Oilpressure

I am about to contradict myself…sort of. This is my site, so I reserve the right to be inconsistent every now and then. For years, I have felt free to comment on various drivers skills, or lack thereof. Over a decade ago, I wrote a scathing commentary on driver Dennis Vitolo – calling him the worst Indianapolis 500 driver over the previous twenty years.

His son saw it and sent me an equally scathing e-mail; saying, in effect, until I crawled into a car and qualified for the Indianapolis 500 myself – I had no right to comment on Vitolo or any other driver. I responded, in what turned out to be a fairly heated e-mail battle, by countering with my usual analogy for these situations. Just because I don’t know how to cook, does not mean I don’t know the difference between a good meal and a bad one.

I’ve never played quarterback in the NFL, but I feel qualified enough to say that Peyton Manning was a much better QB than Jim Sorgi or Curtis Painter.

Anytime I make a disparaging remark on social media (or on this site) about a driver, quarterback, coach, performer or actor – there is always some troll that tries to shut me down with the tired old “…walk a mile in their shoes” retort. I’ll always respond with the cooking analogy. I don’t need to be a restaurateur to know that St. Elmo Steakhouse is a better dining experience than Applebee’s.

So where am contradicting myself?

Did you see the Racer Mailbag last week? The very first question was from a reader named Brian Wilson, who had a ridiculous suggestion regarding the IndyCar two-seater that is operated by The Indy Racing Experience. I am assuming he is not the Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys, but if Mr. Wilson is a regular reader here – my apologies for calling you out.

His suggestion was that the two-seater should be side-by-side, like the ALMS Porsche that Roger Penske drove at Goodwood this past summer. He thought the passenger should sit next to the driver, in order to see better. He said “I firmly believe that the existing two-seater just plain sucks. The passenger cannot see crap.” While I think this was a silly suggestion, it was Marshall Pruett’s response that caught my eye. Pruett outed the reader by revealing that in a subsequent e-mail from Wilson, he admitted he had never ridden in the two-seater.

Here is where I will contradict myself. I’ve never driven in the Indianapolis 500, but I feel qualified to criticize some drivers that have. I’ve never played in an NFL game, but I can offer up unsolicited negative comments on those that do. I use my good/bad meal analogy as justification. But now, I am about to jump all over the Mailbag reader for criticizing the IndyCar two-seater when he has never been in it.

I am not bragging, but I have partaken of The Indy Racing Experience three times. In 2008, my two brothers chipped in and bought me the IndyCar self-drive for my fiftieth birthday. Susan and I drove up from Nashville one beautiful day in October, for me to drive three laps in a 2000 g-Force (Juan Montoya’s back-up car). It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life to drive an Indy car down the main straightaway across the yard of bricks. Although it was over thirteen years ago, I remember it like it happened yesterday.

Five years later in October of 2013, Susan and I both got to ride in the IndyCar two-seater at Fontana – the night before the season-finale. Logan Gomez was Susan’s driver, while I got Davey Hamilton. I can think of a million adjectives to describe my two laps around Fontana that night. Terrifying and exhilarating come to mind, but to say it “just plain sucks” is not the way I would describe it. I’ve never felt g-forces in my life, like those I experienced screeching out of the pits. Throughout the long continuous Turns One and Two, and again in Turns Three and Four – I always had the sensation that the back-end was just a hair away from coming around. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a rush in my life!

Just seven months after that memorable night, I had the opportunity to ride in the two-seater at Indianapolis, in the late afternoon of Carb Day 2014. Tristan Vautier was my driver. I didn’t know until I climbed out of the car that it was Vautier’s first day to ever drive the two-seater. While I was prepared for the g-forces that slammed my head against the back of the car as we left the pits, I was not expecting to be slammed against the right-side of the cockpit each time we entered one of the four, relatively flat 90°-turns.

As I climbed out of the car, I felt exhausted after only two laps. I could not imagine doing that 800 times in a race, while battling for the same piece of real estate with another car just inches away. It gave me a whole new appreciation for what these drivers do. Anyone who says that IndyCar drivers are not athletes, has no idea what they are talking about.

So while I feel justified in comparing bad drivers to good drivers, when I’ve never driven in a race, I think reader Brian Wilson should refrain from making specific derogatory comments about the current IndyCar two-seater, until he has ridden in it. I can assure you, he is dead-wrong when he says it “just plain sucks”. While the view is not fantastic looking straight ahead, you can see enough. You can also get the sense of pure speed when you glance to the side and see the wall gliding toward the car at an alarming rate.

From 2008 through 2014, I rode in the cars of The Indy Racing Experience three times. While it has been seven and a half years since I last crawled out of the two-seater cockpit, those memories are seared into my brain for the rest of my life.

In full disclosure, I am fortunate enough that I did not have to pay for any of my experiences. My brothers bought my Indy car drive in 2008, and this blog enabled my two-seater rides. But even if I did pay out of my pocket, I would feel the same. Susan did not get to share my two-seater experience at Indianapolis. While she kept a smile on her face, I know she was very envious.

The 2022 dates are to be released December 3. If you are interested in such a thrill for yourself, check it out here. I know from my own experience that it is not cheap, but it will be worth it for a lifelong memory. Unlike Mr. Wilson, I feel like I’m qualified enough to comment on the IndyCar two-seater. It doesn’t just plain suck.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on November 15, 2021 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. 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.