Peeking through the fence at IMS

Bourdais leads Andretti in two of the nearly 2,300 laps turned today at IMS
(Greg Griffo photo credit)

Weeks like this are the times it kinda stinks to be a grown up.

The weather was about perfect in Central Indiana today...it felt like a day to go to the track, do a little homework before pole day and learn some of the new paint jobs and driver/car combos.  BUT, work has me traveling for he next few days, so in preparation, I was kinda strapped to my desk today.

As a band-aid to my jonesing to get to the West side of Indy, I put the webcast up in the background of my computer and kinda paid attention to the cars as some found speed, and others are still struggling to find it.

The Team Andretti duo of Hinchcliff and Marco Andretti took turns in a few cars as they tested different set-ups, and I believe, broke in a freshly-leased engine.  Hunter-Reay, Castroneves and Hildebrand all were near the top of the speed charts today, with laps just under Hinchcliff's tow-aided 224+ lap.

It was heartening for me to see Hildebrand and Sato up near the top- as I said today via Twitter, I'd like to see both of those guys get near to their strong showings in the last two years at the most-famous race course in the world.  Another year of experience is under each of their belts, and they both have solid cars underneath them...and they're both staying in the top-10 for speed so far.

Andretti looks like a guy with as much momentum as anyone at this point; Second place in the point standings, a more calm, mature approach, and as always, a great team behind him.  Plus, he's raced strong at Indy.  He's also made awful mistakes here too...but we're not going to focus on that right now.

I was a Mario Andretti guy growing up.  Being a Purdue fan and a Mario fan, at least at Indy, taught me a lot of lessons for later in life; hard lessons: Never get your hopes up too high. Nothing's over until it's over...and don't cry in public.

Now, I've never liked Michael or Marco like I liked their Dad/Grandpa. Like the second generation Rahal, these legacies always have given off the idea of entitlement to me...They whine, they don't have a cool Italian accent...lots going against them.

All that said, I'd love to see Marco win at Indy and break the Andretti curse.

Conversely, I'm OK with not seeing Power or Castroneves win it.  Power typically finds himself in the wrong place/wrong time at Indy time and again...Castroneves overly-emotional bit has become tiresome for me. Plus, I don't wanna see he or Franchetti join the truly-elite crowd with four Indy victories.

Lemme scratch that- now that Ashley Judd is not prancing around pit row, I'd be OK with the second Flying Scotsman winning a fourth race, but I'll be rooting for Dixon or even Briscoe, out of the same stable to do it instead.

Back when I was a kid, I'd rush home during the month of May and watch Legends of the Brickyard on EsPN.  Going to the track with some regularity made me a fan of the race, watching that show brainwashed me, moving out of the state cemented my feelings for IndyCar racing (even in the dark days after the split)...and once again, this May makes me feel like a kid as the race approaches with not enough fanfare (in my opinion), but a few weeks of practice will have to do.

The days of 40+ driver/car combos competing for 33 spots seems to be a thing of the past, sadly. But, hearing drivers from other circuits sniffing around for rides always makes me nostalgic.  Even if it's an unlikable Busch brother testing a car, I still love reading drivers say how special of a place Indy is for them...not turning laps in a big, clunky, fendered car...but a sleek, low (partially) open-wheel machine...that's Indy.

Much like J had a podcast with a fellow hockey fan a few days ago, I plan on having one or two in the coming weeks, but about IndyCar, and specifically the Indy 500. We'll see how schedules line up, and if you care to tune in, pay attention to this site and Twitter for scheduling details.

The Pacers won today and took a commanding 3-1 lead over (formerly) J's Knicks.  I was happy to see it, but didn't care too much.  As I wrote a few days ago, I've kinda grown apart from the NBA (it's not me, David Stern, it's you).

BUT, in spite of stupid business moves and diminished popularity of IndyCar racing, I haven't grown out of my love for this sport...nor this event.  It's my city's crown jewel...it's something the rest of the world truly knows my hometown for...and it's truly an amazing spectacle that never disappoints me.

BS Correction Regarding Shannon Spake Photo

It turns out that I'm not very bright. But you knew that if you've been reading here a while. Last week I put up a wrap-up post on our informal reader poll cute-off between Shannon Spake and Sam Steele. In that post, I included a photo that I erroneously thought was Spake kissing the bricks. Well, Ms. Spake contacted us to let us know that photo is actually of Jamie Little.

BS regrets the error. But we don't regret that this gives another reason to talk about these lovely ladies.

Keep up the good work.

Jamie Little

Shannon Spake

Both awesome

Another Great Memorial Day Weekend in Indy

The Indy 500 is special to me...I'm a sap.

I've been going to the race since 1985 while sitting with my family in the first row of the Southwest Vista. It strikes a ton of chords for me- Purdue's band's involvement has always been special to me because I was brainwashed to be a Boiler from birth. The playing of taps, the flyover, the deserved recognition of our service men & women always chokes me up as I'm reminded of the greatness and bravery of men who gave everything for our way of life. The releasing of the balloons, hearing Jim Nabors sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" and hearing the most famous words in motorsports always gives me chills.

But, the first lap under green as the flash of color blurs, the deafening roar rings in my ears and the smell of rubber and burning ethanol is worth the $85 ticket price in itself. And the other 199 and 3/4 laps were pretty great for me this year too.

Each year there's something that's interesting to racing dorks like me and the last 30 laps and fuel strategery was it this year. It was a wild finish...but, this year's finish made me sick at my stomach too. I didn't see the Conway/RHR wreck immediately as it was on the other side of the track. But, watching the video boards was pretty awful from my perspective.

LBD and I got to meet Mike Conway last year on Community Day at the track. Sure, it was only a few seconds outside his garage, but it was impactful on my (then) three year old son. He doesn't remember everything about his third year of his life, but he remembers meeting the Dad's Root Beer car driver...and still calls him one of his favorites.

Scary.

J jokes that we open wheel fans only go to the races to see wrecks. I'd argue that real fans don't care too much for them. Granted, a lot of people cram the seats to watch cars slamming into the walls, but the older I get, the less I can stomach watching a car lose control...especially in person.
The good news is Conway wasn't seriously injured...but his car was unrecognizable (above)- a true testament of how much safer these cars are than they used to be...and maybe just a small sign of how blessed RHR and Conway were during the late afternoon in Indy. But, that collision definitely dampened my enthusiasm for an awfully-enjoyable end of the 500 miles.

And speaking of dampening my fun- Ashley Judd stinks. I can't stand that woman. As much as I like Dario Franchitti, I might detest his wife equally as much. First off, she was never a good actress. But even if she was, I still wouldn't want to see her artificial interest in the waning moments of the race, her flowery speeches following races or her self-absorbed efforts to get on camera and steal the spotlight from her husband and his crew.

My family has a blind draw pool each year prior to the race. I've won it twice and have bought at least one driver each year since 1983. I've won this gamble two times. Both were when I drew Franchitti. But, I was rooting for Kanaan and Conway at the end of this year's race as I just didn't want to hear the Judd speak after the race's end. I'm glad I won, and glad a seemingly-good guy won the race...but hope the Hulman George family bars Ashley Franchitti from every returning to Pit Lane.

Everybody loves it...But America
It seems the Indy 500 product itself is pretty damned good to me. The dark days of the middle-90s are a distant memory as super-high quality drivers and well-tuned machines maintained by skilled crews are the norm, not the exception these days. The field was comprised of the most international drivers ever...Fitting, I guess.

Remember one of the silly reasons Tony George formed the IRL was to try to insure that more American drivers would be entered into the 500 each year. Well, he's no longer in a decision-making position with the league or the track...and his vision will not be realized, and that's a very good thing.

He wanted racing to be more-affordable, so he said. Let's be real honest- fast cars aren't affordable...race cars aren't supposed to be either. And, the best of the best drivers should be driving in Indy...regardless of where they were born. I like that John Andretti was in the race. I like more though, that Scott Dixon decided to live in Indy because he liked the city...and by the way, he's a bad mo fo behind the wheel...That's what matters.

The fan favorites aren't the Americans, they're the good drivers who aren't d-bags...or the greatest drivers...even with crappy personalities. Guys like Fittipaldi and Foyt come to mind right away- just like in any sport, if you consistently win championships, a lot of people will want to watch you do what you do.

That said, if you whine, bitch, tear people down, haven't every won anything of substance, but have a cute hind end...you might still have some fans. But, the real race fans grow weary of that type of act...especially as time starts taking its toll.

Hopefully, as the race moves back toward its intended start time of 11:00am in two years, we'll get to see guys like Tony Stewart, Sam Hornish and even Jeff Gordon attempting to race at Indy. Simply nothing is better than watching the best of the best compete and that's what will help Indy continue the momentum it has.

Regardless of who's racing there, I'll be there with my Dad, a few pals and at least one of my brothers. We've seen better times for the sport and much worse times...and as a new era of management has begun for the track, things might be changing in the coming years. But the important things remain: Honoring fallen heroes, enjoying century-old traditions and watching fast machines and daring, if not crazy, drivers do what they do.

I love Memorial Day Weekind in Indy.