The 96th Indianapolis 500
May
29, 2012
Dario Franchitti
The
96th Indianapolis 500
This
year marks a special anniversary for me at the Indianapolis 500, it was my 40th
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!
posted by Michael and Kathy @ 2:16 PM
0 comments
