Nashville country nights, Detroit rock city lights
Arizona, California,
Texas desert, a Green Bay blizzard, Indiana, Louisiana
On the road lotta miles just to feel your smile
Girl I wanna touch you while I kiss your lipstick
Around the bend down the road, hop in out of the cold
Itchin’ to get my fix and kiss your lipstick
Carolina north and south,
Alabama, Chi town, Dakota, badlands, the heart of the heartlands
Way up above Dixie, Boston, Jersey, New York city
Spokane to Denver across the plains
Hills of Virginia, coastal Maine
On the road, lotta miles just to feel your smile
Girl I wanna touch you while I kiss your lipstick
Around the bend down the road, hop in out of the cold
Itchin’ to get my fix and kiss your lipstick
-Kip Moore
Sunday 2 June 2024
Race day at the Detroit IndyCar Grand Prix dawned murky and grey. It had rained overnight, as evidenced by the puddles around, but when on-track action commenced with warm-up sessions, the weather was on the improve. We watched/listened to the Indy NXT race before walking down to the track. It’s really awesome to be so close.
Walking through the paddock in the hour before the race was very interesting, as teams started taking cars and other equipment out to the pit lane. As I’m sure I have noted before, being around the paddock at that time gives you an indication of the stress and tension involved in a race weekend. These are million dollar cars and the teams spare no expense. Arguably, heading into a race on a tight and unforgiving street circuit, things are more on edge because one mistake, or being an innocent bystander in someone else’s mistake, can lead to an expensive repair bill. Not to mention a time-consuming rebuild, with Road America on the horizon next week.
The pre-race ceremonies included a double fly-over and the American and Canadian national anthems, then the race was on. And…well, it was definitely an afternoon that those of us in attendance will not forget anytime soon? I can’t lie and say it was good racing. In fact, it felt like most of the 27-car field at taken Crazy Pills prior to the race, and it showed. Crazy in all respects. Australia’s Will Power made seven pitstops (some as penalties for on-track incidents) and still finished sixth. Plus, there were a couple of rain showers to further spice things up. One of those races where, with so much going on, having IndyCar Radio on the headset was hugely helpful.
In the end, Queensland-born New Zealander Scott Dixon survived all the carnage, saved some fuel and won the race, and is just nine race wins behind A.J. Foyt for most all-time in IndyCar Series history. They call Dixon the Ice Man, and he was just about the only one who managed to keep out of trouble.
The race finished at about 2:50pm and we were back at the apartment by 3:10pm. Fantastic! Dinner in a nearby downtown sports bar as the sun came out.
So the Detroit GP weekend ends a run of three consecutive weekends at racetracks. It really doesn’t feel like only a fortnight ago that we were at COTA in Austin. So much has happened since then. Even Indy, just seven days ago, feels like a lifetime. In the best possible way. Time is sliding by just right, I think. No matter how you stack it, it’s been an epic trio of weekends.
Back to Chicago tomorrow for a few days. More people to see there – can’t wait.
kitchtrips 