Good morning from a darkened IMS! We are staying further out this year (it’s cheaper), so we had a longer drive in. We moved our usual schedule up 30-minutes to account for it. It’s a good thing. We got here earlier than usual driving through the gate at 5:10 am. When we drove around to the Media Lot, it was already about 80% full, I think if we had gotten here at our usual 5:45, we would’ve out of luck.
But we are safely ensconced in our seats in the IMS Media Center. I have to say, I have never seen it this crowded this early on Race Day. We got up here before 5:30 am and it was already crawling with people – most of which we haven’t seen all month. There is a new wave of folks in the media center this year – the influencers. They all share the same traits – pretty young girls, who know absolutely nothing about racing. I’m not opposed to pretty young girls, mind you; but they seem to have only one talent – taking selfies. Now I know how mainstream media types felt with the blogger invasion of 2010.
The Opening Bomb went off right on schedule at 6:00 am. That is the signal across the property to open the gates. It used to be one single “boom” anf that was it. But when Roger Penske took over, he turned it into a early morning fireworks spectacular. Nowadays, the balcony of the Media Center is overrun with people (like me) getting video. I don’t know why I film this every year. They are all pretty much the same, but this is this year’s opening bomb from this morning.
Of course, the weather is what everyone is talking about. For the third year in a row, this has been the topic on everyone’s mind. I pay the most attention to IndyCar Weatherman on Twitter. His livelihood depends on accurate forecasts, so he knows what he’s doing. His latest forecast is not great, but still holds hope that we can get a race in. It may not be 200 laps, but if we get 101 in, that counts. Without looking it up, I believe 2007 was that last year we did not get the full 500-miles in – and that was the second time since 2004. But two decades later, no one puts an asterisk next to the names of Dario Franchitti or Buddy Rice. If that happens today, no one should do it for today’s winner.
If we can’t get it in, we come back tomorrow. That’ll be a long day, since we have to give up our hotel room and Susan has to work Tuesday. It’s been a long time since we drove back to Nashville immediately after the race. I really don’t want to do that.
Anyway, we are heading out to enjoy the quiet time before the masses arrive over the next couple of hours. I love walking through the garage area as the sun come up, watching the teams scurry around making last-minute preparations. It’s Race Day in Indianapolis. Could things be much better?
George Phillips
