Insight: My First Time

The sun was a welcome site shining through our hotel windows that morning after the gloom of the day before. Vince and I set out to do a little exploring and walked over to Lucas Oil Stadium to see about picking up our tickets for the race that evening. The sky had clouded over again, the wind was cold, and biting and the area was fairly desolate. I should note that Vince and I are originally from New York and any large city is measured by New York City standards, or at least it’s where our expectations are set. No slight meant to Indy, but we couldn’t figure out where all the people were. The streets were pretty empty. Locating the will call booth for our tickets and then walking for another 10 minutes to find a gas station where Vince could get his breakfast drink of choice, a Monster, of course, we headed back to the hotel.

When it was finally time to go the stadium went up to the press box first, where I met two of my co-workers I’d only spoken with on the phone, in meetings, or via email. It was very nice to meet Donnie Southers and Kellen Brauer, both part of our fabulous Racer X video team. Their excellent coverage of the race in every detail, from large to small, is what enhances the quality site that is RacerXOnline.com. Both guys were friendly and welcoming, and Donnie put up with all my newbie, beginner questions very patiently. Did I mention this was our first race? So, my lack of experience and education were apparent but handled graciously.

Off Donnie went with video camera in hand and we followed DC and his wife Sabrina down to the indoor privateer pits, walking through the bowels of this gigantic stadium. We had frequent introductions and conversations with the many people who knew him and stopped him on the way. Donnie had already interviewed several of the independent racers that were housed in this part of the building. Groups of three or four people were scattered around the large room, each group consisting of a racer, mechanic, family member and a bike. They were all sitting and waiting near tables covered with snack food, bananas, and drinks. The atmosphere wasn’t boisterous or loud but instead, I noticed an expectant murmuring buzz. The people seemed eager and ready to race and were just waiting for their opportunity to get on their bikes and go.

Next, Davey took us to the track area, and we were able to join the track walk. I was very interested in where all this dirt, sans rocks, came from and he explained that the promoters, Feld Motor Sports, purchase and store it between events so it can be reused when needed. Dust from the bulldozers setting the track permeated the air and I could feel it in my throat. Kat Kaczmarzyk from Feld was super friendly and helpful and obliged us with the requisite photo of us standing in the dirt.

Our tour guide then took us to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical rig. Tom Carson was happy to tell us how triage and care were done for any injured racers, spectators, or crew. The goal was always to patch people up so they could continue at the event, not always to continue riding, but at least to avoid a trip to the hospital. This very much depended on the nature and severity of the injury but with multiple doctors, a triage nurse, X-ray machine, sonogram, heart monitors, and every other conceivable technology or medicinal care, they obviously had the staff, the skills and the set up to accomplish this.

We also toured both the TV compound inside the stadium. Massive trailers with miles of cables connecting all of the cameras around the stadium to live streaming and TV satellites, the technology was super impressive in the dark room, lit only by the dozens of screens that lined the back wall. There were a lot of people in this small dimly lit space, but everything appeared organized and efficient.