Q: You must have been standing in the rain all day Sunday, because you’re all wet. Just like many fans, I have been listening/watching/going to Indy since the "good old days". Yes, you’re right: we all knew the Big 3 would be fighting for the pole – just like the good old days when we knew Penske and Mears would win the pole along with Newman/Haas, Granatelli and a few other powerhouse teams. With the new format, you essentially have a Pole Day each of the days of qualifying. Were the crowds better on Pole Day in the ’70s and ’80s? Yes, because you showed up to see "a new track record" and a speed you never saw before. I say let’s remove the rev limiters and start cranking towards 300 mph – then you'll see the place packed on pole day and every news outlet covering the event. In light of that, I think the state of the Indy 500 is strong. I host a Pole Day B-B-Q every year and we were all glued to the TV for most of the day – loved it! Miller, the fight is over, the glass is half-full – how about you enjoy it like the rest of us?

Tony R, St. Louis

RM: I have been waterlogged for many years, I'm told, but what bothers me about this format is that nobody cares who qualifies 11th or 21st. They can keep the three tries on the first day for the Big 3, but all this extra running costs money for the teams that don't have any. Nor do they have any spare parts and very few spare cars. If we have three or four big crashes on Friday or Saturday, the Speedway might be scrambling to come up with 33 cars again.

Q: Liked your article but still think the existing qualifying format should stay. Do you think your opinion would be any different had N/H/L been smart enough to put new tires on Rahal’s car and he bumped Scheckter? While I really like a small team like Luczo Dragon making the first 11 spots, the story line of the day would have been young Rahal makes the race after Luczo Dragon Racing makes a rookie mistake. (The better driver, at least on ovals, is Scheckter.) As long as everyone has to play by the same rules then we are more legit than the taxi cabs. Please, no provisional ever in the 500.
Joe Azbell, Indianapolis

RM: Amen, no provisionals, ever. Like I said in my response directly above, this month we didn't need to try and manufacture drama because there were 32 cars running on Saturday morning and right now there should be 22-25 cars already qualified. Because it rained (like always), these teams are now even further behind the 8-ball and the Big 3.

Q: I’ve lived in California for the last 20 years after growing up in Indy. I was absolutely thrilled when they built California Speedway and signed on as a PSL member then, when open-wheel racing was king. When CART split off, I started going to Michigan. Once they put the Handford Device on, those races at Michigan were like nothing ever seen on this planet. It has always amazed me that after that first year with the Handford Device, the crowds kept getting smaller each year. Yet NASCAR seems to have no problem filling the place for two of its most boring races of the year. So, now that the series are reunited and car counts are up, what are the chances that the Triple Crown comes back? And not with 400-milers at Michigan and Fontana, but 500-milers, the way it should be?
Dean Baker, Latrobe, Calif.

RM: I was just as amazed as you at the lack of support at Michigan following that initial Handford Device 500 and maybe the wheel in the crowd did have a major effect. But if the IRL could get a big sponsor for the triple crown, I think it woud be much better going back to MIS and Fontana than staying on the 1.5-mile cookie cutters.

Q: I know that when the "unification" happened earlier in the year many of the Champ Car races were canceled. My question is why wouldn't they keep Cleveland on the schedule and drop Iowa? I've heard that that race is no where near as popular as Cleveland is.
Nick

Sutton, Shelby, Mich.

RM: Not true. There was a legitimate 30,000 paying customers at Iowa last year and they were very passionate, according to those in attendance. But we all want Cleveland back.

Q: For the love of God, could the "brilliant" Indy TV producers scrap that ridiculous Gene Simmons opening during qualifying?! Whatever happened to the theme from the Delta Force?
"Strength & Honor" in Milwaukee


RM: Scrapping Gene Simmons altogether would seem to be the right move.

Q: Please please PLEASE do everything in your power to get those IndyCar fools to eliminate the "Top 11" thing on pole day qualifying. With weather playing its part (like it usually does), now we're going to have teams that should be solidly in the field and working on race setup being more concerned about just getting in the field, with little or no practice time after they do. Ultimately, I think this hurts the quality of The 500...and becomes a further benefit to the big-three cartel that already rules the league.


Douglas Cole, West Chester, Ohio

RM: You are spot on, Doug. This format just widens the gap between the Big 3 and everyone else (especially the transition teams) and it's also costly. I've been preaching on SPEED and local radio and Bryan Herta did an editorial on his XM radio show that basically said let's go back to the old qualifying format.

Q: Is any IRL team or Indy Lights team currently looking at hiring a USAC driver?

Nick Walters, Champaign, Ill.

RM: Sure, if they've got a rich daddy or hit the lottery. Seriously, the answer is no. None of the IRL owners have probably ever heard of Tracy Hines, Brady Bacon, Robert Balough, Josh Wise, Daron Clayton, Dave Darland, Jerry Coons Jr., Jon Stanbrough, Shane Cottle… you get the picture. But NASCAR snapped up Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush) after watching him last year, and he's already won an ARCA race. It's a shame but the USAC decal that says: "The Road to Indy," means the Brickyard 400.

Q: Why does Ed Carpenter always seem to run out of fuel? It makes no sense. He's never been quick or effective in an Indy car. Some suggest he has a "Big "ol Cheater Engine". It’s disturbing to say the least.
Jack Newton, Montreal, Canada

RM: Gee, Larry Curry isn't at Vision Racing anymore so I don't know how to answer that question.

Q: Could you and Tom Sneva do a simulcast on racedays? Say on XM? I'd watch the race on TV and listen to YOUR commentary. Any chance?
Mark Hamilton, Winter Park, Fla.

RM: I said once that if Sneva and I couldn't get a couple folding chairs and sit on top of the Penthouse and be more entertaining than anybody ABC has used the past decade, we'd jump off. Yes, that would be fun, but nobody has called us about it.

Q: I was reading your comments about Milka and Marty Roth being out of their league and I would agree. On the other hand, hasn't there always been a few people in the field that shouldn't have been there? Maybe I'm confusing people with bad equipment with those who had no talent, but I remember pulling Dick Simon in the 500 pool as being a guaranteed win for first man out. Patrick Bedard, Chip Ganassi? Buddy Lazier couldn't stay out of his own way until 1996. Maybe living in the open-wheel split since 1995 has skewed my memory of how talented the fields used to be.
A. Ahrens, Oshkosh, Wis.

RM: When you look at the fields in the '50s and '60s and most of the '70s, they were pretty damn close to the 33 best drivers anywhere. The advent of buying rides changed all that and, of course, we had Bedard, Dr. Jack, Uncle Fester (Steve Barclay) and Judge Harry Sauce trying to play Indy 500 driver. Ganassi wasn't bad and Lazier drove junk until the IRL came along. Dick Simon always went pretty quick – when the leaders were coming up to lap him!