Carb Day

May 26, 2018

Kathy and Michael

The Last Row

Kathy, Greta, Tom Caitlin, Effie and Cale



Carb Day

Once the qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 was finished, I was on a plane back to Key West for a few days to get caught up on work and a few other personal items. Also I had to pick Kathy up as this was her year on. She only attends the Indy 500 with me every other year as she is not quite the fan that I am and while she does enjoy it when she attends, she also enjoys the off years. This year we invited our friends the Ford family to join us for the race as well and we had a big crew in Indianapolis for the weekend.

Caitlin

Effie and Caitlin

Cale

Our regular guests were unavailable this year as Dakota and Andy had their newborn daughter Sloane to look after and our friend Trevor had to attend his daughter’s first dance recital in Key West, both excellent reasons to skip the festivities in Indianapolis this year. Their absence opened the door for the Ford to make their first trip to Indianapolis and to the 500 ever.



Tom, Kathy and Greta

Kathy and I picked up Caitlin first, she arrived from Tampa where she is attending school at USF. We had a couple of hours before her sister Effie along with her boyfriend Cale arrived, so we went to eat breakfast at Milktooth in Fountain Square. Owned by my friend Jonathan Brooks, Milktooth was named one of the top ten restaurants in the US by “Bon Appetit” magazine in 2015 and is still the most buzzed about restaurant in Indianapolis.



We were back at the airport to gather Cale and Effie and then off to Twenty Tap for some welcome beers and lunch. It is always nice to get to Twenty Tap, which is the best beer bar in the City and is owned by our friends Tracy and Kevin. Kevin brews a damn fine beer and they always have an excellent selection of beer from around the region.

Jack Harvey

Cale and Effie

Jack Harvey and Lindy

Caitlin and Conor Daly

We all headed out to the Speedway for what has become another tradition for us, attending the last row party hosted by the Indianapolis Press Club and held in the Pagoda Suites high above the start/finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year the last row featured a former winner in Alexander Rossi, who got caught out with a problem in qualifying relegating him to 32^nd starting position. Jack Harvey (31^st) and Conor Daly (33^rd) rounded out the final row.

Kathy, Effie, Cale and Caitlin

Alexander Rossi, Cale and Effie



The party was once again catered by the famous Jug’s catering meaning we got served that wonderful Hoosier delicacy, Fried Biscuits with Apple butter. My friend Lindy Thackston once again served as the MC of the event handing out checks to the three drivers for 31, 32 and 33 cents respectively. The party was a great introduction to the Speedway for our friends. Unfortunately Greta and Tom Ford, who completed the Ford clan gathering, were unable to attend as their flight did not arrive until much later in the evening.

Lindy







That meant that their first taste of Indianapolis was bright and early Friday morning when we picked them up for the madness that is carb day. Traditionally the last official practice before the Indy 500, Carb Day is a bastion of drunken tradition all its own. I had secured 10 passes for all of us to hang out in my friend Brent’s Tower Terrace Suites and we arrived early so that we could tour the pits and garage area before the crowds got too intense.

Carl and Brent





Kathy, Debbie and Kevin

My friend Pat once again drove up from Evansville and our friends Kevin and Debbie were also part of our suite fun. The final practice went off without any problems and I think the Ford family appreciated being able to be in the pits while the cars were running. Carb Day also includes the Freedom 100, the Indy Lights race on the oval which we were able to watch from the comfort of the suite.

Kevin, Michael and Pat

Caitlin

Tom and Greta



Second generation driver Colton Herta (son of Bryan Herta) won a back and forth great race for the few Indy Lights cars that were entered, I think only eight started, but those eight put on a hell of a race with a ton of passing and action right down to the final lap.  The pit stop competition was somewhat bittersweet as James Hinchcliffe who had been bumped from the field rallied for a runner-up finish to Scott Dixon in the finals.







Effie

Once again we skipped the carb day concert, which this year featured Train and Blues Traveler, opting instead to take a tour of the IMS Museum and then head out for the evening to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama Carolla’s Italian. My buddy Rizzo has worked there for years and was once again behind the bar. Due to our large group we were given a private room upstairs to enjoy the delicious food and good company.





Mike, Kathy, Tom, Cale, Effie,Greta and Caitlin