Oilpressure

Welcome to the Month of May! This is always a very special time for an IndyCar fan. It signals that after all the hype and buildup, the Indianapolis 500 is finally almost here.

As usual, I will try to post every day in May leading up to the day after the race, with the exception of the first weekend in May before things get going. All posts will be Indianapolis 500-related. Once again, there will be the Indianapolis 500 Trivia Quiz. It will run on May 8 for those that want to plan ahead. Don’t be surprised if there is a One Take Only or two thrown in there, along with a Two Sites Unite.

I will tell you now – this post is long, but as you read you might get the impression that this is a farewell post. It’s not. But it is a trip down memory lane, looking at some of the many highlights Susan and I have encountered over the years.

You see, May 1 is also a special day for this website, as it is the anniversary of the beginning of Oilpressure.com. But today is a milestone anniversary, because it was fifteen years ago today that this site had its first post. Today marks 2,806 posts on this site, with 29,011 comments.

Looking back on that month before I went live is almost funny now. Within a two-week period, my best friend (Bruce Yarbro) and my oldest brother both told me in separate conversations that I should start an IndyCar blog. I laughed and told them they were nuts! That was the last thing I wanted to do. Then Bruce called me one day and told me he had already set up a site. Thank him for the white-on-black type. All I had to do was type out an article, e-mail it to him in Memphis and he would load it up. That lasted about three days before he turned everything over to me.

On May 1, 2009 – my first post dropped in. I got the obligatory comments from friends and relatives, but then the IndyCar comments started in a matter of hours. I had about 450 people hit the site that very first day. In those days, I had the bright idea to post every day. The next day was even bigger, and it grew from there. To this day, I have no idea how so many people found the site so quickly. What was even more amazing was that people seemed to want to know what I thought about things, and it just grew from there. It’s still bewildering to me how that worked – how so many people found this site so quickly.

This part of the post could be titled Oilpressure.com’s Greatest Hits.

One of the first highlights I experienced due to this site was getting a tour of the ABC production truck on Race Morning one year. In the very early weeks of this site in 2009, I wrote an article critical of the coverage provided by ABC/ESPN. One of the higher-ups with media relations sent me a scathing email about what I had written. We swapped several emails back and forth over the next several days, with each one getting more and more friendly. We agreed to disagree, but he appreciated my logic and how I presented it. Though neither of us budged in our positions, we became friends to the point that when we met on the first qualifying weekend in 2010; we hit it off. Race Morning, he gave me a private tour of the ABC truck.

What I recall most was that it was freezing in there, despite the fact that it was very hot and muggy outside. We went on to become great friends over the years, and he even took Susan and me out to dinner one night before the race on ESPN’s dime. He is still with ESPN, so I won’t use his name – just in case my tour that morning was unauthorized. To this day, we still swap emails and we are longtime Facebook friends

That’s what this site has done for Susan and me. We have met so many longtime friends that we not only get together with at races, but we even communicate with them throughout the offseason. Some have passed away over the years, but some will remain lifelong friends long after I hang up my keyboard.

This is old news to the long-term readers who have been with me all this time. But many of you are newer, and don’t know this story. I was credentialed to my first race less than after the launch of this site, at Barber in 2010. To be in that Media Center with giants like Robin Miller and Curt Cavin was almost overwhelming. Then new IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard gave an impromptu press conference over to the side. I just went in there to listen to what he had to say as all of the mainstream media peppered him with questions. As things were wrapping up and the media was dispersing, he suddenly turned to me and asked if I had a question for him. I froze. As he walked off, I was kicking myself for staying silent.

A year later before the Barber race, I was lamenting that incident. Someone with IndyCar saw that and brought it to Randy’s attention. He had them contact me, and he set up a one-on-one interview with me the morning of the race. I rarely do interviews, mainly because my mind doesn’t work that way. I am always amazed at the media in press-conferences the way they can phrase a question so eloquently. A man needs to know his limitations, and one of my limitations is that I am not a good interviewer – as I demonstrated last week with Indy NXT driver Lindsay Brewer.

Realizing that at the time, I asked you readers for questions to ask Randy, and you all came through. Susan and I met with Randy on the IndyCar motor coach, and I asked him what I deemed the best questions. I recorded his answers and transcribed them and posted the entire interview. When that part was finished, he gave us about another fifteen minutes of just chatting about what we would like to see for IndyCar.

That day is one of the many reasons why I was always a huge Randy Bernard fan. In the three seasons he was CEO, he always took time with us any time he ran into us. One day at IMS, he actually asked for us to walk with him as we discussed a lot of things going on. I realize Randy Bernard’s tenure was complicated for some, but we were always fans by the way he treated us.

That day at Barber was also the day that Susan and I met some new friends (a married couple) that would change our lives. I am still not at liberty to mention their names, or the company they worked for. Suffice it to say they were a major sponsor of the series and they had a suite at IMS. They had begun following this site and they contacted me through Twitter to invite us to their motor-coach for lunch. We hit it off immediately. They got us perks we had never dreamed of, such as a trip to Fontana in 2013; where they arranged two-seater rides for both of us, and arranged for me to wave the green flag for Helio Castroneves on his qualifying run. In 2014, they arranged for me to ride in the two-seater at IMS on Carb Day.

But the biggest perk they provided us – the chance to get married at IMS in their suite on May 18, 2012. They even provided the catering and the champagne. It was a small affair that took place after the track had closed for Fast Friday, with very few invited guests. Susan’s lifelong friend, Peggy Jennings served as her Matron of Honor, while my One Take Only cohort, John McLallen was my Best Man. Paul Dalbey was our photographer. As Susan and I were exchanging our vows, I was distracted by the site of Calhoun, the 1963 winner, being towed out in the pits. Parnelli Jones was scheduled to drive it the next day. Where did we take everyone for dinner that night? Dawson’s on Main, of course.

The next day, we were back at the track for Qualifying. The honeymoon would have to wait until two days after the 500.

That couple is no longer involved with racing, yet they prefer to remain anonymous. But if they are reading, I hope they know how truly indebted we will always be for giving us the opportunity to have the perfect and most unique wedding ever.

That December, we were invited to attend the Championship Banquet at IMS where Ryan Hunter-Reay was honored for winning the championship. A few months earlier, I had written a post about James Hinchcliffe. After the banquet was over, Kevin Lee introduced me to Hinch. When he realized who I was, he immediately said “Come with me”. He went to his mother and told her “…this was the guy that wrote the article that made you cry”. She gave me a hug and started crying again. That was certainly a highlight.

Going back a year earlier, one day while at work – I got an email from IndyCar asking if I would interview Indy Lights driver Josef Newgarden. I left work early and met Newgarden and his IndyCar handler at 5:00 pm at the Cheesecake Factory. This was to be his last stop on a media blitz through his hometown of Nashville. The handler went into the mall and went shopping, leaving the two of us to talk. As I said earlier, I don’t really do interviews; so he and I just chatted about racing.

As it turns out, we were left alone by his handler for two and a half hours. Had we not hit it off, it would have been torture. But he was a twenty year-old kid that had the presence of a forty year-old, yet the enthusiasm of an adolescent. We talked on and on about racing. About halfway through, Newgarden told me “You know, I’ve been on this media blitz all day long. You are the only person I’ve talked to that knows what they’re talking about with racing”.

For a few years after that conversation, Newgarden would spot us at the track and either come over to us, or at least wave and yell “how are my Nashville buddies? He doesn’t do that anymore.

One of the biggest highlights over the last fifteen years was getting to know one of my idols, Donald Davidson. I remembered Donald from when I was a kid in the 60s. Then when I returned to the Speedway in 1992 after a twenty year hiatus, I was surprised to learn he was still going strong. When the internet came along, making it possible to listen to The Talk of Gasoline Alley, that became a nightly ritual in May. When I first started in the IMS Media Center, Kevin Lee asked me if I wanted to meet Donald. Seriously? Just getting to meet him in the early days was enough of a thrill, but I felt like I had really made it when I would see Donald in a crowd and he would call me by name. It doesn’t get much better than that.

I’ve met a lot of drivers over the past fifteen years. The word “met” can be loosely translated to I got to say Hi and shake their hand. Some I’ve gotten to know to the point they know me by name, but to claim I am friends with any of them would be a stretch. Only once have I ever been somewhat star-struck. It happened on Carb Day in 2018. Susan, Paul Dalbey and I were eating lunch at Honda Hospitality. Suddenly out of nowhere, an older gentleman walked up to our table and asked if we minded if he sat down. It was Parnelli Jones.

It’s not unusual for kids to jump from one “favorite” athlete to another. For most of my life, my favorite driver has been AJ Foyt. But for the first few years that I attended the Indianapolis 500, it was Parnelli Jones. I fell in love with Calhoun, his Watson roadster that won the 1963 race. When I attended my first Indianapolis 500 in 1965, Jones was driving an equally beautiful gold Lotus that finished second. As a kid, I was enthralled with Parnelli driving the first turbine in the race in 1967. It wasn’t until after Jones retired from driving in the Indianapolis 500, that I shifted my allegiance to Foyt.

For the first few years that I attended the Indianapolis 500, Parnelli Jones was my favorite driver. Fifty-three years later, we were sitting together having lunch. He was moving slowly, but his mind was sharp as a tack. I talked to him about the rock hitting him in the face one day in Calhoun, and his goggles filling up with blood. Like a star-struck fan, I also babbled out that he was my favorite driver growing up. It’s hard to rank the highlights over the past fifteen years, but that day that I had lunch with Parnelli has to be near the top. Thanks to Paul Dalbey for sneaking a photo of that moment that I will never forget.

Another highlight? One Take Only. That silly little video that John and I do has built something of a cult following on its own. One of my own brothers absolutely despises them and every time I post one, he reminds me of how stupid he thinks they are. A few others feel the same way. But for every person that doesn’t like them, just as many keep asking for more.

John and I went through a three-year stretch where we didn’t speak. To this day, I have no idea what I did, but I did something. I had decided that friendship was over and had moved on. There were no episodes done then, so Paul Dalbey and I started another video series, combining our two respective sites. But just as quickly as I made John mad, he called me up one day in 2021 as if nothing had happened and asked me to go to lunch. It was a little awkward at lunch, but I never brought up the spat and neither did he. After a couple of days, the awkwardness went away and things were back to normal.

Now that Zoom has become part of our lives, my co-workers inform me that I should turn my camera off because I do not have a poker face. Apparently, my face says exactly what I’m thinking, and that’s not always a good thing. A friend of mine who works for IndyCar was watching one episode of One Take Only and put together this collage of my different faces I make, in reaction to some of the things that come out of John’s mouth.

We have met so many friends though this site. I will get myself in trouble because I’m going to list several of them, but I know I will inadvertently leave someone very important out. So if I do – my apologies. It starts with Paul Dalbey. Why we hit it off so well, I’ll never know. He is 22 years younger than me. When we first met at the IMS Media Center in 2010, I was 51 and he was 29. Usually that difference in age breeds resentment, not friendship. Of course, we share our love for IndyCar and the history of the 500. We also share in noticing minute details in the cars, which drives Susan absolutely crazy. He and his wife have been to our house in Nashville, and Susan and I have been to theirs in Illinois. We’ve traveled together to several different races and we have formed a friendship that will last a lifetime, far beyond when our blogging days inevitably will end.

Other good friends we have made, in no order whatsoever, are: James Black (16th & Georgetown), Mike Silver (The Pit Window), John Oreovicz, Doug Boles, Donald Davidson, Mary Mendez, Lucille Dust, Paul and Lisa Hurley, Eric Schwarzkopf (Deceased), Kim Pearson, Patrick Stephan, Steve Wittich, Tony DiZzino, John T. Howard (IRL Defender), David Zehr, Bill Zahren (Pressdog – who I owe a debt of gratitiude to. After about a month, he wrote about this site and put me on the map. Things took off from there), Curt Cavin, Kevin Lee (who has been awfully good to me over the entire fifteen years), Russ Thompson, Joe Berkemeier, Maurice Kessler, Barry Lighty (Deceased), Jake Query, Mark Jaynes, Ryan Myrehn, Roy Hobbson, Amy Konrath, Kate Guerra, Mike Kitchel, Tim Sullivan, Steve Zautke, Randy Bernard, Pat Caporali, Dave Wilson, David Craske, Chris DeHarde, Derek Ross, Andy Hall, Melissa Fox, Dan Layton, Mark Monteith and Kirby Arnold.

Each and every one of those listed were in the IMS Media Center at some point, and they went out of their way to help Susan and me, or to directly promote this site in the early days. Many have moved on from IndyCar and will never see this, but I wanted to acknowledge their kindness. Again, if I left someone out – I apologize.

That doesn’t include the countless readers who have become friends. I won’t even try to list them, because I know I’ll leave someone out.

Last of all, I want to thank my wife, and partner on this site, Susan. Her writings appeal to a different group than those who read my ramblings. Her photographs are far better than anything I could ever produce. Many spouses would’ve insisted I give this up long ago, to devote more time to them. Susan understands what this all means to me. She gets me, and I’m a tough person to get. Susan knows even suggesting I give this up would be like asking me to cut off my arm. Sure, there are times when I am sitting at a keyboard when we could be doing other things; but she gets me and has supported me 100% throughout the past fifteen years. She is my rock, and she also keeps me centered when things get too good or bad with the site. Even when her health issues have come into play, she is the one who has insisted I focus on racing. Thank God her health is continuing to improve. I would be rudderless without her.

I could go on and on about so many of the wonderful experiences we’ve had in the past fifteen years, but it would begin to be (even more) monotonous and I would sound like I am gloating and/or name-dropping. I’m not. It was good to remind myself of all the good times we’ve experienced. These are the things that have kept me going for so long. For the most part, this site has provided me with nothing but happy memories.

Like most things that go on this long, it’s not as fun as it used to be. Being at the track never gets old, and we still have lots of friends in the Media Center. But a few of those in charge have zapped a lot of the fun out of it. The media centers at various tracks used to be filled with camaraderie. When Robin Miller was alive, he kept the place hopping. Now he’s gone and some of those in charge want to be very restrictive in how things operate; from how we behave in the media center, to what we write. I was informed at the end of January that my annual credential (hard card) I had held since 2016 would not be offered to me this year. In all honesty I was so mad, I seriously considered hanging up the keyboard right then. But I was so close to fifteen years, I wanted to at least hang on until then.

Now that we’re here, I’ve cooled off (mostly). When I went to the Open Test, that soothed a lot of wounds. Once we went to Barber this past week, I knew I wanted to keep going. There is something very therapeutic about being at a race track. It heals all wounds.

I am 65 years-old and have been doing this for fifteen years. Logic tells you that this won’t go on much longer. How much longer? I really don’t know. I will commit to the end of this season. After that I’ll play it by ear. Then again, I said the same thing to myself about the Centennial Celebration in 2011. I didn’t think I would go much past that, yet here we are.

I don’t say this to have people beg me to stay. I just want those that have been coming here loyally for fifteen years, to know that this won’t go on forever. I plan to retire from my day job in less than three years. Once that happens, I want as few obligations as possible.

But we will deal with that when the day comes. For now, I want to celebrate an unbelievable fifteen years of getting to experience things I would have never thought possible sixteen years ago. I’ve thanked a lot of people that helped us along the way, but the biggest thanks goes out to you – the readers of this site. Without you coming here three days a week (and every day in May), none of this would have been possible. I will be eternally grateful to everyone who has gone to the trouble to read my thoughts.

Now buckle-up and get ready for another fun Month of May at Oilpressure.com!

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 1, 2024 at 4:05 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.