Q: What are the chances of seeing the IRL return to Atlanta for another night race?

RM: Slim and his cousin None. USAC tried in the '60s and drew poor crowds. CART put on great shows in the late '70s and early '80s and the place was empty. Ditto for the IRL. It's a NASCAR town, obviously.

Q: I know how much you love the tradition of open wheel racing and I am very happy that we now have one series with some great drivers and personalities. Now I hope that we can focus on fixing what is really my favorite form of racing: USAC Silver Crown. Is there any hope of USAC returning to the "Old Style" cars on pavement or coming up with a better way to race on pavement other than the ridiculous pavement cars they have now? It is sad to see that there where only 18 cars that showed up for the opening race at Manzanita. What can be done?

Chris Bynum, Austin, Texas

RM: Good news. The old-style dirt cars have been re-installed as the Silver Crown car on dirt and pavement for the rest of 2008 and beyond.

Q: You're on record as a fan of 'push to pass', which surprises me......since the fans at the track (or watching on television, for that matter) are not kept abreast of 'push to pass' use as it happens. That makes going to a race the equivalent of playing a video game outside. Figuring out the 'story' of a race using 'push to pass' technology is impossible as a stopwatch does no good, the announcers can't help you.....it offers only the false excitement of the unexpected. Please explain how it helps the fan at the track.

Stever

RM: I can't argue your point that it's impossible to follow for paying customers but the benefit for them is the over-taking it can create. Obviously, this is only needed at street circuits and road courses and it has made the show better.

Q: Do you think the IRL will ever limit the amount of cars an owner may have? With Andretti/Green having four and other teams having only one or two, it gives them an obvious advantage. I don’t want to see this series continue to where only three owners have a chance of winning.

OPEN WHEEL FAN

RM: Well, until the unification, the IRL was praying AGR would continue to run four or maybe six just to try and keep the car count at 18. Your point is well taken, AGR benefits in some ways (testing, feedback and race strategy) from a 4-car armada but, on the flip side, Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi only run two cars because they feel it's their best chance to win. Until open wheel is solvent, I don't think any number would be discouraged.

Q: Can you shed some light as to why IndyCar is not televised by Speed? IndyCar might gain a larger, less frustrated, more loyal fan base if races weren’t cut off or start late due to other programming. You can have a race start on ABC, then go to ESPSN, ESPN2, then ESPN2Classic. If fans are recording the race, obviously, they’re not going to know what happened until they play it. Plus, fans may not have some of these channels. Ever since F1 went to Speed, they have been nothing but consistent with their schedule. Speed also shows replays of races. Speed certainly sets an exemplary example.

L & L Masters

RM: Simple: the IRL signed a long-term deal with ABC and still gets a nice stipend for the Indy 500 rights. It's also network and thus a much larger viewership. What I'd like to see is IRL practice and qualifying shows on SPEED, especially the road courses and street circuits where the knockout qualifying is quite entertaining.

Q: Everyone is thrilled by the reunification of Indycar racing and people stress the need for new manufacturers to come into the sport. With Toyota now running well in NASCAR, and given their history of outspending rivals, is there any chance that Chevy or Ford might take another look at Indycars? Are we going to get our turbos back?! Fingers crossed......

Mike Lea, Manchester, England

RM: Parnelli Jones says until Ford and General Motors return, Indy-car racing will struggle and I tend to agree with him. CART's heydays were when Honda, Toyota, Ford and Chevy duked it out. But the one problem is that Ford or GM does not want to battle Honda's deep pockets. Turbos still make the sweetest sound don't they?

Q: Do you have any idea what Tony George plans for future race schedules? I have gone to Road America for the past 18 years, and all but one year have had Champ Cars. This year will not see the IRL because of the merger but is there a possibility of them returning soon? Not to mention Laguna Seca and the tracks in Canada too?

Erik Steinbrecher

RM: Michael Andretti's group is looking at promoting a return to Toronto, Mike Lanigan is lobbying for Cleveland and every road racing fan in North America wants Elkhart Lake back (along with the ALMS for a doubleheader). I'd love to see St. Jovite as well. I think TG understands that ovals (especially ISC ovals) are no longer his calling card.