-It was a cold start to this year's Month of May at IMS, but the day warmed up nicely. Still, I ended up grabbed a couple of hot chocolates for the kids not long after the gates opened.
-The Gordon Pipers are tremendous, whether they're marching or performing in place. I know that might sound cliche for a 500 fan to say, but seriously, that is the soundtrack to start my May. You wouldn't normally put bagpipes and racing together, but somehow it just works.
-Kudos to IMS for having a couple of other musical acts out there today, including the High Octane Drumline. These guys play at Indiana Pacer sometimes, but they were a nice addition out at the track.
-The Celebration of Automobiles has become the crown jewel of Opening Day. There are just so many cars to look at--Duesenbergs, Packards, Marmons, Rolls Royce, classic roadsters, a vast range of vintage pace cars--cars you could just about cry over, they're so perfect. It's just a fantastic addition to the festivities, and fitting event for the Cathedral of Speed.
-The Social Media Garage had two driver events today, and both seemed very well-attended. Pippa Mann and Josef Newgarden are two popular drivers at Indy, and I'm impressed with the Speedway's continued push to integrate social media and current technology into their plans, and I hope they keep pushing in the same direction.
-Not a whole host of cars saw track today, but that doesn't mean it wasn't productive. Rookie Orientation went over without any major speedbumps, all three rookies who could go out today passed, and the we got to see drivers such as Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, and Josef Newgarden turn quite a few laps. Still, talking with some of the crew guys, it's pretty clear that we won't see a full track until probably Monday or so. Teams are still turning around from Brazil, and today there were even folks in the pit area applying needed decals to stands.
-Plenty of discussion today about the #99 entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Buddy Rice is the most likely candidate by far (although no official announcement was made), but of course other names like Jay Howard and even Katherine Legge popped up on the radar, too. That's just part of the fun of May, is getting to play Conspiracy Theorist/Detective. I'm surprised George Snider wasn't brought up. It does seem very likely we'll have at least 1-2 more drivers added, though--with that number including Rice or whomever jumps in the 99. Bump Day seems safe.
-The kids had a blast today, and I'll be taking my girls back tomorrow for more. It's going to be a cold day, but any day at the track is a good one, as far as I'm concerned. We'll see how many cars make it out on track.
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