But he also knows that INDYCAR isn’t going anywhere with its current game plan, and it sounds like he’s got a potential solution. One track promoter called me to say that Bernard has a great idea for 2013. He wants to run doubleheaders at all the street and road courses.

In other words, it sounds like practice and qualify on Friday, have one race Saturday afternoon and another on Sunday afternoon. The teams are already there, so are the TV cameras and more fans might be inclined to spend the weekend. Crash damage for a road race isn’t nearly as bad as an oval, so a wreck on Saturday shouldn’t put a team on the trailer for Sunday.

“It’s a damn good idea because it gives us something to promote on Fridays and should also help sell a weekend package,” said the promoter who requested anonymity. “I’m not supposed to say anything but I saw you Sunday night on SPEED talking about how some of the owners want to get rid of Randy and that pissed me off. He’s the best guy we’ve ever worked with. He’s 5-star in my book.”

Of course, the doubleheader’s best benefit would be more exposure on television but it’s not known how it would be received by ABC and NBC Sports Network. The engine manufacturers and Firestone would also have to sign off on it, and it’s not known whether Bernard has pitched it to them yet. Ditto for all the owners.

But the point is that Bernard knows INDYCAR can’t stand pat at 15-17 races from late March to early September. Six months of inactivity is death. For God’s sake, NASCAR's Truck Series has 22 races. He is leg-chained with a 10-year cable contract inherited from the George era, and he’s trying to make the most of it to help the puny ratings and, in turn, give the sponsors more exposure.

So this twin bill idea seems like an inexpensive yet creative way to have 20-22 races next season and give the promoters of the solvent events a little caveat without gouging them. And give TV twice the chance to gain some viewers. And not cost the owners a lot of extra money to have more good events.

I’m sure the lynch mob won’t like it but I’ve already heard from a couple owners who embrace the idea and are adamantly opposed any hostile takeover. Let's make this clear: a large majority of the owners want a 40 percent price break from Dallara on parts, or they're threatening to start making their own for Baltimore. But that doesn't mean they want to blow out Bernard or run the series.

It would be hard to imagine the Indianapolis Motor Speedway not having a big say in what happens and taking orders from owners (haven’t we seen this movie?) and even harder for the owners to survive without the $30-plus million provided by the Hulman-George family for the Leader's Circle.

On the positive side, if the owners ran the series without the handouts, there wouldn’t be any tight squeezes in the pits at Mid-Ohio because we’d be down to 12 cars.

The lunacy is that CART, Champ Car and the IRL eventually failed because none of those groups had a true leader or a solid business plan or anything approaching fiscal responsibility.

Bernard isn't perfect but he's damn sure the best option in my memory. He's honest, fair and always working and thinking on how to restore relevency to open wheel racing after the years of missteps.

It's a thankless job in a cutthroat enviornment where unhappiness is king. He's got a couple years left on his contract, and I imagine he sometimes wishes it was two weeks, but it sure would be nice to see him start getting a little support instead of all the backstabbing.

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.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED