Robin Miller's Mailbag for May 20

Welcome to this week’s installment of Robin Miller’s Mailbag! Questions for Robin can be sent to millersmailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t always guarantee that your letter will be printed, but Robin will get to as many as he can. Published questions have been edited for clarity.

Q: I just bought my weekend pass for Road America. I've always camped at Plymouth Rock from way back in the days of going up there with Pops and his posse for the June Sprints in the late '70s and early '80s. I was holding off on buying the pass, but since Wisconsin just shot down the Stay in Place orders, I feel more confident that the event will be held, so I will try primitive camping at the track instead. It's the least I could do to on my part to keep interest up so it doesn't get canceled.

Is there a chance that the paddock will be closed to the general admission or require face masks? One of the greatest ways that IndyCar gets new fans (and interests the better half immensely) is the upfront availability of its product's inner workings to the fans. I can't see myself walking around outside in the paddock with a mask in the hot June sun. Besides, corn butter and masks don't get along well together. 

Ken P., Naperville, IL

RM: Way too early to know what the protocol will be at Road America, but they are planning on having fans so that’s the good news. It’s possible masks could be mandatory, or that only a certain number of paddock passes might be available but the word of the moment is “fluid,” because things change every day. Obviously IndyCar will do whatever is necessary to let people enjoy the experience and stay safe.

Q: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced plans to re-open the state on May 15.  This will include racetrack events. According to the Iowa Speedway website, tickets for the IndyCar doubleheader are now on sale.

Jerry Karen

RM: That’s good news, thanks for the information.

Q: Finally, the IndyCar schedule for 2020 season is finalized. However I'm bit unhappy with there being too many doubleheader races (Iowa and Laguna Seca), and the Indy GP [road course] having two races. So what are your thoughts about next year's racing schedule, as this year is the chance to get rid of doubleheader races and show all the fans "This is not NASCAR! We won't do the same thing as they have done!"

Darren, Malaysia

RM: Well it’s not really finalized because Toronto is looking for a new date, but doubleheaders have been around since USAC in the 1960s, and considering the chaos caused by the pandemic, I think it’s a good way to help the teams save a little money and still in get as many races as possible. And I know a lot of fans who like the concept of two races in one weekend, but other than Detroit I don’t think there are any others planned – except maybe an IndyCar/NASCAR weekend – and we’ll get a preview of that in July at IMS.

Q: Not sure how seriously everyone is taking it, but Ferrari evaluating IndyCar sounds like just about the coolest thing ever, especially when it comes in the wake of Mario Andretti calling for them to join IndyCar. I can’t think of a combination of the names “Andretti Autosport” and “Scuderia Ferrari” that doesn’t sound awesome. This really seems like the best thing Ferrari could do with the downsizing they’re going through in F1. Do you see this being a serious possibility? Ferrari has talked about IndyCar in the past (and even built a whole car in the '80s) but never done it. I would love to see it happen, but I have no idea if it’s realistic.

Max Camposano, Menlo Park, CA

RM: It made headlines everywhere, but the way I read it was that Ferrari was exploring its options in several different series, so I’d contain my enthusiasm until I see some real proof the Prancing Horse is serious.

Q: Come on Robin, give us your odds of Ferrari coming to IndyCar. My odds are less than zero for supplying an engine, and the same to start a team.

Ron, Toronto

RM: Twenty percent at best. For both.

It's been 68 years and counting since we saw a full Ferrari effort at Indy. Image by IMS

Q: I know you work for NBC Sports and I love the channel, but I'm very skeptical about Ferrari coming to IndyCar racing because while TV ratings in the series have gone up domestically, they haven't translated well internationally. Ferrari sees itself at an international brand. I don't see Ferrari as the third engine manufacturer, but I do see Dodge coming to the series since Ferrari is connected to Chrysler, and the only racing program for Dodge is in the NHRA Series. I think Dodge would help a lot if it were to badge the Cosworth engine and promote IndyCar Series.

Alistair, Springfield, MO

RM: Ferrari is the most political creature in all of motorsports, so who knows if this is just an idle threat to keep F1’s attention. I agree with your logic in that I’m not really sure what providing an IndyCar engine or starting a team would do for the brand, but it would be great for IndyCar. And the Andretti Ferrari has a nice ring to it, but haven’t heard Dodge mentioned.

Q: Have loved reading Heroes of Bump Day and hope that you are staying well during the pandemic. What monetary damage has the pandemic cost IndyCar so far? Have any major sponsors backed away, and have any of the teams lost major sponsors? Are any of the teams in danger of shutting their doors at this point? Also, and I am not trying to be a smart aleck here, given the low attendance at some of the ovals during the past few years, allowing fans to attend and maintaining social distancing would not seem to be a problem if they were spread all over the stands. Has IndyCar or the track managements considered this? Looking forward to June 6.

Joe in Turlock

RM: I’ve not heard of any sponsors leaving and all of the teams are still standing, but it’s 2021 that concerns me. If you’re a corporation that gave an IndyCar team $3-4 million in sponsorship for this year but then you lose 40-50 percent of your business because of this pandemic and have to lay off employees, it’s going to be very difficult to justify staying in racing. I think all of motorsports is in the same boat in this regard, and I fear the fallout could be devastating. Nobody knows the oval tracks’ plans except Texas, because it’s still too early to know the rules and protocols.

Q: Hey Miller, some see COVID-19 as a racing killer. I see it as potentially leveling the playing field attendance-wise in regards to NASCAR versus everything else. I think IndyCar has more die-hard fans that will return to the tracks in droves, whereas NASCAR fans will be more content to sit at home. What say you? Also, let's give a shout out to Robert Yoho at Showtime Speedway here in FL. He out on a hell of a program last week with late model stocks, street stocks, and the winged sprints. It was Dave Steele' s home track, and Yoho keeps putting together great programs.

Ethan D.

RM: Not sure I buy it. Bristol was only half full last year, but that was still more people than any IndyCar race except the Indy 500, and you can’t put another soul in Watkins Glen for the Cup race. Yes, NASCAR attendance ain’t what it was 10 years ago, but it’s still healthy enough at a lot of ovals and the TV ratings dwarf IndyCar’s, which may be the most important number of all. More than six million people watched Darlington last Sunday.

Q: Last week's Today show included many mentions of NASCAR's return to racing this weekend at Darlington, but not a single mention of IndyCar's return at Texas being less than a month away. If you like NASCAR freight trains you watched last weekend on FOX. In my mind you are the world's best spokesperson for IndyCar, and I want to thank you for that. I also believe that NBC is doing a good job but blew it here. What do you think?

Charlie Merz, Dallas, TX

RM: First off, it’s called the Today Show, not “The Four Weeks From Now Show,” so since NASCAR was going to be the first major sporting event to run since the country shut down, it was big news. And if you watched the golf competition Sunday on NBC, Mike Tirico talked about the Texas IndyCar opener. I think NBC has given IndyCar more promotion in two years than ABC did in 30.

Q: I’m surprised Roger Penske doesn’t see the value in having IndyCar first or now second back racing on television. People are desperate to watch any sports. This could be IndyCar’s greatest opportunity to capture new fans. Race behind closed doors on the more ovals the better for the next six months. Give the broadcast rights away to any broadcaster around the world that will promote it. Spend whatever it takes to promote it here in the States. It seems NASCAR has once again stolen the cheese from under IndyCar’s nose.

Mike HB

RM: Well, let’s see, the only reason IndyCar is starting on June 6 at Texas is because The Captain knew how important it was to get the season going, and I’m sure he gave Eddie Gossage a sweetheart deal to get Texas to run with no fans. As far as stealing the cheese, NASCAR has twice as many races as IndyCar, and with the first six either being canceled or postponed, Texas was the first opportunity. NASCAR also owns a lot of its tracks, so that makes it a little easier to move races around. And NBC paid for the rights to televise, IndyCar so you can’t go “shopping” it around. And, here’s a little nugget, there’s not exactly a big line to cover IndyCar, so be happy that NBC wanted to become the motorsports network and get behind IndyCar.

A half-full Bristol still dwarfs the crowd numbers at most IndyCar events. Image by Jarrett/Motorsport Images

Q: Request you bring us fans up to speed on the progress toward the Robin Miller Wagering Palace? "We all know how much influence you have with The Captain, so that should be ready for the 2020 Indy 500! It could begin online. Not having a physical window fits in with the pandemic and on-site fan restrictions. It would be interesting to see what combo/odds you formulate.

Bill Sanders

RM: I think we’ll know more about betting on the Indy 500 after the Brickyard weekend, but it won’t be before the Indy 500. I’ve already got 75 prop bets for Mark Miles if he wants them, and it will be a good thing for IndyCar if people can legally bet.

Q: Interesting article for McLaren speculation. Wonder about its 2020 Indy 500 venture? Be well and keep away from A.J.!

Bruce Philbrick

RM: As Dario Franchitti once said: “McLaren could run a two-car team in IndyCar on its lunch money.” Obviously F1 is 20 times more expensive but money is getting tight everywhere so it sounds like Zak Brown is exploring his options – like most motorsports teams will probably have to do for 2021. A.J. and I are pals, no worries.

Q: I read your response to my May 13 letter. I misspoke when I said "fear of ovals." I should have said "concern about ovals." I apologize. Obviously a man who has driven at Alonso’s level for the number of years he has is as brave as they come.

What I meant to imply was that Nigel Mansell at 40 had more fight, determination, and commitment than Alonso has now. Remember 1993? Mansell had a bad crash at Phoenix (oval), came to finish third at Indy, first at Michigan, and won three more oval races that year. As for Indy, I was there in 2017 and Alonso drove an outstanding race. But that was Indy. To win the championship, a driver needs that Indy-like commitment for the whole season. That, he does not have anymore.

As to your point about media relations, that's all fine, but it doesn't make him a tougher, more determined, more committed race driver at this point in his career that I can see. He could have been one of the really great ones. He didn't turn out that way, and that's a shame.

Bill B.

RM: Well let’s just pretend that Alonso had a full-time offer with Andretti, Ganassi or Penske and it might change everything, because he’d step into a built-in winner – just like Mansell did with Newman/Haas in 1993. I’ll admit Fred seems all over the board in terms of what he wants to do, but last May certainly didn’t instill any confidence, did it? Obviously, partnering with Arrow McLaren SP should be a big boost this year, but a two-time world champion wants the best of everything before making any full-time commitment.

Q: If the 2020 IndyCar season should be abandoned, or be severely truncated, will Tony Kanaan's farewell season be rescheduled to 2021? Or is he, and his arrangement with Foyt, geared to end with this season – such as it is – no matter what?

Anthony Jenkins, Mono, Ontario

RM: I think it’s the second of a two-year deal, but regardless of whether it’s with A.J. or someone else, I believe T.K. is planning on running Indy in 2021.

Q: As summer is fast approaching, I am now wondering if the August date will happen for the 500? It seems states can't figure out just what to do, and who can blame them. F1 is saying that the first few races will be without fans, and it may be late fall before they let fans into the tracks. If we do social distancing at the Speedway, how will they do that? I thought that maybe only letting those who have been ordering Indy 500 tickets for the last 25 years, (including me) or 20 into the race only, and maybe that will suffice? The other ticket holders will be transfer to 2021.

Plus, kept in mind that people are coming from everywhere, maybe from places with a high-case rate. Will the Speedway furnish masks on race day if you don't bring one? I guess this is not an easy solution. Of course some people will not be happy with this, but no-one wants to see the 500 on TV without a crowd, in my opinion. The other question is that most of us order tickets for the next year's race after the 500. The Speedway just gives us 10 or more days to kept our seats for the next year's race. What about this year for next year's race? I called the Speedway, but they couldn't give an answer. Kept up the great work for us.

Mike Yarber, Smyrna, TN

RM: You’re asking questions nobody can answer right now. Give it another month. But I promise you that Roger Penske wants to have fans if at all possible, even if it means moving Indy back to October. IMS will make an announcement about 2021 tickets in the near future.

T.K. has at least a couple more Indy visits left in him yet. Image by Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: I've received an email from St. Petersburg offering me tickets for the St. Pete 2020 race in October or a Green/Savoree event in 2021 to replace my unused tickets from the cancelled March race weekend, but no offer of a refund. I live in the UK and made a special one-week trip in March for St. Pete to find the race was cancelled on the Thursday evening. So it cost me return flights from the UK, car hire, hotels for seven nights etc, and the organizers are not giving refunds. My question to you, Robin, is to ask if this is normal business practice in the USA that when an event is cancelled, you do not receive an automatic refund?

Andrew Hodgson

RM: Unfortunately it’s the rule rather than the exception over here for most major sporting events (including the Indy 500), and I’m sorry you spent all that money for naught. The standard operating procedure seems to be giving the ticket buyer a chance to apply that money to the following year’s race, so hopefully you can make it in 2021.

Q: Just wanted to let you know that we went to the Daytona 500 this year. As you know the race got rained out after a few laps. We couldn't stick around until Monday because our son had school the next day. We didn't know it at the time, but Daytona has a "rain out" policy that allowed us to apply our ticket money to next year's tickets. They sent us an email, I filled out the form and bam, we're going to the Daytona 500 next year. Given everything that's going on right now I thought that was great! We've been to a lot of races over the years (mostly IndyCar) and I've never heard of anything like this before. Is this unique to Daytona, or do other tracks/promoters have this policy?

IndyCar Fan

RM: Some tracks have an insurance plan called Ticket Guardian that fans have to opt out of or it automatically charges them a fee. (Some tracks make it as an optional opt-in.). Big thanks to Chris Blair of Gateway for this information.

Q: Have you heard any information regarding the BC39 midget race the week before IndyCar/Brickyard weekend in July?

Jim Osborn

RM: I think it’s going to be Wednesday/Thursday that week, but nothing official yet.

Q: Saw that you had a fan write in disappointed that the Little 500 was moved to September. I am disappointed as well, but IRP announced that they are reviving the Night Before the 500 this year, so that’ll give us our short track fix during our 500 trip!

Matt from Phoenixville, PA

RM: Yes it’s a USAC midget/sprint doubleheader and I apologize for not reporting that last week, but I swear they weren’t on the USAC schedule when I looked. Or maybe I’m an old man who can’t see anymore (smile) but glad it’s happening. Thanks for the info.

Q: First time writing in. Have you heard any more news about whether or not IMSA will accept IndyCar’s invitation to run a doubleheader at IMS in October? Or if there’s any new details about IMSA possibly coming back to IMS in the future like Penske wants?

Joseph, South Bend

RM: Last I heard, it wasn’t going to happen. I do think R.P. wants to host a major sports car race with IMSA, but I imagine he’s a little too busy right now to worry about 2021 and beyond.

Q: I attended the Gabriel 200 USAC National Championship event at Trenton International Speedway on April 23, 1978. I walked the pits after the event (even got R.P.'s autograph) and saw some of the people who perished in the plane crash that night. That you could have been on that flight gives me the chills.

Dan Gurney's White Paper was released in early 1978. Do you think that without the crash and resulting loss of USAC leadership that CART would have been formed?

David, Waxhaw, NC

RM: Yes, because those people on the plane were all good soldiers, but other than Frankie Del Roy, had no influence on USAC’s direction (or lack thereof) in terms of Champ Cars. USAC refused to listen to the guys spending all the money and was always so secretive about TV revenue, back gates, schedules and those Mexican vacations for the upper management. USAC had it all in 1970 and pissed it all away by 1980. An amazing display of ineptitude.

Q: A pic was posted to the IndyCar sub on Reddit and the poster said the car was in the qualifying line at Indy until it was shown the engine was a cooler of beer. We, the fans, need the story. What do you know about this?

John Balestrieri

RM: In 1972, Herk had already qualified a rear-engine car when he rolled out his beloved Mallard roadster shortly after 5 p.m. on Bump Day. It had no driver and, as it turned out, no engine as our hero waved other teams to go around him in the qualifying line until the 6 o’clock gun went off and he opened the hood to reveal a few cases of Miller High Life – his sponsor. He got a whole bunch of press and it was a different use of alcohol, so to speak.

Q: Always love your Mailbag, and even more so your appearances with JMV -- they are absolutely entertainment gold. For whatever reason, my thoughts dragged me down a dark path of thinking back to the days of the IRL, and who were the worst drivers of that era. Not necessarily the one-offs, but the drivers who at least raced consistently for a year or two. Who would be the Mt. Rushmore of incompetence during that era? My early contenders were: Jack Miller, Rick Treadway, Marty Roth, and Milka Duno.

Steve W.

RM: Bronco Brad, Racin Gardner, Tony Turco and Butch Brickell certainly deserve some consideration.

Give us even a sniff of a reason to run a shot of Racin Gardner, and you can bet we're going to take it. Image by IMS

Q: The years leading into 1995/1996 did not feel right... rules fights, bad race officiating, cars shedding parts and hurting people real bad in wrecks. Maybe The Split needed to happen to reset and fix these? Today’s broadcasts have too much information available on screen. Listening to announcers figure everything out was entertaining. I felt they were watching with me and were fully-engaged, especially when there were interpretational differences. Race broadcasts need to back off information overload, and add announcer interaction. Do you agree or disagree with me?

Jon in Detroit

RM: Not really sure how you came to that conclusion, but 1993-1995 were three of the best years IndyCar racing has ever experienced, and likely the best attendance because of Nigel Mansell. CART had made big inroads in safety thanks to Dr. Steve Olvey, Dr. Terry Trammell, Wally Dallenbach and the Horton Safety team, and the cars were taking the brunt of impacts instead of the drivers. When the all-oval IRL began in 1996, it was non-stop carnage – especially in 1997, when its new cars had battering rams for gearboxes. In ’97 alone there were 11 drivers that suffered broken backs, legs, necks, pelvis, feet and a spinal fracture.

From 1996-2000, 47 drivers were hospitalized with various broken bones or fractures, and that doesn’t count the 14 concussions. CART even offered to give the IRL its gearbox data, but that fell on deaf ears. As for your theory on info, we live in a social media, info-driven world and it’s only natural to provide as many stats and facts as are relevant. It doesn’t seem to hinder our booth from giving their opinions and reacting to on-track action.

Q: Considering how well A.J.’s cars ran in early IRL days, and how he was still running well at Indy in his last few years as a driver, do you think there was any chance he could’ve added a fifth Indy win between 1996-99? (Obviously the game changed when Ganassi and Montoya showed up). I think a healthy diet, workout regimen and running the one race a year, he could’ve done it easy. I think this could obviously apply to Mario and Al Sr. in top-flight equipment as well. Hope all is well with you, and looking forward to Texas!

Ryan Gouldey

RM: A healthy diet and workout regimen for Anthony Joseph? Not likely. But nobody knew their way around IMS any better, and I suppose he could have whipped up on the EARL, but we were talking yesterday and read him your letter and he said: “I quit for a reason. I just lost my desire, and you can’t commit to a place like Indy without a fire in your belly.”

Q: First off, thanks to RACER for always having great, fresh content every day. Makes getting through this shutdown a bit easier. I'm sure in this age of instant stats someone would know the answer to this, but I am wondering about the "rabbits" – the drivers that jumped out to big leads in the first 10-15 laps of the Indy 500. Been going to Indy since late '60s and have been thinking about it. For me, Teo Fabi in his 1983 rookie run from the pole is the one that still sticks out. He had to park it after an early pit stop, but I think he got out to about a five- or six-second lead in the first seven or right laps. Who would be some you'd add to the list?

Mike, Chicago

RM: Vuky in 1953, Hurtubise in 1961, Big Al in 1970, Uncle Bobby in 1972, Wally Dallenbach in 1974 and J.R. in 1980, Emmo in 1989 immediately come to mind.

Q: Thanks for still hosting the Mailbag during these difficult times. We here in Sweden are eagerly awaiting the season’s start. Since January this year me and a couple of friends have been hosting an IndyCar-themed podcast in Swedish, and we've been met with some fantastic response by the Swedish IndyCar community. We've had Kenny Brack, Stefan Johansson, Marcus and Felix and Oliver Askew on, so it's been a good few months for us, even though we haven't covered any actual racing yet.

But the question I have for you is a tricky historical one: I've been looking through race results trying to find a Swedish driver that preceded Stefan Johansson: I found that Bertil Roos, who ran the famous racing school in America since the mid-'70s, was entered by Mergard Racing for three races in 1977 but DNS'd in all three. Is this something you recollect? Do you have any story to tell about Mergard Racing? Was Bertil Roos familiar to you? He passed away in 2016, sadly.

Jacob Fredriksson

RM: I recall seeing a sign for the Roos driving school on the way into Pocono and it seemed quite popular at the time, but I do not remember him being entered in an IndyCar race. Don Mergard ran a shoestring team and Jan Opperman qualified his car at Indy in 1976 and got bumped, but John Mahler got him in the show in 1977. Good to hear you guys are promoting IndyCar, and I expect good things out of Felix and Marcus if we ever get started.

Q: Was curious about your 5/13 Mailbag reference to Salt Walther being difficult to like, so I did some research and now certainly see your point. It got me to wondering how many other drivers, owners, team officials (i.e the Whittingtons, Curry, etc.) over the years have been similarly unpleasant to work with or disliked/disrespected by their peers?

David Spear

RM: Oh my God, I don’t have the time or space to list all of them, but every era has some shady characters and a few thieves thrown in for good measure. Salt had an amazing arrogance for someone who never came close to winning a race, and the Whittingtons were always a mystery but what we always heard about them turned out to be true.

Q: My question is about your racing highlights. What was the best USAC, etc., midget race you had? Which race was your biggest disappointment? Did you have a favorite engine and chassis – or maybe just one of each – to keep your budget from spiking... and away from the loan sharks?

David, Pittsburgh

RM: The 1980 Hut Hundred at Terre Haute. Qualified fifth out of 75 cars, passed Johnny Parsons for third when he jumped the cushion and was running fourth or fifth when my throttle linkage broke. Biggest disappointment? After making fun of Tony Bettenhausen Jr. the night before because he was complaining about having a sore neck following the 100-lap feature at the Salt Palace, I proceeded to lead the first 40 laps the next night in Salt Lake City and had a straightaway lead over Larry Patton and Sleepy Tripp. But what I didn’t have was a “sissy strap” for my neck, and as my head started listing badly to the right, I went from first to last and got lapped at least three times. My pal A.L. Freedman lifted me out of the car and laid me on the ground just as Tony B. came up chortling: “Oh, did the big tough racer hurt his little neck? You p****.” I deserved it.

My Gary Stanton midget was my pride and joy because it was the first midget he’d ever built, and after Jerry Weeks drove it at Kokomo and changed the torsion bars it was a rocket. I always had Chevy II engines, even though VWs were the way to go in the '70s and '80s, but if the Arias all-aluminum motor could have lived it was definitely the bomb 10 years later. I had one of the first Arias heads but it wasn’t developed and kept blowing up, so I sold my car and quit in debt up to my roll cage.

Miller channels his inner A.J. at Terra Haute. Image by John Mahoney

Q: I love your Tough Guy stories. Who are a couple of guys that were grinders -- guys who didn’t have top level talent, but just wouldn’t give up? Never made the headlines, but filled out the fields? (This will be a good chapter or two of your upcoming book…).

Wally, Eden Prairie, MN

RM: Al Loquasto immediately comes to mind, because he kept trying and crashing before he finally got Clint Brawner on board and qualified for the Indy 500 in 1976. Phil Krueger had more perseverance and mechanical skills than raw talent, but parlayed that to make Indy twice in the '80s. Randy Lewis kept plodding along and made five straight Indy fields in the late '80s and early '90s. But the guy with ability and some of the worst luck ever was Ralphie “The Racer” Ligouri. He drove anything and everything with four wheels in sprints, dirt cars and Indy cars and kept coming back. His passing A.J. for second place in the 1970 Hoosier Hundred is still one of my great memories.

Q: Goofing off on YouTube and I ran across a video you did for RACER on a guy I knew for a short while. Growing up in Las Cruces, NM, I spent many a night at Raceway Park in Albuquerque, even got drunk a time or two with Uncle Bobby, so I knew a bit about sprint cars. Later in life (1974-75 and 1980-82) I worked for Ken McDaniel in El Paso at what became Avenger Chassis, split by four years in Submarines.

October of ’74, and I'm in school at UTI (the original) in Phoenix. A friend had a box for the Western Worlds at Manzanita. I noticed on Wednesday a car at the motel next to my apartment complex. Went to the motel to see whose car it was and met Jan Opperman! For a kid who is a couple weeks from turning 18, this was huge! Ended up helping his crew that night for qualifying and watched him finish fourth on Saturday. Ferkle won. Two weeks later, most of the travel squad was back on the way home from Ascot, so they stop at Manzy for the end of season weekend. Thursday afternoon, I'm just home from school and answer a knock on the door: it's Jan. He has the car and no crew. I worked on his car for three nights and he gave me $50. Hell, I thought him buying the pit passes and dinner was enough. Thanks for reminding me of one of the best ever, as a driver or a man.

Boyce Williams, Salisbury, NC

RM: That sounds like Opp. After winning a race in Pennsylvania, he drove all night to Community Hospital in Indianapolis and left $200 for a driver (Steve Schultz) who was hurting. Thanks for sharing your story.

Q: NASCAR suspends Kyle Larson for a racial slur. Yet another major sanctioning body, WoO, with big-time sponsors, lets Kyle race in its series. Shouldn't Kyle be suspended from all racing? (sarcasm) Could this be considered that the WoO condones racial slur? It's a slippery slope when trying to be PC in controlling words.

Tom B.

RM: I believe Kyle had to take the diversity class before being welcomed back by the WoO, and I think that same thing applies to his NASCAR reinstatement as well. Tough time to get a ride right now, but I think Tony Stewart would hire him in a heartbeat for 2021.

Q: Longtime reader, first time writer. I hope you are doing well with the current mess going on.

My Paul Newman story isn’t with IndyCar, but his days in Trans Am. We had gone to Summit Point for several years and had been able to get there early enough to get a great camping spot on the front straight every year we went. We had a large cabin tent with large blue and yellow panels.

Our first year there, several teams asked us to keep the tent up as their driver could see it from the track and use it a braking reference on Sunday, and we did that every year we were there. One weekend we woke up late Saturday night to the sound of a spray can, and hit the track with our flashlights to catch Paul painting a braking mark on the edge of the track. Talk about a deer in the headlights! After a few seconds, he gave us the grin and his finger to his lips. We were already laughing. It was even better the next morning for final practice when the team guys were along the fence in front of our tent and were talking about the mark. We of course told them, and the reaction was great.

I work for the Rahal dealer group. Way back when, our company picnic was at Nazareth during the Indy race. My first picnic there, I told Bobby to ask Paul about that incident. I don’t know if he ever did, as I didn’t ask him about it, but he enjoyed the story.

Phil Beierschmitt

RM: That’s a cool story about one of the coolest people to ever grace this planet. PLN loved racing like few others, and it was always his great escape.

Q: Last week’s Mailbag story of Paul Newman in the all-white outfit brought back special memories of my own that I would like to share. For the 1989 Indy 500 my friend Dan and I were in the garage area, just being Indy fans. Suddenly, it seemed that Dan and I were the center of attention!  There was a 360-degree circle around us and cameras clicking constantly! It appeared that they were focused on us, this was a very strange experience – why?

I looked around and much to my surprise, I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Paul Newman. I must be in a lot of those old photos – if anyone has any from 1989 and would like to forward them on, I would love to have one. It would be a very special prize, since I was so shocked, I never thought to take a picture for myself in my one moment of ‘fame’.

Rich D.

RM: I’ll give you a good PLN story about photos. One morning at Long Beach he was in Newman/Haas hospitality eating breakfast and reading the Wall Street Journal all by himself. Three rather, um, large-boned ladies were standing outside the ropes in total apoplexy because they realized it was PLN. “Do you think he’d pose for a photo with us?” they asked me. I replied he was kinda gruff in the morning and likely no chance, but I’d go ask. I told him the situation, his glasses were poised on the end of his nose as always, and he said: “Oh great, now you’re my PR man or agent?” He slowly got up, the girls came running in and I snapped the picture. It was the greatest moment of their life and after a couple minutes Newman said: “30 years ago I would have been posing with Hollywood starlets.”

Q: Back in the CART days there was an IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio where Christian Fittipaldi had 'Roscoe' taped over his first name. Do you recall the origins or reasoning as to why? I asked in one of the CART boards but nobody seems to remember. Once person thinks they know but wouldn't say since it may not be PC in today's climate. Personally, I'm not very PC myself so I don't care about that. I just can't seem to remember why he was nicknamed Roscoe during practice. Any recollection of this?

Byron Holston

RM: I asked a couple of his crew guys from that year and the PR rep, and nobody has any idea of why he was Roscoe.

Christian Fittipaldi puts in the miles at Mid-Ohio in 2001. Not sure whether this was during his mysterious 'Roscoe' phase. Image by Abbott/Motorsport Images

Q: Looking back at the history of the notorious Split in U.S. open-wheel racing, I was wondering: how much of an influence or emboldening factor did Bernie Ecclestone have on Tony George in going ahead with his IRL plan? It was very obvious that the mounting popularity and worldwide expansion of Champ Car/CART was making The Bernie very nervous and agitated. The Split was exactly what Bernie's doctors ordered. Was the F1 Grand Prix at Indy part of Tony's "reward?"

Wiscowerner, Cedar Grove, WI

RM: Bernie was thrilled to see The Split because CART with Mansell had been kicking F1’s ass in TV ratings in England, but I don’t know that he influenced T.G. – certainly not like Bill France Jr.

Q: As always, I can't wait for Wednesday to read the Mailbag. What was the reason why Randy Bernard was fired? I think he was doing a good job. Second, you like the standing starts – why don't you call R.P. and ask him to bring that back? Always a pleasure to hear from you.

Phildawg Paris

RM: The condensed version is that Firestone/Bridgestone said it was getting out of IndyCar, so Randall went to Continental and they made a much bigger annual offer (I saw the proposal) but then Firestone changed its mind and said it was staying. Bernard was reacting to what he’d been told and trying to make a good deal when the lynch mob decided he had to go. If I told you who went to visit Mari Hulman/George to demand she get rid of him, you would be in shock. Standing starts would be perfect for Long Beach, Toronto and Portland because they all worked in the Champ Car days, but not sure R.P. is a fan.

Q: I’ve been reading about all your many times at the 500 and nobody’s asked you where do you usually watch the race from – or does it change from time to time? I have my favorite spot, how about you? Also, during the off-season are you ever in the stands at Lucas Oil for the Colts games?

Doug, Debary, Florida

RM: The press room television screens for the past 30 years, and the Bell Helmet room before that because it had a closed circuit TV hookup. I wrote columns about the Colts from 1986-1998 and had season tickets from 1984-2000, so no more live football for me. Happy to watch from home.