Q: I will never for the life of me understand how Simona De Silvestro did not get sponsorship to continue her career in IndyCar, forcing her to take her considerable talents elsewhere. Danica had shown the excitement that a competitive female driver could generate for the sport — and for the sponsor. And while she might not have had some of the marketing tools of Danica — particularly not being American — Simona could have made that up with her level of driving. As you have stated many times, she’s the fastest woman to ever sit in an IndyCar. But now — writing before the Indy 500 — it looks like she’s stuck with second-rate equipment for her return to the States, just like in that Lotus engine year. It was a real miss by IndyCar to let her go overseas then. Do you have any explanations?

Michael Hill, Baltimore, MD

RM: How about Sarah Fisher being the IRL’s most popular driver and not having a ride? Or IndyCar not keeping Danica away from NASCAR? Simona was becoming a crowd-pleaser but nobody (owners) had the money or vision to keep her in a seat, so she had to leave. And her ride at Indy wasn’t second-rate equipment, it was prepared by Team Penske.

Q: I’m a long-time open-wheel fan and wanted to share my thoughts on one aspect of the current state of IndyCar. Undoubtedly Scott Dixon is the most successful driver over the past number of years. First-class driver paired with a first-class team has yielded tremendous results. My issue, and it really isn’t much an issue, but more of a lost opportunity for the sport as a whole, is that Scott just has near-zero personality or charisma. If he had 5-10% of what A.J. or Mario had, and still have, the sport would be much better off. Do the teams or IndyCar work with drivers on how to make them more marketable or on how to inject more personality into their on-air interactions? Thanks for many years of enjoyment and insight from your columns.

Nick B.

RM: Scott is quiet and humble, but he’s got a great personality and he just prefers to live under the radar. I don’t think IndyCar has a clue about how to promote or market its drivers (now they’re calling them athletes), but Dixie sells tickets with his driving, not his public persona.

Has it really been eight years since De Silvestro was an IndyCar full-timer? Ellman/Motorsport Images

Q: Thank God again for IndyCar’s development of the aeroscreen. It saved another life in the 500. When Graham Rahal lost his tire after his pit stop, seeing it hit Conor Daly’s car sent chills up my spine. If not for the aeroscreen, I fear we may have lost another great driver. Great job by IndyCar with its development.

Now, my question.  At the 500, my seats were on the outside of the track at pit entrance. I saw first-hand the spins of Stefan Wilson and Simona De Silvestro. One thing I noticed is that the pit speed limit cones were just before the first pit stall and not at the beginning of the pit wall. In years past it seemed to me that the pit speed limit cones were at the beginning of the pit wall. Am I correct on that, and if I am, why was the pit speed limit line moved up to just before the first actual pit stall? Besides the two spins, we saw several near misses when cars entered pit lane. If Simon Pagenaud had been having his car serviced when Simona spun, she would have taken out his car and several pit crew with her spin. Seems to me moving the pit speed limit line to where it was for the 500 only added danger.

Bob J., Indianapolis, IN

RM: The tire hit the nose so I don’t think the aeroscreen saved Conor’s life, but it could have saved Justin Wilson, and yes, it’s been very effective. Let’s hand it back to IndyCar’s Kyle Novak to answer your question:

“For practice and qualifying before the field off 33 is set, the pit speed location begins at the attenuator because cars are required to pit off T3 during green conditions, which is standard practice procedure at IMS. Also, with 36 pit boxes for practice, we need almost the entire pit lane length and more areas to bring cars back and forth from gasoline alley. Thus, the longer pit lane speed zone.

“For final practice, the pit speed moves to the race day location because cars pit off T4 during green conditions, 286.5 feet inward of the practice/qualifying pit speed location, and about 100 feet from the first pit box Also, now that the field of 33 is set, the pit speed zone can be shortened.”

Q: What do you consider the ultimate TV broadcast team when it comes to delivering quality information, education and a little entertainment? I grew up on Jim McKay, Sam Posey and Jackie Stewart and don’t trust my memory. I loved the vibe of the 500 and how they followed HCN all over the place. I hated, but understand, the commercials every six laps. But nobody said a word about what happened to Herta, VeeKay and several other early contenders. I enjoy Tracy and Bell, but it didn’t feel like there was any depth to asking questions about anyone outside of the top five. I think Posey or Paul Page would have at least said, “What happened to the front row?” other than Dixon, who got the cartoon anvil. I miss Bobby Unser. Thanks for making the Mailbag the highlight of my week!

George E, North Carolina

RM: We all liked McKay because he was such a presence, just like Mike Tirico, and it seemed to elevate Indy’s status. I like Stewart and Uncle Bobby best, but I think P.T. and TBell are usually on top of things, and Diffey is good at reading a race.

Q: Not so much a question, but more of an observation about the month of May coverage. As a long-time fan that lives on the West Coast, whatever coverage I can get of the Indy 500 I consume. I purchased the Peacock IndyCar package and watched all of it. All of the practices, all of the qualifying on Peacock, and the race on NBC network. And while qualifying was broadcast on cable, I watched it on Peacock and got to skip all of the commercials, often getting additional commentary and uninterrupted coverage.

The Peacock App is easy to negotiate and the money was well spent as I enjoyed it all. As usual, the revolving crew in the booth and in the pits did a great job of keeping us informed and entertained. I hope that as IndyCar negotiates its next broadcasting agreement, they take into consideration the value to the viewership of continuity. The current broadcast production and on-air talent is so much better than what we as fans have had in the past that it is concerning to think IndyCar would try something else.

Steve Smith, Palm Desert, CA

RM: That’s what I keep telling these people who want FOX or CBS — be very careful what you ask for, because NBC has promoted and covered IndyCar like nobody else.