Q: I was just reading an article on autosport.com that said the World Rally Championship was restructuring their feeder series, etc. in order to promote and grow drivers in their sport. This got me thinking about our Indy Car Series. When you think about the series, it really needs to start in Karting. Look at Formula One, those teams actually grab kids in Karting to bring them up thru the ranks. The number one example is Lewis Hamilton. He was sponsored by Mclaren/Mercedes the whole way. The Indy Car Series needs to look at this and get involved with American Karting. I think a great example of a grand prix weekend should include a Karting event, Skip Barber Class event, an Indy Lights event, and then the ICS event. It just seems there is no straight path from Karting to Indy Car Series. If this idea went forward then the next thing is to establish more Kart tracks. Growing up in the St. Louis area, kids who wanted to race only had one choice which was the dirt racing. As you are probably aware, there are plenty around here (Granite City, Pevely, Belleville). Has Indycar ever thought about this????

Scott, St. Louis

With less running, a compact qualifying format and the ever-present threat of rain, the new Month of May format could make it hard for folks like Townsend Bell to make the show in a last minute deal. (LAT)

RM: I think your analysis is spot on and I had the good fortune to attend the recent SKUSA nationals at Las Vegas. Other than Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser, there were no IndyCar owners on hand and no IRL presence (unless you count Buddy Rice, Dan Wheldon, Memo Gidley, Joey Hand, Michael Valiante and Phil Geibler) but it's obviously where so many great racers have come from. I remember Bobby Rahal and Bryan Herta trying to get karting in CART's feeder system a few years back and it would definitely benefit IndyCar to have a pipeline with American kids.

Q: How many ride buyers are there in NASCAR vs Indycar and Formula 1? Don't count owner drivers like Stewart or Waltrip as ride buyers. I contend that NASCAR (especially Sprint Cup) is close to being a meritocracy. Drivers are paid to race based on their skill, not whether they bring money. The model for a sports meritocracy would be the NFL or major league baseball. I don't think anybody there is paying to play.

Joe, Twinsburg, Ohio

RM: None of the legit Cup teams have ride buyers to my knowledge and F1 probably had a handful (Buemi, one of the Force India guys, etc)

Q: I saw in the latest Mailbag that Bobby Rahal is looking for sponsorship to get back into the IRL. If he does, do you think he'd be interested in giving IRL rides to Bill Auberlen and/or Joey Hand, who've been driving BMW sedans for him in the ALMS? I've always thought that it was a real shame that Auberlen (along with a bunch of other great U.S. sports car drivers) has never made it into single-seaters (although I had a long discussion with Bill's dad at Laguna a few years ago about the situation, and he said he thought that his son had done well by staying out of European single-seat racing). I also note that Toyota has apparently disappeared from the Grand-Am Rolex series, and that perennial Toyota engine runner Ganassi-Sabates Racing has switched to BMW power for their DP entry. Apparently BMW is moving some of the money it previously spent on F-1 into Grand-Am, as there will be several other BMW entries in G-A in 2010, in both classes. This raises the possibility that BMW might be interested in putting some of the rest of its F1 budget into supplying engines for the IRL. Have you heard anything? A BMW-powered, Bobby Rahal-entered car for the IRL would be a natural -- or BMW power for Ganassi in IRL for that matter, given his new BMW relationship in G-A.

John Martin in California

RM: In talking with Rahal a couple weeks ago, I think he'd sign Oriol Servia in a heartbeat of he found sponsorship. I like Joey Hand a lot and he was fine in Atlantics but he's been out of open wheel a long time now. I'm sorry I'm not familiar with Auberlen and, again, his lack of experience in open wheel would be a drawback to getting a drive. Even with Bobby. As for BMW, it's probably wishful thinking but the more the merrier.

Q: What happened with Bryan Herta the year he spent at Ganassi. At the time he had good runs with Foyt on his resume and he lower level stats were outstanding and he later proved to be a great test driver at AGR. Yet that year Vasser ate him up as a teammate and no one saw that coming. I remember reading Morris Nunn wasn't high on him after that but was there anything else behind the scenes. Keep bringing the hate.

Richie Mikemond

RM: I think Herta's accident at Indy in 1995 really set him back (remember, he was on the pole at Phoenix that year) and he wasn't right the rest of the year. But he rebounded nicely and won for Rahal/Letterman and was a helluva road racer. He's got his own Indy Lights team nowadays with Steve Newey and there's a little Herta in go karts who is a hellraiser.

Q: Do me a favor will you? Make the rounds of Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Montoya, etc. Ask them a straight up question - question below..."What would have to happen to have you SERIOUSLY consider doing IndyCar racing again (driving, owner, etc)? Do they want a new car? Bigger money? what? Would you LIKE to do open wheel racing again in your career (serious OW racing..not one off stuff)." And for Tony Stewart specifically - "Do you CARE about wining the Indy 500 in your lifetime? Have you given up on your dream COMPLETELY? If you could give up a Daytona 500 victory, or 2 or 3 for just ONE I500 win would you do it?" Sorry ahead of time if Tony gets red faced, mad and punches you in the face for laying it out for him.

Doug, Stafford, VA

RM: As long as all the Indy engines are Hondas, I don't think you'll ever see any of those guys at Indy but I do think that Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Robby Gordon and Stewart would be here in May given the proper opportunity. More money and bigger HP could interest Montoya again but I do think Stewart still has that fire to be on the Borg-Warner trophy.

Q: Do you know what ever happened to "Just Al Unser", son of Little Al. Is he still racing and if so where and with who? Also, do you think Michigan International Speedway will ever make a comeback on the IRL schedule?

Craig Cook

RM: Saw Just Al last year and he's trying to put something together to run the Indy 500 but it's not easy when you're in and out of a car. I hope MIS returns some day and now that Detroit is thankfully gone, why not?

Q: You mentioned that CART had it right in the 90s with 21 races on three types of tracks (7-7-7). Since it seems that all former CART fans now IRL followers are crying for the return of the glory days, if you were in charge of the Time Machine, what seven tracks of each kind would you pick -- past and present? Among my personal favorites would be -- Cleveland, Trenton, Langhorne, Elkhart Lake, Phoenix, Riverside, Ontario, the original
Long Beach GP circuit, and Michigan. Oh and since I'm revamping the schedule, can I count on your vote to drop all cookie-cutter 1.5 mile "ovals" from the schedule and go back to the 1970s when USAC had the Triple Crown of 500 milers on the schedule? I agree that the variety of tracks makes open wheel racing unique among all forms of motorsports, but many of the tracks IRL runs on today lack challenge to the drivers and interest
to the fans.

Morgan, Orange CA

RM: I'd take all your suggestions and throw in the Las Vegas street circuit (best ever) and Mosport in Canada.

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

Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.

Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.

In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.