Hello Freak Nation! Well, I made it to Indy after being sick last week and then not sleeping at all before my flight (yeah, not so smart)… but I just couldn't get any shut eye before take off… I was freakin' going back home again to Indiana for my favorite all time event… the Indy 500!

So when my plane landed in Indy on Tuesday, I was immediately on the phone and making plans for the night's festivities: The Front Row Party in Broadripple…

Day One

Rock Lobster hosted it's 8th Annual Front Row Party and SpeedFreaks (aka Crash Gladys) were there with cameras in hand to capture the moment. All video will be posted soon, but it is being taped for a future show (fingers crossed) with Lucas Oil Studios titled 'Crash The Party' which is a play on words with my name, Crash, and of course crashing the motorsports parties at the biggest race events around the world… and here we started it at this year's Indy 500!

So at the Front Row Party at Rock Lobster we chatted it up with Polesitter Scott Dixon (ALWAYS humorous) who said it is about time he can celebrate on Rock Lobster's tab after all the times he gave that bar some donero when he was growing up in the biz. We also spoke with Ryan Briscoe and his better half Nicole Manske (who is sooo busy with her NASCAR duties for ESPN as well as keeping up with Ryan's Indy schedule… I'm just glad I'm not her this month!)… anyway, Ryan was in really good spirits and can't wait to get this race going… he's focused, but also another guy who is so relaxed and able to make a good time whenever it calls for a good time with his guys. And of course we nabbed a moment with '05 race winner Dan Wheldon and his newbie wife Susie, who said it is easy to live with Dan (cough, cough… come on honey!)… no, we can joke with Dan as he is one of those guys who can take it and also dish it out… Dan made sure to tell us that if we saw any of the Ganassi guys with drinks in their hand, to be sure we took them away… but of course if we saw any Penske team members we should be sure to provide them with more, and more, and more adult beverages! I love the rivalry between Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing!

I proceeded to bid up many items in the auction (yep, Kenny and Statt Mann would cringe I'm sure) and won the Dario Franchitti autographed crew shirt and jacket… then our camera stud, Andrew, ended up winning the signed helmet and pace car rides from the ticket auction… oh that was so cool! And… it's for the kids!

After the fun at Rock Lobster (Thank you Fred & Ricky Treadway and Rob Sabatini), we Freaks proceeded next door to Land Sharks where we had some 'connections'. Can I tell you that Rico Elmore (Fatheadz & Land Sharks owner and huge Freak friend) tried to do a dance-off with me on the dance floor… and FAILED! Yeah, Rico… I got your number! Dancing with the Stars… look out for Crasher soon! 😉

Day Two

The Jeans and Jewels Party/Fundraiser was again a GREAT one! The venue moved from The Conrad to Club Six on Meridian and I think it was a good move… slightly smaller (though absolutely crowded) and a bit more intimate! Watching the drivers arrive on the red carpet can be funny at times… I got there a little late for taping purposes, but was able to catch at least 10 drivers or so as they entered. Only problem was, Andrew (my camera man) had to change shirts when we arrived (damn armpits) and left me alone to do interviews and recording… yeah, that was interesting. But we got some good sound bites from Danica Patrick and her Mom, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Beccy Gordon, EJ Viso, and the big one… Jim Irsay! Jim, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, is such a fan of Indy and it was great to see him supporting the charity and the race by showing up at the soiree… even though he said his daughter was the one who made him go!

After the red carpet, we strolled inside where we could hardly breathe it was so packed! Just by looking around, I'd say there was perfect attendance – I do believe all 33 drivers made it for at least a little while, which is just plain cool. All of them were having fun! Maybe having a little more fun than the others was EJ Viso. As I was interviewing Enrique Bernoldi, I noticed his head kept bobbing toward me… at first I thought he had issues, but then realized EJ was behind him smacking the back of his melon to embarrass poor Enrique… so I brought EJ back in front of the camera and Mr. Ham at that point couldn't stop talking about how he wanted to dance, so he grabbed me and said, "Come on Crash, let's do Salsa… let's do Dancing with the Stars!" Oh he was freakin' funny! We hung out with EJ for a while after that… good guy I tell ya! We also chatted again with Dan and Susie Wheldon, Jamie Little, Emma Dixon and Heather Carpenter (Scott Dixon and Ed Carpenter's wives), Linda Vaughn, Jimmy Vasser, Tony George and the list goes on… a bit more laid back than last night's Front Row Party, but the drinks tasted just as good!

After the crowd began to thin at Club 6, my friends and I ventured across the street to Subterra Lounge as we know the owner there… and we proceeded to shut the place down after many, many, many vodka drinks, beers and whatever shots the boys were doing… yep, this was my designated driver night, so it was tough for me to watch the beverages flow so freely… BUT, tomorrow and the RACER party bring another opportunity pour moi!

Day Three

The RACER party at Blu (across the street from the infamous 6 nightclub on Meridian) was another good one… swanky as usual, drivers mingling with we normal folk and, well, probably the best bit I saw was Tony George having more than just a good time… the man was all smiles, he was hanging with some of his friends and he just seemed to be on cloud nine. Granted, when he was at the other parties, he was enjoying himself, but for some reason this night was different… MAYBE because most of his schmoozing and 'work' was done and this was a night to forget about all of it!

Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Beccy Gordon and even NHRA drivers Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson made cameos for the night's festivities… it was indeed fun and damn, that open bar is FINE!!!! Thank you soooo much, RACER Magazine!

After we turned off our cameras at Blu, we tried to Crash the Party under the tent a block away – the Hooters Bikini Contest – but we were too late as it was just then wrapping up on stage… CRAP!… so instead, we went back to Subterra (next door to Blu) and closed out the night there yet again… this time I could partake in the beverages! 'Nuff said… the rest should be left up to your imagination! Ha, ha…

Day Four

After waking early with, of course, a headache, I didn't care… it was CARB DAY at Indy!!!! We drove in to the track and headed straight to the pits to grab some of the best photos of the week – it's always one of my favorite times when we get to walk pit lane before the drivers take off for their one hour practice on Carb Day as the intensity is high, yet the guys are generally mellow. PLUS, it's the time when the celebs start to come out and there is excitement everywhere! So I sort of thank the rain delay for providing us with an extra 15 minutes to have that fun… and then I turn to blaming Mamma Nature for raining on us after only 12 or so minutes of practice… couldn't she have given us a larger window to get stuff done? The worst part about the rain was that it washed out my absolute favorite part of Carb Day – the Pit Stop Competition – that's where all the crazies come out and the fun really starts!! Oh well, I was able to find craziness elsewhere… how about the new snake pit inside Turn 3 and outside the track in the Coke Lot… oh yeah, tailgating was primo today! Besides the mud wrestling, blow up doll dancing, used couch wrecking and corn hole-ing going on, I nabbed a tailgate known for it's Flambingholing… it's where you cut off the legs of your favorite yard flamingo and the beak of that same flambingo… anyway, they turn the Flambingo into a beer bong and guess what… you have a freakin great time!!!  Trust me, we did!

Day Five – who the hell knows…

My liver could definitely NOT separate a good time from the Parade… sorry to my friends with the celebs… and my friends with the good times, BUT, holy cow, our heads can only handle so much!

So now there's Jason Priestly's Party andx the Snake Pit Ball… good heavens, I'll tell you which one I crash in a bit………… 😉

Day Six? It's Race Day folks… get freakin' ready! We'll start at the track and end at Club Six

Day Seven… well, unless I have to do the Banquet thing, I'm sleeping… ALL DAY!

 

Questions/Comments? CrashG@SpeedFreaks.TV