BACK FROM VACATION

It was kind of weird to wake up this morning in my own bed. After 11 days on the road. I finally got home last night. What a great trip. I know Indianapolis isn't the most scenic locale, but for me it was one of the best trips I've had in a while.

There's so much to say about the experience. I learned an awful lot about public relations -- I did a lot of errand work, but that's part of the job and I was willing to do it (You only get one shot to make a grand opening, so you better make it a good one).
The permanent staff at the track is nothing but first class and I appreciated all the veterans on the staff accepting me, even though I was a rookie at Indy. So many cool things happened on the trip. Thanks to Paul and Josh for helping make this happen. I'm just sorry that I forgot to bring my digital camera to most of the events.

Here's some highlights that have nothing to do with seeing the race:

* I got to ride in a 50th Anniversary Corvette driven by Joie Chitwood III (who drove the car during the race) around the track. Top speed on the backstretch was 125 mph and we came off of turn 4 at 100 mph. Some folks got up to 150. Not bad for a production car.

* I went to a Red Bull party hosted by Eddie Cheever. I had a couple of really nice free red bull drinks and their were some very nice looking bartenders.

* I saw Ashley Judd when it was unseasonably cold, so needless to say, I got a nice view, if you know what I mean.

* Tomas Sheckter told me "You are a really good interviewer. That was a good interview," and Buddy Lazier said "It's nice to see you again."

* Helio Castroneves scaled the fence about 10 feet in front of me after he won on Carb Day. A fact I called about 20 minutes earlier.

* Got to visit Robyn in her new home in Columbus, Ohio. It's in a really yuppie area called German Village.

* I met a journalist from India named Vangkhat Ganeshi, who may have been the best story of the whole trip. Vangkhat started writing my friend Paul a few years ago with a dream of being a motorsports journalist and coming to Indianapolis for the 500. He even calls Paul his mentor and presented him with a traditional hindu wrap. Vangkhat was finally getting to come this year, but shortly before his trip, his visa was denied. After jumping through every political hoop (and getting some help from the speedway) he got to come to Indy. He told Paul and me that he spent a year and a half's salary just to come to Indianapolis for the race. That's dedication to a dream. I'm glad to hear that story because if he can chase his dreams, anyone can.

Oh yeah, there was a race too. All I can say is wow. Didn't see a whole lot of it from my spot on the far south (really north) end of pit road but I truly know what Al Unser meant in 1992 when he said "You have no idea what Indy means."