Up at 4am. Group on the road by 6. In the seats by 8. All of us were going on about 4 hours of sleep, and we walked about 2.5 miles from the car to the seats, but boy oh boy was it all worth it. We were in covered seating, just north of the brickyard, which was great for not getting burnt, but not ideal for viewing the stealth fly over. I did manage to see it hovering and turn. There was only the slightest rumble and a shadow created by it. It was amazing. Rachel & I didn’t really hang around the red carpet because we thought it was wrong to have one, but it was neat to think about so many important people being nearby.

During line-up introductions, the cheer for Danica took the volume up about 5 notches. I was all about the Andretti Green team though. I was really excited for the pace lap, just seeing all the cars drive by. They looked so different in real life and in motion. Green flag and oh my gosh, it was definitely my “race moment”. Everything looks slower on TV. The cars roared by in a blur. It was so damn loud, shook my water bottle. I just got chills and started cheering and yelling “YEAHHH!!!” The thrill was indescribable. I just couldn’t believe how different it was in person.

My man Tony lead a big portion of the race, which I knew was a bad sign. My theory is try to stay in the top 5 at least the second half and push through closer to the end. Dan Wheldon did just that. I tell ya when Danica took the lead, every one of the 250,000 people in the stands stood up and cheered their asses off. I’d never seen such widespread support for a single person like that. It was inspiring, but I’d told Rachel she could only get 4th. Too bad I didn’t make a bet on that. I was glad to see she broke the ‘78 record of a 9th place finishing by Janet Guthrie, but I honestly didn’t want her to win. She’ll appreciate the win more in a few years. I will say I was impressed by her skill.

I was really proud of the Andretti Green team. All 4 members finished the race in the top 10 and were top 3 leaders for a big span of the race. I swear I was the only one cheering when Danica got passed, except for a husband nearby who in turn received a mock punch from his wife. haha. This victory was the next best thing to witnessing an Andretti family win. It was great to be there for their first.

And the weather was beautiful, just perfect. I think it’s about the best first-time racing experience I ever could have hoped for. I do plan to make a return visit. No one can knock that sport until they witness it live. It’s hardcore.

But yes, I went with Rachel and her parents, and they were wonderful. I could have never played Radiohead at 5am without my parents yelling at me and hating it. They were very cool. I’m hard-pressed to think of a better Memorial Day weekend celebration I’ve had. Spent Sat night at her sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s cookout, which was also fun. I got to ride in a Lexus to the race, which was another first for me. Oh, also saw Lazear, a classmate I hadn’t seen in over a year, at the race. He came in from DC. That wasn’t too painful heh.

Definitely a day for the books.