Q: We have a fantastic opportunity to help ensure the future of this historic race at the Milwaukee Mile. All we gotta do is vote with our wallets and our feet and get our butts to the Milwaukee Indyfest June 15 & 16. Not just to watch on TV but to BE THERE. I am a longtime, avid Indy-car fan, always watching on TV and trying to attend one or two races each year. Although more of a road racing fan, I have only missed attending three Indy 500s in the last 38 years. I dearly miss Road America and have been to Cleveland and Mid-Ohio races. When I heard that Michael Andretti stepped up to save this race, I thought I had to do my part and be there. I'm taking my grandson to his first race, and this will be my first visit to the Mile. I even got my eye-rolling, race-hating wife talked in to it; no small feat there. For the avid fan in the Midwest (and farther, if you can afford it), we have a responsibility to support this event if it is as important as so many say it is. Brothers and sisters of Realm of the Open Wheel, unite! Together we can dodge the slings and arrows of oppressive and inept ABC television coverage. We can triumph over the mediocrity of NASCAR and rejoice in the history of our elder Andretti's, Gurneys and Unsers. Forward, into the fray, I say. Anyway, everybody....just GO if you possibly can, okay? 2) When will the some in the media and the old guard IRL people in power truly bury the hatchet and consider IndyCar one sport with one shared history? It drives me nuts when I STILL hear references to wins, records, etc. being in the IndyCar history of 1996 to present. Here is the latest example from a SPEED.com published "Media Release" of March 5th, "Schmidt, Hamilton Partner To Run Pagenaud": "Schmidt and Hamilton have been interwoven through IZOD IndyCar Series history nearly since the series started in 1996." What? If I recall, Ray Harroun won the first Indy 500, not Buddy Lazier. Hey, A.J. Foyt was a pretty good driver, not just a car owner. Such a disrespect to fans of the series and to all the participants in the USAC, CART & Champ Car years to ignore history and their contributions in this way. Robin, is this just lazy writing or bully pulpit-ing by some dissaffectd IRLers??

Steve Gray

RM: People with your passion will determine whether Milwaukee makes it and the responses I’m getting are pretty positive so I hope it’s a success. As for the records, INDYCAR is putting out a great record book soon which will be for sale to the public and it credits history accurately. As most of us know, Indy car racing started in 1909 – not 1996, but technically, the IZOD IndyCar Series, which started as the IRL, did appear in 1996.

Q: Regarding drivers who've raced both the Indy 500 and Daytona 500, you forgot John Andretti. I don't believe anybody has had the diversity of starts as John with 12 at Indy and 15 at Daytona, including both races in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Has anybody else had double digit starts in each?

Lou, Edina, MN

RM: I can’t believe I forgot to mention John and, no, I don’t think anybody but A.J. can touch his totals.

Q: I was born May 20th, 1967 on the east-side of Indianapolis. I have never missed a race in my entire life. I truly have Indy cars in the marrow of my bones. I have incredible memories of all things Indy and have been blessed to have witnessed such greats as Unser, Foyt, Andretti, Penske, Mears just to name drop a few. Back home in Indiana gives me goose bumps. I am interested in your opinion Robin. Will Indy ever recover from the Tony George era and return to some level of former glory?

Bob Talley

RM: I think it’s making a nice comeback on Race Day (maybe only 15,000 empty seats in 2011) but the Month of May will never return to its former glory. Part of the reason is The Split, part is the fact there’s no more track records and part is people don’t care like they used to and don’t make the time. It’s still the biggest race in the world but it’s a 3-day weekend instead of a month.

Q: I have recently been watching a few of the 500 mile races from Fontana and Michigan from the mid to late 90's. First off, those cars were fast and sounded awesome, sort of reminds me of the sound now. Secondly, these races really had time for strategies to develop and vary, and it was very exciting to see how they played out. Teams blew engines, or screwed up making green flag gas and go stops. It was a war of attrition and a matter of keeping your nose clean for 500 miles, not an easy achievement. So I'm wondering, why not more 500 mile races? I think the fans get their money's worth, and the sponsors get more exposure time, plus there's more time to sell commercials on TV. Right? So to me the Fontana finale should be 500 miles. Is it even possible to consider longer races at other tracks? One more thing. These people bashing Sarah Fisher or your supportive "rant" of her make me crazy! Sarah is the woman and the kind of team we need in Indycar RIGHT NOW! Actually, SFHR is the kind we have always needed. She’s not a media circus, she’s a real racer who puts everything into her team. What a win last year. What a pickup in Josef. This is what I want to see. All of the things these supposed "fans" say they want, then they bash you for defending this family team? Makes me laugh, the hypocrisy.

See you in Texas and MILWAUKEE!!!

Brandon, Addison TX

RM: I suppose if Fontana was a hit and MIS came back you could restore the Triple Crown but a lot of those 500-milers weren’t very good races because of all the attrition and I think people enjoy sprints with more racing. The people who think Sarah doesn’t deserve an engine lease really baffle me.

Q: I've been watching Michael Andretti on the Celebrity Apprentice this season. I'm pleased to see that he's spent a good amount of time on camera. I don't know if it would make everyone recognize INDYCAR if he won, but it couldn't hurt. This Sunday the project will be to sell the new Buick Verano; the preview showed a temporary course marked by cones, and Michael was driving some people around. No one on the show is more qualified for that than Mike! Comedian/car guy Adam Carolla, entertainer Penn Jillette, and Orange County Chopper's Paul Teutul are among the other stars who may pique the interest of mailbag readers. Sorry, Trekkies; George Takei just got fired this week. I'm happy for Rubens; he had a few more productive years in F1 left in him. But he isn’t just another F1 driver, he is the most experienced Grand Prix driver in history. He has 11 wins, he was Michael’s best team mate at Ferrari, and if you think he will just ride around to get a good finish, look up “Barrichello Schumacher Hungary 2010″ to see one of the ballsiest passes in recent years. He still has the speed and the passion to win, and he didn’t deserve such an unceremonious end to his F1 career. But F1's loss is our gain! Rubinho will be the first F1 winner to race an IndyCar since Michele Alboreto at Las Vegas in 1996; since then 34 F1 veterans have raced in an IndyCar or Champ Car race. In response to Chris from New York, 47 drivers have raced in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Bobby & Donnie Allison, John & Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Jr., Pancho Carter, Wally Dallenbach, Chet Fillip, Christian Fittipaldi, George Follmer, AJ & Larry Foyt, Dario Franchitti, Robby Gordon, Dan Gurney, Janet Guthrie, Andy Hillenburg, David Hobbs, Sam Hornish Jr., Jim Hurtubise, Gordy Johncock, Bobby Johns, Davy Jones, Parnelli Jones, Steve Kinser, Jason Leffler, Dave MacDonald, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mad Max Papis, Danica Patrick, Ed Pimm, Scott Pruett, Tim Richmond, Lone Star JR, Troy Ruttman, Swede Savage, Tom Sneva, Tony Stewart, Al, Al Jr, & Bobby Unser, Bill & Don Whittington, Cale Yarborough, the unrelated Lee Roy Yarbrough, and JJ Yeley. Roger McCluskey & Sam Sessions never started the Daytona 500. Yes, I looked it up. Call me Donald Davidson or Chris Economaki.

IndySteve in Springfield, OR

RM: Thanks for the history lesson on Indy/Daytona and Michael’s appearance certainly can’t hurt IndyCar’s visibility.

Q: I was glad to read the letter from Tony Piergallini who declared his frustration with all the whining about the new car. I would add that I often can’t bring myself to read the entire mailbag for all the “everything but Indy Cars suck” whining. I grew up in a racing family. I have pictures of me at a year old watching Formula 5000 and Trans AM at Pacific Raceways. We race, we corner work, we watch racing and we love it all. I have loved Indy Cars especially since working timing and scoring for CART as an early teen. I also love the speed of F1 cars and how they change directions, the raw power of top fuel cars going 300mph, the insanity of sprint cars ripping up the dirt or NASCARs going 4 wide through a three care wide hole. I just don’t get what people get out of hating on all other forms of racing. Each seems to have its strong points and ways it is not as good as it could be or was “back in the day.” I just fear that at times it comes off as snobby and suggests that a true Indy Car fan is not welcome unless they spurn all other forms of speed.

Lawrence Danton, Ellensburg, Washington

RM: I think Indy fans want the coolest car possible and many were miffed when they saw the DW12. But I’ve been in Sebring all week and watching the cars go around the track has been pretty pleasant to the eye. I think most race fans like all forms of motorsports.

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.