|
So, this was the deal. Pete and I had never been to the Indianapolis 500 or anywhere near Indiana, so how would we get on? The internal flight from Philadelphia was delayed for two hours because of heavy rainfall. This meant that when we arrived we were faced with a rainstorm, driving in the dark on the wrong side of the road to a hotel we knew not where. Smashing, just the way to start a normal holiday when you are teavelling with me! Pete navigated very well, bearing in mind the atrocious conditions, so we made it in reasonably good time and definitely accident free. Pete wanted to stay in the William Penn as he had stayed in one in Pittsburgh and I can understand why he wanted to stick with them. We certainly enjoyed our stay there. We were up early Friday straight to the race track so that we could get our bearings and work out a game plan for race day. The lady in the ticket office was very helpful and gave us a couple of freebies, a ticket to the driver's meeting the next day and a ticket for the garages after the race. Pete just wouldn't believe that it was my charm and charisma that gained us those tickets. We visited the very interesting museum that is situated in the middle of the racetrack and took the bus around the racetrack. You can see the last remaining part of the racetrack that is still made of bricks. On the Saturday we made it back early enough for the autograph session . What a neat idea, line the drivers up at tables in grid order and let the fans get their autographs. Pete went with front row to get the Brits and hence got the winner's, Buddy Rice. I went with Sam and was delighted to get a photo of his Penkse in practice that I had brought from the racetrack photo shop. I also met another of my favourites, Thomas Sheckter. We also went to the drivers' meeting and it was great to see James Garner joining in the fun. It was all well organised and worth watching. All part of the weekend's show. Sunday was race day and began early for a lot of fans. With rain forecast, it was difficult to judge what was the right time to leave for the track, but trust me, it was very early. I think we got to the track at about seven in the morning. Weather forecasts suggested the race start would be delayed and it was raining as we arrived. It was easy getting into the parking lot and that suggests most people were leaving it to later because of the rain. There were plenty of empty bottles and cans as evidence of the big party they have around the track the previous night. Only a few arrests! Racegoers make a real weekend of it and you can spot someone drinking around the track any time, night or day. Pete and I took it easy. Having taken in breakfast after parking up, we had a leisurely Sunday morning doing what most people do, reading the Sunday paper. We were also listening to a very entertaining radio station, "do not move your knob" was their slogan, but I don't remember the station sign. Their weather forecasts were very accurate and we guessed the race starting an hour late so we didn't take our seats until midday. A nice couple of glasses of Californian wine with our packed lunch went down a treat. And then the race. When I watched the recording after arriving home, the commentator mentions the feeling the fans had when those engines started. Believe me - he was right. Unbelievable. It was a great race, despite my man going out. The race was ended early because of rain and then the tornado warning! |
