Zach Veach, Gateway. Image by Abbott/LAT

Q: Wow! Zach Veach is really impressing. Is he a done deal for Andretti again next year? It is awesome to see a young driver really grow into this sport. And judging from his interviews, such a great personality.

Doug Sohn, North Richland Hills, TX

RM: Zach has been one of the best stories in North American racing this year, and it’s so cool to see him keep getting better and better. He and his family are just great people, and he’s got a three-year deal.

Q: After watching Gateway, it’s clear that IndyCar has to give these guys more downforce on ovals. There was very little passing again. What are your sources saying?

Ray in CT

RM: The drivers I talked to want more front grip and a different tire.

Q: Our household is traditionally an F1 house. However, the family was pleased and intrigued by the Gateway race and differing strategies. Please share with the IndyCar management to keep up the good work.

Steve Selasky

RM: Thankfully (except for RLL) we got that last caution and that gave IndyCar a chance to sweep the marbles and for strategies to change, and it gave the race some drama, passing and new life.

Q: The end of Saturday’s race was quite good, but it seemed like for about the first 150 laps, everyone was trying to conserve fuel, and therefore nobody was attempting any passes. That left a lot of marbles in the second groove, and prevented guys from passing until after they swept the track. Wouldn’t an easy fix for that be to extend the race length to 260 laps, to eliminate fuel strategy so that everyone is pushing hard the whole race?

Tom, Marion, NY

RM: It doesn’t seem to matter what length the race is, fuel always comes into play and I hate that. Distance has been added in the past to Long Beach and other places to try and remove fuel from the equation, but cautions dictate strategy many times. Obviously Rossi would have preferred to run hard the last 70 laps because he was fast, but made saving fuel work for him again. I know it’s an art, but I think race fans love to watch hard running if at all possible.

Q: It seems like a yellow would have been a big help to Scott Dixon in the closing laps of the Gateway race. What would prevent Ganassi teammate Ed Jones from developing a ‘fuel pressure problem’, a la RHR, to generate the much-needed yellow? Is it strictly sportsmanship, or are there other factors to consider?

David K.

RM: Well they tried that once at Mid-Ohio a couple years ago with Sage Karam (he made a rather awkward spin to try and help Dixie), and I think the message was: don’t do that again.

Q: Please tell me that next year at Gateway we’ll see USAC Silver Crown cars race instead of Indy Lights? I mean, seven cars? Really? Silver Crown is averaging 20 cars per pavement race this year. Plus, they are producing great racing as always. I like seeing who the next Ed Carpenter will be. Kody Swanson? Major props to Bommarito Group and GMP. This is how oval racing should be done. There are still some of us USAC guys left out here.

Andy, St. Mary’s, Ohio

RM: I definitely think Chris Blair would consider adding USAC Silver Crown (he owns a car that his son drives), and it would be in addition to the Lights and Mazda races. But even with only seven cars the Lights race was decent, and had a helluva finish. I know we need 12-15 cars next year, but not sure it will happen. Love to see Kody Swanson get a shot, so keep buying lottery tickets because he has no money.

Q: I am wondering if there would be a safety advantage to the Halo over the windscreen for IndyCars? Watching the footage of Robert Wickens’ crash, RHR was really lucky. It appears that the Halo would provide more protection. Thoughts?

Andy Jeffery, Carmel, IN

RM: In that particular crash, absolutely a Halo would have offered more protection than a windscreen. But the problem with a halo is seeing around it on an oval like Texas, Iowa or Gateway. That’s why IndyCar is taking its time in developing and adopting whatever it finally decides upon – it’s not just as simple as bolting on a Halo.

Q: I’ve been to a lot of road courses and short ovals, but Sunday’s Pocono race was my first superspeedway, and other than the beginning I thought it was just about the best race I’ve ever seen. No drafting, push-to-pass, Hanford device, or DRS; that was just good old-fashioned racing. Passing wasn’t easy, but passing shouldn’t be easy. That being said, why are IndyCar and Dallara not doing more to protect drivers’ heads? We got lucky this time, but Wickens could’ve easily met his fate the same way Dan Wheldon did, and any one of the sizable pieces of debris that came off his car could’ve impacted another driver’s helmet. I know F1’s Halos look ugly, but does that matter if even one driver’s life is saved because of it?

Tom, Marion, NY

RM: Read my answer about Halos in the question above yours. As for Pocono, it reminded me of a 500-mile race in the USAC and CART days when one driver and team nailed it and smoked everyone else. And the cars got strung out, and having only 17 after that accident makes it real tough to put on a good show for three hours.