Swim Practice and an Indy Car Race: Best Day Ever

I left for swim practice at about 7 a.m.

Saturday morning. It was going to be a full day: 

I addition to my backpack full of swim supplies, 

I had a ticket in my wallet for the 

2nd Annual Indianapolis Grand Prix.

After practice, I went downtown where I stopped

at a grocery for my track lunch, a sandwich 

and bottles of pop and orange juice, then caught

a bus to the track that dropped me off 

at the front gate of the Speedway.

I headed towards the mounds inside Turn 2

where I found a spot to watch the conclusion of

the Indy Lights race. The Indy Car race was

scheduled to start at 3:50 p.m. so I had 

time to walk around the infield where I found

another nice piece of grass outside the road course

Turn 7. I settled there to enjoy the company 

of other race fans and to bask in the lovely sunshine

as I ate my little lunch.

While the race was a so-so affair,

won by the "usual suspects" (Will Power of Penske Racing),

just hearing the sounds of the engines and seeing

the  low-slung, flying road sculpture took me to my happy place.

Admittedly, these latest incarnations of race cars

are not the most attractive creations; their wings and anglets 
seem like engineers' versions of frippery. 
I want to strip off the carbon fibre ruffles to see 
whether there is a sleek racer below.

After the race was over and awards were made,

 the track was opened to the spectators

to give folks the opportunity to walk as much of

the IMS oval and road courses as they liked.

Many hundreds of people passed through the gates

to check out the smooth pavement, to inspect the

SAFR barrier on the outside of the walls, and to take
pictures of the place to record their visit.

People walked around to see the most famous,

best known sites - the scoring pylon and the Pagoda.

 A number of them rolled through the course

in their wheelchairs, obviously enjoying the chance

to sample a small bit of wind in their hair,

imagining for a second they are driving

the same track as their heroes have done for

nearly one hundred years.

Carrying his daughter on his shoulders,

a father walks through Turn One, his hands free

to record pictures of the front stretch.

Below, president of the Speedway, Doug Boles,

took the time to meet and talk with visitors 

he met underneath the new scoring pylon.

I didn't get a chance to speak with Mr. Boles,

other then to tell him how much I enjoyed the track walk,

and to say, "This should have been done ages ago.

Look at the people: they are all happy and they love this place.

They would never hurt it."

Then the darkened skies released the rain,

closing the track for the day. 

People quietly headed for the gates and shelter.

The place is hallowed ground.

We will all return. Soon.