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Written by:
Jeff Olson
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
Senior writer, RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
05/16/2008 - 06:43 PM
Indianapolis, Ind.
If you're confident about the weather at Indy, you haven't been paying attention. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos
Last year, while Dario Franchitti tip-toed to the finish line in a torrential downpour, Ryan Briscoe’s tub became exactly that. The rain fell so fast, Briscoe couldn’t have taken another lap without a sump pump or Mr. Bubble. Had he not been buckled in, he surely would have slipped below the surface. “It was interesting,” Briscoe said. “It happened twice, too, once during the first break and again at the end of the race. The weirdest part about last year was eating lunch in the middle of the race. I was thinking, ‘We‘re in the middle of the 500, and I‘m putting my feet up and having lunch.’”
Such is the joy of weather in Indiana in May. One minute you’re racing, the next minute you’re eating a sandwich. One minute you’re in Hawaii, the next minute you’re in Greenland. Pack mittens and sunscreen, please, and don’t expect what you’re experiencing now to last any significant amount of time.
As we sat here at Indy thinking of new ways to entertain ourselves during hour upon hour of rain – we’re way past gathering animals for a boat ride and currently into memorizing South Park episodes – the question presented itself: Why would someone stage
The answer is extremely rural in nature, as one might expect in a place surrounded by corn and beans. When Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler carved this giant rectangle in the soil in 1909 with the intent of testing automobiles, they also decided to hold an auto race. When your clientele and potential participants mostly wear overalls and work with the earth, the best time for a race is when they’re not in the field.
Thus, they chose a two-week period of time after planting known as “haying,” a bit of a spring break for farmers. The seeds are in the ground, the hard part is over, and haying is a time of rest and celebration. Couple that with Memorial and/or Decoration Day, which had been celebrated unofficially on the last Sunday in May ever since the end of the Civil War, and you’ve got a fine time for a race.
Except for one small thing. The weather in Indiana in May is about as predictable as Britney Spears at a paparazzi convention. One minute it’s weird, next minute it’s somewhat attractive. One minute it’s bright and pleasant, the next minute it’s not wearing undergarments.
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