Weekend at the 500 Part 2

Sunday morning, I went out to get some Starbucks and some milk. Kevin loaned me his car and assured me that I would not need to put on a bra to get those two items. I imagined a gas station food mart and a drive-thru at the coffee place. So I went out in my pajamas sans brassiere. The Starbucks did NOT have a drive-thru and the first 2 places I walked to in the bright sunny light of morning without a bra were not open. Finally, with my arms crossed over my chest, I bought milk at the CVS and got my damn iced latte.

Kevin has a tradition of having Hostess mini donuts on the morning of the race. We had bought both powdered and chocolate-frosted. They went down just fine with the coffee and milk. Larry packed up several coolers with turkey and ham sandwiches, fruit, beer, water, diet Coke and diet Mountain Dew. Dad showed up with fried chicken. I donned my souvenir 500 tee-shirt from Meijers. Keith showed up looking spiffy in black and white. Diane donned her hat (a good idea I should have followed) and said goodbye to her dog Reno. We took 2 cars and headed over to the track.

We tooled around in a nice quiet residential area. Kevin remarked that the track was "doable from here". I could see no view of the racetrack at all. We just parked on the street in front of someone's house, unloaded the cars, and started walking.

I was a bit amazed that we were even allowed to park there. In Chicago, there were always signs for residential parking only and this prevented Cubs fans from parking in neighborhoods much of the time. I guess if there were a race every weekend, with people peeing in your bushes and dumping their beer cans everywhere, these Indy residents might not be as friendly as they were to us. As it was, the neighbors were as friendly as could be. Dad stopped several times to talk to them.

It was not until we got much closer to the track that we even saw residents trying to cash in on the race. A few people charging for parking in their lawns. Some kids selling water and t-shirts. We just kept walking and walking, taking turns carrying bags and coolers, walking, walking, walking...Now I know what "doable from here" means in Kevin/Larry-speak! The walk was a bit long but indeed it was doable.


We came upon a large lot that had nothing but RVs parked in it. It looked like a hot humid AC-free party! All that toilet waste contained! It was not a place I would have wanted to stay for more than a couple hours. However it did have some amenities. One sign even advertised medical treatments, if you found yourself needing.

















Closer to the racetrack, we encountered carnival-like food stands, selling hot apple turnovers, pork on a stick, Italian sausage, funnel cakes, and other piping hot food that one wants to eat after walking 10 blocks in the scorching heat.

Finally the Brickyard came into view! Long and looming, it seemed to stretch on forever down the street. And the street was filled with people and their coolers. Unlike going to an NFL game or MLB game, you are allowed to bring in your own food and drink to the race. We had packed plenty, but by the end of the race, we were completely out of drinks. I can't imagine what that would have cost if we had had to buy drinks at the track.

We found our seats and thank goodness we were under a roof. This race ended up being the hottest race on record. The sun was blazing. There was a parade of military personnel in honor of Memorial Day. Florence Henderson sang God Bless America, which she has been doing since the mid 90s. Another 500 tradition is Jim Nabors singing Back Home In Indiana, which he has done almost every year since 1972. Kevin did not know if he would be singing this year. Sure enough ol' Jim was present and sang his heart out.

Our seats were right across from the pit area.
We could see Tony Kanaan's pit and several pit areas for the women drivers, like Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestra, both 1st time drivers in the 500, and Sarah Fisher, a crowd favorite. Down the track a bit was Danica Patrick's pit area. When Danica was introduced before the race, there were as much booing from the crowd as applause.

The noise of the cars was loud and they looked much faster in person than they do on television. I thought I might be bored but I found it all very interesting. The track is so large that when the cars were on the other side, you could not hear them at all. But when they were racing right past you, the noise was crazy! After yellow flags, when the cars would be all grouped together, I could wait until the group passed and then talk to people. Once the drivers had a chance to speed up and separate themselves from slower drivers, the noise was continuous. Kevin and I had to text each other to talk, despite the fact that we were sitting right next to each other. Dad was smart to bring his foam ear plugs.

Dario Franchitti pretty much dominated the race all the way through. Kevin doesn't like Dario, but the only reason he gave was that he thinks Dario is so arrogant. I did not know anything about him, but, frankly I find it disconcerting that his name sounds and looks so Italian, but he is Scottish. What's up with that???? And then, there's that whole married-to-a-Judd thing...

Kevin rooted for Tony Kanaan, but would have been happy if Helio Castronevas had won. It would have been Helio's 4th Indy win, putting him in the history books along side some very famous Indy car drivers with 4 500 wins, like A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears.

We kept an eye on our favorite drivers. I watched Sarah Fisher much of the time. I don't know why...hmm I wonder...but I was rooting for a chubby blonde female to make a good showing or even win. Sarah had terrible pit stops and was in the back of the pack for almost all of the race. She apparently had some car or tire issues and had to bring the car in often. Eventually she dropped out with car trouble. Danica stayed in the middle of the pack but finished 5th with a LOT of last minute luck.

The after-race tradition for Kevin and Larry is to go to Dairy Queen. We stopped by for sundaes and the 2 dogs even got to have some.

I enjoyed the race and the whole weekend very much. I would like to go every year!