Another one in the books

[2lapsdown]

Another 500 in the books, number 14. I didn't make the memorabilia show so missed seeing some people I haven't seen for years. However I did finally meet Art Laski Sunday at the track, great guy. Thanks Art for making the time. Chip came loaded for bear this year, his cars were bad fast. I felt bad for Jimmie, I really wanted him to see a checkered flag. And Dixie . . . .

[INDY22IAM]

A great race, I would have loved to see a yellow around lap 15 to go. I did like to see the red flag I imagine Marcus's heart rate was through the roof. Dixie is going to take a long time for that one to sink through. He probably will be thinking about that till he gets back in the car for next year's Indy 500. I do not like to see dominance for the race but I did feel bad for him on that violation. Like he admitted to it. I think he knew he was coming in too fast probably hoping they did not catch it. Never been a big Scott Dixon fan but I do like his demeanor he seems to have a good straightforward opinion on things. Its like not liking Tom Brady just becuase they do well all the time. Sooner or later you come around and realize they are good for a reason they work hard and do their job correctly and thats why they are succesful.

[mrindy77]

Our seats are directly across from the 33rd pit, Sage Karam this year. I knew right away Dixie had come in too hot. I was pleased to see a new winner. Would not have minded if either TK or Helio won...really wanted to see Daly win.

[schix5150]

Well dang.  I would have been right by you.  I was in front Helio’s pit box.  I managed to get a windshield tear off.  At the end of the race, he got out of his car, did his interviews, and came over to the fence to say Hi.  I panicked and realized I had something for him to sign…

[mrindy77]

I was on the other side of the track.

[mrindy77]

[Gary Davis]

GREAT PICS from you guys...Thanks for posting them.

[indy]

Good race day. We were staying in a different area of Indy than previous years and the way we came in, traffic was so much less than I remember coming from other directions. Now we do get the to track fairly early.... lol

Met Marshall Pruett and some of his podcast listeners a few hours before the race. He passed out some 1992 commemorative pins from him which is great since that was my first 500.

Got over to the hatpin trading booth only to realize I had left all my pins in the trunk of my vehicle. My 10 year-old son was not in favor of a 2.5 mile roundtrip hike to get my pins, so maybe next year....

Sat in Jim Stephens' seats which were great and almost in the shade by the time we returned. We were right there for pre-race festivities. I have to say the Thunderbirds flyover during "Back Home Again in Indiana" was a moment I will not soon forget. We could see them on the jumbotron but could not see them (did not see them at all during anthem). All of a sudden they shoot out from 5 sides of the pagoda as the sixth F-16 thunders almost overhead of us shaking us to our cores - chills!

The race was good. I expected a Honda to win with the Ganassi cars looking like the strongest horses in the big H stable. Was excited to see Pato have a chance on the last lap, not sure why he backed out. Marcus is my 4th or 5th favorite out of the Ganassi drivers but he did a great job. He was bad fast at the end gobbling up those Arrow McLaren Chevys easily making him a deserving champion.

Mid-race we were in a line and I felt a tap on my shoulder. There was Walt, I had no idea he sat that close!

The Penske boys looked lost all race. Scotty was making moves early in the race but never got to the front before crashing. Will did a great job coming back after falling like a rock early. I do not think I saw Josef make a pass on track, just seemed like he did not have enough speed/handling. The Rahal cars looked even worse.

With seats across from victory lane, there was no hurry to leave. We walked around quite a bit post-race, too. Looked at a few merch trailers but saved our money. Then we ended up in the media area while Marcus was working his way down a line of press on a walkway between the media center and Pagoda.

Sadly, the City of Speedway sidewalks tripped up my son, right as we almost to the car, busting both of his knees pretty badly. Spent the rest of race day getting him cleaned up, trying to find an open and in-network urgent care late on a holiday weekend Sunday, and an in-network 24hr pharmacy. Finally, got back to the hotel around 10pm where we put on the race replay, ate the dinner we had just picked up at the Steak and Shake drive through, called the missus, and had lights out by 11pm. He will be fine but he is moving a bit slow until it heals. I think he likes the attention he gets so he hams it up a bit extra around me LOL.

The Huski car will not be a bad car to have on the shelf. There were some cars I would have like more aesthetically but there were a handful of paint schemes this year that I did not care for, even if I liked the driver. I must be getting old!!

I am already looking forward to 2023!
Jordan

[indy]

After the race did anyone else see Helio walking down the pit lane waving to the fans? Glad to hear he is coming back, I was starting to think that was a goodbye gesture.

Jordan

[mrindy77]

A pic from the big TV across from us post race.

[Art Laski]

May 30, 2022 9:10:07 GMT -5 2lapsdown said:

Another 500 in the books, number 14. I didn't make the memorabilia show so missed seeing some people I haven't seen for years. However I did finally meet Art Laski Sunday at the track, great guy. Thanks Art for making the time. Chip came loaded for bear this year, his cars were bad fast. I felt bad for Jimmie, I really wanted him to see a checkered flag. And Dixie . . . .

It was great to finally meet you, John, and glad we had some time to talk. Hopefully, we'll see you next year!