I was checking out M.B.'s 500 webpage about her trip to the
500 this year (1998). She came from California. I was amazed
that she got right into the pits and the garages after the race,
got right up to the winner (Eddie Cheever) and she met her
favorite driver, Arie Luyendyk and even got into the Pennzoil
garage. I emailed her and asked her how she pulled that off.
Here is her reply.
"It's really weird...regarding the IRL, I seem to have this incredible
luck, like I have a halo over my head or something (which resembles an
Indycar tire evidently) because I have been 'blessed' ever since I
made contact with the IRL. Here's the story:"
"The '97 race, as you know, was rained out two days in a row. The third
day was a Tuesday, and the working class stiff that I am, I had to go
to work. So, I set up the VCR to tape it."
"My rambunctuous cat, a kitten then, had the habit of getting behind
things and unplugging things. Get the picture? She unplugged the VCR,
so we got about 10 minutes of the race, and then BLUE SCREEN."
"My husband had gotten me into watching the race in '92 (forced me to
watch Little Al and Scott make history even though I swore I wasn't
interested) but I was hooked from that point on. We watched it every
year on TV...until 1997."
"We were devastated, and I got on the internet desperately seeking a
video. No luck. I finally called the IMS and was put in touch with
marketing. The Director of Marketing said they usually didn't get
things like that, but they would see what they could do, and that his
assistant, Lisa Mattingly, would be handling it. "
"In September, a large, padded envelope arrived with an IMS label on
it. IT WAS A TAPE OF THE ENTIRE BROADCAST, NO
COMMERCIALS PLUS A PROGRAM!!!!"
"We were so stoked, we knew we had to get to the race in person. SO,
I called Lisa and she explained that the tickets sell out a year in
advance but she'd see what she could do. The next day, the Ticketing
Director called to see where I wanted to sit(!) and arranged for two
seats in the Paddock for us!"
"So, we made the 2300+ trip to Indianapolis (I'm a terrible flyer,
scared to death), found the people in the area WONDERFUL and kind,
and our luck continued. We went to the IMS on Friday before the race.
I had this strnge feeling we'd meet Arie and so I had brought the
die-cast replicas of his '97 car with me on our trip. Sure enough, he
was at Fanfest, unscheduled. (See picture!)"
"Saturday we went to the parade and got soaked. Sunday was Race Day
and our luck continued because it didn't rain :-) "
"We sat across from the pits which was great. Eddie Cheever's pit was
directly across and one space to the right from where we sat (you
probably got an idea of where we sat from the pictures)."
"The people next to us had a brother who worked there, on the Penzoil
Team. He came to sit beside me and we watched the race start. I
guess what happened was that the cars made their first warmup lap,
and I had never heard them in person--and I broke down and cried it
was so wonderful (I think there's a Jeff Foxworthy joke in there
somewhere...). Everyone around us comforted me and gave me tissues
and hugged me. IT was great."
"So after the race, the people next to us asked if we had to be
anywhere because they were going to Gasoline Alley and could get us in
too."
"IF we hadn't had to get a shuttle to the hotel by 5:30 (the shuttle
service stopped 3 hours after the race), we would have stayed longer
and partied with the teams...darn it. But it's a matter of counting our
blessings!!!!!"
"The next day we took our shuttle ride around the track and were
interviewed on Fox '59."
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