25 May
Rain finally stopped and now the sun is out and things
are heating up as is the humidity. I
have managed to catch a nasty cold. Arg!
One of the things we like about staying in military
campgrounds is that everyone around us is either currently serving or they are
retired, i.e. you have to have an ID card to get in this place. We also regularly see military helicopters
and remotely piloted aircraft flying over.
So at the campgrounds this morning, we met our neighbor who was retired Air National Guard and noticed my flagpole with the US and Air Force flags proudly displayed. He was prior active duty Air Force and then transferred to the Air National Guard as a C-130 pilot from New York. Home is in Chicago. So we had a lot in common and talked for hours! He is also a techno-geek and we exchanged some RV tech tips and ideas. After retiring he went to work as a contractor flying missions in Afghanistan. He is only here until tomorrow then he is moving his RV to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to camp there during the race. He gave us a lot of tips about visiting the speedway.
So at the campgrounds this morning, we met our neighbor who was retired Air National Guard and noticed my flagpole with the US and Air Force flags proudly displayed. He was prior active duty Air Force and then transferred to the Air National Guard as a C-130 pilot from New York. Home is in Chicago. So we had a lot in common and talked for hours! He is also a techno-geek and we exchanged some RV tech tips and ideas. After retiring he went to work as a contractor flying missions in Afghanistan. He is only here until tomorrow then he is moving his RV to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to camp there during the race. He gave us a lot of tips about visiting the speedway.
After lunch we headed out to visit the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
This Sunday will be the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 race and it is SOLD OUT. The good news is since it is sold out, management decided to open the black-out so it will be broadcast live right here in Indianapolis.
The activities leading up to the 500 ramp up during the week as the drivers and their teams get ready. It was obvious we were not going to get tickets for the race and after checking into the events and talking with the locals we decided to tour the museum today (Wednesday) to avoid the crowds and traffic with our large pickup. Track admission is free today, parking is free and the museum admission is $10. Tomorrow it costs $10 to get in the gate, and Friday it will be total pandemonium according to locals, as it is “Carb Day”, a day back in history that allowed the teams to “tune their carburetors” and run their cars to make final adjustments. Parking is even sold out per their web site.
This Sunday will be the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 race and it is SOLD OUT. The good news is since it is sold out, management decided to open the black-out so it will be broadcast live right here in Indianapolis.
The activities leading up to the 500 ramp up during the week as the drivers and their teams get ready. It was obvious we were not going to get tickets for the race and after checking into the events and talking with the locals we decided to tour the museum today (Wednesday) to avoid the crowds and traffic with our large pickup. Track admission is free today, parking is free and the museum admission is $10. Tomorrow it costs $10 to get in the gate, and Friday it will be total pandemonium according to locals, as it is “Carb Day”, a day back in history that allowed the teams to “tune their carburetors” and run their cars to make final adjustments. Parking is even sold out per their web site.
So getting to the museum was uneventful except the
construction and delays on the road. Once
at the Speedway, you actually drive through a tunnel and drive right under the
race track to get to the museum parking lot.
Parking was easy to find and the museum as not busy as all. Normally they run tours of the race track where you can ride a bus around the track, or even ride in a car around the track, but during the month of May drivers are starting to run their cars here so they suspend all tours for the entire month. So we will just visit the museum.
Parking was easy to find and the museum as not busy as all. Normally they run tours of the race track where you can ride a bus around the track, or even ride in a car around the track, but during the month of May drivers are starting to run their cars here so they suspend all tours for the entire month. So we will just visit the museum.
The view from there was interesting and there were a few
cars running on the track. The sound of
them passing by was cool. It is hard to
imagine what it sounds like with a track full of cars all running hard.
We headed into the museum and there we met one of the
staff who commented on my hat (Retired Air Force). He has been active duty Air Force in Thule
Greenland among other places. He led us
back to a little known new area in the museum that just opened. We toured around that area and viewed the
eight minute movie about the Indianapolis 500.
The history on display here is amazing. The race started back in 1911.
If you like cars and have followed racing at all, especially the 500, this is the Mecca. There were Indy cars there from the start of the race all the way up to last year’s winner. The paint jobs were amazing.
The engine displays, very interesting. The helmets, protective jumpsuits, tires – incredible. The names I remember from the past – AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Sneva, Rutherford, and on and on. World War I ace, Eddie Rickenbacker was even a driver!
If you like cars and have followed racing at all, especially the 500, this is the Mecca. There were Indy cars there from the start of the race all the way up to last year’s winner. The paint jobs were amazing.
The engine displays, very interesting. The helmets, protective jumpsuits, tires – incredible. The names I remember from the past – AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Sneva, Rutherford, and on and on. World War I ace, Eddie Rickenbacker was even a driver!
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| 1973 Gordon Johncock. I was getting ready to leave for basic training just one week later! |
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| AJ Foyt |
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| Danica Patrick's first Indy car. |
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| 2012 Indy winner Dodge Challenger driven by Brad Keselowski |
That would be a cool trip!! The museum looks awesome. Can't image how loud it is, especially from the video being outside.
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