Inside Row 5, car #9, 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon. (“Quick, while Mommy and Daddy are busy, see if you can find any twenties!”)
This year marked the sixth time my wife and I attended the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us —- partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names (even if the rest of the audience loves them more than we do), and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis (which needs to happen every single weekend ever).
The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and health permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, absolutely not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.
First up: your qualifying drivers in the milestone 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to be held Sunday, May 29, 2016 — i.e., the next day after I’m writing this. This may be the first time we’ve ever captured all thirty-three drivers in a given Indy 500 to at least some degree, as there’s usually a driver or two that totally dodge our cameras and we don’t get so much as a stray hand or a blurry Sasquatch image. A few drivers regrettably suffer here from interfering limbs, long distances, or other barriers, but the overall results for this year’s gallery were more encouraging than ever.
Other than Scott Dixon pictured above (our favorite pic of the bunch), the following drivers are presented in actual Indy 500 starting order from Row 11 to Row 1, barring any last-minute lineup adjustments in the morning. As always, photos are clickable for enlargement and resolution where desirable, or you can print out a copy of this entry and use it as your handy reference guide while you’re watching, listening to, or dreaming about the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Enjoy!
Outside Row 11, #35 Alex Tagliani, bumped to the worst spot after a crash on the last day of qualifications last Sunday.
Middle of Row 11, car #4, 1996 winner Buddy Lazier.
Inside Row 11, car #41, Jack Hawksworth, on the opposite side of the street from us.
Outside Row 10, car #25, rookie Stefan Wilson. One of several instance in which our pics of the drivers’ companions are better than those of the drivers themselves. Love that outfit.
Middle of Row 10, car #16, rookie Spencer Pigot.
Inside Row 10, car #88, Bryan Clauson, (DOGGIEEEE!)
Outside row 9, car #61, rookie Matt Brabham.
Middle of Row 9, car #15, Graham Rahal.
Inside Row 9, car #63, Pippa Mann.
Outside Row 8, car #18, Conor Daly.
Middle of Row 8, car #24, Sage Karam.
Inside Row 8, car #8, rookie Max Chilton.
Outside Row 7, car #19, Gabby Chaves.
Middle of Row 7, car #20, Ed Carpenter.
Inside Row 7, car #11, Sebastian Bourdain.
Outside Row 6, car #10, 2013 winner Tony Kanaan, one of the only two Indy 500 drivers I’ve met in person.
Middle of Row 6, car #2, 2015 defending champion Juan Pablo Montoya. They’ve spotted us! Our cover’s blown!
Inside Row 6, car #42, Charlie Kimball.
Outside Row 5, car #6, JR Hildebrand.
Middle of Row 5, car #27, Marco Andretti, as thirsty as we are.
Outside Row 4, car #14, Takuma Sato.
Middle of Row 4, car #98, rookie Alexander Rossi.
Inside Row 4, car #77, Oriol Servia, waaaaaay over to the side.
Outside Row 3, car #3, three-time Indy 500 winner and renowned dancer Helio Castroneves.
Middle of Row 3, car #22, Simon Pagenaud.
Inside Row 3, car #7, Mikhail Aleshin.
Outside Row 2, car #12, Will Power. (The partly hidden guy at left, not the one on the right. But if the guy on the right wins Sunday, remember you met him here on MCC first.)
Middle of Row 2, car #26, Carlos Munoz.
Inside Row 2, car #29, Townsend Bell.
Outside Row 1, car #28, 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Middle of Row 1, car #21, Josef Newgarden.
Pole position winner, car #5, James Hinchcliffe.
To be continued! Links to other chapters in this annual MCC miniseries are listed below. Follow us on Facebook or via email signup for new-entry alerts, or over on Twitter if you want to track my TV live-tweeting and other signs of life between entries. Thanks for stopping by!
Part 2: This Year’s Guests
Part 3: Marching Bands!
Part 4: Floats and Balloons
Part 5: Random Acts of Parading
Part 6: Before the Music
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 