An Open Letter to the Ownership and Executive Adminstration of Hulman and Company

Dear Board of Directors - Hulman and Company:

As a native Hoosier and lifetime Indy 500 fan (primarily and Indycar Series supporter second despite them being close relatives), I track with great passion the sport's changes as how they may affect the Indy 500 first, and the remainder of the sport next. Mr. Tony George's resignation from the board is the final shovel of "not good" that has tipped the scales for me from optimist to pessimist regarding the future of IMS and the Indy 500.

This recent bit of news is troubling to me, because I am optimistic by nature, but I now have an insurmountable fear that no one is left who has the passion, vision, and desire to carry it forward in a manner which allows it to not merely survive, but thrive. Surely, your privately-owned, family business must realize it has generations of a vast public who personally identify with (and in some cases even gave their life for) this event, it's history, and the grounds. The staggering popularity of The 500 and it's history certainly are evidence of that. I understand I own precisely 0.00% of the company's stock however I am mentally and emotionally invested in the place which is worth more than a little.

From this meager platform, I ask the board to please give us, loyal 'lifers' some sort of idea what the heck your plan is for this place.

It is yours in ownership.  It is also mine in heart and soul.  Understand me, your loyal fan, and do NOT toy with it.  What I bring to you shows up as positive numbers on your Balance Sheet if that is all you understand.

If you can understand the above, then understand these concerns:
- Who will be the passionate visionary to energize and elevate this place?
- Who among you is dedicated to the 500 to your very core?
- Who will be the talisman with tireless diligence to an entity whose value as a national treasure is far greater than the sum of its parts.
- Who is next?

You will note that I do not address the 'How' or 'What' is next, but 'Who' is next.  This is by far the most critical component in my opinion.

Who is next?

My concerns are growing, my patience wearing thin.

Instead of a lifetime of dedication from me (your most loyal fans), you must know that you have now relegated yourself to a year-by-year basis.

I strongly advise not screwing it up.

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.

Indy's Magic 33, con't

Shuffle up and deal.
As the game for qualifications at Indy tightens, so does the focus on the 'who, what, when, how...'

Entries will be shuffled and changed, and deals made almost daily in the run-up to Indy and I'll attempt to keep you abreast of the changes by modifying the original IMS entry list and part of my original post as reference (and also to score my predictions for those twists and turns to Indy driver seats). My predictions from the original entry post of April 20 are shown below and those that have come to fruition will be highlighted in bold italics.

INDY 500 ENTRY LIST: DRIVER TALLY = 31, TBA ENTRIES = 10
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
#31 HVM - Nelson Phillipe (confirmed 4-27, from #13t entry)
#34/34t Conquest - tba
#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
#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
#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 one of the few 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

Milka's Back! (as is her front, and the rest :)

Milka Duno, whom I'll describe as Venezuelan Indycar hotness (and also oft dubbed 'moving chicane'), has been inserted into the #23/23t Dreyer and Reinbold entry for the Kansas race and quite likely Indy 500. Not much of a surprise really, but I will accept a half-point for getting this one right in my previous predictions.

Milka is known off the track for her abbreviated past in sports-car racing, multiple Masters degrees including engineering, connections to CITGO - the Venezuelan government's oil company, and for her... uh, invitingly ample physical attributes which often make hetero-males quickly take notice. On the track, many would consider her under-qualified, useless eye-candy, and even dangerous to others' (ahem) equipment.

I can only let history judge at this point and I'd have to say that the numbers show that no matter the shape of the terrain (road or oval course), she's off the 'race pace' by a noticable margin. I cannot attribute this to lesser equipment or team as other drivers who've filled in on the road/street tracks in the #23 have been more competitive in the same chassis.

I understand that a significant part of this autosport business is entertainment, meaning only a part is racing in its purest form. I don't mind her being part of the Indycar equation because I don't subscribe to the illusion that any major form of autosport in the world today is more about the racing and less about the entertainment. The ALMS is far closer in my opinion than even Formula 1. I see the ALMS as the closest thing we have to racing laboratories that will actually be translated into modern passenger cars, but that is a subject (read - argument) for another time.

Milka's participation in Indycar can be boiled down into a binary decision as a 'Yes' because I believe that to date, her positives outweigh her negatives. Positives being; a personality that brings fans from sources that were not interested in Indycar before, a sexy facade that garners attention and conversation, a racing pedigree that creates conversation amongst longtime fans of Indycar, and the almighty sponsor dollar into a team and sport that can use every bit of cash it can. Her negatives; subpar racing skills, semi-present on-track 'influence' (see moving chicane) of racing product (although it can be argued quite well that she is no different than many, many other slower drivers of the past).

On the whole, I'd rather she be here than not. I assume her colleagues would disagree, and thus ever shall be the dichotomy between pure racing and racing as entertainment. As a fan and race-watcher, I'll settle for the current condition of racing as entertainment.


PS Based on some of the images found for this post (like the one seen above), I wonder if something like this Indycar styling may be closer to truth in advertising...

'til next time...

Indy's Magic 33 Ball

No, not Mattel's latest prognostication toy, but the annual gala racing event which highlights my year, The Indy 500. The Magic 33 refers to the number of drivers on the starting grid each year (save for a few oddities like 1911 through 1933, 1979, and 1997).

The timing of the 2009 entry list release was perfect yesterday as I could print it, take it with me to lunch, and pour over. To date there are 28 drivers listed with their chassis entries, and no less than 12 available entries to be filled with drivers for a minimum total of potential entries to 40. During my nice, quiet lunch, I did a quick rundown and here's my (purely speculative, somewhat informed) analysis of the open entries/seats which I break down into 4 groups; Highly Likely, Likely, Unlikely, Very Unlikely,

Highly Likely group brings total to 31.
#22/22t Vision - We're 5 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
#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
#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.

Likely group brings total to 35.
#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 entry, fill-in-the-blank with sponsor. My guess = Max Papis.
BUMP LINE
#25/25t Roth - Guy has 4 chassis just sitting around? He loves this race and will drive if he can. If not, I doubt he'll let them all sit idle. My guess = Marty Roth.
#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.

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

Can't wait to see how this all develops. It's not just the race for fans like myself, it's truly a month-long drama I enjoy every year and Bump Day will have it's share of drama.

Pole Speed 228.165
Bump Speed 219.855

3 words - In, dy, Car (or, unless you are a serious Indycar geek like me, please skip to next post)

OK peeps, springtime on this ol marble is looking much, much brighter for me.

IndyCar has mended its rift and more cars than I can remember will be on the grid this season driving what amounts to the fastest and most competitive formula in all of autoracing.

For all of you who are also race fans with me will say "I know", but stop for a minute and think about that.

Fastest AND Most Competitive.

Think about the last time you watched a car race, ANY car race, where:

• the cars can average over 225 mph on oval tracks,
• top-ending around 235 mph on straightaways,
• turn both left AND right,
• in highly-competitive and scary-close wheel-to-(open)wheel racing,
• with (likely) over 25 cars and world-class caliber drivers in most of them.
• and the cars looked sexy as hell.

I can't remember when that was. Even in the halcyon days of the early-90s when CART was peaking, the caliber of driver was there, but great divides in equipment quality meant that approximately 65% of those cars were also-rans with next to no hope of winning a single race, let alone even be within 5 laps of the leader at the end. That won't be the case now.

The quality of teams coming over to the IRL this year from ChampCar will raise the new pool average greatly. The league is increasing it's car count by nearly 75% and much of that will be race-winner-contending quality. That means in all likelihood a typical IndyCar race will now have around 16-20 cars on the lead lap at speeds that frighten the senses. Those of you who've been there, you know what I mean.

Traffic just got a lot heavier at many of the best American race tracks and, I for one, LOVE IT!