Indy 500 ~ Practice Day Wednesday May 18, 2005
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A beautiful sunny day, the temperature climbed to 78 degrees.
Keith joined me this afternoon on my way to the track.
There were a lot of cars out practicing today - 29 drivers
logged 2500 laps!
There are two IRL two-seaters.
There sure are a lot of motorcyclist working in the garages.
I ran into friend Mike Manifold in the garages.
Haven't seen him in a year.
He has a son who races midgets.
A car going through tech inspection
Here is A.J. Foyt IV signing autographs
Lots of tires stacked out of Firestone ready to go
There was a decent crowd for a practice day.
We decided to go over to the Fanfest area by
the museum.
As we began to walk, a girl came by in a big
golf cart. I held out my thumb to catch a ride,
as I have done for 20 years. But this time the
cart actually stopped and the lady offered us
a ride! Her name was Anna and she indicated
that the Speedway was now allowing certain
safety personnel in the large six-seater carts
to offer fans a helping ride. Awesome!
When we tried to walk into the fanfest, we were
stopped and told that they are still constructing
it and it is not done yet. So we walked into the
museum giftshop where I bought a cool Red
Bull hat for $10.
As we walked back toward the front straight,
Keith spotted the Red Bull tent over with other
tents south of the garages, and walked toward
it. I told him we'd need a pass to get in, but we
decided to try anyway. I put on my new Red
Bull hat thinking that might help.
The place has some cool seating and tv's.
The white bartender had dreadlocks and
reggae was coming out of the sound system.
The drinks were free! They had beer as well
as Crown Royal and Grey Goose. But the only
mixer was Red Bull. Can you believe they did
not have Jaegermeister?! The bartender told
me that on some days, such as Carb Day, only
people with passes will be admitted.
Some girls invited us to sit with them.
Keith was happy drinking free booze, so there
we stayed, even after the track closed.
I have never drank so much Red Bull in my life.
After a 110 mph trip home, my idea of hiring a
bus for Carb Day sounds better than ever.
Dan Wheldon went the fastest today - over 227
mph.
Danica drove by me in a golf cart.
Kenny Brack is making a return to the
Speedway!