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| Brickyard 400 Video of the Last Restart - Lap 9 |
| The 26th Brickyard 400 Sunday, September 8, 2019 |
Michie and Patrick went with me to the race today.
I forgot to bring a hat today, but never needed it.
The weather was pleasant all during the race - in the 70s and
overcast to cloudy, with some breezes. The race used to be
held in the middle of summer and was uncomfortably warm to
attend. It was rescheduled to a cooler date, beginning last
year, where the whole weekend was rained out and all the
races held on Monday. This may be the last temperate 400
because the race has been rescheduled again and will occur
over July 4th weekend next year.
Interestingly, qualifying for today's race took place today
instead of on Saturday. I stayed home and watched it on TV.
I wish I'd thought to print out a starting grid as the speedway
did not have time to make any for the fans.
We drove to the track via the interstate and approached from
the north. There were no cars in the main Coke Lot (Lot 1C).
The Speedway was charging people to park in Lot 1B.
Although there was plenty of room in Lot 1A, they wouldn't let
us park there saying it was only for campers, even though it
was about race time. I'd read the North 40 parking was free
today, but I wanted to park closer to Turn 4 since that was
where our seats were.
I pulled into one of the homes on 24th Street, close to
Georgetown. A guy let me park in his back yard for $20.
We were as close to our entry gate as you could hope for.
I forgot to bring a hat today, but never needed it.
The weather was pleasant all during the race - in the 70s and
overcast to cloudy, with some breezes. The race used to be
held in the middle of summer and was uncomfortably warm to
attend. It was rescheduled to a cooler date, beginning last
year, where the whole weekend was rained out and all the
races held on Monday. This may be the last temperate 400
because the race has been rescheduled again and will occur
over July 4th weekend next year.
Interestingly, qualifying for today's race took place today
instead of on Saturday. I stayed home and watched it on TV.
I wish I'd thought to print out a starting grid as the speedway
did not have time to make any for the fans.
We drove to the track via the interstate and approached from
the north. There were no cars in the main Coke Lot (Lot 1C).
The Speedway was charging people to park in Lot 1B.
Although there was plenty of room in Lot 1A, they wouldn't let
us park there saying it was only for campers, even though it
was about race time. I'd read the North 40 parking was free
today, but I wanted to park closer to Turn 4 since that was
where our seats were.
I pulled into one of the homes on 24th Street, close to
Georgetown. A guy let me park in his back yard for $20.
We were as close to our entry gate as you could hope for.
Cleverly, IMS set up a souvenir tent at the entrance that you
had to walk through once you got past the ticket takers (and
also on your way out!)
Patrick owns a little race scanner and two sets of headphones that
he purchased from the scanner company that vends at IMS. One
of their trailers were stationed behind our stand. Patrick walked
over by it and his scanner automatically programmed itself with all
the frequencies for this race. Very nifty. I asked them about renting
a scanner and they wanted $60. I asked them about buying a
scanner and headset from them and found that the cheapest would
be around $350. Also, the scanner could not be used like a normal
programmable scanner to pickup police, fire, etc.
While I was there in time for the start, the Speedway started the race
early because they thought rain might show up later. I have NEVER
seen them start anything earlier than planned. None the less, they
started it 18 minutes earlier than announced. By the time I got to my
seats, I had missed the start and first 13 laps. Grrr.
Our seats were in Stand J, section 30. This is the last section of
the stand and is closest to the NW Vista. The stand narrows down
to just 3 rows beginning at row X. We were row Y. There were 3
people in front of us and 3 behind us. It was a little tight, so when
three men behind me moved, I moved back to their row, making
more room for us.
There is a camera at the top of Section 29. When you sit below a
camera, you know you are in a sweet spot!
I'd brought a seat cushion, but these metal stands do not have a seat
back. I wish I had one of those chairs for bleachers. IMS rents them
during the 500.
There were lots of caution periods during the race so I stood up often.
All the wrecks happened on the other end of the track so I never
saw one.
I enjoyed Oktoberfest beers that I'd brought and sometimes I'd have a
smoke. A yellow shirt eventually came up to me and told me not to
smoke in the stands. I asked him if vaping was allowed and he said it
was not.
had to walk through once you got past the ticket takers (and
also on your way out!)
Patrick owns a little race scanner and two sets of headphones that
he purchased from the scanner company that vends at IMS. One
of their trailers were stationed behind our stand. Patrick walked
over by it and his scanner automatically programmed itself with all
the frequencies for this race. Very nifty. I asked them about renting
a scanner and they wanted $60. I asked them about buying a
scanner and headset from them and found that the cheapest would
be around $350. Also, the scanner could not be used like a normal
programmable scanner to pickup police, fire, etc.
While I was there in time for the start, the Speedway started the race
early because they thought rain might show up later. I have NEVER
seen them start anything earlier than planned. None the less, they
started it 18 minutes earlier than announced. By the time I got to my
seats, I had missed the start and first 13 laps. Grrr.
Our seats were in Stand J, section 30. This is the last section of
the stand and is closest to the NW Vista. The stand narrows down
to just 3 rows beginning at row X. We were row Y. There were 3
people in front of us and 3 behind us. It was a little tight, so when
three men behind me moved, I moved back to their row, making
more room for us.
There is a camera at the top of Section 29. When you sit below a
camera, you know you are in a sweet spot!
I'd brought a seat cushion, but these metal stands do not have a seat
back. I wish I had one of those chairs for bleachers. IMS rents them
during the 500.
There were lots of caution periods during the race so I stood up often.
All the wrecks happened on the other end of the track so I never
saw one.
I enjoyed Oktoberfest beers that I'd brought and sometimes I'd have a
smoke. A yellow shirt eventually came up to me and told me not to
smoke in the stands. I asked him if vaping was allowed and he said it
was not.
| Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the most laps today and won it easily, other than having to fight through 9 restarts. |
The Indy 500 is rather notorious for traffic after the race is over.
However, there were no where near as many people at this race,
so I had no worries about getting stuck in traffic. I was therefor
surprised to see people begin leaving with 30 laps (and 3
cautions) to go. Ha ha. I had plenty of food and beer and was
prepared to stay till everything was completely over. However,
Michie and Patrick (along with everyone else) got up and started
leaving before Harvick had even done a burn-out. So, I packed
up my stuff and followed along after them.
We dropped the top and came home through the city.
I wanted to take 30th east, but the police had it blocked off, letting
people out of the North 40 lot, so I wound through some neighbor-
hoods to 34th Street and took that east.
However, there were no where near as many people at this race,
so I had no worries about getting stuck in traffic. I was therefor
surprised to see people begin leaving with 30 laps (and 3
cautions) to go. Ha ha. I had plenty of food and beer and was
prepared to stay till everything was completely over. However,
Michie and Patrick (along with everyone else) got up and started
leaving before Harvick had even done a burn-out. So, I packed
up my stuff and followed along after them.
We dropped the top and came home through the city.
I wanted to take 30th east, but the police had it blocked off, letting
people out of the North 40 lot, so I wound through some neighbor-
hoods to 34th Street and took that east.
| The Checkered Flag |
| During cautions, I could hear the band that was playing across the track at the Miller Light Party Deck |
| A tough guy who doesn't need a handicap seat |
| This fan celebrated when Jimmie Johnson spun and wrecked on Lap 105, triggering an eight-car wreck. |
| David Ragan would finish in 20th |
| There was a huge TV monitor across the track from me. It shows Kyle Busch coming into the pits after his engine blew. I could smell it after he drove by me. Notice the Indianapolis skyline in the background. |
| The North West Vista stands were on my left. |
| Race Cars Following the Pace Car During a Caution Period. |
| Brad Keselowski finished 38th due to a Wreck on Lap 48 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 31st. |
| Michaeel McDowell finished 17th |
| Joey Logano had a good day, finishing 2nd. |
| Kevin Harvick cruised to the Win |
| Bubba Wallace finished in 3rd! |
| Erik Jones got taken out around lap 48 and finsihed 39th - next to last. |
| Garrett Smithley finished 38th |
The cars were loud enough to warrant using ear plugs.