Q: I wanted to ask about Herk (Jim Hurtubise) and I seem to recall that you were fond of him. My dad always got misty eyed when he told me that after Herk's 1964 wreck, when he was asked what position his hand should be essentially frozen in, that he just wanted it shaped to hold a steering wheel. Is that true and, if so, what did it look like? I still remember him pulling out the front-engine roadster during quals.
Gary in Brookston, Ind.

RM: Herk was my hero and I got to stooge for him at Indy in 1968 (the last year a roadster made the field). He burns at Milwaukee in '64, mangles his hands and the doctors asked if he wanted his fingers straight or to be able to grip a steering wheel, so they placed pins in his fingers and he had a permanent claw. His finished fourth in his comeback at Phoenix in 1965 and his hands were a bloody pulp afterwards but he was smiling. Ask his old buddy Parnelli, nobody was better or braver in a sprint car.

Q: The accident recently in the pits was pretty scary and I think pit crews are in more danger than anybody on the track. I remember the Bill Elliot incident that led to speed limits in the pits. But I don't think that's enough. When there's an incident on the track the yellow flags flies and everybody slows down and holds their position. Yet, during a yellow is when the pits are busiest, and we still allow racing in the pits. Yes, you have to stay within the speed limit but everyone is racing in the pits. Pit crews can still win or lose a race on green flag stops. But there is no racing allowed on the track during a yellow for safety reasons. Shouldn't these guys that go over the wall have the same consideration for their safety taken into account?
Jim Patton, Lindale, Texas


RM: Funny, I worked on Indy pit crews from 1969-1977 and there was no speed limit (my man Lloyd Ruby was a sight to behold roaring in at 140 mph) but there was also very few incidents. The biggest problems I see is the rev limiters and the wild burnouts leaving the pit boxes, with tire changers and fuelers in the line of fire. And closing the pits. I always like the fact if the yellow flashed on and you were steaming out of Turn 4 and could get slowed to pit, it was a good break for you. Now all we have is the mayhem of everyone pitting at the same time. Larger pit boxes would help at some places like Milwaukee but space is limited.

Q: One the things I miss about Indy, is the different car & engines that we use to see ie, Eagle-Offy, Eagle-Cowsorth, Lola-Buick, Lola-Mercedes, etc. Just seems this current spec car formula isn't helping the the smaller teams be competitive. Shouldn't the powers that be able a write a set of rules that allow this?
Oscar Love, Seattle

RM: That's because the IRL is not a true spec series. The rule book has so many gray areas that rich teams like Penske, Ganassi and AGR can R &D just about everything on the car. Hence, they've won 39 of the last 40 races. The Champ Car in 2007 was a true spec chassis because teams weren't allowed to go outside the box. So the little teams of Derrick Walker and Keith Wiggins were able to use their guise and win races and Dale Coyne came close a couple times. Sure, Sebastien Bourdais still won the most (and the title) for Newman/Haas/Lanigan but it wasn't a rout like we see in the IRL.

Q: Why doesn't USAC allow rear-engined sprint cars? That's nuts. Rear-engined cars on dirt would be the best training for not only Indy car but even Formula 1. (I'm thinking how motorcycle dirt-track racers like Freddie Spencer and Kenny Roberts came to dominate MotoGP's road courses.) You would learn so much on how to handle a car. What gives?
SP Brown

RM: What gives is what I call the "USAC mentality.” In the early 1970s, USAC decided to take the dirt cars out of the championship trail and that was the first blow to the midget and sprint drivers wanting to go to Indy. Then, after Tom Sneva won a few races with an old rear-engined box, the USAC board outlawed rear-engined sprinters. These brilliant decisions paved the way for USAC to become a feeder system for NASCAR.

Q: I think each Indy 500 entrant should have to qualify for at least one other oval race prior to running at Indy. Would this be any benefit to the IRL?
Inquisitive Bob

RM: In the old days, a driver had to run Trenton or Phoenix or Milwaukee (or all three) before he was allowed to even TAKE a rookie test at Indy. The benefit might be to the other drivers.

Q: How do you think Curt Cavin feels about you ripping off his blog format in this mailbag section? What's next, a weekly call-in radio show hosted by you and Mike King or Bob Jenkins?
Indy Clint

RM: Now that's funny. Let's see, I believe I started the Ask the Expert feature at The Indy Star in about 1998 (about 10 years after I assigned Cavin to help me cover motorsports) and the same year I got fired from my radio show at WIBC for daring to criticize Tony George. Gee, doesn't Cavin have a show on WIBC now? Oh yeah, then I gassed at Channel 13 in 2002 because they were partners with The Star. Hmm, I believe Cavin took my place there as well. Yep, I confess, I feel really bad about ripping him off. I hope he's not mad at me.

Q: Last Sunday on Wind Tunnel, you mentioned that the IRL would be smart to consider alternatives to opening the Indy Motor Speedway for just rookies on the first weekend in May. Perhaps there is a solution that could put more fans in the stands. My suggestion is to open the month of May at Cleveland. What could be better than to add a road course race to the schedule? In fact, why not add Houston to the second weekend in May and have a real race? What fun! At this point, does open-wheel competition really need four weeks at Indy or more road courses?
Bernie Colasuonno

RM: Even in Indy's heydays, teams complained about being there for a month, spending 30-40 percent of its budget and running miles and miles for no payoff. It would be very smart for T. George & Company to have a race in early May and cut Indy down to a couple weeks (five days of practice, two days of qualifying, a few days off, Carb Day and race). It's not a month-long celebration anymore, it would save IMS money from opening the gates and it would put some pizzazz back in May.