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with
my birthday - the 30th of May. The race is the largest single day
sporting even in the world, and represents the cornerstone of Indiana culture.
It serves as the "Mardi Gras" of the midwest, drawing people from all of
the midwestern states - the crowd is often as interesting as the race itself.
My mother's family is from Indiana, and my relatives have gone to the race since its start early in the 20th century. I went to my first race in the early 80's - I still am trying to pinpoint my first year at the track. Both of my grandparents have passed away in recent years, but our annual summer tradition has not faded. My aunt always travels from Massachusetts, while my sister, parents, and I travel down from Chicago.
2002
was a typical year for the race, except that Cecilia and I had to make
the trip from Paris to get there. We arrived in Chicago the Wednesday
before, and spent two days sightseeing and celebrating my 30th birthday
with Houston and Chicago friends (who had gathered for the event).
Saturday morning we drove to Indianapolis, and checked into a Courtyard
by Marriot hotel in Castleton - a suburb on the northeast edge of town.
This year our group consisted of Sarah, Cecilia, my parents, Carolyn, Carolyn's
friend Mary, and Mark and Ryan Langille. My parents did not go to
the actual race, but joined for the family gathering.
We spent Saturday night eating at the nearby MCL Cafeteria - another race weekend tradition - and relaxing at the hotel. We needed the rest after two days of birthday celebration in Chicago. The Langille brothers explored the raucous party at the track, then met us at the hotel after dinner. We spent most of the time in the hotel hot tub.
Sunday morning we woke up early, and left the hotel by 7am. We
stopped at the local Marsh's grocery store, to pick up the preprepared
boxed lunches - another annual tradition. The lunches always contain
deep fried chicken, a side order of mashed 
potato
and cole slaw, and a few cookies. We drove downtown, parked the car,
and boarded a bus for the track. We arrived in our seats by 9:30am,
in time to watch the pre-race festivities. The race ceremonies commenced
at 10:30am, including release of 10,000's of balloons, a flyby of a stealth
bomber, and traditional singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana" by Jim
Nabors. After several parade and warmup laps the green flag dropped,
and the race began.
The race was spectacular - with record speeds, few accidents, no injuries, and several cars competing for the lead. I was cheering for Michael Andretti, who briefly had the lead but faded late in the race. Cecilia was cheering for Gil de Ferran, who was leading until his wheel fell off after a pit stop on the 180th lap - quite embarrassing for the pit crew I am sure. The final battle occurred between Helio Castroneves and Scott Sharp. Castroneves led going into the final two laps, but Scott Sharp appeared to have the faster car. As Sharp passed Castroneves on the back straightaway an accident occurred simultaneously on another section of the track - prompting a yellow flag. The accident was ruled to have occurred before Sharp passed Castroneves, and the race ended on a yellow flag with Castroneves victorious. Castroneves had won the year before (also his rookie race), and he was the first to win back-to-back races in several decades.
We returned to the car via the bus shuttle, and drove back to the hotel.
We met up with mom & dad, and went to dinner at a nearby Outback Steakhouse.
We spent the night again relaxing at the hotel, and then headed back to
Chicago early on Monday morning. By mid-afternoon we were at the
airport, and en route back to Paris. Images from the race weekend:
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