A Day at the Brickyard

For the eighth year in a row, Cory and I bought tickets to the Brickyard 400. Our journey to the Speedway is as much about a day together as it is about watching the race, which was a good thing this year because the race itself was nothing short of a fiasco. Because of tire issues, the race was riddled with mandatory cautions and there was very little action on the track. No matter, we enjoyed our time together, just the two of us.

We arose early, eager to get to Speedway without battling traffic and to settle into our "camping" spot in the courtyard of the elementary school just across 30th St (our best-kept secret). We brought along our traditional pre-race menu of hot dogs, fruit, and snacks to enjoy. On our way in, we caught a whiff of the bacon and eggs cooking on the campfires of some of the other race-goers, and we made a mental note to try breakfast fare next year...

After lunch and a long trek to the track itself, we settled into our seats on the third turn. Our view was fantastic, it never ceases to amaze me how truly massive that place is. It was hot (as usual), and incredibly, for the eighth year in a row, rain never threatened. We did discover, however, that we were covered with the fine black dust of tires that were invisibly shredding on the track. Better than being covered with raindrops, I guess, but scary to think that we were breathing that stuff...

At the end of the day, we headed back to our car, tired but anticipating our delicious post-race menu of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Although the race itself was disappointing, we didn't really mind because as usual, we had a great day.