It's May again, and here we are on the eve of the Indianapolis 500, my favorite day of the year. For the uninitiated, I attended the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" virtually every year of my misspent youth, beginning in 1971 and only missing 1972 (while I was attending college in Atlanta,) 1982 (when my second tour through college and finals intervened), and 1986 (when the weather forced the race to a second weekend and work was inescapable.)
In that span, I saw more than my share of triumph (A. J. Foyt's fourth win,) tragedy (the death of popular race driver Art Pollard,) near misses (Tom Sneva's incredible crash in turn two from which he walked away,) and various and sundry acts of drunkenness and debauchery.
After 1987, when I saw my second four-time winner (Al Unser, Sr.) crowned, I moved away from Indianapolis and discovered that I had a much better seat in my living room recliner. This was a far more comforatble seat, from which I could easily acquire my beverage of choice, (generally Crown Royal,) have whatever food my heart desired (not just fried chicken,) and have a short walk to a restroom (my own) that didn't stink (well, not usually, anyway.) The advent of HDTV only solidified that belief, although I have to confess, I did miss being part of the crowd and tumult of the opening ceremonies.
Through those years, I have sat in almost every corner of the famed brickyard, including the now-gone-but always-to-be-remembered first turn "Snakepit." Now for those of you under 40, the third turn "Snakepit" is but a shadow of the small city that used to gather in turn one. The Speedway now provides entertainment there, in the form of concerts, Euro-electronic DJ's, alcoholic beverage sales, and other such conveniences that were never considered in the days of turn one.
In its day, the first turn Snakepit was either the 5th or 6th largest "city" in the State of Indiana. For entertainment, there were often "streakers" (again, those of you under 40, ask you parents about them,) topless (and sometimes naked) blanket toss, collapsed pup tents going up and down (use your imagination,) "beer can golf," which generally involved motorcycle riders heaving empty beer cans in the general direction of the trash cans along the fence after yelling, "FORE," and other such pursuits. Concerts? We didn't need no stinking concerts. We WERE the concert. Many vans, motor homes, and other conveyances moved speakers onto their roofs to blare out their particular flavor of music from country, to top 40, to metal, to acid rock, to Sid Collins and the IMS Network broadcast, depending on the occupants' tastes.
Last year, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Speedway, my wife and I made the pilgrimage back to the corner of 16th and Georgetown, my first trip back since 1987. My how things had changed. In our advancing youth, (our late 50's,) we opted to take the public transport from downtown, arriving at IMS between 8:30 and 9 am. Because some bureaucrat decided that it was unethical for IndyGo to actually MAKE money for something, this transport has been privatized. The problem with that is that while METRO, and IndyGo had perarranged routes with the Indianapolis Police Department, the private contractors did not. Hence the trip away from the track particularly, was MUCH longer than it was in the old days. This made me ALMOST wish we had opted to drive out to 16th and Georgetown. Almost, but not quite.
The first thing I noticed was the paucity of alcoholic beverages being consumed. It seemed as though we saw far more Aqua Fina than Budweiser, although there were vendor stands selling bloody marys and screwdrivers, something I NEVER saw in the old days. The second thing that hit me was the presence of misting stations underneath the main grandstands. KUDOS to IMS for this innovation. I can't tell you how many times we saw people being rushed to the infield care center in days gone by suffering from heat exhaustion.
Unforutnately, progress also has its drawbacks. As I have posted to several other folks' blogs, the top level lower deck grandstand seats which had served me well back in the 80's now have lost about 50% of their sighlines thanks to the reconstruction of the former Tower Terrace. I guess I have Sir Bernie the fickle to thank for that one.
The other thing that was noteworthy was that the track PA system has probably not been replaced since Mr. Carnegie last intoned, "ITTT'SSS A NEEEWWWWW TRAAAACCCKK RECCORDDD!!! During the melee that was the final lap, the only way we had any clue what had happened and who had won was the scoring boards in the grandstand. We saw J. R. Hildebrand slide in front of us with wheels askew, but we had NO IDEA if he or someone else had won until it was posted in the scoreboard.
On the whole, it was a great experience, but due to my wife's infirmities, it's probably not an experiece that we will repeat.
Above and beyond that, the best seat in the house is still the one in front of the TV, despite my disagreements with ABC's ever-diminishing coverage of the 500. That's where I'll be watching tomorrow. I'll add one positive note to the ABC coverage. Marty Reid, of whom I have been no great fan, earned my eternal respect during the telecast from Las Vegas and the tragedy that occurred there. On that occasion, Mr Reid, whom I have often felt would rather be doing NASCAR Nationwide Racing than IndyCar, must have been channelling his inner Sid Collins. He handled the broadcast and its tragic conclusion with all the grace one could muster in a trying situation.
So, here we are, full circle, back again to May. Forgive me the homage to days gone by for those of you wanting to find out how Uncle Skip's Sportsbook and Casino is handicapping this years race. For those who may have forgotten, we brought home the cake last year with a little 20-1 play on Dan Wheldon, so we are on a bit of a roll. This year's polesitter, Ryan Briscoe, headlnes a Penske comeback of sorts. The Captain had an AWFUL year last year with pit snafus and cars that weren't competitive all day. Unfortunately, Mr. Briscoe goes off at 4-1. If he were head and shoulders faster than anyone, maybe, but a non-winner who has not had the best of luck here (remember the year Danica stormed after him in the pits after a screwup on his part only to be stopped by Charles Burns?) Think I'll pass.
On the other hand, Helio Castroneves, a three time winner who nows how to negotiate a "greasy" racetrack is a much better play at 5-1. Is your one unit bet gonna bring rain? No, but a win there pays for 4 other plays that aren't so lucky. (Besides, you don't have to tell the folks around the water cooler on Tuesday that you broke slick, do you? You just cashed a winning ticket on the Indy 500!) The other factor that NO ONE is talking about is fuel mileage. We have no clue whether Honda or Chevy has the fuel consumption equation figured out, but what we do know is that these new cars travel well in packs. This could be a race similar to what we see every summer in Texas, and a stupid mistake could have dramatic consequences.
Now here's a little USSBC secret: Will Power has been competitive in almost everything. Problem has been, he's so strong on road and street courses that you cannot afford to put a unit on him, as there's just too little payout. In some races hes actually been a -125, which means you have to put a hundie and a quarter on him to win a hundie. With Power at 6-1, I'm in for a unit.
I know, James Hinchcliffe is a newcomer to the GoDaddy seat, but he has been very fast all month, narrowly missing the pole. A front row guy at 8-1 is well worth a swing here. If he can bring this one home, a lot of people will be saying "Danica who?" Put me down for a unit.
Now, can someone tell me how a guy on the outside of the front row, a spot from which there have been numerous winners, goes off at 12-1? Andretti Autosport, much like Penske, has had a huge comeback year, with their top three mounts in the front of the field, and even Ana Beatriz, who's not on the board, has been pretty fast. Ryan Hunter Reay goes from the third spot at 12-1. Ditto for one here.
On the basis of yesterday when Scott Dixon was fastest in Carb Day practice, I'm putting a unit on him. If any of the Hondas are going to have a chance, you gotta figure that Dixie will be right there.Why? One, I didn't want to lay all my coin on Chevy power: If they start going off like grenades, you need a backup plan, and two, I'm just not sure Dario Franchitti's head is all the way in the game. Getting Dixon at 10-1 is not too bad either.
I'm also throwing a unit at Tony Kanaan at 12-1. This is, for me, a "heart" play and not one I would recommend, but TK has done well here an awful lot of times without tasting the milk. I'd love to see him get one before he hangs it up and he has stayed WAY under the radar this year. Those of you who are faint of heart can leave this one alone: I'll go solo.
That leaves us with TWO potentially HUGE paydays. With new engines and cars, you can go just about anywhere you want and find a possible. But consider this: Panther Racing has been second the last THREE races at Indy, and came within one corner of winning the WHOLE deal a year ago. J. R. Hildebrand at 40-1 is looking for redemption and we all know that John Barnes can get his car to the finish. So, for 40-1 odds you can get the second place finisher from last year.
And guess what. You can get last year's THIRD place finsher, Graham Rahal, at 40-1 also. Normally those odds are reserved for folks who don't have much of a chance, but we're looking at two of the real "young guns" of this series and a race about which we don't know much. Engines are variable, the track will be greasy, and we don't know a lot about fuel mileage,so why not take a swing at a couple of big paydays. I had one back in 1990 with Kenny Brack tht see4med far less possible than this pair.
I can hear a lot of you crying about so many picks. I completely understand. When we get around to next year and we have a little better idea about how these cars will handle 500 miles, I'll probably return to my normal 4 or 5 plays. But this year, first for the new cars and engines, there are just too many variables, hence, I'm covering almost a quarter of the field. (And, bear in mind, Josef Newgarden, another serious dark horse, is not even on the board in the Islands where I place my stuff. A Newgarden win would be EXCEPTIONALLY popular for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, and don't forget they won the last oval race completed.)
Wherever you are watching the race, please be safe, and take a moment to remember the reason for the weekend. God Bless our Troops and God Bless America.
