My Race Weekend Overload (pic heavy)

[Whee]

Howdy gang.

Making my annual pilgrimage to Indianapolis for the weekend of trucks, nationwide and sprint cup races, thought I'd share some pics for the race fans in the group and some vids for those who have never been to a race.

The weekend starts at O'Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) for the Camping World Truck race.

My ugly mug enjoying a Torano Virtuoso. Cigar #2 of the day. Over my shoulder you can see one of the drriver's RV. We were that close. And to the haulers as well.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/007.jpg

The party van from the front. The flags make it easy to find in the parking lot.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/001.jpg

Party van from the back. Portable grill, two coolers and various snacks are stowed away. Today's menu was hamburgers and hot dogs. We discovered a few years ago that bribing the parking lot security personnel with food, gets you preferred parking.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/002.jpg

Pics of some of the haulers and a Nationwide car being wheeled past. I am leaning on the front of the party van.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/004.jpg

The Anthem.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/017.jpg

[Whee]

They always have a flyover. The first year I went, they had a Blackhawk helicopter fly over the stands, do a straight up bank and come right at us, stopping and hovering about 100 yards from the crowd. Unfortunately, they don;t get that close, but here's a pic as the pilot was banking over us.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/021.jpg

This is a vid of the beginning of the race. Notice how quiet the trucks get before they get the green. Our seats are about 20 rows up or so.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/th_023.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/?action=view&current=023.flv)

And another vid of one of the restarts and I follow them around the track see you can what a neat little half-mile ORP is.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/th_029.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/?action=view&current=029.flv)

A quick action shot. Hopefully, I will work out the timing a little better.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/026.jpg

Mr Kyle Busch getting serviced.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/027.jpg

[Skywalker]

Looks like a lot of fun!!!

Thanks for the photos!!!:tu

[elderboy02]

Nice pics! Lets just hope Jeff Gordon wins on Sunday :banger

[Whee]

So I write up the last captions, preview post and apparently, didn;t submit.:mad:

Here are a couple of late race action pics.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/030.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/037.jpg

Todd Bodine in for some damage control. Wrecked right in front of us, of course, i was watching the action behind him.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/031.jpg

Ron Hornaday, the winner, beginning his "Polish victory lap."
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/truckrace09/038.jpg

The rest of the weekend may not get posted until I get back to S. Beloit on Tuesday. Long day tomorrow for the Nationwide race and then a 5am wake up on Sunday to head to the Brickyard.

Hope you enjoy the pics!

[elderboy02]

All the Bodine brothers sucked. They were all wreckers. I would cringe everytime my favorite drivers were around them.

Have fun at the races!

[MedicCook]

Thanks for posting the pics sean. Enjoy the rest of your weekend there.

[Jbailey]

Looks like a great trip, thanks for the pics.

[hotreds]

Good job!

[kelmac07]

Looks like a good time...thanks for the pictures.

[theonlybear4CORT]

Gotta love the truck series :tu

[G G]

Nice pics Sean

[Whee]

Today not as much fun. Rain early and annoying people in the stands. Almost saw something I have never seen. The pace car nealry got taken out by a car.:r

No pics tonight as I have only a 4 hour nap and then off the big race.

Will post up on tuesday for those who want to see.

Thanks for looking.:tu

[MedicCook]

Have a great time Sean. I will be watching for you on tv.

[Starscream]

That was a good race yesterday. Only wish Montoya's dominance could have paid off at the end. Hope you had fun at the big race, Sean.:tu

[TripleF]

Dude, that looks like a blast. Thanks for sharing it with us! :tu :tu

[Whee]

Have a great time Sean. I will be watching for you on tv.

I was waving! 7 rows up at the entrance to turn 1.

That was a good race yesterday. Only wish Montoya's dominance could have paid off at the end. Hope you had fun at the big race, Sean.:tu

Got to hang with my brother, so good time was had. The race was boring. They went from one extreme to the other. Felt bad for Montoya, as did most of the fans around us.

Photobucket being a bit tempermental for me tonight, so I will get picks up as soon as I can.

Thanks for looking!

[Whee]

Without further ado, here is the rest of my weekend.

As I mentioned before, Saturday was rainy, cool and blustery. Felt more like October than July. But about 1pm the sun came out, temp went up and everything dried out.

Got meet a couple of the crews as well. The crew from Steven Wallace's crew had good time with us. I was wearing a #88 Navy hat with the name of their boss on it when he was the driver. I bought the hat the week he was fired and replaced. They thought it was funny that they had found their boss's one fan. Took a pic of the hat and then wanted me to sign it so they could give it to their boss. We went back and forth and a good trade, but I think my buddy's wife scared them off.

This batch of pics and vids is from the Nationwide race. They are not quite as good as the truck race pics. We were really sardined in and got jostled quite a bit. I also had to deal with a couple of kids, who instead of standing up in the stands, would stand on the seat of the person in front of them, so I had to aim high.

Enjoy!

Hauler pics. Notice the standing water. Diehard fans or stupid morons? You decide.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/001.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/002.jpg

After the wind died down and the sun came out, got to enjoy a nice 5 Vegas Gold.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/005.jpg



Ron Hornaday
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/012.jpg

Brad Kesolowski
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/013.jpg

[Whee]

This race they honor the military. Always nice.


Flag parachuting in.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/016.jpg
Hit his mark.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/017.jpg
The Anthem
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/018.jpg

The customary big flag
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/019.jpg
Same flyover as Friday, but a different angle
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/021.jpg

[Whee]

Parade lap
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/024.jpg

Video of the start. Always the best part of the race. As you can see, I was reaching for the video so my aim is not so good.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/th_025.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/?action=view&current=025.flv)

Ckeck the oil and clean the windshield please!
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/029.jpg

A couple of action shots.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/028.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/027.jpg

[Whee]

And lastly, the winner, Carl Edwards. I tried to snap a pic of his backflip but got bumped just as he went. This is the result.:mad:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/nationwide09/037.jpg

This was a great race. Edwards and Busch battling it out until Busch got into the wall. Got to see the rookie, Bayne, nearly hit the pace car. Good times.

[MedicCook]

Thanks for the pics Sean. :tu

[Whee]

Now for the main event. The Brickyard. If you've never been, this is track that you go to for the atmosphere and history. Not real good for watching the actual race.

We've had good seats for the last 4 years. 7 rows up on the outside of the entrance to turn one. We can see some pit action, the front stretch, turn one, the short chute and the entrance to turn two. We also have a big video board directly across from us, so it's not too bad.

Our parking space was directly across the track on Georgetown. My buddy wanted to get to the track early, since we had never parked here before. We arrived at 6am:confused:. Only 7 cars in the lot when we arrived, but I did get this nice pic of the Pagoda as the sun was coming up. I couldn;t move more right, because there was a huge tree in the way.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/001.jpg

Enjoying cigar numer one, my trusty morning stick, 5 Vegas Gold. It was chilly in the shade, so yes, I am wearing a jacket.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/002.jpg

My brother and I. He's a rookie smoker, not on here.....yet. But apparenlty couldn't hold a beer and a smoke at the same time:r

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/003.jpg

[elderboy02]

Nice pictures!

I went to the Brickyard for a few years when I was younger, but you are right, it is not a good track to watch the race b/c you can only see what is in front of you. I love the atmosphere though.

Is the house still there that hangs up the sign at the entrance of the parking lot that says "Show your t**s"? :r

[Whee]

After a short walk, seriously, we parked just a short ways from where our seats were, Here are pics from inside prior to the festivities.

The scoring tower and Pagoda.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/004.jpg

Looking into turn one. Lots of empty seats at about 45 minutes prior to green flag. Track estimates they were down 20% in attendance. It showed.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/005.jpg

Pre race parade. Tony Stewart, hometown favorite. Lives about 30 mins from the track in Columbus.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/006.jpg

My buddy is a fan of Michael Waltrip, so this one was for him.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/007.jpg

Dr. Evil, the Man in the Black Hat....Kyle Busch
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/009.jpg

[Whee]

Roger Penske on the right, directly across from us. He usually spends most of the race here.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/011.jpg

Stands looked better as the parade laps started.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/010.jpg

The fly over was four T-38's. Old school astronaut trainers.:D I could not see my viewfinder, so I wasn't even sure i got them on the camera. They show up, eventually.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/th_012.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/?action=view&current=012.flv)

[Whee]

Parade lap pics...
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/013.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/014.jpg

The start. Best part of the race. You hear them coming, then you feel them as they fly past.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/th_016.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/?action=view&current=016.flv)

Vid of lap two, watching turn one.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/th_017.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/?action=view&current=017.flv)

[Whee]

Some pit action...

Brian Vickers
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/018.jpg

The FOG, Mark Martin
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/019.jpg

Exiting the pits, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya. This was the pit stop that cost him the race
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/020.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/021.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/022.jpg

[Whee]

Martin and Montoya battling for the lead
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/015.jpg

My brother is a huge Junior fan, so to add insult to injury, this appeared on the video board across from us. Hood up, day done.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/023.jpg

Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin on the final lap.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/024.jpg

Johnson and crew celebrating the win. He didn;t come down far enough on his burnout, so this was the best victory pick I could take.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/025.jpg

All in all, boring race. They went from the Flat Tire 400 last year to the Follow the Leader 400 this year. The last 30 laps were exciting, watching martin and Johnson battling it out, but it was a quiet day.

One last pic to end it all. Stars and Stripes, Forever.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t7/IllinoisHoosier/brickyard09/026.jpg

[Whee]

Thanks for the pics Sean. :tu

Thanks buddy!

Nice pictures!

I went to the Brickyard for a few years when I was younger, but you are right, it is not a good track to watch the race b/c you can only see what is in front of you. I love the atmosphere though.

Is the house still there that hangs up the sign at the entrance of the parking lot that says "Show your t**s"? :r

Sadly, all the debauchery and nekkidness is pretty much gone.:(

[Jbailey]

Thanks for the pictures Sean!