Q: Why are our tax dollars used to sponsor foreign drivers? I have no issue with the armed forces sponsoring cars, but the Marines and National Guard have Matos (Brazil) and Wheldon (UK) respectively. Is it too much to ask to sponsor an American? Versus is doing a better job than I expected. Jack Arute's interview with Scott Dixon was one of the best I've ever seen. They still have some kinks to work out, but overall they are doing a very good job.

Kyle, Chapel Hill, NC

Having Lola back in IndyCar would be a welcome sight. (LAT)

RM: Have you been talking to Buddy Rice? I have no answer to your question but it's tough to argue with your logic. Dale Jr. is in the Guard car in NASCAR and it would seem to make sense to have a Rahal, Andretti, Rice, Hunter-Reay or Patrick carrying the colors in IndyCar.

Q: What actually happened with JPM speeding at the Brickyard? That was so disappointing! Seems like there are three possibilities: (1) JPM screwed up, (2) the team mis-calibrated the green light on the dash and JPM didn't know he was speeding, (3) NASCAR made a mistake. Every open-wheel fan was pulling for JPM and the Brickyard got a lot of air-time during the snoozer Edmonton broadcast, so it's still a mailbag question, right? And us fans can't expect an explanation from the NASCAR media machine.

Gabriel

RM: My pals who work in NASCAR say the crew likely calibrated Juan's pit speed too close and it only takes hitting a bump or tire growth or something small to send it over that limit. It wasn't Montoya's fault, they say, and you could tell by his reaction he was not trying to do anything but resume kicking everyone's butt. It made no sense for him to speed. That said, the rule sucks and I still maintain that if it had been Little E, NASCAR swallows the whistle.

Q: Congratulations on breaking the Danica-Ganassi deal WAY before it was acknowledged. What's going on with Alex Lloyd now that he's available aka unemployed? Doesn't seem like leaving the powerhouse has worked out and HER energy must not be as interested as he thought. Also, I'm planning on attending Kentucky Speedway for the Indycar race and I'm trying to gage the car count: I've got 23 with Tags and Tracy gone while Duno and Fisher return. There's still a question mark though: 3G Racing. What's their plan? Lazier? Barrett? Antinucci? Are they skipping?

Daniel

RM: Thanks but I don't think it's a done deal just yet. Larry MacReynolds and I had dinner last week and he said he heard Danica was going to run the whole IndyCar and Nationwide series for Chip but I told him I didn't think she'd do more than a couple ARCA shows and maybe a couple Nationwide races late. It makes a lot of sense for everyone, which is rare in open wheel racing.

Q: When CART was racing in the Indy 500...the race was on the CART schedule but it was sanctioned by USAC. I never understood this...was it a points paying race for the CART drivers and why was the race sanctioned by USAC and not CART. Also...which year was the biggest crowd you recall seeing for the Indy 500.

Ron, Washington, DC

RM: When Triple A bowed out in the mid 1950s, USAC became the sanctioning body of big car/Champ Car racing and of the Indy 500. IMS kept USAC alive and also away from the car owners of CART but even in the original split (other than 1979 when USAC/IMS tried to ban six of the top teams), it was an uneasy peace between CART teams and USAC officials each May. When USAC finally threw in the towel on Indy cars after 1981, IMS still wanted to call its own shots and rightly so. Only after USAC screwed up the Texas finish in 1997 did IMS finally pull the plug on them. Biggest crowd was anytime in the '80s when there were nearly 300,000 seats.

Q: For several years I've been suggesting to anyone who will listen (including Brain Barnhart thru the Trackside radio show) that IMS should consider bringing back the apron in the corners to add another racing groove for Indy Cars. Every time I watch the spectacular Mears/Andretti duel of '91, I hang my head and wonder how we could have lost that. Of course I completely understand why the apron was eliminated in '93 for safety reasons (angle of impact) but now that the SAFER is in place and the cars are much sturdier, could we get some of that part of track back? I am asking once again following another boring BY400 as I bet wider corners may help the show in NAPCAR as well. I wonder if a chorus consisting of a combination of stock car honchos and Indy Car brass could get the job done. (I imagine most of the NASCAR set don't even realize what the track was like pre-BY400 days.) BTW, Barnhart's response to my question earlier in the year was basically "the competition during the 500 has been fine, so why change it." Jeez, has he ever grasped the concept of perhaps trying to make it even better, as it was in the past?

Steve Casper, New Glarus, Wis.

RM: Have you been listening to my lunchtime conversations with old Indy drivers? We all agree the apron needs to be brought back, it would help Indy cars and stock cars. The competition may be fine but the racing has sucked.

Q: I'm usually somebody who's extremely critical of debris cautions, or "NASCAR Yellows," but after watching the F1 qualifying with Felipe Massa's serious accident I have to take back a lot of my criticism. The fact that such a small piece (less than 2 pounds) could do so much damage is really stunning and frightening, and Massa was going quite a bit slower than the speeds the Indycars reach on big ovals. Of course, Massa's accident, together with the tragic death of Henry Surtees in an F2 race after a flying wheel hit him in the head, has made everybody wonder what can be done to protect open-cockpit drivers from flying debris. I can't think of any real solutions. A Top Fuel dragster-style frame around the cockpit might have saved Surtees, but it would impair the driver's vision, and it wouldn't have stopped the spring that hit Massa. A plexiglass shell over the cockpit wouldn't create vision problems, but the tire that killed Surtees would have probably just crushed a plexiglass shell. Both of those solutions would also make it harder for a driver to get out of the car after an accident, which is bad if there's a fire. Does anybody brighter than me have any solutions to this problem?

Max, Milwaukee

RM: They are discussing windscreens for F1 but other than some kind of shell like a fighter plane, I know of nothing that could be done. Let's face it, those were two freak things that haven't happened in a long time but it probably is surprising more drivers aren't struck by errant wheels (the tethers have really helped over here).

Q: If USAC starts up this Gold Crown division and runs that old/new Silver Crown car on road courses, why wouldn’t that be a step in the right direction in terms of prepping our USAC boys for an IndyCar? Granted, the USAC troupe has no money to offer and those cars are front engine and slow, yet giving Whitt, Clauson, Boat, etc a chance to run a road course may (hopefully, God, hopefully) open some doors or at the very least give them the experience. By the way, if I was Chip and I still have Bryan Clauson on contract, I’d put him in an IndyCar car in a heart beat! I followed all of Midget Week and Sprint Week and the kid is a thrill to watch!
Nick Walters, Champaign, IL

RM: No and here's why. None of today's IndyCar owners have any idea who Chad Boat, Cole Whitt, Brad Sweet, Darren Hagan or Clauson is. Besides, a front-engined, upright dirt car is not going to prepare anybody for running an Indy car on a road course. It sucks that the only chance any of these kids will have at Indy comes during July, not May.

Q: Here's my take on the current status of open wheel racing. It's way too expensive, way too predictable and has no legitimate vision, period. It's a given fact that spec competition at the top levels is an excellent breeding ground for skyrocketing costs, case in point, NASCAR and IRL. If all the equipment is identical, it takes that much more R & D investment to gain an edge. Even if all the equipment is identical for the most part, its always the top teams, such as Penske and Ganassi, that will come out ahead, that's just the way it is. The intent of the original IRL spec concept was to level the playing field and reduce costs, yet, the racing has become more predictable than an F-1 race of years gone by. Back in the mid to late 90's, CART had some of its most competitive racing, and I feel this is attributed to the fact that there were multiple chassis, multiple engines, and multiple tire brands. True, modifications were allowed, and teams like NHL, Penske and Ganassi accounted for most of the wins, but the racing was awesome and far from predictable. The point I am trying to make is that the IRL needs to listen to the fans, and "mix it up" as soon as possible. Open the rules up for turbos, diesels, hybrids, aspros and stock blocks! Lets guys like Lola and Panoz compete with Dallara. May the best combinations win, not just the highest budgets, but I know I am preaching to the choir. Competition amongst private chassis manufacturers will lower the costs of going racing.

Brian L, Washington, DC

RM: I have nothing to add except I wanted your very passionate and accurate letter to run. Thanks.

~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.