Let’s Go Brrracing!

A few thoughts on Saturday’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis now that my fingers have thawed out. Overall, we had a great time except for a few glitches, like:

The Weather

It was terrible. We ended up buying hats, hoodies and a blanket to try to stave off the chill. Plus we bought tickets to go inside the museum for an hour or so to warm up. Outside of a couple of tenderloins and a grape sno-cone, the $15 for the museum tickets may be the best money I’ve ever spent in my 40-some years going to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The new main gate at IMS. 

The New Main Gate

Gone is the familiar IMS wing and wheel. In its place is this new sign that reminds me of Disney World. I’m sure that’s not a coincidence. The Yellow Shirts at the entrance were extremely polite and friendly. Everything was great until …

The Confused Yellow Shirt

Our tickets are in Stand E, which is one of the most iconic and sought-after stands for the Indianapolis 500. They’re pretty good for the Grand Prix as well because you get a good look at the cars coming into the final complex before exiting down the straightaway.

Coming through the final complex before the main straightaway.

As we were heading up the stairs, we were stopped by said Yellow Shirt who wanted to see our tickets. No problem. I showed her the ticket and pointed to the sign behind her that said Stand E, Box 8-10. (We were in Box 9). She said, no, you can’t go up there because your ticket doesn’t say Penthouse. Finally, another Yellow Shirt came by and said yes, indeed, we were in the exact right spot and could proceed.

For a Yellow Shirt, this is the equivalent of crashing on the first lap. A little advice: Know your section. Please. The crowd for the Grand Prix is about a tenth of what you’ll get for the 500. Ms. Yellow Shirt, you have less than two weeks to figure this out. The people who sit in Stand E likely have been sitting there for decades and won’t take kindly to a rookie telling them they’re in the wrong spot.

Speaking of Crashing on the First Lap

It would be really nice if the boys could get through that first turn one time without a melee. Post-race analysis pointed the finger at Scott Dixon for starting the mess that eliminated his teammate, Tony Kanaan, and severely hampered Sebastien Bourdais.

A Romp for Pagenaud

Simon Pagenaud is so hot he’s glowing – sort of like the livery of his Menards/Team Penske car. He led 57 of the 82 laps to win his third straight Verizon IndyCar Series race in five starts. (Pagenaud finished second in the first two events.) Teammate Helio Castroneves was second and James Hinchcliffe, who was nearly killed in a crash in practice before last year’s Indianapolis 500, was third. Local boy Conor Daly raised hopes and opened eyes by finishing sixth and leading 14 laps.

The Crowd

Our section seemed like it had a few more people compared with last year. Certainly the miserable conditions did not help. This was a hardy bunch – especially those who decided that no race is complete without cold beer.

Looking north from our spot in Stand E.

Looking south from our spot in Stand E.

The Heat Is … Off?

So after freezing all day, we get to the hotel to check in, and the front-desk clerk tells they have no heat. Uh, what? That news certainly lit a fire in me. We left and started driving – all the way to Auburn, Indiana, which is north of Fort Wayne and about 20 miles from the Michigan state line. We found a very nice Holiday Inn Express that did have heat and ate at a nearby Steak n Shake (you’re welcome, Graham Rahal).

- All photos by Jeff Majeske