Robin Miller’s April 21 mailbag presented by Honda Racing / HPD

Welcome to the Robin Miller Mailbag from Honda Racing / HPD. You can follow the Santa Clarita, California based company at hpd.honda.com and on social media at @HondaRacing_HPD and https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD.

Questions for Robin can be sent to [email protected]. Due to the large number of questions received, we cannot always guarantee that your letter will be printed, but Robin will reach as many as possible. Published questions have been edited for the sake of clarity. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of RACER or Honda / HPD.

Q: Is it just me or is Barber the most overrated track IndyCar goes to? Every year experts, broadcasters, etc. seem to be raving about the venue, but the truth is that the races are often quite boring for the television audience. I understand the facilities are top notch, but it doesn’t matter to the average spectator if the race is a parade with minimal bike-to-bike action. It was even more bizarre this year as many teams had opted for a fuel-efficient strategy with some drivers hoarding push-to-pass (though that wouldn’t have helped much given Barber’s track layout). Even the broadcasters practically begged for willpower to burn up his P2P time in the last few laps! Is there anything that can be done to spice up the races in Barber? The lack of hard braking zones makes competitive passes almost non-existent.

On the plus side, I’m pumped for this season. It’s huge that the season gets off to a quick start with four race weekends in five weeks. It’s a great opportunity to kick off the season and keep the fans busy. I hope that they will continue to have a tight schedule in the future as the start of the season is too often scattered with too many gaps between the weekends. Excited for the year!

Mike, Des Plains, IL

RM: My first suggestion is to watch some street course races on YouTube from the 80s or 90s when Mario, Michael, Little Al and Rahal were running the competition. They were parades. On Sunday you had Bourdais and O’Ward on the wheels at Turn 5, Palou, Veekay and O’Ward made some nice outside passes, Power pushed Palou the last 10 laps and then Pato stormed back from his additional pit stop to take the lead reach four within four seconds of each other at the checker. A few years ago, Pagenaud and Graham Rahal battled each other out for two laps in one of the best finishes I can remember, and yes, Barber is tight (it was built for bikes) but Turn 5 is an equally good place to go Overtake like any other street circuit. Sure, Sato stunk the joint and ran away in 2019, but the races were pretty decent given the track’s limitations. Much better than I ever imagined.

Q: They called it that the youth were hungry. Palou drove a great race and his CGR team had a great strategy. The car showed great pace and brought him the fuel savings he needed to stay on top in the end. Could easily have been O’Ward driving the tires off his car. Sometimes running off the tires isn’t the best strategy, but O’Ward’s time will come as he is quick and fearless. Cheers to the Aeroscreen and the DW12 security overall. That first lap crash could easily have hospitalized multiple riders – if not worse – if it had happened 15 to 20 years ago or more. Basically, Josef got a T-Receipt twice and went away. RHR went away and such a big tip of the hat to the IndyCar team that made this car as safe as it is today. Races are still dangerous and always will be. But at least it’s not as deadly as it has been in the past. And how happy is AJ with SeaBass’ finish? It looks good for the Foyt team. So many competitive teams this year … it’s a great time to be an IndyCar fan. If only Carvana wasn’t spending that much money, we could get a little less coverage of Jimmie Johnson and more coverage of the battles going on in the field. But if it gets more fans into the sport, I’ll take it.

John Balestrieri, Milwaukee

RM: Pato was just beaten by strategy and Palou was clear under pressure, but it’s damn fun to finish the first four cars within three seconds of each other. Check out Marshall’s story about RHR. The Aeroscreen literally saved his neck so kudos to IndyCar. I called AJ after the race and he was happy and said that part of Seb’s underwing was torn down in that first lap carnage, making fifth place even more impressive. I think the old man might go to most races this season. And be grateful that Carvana sponsors JJ. They spend money and promote the series as well as the NASCAR champion.

After Sebring, and now here, Bourdais is establishing itself as the right contact when you need someone to do magic with a broken car. Image by Sebastien Bourdais

Q: I don’t think you mentioned Romain Grosjean in your IndyCar Guard Changes play. He may not be a race winner in 2021, but I think he will show that he is a damn good racing driver, saddled to a terrible Haas F1 team in a Mercedes-dominated racing series. What do you expect from Romain this IndyCar season?

Dave, speedway

RM: It was certainly impressive on his debut, but my story about the changing of the guard was obviously aimed at teens and full-time workers. We’re not sure how long Grosjean will be in IndyCar and he’s 35, but obviously he’s got a new motivation because he has a chance to fight in IndyCar.

Q: It’s great to have IndyCar back and it looks like it’s going to be an interesting year. Jimmie Johnson is obviously good for the show and a great guy, but honestly I was disappointed with his pace. Did you think he was that far off pace? I understand there’s a big difference between a Cup car and an IndyCar, but there’s an equally big difference between a Supercar and an IndyCar, and McLaughlin was way faster all week. It’s just a race but I’m hoping for a huge improvement.

Chris Anderson, Mt. Comfort RV

RM: My God, what are people expecting? He had never driven an open wheel car before, had never driven red tires and qualified in the 1:07 range with four other guys. Sure, he spun once in the race and switched to faster cars after a lost lap, but he did competitive laps in the final stint. I thought it might be four or five seconds off the pace when the tests started and it has gradually improved and I think it is getting better and better. Starting a new career at 45 takes courage and patience, and he has both.