You Never Forget Your First Time

Life throws a lot of "firsts" at you over the years. Your first word, first step, first day of school, first kiss...etc. And if you grow up wanting to be a race car driver you dream about your first 500. It's hard to put into words the emotions that the Memorial Day Classic evokes from me, but I understand why I feel the way I do about the race. You see, racing in the Indy 500 is a great payday (last place will take home around $150,000 for three and a half weeks work), but you never think about that until the day after the race and they start handing out the checks at the awards banquet. No, racing in the Indy 500 represents the final confirmation that you have fulfilled your lifelong dreams of reaching the very pinnacle of the auto racing pyramid. Some people point to Formula 1 as the highest level of motor racing, and I would be very hard pressed to argue with them for eleven months out of the year. But in May, the center of the auto racing universe is firmly fixed on the corner of 16th and Georgetown in Speedway, Indiana. The Indy 500 is the one race that captures the hearts and minds of people around the world more than any other race, period.

Now my first 500 had a few extra twists thrown in..like it was also my first Indycar race of any kind, my first race longer than 75 miles, and oh yeah I was there driving for the Brickyard legend AJ Foyt. Imagine all that, then rolling onto the track for your first practice laps with the likes of Rick Mears, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti and Danny Sullivan to name a few. To state it mildly, my back side was puckered up so tight I was afraid if I sat down I wouldn't be able to get back up. On my very first lap onto the track for official practice, as I exited turn 4 coming up to speed Eddie Cheever was gaining quickly already on a fast lap, I moved towards the inside to get out of his way on the straight to get out of his way, but he followed me down to pick up some extra speed off my draft, I moved down again, but again he followed me down, now to the very inside of the front straight. Finally, he jinked out to the right, slammed on the brakes as he drew even with me, and gave me the finger! Totally true story, welcome to Indy, rookie.

Luckily things improved from there. I did have to endure the nerve racking experience of finishing bump day qualifying on the bubble, meaning I was the last car to make the field of 33. Keep in mind that back then more cars failed to make the race than actually raced, so it was a huge relief just to make it into the field, let alone as a rookie in your first Indycar race. But I learned a lot, and persevered to finish 9th in the race, a good result considering everything. As I climbed from the car after the race, a reporter came rushing over and shoved a mike in my face and asked, "You just finished 9th in your first Indy 500, what does that mean to you?" Without hesitation I blurted out, "Well, I guess eight guys beat me today." You see I was hooked, and the racer's mentality had me already looking ahead 12 months for another chance to do it all again.

I have so many great experiences from my five Indy 500 starts, and throughout the rest of this week I'll be here to share some more stories with you as well as look ahead to this year's race through the eyes of my AGR teammates. Thanks for the memories...Bryan