“Ladies & Gentlemen, Start your engines!” So the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500- the most famous “go fast turn left” race in the world is part of history.
There are times when I don’t like to admit it but I am a Hoosier, my family actually has been in Indiana pretty much since statehood. I was born here and those “impressionable years” lived here. I remember going to qualifications or practice at the Speedway as a kindergartener.
When I returned to Indiana to go to college the month of May was different than it is now. It seemed that on May 1st the state flag was taken down and every building flew a checkered flag. War? Murder? Terrorism? Those stories were minor compared to the day’s report from the track. Every night there was a special report that preempted whatever the network had planned. Over the years the emphasis on the race faded for a while, but the folks at the Motor Speedway have started to reclaim the month. With the Grand Prix of Indianapolis starting the month, the Mini- Marathon, and the 500 ending the month, Indy is back to being the racing capital of the world.
A little known fact for those who don’t live in Indianapolis, the race is not broadcast live on TV here. Residents have to wait until the evening to watch it. Why? Because you should be at the track watching it, and then you go home and see what you missed on TV. They talk about traditions, and for years the tradition was to listen to the race on the radio, while you mowed the lawn, or washed your car, or got the barbecue ready. Thanks to the Internet it has changed a bit. So how do I watch the 500? I listen to the play-by-play on the radio, and through the streaming in car cameras… SO I see the race through the cameras mounted on 4 different cars. Thanks go to a former student of mine whose brother works for one of the race teams. I didn’t need a secret password- but it was nice to know that it is possible, and pretty cool especially the pit stops. Not all drivers have streaming cameras, but enough to make it interesting. I even switched to one camera after a yellow was called, I was able to see the clean up crew cart the car away. After a couple sunburned race days, I’m thinking this way works best, although with my family history, I may need to try to show up in person for the centennial running.
Who was I watching? Dixon, Kanaan, Castroneves, and Andretti for most of the race, and Carpenter when the yellow flag came out at lap 118. I should have counted the number of laps Kanaan’s camera was focused on just him, and not his view… Who was I cheering for? @PippaMann She’s one of the great instructors at
Miles Ahead, and a really nice person, it was nice to see her finish safely.
As for today’s MINIon- I actually drew and colored most of it this in the morning, but left the racing suit blank until I knew who had won.
So over Memorial Day I drove out (for the first time) to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Pat. Understand that I I used to teach (actually founded) a school focused on aerospace education, I was raised by a man who not only loved aircraft but loved the military… I have seen every John Wayne war movie made (except the one he played Genghis Khan). I’ve been to airshows since I was a kid. Poor Sue had to deal with me geeking out looking at the aircraft on display and knowing what most of them were without looking at the signage… yes, another area of geekiness. My favorite- The Curtis P-40 flown by the “Flying Tigers.” But then again, seeing the kites flown in WWI just amazes me.
What I thought was funny was once WWII was over, I really wasn’t as much of a geek. I knew the major players in Korea, Vietnam, and beyond, but my passion was WWI and WWII when airplanes were in their infancy. I blame Charles Schultz.
