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Indiana
Guardsmen rewarded with Penthouse seats
Story and photos by Sgt. Maj. Jodie Newby Posted: May 29, 2008
The sun was bright in the sky as our group of 60
Soldiers was escorted around the track of the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway. The smiles from staff and race fans were overwhelming as
many said “thank you” and “God Bless You” to us as we passed through
to the infield and our hospitality tent by the Panther Racing
trailer.
The month of May is a good
time to reward Indiana Guardsmen for their great efforts with free
tickets to the
Indianapolis
500. This year, with the National Guard sponsoring the #4 car,
Panther Racing made the reward even better with improved seats and
special tours to a select few. I went along to find out what kind of
VIP treatment the Guardsmen received.
The best news of the
morning came when our escort told everyone he was taking back our
hoo-ah paddock tickets and replacing
them with Paddock Penthouse tickets! An awed silence passed through
the crowd of green as the news soaked in that we now had some of the
best seats at the track.
The day began with a visit and talk by Air Force
Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr.and the Indiana Adjutant General, Maj.
Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, who came to thank us all for our service.
They both took a special moment to thank the spouses for their
support and posed for photos with the country’s three top
recruiters.
A few minutes later our #4 National Guard Car
driver, Vitor Meira, visited with the Soldiers and signed
autographs. His enthusiasm for American Soldiers never fails, and he
made every autograph special by talking with and laughing with the
troops and family members as they came by.
The garage tour was a special VIP treat led by
Mike Griffin, the Panther Racing expert on all things car-related.
All eyes were on him as he walked us through preparation activities
for the car and driver, and gave us all the inside scoop on racing
with details on radio talk and using spotters around the track to
feed the drivers information.
A trip back to the hospitality area where we met
the Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren, and got another visit from
Vitor Meira. A box lunch was waiting and we felt spoiled with free
food and drinks, excellent seats, and VIP treatment all around.
Then sweet freedom; we were released from the
uniformed itinerary and
free to find our seats. Many Soldiers changed into more comfortable
shorts and t-shirts and indulged in Indy 500 traditions such as
burning in the sun and over-consumption of food and drink.
A patriotic start to the race found all hatless
and standing with prime seats directly in front of Oriol Servia's
pit crew. The sound was deafening as the cars raced past, and you
could feel the heat begin to rise off the track. There was a smell
of beer and burnt rubber, or maybe it was old cigar smoke lingering
all around us. I didn’t care, and I don't think anyone else did
either. We were all mutually fascinated with the race and our exotic
stature as those in the "good seats."
I'd been coming to the race since I was 13 years
old and never knew this view even existed. Now it's mine; I was a
Soldier sitting on top of the world—if only for this one great
day—and everything but this race, in this moment, was gone. A fire
in one pit, a lost tire out of another, and the greatest spectacle
in racing was on and all mine.
Marty Roth #25 hit the wall directly below us and
the third caution of the day gave everyone another break from
standing. After one of the group's favorites, Tony Kanaan, hit the
wall with Sarah Fisher, the group became more unanimous in their
cheering for Vitor Meira as he began working his way up to the
front.
When Meira took up third
position, we were all cheering him on. The pit stop run to first
place brought the whole penthouse area to its feet. We were yelling
and smiling with thumbs up all over the place. You could tell that
for all the hard-chargers around me, this was a great way to relax
and enjoy the day.
In the end, Vitor Meira
brought the #4 National Guard car in second place with a great run
for the lead. Though our car and driver didn’t take the checkered
flag, the Soldiers and Airman of the Indiana National Guard rewarded
with tickets to the 92nd
running of the Indy 500 all went home
feeling like winners.
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