May 23 - Indianapolis, IN

It's Carb Day ('Carburetor Day') at the Indy.

Rick is grinning like the proverbial “cat that got the canary” as we approach the track - right up until we park - and he realizes he left his wallet in the hotel and cannot pay for the parking.  Oops!!!!  A quick visit to an ATM, using my bank card, fixes the problem and it is on to the track.

First up is the last day of practice for the Indy Cars, and then that's followed by an Indy Lights 100 Mile race.  Both were very exciting, with no incidents in the practice session, and only one accident in the Indy Lights race, which at first appeared to be serious, but turned out the driver only had minor injuries.

Afterwards we went into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.  A remarkable collection of cars, historical memorabilia and pictures from the race track's 104-year history.  (Built in 1909, first 500 mile race in 1911, and 98th running this year (due to several years of no-race during various war-years).

1911 Indianapolis 500 Winner

100 years later - 2011 Indianapolis 500 Winner

I wished out loud to Rick that I would have loved having my Dad there with us - he would love seeing all these old beautiful cars!

After the race we wandered around the Indianapolis down-town core a little (our hotel, Sheraton Indianapolis, was in the midst of downtown) - took some pictures of the fabulous war memorial statue in the centre of town, and then had a great BBQ dinner at a small restaurant off the town square.