103e Indianapolis 500 2019

In May 2019, I visited the USA again. This time, it was to attend the biggest race in the world, the Indy 500, with Henri. We also explored the state of Indiana and Chicago. More on that in the next blog post . This first part of the blog post about this trip focuses on the race weekend itself.

For years, I've been watching the Indy 500 on TV every year. The Indy 500 has been held on an oval in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, since 1911. It's a 500-mile (805-kilometer) race around a four-turn banked track. Speeds are high here; in qualifying, the fastest drivers averaged over 370 kilometers per hour over four laps. A Dutchman also won here once; in both 1990 and 1997, Arie Luijendijk, originally from Sommelsdijk, won this race. This earned him eternal fame among Americans. Before the race, he was also given a ride on the back of a car as a hero, along with other past winners. On the Thursday before the race, we also visited the museum to get in the mood. Our Arie's two winning cars were also on display there. There are also plenty of other winning Indycars, several Nascars and a collection of cars driven by national hero Mario Andretti.

On Thursday evening, we attended the Hoosier 100. This was a USAC sprint car race held on a dirt oval at the Indiana State Fairgrounds horse racing track in downtown Indianapolis. Sprint cars are the foundation of American motorsports. Drivers often start here with a simple sprint car and then move on to NASCAR or IndyCar. You also regularly see active NASCAR drivers doing this for fun. The cars are quite basic: grab a big V8 engine, a simple tubular frame, and a pair of Hoosier tires, and blast away. I didn't get many action shots (partly due to the limited space around the track). But there was plenty of action. The climax was when Chris Windom, during a battle for the lead, blew a tire, sending his car sideways in front of us, bouncing several times, and ending up completely wrecked. He was unharmed, and after a while, the cars were restarted (there was no starter motor). The battle continued fiercely until dark, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A great start to our race weekend!

In the lead-up to the big 500, Friday was the day the Indy Lights class would run the Freedom 100. Extremely bad weather was forecast for the entire race weekend. Early in the morning, it had rained heavily, forcing the circuit gates to be temporarily closed. But after hard work by the marshals with their special jet-powered dryers, the track was dry in time. Dutchman Rinus van Kalmthout was also at the starting line, with Rinus Veekay for the Americans. This racing series is best compared to Formula 2, as we know it as a stepping stone to F1. Chris Windom, who we saw crash the night before, was also back in the race. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well. On the second lap, again through no fault of his own, he went off the rails. His car went over another car and into the wall in half. Click here for the video . This halted the race, and we saw first the front of his car, then the rear section, and then the other car involved being towed away. After the race resumed, it was one of the most exciting races I'd ever witnessed. The leaders overtook each other several times per lap, with Rinus frequently leading the field. Ultimately, it was Oliver Askew who secured a true photo finish at the finish line, with a margin of 0.0067 seconds – incredible!

May 26, 2019, race day. All week long, it seemed like the race wouldn't happen that day. The evening before, it was announced that it would rain in the morning, followed by a full-blown downpour just after the scheduled start time. Miraculously, it was dry, and the sun even broke through. So, we headed to the circuit early to avoid the crowds. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, so we were able to leisurely explore in the morning and, like true Dutchmen, fill our bags with free merchandise. Upon arrival at Chicago airport, the customs officer asked who was going to win the race. I mentioned Simon Pagenaud. I'd seen this Frenchman promoting the Champcar race in Assen on Piet Paulusma's show. As a result, we ended up under a tarp on a dike next to the TT Circuit on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Now, 12 years later, he had already won the Indianapolis Grand Prix earlier that month and taken pole for the Indy 500, so as far as I was concerned, it was his month. Customs said, "Never heard of the Guy..." That would change, though. From our spot at the exit of Turn 1, we watched Pagenaud drive a rock-solid race. There were several incidents, but he always came out on top. The race ended with a thrilling duel between him and Alexander Rossi. But in the end, he was too strong and took the win. We were able to join the gridlock around the circuit, satisfied, and with our skin considerably redder than earlier that morning. They'll never take that away from us!
Click here for part 2 about Chicago & Indiana.