I just couldn't resist... One of the first things I had to do this morning, after arriving a bit after 11:00, was to give Krista Wilkerson a ride out to their motorhome, so that she could grab a road-worthy vehicle and head out to do the grocery shopping (gotta keep these boys fed!) While we were wending our way through the already crowded Pro pits (why shouldn't it be crowded, considering the fuel cars were all set to run only seven hours later!) we felt a person hop on the back seat of the cart, and I turned to find friend, colleague, and esteemed National DRAGSTER Associate Editor Candida Benson.

We asked her if she wanted to go for a ride, and like any good trouper (and yes, that's spelled right) she said "Sure," and off we went, headed for the infield of the circle track where the drivers' motorhomes are parked. Once we dropped Krista off, Candida jumped in the front seat and we had a nice chat about all things Indy on the way back. She even grabbed her phone and took a pic of me driving her around, and that photo is already up on her Indy blog. It's all cross-blogination, I'm tellin' ya... But the question remains... We know, very well, of her writing and editing abilities, but can Candida can-can? Look out Folies Bergere!

(45 minutes later...)

I started this thing with the distinct impression I'd have all sorts of time to kill before anything got too hectic out here, but then a couple of quick issues popped up and now I'm starting over. One of the key things that's been going on since late yesterday is the fact we're running an in-car camera for ESPN2. Actually, a pair of them, with one cam facing forward and the other pointed back up at Tim, in the driver's seat. So, what's the key benefit of in-car cameras??? Quick, tell me. That's right. It's "additional sponsor exposure" with space on the firewall and roll cage being in view of the cameras. Plus, it's a lot of fun for the viewers at home, so it's a dandy little win/win situation.

We actually are not in the possession of any LRS decals that would fit in any of the applicable spots (it's a small amount of space to work with), but I did find the decal we normally put on the lower edge of the nose of the car, which says "www.LRS.com" in its entirety but which worked just fine when we cut both ends off and made it simply LRS. So, that's front and center on the firewall (aka "dashboard"), and we put a Summit Racing Equipment decal just below that. Sprinkled around, are other associate sponsors. All part of the gig...

Man, this event is crazy. I can't seem to go five minutes without either spotting, or being spotted by, someone who is very important to talk to, whether it be blog readers, vendors, old friends, or former racers, because EVERYONE comes to Indy. Two seconds ago, I "sensed" the presence of someone behind me, and immediately turned to find Rob Flynn and Mike Guger, from the Bernstein team. I knew, immediately, what that was about! Yup, time to get the NHRA hockey pool up and running again. They're both convinced they can get even more people to play this year, so it's up to me to get to work on the entry form. To make sure everyone picks somewhat different teams, we break the whole NHL up into three groups, and you have to pick X number of players from each group. Before we did that, everyone would typically all pick the same superstars and it was hard to make a move in the standings when we were all earning roughly the same amount of points each week.

Now, Group A is made up of the 12 best players in the NHL, and you can only pick three of them. Group B is made up of 12 very good players and again you can only pick three. Group C is the whole rest of the league, so it behooves you to find those little-known guys who are primed for a breakout year. I better get cranking on this deal, I guess...

And now, just as I'm proofing this blog my buddy Matt Madden (former Team CSKer, like me) who works on Ashley Force Hood's car, just came over to say hi. When he saw what I was doing, he said "Tell everyone Matt said hi." Hey everyone, Matt said "hi"...

Working back to yesterday, I was about 90 minutes late landing on my Delta (DELTA!!!) flight, so I missed the deal where Tim picked up his Taurus for the weekend, but I was able to meet Cole at the curb not long after he landed. My first words to the lad were "Welcome to the big leagues, kid..." He's met everyone and has pitched right in, asking questions and listening carefully. I think he's going to be a great addition to the team.

Also, here's something very new and different about Indy. After all these years, all these many decades, we now have permanent grandstands on the Pro pit side of the track! Hard to believe, isn't it, that the stands on the Pro side of this facility were always temporary and had to be completely built and then torn down each year! Now, these new grandstands are not only here for good, they're also very nice and downright huge. So see, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Hey, I almost forgot about this. On my flight down (I was in First Class on the regional jet), the flight attendant came by and asked for my drink order, and I requested a Diet Coke. When she came back and handed me a glass with some ice, and a can of soda, she said "I know this looks funny, and I've never seen a can like this, but it's what they gave us and it looks like Diet Coke." The can, which was identical to a Diet Coke can, instead said "Coke Light" on it! Hmmm... I was wondering how I could possibly have missed the roll-out of an entirely new Coca-Cola drink (those sorts of things usually don't happen under cover of darkness) when I turned the can to read the ingredients. Well son of Deutschlander, it was all in German!

Best I could do was grab a lousy phone pic for proof, but it's in the gallery and once I was in my room last night I Googled "Coke Light" and found out that Coca-Cola markets Diet Coke as Coke Light, in most parts of Europe. All I can figure is that some flight, at some point, got catered in Europe, took on a bunch of Coke Light, and that container of soft drinks finally made its way onto my regional jet. Kooky, eh...

We do have a primo pit spot here, as the first rig parked behind the new main grandstands. If you're out wandering around, looking for souvenirs or a burger, you can't miss us...

Also, we're far enough downtrack that we're nosed in against the hillside that surrounds the circle track, so rather than look at another team's pit all day, we look out on a grassy bit of land the light towers for the roundy-round venue. It's a nice touch of nature out here in this asphalt jungle.

Finally, we had a little surprise for John Fink when he got here today, and by telling this tale and showing the pics I'm scooping Candida, who also took pics when we were on our golf cart trip, but then wrote in her blog that she couldn't show the pics yet (since they were a secret).

Tim called me a few days ago and said "I want to do something for Fink in Indy, since it's his home race and so many of his friends from Auburn come down." He asked me to think it over, and within minutes I was firing off the concept to our vinyl guy in Springfield, with a broad smile on my face.

I decided the best thing to do was have some decals made that look just like your standard-issue associate sponsors, so that the average person would walk by the car and think nothing of it. But.... If you read the decal, you'd know something was up and if you knew John Fink, you'd crack up laughing. We have two different ones, with one on each side of the wing, and I think Johnny got a big kick out of them... Check 'em out in the gallery.

Guess that's it for today. It's finally closing in on 3:00, so the elusive 7:00 p.m. hour, when we actually get to race the car, is slowly approaching. Minute by minute. Second by second...

See ya later, gang. Let's have a GREAT Indy.

Wilber, out!