I’ve been shirking my commitment to writing in retirement of late. I had promised myself to do at least one post a day and considering that I’ve now reached the 2,044 mark at five-and-a-half years of doing this blog, I’ve been more than true to myself. However, yesterday, I did not get time to do a daily post after my run and swim. We were having several people over to watch the Indy 500, our first real group party in this new Florida home. Over twenty people attended, including my son and grandkids who stopped by on the way to the water park. Many of the people in our neighborhood have left for their summer homes, earning them the distinction of being called “snowbirds.” Our original intent was to find other Hoosiers in our area to attend this brunch and sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” with us. Instead, we ended up with a hodgepodge of friends, most of which weren’t as interested in the race as I was. There were only five born and bred Hoosiers, counting my son. 

I saw the Facebook posts of friends that were actually attending the race, but I was not necessarily envious. The days of getting up early and fighting the traffic and crowds are no longer appealing. I was glad to be home watching on TV from a thousand miles away. I saw all the festivities in air conditioned comfort, although the years of being in luxury suites with a parking and pit pass or being transported by helicopter were highlights of my racing experience. It was a great race, as I cheered on a friend’s son, Conor Daly, to an impressive sixth place finish. 

For the first time in history, the red flag stopped the race with five laps to go after Jimmie Johnson’s crash. Race officials could have let the cars finish under yellow, but this is the ultimate let down for fans. They decided on a restart, allowing two laps to decide the race winner. “Fortunately for Marcus Ericsson, who was leading the race at the time of the red flag, he won the race anyway. It might have been a much different reaction had the red cost him an Indy 500 trophy.”

I liked the following driver quote in reaction to those who felt that the restart was not in the spirit of conservative speedway traditions: “Screw the purists, if that’s what they say,” said Santino Ferrucci, who finished 10th. “You don’t want to win this race under yellow. That’s a BS win, to me. I’m happy IndyCar did what they did. They made the right call.” It was an exciting Red Flag Finish!