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.
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