Race Day

May 28, 2007



Indy winner Dario Franchitti & wife Ashley Judd

Race Day

Race Day in Indianapolis began with a massive rainstorm, it rained so much that we almost got caught out by delaying departure to the track too long. Luckily due to local knowledge, we were able to zip out to the speedway and park just north of the track and miss the traffic caused by some 350,000 spectators. The rain stopped and track officials did a masterful job in drying the track for an on-time start at 1:00 PM.

Kathy & I brought along as guests our nephew, Jerome Noel and his cousin Jack Noel. Despite growing up in Indianapolis, neither had been to an Indy 500 before. They seemed to have an excellent time despite the weather. Our seats were high up in the North East Vista, which is located in turn 3 and offers a spectacular view down the back stretch and through turns 3 and 4. Prior to the race, I headed over into the infield where I was able to check out a little of the pre-race concert by American Idol also-ran Daughtry. He was actually not too bad, though I much prefer the traditional pre-race activities. Sadly Jim Nabors was ill and we missed his singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana”, they had the crowd sing it, but it just wasn’t the same.

Daughtry

The race began and was going along great, there was tons of exciting passing and the competition was great. Our seats were awesome and we saw all sorts of exciting wheel to wheel action. The weather was threatening and I was worried it might not make it to half way, but thankfully they did. On lap 113, the first deluge hit. The drenching rain stopped the action and it seemed that Tony Kanaan had won over Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick. There seemed to be no way to dry the track and resume and we came close to leaving. We headed to the car, where we actually sat in the car napping for 2 hours while the track dried. Amazingly the track dried and we were back in our sets when the race resumed.

It was great racing again and some 50 laps later, with the weather threatening again, the leaders pitted for fuel. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon opted to stay out and when the yellow came out for Marco Andretti’s spectacular flipping accident, which happened in front of us, Franchitti and Dixon were 1st and 2nd when the rains returned. This time is was too much to be able to dry the track again and Franchitti was declared the winner. It was really an exciting and interesting race and I was thrilled that Dario won. My buddy Jason worked for years for Dario and thinks the world of him. It was a satisfying if damp day at the race.

Jason with Dario & Borg Warner trophy

Indy

May 27, 2007



McSteamy

McDreamy

Crawfish

Indy

The Saturday prior to the Indy 500 offers a myriad of events and activities to choose from and we decided to do it up this year and attend a nice selection of race-related events. We started off early, bringing along our nephew, Will Noel and heading to the Indiana State Fairgrounds to attend the Indy 500 Collector’s Memorabilia Show.



Gene Simmons

The Memorabilia show is a huge flea market of all sorts of items related to the Indy 500, from die-cast cars to pins, hats, tickets, programs, photos and so on, all the way up to team gear and pieces of actual Indy cars. It’s a pretty interesting assortment and we made our way thought the exhibitors tables. We even got a meet and greet with 1983 Indy 500 champion Tom Sneva who was making an appearance at the show.

Will & Kathy at Memorablia Show



Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels


Ludicrous

After the show and despite the threat of rain, we made our way downtown to see the 500 Festival Parade. The Parade is a big deal and features all the drivers from the race as well as all sorts of floats, marching bands and celebrities. Kathy was excited because both McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane) from her favorite show Grey’s Anatomy were there. Other celebrities included Peyton Manning, Apollo Anton Ohno, Ludicrous, Florence Henderson, Ray Liotta, Gene Simmons, John Oates (of Hall & Oates), Richard Petty, Greg Oden & Michael Conley, Candice Michelle, Ashley Judd and David Letterman. Al of the celebs and more would be in attendance at the race on Sunday as well.

Ray Liotta

Apollo Anton Ohno

John Oates

The rain held off and the parade was a great success, it was the first one I had been to in years and was really enjoyable. Over 100,000 people line the streets to watch and it is broadcast nationwide on ESPN. After the parade, and a brief rest, we were off to one of our favorite annual events, the Crawfish Boil and Calcutta at the home of our friends Rick & Becky Henss. Kathy especially enjoys the crawfish and this year they even threw in some shrimp in the boil. It is a great time and an excellent opportunity to catch up with many of our friends. Kevin Mattalucci once again brought a keg of microbrew from the Broad Ripple Brew Pub and Ted Miller matched the offering with a keg from Brugge Brasserie. Great food, beer and friends complete with the Calcutta to top it off. This year, I got Dan Wheldon, so I was feeling pretty good about my chances.

Kevin & Adrienne check out crawfish

John, Michael & Tim

Carb Day

May 26, 2007

Kathy & Sarah Fisher


Carb Day



Kathy & I have once again made our annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to Indianapolis to attend the Indy 500 and all the various events and parties that accompany the race. This year marks my 35th consecutive year of attending the race. We stayed at my sister Michele’s house again. It certainly is one of my favorite things to do with all that it entails. One of the annual events that we always try to see is the final practice session for all the qualified cars, known as carburetion day, even though Indy Cars do not happen to have carburetors.

Michele & Kathy


Held the final Friday before the race, carb day has turned into a huge party. Upwards of 100,000 people showed up under beautiful sunny skies this year for the day which included the final practice for the Indy Cars, the Freedom 100 race for the Indy Pro series 9 which is the minor league for Indy Cars, the annual pit-stop competition and a concert by Kid Rock.
As much as I enjoy the Indy 500, Carb Day has grown into a huge drunken party, almost like the old snake pit days of the 60s and 70s. We met up with a number of friends, including Matt Elliott, Kevin Love, Mark Wolfe and Pat Davis. Many of the members of our Calcutta syndicate, the Fisher Farts, were there as well, obviously scouting out drivers to bid on in the annual race party Calcutta that was held Friday evening.



Pat, John & Mark


Kathy



Despite the masses, we had a pretty good time. We stayed through the IndyPro race which was won by Alex Lloyd and the pit stop competition (won by Helio Castroneves) but took off just as the Kid Rock concert was getting underway. It was so incredibly packed, we could not have got close enough to see much anyway.

The Fisher Farts


Friday night, the Calcutta was held again, actually there were two Calcuttas held at the same place. Ours was the smaller and more affordable and the Fisher Farts were able to get row 10 and Scott Sharp. This year the pot ballooned to over $61,000. We are getting into high roller territory. The second, larger party included live music from a local band called the Yaggis which to my surprise featured a guy I know, Brad Elson as lead singer. It was a cool surprise, as was learning that Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning made an appearance at the party. After the party, Kathy & I made a quick stop to check out the new homes of our friends John Cornwell and Dan Kurker. They each have purchased and fixed up starter homes in Indianapolis and it was great to see what they have accomplished.

Peyton Manning



The Yaggis

Nate, Dan & John