Q: Had some accommodation for Laguna Seca booked, but decided to cancel before having to pay in full which was by July 18. Not knowing if spectators will be allowed by the state of California or Monterey County by race day was just to chancy, plus all individual hospitality tickets were withdrawn. We were leaning towards the Flagroom just to have a place to park ourselves plus (food and drink perks for old people) and explore the track from there. So no Indy race trip this year, but looking at Road America next year. How much of the RA track can you get around on the pedestrian path I noticed on the broadcast? Hope to see you working a race soon. Miss the pit run interviews.

Jeff, Florida

RM: If you rent a golf cart (and do it as early as possible because they sell out quickly) you can drive around the whole track and it’s spectacular. I’ll probably only work Indy, but thanks for missing the elderly.

Q: Afraid to tell you that you may have missed an opportunity to educate someone on the history of open-wheel racing. Ryan from Michigan stated that we could possibly have more F1 drivers come to the States like Mario and Nigel when he asked his question about Vettel (agree with your answer, Vettel would be bored and he appears not to be much of a team player).

As you well know, but what is not known to those not up on open-wheel history, is that Mario emigrated to the U.S. from what is currently Croatia after Italy lost territory in the aftermath of WW2. He settled in Nazareth, Pa., near the old Langhorne Speedway, and cut his teeth on oval dirt track racing as a teenager (along with Aldo). Particularly midgets and sprints. He then got to Indy, won the 500, then in the mid-’70s went to F1. Came back after a bittersweet time in F1 and stayed in Indy car until retirement. Please think about expanding on your answer. Just afraid that IndyCar does not get the credit it deserves for developing the greatest driver of all time not named A.J.

BTW – They better have fans at the Indy 500, or I begin the recall petition for every elected official in Indiana who gets in the way

Greg R. (transplanted Hoosier living in Ashburn, VA)

RM: I think the fact Emmo, Nigel, Piquet, Fabi, Gugelmin, Blundell and Alonso all either gave Indy or IndyCar a shot is proof they respected the series and what it takes to race at IMS. But times have changed, and other than Fred, I just don’t see any of today’s F1 regulars having that desire. And Mario’s time in F1 was more sweet than bitter.

There’s no shortage of highlights from Mario’s F1 career. Image by Phipps/Motorsport Images

Q: I smiled sarcastically at Jimmie Johnson wanting to try some IndyCar road racing. The winningest race car driver in the world right now is Kyle Larson, having won 25 of 33 races across three disciplines since May. In a 300-mile road race Larson would lap Johnson. Who is going to step up and put Larson in and IndyCar? Ganassi gave him terrible cars for years in NASCAR – not that they’ve improved much – and held onto Larson by dangling an IndyCar seat. Hate to call Foyt’s camp second tier, but that would be a place to start.

Richard C.

RM: I’ve said all along that I think Tony Stewart will sign Kyle, but don’t know if it’s going to be for NASCAR or the World of Outlaws. Would Stew bring him to Indy? Possibly. Hopefully. But Larson just mopped up in Pennsylvania, and I’m not sure if he wants to go back to stock car racing.

Q: Last week there was a question about the turbines in 1968. I have a couple of follow-ups. It is my understanding that Parnelli Jones decided to retire rather than drive the 1967 turbine in 1968. Sure the ’68 wedge cars looked better and were probably faster, but had any development work been done on the ’67 car, or had it just been garaged since the previous year’s race? I would think with a little development and better luck, Parnelli may have won in 1968 with the older car.

The other question is: with Clark, Spence, Stewart and Weld out of the seats, was there any consideration of putting Parnelli in a ’68 Lotus yurbine?

Bruce Kerr, Philadelphia

RM: In Bones Bourcier’s excellent book (As A Matter of Fact I Am Parnelli Jones), Rufus admits Andy Grantelli and Firestone were pressuring him to drive the ’67 turbine in the ’68 race, but after seeing the new wedge designs he came to the conclusion the old car would be too slow and the new one didn’t look safe. There was no development work to speak of on the ’67 model, and Joe Leonard crashed it so he went into one of the ’68s. Not sure if Parnelli was offered a ride in one of the new cars, but he never mentioned it.