Sunday came race day, which meant my big sacrifice for the week: waking up at 7:30 am in order to make the earliest bus to the track as possible.

Long story short, we made it to the track a little before 10, and already the place was bustling with people. The street outside the track was like a carnival, with food and drink booths everywhere, souvenirs, people hocking things like earplugs and programs, and some religious wackos.

We spent some time walking around, soaking in the atmosphere, buying drink #1, and finding something to eat. Since I was in "what the hell" mode, I go ahead and buy a large smoked turkey leg. As you can see, I enjoyed it.

After going in, there was still two hours to kill before anything really happened, so we walked the grounds some more, taking the pictures we should've taken the day before. I have pictures of us standing on the yard of bricks (it extends into the infield behind the pagoda), but they came out crappy (as Renegade said yesterday, I need to be hooked up with a real camera).

One thing that must be mentioned: 16 oz. beers are only $4, cheap for a large sporting event. The $6 Jim Beam and Cokes were also a good deal, all things considered.

The electricity in the air was apparent early, and it grew as the green flag became closer and closer, especially once the program starts. Pre-race at Indy has been the same for a long time. Be there long enough and you'll have it memorized. First is "God Bless America" by Florence Henderson, then the National Anthem, then the invocation, then Taps. Admittedly, I was kind of getting tired of it all, but that could be because I really had to pee (word of advice: don't pound drinks before the race, pace yourself).

I forgot all about that once Back Home Again In Indiana started. Of all the traditions of Indy, that was the one I was most looking forward to. Jim Nabors can sing, and the balloons are a spectacle. The song is also the transition from honoring the veterans to racing time, because the next thing is "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines." Insert goosebumps.

Now, the race itself. My thoughts are enhanced by the fact that the race isn't shown on TV in Indianapolis until 7:30 that night, plus the notes of My Name is IRL (also at the race) and Pressdog (watching on TV). Warning: this may be disjointed.

First observation, these cars are LOUD, especially when all 33 are starting at the same time. Add the roar of the crowd, and I'm partly amazed I can still hear normally, although my mother might beg to differ. What was funny though was during every restart, the noise was a jolt, almost as if my brain forgot how loud the cars were during the caution period.

I rented a scanner, thinking it would be fun to follow during the race. Problem is, it crapped out after about 70 laps in, when I became unable to hear anything. I did get one good quote out of it, from Sarah Fisher after her spin under yellow: "I feel like such a moron."

 

My one big rookie mistake came shortly after, when I missed Graham Rahal's wreck because of my weak bladder. While I came back with a dog and a beer, the tradeoff wasn't there. Again, I am a bust. As an aside, my seats were in H Stand, which on the frontstretch shortly past the exit of turn 4 and right in front of the pit entrance. Rahal wrecked exiting turn 4.

The scariest moment of the day was the Kanaan/Fisher wreck, because from our vantage point, it looked almost head on. Looking back, Marco did divebomb on Kanaan, but TK left some room, and it's hard not to take it. Still Marco's fault, but not 100%. The real heartbreak though was for Sarah. It was a horrible month, and save for that spin under yellow, none of it was her fault. After all the stress, she's left with no life savings, a broken race car, and an uncertain future. Life isn't fair sometimes.

As another aside, it seems like one of the criticisms of this year's race was all the cautions. Yes, it made for an uneven, stop and go race, but looking at it, it was understandable and hard to avoid. There were eight cautions. One was debris, another was the TK/Sarah wreck. The other six were incidents involving either rookies or the two worst drivers in the series, Milka Duno and Marty Roth. The moral: inexperienced drivers wreck at Indianapolis, although the extracurriculars of Fisher, Jeff Simmons, and Briscoe didn't help in this regard.

OK seriously, how did Mario Moraes lead the race? Everyone around us was like "hasn't he pit like 10 times already?" After seeing him "lead" that restart, then watching him hit the wall, go around the track at NASCAR speed (clocked at 183 mph at one point), and pit every other lap at the end, we might have a new worst driver.

Biggest roars (non-Danica edition): When Kanaan and especially Marco took the lead. Marco, not surprisingly, is quite popular, although there are certain Andretti detractors out there. One guy who was not a detractor was the guy sitting behind, who went nuts every time Marco did anything. I couldn't tell if it was because he was a fun, or if because he had Marco in the pool his family was in. Either way, this guy pretty much never shut up the whole time.

OK, there was one more big cheer, when Vitor made that sick pass, threading the needle between Carpenter and Dixon on the next-to-last restart. Best move of the day by far, and the crowd showed its appreciation. Vitor Meira would've been an interesting Indy 500 winner. Regular fans of IndyCar racing love the guy. He's very popular among those circles, since by all accounts, he's a real nice guy. The problem is if he had won, the rest of the country would've gone "who?" The Cinderella story would've only gone so far, since underdogs don't seem to get the same favor they do in team sports.

Alright, the Danica/Briscoe incident. I don't think there's any doubt, and there wasn't at the time, that it was Briscoe's fault. Danica didn't have that much "room" behind her and the wall, so avoiding Briscoe would've been next to impossible. It was a take out. Now, at the time, the crowd went nuts when Danica started walking. We wanted to see a fight. Boos came down when security stopped her. In retrospect though, there probably wasn't going to be a fight, and security was right to stop her, because walking down pit road like that is dangerous. Sorry I don't have any pictures of this, but it was on the other end of the pits, way too far to see anything.

It doesn't look like Danica is going to change. She's ornery, and for all we know, it's part of an act to stay in the media spotlight. One thing's for sure, it's hard to call her a role model. Certainly, she's not the only one to get upset and go after someone, but she definitely leads the series in that category. Danica, you're 26 years old, it's time to show some maturity.

Unfortunately, the end of the race wasn't that exciting. Dixon had the best car, and despite Vitor's frantic efforts to catch up, it wasn't going to happen. However, Marco could've had a shot, but it took him way too long to get by Helio and into third place, about 20 laps too long. Of course, this was because Helio threw a major block party on Marco. For the record, blocking is something the IndyCar Series needs to get control of. It was ridiculous out there, and has been for a while now.

Finally, some thoughts on the winner, Scott Dixon. I've contended for a while that Dixon is the most underrated driver in the world, due to a combination of his quiet personality and the series he drives in. Hopefully with this win, that will change and Scott can be appreciated for the excellent driver that he is. This was his month from the start, and the race was no different. I don't recall him behind outside even the top three for any significant length of time. It was sheer dominance all month long, and no question that Scott is a deserving winner.

With the race over, the true competition for the 300,000 people at the track began: getting out of there. We ended up waiting for a bus back to downtown for at least an hour. However, we weren't in a hurry to leave, so we walked around for a while and took some pictures. Security wasn't overbearing at all. We walked right through the grandstands on the front stretch, taking pictures like this one of me in front of the scoring pylon.

Simply put, if you are a race fan, you must go to the 500 at least once. The spectacle, the tradition, feeling and seeing the speed of these cars, it's all something that much be experienced. I can recommend it even for non-race fans, because much partying and drinking can be done.

As for me, I'm counting down already to next year. I'm hoping to be one of those people who goes for 50+ years in a row. What can I say, it's a special place.