What up, homeys? Thanks for the mad props and popping in to read the frivolity yesterday. Mega shout outs to the Indy Car PR staff and Iowa Speedway posse for letting me hang about like some kind of real media person. The IRL PR kings and queens do an awesome job helping the media cover the series. And I'm not just saying that to suck up. Seriously.
Last updated 6/23/07 8:10 p.m.
Couple things I forgot to mention yesterday. One, I met Arni the Indy Insider. And me without my Sharpie. I pretty much begged Arni to do a YouTube installment from Iowa. Pleaded. Offered beer. He said he's think about it. Mercurial, that Arni is.
I also forgot to mention that Brian Barnhart, chief steward for the IRL, who I call the Iron Hand of Justice, walked by me and I DID NOT DIE on the spot. People did tend to scurry out of his path, however.
Speaking of awesome power, God threw a Welcome to Iowa party last night and caused tornadoes to dance to the southwest of the track. Trees uprooted. Churches on fire. Seriously. Mother Nature to the IRL: Not impressed with your little cars. Show me some respect.
On the way out of the track last night I was personally accosted by the weather, which ripped my jumbo IndyCar umbrella into angry tatters. I was impressive groping for my keys in back of a semi-truck tractor in the parking lot. I managed to make it home by driving on the highway, as opposed to being picked up and FLUNG back to West Des Moines by a 'nado.
Day Two at Newton is more like a regular practice day for the Indy Racing League. The Indy Pro Series cars and the IndyCar cars are on the track today.
Today I'll be spectator boy. I'm taking my 73-year-old father, who's nickname is Tweet (long story), to the IPS race and IndyCar qualifications. My 12-year-old daughter will also be in tow. She's GEEKED UP to meet Sarah Fisher.
Tweet is a retired auto mechanic. When I was a kid, he'd amaze me with his car diagnostic skills. I swear he would just lay hands on the dash of a running '73 Dodge like a faith healer and diagnose the problem. Just this morning he was going on about "push rods" and "transmission vents" and marveling that the ICS Honda engines don't disintegrate randomly and that the transmissions can take shifting at 10,000 rpms in a semi-automatic fashion. The more disassembled a car is the better for this guy. Gonna try to hook him up with the Honda engine geeks and them them go into a gran mal mechanical froth sometime this weekend.
Probably won't post again until after 7 p.m. Central. Get the beer cold for tomorrow. Peace out.
8:10 p.m.
Back from the track. My 12-year-old daughter, Jena, and 73-year-old father penetrated the garage gates to eyeball everything. First thing we see is Jeff Simmons' car coming out of tech inspection. So Tweet walks RIGHT over to the car. I mean, RIGHT over to it. I thought he was going to step on the front wing. I had a heart attack. He was checking the "camber" on the front wheel. Dude. Don't get us kicked out.
Down the garage area we spotted sundry drivers. Jena was ready with the Sharpie. Got Darren Manning to sign. Saw Quattro. Saw AJ Foyt and felt UNWORTHY. Said what up to Bre Pedigo, New IRL Pit Hotty, who was racing around the garage area in preparation for the Big Show. Also saw Danica come out of her hauler. Your goal needs to be to see Danica, not get her autograph, because thousands of people want her autograph. The second she stops walking she's ENGULFED by fans and could stand and sign for hours. She has to keep moving or be swept away never to be heard from again.
Hung out and caught Sarah Fisher on her way into her trailer after practice. She was in a hurry but very cool. Gave Jena the deluxe autograph on the hero card, and on the back of her Sarah Fisher Indy 500 shirt and posed for a photo. I wiped a manly tear. Sarah's car was a pig on the track, so, she could have been hissy with some justification.
Buddy Rice also signed for Jena, as did Dan Wheldon, who busted off a conversation with Tony George and the Iron Hand of Justice to sign. Dude. I'm weeping. That make TWO Indy 500 champions in Jena's collection. Frothing. I looked directly at the IHJ for several seconds and did not turn to stone.
Jena said all the crews looked mad. "They look like kidnappers or something, with their dark sunglasses and not smiling." I attempted to explain that the crews and drivers were a little stressed right between the last practice and qualifying.
While hanging out in the garage area, Tweet and I got into a gearing discussion wherein we decided that each car has to have some kind of Gearing Freak who can sense which of the billion or so gearing options are needed for each track. I thought Tweet was going to drop his water when an AGR guy walked by with some kind of gear assembly. Tweet has a car entrails fetish, I'm telling ya. Stuff like cam shafts excite him.
Eventually we made it around to the grandstands to watch the Indy Pro Series. Those cars sound exactly like the winged sprints I grew up watching in Jackson, MN. In a SHOCKING development, Alex Lloyd won. Who'd a thunk it?
Just in time to impress all the visitors to the state, Iowa's weather is sucking. Big talk earlier in the week about this weekend being a hot and humid were LIES. It was like a scene from Twister last night and tonight it's actually cold. It's 68 degrees out at the track and breeze. I needed a jacket. I may have to turn on my furnace tonight. Sha.
Stayed for the IPS race (had another 24-ounce Tecate beer. Dude. So cold it was hard to hold it). Probably a record crowd for an IPS race. 20,000-ish, I'd bet. We alsoo watched qualifying. The cars were leaving 15-foot con trails off the back wings. Killer. Gave a fist pump when my boy Iceman put it on the pole. Ditto for when Ed Carpenter slapped up a top 5. Also some love for Simmons going sixth quick (big ups from the corn growers) and Lookin' Sharp rocking it with the fourth fastest speed. Patron is some finely refined ethanol. Rahal Letterman has its crap together lately. Big party at Club Patron tonight. Too bad they'll need their butane furnaces.
After qualifying, we bolted. I want to personally thank the Black Widow, who I am pretty sure I walked out next to. I'm sure he saw the huge pressdog dog on the back of my shirt, and yet he did not kill me and devour my head in front of my father and daughter. Hmmm. That's odd. The B.Wid must not be as lethal as reported.
That's it for me. Be sure and check out my boy MoneyCJ and Jeff live blogging on fastmachines.com tomorrow (Sunday) during the race and then check back here late Sunday for the deluxe notes from the ABC broadcast.
Don't forget our boy, Mr. Corn, Jeff Simmons, has quarter-midget roots and should feel just like a (national championship-winning) kid on the small(ish) oval, which is incidentally superior to any of the cookie-cutter 1.5 mile ISC parking garages.
Sayin'
Posted by: Dale Nixon | June 23, 2007 at 12:33 PM
There's my friend Bill, in his element. Hope you're having a great time, Billy Boy.
Posted by: Claire | June 23, 2007 at 08:22 PM
Hey, I was wondering what happened to you...the empty carrel in the "Deadline Room" was noted
Try to catch you Sunday if I can
:)
Thanks.
Allan
Posted by: Allan Brewer | June 24, 2007 at 12:46 AM
terrific and entertaining job- wish you could be at every race!
enjoy today and I look foreward to watching and reading all about it.
jen
Posted by: jennifer | June 24, 2007 at 08:26 AM
Get Tweet in a car!
Posted by: MoneyCJ | June 24, 2007 at 08:46 AM