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| DAN'S PHOTO JOURNALS |
| BIG MACHINE SPIKED COOLERS GRAND PRIX INDYCAR RACE INDIANAPOLS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021 |
Wow, I got to the track an hour before the race! That never happens.
I planned a new route to the speedway after using Google maps this
morning. I was going to take I-465 to the Crawfordsville Rd East exit, then
immediately turn north on High School Rd, then head east on 25th Street.
I CANNOT believe I've never gone this way before!
Well, the exit sign for Crawfordsville Rd only said "west", so I skipped it,
thinking an east-bound exit would be next. Nope.
So I had to exit on 38th Street. I took that over to Moller Rd and headed
south as I've done a hundred times before. BUT, this time I kept going
past 30th and turned left on 25th. (It makes a little jog at Lyndhurst.)
I took 25th almost all the way to Georgetown Rd before parking in
someones yard for $20.
I planned a new route to the speedway after using Google maps this
morning. I was going to take I-465 to the Crawfordsville Rd East exit, then
immediately turn north on High School Rd, then head east on 25th Street.
I CANNOT believe I've never gone this way before!
Well, the exit sign for Crawfordsville Rd only said "west", so I skipped it,
thinking an east-bound exit would be next. Nope.
So I had to exit on 38th Street. I took that over to Moller Rd and headed
south as I've done a hundred times before. BUT, this time I kept going
past 30th and turned left on 25th. (It makes a little jog at Lyndhurst.)
I took 25th almost all the way to Georgetown Rd before parking in
someones yard for $20.
I got to Stand H 35-minutes before race time. I hung out in the shade
behind the stands to cut down on time I spent in the sun and heat.
As it turned out, there was a nice breeze and the heat was not a problem.
It was a beautiful day!
At any rate, it gave me a chance to talk to some of the guys around me
doing the same thing. They were all big race fans with interesting stories
about races they've gone to.
One guy from Chicago always camps out at races. He attended the
Nascar and IMSA races at Road America recently. He said his wife was
out shopping, but would attend tomorrow's race.
Another guy lived within walking distance and has been to every Indy 500
since 1986. He had a good memory of the fatal accidents during that time
He says he always sits in turn 2, which he thinks is the best. Every time I
meet people who sit in the same seats year after year, they always think
they are in the best spot. Heh heh.
Like in May, there was not serious checking of tickets to get into the track
and there were no yellow shirts hanging out at the bottom of the stands.
Unlike May, today no one was checking tickets upon entrance to the stands.
The races started at 1 pm and I headed to my seat at 12:45pm.
When I got up to the top tow, the people there got excited and said, "Are
you seat 6?!" Then they started yelling to each other that here was the
"Mystery Man." Apparently their large group of 18 people were in the top
rows in that area and I was in the middle of them. They'd been curious
who I was and began asking me lots of questions. Ha ha.
They requested that I sit in the 2nd row from the top on the aisle and I
acquiesced. Then they said I could move down a row and have more
room, so I did.
Right before the race started, four people showed up for where I was
sitting, and made me move.
So I moved further into the middle area where there were lots of empty
seats all around me.
A half-hour after the race started, some bearded older guy was moving
down the aisle toward me. I got up and stepped down to the next aisle to
give him room, and he plopped down exactly in my spot! I had to laugh!
I stood there for a moment and finally had to ask him if I could have my
cooler, which was between his legs! OMG!
I sat down in front of him, but he had B.O. so I moved down another row.
Soon, I remembered why I wanted the top row - so I could lean back
against the fence as these bleachers had no backrests.
Lessons learned - do not sit in stands without backrests and sit in the seat
you bought! ha ha.
The good thing though was I wasn't squeezed in by people and had plenty
of room to place my cooler, headphones, camera and beer.
The race ran almost caution free until the end. Will Power won!
Finally! It was his first win of the year. He deserved to win Detroit earlier in
the year.
behind the stands to cut down on time I spent in the sun and heat.
As it turned out, there was a nice breeze and the heat was not a problem.
It was a beautiful day!
At any rate, it gave me a chance to talk to some of the guys around me
doing the same thing. They were all big race fans with interesting stories
about races they've gone to.
One guy from Chicago always camps out at races. He attended the
Nascar and IMSA races at Road America recently. He said his wife was
out shopping, but would attend tomorrow's race.
Another guy lived within walking distance and has been to every Indy 500
since 1986. He had a good memory of the fatal accidents during that time
He says he always sits in turn 2, which he thinks is the best. Every time I
meet people who sit in the same seats year after year, they always think
they are in the best spot. Heh heh.
Like in May, there was not serious checking of tickets to get into the track
and there were no yellow shirts hanging out at the bottom of the stands.
Unlike May, today no one was checking tickets upon entrance to the stands.
The races started at 1 pm and I headed to my seat at 12:45pm.
When I got up to the top tow, the people there got excited and said, "Are
you seat 6?!" Then they started yelling to each other that here was the
"Mystery Man." Apparently their large group of 18 people were in the top
rows in that area and I was in the middle of them. They'd been curious
who I was and began asking me lots of questions. Ha ha.
They requested that I sit in the 2nd row from the top on the aisle and I
acquiesced. Then they said I could move down a row and have more
room, so I did.
Right before the race started, four people showed up for where I was
sitting, and made me move.
So I moved further into the middle area where there were lots of empty
seats all around me.
A half-hour after the race started, some bearded older guy was moving
down the aisle toward me. I got up and stepped down to the next aisle to
give him room, and he plopped down exactly in my spot! I had to laugh!
I stood there for a moment and finally had to ask him if I could have my
cooler, which was between his legs! OMG!
I sat down in front of him, but he had B.O. so I moved down another row.
Soon, I remembered why I wanted the top row - so I could lean back
against the fence as these bleachers had no backrests.
Lessons learned - do not sit in stands without backrests and sit in the seat
you bought! ha ha.
The good thing though was I wasn't squeezed in by people and had plenty
of room to place my cooler, headphones, camera and beer.
The race ran almost caution free until the end. Will Power won!
Finally! It was his first win of the year. He deserved to win Detroit earlier in
the year.
| This whole bar folds up into a trailer that can be towed! |
| There was not a long line at this food truck. Maybe $20 for a bowl of rice had something to do with it? |
| IMS food prices. As usual, I brought my own food and beverages. Today I snacked on a roast beef sandwich, chocolate cashews and Cheetos. I also brought some good local craft beer in pint cans. I'm happy that Big Machine Spiked Coolers are sponsoring the race, but I'm curious why it is served in pouches like a child's juice drink. It seems like a strange choice to me. |
I had planned to stay for the 4 pm Xfiinity race, but my neck hurt and I didn't feel
well, so I left. I was able to catch a golf-cart ride to my exit when I left.
I stopped at Wendys for a large Frosty to cheer myself up.
well, so I left. I was able to catch a golf-cart ride to my exit when I left.
I stopped at Wendys for a large Frosty to cheer myself up.
| Race leader Will Power getting held up by Dalton Kellett. |
| TURN 1 |
| Helio Castroneves, this year's Indy 500 winner |
| TURN 4 CROWD |
| Walking up to Georgetown Rd to the Turn 4 entrance from where I parked. |
| I noticed there was a row of memorial bricks near the entrance. |
| One of the original bricks used in building the speedway track in 1909 was embedded in the driveway where I parked. |
| RLL Teammates Takuma Sato and Santino Ferrucci |
| Race favorites Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou While Pato started from pole and led the first part of the race, he finished in 5th. Points leader Alex's engine blew near the end of the race. |
| Rinus Veekay's unsuccesful pass of Josef Newgarden in Turn 1. |
| Penske's rookie driver Scott McLaughlin |
| Viewing Hill in Turn 1 |