Q: You are the Nostradamus of IndyCar this season. So far you’ve predicted the young guns would break through this season, and Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay have won races. Roman Grosjean almost got his first win, but I’m quite sure that you’ve penciled him to win an IndyCar race this season. I also believe that Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Ericsson will both find themselves in victory lane. When was the last time in the early stages of an IndyCar season have seen this many of young drivers get there first career win?

Alistair, Springfield, MO

RM: Thanks to NBC stat guru Russ Thompson for this comprehensive answer: Three in the first seven races in 2013 – James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, Simon Pagenaud. Three in the first six races in 2008 – Graham Rahal, Danica Patrick, and Ryan Briscoe. In 1997 there were seven first-time winners in the first 10 races! Four new winners in the first four races – Scott Sharp (Loudon), Richie Hearn (Vegas), Eddie Cheever (Disney), and Jim Guthrie (Phoenix). Tony Stewart, Robbie Buhl, and Eliseo Salazar also won by race 10. The only other one that comes close is 1965. Three first-timers in the first eight races, and six in the first 13.

Q: I wanted to weigh in on the driver debate about getting Americans into Formula 1. While the sentiment is fantastic, the argument is fundamentally flawed. To get an American driver the appropriate hype here in the States is to see said driver prior to shipping him off to Formula 1. No one will know his name or credentials enough for his talents to be sought or exploited when F1 makes its upcoming two-stop tour of the U.S.

With all due respect to Alexander Rossi, he made his way up the European ranks just like a good F1 hopeful should. He won races in the junior series, climbing steadily up the ranks every other F1 driver has to climb and even got a GP2 win. He did his time as a test and reserve driver. Everything on the resume that was necessary, short of having a benefactor. Yet when he got his shot with Manor Marussia, hardly anyone in America outside of the die-hards, knew anything about him, let alone had even seen him behind the wheel anywhere besides YouTube. When he came to the U.S., I heard an awful lot of, “Who is that?” and, “Who’s the Italian?” from my fellow spectators at Indianapolis and Texas. I mean, how many people realize that Conor Daly spent two years in GP2 and won two races in GP3?

If you want an American in F1 to matter to Americans, they have to make it in IndyCar here before moving up. That’s how you get the American motorsports fan interested. Otherwise, he’s just another face in the crowd except for two weekends a year in Miami and Austin. And even then, without proper equipment, the American flags in the crowd will be waving for a hard-charging back marker three laps down whose team is struggling for fifth in the constructors championship and hasn’t scored a point in two seasons.

Right now, the F1 model is you must drive in Europe and Asia because track familiarity is so important, to say nothing of sponsor visibility. It takes the same skills to master Monaco that it takes to master St. Petersburg. But somehow, not knowing those tracks seemingly disqualifies an American from getting that shot. If talent is a prerequisite, it does not seem logical that a talented American be shut out because Yas Marina is just too much of a technical challenge in a car that requires far less skill and wit to drive than these Dallaras.

Dan W., Ft. Worth, TX

RM: There was no bigger name in American or international motorsports than Andretti, and from what I’ve been told, Ron Dennis did everything possible to make sure Michael failed. Sure, Michael didn’t help himself by commuting, but F1 doesn’t want Americans – isn’t that obvious? They don’t need them. There is no plan to develop a U.S. driver for F1, and nobody took it further than Daly before he threw in the towel. And why would anyone want to see Herta battling his teammate for 15th place in some mid-pack operation?

A future Indy 500 winner leads a future two-time IndyCar champion in the Sunday GP3 race at Hockenheim in 2010. They eventually finished eighth and 19th respectively. Fun fact: Five other drivers from that season’s GP3 field went on to compete in IndyCar. See how many you can name; no Googling. Gibson/GP3 Media Service

Q: I know you are on the Jimmie Johnson bandwagon but, after his performance so far… If Jimmie Johnson wasn’t Jimmie Johnson, what would you be saying? Honestly.

Dan Schertner

RM: I’d be saying he’s made great progress in six months and I truly don’t know what you people expect. Jesus, he went from stock cars to Indy cars at age 45. I was hoping he’d be within four-five seconds of being competitive, but check out his lap times last Saturday compared with JPM.

Q: I watched Jimmie Johnson yesterday. He actually tried to allow other drivers to pass him in the pits. Of course, they could not because of the pit speed limiters. That is no different than NASCAR, but it seemed to slip his mind. That demonstrated the fact that not only was Jimmie not able to race with the other drivers, but he also was quite aware of the fact that he was not able to race. We aren’t talking about a damaged car making laps, but a perfectly good car whose driver did not belong in the series. Milka Duno and Mad dog Marty at least tried to race. This was a bad joke.

This is supposed to be the highest level of open-wheel racing in the U.S. What is someone whose skill level doesn’t allow them to race, but only ride around, doing in the race? Oh that’s right, “He’s going to save the series because he’s a seven-time NASCAR champion and the publicity will save it.”

When consumers will not buy your product, you either change the product to what they will buy or go out of business. But no, IndyCar knows what’s best. Quickie hair-brained rescue schemes in the exact same manner that Gary, IN has used for decades now. They never make any difference in the end. You want crowds? Change your product and build your brand slowly over time the same way you were successful before. It didn’t happen with overnight schemes. It will be long and painful, in increments over years. The sport keeps doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different outcome. How has that worked so far?

Remember the fact that the series has gone back to a track that they haven’t run in years and get a decent crowd. But in subsequent seasons, the crowd dribbles down to nothing. Why? They saw the product and chose not to purchase it again. Time to face the facts, Mr. Miller. The more it has become apparent Johnson belongs in a lower feeder series, the louder, shriller, and harsher you will continue to defend him. That genius, pal!

Charlie, Avon

RM: First off all, nobody ever said or wrote that J.J. was going to save the series, so I have no idea where you came up with that. And as far as waving drivers by, he did it once leaving the pits because it was his teammate (Alex Palou) who was running third and in contention. But when you rate Milka Duno and Marty Roth higher it shows me you know nothing about racing. Johnson has brought a lot of attention to IndyCar it would never have gotten, and is steadily improved in a foreign discipline. I hope he runs Indy next year because experts like you will be eating your words with a shovel.

Q: I know he’s had some bad luck this year, particularly at Texas, but I’m getting a little bit concerned about Felix Rosenqvist. Will he and Arrow McLaren SP get it together?

Jordan, Warwickshire, UK

RM: Five races in, kinda early to make any predictions.

Q: With the cancellation of Toronto, what are the odds of there being a Mid-Ohio doubleheader? And, are there discussions to put the 2022 Mid-Ohio weekend back to an early August slot where it had been for years and years?

Terry Johnsen, Germantown, MD

RM: It seems most logical since it’s Green Savoree race, but it’s not moving because of NBC and the Summer Olympics.