Thank you to
Iowa Corn,
I won myself a couple free tickets to the Iowa Corn Indy 250
answering various trivia questions on their
Facebook page.
The race was this past Saturday, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton.
Being the nice sister that I am, I invited my brother to join in on the fun!
{But that makes me a bad daughter...since I didn't invite my dad! Sorry Dad!}
On Thursday before the race, I picked up my packet of goodies from UPS.
This was inside....
2 tshirts
2 tickets {for actual seats}
2 passes to the VIP tent
Since the Iowa Corn Indy 250 race wasn't scheduled until 9p,
we decided we didn't need to hurry to get there,
even though the gates opened at 10a.
We arrived around 3:30p, which was still plenty early for us.
There was plenty of time to make our way to the VIP to get our free drink tickets,
grab a few handouts from Dekalb...ear plugs!, Dekalb cap, chapstick with sunscreen, lotion with sunscreen, and a little hand held fan.
{On a normal race day, those items would have been crucial!}
We then headed out to the concourse area to walk around.
Adam spent $5 on a piece of paper that had all the drivers numbers to listen in on headsets.
We watched Marlee Scott for a few minutes.
Check out the various race cars that were sitting out.
Got shocked at how much a Chevy Volt is....about $45,000!
{BUT...you will save about $7,500 on fuel over about 5 years.
You do the math! Jeesh.}
Stopped at an Info Booth, and learned Adam could have gotten a paper with the drivers numbers for FREE!
Eventually we made our way back to the VIP tent around 5p
to grab some grub and watch the first race.
I can't remember the name exactly,
but it think the first race was the Mazda 100.
And it was a fast race!
On average, a car can go around the track 3 times in 1 minute.
About halfway through the race, the storm clouds started rolling in.
So did the thunder and lightning.
With the lightning, they cleared the grandstands.
But we stand on the stands we were sitting on.
There were only 4 rows, so a lot less metal.
{Clearing the grandstands.}
Eventually we decided to get under the tent when the rain started falling.
They called that race at about lap 91 or so, and didn't finish it.
It rained for a good 20-30 minutes. I lost track of time.
When the rain finally let up, the troops came out.
The above picture was something new to me.
Maybe I have never seen a rain delayed race before.
But they just started driving around the track, all 13+ vehicles.
They'd drive high.
They'd drive low.
They drove all over the track.
Until the jet dryers came out.
But they still drove around the track.
{The dryers are in the back of and on a trailer behind
the trucks at the left side of the next picture.}
At this point in time, Adam and I decided to head to the truck to get the radio headphones and to drop off our free stuff, since the sun wasn't really shining.
By the time we got to the truck, it started raining again!
So we waited it out there.
The Sukup 100 was canceled...because it was still raining.
But they were able to get the track ready for the
Iowa Corn Indy 250!
Around 8:45p, after visiting with a former coworker of Adam's,
we headed back to the VIP tent.
But since we had actual seats with our tickets,
and there was no room to sit or stand see in the VIP tent area, we went to our seats.
The race was suppose to start at 9p, but started closer to 10p.
And talking about the start, if you watched the race...
did you even notice when it officially started?
The drivers were basically doing hot laps,
to lay rubber back on the track after it all got washed away.
But at some point, whether before or after a drivers engine blew,
the race started.
The funny thing, the announcers didn't even know the race started.
So who makes that decision?
The evening turned out to be beautiful.
I was actually chilly...which doesn't happen in the summer!
The race ended around 11:30p....in a caution. NO FUN!
Next time:
Find the Info Booth that has the drivers radio numbers and save $5.
Pay the $10 for the garage tours.
{Adam and I talked about it, but didn't do it. Next time!}
Highlights of the day:
Learning how they dry out a track with a dozen+ vehicles.
Watching wrecked Indy cars get removed from the tracks. {The 'wrecker' hooks up to the top of the car, and just lifts it up and carries the car to the pit/garage.}
Thinking....I could do this! I like to drive fast and efficiently. :)
Fuel to travel to/from the track: 'Free'...Adam drove.
Radio numbers for the drivers: $5...but Adam bought it.
{But it could have been free.}
An evening at the races: PRICELESS!
Thank you to Iowa Corn Indy 250 {and Dekalb} for a fun day at the races.
