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Vukie 8/5/09 7:11 PM

From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
Q: Would it make to much sense for a IndyCar owner to look at someone like Bobby Santos III to put in a Indy car? He's been on a tear in USAC and what is IndyCars problem with New Hampshire not getting a race for the second year in a row?
John form Kensington New Hampshire

RM: The sad truth is not one IndyCar owner has any idea who Santos is and his only shot at running the Indy 500 is to bring money. He's an excellent pavement racer and the only guy hotter lately has been Bryan Clauson, a 20-year-old Hoosier with more talent than opportunity.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...g-for-8-5//P3/

IndyBound 8/5/09 10:04 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
Vukie, Bobby Santos is one of the greatest talents I have ever seen race on pavement. An the tear Bobby has been on should continue at Oswego, Bobby, Davey Hamilton and Chet Fillip are the three drivers I expect to be at Oswego that have run the track before. I feel Bobby deserves a chance at Indy, will he ever get it is the question that remains to answered.

Patti

wbr 8/5/09 10:18 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
Vukie,
Robin is exactly right for the most part. I know for a fact that there are several indy teams looking at american open wheel drivers once again. Open wheel needs TV time more than anything to develop a fan base for the drivers. That is one of the only ways our guys will be able to run indy without a suitcase full of money in hand.
Team WBR is an hour out of Oswego- see you at the track!


:32:

DIRT-TRACK-JUNKIE 8/5/09 11:02 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
Someone needs tp give Bobby a chance I've seen him run 3 times this year and looked awesome each time. All he needs is the right break. Keep trying and don't give up Bobby :6:

dirtywhiteboy 8/6/09 5:52 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
It will never happen as long as the IRL continues to turn it's back on oval racing and the American fanbase by going to places like Brazil and China. China is rumored to be building a copy of the IMS and having a race there.

Now if that doesn't get people PO'd nothing will.

mac miller 8/6/09 7:48 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
usac killed any chances for their short track drivers to "move up" when they, some how, pissed away the "Thursday Night Thunder" TV shows........ usac made it even more difficult for their drivers to be taken seriously, when they put them in the new supersilvercrown cartoon cars.......Now there is talk of usac eliminating pavement sprint car racing from the schedule which will put the final "kabosh" on any usac drivers hopes of making it to pro level racing.

usac no longer understands or remembers that the top pro open wheel drivers were made on the pavement of Raceway Park and the high bank asphalt of Winchester, Salem and Dayton, not the little quarter mile dirt mudholes at paragon, putmanville, gas city or "the burg"............ Sorry, but as hard as I look, I see no little Parnelli, Mario or A.J. embryos, currently racing, who have any chance of making it out of the state of Indiana.......

usac would be far smarter to get rid of the dirt tracks if they want their drivers to have a chance to actually learn something that would be useful to them in a pro level series.

Seadog 8/6/09 8:06 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
All valid points, but we've heard this song a million times, and nothing will change.:29:

Jim Halpert 8/6/09 8:18 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by Seadog:
All valid points, but we've heard this song a million times, and nothing will change.:29:

This is the best point of all...but let them keep complaining or they won't be happy.:15:

openwheelKT 8/6/09 8:44 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
USAC’s #1 job is not to be a training ground for a “pro” level. Their number #1 job is to do what is best for USAC. That means putting on the best racing they can to benefit USAC which in turn benefits the fans that come out. They are not to worry about helping to promote a driver to another series. If someone does move up racing with them, then that is great. Makes the series look good. However, they have to worry about their racing first and not worry about anything else. So “dropping dirt” doesn’t make any sense. That’s what is profitable and where the car count is now….and what the fans overall of USAC love the most.

I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again. The ONLY way a young open wheel driver gets into the IRL without a bunch of money is to get into Indy Lights first. NO team is going to hire a 20 year open wheel driver straight in….even if it was ALL ovals. Just not going to happen in these times. Even though most of them are better than the “foreign back markers who bring money” (no doubt there are too many of those), it’s still not going to happen. Lucas Wolfe has an Indy Lights deal for next year. We’ll see what he can do with it….

There is such a catch 22 right now. You need better TV ratings to get sponsors (meaning the team getting the sponsors and then hiring the driver they want). To get better TV ratings you need more American drivers that people can identity with. Those drivers aren’t hired because teams need drivers to bring sponsor money. American open wheel drivers don’t have sponsor money so they aren’t hired.

You can’t argue with who Penske and Ganassi have in their seats. It would be great to see Clausen in a Ganassi Indy Car, but he’s not better than the two in the seats right now. Two champions and two Indy 500 winners. I have no doubt Bryan would be good, but those two are as good as it gets, foreign or not. I also have little doubt open wheelers could be great road racers given time which is what it takes for a full time ride now. Unser Jr. was one of the best road racers of his era.

I think with Nascar not having many open seats anymore it can only help open wheel drivers move up in open wheel (not saying it will happen, but it can’t hurt). They are not all scooped up right away so maybe something can happen. I think the key is to get into Indy Lights and then hook up with a lower funded team and hope to impress. Hornish, Jr. worked at it and was able to do that. I would have been a shame for him not to have been in the IRL, champion and Indy 500 winner. There was an article in Speed Sport recently on Santos. He said basically everybody wants money to move up….Nascar too. Just sad….

They are missing on a lot of good drivers and it’s a shame. There is a way there, but it’s a hard and expensive road right now. Rick Mears would never be an Indy Car driver today…would have never gotten the chance. That would have been very sad….. Many others would have fit that category as well.

HEMITOM 8/6/09 9:08 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
It's a shame that racing is all about the $ & not so much about the talent. It's not who has talent, it's who has $ & talent.

---------- Post added at 09:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 AM ----------

Originally Posted by openwheelKT:
USAC’s #1 job is not to be a training ground for a “pro” level. Their number #1 job is to do what is best for USAC. That means putting on the best racing they can to benefit USAC which in turn benefits the fans that come out. They are not to worry about helping to promote a driver to another series. If someone does move up racing with them, then that is great. Makes the series look good. However, they have to worry about their racing first and not worry about anything else. So “dropping dirt” doesn’t make any sense. That’s what is profitable and where the car count is now….and what the fans overall of USAC love the most.

I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again. The ONLY way a young open wheel driver gets into the IRL without a bunch of money is to get into Indy Lights first. NO team is going to hire a 20 year open wheel driver straight in….even if it was ALL ovals. Just not going to happen in these times. Even though most of them are better than the “foreign back markers who bring money” (no doubt there are too many of those), it’s still not going to happen. Lucas Wolfe has an Indy Lights deal for next year. We’ll see what he can do with it….

There is such a catch 22 right now. You need better TV ratings to get sponsors (meaning the team getting the sponsors and then hiring the driver they want). To get better TV ratings you need more American drivers that people can identity with. Those drivers aren’t hired because teams need drivers to bring sponsor money. American open wheel drivers don’t have sponsor money so they aren’t hired.

You can’t argue with who Penske and Ganassi have in their seats. It would be great to see Clausen in a Ganassi Indy Car, but he’s not better than the two in the seats right now. Two champions and two Indy 500 winners. I have no doubt Bryan would be good, but those two are as good as it gets, foreign or not. I also have little doubt open wheelers could be great road racers given time which is what it takes for a full time ride now. Unser Jr. was one of the best road racers of his era.

I think with Nascar not having many open seats anymore it can only help open wheel drivers move up in open wheel (not saying it will happen, but it can’t hurt). They are not all scooped up right away so maybe something can happen. I think the key is to get into Indy Lights and then hook up with a lower funded team and hope to impress. Hornish, Jr. worked at it and was able to do that. I would have been a shame for him not to have been in the IRL, champion and Indy 500 winner. There was an article in Speed Sport recently on Santos. He said basically everybody wants money to move up….Nascar too. Just sad….

They are missing on a lot of good drivers and it’s a shame. There is a way there, but it’s a hard and expensive road right now. Rick Mears would never be an Indy Car driver today…would have never gotten the chance. That would have been very sad….. Many others would have fit that category as well.

Maybe USAC's idea of what iis best for USAC is not complete! What if doing what's best for USAC is putting on the best show they can & helping to promote drivers. That might be incentive to race in USAC! Which in the long run, would be good for USAC & a chance for the fans to see drivers as they are making there way up.

mac miller 8/6/09 10:39 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by openwheelKT:
I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again. The ONLY way a young open wheel driver gets into the IRL without a bunch of money is to get into Indy Lights first. NO team is going to hire a 20 year open wheel driver straight in….even if it was ALL ovals. Just not going to happen in these times.


HA! Somehow I just don't see these current "star" dirt track midget drivers and their daddies giving up their chance to see their names in the Speed Sport News every week or their $50 prize winnings to start over and spend 2 or 3 years in SCCA Formula Fords, learning what they need to know about driving formula cars.;)

wbr 8/6/09 10:47 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by mac miller:
usac killed any chances for their short track drivers to "move up" when they, some how, pissed away the "Thursday Night Thunder" TV shows........ usac made it even more difficult for their drivers to be taken seriously, when they put them in the new supersilvercrown cartoon cars.......Now there is talk of usac eliminating pavement sprint car racing from the schedule which will put the final "kabosh" on any usac drivers hopes of making it to pro level racing.

usac no longer understands or remembers that the top pro open wheel drivers were made on the pavement of Raceway Park and the high bank asphalt of Winchester, Salem and Dayton, not the little quarter mile dirt mudholes at paragon, putmanville, gas city or "the burg"............ Sorry, but as hard as I look, I see no little Parnelli, Mario or A.J. embryos, currently racing, who have any chance of making it out of the state of Indiana.......

usac would be far smarter to get rid of the dirt tracks if they want their drivers to have a chance to actually learn something that would be useful to them in a pro level series.

Mac is right.
Another myth thrown around here much of the time is the drivers need dirt experience. The two teams we know in Indycar say that dirt racing teaches drivers bad habits and to avoid it if you want to drive high downforce cars on pavement. Driving karts succesfully on road courses is much more important for the driver looking to indy than any dirt car experience.:31:

LEADERS EDGE 8/6/09 11:15 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by wbr:
Mac is right.
Another myth thrown around here much of the time is the drivers need dirt experience. The two teams we know in Indycar say that dirt racing teaches drivers bad habits and to avoid it if you want to drive high downforce cars on pavement. Driving karts succesfully on road courses is much more important for the driver looking to indy than any dirt car experience.:31:

I would agre with that to a point, but the two most dominate NASCAR Road Racers of the past 10 years are two of the best USAC dirt talents ever. To quote a great movie "What we have here; is a failure to communicate".

Everybody wants to label everyone else. Everything has to be catagorized. This person is this and they only know that. Racers are racers and the best can drive anything. I believe that Montoya could wheel a midget as good as anyone; the same as I believe Jeff Gordon could have been a hell of a F1 driver. Mario for example was a spectacular dirt driver as well as road racer, the same as many of his contemporaries. The reason was is because they just raced. Anthing, everything, anywhere at anytime. Saying a dirt driver picks up too many bad habits is like saying a pavement driver can't "feel" the car because he isn't used to it being loose.

Bostonian 8/6/09 6:11 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
I would like to see what Bobby Santos could do in Danica's ride or Marco's ride. Will he ever get the chance? Not unless he or a family member wins the lottery for $100 mil :20:

sprntr 8/10/09 1:16 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by Bostonian:
I would like to see what Bobby Santos could do in Danica's ride or Marco's ride. Will he ever get the chance? Not unless he or a family member wins the lottery for $100 mil :20:

Probably do more than Marco!:11;

Sadly, he will never get the chance.

illiNOISE 8/10/09 8:58 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by dirtywhiteboy:
It will never happen as long as the IRL continues to turn it's back on oval racing and the American fanbase by going to places like Brazil and China. China is rumored to be building a copy of the IMS and having a race there.

Now if that doesn't get people PO'd nothing will.

At this point, I'll take another Indy Series oval race ANYWHERE. This may sound "un-American" to some, but I would trade any of the "street course" races for an oval race in China in a heartbeat. And from a business perspective, well, there's a billion reasons (population) to go to China.

I mean, we all hate that the Millwaukee Mile is off the schedule, and Brazil is on it for next year. But last I checked, that Tony Kanaan comercial for Apex Brazil airs like three or four times during every Indy Series broadcast, and I'm pretty sure I don't recall seeing too many commercials for Wisconsin Tourism on the coverage.

bigmojo5 8/10/09 9:01 AM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
HEre we go again. Blaming USAC for pissing away the Thunder and Lightning Broadcasts.

Those died when ESPN signed a major long-term contract with Major League Baseball and didn't need racing any more the fill its time slots. End of story.

How much racing of any kind does ESPN broadcast today?

Jim Morrison

buck2 8/10/09 1:24 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by mac miller:
usac killed any chances for their short track drivers to "move up" when they, some how, pissed away the "Thursday Night Thunder" TV shows........ usac made it even more difficult for their drivers to be taken seriously, when they put them in the new supersilvercrown cartoon cars.......Now there is talk of usac eliminating pavement sprint car racing from the schedule which will put the final "kabosh" on any usac drivers hopes of making it to pro level racing.

usac no longer understands or remembers that the top pro open wheel drivers were made on the pavement of Raceway Park and the high bank asphalt of Winchester, Salem and Dayton, not the little quarter mile dirt mudholes at paragon, putmanville, gas city or "the burg"............ Sorry, but as hard as I look, I see no little Parnelli, Mario or A.J. embryos, currently racing, who have any chance of making it out of the state of Indiana.......

usac would be far smarter to get rid of the dirt tracks if they want their drivers to have a chance to actually learn something that would be useful to them in a pro level series.

USAC banning rear engine midgets and sprint cars was the beginning of the end for short track drivers...and this happened in the 60's. This problem didn't happen over the last few years, it's been building for a long time.

Vukie 8/10/09 3:03 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by bigmojo5:
HEre we go again. Blaming USAC for pissing away the Thunder and Lightning Broadcasts.

Those died when ESPN signed a major long-term contract with Major League Baseball and didn't need racing any more the fill its time slots. End of story.

How much racing of any kind does ESPN broadcast today?

Jim Morrison

Thank you but it fall on deaf ears. In 1992 the late Larry Nuber was staying at a friends house during Copper World weekend and he was telling us how ESPN was cutting back on the USAC coverage because of money. Larry mention that boxing was cheaper to put on the tube than the races and it was getting equal ratings.

Seadog 8/10/09 3:08 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
I know that somebody that posts here has a pic of a man beating a dead horse. If you would...

Vukie 8/10/09 3:16 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by buck2:
USAC banning rear engine midgets and sprint cars was the beginning of the end for short track drivers...and this happened in the 60's. This problem didn't happen over the last few years, it's been building for a long time.

In was in the 1970's not the 60"s.

The late Jim Shampine's RE Supermodified was outlawed from the Oswego Speedway before the 1980 season. I think that CRA did the same to the RE sprint cars in the late 70's. Wally Pankratz drove one rear engine sprinter that I can remember. USAC wasn't the only one to get rid of rear engine cars on the short tracks, let's keep the record straight.

http://web.a-znet.com/~dave1w/shampine.htm

http://www.retrorockets.org/feature_...jshampine5.htm

ThrottleHead 8/10/09 4:43 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 

Originally Posted by Seadog:
I know that somebody that posts here has a pic of a man beating a dead horse. If you would...

http://www.talk2drivers.com/beating-a-dead-horse.gif

racephoto1 8/10/09 11:58 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
Mr. Wilson is correct. The people I know in the IRL say the same thing to me. The MOST important thing is money though. Can anyone say Milka Duno. Talent is one thing but cash is king.

Remember how excited we were when Kinser, Tyler, Hewitt , got in the IRL. Great regional series, but outside the midwest, who cared. Now with CART, I mean the IRL, foreign drivers bring cash, and international interest, and more money. Get used to it folks it ain't gonna change. The good times are really over for good.

sprntr 8/11/09 8:45 PM

Re: From Robin Miller's Mailbag
 
I believe the downward spiral began when the Dirt races were dropped from the "Championship Trail". Once the owners (CART) were in charge, the die was cast. That happened LONG BEFORE the IRL/CART split.


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