Here's my brief report on our yearly trek to the Brickyard to watch the Tudor SportsCar races.
(To read about my cigar adventure from the same weekend, go here:
http://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php/topic,79681.msg1021176/topicseen.html#msg1021176)
This year we decided to eschew the chain hotels and stay someplace different. We were celebrating 20 years of our 1st date, so it was an anniversary of sorts. We decided to stay at the Fort Harrison Inn. It was a military compound that was changed into a hotel and golf course. It was about 15 minutes from everywhere we wanted to visit, so it was perfect. It was an older place but that somehow added to the charm. Our king room was quite large. It was a comfortable place to stay. We'll likely continue to come back. It's VERY quiet.
http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/inns/ftharrison/One thing the Porsche Club of America knows how to do is put on an event for their members. For a mere $80 for the two of us, we got 2 tickets to the event. This included parking on the infield of Indy, which is just awesome! We also had access to the Porsche Suite, meet-and-greet with the Porsche driver's, a full catered meal, technical discussions and meet-and-greet with the President of Motorsport for Michelin and entered into several drawings for various prizes. This is a steal of a deal! I hope some day some of the CTC members will take us up on our offer to join us! Here's the agenda for our day:
View from the bridge overlooking the Porsche parking on the infield:
View from the suite (as I was smoking a cigar on the patio). That's the Indy tower!
More than any series I have ever been to, Tudor GETS IT. I mean, they REALLY get it as far as the fans are concerned. They make it so the fan is really involved. We could wander right into the paddock as close as you wanted to the cars, the mechanics AND the drivers. During the NASCAR practice, they had all of the drivers and the cars on the back straight. You were able to meet all the drivers and get their autographs if you were so inclined. While I'm sure this is a bit tedious for the drivers, they were all professional and polite with smiles. They gave you as much time as you needed to visit with them. This is a class act operation from top to bottom and it's clear there is some mandate to the teams that without the fans this series can't survive.
IQ and fans on the back straight:
Drivers and cars:
Oh...and how was the racing? GREAT!! Indianapolis is just such an incredible facility. Top to bottom my favorite track..and I'm been to most every big venue in North America. The history, the massive size, the workers, and the city itself and lends to an absolutely incredible time. During the race, you can sit anywhere you want. From the front straight grandstands, the bleachers, one the grass berms down the back straight or any number of other stands. Since the race is ~3 hours, you can wander from vantage point to vantage point. Here's a brief video taken at the end of the front straight. These are stand "J".
http://youtu.be/ihqcMgHColM?list=UU7JWdXiJJHMHC1uQF1iaiOQAll in all an incredible weekend!!
