Q: For a long time IndyCar has boasted about the diversity of the schedule: only the best ALL AROUND driver would win the championship at year’s end. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. If you include the double-headers, the 2013 schedule features 10 street courses in 19 races (and only 3 permanent road courses). Doesn’t seem too diverse to me … Now, I know it’s about where the money is, getting sponsorship, putting butts in seats, etc. but I’ve come up with what I think is a truly diverse set of venues for an IndyCar schedule. It’s obviously hypothetical and a long shot to ever happen, but in my perfect world, the schedule would be 20 races total: 10 on ovals of all sizes, five street courses and five permanent road courses that stop in as many different markets/territories as possible. I listed the “candidates” below and even took the liberty of throwing in some alternates in case any of my choices don’t fit into the plan somehow. What do you think? OVALS: Indy, Milwaukee, Iowa, Phoenix, Richmond, Texas, MIS, Kansas, Pocono, Homestead. PERMANENT ROAD: Barber, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca. STREET: St. Pete, Long Beach, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Baltimore

ALTERNATES: Belle Isle (street), Edmonton (airport), Chicagoland, Gateway, Motegi (oval or road course).

Nick, Oconomowoc, WI

RM: The IndyCar champ is still the most diverse driver of any series and it would be good to go back to CART’s heyday of 7-7-7 (ovals, road courses and street circuits) but that only works when it’s good for the series and the promoter.

Q: As a young kid growing up in Indy (I’m 32) I had barely even heard of NASCAR before 1991. My first introduction was when I saw Days of Thunder for the first time and Tom Cruise told Robert Duvall he wanted to go to Indy but his name wasn't Andretti or Unser so he'd settle for NASCAR. After recently reviewing ratings and earning from the "heyday" of the early 90's I realized that NASCAR guys like Earnhardt were earning $3 million per season vs. Rahal and Michael Andretti making about half that (see 1991 Michael $1.6 mil vs. Dale $2.3 mil, both series' champs). Additionally, ratings demonstrate NASCAR and IndyCar were closer than we realize. The 1991 Indy and Daytona 500's drew nearly identical ratings (7.8/27 Daytona vs. 8.0/27 Indy). What gives? Was there ever a true heyday or am I part of the Yankee northern bias? Why the hell would Cole Trickle have rather driven to for less money? Maybe us OWR guys should realize we were never as relevant as we thought. What am I missing and please tell me I’m wrong?

Scott Crivelli

RM: Quick history lesson: An Indy car driver was The Man in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and guys like Bobby & Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough and Lee Roy Yarbrough came to Indy because it enhanced their careers. USAC’s stock car division was as deep and competitive as NASCAR’s in the ‘60s and early ‘70s when NASCAR was a regional series. ESPN helped introduce stock cars to a national audience and made its driver heroes. Michael and Al Junior were paid huge retainers (I estimated $5-6 million in CART’s heyday) and considering NASCAR had 12-14 more races, the purses were comparable. Earnhardt also made millions off merchandise. You heard Ricky Rudd and guys of his generation say they grew up wanting to be Indy drivers, not stock car drivers, but they went where there was more opportunity. Ditto for Jeff Gordon. The Split in 1996 vaulted NASCAR light years ahead of open wheel and IndyCar can barely see their tail lights today.

Q: Here is a question I've always wanted your opinion on. In this off season I watch a lot of old races on Youtube especially old Indy 500s. So here's my question, hypothetically let's say the split never occurred in '96 and open wheel had all of its best drivers, and teams together during those years. Let's also say all the chassis manufacturers (Lola, Reynard, Swift, Eagle) and engines (Ford, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes) remained in the series. With all the top drivers that were around during that era, who would you have put your money on to win the 96' 97' 98' 99' and 2000 Indy 500s?

John Baadilla

RM: Michael Andretti, Greg Moore, Dario Franchitti, Paul Tracy and Alex Zanardi.

Q: I remember a CART race at Road America when Robby Gordon's engine blew spectacularly on the frontstretch directly in front of his pit. I immediately thought something was going on there. I can't remember who was the owner. Did the younger, less disciplined Robby blow one intentionally? Just because he was particularly unhappy? Or, happily, is that the mature racer's answer to an extremely badly prepared car?

Martin Sovik

RM: He was driving Derrick Walker’s Valvoline Ford at Elkhart Laker and after it blew up (he didn’t clutch it) Derrick told Robby not to go on national television and badmouth Ford. Gordo then launched into a tirade after kicking the engine cover.

Q: You dismiss the idea of adding more track time to Indianapolis. I agree that adding an IndyCar road race would dilute the Brickyard's image. But what about some SCCA club races? Even better, how about running a SCCA major, or the SCCA World Challenge? How about vintage sports car races? That's the way to get road racing fans around the year, without damaging IndyCar.

NaBUru38 (Uruguay)

RM: No offense to SCCA but Indianapolis should be about the best and fastest and we’ve already got too many races at 16th & Georgetown.

Q: It just amazes me how big the fields are and how the exciting the racing is in Star Mazda compared to Indy Lights. You think this would logically feed into Indy Lights. Apparently that's not the case. Seems like it’s just poor management of Indy Lights to me. Any thoughts?

Stuart – Dallas

RM: I think being aligned with another European series could be smart (since three-fourths of the field are foreign anyway) and it could produce more cars, teams and interest. But Lights is pretty irrelevant right now. And Mazda is a fine series but you need another step up before strapping on an Indy car.

Q: Indianapolis had the second highest TV rating in the country for the Daytona 500. It seems to regularly be a Top 3 market for most NASCAR races throughout the year. Was it this way 25 years ago or even 10 years ago? Does having championship drivers like Gordon and Stewart in Cup, give folks from Indiana more reason to watch? Or is it just simply because the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana have so many race fans in general? If IndyCar racing was still a big deal, would Indianapolis NASCAR ratings still be as high as they are?

Jim- Willow Branch, IN

RM: I don’t have stats but NASCAR began stealing some of IndyCar’s thunder in the early ‘90s and then, following The Split in 1996, the Brickyard 400 became the big deal in town and blew away the Indianapolis 500 for several years. Thankfully, that’s all changed recently but, hell yes, Indy has been a stronghold for NASCAR for two decades.

Q: This is my first time on mail bag and no I am not going to sing the Madonna song. But thought you would like to know there was a big photo of Randy and his new boss at RFD TV in the Omaha World Herald on Sunday. He looked relaxed and happy to be in husker land where the main game is college football and not corporate games. If you want to pass this on to the powers that be at IMS. I first listened to the “500” when it was on the tractor radio doing field work on my dad’s South Dakota farm. And this is pre air conditioned cab days, so have been an OWR fan for a long time. But my interest continues to wane and have branched out to watch more interesting racing. Here is my priority watch list. MOTGP, World Superbike, AMA Superbike, F1, and the Indy Cars, and at the tail end are NASCAR roundy-round races. Not a rant, just reality.

Dwight Plucker, Omaha, NE

RM: Well, hard to argue that motorcycles (don’t forget AMA flat tracks) aren’t some of the best racing in the world but IndyCar had a damn fine season in 2012 and this year should be more of the same.

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.