The Month of May 2009.../Indy 500

[doozer]

figured i'd post these again:

i guess to make things easier on myself, i decided to list the top 5 best and worst moments from the year i was born to now, 1980-2008. i couldn't really narrow it down to five from there so i went with from when i started attending the race. i briefly remember being there from about 3-10 for practice/qualifying, but my first race was 1991. i was 10. until that point i stayed with relatives during the race and we always did other things. my dad will attend his 48th 500 later this month.

certainly, Rahal's win is memorable. especially since you consider they ran it the following Saturday because of rain. it was also the last real shot Kevin Cogan had at changing his career. he holds on to win and there's no telling where he goes from there. instead, he becomes a back marker.

also, Danny Sullivan's spin-and-win was amazing in 85. as was the late race duel between Little Al and Emo in 89. the all Penske front row in 88 deserves some consideration as well.

biggest disappointments:

5. Roberto Guererro spins and hits the wall on the parade lap. the year was 1992 and it was maybe 50 degrees on race day. there were many wrecks that day and many drivers went to the hospital. little did we know we'd see on of the most amazing finishes because...

4. Michael Andretti had led the '92 race all day. practically had the field whipped. with 15 to go his car slows on the back straight continuing the Andretti heartbreak at Indy.

3. Sccott Goodyear was a guy i really had a respect for. especially since he came so close to winning in 92 after coming from the 33 starting spot. with a few laps left in the 95 race while leading, he passed the pace car on a restart. i think it was pretty bunk deal he got, but he broke the rule. i saw an interview once where he said he's come to grips with his Indy heartbreak. i feel for him still. i consider him the Mark Martin of IndyCar racing in the fact they're always the bride's maid and never the bride. Jaques Villeneuve got the win when they stopped scoring Goodyear after he ignored the black flag.

2. in 1996, i wasn't allowed to go the race because my dad felt that my performance in school my freshman year wasn't ideal. it was better for me to stay home and study for finals than attend the race. the only race i've missed since 1991.

1. Scott Brayton was killed at the track in 1996. first time i can remeber specifically a driver being killed at the track. sad part was he had won the pole a few days earlier and he and Smoke (before he became Smoke) were favorites to win the race driving for Menard using the Buick power plant. he was an amazing person (i met him) and i wish he was still around today.

i'll get to memorable moments after dinner.

 

[doozer]

top 5 memorable moments have actually been harder for me to come up with, simply because my number 1 is so ahead of all the others. plus, i think you remember the tragedy and heartbreak more than the joy. i know i probably do.

i feel as it may be important to tell where my seats are. we have had essentially the same spot since 1958. they moved us down the front straight a few sections toward the flag stand a few years ago when they re-did the stands. before, we used sit in the middle of a row and after the move we got isle seats. we also have the pits of all the major players right in front of us. couldn't give you the exact section off the top off my head, but it's Grandstand A.

5. Eddie Cheever wins the 500 in 97. this wasn't a particularly memorable race outside of the fact that Eddie Cheever came to the Speedway without sponsorship or with limited sponsorship (don't recall) and was also the car owner. the thing i was always take from this race was something he said in Victory Lane. in telling a story about winning the race, he had a quote from his father. he said to Cheever, "son, if you're only ever going to win one race, the Indy 500 is the one." i agree.

4. 2006 was actually a great year. i remember telling my dad in the car that Sam Hornish was going to win. in fact, i had called it early in the month. this was also the first time i actually camped in the Coke Lot for the race instead. while it wasn't the the actual large field we were in, it's close. great times.

i remember watching the race unfold and out of nowhere with just a few laps to go sat Michael Andretti in the lead on the restart. as laps wound down, Michael lost his tires and the fight to the Yard of Bricks came down to Sam and Marco Andretti, Michael's son. on the last lap, Sam looked like he had him in the south end of the track but scrubbed off speed instead. i remember as i watched him fall back how disappointed i was. as we look for the leaders out of the turn 4 i see Sammy shoot to inside of Marco and beat him by the blink of eye. i'm a huge Hornish fan so i assume i probably made a fool of myself in celebration.

3. as i was saying before, 1992 will always be a memorable year. first, the crash of Roberto Guerrero on the parade lap. followed by the accidents from the likes of Rick Mears, Emo, Mario, Jeff Andretti, and many more. it was so cold that day that everybody had trouble getting tires up to temp and drivers were really getting beat up in accidents. somebody said, i forget who, that going to the hospital after the race was like visiting a hall of fame. i suppose the ultimate omen to the whole month was Nelson Piquet butchering his legs in a horrible practice wreck.

anyway, with the dominant Michael out of the race with 15 laps to go, it set up an amazing finish. maybe it's because it became a commercial played 43739869328756289 times, but i can still hear Bob Jenkins calling the finish: "Little Al by just a few hundredths of a second!!". i remember a teary-eye Al Jr saying in the interview something to the effect of "you just don' know what this means to my family. to me." yeah Al, i do.

this was also the last 500 raced in by Rick Mears. following major crashes in back-to-back years, including one that put him on his head, he retired. i always respected him for getting out at the top of his game before the game caught him.

2. 1994 was memorable for several reasons. first, it was the begging of the end of a unified open wheel series. in true Captain fashion, Roger Penske took advantage of an archaic rule in the book and absolutely slaughtered the field. basically, he brought a Mercedes push rod engine to the Speedway that year and was given 15 extra pounds of boost. even more impressive, the engine was only used one time and he kept the whole project so well hidden that by the time he unveiled it, nobody stood a chance. of course when you own your own tracks like Penske does, you can test whenever you want. i remember reading a story where Paul Tracy, a Penske test driver at the time, said the team was testing the engine at Nazareth in November, with snow on the ground.

Emo had the whole field lapped and was cruising to a victory until he hit the wall. Little Al picked up the lead a drove it home for the Victory.

1. 2002 was the first year i was able to take beer into the track without having to try and drink it covertly away from the family during the race. couldn't tell you who won.

just kidding.

1991 was the first year i ever got to go to the 500. i can still see in my head Michael Andretti passing my racing hero Rick Mears around the outside in turn 1 on a restart with about 15 to go. as my heart sank, i was sure Michael was on his way to the win when the very next lap, Rick pulls the exact same move and goes on to win his 4th and final Indy 500. i'll never forget nagging my uncle for the interval every time they came by as the race wound down.

Rick didn't have a particularly dominant race car that day, but in true Rick Mears fashion, he took care of his car over the 500 miles and won it in the end. even better, his pit lane was right in front of us and i still have the pictures (somewhere) i took of the team celebrating.

my first, his fourth. it doesn't get any better than that.

 

[rbroyles]

Great commentary doozer, I have several 500 memories, but most of mine come from watching first on closed circuit TV at the Bijeau while a student at UT in late 60's and then on network TV. It is better to be there. My most memorable:

1. Bobby Rahal - not a particularly exciting race, but I had gotten to know Bobby a little as he raced regularly at Mid-Ohio where I was a corner worker/flagman. Jim Truman was his car owner and also owner of Mid-Ohio. I was back in Bristol and unaware of Jim's near death from cancer. When I saw him on TV he was so emaciated, and he had been a fitness nut. He died a couple weeks later.

2. Al Unser, Sr was a late entry the second weekend of qualifying in a third Penske car. He dropped two laps behind, but Mears and Danny Sullivan fell out leaving Big Al the only Penske entry. He made up both laps and won. The amazing thing was the car was a year old model that was in a mall as a show car.

3. Al,Jr & Fittapaldi where in a late race pass attempt, Emo put Little Al in the wall, and won. On his cool down lap Little Al walked to the apron and gave him a double thumbs up and applause. I asked later at Mid-Ohio if he wanted to use different digits to salute Emmo, and he told me his first thought was to give the bird.

4. Little Al's first win when he gave the comment about what the race meant to him being an Unser.

5. The first race I went to in 1971, Mark Donahue gave Penske his first win. During practice on pole day Jim Malloy crashed right in front of us and was killed instantly.

 

[volinbham]

For me the memorable ones were:

Sneva win - my first Indy and the beginning of my addiction. Teo Fabi was on the pole in the Skoal car. (infield Turn 4)

Sullivan spin and win - (infield back straight)

Litlle Al/Emo contact - (infield Turn 4/short shute) If you ever see the replay, Emo started outside row 1 and when they show him in his car before the race he's grinning and giving a thumbs up while everyone else is all business - I've always wondered if he knew what he had that day.

Buddy Lazier/Cheever - during the split years when the field was weak. Was happy for Buddy and Cheever. (short shute 3/4 grandstands)

I've probably been about 18 times. First was 83. Missed one in the 80s after that (can't remember which). Missed 90 (Luyendyke). Hit probably 5 or 6 in the 90s and maybe only 2 or 3 in the 2000s (I believe DeFerran was my last). Sat through 2 rain outs (including Rahal).



Cheever

 

[doozer]

this year wasn't particularly exciting for a few reasons. one, work allowed for just enough time to get in Saturday night, have dinner and few beers with some family friends, go to the race, and drive home Sunday night. and two, Dario pretty much had the race in hand on the first lap. again, another race is about fuel mileage. i'm not sure how to fix the cars or series, but i'll continue to watch and support it. besides, history generally dictates, even in the past, that one engine builder or chassis designer stands out among all the rest.

as for the race:

1. have to feel bad for Davy Hamilton. not only did he go out on lap 1, he lost his ride for the race Saturday night.

2. Power and Rahal had up and down days. both fell upon untimely mistakes and penalties and were playing catch-up all day. i thought when Power topped it off at the the end he was going to win.

3. Dario had really slowed down. he obviously could have coasted around the track, but i don't know if he makes the finish in first. i don't buy they had as much fuel as they said. and honestly, why would they divulged their fuel mileage?

4. next to Stan Fox, Mike Conway had the worst accident i for one have at the race. glad to hear he's expected to have a full recovery.

5. Danica clearly knows what she's doing at Indy. since she debuted at the Speedway in 05, she's only been out of the top 10 once. say what you will about her, but with consistency like that, she might find luck on her side one day. now she just needs somebody to bring her ego back to Earth.

6. they really, really messed up the National Anthem. i don't know why Jewel was handed a dead mic, but somebody needs to answer to that. the PA system pre-race was pretty bad, and it culminated with that debacle. interesting that her husband is Ty Murray of the PBR. doesn't take much thought to put that connection together.

7. the pre-race is still the best in all of racing.

8. the jumbo tenderloin is the best item on the menu of any race track in America, that i've been too.

9. i'd like the see the numbers on the Push to Pass; how successful, who used it, etc.

 

[doozer]

only took 1 pic this year.

 

[rbroyles]

this year wasn't particularly exciting for a few reasons. one, work allowed for just enough time to get in Saturday night, have dinner and few beers with some family friends, go to the race, and drive home Sunday night. and two, Dario pretty much had the race in hand on the first lap. again, another race is about fuel mileage. i'm not sure how to fix the cars or series, but i'll continue to watch and support it. besides, history generally dictates, even in the past, that one engine builder or chassis designer stands out among all the rest.

1. I thought Davey over reacted to Thomas, there were cars on the outside all over the track the first lap.

3. I would have liked to have seen Tony K. try to make it to the end, at Indy it's win or nothing.

4. I agree, except I would say the worst looking one was Mark Dismore. The worst one I saw in person was Jim Malloy.

5. Danica did salvage a decent finish, but many of the positions she gained were through attrition and fuel problems. She seems to have trouble driving in heavy traffic. Indy is certainly her best track.

7. No question. I thought Jim Nabors did an excellent job.

9. The info they gave on tv seemed to indicate that most of the front runners were using it the least. Marco had used almost all of his pushes by halfway. It would be interesting to have a full rundown.

 

[doozer]

1. I thought Davey over reacted to Thomas, there were cars on the outside all over the track the first lap.

3. I would have liked to have seen Tony K. try to make it to the end, at Indy it's win or nothing.

4. I agree, except I would say the worst looking one was Mark Dismore. The worst one I saw in person was Jim Malloy.

5. Danica did salvage a decent finish, but many of the positions she gained were through attrition and fuel problems. She seems to have trouble driving in heavy traffic. Indy is certainly her best track.

7. No question. I thought Jim Nabors did an excellent job.

9. The info they gave on tv seemed to indicate that most of the front runners were using it the least. Marco had used almost all of his pushes by halfway. It would be interesting to have a full rundown.

1. Scheckter has always been stupid fast and just plain stupid. i still haven't seen the replay, but it's not Hamilton was singling out a clean driver.

2. i don't think there was way anyway he had enough gas.

7. i love Jim Nabors.

9. interesting about the button. i know on the radio they mentioned TK was on it during a restart and Dario was still driving away.