Q: IndyCar’s tech inspectors need to take a closer look at Dixie’s car — they’ve got an extra five gallons of fuel stashed in there somewhere!  NBC announcers missed an excellent “PT chrome horn” reference. The nose of Colton’s car is chrome! It was nice to have an exciting finish to an alternate strategy race.  I’ve been an Andretti fan since the Mario/Michael/Newman/Haas era, so I’m cautiously optimistic this year.

I’m going back to Indy for the first time in 30 years — Carb Day through the race.  Any suggestions for what to do on Saturday, since the Museum is closed? I would like to visit Robin’s favorite BBQ joint but forget the name.

Steve, AL

MP: I’m struggling to recall Miller referencing local BBQ haunts, but go get a burger and fries at The Workingman’s Friend in his honor. And if you’re a quart low, go top up on oil at Mug-n-Bun; burgers, fries, chicken tenders, and a pork tenderloin sandwich were among his favorites there. And bring cash and enjoy the line at Long’s Donuts, another Miller dietary staple.

Q: I attended the Long Beach Grand Prix and witnessed yet another amazing fuel-savings victory by Scott Dixon. I watched carefully his second pit stop on lap 52, which would mean he needed 33 laps on one tank of fuel to get to the finish (lap 85), which he did. I was amazed he made it — I felt certain he would need a third pit stop to get to the finish line.

The race announcers all agreed that the typical IndyCar fuel window was 24-27 laps at Long Beach. I think the next best fuel performance was 30 laps on one tank of fuel, which would imply Dixon is able to perform 10% better on fuel than the second-best driver in the field. A 10% advantage over the rest of the competition in IndyCar (in any category) is enormous.

My question is, do you think Dixon’s unique driving style is reproducible on a high-fidelity IndyCar simulator? Would his driving technique, his braking, shifting, driving line, use of push-to-pass, ability to avoid being passed, and ability to save his tires all be something that would also translate into similar fuel savings on a simulator?

Kevin P., Los Angeles, CA

MP: I was wondering the same thing after the race. Dixon turned fuel saving into an art during the 2005 IndyCar season — the first year it was no longer called the Indy Racing League — when Toyota’s motor was an underpowered liability. All he and his Ganassi teammates could do was go into major fuel-saving mode at every track to then hope for cautions that would allow them to stay out and gain positions because their motors weren’t capable of making it happen.

With the heavy restrictions on testing these days, the rest of the field simply doesn’t have the available time to try and replicate what Dixon forced himself to learn for thousands and thousands of miles in one season. He discovered methods 20ish years ago that, clearly, can’t be replicated on a simulator, or during the brief chances where others try to mimic whatever they think he’s doing inside the car.

Q: Has Dixon or Ganassi ever hinted at how they get such great fuel mileage compared to their competition? Otherwise, if you had to guess, is this more so because of Dixon or something they know about the car? I imagine it’s Dixon…

Stu, Wisconsin

MP: It’s Dixon. He’s done it with Toyotas and Hondas that were naturally-aspirated, and with Chevy and Honda with their turbo motors in the current formula. He’s the constant.

Any Ganassi driver will tell you that understanding how Dixon saves fuel from looking at his data is one thing; being able to replicate it on the track is something else altogether. Josh Tons/Motorsport Images

Q: I have been watching IndyCar and other forms of racing for over four decades now. I was absolutely convinced Dixon would run out of fuel if he used push-to-pass in defending against Newgarden and later Herta at Long Beach. I know Dixon is known for driving with excellent fuel economy, but this was beyond belief. He used some 60 seconds of PTP in the last stint alone! I have a hard time believing he can save fuel that much, use that much PTP and still win in a spec series. Other forms of racing from NASCAR to F1 to sprint cars have found ways to increase fuel mileage beyond the rules — do you remember any IndyCar/IRL occurrences or tricks regarding pushing the legal limit on fuel capacity and/or fuel mileage?

Bill, Austin

MP: Not in modern times with spec cars and monkeying with fuel capacity limits, but we did have Goodyear, at the end of their time in the IRL, make front tires that were notably smaller — a shorter sidewall — than Firestone’s fronts, which reduced aerodynamic drag and in turn improved speed and fuel economy. Back when the cars weren’t made by a spec supplier, sure, there were always rumors about extra bottles hidden here or there that would increase fuel capacity by a modest amount.

Q: I think IndyCar handled the contact between Herta and Newgarden well on Sunday. God help us the day we penalize every little thing. This was great hard racing by four cars to the checkered flag and we should all be thankful for what we witnessed.

To his credit, Herta took blame and Newgarden seemed to be better with it once he got out of his car and cooled down.

Your thoughts?

Jeff, State College, PA

MP: I hate it when games are overly officiated. Watching a basketball game where the whistles are used every 30 seconds is just painful, and I apply the same mindset to racing. I don’t want or need every little touch or tiny misstep to be met with a drive-through or, in the case of sports cars, a visit and stop-and-hold in the penalty box being standard fare.

I wouldn’t have penalized O’Ward for his rear hit to his teammate, and would have followed that non-call by not penalizing Herta. But since the series did go after Pato, they should have gone after Colton. Be consistent.

Q: What did you think about Zak Brown’s ideas for IndyCar? I think he should be running the series. What did he and McLaren think about Theo Pourchaire?

Paul, Indianapolis, IN

MP: I’ve been saying on my podcast for a few years now that IndyCar needs to hire McLaren/Zak as primary marketing consultants because no other team, nor the series itself, comes close to making the impact generated by Arrow McLaren or McLaren as a whole. That’s a long way of saying I love the idea because it’s been needed for a long time.

Pourchaire was a revelation within the team. We’ll see how things go this weekend in Barber, and if he’s faster — which is to be expected in his second race — I think the team will have some hard questions to answer. They loved everything about him, and his cheery, humble, and gracious nature brought a new dynamic to the group. As one Arrow McLaren staffer told me last weekend, “He might be the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”

That kind of person makes everyone else root for them, so if he’s strong in Barber, I wonder if the team will ask itself if there’s a need to take him out of the car on road and street courses.