Postcards from the Paddock - Indianapolis

In spite of an ominous forecast and a frustrating weather delay, the 108th Indianapolis 500 proved the old adage that good things come to those who wait. The hearty race fans who came out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in droves last Sunday despite the near-certainty of rain were treated for their patience with a race that will be talked about for years to come. It marked my seventh Indianapolis 500 broadcast with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and it was a thrill to be at the epicenter of such a memorable race.

Race week commenced for me on the Monday following qualifications. A redeye flight home from the SRO America event at Circuit of The Americas Sunday night went without a hitch and I was back at the Speedway Monday morning for the two-hour practice session which thankfully ran trouble-free. Tuesday and Wednesday were quiet days focused on wrapping up my notes and media day on Thursday was spent gathering audio for the broadcast ahead of Sunday.

Rich Nye, myself, Alex Wollf, Rob Blackman

Most of the buildup to the Indy 500 is fairly relaxed with practice coverage providing a low-key chance to speak with drivers and teams. That changes on Carburetion Day the Friday before the race, which is as much a tuneup for our IndyCar Radio crew as it is for the teams and drivers ahead of race day on Sunday. For us, it is the only chance to assemble the entire crew of turn announcers and pit reporters ahead of the race broadcast and we use the two-hour practice as a dress rehearsal. This is most important for our turn announcers who will get the feel for when to pass the proverbial baton from one to the other around the track and lock in on any paint schemes that may have changed since qualifying the weekend before.

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren

Even for the four of us in the pits, Carb Day practice is a crucial couple of hours to ensure we're ready for the race. Two of my fellow pit reporters, Rob Blackman and Alex Wollf, were no strangers to the broadcast but for our rookie in the pits, Rich Nye, this was as close to a race simulation as he was going to get before the real thing. In the final 30 minutes teams are allowed to do full service pit stops which gave us each a few chances to call a mock pit stop and get into the swing of things. The session also gave us the first chance to incorporate our pit producer Brian Livingston who joins us for the 500 annually to help manage the chaos. I left the track feeling as prepared as I ever have ahead of the biggest day of my professional year.

Indy 500 weekend isn't just about my job, however. It has also become the biggest reunion of friends and family from every avenue of my life with dozens of people coming into town from all over the country and from around the world. Our group annually descends upon my parents' home in Indianapolis starting Saturday afternoon. Some are co-workers stopping by on their day off, others are part of the group that will be sitting in one of the 20 seats I have accumulated high atop Turn 3 on Sunday. That the group has grown five times over from the four of us that attended when I first bought tickets in my own name in 2009 to the 20 seats I hold today tells you all you need to know about the magnetism of this event. Once people get a taste of it they almost always want to come back.

Sunday morning the reality of the weather forecast began to set in. It had been ominous for over a week but one glance on Sunday morning made it clear there was no getting around it: there would be a rain delay at the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2007. The rain came as expected but fortunately it moved out and was replaced by sunny skies in relatively short order. I distinctly remember starting to feel fatigue creep in, only to have it chased away when I heard the first jet dryer fire up in the pit lane. That was the telltale sound that, with no rain in the immediate future, we were about to get to work.

The rest of the day from there is a bit of a blur in my memory. I was assigned the front eight pit stalls to cover during the race, which included front runners Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, and Pato O'Ward, along with Kyle Larson in his maiden attempt at the 500. I spent the race up until the final pit stops were complete walking up and down my section, scanning driver/team radio conversations, and calling the occasional pit stop. For the 500 I have the added bonus of having a pit spotter — in this case my college friend John — to help serve as an extra set of eyes and ears in a chaotic environment.

I'm proud that we seemed to largely stay on top of a topsy-turvy race; we were all over McLaughlin's clutch problems, John identified a slow pit stop for O'Ward that cost him track position in the first third of the race, and generally we were able to keep abreast of the mixed bag of strategy for the eight cars were were covering. When the final pit stops came and went, I could finally take a moment to enjoy what was shaping up to be a fantastic sprint to the finish from the unique vantage point of pit lane.

With about five laps to go I started making my way to victory lane as I had been assigned the winner's interview for the radio network once again this year. I watched the duel between Josef Newgarden and Pato O'Ward from just behind the victory podium in awe of the skill and bravery of both drivers. As soon as the race was over, however, it was time to start prepping my questions for the interview with the winner, which is the most pressure-packed few minutes of my year.

Each year I've done the victory lane interview, I have prepared a PDF with 'what-ifs' for each driver in the event that they win that can help shape my questions as well as how I intro and outro the interview. For Josef my list was:

-First back-to-back “500” winner since Helio Castroneves '01-'02, 6th ever (Wilbur Shaw '39-'40, Mauri Rose '47-'48, Bill Vukovich '53-'54, Al Unser '71-'71, Castroneves '01-'02)

-$440,000 bonus from BorgWarner for back-to-back wins. Pool established in 1995, grows by $20,000 each year. Helio Castroneves is the only driver to win it ('01-'02)

-20th win for for Team Penske, back to back wins for Team Penske

-21st multiple “500” winner

I was never going to use all of that but it's nice to have this information pre-researched so you aren't scrambling to find a useful fact or two in the limited time between the race ending and the interview beginning.

Victory lane is a chaotic place and more than anything else the driver (understandably) generally just wants to start celebrating with their team, especially since they have already done a TV interview before it's my turn to speak with them. Thanks to Alexis Hurley and the rest of the IndyCar staff for helping to keep Josef from running off to start the celebration too soon! It's not hyperbole to say it is a privilege of the highest order to be entrusted with the victory interview at Indianapolis and I hope this one conveyed the full extent of Josef's emotions to the listening audience.

With the victory lane interview over, so too was my broadcast day. Some 13 hours after I arrived Sunday morning our anchor Mark Jaynes signed off on the broadcast and said goodbye to the 108th Indianapolis 500. No day of my year is so packed with nerves, excitement, emotion, anticipation, and exhaustion. I grew up listening to the radio broadcast of the 500 and spent years dreaming of one day getting to be a part of one. I'm now seven years into my time on the broadcast and the thrill hasn't dissipated in the slightest. Simply put, I can't imagine doing anything more professionally rewarding.

There's not much time for reflection on the back end, however, as this weekend (today actually!) I'm off to Detroit for the next stop on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar. I didn't get the chance to cover the Detroit race last year so this will be my first time exploring the downtown street course that has replaced Belle Isle. Adding to the fun this weekend is that I'll be contributing some video content to my friends at Racer.com in addition to my radio duties which I'm really looking forward to.

Thanks as ever to everyone who followed along this Month of May in Indy and beyond! I'm forever grateful for all the support. Until next time!