A beautiful sunny day, the temperature climbed to 78 degrees. Keith joined me this afternoon on my way to the track. There were a lot of cars out practicing today - 29 drivers logged 2500 laps!
Here are two IRL two-seaters
There sure are a lot of motorcyclist working in the garages.
I ran into Mike Manifold in the garages. Haven't seen him in a year. He has a son who races midgets.
A car going through tech inspection -
Here is A.J. Foyt IV signing autographs
Lots of tires stacked out of Firestone ready to go
There was a decent crowd for a practice day. We decided to go over to the Fanfest area by the museum. As we began to walk, a girl came by in a big golf cart. I held out my thumb to catch a ride, as I have done for 20 years. But this time the cart actually stopped and the lady offered us a ride! Her name was Anna and she indicated that the Speedway was now allowing certain safety personnel in the large six-seater carts to offer fans a helping ride. Awesome!
When we tried to walk into the fanfest, we were stopped and told that they are still constructing it and it is not done yet. So we walked into the museum giftshop where I bought a cool Red Bull hat for $10.
As we walked back toward the front straight, Keith spotted the Red Bull tent over with other tents south of the garages, and walked toward it. I told him we'd need a pass to get in, but we decided to try anyway. I put on my new Red Bull hat thinking that might help.
The place has some cool seating and tv's. The white bartender had dreadlocks and reggae was coming out of the sound system. The drinks were free. They had beer as well as Crown Royal and Grey Goose. But the only mixer was Red Bull. Can you believe they did not have Jaegermeister! The bartender told me that on some days, such as Carb Day, only people with passes will be admitted. Some girls invited us to sit with them.
Keith was happy drinking free booze, so there we stayed, ever after the track closed. I have never drank so much Red Bull in my life. After a 110 mph trip home, my idea of hiring a bus for Carb Day sounds better than ever.
Dan Wheldon went the fastest today - over 227 mph. Danica drove by me in a golf cart. Kenny Brack is making a return to the Speedway!
