Robin Miller goes on record with the p-dog

Robin Miller. Love  him. Dislike him. His bio on speedtv.com says:

“During the past 35 years he's also been a contributor for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver, ESPN The Magazine and several publications that folded and still owe him money. He is single, a degenerate gambler and despises the NASCAR phrase, ‘We had a Top 20 car today.’ " (Don’t we all loathe that, Robin?)

No matter what you think of him, Miller (shown at right with Champ Car pit reporter Cameron Steele) is wired tight into the American open-wheel scene. Therefore, pressdog lobbed in some burning questions for one of the most provocative voices in motorsports. Here are the 100%, swear-to-God real questions and answers:

pressdog: Champ Car has no ovals on its schedule in 2007. Good or bad?

Miller: From my perspective it's bad because what set CART/Champ Car apart from every other form of motorsports was the diversity required to be the champion. I understand that ovals aren't drawing very well but it's part of Champ Car's heritage and now the IRL has a more diverse sked. I wish some of the Champ Car teams would at least run Indy, that would help both sides and open wheel in general.

pressdog: Belle Isle (in Detroit, on the IRL schedule for 2007). Cruel joke or good move?

Miller: Unless Penske spends a couple million of his money, it's still the biggest mudhole in motorsports. Even in CART's heydey it didn't draw that many people and with no Detroit manufacturers, why bother? Oh, that's right, Roger thinks it's a good idea. And he's always right isn't he?

pressdog: Will Champ Car’s DP01 put pressure on the IRL to find some similar cost reductions?

Miller: Well, it remains to be seen how cheap the new car really is but it's certainly the right direction. Obviously, the Champ Car engine lease is the best and, unlike the IRL's broken promises, if CC can actually keep the costs under control, it can be appetizing for potential owners. The new team $1 million for chassis/engine lease/tires is unbeatable but, so far, there's not a big line.

pressdog: What, if anything, can be done to increase competition from top to bottom in both leagues?

Miller: A series title sponsor would be the best way so you could get money to the teams so you don't have owners taking money instead of choosing talent.

pressdog: Do you try to be provocative or does it just work out that way?

Miller: I've been covering open wheel racing for almost 40 years and, naturally, I can be a tad cynical because I remember the good old days of the '60s, '70s and '80s when anything was possible (at Indianapolis in May) and I'll always be pissed at Tony George for ruining our month. I also quit caring about being popular or if anybody liked me when I began writing columns for The Indianapolis Star in the late '70s. My job is to tell the truth and that doesn't get done very often anymore so if I have the respect of Dan Gurney and am hated by a dozen Jethros, I'm satisfied.

pressdog: Do you read the forums and blogs or otherwise hear a lot from readers? How do you handle that?

Miller: When I worked for ESPN on RPM2Nite, John Kernan used to be addicted to reading what they said about our show on the forums. He worried sometimes and I always laughed and told him to stop it because it was the same 25 people. I read a site called DEEP THROTTLE and BIGIRLFAN.com (pressdog note: the site was down for some reason as of 1/4/07) because they are hysterical and they have some fun.

pressdog: Is it true pressdog.com is your favorite racing blog?

Miller: I enjoy pressdog because it's got some bite to it and isn't afraid to take on issues. So, yes, since it's one of the few I ever look at, it has to be my favorite. (pressdog says: Check's in the mail, Robin!)

pressdog: What keeps you doing this? Taking all the heat, getting smacked around by fans, etc.?

Miller: AJ Foyt is the only one who ever actually smacked me (although I think Michael Waltrip might have wanted to after our TRADING PAINT show last August). I do it because SPEED is kind enough to fly me all over the country to talk and write and at my age (57). That's good work if you can get it. I also have fun with Dave Despain when we do WIND TUNNEL and it's fun to make people mad or make them laugh. One or the other. The other thing that's still good is to go to the Chili Bowl and see a Tim McCreadie shock the world or watch AJ Allmendinger's transformation last year. They were fun to cover.

pressdog: With equal equipment, who wins: Danica Patrick (left) or Sarah Fisher (right)?

Miller: Danica definitely has the technical edge and I think she would win. Obviously, she beat Sarah in the Toyota Celebrity race at Long Beach but it was a road course and no contest. Sarah was always brave but I think she lost her confidence and, let's be honest, she never had a ride as good as Rahal or AGR.

pressdog: Katherine Legge. Real deal or not? Contender in 2007?

Miller: Legge showed flashes of being able to handle things at this level (Elkhart Lake before her accident and a good job at Milwaukee in her oval debut) but crashed a lot (as expected) and her lack of technical knowledge and seat time is a big obstacle. Her learning curve will be expensive and the question is, who will run her in 2007? (I'm guessing Minardi USA).

pressdog: Do you get along with Kevin Kalkhoven and Tony George or is there usually screaming when you are near each other?

Miller: Kalkhoven and I have a good professional relationship but I always tell him what I think and he gets mad sometimes but that's a healthy relationship. Tony and I used to talk all the time but that was before 1996. Was I hard on him in print and on local TV here in Indy? You damn betcha. Did I lose all three of my jobs (radio, TV and newspaper) directly or indirectly because I wouldn't quit beating on him? You damn betcha. Was I right? You damn betcha.

pressdog: If you were czar of all open-wheel racing, what would be your first three moves?

Miller: Hire Steve Horne to run the show day-to-day. Keep Tony Cotman as chief steward. Get an entertaining TV crew. Bring back Terry Lingner. Reinstate the Triple Crown at Long Beach/Indy/Cleveland.

pressdog: Can Champ Car and the IRL continue to co-exist independently?

Miller: Sure, as long as Kalkhoven, Gerry Forsythe and TGeorge keep spending millions.

pressdog: What’s it going to take to unify open-wheel racing?

Miller: Firestone/Bridgestone delivers an ultimatum: we'll build tires for 20 open wheel races -- figure it out boys.

pressdog: What are the odds of unification in 2008?

Miller: At the moment, about as good as me having Thanksgiving dinner with Tony.

pressdog: What was your biggest blown call/prediction or crow-eating moment in 2006?

Miller: I called out Michael Andretti for child abuse and said Marco was too inexperienced and not ready. Yeah, right.

pressdog: Please make some crazy-but-possible prediction for 2007.

Miller: Montoya quits NASCAR and starts running the World of Outlaws. Danica wins her first race. The Indy 500 starts 27 cars. SPEED gives me and Eddie Hinton our own show. Paul Tracy has one brain fade and three wins.

pressdog: Will the IRL and CCWS become more and more of feeder leagues for NASCAR in the near future or are we seeing a blip?

Miller: I think it's a fad with Allmendinger and Hornish but not with the USAC kids. That's the feeder system because those NASCAR owners watch a teenager handle 900 horsepower and drive a car off the right rear tire on pavement and realize this is the real deal.

pressdog: Anything else you want to take the blogosphere?

Miller: Watch open wheel and quit watching those 4-hour NASCAR drone-a-thons. Even Little E said they're way too long and boring. (pressdog says: amen, SPEED brother.) Subscribe to SPEED and demand more open wheel stuff.

Thanks to Robin. Here’s to a highly newsworthy 2007.

Comments

[MoneyCJ]

REPRESENT!

[Dave]

You've "jumped the shark".

[Johnny]

Awesome scoop pressdog! Keep it up.

[Elmer George]

The Fi-hunnert is as dead as me, Robin. Time to let it go.

[Racewknd]

Good interview!

[Mark in Bowmanville]

No jumping the shark here boys, Pressdog just talked to the court jester of Open Wheeled motorsport, and like most Court Jester's, the laughing is uncomfortable because he usually is RIGHT.

The reason some of you guys cant grasp that the 500 has to be part of Champ Car is because you haven't figured out no side can win this battle. The EARL and Champ Car need what the other has, and right now guys like Robin are the only one's with the balls to say so...

[Jayblues]

BiGirlFan.com must be a great site, i didnt relize they covered IRG as well.

[Jayblues]

BiGirlFan.com must be a great site, i didnt realize they covered IRL as well.

[ramblinman]

Do pressdog and Robin Miller tell it like it is? You damn betcha!

[Champweb]

Excellent interview Pressdog. You need to do more.

[Chief]

Race Indy, fine. But what junkyard will allow the disposal of the smelly remains of the IRL?? That's how you solve the differences.....get rid of the IRL, PERIOD. But, race Indy and co-exist as two different series? NO WAY.

[pressdog]

Easy there, Chief. There are plenty of boards out there where you can hurl names at the other series all you want. This ain't one of them.

Fair warning: I'll be nuking any "(SERIES NAME) SUCKS!" comments. If you want to make your point in a civil way, fine.

[Scott Roberts]

Big IRL Fan (and the Shelbyville Gazette's Tippy Gomez) now posts at www.iambif.com

[Jim Wilke]

My sources tell me daily that the DP01 is never going to race. The windtunnel tests were collosal failures and the jig that builds the mirrors keeps breaking.

[Jim Wilke]

Just today i was informed that the DP 01 will not race at all in 2007. The fluid dynamics and the wings have made the car useless and are dumbing down CC.
Word is that the Atlantic chassis will be used instead.This came directly from the hairdresser of a Panoz employee.I heard that all the way up here in Alaska.

[Evan]

Nice interview, pressdog. I don't always agree with Robin but he's always a fun and intriguing read. Same goes for your blog. Keep it up and let's hope for a great AOW season in '07 and progress for the years to come.

[Evlk]

Reinstate the Triple Crown at Long Beach/Indy/Cleveland

Lost me with that one Robin.

Any race in which the best view is in an airport lounge should probably be reevaluated.

How bout a Daytona/Long Beach/Indy 500/Texas Motor Speedway (not in KM)/Road America/Mid-Ohio deal?