Robin Miller’s Mailbag for April 28, presented by Honda Racing / HPD

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. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of RACER or Honda/HPD.

Q: Colton Herta is my favorite driver. As much as I wouldn’t want him to leave I would love if he got an opportunity in Formula 1. I know Mario has been talking up Colton’s future in F1 for a while. I would like to see Colton make the move and be successful. One of the greatest memories I have in motorsports was back in 1997, walking around the paddock in Cleveland and seeing a group of drivers huddled around a TV watching the British Grand Prix. I remember them high-fiving and celebrating Jacques Villeneuve’s victory. I think an IndyCar driver, especially an American IndyCar driver, succeeding in Formula 1 would give us fans a sense of pride in “our” series. What is your opinion?

Ken, Lockport, NY

RM: Unless he got a ride with Mercedes or Red Bull, why would anyone want to see him go to a mid-pack team to run for 10th or race his teammate? Ask da Matta, Bourdais, Zanardi or even Jacques after he left Williams how much fun they had in F1. Ask Grosjean if he feels like a race driver again since coming to IndyCar. F1 is great for about six drivers, but Colton is the face and future of IndyCar for the next 20 years and I’d hate to see him get lost in the shuffle over there.

Q: So smooth, so confident, so impressive was Colton Herta at St. Pete. Essentially a perfect drive. If F1 cares enough to after years once again have two races in the U.S., how can anyone in the paddock deny this great young American driver a serious look – sponsorship or not?

John Weaver, Camp Hill, PA

RM: Because they don’t care about American drivers in F1.

Q: I just read that Mario Andretti says Herta belongs in F1. I remember a rumor about Michael Andretti perhaps entering F1. Any traction to this? As a huge F1 fan I’d love to see this.

David Young

RM: Michael evidently had some conversations a few years ago but then he went to Formula E, and it would appear to be a long shot unless John Menard decides to throw in $500 million. As a huge Colton Herta fan, I’d hate to see him in a car that had no chance of winning, and that would likely be his fate in F1.

With the new-for-1998 skinny grooved tires, year-old rebadged engines and an FW20 that looked like a year-old rebadged car, you could argue that Villeneuve's F1 fun factor was fading even before he left Williams. Motorsport Images

Q: With what seems to be more chatter about Colton going F1, I have to ask. Why would anyone leave IndyCar to go to F1?

John Fulton, Seville, OH

RM: They wouldn’t. Read Marshall’s story from Monday. Colton is no fool.

Q: Wow, Colton was amazing. Two down and 12 to go, but I want Colton to win a couple more. Still feel good about your pre-season prediction?

John Furnis

RM: Oh yeah, I think Herta will win a couple more, but 14 is still in play in my deranged mind.

Q: What's up with the blisters on the driver's hands? In the post-race interviews after St. Pete both Colton Herta and Jack Harvey showed the huge blisters on their hands. I would assume most drivers have these blisters. Maybe not the older drivers as much. Texas is only six days away and that’s not nearly enough time for blisters to heal. Two more days of back-to-back excruciating pain on the existing blisters in Texas. It has to hurt. Do the drivers ignore the pain in their hands, or does the adrenaline of the race take their minds off of it?

Bob Gray, Canoga Park, CA

RM: It shows you what no power steering, a physical street circuit and high temperatures can do a pair of tough hands, but Texas won’t be nearly as bad because they’re not grinding on the wheel and dodging concrete for two hours. And when a racer is in the zone, do you think he really worries about blisters?

Q: I have have trouble with NBC's coverage of what turned out a great race in St. Pete. The pre-race segment where little kids asked childish questions of drivers – designed to attract younger viewers, I'd assume – was a puerile waste of air time for real race fans. Then, early in the race, Graham Rahal's radio told him to go easy, conserve fuel, that everyone was doing the same. This purported to be a race. Why wouldn't the casual fan that NBC so desperately wants to court tune out from watching a procession of fuel-savers? If NBC and IndyCar want to grow the sport, shouldn't they promoting actual racing and drop the childish gimmicks?

Anthony Jenkins, Mono, Ontario

RM: Unfortunately fuel is a big part of the story every week in IndyCar and NASCAR, and I agree the last thing you want to hear is “saving fuel” but it’s a necessary evil in terms of race strategy.

Q: Well, we are two races in, so I guess it is time to start talking about Silly Season. Something has been wrong with the No. 27 team since last year. Rossi's driving hasn't declined, and Andretti Autosport is undoubtedly giving him the best, but something just isn't meshing there. I think something radical needs to change with either engineering/leadership or with Rossi moving on. I remember you writing that Penske was sniffing around when Rossi and Andretti were negotiating a new contract. What do you think?

HB

RM: I think it’s way too early to get excited about driver changes, and Rossi was on the front row at Barber and got tangled up with Graham last Sunday fighting for sixth. It’s a new world, brother -- like I told you in the pre-season story, the youth movement is taking over. But don’t count out Rossi. I saw Michael and Rob Edwards having what appeared to be some heated words in the pits, so frustration rules right now around the No. 27 car.

Q: It's great that NBC is putting more races on the network, but it's not so great that whatever is not on the network seems to be very spotty. It is Sunday morning, before the St. Pete race. To this point, I have seen no reference to IndyCar qualifying (searches on Xfinity and the Peacock Premium app yielded nothing). Peacock only had last week's race to view – nothing on this week's race. No practice. No qualifying. For hardcore fans, this is very distressing. That qualifying especially was not streamed live on Peacock or shown on NBCSN is really a shame. But further, it's not even available to me after the fact. I have no way to see yesterday's qualifying. Do you know if this was a universal problem, Robin, or am I just a victim of my local Comcast network?

Gerry Harrison

RM: I pay $5 a month for Peacock and watched both practice sessions and qualifying on Friday and Saturday (and qualifying was re-played Saturday night at 10 p.m. on NBCSN). Plus there was a 30-minute pre-race show Sunday on NBC that broke down qualifying so I’m perplexed at where you live and what service you have.

Q: As much as I love watching the IndyCar races, one thing I always looked forward to was watching you! Now I feel like something is missing. Use to see you racing around the paddock interviewing or joking with everyone. Who do I get now? Rutledge Wood interviewing kids! I can do that in my living room with all of my kids! So tell me, will we ever see your return?

Jim in LA

RM: Thanks Jim, nice to be missed, but I can’t really move around very well and Indy will be the only races I go to this season, so NBC is kindly going to let me do some essays like it did in 2020.

"Have you been using fake names to write into the Mailbag again?" Barry Cantrell/Motorsport Images

Q: I read the recent article regarding the ticket allowance for the 500. Have you heard if the Speedway will allow fans in for practice and qualifying?

Joel Holland, Urbana, OH

RM: Absolutely, $15 for practice and $20 for qualifying.

Q: I read that the infield will be closed at IMS. Why not let anyone who’s been vaccinated into the infield? Bring your card for gate admission.

Mike Banker

RM: All I can say is that IMS is trying to control the environment and obviously feels the infield invites people on top of each other. But I can’t answer your question.

Q: I know race fans (especially IndyCar fans) reserve the right to bitch about anything and everything. But after the year we just had, I wish people could be grateful for small victories as we get to resume watching races in person in 2021. Case in point: The small-minded commenters on the recent Indy 500 attendance plan story. You can whine all you want about how you think things should be, but the bottom line is this: Get a shot – go to the race. Don't get a shot – stay home and watch it on TV. Pretty simple.

Roger Penske and IndyCar moved heaven and earth to have a 2020 season that probably didn't make them a dime. So how about we be part of the solution and be happy with racetracks opening back up again, even if it isn't quite as fast or convenient or as full-capacity as some would like? I was happy to get my racing fix via NBC Gold and Dirtvision last year, and am chomping at the bit to get back to Knoxville for some live action. But I'm grateful for what I could get last year, and if a free COVID shot or two is my ticket back to normal, all I can say is better living through chemistry. Are race fans ever satisfied?

JQ, Des Moines, IA

RM: I’m convinced you could take some fans to the track (for free), sit them behind the pits (with a free lunch) and give them credentials to be on the grid before the race and they would bitch about their seats, the sun being in their eyes or the fact they couldn’t get Scott Dixon’s autograph as he was being buckled into his car. Indy will likely have the largest sporting crowd of 2021 and, no it’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better than a year ago.

Q: Sitting here watching the St. Pete race, fully vaccinated with confirmed seats for my 46th 500. Watching St. Pete, I am really impressed with the ad campaign that Carvana is putting into IndyCar. I know, cue the J.J. haters because he is in all of them, but it's impressive to see them go all-in on IndyCar.

We have heard that Carb Day will be open to fans with a $25 ticket. Now, with the Freedom 100 gone (which is a shame because it was always a fantastic race!), pit stop competition canceled, concert canceled, we are essentially paying $25 for a one-hour practice. Now, I don't mind paying R.P. a few extra bucks, because I'm sure it is needed, but have you heard anything about any more track activities being added? Maybe still allow the vintage cars to run? I think it will be a hard sell to bring in paying fans in for so little activity (but we'll still go, dammit...). What say you?

D. Thomas, Tell City, IN

RM: I’m pretty sure practice has been increased to two hours, but no disagreement – a great day has been reduced to what it used to be prior to the pit stop competition. The Lights race is perplexing because not only was it always an amazing race, teams could get sponsorship.

Q: Since we have the current schedule, which do you think is better? 1) Three consecutive weekends of IndyCar (after a horrendously long offseason). 2) First three races about three or four weeks apart (after a long, long offseason; the original version). I will take the first option. Opening this year with three consecutive race weekends is very nice. Maybe hard on the teams, but very nice to us fans and a more effective lead-up to the month of May (for me). Pretty much means that I no longer care about a double race weekend such as our next one. For those that can actually travel to the races, obviously being spread out might enable more travel. So, I get that the answer is not best for everyone at the same time.

Doug S., Salt Lake City, UT

RM: I will take whatever NBC decides should be on network air.

Q: Thank you for writing the Jimmie Johnson article! It is absolutely unbelievable to see, and listen to, the carping that supposed race fans have done on this subject. One thing for sure – the folks doing the bitching have never raced themselves. What kind of feedback did you get?

Duke Seegers

RM: Ninety percent agreed with you, but sometimes you only hear from the whiners early and they never resurface.

Q: We should admire J.J.’s guts to try something new at his age, knowing he will not be in the same league of other more experienced drivers. Easiest thing would be to go off into retirement. The attention and publicity he and Carvana are bringing should be appreciated. I'm 69 and remember in the ’60s and ’70s A.J., Mario, and Parnelli were known far more widely than Petty or Pearson. Common people knew those three names. But I believe NASCAR figured something out: entertainment is better than competition, so they started marketing their drivers.

Forget the racing, it's now the drivers and name recognition. It seems open-wheel racing was left behind. As you wrote, Jimmie Johnson has the largest name recognition so fans should be thankful for that. I also think IndyCar should market the drivers more. Who can say Rossi, Newgarden, O'Ward, Herta, Dixon, etc., are not exciting to watch? I remember the time when fans complained ratings were low because there were no competitive Americans in IndyCar. That cannot be said today. And give attention to the diversity in the series which NASCAR craves. So I am hoping others follow Carvana's lead – promote the driver, make commercials, market. I hope to see more commercials with Jimmie Johnson. Your thoughts Robin? Thanks for your excellent writing, and the article on Steve Stapp.

Rick, Homestead, FL

RM: Isn’t it ironic that those great Carvana ads list J.J.’s name when everyone in America already knows who he is and the latest marketing ploy from IndyCar has a video with several drivers and doesn’t name one of them? If any group needs to be identified, it's IndyCar drivers… oops sorry, they’re now called “athletes” by the “Defy Everything” ad campaign – another waste of money. And don’t hold your breath on any sponsors stepping up like Carvana; it’s a $5 billion company that has invested in J.J. and IndyCar like nobody we’ve seen since Target and Honda.

Jimmie Johnson is #defying what most people would expect a seven-time Cup champion to do with his time once he's done with NASCAR. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images

Q: Thanks so much for taking the time and having the integrity to school the whiners who write to you about the realities of IndyCar racing. Your article concerning the awesomeness of Jimmie Johnson taking on IndyCar hit every point right on the mark, and we are all so lucky he took on this challenge. He is class and he brings fantastic attention to the best racing on the planet – bound to help us sustain it for future years. Beyond that, every week you do a great job of straightening less informed people out and educating them (if they care to learn) on the realities of IndyCar 2021, and we all profit from your patience and eloquence in doing so. Do you ever grow tired of people bitching?

Ed Koenig, San Marcos

RM: I guess bitching is part of being a sports fan, not just limited to motorsports, but it’s the lack of common sense that just floors me. Criticizing one of the greatest stock car drivers ever because he’s got the cajones to try something totally different near the end of his career is as stupid as much as it is insulting. And he’s been IndyCar’s best PR man since the first day he tested with Carvana in trying to initiate the general public into what he’s doing.

Q: Just finished your article on Jimmie Johnson and you absolutely nailed it! Not only does he and Carvana bring more eyes to IndyCar, he has 2.6 million Twitter followers! That’s more then the entire IndyCar field times 10 (minus Romain Grosjean who has 1.1 million). As a life-long Indycar fan I can’t thank him enough for what he’s doing for us. Yea there’s a lot of focus on him, but who cares, there’s more focus on IndyCar too.

Brad Heuer, Coeurdalene, ID

RM: You didn’t ask a question, but I like those stats. J.J.’s honesty when he climbs out of the car after practice, qualifying or a race is not only refreshing, it’s newsworthy, and newspapers and TV stations that otherwise ignore IndyCar are suddenly running stories.

Q: Once again at Barber Ryan Hunter-Real got knocked out of a race by something that wasn’t his fault. He’s a talented driver, but is he the unluckiest driver in the paddock? It seems more times than not his car has electrical issues or he gets caught up incidents. What other driver historically has had his kind of frustrating experience, not counting the Andretti Indy curse as Mario and Michael were beasts everywhere else?

Carl, Chenoa, IL

RM: Marshall awards the Cartoon Anvil to the unluckiest driver of each race and it’s pretty hard not to just put RHR’s name on it full-time. His last few years have been plagued by the things you mentioned, and his last win was 2018. I’d say Lloyd Ruby rivaled the Andrettis at Indianapolis and Jim Hurtubise only finished one out of 10 starts, but can’t think of a candidate for regular season misery. Maybe Roger McCluskey or Johnny Rutherford in their early USAC days. Parnelli seemed unlucky more times than not.

Q: I gotta tell ya Robbie, when I first heard that IndyCar was going to a two-day format for the road courses, I didn’t like the idea. But then I checked out the Road to Indy TV site. It was fun on Friday to watch USF2000 and see the Force Indy Team with Myles Rowe’s debut, along with Jackson Lee, the son of our buddy Kevin. And in Indy Pro 2000, I liked watching my local guy Braden Eves dominate the weekend. In that same class, I got to know Jacob Abel (aka Jabel) over the winter through iRacing, so it was great to see him compete in a real car. Until now I have paid passing interest to the Road to Indy. So I don’t know if Jay Frye did it by design or happenstance, but the two-day weekend really opened my eyes to the RTI classes. May they should do a little more promotion the next road course event?

Don Davis, Chardon, OH

RM: Let’s face it, other than Long Beach (free Fridays) and Gateway, there’s not even a lot of people on Fridays at the big boys -- Road America and Mid-Ohio – except the campers, unless they were co-hosting IMSA. It saves everyone money, and I believe that’s the goal. Ovals should always be one day because nobody goes to practice or qualifying, but the promoters need Saturdays everywhere else.

Q: Riddle me this, ‘Millerman’. Indy Lights is a step up from USF2000 that is a step up from Indy Pro 2000. [ED: You're close – Indy Pro 2000 sits between Lights and USF2000 on the ladder]. What each of these has in common compared to IndyCar are incremental increases in speed, performance, downforce and race length. What each of these series does not have in common with IndyCar is pit stops, and therefore experience in getting on and off pit road under race conditions. Why is that?

As an ever-increasing Indy Lights fan, why not have a uniform period of time where the driver must come to pit road if for nothing else a timed stop, say 10 seconds within a defined lap window and maybe an extra second or two hold for a driver missing the marks? This isn’t meant to be gimmicky, but would aid in getting drivers ready for IndyCar pit stops and probably shake up the standings a bit in rewarding drivers for quick in-laps and out-laps. This would also result in a clearer distinction between Indy Lights and the pair of 2000 series. Why isn’t this a good idea?

Chris B. (missing races in Loudon) NH

RM: It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not practical from a budget standpoint because if you’re going to go to the trouble to pit, then why not add distance and refuel? Teams would have to buy refueling rigs and likely beef up their pit stop crew if the races were lengthened. It works pretty well right now as a sprint race, and some of the graduates have adapted to pit stops quite nicely. There is finally a decent car count again so let’s not run anyone away.

Q: First off, love your article about Jimmie Johnson and how great he is for IndyCar. I am totally stoked for the season. Tracy got picked up for St. Pete; was that because NBC realized how great he is in the booth in Alabama?

CAM in LA

RM: A management decision came down after Barber that said it was a mistake to not have him at every race, and the majority of IndyCar fans applauded.

The Road to Indy series are winning themselves some new fans. Image by Road to Indy

Q: Hey, I have not been keeping up with the Mailbag so I’m sorry if this has been a previous topic. Has there been any talk of getting IndyCar on Netflix or Hulu in the way F1 is? The Netflix show has saved F1 and made the sport grow to fans that would never be racing fans. Also, from what I read, team sponsorship has gone up a lot from this. I think even being late to the game, IndyCar should try and do the same type of show. The danger and drama is just as high, and here in America we know the names of a lot of people from the glory days of the sport that are still team owners.

IndyCar would have to make sure to spend money to push the show, because just making a show don’t mean people will watch it. Netflix would have to be behind this. I mean, imagine the biggest race in the world (one of the most dangerous races) the Indy 500 being covered in the show. Has there been any talk of this?

Rick H.

RM: I’ve heard there may have been a few discussions, but for Netflix or Hulu to jump in and spend big money is kinda doubtful considering how bad the IndyCar ratings are. F1 has a global audience in the multi-millions; IndyCar couldn’t get one million to watch the season opener. I realize the F1 show has helped grow its popularity, but other than the Indy 500 I’m not sure anyone would step up even though the racing is great.

Q: The article about the progress Chevrolet is making with the new engine grabbed my attention. It’s great that it looks like the cars will have 900hp combined with the hybrid system – a number that reminds us of the halcyon CART days. I think 90hp is fantastic, but if they’re only going to rev to not-quite 12,000, only part of the equation is solved. Personally, I’d prefer 800hp with 13,000+ rpm. I’m aware it all costs money, but the sound those CART engines made screaming at high rpm were half – maybe more than half – of their appeal back then. An extra 1,000 rpm isn’t extreme, but it would make a better sound. Since we have HP projections, are there any on where the redline might be with the new engines?

Eric Z, Lancaster, NY

RM: Over to Marshall: “I'd love to hear 14-15,000 revs, but there's no way it will happen unless the auto industry undergoes a massive spike in sales and record profits to pass down to its racing program managers. You are right – the extra revs cost a fortune; with the added rotational speed, you need lighter and more robust parts, and since the series has a long mileage expectation from the motors, the price of spinning big revs would take the annual lease prices to a level teams could not afford. More revs, better sounds. I wish we had CART-era dollars, TV ratings, and crowd sizes. Many things would be different, and better, but, as our pal Juan Pablo Montoya loves to say, ‘It is what it is.’”

Q: With all the chatter about Jimmie Johnson, good, bad, or whatever, I'm reminded of Eddie Lawson. I can find stats for his CART days, but I'd like to know what the atmosphere and paddock reaction was when he switched to four wheels. He's never been one for interviews and we didn't have all the information you could ever dream of back in the ’90s, so what did the four-wheel crew think of him? Did he pay his way into the field, or was he good enough to warrant the ride? Would his time be considered a success or just a stunt? There is no doubt he was a stud on two wheels, and his name is rightfully among the best ever for that discipline.

Travis, Lee's Summit, MO

RM: I can’t recall if he brought sponsorship, but everyone loved the guy’s attitude and reputation. I never thought he got a fair shake because his ride wasn’t very good. I recall him carving through the field in the rain at Detroit and looking him afterwards and he smiled and said: “First I felt like I was racing somebody.” In the right circumstances, he could have been Joe Leonard.

Q: When the discussion comes up about the greatest drivers who could hop into anything with wheels and win (A.J. Rufus, Mario, Gurney), why isn’t Mark Donohue regularly mentioned in this elite group? He won the Indy 500, won the Riverside 500 in NASCAR, Can-Am and Trans Am championships, won the first IROC series, and finished fourth in the 1967 Le Mans. He was also one of the few (if not only) drivers of this era with an engineering degree. Yet I don’t hear his name mentioned as one of the greatest drivers. Why is this?

Brad from Powder Springs

RM: That’s a very good question. Mark came from SCCA and sports cars, Can-Am and didn’t grow up as a USACer, so that likely hurt his popularity since USAC was on top in the late ’60s and early ’70s. He didn’t run dirt (neither did Gurney) so that was another group of fans he didn’t cultivate, and he was only around for six years. But there is no denying his ability, chassis savvy and the fact he won Indy car races, banged wheels with Rufus, Follmer and Gurney in Trans Am and was a Can-Am star. I guess his mild-mannered and almost bashful persona worked against him as well. Was he one of the top 10 drivers of the ’70s? Hard to argue he wasn’t.

Donohue comfortably earned a place among his generation's versatile greats. Just a shame his boss was too cheap to buy him his own jacket. Motorsport Images

Q: I appreciated your comments on Jimmie Johnson and everything that you've said about Penske, NBC, and the owners, drivers, and sponsors who put their necks and wallets on the line for our entertainment. For those who haven't noticed, all sports are having trouble keeping audiences. Even the mighty NFL wasn't able to dictate terms like it usually does. Anyway, my question concerns what I think was the best pass I ever saw at Indianapolis. It was mid-to-late race and Michael Andretti came into Turn 1 behind three slower cars and passed them all, going outside, inside, outside in the corner. For the life of me, I can't find a clip of that anywhere. Did I just imagine that, or can you tell me when it happened? If I didn't imagine it, as a bonus, who would you consider your top three passers at Indy?

Robert Meegan

RM: Mears and Michael had the classic passes in consecutive laps in 1991, but Ruby and Johncock used the grass to their advantage for some amazing moves and Rossi’s back-to-front performance in 2018 has to rank as some of the best passes ever. But I don’t recall what you are referring to.

Q: The recent question on how drivers who are not highly paid support themselves in the off-season (or during the season) was an excellent one. Vuky had his gas station back in Fresno and Jim Clark his sheep farm in Scotland – if they had ever needed those endeavors to fall back on. You mentioned speaking engagements. I heard Roger Ward in the 1960s speak at a civic club in my hometown of Marion, Indiana, and Johnny Rutherford give a talk at the Valvoline tent on Carb Day in the 1970s. Both were quite good. The best after-dinner speaker, in my opinion, was Graham Hill. At his 1966 500 Victory Dinner speech he was humorous, entertaining, and with a straight face got a naughty joke past all but a few in the audience. Which drivers do you think were or are the best speakers?

John Beineke

RM: Uncle Bobby, J.R., Sneva and Gary B. (after a few drinks) were the most entertaining.

Q: Did you come to any of the European CART races at Rockingham, Brands Hatch or Lausitzring? If so, any recollections you’d care to share, other than Zanardi’s awful crash? It’s always a pleasure to read the Mailbag and I look forward to many more.

Frederico Ribeiro

RM: Yep, my best memory is the first race at Rockingham. No practice because of weepers, a 10-minute warm-up and then one of the most exciting oval-track races ever between Brack and de Ferran. I was mostly impressed with the British fans, they sat there all day and didn’t boo or throw things, even after they kept shortening the race distance because the sun was going down. And my F1 journo pals Nigel Roebuck, Maurice Hamilton and Murray Walker were highly entertained.

Q: I just watched the 1994 Indy 500 again, and loved all the excitement about the Beast engine. Great race. What also caught my attention was a comment I think Sam Posey made about the apron being gone. This may have been one of the first races not to have it (can’t remember when it was removed). Anyway, he stated something along the lines of, since the apron was gone the spins that they were witnessing (practice, qualifying and in the race) were less dangerous to the drivers. In other words, the cars were less likely to hit the wall at bad angles. This seemed true during the race, and I was trying to remember if there had been any really bad accidents since the apron’s removal. The only bad one that I can remember was Sebastien Bourdais’s near head-on into the wall a few years ago. So my question is, has the missing apron made racing at the Indy 500 safer?

Lt Col (R) Robin Athey

RM: That was the BS put out by the track supervisor at the time, and I asked a few members of the medical team and they said it wasn’t true. Drivers were getting pummeled because they sat so far forward in the car. And if the apron gives a driver a place to save his car (which it always did) or make a pass (ask Mears and Michael) then why not reinstate it?

Q: In the aftermath of the Miami Grand Prix announcement, a lot of people have complained that F1 should be going to somewhere like Laguna, Elkhart Lake or The Glen instead of what's been called a car park. Firstly, do the owners of those aforementioned tracks want to host an F1 race? Secondly, would they want to splash out to bring their tracks up to FIA Grade 1 standards and to pay the astronomical race fees?

Jordan, Warwickshire, UK

RM: You just answered your own question. The Glen is packed for NASCAR and doesn’t have to pay whatever ridiculous sanction fee F1 demands.

If F1 wanted a parking lot for its second U.S. race it could have just gone to Houston. Masche/Motorsport Images

Q: I loved Simon Pagenaud’s golden livery for the race at St. Petersburg.  It looked like a billion dollar car. My understanding is that liveries are not applied with paint, but with a wrap. Since I’ve never seen it done, I guess/envision colorized cellophane being wrapped around the fuselage and wings and made permanent with the use of heat application. (This is where one could add a joke about them using Simon Pagenaud’s hair dryer.) Am I close? Can you or Marshall post a photo of a wrap being applied and/or the heat being applied? See you at the Texas doubleheader.

Q: Not on the topic of IndyCar, but as a fan and historian of open-wheel racing, can you name anybody over the last 40-50 years who has posted the results accomplished in 2020 by Kyle Larson in Paul Silva’s No. 57, along with the midget wins (cars also built and tuned by Silva)? They pretty much cleaned house! Kyle raced 97 times last year and won 46 features including at least 12 WoO wins, 2 Chili Bowl wins, the Turkey Night GP, the Hangtown 100, and the Hoosier Hundred. He even had a Dirt Late Model win in one of the few times he ever stepped into one of those cars!

I am thinking that Larson is the closest thing we’ll ever see to the old-time all-around drivers like Foyt, Andretti, Ward, Rutherford, PJ, and on par with Kinser, Wolfgang, Swindell, Allen, Opperman, or any of the pioneering WoO drivers. A true do it all, fast in everything shoe! If he could only get a chance to race the 500 someday... What say you about probably the most truly talented driver to come along in many a moon? Thank you.

Dwight Anderson, Sacramento, CA

RM: Kyle’s year was extra special because it was with and without wings in sprinters, midgets and late model dirt stockers. But allow me to submit Steve Kinser: in 1987 he won 46 WoO features, including 12 in a row, and 24 of the last 26 events. He has won the Knoxville Nationals a record 12 times, the Gold Cup Race of Champions 12 times, and the Kings Royal at Eldora seven times. He won 20 WoO championships and 690 "A" features (including full-field preliminary night wins). Doug Wolfgang won 45 sprint car features in 1976 with Bob Trostle and Sammy Swindell triumphed 28 times in 1981 on his way to the WoO title. Kyle is the Parnelli Jones/A.J./Mario of our era because of his versatility.