It's been a little over 30 hours since the tragedy in Las Vegas that took the life of Dan Wheldon. Many of my fellow bloggers have come up with beautifully worded tributes, far better than I can express.
Personally, I feel for everyone in the INDYCAR family. Obviously, Dan's widow and children top that list along with his immediate family. Deeper than that, it was clear to me in watching yesterday that our sport IS a family. The pictures of Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, and Sarah Fisher in obvious emotional distress are burned into my mind. My heart goes out to all who mourn this loss, be they fans, drivers, crew members, owners, or media.
I sensed from the hushed tones of the announcers early on during the red flag yesterday that the result was not going to be good. I've often been highly critical of Marty Reid as the lead announcer for the ABC/ESPN coverage. Yesterday, however, Marty must have been channelling his inner Sid Collins, as his words were very reminiscent of Sid's impromptu eulogy of Eddie Sachs during the red flag of the 1964 Indianapolis 500. In fact, the entire ABC crew deserves credit for their respect to the gravity of the situation. Very well done, gentlemen and ladies.
The five lap tribute was heart wrenching. I was dealing with the whole of the reality fairly well until I heard "Amazing Grace" being played over the PA. I'm not ashamed to admit, that was the end of my composure for the day. Most of last night was spent reading tributes, many from media sources, others from the bloggers I follow. I even tried to write my own last night, but when I pulled up my blog, all I could see was my earlier post (that never got published) about the great anticipation of the race to come. After that emotional downdraft, there was no way I was going to be able to put coherent thoughts together. Again, my hat is off to those who could and did.
Those who have been a fan of racing as long as I have, have experienced this before. Back in the 60's and early 70's, death was a far more common visitor to our sport. Perhaps because of the advances in safety and medicine, we have recently become accustomed to horrible looking accidents from which drivers walk away or, at the very least, recover. Only the night before, there was an accident in the NASCAR race in Charlotte that was eerily similar to the one that took the life of Dale Earnhardt. Big impact, but thanks to the SAFER barrier and the HANS device, no serious injury.
The irony is lost on no one that Dan Wheldon spent this summer testing the 2012 Dallara, a car designed to lessen the likelihood of the car getting airborne. That initial testing program will be a legacy for which he will be remembered as 2011 becomes 2012 and beyond. More than that we will remember the joy of this May past, when he captured his second win at Indianapolis by leading about 1/8th of one lap.
Rest well, kind soul.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Al Unser, Jr.
In the news tonight, it was disclosed that INDYCAR official and ex-driver Al Unser Jr. has slipped off the sobriety wagon again. Apparently, in the haze of his inebriation, Mr. Unser thought it would be a good idea to have a drag race with another motorist at speeds in excess of 100 mph, all of which while having a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit in New Mexico.
I know Mr. Unser's demon: It is one I face every day. I make no judgements about Al, Jr.'s relapse: They happen all too frequently for all too many alcoholics. Recently, Al had said in several interviews that he had beaten his problem. That very statement should have set off warning bells for any member of his family or friends. This is not a disease that is EVER beaten; rather it is held at bay on a day to day basis.
Each day that goes by that I remain sober, I consider it a personal victory. And, to be sure, when the stresses of business or personal setbacks take hold, it is a serious temptation to grab a beverage. Fortunately, my personal record is 486 and 0. (486 days, no slips.) There is, however, no such thing as 486 and 1. Any "loss" on this won-loss record returns the "win" side to zero.
Medical and psychological professionals can all tell you the gory bad news about this disease: It gradually kills the liver, degrades mental capabilities, and ruins family relationships, just to name a few. And, to be sure, we ALL know the statistics about the mixture of alcohol and driving.
This isn't "Little Al's" first rodeo with drinking and driving. Regardless of how well he could control a vehicle at 100+ mph on a city street, even drunk, to engage in a drag race against another driver is an invitation to a tragedy. But then, there's an old saying: "God looks after fools and drunks." Apparently, in this case, He did.
For its part, INDYCAR immediately suspended Mr. Unser and relieved him of his duties. But the loss of his job is only the beginning of his battle now rejoined. We have all seen success stories from these periodic battles, as well as failures. Only Al, Jr. can determine how his story will be told going forward.
I know Mr. Unser's demon: It is one I face every day. I make no judgements about Al, Jr.'s relapse: They happen all too frequently for all too many alcoholics. Recently, Al had said in several interviews that he had beaten his problem. That very statement should have set off warning bells for any member of his family or friends. This is not a disease that is EVER beaten; rather it is held at bay on a day to day basis.
Each day that goes by that I remain sober, I consider it a personal victory. And, to be sure, when the stresses of business or personal setbacks take hold, it is a serious temptation to grab a beverage. Fortunately, my personal record is 486 and 0. (486 days, no slips.) There is, however, no such thing as 486 and 1. Any "loss" on this won-loss record returns the "win" side to zero.
Medical and psychological professionals can all tell you the gory bad news about this disease: It gradually kills the liver, degrades mental capabilities, and ruins family relationships, just to name a few. And, to be sure, we ALL know the statistics about the mixture of alcohol and driving.
This isn't "Little Al's" first rodeo with drinking and driving. Regardless of how well he could control a vehicle at 100+ mph on a city street, even drunk, to engage in a drag race against another driver is an invitation to a tragedy. But then, there's an old saying: "God looks after fools and drunks." Apparently, in this case, He did.
For its part, INDYCAR immediately suspended Mr. Unser and relieved him of his duties. But the loss of his job is only the beginning of his battle now rejoined. We have all seen success stories from these periodic battles, as well as failures. Only Al, Jr. can determine how his story will be told going forward.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering 9/11/2001: A look Back
Today marks the 10th anniversary of my generation's "date that will live in infamy." As I was preparing to put thoughts to electronic "paper," I reflected on exactly what I was doing on that occasion, as well as where I was relative to the life-journey that was the "before and after" of this day in history.
It was a billiant Myrtle Beach morning, with the promise of left over summer heat and humidity as is often the case during the post-Labor Day doldrums on the Grand Strand. My now-wife, Tis, had just moved in to my humble abode a month or so previously, and, as yet, she had not gotten a job. I recall, that as I headed off to my office/warehouse, (all 1200 square feet of it,) she was just beginning to stir. Just before leaving, we watched the "Mancow" segment on "Fox and Friends," part of our morning "ritual."
When I left for work that morning, I had little expectation that my business, which was one month past its first anniversary would have a lot going on; the end of summer historically leads to about a one month period of "ghost town" here, (although retirees have subsequently "discovered" that it is a GREAT time to come here.)
I am sure of one thing, I was probably anxious, since Tuesday was, even back then, my "big" day for ordering inventory from my suppliers. It was not uncommon for me to complain to Tis, "I HATE Tuesdays!"
What is strange (and I had to revisit some sales reports for that day to recall,) was that that particular Tuesday was busier saleswise than the day before, which, with my little company, was extremely rare. Normally, our niche clientele of that time, (bars and small restaurants,) would all place orders on Monday to replenish from the weekend.
I got into my office about 8 am, and started my regular morning routine of processing the previous day's invoices, calling a few clients to determine their needs for the day, particularly the small "country cookin'" type breakfast and lunch places that always needed pre-lunch deliveries.
Just as I was getting ready to take a walk around my tiny warehouse to make notes of what I needed to order, my instant message tone went off on my computer. It was a message from Tis saying that they were reporting on FoxNews that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. As I recall, I asked a couple of questions via IM about the weather, size of the plane, was it terrorists, that sort of thing.
About the same time, I turned on my portable radio that I kept on my desk. I remember my frustration that almost no radio signal was strong enough to counter the steel structure and sheet metal walls of my little office. The only programming that I could get without static and interruption was the local carrier of "The Howard Stern Show."
Say what you will about Howard Stern, on that day, Howard truly was a journalist. Knowing that his audience was probably unable to view the pictures of the disaster that was slowly playing out on television, Mr. Stern created word pictures from what he was observing on his studio monitors, and in his inimitable fashion, mirroring the outrage that we, as a nation were feeling as events unfolded.
Then, suddenly, another IM from Tis: "OMG there's ANOTHER one!" as she observed live, and in real-time, the second plane augering into the other tower. I recall sending back, "Well, now we know it's terrorists," or something to that effect.
Stern picked up on this on-air about 5 seconds later, as Tis's IM's were confirmed by Stern, clearly taken aback by the horror of what we all were seeing.
My business software indicates that sometime during that day, I placed orders with at least two of my suppliers. While I can remember snippets of the IM's I received and the words of Howard Stern, I have zero recollection of having entered or called in any orders.
The next moment of clarity came when word came that there were several hijackings of commercial airliners. If my memory is correct, that word came down shortly before the first of the two towers collapsed. I clearly recall that in describing the collapse of the first tower, Stern's voice took on some of the unadulterated anger that many of us were feeling.
I believe during this time I probably had two or three brief phone conversations with Tis, and it was obvious to me that we were both in some kind of shock. I made a plan that I would pick her up once I left the office to go out on my deliveries.
Once the second tower fell, almost every client I talked to was running on adrenaline and in something of a fog. This is clear from the fact that many orders for the next day, 9/12, were from the same clients who had ordered in the chaos of that Tuesday morning.
According to my files, I must have completed my ordering and hit the streets with a few deliveries about noon. I stopped at the townhouse and picked up Tis, who was almost visibly shaken. My first stop of the three or four I had that day was at a little bar called Hano's, owned by John Haney, whom I had known since before I ever started my business.
John's significant other, Jane, was working the bar that day, and I doubt if during the time we were there (Tis and I ordered lunch, and I had the first of SEVERAL cocktails I would consume that afternoon and evening,) ten words were spoken in the whole place. I think there were two or three other people at the bar, but the entire place seemed to be operating in silent mode. Hand gestures ordered drinks, requested tabs, and waved goodbye semi-wordlessly.
In my case, it was the first opportunity to see the replays of the disasters that had befallen our nation that morning. What many had seen all day, I had only heard on the radio, and seeing the images for the first time burned many of them into my mind forever. As I ordered my second drink, I saw, for the first time, the towers falling, and the devastation that the terrorsts had wrought seemed, to my mind, to be complete.
Out next stop was at a relatively new client, Planks, across the street from the ocean at 38th Avenue South in North Myrtle Beach. Tom, the owner, had been sampling his own wares, and I don't think I had ever seen him have a drink in his own bar before. After having lunch and a couple of drinks at the last stop, I was getting to the point where I wanted to get this route done and get to my home. Tom quickly signed his invoice, and returned to his rather loud and boiterous conversation with one of his patrons in general detailing all the asses that were going to get kicked after this.
One other thing: Planks was predominantly a game room. Lots of video games, ski-ball, pinballs, and such, but I don't recall any of them being played when I was there that day. Although there was a decent crowd there, probably 15 or 20 folks, just as at Hano's everyone seemed to be operating in silent mode, (except for Tom and his pals who were working up the alcoholic courage to go hunting Osama Bin Laden that very afternoon.)
Next stop was Crawdaddy's, one of my charter clients I had been dealing with since the days when I was "selling air," waiting for my first truck of inventory to be delivered. Bob Hall, the owner, his wife Bev, and their two "kids" Mike and Mickey not only owned the place, but at least one of them was there pretty much all the time. They all hailed from Plattsburgh, New York, and one look at the faces I saw when I walked in there that day, told me they were as shocked and outraged as everyone seemed to be. Again, this was one quick signature, and on to the next stop.
As we got to our last stop, Eddie's Cafe, the feeling that overtook me was one of emptiness. All I really wanted to do was get home to my own little safety zone. As I completed my business there, I suggested to Tis that we order pizza delivery and just settle in for the evening. Normally, all I have to say to Tis is the word "pizza," and everything gets better instantly. Not on this day, however.
Today is ten years from that day. I still own the company that was in its infancy that day, and of course, Tis is now my wife. Hano's has closed and reopened four or five times as four or five things. Bob and Beverly sold Crawdaddy's and moved back to Plattsburgh, while their kids, Mike and Mickey bought a bar of their own, though, sadly, Mickey passed away from an asthma attack, several years ago. Bob and Beverly occasionally come down for a visit, and I've run into them a couple of time at Mick and Mike's, which is still a client.
Planks has also ceased to exist, Tom having gone moderately mad on the gambling boat one night, losing most of the money he had in the bar and trying to kill himself. I've never seen him again. Eddie's Cafe has also gone away, and I have no idea what has happened to the couple that owned that place.
All things considered, I've struggled to keep my business alive, just as our nation has struggled with war ever since that day. In 102 minutes of a bright sunny September morning, life changed forever: A generation's innocence was lost, and while we have persevered as a nation, we no longer have the single-minded unity that we had in the days immediately following Spetember 11, 2001. Who knows if that feeling can ever be recaptured.
It was a billiant Myrtle Beach morning, with the promise of left over summer heat and humidity as is often the case during the post-Labor Day doldrums on the Grand Strand. My now-wife, Tis, had just moved in to my humble abode a month or so previously, and, as yet, she had not gotten a job. I recall, that as I headed off to my office/warehouse, (all 1200 square feet of it,) she was just beginning to stir. Just before leaving, we watched the "Mancow" segment on "Fox and Friends," part of our morning "ritual."
When I left for work that morning, I had little expectation that my business, which was one month past its first anniversary would have a lot going on; the end of summer historically leads to about a one month period of "ghost town" here, (although retirees have subsequently "discovered" that it is a GREAT time to come here.)
I am sure of one thing, I was probably anxious, since Tuesday was, even back then, my "big" day for ordering inventory from my suppliers. It was not uncommon for me to complain to Tis, "I HATE Tuesdays!"
What is strange (and I had to revisit some sales reports for that day to recall,) was that that particular Tuesday was busier saleswise than the day before, which, with my little company, was extremely rare. Normally, our niche clientele of that time, (bars and small restaurants,) would all place orders on Monday to replenish from the weekend.
I got into my office about 8 am, and started my regular morning routine of processing the previous day's invoices, calling a few clients to determine their needs for the day, particularly the small "country cookin'" type breakfast and lunch places that always needed pre-lunch deliveries.
Just as I was getting ready to take a walk around my tiny warehouse to make notes of what I needed to order, my instant message tone went off on my computer. It was a message from Tis saying that they were reporting on FoxNews that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. As I recall, I asked a couple of questions via IM about the weather, size of the plane, was it terrorists, that sort of thing.
About the same time, I turned on my portable radio that I kept on my desk. I remember my frustration that almost no radio signal was strong enough to counter the steel structure and sheet metal walls of my little office. The only programming that I could get without static and interruption was the local carrier of "The Howard Stern Show."
Say what you will about Howard Stern, on that day, Howard truly was a journalist. Knowing that his audience was probably unable to view the pictures of the disaster that was slowly playing out on television, Mr. Stern created word pictures from what he was observing on his studio monitors, and in his inimitable fashion, mirroring the outrage that we, as a nation were feeling as events unfolded.
Then, suddenly, another IM from Tis: "OMG there's ANOTHER one!" as she observed live, and in real-time, the second plane augering into the other tower. I recall sending back, "Well, now we know it's terrorists," or something to that effect.
Stern picked up on this on-air about 5 seconds later, as Tis's IM's were confirmed by Stern, clearly taken aback by the horror of what we all were seeing.
My business software indicates that sometime during that day, I placed orders with at least two of my suppliers. While I can remember snippets of the IM's I received and the words of Howard Stern, I have zero recollection of having entered or called in any orders.
The next moment of clarity came when word came that there were several hijackings of commercial airliners. If my memory is correct, that word came down shortly before the first of the two towers collapsed. I clearly recall that in describing the collapse of the first tower, Stern's voice took on some of the unadulterated anger that many of us were feeling.
I believe during this time I probably had two or three brief phone conversations with Tis, and it was obvious to me that we were both in some kind of shock. I made a plan that I would pick her up once I left the office to go out on my deliveries.
Once the second tower fell, almost every client I talked to was running on adrenaline and in something of a fog. This is clear from the fact that many orders for the next day, 9/12, were from the same clients who had ordered in the chaos of that Tuesday morning.
According to my files, I must have completed my ordering and hit the streets with a few deliveries about noon. I stopped at the townhouse and picked up Tis, who was almost visibly shaken. My first stop of the three or four I had that day was at a little bar called Hano's, owned by John Haney, whom I had known since before I ever started my business.
John's significant other, Jane, was working the bar that day, and I doubt if during the time we were there (Tis and I ordered lunch, and I had the first of SEVERAL cocktails I would consume that afternoon and evening,) ten words were spoken in the whole place. I think there were two or three other people at the bar, but the entire place seemed to be operating in silent mode. Hand gestures ordered drinks, requested tabs, and waved goodbye semi-wordlessly.
In my case, it was the first opportunity to see the replays of the disasters that had befallen our nation that morning. What many had seen all day, I had only heard on the radio, and seeing the images for the first time burned many of them into my mind forever. As I ordered my second drink, I saw, for the first time, the towers falling, and the devastation that the terrorsts had wrought seemed, to my mind, to be complete.
Out next stop was at a relatively new client, Planks, across the street from the ocean at 38th Avenue South in North Myrtle Beach. Tom, the owner, had been sampling his own wares, and I don't think I had ever seen him have a drink in his own bar before. After having lunch and a couple of drinks at the last stop, I was getting to the point where I wanted to get this route done and get to my home. Tom quickly signed his invoice, and returned to his rather loud and boiterous conversation with one of his patrons in general detailing all the asses that were going to get kicked after this.
One other thing: Planks was predominantly a game room. Lots of video games, ski-ball, pinballs, and such, but I don't recall any of them being played when I was there that day. Although there was a decent crowd there, probably 15 or 20 folks, just as at Hano's everyone seemed to be operating in silent mode, (except for Tom and his pals who were working up the alcoholic courage to go hunting Osama Bin Laden that very afternoon.)
Next stop was Crawdaddy's, one of my charter clients I had been dealing with since the days when I was "selling air," waiting for my first truck of inventory to be delivered. Bob Hall, the owner, his wife Bev, and their two "kids" Mike and Mickey not only owned the place, but at least one of them was there pretty much all the time. They all hailed from Plattsburgh, New York, and one look at the faces I saw when I walked in there that day, told me they were as shocked and outraged as everyone seemed to be. Again, this was one quick signature, and on to the next stop.
As we got to our last stop, Eddie's Cafe, the feeling that overtook me was one of emptiness. All I really wanted to do was get home to my own little safety zone. As I completed my business there, I suggested to Tis that we order pizza delivery and just settle in for the evening. Normally, all I have to say to Tis is the word "pizza," and everything gets better instantly. Not on this day, however.
Today is ten years from that day. I still own the company that was in its infancy that day, and of course, Tis is now my wife. Hano's has closed and reopened four or five times as four or five things. Bob and Beverly sold Crawdaddy's and moved back to Plattsburgh, while their kids, Mike and Mickey bought a bar of their own, though, sadly, Mickey passed away from an asthma attack, several years ago. Bob and Beverly occasionally come down for a visit, and I've run into them a couple of time at Mick and Mike's, which is still a client.
Planks has also ceased to exist, Tom having gone moderately mad on the gambling boat one night, losing most of the money he had in the bar and trying to kill himself. I've never seen him again. Eddie's Cafe has also gone away, and I have no idea what has happened to the couple that owned that place.
All things considered, I've struggled to keep my business alive, just as our nation has struggled with war ever since that day. In 102 minutes of a bright sunny September morning, life changed forever: A generation's innocence was lost, and while we have persevered as a nation, we no longer have the single-minded unity that we had in the days immediately following Spetember 11, 2001. Who knows if that feeling can ever be recaptured.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
OK --So She's Leaving: What Now?
There are three reasons why I have not taken to my blog to cover the exit of Danica Patrick from the INDYCAR scene: First, living in South Carolina, we've been a little concerned about another "woman" who's been "flirting " with the East Coast: Irene. She has, for the most part, passed my area with minimal damage, although I will have to spend most of tomorrow cleaning her "droppings" (mostly leaves and small pine boughs,) from my swimming pool.
Second, I've been making some changes to my business to try and streamline it and make it run more efficiently. As summer winds down, I have to put in place the systems and people that will allow me to move quickly when things pick up after the post Labor Day "snooze." This is also why I don't post too many pieces during the summer, when, in a tourist market, I'm just a bit busy.
The third reason is that I've been having too much fun reading what has been posted in the blogosphere, since the "official" announcement confirmed the worst kept secret in sports. Let's just say, LeBron James' "Decision" it wasn't. Everyone who knows anything about racing knew this was coming, and, as they would say on CNBC, "The markets have factored it in."
The way some have reacted to this no-news announcement is reminiscent of a guy who's been dumped by a pretty girl. "I'm glad she's gone," and "Don't let the doorknob hit ya'," I've seen more than a few times. "Maybe this will give Simona (or Pippa) more air-time," has been another common theme. Oh, yeah, the INDYCAR "haters" have been out there too, predicting this would be the death knell of the IRL (which hasn't been the IRL for a couple of years now.)
There have been others who have spent volumes decrying her talent as a driver (or lack thereof,) bemoaning the fact that she has only one win and that because she won that race by conserving fuel, she was somehow undeserving of that. (Sounds an awful lot like the jilted lover, claiming that, "She really wasn't any good in bed, anyway.")
So, you get the message. Here's my take.
1. Danica Patrick is a pretty good race driver.
Here are some facts: In INDYCAR, she rarely fails to finish. In a series where any "contact" with another car is liable to be terminal, she brings the equipment home in one piece. (And if you don't think that is important, ask Kevin Kalkhoven or Jimmy Vasser, owners of the car driven by "Mr. Safer Barrier" himself, E. J. Viso.) On an oval, she's quite likely to be in the top 5-8 slots throughout the race. Her road/street skillls have improved dramatically, and she actually has a couple of top 10's this year. Her team at Andretti has figured ways to get her there with pit strategy and she has "held serve" when she's gotten there.
There are a lot of not-very-knowledgable fans out there who continually say, "If Sarah Fisher had had the luxury of Danica's equipment, she would have done much better." Absolutely NOT true. I like Sarah as much as anyone in INDYCAR and have rooted for her since Danica was a teenager. I suspect, however, that if you asked her in a moment of complete honesty, even Sarah might concur. My premise is that Sarah, when everything was perfect, could bring a car home in the top 10. Danica, when things go just right will put it in the top 3 and challenge for the win. My guess is that the determination, grit, feisty-ness, and "attitude" that grinds on some with Danica is precisely what makes her better.
2. SOME anti-Danica bias is gender based.
Does Danica have a huge ego? Sure, that's probably why she has had the success that she's had. When we all heard A. J. Foyt tell the crowd at Indy, "The car was crap, so I parked it," most of us loved it. If Danica says the same thing, she's immediately labelled a "whiner."
We have all heard male drivers throw their team under the bus at one time or another. Tony Stewart has done it, Kyle Busch has done it, Dario Franchitti has done it. Hell, A. J. Foyt did it, even when he owned the team. Point is, there are folks who react differently when it comes from Danica, (a/k/a "Whanica.")
When Kyle Bush and (insert driver here) go at it, no one even blinks. When Danica storms down pit lane after being knocked out of Indy by Ryan Briscoe's idiocy, everyone gasps and make fun of her. Hell, NASCAR guys come to BLOWS nd don't get that much attention. After their "spat" at Mid-Ohio, Milka Duno is lucky that Danica didn't knock her into next week: That's how seriously she takes racing. Had that been Smoke and Kyle Busch it would have been a non-issue, a quick 5 second blast on Sportscenter.
3. Danica will eventually do well in NASCAR.
In spite of what Kyle Petty says, Danica, based on her limited schedule, has done remarkably well in the Nationwide Series. Kyle Petty found his niche when he got out of the car and moved to the broadcast booth. (As an aside, a group of friends of mine and I used to have a "pool" that we ran weekly amongst the 5 of us. In that pool, the "nightmare scenario" was that you would get down to the end of the draw and get "stuck" with Kyle Petty. He has zero room to talk about people being out of their depth in NASCAR.)
Rusty "Know-it all" Wallace has said that the second tier series is Danica's limit for the foreseeable future, a statement with which his compadre, that seasoned NASCAR expert, Brad Daugherty concurred. Ok. Rusty Wallace has some credibility, but when was the last time that Mr. Daugherty was seen driving a race car? That's right, never. Neither has taken into account the fact that she has had 3 top 10's in the Nationwide Series in her last 7 starts, and easily could have won at Daytona in July, all while running a very limited schedule.
In NASCAR, she is still a novelty. No female has ever had any success running with the "good ol' boys." If she wins a race or two, "Danicamania" will be in full effect once again.
Her going to the Nationwide series is just what that circuit needs: an injection of excitement when attendance and tv ratings were on the slide. I have to admit, I have watched a few NNS races this year when Danica's been in the field and I NEVER used to watch the second tier series.
The question in my mind is, "How long will she be satisfied with running in 'the minors.'" She's going to run 8 or so Cup races the first year, Daytona being the first, (assuming she can qualify.) Bear in mind that Indy 500 champions and series champions Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya have had less-than-distinguished NASCAR careers, so the "bar" for success in the tintops is not exactly set high.
It would not surprise me to see her finish in the top 10 in points next year in NNS. Given the opportunity to run and practice in the cabs exclusively, her learning curve will be shortened considerably. 3 (and easily could have been 5,) top 10's in her last 7 starts is better than a LOT of NNS drivers. 'Nuff said.
4. Her next appearance at Indy will be in NASCAR.
Not necessarily. Consider this: The Indianapolis 500, in spite of what a lot of the haters say, is still the preeminent auto race in America. It is the one INDYCAR race that can move the needle. Randy Bernard knows this. And, believe me, so does Bob Parsons, "Mr. GoDaddy," (maybe more appropriately, "Mr. Sugar Daddy?")
The 500, for all its recent woes, consistently out-rates the NASCAR CocaCola 600, which is in prime time. With a starting time of noon, most of the west coast is still sipping coffee when the race begins at 16th and Georgetown. In Hawai'i they're still in bed, but Indy still draws steady (and improving) ratings and (with only one exception I can think of,) surpasses the 600.
At the same venue, the Brickyard 400 is so attendance-challenged that NASCAR has decided to run all of their weekend racing at IMS next year, and this years' Brickyard 400 was a festival of exposed aluminum.
The viewership and attendance of the 500 is much more diverse, and I can't imagine Bob Parsons willingly abandoning the exposure in that race that Danica gives him and his company. If, as many claim, "It's all about the money," look for Ms. Patrick to make at least one more try at the 500 in 2012. It's a win-win-win for everyone involved. Bernard, Danica, and Parsons ALL get something if she does run again, particularly if she's competitive. And when has she NOT been competitive at Indy?
Michael Andretti said, in his presser, that anytime she wants to come back, she's welcome, and we all know Michael is usually good for at least one "one-off" at Indy every year. He seems to be aligned with Chevy, as does Penske, but, (at least according to Michael Andretti,) she is contractually obligated to run for Andretti if she runs at Indy. Danica herself has not foreclosed the possibility, although the one thing that may work against her is the new car/enigine configuration. The new INDYCAR will be, as some have put it, "wicked fast," with the return of the trubvechargers, and it may be that she just won't do it because of the "bugs" that will have to be worked out with the new car.
5. Danica leaving is the final straw for INDYCAR.
Maybe, if she had left two or three years ago, that might have been true. INDYCAR, under Randy Bernard, appears to have developed some momentum, and the changes with the new car for 2012 and the optional aero kits the following year should help carry that momentum forward.
As many have pointed out, the novelty of women in INDYCARs is long gone, as is the novelty of having one be competitive, thanks in large part to Danica Patrick. There are, however, several storylines developing in the wings. Simona DiSilvestro put on the "guts" show for the ages at Indy this year, suffering a bad crash and then putting an ill-handling "pork chop" of a backup car solidly in the field on the first day of qualifying. Although her season has been marred by a seeming lack of confidence lately, if she can pull it together in the new car, she'll be someone to watch going forward, as will Pippa Mann, who already has shown she can handle a blog almost as well as she handles an INDYCAR.
In fact, Danica's departure may lead to INDYCAR becoming a "brand" again. By necessity, others will have to step up and establish themselves as stars, and the good news is that there are any number of young drivers in the wings to fulfill that promise, much moreso than a couple of years ago.
Finally, let's just put it out there. As long as there is a racing facility at 16th and Georgetown in Indianapolis, there will be some form of INDYCAR racing. But the big complaint about the INDYCAR series has been the lack of recognizable, particularly American, stars. With Graham Rahal now seemingly secure at Ganassi, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter Reay both grabbing a win at Andretti, and J. R. Hildebrand nearly winning the 500 for Panther, that future seems much brighter than it did a few years ago. Thus, Danica's overall importance to the series is somewhat diminshed.
A lot of us who are true race fans will be watching both Danica and INDYCAR.
Second, I've been making some changes to my business to try and streamline it and make it run more efficiently. As summer winds down, I have to put in place the systems and people that will allow me to move quickly when things pick up after the post Labor Day "snooze." This is also why I don't post too many pieces during the summer, when, in a tourist market, I'm just a bit busy.
The third reason is that I've been having too much fun reading what has been posted in the blogosphere, since the "official" announcement confirmed the worst kept secret in sports. Let's just say, LeBron James' "Decision" it wasn't. Everyone who knows anything about racing knew this was coming, and, as they would say on CNBC, "The markets have factored it in."
The way some have reacted to this no-news announcement is reminiscent of a guy who's been dumped by a pretty girl. "I'm glad she's gone," and "Don't let the doorknob hit ya'," I've seen more than a few times. "Maybe this will give Simona (or Pippa) more air-time," has been another common theme. Oh, yeah, the INDYCAR "haters" have been out there too, predicting this would be the death knell of the IRL (which hasn't been the IRL for a couple of years now.)
There have been others who have spent volumes decrying her talent as a driver (or lack thereof,) bemoaning the fact that she has only one win and that because she won that race by conserving fuel, she was somehow undeserving of that. (Sounds an awful lot like the jilted lover, claiming that, "She really wasn't any good in bed, anyway.")
So, you get the message. Here's my take.
1. Danica Patrick is a pretty good race driver.
Here are some facts: In INDYCAR, she rarely fails to finish. In a series where any "contact" with another car is liable to be terminal, she brings the equipment home in one piece. (And if you don't think that is important, ask Kevin Kalkhoven or Jimmy Vasser, owners of the car driven by "Mr. Safer Barrier" himself, E. J. Viso.) On an oval, she's quite likely to be in the top 5-8 slots throughout the race. Her road/street skillls have improved dramatically, and she actually has a couple of top 10's this year. Her team at Andretti has figured ways to get her there with pit strategy and she has "held serve" when she's gotten there.
There are a lot of not-very-knowledgable fans out there who continually say, "If Sarah Fisher had had the luxury of Danica's equipment, she would have done much better." Absolutely NOT true. I like Sarah as much as anyone in INDYCAR and have rooted for her since Danica was a teenager. I suspect, however, that if you asked her in a moment of complete honesty, even Sarah might concur. My premise is that Sarah, when everything was perfect, could bring a car home in the top 10. Danica, when things go just right will put it in the top 3 and challenge for the win. My guess is that the determination, grit, feisty-ness, and "attitude" that grinds on some with Danica is precisely what makes her better.
2. SOME anti-Danica bias is gender based.
Does Danica have a huge ego? Sure, that's probably why she has had the success that she's had. When we all heard A. J. Foyt tell the crowd at Indy, "The car was crap, so I parked it," most of us loved it. If Danica says the same thing, she's immediately labelled a "whiner."
We have all heard male drivers throw their team under the bus at one time or another. Tony Stewart has done it, Kyle Busch has done it, Dario Franchitti has done it. Hell, A. J. Foyt did it, even when he owned the team. Point is, there are folks who react differently when it comes from Danica, (a/k/a "Whanica.")
When Kyle Bush and (insert driver here) go at it, no one even blinks. When Danica storms down pit lane after being knocked out of Indy by Ryan Briscoe's idiocy, everyone gasps and make fun of her. Hell, NASCAR guys come to BLOWS nd don't get that much attention. After their "spat" at Mid-Ohio, Milka Duno is lucky that Danica didn't knock her into next week: That's how seriously she takes racing. Had that been Smoke and Kyle Busch it would have been a non-issue, a quick 5 second blast on Sportscenter.
3. Danica will eventually do well in NASCAR.
In spite of what Kyle Petty says, Danica, based on her limited schedule, has done remarkably well in the Nationwide Series. Kyle Petty found his niche when he got out of the car and moved to the broadcast booth. (As an aside, a group of friends of mine and I used to have a "pool" that we ran weekly amongst the 5 of us. In that pool, the "nightmare scenario" was that you would get down to the end of the draw and get "stuck" with Kyle Petty. He has zero room to talk about people being out of their depth in NASCAR.)
Rusty "Know-it all" Wallace has said that the second tier series is Danica's limit for the foreseeable future, a statement with which his compadre, that seasoned NASCAR expert, Brad Daugherty concurred. Ok. Rusty Wallace has some credibility, but when was the last time that Mr. Daugherty was seen driving a race car? That's right, never. Neither has taken into account the fact that she has had 3 top 10's in the Nationwide Series in her last 7 starts, and easily could have won at Daytona in July, all while running a very limited schedule.
In NASCAR, she is still a novelty. No female has ever had any success running with the "good ol' boys." If she wins a race or two, "Danicamania" will be in full effect once again.
Her going to the Nationwide series is just what that circuit needs: an injection of excitement when attendance and tv ratings were on the slide. I have to admit, I have watched a few NNS races this year when Danica's been in the field and I NEVER used to watch the second tier series.
The question in my mind is, "How long will she be satisfied with running in 'the minors.'" She's going to run 8 or so Cup races the first year, Daytona being the first, (assuming she can qualify.) Bear in mind that Indy 500 champions and series champions Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya have had less-than-distinguished NASCAR careers, so the "bar" for success in the tintops is not exactly set high.
It would not surprise me to see her finish in the top 10 in points next year in NNS. Given the opportunity to run and practice in the cabs exclusively, her learning curve will be shortened considerably. 3 (and easily could have been 5,) top 10's in her last 7 starts is better than a LOT of NNS drivers. 'Nuff said.
4. Her next appearance at Indy will be in NASCAR.
Not necessarily. Consider this: The Indianapolis 500, in spite of what a lot of the haters say, is still the preeminent auto race in America. It is the one INDYCAR race that can move the needle. Randy Bernard knows this. And, believe me, so does Bob Parsons, "Mr. GoDaddy," (maybe more appropriately, "Mr. Sugar Daddy?")
The 500, for all its recent woes, consistently out-rates the NASCAR CocaCola 600, which is in prime time. With a starting time of noon, most of the west coast is still sipping coffee when the race begins at 16th and Georgetown. In Hawai'i they're still in bed, but Indy still draws steady (and improving) ratings and (with only one exception I can think of,) surpasses the 600.
At the same venue, the Brickyard 400 is so attendance-challenged that NASCAR has decided to run all of their weekend racing at IMS next year, and this years' Brickyard 400 was a festival of exposed aluminum.
The viewership and attendance of the 500 is much more diverse, and I can't imagine Bob Parsons willingly abandoning the exposure in that race that Danica gives him and his company. If, as many claim, "It's all about the money," look for Ms. Patrick to make at least one more try at the 500 in 2012. It's a win-win-win for everyone involved. Bernard, Danica, and Parsons ALL get something if she does run again, particularly if she's competitive. And when has she NOT been competitive at Indy?
Michael Andretti said, in his presser, that anytime she wants to come back, she's welcome, and we all know Michael is usually good for at least one "one-off" at Indy every year. He seems to be aligned with Chevy, as does Penske, but, (at least according to Michael Andretti,) she is contractually obligated to run for Andretti if she runs at Indy. Danica herself has not foreclosed the possibility, although the one thing that may work against her is the new car/enigine configuration. The new INDYCAR will be, as some have put it, "wicked fast," with the return of the trubvechargers, and it may be that she just won't do it because of the "bugs" that will have to be worked out with the new car.
5. Danica leaving is the final straw for INDYCAR.
Maybe, if she had left two or three years ago, that might have been true. INDYCAR, under Randy Bernard, appears to have developed some momentum, and the changes with the new car for 2012 and the optional aero kits the following year should help carry that momentum forward.
As many have pointed out, the novelty of women in INDYCARs is long gone, as is the novelty of having one be competitive, thanks in large part to Danica Patrick. There are, however, several storylines developing in the wings. Simona DiSilvestro put on the "guts" show for the ages at Indy this year, suffering a bad crash and then putting an ill-handling "pork chop" of a backup car solidly in the field on the first day of qualifying. Although her season has been marred by a seeming lack of confidence lately, if she can pull it together in the new car, she'll be someone to watch going forward, as will Pippa Mann, who already has shown she can handle a blog almost as well as she handles an INDYCAR.
In fact, Danica's departure may lead to INDYCAR becoming a "brand" again. By necessity, others will have to step up and establish themselves as stars, and the good news is that there are any number of young drivers in the wings to fulfill that promise, much moreso than a couple of years ago.
Finally, let's just put it out there. As long as there is a racing facility at 16th and Georgetown in Indianapolis, there will be some form of INDYCAR racing. But the big complaint about the INDYCAR series has been the lack of recognizable, particularly American, stars. With Graham Rahal now seemingly secure at Ganassi, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter Reay both grabbing a win at Andretti, and J. R. Hildebrand nearly winning the 500 for Panther, that future seems much brighter than it did a few years ago. Thus, Danica's overall importance to the series is somewhat diminshed.
A lot of us who are true race fans will be watching both Danica and INDYCAR.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Moment of True Sport Legend
Ok, I know. Most of you probably don't care a rat's ass about women's soccer. Sometimes, however, you just get a look at history.
We saw that (those of us who can remember) when the 1980 American Olympic hockey team captured unexpected gold in Lake Placid, upsetting the Russians in the semi-final game.
It's been twelve years (actually, to the day) since Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, Brianna Scurry, and all the rest thrilled a sellout crowd in the Rose Bowl bringing America it's last FIFA Women's World Cup title.
I remember watching that match, end to end, as the USA and China battled throughout regular time, and two overtimes scoreless. As happens in FIFA World Cup play, any tie at the end of regulation and two overtimes is determined by one of the more lame means in all of sport: the penalty kick shootout. In this snapshot of history, it is recorded that Bri Scurry saved the third of five Chinese penalty kicks, giving the Americans the chance to win the Cup. Those who watched will recall Brandi Chastain knocking in the clincher on the fifth (and then, parting company with her jersey.)
What I saw today, while "only" a quarter-final match, exceeded the excitement and emotion of that day.
It all started, innocuously enough, with Brazil giving up an "own goal" a minute and seventeen seconds into the match. This sort of thing is frowned upon, particualrly in Latin America, where players who have given up "own goals," occasionally get murdered, literally. (I recall a player from Colombia, I believe it was, who gave one up to the U. S. men's team in a World Cup match. Upon his return home, his car "mysteriously" exploded, with him in it.)
With the U. S. leading 1-0, Brazil gradually ratcheted up the offensive pressure, and, while the Americans gave the ball up a lot in midfield, the Brazilians seemed to be very closely "marked" by the U. S. midfielders and defense. The half ended at U.S. 1 Brazil 0. Now we get to the fun part.
Early in the second half, Brazil's superstar, Marta, (who had spent a large part of the first half flopping and whining at the referee,) made a run on goal and tumbled/was pulled down by U. S. defender Rachel Buehler. The result was a pretty questionable red card on Buehler (also known as "Buehldozer,") and a Brazil penalty kick.
Christiane, another of those one-name Brazilian players, attempted the kick and U. S. keeper Hope Solo saved it. Just as jubilation was breaking out among the Americans, the referee once again stepped in with a yellow card in her hand, claiming that Solo had moved off her line before the kick was struck. The Americans, the German crowd, and the announcers were dumbfounded. Replay after replay showed Solo moved laterally to her left, but not forward off her line. Accordingly, the Brazilians got another try at the penalty kick, and this time Marta, much to the disdain of the crowd, put it away to tie the match.
When the smoke cleared, Brazil was tied 1-1, and the U. S. would have to play the remainder of the match a person shorthanded after Buehler's removal.
From that point, the U. S. team seemed to rally, playing outstanding defense while shorthanded, but also unable to mount an offensive surge to break the tie. Regulation time ended with the match tied 1-1.
Two minutes into the extra time, however, Marta got loose after a pass that was seemingly offside, putting the Brazil side up 2-1 with 28 minutes of extra time remaining. Considering that the U. S. was now down a goal, down a person, this seemed to spell doom for the American side and the match remained 2-1 into injury time.
In the 122nd minute, two minutes into "stoppage time," Megan Rapinoe spotted U. S. veteran Abby Wambach in fronbt of goal and Wambach elevated striking a beautiful header past the Brazilian keeper for the last-minute equalizer. Bedlam ensued.
Once Buehler had been sent off, it seemed that the best the Americans could hope for was to get the game to penalty kicks, and Wambach's last minute heroics had gotten them there.
The first three Americans put the ball solidly into the net, as did Marta and Christiane, setting the stage for the third Brazilian kicker, Daiane, who had allowed the "own goal" in the second minute. Once again, Hope Solo rose to the occasion, getting the critical save against the now-uninsurable Daiane. (Talk about a bad day!) Still, the Americans had to make their last two to close the deal and Rapinoe and Ali Krieger, (who plays professionally in Germany,) deposited theirs in the back of the net to allow the Americans to come back from the brink and move on to Wednesday's semi-final against France.
Solo, with her save, redeems herself for getting bounced from the U. S. side four years ago, when she publicly disagreed with her coach who benched her in favor of Bri Scurry in the semi finals, leading to a 4-0 Brazil win and relegating the U. S. side to the consolation game.
Whether or not this American team can close the deal and clinch their third cup is yet to be determined. But the spirit with which the American side fought, outnumbered and outgunned, to come back and secure the win was epic. And just as was the case with the hockey team in 1980, it gave everyone who watched a moment of American pride.
Even though I've given the ending away, ESPN2 is rebroadcasting the game at midnight tonight and I plan to record it. It will certainly be an instant classic.
We saw that (those of us who can remember) when the 1980 American Olympic hockey team captured unexpected gold in Lake Placid, upsetting the Russians in the semi-final game.
It's been twelve years (actually, to the day) since Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, Brianna Scurry, and all the rest thrilled a sellout crowd in the Rose Bowl bringing America it's last FIFA Women's World Cup title.
I remember watching that match, end to end, as the USA and China battled throughout regular time, and two overtimes scoreless. As happens in FIFA World Cup play, any tie at the end of regulation and two overtimes is determined by one of the more lame means in all of sport: the penalty kick shootout. In this snapshot of history, it is recorded that Bri Scurry saved the third of five Chinese penalty kicks, giving the Americans the chance to win the Cup. Those who watched will recall Brandi Chastain knocking in the clincher on the fifth (and then, parting company with her jersey.)
What I saw today, while "only" a quarter-final match, exceeded the excitement and emotion of that day.
It all started, innocuously enough, with Brazil giving up an "own goal" a minute and seventeen seconds into the match. This sort of thing is frowned upon, particualrly in Latin America, where players who have given up "own goals," occasionally get murdered, literally. (I recall a player from Colombia, I believe it was, who gave one up to the U. S. men's team in a World Cup match. Upon his return home, his car "mysteriously" exploded, with him in it.)
With the U. S. leading 1-0, Brazil gradually ratcheted up the offensive pressure, and, while the Americans gave the ball up a lot in midfield, the Brazilians seemed to be very closely "marked" by the U. S. midfielders and defense. The half ended at U.S. 1 Brazil 0. Now we get to the fun part.
Early in the second half, Brazil's superstar, Marta, (who had spent a large part of the first half flopping and whining at the referee,) made a run on goal and tumbled/was pulled down by U. S. defender Rachel Buehler. The result was a pretty questionable red card on Buehler (also known as "Buehldozer,") and a Brazil penalty kick.
Christiane, another of those one-name Brazilian players, attempted the kick and U. S. keeper Hope Solo saved it. Just as jubilation was breaking out among the Americans, the referee once again stepped in with a yellow card in her hand, claiming that Solo had moved off her line before the kick was struck. The Americans, the German crowd, and the announcers were dumbfounded. Replay after replay showed Solo moved laterally to her left, but not forward off her line. Accordingly, the Brazilians got another try at the penalty kick, and this time Marta, much to the disdain of the crowd, put it away to tie the match.
When the smoke cleared, Brazil was tied 1-1, and the U. S. would have to play the remainder of the match a person shorthanded after Buehler's removal.
From that point, the U. S. team seemed to rally, playing outstanding defense while shorthanded, but also unable to mount an offensive surge to break the tie. Regulation time ended with the match tied 1-1.
Two minutes into the extra time, however, Marta got loose after a pass that was seemingly offside, putting the Brazil side up 2-1 with 28 minutes of extra time remaining. Considering that the U. S. was now down a goal, down a person, this seemed to spell doom for the American side and the match remained 2-1 into injury time.
In the 122nd minute, two minutes into "stoppage time," Megan Rapinoe spotted U. S. veteran Abby Wambach in fronbt of goal and Wambach elevated striking a beautiful header past the Brazilian keeper for the last-minute equalizer. Bedlam ensued.
Once Buehler had been sent off, it seemed that the best the Americans could hope for was to get the game to penalty kicks, and Wambach's last minute heroics had gotten them there.
The first three Americans put the ball solidly into the net, as did Marta and Christiane, setting the stage for the third Brazilian kicker, Daiane, who had allowed the "own goal" in the second minute. Once again, Hope Solo rose to the occasion, getting the critical save against the now-uninsurable Daiane. (Talk about a bad day!) Still, the Americans had to make their last two to close the deal and Rapinoe and Ali Krieger, (who plays professionally in Germany,) deposited theirs in the back of the net to allow the Americans to come back from the brink and move on to Wednesday's semi-final against France.
Solo, with her save, redeems herself for getting bounced from the U. S. side four years ago, when she publicly disagreed with her coach who benched her in favor of Bri Scurry in the semi finals, leading to a 4-0 Brazil win and relegating the U. S. side to the consolation game.
Whether or not this American team can close the deal and clinch their third cup is yet to be determined. But the spirit with which the American side fought, outnumbered and outgunned, to come back and secure the win was epic. And just as was the case with the hockey team in 1980, it gave everyone who watched a moment of American pride.
Even though I've given the ending away, ESPN2 is rebroadcasting the game at midnight tonight and I plan to record it. It will certainly be an instant classic.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
My Take on Texas
I went to bed thinking last night, "Would someone tell some of these IndyCar drivers to just shut up?" I think the last words ringing in my ears as I drifted off to sleep were those of Dario Franchitti, whining about the "unfairness" of the blind draw that determined the starting field for the second of the twin 275's.
Yes, Dario has a point. After pretty much OWNING the first race last night, Franchitti gets relegated to the next-to-last row while his championship rival, Will Power, draws the third starting position and wins fairly easily. To his credit, Franchitti ran his ass off to finish seventh from the back.
Dario even made a thinly veiled reference to NASCAR in suggesting that the blind draw was ok for an "all-star" race, but this is for championship points.
What hit me in the face at that very moment was the fact that, even though NASCAR has tried to shoot itself in the foot with some of its contrivances, that series isn't looking at so much exposed tin as I saw at this, the second most popular INDYCAR race after Indianapolis. AND, they're about to take INDYCAR's most recognizable and marketable "star." Into their SECOND TIER series.
Facing all of that, those purists like me who have been following since the USAC days, may decry the use of a blind draw to set the second half field, but our series needs new fans. There, I said it.
Hello, Mr. 800 lb. gorilla, pleased to meet ya'.
If the stands at our venues were AS full as NASCAR's, we would be reaching way more folks. And, like it or not, this gimmick could bring more interest. If, in a couple of years, you aren't showing half -empty venues, then we can refine this idea. But anything that is going to get and maintain interest (within reason) is what we shoud be doing. And besides, this format only happens once a year anyway.
Do we want the "lucky dog"? No? Well, like it or not, our "wave around" keeps some from getting lapped. Pretty much the same effect.
Randy Bernard was hired to give this series a pulse. So far, he's listened to the fans when it really matters, but until we're generating a bit more "buzz," we have to accept some things we might not like, IF IT WORKS.
We've come a long way from where we were a couple of years ago. But we have MILES to go.
As for the racing itself, there was minimal intrigue. Both "halves" were won in fairly dominant fashion, and I have to give credit to E. J. Viso and his teammate Takuma Sato for keeping their equipment together, as in not in contact each other, someone else, or a wall. Never saw that coming. For that matter, everyone deserves credit for keeping caution time to a minimum. We saw a lot more green flag racing last night than we have in the past at Texas, probably because everyone wanted to stick around for both races.
As to the production, I think Versus drew out the proceedings between races a lot more than needed. As a result, I am guessing that there were several viewers who fell asleep before the end. Hell, my wife did. They explained the prcedure from top to bottom several times, so let's get on with it.
Dan Wheldon should replace Wally Dallenbach any time he's available. I found him to be a breath of fresh air on the telecast, and he definitely knows his stuff on the series, the venues, and the cars. He's a keeper, at least until someone puts him behind the wheel. If I'm ABC, I am on the phone to Mr. Wheldon tomorrow first thing.
Now, it's on to the famed Milwaukee Mile, the oldest venue on the circuit. I'll be interested to see what type of crowd they draw after their absence from the scene. And, we purists can leave the gimmicks at the door.
Yes, Dario has a point. After pretty much OWNING the first race last night, Franchitti gets relegated to the next-to-last row while his championship rival, Will Power, draws the third starting position and wins fairly easily. To his credit, Franchitti ran his ass off to finish seventh from the back.
Dario even made a thinly veiled reference to NASCAR in suggesting that the blind draw was ok for an "all-star" race, but this is for championship points.
What hit me in the face at that very moment was the fact that, even though NASCAR has tried to shoot itself in the foot with some of its contrivances, that series isn't looking at so much exposed tin as I saw at this, the second most popular INDYCAR race after Indianapolis. AND, they're about to take INDYCAR's most recognizable and marketable "star." Into their SECOND TIER series.
Facing all of that, those purists like me who have been following since the USAC days, may decry the use of a blind draw to set the second half field, but our series needs new fans. There, I said it.
Hello, Mr. 800 lb. gorilla, pleased to meet ya'.
If the stands at our venues were AS full as NASCAR's, we would be reaching way more folks. And, like it or not, this gimmick could bring more interest. If, in a couple of years, you aren't showing half -empty venues, then we can refine this idea. But anything that is going to get and maintain interest (within reason) is what we shoud be doing. And besides, this format only happens once a year anyway.
Do we want the "lucky dog"? No? Well, like it or not, our "wave around" keeps some from getting lapped. Pretty much the same effect.
Randy Bernard was hired to give this series a pulse. So far, he's listened to the fans when it really matters, but until we're generating a bit more "buzz," we have to accept some things we might not like, IF IT WORKS.
We've come a long way from where we were a couple of years ago. But we have MILES to go.
As for the racing itself, there was minimal intrigue. Both "halves" were won in fairly dominant fashion, and I have to give credit to E. J. Viso and his teammate Takuma Sato for keeping their equipment together, as in not in contact each other, someone else, or a wall. Never saw that coming. For that matter, everyone deserves credit for keeping caution time to a minimum. We saw a lot more green flag racing last night than we have in the past at Texas, probably because everyone wanted to stick around for both races.
As to the production, I think Versus drew out the proceedings between races a lot more than needed. As a result, I am guessing that there were several viewers who fell asleep before the end. Hell, my wife did. They explained the prcedure from top to bottom several times, so let's get on with it.
Dan Wheldon should replace Wally Dallenbach any time he's available. I found him to be a breath of fresh air on the telecast, and he definitely knows his stuff on the series, the venues, and the cars. He's a keeper, at least until someone puts him behind the wheel. If I'm ABC, I am on the phone to Mr. Wheldon tomorrow first thing.
Now, it's on to the famed Milwaukee Mile, the oldest venue on the circuit. I'll be interested to see what type of crowd they draw after their absence from the scene. And, we purists can leave the gimmicks at the door.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
A Very Special Trip to Indy
The purse for this year's Indianapolis 500 has been distributed, most of the checks have been cashed, the money has been counted at 16th Street and Georgetown Road. I have had a week or so to get my work "face" back on after a fairly hectic eleven day trip to Indiana. I have also had some time to ruminate about my trip to the 500 for the Centennial of the Speedway.
In all likelihood, this will be my last trip to the race that I love so much. That is not to say I would not love to go again were the situation right, but, in practical terms, the trip is simply too daunting to do with my wife and her physical limitations, plus my limited time and funds. I can safely say, if this is in fact my last trip, it was a special race and a wonderful experience.
We used our Carb Day trip, documented in an earlier post, to get all of our picture taking, souvenir buying, wandering, and exploring done. Once we set out for IMS on Sunday, we were strictly focused on getting to our shuttle pick-up point, getting aboard, and carrying as little "stuff" to our seats as possible. In my younger days, I would take backpacks, coolers, and basically enough stuff for a two day camp out. This time, we followed a minimalist approach, carrying only a couple of seat cushions, some sunscreen, and the morning paper. Anything else would be strictly bought on location.
Our first little "moment" actually occurred on Saturday afternoon, when I discovered that the Indianapolis Transit Company, "IndyGo," had been disallowed from operating the shuttles to and from the track. Fortunately, I had gone online to make sure that the pick up point had not changed, but there was the notice that the Federal Government had prohibited IndyGo from operating the shuttles. Something about not allowing a public transportation outfit to operate for a profit was the explanation given; regardless, it caused a moment of serious panic as we had ZERO desire to drive our car into the "Speedway Triangle."
Fortunately, a Google search turned up a posting from Pressdog, which explained that another outfit had stepped up and assumed the mantle of "transporter to the Speedway." Even better, the locations were the same, so no change of plans was required.
We arrived at our designated departure point at IUPUI around 7:30, though the first shuttles were not scheduled to depart for IMS until 8 am. Amazingly enough, we were on our way well before the 8 am time for the first shuttle to leave. That was the good news. The bad news was that unlike when the Indianapolis Public Transit Authority ran the shuttles (back in the METRO days,) there seemed to be no designation of special routes for the private enterprise shuttle system. Hence, while back in the day, you'd be at the main gate to the Speedway in virtually no time, this route was considerably slower and more circuitous.
Even so, as we entered the main gate, the bands were marching around the track. We began to make our way toward the Paddock grandstands, doing some "people watching" as we went. One observation that hit me almost immediately was that unlike my days of going to the Speedway in the 80's, the crowd seemed much more sober. I saw much more bottled water being consumed by the crowd going in than beer, the one-time official breakfast beverage of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While there were alcoholic beverages available (my wife enjoyed a Bloody Mary on the way to our seats,) their sale (and use) did not seem as prevalent as in my younger days.
It didn't take long for me to figure out that the venerable old track has been well cared for. Friends and fellow bloggers who have been there during the Tony George era have never faulted the controversial George for anything to do with the physical plant at 16th and Georgetown, and had consistently told me that I would be blown away by the changes. They were not wrong. For what it's worth, if IMS wants to give Mr. George something to do, it would be well advised to put him in complete charge of the facility. His touches all around the facility are reminiscent of his grandfather's era, when "new and improved" was something that happened on a regular basis.
One of the best examples of this are the many "misting stations" found throughout the underside of the grandstands. In the old days, most of the individuals who presented at the track medical facility (aside from those who had been over-served,) were heat-stroke cases. Considering that this day was expected to be one of the hottest of the year so far, I was sure that these misters would see their share of use before the day was out.
During our Carb Day trip, we had discovered that our seats were in the next-to-top row of the Paddock grandstand, lower deck. This posed some distinct advangtages as well as disadvantages.
On the plus side, that high up we were assured that whatever breezes were blowing on this hot day, we'd at least get some benefit, plus we were under cover from the sun. Unlike in my younger days when a Speedway sunburn was almost a requirement of any trip to the track, my adventures with skin cancer have made me re-think that position.
On the other hand, we were so high up that it was apparent that we would be quite a while getting out of our seats at the end of the day, and that it would be a large pain in the ass getting downstairs to visit the restrooms or get food and drink. Additionally, we were high enough up that we could only see the video board across the track from a sitting position. Add to this the fact that our seats were in the very middle of the row, and any quick escape for any purpose was precluded.
The other thing that I noticed almost immediately was that the new construction (well, not exactly new) of the Tower Terrace suites limited the view from our seats to strictly the main straightaway. Time was when these seats would have had a view of most of turn one, and turn two, once the cars cleared the museum. Not so anymore. Once the cars disappeared into one. it was "video boards only" until they cleared turn four and headed down the straight.
As the stands began to fill, we made our last trips downstairs for food, (especially one of those delicious, uniquely Hoosier delicacies, the breaded pork tenderloin,) drink, and restroom visits. I felt the familiar restlessness as the formal ceremonies neared. As a matter of personal opinion, I know that Florence Henderson is a native Hoosier; Unfortunately, Ms. Henderson can no longer sing. In the future, it might be advisable to secure other talent for the "God Bless America" portion of the program. Seal and Kelly Clarkson did an admirable job on the National Anthem. "Taps," as usual, got me crying, and Jim Nabors did his annual thing with "Back Home Again in Indiana," although the PA system missed the first few bars.
I found myself missing the smooth barritone of Tom Carnegie on the PA system, although Dave Collabro does an excellent job. It's just that Carnegie's voice will echo around the four corners of the IMS as long as there IS an IMS. Mari Hulman George got the engines started and hopped into the pace car for a ride with A. J. Foyt. I wondered if Mari remembered that the last time a Hulman rode with A. J. was 1977, and it was her father's farewell appearance at the Speedway, as he passed away later that fall. Hopefully, it wasn't an omen.
Mari and A. J. pulled the pace car off and we were green! For once, no one decided to do anything stupid on the first lap of the race and everyone made it through the first lap. The next 25 or so laps were a succession of Dixon, Tagliani, and Franchitti battling for the lead. It was during this first segment of the race that the battery in my Walkman died. Communication with 1070theFan lost, along with the IMS network. I had not, until that moment, realized how spoiled I had been having the whole race unfold in my living room, (even if it WAS Marty Reid,) in all the years I had watched the race live on ABC.
This feeling was reinforced by the first caution and subsequent two-wide re-start. Even with the entire 5/8 mile of the main straightaway to get sorted out, everyone wanted to run two and three wide into turn one. That usually does not work at Indy. The first time I watched them fly into one and out of my view, I turned to the fellow next to me and remarked that something bad was going to happen. Miraculously, MOST of the time it did not, although on one re-start, eventual winner Dan Wheldon decided it would be prudent to use the pit lane to avoid the mayhem.
As the race played itself out, the Ganassi cars were dominant, but nowhere near running away with things. Even though they led a majority of the laps, they never seemed to be able to pull away to much more than a 3 or 4 second lead, and even then, either pit stops or a caution would bring everyone back together. I had the feeling with about 50 laps to go that there were still 4 or 5 cars that could take the race.
Oriol Servia, Ed Carpenter, J. R. Hildebrand, Graham Rahal, and Bertrand Baguette all took a turn on point while the red cars refueled, though Servia held the lead for more than a few laps. While he was never out front, Dan Wheldon maintained a spot in the top 5 most of the race, and it seemed as though he was quietly staying in touch with the leaders, waiting for the race to play out.
Danica Patrick seemed to move steadily forward all day, as did fan fave Tony Kanaan, although the former seemed to have terrible luck with two successive cautions catching her almost out of fuel, necessitating a "double stop" during the caution and costing her track postion that she had won by steadily working her way up. Still, with roughly 20 laps to go, Ms. Patrick was right there and as everyone else took on fuel, she took the lead for the second time in her brief Indy career.
Although she remains controversial, I have to say, some of the loudest cheers I heard all day were during the few laps that she led. Almost everyone knew that without the help of a caution she couldn't maintain the lead until the end, and I later learned that then last couple of laps before she was "inhaled" by Baguette, she was complaining of a vibration. Some of the "air" went out of the Speedway when she pitted, and we all wondered if the new leader, Baguette, had enough fuel to finish.
I consider myself to be pretty astute about most of these things, but I had no clue where Baguette was on his fuel load until I saw his crew laying out for a stop about 5 laps from the end. I knew that the last driver to pit during the last round of stops was Franchitti, and I assumed he would re-take the lead when Baguette pitted. Wrong again. In yet another fuel miscalculation by the Ganassi team, (What was up with the gas this month Chip?) Franchitti was left about one lap short on fuel and was not running quick enough to catch J. R. Hildebrand who took the lead when Baguette pitted on lap 196 or 7.
Unbelievable! A rookie leading the Indianapolis 500 with just three laps to go! Everyone was standing and cheering as the nnumber 4 Panther Racing machine took the white flag. Most of us were still standing when he came by the next time, obviously having tangled with a wall somewhere. In a moment of confusion, I believed J. R. had crashed and slid across the finish line first, until the nearby scoring strip told me that Wheldon had been posted the winner.
This revelation led me to two things: First, the Speedway needs to replace the PA system which, in the confusion at the end of the race, was worthless. Indeed, in times of ANY significant crowd noise, the PA system is woefully lacking. Second, it was apparent that we were going to have to hurry back to our hotel to see what had happened at the end.
That is not to say that I minded Wheldon winning the race by leading all of about 1400 feet at the very end of the last lap; I didn't. Gambler that I am, I had placed one of my race wagers on the previously unemployed driver at odds of 13-1. Since I had ZERO coinage placed on Mr. Hildebrand, the surprise ending was very pleasant, at least financially.
Due to our seats being at the very top of the lower deck, we waited for a lote of the crowd to disperse before heading to the exits. Even with most of the crowd leaving, we still couldn't hear much of the post race festivities coming over the PA system. Once the aisles had started to clear, we made our way back to the lot where the shuttles were supposed to take us back to IUPUI. Once on the bus, it was apparent that there was no air conditioning, a fact which did not help my wife's disposition. During the lengthy trip back downtown, she repeatedly made it clear that she was never going to the 500 again. Part of that, I attribute to her pain level, but frankly, as opposed to watching the race live at home with friends, attending the event in person is a large sacrifice.
During the ride, I tried to think about what we could have done differently to make the experience more enjoyable, but I was stumped to think of anything we could have done (realistically) to make it easier or more enjoyable. Obviously, having a working radio would have been nice, but aside from going to the track via motorhome and having a suite (neither of which is really a workable option,) I couldn't come up with anything we could have done to enhance the journey.
By the time we reached our car, all we could think about was getting some food and getting away from Indianapolis. We learned some of what we had missed in listening to the radio recap of the race, but I looked forward to the delay broadcast which we could watch from the comfort of our hotel later that night. We were so wiped out, however, that most of the race was lost to a nap. We did manage to wake up for the end so we could see what we had not seen from our seats, but it wasn't until we returned home and I was able to watch the DVR version that I really understood what we had seen.
I've now watched it 3-4 times and I came to some conclusions.
Whoever was making fuel calculations for Ganassi Racing should be working on their resume. In addition to screwing up twice on Pole Day, the miscalculation on Franchitti and Dixon definitely cost them in the race as well. For a top level team to have misplanned their fuel strategy so badly is not acceptable. Granted, I don't think ANYONE expected that the last 25 laps of the race would go caution-free, (it almost never does,) but with as much of an advantage as the red cars had all day, for them to finish so badly is just inexplicable.
Second, (and I can hear people gnashing their teeth at me for this one,) given two well-timed yellow flags, Danica Patrick is a two-time winner of the Indy 500 and we're probably NOT talking about her moving to NASCAR. I know, she's way over-exposed, over-covered, and virtually crammed down the throats of the viewing public, but the fact is she brings the car home in one piece almost every year, and she works her strategy to the best possible finish. It may be she'll get one more chance at Indy, assuming she'll still be running the Nationwide series next year, (and she sure is NOT ready for Cup yet,) but when you look at her Indy career, she's been in the top 10 every year save the one when she got taken out in the pits by Ryan Briscoe. There are an awful lot of drivers who would LOVE to have that kind of Indy resume.
Third, J. R. Hildebrand will be remembered forever for NOT taking into account the wear on his tires and the closing speed at which he was inhaling Charlie Kimball. Hopefully, he'll have a day to redeem himself and, to his eternal credit, he did not duck a single question posed to him by the media. For him to have saved enough fuel to make the finish is a credit to his team and his patience and he deserved better than he got for his efforts, in spite of his rookie mistake.
And, finally, whatever happened to Roger Penske? His team was a complete non-factor all day, something that has not happened to him since their "non-start" year of 1995. The pit "mistake" with Will Power early in the race, (Sorry, Will, but you gotta have FOUR tires on the car to go fast,) was very uncharacteristic. Already there are rumors abounding that there will be some driver shakeups for next year in the Captain's garage, and one name that is being mentioned prominently in the speculation is Simona DiSilvestro. That should make for an interesting "silly season."
As I said at the top of this piece, this was probably my last trip to the 500. I had wonderful experiences in the 16 or so 500's I attended, and, if I still lived in the midwest, I might look at it a little differently. But, from my home in South Carolina, it is an awfully long trip driving, and when you add in the incidentals (parking, motels, food, souvenirs, and such,) it is pretty expensive. Yes, the experience of "being there" is worth something, but to be perfectly honest, watching the race from home in high-def, without the hassles of getting to and from is just too easy.
In all likelihood, this will be my last trip to the race that I love so much. That is not to say I would not love to go again were the situation right, but, in practical terms, the trip is simply too daunting to do with my wife and her physical limitations, plus my limited time and funds. I can safely say, if this is in fact my last trip, it was a special race and a wonderful experience.
We used our Carb Day trip, documented in an earlier post, to get all of our picture taking, souvenir buying, wandering, and exploring done. Once we set out for IMS on Sunday, we were strictly focused on getting to our shuttle pick-up point, getting aboard, and carrying as little "stuff" to our seats as possible. In my younger days, I would take backpacks, coolers, and basically enough stuff for a two day camp out. This time, we followed a minimalist approach, carrying only a couple of seat cushions, some sunscreen, and the morning paper. Anything else would be strictly bought on location.
Our first little "moment" actually occurred on Saturday afternoon, when I discovered that the Indianapolis Transit Company, "IndyGo," had been disallowed from operating the shuttles to and from the track. Fortunately, I had gone online to make sure that the pick up point had not changed, but there was the notice that the Federal Government had prohibited IndyGo from operating the shuttles. Something about not allowing a public transportation outfit to operate for a profit was the explanation given; regardless, it caused a moment of serious panic as we had ZERO desire to drive our car into the "Speedway Triangle."
Fortunately, a Google search turned up a posting from Pressdog, which explained that another outfit had stepped up and assumed the mantle of "transporter to the Speedway." Even better, the locations were the same, so no change of plans was required.
We arrived at our designated departure point at IUPUI around 7:30, though the first shuttles were not scheduled to depart for IMS until 8 am. Amazingly enough, we were on our way well before the 8 am time for the first shuttle to leave. That was the good news. The bad news was that unlike when the Indianapolis Public Transit Authority ran the shuttles (back in the METRO days,) there seemed to be no designation of special routes for the private enterprise shuttle system. Hence, while back in the day, you'd be at the main gate to the Speedway in virtually no time, this route was considerably slower and more circuitous.
Even so, as we entered the main gate, the bands were marching around the track. We began to make our way toward the Paddock grandstands, doing some "people watching" as we went. One observation that hit me almost immediately was that unlike my days of going to the Speedway in the 80's, the crowd seemed much more sober. I saw much more bottled water being consumed by the crowd going in than beer, the one-time official breakfast beverage of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While there were alcoholic beverages available (my wife enjoyed a Bloody Mary on the way to our seats,) their sale (and use) did not seem as prevalent as in my younger days.
It didn't take long for me to figure out that the venerable old track has been well cared for. Friends and fellow bloggers who have been there during the Tony George era have never faulted the controversial George for anything to do with the physical plant at 16th and Georgetown, and had consistently told me that I would be blown away by the changes. They were not wrong. For what it's worth, if IMS wants to give Mr. George something to do, it would be well advised to put him in complete charge of the facility. His touches all around the facility are reminiscent of his grandfather's era, when "new and improved" was something that happened on a regular basis.
One of the best examples of this are the many "misting stations" found throughout the underside of the grandstands. In the old days, most of the individuals who presented at the track medical facility (aside from those who had been over-served,) were heat-stroke cases. Considering that this day was expected to be one of the hottest of the year so far, I was sure that these misters would see their share of use before the day was out.
During our Carb Day trip, we had discovered that our seats were in the next-to-top row of the Paddock grandstand, lower deck. This posed some distinct advangtages as well as disadvantages.
On the plus side, that high up we were assured that whatever breezes were blowing on this hot day, we'd at least get some benefit, plus we were under cover from the sun. Unlike in my younger days when a Speedway sunburn was almost a requirement of any trip to the track, my adventures with skin cancer have made me re-think that position.
On the other hand, we were so high up that it was apparent that we would be quite a while getting out of our seats at the end of the day, and that it would be a large pain in the ass getting downstairs to visit the restrooms or get food and drink. Additionally, we were high enough up that we could only see the video board across the track from a sitting position. Add to this the fact that our seats were in the very middle of the row, and any quick escape for any purpose was precluded.
The other thing that I noticed almost immediately was that the new construction (well, not exactly new) of the Tower Terrace suites limited the view from our seats to strictly the main straightaway. Time was when these seats would have had a view of most of turn one, and turn two, once the cars cleared the museum. Not so anymore. Once the cars disappeared into one. it was "video boards only" until they cleared turn four and headed down the straight.
As the stands began to fill, we made our last trips downstairs for food, (especially one of those delicious, uniquely Hoosier delicacies, the breaded pork tenderloin,) drink, and restroom visits. I felt the familiar restlessness as the formal ceremonies neared. As a matter of personal opinion, I know that Florence Henderson is a native Hoosier; Unfortunately, Ms. Henderson can no longer sing. In the future, it might be advisable to secure other talent for the "God Bless America" portion of the program. Seal and Kelly Clarkson did an admirable job on the National Anthem. "Taps," as usual, got me crying, and Jim Nabors did his annual thing with "Back Home Again in Indiana," although the PA system missed the first few bars.
I found myself missing the smooth barritone of Tom Carnegie on the PA system, although Dave Collabro does an excellent job. It's just that Carnegie's voice will echo around the four corners of the IMS as long as there IS an IMS. Mari Hulman George got the engines started and hopped into the pace car for a ride with A. J. Foyt. I wondered if Mari remembered that the last time a Hulman rode with A. J. was 1977, and it was her father's farewell appearance at the Speedway, as he passed away later that fall. Hopefully, it wasn't an omen.
Mari and A. J. pulled the pace car off and we were green! For once, no one decided to do anything stupid on the first lap of the race and everyone made it through the first lap. The next 25 or so laps were a succession of Dixon, Tagliani, and Franchitti battling for the lead. It was during this first segment of the race that the battery in my Walkman died. Communication with 1070theFan lost, along with the IMS network. I had not, until that moment, realized how spoiled I had been having the whole race unfold in my living room, (even if it WAS Marty Reid,) in all the years I had watched the race live on ABC.
This feeling was reinforced by the first caution and subsequent two-wide re-start. Even with the entire 5/8 mile of the main straightaway to get sorted out, everyone wanted to run two and three wide into turn one. That usually does not work at Indy. The first time I watched them fly into one and out of my view, I turned to the fellow next to me and remarked that something bad was going to happen. Miraculously, MOST of the time it did not, although on one re-start, eventual winner Dan Wheldon decided it would be prudent to use the pit lane to avoid the mayhem.
As the race played itself out, the Ganassi cars were dominant, but nowhere near running away with things. Even though they led a majority of the laps, they never seemed to be able to pull away to much more than a 3 or 4 second lead, and even then, either pit stops or a caution would bring everyone back together. I had the feeling with about 50 laps to go that there were still 4 or 5 cars that could take the race.
Oriol Servia, Ed Carpenter, J. R. Hildebrand, Graham Rahal, and Bertrand Baguette all took a turn on point while the red cars refueled, though Servia held the lead for more than a few laps. While he was never out front, Dan Wheldon maintained a spot in the top 5 most of the race, and it seemed as though he was quietly staying in touch with the leaders, waiting for the race to play out.
Danica Patrick seemed to move steadily forward all day, as did fan fave Tony Kanaan, although the former seemed to have terrible luck with two successive cautions catching her almost out of fuel, necessitating a "double stop" during the caution and costing her track postion that she had won by steadily working her way up. Still, with roughly 20 laps to go, Ms. Patrick was right there and as everyone else took on fuel, she took the lead for the second time in her brief Indy career.
Although she remains controversial, I have to say, some of the loudest cheers I heard all day were during the few laps that she led. Almost everyone knew that without the help of a caution she couldn't maintain the lead until the end, and I later learned that then last couple of laps before she was "inhaled" by Baguette, she was complaining of a vibration. Some of the "air" went out of the Speedway when she pitted, and we all wondered if the new leader, Baguette, had enough fuel to finish.
I consider myself to be pretty astute about most of these things, but I had no clue where Baguette was on his fuel load until I saw his crew laying out for a stop about 5 laps from the end. I knew that the last driver to pit during the last round of stops was Franchitti, and I assumed he would re-take the lead when Baguette pitted. Wrong again. In yet another fuel miscalculation by the Ganassi team, (What was up with the gas this month Chip?) Franchitti was left about one lap short on fuel and was not running quick enough to catch J. R. Hildebrand who took the lead when Baguette pitted on lap 196 or 7.
Unbelievable! A rookie leading the Indianapolis 500 with just three laps to go! Everyone was standing and cheering as the nnumber 4 Panther Racing machine took the white flag. Most of us were still standing when he came by the next time, obviously having tangled with a wall somewhere. In a moment of confusion, I believed J. R. had crashed and slid across the finish line first, until the nearby scoring strip told me that Wheldon had been posted the winner.
This revelation led me to two things: First, the Speedway needs to replace the PA system which, in the confusion at the end of the race, was worthless. Indeed, in times of ANY significant crowd noise, the PA system is woefully lacking. Second, it was apparent that we were going to have to hurry back to our hotel to see what had happened at the end.
That is not to say that I minded Wheldon winning the race by leading all of about 1400 feet at the very end of the last lap; I didn't. Gambler that I am, I had placed one of my race wagers on the previously unemployed driver at odds of 13-1. Since I had ZERO coinage placed on Mr. Hildebrand, the surprise ending was very pleasant, at least financially.
Due to our seats being at the very top of the lower deck, we waited for a lote of the crowd to disperse before heading to the exits. Even with most of the crowd leaving, we still couldn't hear much of the post race festivities coming over the PA system. Once the aisles had started to clear, we made our way back to the lot where the shuttles were supposed to take us back to IUPUI. Once on the bus, it was apparent that there was no air conditioning, a fact which did not help my wife's disposition. During the lengthy trip back downtown, she repeatedly made it clear that she was never going to the 500 again. Part of that, I attribute to her pain level, but frankly, as opposed to watching the race live at home with friends, attending the event in person is a large sacrifice.
During the ride, I tried to think about what we could have done differently to make the experience more enjoyable, but I was stumped to think of anything we could have done (realistically) to make it easier or more enjoyable. Obviously, having a working radio would have been nice, but aside from going to the track via motorhome and having a suite (neither of which is really a workable option,) I couldn't come up with anything we could have done to enhance the journey.
By the time we reached our car, all we could think about was getting some food and getting away from Indianapolis. We learned some of what we had missed in listening to the radio recap of the race, but I looked forward to the delay broadcast which we could watch from the comfort of our hotel later that night. We were so wiped out, however, that most of the race was lost to a nap. We did manage to wake up for the end so we could see what we had not seen from our seats, but it wasn't until we returned home and I was able to watch the DVR version that I really understood what we had seen.
I've now watched it 3-4 times and I came to some conclusions.
Whoever was making fuel calculations for Ganassi Racing should be working on their resume. In addition to screwing up twice on Pole Day, the miscalculation on Franchitti and Dixon definitely cost them in the race as well. For a top level team to have misplanned their fuel strategy so badly is not acceptable. Granted, I don't think ANYONE expected that the last 25 laps of the race would go caution-free, (it almost never does,) but with as much of an advantage as the red cars had all day, for them to finish so badly is just inexplicable.
Second, (and I can hear people gnashing their teeth at me for this one,) given two well-timed yellow flags, Danica Patrick is a two-time winner of the Indy 500 and we're probably NOT talking about her moving to NASCAR. I know, she's way over-exposed, over-covered, and virtually crammed down the throats of the viewing public, but the fact is she brings the car home in one piece almost every year, and she works her strategy to the best possible finish. It may be she'll get one more chance at Indy, assuming she'll still be running the Nationwide series next year, (and she sure is NOT ready for Cup yet,) but when you look at her Indy career, she's been in the top 10 every year save the one when she got taken out in the pits by Ryan Briscoe. There are an awful lot of drivers who would LOVE to have that kind of Indy resume.
Third, J. R. Hildebrand will be remembered forever for NOT taking into account the wear on his tires and the closing speed at which he was inhaling Charlie Kimball. Hopefully, he'll have a day to redeem himself and, to his eternal credit, he did not duck a single question posed to him by the media. For him to have saved enough fuel to make the finish is a credit to his team and his patience and he deserved better than he got for his efforts, in spite of his rookie mistake.
And, finally, whatever happened to Roger Penske? His team was a complete non-factor all day, something that has not happened to him since their "non-start" year of 1995. The pit "mistake" with Will Power early in the race, (Sorry, Will, but you gotta have FOUR tires on the car to go fast,) was very uncharacteristic. Already there are rumors abounding that there will be some driver shakeups for next year in the Captain's garage, and one name that is being mentioned prominently in the speculation is Simona DiSilvestro. That should make for an interesting "silly season."
As I said at the top of this piece, this was probably my last trip to the 500. I had wonderful experiences in the 16 or so 500's I attended, and, if I still lived in the midwest, I might look at it a little differently. But, from my home in South Carolina, it is an awfully long trip driving, and when you add in the incidentals (parking, motels, food, souvenirs, and such,) it is pretty expensive. Yes, the experience of "being there" is worth something, but to be perfectly honest, watching the race from home in high-def, without the hassles of getting to and from is just too easy.
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