The brickyard and I: My Indy 500 experience
- Post and photos by Vickie Miller
- Jun 4, 2016
- 9 min read
May 29, 2016 marked the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. My dad loved Cleveland Indians baseball so watching motorsports was not often on the black and white television in my house when I grew up. When Memorial Day weekend would come around, we always watched the Indianapolis “Indy” 500. Growing up in Ohio, I was fortunate to travel to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in the early 80’s to see the race three times. My pick back then for a favorite driver was Kevin Cogan. Enough said.
Years later, I would return twice to the IMS mighty oval to watch the GRAND-AM road racing series travel the track in reverse direction and turn into a bit of a road course, which is also the layout for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis race. Motorsport race fan or not, everyone has heard of the Indy 500 and knows the names Andretti, Unser, and Foyt.
Although I have always enjoyed IndyCar racing, I must admit much of my excitement left me when sadly Dan Wheldon and most recently, Justin Wilson, were gone. I have caught the occasional Indy race when partnered with GRAND-AM or now International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) at Detroit Grand Prix, Long Beach Grand Prix or in the past Barber Motorsports Park. IMSA, please return to Barber! But there is only one 100th Indy, so I had to go!
Heading into race day, I was torn between three drivers. First let me say for any big race event, Indy 500, Daytona 500, with the exception of Rolex 24 here I always want Oswaldo “Ozz” Negri jr to win, I enjoy when a first-time winner of the event is in the lead to take the checked flag. Let someone else drink the milk. This year did not disappoint.
So my hopes were for James Hinchcliffe, due to his determination and perseverance in coming back from the 2015 Indy accident and the 2016 pole winner. How can you not root for “The Mayor”? Another driver was Sage Karam, who has always been very nice to me and follows me on Twitter! I feel Sage needs a good result to provide an emotional lift and regain his confidence. And of course, Stefan Wilson, for the obvious reasons.
Before I get started into the big race day, let me introduce you to two young drivers I met Friday while at IMS for the weekend. Why did I pick these two drivers to meet and interview? Simple, both drivers follow me and interact on Twitter, and they are both very intelligent and talented.
The Pro Mazda series is part of the “Road to Indy” program, and unless you have been living under a rock, you know the name Patricio “Pato” O’Ward, driver of the #80 Team Pelfrey car. For the Memorial Day weekend, the Pro Mazda series qualified and raced Friday at the Lucas Oil Raceway, or as I still call it “IRP” (Indianapolis Raceway Park), which is located close to IMS. I had a delightful time interviewing this extremely articulate young man.
Q. Favorite music and artist: Flo Rida and all-time favorite artist is Taylor Swift. Pato was so excited just talking about her and would love to meet her someday.
Q: Favorite TV show: Gossip Girl
Q: Favorite food: Sushi
Q: Country most like to visit: Australia
Q: How do you keep fit? Pato enjoys boxing to keep physically fit and his favorite boxer is Enrique Neira Jr from Mexico and lives in San Antonio, just like Pato.
Q: Do you still race go karts? While Pato does not kart at the present, he had much success karting in the Rotax MimiMax Florida Tour where his favorite track was Orlando.
Why did I want to chat with Pato? (1) He impressed me when I met him at Sebring when he raced with Performance Tech team in IMSA Lights; (2) Pato is a very talented driver and exciting to watch race; (3) Pato is with Team Pelfrey which was holds a piece of my heart from 8 Star Motorsports memories; and (4) I was shocked to learn of his struggled to secure sponsorship.
When we spoke at IMS, it was before Pato qualified for the pole at Lucas Oil Speedway and before he won the Pro Mazda race later that night. Regardless, Pato left Indiana not knowing if he will race at the next event. I understand Pro Mazda does not get television time but Pato will not stay with Pro Mazda long.
A sponsor or company needs to grab this kid now and hold on for the ride to many future podiums headed to the top series, Indy. Pato is very thankful for the sponsorship which got him to Indy, Gap Guard. At the time I met him, any 2017 or long term sponsor future was not in the cards. While Pato is talented on the track, to me, he is the complete package. This young man was polite, articulate, intelligent, and a bit nervous. Pato will make an excellent representative for any sponsor.
Here is a short video of Pato before his Pro Mazda race day at Lucas Oil Speedway:
I want to thank Pato for taking the time to chat. When attending a Pro Mazda race, please take the time to meet this him and watch his race. Pato is an excellent race car driver period but his heart and his continued successful career will be in open wheel racing and Indy car.
Please check out and follow Pato on Twitter @Pato_OWard to see many YouTube videos of his racing also you can interact with him on Instragram @Pato_Oward
You can find more information on Pato at
And more about Team Peltry at @TeamPelfrey http://www.team-pelfrey.com/
I also had the pleasure to get a quick chat with Dalton Kellett, rookie Indy Lights driver #28 with Andretti Autosport. Even though Dalton was very busy on Friday, we spent a few minutes together. Dalton apologized several times, but our meeting was short for a very good reason. Dalton was on the podium at Indy! How many drivers get that honor?!! Here is part of our conversation and a short introduction video to Dalton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dAgNSOUXEY
Dalton is a recent graduate of Queens University with an Engineering degree which he hopes will help in his racing career by gaining an excellent understanding of the race car and how to improve the car’s performance. Being from Toronto, Canada, of course his favorite track is Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). Turn 2 at CTMP is probably the best turn of any track. His 2nd favorite turn would be Turn 1 at IMS.
Q: Who is the favorite all-time driver from any series: Kimi Raikkonen! Since Kimi is also my favorite driver, Dalton and I took time away from the interview, to talk about Kimi!
Q: Favorite hobby: Dalton enjoys rock climbing which he incorporates into his training routine.
Q: Favorite food: Chicken pot pie.
I want to thank Dalton for taking the time to chat. If you are at an Indy Lights race, please take the time to meet this young talented driver. I first met Dalton at the autograph session at St. Petersburg and have been very impressed with this young man. I think you will be too.
Please follow Dalton on Twitter @Dalton_Kellett and “Like” his Facebook page Dalton Kellett
You can find more information on Dalton at http://www.indylights.com/teams-drivers/current-drivers/dalton-kellett
And more about his team at @followandretti http://www.andrettiautosport.com/
Although I tried to take in the fan events, the IMS drivers were pulled in so many different directions and it seemed like fans, sponsors, and media wanted a piece of their time. Team and driver public relations staff were running around like bees. I did see many drivers rushed away to this meet-n-greet and that interview in golf carts, but one driver stuck out to me as always present, Pippa Mann.
More than any other driver, I saw her either going to an event or responding on Twitter to suggest a spot on where to meet up with a fan. And she was on foot so between commitments she would be stopped and graciously accommodate the fans request for autograph or selfie. Very impressive!
Okay, now my race day recap. I traveled to IMS with two very good friends. Our seats were one section down and across from pit in and high enough to see cars coming out of turn four. Good seats. The opening ceremony was full of tributes to military and Indy racing history. If you did not get emotional when Dan Wheldon’s car drove the track at the end of the historic cars, you have a heart of stone. At the start of each IndyCar race, Mario Andretti leads the pace lap driving a two-seater car with a selected fan or celebrity in the back seat. For the Indy 500, I thought Keith Urban was to be in the two-seater, but a switch was made to put Lady Gaga in the car.
Okay, maybe I can sort of understand Keith Urban going after the country music race fan base, but Lady Gaga? When I think “Indy”, Lady Gaga is the furthest from my mind. Anyone have an idea how she scored the ride? After the big military salute and this being Memorial Day weekend, I had hoped IMS and IndyCar would have randomly selected a veteran to ride in the car. I would have respected that decision.
The weekend was not without issues. The normal track staff at the information booth were of no help, dirty restrooms, and disorganized driver autograph session, just to name a few. The traffic was beyond horrible exiting the track. We had decided (well, actually my idea) to go with a van shuttle service for race day offered at our hotel.
When I called and inquired, the owner Shannon Taylor, assured us his drivers with Class Act Transportation, LLC (limousine service), were familiar with Indy 500 street closures and traffic flow entering and leaving the track. Yea, Shannon was wrong. If you learn nothing else from this article, please do not use Class Act (based in Chicago) period. I will not give this company anymore of my article space, but feel free to contact me directly to learn the 20 reasons why Class Act should be out of business.
Enough said about the traffic leaving after the race. However, in the defense of IMS and the City of Indianapolis, there were no police directing traffic on Friday or Saturday, so I should not have been surprised this practice continued on Sunday. IMS is like many race tracks I have visited. The security rules vary from each gate. While gate workers had a dowel rod checking cooler size at the gate I used on Saturday, the main gate on Sunday let people in with coolers that might be too big to be considered carry-on luggage.
On Friday, I noticed a sign stating “Race Day no professional cameras allowed in”. So when leaving the track on Saturday, I asked the security guards, if my Canon camera T3i would be considered “professional”. I was told yes, my camera would not be allowed into the track.
So imagine my surprise when I saw my friend and Watkins Glen International track photographer walking around with his “professional camera” with twice the long lens as mine which was no problem at his entrance gate. As a result, I have no pictures on race day with my big camera. Seriously? You had 100 years to figure out how to provide security with the same rules and regulation with uniformity regarding enforcement. While I am glad I went to the historic 100th running of the Indy 500 and it was wonderful to see many friends and share the racing memory weekend with a special two, would I return? No.
For many reasons, I am not a fan of oval racing. I enjoy being able to walk around a road course, view the racing from different turns and not stuck in an overcrowded hot metal grandstand seat with smoking drunks, where you are basically watching the race on track TV screens, while people struggle to climb over coolers which don’t fit under the seat on their way to buy another beer. If want to see IndyCar, I would rather attend the events at Mid-Ohio, Road America or Barber Motorsports Park. The race at Watkins Glen International will be incredible and epic. There are many other racing venues and events I would prefer to experience first before I would return to IMS.
While at IMS for the weekend, I did keep a close watch on my Twitter feed for any information regarding Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) drivers involved in the accident at Lime Rock Park. My thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew Palmer and Jorge de la Torre and their families. I had the pleasure to meet Jorge at the PWC season opening race at Circuit of the Americas. I have met Andrew several times at prior race events.
Thank you all for reading and I welcome your comments. I have no affiliation with IndyCar, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, IMS, IMSA, etc. just a fan. There are many blogs and websites where you will find statistics, results, and scoring from the race; this is “just the way I see it”.
Got a response? Let me hear it! Please Follow and tweet me @viclovesracing
And look for future “Vickie’s Trackside Report” coming to a track near you!
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