I was on various Indy Car teams doing various jobs from 1981, when my friend Bob Lazier was Series Rookie of The Year, until 2001 when I was turn three spotter for his son Jaques. I can tell you, standing on the roof of the turn three bleachers, looking out over the entire track, is easily the best seat in the house, and when Jim Nabors sings “Back Home Again-In Indiana,”
you feel like you could just spread your arms and fly back to heaven. Now in almost my 80th year, I’m content to spread my arms while lying in my recliner and watch the new generation fly by.
A local clergyman offers a prayer of thanks and prays for driver safety. I don’t see any “Anti-Religion” protesters. The marching bands and military parades and Gold Star mothers are honored, and I don’t see a single “Anti-Military” protester. Although I’m sure there are some differing thoughts. The Purdue All-American Marching Band with the Purdue Golden Girl march by, without a single “Trans” protester. The fighter jets fly by, and this year Roger Penske (The Captain) says “Gentlemen Start Your Engines” and I don’t see a single “Save The Planet” protester.
A new singer, Jim Cornelison, sings “Back Home” and does a nice job, as does Jewel, who sings the National Anthem accompanying herself on guitar. Never seen that done before, but it was touching. The “Older Generation” represented by Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, et al, is here, lending a sense of continuity and perspective to the festive atmosphere. These are some of the best drivers on the planet, and everyone knows what it takes to get here.
All of the barriers on the outside of the track got a fresh coat of paint over night, between the practice and qualifying sessions. Ugly black tire marks where cars got a little too close to the SAFER barriers are not acceptable to The Captain. Under the previous owners they were lucky to get a touch up once a year.
This is hallowed ground and even though they are fierce competitors, everyone has to cooperate to live through this and make it happen. This younger generation of racers apparently doesn’t think they’ve invented Indy Cars and music, to paraphrase Andy Warhol.
In the month of May, in Speedway Indiana, a bunch of dedicated racers (33 to be exact), two engine suppliers (Chevy & Honda), and one chassis manufacturer (Dallara) all work together, indeed risk their lives together to advance the art of racing. When Graham Rahal, son of 1988 winner Bibby Rahal, was too slow to make the field, he was offered the car qualified by Stefan Wilson who was injured in a post qualifying crash. Team Rahal is a Honda team, and Stefan’s team runs Chevys. After a short (a few minutes) conference Graham became a Chevy guy for one race. Compare that to the Bridgestone / Michelin F-! fiasco at Indy in 1988.
In these days of perpetual protest and “Look at me!” everyone seemed to get along. The place was sold out, with somewhere between 3 & 400,000 fans. It’s hard to count the fans in the infield as they tend not to move around a lot. I only saw one small “Pride” flag, but I’m sure there were many “same sex” couples. So what? Jim Nabors the singer, who also played Gomer Pyle, married his same sex partner in 2013 and no one batted an eye. “Best wishes Jim!”
It was a good race, won by Josef Newgarden who gave The Captain his 19th Indy Car victory.
There were an unprecedented three red flags, each caused by multi-car crashes. In one of the wrecks, a loose wheel/tire cleared the catch fence, threaded between two grandstands, and landed on someone’s new car. Shur cudda been worse! Plus it was an exciting finish, with only a few 10ths separating the first two cars.
After the Victory Dinner on Monday, Roger will probably give his staff the day off. But the next morning will find them fixing, repairing and painting this hallowed place. After all, at age 86, Roger may not have too many chances left.
Until next time, thanks for listening.
Duane