Robin Miller's Mailbag for January 8, 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: I think it is accurate to say that RP was always an owner staunchly against a spec type of series, especially when he has the money to do anything and everything with regard to testing and development. With him now taking over the series, is it likely that he would try to change that fundamental aspect of IndyCar? There are some who claim they "know" that Hinch will sign a full season deal with Carlin – a Chevy team; at least for now. This, to me, sounds far-fetched. Do you hear any such scenario, and if so, does Carlin stick with Chevy, which takes out Hinch’s Honda personal services/spokesperson gig, or does Carlin become the Honda team that takes on the Hondas that were used at Arrow SPM?

There are some quotes, one from a driver, that the aeroscreens are really not to the drivers’ liking and are full of problems from a ventilation and glare standpoint. In addition, a RACER article said that the teams are just going to start getting them this week. Are the drivers satisfied with these, or are they towing the line on these publicly even though they don't really like them?

Forrester L Morgan, Myrtle Beach, SC

RM: As much as RP loved innovation, I think he knows this is a different economy and I don’t foresee any major changes to IndyCar’s program in the near future. Please give those people who “know” Hinch is headed to Carlin my address so I can bet them whatever they want to wager. I haven’t talked to any drivers that have tested the aeroscreen, so let’s wait and see how COTA’s test goes before anyone is willing to share an opinion.

Q: Do you have any idea what Penske paid for IMS and the series? Any of your sources have a figure?

Dan, Buffalo, NY

RM: Somewhere between $250 and $500 million seems to be the best guess. The only people who actually know the price aren’t going to tell anybody.

Q: Just a quick question about RP buying IMS – did the sale also include the Museum that was owned by the Hulman Foundation?

Harry from Ohio

RM: R.P. owns the museum but not the cars (other than his).

Q: Got in a very good argument with another die-hard fan tonight over Indy 500 qualifying. I say if you run the series full-time you can’t be bumped, but if you are the fastest you win the pole, and if you’re the slowest you qualify 33rd. Only the one-offs get bumped. We want to grow the series, right? His argument is still good. Open qualifications for all 33 spots, but I feel that you punish the full-time drivers. And don’t do it by car qualifying, do it by driver. Then, you can’t switch a driver into a better-qualified car.

Dan, Lima, OH

RM: Where was all the hand-wringing about tradition when IndyCar had to come up with a couple cars just to make sure there were 33? And four laps at any speed and you were in. Yes, the full-timers should be guaranteed a spot in the Indy 500, and there can still be bumping for those last 11 positions.

Q: Happy New Year to you, and thanks for keeping us fans informed. What is the latest with race engineer Kate Gundlach? I know she left Ganassi and went to Arrow McLaren SP and now may have left them as well? First of all, why did she leave Ganassi, and if she left Arrow McLaren, why to that as well?  I've met her a couple of times at the track, and she was always gracious with her time and the results from Dixie's car shows she obviously knows her stuff. 

Bill R., Vista, CA

RM: Here's Ganassi's Mike Hull:

"Kate did a terrific job for us. She unselfishly made herself, and the team, better through her tireless participation. With the new growth opportunity with SSM’s expanded resource, would expect that she will move to a higher station. We wish her continued success."

After a successful stint with CGR, Gundlach is starting a new chapter in 2020. Image by LePage/LAT

Q: IndyCar revamps field ordering. Well, that’s clear as mud. Just let the chips fall where they may, like they used to do in the old days. If you get screwed by a crash and race stoppage? Tough luck! Otherwise it just takes too long. What we have had for the last few years was just a fiasco. The more rules you make, the worse things will get.

Doug Mayer

RM: Can’t think of any instance where someone got “screwed” by the re-order, certainly not in the long run of the results, and Portland was an isolated instance that turned out to be a bit of a fiasco. But spending more than two minutes thinking or discussing this is a waste of 90 seconds.

Q: Larry Foyt should’ve gone after Hinch! Charlie should retire! It does Larry no good. James could’ve given Larry a high-profile driver, which Charlie is not!

I try to put myself in Larry’s shoes. He should’ve gone to Michael for a technical alliance to get competitive again. But that would mean Honda. We need Ford back! Call Edsel!

Dan Kirby

RM: Hinch is a Honda guy, so Foyt was never an option. And Charlie has had some good runs the past few years (especially at Indy), so not sure why you think he should quit. Give RP a little time to work on Ford.

Q: Your recent comments regarding the issues that Foyt experienced with its shaker rig testing brings to me the question: Why does IndyCar let so much ride on such an invisible factor; namely shocks and dampers? Fans don't care about shocks and dampers, they care about drivers and teams. That last half-second of lap time (that covers most of the field) from shocks and dampers has been made expensive, and can mask who the best drivers really are.

If IndyCar did something like have one manufacturer (like tires, which is something fans see and buy regularly), and have IndyCar (teams) pay that manufacturer to do the only allowed, extensive testing and provide the data to all teams (it is only one chassis after all), it seems that would reduce total costs and make the field even more competitive. On a different but related competitive note, it still seems to me that overall harder compound tires (that create fewer marbles), could combine with a unified shocks and damper program, to further put the racing in the hands of the drivers.

Finally, if driver skill increases in importance, "buy a ride" guys will quickly be weeded out.

Doug Viall

RM: That was Marshall’s story about the Foyt team and the shaker rig, and IndyCar asked the owners if they wanted a universal damper and they voted no. I’ll agree it does nothing for the fans, but it’s the one area where teams feel like they can make a difference, so it’s not changing. I think today’s package is a pretty good yardstick for a driver’s ability, and the tire options makes for some interesting strategy as well as racing.

Q: Any idea what the schedule at Richmond will be? I know the track announced it will host a few days of USAC racing leading up to the IndyCar race, however all promotion on the RR website of the IndyCar race indicate that all the IndyCar activity will be on Saturday. Is this your understanding?

Andrew McNaughton

RM: “We are doing USAC quarter midgets in the midway area starting on Thursday – that was announced a few weeks ago. We are also doing a drifting event in one of our parking lots, and we already have a go-karting track on the property that will be operating. We will have a two or two-and-half hour practice session for IndyCar on Friday night and Saturday will be practice, qualifying and racing for IndyCar.” Dennis Bickmeier, president, Richmond Raceway.

Q: Planning to drive our motorhome to the Indy 500 this year. Can you recommend some camp/parking sites near the track? Also how would we get to the track each day? Uber, taxi, bus, shuttle etc? Really enjoy your column each week.

Rick, Victoria, TX

RM: Go to IMS.com and select ‘at the track’ and then go to camping. Obviously if you chose to park in the Coke lot or IMS grounds, you won’t need anything but your legs to get to your seats. Good luck.

Q: I know you get this question every year, but here it is again. What is the best place/way to watch St. Pete? Going down for the first time this year. I know you have addressed this before in your Mailbag, so if you want to direct me to that edition I can search for it myself.

Looking forward to another great year.

Chuck Ney

RM: I would try and buy tickets in Turn 1, that’s where most of the passing occurs and you can also see everyone exiting the pits. Buy a paddock pass and walk around on Saturday and then head for the grandstand on Sunday. 

Q: The one thing that the IRL got right was starting before all other big league racing series. The race at Walt Disney World Speedway was always like a drink of water for a guy crawling through the desert. Is there any thought to IndyCar starting up before the other major series get going? I can’t be the only guy with racing fever come late January.

Ron Fellows. As a Canadian I always followed his career and I religiously attend the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen in August. He came sooooo close to winning there so many times, it hurts to think about. Did he ever consider IndyCar?

Duncan, Port Perry, Canada

RM: I know IndyCar has discussed starting earlier, but the problem is finding a track and climate that is compatible with January. Fellows started racing karts and then went to Formula Fords, but took almost a decade off before returning to sedans so I don’t think IndyCars were ever in his gun-sight. Of course he became very accomplished in sports cars (winning Daytona and Sebring) and Trans-Am before trying his hand at NASCAR, where he’s scored four Nationwide wins and two in the Truck series.

The IRL got something right! Image by Williams/LAT

Q: I'm sad to hear IndyCar has chosen F1's route of judging COTA's track limits with stewards, sensors and penalties rather than grass, gravel and walls. Why doesn’t IndyCar and COTA just redraw the track limits by literally getting some cans of paint and redrawing the white lines where they'd never cause a problem? This would effectively just create a slightly different track layout, it's cheaper than sensors, and it's easy to change when F1 comes back. So why are they going for a more complicated route we all know will cause controversy?

Paul Rayner, Edinburgh, UK

RM: I have no idea why they don’t leave it alone or paint it. I guess people smarter than me figure it needs policing, but I’m already tired of talking about it.

Q: If we see IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series – maybe Xfinity Series – race on the same weekend and the same speedway, what speedway do you think will have them?

Chris Fiegler, Latham, NY

RM: No clue, but I think Jay Frye and NBC would prefer an oval so IndyCar could run on Saturday night and NASCAR on Sunday afternoon. Richmond, Gateway, Chicago and Iowa might be options.

Q: We are heading down to Barber this year for the first time. Please give us some recommendations for do's & don'ts. Also, a race fan-friendly bar.

JRW, Gilbert, AZ

RM: Spend a day at the museum, it’s one of the best. Eat at least one meal at day at Rusty’s Barbeque in nearby Leeds, Ala. I don’t drink so I can’t help you with a bar but ask Rusty, he knows that area.

Q: I originally hated the Halo when it was first introduced in F1. I find I hate the solution that Indy has come up with more. It's terrible. And it's a disgrace to open-wheel. I know we are supposed to be safety first, but my thought is that some of the safety issues we have had in the last five years are due to poor choices, car designs, and driving standards. Again, I get safety is important. However, please tell me people are having serious looks at what I like to call good governance?

Steve S.

RM: How about we run the aeroscreen for a year and then react? I don’t think any open-wheel purist likes it, but IndyCar waited as long as possible and now its part of the framework.

Q: In my opinion the Indy 500 is what holds IndyCar together. It's the marquee event, with the most buzz, the most prestige, the most watched and attended. How IndyCar as a whole fares is dependent on how the 500 fares. My question is: has it ever been proposed to fulfill Carl Fisher’s original dream – an Indy 1000? Back then it would have taken close to 15 hours to finish the race so his associates talked him out of it. The cars are much faster now, and with a break in the middle, or a co-driver wouldn't it be possible?

Ron V.

RM: I doubt it. Three hours and 500 miles at those sustained speeds seems more than enough to me, and there’s nothing wrong with the current format so why mess with it? It’s not going to make the race any better, I can promise you.

Q: If you could estimate what the salary is for the top five drivers in F1, NASCAR, and IndyCar is, what would you guess?  Salary only – no endorsements.

Ron, Portland, OR

RM: I think Scott Dixon is tops at $5 million, and then there are a host of veterans like Willy P., RHR, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Rossi, Graham and Marco at $2 million. I imagine Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are tops among NASCAR, but have no idea if it’s $5 or $10 million. For F1, RACER’s Chris Medland estimates $35-$40m each for Hamilton and Vettel, $30m for Ricciardo, $20-$25m for Verstappen after his recent contract extension, and perhaps $8-$10m for Leclerc and Bottas.

Q: From time to time you write about how IndyCar should have a presence at the Chili Bowl and other roots racing. Why bother? Besides the fact the NASCAR has that covered, no IndyCar driver seems interested.

Instead, maybe IndyCar should think about having some representation in the lower ranks of open-wheeled road racing events, e.g. the club racing of the SCCA, F4 – the bulk of those drivers list F1 as their goal, and maybe they'd get influenced by IndyCar having a few of its drivers at those events and suddenly aspire to get to Indy racing, as opposed to settling for it when everything else falls away. Even have a consistent image at karting races to get youngsters and parents into IndyCar. The Chili Bowl and the Knoxville Nationals are great events; midgets and sprint cars as the road to Indy is dead. It's been that way for a long time for us old farts. You have to wonder why NASCAR is so good at keeping its fan base and staying connected to its roots, and IndyCar racing is not.

Jake, No-Longer-In-Pasadena, CA

RM: Well, let’s see. Conor Daly is going back for the second straight year and Santino Ferrucci and James Davison are making their debut this month. I know Alexander Rossi, Will Power and Josef Newgarden would all love to try it but likely can’t because of their contracts or commitments. Tulsa happens to be one of IndyCar’s best TV markets, so having drivers competing at the Chili Bowl makes sense to me, not to mention that’s 15,000 people who may or may not ever watch an IndyCar race so maybe they’d take a liking to Conor or Santino. It’s about exposure, nothing else. And no IndyCar drivers want to go back and run Indy Lights, let alone F4 or some other small formula. That accomplishes nothing.

There's happy, and then there's 'I'm racing at the Chili Bowl' happy. Image by Levitt.

Q: I am thrilled to read that David Byrd is sponsoring a trio of IndyCar racers at the legendary Chili Bowl. It is about time, and I am most grateful to him for his confidence in these drivers. I am looking forward to hopefully see all three on the Saturday night broadcast. Santino on dirt should be exciting. I keep trying to set up my DVR to tape MAV-TV that night, but it is not yet on the schedule. You also mentioned in the Mailbag that there was a streaming option for the entire week. How is that coverage? I also read recently that you might not be able to attend again this year. I am so sorry. That must be disappointing for you. I thought you were doing better. :( Take care of yourself, Mr. M. I hope 2020 is good to you.

Deb Schaeffer

RM: Yes, David is trying to keep that USAC torch alive at Indianapolis and also promote open-wheel through midgets and sprints with IndyCar drivers. I think that RacinBoys.com will stream the racing every night and from memory I paid $130 for all five nights (although the finale is free if you have MavTV). I feel fine, I just can’t walk 10 miles a night like you do at the Chili Bowl and I have no immune system because of chemo -- it’s always breezy there and I don’t need another cold. I miss seeing my pals, but I’ve covered the race from the online streaming the past two years and it’s fine. Thanks for your note.

Q: I'm sure it has been proposed before, and I have missed seeing it in print, but why not move the start line at Portland to the back straight? Keep the finish line where it is now, on the front straight. The race distance would decrease by half a lap, but the Turn 1 fiasco could be eliminated.

R Brandt

RM: Never heard that even mentioned, and it’s narrow enough there could be just as much carnage starting back there as the current, wide front straight. Just eliminate the chicane for the start, and everything will be fine.

Q: Big Tom Sneva fan in the day. Teddy Mayer Racing with Sneva had a great season in 1984 (second in the championship and nearly winning Indy before breaking) but turned out to be just a one year thing, with Mayer and Tyler Alexander going to run Carl Haas' Beatrice F1 effort. Would Mayer Racing had continued without the Haas thing, and would Sneva had won more races (his last win was the last Mayer race at Vegas in '84) and had a longer career? Sneva's issues with Penske are known, but it seems like his '87 with Mike Curb was toxic. Any stories on the Sneva-Curb breakup?

Chad Holmes, Weston, WI

RM: Tom’s Indy-winning team in 1983 was a good one with George Bignotti, Mark Bridges, Ed Stone, and he had a great chance to make it two straight before losing his CV joint in ’84 as he was facing a shootout with Rick Mears. No way that team continued with Teddy and Tyler not being around. I testified for The Gas Man in the Curb hearing and it was all first-class. He flew me to LA, we ate at the Taco Bell and I shared a room with he and his wife, Sharon. I believe Tom won a settlement, but I can’t remember.

Q: I'm a lifelong race fan (my Dad took me to an Indy car race when I was 5 years old at the Milwaukee Mile), but a newfound fan of both the RACER site and your Mailbag. The highlight of your Jan 1 Mailbag was the reference to Jim Hurtubise. As someone who was sitting at the start-finish line that fateful day in 1964, then following his amazing comeback, Herk is certainly at the top of my favorites.  He was not only exciting to watch as he came back to race successfully for Norm Nelson, but easy to support for his every effort. He was also super-friendly in an era where fans got to enter the pits after races. How did you meet him?

Jim Schreier

RM: I found out he loved beer, so after the sprint races at Terre Haute or stock car races at the State Fairgrounds, I would go steal a couple of beers and take them to him in hopes he might remember my face. For sure, he was one of the fan favorites in USAC and at Indianapolis for two decades.

"That kid with the beer was lurking around again earlier." Image by Phipps/Sutton

Q: Just a brief end of the year note regarding the "passing" of Autoweek magazine. A staple of my automotive/racing reading since 1973, it published it's last issue in December. It was must-have-reading for years, and I found and purchased three of my five Formula Fords in its expansive/multi-page classified ads section. The ability for such a long time to come home from work and weekly, in the recliner, get the inside scoop on F1, Indy car, exotic cars, sportscars, USAC SCCA, etc (and those ‘Late Racing News’ columns, including silly season reports) was treasured. I know, times are a changin’, and the paper world will soon be gone. Along with the passing of UK's Autosport I will continue the unwanted change from a comfortable chair and warm reading light to a desk chair and screen. So keep up your (and the rest of RACER's) excellent work as I pass the USPS mailbox and continue to ‘boot up’ yours And so it goes.

E.J. Generotti, Fort Lauderdale FL

RM: I was lucky enough to write for Autoweek in the '70s and '80s. I’ve got a few hundred of those old papers that I love looking through, and I’m going to write a column with some of the best scoops of those eras. I’m thankful Paul Pfanner and Rob & Chris Dyson have kept RACER going because it will likely be the last print soldier standing.

Q: Hope things are well. While pouring through RACER.com the last couple of days and reading all of the retrospectives of the last decade from you and your colleagues about everything from F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA, etc., it got me thinking. Let's stop looking back, and let's look at the upcoming decade. So here I go: crazy, ridiculous and bold predictions for the racing '20's:

David Hinshaw, North Carolina

RM: A George Orwell way to start 2020.