I agreed to go with him to the suite, partly because it was a Friday out of the office, but also because I know the motor speedway is a large part of Indiana culture and I needed to experience it at least once in my life. I really didn't know what to expect.
On the trip down my boss tried to explain what a big deal the race is and how people camp out for hours, even days, to get a parking spot on the field. How I should turn on the tv race day morning just to see the gridlock traffic pictures of people going to the race on the news. I blithely informed him that I grew up on the east coast; I know what gridlock traffic is. Ever try to go down the shore on the Atlantic City Expressway on a beautiful summer Saturday morning? Yea, you know what gridlock traffic is.
Anyways, my first indication that spending the day at the motor speedway would NOT be my idea of a good time was when we drove by a HUGE (we're talking acres here) field with groupings of port-a-potties strewn across it. My boss informed me that come race day that field would be jam packed with RVs and tents. Tents? Are you joking me? To see cars go really fast around a track for three hours? Seriously people....it's not worth it.
The suite was really high up and looking out over the track I must admit I was impressed. It's different than I thought it would be, almost like an airport runway with the huge tower. Here's a view from the stadium seating outside the suite. It was cool to to see the people work on the cars in the pits directly across from us. They really are fast at changing tires and such.
You can't even see to the other side of the track because there are more suites across the way so really you can see the cars go by for maybe 5 seconds? Like I said, not worth it.
And then the cars started going round and round. Sheesh, it's really amazing there aren't more half deaf people walking around Indiana because those cars going around are LOUD! It's a sound like what I'd imagine a fighter jet taking off to sound like. You can feel the reverberation resounding off your insides and you get dizzy from jerking your head back and forth watching them go by. The fastest one that day was going 226.9 miles per hour and apparently that's a pretty good speed.
The cars themselves are pretty snazzy and of course support our consumer obessed culture by being nothing more than advertisements. Target, McDonalds, Motorolla, Penske, even one promoting the new Indiana Jones movie all had their own cars and drivers all decked out in logos. It's an interesting thought -- advertising on a car going 226 miles per hour -- on one hand the company is getting exposure to a very, very large market, but on the other hand the car is going so fast it's amazing anyone can read the ads!The afternoon went slowly and I didn't really enjoy being there. You can only watch cars go by so fast and I didn't know anyone else in the suite to talk with. Finally my boss asked if I wanted to go down into the pits so we did that and it was pretty neat. Here's a picture of the Target car (I think) getting serviced.
I suppose being at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a once in a lifetime experience, especially for an aspiring Hoosier. But that doesn't mean I get the appeal. It really attracts an interesting group of people and I tried hard not to stereotype (ok maybe I did a little bit), but wow, to think of all the people (an estimated 300,000 attend the actual race day) who invest time, money, and energy into watching cars go round and round......? What if we as Christ followers took the same amount of time, money, and energy to share the story we hold true and infuse a state, a nation, with passionate people in pursuit of Christ? Wouldn't our world be so different? I think so.
No comments:
Post a Comment