The Brickyard

I made my first trip to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis this weekend. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the original "speedway", in a 2.5 mile track that was built in 1909 and is the highest capacity sports venue in the world. Visiting the Brickyard is definitely a bucket list item for most die-hard race fans, including my Dad, and I was fortunate to let him tag along on this trip. He has been a NASCAR fan for as long as I can remember and this was actually his first live race to attend. I was able to get him into our FedEx suite as my guest and take advantage of our HOT passes that allow access to the garage and pit areas during the race.

The track definitely showed it's age in my opinion. It was very closed off and you couldn't see much of the race unless it was right in front of you. It lacked the large jumbotron TV screens, too. The parking was mostly inside the infield, which was really different from other newer tracks, and that made traffic and getting around extra fun. And it has a golf course in the infield...crazy! And our suite was so dated it reminded me of a saloon with it's paneling and mirrors. Ha!

My Dad checking out the suite seating, which was all outside.

Our view from the suite of an empty track and early pit road early before
the race started. You can see the start finish line way off in the distance.

Since I had never been to Indy, I needed to get my bearings on how to get around the track on a golf cart before I shuttled customers, so my Dad came with me and we explored pit road and the garage. He actually went to the track on Saturday to pick up his credentials and did some exploring then, too.

Next to our pit box and all the #11 tires ready for the race.

Sitting in Darian's seat, our crew chief, on top of the pit box.

He seriously wanted me in every picture with him...

Watching our guys work on the car.

He is such a goober.

On pit road!

We headed back to our suite where my Dad said he ate like a king all day...races last a long time and there is a lot of food and drink to consume to pass the time. This was some of the better track food I have had, though. Coach Gibbs and Denny both stopped by for quick Q&As and photos, too.

Dad is holding Coach's Super Bowl ring.

I took customers and my Dad down for the prerace festivities which included a tour of the #11 hauler and garage before heading to the grid pre-race. We watched driver intros next to the #11 car and stayed for the National Anthem, prayer and flyover. Then, we hiked it to our pit box and stayed for the start of the race until the first pit stop before headed back to the suite. If you can't tell from the the pics, it was HOT!

Selfie by the car.

The BRICKS!! But we didn't kiss them...

Pit stop from the #11 pit stall.

Dad watching the race from the suite outdoor seats.

The #11 started 27th and finished 3rd...we were so hoping to get to victory lane at the Brickyard! And though there were some post-race inspection issues with the car that resulted in fines, it was still a good race day for our team.

It was a quick trip, as I literally got in the night before the race and left at the crack of dawn the morning after race day. But, I was glad I got to share this with my Dad. To say he had fun is a massive understatement! He is still bugging me for used tires and scrap sheet metal from the #11 car...sorry Dad...it ain't gonna happen! :)