Q: A week ago you mentioned Alex Lloyd as one of the drivers who may pick up a ride at Indy in May. I remember Davey Hamilton telling me at Sonoma last August that Alex is running sprints and midgets. How is Alex doing? Does he have a mentor? I imagine that's a steep learning curve for him if he is just starting now. Even if he doesn't make the cut, I applaud him for trying.

Gerry Courtney

RM: Alex simply wanted to drive a sprinter and see what it was like and there’s a YouTube video of his experience but he’s not planning to change career paths to my knowledge.

Q: I think the double-header idea is great at certain circuits: Two Championship races for the price of one. But I do have a question about it: What happens if a driver has a bad crash in Saturday's race, would the crew have enough time to re-build the car in time for Sunday's race? And if so, if they are working through the night, how well is that car going to be set up, and how much on their A-game is the crew going to be during that second race? Doesn't that pose a risk? And if they can't re-build the car, now in one weekend, a team has crashed out of one championship race and will have a DNS for the second one.

Frank from Rochester, NY.

RM: If Will Power’s oval crashed car could be rebuilt like it was at Fontana, I don’t think it presents too much of a problem and there’s always a backup car if it’s too much work.

Q: How bizarre is Sato signing with Foyt? This has to be a MAJOR culture shock in both directions! However, this has the potential to jump-start both ends of the deal. I don't think that Sato has had a situation where he has been around someone of truly legendary status such as Foyt. True, Bobby Rahal was a major player in his day, but there is only one Super Tex. And you know, there might be something for Foyt to learn here also. It may seem like the Odd Couple (RIP Jack Klugman), but it just might surprise. By the way, "How about a former driver in one of his vintage cars driving the two or three pace car laps just before the start of each race" is a great idea. Hopefully the series will have a future, but it's hard to have a future without putting it into context. That's where the past comes in. The past serves as a reference point for current times. Then, you build the future upon current times. If you deny the past, there is no reference; nothing is grounded. If we throw away or ignore the past, we have no way of knowing how good we are and how good we might be.

Don Hopings, Corning, NY

RM: Sato was always quick in F1 but crashed a lot and he’s repeated history over there but Rahal gave him some good cars last year and he damn near won Indy. It will be fun to watch the big Texan and his little Japanese pilot interact and hopefully they’ll click. One thing we know, Takuma will GO FOR IT and that appeals to A.J. As for connecting the past stars with the present, that’s what Randy Bernard and Steve Shunck were doing the past three years.

Q: With all of the different types of tracks that the IndyCar Series races on, it’s obvious that the series is looking for an all-around diverse driver to be champion. I’m curious. Has there ever been talk of running these cars on ovals in the other direction? Sounds crazy, maybe. Might cause some pit issues unless cars are made with opposite fueling spots for these situations. Where did the whole “always turn left on ovals” start, do you know?

Chad, Bourbon, IN.

RM: My pal Donald Davidson says it comes from horse racing, when they started as early as 1898, for some reason horse racing always had left-hand turns (they go the other way in England). Randy Bernard had talked to Sonoma about running a different way if it hosted a doubleheader (one way on Saturday, the other on Sunday) but not an ovals.

Q: I am planning to go to Indy this year with a couple of buddies to celebrate our 30th birthdays. Where would be the best place to get seats to get as much of the experience as possible? Are the ticket packages worth it?

David

RM: Not sure where the ticket packages have seats but go to Brickyard.com and try and find seats as high as possible in any four of the Vistas because those are in the corners and you can see action and still watch the big screen to see pit stops, etc.