6:00am and thousands of sleeping campers are awakened by one fool who thinks it’s cute to fire off an enormous thundering firework to announce the start of Race Day. Thanks buddy.
So, we’re awake and enjoying a light breakfast when we realize that we are now being entertained by Christmas music. Yep, someone is blasting ‘Rudolph the red nosed reindeer’ just for something to do we guess.
As the morning progresses more people emerge from their tents and trailers, most looking a little worse for wear after possibly over-indulging last night. ‘The hair of the dog that bit you’ seems to be the remedy of choice as many are enjoying what I’m sure will be the first of many beers consumed this day. It’s now 8:30am.
We prepare our lunch and pack a cooler bag with wraps, snacks, water & pop that we will take into the speedway. Last year we found that getting food during the event from on-site vendors was just too challenging with some running out of items so this year we’re going prepared to take care of ourselves.
10:00am and we leave our campsite for the track. It’s about a 10min walk to the gate where we pass through metal detectors and then have our tickets scanned. Voila, we’re in.
We stop by an official merchandise shop to pickup this years program and commemorative pin for display in the van. We briefly stopped by the ‘Fan Zone’ behind the main stands but it was incredibly overcrowded and so we proceeded directly to our seats. In all it took about an 45min of maneuvering through the crowds to get to our seats. These are the same ones as last year thanks to Dean Lawrence who goes above and beyond ordering and acquiring everything for our group. Cheers again Bud.
It’s now 11:00am and the official pre-race ceremonies are underway. It being Memorial Day weekend, the military are front and center with walkbys, drivebys, and flybys being the order of the day. Lots of pomp and circumstance. At 11:45am the driver introductions occur with the fan favorites receiving the loudest appreciation from the fans. The singing of ‘God Bless America’ and the national anthem takes place ahead of those famous words “Drivers, start your engines”. The grid roars to life and becomes much less crowded as unnecessary personnel leave the track. The cars pull away for a few parade laps followed by the pace lap and then we’re underway!
The cars lap the 2.5mile track in about 40seconds at speeds averaging over 210mph. The race settles into a rhythm and before we know it 100laps are complete. The clouds are clearing and the day is heating up. There’s no shade over our seats so the water that we brought becomes really important. 150laps, three-quarters race distance and the race has been mostly uneventful. Cars we expected to do well are running near the front and those that struggled to qualify are hanging on at the rear of the pack, some now lapped once or twice.
We’re nearing the end of the race now and there are a few accidents as drivers start taking a few more chances looking for ways to pass that might or might not work. Officials decide to red flag the race causing racing to stop while each of two accidents are cleared from the track. This is to allow for a racing finish as opposed to a parade finish behind a pace car. These delay our leaving the stands and the heat, it’s becoming quite unbearable and we’ve finished our water supplies. The last red flag incidents means that the race will be settled in a one lap sprint around the track, the green flag drops and the cars tear down the front straight and into turn1 and turn2. The car running 2nd gets a great run out of turn2 and passes for the lead before turn3. The two cars leading the pack go through turn4 and the lead car weaves crazily trying to break the aerodynamic tow. They weave into and out of the pit lane entrance before returning to the track for the sprint to the line. Exciting stuff as the 2nd place car pulls out to attempt the pass but is out of time and distance, Josef Newgarden, driving for Team Penske wins!
We collect our cooler bag and start the walk out of the stands. Behind us the winner is celebrating and will shortly be drinking the celebratory milk that is tradition for this race.
We say our goodbyes to our friends, Dean & Cathy and J-P & Lisa as they head towards the shuttles that will return them to their hotel while we join the thousands that are exiting the speedway toward Georgetown Rd. We make good time and in only about 30min we are back at our van. Time for a cold beer!
The van interior is 36C, I start the onboard generator and turn on the rooftop a/c. Argh! I’m being pelted with small black bits of plastic! I shutoff the a/c and the generator knowing the cause of the plastic rain. It has been reported by others that own the same type and model of a/c that 2 motor mounting bolts can vibrate loose causing the squirrel cage fans to rub on the housing causing them to shred. I had checked for this loosening last year and found it not to be an issue; however, after traveling another 15000km or so, I guess I should have checked again. Hmmm. The good news is that the fix is simple and I will take care of it when we get home before heading to the Maritimes.
For now, we get to relax in a very hot van with the doors and windows all open. Traffic is horrifically bad immediately after the race and so sitting still for an hour or so allows the traffic to improve before we head out.
Yep, we’ve decided not to stay a 2nd night but instead head East cutting some of the driving down from tomorrows itinerary. At 6:45pm we pull out of the camping field and join the still steady stream of traffic. Our drive in the traffic jam lasts only about 45min before we get into I-65 heading across the city and the drive out of the city is uneventful.
We continue on I-65 for an hour or so and pull off the highway in Richmond, IN just before the Ohio state line. We get fuel and will spend the night parked in a Cracker Barrel. Good night all, hopefully no loud fireworks to awaken us tomorrow.
