Cavin: Yes, IndyCar can return to Fontana
Question: The Fontana race was probably the most exciting and best IndyCar race I've watched or attended. Was Tony Kanaan's comment accurate about there being only 5,000 fans in attendance? Very sad if that's true. (Pete, Elk Grove Village, Ill.)
Answer: Yes, somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000. Very sad, but as I said, don't blame the SoCal fans. It was wicked warm (although not as bad as feared) and everyone knew it would be. Aluminum seats, too. People expected it to be miserable. Why not stay home, DVR it and watch it later? I might have.
Question: Now that post-race infractions are the in thing, can we put Kannan, Power and Montoya on fan probation? (Eric, Alexandria, Va.)
Answer: Your prerogative. I certainly understand their perspective, but as I said earlier in the week, I wish they had chosen another avenue to voice their concerns. Obviously, Mark Miles felt similarly, which is why he used Wednesday's media teleconference to say IndyCar will stop being so lax when stakeholders publicly take the sanctioning body to task.
Question: I enjoyed the Fontana race, but I will admit I was somewhat "relieved" when it was over. While I understand and agree with the drivers' concerns over pack racing, I am also concerned for the fans in attendance and auto racing in general. Does IndyCar even consider the catastrophic consequences of a car going airborne and going over the fence? (Alisa, Orlando, Fla.)
Answer: Sure they do. But this is a possibility not only at a big oval like Auto Club. Did you see how far off the ground the Indy Lights machine got at Toronto? Or Dario Franchitti two years ago at Houston? The right circumstance can get a car into the fence anywhere, and that's true of sprint cars, stock cars and dragsters, too. I think sometimes people lose sight of that fact. By the way, I, too, was relieved when the Fontana race was over.
Question: I am as big an IndyCar fan as anyone, but I do not like the type of racing that went on last Saturday. If you want to have an element of danger, then do what Rick Mears suggests and increase horsepower while lowering down force, putting it back in the hands of the drivers. Then if something happens it will more likely be a single-car incident. (Don, Canton, Ohio)
Answer: I certainly side with Mears, but I also know it's such a fine balance to keep the event safe and the public interested.
Question: Will we see pack racing at Pocono like we saw in Fontana or will IndyCar tweak the aero package to spread out the cars? Will the attendance at Pocono be better than the pathetic turnout at Fontana? (Jeff, Muncie, Ind.)
Answer: Pocono's layout is different (longer straights, different types of corners), so no, we won't see the same kind of racing, but racing there has still been good. Attendance? I expect it to be better than Fontana, but I don't know if it will be enough to return in 2016.
Question: I first went to the Indy 500 in 1959 and began a passionate love affair that has continued over the decades. Saturday, despite the exciting racing, I found my self just wanting it to end with no one hurt. I have always been an oval track fan, but I can't enjoy it when my concern for the welfare of the drivers greatly outweighs the excitement of the racing. I absolutely agree with the drivers that said something has to change. (Dave, Punta Gorda, Fla.)
Answer: I felt that way when the cars got three-wide (or more), especially behind the leaders.
Question: How did Graham Rahal not get an in-race penalty for taking the gas nozzle with him in a pit stop? Hasn't running over equipment, hitting equipment and taking equipment with them always been a drive-through penalty? (Chris, Livonia, Mich.)
Answer: IndyCar has not issued in-race penalties for such infractions this season, and it was a change in policy that began in St. Pete. I think there's been 17 such penalties this season, all settled in this manner.
Question: With the very, very small crowd Saturday, do you think Fontana is history? Wow, what a race though. (Kerry, Carmel, Ind.)
Answer: I sure hope it returns, and I think it will if IndyCar can't front-load the schedule. Miles vowed to make 2016 a seven-month schedule, and he will need fall races to make that happen if some events don't materialize for February. Under that scenario, Auto Cub Speedway returns.
Follow Curt Cavin on Facebook and Twitter: @curtcavin