Best of the best at the Brickyard? Image by IMS

Q: So glad to see you’re feeling better! In last week’s Mailbag there was a question about Dixon and great Indy drivers. You listed the top all-time drivers at Indy as A.J, Vuky, Parnelli, and a few others.  I had no issue with your list – for one, I’m glad you didn’t just list recent drivers like you see so often. I admire A.J like there’s no tomorrow, but does he really deserve to be above Vuky at Indy? Vukovich led 150 laps in just his second 500, only to have a mechanical failure with eight laps to go, won in dominant fashion in his third and fourth race, and was en route to winning three in a row when he got tragically caught up in the wreck that killed him. He led something like 71% of laps that he drove in competition in the 500; I don’t think anyone has ever come close to that. He could have very easily won four in a row, and all of this in a time when the driver was a big part of the equation. A.J. raced and won at Indy in roadsters with cast-iron tires like Vuky did, but also in rear-engine cars and cars with big wings. But as dominant as A.J. was in the ‘60s, he didn’t approach Vuky’s dominance. Do you think A.J should be above Vuky due to Vuky’s relatively short career at Indy? Want to rethink your list?

Mike Bray, Flower Mound, TX

RM: I didn’t rank anybody, I just listed the best guys from what I’ve watched or read about. I think it’s hard not to rate Vuky as the best ever at Indy, and A.J. Watson once said: “Vuky, Parnelli and Troy Ruttman are the three best I’ve ever seen at Indianapolis, but I’m not going to rank them.” Are Mears, Al Unser and Super Tex just as good? Stats make a pretty good argument, but Michael Andretti led 431 laps and never won, so should he be in the conversation? Mario led one more lap than Foyt; is he one of the best? Ted Horn never won but never ran worse than fourth in his final nine starts, what about his pedigree? Wilbur Shaw and Louie Meyer are both worthy of being mentioned with the best, and Bobby Unser won in three different decades. It’s always a good debate and there is no right or wrong answer, but Vuky’s record is in a league of its own.

Q: Totally awesome to see you back! Love reading and watching all your stuff. Just finished “The Perfect Car” by John Barnard, and the section dealing with Jim Hall and the Chaparral 2K. Some of it jives with “Chevrolet = Racing?” by Paul van Valkenburgh on some of the engineering done by other people at Chaparral other than Jim Hall. Got any insights into the Chaparral 2K team that ran Indy and the USAC races?

Greg Williams, Apache Junction, Arizona

RM: After Johnny Rutherford won the 1980 Indy 500 in Jim Hall’s Pennzoil Chaparral, I wrote in the Indy Star that the car was designed by John Barnard and built in England by B.S. Fabrications. That next morning in Gasoline Alley, Hall confronted me with a copy of my story and angrily wondered where I got my information. I said something like, c’mon Jim, you know the truth, and he countered by saying that car was designed and built by Chaparral Racing. So we didn’t speak for five years, but the next week at Milwaukee, Al Unser thanked me for writing that story. I asked why, and he said that he quit the best ride in IndyCar after 1979 because he was mortified that Barnard wasn’t given one mention or any credit. That really elevated Big Al with me. As for Hall, he was a good driver with an engineering mind who was always thinking outside the box and created some of the most memorable sports cars of all time, but for some reason had trouble giving others credit.

Q: I am a huge IndyCar fan, always have been. My favorite race was Nigel pushing the car to the finish line. I live near Barber, so getting to see the product live every year has been a blessing. Heard recently that you’ve had a health scare. I’m 15 years out from a cancer that recurred, but hasn’t reared its ugly head for a while. It will change you, but not in every way that’s bad. I find that I’m kinder to everyone, and have more patience for little things that irritate. The main reason I write is to express gratitude to you for being very good at what you do. Enthusiasm helps, but as they say around here, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Watching and reading your stuff is like having a buddy who is really into sharing.

William Tate

RM: Thanks for the backstory and kind words William, but I have to confess that cancer hasn’t made me any nicer or more patient. I’m still an SOB behind the wheel with zero tolerance for the morons that dot our highways, and I’m only kind to the about-two-dozen people I like. But I do have an appreciation for how lucky I’ve been to get to stooge on Indy cars, race midgets, write about the sport I love for the past 50 years, and become friends with my heroes like A.J., Mario, Parnelli, Uncle Bobby and Daniel Sexton Gurney. Nobody has had a better life than me, and my cancer is treatable, so I probably have another good 10 years thanks to stem cell, so I’ve also been lucky in health. Now, if could only pick an NFL game.

Q: Time to lean on some people for PR. The New Yorker, yes – that midtown, upper-nose magazine read by people who don’t drive – had a short article in the snob column about Steinbrenner IV going racing. Full throttle, area human interest. Nothing technical for people who have drivers and roomy backseats, Uber, ride things with really small wheels, or daily ride underground wagons. OMG, don’t let your heart skip a beat. No one at an unnamed corner in Indiana had their hand in it. Here’s the link.

It’s time Roger Penske leaned on his son, Jay Penske owner of Penske Media and one-time IndyCar team owner now traveling with a criminal gang known as Formula E.

Hope this news didn’t set your health back.

Redding Finney, who sometimes rides underground wagons

RM: I saw that, and all the great press George Michael IV got from the New York papers on his media blitz through Manhattan. I just hope it generated enough interest to get him some sponsors.

Q: Enjoyed your video on books to put on my Christmas list. Thought I would share my grandfather’s website with you. Landy Scott was the 1947 Badget Midget Champion. My uncle put together a cool site that is full of great old pics of 40s and 50s midget racing. I hope you enjoy it. Look forward to seeing you at Road America again.

Jason Scott, Green Bay, WI

RM: Very cool, thanks for sharing. Badger midgets were competitive as hell, and there’s no finer midget track than Angel Park.