Q: I appreciate the USAC tradition with Indy, but the road to the 500 and to IndyCar today isn't through front-engined cars. If these guys raced with rear-engined cars, I think it would make a world of difference. It's interesting that some of the best U.S. MotoGP racers were dirt bike champs (and they raced on ovals): Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson come to mind. They took what they learned on dirt, and applied it to road racing. Thing is, the dirt and MotoGP bikes are fundamentally the same design. The USAC guys need to go to rear-engined cars to better prepare them for IndyCar. I don't understand why USAC sticks to the front-engine design.

Steve. Aurora, Colo.

RM: USAC build some cars 20 years ago called Sabres and ran them in an exhibition at Japan and George Snider tested one at IMS. May pal Dave Scoggan thinks it had a V-6 Buick and was designed by Roman Slobodynskyj and it was supposed to be a stepping stone for USAC drivers to Indy. But it didn’t happen. Those ugly turds USAC brought out a few years to run on NASCAR’s big tracks were a disaster. Bryan Clauson adapted quickly last May before crashing on his fourth lap of qualifying but he had a few Indy Lights races so that probably helped. But Bettenhausen, Vuky, Pelican Joe, Kunzman, Caruthers and all those USAC guys who made it to Indy cars in the ‘70s didn’t have any rear-engine experience. They were simply good racers who got a chance.

Q: As a big Mario fan I'm interested to learn more about the friction between him and Nigel. Your quote was 'oil and water.' What was the issue and where did it start?

Lou, Edina, MN

RM: As one team member put it: “Two massive egos colliding.” But I think Mario truly helped ‘Nige that first year and then felt like he wasn’t getting the same shake from Newman/Haas in Year 2 (his farewell tour) so it became very testy. Jim McGee remembers Mario being difficult but whatever happened Mansell’s performance wasn’t close to 1993.

Q: What is the reason or reasons that many open-wheel stars have trouble in NASCAR? Is it the lack of data acquisition and the difficulty in giving crew chiefs feedback? Are there other reasons? Does each driver have a different list? Is Danica the best female we’ve seen so far? Has she had better equipment in OW & NASCAR than her predecessors?
Pete Peterson, Arvada, CO

RM: First off, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Jim Hurtubise, Johnny Rutherford, Parnelli Jones and Paul Goldsmith all had success in NASCAR. I don’t think Pancho Carter, Tom Sneva, Steve Kinser and Tracy Hines had competitive equipment, while Paul Tracy had a few good runs in Busch. Sam Hornish Jr. seems to have finally found his niche in Nationwide but Dario and Montoya certainly weren’t in the best cars and Clauson showed some promise before the door closed. A.J. Allmendinger has had some good moments but not enough and he belongs in an Indy car. Danica is the best on ovals but Simona de Silvestro is better on road courses. Bottom line: it’s a big adjustment and it would be the same if Cup stars tried Indy cars.

Q: We both know who and why dirt was dropped from the USAC champ trail. Roger dodger Penske and his weak-minded cronies went to the USAC contest board and complained about the increasing cost of racing that had been caused by short track, long track, and road course cars. Saying the added cost of fielding a car that was completely different and thus an additional cost, they convinced the board to make the "Silver Crown' series as a stand-alone series and no longer part of the championship. A real champion in American open-wheel racing need to be proficient on all track configurations since all are raced in many areas of the country. It would bring out the big crowds to see just how well the current crop of Indy drivers would do sliding through the turns at Springfield, DuQuoin, Indy fair grounds, Syracuse, and hopefully the new track in Sacramento. None would be allowed to be crowned champion unless they raced on long ovals, short ovals, road courses, and dirt miles, PERIOD! Thanks for allowing me to rant because I feel there is no more beautiful site than a champ car on a perfectly prepared mile sliding through the corners.

Doug McHenry

RM: I agree the car owners were the instigators but not sure Penske led the charge, I don’t remember that. All I know is that by taking dirt tracks off the Championship Trail it was the death knell to all USAC drivers (other than Sheldon Kinser, Steve Chassey, Rich Vogler and Larry Rice) and the Hoosier Hundred went from the second biggest race on the schedule to an afterthought. IndyCar’s hook with the public is that it’s the most diverse series in the world but USAC was even more so before 1971.

Q: Have they decided how the grids for the second races of the double-headers will be set yet? If not, would they consider making it a combination of qualifying and first race results? Add up the first race's Q's and P's, lowest number gets the pole. That way if you qualify Q1, but crash on the first lap P23, you would start no lower than mid-pack. If you qualify poorly, but have a good race, you could improve your position for the second race. Second question. When are you going to get on Twitter? Maybe Hinchcliffe could run a fake account for you.

Jon Fitzgerald

RM: Beaux Barfield said they will qualify Saturday morning for the second race on Sunday. No Twitter for me. I get in enough trouble with emails.

Q: One of the things I miss most about Indy car racing is the sound, I'm talking about when I'm watching them on TV I know we'll never go back to the V8 turbo days, but watching Formula One on TV gives me goose bumps every time one of those cars goes screaming by. Indy cars sound like sewing machines! I am not a mechanical engineer, but I would think that reconfiguring the exhaust to make the cars louder is an inexpensive start.

Brad Heuer, Coeur d Alene Idaho.

RM: No doubt the old Offys, 255 Fords and Cosworths had a great bark and that’s part of the attraction but I don’t have any idea what the future holds for engines.

Q: I just received my 2013 500 tickets today. Included was a #500orbust window cling. I would like to challenge every ticket holder to put this in the back window of their car and help advertise for Indy.

Ryan, Greenwood, IN

RM: A nice gesture but not sure Indy needs the advertising as much as the series does.

Q: It's incredible that I can watch all kinds of racing series that I have not heard of, but I can't watch USAC on cable. USAC, as you know offers the best and most exciting racing. I think you agree that USAC sprints are more fun to watch then Outlaw cars. The drivers in USAC are recruited by other series. Someone at the top has to get this.

Rick, Milwaukee, WI

RM: USAC’s Kevin Miller has been talking to an old friend of Indy car racing about putting together a package for Indiana Sprint Week so keep your fingers crossed.

Q: I saw your “Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain” interview responding to the BCG Report a couple of weeks ago. In it you mentioned the movie Turbo and the need for the Series "to promote the hell out of it." Well it looks like part of the Promotion Machinery is cranking up. Last week Firestone Tire launched their website for the movie which includes a contest with a sizable awards program. http://www.firestonetire.com/turbo.html I don't know if you saw this but Netflix and DreamWorks have reached an agreement to create an Original Series for kids based around the Characters and Story of the movie beginning in December. http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/02/12/netflix-and-dreamworks-officially-announce-turbo-animated-show/ I wonder if ICS has used their influence to preserve the open-wheel racing theme as much as possible.

Bob Marston

RM: That’s very cool and DreamWorks is spending $170 million on promotion so I guess I’m expecting IndyCar to get behind it as well.

Q: Allmendinger quote about “once you are in the Penske family,” Be sure to ask Roger if that same rule applies to Paul Tracy.

Doug, Stafford, VA

RM: Or Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Sneva or Kevin Cogan. But RP has been very loyal to several people through the years and I think he’s probably good to work for compared to most in racing.