART lite with engine leases, street races, spec cars and the big teams ruling. Open-wheel racing lost (repeat after me) and it’s only been the last few years that it’s made some strides back to relevance. I totally understand why Tony’s family despises me, but I don’t dislike T.G. We worked together for a week in 2008 on the unification story, and I’ve complimented him several times lately for making sure Roger Penske was offered first chance at purchasing IMS.

"Lemme tell you how I handle Robin." George gets some pointers from A.J. Image by Williams/LAT

Q: I can’t say I was a fan of Brian Barnhart as the chief steward, but I enjoyed his Marshall Pruett podcast and was amazed at what he did while at Harding Steinbrenner. It would be nice to know he has landed on his feet.

Mark B, Colorado

RM: Barnhart and I started out as friends when he was a mechanic, then became arch-enemies during the IRL/CART war and finally buried the hatchet a few years ago. He did a really good job at Harding Racing and it would be cool if he somehow got to stay with Colton Herta in 2020, but haven’t heard anything so I need to call him.

Q: Spring training at COTA? Is this true? Are there any dates yet? Will they be doing like last year with one day open to the public?

Peter IV

RM: Yep Feb. 11-12, but you should call the track and ask which day will be open to the public.

Q: Are the boys coming to Laguna Seca for a pre-season test again this year? I hope so; enjoyed it last February.

Ron Jackson, RACER subscriber

RM: Doesn’t look like it Ron, but maybe some kind of an in-season test.

Q: We need to get back to double-wide restarts at Indy, as in 2011. Any chance that happens?

Joe, Ingalls, IN

RM: Can’t see it, as frantic as the single-file restarts have been the past few Mays.

Q: Coyne has named a replacement for Bourdais. Do you and Marshall have anyone in mind to replace the French Fry? That's the big one.

David

RM: That’s Marshall’s baby, and he and Seb developed some cool chemistry so it won’t be easy to replicate, but I’m thinking Pato might be on the short list.

Q: Thanks for another fine year or passionate, personable and informed commentary of the sport we all love. A big picture question to begin 2020; what is the greatest regret of your career, and one most relished moment?

Anthony Jenkins, Mono, Ontario

RM: Not taking the CART PR job in 1979 when The Captain suggested it. I would have 40 years of Penske stock, my own jet and be living in Pebble Beach with Danny Sullivan. OK, I lied, it would have never worked because PR isn’t my thing and The Captain would have canned me the first six weeks. No real regrets. Wish I’d have acted quicker when I got the tip about IMS being sold, but I’ve been fortunate enough to break a lot of stories so that one got away. No single most relished moment lots of them like: pushing Herk and his Mallard out of Gasoline Alley in 1968, going up and down the road with Bill Finley’s little IndyCar team, buying a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli with Art Pollard as my broker, getting to run USAC midgets for eight years, working on RPM @Night at ESPN, co-hosting WIND TUNNEL with Dave Despain at SPEED and being part of the NBC group.

Q: Did Emerson Fittipaldi help pull Niki Lauda out of the burning car on August 1, 1976 and get no credit for this?

Barney C.

RM: Absolutely not. Guy Edwards managed to avoid the blazing wreckage but Harald Ertl and Brett Lunger both piled into it. All three ran back to the burning Ferrari, and along with Italian driver Arturo Merzario, who had stopped, fought the flames and eventually dragged Lauda from the inferno.