The first 500 I ever watched was in '98. I was a seven-year-old and just getting into open-wheel racing. At that time, though, I was much more concerned about the Coca Cola 600 that would be on that night. Also, watching a race back then meant that I also was probably messing around with legos or tinker toys at the same time and paying minimal attention. Needless to say, all I remember is that Eddie Cheever won. The 1999 race was different; I was excited. Still more of a Nascar fan than an open wheel one, the selling point for this race was that Tony Stewart was doing double duty that day. He finished 9th and 3 laps down in the 500 and 4th in the Coke 600. In 2000, the nearly unthinkable happened: Chip Ganassi's team qualified two cars for the 500. I didn't have a grasp for what that meant when I was a kid. Instead, I was excited that my favorite CART driver at that time was going to be racing: Juan Montoya. Not only did he race, he won. Needless to say, I was happy. 2001 was Helio Castroneves first 500 victory and the first time he climbed the fence.
By 2002, though, something was up. Penske was racing in the IRL. What??? I'd ask my dad questions because he understood the political climate of open-wheel racing. I think he honestly always preferred CART over IRL, but at the core, he was a race fan and would watch whatever went fast. One of my many questions was, "Why did they leave? They missed the 500, didn't they?" Yes, that was it. People could tell you otherwise, but the 500 is the the real deal. It's... the 500 (duh). I had it figured out as an eleven-year-old. The power and lure of the speedway did it. By 2004, most of the CART powerhouse teams were back at the speedway. I would watch races and think to myself, "this kinda looks like the old CART." After that, the rest is history.
To this day, I fail to see how adult people cannot see or comprehend what I did as a child. I wasn't and still am not that intelligent about IndyCar racing when compared to a lot of fans. My technical knowledge is all but non-existent and my memory is limited by my years. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort this out and maybe, that's why I could see. A child looks at things simply, sees them as they are, and responds simply. Perhaps that is what we need. The future of Indycar Nation are young adults like me. On forums, I see many of us crying for our predecessors to let go. I've even tried that! It doesn't work. And yet, the child-like perspective sees to the heart of the matter and looks in wonder. As I go forward and continue to grow-up, I hope I take in each and every race with the wonder of a child and see through the ever-present dissension with the clarity of a child's eyes.
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Playlist for this post:
1. Ordinary (Rock Version)- Train
2. Handlebars- Flobots
3. Bad Romance- Lady Gaga
4. Lips of an Angel- Hinder
5. Indy 500 practice
