An IRL official said to me: "You're always talking about the guys in the '70s and '80s who hung it out and risked everything to make the race, that's what Ryan was doing."

No, Ryan was trying to make the Top 11, he already had the race made for all practical purposes.

Those other guys mentioned above all ran over 222 mph and, considering the circumstances, belong in the field instead of having to go through all this again next weekend.

To their credit, none of these guys publicly moaned about the format, they just accepted it.

Yet the circumstances are that none of those guys from Champ Car (or Bell) have a backup car so they're already at a disadvantage. They couldn't do too much trimming out for qualifying because they simply can't afford to crash. Since it rained Sunday, this hurts their preparation for Race Day because they can't totally concentrate on race setups. They've got to keep up with the track this week and make sure they don't lose any speed.

Of course the bottom line is that all those drivers, undoubtedly, will come back and make the show, although there's obviously no guarantees.

But, between now and next May, hopefully Brian Barnhart & Company will re-think the process. Lock in the top 22 on Pole Day or, better yet, go back to the old days with no guarantees when qualifying was as fast as you could go for four laps and you got to make the choice on whether to keep it or wave it off.

There was nothing wrong with qualifying before the split and even Tony George admitted 25/8 wasn't a good idea back in 1996. Neither is 11-11-11.

Drama never had to be manufactured at Indianapolis. It usually finds its own way to 16th & Georgetown.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, SPEED, or Haymarket Worldwide.