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Post by indy on Apr 21, 2014 21:24:14 GMT -5
Who else is going to be there besides me?
Jordan
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Post by chromehorn08 on Apr 21, 2014 21:39:49 GMT -5
Ohh if possible can you take some pics of Mike Conways car. Preferably the side of the front nose for a good view of that gold stripe. Where it goes to as it swooshes down.
Also the rear endplate of Hinches car. That blue wing part.
Thanks Jordan. Hope you have a blast!!!
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Post by indy on Apr 30, 2014 16:44:16 GMT -5
Had a good weekend at Barber but I am just recovering now from it and all the other stuff going on. Barber was my first IndyCar road/street race to attend after 20+ oval races at IMS and TMS. Got to stay with extended family for the weekend but got there about midnight Friday night after a long drive. We woke up fairly early on Saturday but a snafu meant we only got to the track during the 2nd race of the day (Pro Mazda). We set up our chairs on the hillside lawn outside of the last little complex of turns before cars go back to the mainstretch. The Indy Lights race was good because two of the fastest cars went off in T1 and spent the rest of the race fighting their way back up. Alex Baron (the French kid not to be confused with the American Alex Barron of the late 90's in CART, who won two IRL races in '02/03) made was making moves in front of us pretty regularly which made the small field more than tolerable. Went for a walk during the USF2000 race and ended up in the first complex of turns. Stood around Tim Cindric to see if I could have a word with him after the race, but he shot off as soon as the race was over. His kid, Austin, is in USF2000 again this year. As the race was getting close to being finished, I looked over and there was Bryan Herta. It clicked with me that his 14-year old boy was making his debut at Barber. So, I got to shake Herta's hand and tell him I was a fan. We went to the paddock during IndyCar qualifying, probably should have timed it better but eh!?!? It was interesting to see all the varied marques from the GT garage then go through all the different open wheel garages. Well, garage is a loose term, most were under tents that come out of the side of their transporter. The GT race was really pretty good, too, with tons of cars plus the McLaren MP4/12 GT3's stalled on the grid and spent the entire race making their way back through the field. On the way back to the house Saturday we got a collapsible tent for Sunday after all the sun of Saturday. Saturday night after watching the Cup race, I saw on the news that the 10% chance of rain had changed to severe storms coming through around 2pm which was right about the time of the start of the IndyCar race. Sunday, we were again a little tardy to the track and drove in during IndyCar practice. By the time we were driving by the last section of turns to get to our parking lot, the #83 was being picked up to be towed back to the pits. Went to the paddock straightaway and found Johnny Rutherford walking out to the pacecars. Took a minute to shake his hand and talk to him for a minute. It was pretty basic small talk, he enjoys getting to be part of the series but life on the road is getting old. Of course, being unprepared to talk to him, I forgot all the stuff I would have liked to have told him. In the paddock, the #18 squad was across from Team Penske so I stopped by to say hi to Trevor. It was short but, again, it was nice to meet him. Rick Mears was talking in the garage area but never got very close. He was wearing flip-flops which made me laugh, how very Rick and how very un-Penske but I guess when you win Indy four times, you get special priviledges. Lots of people around were enamored with Broadway Joe, the weekend's Grand Marshal, but I was more interested in the drivers. Paddock passes give you a lot of access but I was unprepared to get autographs, I just had to settle for pics. Was interesting to see all the drivers walking around and how the less popular ones got around almost unnoticed. The severe weather was a bit concerning, there was lightning all around but we stuck it out. The rescheduled race time of 3pm came and went without any news, anywhere. Nothing on the PA, nothing on Twitter, etc - a pathetic job of communication by IndyCar IMHO. All we needed was a "the race will not be able to start by 3pm, we will announce the new race time as soon as it is decided." Engines could be heard warming so I went to the paddock to find some answers. Eventually found out about 3:45 that the race would start around 4:15. Once the race started there was some confusion over how long the race would be, again, poor communication. The race was enjoyable but I was really hoping for a long green run during the wet to dry transition. Sadly we did not get that but we did get to see just some awful strategy calls by the Rahal and KVSH teams. Was surprised how off the pace the Penske cars fell and how off some the winners in the series were during the day - like Conway. The late race meant I got home around 1am Monday and with my alarm set to go off at 5:30am, I have struggled the first few days of the week. Juan, I got your pics. Once I get them uploaded, I will shoot you some links. Sorry about the #20 car being grainy, I never got a good shot. And it was not my intent to get the NF&D girls in the video of the car driving by but I hope you'll forgive me  I don't get that marketing angle but I don't complain about it either. MP, I got a few detail shots of an Lights car, don't know if you'll ever get one from me. ...but if you do, I have these to use for reference. If anyone else is looking for some reference, I have some but it is far from comprehensive. I did try to get a lot of the steering wheels, just a personal deal that I find interesting. Jordan |
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Post by Calvin on Apr 30, 2014 16:56:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the report - its always neat to hear ones race day adventure! |
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Post by chromehorn08 on Apr 30, 2014 20:59:13 GMT -5
Sounds like a very eventful weekend for you! Glad you had fun. I don't know why you didn't get any word on the delay of the race and new start times. I saw it posted on twitter by indycar and indycarPR multiple times. Bummer about that part. Thanks for snapping a few pics and I am sure I can find it in my heart to forgive you about getting the ladies in the shot.
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Post by harveythedog2 on May 1, 2014 10:16:35 GMT -5
Great report Jordon. I enjoy reading everyone's adventures as well!
Stu
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Post by indy on May 1, 2014 10:27:19 GMT -5
I also took a minute to tell Paul Page that it was nice to have him back. I miss him on the TV side but he and Pippa make a good team on the radio.
Jordan
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Post by indy on May 5, 2014 14:09:09 GMT -5
Ohh if possible can you take some pics of Mike Conways car. Preferably the side of the front nose for a good view of that gold stripe. Where it goes to as it swooshes down. Also the rear endplate of Hinches car. That blue wing part. Thanks Jordan. Hope you have a blast!!! Juan, these are clickable thumbnails. Conway nose - sorry they are blurry, I did not see the car out of the garage   Hinch rear wing endplate - I got a good video of the car rolling by me on the way to the grid that might be better, if needed. However, I can't upload videos straight from camera to PB (unsupported format), but can get video screenshots up quicker if you need them. It is definitely a wing motif from the UFD sponsorship.      Jordan |
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I don't get that marketing angle but I don't complain about it either. MP, I got a few detail shots of an Lights car, don't know if you'll ever get one from me. ...but if you do, I have these to use for reference. If anyone else is looking for some reference, I have some but it is far from comprehensive. I did try to get a lot of the steering wheels, just a personal deal that I find interesting.
