Q: Sent you a rant about ABC horrible race coverage last week, after watching the race yesterday on NBC Sports – wow zero comparison. Great crew in the booth, great pit reporters, great coverage, several in-car cameras, and most of all, the race was actually covered. I saw passing, dueling, and battling all through the field – and the producers managed to get so much of it on TV it was fantastic – this is what Indy Car needs. I don’t care how many less places that channel is available in comparison to ABC – if a casual fan views a race on NBC Sports – there is a damn good chance they will tune in again to see another one. There is no way in hell you will ever convince me that if a casual fan views a race on ABC they will want to see the next one.

John Cassis, Houston

RM: My buddies who raced and worked on Indy cars were even impressed so that’s a pretty good indicator.

Q: I truly hope today's race silences the critics of this year's INDYCAR racing. First, NBC Sport's coverage pretty much showed everyone how it is done, can't say enough about the coverage, IT WAS GREAT!!!! Good amount of engineering info, i.e. Dario's foot pedal change, etc., good excitement from the announcers when it evident there was something to be excited about, good in-car shots of the driver at work and passing/being passed, and good coverage of the pit stop detail and why time was gained or lost. Second, while there was passing in St. Pete (kinda visible on ABC but never commented on or really showed because it wasn't the lead car), it was game on at Barber, and NBC showed it live or in replays, and commented on it to boot!!Third, it appears that getting rid of the original TGBB has greatly improved the professionalism of the entire show, from management to teams to drivers, maybe even to fans. There did not appear to be any of the stupid driver antics so evident last year, just good hard racing and, wonder of wonders, good restarts - Well Done ALL!! Looking forward to rest of the season, at least live in Long Beach and on NBC!

John in Torrance, CA

RM: There is an art to covering a race on television and it’s not easy but, as I’ve said a few times already, NBC’s team has a great template.

Q: What's up with Dario? Chevy obviously has an edge so far over Honda, but why the difference in performance between Dixon and Dario? Other than Dixon, both Ganassi teams are looking pretty mediocre. Yes, the season has only just begun, but the big dogs this year look to be Helio, Hinch, and Hunter-Reay. This should be Will Power's year, but does INDYCAR’s fastest man ever have some bad luck. What are Ft. Lauderdale's chances for next year? Would love to be able to drive to two IndyCar races next year.

Bill G, St Pete, FL

RM: He’s never been real strong at Barber and he admitted the car finally started feeling good FOR THE FIRST TIME this year late in the race. I think Dixie would have still won if not for being held up and a little hiccup in the pits and those two engines seem pretty equal. Power overcame being bit by a red flag on Saturday in qualifying to drive flawlessly. I think there will be two races in Florida next season.

Q: Why is the series spending so much time for full course cautions this year? Also what was up with sending the lapped cars down the pits and effectively keeping them from making up any spots on people they might have been racing against that were not a lap down yet? Why not send them around the field and get them back on the lead lap and out of the way?

Nat, Florida

RM: I feel the opposite, there haven’t been a lot of full-course yellows and getting the lapped cars away from the leaders is exactly what needs to happen on a road or street course. The fans want to see the leaders battling each other, not trying to stay close around lapped cars.

Q: That was the best road course race I have seen in 15 years! The television coverage was excellent, the passing was exciting and the drivers kicked ass for the second weekend on restarts. What's the chance the qualifying rules can be changed so that drivers like Will Power don't get penalized for other driver’s mistakes?

TZ Spitsmiller

RM: As Townsend Bell so eloquently pointed out during the qualifying show, that’s what happens when you wait until the last couple minutes: you can get burned big time by a red flag. It’s always been that way and the simple solution is to go out early, lay down a lap and then see where you stand.

Q: First off I need to say the NBC Sports crew, fantastic job covering yesterday's race! That's what good broadcasting is supposed to be about. That race may not have had as much action up front as we could have hoped, but there was so much good racing through the rest of the field that we did get to see. I swear I love this new car and really can't wait to see what it will do on an oval. If it's anything near what it's been able to do on a road course than we're in for a treat. On another note, with Randy talking to tracks about races for next season, how likely is Richmond to end up back on the schedule? Any chance he may try to bring Cleveland back? Both tracks would be a reasonable drive for me and I would add them to my calendar in a heartbeat if they would join the schedule.

Alan Bandi, Butler, PA

RM: You are spot on. While the pass for the race win took place in the pits this week instead of on the track like St. Pete, the racing was ferocious from third to 20th all afternoon. I think Richmond has a chance but Cleveland needs a major sponsor before Mike Lanigan would promote there again.

Q: The French Army may be a bunch of push-overs, but the French drivers sure aren't! I'm glad to see guys like Pagenaud and Bourdais mixing it up in the Top 10. Even more so for SeaBass with the underpowered Lotus engine. If Dragon Racing had a Chevy or Honda, Bourdais for sure would be giving Power and Dixon a run for their money! With Lotus opting out of the Indy test, what chance is there that they'll be able to get some spares for the teams and pump out some more horsepower? That black and gold Lotus special of Bourdais' is just too pretty not to make it to victory lane this season!

Jober, Long Beach, CA

RM: Considering it’s Pagenaud’s first time through the circuit and it’s a 1-car team, he’s been very impressive but he was in Atlantics and sports cars so it’s no surprise. Seabass has always been quick and a winner. I think all the Lotus teams would be thrilled with one backup engine apiece by Indianapolis.

Q: So after the last restart in today’s race I turned to my wife (who was studiously reading her kindle. She’s supportive, but not that supportive!!) and commented on how impressed I was at how respectful the drivers were being of each other. And then 30 seconds later you got on the audio and said basically the same thing- making me look like a genius in the process!! Thanks for the help! Here’s my question: After several years of consistent and fairly reckless and irresponsible racing by INDYCAR at large is this seemingly newfound respect amongst the drivers due to the loss of Wheldon, the lack of spares for the cars, or the newly revised passing rules for the series? Last year’s Vegas race saw probably the most stupidly aggressive driving to that point in time- and the consequences were obviously tragic, yet it would be really hard to hurt yourself (or anyone else) at Barber. In any case it is nice to be able to watch a race and not wonder when the next banzai move is going to come. Kudos to the drivers for taking care of each other!!

DCE

RM: One engineer figures it’s because there’s not enough spares (which Dallara refutes) but I think the drivers are being aggressive but fair with each other. I think pride should factor in as well at this level and they seem to be adapting to going back to real racing.

Q: What a fantastic race at Barber this weekend – passing on nearly every lap! – and the NBC cameras caught all the action! I hope somebody from ABC was watching. We sat in Turn 1 at St. Pete and watched several passes all day long, then talked to everybody that watched on TV that said it was a boring race! Huh?! Kudos to NBC Sports, keep up the good work. The passing is very encouraging for these new cars, I just hope Lotus can catch up and join the front of the pack.

Mark Suska, Mansfield, OH

RM: All things considered, Lotus isn’t as far behind as we feared but not being able to test at Indy won’t help and they’ll probably be further behind come May.

Q: First time writer, long time watcher, at 47 years old I remember Rick Mears, AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti in the what I'm terming my golden years of American open wheel racing. After two weekends of what can be successfully argued to be the best INDYCAR racing I've seen in years, here is a hypothesis for you to ponder. Are the drivers feeling empowered to drive and make "real overtakes", legit passes in open wheel cars that are a few notches above the crap wagons of old therefore actually driving like professionals and exhibiting their craft minus the crash filled restarts and banzai dives for positions because they actually have a chance now to advance their position? Could this be in part because they respect the Chief Steward? Dear Easter Bunny, more horsepower please, aero kits made by different manufacturers, more Pruett tech pieces on SPEED.com and please please please bring INDYCAR back to Road America. Thumbs up, I'll be voting with my hard earned cash, see you in Milwaukee.

Pete, Chicago IL

RM: A couple drivers told me they liked Beaux’s straightforward approach and by-the-book attitude. He doesn’t talk down to them, he gives them respect and guidelines and I think they’re responding. It takes no talent to run into somebody so maybe the light bulb is going off.

Q: I was glued to my seat watching the Birmingham race this weekend. One of the best road races in recent memory. You and others have made the comment that the drivers are driving more professionally this season as there has been almost no contact between drivers of mention and virtually no “what was he thinking” moves either. Not sure the whole field changes their driving style radically in the off-season. Doesn’t this come down to the new chief steward and driving rules which actually make sense? TGBB ridiculous rules created the carnage they were meant to avoid. The new driving rules are what they should be and have contributed to the great racing we have seen thus far this season.

Steve, Hallandale Beach, FL

RM: There was quite a bit of contact last Sunday but it wasn’t spearing or gouging, just some rooting and hard racing. And the new Dallara is a pretty stout piece that holds up well so far to bump and run. You are correct: leaving the inside open with that imaginary line simply invited crashing and Barfield was a driver so he understands the rudiments of real racing.