Vibrating with Excitement...

OK kiddos, we are scant days away from departure to Indy for the most glorious day on an Indycar fan's calendar (No, not the mid-winter's magazine release of a scantily clad Danica in Florida), it's time for the Indy 500 y'all!

As a primer, I was fortunate to have some business connections that allowed me access this past Friday (Fast Friday II), to the stables of Andretti Green Racing. Yes, yes, you may kiss my freshly Sharpie'd Tony Kanaan autograph. In the hospitality suite, in the garages, and in the pits. And when I say 'in', I mean IN, like in the garage, standing by the tool cribs while they're working on Danica's and Tony's and Marco's and Hideki's cars, and IN the pits like walking up to the pit wall to take pics of cars. The only place we weren't allowed to go was the Pagoda Control Tower or beyond the pit wall.

Awesome.

For a kid whose longtime fascination with all things Indy 500, this was incredibly satisfying. A gorgeous sunny mid-70s May day gave me some much needed color and primed the juices for the Indy trip. I will now share some pics with you from this trip as well as a visual prediction of my Top 3 race finishers:

View from Hospitality Suites








#1 Indy Fan in Gasoline Alley











In Danica's Garage (standing around not getting an autograph)...









My Pick for 3rd Place Finisher (the Dark Horse - pun intended)









My Pick for 2nd Place Finisher











Me beside my pick for 2009 Indy 500 Winner (and my new bestest pal...)











Expect this will be my last post until after the race. Much to do in the coming days and I can't stop vibrating with anticipation for the extended weekend... I leave you now with a thought, a poem...

"With humility, we'll honor the fallen ones
With vigor and abandon, pursue mirth.
For on raceday, we join, united as one,
For the Greatest Spectacle on Earth."

May The Power be with you this weekend and forever... Amen.

Dummies' Guide to the Indy 500

That once a year phenomenon is upon us! In addition to the very easy and clear rules set forth by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway found here, here are my tips to survive and thrive in Indy next weekend:

Camping/Thronging- If you’re camping around the track, or thronging along Georgetown on Saturday night, it WILL be noisy until 3:30am, dirty or very likely muddy with all manner of fluids, crowded, and any portocans within a 1 mile perimeter will be demand the utmost courage to use. If this isn't your scene or can't stomach the potential for people-watching (like 'waiting for the trainwreck'-type watching) that this has, don't bother.

Gear Selection- Standard issue would have you prepared for any weather from bright sun to pouring rain and any temps from 40 to 90 degrees. One crucial item is all too often overlooked however is the cooler. Until the UN demands an immediate halt to styrofoam cooler manufacturing worldwide, there will be two shirtless clowns toting a beer in one hand while sharing the load of an overloaded styro cooler with the other. Without fail, said cooler will break amidst the eager throngs walking on a crowded sidewalk to the track on raceday. Attempting this fool’s feat risks public humiliation, or worse, losing all of your beer before the race.

Eating- Under no circumstance, no matter how hungry, drunk, silly, or tough you think you may be, I advise VERY strongly against eating the Giant Turkey Leg. Trust me, personal reference on this one.

Race Watching- There will be ALL manner of people (some who appear to be circus folk, in some cases) in multitudinous amounts - everywhere. Understand that you WILL have someone annoying, obnoxious, hairy, sweaty, or any combination thereof sitting near you. If not, consider yourself lucky. Also count yourself lucky if the women’s breasts you see don’t remind you of the long-term effects of a sedentary lifestyle, a history of breastfeeding, or gravity.

Exiting- The worst of all traffic won't be found trying to get into the Speedway, but out from after the race. Be patient. Relax, because you're not going anywhere for a few hours anyhow. Spend a while in the stands after the race. Watch the winner go by in the pace car. Get some pictures of the Greatest Racecourse in the World. Get some pictures of that obnoxious guy near you that passed out and is sunburned beyond belief.

PS - Remember to enjoy yourself and that 350,000 others are trying to do the same. It's a big day, but one to remember always.

PPS Damn, I love Indy. It’s a beautiful thing.

Stuff those half my age don't know about.

I made an off-handed post similar to this once on Facebook and for some reason, and due to a recent special event (an 80s Prom at our local watering hole), I thought of it again for this blog.

A 21 year old's Compendium of Mysterious Terms...
Betamax, Intellivision, Leaded or Unleaded?, That's bogue", Commodore 64, Watergate, Love Canal, 3 Mile Island, "You Meathead!", Sea Monkeys, Pet Rock, Datsun, NOW, ERA, 'Ludes, Going to Betty Ford, Match Game, Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge, Ayatollah Khomeni, Khadafi, Sadat and Begin, AMC Gremlin, Rhodesia, Idi Amin, Billy Beer, Pele, Jonestown, Braniff, The Falklands,

annnnd there were only 4 channels on TV.

Dear 21-year-olds, please try to imagine a time when the things listed following were rare or didn't exist when I was your age: internet access, mobile phones, DVDs, CDs, portable computers, phones without cords, personal computers, cable TV, satellite TV or radio, and (gasp) credit cards.

I'd love to see the same list done for someone who is 84 or 63 to a 42 year old... I could probably do it with the help of the innernet and wikipedia... God bless the Innernet.

Greens, Yellows, and Reds for Indy Quals - Days 1 and 2

'Greens' (thumbs up), 'Yellows' - (thumbs sideways), and 'Reds' - (thumbs down) for the following events of note from Indy 500 qualifying - Days 1 and 2...

Firstly I must give a big, huge, Green Flag to Alex "Pink" Lloyd for not only his unabashed embracing of his sponsor's glowing pinkness (cue: 'Money' by Pink Floyd), but also his cannonball-cojones-run on Pole day that got him into the first 11. Nice job. I am even more impressed by his professionalism during his interviews, specifically with Jack Arute's odd (homophobic?) need to have him strike a manly pose in an effort to offset the femininity of the pinkness. I would certainly would like to see Alex in more races this season. Nothing but best of luck to you, Mr. Lloyd.

Speaking of TV coverage, another big Green flag to Versus and the crew working the qualifying weekend. Salient insight during the runs, terrific background on technical aspects, and awesome pit and garage coverage. I've been watching Indycar on TV for decades and this was the best I've seen. I learned more this weekend (thanks to the great work by Messrs Buhl and Beekhuis) about the technical parts through features and analysis than I have in a looong time. FINALLY the production and booth people appear to understand that we appreciate the finer and more technical details we've never seen before. We, the longtime fans (for whom I imagine Versus is attempting to cater to), all easily understand 'understeer' and 'downforce' and 'drafting' and 'rev limiters'. We finally get the more elaborate info we've craved for years and also the great insight by Mears, Mario, and Parnelli was delightful to this Indy fan. An example was Mario stating the worst winds for qualifying and why they effect the cars so adversely. I'd never heard that Turn 2 was notoriously a 'push' corner ever before. Love this stuff Versus, keep it coming!

A Green flag for Indycar's tech inspection crews. Keeping the letter of the law makes for a most even playing field, but also the manner with which it was done. As was noted on Versus, the great Tom Binford held as policy years ago the desire to help crews to comply rather than just be a penalization force. To me this is the proper way to enforce the rules. Good jobs also to; the Safety Crews who ably aid the drivers after a crash and clean up the track after messes, the Indycar Competition Director (Barnhart) for his efficient and fair play manner he uses in running the show, especially in the matter of Scott Sharp's run at the gun on Sunday and HVM as well for their fair play attitude. Big waving Greens all around.

Big Green Flag to Graham Rahal for his terrific miss of the wrecked and spinning John Andretti. I believe you couldn't pick a better line given the circumstances and the relative minimal damage to his #06 car is testament to his amazing vision and reaction. Ah, to be 20 years old again.

Yellows for John Andretti, Robert Doornbos, Alex Tagliani, and Mike Conway, for having the misfortune of not making the field on the first weekend mainly due to crashing the equipment. Pushing it to the limits is what has to happen during Indy quals and invariably some don't survive unscathed. I hope these respective programs will be able to mount up again next weekend as I consider all these drivers and teams Indy 500 quality.

Yellows to D&R Racing. I am rooting for these guys. They have four entries, one in the show, two wrecked machines, two drivers whose driving status is currently unknown due to injuries, and one car that is lacking speed to make the final cutoff at 33. Odds might state that one of the four wouldn't make the show. Now it's looking like only one will. I hope this won't be the case.

Green Flag to the qualifying format. Tension throughout all camps seemed more pronounced both days thus far and, with Versus' great coverage, I found it hard to turn away from the dramatic stories unfolding.

No Red Flags to date and I hope there won't be. Good stuff thus far...

Indy Magic 33 Ball - May 10th Edition

Big weekend of qualifying with Helio and Briscoe of Penske 1-2, Franchitti of Target/Ganassi fills out the front row. Alex "Pink" Lloyd bumped in the first 11 and Scott Sharp's Panther Patron car, scrambled through the tech inspection line before the gun sounded the end of Sunday's attempts, bumped into the 22nd slot yesterday.

Townsend Bell is the newest Indy 500 entry, but his ride is with KV Racing and not with Vision as I'd guessed (half point). Rumor is that one or two more announcements may coming this week... stay tuned.

Predictions are so-so and after the qualifying of Day 1 and 2, I'll shorten the list to the entries that are not yet qualified with my predictions for qualifiers in bold. Indycar.com has a complete and current rundown of the qualified cars

INDY 500 ENTRY LIST: DRIVER TALLY = 33, TBA ENTRIES = 7, QUALIFIED = 22.
Entry# Team - Driver
#8/8t KV - tba (Townsend Bell, 5/8)
#13 - HVM - EJ Viso (13t to HVM #31, 4/27)
#17/17t RLR - tba
#19/19t Coyne - tba
#21/21t Vision - Ryan Hunter-Reay
#22/22t Vision/Herta - tba
#23/23t Dreyer/Reinbold - tba (Milka Duno, 4/22)
#24/24t Dreyer/Reinbold - Mike Conway
#25/25t Roth - tba
#34/34t Conquest - tba (Alex Tagliani, 5/4)
#36/36t Conquest - tba
#43/43t Dreyer/Reinbold/Petty - John Andretti
#48/48t Foyt - tba
#52/52t Roth - tba
#68 Fisher - tba
#91 Hemelgarn - tba (Buddy Lazier, 4/27)
#98/98t Curb/Agajanian/3G - Stanton Barrett
#00 HVM - (Nelson Phillipe, 4/27, from #13t)
#06/06t NHLR - Robert Doornbos

Highly Likely Group:
(confirmed 4-22-09 - #23/23t Dreyer and Reinbold - There's an experienced engineer already listed for this entry with no driver. My guess = Milka Duno or Buddy Rice.)
#22/22t Vision - We're just short of the magic 33 and I'm sure if we're within one or two drivers, this will be filled. My Guess = Townsend Bell or Tomas Scheckter. Vision and Bryan Herta announced that this entry will not be participating in this year's Indy 500.
(confirmed 5-4-09 - #34/34t Conquest - They're showing nobody in a seat yet, but they're surely not totally missing the biggest race of the year. My guess = Alex Tagliani

~~~~~BUMP LINE~~~~~

Likely Group, below bump line:
(confirmed 4-27-09 - #91 Hemelgarn - Ol' Ron will try it one more time with Buddy Lazier, but the magic won't be there as it was last year.)
#19/19t Dale Coyne - There are a group of very good and Indy-experienced drivers around during May and if all goes to plan with Wilson (no damaged chassis for the main entry or backup), this car will get a Sonny's BBQ sponsorship on Bump Day and make into the last two rows of the field. My guess = Roger Yasukawa.
#36/36t Conquest - See previous, fill-in-the-blank sponsor. My guess = Max Papis.
#25/25t Roth - Guy has 4 chassis just sitting around? He loves this race and will try to run if he can get some sponsors. If not, I still doubt he'll let them all sit idle. My guess = Marty Roth.

Unlikely Group:
#8/8t KV Racing - Maybe, if some big money falls out of the sky and lands in Vasser's lap. (confirmed 5-8, Herbalife with Townsend Bell for 2nd week program)
#17/17t Rahal Letterman - How long will this go on? The 1986 winner and the Indy native are owners with no money to race Indy? This reminds me of 1993 when Rahal got bumped with a weak Honda oops, Judd motor.
#48/48t Foyt - Only if a Luyendyk is on the bubble or there are 32 cars in the field on Bump Day. My guess = Jeff Simmons.

Very Unlikely Group:
#52/52t Roth - Nah. No chance.
#68 Fisher - This is an insurance entry only. Only a worst-case, last-ditch scenario for Sarah will see this chassis out of the garage.

My assumptions are that all of the 28 original entries will make the field. One caveat may be that Stanton Barrett won't make the field, bumped by the next one below cut line. Also, if Alex Lloyd can't keep his lone chassis off the wall for the entire month, he too may fail to qualify.

Pole Speed 228.165 (actual = 224.864)
Bump Speed 219.855

Rest In Peace Uncle Louie

A funeral is on my schedule for today.

My uncle, who meant a great deal to his family and friends, died this past Monday morning peacefully in his sleep after an illness of several months that gradually weakened him. He had just celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife Vivian on Friday the 1st of May.

I knew my Uncle Louie as a warm, kind, and loving uncle whose time spent with his family and friends was always filled with laughter and easy company. For many years he owned and operated a nice little Schwinn bicycle store for which I was the lucky groundbreaker and my family's construction company built. That great place from my childhood was always called 'the bike shop'. I hold great memories (sights, smells, feelings) of the bike shop and also their home on 8th Street which hosted many terrific family gatherings. I remember his laugh and smile. I will certainly miss him, his voice, his twinkling eyes, his humor, his manner.

The connection with my family and past he represents is nearly unparalleled for me. He and Aunt Viv always made sure that their childrens', nieces' and nephews' childhood was filled with joy. For this I am eternally grateful.

The way I can honor him best is really the only way and that is by striving to be as warm, kind, gentle, and loving as he. I don't think it is nearly as easy as it sounds because I know few who could compare. If it is hard, he sure made it look easy and that's why he will certainly will be missed.

Indy's Magic 33 Ball - May 4 Edition

OK, now it's getting scary. I'm right again and, just so you know, me being right three times in a row about anything borders on 'end of days' type stuff. Although, if you chronologically insert my pick for the Kentucky Derby from Saturday, I've already broken the string.

Back to my regurgitated Indy 500 Entry List to further display my Raymond Babbit-like intuition:

INDY 500 ENTRY LIST: DRIVER TALLY = 32, TBA ENTRIES = 9
Entry# Team - Driver
#2/2t Luczo Dragon - Raphael Matos
#3/3t Penske - Helio Castroneves
#4/4t Panther - Dan Wheldon
#5/5t KV - Mario Moraes
#6/6t Penske - Ryan Briscoe
#7/7t AGR - Danica Patrick
#8/8t KV - tba
#9/9t TCGR - Scott Dixon
#10/10t TCGR - Dario Franchitti
#11/11t AGR - Tony Kanaan
#12/12t Penske - Will Power
#13 - HVM - EJ Viso (13t to HVM #31, 4/27)
#14/14t Foyt - Vitor Meira
#15/15t KV - Paul Tracy
#16/16t Panther - Scott Sharp
#17/17t RLR - tba
#18/18t Coyne - Justin Wilson
#19/19t Coyne - tba
#20/20t Vision - Ed Carpenter
#21/21t Vision - Ryan Hunter-Reay
#22/22t Vision/Herta - tba
#23/23t Dreyer/Reinbold - tba (Milka Duno, 4/22)
#24/24t Dreyer/Reinbold - Mike Conway
#25/25t Roth - tba
#26/26t AGR - Marco Andretti
#27/27t AGR - Hideki Mutoh
#34/34t Conquest - tba (Alex Tagliani, 5/4)
#36/36t Conquest - tba
#41/41t Foyt - AJ Foyt IV
#43/43t Dreyer/Reinbold/Petty - John Andretti
#44/44t Dreyer/Reinbold/Kingdom - Davey Hamilton
#48/48t Foyt - tba
#52/52t Roth - tba
#67/67t Fisher - Sarah Fisher
#68 Fisher - tba
#91 Hemelgarn - tba (Buddy Lazier, 4/27)
#98/98t Curb/Agajanian/3G - Stanton Barrett
#99 Sam Schmidt/TCGR - Alex Lloyd
#00 HVM - (Nelson Phillipe, 4/27, from #13t)
#02/02t NHLR - Graham Rahal
#06/06t NHLR - Robert Doornbos

Highly Likely Group:
(confirmed 4-22-09 - #23/23t Dreyer and Reinbold - There's an experienced engineer already listed for this entry with no driver. My guess = Milka Duno or Buddy Rice.)
#22/22t Vision - We're just short of the magic 33 and I'm sure if we're within one or two drivers, this will be filled. My Guess = Townsend Bell or Tomas Scheckter
(confirmed 5-4-09 - #34/34t Conquest - They're showing nobody in a seat yet, but they're surely not totally missing the biggest race of the year. My guess = Alex Tagliani

~~~~~BUMP LINE~~~~~

Likely Group, below bump line:
(confirmed 4-27-09 - #91 Hemelgarn - Ol' Ron will try it one more time with Buddy Lazier, but the magic won't be there as it was last year.)
#19/19t Dale Coyne - There are a group of very good and Indy-experienced drivers around during May and if all goes to plan with Wilson (no damaged chassis for the main entry or backup), this car will get a Sonny's BBQ sponsorship on Bump Day and make into the last two rows of the field. My guess = Roger Yasukawa.
#36/36t Conquest - See previous, fill-in-the-blank sponsor. My guess = Max Papis.
#25/25t Roth - Guy has 4 chassis just sitting around? He loves this race and will try to run if he can get some sponsors. If not, I still doubt he'll let them all sit idle. My guess = Marty Roth.

Unlikely Group:
#8/8t KV Racing - Maybe, if some big money falls out of the sky and lands in Vasser's lap.
#17/17t Rahal Letterman - How long will this go on? The 1986 winner and the Indy native are owners with no money to race Indy? This reminds me of 1993 when Rahal got bumped with a weak Honda oops, Judd motor.
#48/48t Foyt - Only if a Luyendyk is on the bubble or there are 32 cars in the field on Bump Day. My guess = Jeff Simmons.

Very Unlikely Group:
#52/52t Roth - Nah. No chance.
#68 Fisher - This is an insurance entry only. Only a worst-case, last-ditch scenario for Sarah will see this chassis out of the garage.

My assumptions are that all of the 28 original entries will make the field. One caveat may be that Stanton Barrett won't make the field, bumped by the next one below cut line. Also, if Alex Lloyd can't keep his lone chassis off the wall for the entire month, he too may fail to qualify.

Pole Speed 228.165
Bump Speed 219.855