Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!
So this past weekend there was the Indy GP race that took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedways road course.
AND as many of you may know, there is a rather big race coming up called the Indy 500 in about a week and a half.
So my original plan for this week was to write a blog about the Indy GP, but I wasn't really feeling it.
To be honest I don't really have much to say about it. I thought it was a pretty great race overall.
I expected Power to win so I was happy to see his luck turn, I was not happy that Spencer Pigot got a drive through penalty for his lap 1 incident (wasn't him already having to circulate tot he back of the pack penalty enough? Didn't really look like avoidable contact to me anyways), and Team Penske earned their 200th win in IndyCar. Thats about all I have to say about the race.
So I had another idea for this weeks blog.
Like I mentioned before, the Indy 500 is quickly approaching.
Yesterday was opening day at the track and I leave for Indy in 2 days.
It's close, I can sense it.
So with this big event approaching I thought I'd revisit a blog that I wrote 2 years ago: my very first blog, Indy Who?
In that blog I kind of explained what IndyCar was and then proceeded with my series Indy or Bust to talk about different aspects of the Indy 500.
So I thought I'd do that again, but all in one blog this time as sort of a refresher for those who are not really quite sure why the Indy 500 is such a big deal and why I love it so much.
So let me start of by saying this: if you haven't been to the Indy 500 you're never really going to grasp how spectacular this race is. You won't be able to fully grasp how I feel about this race until you experience it yourself.
But, I am going to try and describe it to you the best I can.
I was nine years old when I attended my first Indy 500.
After that first race in 2006 I was hooked.
I was 100% hooked on the Indy 500 at 9 years old.
Thats how amazing the Indy 500 is.
Before May of 2006 I had little interest in racing. I just knew that my parents went to this race and I knew a couple of the drivers- my parents favorites and Sarah Fisher because she was the only female in the field at the time and they brought me back a shirt with her on it.
But after I watched Sam Hornish Jr pass rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway to win the race in what would go down as one of the closest finishes in the races history, I was in love.
I remember walking away from that race in awe of what I just witnessed.
I couldn't wait to come back next year.
But before I could I had to wait a whole year.
So I plastered driver posters all over my door.
I had Danica Patrick posters up everywhere.
I used driver cards as flash cards to learn who all the drivers were.
I was obsessed.
I never missed a race after that.
I either was there at the track in person or watching it at home.
When I'd stay with my grandparents while my parents were at the race I'd make them take me home on race day so I could watch the race since they didn't have cable.
I was 12 years old at the time.
Just think about that. By just watching one IndyCar race as a nine year old I became a die hard IndyCar fan.
And here I am, 12 years later still a fan.
That place just does something to you.
You walk in and you just know you're somewhere special.
And on race day you just know that you are a part of something so much bigger than yourself.
You're a part of history in the making.
You sit in that huge place and you see that every seat is filled and yet you don't feel like you are in a sea of random people. You feel like you are spending the afternoon with 300,000 of your closest friends. We are all joined by this one common thread and it's just mind blowing.
An great example of that comes from 2013, when Tony Kannan FINALLY won the Indy 500.
Every single person in the speedway knew how much this win would mean to TK. We all knew how desperately he wanted to win that race. We all wanted to see him win that race.
So as he crossed the finish line in first place as the checkered flag waved, every single person in the crowd were on their feet cheering for Tony Kannan because he finally achieved what he had been striving for his entire career- a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As we all say, the speedway is a force of nature. You don't pick who wins the Indy 500, the speedway picks who wins the Indy 500.
And here's the thing, its not just about the race.
It's also about the traditions, the drivers, the history, and everything leading up to race day.
This year is the 102 running of the Indy 500.
Yeah, 102. Thats a lot of races, And every year has a different story.
There's also all of the traditions. Race day traditions are my favorite.
I always get pumped hearing the starting command, at any race for that matter.
But what always brings me such joy is the singing of Back Home Again in Indiana.
Because that's what I feel like on race day, like I truly am back home again in Indiana.
But lets get down to it, what really makes this race special is the cars speeding past you at 230 miles per hour.
Like what the heck.
It's just mind blowing.
I will never forget pole day last year.
We were down by pit lane sitting on the pit row terrace watching the fast nine shootout.
The cars speeds were impressive.
Then it came down to the last car, Scott Dixon.
I had my Verizon IndyCar app up on my phone to keep up with the speeds as we watched Dixon go out on his qualifying run.
Each time he kept going faster.
We were in an uproar when we saw that his average lap speed was over 232 miles per hour.
The entire crowd was going absolutely crazy.
It was unbleveafle.
He posted the fastest qualifying speed in 21 years.
It was absolutely breathtaking to witness.
It's moments like those that make me fall in love with the speedway over and over again like I'm 9 years old again.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is magical.
That might be the best way to describe it.
You'd think one might get tired of watching cars go around and around 200 times year after year, but nope. It never gets old.
And after I watch them go past 200 times before I'm even out of the speedway I'm already counting down the days until the next time I get to see them do it.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is special. The Indianapolis 500 is somthing even more special.
Its the largest single day sporting event in the world.
It's the greatest specitcal in racing.
Its the Indy 500.
So if you've never been I highly recomdend you go. It should be on everyones bucket list.
Go to an Indy 500, you won't regret it, I promise.
xxkaitlyn
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