The 96th Indianapolis 500

May 29, 2012

Dario Franchitti

The 96^th Indianapolis 500

This year marks a special anniversary for me at the Indianapolis 500, it was my 40^th consecutive year that I have attended the race in person. The first year I attended the actual race was in 1973, probably remembered as one of the worst races in the history of the race. In fact it took three days to actually get the race completed, and even then it was a tragic, rain-shortened event in which Gordon Johncock was declared the winner. There was a spectacular crash at the start and another later that claimed the life of driver Swede Savage, but my young self was hooked and I have been back every year since. 

It has become such a tradition for myself and most of my friends that I could not ever imagine not attending and taking part in what have become our own traditions. One of my favorite annual traditions is the relatively new annual Crawfish Boil and Calcutta held the Saturday afternoon and evening prior to the race. Organized by my friends Rick &Becky, the boil has become a gathering place for many of my oldest and dearest friends and their families as well as a terrific neighborhood picnic and gathering in the old neighborhood where I grew up.

Ted, Tim & Noah

This year was no different as Kathy & I took our friend Dakota, who was in town for her first ever Indy 500 and my nephew Chris along to the party as well as to the race on Sunday. The party brought out a lot of my closest friends and it was so awesome to get to spend some quality time catching up, munching tasty crawfish and drinking the usual beer provided by my friends at Brugge and the Broad Ripple Brew Pub.

Rick, Chris & Dakota

Melissa, Amanda, John & Ed

Eli & Kelly

The Calcutta portion of the evening did not go so well, unfortunately the beer flowed a little too freely and it seemingly took forever to get things going that I eventually gave up in frustration waiting for the driver I wanted and settled for Justin Wilson, not a terrible selection, but not what I was hoping for. We were getting an early start on race day and I had no desire to spend half the night waiting for the Calcutta to conclude.

Dakota & Kathy

John & Kathy

Chris

We did get an early start and using the back ways that experienced race fans know, were able to completely miss traffic and park just north of the Speedway. We took the tram in to the garage area and having only two of the coveted race day access badges, took turns touring the garage area and pits. Eventually Chris and Kathy headed for our seats high in turn three and Dakota & I used the race day grid access to hang out on the track as they pushed the cars on to the grid. I can recall sitting with my father in our tower terrace seats back in 1973 taking photos as they pushed the cars onto the grid and now here I was forty years later standing on the track as they continued that tradition, along with someone to who this was all new and exciting. It was a very cool and special experience. 

Chris

Helio Castroneves

Jason & Derek Hough

We made our way around the grid then found a spot to watch the pre-race festivities right where the drivers and celebrities came out from the pagoda. We stayed there as long as possible, leaving just enough time to make it to the seats to join Kathy & Chris just as the traditional pre-race ceremony began. The Speedway is a place of timeless tradition and they follow it to the letter in a moving and somber Memorial Day tradition that at once honors the fallen and celebrates the moment, there is nothing like it in sports.

Dakota

The weather was brutally hot, close to the hottest Indy 500 on record and the 350,000 people in seats and huge infield crowd jamming to DJ Benny Benassi in the Snake Pit were broiling in the heat. We were lucky to be high in the stands where we had a strong wind hitting us straight in the face that kept it tolerable. 

Benny Benassi

Dakota

The race itself was fantastic, one of the best from start to finish ever. There was a record number of passes for the lead and the new cars performed great with tight racing and a lot of excitement. No injuries in the few crashes was great too and the last fifteen laps were as exciting as you could hope for, with numerous lead changes and the outcome literally not decided until the final lap, when Takuma Sato crashed out while making a brave, but ultimately costly bid for the lead as he attempted to pass Dario Franchitti. 

It was exciting and a very happy result, especially for my good friend Jason, who like me has been a race fan most of his life and has worked in the sport most of his adult life. His dream was realized as he was finally a member of the team that captured the victory and he was able to celebrate in Victory Lane after all this time. I could not be happier for him and for the entire Chip Ganassi team which had a 1-2 finish with Franchitti winning and Scott Dixon in second. Tony Kanaan finished third.

Forty years at the Indy 500 and hopefully many more to come. Thanks to all my friends and family who had spent time with me at the track over the years, from those who have countless trips to those who I may have dragged there once, to those friends like Matty who are no longer around but whose heart will be with me each time I go. It has been an incredible wonderful, fun, heart-breaking at times, but ultimately rewarding journey, one that will hopefully continue for years to come. I also want to thank my father, for taking me to that first race back in 1973 and many, many more over the years. No matter what problems or differences we ever had, we could always find common ground at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I miss you.

Jason in Victory Lane!