We are a little over 11 days away from the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. I have felt very blessed to be living in the city that nationally known for this race. There are a lot of great memories I have had over the years that I have been to the race. I have been to every race since 1995 when I first went to the track and fell in love with the speed and smell of fuel.
I remember coming to the track during practice with my elementary school and trying to learn everything I could about the track and trying to stay out of trouble in areas of the garage that we shouldn't be in. I was hooked.
The legend of the Indianapolis 500 grew for me when I turned 14 and ventured out and starting camping for the race the night before in the Coke lot. It started out as my dad, myself and my friend Shawn Daugherty. After a few years, my dad couldn't go anymore due to my brother's bday/sporting events so it was myself and Shawn and then grew into more friends coming and more and more over the years. I can say......after last year's Coke lot experience...I have graduated from the Coke lot and will not be camping their anymore. haha From the fireworks, car alarms, drunks singing in the night, to random people walking through your camp, to fights you hear from your tent in the middle of the night....it's a wild crowd. Walking Georgetown Rd. and the coke lot at night is like Bourbon Street on steroids. I've seen the legend "Tee Box" walk through Coke lot in pitch dark drunk and make it back to camp only to sleep in his truck front seat while have a tent and air mattress. There have been epic beer pong and corn hole games as well as even mowing the grass down when arriving at camp. I've seen couches and port-o-potty's set on fire and even unmentionable things happen in the Coke lot...or Vegas...not sure which it was at one point.
Race day itself is like Christmas morning for me. When the bomb goes off at 6am, I was always the first one to get up and start packing up camp and getting ready. It was first come, first serve in the turn 3 viewing mounds and we ALWAYS had to have the best spot. After dragging a backpack and a large cooler that can't roll through the grass and a 2 mile walk to the track, we finally enter the holy gates known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After getting to the viewing mounds...its the annual walk to the Pagoda and Gasoline Alley. After watching for drivers and buying a program and running into the occasional excise officer (Shawn remember when they thought we were 18 yet we were 27 yrs old). Seeing "Wolfman" who rides his tri-cycle around Gasoline Alley and sells morning newspapers. After some years, we finally approached and got to meet "Wolfman" and he was awesome to talk to. By the time its a hour and a half before the race, it's time to get back to the seats and start making the lottery pool for the race and cracking open beers and lather up in tanning oil. There have been several sun burns over the years I've had from the race and all were worth every second of it.
Pre-race festivities are always great and with Florence Henderson singing and Jim Nabors belting out "Back Home Again in Indiana" with the release of the balloons and flyover.......if you don't have goosebumps, you are not human. I will always remember during the national anthem a true American Shawn Daugherty yelling at everyone around him if you are not standing for the anthem. Once the green flag waves....its time for fun with friends and drinking in the sun ! Ive been lucky enough to have a few crashes happen in front of us in turn 3 and was able to be there for some monumental wins for Helio, Wheldon, Dixon, and Montoya. Leaving the race afterwards is like a mouse in a maze of drunk, disorderly people. I've had coolers like out my legs and coolers break on the way back to the vehicle. It's a race itself to get back, load up and get the hell home to shower, relax and get back to reality.
Unfortunately, I will not be attending this year's race itself but will be there for a practice day to keep the streak of at least being at the track active. With it being the 100th race, I will be busy all weekend at work serving those who may be going for the first time and giving them stories and recommendations for the weekend. I'm not upset that I'm not going this year because it will be busy, tight and not much room to walk and move due to the record sellout numbers they are projecting. I will be happy to work and then go home, grill out and watch the replay of the race that night.
I will have a blog next week with my predictions on who's going to win and the nostalgia of the 100th running.
Let me know some of your crazy stories you have experienced and what's your favorite part of being at the track ?
Ladies and Gentlemen........Start Your Engines.
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