Q: Been a fan of all motorsport (fanatically) since first seeing Bruce McLaren & Denny Hulme show pound those bright orange monsters around my beloved Riverside Raceway in 1969. I’m a retired Honda engineer and have always placed my heart firmly where ever Honda has chosen to compete. I’ve been to dozens of Formula 1 and Indy Car races and can count the number of TV broadcasts that I’ve missed on one hand. I’ve digested Marshall’s epic synopsis and have come away with a slightly different perspective than what I’ve been reading here. Most everyone is upset with the IMS board and blame them. The only real thing I can blame them for is listening to the selfish, ego-centric and greedy self-interested team owners. The largest issue I came away with was the replacement parts cost and the fact that they couldn’t control Randy. If they thought funds were hard to come by the last couple years, they more than anybody have signed their own death sentence. Viewership and sponsorship will more than likely be diminished and the reduction in purse money and available contingencies won’t add to their bottom line. If they can’t afford to compete in the series as it is today, they certainly won’t be able to in the future. The drivers who whined about double-file restarts and who stood behind the team owners in their mutiny are just as much to blame. No wonder Randy was more popular than they are he had more balls and charisma than they do. Personally, I hope Honda pulls out of this embarrassment and invests its money and technology in sports cars where it actually relates to everyday drivers and customers. This will also then allow me to cut all emotional ties I still have with Indy Car once and for all.

Neil

RM: I think Honda and GM are very concerned about this untimely and unprofessional change at the top and where this series is headed.

Q: I’m one of the very many, and very pissed fans (I am an original ‘Indy Downforce’ Fan Club member) out there, but there is good news in the firing of Randy Bernard … it means that the glut of IZOD IndyCar Series merchandise (which was much better than any of the IRL or CART merchandise) will be sold at fire sale prices before long because the series will no longer exist. For penny-pinchers like me, I’ll take advantage of it and buy the stuff on the cheap. Thanks for pissing on the fans once again, IndyCar. Good luck with that approach.
Randy Mizelle

RM: I still have an “I Am Indy” hat, would you care to buy it? Gene Simmons signed it.

Q: Much as I dislike the firing of Randy, life has to go on. We just have to hope for the best. The onus is now on the owners who fomented this to step up to the plate. To the good, I couldn't have been more pleased with KV Racing's signing of Simona. She got such a raw deal being saddled with Lotus for the whole of 2012. I know that Tony Kanaan wanted to be paired with another experienced driver, not one so much his junior. However, I have always wanted the two of them to be teammates (and am already on the record in the Mailbag to that effect). She has needed a teammate so much and he is just what she needs. Both are among the classiest in the paddock.

Ralph Cobb

RM: True, this is a good break for a very deserving young lady.

Q: Back in late 1970's or early 80's the Indy car series broke away from USAC with multi-millionaires Roger Penske and Pat Patrick leading the assault. This instantly led to the rich getting richer and less competition immediately. Their new name was Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). In a very short time they went from the best, most-followed racing series in North America, especially in the US, to well behind NASCAR. It didn't help that huge numbers of foreign drivers and road courses and city street racing followed as if it was a AAA league for getting to Formula 1. In 1996 Tony George started the Indy Racing League and stated three target objectives; 1. All ovals. 2. Almost exclusively American drivers. 3. Cheaper cars to run. In the years that followed not only did this new league confuse the open racing community as IRL vs CART and the US overall interest isn't sufficient to support two venues. On top of this all three of Tony George's target objectives fell by the way side. It also hurts that the remaining series can't get a major network to carry all their races live except overseas I think that allowing multiple tire companies like the good ole days would help. The more motor and chassis manufacturers I think would also increase interest like when Ford and Offenhauser used to battle one another. They need whatever aerodynamics are necessary so when they race on banked ovals they have the sling shot affect they used to have in the old days. The best race I ever saw was at MIS when Michael Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya exchanged leads around 50 plus times and overall the race saw 73 lead changes that's what fans want good exciting competition. I would finally add that on all restarts the cars, in addition to double-file restart, do as NASCAR does and all the cars on the lead lap are in the same line and not behind some car 20 laps down, again stressing competition.

Walter G. Hanke

RM: It’s true that Penske and Patrick controlled CART is many respects but by 1993 it had turned into the best and most popular series on the planet. TG couldn’t have picked a worse time to start the IRL and then everything went to hell before it started to make a comeback in 2012.

Q: QUESTION #1: Did you care? ANSWER #1: Yes, passionately. QUESTION #2: Do you care now? ANSWER #2: No, not anymore. QUESTION #3: You didn’t care that Randy Bernard was fired? ANSWER #3: Yes I cared, passionately. QUESTION #4: But what about IndyCar? You’re a fan, you must still care about IndyCar? ANSWER #4: No, not anymore. QUESTION #5: But how can that be? Tony George assured me nobody liked what Randy Bernard was doing to IndyCar. ANSWER #5: I rest my case, goodbye IndyCar.
Kristian Ross

RM: It sounds terminal.

Q: Fifty years ago, in 1962 when I was twelve years old, I became aware of open-wheel racing. National Geographic had a story on Monaco that I saw at my uncle's house, and I was hooked. I was also aware of Indy racing and started really following when Jimmy Clark came over in 1963. I was thrown out of my school band in 1965 because I skipped the Memorial Day parades to watch the 500 on closed-circuit TV (in B/W) in some warehouse with a big screen. Over the years my son and I attended Indy car races at Mid-Ohio, Nazareth, and New Hampshire, and other races at the Glen and Lime Rock. I met my hero Emmo (and told him that I saw him win his first F1 race at the Glen). My son got to meet his hero, Nigel Mansell. We talked with Jacques Villeneuve about him possibly going to F1. What wonderful memories! I endured the split, endured the low-rent racing that followed, and allowed myself to hope a few years ago when they tried to start fixing things. Even though this year's cars were painful to look at, I had to admit that good racing was making a comeback. And now this. I am nearly in tears as I write this, but I can't take anymore. Such monumental stupidity is depressing. Keep up the good fight, Robin (and many thanks for your excellent work), but for me, hope is gone.

Jonathan von Linden Schoharie, NY

RM: I’d like to tell you to reconsider and that everything is going to be fine but I can’t. Thanks for being a passionate fan all these years.

Q: As much as I hate to adopt the class warfare issue that is so popular with politicians lately, I have to say that it must be accurate when it comes to IndyCar. The series has been turned into nothing more than a motorized version of polo for a bunch of spoiled rich schmucks with more money than brains. The ingredient that has been missing since the split is passion, nobody races for the sheer love of it anymore, it’s not a motorized gladiator sport, it’s a Concours d'Elegance for the tofu and wine crowd. When the drivers cry that the racing is TOO dangerous, you know there's something wrong there. When the manufacturers are more concerned with maintaining their monopolies than in producing a cutting edge product, the racing suffers. A series that is run by a bunch of business people who are recipients of the IMS corporate welfare program can't succeed. These bozos were all made for one another, much like an inbred royal family that want's to tell all of us fans to just eat cake. Maybe they can be included in the next stimulus plan, cash for carbon-fiber clunkers. As for me, I'm goin' fishin.

Napalm Nick, Locust Grove, VA

RM: Save me some bait.

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

Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.