The Great Race
Memorial Day Weekend. The unofficial start of summer and a time to remember those who gave their lives to secure ours. Among other things, for the racing fan this is the busiest, greatest weekend of racing throughout the year.
The morning started with the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco, through the streets of picturesque Monte Carlo. The day finished up with the day-into-night Coca-Cola World 600 for the Nextel Cup drivers in Charlotte.
In between these two outstanding events was run the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The 90th Indianapolis 500!
Once again, I was among the 350,000 spectators in attendance to witness this historic event. This race would go into the record-books as one of the hottest, as well as one of the closest finishes of all time.
I have been attending the "500" since 1977, the year A.J. became the first 4-time winner. I have missed a few, due to military commitments through the years. I have seen history made on that 2.5 mile oval, winners crowned, and tragedy through the years. The Speedway is for me as Mecca is for Muslims. Being there is an almost religious experience for me, each and every time I set foot upon those historic grounds.
For the last decade, I have viewed the "500" from the infield viewing mounds. This gives me the freedom to move from place to place to watch the race, as well as take a wide variety of pictures. I'm an amateur photog, after all. In the past I have been at the right place at the right time, camera at the ready, and captured some very exciting moments.
The day started out warm and grew hotter as the morning gave way to afternoon. We fans baked under the sun as we awaited the start of the "500". 350,000 men, women, and children sucked down water, beer, and sodas, all in an effort to stay cool under the hottest sky Central Indiana had seen in a year. Sunburns would be nursed for the next couple of days, I can tell you.
The race began with the air temperature hovering around 90 degrees, and getting hotter. The drivers took the green flag and blasted through turn #2 past me with a deafening roar unequalled throughout sports. 33 unleashed Honda thoroughbreds screamed into history with only the Borg-Warner winner's trophy within their sights. But Indy is not to be taken lightly, and on lap 2 teammates Chesson and Bucknam took each other out.
The race resumed under the blazing sun and settled into a long, blindingly fast run that saw the emergence of defending champion Dan Wheldon setting the pace with dominating determination. We fans boiled as the cars roared past. I witnessed many a spectator giving in to the sun and retreat into the shade. I held my ground.
On the track, father and son Andretti battled, former champions Cheever, Lazier, Castroneves, Rice, and Unser, Jr. ran hard but lost ground under the torrid pace the leaders threw down. Phenom Danika raced careful, steady, and very fast, gaining and holding onto a place in the top 10.
Then deja-vous struck Scheckter. He bounced off the turn 4 wall, as he had four years ago, and nailed the end of the pit road wall. It was a devastating wreck, but he was uninjured. Other cars were damaged by debrie, and some over-heated fans were struck by the car's errant rear wing, without serious injury.
For the next hour of racing, many of the lesser financed teams fell laps down or out of the race with mechanical woes. Just past half-way, past-champions Helio Castroneves and Buddy Rice, both fighting their cars most of the race, came together and took each other out of the race. Drivers with lesser experience began making mistakes as the heat of the sun bore down on them, as well as the 350,000 sweating fans watching. Simmons and Hornish were among those who made pit-road mistakes. Both took off with the fuel hoses still attached. Hornish suffered a drive-thru penalty. Simmons, on the other hand, took his nozzle with him, damaging his car. The nozzle, when it came free, was run over by two-time winner Al Unser, Jr., who then wrecked in turn 3. Simmons wrecked in turn 2 under the caution. All this set up Wheldon, the Andretti's, Dixon, Patrick, Kanaan, and Franchitti for the battle to the end.
But Sam Hornish, Jr. would not be denied this time, and attacked the leaders. A late caution for Bell's crash, a blocking penalty to Dixon, and a great final pitstop set Hornish, Jr. up for a final, exciting battle with the Andretti's, father and son.
The 350,000 fans roared their approval as seemingly out of nowhere Michael Andretti was leading the race with less than five laps to go, but son Marco showed his dad his youthful aggression on the restart. Marco led and the spectators cheered the 19 year-old on to victory. But Sam Hornish, Jr., the race's pole sitter, showed what winning two series championships means when the Indy 500 is within your grasp. Nothing.
Sam Hornish, Jr. passed Marco Andretti on the front stretch, with less than 100 yards to the finish line and took the checkered flag, to the cheers of the 350,000 barbecued spectators, cementing his place in immortality as the Winner of the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race!
Congratulations, Sam Hornish, Jr.
From your fan at the Center of the Universe.
The morning started with the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco, through the streets of picturesque Monte Carlo. The day finished up with the day-into-night Coca-Cola World 600 for the Nextel Cup drivers in Charlotte.
In between these two outstanding events was run the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The 90th Indianapolis 500!
Once again, I was among the 350,000 spectators in attendance to witness this historic event. This race would go into the record-books as one of the hottest, as well as one of the closest finishes of all time.
I have been attending the "500" since 1977, the year A.J. became the first 4-time winner. I have missed a few, due to military commitments through the years. I have seen history made on that 2.5 mile oval, winners crowned, and tragedy through the years. The Speedway is for me as Mecca is for Muslims. Being there is an almost religious experience for me, each and every time I set foot upon those historic grounds.
For the last decade, I have viewed the "500" from the infield viewing mounds. This gives me the freedom to move from place to place to watch the race, as well as take a wide variety of pictures. I'm an amateur photog, after all. In the past I have been at the right place at the right time, camera at the ready, and captured some very exciting moments.
The day started out warm and grew hotter as the morning gave way to afternoon. We fans baked under the sun as we awaited the start of the "500". 350,000 men, women, and children sucked down water, beer, and sodas, all in an effort to stay cool under the hottest sky Central Indiana had seen in a year. Sunburns would be nursed for the next couple of days, I can tell you.
The race began with the air temperature hovering around 90 degrees, and getting hotter. The drivers took the green flag and blasted through turn #2 past me with a deafening roar unequalled throughout sports. 33 unleashed Honda thoroughbreds screamed into history with only the Borg-Warner winner's trophy within their sights. But Indy is not to be taken lightly, and on lap 2 teammates Chesson and Bucknam took each other out.
The race resumed under the blazing sun and settled into a long, blindingly fast run that saw the emergence of defending champion Dan Wheldon setting the pace with dominating determination. We fans boiled as the cars roared past. I witnessed many a spectator giving in to the sun and retreat into the shade. I held my ground.
On the track, father and son Andretti battled, former champions Cheever, Lazier, Castroneves, Rice, and Unser, Jr. ran hard but lost ground under the torrid pace the leaders threw down. Phenom Danika raced careful, steady, and very fast, gaining and holding onto a place in the top 10.
Then deja-vous struck Scheckter. He bounced off the turn 4 wall, as he had four years ago, and nailed the end of the pit road wall. It was a devastating wreck, but he was uninjured. Other cars were damaged by debrie, and some over-heated fans were struck by the car's errant rear wing, without serious injury.
For the next hour of racing, many of the lesser financed teams fell laps down or out of the race with mechanical woes. Just past half-way, past-champions Helio Castroneves and Buddy Rice, both fighting their cars most of the race, came together and took each other out of the race. Drivers with lesser experience began making mistakes as the heat of the sun bore down on them, as well as the 350,000 sweating fans watching. Simmons and Hornish were among those who made pit-road mistakes. Both took off with the fuel hoses still attached. Hornish suffered a drive-thru penalty. Simmons, on the other hand, took his nozzle with him, damaging his car. The nozzle, when it came free, was run over by two-time winner Al Unser, Jr., who then wrecked in turn 3. Simmons wrecked in turn 2 under the caution. All this set up Wheldon, the Andretti's, Dixon, Patrick, Kanaan, and Franchitti for the battle to the end.
But Sam Hornish, Jr. would not be denied this time, and attacked the leaders. A late caution for Bell's crash, a blocking penalty to Dixon, and a great final pitstop set Hornish, Jr. up for a final, exciting battle with the Andretti's, father and son.
The 350,000 fans roared their approval as seemingly out of nowhere Michael Andretti was leading the race with less than five laps to go, but son Marco showed his dad his youthful aggression on the restart. Marco led and the spectators cheered the 19 year-old on to victory. But Sam Hornish, Jr., the race's pole sitter, showed what winning two series championships means when the Indy 500 is within your grasp. Nothing.
Sam Hornish, Jr. passed Marco Andretti on the front stretch, with less than 100 yards to the finish line and took the checkered flag, to the cheers of the 350,000 barbecued spectators, cementing his place in immortality as the Winner of the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race!
Congratulations, Sam Hornish, Jr.
From your fan at the Center of the Universe.
posted by B.R.Dailey | 8:34 PM
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