Indy Journal (SRRT at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

I'm a huge Indy fan -- of the old school, some would say. My passion for the place and its 500-mile race at the end of May began when I was somewhere between 5 and 9 years old. Every Memorial Day, my family would listen to the race on the radio. The race would be on no matter what we did -- one of my family's rituals.

I was in my early 30s when I first visited the track. It was mid-May, and qualifying was under way for the big race. The cars were out for practice when I drove under the track in the tunnel between turns 1 and 2. One race car passed overhead, and I could smell the fuel. At that time, I had been away from racing for a couple years, and I had assumed that I had outgrown it.

Not so -- by a long shot! That day -- passing under the track with that one car on it -- was a turning point in my life. On that day, I committed to attending every race I could, of every type -- especially open wheel. Since that day, I've gone to all sorts of championship (Indy) car, sprint car, midget car, sports car, NASCAR^(R), etc. races, and, a few years later, I became an automotive writer.

For more than 10 years from the late 1970s into the 1990s, I went to the Indy 500 every year. In the early 2000s, I saw the first two Formula 1^TM races at Indy.

But I haven't been able to return since then -- until July 6. Later in the month, there was a "super" weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). It included NASCAR and GRAND-AM series races, and Subaru was at the track July 6 and 7 for practice.

Driving into the speedway on July 6, I used the same entrance -- the same tunnel. There were no cars on track, but the same feeling I had more than 30 years ago washed over me. I'm awed by the track's history -- much of which I've followed ardently. I'm awed by its immense size. And I'm awed by the spirits of drivers past that are part of the place.

All of July 6th, I photographed around the infield of the track, which is still new to me, even though it has been there more than 10 years. For the second practice on July 7th, I shot from the pits. Walking onto pit lane and seeing the yard of bricks at the start/finish line took my breath away. Another team member had told me it would.

I'm not alone in my reverence for the speedway. Others among the teams and officials echoed similar sentiments.

Seeing a Subaru speeding from south to north on Indy's front straight seemed completely out of context after hearing and seeing so many open-wheel cars of different types racing the other direction for so many decades.

But I was ecstatic that Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) was there for a run at the end of the month.

 

Race Day -- July 28, 2012

I returned to IMS with the team three weeks later for the GRAND-AM Continental Sports Car Challenge -- hoping for cooler weather. It wasn't as hot -- approximately 15 degrees cooler than the practice days. SRRT had a packed day -- a one-hour practice, followed immediately by qualifying, fan walk at noon, and then the two-and-a-half-hour race at 1:00 p.m.

SRRT qualified 16th.

SRRT faced humidity, drivetrain issues caused by heat, close contact racing of the GRAND-AM style, and a lightning storm with heavy rain -- so heavy that GRAND-AM stopped the event until deep water cleared from parts of the track.

Even as the race ended with SRRT in 11th, the team had to deal with another storm rolling through the area.

SRRT Performance in the 2012 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport Class
Round/Date	Event/Track	Location	Drivers	Qualifying/ Finishing Positions
Round 1 – January 26-27	BMW Performance 200 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway	Daytona Beach, Florida	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	7/28 (DNF1)
Round 2 – March 30-April 1	Porsche 250 Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	3/23 (DNF2)
Round 3 – April 27-29	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	1/3
Round 4 – May 11-13	New Jersey Motorsports Park	Millville, New Jersey	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	1/1
Round 5 – June 8-10	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	4/183
Round 6 – June 22-24	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	6/21 (DNF1)
Round 7 – June 29- July 1	Continental Tire 150, Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	12/12
Round 8 – July 27-29	Super Weekend at the Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Indiana	Andrew Aquilante/ Bret Spaude	16/111

¹ Accident

² Rear differential

³ Broken suspension

-- Ric Hawthorne