Postcards from the Paddock - The Month of May

Another Month of May has come and gone and, for me, the 31 days were a complete whirlwind, reflected in the format of this blog post. We'll return to the normal format in the near future! After enjoying a few extra days exploring New Orleans after my last work trip at the end of April (check out my previous blog post for more on that), I returned home to Indianapolis both excited and apprehensive about the three weeks that would follow.

Between the GMR Grand Prix, Indy 500 practice, SRO at Circuit of The Americas, “500” media day, Carb Day, and the “500” itself, I was on air 10 days (and at a race track for work 12 days) in an 18 day span from May 11 to May 28. Between IndyCar, Indy NXT, and the four SRO series that I cover, there were nearly 150 cars and close to 250 drivers that I reported on in that span. It has been, without a doubt, as grueling of a schedule as I've had in my career, but it has also been equally as rewarding. The dream of being able to cover these kinds of events is what got me into this career and I'm loving every minute of it.

Your IndyCar Radio pit reporters for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500, from left: Scott Sander, myself, Rob Blackman, and Alex Wolff.
Photo by Tyler Archer

The month started on the IMS road course for the GMR Grand Prix, won by Alex Palou in dominant fashion, which set the tone for much of the rest of May at the Speedway. A strong Indy NXT field put on a show that weekend, too, which saw a breakthrough win for Matteo Nannini of Juncos-Hollinger Racing. It was an impressive result for a driver in just his third race in North America and for whom the first two races had been a struggle, and at times contentious.

Alex Palou just after his victory on the IMS road course earlier this month

The GMR Grand Prix weekend is an appetizer for the big show at the end of May and it's striking every year how much everyone wants to talk about the “500” even before the road course race is complete. In my radio interview with Palou in victory lane, he spent most of our conversation looking ahead to the “500” rather than reflecting on the race he had just won! Three days later we all got our wish as oval practice began.

Our radio coverage of Indy 500 practice is among the most enjoyable I have all year with six hours each day in a more relaxed environment. It allows us to have longer conversations with drivers and team members than we would on a normal race weekend. Throughout the week of practice it was apparent that Chip Ganassi Racing and ARROW McLaren had a raw speed advantage, which they promptly demonstrated that weekend in qualifying, but the question of who would excel in race running remained.

I had to jet out on Friday to make it to COTA for the SRO America weekend, so I missed Fast Friday and qualifying at Indianapolis but was treated to some excellent sports car racing. Sporadic rain throughout the weekend made for some compelling strategy calls and the changing surfaces created no shortage of jeopardy for all involved. TC America powered by Skip Barber in particular put on a thrilling showcase of just how fun touring car racing can be. If you missed the races, I suggest checking them out on the GT World YouTube channel where all SRO races are broadcast live and archived.

When our final race wrapped up on Sunday it was a mad dash to the airport to make it back to Indy Sunday night ahead of two hours of “500” practice on Monday. Thankfully it went without a hitch. House guests began arriving on Wednesday, we have 16 tickets in Turn 3 for the “500”, and it was wonderful to welcome friends from all over the world into town for my favorite day of the year. This year our group included people from Australia, England, The Netherlands, Ireland, California, Missouri, and Indiana - easily our most cosmopolitan yet! Orchestrating their arrival and accommodations turns into another job this time of year but I love sharing my favorite race with family and friends.

Our friends’ view from Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Race day itself could not have been better. The weather was near perfect, no rain and mild temperatures, and we were treated to a memorable race. It is annually the highlight of my professional year to work on the IMS Radio Network broadcast of the “500”. This was and remains my dream job. The day went smoothly and I had plenty of stories to cover in the pits, capped off with an interview with new Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden in victory lane. Then it was back home to enjoy the company of friends who had traveled from all over the world to join us, many of whom I see only on race weekend each year.

This barely scrapes the surface of what was a hectic but rewarding Month of May for me. Thank you to everyone who watched or listened to any of the coverage over the past 31 days! I head into June exhausted but eager for what's next and I plan to detail it all here in due course. Thanks for following along!

--Ryan