By Eric Powell
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Monday, May 14, 2007
Popular Sports Illustrated columnist and author Rick Reilly visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time May 14 and gained a new appreciation for the sport of IndyCar Series racing.
Reilly, who in his regular SI column "The Life of Reilly" usually writes about the personalities dominating football, baseball and basketball - sports that cover a few feet per second - both drove and rode in IndyCar Series cars, a sport that covers 300 feet per second.
"It felt like my head was going to fly off," said Reilly, following the 100-mph drive he took in an Indy Racing Experience open-wheel car. "It felt like I was going 250. It looked just like all the videos I've seen of the guys that are driving, and I thought to myself, 'Shoot, I'm doing exactly what they're doing,' but of course if they were here, they would be (driving right by me)."
After Reilly had a few minutes to recover from the single-seater drive, it was time to get into the passenger seat of the Indy Racing Experience's two-seat IndyCar for a couple laps with Vision Racing driver Ed Carpenter, who qualified May 13 for the 91st Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 223.495 mph.
While the single-seat car is an exciting experience for Indy Racing Experience customers because they drive the car around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway under controlled conditions, the two-seater gives a better example of the sheer speed and g-forces involved in IndyCar racing thanks to its average lap speeds approaching 180 mph.
Reilly admitted to having "a death grip" on the steering wheel of the single-seat car, so he found it quite humorous to learn from Carpenter that IndyCar drivers sometimes fall asleep in the comfortable confines of an IndyCar while, during practice or testing days, the crew takes some extended time to work on the car on pit lane.
Just before the ride began, Carpenter reminded Reilly that it's important to do one thing during the ride that many passengers forget to do: breathe. That wasn't an issue for Reilly, as he pumped his fist as the car roared into Turn 1 the second time.
"That was so much fun; I was hoping that wasn't our last lap," Reilly said. "I just wanted to keep going and going. I like the g-forces, actually. What a scream.
"I don't know how they (IndyCar drivers) keep their eyebrows stuck on. I started with a lot more freckles than this."
Reilly took his Indy Racing Experience drive and ride at the beginning of what was to be a very busy day for the Sinden Racing crew operating the Experience. After Reilly's two-seater ride, a customer-in-waiting walked over to him and said, "Imagine what you just did, but with 32 other cars on the track with you and every seat in these grandstands around you filled with spectators."
Reilly, a man never short of words, looked up at the Speedway's canyon-like main straightaway grandstands, shook his head and replied with a resigned, "I can't imagine."
***
Indianapolis 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2007 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27, the 91st running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 7 a.m.-6 p.m. on Pole Day, Saturday, May 12 and 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 27. Online orders can be made at any time.
Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.
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