105th Running of the Indianapolis 500

May 30, 2021

105th Running of the Indianapolis 500

After missing the 2020 Indianapolis 500 due to the fact that no fans were allowed in the grounds when the race was eventually run in August rather than May, I was so thrilled to be back on hand in person for the 2021 Indianapolis 500. Technically this should have been my 50^th consecutive year of attending the race but after missing last year, this was actually my 49^th year and I will have to wait until next year to celebrate my 50^th.

Covid also changed my approach to attending, as attendance was limited to about 40 percent of capacity and only around 140,000 people. I opted to return my block of ten seats high up in turn three and instead enjoy the race from the comfort of my friend Brent’s Suite overlooking the pits along the main straight. Instead of taking a large group and since Kathy was not here this year, I thought it may be my only opportunity to see the race from that vantage point and invited only my sister Michele.

Of course over the years, I have become friends with many who spend much of the month of May in the suite and it is always fun to hang out with them. In addition, there are sometimes drivers, their families and others who hand out there. This year the suite was visited by Indy starter Stephen Wilson, Indy Pro driver Christian Rasmussen, and the new driver for Brent’s new midget car team, the talented and wonderful Maria Cofer. 

The festivities leading up to the start were just a tad scaled back, there was no balloon release for example and the grid was closed off to visitors prior to the start. We did manage to walk through the garages, where we met Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. But overall the mood was a bit subdued from usual as the start approached.  The weather was just about perfect, perhaps the best race day weather that I have experienced and the start went off without a problem as pole sitter Scott Dixon led the field at the start.

His excellent fuel mileage proved his undoing however as he stretched his first stop and got caught out when Stephen Wilson spun out right in front of us entering the pits. Dixon and Alex Rossi were forced to pit under yellow for emergency fuel and essentially each lost a lap and fell out of contention early due to that issue. 

The race was awesome as young guns like Rinus VeeKay, Alex Palou, Conor Daly and Pato O’Ward battling with veterans like Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves through an action packed afternoon. The tenor of the race changed when Rahal lost a tire exiting the pits, spinning into the wall ending his day and dashing the hopes of Conor Daly, who had led the most laps, but hit the errant tire, damaging his car.

The race came down to an epic battle between Palou and Castroneves as they switched the lead multiple times over the final ten laps, with Helio grabbing the lead for good and holding off the charging Palou over the final two laps to capture his long sought after fourth Indy 500 win, joining legends A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Sr. and Rick Mears as the only 4-time champions.

It was a terrific celebration, one that I actually got to stay and watch for a change as we weren’t rushing to the car to beat traffic as is our usual post-race practice. It was just a glorious day and another wonderful memory to add to the thousands that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had provided me over the years.