~Robin Miller
Q: Attending the Long Beach event this weekend was an incredible experience. I went a few years ago, but the Saturday and Sunday crowd this year was unbelievable! It wasn’t just filled with party goers looking for a place to gather, there were real race fans out there. I met so many people from different walks of life that knew INDYCAR, the drivers and the happenings of the sport. It was like hanging out with your mail baggers. I watched the race from the stands near the start finish line; the cars looked and sounded great. The ALMS cars looked damn fast but the INDYCARS didn’t look much faster. That being said, INDYCAR needs to up the power and put a wow factor into the series. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised and see the series headed in a very positive direction.
TJ Spitzmiller, Rio Rancho, NM
RM: That was the No. 1 comment I heard from people over the weekend: they loved the return of the turbos but missed the instant acceleration of the CART days and big horsepower. But your point is well taken: Southern California still has a lot of hardcore race fans.
Q: Well now, three races into the new season, and the new car/motors are making for some intriguing, compelling races! Enjoying all the on track action we're getting to see thanks to the great NBC Sports Network coverage, (or not see, thanks to ABC at St. Pete!), with these new cars being pretty stoutly built, there's a lot of "argy-bargy" (to borrow an Brit F1 term, thank you David Hobbs I think!), going on, or the "chrome horn" being applied (thanks to PT for that one!), and the drivers can continue racing on, with minimal damage to their cars! The side by side restarts have been great, especially yesterday at Long Beach! Like you said on SPEED, I've never seen that many passes on that track in years and years, if at all!!! Finally, I don't think I've ever heard a much more enthusiastic command to start engines than what was given by good ole Rufus Parnelli Jones yesterday! Now, THAT'S the way to give a command! The series ought to just bottle that command, and play it for each race start from now on!!
Tony Mezzacca, Madison, New Jersey
RM: I have attended all but one of the 38 races at Long Beach and I’ve never seen as much passing and heard as much crowd reaction as I did last Sunday. The fans loved the start and restarts and the drivers continue to do a good job of racing hard and predominantly smart. Of course Parnelli set the standard, like always.
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Q: After a great weekend of racing at the Beach here is my take on the new car. I wasn't as concerned about the looks because I've seen fugly race cars before, heck look at the Ferrari now. My issue was more performance and sound. As TK said you can't tell the difference between 215 and 225 at Indy and I would agree with that; but at Long Beach you sure can tell when a car doesn't explode out of a corner and that was my real disappointment. I just remember the good ole days seeing a 1000hp Indy car ripping through the streets and looking in the cockpit at a driver sawing at the wheel holding on for dear life. Also I think the weak hand clutch has taken out the excitement of these cars pulling out of their pit boxes. Not seeing them smoking the tires and getting sideways out of the box is a letdown. Also I heard Randy Bernard said that the hand clutch is the problem right now with having standing starts. Also I know the sound has improved from the previous Indy car but the current car is almost a little too quiet. I miss the sound of the popoff valves and the larger displacement. It seemed to me that the Indy cars were the quietest car on the track all weekend. Even though it was the best race I've seen at Long Beach in FOREVER, I don't think it was the new car that made that happen. I think the simple act of not closing the pits during yellows changed everything. When people complained that the races outcome were too predictable all they ever had to do was keep the pits open and this would have always happened. If the pits were closed under yellow and everyone would have been on the same pit sequence, Justin Wilson would have won the race by 15 seconds and everyone would have said: "new car same result.’’
Kyle, Chino
RM: Opening the pits certainly helped mix strategy and the flow of the race (the longest yellow was two laps) but Firestone’s tires received a lot of credit again from the drivers. I hate the fact the art of shifting has been removed from the equation and I think most real racers would agree.
Q: Any chance that Team Penske is using a left over Smokey Yunick fuel line in Power's car? That was a damn impressive drive.
Brian, Sauk Rapids, MN
RM: Maybe an extra fuel tank, not a line? No, there’s no place to hide one in these new cars and Willy Boy parlayed his speed and that extra bit of yellow from Scott Dixon’s stall to pull off another winner.
Q: I’ve been going to the Long Beach Grand prix since I was serving Champaign in the Ferrari club tent 30 years ago when I was 16. Yesterday was the most entertaining LBGP I can remember. Having the top 3 cars start 11-13 help to make it so I think. I have a question about the avoidable contact rule. I did not know Hunter-Ray was penalized until I saw Hinch the truck on the victory lap and have not seen anything to explain it. I guess Helio got one too but Dario can (again) punt his closest competitor into the tires on the first turn and drive away “Scot” free. I know in the past few years TGBB was passing out penalties like a dealer at Caesars but I don’t remember penalties like this from those great cart years back in the day. Can you shed some light?
CAM in LA
RM: Inverted starts or Australian Pursuit would always be a good way to spice up any race – especially on the streets. I didn’t get to see the last couple laps but when we interviewed Ryan for SPEED CENTER he seemed concerned about what had happened. Flew home with Newgarden and he said Dario asked him if there was any contact and, if so, he apologized. But I looked at that more as two drivers refusing to back off than anything intentional.
Q: Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me; I always thought Long Beach was a race with not much passing. Wow and wow and, ummm, wow. Awesome race.
Josef Newgarden may catch some guff for that first turn pass attempt on Dario, but I loved it. It didn't work out this time (it seemed like Dario couldn't hold his line?), but he'd have been a hero if Dario hadn't hit him. I think it actually bodes well for his future that he was willing to try it. Will Power should stick a big "S" on his chest and start wearing a red cape. Is there anything that guy can't do? On the bigger Honda vs. Chevy question, as much as I enjoyed that, is that a real disparity in powerplants or were the Chevy drivers just that good or lucky? I'd hate to think only Chevy-powered cars had a realistic shot at race wins. Went to the test at Sonoma; I have to say the cars look much better in person. Enjoyed it enough that I'll be taking the family to our first IndyCar race there this summer. Lastly, it seems like the grid run hasn't quite worked out so far. Don't stop, okay? It's a fun idea, and it'll come together eventually.
Alan
RM: It was a helluva race that had a little bit of everything but you had to be impressed with Newgarden -- on and off the track. He went for it at the start and ended up in the wall but he didn’t cry and moan or point fingers, he was refreshingly honest with his maybe I should have held back or maybe Dario could have cut me a little slack. Chevy and Honda are pretty close, it’s just appears GM has a little edge off the tight corners. Ovals may be a different story. Glad to hear you’re going to Sears Point.
Q: If the Tin Top Fans think racing at Bristol and Texas were boring races, then they should take a look at some open wheel races this year. INDYCAR & F1 have put on some great shows so far this year and both have had a ton of passing. The Indy Cars have shown that they are a tough car that can take some rubbing and bumping. Maybe Long Beach was a lesson in excitement, let's invert the whole starting field in all of the road & street races. I read Marshall Pruett's story on Paul Tracy, it's a shame that he wasn't able to put together a proper farewell tour this season. But, with the hopes that he can get more races in Grand Am cars and hopefully a fulltime ride in a DP car in that series, because those cars are as tough as PT. Good Luck Paul! Oh yeah, Pruett forgot to list in his story that PT is also a past Indy 500 winner. I was there and saw him beat Twinkle Toes at The Brickyard.
Tony Piergallini, Steubenville, Ohio
RM: I tried to watch Texas on Saturday night but it was a yawner, especially compared to Long Beach and China. However, NASCAR’s TV number dwarfed INDYCAR’s so there are obviously still a lot of people who need convincing. PT deserved a nice farewell, at least at Indy, but it doesn’t look promising. Just remember all the excitement he brought for 20 years.
Q: INDYCAR crowds looked excellent and curious how they compared to recent years? Really hoping ratings are up but all I can say is another awesome race, lots of passing, cars looked quick (except for Dario lol), and we are closer to Indy. Coverage was great and I really want to know if Randy has any buyout provisions with ABC? Does NBC have interest in having the full schedule and on the main network? I know they are signed up for years but give me a sign of hope in this area. Wanted to know if Townsend Bell will be @ Indy this year?
Mike Nicholas, Fishers, IN
RM: Barber had a big crowd (50,000-plus) and Long Beach looked about like it usually does on Saturday and Sunday and the paying customers have certainly got their money’s worth. There were nearly 500,000 for last Sunday’s TV rating, which almost doubled the Barber audience, but still a long way to go. ABC just re-upped, no buyout plan. TBell is likely driving for Sam Schmidt at Indy.
Q: Man, another great race! Had everything from a crazy crash (that's a bad one on Graham), great passing, lotta chrome horns, and great drama on the final laps, was really pulling for Simon to get Will at the end. Hopefully this week’s ratings are up from what they've been and if not then tell Randy not to worry with great races like this the viewers will come. You certainly can't catch a break on the Grid Run, finally plenty of time to make a good run and no drivers! I was laughing pretty hard about that. Gotta say Townsend Bell certainly has a great take and is a natural in front of the camera - NBCSN does an incredible job of coverage from beginning to end, love it. Been a great season so far and can't wait for the oval. Randy has done a helluva job. One thing I'd like to know is how did they figure out the finish? (With Rubens getting chrome horned and setting up a blockade at the hairpin).
Jake
RM: Townsend is a natural, very entertaining (ranting about only 500 HP at Texas and messing with Pagenaud’s accent) and a great addition. The Grid Run has been halted by God and blunted by timing but it will soldier on. Effectively, all those cars that got stuck were reverted to the previous lap because none of them crossed the start/finish line.
Q: Seeing the way Honda is getting their butt kicked by Chevy, do you think they may have underestimated how hard GM would fight by maybe not budgeting as much to development as they otherwise would have? I mean, GM is a company coming off of bankruptcy, Honda would have had very good reason to think it would only take X amount of money to beat the bowtie brigade instead of Y. Thoughts? Also, is it just me or does Josef Newgarden remind you of an American Greg Moore? Just fearless and carries himself with much more poise than the average 21 year-old. I have a feeling he will do something special this May.
Michael, Portland, OR
RM: No, Honda is very familiar with Ilmor’s prowess since they were partners but it appears the twin turbo is a bit better on road/street courses. It’s certainly not a big gap by any means and strategy beat Honda last Sunday. Newgarden is the complete package and it’s great to see Sarah Fisher’s team rewarded for hiring this kid.
Q: Chevy has won all three poles, the first three races, has had no less than 4 cars in all the FF6 sessions, and dominated the Top 10 in all the races thus far. This would lead people to believe that Chevy has the BETTER engine. I'm not convinced. Think about the top teams: Ganassi, Penske, Andretti and KVRT. These are the teams that compile the majority of the Top 10. But think about it, of these top teams, Chevy has three of them, and Honda has one. Let's think about this, in 2010, Ganassi and Penske cars duke it out for the win. In 2011, Ganassi and Penske cars duke it out for the win. Behind them, AA and KVRT typically are the teams that fight for those next spots. This has also been true for the past two years. As for other Honda teams, like Foyt, SSM, RRL, SFHR, these are single car teams that last year would typically run middle pack. This year, they have all exceeded expectation. ESPECIALLY SFHR, and Foyt. Perhaps the Honda engine is just as good AS the Chevy in road courses, but they don't have as many cars from the top teams to provide the results. As for the Lotus teams, DRR, HVM, Dragon, BHA, where would you expect them to be last year? Back of the pack or maybe mid-pack. This is exactly where they have been this year as well. Lotus could very well be a LOT closer to a well performing engine then we all think. But the teams they are with haven't ever really been the ones to set the world on fire. All the teams this year (with the exception of Foyt, SSM, and RRL, SFHR, all of which have Honda engines and are faster than in previous years) are EXACTLY where I would expect them to be. I'm not convinced that Chevys are dominant, and Lotuses are way behind because, if you look at the teams, they are all where you would expect.
Jesse Vincent
RM: To quote A.J. “this is quite true’’ and General Motors does have the edge in numbers with its trio of multi-car teams. Honda’s gotten a better turbo housing approved and that is creating a s%$! storm but Pagenaud, Sato and Newgarden are running strong. Lotus is way behind on straight-line power and money, according to its teams.
Q: After watching Long Beach and seeing Simona, the highest running Lotus (until it went KERBLAMMO), get beat like that down the main straight BEFORE the start/finish it's obvious Lotus is going to sweep the DNQs at Indy. Isn't there a rule that you CAN switch engine makes one time during the season? Honda/Chevy says they can handle the extra supply demands and I doubt Lotus will be making any phone calls to any lawyers (since they cannot afford any MORE of them now) to block such moves. If anything it would be to their benefit since they don't have to sign any more (bounced) checks. But if Lotus goes into liquidation and ends the Indy program before May this is all a moot point I suppose.
Nathan Gruenholz, Greencastle, Indiana
RM: One Lotus owner told me they were SEVEN mph slower at the end of Shoreline Drive at Long Beach so Indianapolis will likely be even worse. Teams have contracts with the manufacturers but at least one is trying desperately to move to Honda. The best solution would be to give the Lotus teams more boost for Indy (providing the engine could handle it) because those teams don’t deserve to be penalized for an engine most didn’t want to begin with.
Q: I am very very curious why Pagenaud wasn’t penalized for hitting the tire in Power’s pit box exiting the pits from his first stop. It cost Power dearly and should have cost Pagenaud an end of the line or drive-thru. Long Beach showcased a lot of talent from the smaller teams. Newgarden, Wilson, Jakes, Pagenaud, and Sato all looked strong all weekend. Going into the season the small teams were supposed to be at a disadvantage compared to the larger teams since everyone was starting from scratch and the big teams would be able to develop the car faster and get on with racing. Instead it appears that starting from scratch has left everyone with a few question marks and given the smaller teams a fighting chance. All four Ganassi cars had problems on Sunday. Two of the Penske cars failed at strategy and the Andretti cars didn’t escape the weekend trouble free either. Instead we saw Schmidt Hamilton, RLL, Dragon, and Fisher spend time LEADING the race. Not just competing but actually leading the race. In the end Penske won their third race in as many tries, but the smaller teams certainly took the fight to a decision this past weekend. I will continue to tell all my friends that Indy Car racing isn’t just worth watching this year that right now it is a can’t miss event. Now if only the small fry engine manufacturer had some fight under the hood.
Ryan in West Michigan
RM: Looking at the replay only once, Pagenaud jerked the wheel to the right to apparently avoid contact with a car on his outside (Power) and the pits are so narrow it seemed like a good no call. I think some of us wrote and said prior to the season that the best thing about all-new equipment is the little teams having more of a fighting chance for that first year. It happened in Champ Car in 2007 and it’s repeating itself right now.
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