Oilpressure

As you read this, I am on my way to my favorite place on earth – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We didn’t go to the Eclipse Event there on Monday. Had the Open Test not been scheduled for two days later, we probably would’ve gone. But it would have been tough to do both and try to work also. One of them had to go, so I chose the Open Test over the eclipse.

I’m not sure that was the right choice. That event looked highly successful, but after looking at the weather forecast for the next two days – I’m not sure I’ll see a car on-track in that time.

Susan has stayed behind, because she has to work. But she will be with me when we travel to Barber in a little more than two weeks. It’s probably good that she didn’t take off. She is part-time, meaning she gets no vacation. If she takes off, she doesn’t get paid. I have the opposite problem, I have too much vacation time built up, to the point that I’ll stop accruing anymore if I don’t use some up. I think I have something like eight weeks built up, so I need to take off.

Actually, they will probably get some running in this morning. There is a 70% chance of rain for today, with it supposed to start early afternoon. It’s Thursday that looks doubtful. It is supposed to rain all day on Thursday with a 97% chance of rain. As luck would have it, Friday is supposed to be pretty.

I think it’s safe to say there will probably be no cars running on Thursday. If they get enough running in today, they may be satisfied with that. That’s exactly what happened last for last year’s Thursday/Friday test. It was nice on Thursday, but they knew what was coming on Friday. They stretched the track time beyond the schedule on Wednesday. Sure enough, Friday was a constant downpour, so they scrapped the second day, since they were able to get a lot of running in on the first one.

I spent that rainy day at the museum. I met longtime reader “Mike from Vernon Hills” there, and we had almost the entire museum to ourselves. After we were done, we ventured out to try a new place for lunch I had been wanting to go to for years – The Workingman’s Friend. That was the first for many last spring. I hope to somehow work it in while I’m in town this trip.

With the ongoing major renovations at the museum, that is not an option this year. The big question for today is – will they get in enough running today, or will they have to push things to Friday? I have a hotel for tonight, but not one for Thursday night. But if they do utilize Friday as a track day, I’ll probably stay for it.

There has already been a revision to the schedule because of the weather, but I think it is still very fluid. The schedule now calls for veterans on-track from 9:00 am EDT to 11:00 am EDT. Then Rookie Orientation and Refreshers will run from 11:00 am EDT to 1:00 pm EDT. From there, it is an all-skate – all cars from 1:00 pm EDT to 6:00 pm EDT (if the weather holds out). If they are somehow able to complete that schedule, I doubt they will run Friday if Thursday is rained out.

The best thing is, every second is going to be shown live on Peacock.

Some might ask why I’m going, since rain seems so certain. I think this will only be the fourth Open Test that I’ve been to over the years, but I find it very enjoyable. Everyone seems to be in a good mood – even when the weather isn’t cooperating. It’s like a sneak peek before the Month of May. There is still construction going on in preparation for the month, although this year might be different with the eclipse just a couple fo days ago.

This will be my first time to be around a race track, since we were at Gateway last August. By my count, almost seven months have passed since I heard a racing engine in-person, and enjoyed the smell of tire smoke and ethanol. It is Tuesday night as I type this. To think that in a few hours, I’ll be watching Indy cars turning laps at speed on the IMS oval, almost seems surreal to me. This is the way I used to feel when I was a five year-old kid on Christmas Eve. Who says you can’t act and think like a kid in your 60s?

This is a great way to do an early kickoff for the Month of May. It is so low-key with only a few people around, but the people you see are all smiling. The Yellow-Shirts, the media people, the crew guys…even the drivers seem genuinely happy to be there. They don’t even pretend to act like they are doing a job.

In a month, they will have the official kickoff for the month when IMS hosts the Sonsio Grand Prix. Yes, it’s a serious points-paying race, but the crowd is still small enough that the place is calm and peaceful. A week later after a few days of practice, the wick turns up with Qualifying. Then the following week, throngs of fans will descend upon the place to the point that we all yearn for the days of that Open Test in April, when there was just a handful of people. The day after the race, it’ll all be over until next year. Today starts this year.

I will have at least one more post today, even if it rains. If Thursday is a washout, I won’t post here. If a miracle happens and even a part of Thursday is dry, I will post here on Thursday. If not, I’ll have a leisurely drive back (assuming they don’t run Friday) and have a post recapping my trip on Friday. Just like the track, I’ll be playing it by ear.

Then there is the gratuitous reminder that you can follow me on Twitter at @Oilpressureblog, for photos and videos throughout the day. Please check back here later. The Month of May is finally here…sort of.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on April 10, 2024 at 4:04 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500, 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.