2017 IndyCar Grand Prix - Qualifying - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

DAN'S PHOTO JOURNALS

INDYCAR GRAND PRIX - FRIDAY
May 12, 2017

E.T. showed up at 1:30 a.m. tired from a day at work, an
evening of golf and a 5-hour roadtrip to Indy. I too was tired
from a day of cleaning house all night after work. None the
less, he sacked out at 3 a.m. and I hit the sheets at 5 a.m.

I woke up at 11 am and E.T was already up hustling around.

It was sunny, 58 degrees out and would warm up to 68.

We had breakfast at my house, then drove my Pontiac
convertible with the top down to the speedway. My engine
light came on, but I didn't notice any problems.

We took 10th to Polco St. to 16th Street and parked in the
west lot of Main Gate parking - $10.

We each carried a cooler of tall cans of beer brewed here in
Speedway at Daredevil Brewery. Good stuff! I had not
made it to the store and we had no food with us.

This weekend, the museum was free to tour, so we went
there first. E.T. has been coming here every year since
1990 and he had never been in the museum before!

I discovered they have expanded the museum. There were
offices in the back and it's all been cleared out and turned
into museum space!

Some things in the museum that especially
excited me was seeing the huge Wheeler-
Schebler trophy and the Remy trophy - both
were used as early as 1909 and I have been
reading a lot about that era this year.

Also present was the super sleek 1987
Oldsmobile Aerotech research car which A.J.
Foyt drove to a world closed-course speed
record of 257.123 mph (413.788 km/h)

Half of the museum has been turned into a A.J.
Foyt Jr. museum. This special exhibition will be
on display until October 31st.

I took E.T. up to the 2nd floor photo shop. They
have a gazillion photos that you can find at
computer stations, then select and buy for $10
each.

I talked to the manager about what is entailed in
buying photos and the rights so that I could use
them in a book. I found you have to apply and
that there are different variables that he takes
into account to decide the price. You can buy
the rights to use a photo for a certain period of
time - perhaps for use in an ad or brochure?

Some other variables for using photos in a book
were how many books will be published, the
size of the photos, if iconic images of IMS, such
as the pagoda, are in the photos. On average,
the price for the rights to use a photo is
between $50-$400.

We'd spent at least a good hour in the museum.

The 7' tall Wheeler-Schebler trophy

Foyt's 1965 Lotus Ford Started the Indy 500 on Pole

1987 Oldsmobile Aerotech

We grabbed a curteous golf cart and road outside
the track over to Stand B in the first turn.

I was hungry, but all the IMS food stations were
closed. Fortunately some privateers were open.
On man was selling cookies and muffins. Another
large group were made up of volunteers for a
catholic church. I bought a tenderloin sandwich
from them for $10. It came with cheese, bacon
and jalepenos on it.

E.T. and I took the new elevator up to the pent
house level, where we watched IndyCar qualifying.
Will Power won pole for tomorrow's race.

The B Penthouse is all new, as is A and Paddock
penthouses.

They have added an upper deck to the penthouse
that consists of only 3 rows. We headed up to
check them out.
Wow! It was terrible, not only were there like 20
support poles blocking our vision, the roof of E
Penthouse is lower, and blocks an entire section
of the apex of turn 1! Building this extra seating
had to cost a fortune and it's obvious the architect
did not do his research. DO NOT BUY TICKETS
IN THIS AREA - rows AA-CC, sections 23-24

We moved back down to the regular B Penthouse.
It is much steeper than it used to be. If you sit in
row F or lower, then all the support beams are out
of your way! Also, the fencing does not block
your view of the track.

Beginning at Seat 9, Row F, Section 24 of B
Penthouse and going south and into E penthouse
is the sweet spot of the corner which allows you
to completely see the front straight - the best
place to sit in order to see all the passing that
takes place as the cars approach Turn 1.

We watched the 30-lap Indy Lights race, which
took about 50 minutes. During this time, my
friends from Houston Texas, Henry and Irma,
found us. They brought a young relative with
them who was about 10 y/o. It was nice to catch
up with Henry.

It was windy up there and we were in the shade. I
was cold and wished I'd brought a jacket.

E.T. got hungry and left to get food, but by then, no
one was selling food.

This race was the last event of the day and Nico
Jamin won it. So, ET and I sange Bob Marley's
song "Jammin" on our walk out of the stands.

It seemed like a long walk back to the car.

I headed home first to let my dog out. Then we
went to a new restaurant in my area called Hops
and Fire. They had a bar area, a neat patio, live
music, a big crowd and a good selection of beer.
Their food selection sounded interesting, but I did
not like it.

We then went and picked up more beer for
tomorrow.

Back at my house, I checked my oil level on the
Pontiac, and it was perfect. ET fell asleep at
11pm. I stayed up a few more hours to update
this web site.

The following 3 photos are from the parade lap for the Indy Lights race: