I'll be watching this weekend, the Indy 500.
Rooting for Ed Carpenter (#4 in order)... again.

Scott Dixon (1) is the pole sitter, he's good, but the word is his car is not at it's best.
Colton Herta (2) drives hard and furious - but when you're the only one on the track... meh!
Rinus VeeKay (3) drives like Herta... lol
Ed Carpenter (4) Please... Ed... don't wreck!
Tony Kanaan (5) I like Tony... cant help it.. 
Alex Palou (6) see #2 & #3.

and so many great racers, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden, JR Hildebrand, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marco Andretti, Simon Pagenaud, Sage Karam, Will Power, ...and what's this?  But, a all "Women race team..." - represented by Simona De Silvestro.

If this isn't Ed Carpenter's year... sniff...  I'd like to see Marco Andretti or JR Hildebrand win it.
I expect to see some excellent driving from the Veterans, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay - sorry, I don't watch the race for the wrecks!

I'll be kicking back, chips & Dip, a steak on the grill, and maybe trade a few barbs with my buddy in Milwaukee over his bailing on Ed Carpenter (if Ed wins)!
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After that... maybe I'll watch the Woke-a-cola 600.  Or help the wife with the dishes, vacuuming for feed some ducks.

Quote from: Hoofer on May 28, 2021, 11:41:21 AMI'll be watching this weekend, the Indy 500.
Rooting for Ed Carpenter (#4 in order)... again.

Scott Dixon (1) is the pole sitter, he's good, but the word is his car is not at it's best.
Colton Herta (2) drives hard and furious - but when you're the only one on the track... meh!
Rinus VeeKay (3) drives like Herta... lol
Ed Carpenter (4) Please... Ed... don't wreck!
Tony Kanaan (5) I like Tony... cant help it.. 
Alex Palou (6) see #2 & #3.

and so many great racers, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden, JR Hildebrand, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marco Andretti, Simon Pagenaud, Sage Karam, Will Power, ...and what's this?  But, a all "Women race team..." - represented by Simona De Silvestro.

If this isn't Ed Carpenter's year... sniff...  I'd like to see Marco Andretti or JR Hildebrand win it.
I expect to see some excellent driving from the Veterans, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay - sorry, I don't watch the race for the wrecks!

I'll be kicking back, chips & Dip, a steak on the grill, and maybe trade a few barbs with my buddy in Milwaukee over his bailing on Ed Carpenter (if Ed wins)!
-----------
After that... maybe I'll watch the Woke-a-cola 600.  Or help the wife with the dishes, vacuuming for feed some ducks.

I've been to car races before. Being a southern boy what we called stock car racing, NASCAR today was popular and avaliable as were drag races but I gotta say road racing is much more enjoyable. Not only formula 1 races but endurace races top the list, especially Le Mans and next comes Sebring in my experence. They are true tests of both man and machine plus being about the best party you can imagine. Especially if you camp out in the infield.

Quote from: dickfoster on May 28, 2021, 11:49:33 AMI've been to car races before. Being a southern boy what we called stock car racing, NASCAR today was popular and avaliable as were drag races but I gotta say road racing is much more enjoyable. Not only formula 1 races but endurace races top the list, especially Le Mans and next comes Sebring in my experence. They are true tests of both man and machine plus being about the best party you can imagine. Especially if you camp out in the infield.

Martinsville, VA is about 14 miles from the house.  I've "worked" it from the press box, a few years.
I'm *not* a NASCAR fan, so they stuck me in the press box - met quite a few of those little guys.
John Andretti was pretty big for a NASCAR driver - great guy, he walked right over to me, and chatted it up for about 1/2hr, nobody seemed interested in him.  Some of those guys were real JERKS, short guy syndrome, tempers - quite unlikable.

People I've met - Notable for me:
Michael Waltrip - really nice, very approachable - he'll walk over to you, and introduce himself... then you figure out, he likes to TALK... and talk, and talk, don't mention you're not a NASCAR fan - he'll try to convert you!
Dale Jarrett - another great guy, they kind you'd want as a neighbor, actually has some good stories... about Jeff Gordon.
Jeff Gordon - sorry... he's boring in person - seriously boring.  Must have been a "off day" for him - getting divorced from a stunning wife can do that, per Dale Jarrett.
Jeff Burton - the absolute FUNNIEST guy I ever met.  Had me laughing so hard, so many great one liners, my side hurt.  During the morning show, they mic'ed me up for the laugh track, even got Burton laughing up a storm, the guy was a riot!
Chip Ganassi - Nothing but *respect* for this guy, a gentleman to me, about the *last* thing you'd expect while they were preparing for a race ... A really focused guy, who could be very nice instead of yelling at you.
Mark martin - short guy complex - is there *anyone* this guy has not been a jerk to?  If there was a "Driver most likely to hurl insults - but needed to stand on a table to be seen", Mark Martin would win it easily.
Richard Petty - I'll never understand the guy, he's in a different world, must be kinda nice there though..

a few other guys I've met and talked to, for 5 minutes or more, and a bunch of media / reporters, while hooking up or testing their communications, the impressions they leave you with, still my favorite is Jeff Burton.

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Funny thing, I worked the Indy race in Milwaukee (State Fair Park), got to see a little bit from inside the oval, but never actually met a single driver.  At Martinsvsille, my job put me right in the middle of *everything*, and I had *no* interest in any of it... met a lot of drivers, owners, media & turned down a lot of "free things" from vendors and teams.  Maybe it was the Beer Cans & Chicken Bones everywhere, meh... At Martinsville, they're throw everything at the fence.  Beer cans, Butts & Bones.

Quote from: Hoofer on May 28, 2021, 12:33:40 PMMartinsville, VA is about 14 miles from the house.  I've "worked" it from the press box, a few years.
I'm *not* a NASCAR fan, so they stuck me in the press box - met quite a few of those little guys.
John Andretti was pretty big for a NASCAR driver - great guy, he walked right over to me, and chatted it up for about 1/2hr, nobody seemed interested in him.  Some of those guys were real JERKS, short guy syndrome, tempers - quite unlikable.

People I've met - Notable for me:
Michael Waltrip - really nice, very approachable - he'll walk over to you, and introduce himself... then you figure out, he likes to TALK... and talk, and talk, don't mention you're not a NASCAR fan - he'll try to convert you!
Dale Jarrett - another great guy, they kind you'd want as a neighbor, actually has some good stories... about Jeff Gordon.
Jeff Gordon - sorry... he's boring in person - seriously boring.  Must have been a "off day" for him - getting divorced from a stunning wife can do that, per Dale Jarrett.
Jeff Burton - the absolute FUNNIEST guy I ever met.  Had me laughing so hard, so many great one liners, my side hurt.  During the morning show, they mic'ed me up for the laugh track, even got Burton laughing up a storm, the guy was a riot!
Chip Ganassi - Nothing but *respect* for this guy, a gentleman to me, about the *last* thing you'd expect while they were preparing for a race ... A really focused guy, who could be very nice instead of yelling at you.
Mark martin - short guy complex - is there *anyone* this guy has not been a jerk to?  If there was a "Driver most likely to hurl insults - but needed to stand on a table to be seen", Mark Martin would win it easily.
Richard Petty - I'll never understand the guy, he's in a different world, must be kinda nice there though..

a few other guys I've met and talked to, for 5 minutes or more, and a bunch of media / reporters, while hooking up or testing their communications, the impressions they leave you with, still my favorite is Jeff Burton.

-----

Funny thing, I worked the Indy race in Milwaukee (State Fair Park), got to see a little bit from inside the oval, but never actually met a single driver.  At Martinsvsille, my job put me right in the middle of *everything*, and I had *no* interest in any of it... met a lot of drivers, owners, media & turned down a lot of "free things" from vendors and teams.  Maybe it was the Beer Cans & Chicken Bones everywhere, meh... At Martinsville, they're throw everything at the fence.  Beer cans, Butts & Bones.

Reminds me of when I did the short lived Helmet Cam for Fox Sports. Fox paid for my first class airfare, put me up in the same accomodations as their announcers plus I had passes for the sidelines including the locker rooms and the TV production areas but I never have given diddly squat for football or the NFL. The only reason I recognized one of the announces was because he did ACE Hardware ads on TV. I thought it funny that he was so afraid to fly that he had a bus to take him around to the games. Silly people were busting their asses to get next to his bus for pity sake. I just shook my head wondering if they'd ever get a life to call their own.
BTW up close those cheerleaders are't so hot either. They've all got about a half inch thick layer of makeup pasted to their faces. And the only people working for Fox were tye announcers and maybe two camermen. The rest were all contractors that lived like gypsys.

Quote from: dickfoster on May 28, 2021, 05:05:53 PMReminds me of when I did the short lived Helmet Cam for Fox Sports. Fox paid for my first class airfare, put me up in the same accomodations as their announcers plus I had passes for the sidelines including the locker rooms and the TV production areas but I never have given diddly squat for football or the NFL. The only reason I recognized one of the announces was because he did ACE Hardware ads on TV. I thought it funny that he was so afraid to fly that he had a bus to take him around to the games. Silly people were busting their asses to get next to his bus for pity sake. I just shook my head wondering if they'd ever get a life to call their own.
BTW up close those cheerleaders are't so hot either. They've all got about a half inch thick layer of makeup pasted to their faces. And the only people working for Fox were tye announcers and maybe two camermen. The rest were all contractors that lived like gypsys.

Every word of that I believe is true.  I've been in the busses, all over the announcer's, Sat uplink trucks, TV trailers, etc., and didn't recognize *any* of them.  Even the NASCAR drivers had to tell me their names - or I wouldn't have known.  Waltrip was ribbing me, cause I *didn't* know who he was, I apologized for not knowning, "I don't have a TV..." then he looked at me like I was either really dedicated, weird or he finally found someone who wasn't gonna ask him for an autograph.

As for the women hanging around those places, even less recognizable - I couldn't tell if they are married, some gal they met at a local bar, or was a NASCAR fan.  One of my co-workers worked the sidelines at NFL games, accidentally bumped into a cheerleader, and had a big makeup smudge on his work uniform.  He had a few pictures of a Cardinals game, wow... man, there he is, standing there on the sidelines, during a game... so impressive, like me sitting in the press box at Martinsville - nobody cares, neither did I.

Nice thing about not knowing (or caring), you'll get your work done, won't waste their time, and next time around, they'll remember you - in my case, asked for me to troubleshoot their problems.
I get these calls to the Buses, to hook up a phone line or see if I could figure out why their Disk wasn't working ... "take your shoes off, please, before entering..." - was I gonna see a "burning bush" or something?  Receive the "Ten Commandments of NASCAR" - the rule book nobody's ever seen?     Most of the time, I'd look in, but work the trouble from outside - those million dollar things... Yeah, I'm allergic to them!

Gypsies - you just nailed it.  Was talking to a driver, former truck driver, who drove one of those buses around, He SLEPT through every race, said he never, ever, saw a complete race.  the owner/driver said he had to "stay with the bus" always - so he did, and had "no life" till the season was over.
His driver would get cleaned up after the race, hop in the bus with his wife/girl, and down the road they'd go.  the broadcast guys were basically the same, tear down ASAP, after the race, by Monday morning, they're gone.  They'd show up on Wednesday, spend 2 days running cables, setting up, and boy it better work for Saturday morning, or there's gonna be some real scrambling. 

Rain or shine, didn't matter, there's a TV schedule, and nothing else mattered.  Not the kind of life I'd want.

Quote from: Hoofer on May 28, 2021, 05:32:10 PMEvery word of that I believe is true.  I've been in the busses, all over the announcer's, Sat uplink trucks, TV trailers, etc., and didn't recognize *any* of them.  Even the NASCAR drivers had to tell me their names - or I wouldn't have known.  Waltrip was ribbing me, cause I *didn't* know who he was, I apologized for not knowning, "I don't have a TV..." then he looked at me like I was either really dedicated, weird or he finally found someone who wasn't gonna ask him for an autograph.

As for the women hanging around those places, even less recognizable - I couldn't tell if they are married, some gal they met at a local bar, or was a NASCAR fan.  One of my co-workers worked the sidelines at NFL games, accidentally bumped into a cheerleader, and had a big makeup smudge on his work uniform.  He had a few pictures of a Cardinals game, wow... man, there he is, standing there on the sidelines, during a game... so impressive, like me sitting in the press box at Martinsville - nobody cares, neither did I.

Nice thing about not knowing (or caring), you'll get your work done, won't waste their time, and next time around, they'll remember you - in my case, asked for me to troubleshoot their problems.
I get these calls to the Buses, to hook up a phone line or see if I could figure out why their Disk wasn't working ... "take your shoes off, please, before entering..." - was I gonna see a "burning bush" or something?  Receive the "Ten Commandments of NASCAR" - the rule book nobody's ever seen?    Most of the time, I'd look in, but work the trouble from outside - those million dollar things... Yeah, I'm allergic to them!

Gypsies - you just nailed it.  Was talking to a driver, former truck driver, who drove one of those buses around, He SLEPT through every race, said he never, ever, saw a complete race.  the owner/driver said he had to "stay with the bus" always - so he did, and had "no life" till the season was over.
His driver would get cleaned up after the race, hop in the bus with his wife/girl, and down the road they'd go.  the broadcast guys were basically the same, tear down ASAP, after the race, by Monday morning, they're gone.  They'd show up on Wednesday, spend 2 days running cables, setting up, and boy it better work for Saturday morning, or there's gonna be some real scrambling. 

Rain or shine, didn't matter, there's a TV schedule, and nothing else mattered.  Not the kind of life I'd want.

Yep that pretty much sums it up.

Actually.... that sums up what I think of these guys... they are just entertainers to me & my family.

Quote from: Hoofer on May 29, 2021, 06:33:09 AM


Actually.... that sums up what I think of these guys... they are just entertainers to me & my family.

 

I donno... Tony Kanaan looks pretty determined, he might pull it off, again.

Still wanna see Ed Carpenter win his First Indy 500 today!

Why do I think PC... every time Danica Patrick is on...?  She's boring for me, sorry, she and these other pre-race people just don't add anything.

With any LUCK, my buddy Jim and wife, are at the speedway, until last year, it's been near 60 years in a row for him - and I'm taping them for about 30 of those years..