BEST SAVE: A tie between Michael Andretti’s group keeping Milwaukee alive and Ed Carpenter missing the wall at Fontana.

SURPRISE #3: Everyone knew (or should have) that Simon Pagenaud was a bad ass but the friendly frog drove Sam Schmidt’s team to fifth in the point standings in a great display of talent and teamwork.

GOOD CHEMISTRY: Crew chief Josh Fruend, Doug Bradley, Tony Houk, Nino Benzia, Rolando Cornado and Ricky Campbell have been with RHR since he joined Andretti and they’ve meshed into a winning combination.

A BELL RINGER: Townsend Bell always does a nice job at Indianapolis as a part-time racer and he’s equally skilled at talking on NBC Sports Network. The booth is calling.

WORST RACE: Tie between Detroit and Edmonton.

BEST QUOTE: “I passed Dixon, Job done. Then I thought it was Job done on Dario.” Sato after crashing in Turn 1 on the last lap at Indy.

BAD DEAL #3: Mike Shank had a new Dallara but could never get an engine.

GREAT JOB: That would be hard-working Will Phillips, who managed to write new rules, fix Dallara’s oval problems, run the tech side like a pro and also be flexible enough to listen to the drivers about downforce levels to make the racing better.

MAXIMIZING: Franchitti’s bid for his fifth straight title came apart early and he only scored one win in 2012 but it just happened to be Indianapolis where he joined Uncle Bobby, Lone Star J.R., Louie Meyer, Wilbur Shaw and Mauri Rose as three-timers.

AGONY OF DEFEAT: He’s won more races and poles than any other driver during the past three seasons but Power again came up short for that elusive first championship – losing a third straight by only three points.

BEST ROAD COURSE RACE: Long Beach where Power had to start from Row 6 because of the penalties for engine changes but still triumphed – holding off a spirited charge from Pagenaud.

SURPRISE #4: Alabama likes Indy car racing. The biggest crowd yet showed up at Barber Motorsports Park (40 miles from Talladega) and the race is promoted as well as its run.

BEST SAVE #2: Honda came to Sarah Fisher’s rescue when she couldn’t get an engine and it gave rookie Josef Newgarden a chance to show he definitely belongs in the big leagues.

BAD DEAL #4: The under-handed politics that impeached the best leader Indy-car racing has had in decades and the low-life way it went down in public.

BEST CELEBRATION: At Fontana, where Hunter-Reay and Andretti were hoisting the Vanderbilt Cup and 100 yards away Carpenter was trying to spray vodka on Fuzzy Zoeller. It’s been a long time since two American drivers in IndyCar were that happy simultaneously.

Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED