Oilpressure

By Susan Scruggs

I will let George stick to the technical aspects of qualifying–the speeds, who is on the pole and all the things you have come to Oilpressure to read. I will go off the beaten path and focus on the people that make everything run. Every year scores of people from the Indianapolis area, get up at 5 a.m. (earlier on the race day) and get ready to host the biggest sporting event of the year. What would it be like if there were trash all over (with the exception of the infield, which is probably like shoveling the sidewalk during a blizzard), you couldn’t get your favorite cold beer without standing in a mile-long line or get your souvenir program.

These are the unsung heroes of the speedway, the people often overlooked—unless they weren’t there—THEN you would miss them. I’m going to take this time to thank them and do a small photo album of the people I met who were just doing their jobs at Indy to make the race experience better us who make their annual trek to Indy.

Yes, I got stares from people—why on earth would someone take a picture of the Ecology guys or the Indy Commemorative Rifle Salesguy? Once people even began to gather—what “celebrity” is being photographed now? So here’s to the people who make our (and the racing team’s) experience better. They say everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, but I’ve heard the internet lasts forever…

Your "Go to" person if your cooler exceeds the size requirements.

If you miss the tram, you can hire a bike rickshaw

obviously, the wheels on their cart don't roll in the infield on race day, but they keep everything else shiny clean.

The Firemen, ready for action.

The Indy 500 Commemorative Rifle sales guy - I wouldn't cross him.

Lisa - the caretaker of the corporate suite.

The ice cream guy - those kids sure look happy.

The ultimate fan package - a seat cushion and a program.

The tire marker guy - he keeps the tires in line.

The umbrella guy - he keeps the drivers cool in the line.

The Yelloe Shirts outside the Media Center - they make sure you stay where you belong.

This Yellow Shirt has been the point man for Gasoline Alley for at least twenty years. His moves are an art form.

Track drying machine operator - it's a loud job, but somebody's gotta do it.

They have flattened the Borg-Warner trophy this year and have hired this guy to carry it around.

If you want a tenderloin sandwich, they'll be glad to sell you one.

This entry was posted on May 22, 2011 at 10:10 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.