She was a flash in my life like a bolt through the sky
We were both eighteen, learning to fly
When she told me she loved me in the back of my buddy’s truck
Oh, how the sweet smell of those summer memories fade
Sometimes I wish I, could relive those days
We laughed, we cried, we lived life wild
And when I close my eyes I see you one more time
We used to drive all night down them country roads
Chasing tail, raising hell with our brothers
Passing grandpa’s whiskey in that bonfire smoke
Telling tales and lies about lovers
Drinking one right after the other
Took a whole day and night to recover
From those American summers
– Moonshine Bandits & Burn County
Saturday 27 May, 2023
The Saturday before the Indianapolis 500 is Legends Day, celebrating the rich history of the world’s greatest race. If the race is motorsport Christmas, then Legends Day is Christmas Eve, right?
We were up early, leaving Carmel around 7:00am, and we drove straight to the speedway, parking in front of the front stretch grandstands. It was only a few minutes after 8:00am that we were inside the facility, and headed to the big plaza area that sits in the shadow of the pagoda, where the field of thirty three drivers competing tomorrow were setting up for an hour-long autograph session.
Being proud Australians, we joined the line for Will Power, the defending IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 winner of the Indianapolis 500. The Toowoomba native will be sharing the fourth row with defending champion, Swede Marcus Ericsson, and the AJ Foyt Racing rookie from Denmark, Benjamin Pedersen.
The drivers sit in their rows for the autographs, so there were plenty of boisterous Swedes around us, decked out in blue and yellow paraphernalia. We also had some Aussies in front of us, a family on a tour from Dubbo in the Central West of NSW, and we chatted with them whilst we waited in the warm Indiana sunshine. They were already amazed by the size of everything at Indianapolis. I said to them that if they thought it was amazing so far, wait ‘til race day tomorrow. They have amazing seats right on the start-finish line, up high, so it’ll be a fun experience for them.
Will Power saw the packet of Tim Tams I had in my hand whilst he was finishing signing stuff for the Aussies ahead of us. “Oh my God, no way!” he said, mire animated than I think I’ve ever seen him, aside from when he wins races, of course. He loved them, and insisted on writing a special message on the autograph card. To borrow a line from The Castle, that’s going straight to the pool room.
The public driver’s meeting followed the autograph session, and we got to watch the drivers get their last minute instructions from the race director. Then it was back to Carmel, where Ryan’s parents were hosting a big Indy 500 eve party. Amongst the thirty-odd guests was Alex Wolff, a pit reporter for the IndyCar Radio Network (like Ryan) and a journalist who I’ve followed on Twitter for ages, Tony DiZinno.
We hung out for a few hours, then headed downtown for a late lunch/early dinner with Mark and Desiree Jaynes and Lewis Franck, an old-school Reuters journalist (who follows me on Twitter) at Greek Islands, a really amazing restaurant in downtown, serving traditional Greek. We had the saganaki flaming cheese, a few Greek beers and Greek spaghetti, whilst listening to Mark and Lewis tell stories from days gone by (I could have listened to them for hours and hours), and also discuss who we all think will win tomorrow. For the record, I’m tipping that a Ganassi car ends up in Victory Lane.
Then it was back to the Myrehn’s for the end of the night. Up early tomorrow, leaving the house by 7:30am for race day!
kitchtrips 