Saturday 24 May 2025
Things got a little carried away last night. Beer, Fireball whiskey shots and a lot of laughter all combined to result in me not hitting the sack until about 1:00am.
Slept through to just after 9:30am and felt pretty good considering Fireball usually does a big number on me. Went for a slow jog/walk around the neighbourhood and down towards the mammoth Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts) and felt even better again.
The weather today was fantastic…but no one knows for sure whether tomorrow’s race will be rain-affected or not. This bring back unpleasant memories from one year ago where the weather the day before the race was perfect – warm and sunny – then we had basically a tornado on race morning, resulting in a delay or around four hours.
A weather delay is definitely not what Kyle Larson, the NASCAR superstar will want. In a feat of stamina and logistics, Larson is attempting to run the Indianapolis 500, then fly from Indianapolis to Charlotte in North Carolina – in a combination of helicopters and private jets – to run the NASCAR Coke 600 race in the evening. He can’t afford a weather delay, and I’m sure his team is very nervously combing through all the forecasts they can.
In the afternoon, we drove out to Carmel, a beautiful suburban city (thanks for that description, Wikipedia!) north of Indianapolis, to where Ryan’s parents, Bruce and Kim, live. They host a big BBQ the night before the race for basically anyone who doesn’t have anywhere else to go, and the very-international group seems to get bigger each year. For good reason: their hospitality is legendary.
Philine and Stephen from our Airbnb crew organised the pork and brisket, which was incredibly good. This is always one of my favourite nights of the year. Seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones is so much fun. Lots of racing talk, and plenty of laughs. And did I mention how good the food was?
Tip of the hat to IndyCar Radio’s Alex Wollf, who brought a large number of his mum’s famous choc-chip cookies. They are as good as I’ve ever tasted.
Back to the Airbnb early. No talk of beer or Fireball tonight. We have to be out the door at 7:30am tomorrow…for race day! Can’t wait!
kitchtrips 