The Day Before

Early Saturday morning, I went on-line to order

my ticket for the Indy 500. I could have printed it at home,

but I wanted a "real" ticket, one imprinted with

a picture of last year's winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay.

There weren't many good seats available,

but that wasn't a problem: I wanted general

admission so I could just find a nice place sitting

on one of the grassy mounds inside Turn Two.

People were lined up outside the IMS corporate

offices waiting to pick up their tickets.

While there, I heard one of the officials say

that over 100,000 folks attended Friday's

Carb Day, that included final shake-down runs

for the thirty-three starters of the '500,'

an Indy Lights race, as well as a rock concert.

All over town, people were in the midst

of their own preparations for the race.

The manager of the mattress store was inflating

a display character at the front of his business.

Oddly, the mattress was having a bit of difficulty

achieving the appropriate erect position.

There appeared to be some kink in his system

that prevented him from becoming

firm enough to, uh, stand.

A couple blocks from the Speedway, 

a man got ready for his race party, lining up

at least a half dozen coolers, four propane tanks,

and a grill to prepare food for his guests.

Back at the Speedway Shopping Center,

the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile and 

the Mr. Peanut Mobile were introduced at

the entrance to Kroger, where they would share

billing for the grocery's promotions.

I thought the Mr. Peanut van resembled 

a character from Star Trek. A Worf?

At any rate, the Weinermobile's license plate

read as YUMMY, while Mr. Peanut's

was NUTMBLE.

I kept reading it as "Nut Mumbles."

Go figure.

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.

June Theme Day: Zest? ... Well, It Depends

There's nothing like the zest, the pure enthusiasm 

shown by race fans before and after the start of the Indy 500. 

Last weekend, folks began to make their way through 

the Speedway gates when they opened at 5:30 a.m. 

They quickly (well, that's debatable) dragged their little 

wheeled coolers, collapsible chairs, and blankets 

to their seats and viewing areas. 

Just as quickly those items were arranged 

and folks settled in to await the race.

People played catch with baseballs, footballs, or Frizbees.

The kids played with toys in the warm morning sun

while their parents drank and prepared breakfast. 
Quite a few folks slept for a few hours, 

awakened only by the sound of Jim Nabors singing 

"Back Home Again in Indiana."

The process was then reversed. 

But the enthusiasm that was shown at dawn

was not in evidence. Blankets were rolled up,

 trash thrown in receptacles, chairs folded, 

and the coolers, now empty, made forlorn little 

hollow tickety-tickety sounds as their wheels 

rolled over the pavement. Tired from their exertions

spectators wound their way towards their vehicles,

many of which were parked on the lawns of Speedway

residents. There, they might find the shade of a tree 

where they would have a beer and talk about the race 

while waiting a couple hours for the traffic to thin.

This blog, Speedway Daily Photo, 
is a member of the City Daily Photo portal.

Made up of photographers from all over the world, 

CDP gives viewers the opportunity to see images 

of cities taken by the people who live there. 

From Speedway, Indiana one can go on to visit Paris, 

Hanoi, Dubai, or even St. Louis, Missouri. 

To see other interpretations of today's theme, Zest,

just click on the CDP link above, 
or on the badge to the right of today's post.

Tired, Overheated, Resting ...

Yeah, I cut it close ...

The race started at noon (I honestly thought it started 

at 1 p.m. My bad.). I left the house at 11 to walk over to the track,

a trip that takes about 45 minutes. I got to my seat about

15 minutes before the start of the race, where I was joined

by about a quarter million of my closest, race-loving friends.

The temperature reached about 95 degrees F, about 120 degrees F

on the track surface. The racing was hot, with a lot of lead changes and

very few accidents, It took Dario Francitti less than three and

a half hours the drive 500 miles to win his third Indy 500.

Everyone in my area seemed involved in the race,

but it was too hot to be rowdy; there was more water

being consumed than any other beverage. After the checkered flew,

it was the signal for everyone to begin their journeys home.

Most people went to cars parked somewhere in the neighboring 

streets, yards and parking lots of the Town of Speedway.

The scene below is of the first part of the crowd to leave the 

track's gates. Like me, the folks are walking along

22nd Street.

Maybe their cars were parked in one of the yards, 

or at the Speedway Shopping Center about 

a mile further west.

A number of children take the opportunity to sell 

ice cold drinks to tired, overheated race fans.

Many of them making a profit.

After the engines have been quieted and the aroma of tire rubber 

has been wafted away into memories, the scent in the air

is of brats and body odor. Tired people make their way to

the air-conditioned comfort of their cars, RVs, or ... something,

where a little girl's offer of a glass of lemonade is an oasis.

Where I Live ...

I went to the Speedway last Saturday to watch the Pole Day qualifying.

I got there about 8:30 in the morning so was able to watch most of 

the morning practice session. I went to Grandstand E, outside of

Turn One, where I could see up the Front Straight into Turn Four, 

all of Turn One, the South Chute and most of Turn Two.

No wonder I've never been able to get a race day seat there!

Not only was the view great, but I was in the shade and enjoyed

a pleasant breeze for the seven hours I watched the cars.

Detractors will say that the "500" has suffered in popularity 

over the past 20 to 30 years. They base this on the fact that the stands

for qualifying are not nearly as full of spectators as they

were in earlier decades. I prefer to believe the fall-off in spectators 

is because there are so many more outlets and ways for people 

to spend their money; no longer is the Speedway the only game in 

town as we have a high-quality professional football franchise,

a very good basketball team, a nice AAA baseball team, as well as

any number of other entertainment venues that didn't exist 30 to 50

years ago. Add to that the fact that satellites and computers mean we can

watch the Qualifications from our homes on our televisions

and/or our computers. So why sit in stifling heat or drenching rain?

Yet, there is nothing at all that can be as visceral as the sounds of

engines, the smell of tire rubber as thirty-three brightly colored cars rush

at speed into Turn One. Somehow, most of the drivers, most of the time

get it figured out. It's a physical and mental endurance challenge

I have always admired. Many of them are triathletes, which only seems

like a natural outgrowth of the drivers' conditioning regimens.

Many of the homes in Speedway are decorated

for the occasion, some are comparatively understated,

like the home above, others are more involved, like the

home below. Either way, it's like Christmas.

As I've mentioned before, a lot of homeowners open their yards 

to out-of-town spectators, providing parking spaces,

as well as water and toilet facilities. I saw this sign last spring, as well as 

decorations in another yard I hope to post within the next day or two

(I've lost the original image, so need to return to the house to take

more pictures.)

P.S. The Lotus cars su-u-u-u-u-ck, their qualifying averages 

being a full 12 to 16 mph slower than the pole-winning car,

7 to 11 mph slower than the slowest Chevy or Honda.

This is a serious concern as the cars will very quickly be overwhelmed

by the swarm of cars that will overtake them within a few laps.

I feel sorry for Jean Alessi and Simona De Silvestro,

the Team Lotus drivers. Wha' happin'?

Mummies at the Speedway!

I live close enough to the Speedway that I can step 

outside my door to hear the cars' engines as they speed 

around the track. I contemplated staying home 

to watch the Pole Day qualifying on TV and the IMS website. 

The track is almost my favorite place in the world, 

next to the river, but the days when I could and would spend all day 

in the sun have been over for quite a while; I love the warmth, 

I will walk for miles to take pictures, but stand all day 

in one spot to take pictures? Hell, no.

But when I learned that the band Here Come the Mummies 

would be playing after qualifying was over, staying at home 

was suddenly not an option. They are a funky rock band

with sass and brass - damn good musicians, all with Grammy awards - 

percussion, brass, and guitars blended to a happy

mix that wins fans of all ages, young children to grizzled

partyers, wherever they go. 

I got to the Speedway at about 8 AM to watch practice 

and qualifying from the Turn 1 grandstands, then walked 

to the infield where I sang and danced for nearly two hours,

enjoying every chord and beat of the Mummies'

happy vibe.

During the month of May, many people who have homes 

near the Speedway rent out parking space 

in their yards to race-goers. 

Some people pocket a nice bit of change,

offering extra amenities such as ice and rest-rooms

to their customers, a lot of whom return

year after year.

The Roof Car

Okay, it's not like I didn't know it was there because it was one of the first things I heard about when I moved to Indy. I will say that I expected something a little more distinguished; I'd thought a guy put his race car on top of his business, and maintained it's appearance. One is supposed to honor and respect the people, animals and machines that do well for you. Not this.


The car is a roadster, built by Kurtis-Kraft in 1954 and designated model KK500C. It was sold by Frank Kurtis to a pair of  Indianapolis car dealers to compete in the 1954 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. Driven by Bill Homeier, the car started eleventh, but finished last after a pit accident on lap 74. The following year, it was driven by Sam Hanks, started sixth but finished nineteenth after experiencing transmission problems on Lap 134. 


The car had it's best result in the 1956 race, finishing second, again with Sam Hanks as it's driver. After the 1957 race, the car was sold to a group of Indianapolis businessmen who owned the Safety Auto Glass Company on Southeastern Avenue. Despite several attempts over the next few years, the car never again qualified for the "500." During it's last appearance on the track in 1961, the car was backed into the Turn Four wall by driver Bill Randall. 


Since it was probably outdated and had become uncompetitive, the car's owners put the car on the roof of the business, crumpled tail and all, where it has been since. It was blown off the roof during a storm in 1964, but was quickly returned to it's perch.


The car has borne the dreams of men with honor, been driven by two who went on to win the Indy 500, and itself finished as high as second. From distinguished career, to decoration, to derelict it straddles the corner of the building. Traces of its lettering and numbers remain as it decays, like the painting of Dorian Grey, taking on the ravages and disappointments of time. Each year we renew our own Indy hopes and dreams with newer, faster cars and young men and women to drive them.

We age, but the dream remains young.