The RACER Mailbag, November 9

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.

Q: I first want to say I know there is no magic wand. I have been a huge IndyCar fan since the early 1980s. I try not to complain too much because I love my IndyCar and everything Indy 500. But it's time for tough love.

IndyCar is lost. It's like those at 16th and Georgetown have an "Everything is fine" mentality.

I came from a time when we watched the local news out of Indianapolis just so we could get a glimpse of the new chassis and liveries at Phoenix or Long Beach, not to mention all the different cars/motors and teams. Gone are the days when small teams could buy a year-old chassis and a motor and it could get you a start in the 500. IndyCar is growing, but we barely make 33 for the 500.

I'm not whining, I'm concerned. All that Penske has done since 2020 is slap a new coat of paint on IMS. While that's appreciated, I'd rather see more manufacturers get involved in IndyCar, and more than one chassis. We've essentially had only two chassis designs (or three, I suppose) in the past 20 years and still only two OEMs. Doesn't it concern anyone else that no car company in the world other than Honda or Chevy wants to participate in the Greatest Race in the World? Wasn't one of the reasons the IRL was created was because TG was worried that engine manufacturers had too much power within the series? Isn't that exactly what we have now?

Don't get me started on IndyCar merch, because that stuff is cheap-looking and the designs are boring and lazy. Team Penske has the neatest merch and that's because the guy who designs their NASCAR merch also does their IndyCar merch. In fact, no other team really does its own merch anymore.

Now we have Indy NXT, because that is supposed to maybe attract younger fans. Is that really going attract younger fans? That "Defy Everything" or whatever it was, was a dud from the start as well. How about making sexy cars, selling the driver personalities and having some great-looking merch? If they need a slogan how about "IndyCar, faster than a mother*****"

I'll take a hard card and photographers’ vest in lieu of payment for the use of my slogan.

Kris, Kokomo, IN

Champ Car merchandise at Long Beach in 2003. Good luck getting a licensed hat for $15 nowadays. Lesley Ann Miller/Motorsport Images

MP: How much do you think Gene Simmons would charge us to write a new song around your slogan, Kris? Kidding aside, I don’t want to turn this into a weekly walk down the same topic, but there’s a growing disconnect between the series’ ownership group and its drivers, and some fans which are inbound every week.

Ask the folks at the very top of IndyCar, and it’s "Everything Is Awesome." There was a slight increase in total television audience size, the Hy-Vee Iowa IndyCar Weekend was a big success, Belle Isle is moving to downtown Detroit, etc. But on the flipside, the amount of drivers I’ve spoken with who are legitimately concerned about IndyCar’s health is alarming. It’s been many years since I’ve heard this level of worry.

In isolation, IndyCar isn’t doing anything especially wrong. But when you take the series out of isolation and compare it to all of the newness and growth found among the series that are posing the greatest risk -- NASCAR and F1 and IMSA -- it’s easy to be frightened for its future. If there’s four houses on the block and three are either undergoing renovations or have already been remodeled, the old and largely untouched fourth house sticks out, and not in a good way. That’s where the fears are centered. Rather than acknowledge the need for a thorough remodel, the owners of that aged house are convinced it's perfectly fine as-is, all while it becomes an eyesore sitting next to the sparkling modern properties.

The latest gut punch: When over 40,000 people show up on the streets of Las Vegas like they did on Sunday to watch a demo run by Lewis Hamilton, and I’m confident in saying that’s more people than we had on race day at Texas, Portland, and Laguna Seca combined, we have a problem.

We aren’t facing a lack of open-wheel racing fans in America. We’re facing a lack of open-wheel racing fans who know IndyCar exists or think it's interesting enough to follow.

Q: In IndyCar's aeroscreen era we only have the nose cam, the roll hoop, and the driver-facing camera inside the aeroscreen, and it seems like there are other options that would be nice occasionally.

At the early 2020 test at COTA they had an over-the-shoulder cam that I'd love to see at future events. I've seen some historical footage with that angle as well. They also used a helmet cam that seemed a bit too low, but maybe they could use an inside-the-visor cam like Brad Keselowski used at Martinsville?

Any chance of these two camera placements getting used in the future?

Mike, California

MP: Been wondering about the same thing, Mike. The over-the-shoulder angle has always been amazing -- I first remember it from mid-'80s F1 broadcasts, and it never fails to impress. I’d hope that and/or a return of the visor cam returns. The aeroscreen complicated that helmet-mounted sight lines, but it can be done if NBC and IndyCar want it to happen.

Q: With the news Jimmie Johnson is driving for/co-owning a Chevy team in NASCAR next year, it sounds like his IndyCar options are limited for 2023.

He’s said he wants to do a “handful” of Indy races next year, but Penske and AMSP are full, Andretti has five cars for Indy and four for the regular season, ECR has its two drivers with Ed Carpenter presumably driving a third, leaving sharing Juncos’s second seat or a third Foyt car as his only other options. Unless he can convince D&R to run some races outside of the 500 (also unlikely), it feels like his newly-found Chevy connections have locked him out.

Is this the end for Jimmie Johnson in IndyCar, at least until 2024 at the earliest?

Trixxy, UK

MP: Chip Ganassi Racing has a fifth entry for Jimmie to use unless he opts against it, and from what I’m told, no conversations have been held so far about Jimmie being unable to race in whatever he wants for the Indy 500. I’d like to think the rules for mandatory manufacturer alignment (say, Chevy-powered Hendrick driver Kyle Larson needing to find a Chevy-powered Indy seat) would be different than for a seven-timer like Johnson who just made his Indy 500 debut in a CGR Honda, who has the clout to call his own shot.

For those who recall, Kurt Busch’s Indy 500 debut in 2014 with the Honda-powered Andretti Autosport team took place while he was a full-time Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet driver in Cup, so brand alignment is great, but not necessarily a must in every case.

If it isn’t the Indy 500 or some other oval that Jimmie can’t live without, I don’t think we’ll see him back in the series.

Too early to say whether Jimmie Johnson has walked through the IndyCar exit door for good, but it's safe to assume he now has bigger priorities. Motorsport Images

Q: I have two questions and one comment regarding current IndyCar racing.

When watching pit stops, I notice that the front tire changer sometimes appears to turn a lever or knob at the top of the front wheel fairing. Is this my imagination or is there an adjustment knob there? If so, what does the adjustment do?

Are the racing flags tethered to the starter’s arm in the flag stand? I never see any sign of a tether or strap, but I can’t imagine racing would risk dropping the flag during a start or restart leading to impeding the vision of a driver or ingestion into an intake.

I agree with those who say that the qualifying clock should stop during red-flag periods during IndyCar qualifying. Each of the qualifying sessions aren’t that long, and drivers should get the full allotment of time to make their best run. I don’t see where it would significantly impact timing for TV coverage, but I’d rather see the fastest drivers up front instead of it being a matter of luck and whether they got their best run in prior to a red flag stoppage. Just one fan’s opinion.

Brad, Powder Springs, GA

MP: Thanks for sending this in Brad. You don’t need to visit your optometrist. On road and street courses, you’re seeing the left- and right-front tire changers twist threaded rods which have attachments to the uppermost wing elements. Twist those clockwise and it will raise the upper elements and increase downforce. Twist in the opposite direction and downforce is reduced. On superspeedways, it’s a different deal where there’s a single adjuster in the middle of the nose which raises or lowers the entire main wing element.

Drivers are always search for the perfect chassis balance to suit their driving style, and during a race, there are two external adjustments their teams can make to help. The first is with front wing angle adjustments; if the driver feels the balance of the car is too much to the rear, adding some front wing angle/downforce will place more weight on the front tires and offer better balance. And if that driver feels there’s too much weight at the front of the car, that can be alleviated by reducing front wing angle/downforce and shifting it to the rear. The second team-based adjustment that can be made is with tire pressures, where slightly adding or reducing the inflation of the front or rear tires has the same effect of moving the balance forwards or backwards.

On flags, I haven’t seen tethers in place. Seems like one of those things that would be done if there was a practical reason for it like dropping the flags on a regular basis, but since we don’t see that happening, there’s no need.

Q: After being an open-wheel fan for decades and attending all of the Long Beach F1 races, as well as the F1 race at Indy, I think my run is over. I was very close to going to Miami but the cost of tickets and lodging was prohibitive. The Vegas release this past week was, well, a joke. Mind you $500 for three days I could live with, but with no seat?

Liberty has done one heck of a job with the series, however the lure of the almighty buck has turned off many real fans. Hopefully IndyCar (which has always been priced reasonably) is able to get a new chassis and engine supplier and grow even more.

Peter Carey, San Bruno, CA

MP: I understand where you’re coming from, Peter. Like you, I could not afford to attend Miami, COTA, or Las Vegas as a fan. Factor in the ticket prices, flight, hotel, rental car, and whatever else to spectate at a domestic F1 race for three days, and I’d need to take out a 10-year loan to pay for it all.

Q: I hear much groaning about IndyCar having two road course races at IMS every year. I always attend one or the other but could be persuaded to attend both. I think what would be unique, garner much press and make it worthy of two events is to run the track in opposite direction for one of the races. We also know if there is a venue on the schedule where the pits are OK in either direction, it is IMS.

The series has just kept improving, the level of talent is at what I believe is an all-time high regardless of its past forms. FWIW I'm willing to sign a waiver to attend both road course events and the 500 and take full blame if it just turns out to be a dud. This with the caveat that if it is a success and the word in the paddock is "why didn't we do this sooner?" the CCW race bears my name. Yes and the CCW race must be 80 laps.

JamBo

MP: Adding an Indy road course race to the May calendar back in 2014 made sense because it was an extremely low-cost event filler to replace the Brazilian GP which fell off the schedule after 2013. With Brazil serving as the pre-Indy 500 event, the timing of swapping the Sao Paulo street course for the Indy road course ticked every box: No pain-in-the-ass logistics and shipping right before the 500, plus no long travel for the crews, which allowed everyone more time in the shop to prepare for the 500.

Adding a second Indy RC race was done as a COVID-inspired event filler, and since the schedule has returned to normal, I hope the unloved Indy GP II disappears as quickly as possible. If there’s a bare minimum of fan enthusiasm for the May race, the second one is DOA. Bless your heart for being willing to sign up for both.

Q: You all do a great job with the Mailbag! It's nice to be able to keep up with IndyCar during the off-season. Have you heard anything concerning the 2023 plans for Stefan Wilson and Cusick Motorsports? I read, I believe on Twitter, that they are certain to be in next year’s Indy 500, and they might possibly go full-time. It sounds as if they have the funding. Could they possibly partner with Juncos Hollinger Racing or A.J. Foyt Racing?

I do hope that something materializes for them, at least for the 500. I'm a big fan of Stefan. He would be a nice addition to the series full-time. Don Cusick seems to be very passionate about getting involved in IndyCar, and I read he has ties to The Thermal Club, where IndyCar will have Spring Training in February. Any information would be appreciated!

Billy Josephson, Panama City Beach, FL

MP: Well, that’s kind of you to say, Billy. I rarely file the Mailbag feeling like I’ve done a great job, so I’ll take your word on it. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be charging my video camera and microphones and packing them for a day trip to Palm Springs next week to visit the Thermal track and cover Cusick’s Indy 500 announcement.

Don Cusick is a throwback; loves IndyCar and is willing to put his own money behind his involvement. There was a goal to buy a car and do a part-time program outside of the 500, but I haven’t heard about that happening for 2023. If all goes well during my day trip, we’ll have some in-car footage and narration of the track configuration IndyCar will use for Spring Training.

Wilson and Cusick are aiming to be back in the game next May. Motorsport Images

Q: Let's assume I'm in a dream and thinking anything is possible. On December 1, IndyCar announces that for the 2023 Indy 500 you can run any powerplant that you could get into the current chassis. Is there anything out there that might be technically feasible, somewhat affordable and relative easy to adapt? What would you do if I gave you a blank check and five months to get after it? Would it really be that challenging?

Now I'll wake up and go about my day.

Rick Navratil, Glendale, AZ

MP: Lots of great possibilities out there, Rick, but there’s one unique thing to consider. With IndyCar’s current V6 formula, the car is designed and engineered around a rather tiny motor that’s shorter from front to back than anything readily found in the CART, Champ Car, or IRL days.

My first thought was to ring Cosworth and get a 800-1000hp 2.65L single-turbo V8 motor, but it wouldn’t be affordable or easy to adapt because it would make the back of the car -- starting at the rear bulkhead -- longer. That means a new floor would be required that’s longer, plus, a decent amount of packaging work to fit the turbo behind the motor in the bellhousing would be a must. Honda did that with its single turbo from 2012-13 in the DW12, but it’s not a plug-and-play solution here. The height of your average CART turbo V8 would also necessitate a new engine cover and modifications to the sidepods.

So, the only small-size/big-power solution I can think of would be a turbo four-cylinder Offy, and if you don’t mind it needing to make 72 pit stops for fuel, and you can keep it from ventilating itself for 500 miles, there’s four-digit power that might drop right into a DW12.

Q: Scott McLaughlin recently flew to Australia to attend the Gold Coast 500 at the Surfers Paradise street circuit. His former rival and fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen won both races and proceeded to do a burnout in front of McLaughlin.

With the dominance of SVG in Supercars, their fans and some in the Supercars circle have been lamenting the loss of Scott McLaughlin to IndyCar. They are saying the dominance of SVG is attributed to the move of McLaughlin to IndyCar and the retirement of Jamie Whincup.

With McLaughlin having signed a multi-year extension this fall with Penske's IndyCar outfit, a return to Supercars anytime soon is unlikely. So I was thinking of an interesting prospect, one which McLaughlin himself as spoken of: SVG in IndyCars. McLaughlin has stated he would like to see his former rival SVG in IndyCar. At 6'2" some have said SVG is too tall for IndyCar, but I will remind the naysayers that the late Justin Wilson was even taller at 6'4".

I think it would be an interesting storyline if an IndyCar team gave SVG a test with the possibility of racing in the series full-time. Fanciful thinking?

Ken, Thunder Bay, ON

MP: Yes, we discussed this a few weeks back in the Mailbag. It’s not Shane’s height but his width at the shoulders that makes his fit a question until he gives it a try. I’d love to hear about an IndyCar team giving Shane a run, right after I hear about a team giving 2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist a test and race seat.

Q: With all this talk recently about being disappointed with Penske Entertainment's lack of plans, inspiration, investment, imagination, etc. (which I share), maybe we should play "if I were IndyCar dictator for a day." Here's what's at the top of my to-do list:

1. Not only bring in a new (and lighter) chassis, but develop a plan for regularly scheduled upgrades/updates/eventual replacement. We have to stop doing this "we'll only bring in a new car when everyone is making fun of us for being a vintage series."

2. No more relying on "we're the most competitive series in the world" as our marketing campaign. Cup is gimmicky and F1 is a snooze, but they find ways to get people (and new people) to watch. Stop resting on our laurels and start getting creative.

3. A 180-day(ish) offseason is painful. I get the not going up against NFL, but at least start earlier. IndyCar has the longest offseason of any major racing series that comes to mind and is only beat by the NFL in terms of major stick and ball sports.

4. The criteria for selecting season-ending venue should be at least one of the following:

a) Tons of fans

b) Highly entertaining track

c) Within 20 minutes of a major city

If and when this plan fails, I shed all responsibility like any good dictator would. In all seriousness it's frustrating and embarrassing to watch IMSA, WEC, F1, Cup and a whole slew of other series look like they're going somewhere. They feel modern, alive, and invigorated. IndyCar feels like its peaking in college. I just wish the most competitive field in recent memory that's full of absolute legends was accompanied by all the things other series have that IndyCar lacks.

Michael, Halifax, Canada

MP: Hard to argue with anything you’ve said, Michael. IndyCar feels like it’s bolting the doors shut, burying its money in the backyard, and preparing for doomsday. And all the while, their neighbors at IMSA, NASCAR, and long-distance relatives in F1 are wondering why this vibrant series is afraid to go outside and live in the sunlight.

Q: I really appreciated the question from Jim in last week’s Mailbag. Does Roger Penske read these RACER Mailbag Q&As? How about his staff? As much as I loved having Roger saving Indy and all the work he has done, Jim’s point about the lack of a long-term plan for improving the series and its drivers goes unanswered by IndyCar. Is it possible to get a response from them directly?

Greg, Oconomowoc, WI

MP: Hard to say how many read it, but yes, I do get grumpy messages from time to time when I share critical views. It is possible to get a direct response, but on what? There’s no long-term plan to speak about.

I'm running out of way to illustrate "IndyCar should be doing xxxxx" letters. So instead, here's David Malukas mlking a cow. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

Q: In light of IndyCar’s most recent marketing embarrassment with the Indy Lights rebrand to Indy NXT (shouldn’t it be ALL CAPS?), could you please rank the series’ worst marketing ploys over the years?

King Hiro #IAmIndy

MP: We lost Indy Lights, replaced by INDY NXT…but I refuse to go ALL CAPS with INDY just as I refuse to do so with INDYCAR. It’s almost as dumb as taking the NXT name from the WWE.

The number of texts I had from people in the paddock, including former Indy Lights champions, with messages along the lines of "NXT…WTF?", made it clear I wasn’t the only one to think they pooped in the punch bowl on this one. It’s also just painfully tone deaf.

Slash the advancement drive to a shell of its former self, watch as your first new Indy Lights champion flails in the breeze, but spend the time and money that could have been put towards getting him into IndyCar on a splashy new name that does nothing other than slap a different label on the same product. Maybe I’m seeing the thing the wrong way, but with how my mind works, I lean towards placing "get your act in gear" way above ‘let’s do a name change’ while your house is in disarray.

Q: Just wondering why the decision was made to drop the series formerly known as Indy Lights from Toronto for the last two years? As excited as I was to have racing back, the weekend schedule seemed a bit light and could have had room for a Lights race especially with the NASCAR race on the Friday evening. Also, with Green Savoree as the promoter, it seemed very bare around the track last year. I understand they had to recoup after missing two years, but is that the standard at their other events? Other than a fire truck and two Caribbean dancers and some food trucks, there was zero for any casual or first-time fans to do other than the on-track action.

Greg, Barrie, Ontario

MP: As I understand, Greg, it’s part of trimming operating costs for the teams and focusing on the home market where most teams and sponsors are primarily represented. It’s too bad. Great town, great event, and if it weren’t for being part of an Indy Lights crew, it would have taken me a lot longer to pay my first visit to the Molson Indy Toronto back in the early 1990s.

Q: Less of question, more of a comment. Really impressed with James Hinchcliffe’s commentary on the F1TV Mexican GP coverage. Insightful, knowledgeable without being overbearing. Hopefully he gets additional opportunities.

Damion

CHRIS MEDLAND: I spoke to Hinch in Mexico and he was loving being part of it. I think he'll be back for Abu Dhabi and hopefully more races in the future too -- he's got a great way of engaging with fans and drivers that I think makes him perfect for the role, and by his own admission he's only just getting used to the F1 paddock and making contacts so he'll keep getting better the more he's involved.

Q: Hey Medland (or is it Medders, as Baretto and Saunders are likely to style it?)

A Mailbag writer last week said something about David Croft and Martin Brundle being somehow "out of touch" or some such nonsense in their F1 broadcast. I just wanted to put in a good word for both of them, as I find them two of the best sports announcers in the business. As a relatively new American convert to F1, it was not "Drive to Survive" that did it for me, it was Crofty and Brundle's announcing on F1 TV. Their use of language is fantastic, they have a vocabulary to put any American broadcaster to shame, and one of the highlights of every weekend is hearing Brundle narrate a lap as the camera stays on one car, and Brundle describes what the driver's thinking, looking for, and so on. He does it so damn well -- they both do. Crofty's lap one delivery always gets my heart racing. I love them both, and they both have made huge contributions to my understanding of and passion for the sport.

No questions, just some love for two of the greats.

Brian Gabriel

CM: Firstly, thanks for being a Pad-Hoc listener Brian! I knew there was another one out there somewhere... Anyway, I hope it didn't come across as criticism of both of them as broadcasters last week -- they do a really good job and have anchored Sky's coverage ever since it got rights in the UK -- but I just felt like there's a better setup for the U.S. market while also allowing them to be fully themselves for the UK audience they're primarily employed for. I imagine you're not alone in being hooked through them though so I'm glad you wrote in as it shows both sides of the coin and why there's never a simple solution.

Crofty is a brilliant live commentator, especially when he's fully immersed in the action, and Brundle is a class above when it comes to analysis, but I'll ask a question in response to put my point from last week another way: Do you think they would be even better if they solely did commentary for ESPN and nobody else? I'd wager that you'd be showing them just as much love and they'd connect with other American fans better, too.

Q: With everyone running Ilmor engines in the NASCAR Truck Series; what then differentiates Ford, Chevy and Toyota? What role do the manufacturers take?

Bernardo; Canyon Lake, TX

KELLY CRANDALL: It’s in the hands of the manufacturer with regard to how they want to differentiate themselves and the role they take. Some invest more resources into their teams than others when it comes to simulation time, available data and tools, driver development, and of course, money. For them, being competitive in the series is important and having a driver pipeline to their other series is important. Physically with the trucks, the OEMs were given more leeway coming into the year to redesign the nose and rear of their trucks to give them better shape lines that are closer to their production vehicles. Something like that is very important to the OEMs, and you hear it mentioned every time a race car or truck gets a new model.

Q: What advantages do the Championship 4 contenders get at Phoenix? Every year the four contenders are the class of the field. The probability of that happening naturally is unrealistic. I mean, it makes sense to me to stack the deck in their favor either via tires or a few extra HP, but they should at least be transparent about it.

Ryan in West Michigan

KC: The, shall we say, "politically correct" answer is that the four championship drivers are the best drivers of the season and, therefore, naturally, stand above the field in the last race of the season. However, optically it is very obvious whom the four championship drivers are every year compared to the rest of the field because they very much separate themselves from the rest of the field.

Sunday at Phoenix, the gap seemed a little smaller as Elliott, Bell, and Chastain fought through the field much of the day. But for the most part, yes, the four championship drivers are always up front. Good luck proving that something nefarious is going on to make it that way, though.

Q: Now that the off-season is upon us, I have a question for Marshall, Chris and Kelly: If you could go back in time to attend a race at a track that no longer exists and that you have not experienced in person, what track would each of you visit with your time machine? Mine would be Trenton and Meadowdale Raceway outside of Chicago.

Greg in Chicago

MP: The wickedly fast and flowing Bridgehampton road course in Long Island is one that disappeared before my time. Having read about the amazing Can-Am and Trans Am races there back in the day, it looked like it had everything I love about driving and racing. And thanks to sim racing, we can watch Lewis Hamilton lap Bridgehampton in last year’s Mercedes F1 car!

CM: Greg, I love Chicago so any excuse to head there would count for me, but I'll keep it F1-specific. Although I'll cheat and say two (you did after all!): One is Adelaide, because I love Melbourne immensely but people still seem to speak so fondly of Adelaide and there were some epic title deciders there. The other would be Reims-Gueux, because I've been to the old grandstand and pit complex that still sits alongside the public road and it's incredible, you can just imagine being part of it in the early days of F1. Plus from Bruce McLaren's book it sounded amazing to race there and then head to little bars in the villages the track linked together for celebrations afterwards!

KC: There are plenty of NASCAR tracks that fans long for, and many of them are before my time, so when I say a place like Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, it might get looked as crazy. But I’ve heard a lot about Nazareth. I think Flemington Speedway in my home state once hosted NASCAR Truck Series races, so that would have been cool to see. And honestly, Walt Disney World Speedway, even though there isn’t a NASCAR connection -- I was always fascinated by that place. On a vacation once, I stopped and snapped a quick picture through the fence a few years before it was torn down, and it was fun to try to imagine race cars there.

Nearly 30 years on, it's still missed. Motorsport Images

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, November 13, 2013

Q: You confuse the heck outta me sometimes. It seems like almost every week a fan writes in to the Mailbag asking for more innovation, speed, new aero kits, and new engine manufacturers. Yet, you keep saying "I don’t think these changes would make a difference in TV audience figures." Well, I completely disagree. IndyCar needs to be listening and embracing what the fans are wanting to see in their sport.

I know, I know, "listen to the fans and you’ll end up being one," right? Sorry, but in this case, I think it’s time the IMS board listens to the fans instead of a marketing firm who suggests a road course at the beginning of May! We desperately need innovation. I love when the Chipster got Ben Bowlby to design the DeltaWing. And kudos to Ben -- he was innovative, but he forgot the car needed to be open-wheeled car in an open-wheel racing series? Whoops!

As for speed, I saw Sneva hit 200mph and it was a big deal. That was 36 years ago. As a kid, I thought for sure I’d see the 250mph mark by the time I was an old man. Well, I’m 48, and the best we can do is a 237 in 1996? Why are we going backwards? Pitiful!

Here’s the deal. We need a game-changer, quickly. Speed, innovation and technology are cool! It’s what IndyCar should be about 365 days a year! Heck, I’m more excited about the FIA Formula E developments going on, and that makes me mad! I want IndyCar to be at the forefront in racing! Why aren’t we the premier series? I’ve watched more F1 races this year… and I don’t like road/street courses. But those cars are badass, and they’re fun to watch.

So what do you really think will move the needle? The only thing I’ve seen you write about is to open up the rulebook.

Mike Mammoser

ROBIN MILLER: People can’t tell the difference between 200 and 220 at the track, let alone on television, and I’m just trying to look at this as a non-fan. What would make me drive to a track? The speed might, followed by different cars, but I want to watch passing and hard driving and IndyCar has that, but it doesn’t make any difference.

People keep assuming track records and six different kinds of cars will suddenly have people flocking to races or their TV sets, and I’m saying the only people who seem to care about these things are already watching IndyCar. Sure, if the rules opened up and you had Ford, Audi and Dodge coming to town, it would generate more marketing and more interest. And if the Indy 500 purse paid $1 million to start and $10 million to win, maybe McLaren or Red Bull would build a car. I loved the old days and I stooged for the last roadster to make the show with my hero Herk, but those days are gone. Nobody wants to build a car unless they’re guaranteed there won’t be any competition. It’s sad and it sucks but I’m afraid that’s the reality. At least for now.