Just thought I would post a few brief lines about the Verizon IndyCar series race this past Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, IL. The only other mention of it I have seen on here was by a gentleman seeking someone to share the ride from Indy to the race.
First of all, I would have to say this is a very nice facility with state of the art lighting. I didn't know what to expect as far as crowd attendance was concerned. It turned out I was lucky to have bought advance tickets, as the event was a sellout. By the time the race started, the stand was virtually full. No doubt the promotion by the Bommarito automotive group was effective. There were some glitches; the parking lot personnel need some training, and the PA system is lacking.
As far as the race itself is concerned, it got off to a rocky start with Tony Kanaan spinning on the parade lap. The first lap saw polesitter Will Power, Ed Carpenter and Takuma Sato taken out in a crash that saw Ed Carpenter's machine land on top of Will Power's car.
Once the race finally developed a rhythm, it was a good show. It was punctuated by five cautions, but the Penske machines were in charge most of the time, with only Scott Dixon providing much of a challenge. Connor Daly in one of A.J. Foyt's machines was competitive and got a top five. Super Tex was actually at the track in spite of hurricane Harvey threatening his ranch.
Josef Newgarden is one of the most impressive open wheel drivers I have seen in sometime. He put a move on his teammate Simon Pagenaud for the lead that left him fuming, but it was just a good racing move, and propelled Josef to the win.
We arrived at my car at 11:20 and decided to just cool it until the traffic started to move. It was 12:05AM when I fired my trusty beast and drove at a moderate pace without stopping until arriving at Collinsville Road.
It was my first time to witness an IndyCar race under the lights, and it was a very interesting experience.
Since I had no advance plans to attend the Smackdown and wanted to see a quality race program, I feel I received my moneys worth and then some.
We met an interesting assortment of fans around us. There was an older couple from Plainfield, IN behind us, as well as a couple from England who had flown to see the eclipse and had attended the NAPCAR race at Bristol. A couple of younger fellows from Indianapolis sat to my left. None of the people from Indiana seem to be aware of the Smackdown, which I found surprising.
I know that all of you enjoyed the Smackdown, and I enjoyed the IndyCar race. With the much improved appearing car for 2018, this series has a promising future.
Well, I will return to the dirt this weekend, with stops planned at LPS and DuQuoin. Glad to see Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart will be competing and The Peoples Champ will be in the #97 Silver Crown car which will make Earlene happy.
Hope everyone has a safe week and enjoys the racing of their choice this weekend.