We are so lucky to have this amazing sport, and these amazing drivers to cheer on, and root against, and champion and befriend.
But some days, it doesn’t feel that lucky does it?

October, especially after this year, will be forever plagued by sadness and remembrance of young lives lost too soon.
#lionheart #ironmanmike #redglovesrule
But it will also prompt us moving forward to look back on the happy times and memories, which will eventually outweigh the devastating feelings of loss.

Motorsports writer Andy Hallbery has done just that this year, as we mark the 12th anniversary of the death of Canadian open wheel phenom Greg Moore, looking back on some of the personal, funny and mostly mischievous memories still held so dear by those closest to him at the time, and still missing him to this day.

Max Papis, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Greg Moore

Greg Moore, part 1. Mark Webber remembers
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2011/10/greg-moore/

Greg Moore part two: A day in the life – five go mad in Florida
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2011/10/greg-moore-2/

Max Papis: “Superheroes always wear red gloves”
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2011/10/max-papis-greg-moore/

Remembering Greg Moore: Champ Car’s Brat Pack having the time of their lives
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2011/10/greg-moore-99/

Greg Moore, Part 5: From the Heart
http://www.motorsportretro.com/2011/11/greg-moore-crash/

Thanks to all that contributed their stories and memories and especially to Andy at http://www.motorsportretro.com for writing them up and sharing them with all of us

Here’s a link to my post on the 10th anniversary, with additional video and story links

“Take your fucking head out of your ass jerkwad, we’ll grieve however the hell we please!”

In other words, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Likewise there is no one way to grieve. Trust me, in my 46 yrs on this planet I’ve experienced a lot of loss, some more recent than others.
Each time my grieving process is different. My needs are different.
And each time, some “good intentioned” jacktard has questioned my process.
I’m not crying enough. I’m crying too much. I’m taking too long. I’m over it too quickly.

Bite me.

I see a lot of my friends struggling with their own process. Stop beating yourself up! Just let it happen in a way that is organic to you. (more on this later…)

Slightly related to this, last night I was asked “why are we having a fundraiser for 2 kids who’s father made 2.5 million dollars” in a conversation with someone, the counter argument being, “why not raise money for head injuries”

Totally valid question.

My answer, in a couple of 140 character tweets was as follows:

‘I think it’s just a knee jerk reaction by a shocked community that feels helpless…People feel the need to do “something”, want to help in some way. The auction started w/one driver (Graham) and snowballed. Some people are going to donate, some are going to buy, some of us won’t be able to do more than buy a sticker/wristband but selfishly we will all feel “better” for having done “something” which will appease our “guilt” for surviving. Make sense?”

Today I had time to think about it a little more on my commute, and I wish to expand on my answer.

Firstly, yes, he did win the Indy 500 this year, with a purse of 2.5 million dollars.
How much of that he actually got? We don’t know. Surely some went to Uncle Sam, some likely went to cover the costs of participating. (remember this was a one off team/driver… they pay to play in May) None of us are privy to his finances from this year or previous seasons, or how the monies are dolled out amongst agents, teams, family, etc… 2.5 million sounds like a lot of money. (hell, I’d certainly be set for life) but you’re talking about spreading that out to cover two infant sons from childhood into adulthood and a widow who suddenly finds herself alone and presumably jobless as well. With likely a lot of overhead to deal with, arrangements to be made, etc… etc…

But here’s the thing, what he made or didn’t make is neither here nor there.
When tragedy strikes, people want… no NEED to do something.

It didn’t start out as a mass fundraising project. It was an innocent gesture by one driver offering to auction off his helmet from that race, the proceeds going to the Wheldon family. Other people wanting to appease their own “survivor guilt” also offered up items. It has since snowballed from there. It’s both a good thing and a bad thing. But it’s happening, and now we as individuals make a choice on how or whether to participate.

Race fans by nature are memorabilia whores. So now, instead of handing over their hard earned dollars for a piece of history/swag from their favourite driver to some dude cleaning out his basement, the money is going to what many are considering a ‘good cause’

No one, not the auctionee’s, and certainly not the Wheldon family, “expects” people to donate, or to put themselves in any financial jeopardy over this.

Much the same way that everyone grieves in their own fashion (some are vocal, some are silent, some are jovial remembering happy times, some are inconsolably right pissed off at the world) everyone has the same right to make their own choices as far as what they want to “do”.

So now we’re back to “how do we grieve? participate? move forward?”

Don’t feel right donating to his family? Toss a couple bucks in his name to the Ahlziemer’s Association, a cause dear to his heart. Stop by your local trauma centre and make a donation or volunteer to help out. Hell, buy the homeless guy on the corner a coffee and toast to Dan on your way to work.
Or do nothing.
It’s all good and it’s ALL right.

Me? How am I grieving? I took a day off work and I walked. I walked a lot actually. Then I listened to a bunch of music that both saddened and strengthened me. Then I sat down at my keyboard and emptied my jumbled brain onto the pages of my blog to try to work through my grief. And I read, and read, …and read. Articles and editorials and emails and tweets. Some made me laugh, some made me angry, most made me cry. All were cathartic.

I don’t have two dimes to rub together, so the auction isn’t even an option for me. But I will certainly throw a couple of bucks together and make a donation of some kind to something.
I wear cause bands for Livestrong, Diabetes, Cara Charities, and the military on race weekends, so it’s a no brainer to me to toss some cash towards a Lionheart band in memory of Dan (which I understand are in the works)
That will be one of my own little ways to participate, and I will carry Dan with me all next season, and I will feel better somehow, and my guilt will be lessened.

Bottomline is this: Whenever and however you choose to participate or not, please don’t feel pressured to “say” or “do” or “write” the “right” thing… it will make you crazy.
And in my humble opinion, Dan wouldn’t want anyone stressing out over any of this.

You know those scenes, in those boxing movies, where the boxer is bloodied and beaten to a pulp, yet keeps somehow stumbling to his feet only to take another devastating blow? Well, I’m laying on the mat wondering how… wondering where the strength to get back up is going to come from, as I reel from the latest sucker punch life has cold cocked me with. (it’s been a tough couple of months personally)
Selfishly, this post will be more about my perspective than a retrospective of Dan (there are many awesome, and much better written tomes out there for that, in fact Robin Miller and Marshall Pruett’s pieces today come immediately to mind)

So bear with me, as this is the first time I am attempting to unjumble my brain and throw some thoughts down on “paper” in more than 140 characters since yesterday, so this could get lengthy/wordy and non-sequential…

As I attempted to walk out the door to go to my job this morning, I collapsed into a heap of tears due to the fact that the ugly reality of what I witnessed yesterday, the violent death of racecar driver Dan Wheldon, who I have come to personally know over the last few years, and whom I spoke to barely a few weeks ago, came rushing to the forefront of my brain as soon as I was cognitive enough to figure out what day it was and that it wasn’t just a horrible, horrible dream.

With each tweet, and facebook post and email that I lay my eyes upon in those first moments of my day, I knew I needed to just take a “me” day and try to process the last 24 hrs. So this is me processing…

Luckily my boss “gets it” … as much as anyone who is not a race fan but knows one can.

It’s hard enough to explain to non-gearheads the appeal of motor racing…
Why a lung full of car exhaust makes you heady, and the sound of 26 cars screaming down the front straight makes the hair on your arms stand up, and why some dude crossing the finish line first under frantically waving black and white flags can make you scream like a lunatic and simultaneously laugh and cry…
See, I’m struggling to remember this myself today, on a day when I can barely choke back the tears long enough to order a coffee from a stranger, because it seems almost insane to love a sport that can, in the blink of an eye, be so inconceivably and randomly cruel.

I’m not going to lie, I, like many, had an ominous feeling about yesterday’s event. It wasn’t a case of “if” a big crash would happen, but on what lap it would, and at what cost. Later, as I sat there in the aftermath feeling like a vice grip was clamped to my heart, I took a pause and actually uttered the words <insert more insanity here> “we were so lucky, it could have been much worse”

Again, those outside of the racing family look at you as though you have lost what is left of your mind and scream “how much worse than someone DYING can it get?” Well, a lot worse actually. There were 15 cars involved in that horrifying wreck. My colleagues from OWW shot a series of pictures as the crash unfolded, and as I looked at each one, I was mesmerized by the pieces of cars, and various states of airborne-ness, and photoshoppe-esque angles some of the cars were freeze framed in. Through the bits of debris, and balls of fire, I could make out the remains of sidepods and bits of flying wings coming inconceivably close to barely recognizable helmet liveries… and it made me catch my breath. Yes, we lost a driver yesterday (more on him in a bit) But 14 of our family miraculously walked away “unscathed” (in the grand scheme of what could have been)

A lot of us use the term family, which again gives those outside of the series pause. See, Racing is a small, almost incestuous community. Everyone knows everyone. Team personnel and drivers are essentially interchangeable, and most have worked with multiple teams, in multiple series, on multiple levels of competition for many years. Even those of us in the media trenches have been affiliated with multiple organizations and allegiances. So through it all, over many years, you start to associate names with those faces in the crowd, and personalities with those determined eyes peeking out at you from beneath the helmet. If you’re lucky enough, you forge friendships, and become more invested. I, for example, am no longer just taking pictures of the “driver of the number 9 car”. I’m snapping a pic of Scott, husband of Emma, and father of the lovely Poppy who waves and blows kisses at me from the stands while sitting with Grandma, and new to the family Tilly, who I knew all about before she was even born, through a conversation with her mom (Emma) about possible name choices. (for the record, when polled, I gave a nod to “Tilly”)

So when a catastrophic event such as yesterday’s happens, though I was a country away, I felt it as if I were standing in the pits, and it was my brother on that gurney.

Speaking of which, how odd and powerful, in this advent of social media, has the connection between our racing family been? Thousands of us, around the world, in multiple timezones, experiencing the same thing, interconnected virtually.

When Greg died, I didn’t even know what the internet was. I didn’t own a computer. I wasn’t a regular in the paddock. It was tragic and sad, but it wasn’t “personal”. There was a disconnect. A distance.

When Alex (Zanardi) had his accident, I was relatively new to the interwebs, and by googling for updates, I stumbled upon a whole virtual community of race fans. I was suddenly “part” of the experience. Now it was personal. Now there was a connection. There were answers, there were opinions, there was support.

Fast forward to the present day, and not only am I a well ensconced part of the virtual racing community, but I am a physical part of the series family as well, with many racing friends, near and far. So yesterday, though I was sitting alone when Randy Bernard made “official” what we all knew in our hearts had come to pass, I was still “with” my racing family.

It’s  a blessing and a curse. While I feel myself being lifted and strengthened by this powerful connection, I also simultaneously feel the devastating weight of the loss and the overwhelming feelings of anger and grief of my racing community/family. Perhaps that’s also contributing to why this feels so much… bigger than any of those lost before… this time it really hit too close to home.

The loss of any driver is and would be devastating. But Dan was just… so… Dan! Self-effacing and the first to pile in on the joke, even if it was on him! Charming, and down to earth, with a cheeky glint in his eye, and a cocky unedited take on things. As much as it was easy to “take the piss” on his glasses, and his shoes, and those TEETH, for some reason, when you were in his presence, that all seemed normal. It worked. He never made you feel like you were intruding or being a bother. Quite the opposite actually. He made you feel like you belonged in his world.

This loss is bigger than just losing a driver. He was an ambassador. He was the face of the underdog. He was the “make lemonade” guy. Kelly, the wife of my racing friend Gregg, brought up such a great, and sad point. Anyone new fans to the series this year likely will feel this loss just as deeply as us lifers, as they probably got to know and felt more connected to Dan moreso than most of the other drivers due to his presence in the booth, and all of the publicity surrounding the new car and the Las Vegas Challenge.

Speaking of publicity, the challenge, etc… It would be easy, in the heat of the moment, to lay the blame squarely at the feet of Randy Bernard. (and there will be many who unfortunately will) But before we throw the man under the bus for this (no worries, there will be plenty of time for retrospection and condemnation by the masses over the hiatus) please spare a thought for what he had to deal with and do yesterday, and the massive stones it took to step out, alone, and make the most awful statement anyone should have to make, with such class and composure.

When I attempted to sleep last night, to no avail, I was vacillating between the thought of trying to move forward, or just saying “fuck it” and moving on to something else.

I questioned whether or not I still have the fortitude for this.
The risk is too high.
The losses too devastating.
I am too close. Too aware. Too invested.

Then I thought, what a disservice to Dan, and Greg, and Paul and Tony, and all of those gone because they were laying it on the line doing what they loved.
What we love.

I love motor racing.
I love getting to the track before the sun comes up, and hearing the hissing of the tires on pitlane, and the engines being run in the paddock before the gates are even open.
I love the expressions on the faces in the crowd during a session.
I love the little nuances and minute tweaks that can make the difference between starting at the back or getting on poll.
I love the David and Goliath battles on and off track.
I love the history, and the future, and everything in between.
And most of all I love my racing family.
My fellow gearheads, with methanol/ethanol in their veins, who get all of the above.

Yes, yesterday was awful.
The most vengeful display of everything that is and can go wrong in our sport.
But in the aftermath it was also a beautiful testament to the strength and commitment of our community.

So, when that field of IndyCar drivers lines up on pitlane in St. Petes in March 2012, I will be there. And my heart will hurt for the drivers who aren’t in the cars and the drivers who are and are missing their “brothers”. But then I will smile and picture Dan and Greg, and the rest of the gang, watching over us, Dan proudly grinning that megawatt smile from ear to ear, cockily poking Greg in the ribs while bragging that “those new cars are gonna kick major ass this season all because of me”

Goodbye Dano and don’t worry, Oliver and Sebastian will know what an amazing man you were, because we won’t allow them to ever forget.

My beloved furry companion of 21 yrs took his final sleep over the weekend while I was away, and it has left me feeling rather unraveled at the moment. While I knew he was on the white flag lap of his journey, I had hoped to be there with him when the checkers waved.

So I ask for patience my friends, as I sort through my emotions alongside my photos of the weekend and collect my thoughts.

Life’s gonna be a little sad for a while…

Thursday when I arrived, I was filled with anticipation, then awash with dread. Things were not looking good for this event. Track not built, staff either not in place or so clueless about what was going on that it was frightening.

Friday morning, with hours of “non action” ahead, I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. Not because of that, but because there was an enthusiastic crowd that had begun spilling into the grounds, and we had nothing to show for it. It was like inviting a bunch of people to an awesome party and not serving food or drinks.

Thankfully the cars finally took to the track, and as each session got underway, the weekend began to look more and more promising.

For every one thing they got wrong this weekend, there were 10 things that they got very very right.

Patience has been the buzz word behind the scenes. Those of us who are series veterans have had to pitch in with some guidance and policing of the newbies, and remind ourselves that this is a first time event and to quell our own personal frustrations.

Honestly though, other than the entrance/egress issues due to the overwhelming amount of people trying to move about (and really, EVERY event and IndyCar fan should be happily bitching about that problem and welcome it!) I haven’t run into anything warranting an epic Meesh rant, which is saying a lot.

Gonna put it out there now, even before the race is run or complete: this is now an annual race for me. 100%.

Alright, must grab some food, put the hair in race mode, format my cards and set about to enjoy the Inaugural Grand Prix of Baltimore.

I think it’s all the newness of it.

I’ve never been to Baltimore first of all, and I am always just thrilled to travel somewhere new! I am over the moon excited that I got to go to a baseball game at Camden Yards!! I real American open air baseball stadium! And as luck would have it, my Toronto Blue Jays were playing a series there this week! Ha! Oh, and though I haven’t had any yet, I am anticipating a fabulous helping of Maryland Crab at some point. Baltimore is also home to “Ace of Cakes” Duff Goldman! If by some chance I get to meet him, my life will be complete!

I’m meeting a 2D friend in 3D for the first time after many years of online friendship! How cool is that?!

And of course, and brand spankin new Race!
I’ve been to a few “inaugural” races. They are adrenaline filled, almost trying too hard events. Usually, because of the novelty, they are well attended.

Admittedly this one is getting off to a rocky start. A few changes at the top of the Baltimore GP organizational food chain, a hurricane, and the usual “new event” fly by the seat of your pants hurdles to jump over, and well, we’re a little behind the eight ball on the official 1st day.

So, the bad news is that we’re about 4hrs behind getting things actually moving.
The good news, there are a lot of people milling about out there, and those that aren’t pissed off about their grandstand seats being “adjusted” or the traffic/parking situation, are pretty excited about the circus coming to their town…

more later…

Perhaps it’s timely that I make this “live” today, as once again, our little community is about to explode with “opinionation” about today’s proceedings regarding the now infamous ending of the New Hampshire race. I really haven’t had time to formulate a succinct opinion on that, but I will say that Will Power’s two finger salute brought me such joy for a few very dark days.

Anyhow, without further ado, I turn over my little portion of the sandbox to my friend Tony! (you may know him as @kraeger)
Oh, and Tony, if you go off and get a job at a racing publication a week after this, like my last guest blogger @tonydizinno, I will have to stab myself. #justsayin… (hmm… I just realized you’re both named Tony… Perhaps @tonykanaan will be next? LOL… but I digress…)
Tony… the floor is yours:

**********************

First off, let me say I don’t have a big in-depth media or journalism background. I worked for a high school paper, and did some radio work during college. What’s expressed below is just the opinion of a media consumer, and Indycar fan. It’s just one opinion among many, as well, though I like to think I’m not totally alone in this.

My thoughts are this – what should the role be of “The Media” in terms of how it reports on Indycar (or any sport) and how should that differ from the role of a Blogger in terms of stories / reporting. The obvious, quick answer is “The Media should report facts, bloggers can report opinions”, which is a good quick summary that I tend to agree with. It’s actually the basis for this rant, and one I hope most people would on the surface agree with. However, I don’t think it’s enough.

First, the Media. If you’re going to stand up and try to be a member of “Mainstream Media”… wait, no, let me define “Mainstream Media” first. If you have a circulated newspaper and are listed as a news reporter, are part of a television production as a news/sports reporter, or an on-air radio segment billed as reporting news, I consider you part of “Mainstream Media”. You can have an outlet or show in any of those as an opnion columnist or talk show host, and fall outside of the “Mainstream Media” definition I’m using here. Ok, that’s out of the way. So if you’re going to stand up and try to be a member of the “Mainstream Media” reporting on Indycar news your job should be to report the facts, the box score, and the stories of the races & series. Please, by all means, make it entertaining. If there’s controversy, explore it. But PLEASE drop opinion at the door. Stop straddling the line and trying to present yourself as covering stories objectively, while at the same time (perhaps in other outlets or articles) dishing out heated opinion.

Second, if you’re a Blogger covering the Indycar series, please, recognize your platform as a blogger as a responsibility. I understand the point of a blog is to express your own thoughts and opinions on the series as you see fit, but let’s try to be constructive in the manner in which we go about it. There’s an air of general disenfranchisement with the series right now that I see permeating a lot of Blogs, and while the ultimate source of it is obviously the way the series has been making some of its decisions lately, I truly think a lot of it is being fed by the attitude of the Blogging community itself. What could be healthy feedback for the series is instead just feeding negativity back into the hardcore fan base.

Some examples – in more than one blog you could find complaints with the Toronto event for too many crashes, and not enough calls. Complaints in the same blog for too many calls for penalties at Edmonton. Complaints again in the same Blog about the boring racing at Mid-Ohio. Each race is framed on many Indycar blogs by the negative aspects of the events. Is each of the above valid? To some degree, yes (Though if you complained about all 3, as more than one blog did, then I’d contend no road race could ever make you happy, so just say that and stop finding justifications to complain about each event). But each point could be brought up in a way to offer constructive insight instead of the negativity and hatred towards the series officiating that they have.

So what, some Bloggers are probably thinking. It’s my platform to use to share my opinion, and that’s what I’ve done! And that’s true. It’s your right, I agree. However I think any Indycar blogger originally started their Blogs on the series out of love for the sport. But somewhere along the way that focus for many has shifted from an outlet for thoughts & opinion to an outlet for pure criticism. And it’s creating a pool of negativity that’s feeding itself at this point. I think the hardcore fan audience that comprises the main readership of these blogs is feeding into it as well, and it’s just amplifying frustrations. (I would extend all of this to your twitter accounts as well, if you post to twitter under your Blog’s name, and not a separate “personal” identity – your comments there should be interchangeable with those on your site)

In addition, any new series fans, when looking for more info on the series quickly find that the Indycar Blogging community apparently thinks the sport they follow, for a better word, sucks. It’s going to make it hard to grow the fan base, no? The series itself is certainly not getting anything constructive back from most blogs at this point – how could they with everything framed in such negativity?

Am I calling for all roses and rainbows? No! I agree, the ending to the NHMS was beyond frustrating. But do I think it’s a) The mainstream news media’s responsibility to report on it objectively (ie, stop saying X person needs fired, they should have done Y… that’s called opinion, not news) and b) The Blogging communities responsibility to frame their criticism constructively, so it’s apparent to readers they’re vocalizing their frustration with the sport they love, not just vocalizing hate.

I think that’s the end of my rant, hope it was worth the read.

So lets just get this stuff out of the way first.

The armchair critics out there, those that not only bitch about this genre of racing, but many of whom will also openly admit they haven’t and wouldn’t even consider attending one, pan “street courses” as boring, non-challenging parades amongst many other descriptive labels.

Their blind with rage hate of this type of event seemingly clouding their judgment in such a pre-conceived way that they are unable to actually see the positives when the event is actually good! (both on and off track)

There is so much vitriol rolling around on all my stops on the inter-webs today both publicly and privately about how awful the event was, and how damaging to the sport it was,  Blah blah fucking blah. From the raving you would think that 9 cars finished the race, 6 people were in the stands and there were only 12 laps of green flag racing.
It was quite the opposite actually.

Now, by the notes I read this morning, I counted only 24 FCY laps. According the box score however there were apparently 32. I’ll bow to the box score I guess as I clearly suck at math and am the first to admit it.
The longest duration of any of those yellow stints was 5 laps, and that was mostly to clean up the marbles from the racing line. Most were 3 or 4.

I will concede that there were 3 FCY periods almost back to back, which begets some eye-rolling by the 3rd one, but it’s not like this should be a surprise to anyone. It happens at many events, no matter the facility/track, and usually at the same spot, near the end, when everyone is struggling with melting tires & fading brains. (FYI, there was not one iota of a breeze trackside on Sunday afternoon, so perhaps it was more brain melt than fade)
But as the saying goes in racing, “yellows breed yellows”, and with the laps winding down the pressure was mounting on everyone to try to improve their positions. Ultimately a few of the driver’s “actions” wrote  cheques that their “talent” couldn’t cash, but damnit, if some of those moves stuck… many of the detractors would be hard pressed to find anything wrong with yesterday’s race.

Oh, and for those over exaggerated cries of “half the field” crashing out, all but 6 of the 26 entries were still running at the end. Pretty good results for any race, but rather excellent results for a tight, bumpy street course as challenging as Toronto.

And it was an AWESOME race.
It was an exciting race.
It was a frustrating race.
It made me scream with excitement, hold my breath for several turns, and sometimes groan with anguish.
Not once did I look at the time or the lap count.
There was a lot of great, edge of your seat dicing. Several times I stood mouth agape as I watched the bulk of the field cleanly race two abreast through turn 3.
TURN FUCKING 3 PEOPLE! SIDE BY SIDE!
It doesn’t get any better than that on this track!
And passing! Actual green flag on track passes for position.

On top of that, in spite of their whinging to the contrary pre-event, this group of drivers managed not one, but several CLEAN and well executed double file restarts.
Note to the drivers: NO MORE EXCUSES! If you can pull it off at Toronto, you can do it anywhere. So stop your bitching and line up 2 by 2 until October.
Kthxbye.

Was there a little not so great racing? Of course there was. There always is. But they’ve been driving in circles for the last 2 months, it was to be expected. Racing in general is really just a glorified game of chicken, played against yourself and your competitors. It’s thrilling, and dangerous, and if one of the players doesn’t eventually… cluck, then the results are disastrous.

Ya, it was a crazy race, but everyone I spoke with at the track seemed to really enjoy it. I saw a great crowd who had a great time, and left with a little controversy in their back pocket to keep them talking for a while. Sure as heck wasn’t a “boring parade” that everyone bitches about, and apparently I’m not the only one who thought so as it not only gave Versus their best rating this season, it gave TSN their best rating for an IndyCar race in 14yrs! I don’t think it would be going too far out on a limb to say the ratings for Edmonton will surpass that.

Anyway… I guess I just find it frustrating that coming into the weekend all I heard was “boring street parade” predictions, and then when the drivers gave us exactly the opposite (granted maybe not quite as effectively executed as it could have been… ) and put on a show that had the people around me on their feet, screaming with delight (for better or worse), all I heard post event was a shitload of negativity.
I personally would much rather watch a few ill-fated attempts at being competitive (duh, I’m a Tracy fan!) then watch an entire field driving around carefully for points.

It may not have been perfect, but my god it was fun. And I was immensely proud of my home race.
Thank you to all 26 drivers for going out there and actually RACING.

more later…

I have a belly full of Pad Thai, and am halfway thru a giant can of Sir Perry’s traditional English style Pear cider. (I have another can chillin in the fridge, but I’m already a little tipsy, so this could be fun…)

Already Iowa is one of the most interesting races this season, and the race hasn’t even started yet. MASSIVE kudos to Versus for their pre race programming. (massive kudos to those who have provided me with streams so I can watch) The “F1″ like pit walk with Miller and Wheldon was AWESOME. Dan Wheldon is AWESOME.

Here we go….
Green, Green, Green!! Clean clean clean! Amazing.

The princess drops like a stone… ok, a small pebble maybe, but she’s dropped to 4th.

Dashley making the moves… UGH already has the lead. Snore.

Some good racing out there tonight. Woah, and just like that, James Jakes is in the wall. OUCH that was a big hit. All credit to James. This is a big learning curve for him and he has held his own so far. Replay shows him hit the bump and then he’s just a passenger

Everyone is going to come in to the pits, and OH!! WHAT THE FUCK!! Big clusterfuckage on pitlane. Crew waves Power out, Kimball dives into his pitstall from outside lane, major wreck. Power plows into the side of Charlie.
Poor Will. This is going to have MAJOR championship ramifications unless someone takes Dashley out. (not that I’m wishing that… no really … I’m not… *crosses fingers*… )

Restart, clean and green (not lined up again of course)

Major contrails coming off the cars. Very cool. Wish I was there to try to photograph it.

Yellow Yellow Yellow… Turn 2-Lap 45
Ana Beatriz and Mike Conway. Replay, yikes. Holy shrapnel batman. Big mess to clean up. Vitor Meira picked up a large piece of someone else’s bodywork.

I am loving the SkySport broadcast stream. NO commercials! When the American broadcast goes to commercial, we just get the track feed, with ambient car sound. It’s AWESOME.

Cars heading into pitlane soon… Vitor has been there for a while. Power has come in for a few more repairs to try to get that car back in good running shape.

…

Clean up complete…
Restart on Lap 64… Green Green Green!
Dashley Kanaan, Helio Sato, Parko, Brisco, Hildebrand, Dixon(!) Servia Rahal

Wow… Helio has tire issues for the second race in a row, has to come in for tires. Drops a lap and slots in behind teammate Will Power.

Speaking of Power… he just put himself in the wall. Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck!! This is one night that Will will want to put behind him. Major shitshow™ for the #12 and his championship.

WOAH serious squiggles and wiggles on the pitlane out. Clown car(™pressdog) was on standby for that one!

Speaking of clown cars… time to crack open my second cider! (It could be an amusing commute home for the Meeshster tonight! LOL!) (public transit, no worries!)

I just realized they don’t show any of the pitlane feed either (on the Sky stream) I have two monitors going, two feeds so I see both. Pretty funny.

and the cars are starting to line up for the restart…

Dashley gets the jump… *mocks surprise* Sato says “see ya Tony” and takes 2nd, Tony settles for 3rd…

Fyi… Dixon is up to 5th… (started 23rd)

YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! Saavedra hard into the turn 2 wall. Taking while to get him out of the car. Using that helmet lifting bladder thingamabob

Power out of the medical centre. “had my bell rung” says he. oh and he dropped the word “shit” clear as a bell. Love ya WillyP! He’s a little “oof” and has a headache. Good thing he has 2 wks to rest up before Toronto (Woot!!)

Tony Kanaan having some harsh words for Taku over his radio. “he’s gonna learn a lesson he’ll never forget” … Dayum. Play nice ladies…

ok… grabbing that cider now…

ReStart on lap 130 clean and green. No “lessons” for Taku

Drinking and watching… keep forgetting to type.

“JR Hinchcliffe” … apparently Bob is drinking in the booth too… LOL!

Holy wheel to wheel batman Kanaan and Hildebrand, Andretti and Kanaan, Kanaan and Hildebrand again.
Andretti and Taku! WOOOAAAAAAAH! I should really record myself watching, cause I have screamed out loud several times.

I am putting this out there right now. I am going to Iowa next year. Fuck this is an awesome race.

MARCO TAKES THE LEAD!!! Pull away ya bastard!! Do it!!
Ugh… Dashley is a fucking killjoy, takes the lead back. Seriously. Will is out of the race, let someone else win please!

WOAH… EJ is plummeting backwards thru the field, everyone is all evasive maneuver Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! ™pressdog

WOAH! EJ comes off of pitroad into the path of the leaders! Safe!

Leaders on pitlane!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! TAKU INTO THE WALL!!

Marko beats Dashley off pitroad!! Woohoo!!!

NOOOOO Cookie is all Fuel hose if fucked! Damnit!

They are showing the recap of carnage…

Here we go… green green Yellow… The call it cause Marko jumps out front. Too fucking funny. Anyone but Dashley does it, they find the yellow flag suddenly. Give me a fucking break. Nice consistency there IndyCar…

Green 2nd time around. Marko out front. TK gets Dashley! Schaweeet!

TK around Parko for the lead. Dario just a specktator (ya, I spelled that wrong, but its funny, so I’m leaving it)

Parko gets it back!

TK back to the front!! Yeee Haw!!! We’ve got ourselves a real race!

Saavedra and Taku cleared from the medical centre. Good news.

WOAH!!! EJ Viso is a pylon, Hildebrand dives the inside and squeezes him up. Somehow he saves it. Go EJ go.

Parko out front, TK on his ass. This is gonna be a shootout kids. Dashley now down to 4th.
White Flag! Marco on the button, way out front
Winner Winner Chcken Dinner!!!

It’s been so long, Marco has no idea how to get to victory circle

Now comes the fun part… post race interviews…

TK shows he’s a class act and congratulates Marco and the crew.
What??? No whining?! No accusations?! No bad blood?!

Alright… best start to pack up so I can commute home… LOL! night kids!