Robin Miller's Mailbag for July 19, presented by Honda Racing / HPD

Your questions for Robin should continue to be sent to millersmailbag@racer.com We cannot guarantee we’ll publish all your questions and answers, but Robin will reply to you. And if you have a question about the technology side of racing, Robin will pass these on to Marshall Pruett and he will also answer here.

Q: Once again, Roger Penske cost Helio Castroneves a top finish by not getting him on pit road as soon as the pit window opened. The result was an eighth place finish instead of probably a podium. The Captain cost Helio 15 points in the championship, and his horrendous call at Detroit also cost him a probable second place and left him seventh, which cost Helio 12 points there. That is 27 points lost. To be fair, Mike Hull made a bad call at Long Beach anticipating a Marco yellow and it cost Dixon, so let's give Roger a mulligan on one of those. It happens.

Still, with Penske, once again, unforced errors have cost his driver the lead. Before Roger farms Helio out, he should look at himself, too. Maybe it's time for him to be an owner and let others call the race. Usually, the difference between Ganassi winning the championship at Penske's expense has been due to the fact they make less mistakes on the box. Here we go again! Second, why didn't Dixon get a penalty for avoidable contact on Power? I don't think he should have received one in principle, but penalties have been issued for far less.

Mark in Cincinnati

RM: You are spot-on about Detroit, pitting only two laps away from making it a sure two-stop race and keeping Rahal honest was one of the worst decisions ever, and considering Toronto wasn't going to be a fuel race, that has to be called another tactical error. When that fuel window opens it's a game of chance as to when to stop, and when you're out in front and pulling away in a rhythm, it's probably easier to stick to your original plan.

But it seems like more and more street races are decided by yellows than performance, and that's why I've always detested closing the pits. After watching the replay with Will, it looked more like a racing accident than anything else. Dixon seemed to be reacting to Rahal, and Power was in no-man's land as they began braking for the corner and got taken into the wall. Will even said in our interview he shouldn't have put himself in that situation.

Q: I am sure there will be a number of letters about how the yellow flag rules once again screwed over the top cars, and I am sure many will comment that the rules should be changed so the pits can stay open under yellow. But this has been an issue for a few years now, so why aren't teams just factoring it into their strategy? Toronto wasn't a fuel mileage race, so why stretch the stint if you don't need to? Banking a lap or two of fuel for the end of the race doesn't seem like much of a reward if you get shuffled back because of a poorly-timed yellow. Is there a reason the leaders aren't making earlier pit stops when the chances of them getting stuck on track are pretty high? If I were on the pit stand for these guys, I'd be trying to get in as early as possible.

Dave Zipf, Lexington, KY

RM: Jon Beekhuis is always talking about the risk of staying out too long after the fuel window opens. I guess you have to quit thinking like a racer and more like an odds-maker.

Q: That was total crap with that yellow coming at the wrong time, where through no fault of theirs, the top three guys get shuffled back to 14th, 15th and 16 respectively. This is all because a driver can't keep his car on the track after a fresh tire change... or was it purposely done so the top three guys who were threatening to close their gap on Dixon got shuffled back? I wouldn't discount Chip Ganassi Racing from pulling this trick to maintain their championship lead. Its okay that Newgarden got an advantage for pitting at the right time, but to penalize the top three leaders for doing all the hard work throughout the weekend is total, bogus crap. This is all due to IndyCar not wanting to keep the pits open.

Who knows; if the top three guys were able to pit there without the yellow, or with pits open, they may have come out in top four and challenge Josef Newgarden towards the end. IndyCar has enough competition, quality and parity already, so they need to eliminate the yellow lotto once and for all.

Shyam Cherupalla

RM: First off, Tony Kanaan did not hit the tire barrier on purpose (he'd passed six cars already and was having a good day), and had everyone made their first pit stops under green, Josef would have likely still been in fourth place unless the top three had disastrous stops (which is highly unlikely) because they were obviously the fastest cars on the track. A few years ago when Beaux Barfield was chief steward he tried to keep the pits open as much as possible, yet he got flak from the teams because they couldn't plan strategy.

But I know a lot of drivers who would vote to always leave them open unless there's a major emergency or big pileup. The thing that sucks is that Castroneves made a fantastic start (jumping from third to first), never put a wheel wrong – and had no chance to win the race. And Pagenaud and Rahal suffered the same scenario. But it seems to even out, since it robbed Dixon last year, but helped him this year and Graham got a break at Mid-Ohio in 2015 that propelled his victory.

Q: I hope TK isn't going into pressure mode with all of the talk about next year. I think he had a competitive car, but pushed too hard to get that track position. I'm sure we have some good drivers on the forefront (Newgarden being a top candidate but wish he wasn't driving for Penske, we need some balance), but I don't think the series is in a position to have TK and Helio move on yet. They give the series personality, and only Hinch and Josef have been able to match that so far. I still believe TK can gobble up an oval victory this year. Do you have possible landing spots for him if he leaves CGR? I thought he had another year left on his contract?

Skip Ranfone, Summerfield, FL

RM: IndyCar lost A.J., Mears, Sneva, J.R. and Big Al in a short span in the early '90s and recovered, but there is no doubt that T.K. and Helio are 1 and 1a in popularity. The two guys you mentioned along with Rahal, Pagenaud and Dixie will have to pick up the slack. Of course T.K. can still win Pocono or Gateway, but other than possibly A.J., I'm not sure there are many other potential rides.

Q: I found your interview with Will Power after the incident to be interesting. "I should know better than to put my car at risk like that on the first lap; it just isn't worth it." That's about as opposing a point of view to one provided by the late Aytron Senna as you could give. However, he did lose way too much. I believe his title chances are gone. It's disappointing, because I think he is one of the more exciting drivers in the field, but Toronto was just one of too many mistakes for Power this year. There were a pair of strategy calls (in Detroit and St. Pete) that really torpedoed his season. I'm sure Power is missing Tim Cindric right now. On that note, if Helio does move to IMSA, will RP move to strategy calls for Power next year, given how poorly that has gone for him this year?

Ryan in West Michigan

RM: Will asked to see the accident replay before he gave his opinion, and I thought he was very honest in accessing what happened. But he's not out of the title chase, not when the last race pays double points. I understand The Captain will call Will's races, but considering the bad decisions with Helio the past couple years I'm not sure I just wouldn't stick with Jon Bouslog.

Q. Today [Monday] there is not one iota of coverage for the Toronto race in the major Chicagoland newspaper. NASCAR has two columns and 14'' of coverage and a complete rundown, including lap leaders, total wins, points, and the "NASCAR Driver Rating Formula" in the Scoreboard section. I know IndyCar can't dictate to newspapers what they print. What efforts do they make in getting the sports departments to publish article and results? Bring back Spencer Tracy in "Woman of the Year" to explain it all!

Howard Fry, Lombard, IL

RM: That's sad but not surprising, since Bob Marcus, Cooper Rollow, Dave VanDyke and Skip Myslinski are no longer around to cover IndyCar racing. Those guys did a good job and at least fought to get IndyCar results in sports briefs or the agate page, but obviously the Tribune and Sun Times no longer consider IndyCar worthy of anything other than maybe an Indy 500 story.

Q: I don't get it. If Penske's long-term goal is to win Le Mans overall, why would he be starting a DPi team which isn't even eligible for Le Mans? Even if it becomes eligible, it would be in LMP2, which is not the top class. Also, can Penske run two cars in DPi cheaper than just keeping a fourth car for Helio in IndyCar? What does GM/Chevy think of him running a Honda DPi against their GM/Cadillac program? Very confused.

Tim B.

RM: I imagine The Captain, as always, wants a year or two under the team's belt before going to Le Mans, but the LMP2 is by far the best category in pure racing terms and top-line drivers. Honda is funding the sportscar program. Roger can run a Ford in NASCAR, a Chevy in IndyCar and a Honda in sportscars because he's Roger Penske.

And if CGR is looking to downsize, why look at the guy running eighth in the championship? Sure he's older, but I think they need to look deeper – I think Kimball has to go, if anyone. Sure, he's got his nice NovoNordisk sponsorship, but he's with one of the Big 3 and can't get in the Top 10. He's a portable demolition derby, and other than a pole earlier in the year, he has been completely anonymous. I'd put him as disappointment of the year so far, along with Foyt and Marco Andretti. He's had six years to prove himself in the sport and has very little to show for it. So why isn't CGR looking to axe CK instead of TK?

Max Camposano, Los Altos, CA

Q: Hey Miller, I think it's time for Ed Carpenter to take a long look at things and wonder if he's more valuable on the pit box than in the cockpit. Spencer was driving better than anyone in the first stint at Toronto before getting caught out by the yellow. He's ready for the next step in his career, and if Ed doesn't act fast, that future may not include Ed Carpenter Racing. On a somewhat related note, how likely is a full-time second Rahal car looking at the moment?

Kite in San Antonio

RM: I think Ed is pretty savvy, and also realistic about his career and his team. He's given Spencer an opportunity nobody else would,and likes the kid. But Carpenter can still get around an oval with the best of 'em (qualified second at Indy and fourth at Texas), so he's not ready to be put out to pasture. Would he consider running the Indy 500 only to keep Spencer in the fold? Possibly. But he may not have to make that decision yet.

Q: All this talk about Castroneves being forced out has me baffled. He's still winning races/poles/podiums, so forcing him out seems a bit silly. What is even more confusing is how Kanaan hasn't been demoted to an Indy-only drive. In the past 10 years he has only four wins, all of them on ovals. That's only one more win than Ed Carpenter over the same time period, and the same number of wins as Mike Conway (who hasn't been a full-time Indy driver in three years). Meanwhile, T.K. has occupied a valuable Ganassi seat that could have gone to one of the young guns that truly deserve a chance.

Jon, MI

RM: T.K. can still peddle (look at his laps led in 2014 and 2015), but he hasn't had a win or much luck in the past 45 races. He's also responsible for keeping sponsors coming and keeping them happy as Chip tries to combat the loss of Target. And he's worth his weight in gold with the fans and media, so he's still a valuable asset to IndyCar.

Q: Helio needed that Iowa win; he dominated, and has the biggest motivation in his career to go and get the title. Penske confirmed IMSA program with HPD. If Castroneves wins the IndyCar title, do we think Roger Penske will move him over to Acura DPi program? Moreover, if that does take place, do we think/know whether the No.3 sponsors will stay with Castroneves and move with him, or get relocated to other three entries in IndyCar?

Marcin Bugala, Peterborough, UK

RM: I wrote that Helio was sportscar bound regardless of whether he was the IndyCar champion because R.P. wants to downsize to three cars, and I still believe it. But I think those sponsors are Penske sponsors that happen to be with Castroneves.

Q: If Castroneves didn't want to do IMSA next year, and remain in Indy Car (possibly as defending champion) is there any possibility of Penske loaning him out to another team and taking him back into the fold only for the Indy 500? Works for me! Or do The Captain and sponsors not roll that way?

A. Jenkins

RM: I can't imagine that scenario, and I can't imagine Helio driving for anyone else.

Q: If RP doesn't want to keep Helio in IndyCar next year, I would think that he could land a top ride with another team. Is there anything contractually that would prevent this, and wouldn't he prefer this option rather than getting demoted to sportscars?

Anthony Wellington, Florida

RM: I think Helio would rather drive once for Indy's winningest team than a whole season for anyone else, and it's his best chance to try and get that fourth victory for the man who gave him a career. And I think the only team that would try and get him would be CGR, because that would get Chip even for Montoya.

Q: Was Toronto enough to make you think Marco has turned the corner, or did he only benefit from a caution and the fact that its hard to pass on street circuits?

Stephen, Florida

RM: He qualified 11th and drove a nice, tidy race, but was obviously was aided by a timely caution like the three guys in front of him. His practice pace has been good most of the season and he's qualified in the Top 12 four times, so the speed is there, and maybe last Sunday will kick -tart his confidence. He's got a good crew, Bryan Herta in his ear and the talent to be up front, but consistency is his Achilles heel.

Q: After seeing the huge crowds yet again in Toronto just for Friday practice day, I have to ask: is there is a chance of more Canadian stops? We have heard about the possibility of Calgary for a couple years, but is that close to reality or more of a pipe dream? Also with NASCAR gone, what about a return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal? Look forward to your thoughts as always!

Ben from Toronto

RM: To be honest, the huge crowds at Toronto used to be 150,000 for three days with 70,000-plus on race day, so I'd say last weekend was the best it's been in the past few years and damn good by IndyCar's 2017 standards. I've always said we need to run Toronto, Montreal and Mosport, but I think the next new Canadian venue will be in Calgary in a couple of years.

Q: With Tony Kannan and Helio Castroneves heading to a final curtain on their careers, it would be sad that no Brazilians would be on the IndyCar grid in the near future. But with the way Matheus Leist is performing in Indy Lights (despite his results in Toronto), it could be refreshing news for those wanting another Brazilian on the grid. But what about former Sauber driver Felipe Nasr? He is currently without a ride. I wanted to mention Massa, but he is likely to just hang it up. Is there any chance Nasr would jump the ocean and race in IndyCar?

JLS, Chicago, Ill.

RM: I'm sure if Nasr had the money and interest he would explore IndyCar, and I think Esteban Gutierrez has opened a few more eyes of ex-F1 drivers that are still young. But the fact T.K. and Helio are Brazilians isn't their charm – it's their personalities.

Q: Hey, it's 7 pm Sunday and I'm sitting down to watch the Toronto race as NASCAR post-race goes long. Just found out that the Toronto race is already over! Never once got any kind of update from IndyCar's Facebook page about the race being on CNBC. I did even check the channel guide (I have U-verse) to see if CNBC would be showing the race, but I saw nothing about IndyCar on the guide, so I assumed the race would be live (which I found extremely odd that they'd have a street race in the evening).

So I get that this is on me for not trying hard enough to find out, but is it my fault that I didn't check Facebook, IndyCar's website or call Mark Miles directly to ask him when and where I could see the race live? Or should IndyCar have actually given a you-know-what about their fans (and ratings) and used social media, promos, etc., to let people know where to watch the race? Because I guarantee I'm not the only one who didn't know. It's not like this was a last-minute scheduling snafu, so one would think this would have been promoted loudly and clearly for weeks.

I try to give IndyCar the benefit of the doubt on most issues, but this is bush league right here. Absolute joke, but I will stand corrected if they actually did promote this sufficiently and I just missed every single post about it for an entire week or more.

Brian in Indy

Q: If IndyCar at Toronto and NASCAR at New Hampshire can start at the same time, why can't IndyCar at Iowa and NASCAR at Kentucky start at the same time? Does Iowa get extra money from TV and IndyCar to make up for the awful date and start time? I wonder why ovals are failing to draw fans everywhere.

Matt Converset, Decatur, IN

RM: The best thing for IndyCar is to be on NBCSN and have a NASCAR lead-in like last Sunday on the re-air, but going up against NASCAR and being on CNBC is the worst possible scenario anytime.

Q: The Toronto race, it was a little boring – guys running fuel strategy and not being able to race hard, our PA system was too low as well, so we didn't hear much. I hope the body kits allow the guys to pass a bit more, and can they run the race in a way that allows them to run full without having to be concerned with fuel. Track conditions were not the greatest either. And I want to thank you for taking the time to autograph my copy of The Cannonball by Brock Yates. I definitely grew up in the wrong era! You need to write a book!

Frank, Toronto

RM: There really wasn't much fuel strategy because it was a three-stop race for everyone, and I think everybody ran hard most of the time (except near the end of a stint, when they had to make their numbers). But sadly, fuel saving will never go away unless they bring back 75-gallon tanks, and that wouldn't solve everything either. Race fans don't like hearing "saving fuel", and I don't blame them. The Cannonball was one of the great experiences of my life, and I'll always be indebted to Brock for letting me compete.

Q: With the potential that TK and Helio will be gone next year, who takes over as fan favorites? The Brazilian flag would be gone: how long has it been since indyCar didn't have any Brazilians on the grid? Is there any way you can use your star power to get Newgarden on Dancing with the Stars? It seemed to help the popularity of Hinch and Helio.

Paul Hirsch, Erie, Pa.

RM: Hinch and Newgarden are the heirs apparent, and The Mayor should just move his podcast to NBCSN during the season because he's made for television. JoeNew is also fan-friendly, media-savvy, quick on his feet and a natural in front of a camera. They will carry IndyCar's flag. Thanks to NBCSN's stat guru Russ Thompson for this: "The 1996 Dura-Lube 200, second stop of the IRL's inaugural season, was held at Phoenix and included drivers from Holland, Italy, Colombia, Spain, and France, but no driver from Brazil."

Q: This is a wild thought, but occasionally my wild thoughts actually happen, so here goes – Alonso is very unhappy in his situation (even though he is paid an obscene amount of money to put up with being unhappy), and supposedly he has burned the bridge between himself and every F1 team that matters. Is there any possibility that moving Helio out of the way opens up resources for Penske to make a bid for Alonso?

Cyndy Riordan, Kankakee, IL

RM: The Captain wants to downsize so I don't think anything would change his mind, unless Alonso brought a boatload of money. The real question is whether Fred is tied to Honda (and R.P. of course is a Chevy guy). But we keep hearing that Fernando may be coming to IndyCar if he can't get some F1 satisfaction, and I'm sure Chip would be happy to accommodate him if the price is right.

Q: What do you think is wrong at Andretti? I think that team should be far more competitive. They've had lots of great talent, and leadership shouldn't be the problem. But it doesn't seem as if they can set up a consistent push towards a championship. With everything they have, I feel like they should look more like Team Penske.

John Irving

RM: Ryan Hunter-Reay is the leader and certainly has had the pace to win Indy, Pocono, Long Beach during the past couple years, but has been besieged by bad breaks. Other than the Indy 500 (which is a great place to win, no doubt), Andretti Autosport hasn't been to Victory Lane in the regular season since RHR at Pocono in 2015. But Rossi is knocking on the door, Sato has had a couple of strong runs and Marco may be getting some confidence back. But you are correct: a one-car effort like Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan shouldn't be kicking Andretti's ass like it has the past three seasons, and it's Graham Rahal challenging/or beating Penske and Ganassi on a weekly basis instead of a four-car armada.

Q: Was doing some thinking over the weekend about IndyCar at Pocono. I know with the track size and shape, it is hard to find a good support series for the weekend. What are the chances of Indy Car, NASCAR, and ARCA working together to maybe move Pocono's July ARCA race to August? NASCAR already has the Truck Series there, so maybe they'd be willing to move ARCA to a Saturday slot for IndyCar weekend in August. ARCA has been running a long time at Pocono and has had a lot of great races. This may work out to be really cool, since lately James Hinchcliff has had an interest in NASCAR. Wouldn't it be cool to see Hinch run the ARCA race Saturday and then run IndyCar Sunday? Two different race cars in the same weekend?

Andy, St Marys, Ohio

RM: IndyCar has partnered with ARCA before and still shares Texas with NASCAR's Trucks so I suppose it's possible, but ARCA enjoys its current agreement of running on Cup weekends, so can't see that changing. And Hinch has no idea about wedge.

Q: Did you notice that Dixon got around T.K. on the last lap at Iowa? TV didn't show it, but it was on the position scroll. Suppose T.K. was ordered by the team to let him go around so Dixon could get the points? The wife and I will be at Sonoma for the first time and hope to be able to say hello in person. Love your stuff. High praise as always for the booth crew. There is never any dead air with the likes of P.T. and Townsend Bell.

Jeff, Florida

RM: No I think T.K. is pretty saavy and did it on his own – he knows Dixie is chasing the championship, and he's a team player.

Q: After listening to both your podcast with Marshall Pruett and Trackside with Kevin Lee this week, I was a little bemused by the difference in opinion on the Iowa race time. Kevin Lee's opinion was basically the opposite of your's and Pruett's in that he thought the Sunday afternoon/evening race time was good both for local fans who could drive there and back in the same day, and for TV times (in avoiding NASCAR).

I'd argue that a Saturday afternoon/evening time slot would allow for the same thing, so the only other limiting factor would be the TV slot. It seemed like there were less people there than in recent years, and I can't help but wonder if the Sunday night time had something to do with it. I'm at Eldora for the King's Royal this weekend, and was thinking about how they did the qualifying for Iowa short-track style for a few years. Why'd they stop doing that, and what was your opinion on it? Thanks for all your insight!

Joe Deppe, Michigan

RM: Iowa president Jimmy Smalls and IndyCar both favor a return to Saturday night, and that's possible in 2019 because it looks like NASCAR would run the Firecracker on a Sunday. Smalls did say he liked Saturday and Sunday because of the campers (and they had a nice turnout), and the locals didn't seem to mind the late afternoon start. But you can forget anybody driving much of a distance for a 4:45 p.m. green flag, and it also leaves IndyCar scrambling for a rain date. I'd rather see the race on Friday night than Sunday night, but that probably won't happen. The heat races at Iowa were worth a try, but there was no money behind them and with only 21 cars, why bother?

Q: The 2018 car appears quite proper. The swoopy appearance is negated by an eye sore camera perched atop the roll bar. Please let there be an outfit willing to supply something more congruous for an advertising chit. If nothing else, they might be used (by color) to identify engine manufacturers. Will the sound of drivers rolling off the throttle going into Turn 1 at Indy ever be enjoyed again?

GTS, San Diego

RM: If Rick Mears and several of today's drivers ever have their way, yes, a car will be making more power and have so much less downforce that backing off and or braking is required to negotiate Turn 1 at IMS. But they don't make the rules.

Q: I would love to see Katherine Legge driving for The Captain next year in IMSA. Maybe a one-off with Shank, or better still The Captain, in late May? Great for both sports. She has earned it like no other.

Brian Bristo

RM: Katherine has done a fine job in sportscars and probably could have made a decent career out of IndyCars, but was thrown in the deep end way too soon. She was young and emotional, but she's blossomed into a racer with a bit of an edge.
Would The Captain give her a shot? Not from what I've heard, but I'd like to see it.

Q: I read a recent Mark Miles interview where again he brings up running a non-points exhibition race in China sometime in February or early March. I don't get it. Supposedly, it will put some additional money in the pockets of the full-time teams. At least that is the story. Seriously, are we really talking about some real "game changing" dollars getting to the teams that need it? I doubt it. Does running in China help the current sponsors, or help with bringing in new ones? And why does it have to be an exhibition? Who cares if it doesn't count for anything? Tell me why this just isn't another stupid idea in a long, long line of IndyCar screwups. Maybe if Miles and his entourage took those traveling costs to China and applied them to the purse and, say, Pocono, it might make it worthwhile for some of the Indy "one-offs" (a la Dreyer & Reinbold and Sage Karam) to do that show as well. China?. Convince me there is something positive about that little idea. Increasing purse sizes across the board?. A no-brainer, and long overdue.

Jim S., Indy

RM: The only reason to go to China would be for money and, yes, in today's economy, if every team got $250,000 a car it might be worth it. The purses aren't likely to increase, so this would be a chance to earn a little extra money. And hopefully keep crews employed during the off-season.

Q: Hi Robin, firstly I'm a big fan of your work on RACER and NBCSN, please keep it up. My question I have for you is more of a hypothetical one. If you had the power to make the IndyCar schedule, how many races would you like to see, and what tracks would you include/change from the current schedule?

Nick, from Barstow, California

RM: I'd figure out a way to go back to Cleveland, and I'd add Austin as part of a doubleheader with IMSA. Richmond always drew a nice crowd so I'd explore it again, but I wouldn't want more than 20 races. I'd move Detroit and make Texas the race after Indy, and I'd give the mechanics the week off after May.

Q: Reading The IndyCar Wars by Sigur E. Whitaker, and I had a few questions. Did Tony George know while negotiating with Kevin Kalkhoven about reunification that Gerald Forsythe would not join IndyCar? Was there anything that Forsythe and Kalkhoven could have done to make Champ Car successful? Why did Pook think it was wise to burn through so much money in two years? Were the rumors about CART being bought out by NASCAR or F1 legitimate?

Andrew K.

RM: There's more fiction in that book than fact, but TG and KK tried to persuade Forsythe to join but he was mad that the IRL had won the war and wanted no part of unification (even though NASCAR was the only winner of the Split). Kalkhoven and Forsythe both spent their own money to keep Champ Car afloat, but they made some bad hires and a terrible choice of a third partner. And without Indy or anything resembling a decent TV package, Champ Car was doomed. I can't speak for Pook's spending, other than that he betrayed Americans like Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty by not getting them get rides in Champ Car with some of that money. Those buyout rumors came from the author's mind.

I know nothing about sprint cars, but I went to see my first race last night. It was part of Indiana Sprint Week. I really enjoyed it and I want to go to more events. I tried to learn more about it on USAC's website, but it's confusing. When I looked at USAC's website, I noticed they have the Silver Crown featured pretty prominently. Does this series use sprint cars, or some other type of car? When it comes to the sprint car series, it looks like USAC sanctions four different series. It looks like one of these is the national series, two are west coast series, and one is for the southwest.

What is the difference between all of these series? It looks like there is some overlap between them, which is what confused me. Without things like a scoring pylon, a scanner, or a jumbotron, it was hard to follow the order. The yellows really helped. I see there is a mobile app I can use, so I'll try that before the next race. Are there any other good ways to follow what is going on?

Stuart Janney

RM: USAC has three major series – Silver Crown, sprinters and midgets – and then all kinds of regional stuff, quarter midgets, trucks, etc. But the backbone of USAC is, was and always will be those three categories. The pavement racing has all but been killed off, so 90 percent of the races are on dirt. A Silver Crown car is longer and heavier than a sprinter, a sprinter is longer and heavier than a midget and all three put on some phenomenal racing. When you get 24 cars ripping around a quarter mile at night it is tough to follow when the leaders hit traffic, but there is no better competition.