INDY 500 BLOG: Bump Day

May 24, 2010

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Bump Day

My original intention Sunday morning was to get up and make it to the Speedway for two of the morning IRL ministry services in the media center. It took so long for the jubilant mayhem of our Pole Day success to sink in enough to write about it that my column remained in production until 2:30 on Sunday morning. When the alarm blared at 7:00, I rolled over and shut the darned contraption right off, having only had a few hours of sleep. As much as I wanted to get up and make it to what I had joyfully termed "IndyCar church," it just wasn't going to happen this week. Mark my word though, I will make it on race day.

A quick check of the old Twitter feed brought the interesting news that Tony Kanaan had crashed again in morning practice. This was a particularly shocking occurrence since TK had literally destroyed his primary car during qualifications on Pole Day. The storyline of what might now happen with one of the Indianapolis 500 fan favorites became the focal point of the day. Not only was this day the final for 500 qualifications, but now one of the most reliable teams in the IndyCar paddock was forced to scramble hurriedly in order to qualify the #11 car for the big dance. It would not be Indy without drama, and TK's crash definitely brought drama early on.

Once I arrived, most of the morning was spent in the transporter after enjoying another wonderful lunch in the Panther Racing hospitality tent along with special guests from the National Guard. Ed and Dan had both been out running practice, but a technical issue arose on the #20 car that forced it back to the garage for a swift repair. Other than that, the field for the 94th Indianapolis 500 was quickly filled and bumping began to commence. The heat of the day bore down like an awful edict, meaning that there would likely be very few qualification attempts until the track cooled down in the late afternoon. Sure enough, most of the day was spent in practice.

Ed took definite advantage of the practice time, so we headed out to the line for observation. On one side of the Fuzzy's pit box sat one of the IndyCar Series's ethanol refueling stations and on the other side, two spots away, was the pit box for the uber-popular #7 car, replete with the horde of fans flocking around in hopes of a chance to look at the driver and take her photograph. The phenomenon around people's fascination with the #7 car and its driver still amazes me to no end. I just don't get it. Wherever she goes, the masses follow like a flock of sheep. To give an example, even when the crew pushed her car forward momentarily to put some fuel in it for a practice run, the throngs of followers behind the #7 pit box followed the car in parallel over and then back again once it was returned to the pit box. All the while, they stood there and gawked and went ignored as usual. Perhaps that is the draw. They always say that you always want what you can't have. What you certainly can't have is attention from certain drivers. In my time in the paddock here, I have been astounded that some of the best, most successful drivers can walk about freely, unencumbered by too much attention. Yet, one single driver attracts the most attention for unknown reason. It's baffling when you look at it from the inside.

It was a scorcher at IMS today. At one point, the ambient temperature was reported to be 94 degrees F while the track read 126. It was extremely hot. In fact, I believe it was hotter today than at any other time I have been at the Speedway. When I came here for the 500 in 2006, it was scalding. Bump Day 2010 definitely beat that. After thoroughly soaking ourselves in sweat, MK and I headed back to the transporter for a little relief. We ran into "Superfan" and Evander Holyfield along the way. One cool thing about IMS in May is that you really never know who you are going to run into. But all of a sudden, you bump into famous people from all walks of life. Some of them have been made famous by the Speedway. Others have been made famous by television and film. Still others have been made famous for absolutely no reason at all and still become the main attraction.

MK and I stopped briefly by the Panther/Vision garage to grab a couple of cold drinks before walking out to the transporter lot. We stepped inside the cool cabin only to discover Kitch, Misty, and PCap devouring ice cream sandwiches. The chilled air felt fantastic. It was definitely a welcome refuge from the sweltering Indy heat.

During a lull in the day's action PCap, MK, and I had a revealing discussion about the dynamics, history, and personality of Vision Racing. I can only say that I am blown away by the sincerity and compassion within the organization. In fact, one of the things they specifically mentioned was their wish that I'd had a chance to meet the crew members that made up the meat of the team before the tumult that ensued with the loss of sponsorship at the beginning of the year. They were right. I do wish that chance had come, because I know they were a fantastic bunch of people. They would have to be in order to be part of Vision Racing to begin with. I could not help but make comparisons between the chemistry of Vision Racing, as portrayed by them and likewise observed by yours truly, and a former employer of mine that was built upon similar principles. You have to understand that before I was welcomed into this organization at the beginning of the month, I had already been attracted to them as an outsider. The fact that they were different was apparent from my first observation. It was not by chance that Vision Racing came to champion this project. It was simply meant to be. It was something that could be felt in the gut. I surely felt it and they must have felt it or else this magical voyage would have never left port to begin with. Vision is a special family. And they are just that, a family. Knowing this truth humbles my own acceptance into that family even more. It is an honor I feel with renewed vigor each and every day.

After our talk, I ventured out to see if I could watch the tail end of Bump Day qualifications. A perfect place was selected right beside the entry to Gasoline Alley where the cars coming in from their runs had to scurry through the replacement of tires and fuel for swift re-qualification attempts should they be bumped from the field or not even cut the mustard in the first place. It was an exciting place to be standing for those final 30 minutes of the day. In the end, the 4 heartbroken drivers who did not make the field were Milka Duno, Jay Howard, Paul Tracy, and Jacques Lazier. The hype coming into the weekend of qualifications surrounded the possibility that 5 women could qualify for the 500. The record for any other running was 3. So even with Duno's failure to make the field, there would still be a record number of women participating on May 30th. Of those females, Sarah Fisher had the fastest time on the track, much to my own delight.

The most questionable move of the Bump Day session involved Sarah Fisher Racing withdrawing Jay Howard's already-qualified car from 33rd position to try and improve his time to avoid a bump by Paul Tracy. The plan backfired. He ran too slow to make the field and in so doing, put Sebastian Saavedra back into the 33rd position. The final gun sounded halfway through Howard's failed attempt. In other words, Jay Howard went out and bumped himself right out of the field. This likely made him new best friends with the young driver of the 66. I cannot imagine how that must make him feel. He must be absolutely downtrodden at the last minute decision. Then again, this is Indy.

During the day's intermittent practice sessions, Ed and the Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka team spent the day working on race setup and simulations, completing more than 80 laps in the process. It is certain that they made some solid intelligent decisions regarding their plans for the race that is now less than one week away. Excitement is growing here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The field of 33 is now set and the only big name out of the mix is Paul Tracy. Sure, it would have been nice to see PT in the show. He's one of the more legendary names around this place and to have him fall short is a major disappointment.

Things grew downright goofy in the transporter toward the end of the day. MK discovered one of Ed's old helmets and decided to put it on while working on the afternoon Vision press release. He even kept it on as we went outside to watch the massive helicopter take off from the field beside the transporter farm. Nobody ever noticed. They were all too busy watching the splendor of the warbird. When made fun of for wearing the helmet, his defense became that he would have the last laugh should any of us receive a serious head injury in the war room. His statement drew a round of laughter. MK is definitely a character. He does something outrageously funny every single day. Whether it is posing with an old phone, singing the lyrics to Michael McDonald and Steely Dan, or wearing an old IndyCar helmet, MK is always reliable for bringing the room to laughter. The antics at times in the Vision transporter have been among the funniest situations one could imagine. to say the staff this month has been lighthearted would be and understatement. I remain impressed at the creativity and ingenuity of the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of working with.

Bump Day signals a brief pause in major on-track operations until Wednesday. Thus, it looks like I'm going to have a couple of days of down time away from the Speedway. What I'm going to do with that time is up in the air, but it will not go unchronicled. Nothing is scheduled at the Speedway on Monday or Tuesday, but Wednesday is community day and we'll be back. I might run out and do some tourism in the area. There may even be a repeat visit to the Mug n Bun. I'll report on my down time once it's all said and done. The blog shall not go dark along with the action.

The last 12 days have been fun, but they have been brutal and hard to keep pace with at times. Attempting to recall every little detail of the experience has proven difficult on occasion, but not everything can be reported either. There are things I've learned that never need repeating. Still, there are others that beg to be told, but only after time has allowed them to ripen to perfection. One thing left up in the air surrounds lunch for the next couple of days. I'm going to miss the wonderful stuff at the Panther tent for a few days.

Honestly, Bump Day was a major letdown from the excitement of Pole Day. That's not a bad thing however. We qualified in the Fast 9 and improved positions during the shootout. I am still coming down from that tremendously amazing experience. Even basking in that afterglow, it still definitely felt cool to be out on the front line for the final bumping drama of the day. In my opinion, there was no other place to be but there. Then again, this is Indy. The rest goes without saying.

What an absolutely magical, dramatic, and wonderful place Indianapolis Motor Speedway is. Coming into this assignment, I only thought I knew her. And though that assumption was quickly proven false, she has finally spilled over on top of me and let me get to know her with intimacy. I feel like I'm actually part of the place now and that it is part of me. A portion of my soul never wants to leave IMS when this whole endeavor concludes. With a smile on my face, I know with certainty that it never will.

--CW

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