After getting a quick look at Danica Patrick’s car we continued our walk through the pits. We got to see Allex Lloyd’s Newman / Haas / Lanigan Racing Indy car getting prepped for the race.
After that we saw Tony Kanaan’s 7-11 Slurpee car getting worked on. Surprisingly there were no slurpies around, nor was Tony there, but it was still cool to see his ride up close. It was a very interesting peek into how the teams worked getting ready for a big race.
It was also interesting to see what the cars looked like with their various body work scattered about. We got to see the nitty-gritty of the cars. The fancy transmissions, the fantastically curvy body work even a nose, wing, or two. Check out Jaques Lazier’s car with the engine exposed.
Is that a catalytic converter I see? Maybe a muffler? I did notice that the cars were quieter this year. Any IRL experts out there who can tell me what I got shots of?
We saw stacks of tires, yes, I touched them and no, they’re not sticky. I think they get sticky when they’re at about 200 degrees. We saw hordes of fans milling around. Some not caring at all. Some in it for the star drivers- real autograph hounds. Some like me were in it to see the tech!
We happened upon Ed Carpenters Vision Racings car with a laptop right next to it. I guess they were programming the timing and tuning. Who else knows? Man, wish I could connect that computer to my car. Wonder what would happen. I guess I thought that the image of a “tuner” with his lap top connected to his Japanese engine (yes all Indy Racing league cars use Honda v8’s) was just in my beloved fast and furious movies. But there they were. Guess their programmers are like the Diablo sport predator tuner on steroids!
They also had the two-seat trainer. It’s kind of like a two seat fighter trainer. I’ll bet it’s a blast to go for a ride in. Maybe next year I’ll figure out how to get to do a lap or two in that bad boy.
Walking right next to to the fence that separates us fans from the real pits an adorable little girl standing by the fence, ear protection and all caught my eye, she was clearly enjoying the race. J2 told me that her mom was working with one of the teams. I think she’s adorable. Maybe a little Danica Patrick, Sara Fisher or, Milka Duno one day in the near future.
A driver change during the grand am race happened right next to us. Wow imagine if NASCAR guys’ had to do that one. It makes for a lengthy pit stop. Imagine being driver number two and having to jump into the heat of the battle that’s already started. That’s gotta put your nerves on edge.
I’ll have more from our trip soon!
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