Back Home Again

 

May 14, 2022

Back Home Again

Once again, I made my annual trek North to my ancestral homeland in Central Indiana for all the festivities leading up to what will be my 50^th time attending the Indianapolis 500. I have been to every one since 1973 with the exception of the 2020 race which was run without fans due to the Covid 19 pandemic. But it is not just the race itself that draws me back, it is the full-scale myriad of experiences that are part of my tradition.

This year, IO drove myself to Indiana, which allowed me to stop for a night in Saint Peterburg where my friends in Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band were playing at Jannus Landing. They had the opening slot for the Dead South and thankfully our paths crossed as they were crisscrossing the country playing live shows and I was headed north.

They just keep getting better and better as they played a terrific set, in front of a sold-out and very enthusiastic crowd. While I saw plenty of Rev. t-shirts, I also think a large segment of the audience was unfamiliar with them and their music. They got a terrific reception and judging by the lines at the merch booth after the gig, they made a bunch of new fans that night.

While they were meet and greeting the new and old fans, I watched a few of the Dead South songs, which were damn good as well, then I joined the band and we headed down the street to grab some sushi and enjoy a nice meal during the Dead South set. It was a quick but fun visit and really nice to spend some time with their drummer Max, who I only see at shows.

The following day, I drove sixteen hours straight through to my sister’s house in Carmel as I wanted to attend the opening practice for the Indy Grand Prix, the annual opening event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that kicks off the month of May at the track. Must going to the track for a practice involves catching up with a ton of old friends.

Once again this year, my buddy Brent set me up with a month long pass for his suites overlooking the pits along the tower terrace. Each day there is a crowd in the suites, often of race friends and I also get to invite a few of my friends as well. This year I had my friend Ted who joined me in the suite along with two of his kids and their respective girlfriends. I also brought my sister Michele along to watch the Indy Grand Prix once again.

The weather made for a crazy, crazy race as intermittent rain, before and during the race caused the teams to have to scramble with their strategies and caused havoc for many of the teams as some stayed out too long on their slick tires while others kept their rain tires on too long. 

It made for incredibly difficult conditions for the drivers and teams and made us happy that we were able to watch the race from the dry comfort of the suite. Watching the various strategies catch drivers and teams out as they made the wrong call on what the weather was doing made for a chaotic race.

Somehow Colton Herta and Simon Pagenaud made all the right choices and finished first and second in a rain-shortened two hour time-limit race. It was an excellent start of the month of May and I had a terrific time at the race hanging with my family and friends, eating fried chicken and watching the chaos.