We Got 99 500's But This One's Juan's (The 99th Indianapolis 500)

Yep, Indy is a pretty big deal. Between 7 a.m. and noon attendance went from hundreds to hundreds of thousands, packed stands, lines to the concessions, lines to get your seats and lines to the bathrooms... oh the lines to the bathrooms... Herds of people in wearing their favorite drivers shirt or no shirt at all and jean shorts... I spent the first two hours after arrival chatting with great friends, fans and fellow enthusiasts. Conversations during tweet-ups and random gatherings are the best, because you know the people will have quality knowledge and great personality.

On to the race... Florence Henderson, Back home in Indiana, Star Spangled Banner, A-10 Warthog flyover, “Drivers to your cars,” AMERICA. When the green flag dropped the racing was really quite exciting, passes for the lead and position throughout the field. The Chevy's were dominant over the aero-deficient Hondas and kept the front positions the majority of the time. What was wrong with Honda's aero kit that made it a couple of miles per hour slower? Do I look like an aero engineer? NO. Some of the wing bits weren't working with some of the fin bits or the wind or something. Anyway, a couple of the Honda drivers made them work decently like Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal (who's finished in the top five in the last three races), but just couldn't close the gap to the front in time. The front runners were of the Death Star and Imperial guard... I mean Penske and Ganassi Racing. They dominated, brought order to the galaxy and destroyed the rebel alliance with the ultimate power in the universe (At this time, that is the Chevys.) Pagenaud, Kanaan, Dixon, Montoya and Power led the majority and selfishly didn't share the lead with other drivers because why would you? It's Indy, take the damn lead and keep it for yourself.

Montoya had problems early on with contact to the rear bumper guard that needed replaced under caution, no worries, he bounced back. There were a few incidents and wrecks, but no cars flipped onto their lid. In one instance, Sebastian Saavedra dislocated his ankle and had to be carried out of the car. That was really the only (on track) injury, despite the pit road collision with the Dale Coyne crew members.

The final laps saw some of the greatest racing in the event's history with Dixon, Power and Montoya swapping the lead over and again with Juan Pablo Montoya making the final pass to win his second Indianapolis 500 out of three attempts. Not a bad record at all. Will Power came second and Charlie freaking Kimball finished third in an impressive showing. The top Honda's of Rahal and Andretti finishing fifth and sixth were slowly catching the leaders in the end, maybe ten more laps would have made a difference. In the end the packed crowd got to witness yet another great 500 and next year is the centennial running, which should see more people, celebrities, bathroom lines and traffic than ever before.

Will you be attending the 100th? We will be for sure, the “Greatest spectacle in racing” never ceases to amaze fans and maintains being the biggest one day sporting event in the WORLD. With the renovations the speedway is making to be completed before next years race, it is also looking to be one of the nicest, most modern and advanced racing venues in the world as well. Thanks for reading to all of you who care about my thoughts and opinions, or those who couldn't care less, either way, thanks!

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