Soggy Finish

While going to the beach and having barbeques are part of the traditions associated with Memorial Day weekend, another long-standing tradition is the Indianapolis 500. This annual race held at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most popular events in motor racing in the United States. I say the United States because there are those motor racing fans around the world who view oval track racing as somewhat of a cheat. The reason behind this feeling is because the cars are endlessly circling the track and all it takes for the winner to be declared is a last minute burst of speed to pass the lead cars and your trip to Victory Lane is assured. As a fan of motor racing I can see how those not fully appreciative of the sport may see that as a reason to scoff at the sport but I'm quite sure it isn't that simple a thing to win a race like that. The race this year was no exception.

Starting off on a sunny afternoon, a hundred laps into the race it began to rain and as a result, the race was halted. Now some European fans may be wondering why the race was halted and the easy answer to that is that the road conditions make it dangerous for the cars to continue racing safely. Now some European road race fans may laugh at that statement but what they often fail to realize is that these cars are almost consistently travelling at over 200 miles per hour and at that speed, any impact on the retaining walls is likely to result in a serious injury if not death. They generally drive in a drizzle but the downpour that erupted on the track late in the second stint was too much to for anyone and it resulted in a last minute accident in which Marco Andretti ended up having his car flip end over end in the air before landing in the soggy infield area. This led to the leader of the last lap before the race was called, to be declared the winner; in this case it was Dario Frachitti.

Frachitti is a great driver and has often won races but this was his first time winning the Indy 500 and although it was a hard earned victory, I can't help but wonder if he isn't feeling that his victory was more a matter of luck over skill. In the month leading up to the Indy 500, the theme of the month is qualifying. The drivers and teams are constantly driving laps in the hopes of improving their times and getting closer to the front. As a result, the better teams, or those with a bit more money are able to improve their cars just enough to get their drivers closer to the head of the pack. Franchitti himself had managed to get to the front row and so was in a good position to contend for the lead. Under normal circumstances (and weather) a driver near the head of the pack has to contend with holding position for the last sprint at the end while fighting off the advances of those behind them. In the rain that becomes even more difficult.

During the last stint it appeared that the rain was to begin again in earnest and teams were readying themselves to change tires and prepare for wet weather and the drivers began the mad dash to try and reach the front before the race was called due to bad weather. Now while that in and of itself can be difficult, it's disappointing to see it comes down to a random event leading to the decision of who will be the winner. Under normal circumstances the race can be decided on strategic terms such as who has more fuel and thus can go out longer versus who has less fuel but can put more distance between them and the cars following. This is particularly true in Formula One but just as true in other forms of racing as well. There's nothing like watching a race and knowing that your driver has only enough fuel to make two more laps and there are three remaining. That's what makes driving so intense and that's what makes watching it even more so. I'm happy that Franchitti finally won the 500 but I wish it had been a little less soggy and a little more exciting.