Bus to Babylon - 1979
In 1979 my best bud and I decided we'd go to the 500. I'd been the
year before with my Dad,and after a year of stories Bill had to go.
Being young and broke,we ordered infield tickets,figuring if we had
enough money we would "upgrade" when we got there.
We bought round-trip Greyhound tickets from Va. to Indy; I think they
were $60. We boarded the bus Friday afternoon. It was an eventful
trip. There are some strange people on cross country busses, I think
we met them all. Changed busses in D.C. and Pittsburgh. As soon as it
got dark (halfway into Ohio) somebody fired one up. Being the only
longhairs on the bus, it looked very likely we wouldn't be on the bus
when we got to Indy. Fortunately, the driver was a race fan. When we
told him where we were going and that there's no way we'd screw it
up, he realized we had a stealth toker on board.
Got to Indy in the morning and walked to the track. We spent the day
there. This was the year extra cars qualified, so we saw that. While
we were in the gift shop a lady came in and asked if they had any Rick
Mears stuff. When they told her no, she said, "Well get some! I'm his
mom and he's going to win tomorrow!"
As we were walking
towards the beer line,
here comes this guy
walking towards us
carrying the Borg-Warner
trophy!
To our surprise, he set it
on the ground so we could
take each other's picture
with it.
We spent that night partying on the street. When the rain started,
we set up camp (along with a few hundred other people) under the small
bridge outside the track.
On the way to the track in the morning, we bought tickets about 20
rows up in "Stand A" for $50, then sold our infield tix for $20.
The race was great, both of us hoping Mears would blow it at the end
so A.J. would win!
After the race we walked back to the bus station and another endless
bus ride. It is one of the great memories of my life. Dad and I will be
back this year, but boy am I glad we don't have to ride another damn
bus!
PREVIOUS STORY INDEX NEXT STORY
In 1979 my best bud and I decided we'd go to the 500. I'd been the
year before with my Dad,and after a year of stories Bill had to go.
Being young and broke,we ordered infield tickets,figuring if we had
enough money we would "upgrade" when we got there.
We bought round-trip Greyhound tickets from Va. to Indy; I think they
were $60. We boarded the bus Friday afternoon. It was an eventful
trip. There are some strange people on cross country busses, I think
we met them all. Changed busses in D.C. and Pittsburgh. As soon as it
got dark (halfway into Ohio) somebody fired one up. Being the only
longhairs on the bus, it looked very likely we wouldn't be on the bus
when we got to Indy. Fortunately, the driver was a race fan. When we
told him where we were going and that there's no way we'd screw it
up, he realized we had a stealth toker on board.
Got to Indy in the morning and walked to the track. We spent the day
there. This was the year extra cars qualified, so we saw that. While
we were in the gift shop a lady came in and asked if they had any Rick
Mears stuff. When they told her no, she said, "Well get some! I'm his
mom and he's going to win tomorrow!"
As we were walking
towards the beer line,
here comes this guy
walking towards us
carrying the Borg-Warner
trophy!
To our surprise, he set it
on the ground so we could
take each other's picture
with it.
We spent that night partying on the street. When the rain started,
we set up camp (along with a few hundred other people) under the small
bridge outside the track.
On the way to the track in the morning, we bought tickets about 20
rows up in "Stand A" for $50, then sold our infield tix for $20.
The race was great, both of us hoping Mears would blow it at the end
so A.J. would win!
After the race we walked back to the bus station and another endless
bus ride. It is one of the great memories of my life. Dad and I will be
back this year, but boy am I glad we don't have to ride another damn
bus!
PREVIOUS STORY INDEX NEXT STORY
