| DAN'S PHOTO JOURNALS |
| 101st INDY 500 Race Day Sunday, May 21st, 2017 |
Late yesterday we went cruising around the city looking for some fun. Not
much was going on anywhere. It was early and hot still. We ended up on
Mass Ave. I had some Dark n Stormy's at the Chatterbox. We heard music
coming from the Rathskeller, so we went there and found a big party
going on in their outdoor biergarten.
Kenny Brack, 1999 Indy 500 Winner, was up on stage playing with local
blues legend Gene Deer! I had some giant wheat beers that were great.
Later, Brack sat at a table near us with his woman. Various people
came up to get autographs from him. The biergarten is full of long picnic
tables that you share with strangers.
We needed dinner, and while the Rathskeller has great German food, it's
really expensive. So we walked back down Mass to McNivens for some
Scottish food. I had haggas, nats and tatties and a Dark n Stormy.
It was dark now and Koz was really wanting to meet a girl. E.T. was tired
and wanted to go home. We went back to the biergarten.
Now some band with a girl singer was playing - they were good. I got
another wheat beer and we tried to meet some women. Koz had some luck
meeting them, but we all went home alone. The band had to quit at 11 p.m.
Back home, I went to bed. I got up at 1:30 a.m. and found Koz asleep on
the floor but no sign of E.T.! I finally found him asleep in a lawn chair out in
my driveway! Ha ha.
much was going on anywhere. It was early and hot still. We ended up on
Mass Ave. I had some Dark n Stormy's at the Chatterbox. We heard music
coming from the Rathskeller, so we went there and found a big party
going on in their outdoor biergarten.
Kenny Brack, 1999 Indy 500 Winner, was up on stage playing with local
blues legend Gene Deer! I had some giant wheat beers that were great.
Later, Brack sat at a table near us with his woman. Various people
came up to get autographs from him. The biergarten is full of long picnic
tables that you share with strangers.
We needed dinner, and while the Rathskeller has great German food, it's
really expensive. So we walked back down Mass to McNivens for some
Scottish food. I had haggas, nats and tatties and a Dark n Stormy.
It was dark now and Koz was really wanting to meet a girl. E.T. was tired
and wanted to go home. We went back to the biergarten.
Now some band with a girl singer was playing - they were good. I got
another wheat beer and we tried to meet some women. Koz had some luck
meeting them, but we all went home alone. The band had to quit at 11 p.m.
Back home, I went to bed. I got up at 1:30 a.m. and found Koz asleep on
the floor but no sign of E.T.! I finally found him asleep in a lawn chair out in
my driveway! Ha ha.
As we walked toward the tunnel, we could see servicemen
being driven around the track individually in white pickup
trucks.
We got to our seats and I thought some guy was sitting in
one of our seats. Koz was between he and I, and I got
those guys into an argument before I realized I was wrong.
Oh shit.
I apologized and eventually the guy got over it and became
friendly for the rest of the day. His pal, who was sitting in
front of me, gave me a pull on some good whisky to show
his good will.
We were there in time to hear a general talk, the preacher
pray, some American songs. Taps.
There was a long delay during the opening ceremonies, not
sure why – commercial break?
Finally someone sang The Star Spangled Banner and there
was the Fly-over – a single big jet – a B-52 bomber.
[ My video of fly-over on YouTube ]
It was windy up there, but not cold. The weather was really
nice all during race weekend, even though the weather reports
had been predicting lots of rain all week.
It was not super sunny though, so I never had to wear my hat.
being driven around the track individually in white pickup
trucks.
We got to our seats and I thought some guy was sitting in
one of our seats. Koz was between he and I, and I got
those guys into an argument before I realized I was wrong.
Oh shit.
I apologized and eventually the guy got over it and became
friendly for the rest of the day. His pal, who was sitting in
front of me, gave me a pull on some good whisky to show
his good will.
We were there in time to hear a general talk, the preacher
pray, some American songs. Taps.
There was a long delay during the opening ceremonies, not
sure why – commercial break?
Finally someone sang The Star Spangled Banner and there
was the Fly-over – a single big jet – a B-52 bomber.
[ My video of fly-over on YouTube ]
It was windy up there, but not cold. The weather was really
nice all during race weekend, even though the weather reports
had been predicting lots of rain all week.
It was not super sunny though, so I never had to wear my hat.
It didn’t take too long to get home, but we had to go kind of slow. The roads were
flooding quickly! Tons of rain fell.
Back at my house, we all hung out around the front of the garage in lawn chairs and
watched it rain. Greg, Tim and Jen showed up.
flooding quickly! Tons of rain fell.
Back at my house, we all hung out around the front of the garage in lawn chairs and
watched it rain. Greg, Tim and Jen showed up.
We saw some engine failures and wrecks. One driver (Jack Harvey?) got into the grey and slid up and hit the wall in the short chute,
then bounced down into the way of hard charging Scott Dixon. Dixon's car got launched straight up into the air like a rocket.
It flipped and came down on top of the inside wall, bounced up into the fence, tearing a huge hole in it, exploded, flipped again
and came down upside down. VERY HORRIFIC CRASH!!! But lucky ol’ Dixon hopped out and walked away! Amazing.
There is a video of this crash at the bottom of my 500 News Page.
then bounced down into the way of hard charging Scott Dixon. Dixon's car got launched straight up into the air like a rocket.
It flipped and came down on top of the inside wall, bounced up into the fence, tearing a huge hole in it, exploded, flipped again
and came down upside down. VERY HORRIFIC CRASH!!! But lucky ol’ Dixon hopped out and walked away! Amazing.
There is a video of this crash at the bottom of my 500 News Page.
These flames are part of the pyro-technic show at the DJ show
where the young people dance instead of watch the race.
IMS advertises it as the Snake Pit. but that's like calling Las
Vegas ancient Rome, Paris or Egypt.
where the young people dance instead of watch the race.
IMS advertises it as the Snake Pit. but that's like calling Las
Vegas ancient Rome, Paris or Egypt.
I drank strong beer in pint cans all day.
I forgot my seat cushion. No big deal.
Before the race, we each picked a
driver to win.
I chose Ryan Hunter-Reay,
E.T. chose Fernando Alonso,
D.R. chose Alexander Rossi and
Koz chose Ed Carpenter.
While all these guys led and were
doing well at times, they all ended up
out of the race due to engine failures.
A lot of Hondas quit today.
I forgot my seat cushion. No big deal.
Before the race, we each picked a
driver to win.
I chose Ryan Hunter-Reay,
E.T. chose Fernando Alonso,
D.R. chose Alexander Rossi and
Koz chose Ed Carpenter.
While all these guys led and were
doing well at times, they all ended up
out of the race due to engine failures.
A lot of Hondas quit today.
We came in on 16th street and had to wait in a long line
before getting into the track. It wasn’t too bad though –
maybe 20 minutes or so.
5th & Hulman Parking lot was full, but we found a spot
over near Turn 2.
Two army helicopers were flying around with ten
soldiers hanging off on ropes in some type of practice
maneuvers.
We immediately all headed to our seats in South Vista.
before getting into the track. It wasn’t too bad though –
maybe 20 minutes or so.
5th & Hulman Parking lot was full, but we found a spot
over near Turn 2.
Two army helicopers were flying around with ten
soldiers hanging off on ropes in some type of practice
maneuvers.
We immediately all headed to our seats in South Vista.
Everyone else had gotten up during the race to trek all the
way downstairs to the bathroom, but I'd never moved.
I was starting to feel dizzy and wasn’t sure I could hold on.
There were a lot of cautions at the end. With 30 laps to go,
I decided to leave the stands.
The walk back to the car woke me up and got me feeling ok
again.
I talked to people who were all tailgating around my car.
I couldn’t see the track or a tv, so I put the race on WIBC and
listened to it.
To everyone’s surprise, Takuma Sato beat Helio
Castroneves for the win!
I drank more beer, cranked some tunes and waited on the
guys to get back. They all went to the garages after the race.
Koz got his shirt signed by Mario Andretti.
They got a photo of Fernando Alonso and Takuma Sato’s
winning car.
These guys who had been grilling next to me decided to leave
and they left me with enough hot sausages for everyone. The
gang soon showed up back at my car and ate them. Glad I
hadn't bothered with bringing my grill.
Dark storm clouds were moving in and everyone was leaving.
We got into the car as the rain hit.
We waited a little while, then pulled out and drove straight out
of the track and hit traffic on 16th Street.
way downstairs to the bathroom, but I'd never moved.
I was starting to feel dizzy and wasn’t sure I could hold on.
There were a lot of cautions at the end. With 30 laps to go,
I decided to leave the stands.
The walk back to the car woke me up and got me feeling ok
again.
I talked to people who were all tailgating around my car.
I couldn’t see the track or a tv, so I put the race on WIBC and
listened to it.
To everyone’s surprise, Takuma Sato beat Helio
Castroneves for the win!
I drank more beer, cranked some tunes and waited on the
guys to get back. They all went to the garages after the race.
Koz got his shirt signed by Mario Andretti.
They got a photo of Fernando Alonso and Takuma Sato’s
winning car.
These guys who had been grilling next to me decided to leave
and they left me with enough hot sausages for everyone. The
gang soon showed up back at my car and ate them. Glad I
hadn't bothered with bringing my grill.
Dark storm clouds were moving in and everyone was leaving.
We got into the car as the rain hit.
We waited a little while, then pulled out and drove straight out
of the track and hit traffic on 16th Street.
| Front Row (from left to right): Alex Rossi, Ed Carpenter and Scott Dixon |
| Scott Dixon still in car right after wreck |
| The back end of Scott's car was across the track |
| Dixon's car cut this big hole in the fence. The safety team arrived quickly to repair it. |
| Takuma Sato taking the Victory Lap in the Pace Car |
| Someone put a life-sized cardboard cutout of Fernando Alonso in front of his garage - Ha! |
| Helio Castroneves' car |
| In Garage Area After The Race |
| Takuma Sato's Winning Car |
| James Hinchcliffe's damaged nose cone |
| 1969 Indy 500 Winner Mario Andretti |
| Fernando Alonso |
| I had better photos of E.T. posing with Sato's car, but had to go with this one because of the weird guy! And what's up with E.T.'s pants? Koz was wearing pants like that too. Maybe it's a Michigan thing? |
| Juan Montoya with some annoying fan. |
Friend Lynn had watched my dog over the weekend and she brought
him back.
He went around sniffing everyone, but totally ignored me! I had to hold
him so Lynn could leave. He sure doesn’t seem to have missed me.
We had subway sandwiches left – enough to feed people still hungry –
like me. Man, Koz can eat a lot!
I handed out Indy 500 hats to everyone who showed up this weekend.
I had just enough to give one to everyone tonight.
I turned the garage TV on at 8pm and we all watched the broadcast
from today's race.
On Monday, the guys took off for Michigan at 10 a.m.
I watched the Formula 1 race from Monaco.
The Indy 500 is now available in it's entirety from the perspective of
several drivers' in-car cameras. So, I watched the race again from
Scott Dixon's perspective. (It ends as he crashes.)
Then I watched it from Fernando Alonso's car!
WOOooo!
him back.
He went around sniffing everyone, but totally ignored me! I had to hold
him so Lynn could leave. He sure doesn’t seem to have missed me.
We had subway sandwiches left – enough to feed people still hungry –
like me. Man, Koz can eat a lot!
I handed out Indy 500 hats to everyone who showed up this weekend.
I had just enough to give one to everyone tonight.
I turned the garage TV on at 8pm and we all watched the broadcast
from today's race.
On Monday, the guys took off for Michigan at 10 a.m.
I watched the Formula 1 race from Monaco.
The Indy 500 is now available in it's entirety from the perspective of
several drivers' in-car cameras. So, I watched the race again from
Scott Dixon's perspective. (It ends as he crashes.)
Then I watched it from Fernando Alonso's car!
WOOooo!
This rainbow appeared after the rain
stopped.
stopped.
See what I was saying about the pants?
I got up today at 7 a.m.!
I guess that just shows what I can do if I go to bed before midnight.
The weather report indicated it might rain after the race, so I decided not
to take my grill. I made a run to Subway and bought some subs for all of us.
D.R. showed up as he was going with us.
I'd bought matching tie-dyed IndyCar shirts for all of us to wear this year, and
I handed those out.
We hit the road at 10:15 a.m. (2 minutes later than last year.)
I guess that just shows what I can do if I go to bed before midnight.
The weather report indicated it might rain after the race, so I decided not
to take my grill. I made a run to Subway and bought some subs for all of us.
D.R. showed up as he was going with us.
I'd bought matching tie-dyed IndyCar shirts for all of us to wear this year, and
I handed those out.
We hit the road at 10:15 a.m. (2 minutes later than last year.)
News
Teams/Drivers
Schedules/Results
Statistics
Series
Photos
Links
History
Indy 500 Memorial
F1 vs. Indycar
General Info
Things To Do
What To Take
Food & Drink
Where To Sit
Seating Chart
Tickets
Maps
Parking
Transportation
Camping
The Party
Cool Tales
Indy 500 FAQ
City Guide
Teams/Drivers
Schedules/Results
Statistics
Series
Photos
Links
History
Indy 500 Memorial
F1 vs. Indycar
General Info
Things To Do
What To Take
Food & Drink
Where To Sit
Seating Chart
Tickets
Maps
Parking
Transportation
Camping
The Party
Cool Tales
Indy 500 FAQ
City Guide
| ET, DR, Koz |
[Photos in garage area taken by my friends.]