Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Highlights of the weekend

In case you missed it, I recently posted about what to watch for at Indianapolis Motor Speedway if you plan to attend the Indiana 250 and/or the Brickyard 400 next year. Now, I would like to share some of the highlights of my trip!

1. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I am a huge fan of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. This was the first NASCAR event I've attended, and I was able to meet both of them. I am honestly still speechless.
     
   Meeting my two favorite drivers, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, at my first NASCAR event was priceless!
2. My mom and I were at the track all day on Saturday. Before the Indiana 250, the Sprint Cup Series qualified. Jimmie Johnson had qualified number one with a 47.968-second lap. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Jimmie. But when Ryan Newman, the last driver to qualify, beat Jimmie Johnson's lap by .024 seconds, it was the perfect way for qualifying to end. I can still hear the cheers that came from the fans in the stands. And when Ryan Newman beat Jimmie Johnson on race day? The excitement grew. Newman recently found out that he will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing next year, and a lot of fans stood by him on Sunday as that win was exactly what he needed.
3. In my "What to Watch For" post, I mention that I suggest purchasing general admission tickets for Saturday. I don't know if I could have picked better seats for the Nationwide Series race--we were right across from pit lane! Because IMS is such a large track (2.5 miles), there is no place you can sit where you can see the entire race. If we had sat higher in the stands, we could have seen more. I didn't mind though. I enjoyed our seats!
4. I'm not saying I don't like Kyle Busch, but let's be honest. He wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) a lot. To be specific, he was won 8 NNS races this season and 59 NNS races in his career. On the final restart of the Indiana 250, Brian Scott passed Kyle Busch and was running first...until he wasn't. Busch was able to pass Scott for the win. This would have been Scott's first Nationwide Series win. In those short minutes while Brian Scott was running in P1 (position 1, first place), the crowd and I were hopeful. It was exciting while it lasted.
5. Drivers "Walk the Bricks." The infamous bricks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway are not only on the track, but they also run through the Pagoda Plaza. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers came out of their Driver's Meeting and walked the bricks, fans surrounding them. The man we were standing by before the brick walk told us that this was the first year for the event. When drivers walked by, they waved, gave high-fives, and some even signed autographs. (My mom got Mark Martin's and Paul Menard's autographs). I hope IMS holds this again next year because it was neat to be able to get that close to the drivers!

 AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Drivers "Walk the Bricks" before the Brickyard 400.

Did you attend the Indiana 250 or the Brickyard 400 this year, or even in previous years? What were your highlights? I will feature some of your comments in another blog post!

Track Tips: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I have been interested in NASCAR for about a year now, and I was able to attend my first NASCAR event this past weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). To go to a track that has so much racing history...indescribable.

As a newbie to IMS, there were a few things that I noticed and want to suggest fans to watch out for if they plan to go to the Indiana 250 and/or the Brickyard 400 next year.

1. KNOW YOUR ZONE. I attended the race with my mom, and neither of us had been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before. This "Know Your Zone" program was helpful because we would have had no idea where we were going otherwise. If you need driving directions and maps of the seating areas, be sure to print this before you leave.
2. This may seem logical, but it's probably best to order your tickets more than two weeks ahead of time...unlike we did. After we ordered our tickets, we realized that IMS has a deadline of when you can purchase your tickets and actually get them sent to you. It makes sense, of course, because they want to make sure your tickets arrive in time. My mom and I didn't realize that. We were able to pick up our tickets at will call, and it wasn't a big deal. However, it is probably easier to have your tickets and parking passes ahead of time so you don't have to mess with it when you get there.
3. I strongly suggest getting general admission tickets for Saturday's Nationwide Series race. They had some sections roped off, but we could otherwise sit wherever we wanted. With our general admission tickets, we were able to sit right across from pit lane. You can buy reserved seats if you'd like, but I don't think it's necessary.
   
   A view from our seats at the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday (7/27).
4. Even if you don't have a "hot pass" (a pass that allows you to go in the garage/pit area), you can still get fairly close to the garage area. You can even watch the cars go through inspection. I thought this may only be allowed on Saturday because I figured it would be more restricted on Sunday. This is not the case! You can get near the garage area on Sunday, as well. Being near the garage is a great way to meet some of the NASCAR drivers...
     
   I met Brad Keselowski on Saturday! This shows how close you can get to the garage area before it is fenced off. (No, I did not have him caged!)
5. If you are new to the track, get there early! As I said, this was our first time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and we got there are soon as the gates opened on both days. This gave us time to wander and figure out our way around.

If you have any questions on a topic I didn't cover, please leave a comment. I will do my best to answer!