Curiousity: Theme Day Missed, But It was Worth It

A public library is the most enduring of memorials, 

the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event 

or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, 

is respected by wars and revolutions, 

and survives them.  -- Mark Twain 

 I had intended to have a post for Theme Day. 

There aren't many "curiousities/ oddities" in Indy 

that don't verge on the downright scary.

What I had planned was pretty standard fare, 

but I missed it due to an odd conjunction

of circumstances not worth repeating.

Instead, I hied myself to Monument Circle

on Tuesday, September 2nd to take pictures

of Monument, one of six installations

comprising The Public Collection.

Developed to promote public art and literacy,

I found a wide range of books

provided by the Marion County Public Library,

titles that could entice just about anyone to

borrow something to read.

I found one for myself, a bit of historical

fiction that allows me to indulge

some life-long romantic fantasies. 

The SPARK Project continues on the Circle,

allowing visitors to mix and mingle among little

seating areas to play chess or checkers,

to stack giant Legos, play Foosball or ping-pong.

The temperatures were in the sun-baked

and humid ninetys so many folks, instead, 

seemed to prefer to sit in the shade with a bowl

of ice cream. 

But the serene and quiet activity at Monument 

and SPARK screened the main event of the lunch-time

schedule, a gathering of NHRA drivers and

displays of their Top Fuel and Funny Car dragsters.

They are in town for the annual NHRA Nationals

held each Labor Day weekend since 1955 

at Lucas Oil Raceway, just a few miles west

of Indianapolis.

I don't care for drag racing - it's just

not my thing, nor do I like Corvettes, but I 

do like the Camaro shown above.

Of course, I'd like it; priced at over $150,000

it was a beautiful expression of technologies

and mechanics wrapped in a sleek yellow and black

aerodynamic skin. If given enough money

to buy the damn thing, would I pay my bills or

have this low-flying road sculpture?

The Chevy Funny Car shown above belongs to 

NHRA Champion driver, John Force,

Shown below at the Fan Fest Autograph session 

with his daughters Ashley and Courtney,

themselves champion drivers who 

often beat their dad. He's taught them well.

While sitting in my own spot of shade with a dish of ice cream, 

I happened to notice a young man sitting at a picnic table. 

For whatever reason, I recognized him right away. 

He was Graham Rahal, Indy Car driver, son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, and fiance of Courtney Force.

He was waiting for her to complete a radio interview promoting this weekend's drag racing. Between the book kiosk, 

the cars and their drivers, and the displays at SPARK, 

seeing him made my day, topping both my curiosities and 

my interests with a little cherry.

Almost Sublime

When I left my home early Sunday morning 

to walk over to the track, the first thing 
I noticed was the smell of smoke from grills

that had actually formed a haze in the sunlit air. 
The aroma of sausage was joined 

by the rhythm of dance music, both inviting me 

eastward towards the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 
to join a quarter-million or so friends for the 
THE! Indianapolis 500-Mile Race!

While my immediate neighborhood was quiet,

 I only had to walk a block or two before the stream 

of people walking towards the Speedway, 

about two miles away, began to increase in density.
We were all joined in the same mission --
the identical journey, to participate in a colorful rite
that for nearly 100 years has alternately
thrilled, enthralled, and frightened every one
of us, as we watch drivers test their skills
with machines going 230+ mph.

After reaching the track, I stopped at the on-track office 

of the Indianapolis Star to greet photographer friends 

who were working at the race, then proceeded towards 

the viewing mounds inside Turn Two. I hadn't gone more than

a few feet before I saw Dario Franchitti, surrounded by

people, near the black Chevrolet Camaro Z28 pace car

he was to drive later that day. He's a handsome, kind,

and soft-spoken man who seemed to undergo some sort of

personality change behind the wheel of a race car.

Now retired due to injuries received in a race last year,

we are so happy to have him back and hope he chooses to

remain with us for many years. 

Behind Franchitti, standing in the shadow of the

Pagoda, were Ray Harroun's Marmon Wasp,

winner of the inaugural "500" in 1911,

and one of Team Penske's championship cars.

I overheard someone say, "That's an old Indy car."

I couldn't help myself; I turned around to respond with

"That's not just an 'old' Indy car, that's the first

Indy car, the one that won the first race in 1911."

There it stood, only a few feet from a contemporary
machine, yet with thousands of miles between them 
of discoveries about physics, chemistry, aerodynamics, 
and the will to win. Looking at those two cars
made that history almost palpable, something I could touch 
with my heart and mind, if not my hands.
I continued into Turn Two to find 
a place to watch the race.


After having taken pictures from inside Turn One
for over twenty years, I've never found a grandstand
seat to replace that spot. Separated from the track
by the pit lane and a creek, I could watch the cars as
they swept into the turn, a blurred mass of color
and power, then rush away to return forty 
or so seconds later. Two hundred times, slowed
only by accident, rain, or the races' end.

My Turn Two spot was the closest to that pleasure
I've found. I did not sit down, but leaned against
the fence to watch the cars as they streamed past.
The data on the video board gave up just after
the start of the race, but I found I could tell 
the progress of the race just by paying attention
to the cars' green flag pitstops, which occurred every
twenty laps or so. I was surprised that my
estimates were correct when I figured they must
have completed over 100 laps because
they'd come in for fuel and tires for the fourth time,
and the intensity of the race had increased; 
the cars seemed a bit faster and closer together.

There were no cautions until 150 laps into the race, 
just when one would expect madness
and craziness to ensue. Drivers began to take
chances they would not have taken earlier.
The real racing began and we had a 125-mile
shoot-out. Driver Townsend Bell suffered a hard
crash into the Turn Two SAFER barrier and
the race was red-flagged to allow personnel time
to clean up scattered debris and to make repairs 
to the wall. Other than for a mighty soreness 
later on Townsend would be OK.
 The race resumed with eight laps to go, 
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves
passing and re-passing each other one, two, three times. 
Helio ran out of opportunities and finished second, 
his fourth Indy win just a car length away, while Ryan
dashed across the line for his first.

Overall, the average speed for the race was
186.563 mph. Rather than having the men finish
the race under the caution flag, they were
allowed to settle it on the track, racing for the win.
People cheered with each lead change and,
when the checkered flag flew, the crowd left 
knowing they had seen an excellent race.

Looking West to See East

The Friday evening sun cast its rays towards 

the east, and were mirrored back into the glass-clad 

buildings to their west. For a few minutes,

the Downtown streets were doubly illuminated,

both by the sun and by its reflected light.

It's Race Weekend in Indy, with the promise

of fair weather bringing out happy crowds for the

Indy 500 and related festivities. 

It's a Race Track! It's a Golf Course! It's ...

... the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

Indy got the month of May off to a fresh start 

on Saturday with the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix, 

an eighty lap race for Indy cars utilizing 

the IMS 2.4-mile road course.

While there may initially have been some concern

about how this new addition to the IndyCar schedule

might be accepted by fans, doubters were left 

in the dust by the large turnout of people who came

to wander the grounds and to watch the IndyCar

race, as well as several other support races.

A young fan watches as eventual winner, Simon Pagenaud, 

leads the field through Turns 7 and 8.

He was joined by thousands of other spectators who, 

snacks and sunscreen in tow, brought their

friends and families to the track for a day of sunshine,

blue skies, and the heady aroma of braking tires.

With about ninety minutes to spare before the start 

of the day's feature race, I decided to explore 

a part of the track I'd not seen before. 

I walked north along a golf cart path, towards Turn 4 

of the Speedway's oval. The grandstands can be seen 

looming in the background. A lot of other folks

took advantage of the groves of trees,

retreating to their shade between races to rest

and cool off, many enjoying a picnic lunch.

A Place for the Tired

During my walk along Massachusetts Avenue, I passed a nice park bench 

outside a neighborhood pub. Painted glossy black, it had the 

distinction of being "upholstered," with arms and backrest,

made from sections of tires. At first, I thought the tires were from old

automobiles, turned inside out. That is, I did until I realized I could read the

manufacturers' names along the rims. This being Indy, 

maybe they're used racing tires: Decorated with streaks

of white paint and glamed up with some large rhinestones,
 they have no tread, making them useless for anything
more stressful than decorative cushions.