Like Tam Tam, I was at the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long
Beach this weekend. I rarely go to a
race these days. I want to race—not
watch. Nevertheless, I had a nice time
hanging out in the paddock in the grandstands.
I enjoyed listening to the paddock gossip. It’s good to see some things don’t
change. :-)
The interesting thing about my trip to the races was the
racing flashbacks. Watching the cars on
their formation laps, I remembered things that I’d forgotten all about when I
raced. I remember being taught to drop
the car into first gear as I rolled up to my grid position and make sure it was
in gear and the right one so I didn’t blow my start. I’d forgotten that if I was near the back of
the grid I would really slow my pace to a crawl when I rolled up to my grid
position to make the guys in front of me sit on their clutches and nerves for
longer than really needed. Also I would
over brake in an attempt to force the car behind me to pass me and pick up a
penalty for overtaking on the formation lap.
Now don’t think less of me. We
are talking about racing and you win at any way you can. :-)
I listened to the chief scrutineer for the ALMS talk
about his job and went into a cold sweat.
The scrutineering bay is the longest 100 feet of road any car and driver
goes through. The scrutineers have the
power to stop you from racing. Brrr…
All in all, I had a fun day at the races filled with good
sport and better memories. Now when am I
driving that stock car?
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