Q: Good "get" on the Michael Schumacher interview. I was waiting for you to ask him if he has ever or would want to try a dirt oval. I know he's afraid of Indy's oval, but I wonder if the smaller dirt ovals in a high powered car also scare him. I would have thought it a great car control challenge for him.

Big Fan in Ohio

Schumacher adapted quickly to the dirt buggy at the Race of Champions... how would he fare on a dirt oval? (LAT)

RM: Didn't think to ask him about dirt but he would be a sight to see at Eldora, I agree. But I don't think I'd question his balls since he ran Super Bikes last year and that's five times more dangerous than Indy cars on an oval. He said the risk didn't equal the reward when I asked him about running Indy and that's cool. But that guy is a racer.

Q: Good evening Sir, this Mr Claudio Ciccone and I'm writing from Italy. Actually I'm the A. Media Officer of Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Italy. The track is tailored for karting.

Usually, I have the pleasure to read your web site and your SPEED TV. I'm writing to you because concerning your article on "SKUSA SuperNationals " on 11/23/2009 on the web, you wrote that Bas Lammers come from Poland. Wrong. He is Belgian. Good luck and feel free to use myself as your antenna in Europe

Claudio Ciccone

RM: Thanks for your note. I asked his father (at least that's who the man said he was) in victory lane if Bas was any relation to Jan Lammers and he said no. Then he said they were from Poland. I swear. But I'm 60 now so maybe I heard him wrong.

Q: I just read the mailbag from the 18th and couldn't agree more with you that rivalries are desperately needed in the IRL. Which is why PT NEEDS A FULL-TIME RIDE!!!!!!!! I was never much of a PT fan until he started being the thorn in Bourdais' side. I was in the stands at Milwaukee the year Briscoe and Danica's coming together in pit lane and Indy (BTW, how does someone pull right into you with his right rear hun?) and wished that it was PT she dared stomp up pit lane towards. I can see it now, PT holding DP at bay with one arm on her head while she flails widely, brings a smile to my face. And when I mentioned this in the stands that day in Milwaukee and expressed a desire for PT to be in the series the woman in the Danica shirt in the row in front of me interjected and said PT's gonna run trucks and good for him. "He's an idiot and we don't need him in the series!" I explained that, that is EXACTLY why we need him the series, because YOU hate him! Listen to the boos for Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch and see the money NASCRAP is raking in. Every sport needs people to root for AND against. You either love or hate the Yankees, Patriots, Lakers, Canadians, Tiger Woods, Jeff Gordon, Ferrari, etc., etc. Even CART's heyday had Unser vs. Andretti times two! PT will be a polarizing figure and be the color in a bland series. Imagine PT vs. Danica, PT vs. Marco, even PT vs. Helio. For God sake's Helio got booed in Toronto after the PT accident! Has he ever been booed? Anywhere?! I propose a fan donation to pay for PT's ride, so let's hold a telethon and see if we can't raise the money to get PT in the series with the IRL and Versus matching the donations. 'Cause let's face maybe PT will increase Versus's audience to 12 and the series is on life-support without PT getting some exposure and putting the IRL back in the sports pages. Until Graham and Marco finally start running into each other.

Eric

RM: We need Bourdais to come back and get PT a full-time ride and you've got instant hate/rivalry/headlines -- something IndyCar is lacking. It sold papers and tickets for five years in Champ Car. You would hope that Graham and Marco develop some kind of edgy duel and it would be nice if Sarah or Milka could challenge Danica on a regular basis to bring out some cat fighting. The PT-Helio deal at Toronto was perfect, too bad it didn't happen on Saturday in qualifying so Tracy could have trashed him in all the Sunday papers and that might have helped that feeble crowd.

Q: I just read that VW is looking into making engines for F1. If they are looking into F1, who does that leave for the IRL? I know you would have told us by now if someone was seriously interested, but have the discussions with other manufacturers died? All the big names seem to be involved in F1 and NASCAR so who does that leave?? I don't think IndyCars will be powered by Kia, Hyundai, or Daewoo. At least I hope not. Could Renault come back to the US and join in? Doubtful. Alfa? Not likely. We know the IRL's decision making process is not fast but Honda will be gone soon without competition. Are we reaching a point that an engine option or lack there of could be the end of the IRL or is there a default option should nothing exciting come to life? And how does one "stooge" for the great Robin Miller? So I have no experience, I've got the all knowing Robin Miller to learn from! You'll need to pass the torch at some point so why not train an apprentice?

Erik Steinbrecher

RM: It's all gone quiet on the engine front so I don't see anybody at the moment. We thought Porsche/VW/Audi or maybe Alfa but, as you pointed out, they seem to be going other directions. As for being my stooge, I could have used one in my racing days but you would not want to follow me around nowadays. I'm just an old boring man who lives in the past. But thanks for the offer.

Q: Any word on whether or not the Surfers Paradise IndyCar race will be revived after the A1GP Series collapse? It would seem logical to race again in Australia, since its the only true street course that compares in stature to F1's level for temporary circuits and having two front running Aussies in Penske cars would seem to make the IndyCar Series very attractive to the race promoters. I would also guess that Australia would be a key market for Honda, so they should be accommodating and arrange the Twin Ring race so that the shipping of the equipment to Asia/Australia could be coordinated. It seems that IndyCar is getting more international with the addition of the Sao Paulo race (even though the team owners and league are being well compensated for the trip), so it would make sense to try to get back to Australia as well, since its a long established world class event.

Rich, New York, NY

RM: I've heard nothing but it made no sense to drop Surfer's, especially now that you've got three studs from down under contending for wins and championships. That was always a long flight but a spectacular weekend and I know the Gold Coast merchants miss ‘The Indy,’ as they say.

Q: Personally, I think the ICS needs new ways to incorporate the strengths of yesteryear today. The ICS should consider running a sprint race and main event at each venue. The sprint race can be two-thirds the length of the main event. Drivers will only run one event each weekend. The top point scorers in the main event series from the previous year will participate in the first main event of the year. Starting the second race weekend the podium finishers from the previous weekend’s sprint race will be eligible to qualify for the main event. As usual the fastest 24 or 26 drivers will run in the main event. The three drivers that do not qualify for the main event will have their times transfer to the sprint race. The idea is to increase the competition at the back of the field and to create opportunity and inclusivity within ICS. This could ensure the best drivers are in the main event and could possibly solve the problem of not enough Americans in the series. This requires a more cost effective racing platform and solutions to several points such as scoring, prize money, etc. What are your thoughts on having two tiers at the top to promote open competition?

Joe

RM: My thoughts are, none of today's IndyCar owners (except TG) have any idea what a sprint car is and, while I like your thinking, it can't solve the main problem which is nobody has enough money -- car owners or American sprint car drivers -- to make your plan work.

Q: You attended the SKUSA event (with M. Schumacher/others). I'm curious what you thought of the racing the various classes put on? My son has raced karts for 6 years, 2 years of Yamahas and 4 years in TAG. I recently bought a 2nd kart, a Merlin with a stock Honda 125 for us to share. I've only had the chance to get out a couple times for some practice laps, but it's a blast. You should try one out, if you haven't already gotten the opportunity. My question: Based on what you saw in LV, do you think the general public would support a karting series if it was staged near selected major US and perhaps Canadian cities? Considering how many good amateur and pro-racers have come up through karting, it's sad how little the general public knows about this "other" motorsport.

Dave 'n Pgh.

RM: I imagine if you could guarantee Schuemy every weekend, yes, it could draw good crowds but I'm afraid no matter how good the competition (and the Vegas weekend had some great racing), it's still viewed as a stepping stone to the pros. But if I was an IndyCar or NASCAR owner, I think I would have been looking at some of those teenaged badasses.

~Robin

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.